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You Can't Catch Me
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nSfx1nZTAuM">You Can't Catch Me</a>, Music and Lyrics by Chuck Berry. <a href="http://www.last.fm/music/The+Rolling+Stones/_/You+Can%27t+Catch+Me">The Stones covered it.</a> John Lennon was<a href="http://www.abbeyrd.net/lenlevy.htm"> sued (twice!)</a> for <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rXdo1jGfzsM">covering it</a> and <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0e7AQQTONvg">appropriating the lyrics</a>. If Iggy Pop and the Stooges were never sued for doing the same thing as "Come Together" in <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I7dKnF0coxQ">1970</a>, perhaps it's because nobody could understand what exactly he was saying, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radio_Birdman#Origins">not even the bands that took their names from the adapted lyrics</a>. Perhaps JJ Cale was thinking of the chorus when he wrote <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NVUBsEMgW5o&feature=related">Call Me The Breeze</a> in 1971. Finally, though Jonothan Richman's "Roadrunner" clearly took inspiration from the <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G4qp3T476co&feature=related">Velvet Underground's Sister Ray </a>and Bo Diddley's "<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VUKUt8CtSOI">Road Runner</a>"(<a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2007/jul/20/popandrock5">among other things</a>), but, <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NTT-wj69ObE">as a Berry fan</a>, you can hear Richman echoing the lyrics in the Spirit of 1956 going Faster Miles an Hour, with the radio on, tuned to Rock And Roll. More covers: <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m3_x2I8FQ8Q">Steven Stills</a>. <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Anthology-Blues-Project/dp/samples/B000001EIV/ref=dp_tracks_all_2#disc_2">Blues Project</a>. Lyrics: <strong>Can't Catch Me</strong> I bought a brand new airmobile It was custom made It was a Flight DeVille With an outboard motor And some hideaway wings Push in on the button and you can hear her sing Now you can't catch me No, baby, you can't catch me 'Cause if you get too close You know I'm gone like a cool breeze New Jersey Turnpike in the wee wee hours I was rolling slowly 'cause of drizzlin' showers Up come a flattop he was movin' up with me Then come sailin' goodbye In a little old suped up mini I put my foot in my tank and I begin to roll Moanin' sirens, was the state patrol So I get out my wings and then I blew my horn Bye-bye New Jersey I become airborne Now you can't catch me No, baby you can't catch me 'Cause if you get too close You know I'm gone like a cool breeze Flyin' with my baby last Saturday night Wasn't no gray cloud floatin' in sight Big full moon shinin' up above Cuddle up honey be my love Sweetest little thing that I ever seen I'm gonna name you Mabelline Flyin' with all the things set on flight control Radio tuned to rock 'n' roll Two, three hours passin' by Altitude dropped to 505 Fuel consumption way too fast Let's get on home before we run out of gas Now you can't catch me No baby, you can't catch me 'Cause if you get too close You know I'm gone like a cool breeze <strong>Come together</strong> Here come old flattop. He come grooving up slowly He got ju-ju eyeballs. He's one holy roller He got hair down to his knee Got to be a joker he just do what he please Shoot me! Shoot me! Shoot me! He wear no shoeshine he's got toe-jam football He got monkey finger he shoot Coca-Cola He say "I know you, you know me" One thing I can tell you is you got to be free Come together right now over me. Shoot me! Shoot me! Shoot me! He buy production he got walrus scumble He's got Ono sideboard he's got spinal cracker He's got feet down below his knee Hold you in his arms till you can feel his disease Come together right now over me. He's roller-coaster he's got early warning He's got muddy water he's got mojo filter He say "One and one and one is three" Got to be good looking 'cause he's so hard to see Come together right now over me. <strong>1970</strong> Out of my mind on Saturday night 1970 rollin' in sight Radio burnin' up above Beautiful baby, feed my love All night till I blow away All night till I blow away I feel alright, I feel alright Baby oh baby, burn my heart Baby oh baby, burn my heart Fall apart baby, fall apart Baby oh baby, burn my heart All night till I blow away All night till I blow away I feel alright I feel alright <strong>Roadrunner</strong> Roadrunner, roadrunner Going faster miles an hour Gonna drive past the Stop 'n' Shop With the radio on I'm in love with Massachusetts And the neon when it's cold outside And the highway when it's late at night Got the radio on I'm like the roadrunner Alright I'm in love with modern moonlight 128 when it's dark outside I'm in love with Massachusetts I'm in love with the radio on It helps me from being alone late at night It helps me from being lonely late at night I don't feel so bad now in the car Don't feel so alone, got the radio on Like the roadrunner That's right Said welcome to the spirit of 1956 Patient in the bushes next to '57 The highway is your girlfriend as you go by quick Suburban trees, suburban speed And it smells like heaven(thunder) And I say roadrunner once Roadrunner twice I'm in love with rock &amp; roll and I'll be out all night Roadrunner That's right Well now Roadrunner, roadrunner Going faster miles an hour Gonna drive to the Stop 'n' Shop With the radio on at night And me in love with modern moonlight Me in love with modern rock &amp; roll Modern girls and modern rock &amp; roll Don't feel so alone, got the radio on Like the roadrunner
Rhymes with ta-ra-ra-boom-de-ay.
<a href="http://www.playgroundjungle.com/">Playground Jungle:</a> <i>The "folk process" in the subversive songs, rhymes, stories and jokes you told when the teacher wasn't around.</i> Visit the whole (growing) collection via the <a href="http://www.playgroundjungle.com/2009/12/index-of-first-lines.html">index of first lines</a>.
Hurricane Chris
Shreveport rapper <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hurricane_Chris_(rapper)">Hurricane Chris</a> <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l0PCQYalZU8">performs</a> for the Louisiana State Legislature.
But what would Frank Lloyd Wright say?
<i>"[Jax de Leon's] last project as a student was a graphic representation of every note, word, instrument and voice from <a href="http://www.jaxdeleon.com/illinois/introduction/">Come on, Feel the Illinoise! by Sufjan Stevens.</a>"</i> Read an <a href="http://perfectlaughter.com/index.php/sufjan-illinois-jax-de-leon/">interview with him here.</a>
Filed under: he said what now?
<a href="http://www.snacksandshit.com/">Snacks and Shit</a> - The <a href="http://www.noroomservicejustsnacksandshit.com/2009/02/1_05.html">premise</a> is simple: A single hip-hop <a href="http://www.snacksandshit.com/2009/02/71.html">l</a><a href="http://www.snacksandshit.com/2009/02/75.html">y</a><a href="http://www.snacksandshit.com/2009/02/32.html">r</a><a href="http://www.snacksandshit.com/2009/02/25.html">i</a><a href="http://www.snacksandshit.com/2009/02/58.html">c</a>, taken out of context, with bonus commentary.
Enter Sandkitty
<a href="http://img179.imageshack.us/img179/6798/af20907621cbf76cee7547eco9.jpg">Herein</a> lies a link to a JPG of LOLcats representing the famous Metallica lyrics. (<a href="http://status.metafilter.com/">Again</a> 'cause I can't help myself.) You have to zoom in when the page loads.
National Anthems of the World
Have you ever wondered what the national anthem of Bolivia, Nepal or The Republic of Seychelles sounded like? Well wonder no more because <a href="http://www.nationalanthems.info/">NationalAnthems.info</a> has got you covered! It claims to have the national anthem for every country in the world in MIDI format, along with downloadable lyrics and sheet music so you can sing and play along. But if the MIDI format isn't doing it for you, there's also other sites that you can visit that have downloadable MP3s of pretty much every national anthem this planet and its inhabitants have to offer, <a href="http://www.national-anthems.net/">such as this one</a> or <a href="http://www.navyband.navy.mil/anthems/national_anthems.htm">this one</a>, which is notable in that the anthems featured there were performed by the US Navy Band. And finally, for your further reading and listening pleasure, <a href="http://www.nationalanthems.us/">check out this forum</a> which contains background information on and even more links to downloadable national anthems.
Prewar Blues Lyrics &amp; Dylan Lyrics Concordances 'N Stuff
The things I like best about Michael Taft's <a href="http://www.dylan61.se/michael%20taft,%20blues%20anthology.txt.WebConcordance/framconc.htm" title="">Prewar Blues Lyrics Concordance</a>, a subsection of T. G. Lindh's <a href="http://www.dylan61.se/concordance_meny.html" title="&#0169; Copyright TG Lindh , all rights reserved ">Web Concordances of Pre-War Blue Lyrics and Bob Dylan Lyrics</a>, are the listings of the lyrics by singer: <a href="http://www.dylan61.se/MTBluesA_C/Michael%20Taft,%20Blues%20Anthology%20with%20Index%20by%20Artist%20A-C.htm" title="Pre-war Blues Lyric Poetry: an Anthology - A - C">A - C</a>, <a href="http://www.dylan61.se/MTBluesD_H/Michael%20Taft,%20Blues%20Anthology%20with%20Index%20by%20Artist%20D-H.htm" title="Pre-war Blues Lyric Poetry: an Anthology - D - H">D - H</a>, <a href="http://www.dylan61.se/MTBluesJ_L/Michael%20Taft,%20Blues%20Anthology%20with%20Index%20by%20Artist%20J-L.htm" title="Pre-war Blues Lyric Poetry: an Anthology - J - L">J - L</a>, <a href="http://www.dylan61.se/MTBluesM_R/Michael%20Taft,%20Blues%20Anthology%20with%20Index%20by%20Artist%20M-R.htm" title="Pre-war Blues Lyric Poetry: an Anthology - M - R">M - R</a> and <a href="http://www.dylan61.se/MTBluesS_Y/Michael%20Taft,%20Blues%20Anthology%20with%20index%20by%20Artist%20S-Y.htm" title="Pre-war Blues Lyric Poetry: an Anthology - S - Y">S - Y</a>. And the nice thing about the blues lyrics is you don't need to ask for a log in and password. It 's all right there. Explore and enjoy. <a href="http://www.dundee.ac.uk/english/wics/cncintro.htm" title="''Its simplest use is as an index, to locate quickly any passage in a text. All you need to know is one word from the passage: look up that word in a concordance to the text and you will find the passage.''"><em>What is a Concordance ?</em></a> you may ask. Well, woot, there it is: <em>A concordance is a comprehensive index of the words used in a text or a body of texts. </em>. See also <a href="http://www.dundee.ac.uk/english/wics/wics.htm" title="This site is devoted to the study of literature using literary computer concordances, a form of analysing text. This document will attempt to help students understand what is meant by literary concordancing and will ask questions about featured Romantic writers which may be answered by using the English department concordance site.">The Web Concordances and Workbooks</a>. Not to mention the less scholary, more incomplete and occasionally rather dubious <a href="http://www.federalcigarjugband.com/Pages/glossary.html" title="What follows is an excerpt from the dictionary portion of The Jug Band Dictionary and Companion&#0169;. The Jug Band Dictionary and Companion&#0169; is a work in progress by Federal Cigar Jug Band bass player/juggist, Bill Boslaugh -- the completed work is expected sometime in the (not too?) distant future. ">Jug Band Dictionary</a>, as the etymologies of some words therein are sometimes more folk than the author realizes...
Lyrical visuals
<a href="http://www.vimeo.com/658158">Solar, with lyrics.</a> A very pretty, surprisingly wordy video. <a href="http://www.warrenellis.com/?p=5558">(via)</a>
Protest Songs
So are you ready to march on Washington to protest in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protest_song">song</a>? Here are some <a href="http://www.ocap.ca/lyrics.html">lyrics</a>. Some <a href="http://www.brownielocks.com/sixtieswarsongs.html">examples</a> from the 60's. Something <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A-op0vyUhkE">sweet</a> from <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob_Dylan">Bob Dylan</a>. Speaking of Zimmermans, here's <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xlUyNmUABbc">Roy's</a> take on Iraq. Roy is new to me, but <a href="http://royzimmerman.com/">apparently</a> he protests in song about a lot of stuff.
Famous First Words
<a href="http://www.spinner.com/2007/08/06/best-opening-lyrics-no-25/">The 25 Best Pop Song Opening Lyrics, like EVER</a> - a spinner.com 'hit list', complete with wry commentary and abruptly cut-off audio clips. Bonus: <a href="http://www.spinner.com/2007/08/24/readers-best-opening-lyrics-no-25/">25 more</a>, suggested by people who don't work for the webside. If you are as annoyed by the one-item-per-page format as I am (and if you don't have AdBlock, the video ads are extra annoying), here they all are sorted by artist name: 50 Cent <a href="http://www.spinner.com/2007/08/06/best-opening-lyrics-no-22/">#22</a>, Fiona Apple <a href="http://www.spinner.com/2007/08/06/best-opening-lyrics-no-24/">#24</a>, The Beatles <a href="http://www.spinner.com/2007/08/06/best-opening-lyrics-no-4/">#4</a> <a href="http://www.spinner.com/2007/08/24/readers-best-opening-lyrics-no-11/">R11</a>, Beck <a href="http://www.spinner.com/2007/08/06/best-opening-lyrics-no-7/">#7</a>, Bon Jovi <a href="http://www.spinner.com/2007/08/06/best-opening-lyrics-no-10/">#10</a>, Johnny Cash <a href="http://www.spinner.com/2007/08/24/readers-best-opening-lyrics-no-13/">R13</a>, The Carpenters <a href="http://www.spinner.com/2007/08/06/best-opening-lyrics-no-6/">#6</a>, Elvis Costello <a href="http://www.spinner.com/2007/08/06/best-opening-lyrics-no-11/">#11</a>, The Doors <a href="http://www.spinner.com/2007/08/24/readers-best-opening-lyrics-no-8/">R8</a>, The Eagles <a href="http://www.spinner.com/2007/08/24/readers-best-opening-lyrics-no-14/">R14</a>, Erik B and Rakim <a href="http://www.spinner.com/2007/08/24/readers-best-opening-lyrics-no-12/">R12</a>, Merle Haggard <a href="http://www.spinner.com/2007/08/06/best-opening-lyrics-no-18/">#18</a>, Jimi Hendrix <a href="http://www.spinner.com/2007/08/06/best-opening-lyrics-no-14/">#14</a>, Human League <a href="http://www.spinner.com/2007/08/06/best-opening-lyrics-no-25/">#25</a>, Michael Jackson <a href="http://www.spinner.com/2007/08/06/best-opening-lyrics-no-15/">#15</a>, Joe Jackson <a href="http://www.spinner.com/2007/08/24/readers-best-opening-lyrics-no-5/">R5</a>, Rick James <a href="http://www.spinner.com/2007/08/06/best-opening-lyrics-no-1/">#1</a>, Jefferson Airplane <a href="http://www.spinner.com/2007/08/24/readers-best-opening-lyrics-no-18/">R18</a>, Led Zeppelin <a href="http://www.spinner.com/2007/08/24/readers-best-opening-lyrics-no-10/">R10</a>, Jerry Lee Lewis <a href="http://www.spinner.com/2007/08/24/readers-best-opening-lyrics-no-24/">R24</a>, LL Cool J <a href="http://www.spinner.com/2007/08/06/best-opening-lyrics-no-5/">#5</a>, Lynyrd Skynyrd <a href="http://www.spinner.com/2007/08/24/readers-best-opening-lyrics-no-6/">R6</a>, Madonna <a href="http://www.spinner.com/2007/08/24/readers-best-opening-lyrics-no-21/">R21</a>, George Michael <a href="http://www.spinner.com/2007/08/06/best-opening-lyrics-no-19/">#19</a>, Nirvana <a href="http://www.spinner.com/2007/08/24/readers-best-opening-lyrics-no-19/">R19</a>, Roy Orbison <a href="http://www.spinner.com/2007/08/06/best-opening-lyrics-no-12/">#12</a>, Ozzy Osbourne <a href="http://www.spinner.com/2007/08/24/readers-best-opening-lyrics-no-23/">R23</a>, Pavement <a href="http://www.spinner.com/2007/08/06/best-opening-lyrics-no-16/">#16</a>, Carl Perkins <a href="http://www.spinner.com/2007/08/06/best-opening-lyrics-no-8/">#8</a>, Tom Petty <a href="http://www.spinner.com/2007/08/24/readers-best-opening-lyrics-no-20/">R20</a>, Prince <a href="http://www.spinner.com/2007/08/06/best-opening-lyrics-no-17/">#17</a> <a href="http://www.spinner.com/2007/08/24/readers-best-opening-lyrics-no-25/">R25</a>, The Ramones <a href="http://www.spinner.com/2007/08/06/best-opening-lyrics-no-3/">#3</a>, Otis Redding <a href="http://www.spinner.com/2007/08/24/readers-best-opening-lyrics-no-15/">R15</a>, The Righteous Brothers <a href="http://www.spinner.com/2007/08/06/best-opening-lyrics-no-23/">#23</a>, The Rolling Stones <a href="http://www.spinner.com/2007/08/06/best-opening-lyrics-no-2/">#2</a> <a href="http://www.spinner.com/2007/08/24/readers-best-opening-lyrics-no-1/">R1</a>, Bob Seger <a href="http://www.spinner.com/2007/08/24/readers-best-opening-lyrics-no-17/">R17</a>, The Sex Pistols <a href="http://www.spinner.com/2007/08/06/best-opening-lyrics-no-20/">#20</a>, Simon &amp; Garfunkel <a href="http://www.spinner.com/2007/08/06/best-opening-lyrics-no-21/">#21</a>, Paul Simon <a href="http://www.spinner.com/2007/08/24/readers-best-opening-lyrics-no-22/">R22</a>, Sir Mix-A-Lot (!?!) <a href="http://www.spinner.com/2007/08/24/readers-best-opening-lyrics-no-2/">R2</a>, The Smiths <a href="http://www.spinner.com/2007/08/24/readers-best-opening-lyrics-no-16/">R16</a>, Patti Smith <a href="http://www.spinner.com/2007/08/06/best-opening-lyrics-no-9/">#9</a>, Bruce Springsteen <a href="http://www.spinner.com/2007/08/24/readers-best-opening-lyrics-no-4/">R4</a>, Rod Stewart <a href="http://www.spinner.com/2007/08/24/readers-best-opening-lyrics-no-7/">R7</a>, Three Dog Night (?)<a href="http://www.spinner.com/2007/08/24/readers-best-opening-lyrics-no-3/">R3</a>,Weezer <a href="http://www.spinner.com/2007/08/06/best-opening-lyrics-no-13/">#13</a>, Warren Zevon <a href="http://www.spinner.com/2007/08/24/readers-best-opening-lyrics-no-9/">R9</a>.
Carlos Gardel and the Tango
<a href="http://www.gardelweb.com/index-english.htm">Carlos Gardel was a singer</a> who became a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Carlos_Gardel_Abasto_Buenos_Aires.jpg">national icon of Argentina</a>. <a href="http://www.gardelweb.com/Gardel_music.htm">He sang<a href="http://www.totango.net/ttindex.html"> the tango </a>among other styles, but would now be most famous for <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dBHhSVJ_S6A">this</a>, which was originally <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AGrDh5OLS-M">this</a>. (<a href="http://www.planet-tango.com/lyrics/porunaca.htm">Lyrics here</a>.) For those of you who think this is all too romantic, listen to <a href="http://www.todotango.com/spanish/biblioteca/letras/letra.asp?idletra=154">another side of tango</a>...(<a href="http://www.planet-tango.com/lyrics/cambalac.htm">Translation here</a>.)</a>
Bomb the Bass
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ncHsp1Sn5-M">Bug Powder Dust</a> <br><a href="http://www.sauna.org/kiulu/powder.html">Lyrics</a>, by <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bomb_The_Bass">Bomb the Bass</a>
Great Russian Voices
<a href="http://russia-in-us.com/Music/GRV/">Giants of Soviet opera are little known in the West.</a> But Victor Han has taken it upon himself to keep their memory alive....my personal favorite is <a href="http://russia-in-us.com/Music/GRV/Reizen/index.htm">Mark</a> <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=afLLdU8Odfs">Reizen</a>, a deeply nuanced bass, who was powerful enough to carry on <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1MzO56PmjQ4">singing into his ninth decade</a>. If you'd care to follow along with some of the songs, you can use Emily Ezust's <a href="http://www.recmusic.org/lieder/">massive archive of lyrics</a>, to which Victor contributes. Or, try listening in <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V-ch6dmen2k">English</a> first. Too much music? <a href="http://www.vor.ru/English/Music_Portraits/Music_Portraite_06.html">Here's some reading</a>.
Haaaaah ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha! The Laughing Policeman!
<a href="http://www.laughingpoliceman.com/sing_along.htm">When I was a kid, my dad, who grew up in London, during the Blitz, used to play this old record: a song called "The Laughing Policeman."</a> It always put a smile on my face. According to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Laughing_Policeman_%28song%29">Wikipedia</a>, it was written in 1922 by Charles Jolly, who wrote "numerous other laughing songs (The Laughing Major, Curate, Steeplechaser, Typist, Lover, etc)." If you want to hear the happiest policeman ever, <a href="http://www.radiocraft.co.uk/laughiiceman.mp3">here's the mp3</a>. The song has inspired <a href="http://www.cartoonstock.com/directory/l/laughing_policeman.asp">cartoonists</a>, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0752847724/metafilter-20/ref=nosim/">mystery novelists</a> (great series, by the way!), <a href="http://imdb.com/title/tt0070292/">filmmakers</a>, a <a href="http://www.brillianttv.co.uk/timmymallett/recordings-laughingpoliceman.html">more-recent recording</a> (<a href="http://www.brillianttv.co.uk/timmymallett/sound/mallett2.mp3">mp3</a>), and, inevitably, some <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MH1Atggwzfc">scary</a> <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7HAD1fcPDOM&mode=related&search=">people</a> <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tpvYV32eQIQ&mode=related&search=">on</a> <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VYEIcPPEydk&mode=related&search=">youtube</a>. Speaking of youtube, <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iZPkrkT6BVQ">this</a> is how I remember the song.
Paroles, Paroles, Paroles...
<a href="http://lyricwiki.org/Main_Page">LyricsWiki</a> is the place to find reliable lyrics without invasive ads. <a href="http://www.songmeanings.net/">SongMeanings</a> when you've been wondering what those lyrics mean. <a href="http://www.kissthisguy.com/">The Archive of Misheard Lyrics</a> because sometimes your version is much better than the original.
Songophobia
<a href="http://blogs.guardian.co.uk/observer/archives/2006/09/29/jarvis_cocker_w.html">What inoffensive songs do people find scary?</a> A list asked for by a curious <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jarvis_Cocker">Jarvis Cocker</a>, former frontman of the band Pulp. <br>My favorite entry:<br>"Laughing Gnome - Bowie. Scared the crap out of me as a kid. I remember getting my parents to check under the bed. My father, a bit of an evil electronics bastard put a speaker under my bed one night and played the song just as I was drifting off. He then ran in when I started screaming and pulled out a doll from under the bead and chopped its head off with a machete. God I need therapy."
Bob Dylan Annnotated and Tablaturated
Artur J's <a href="http://republika.pl/bobdylan/lat/" title="'Immature poets imitate; mature poets steal; bad poets deface what they take, and good poets make it into something better, or at least something different. The good poet welds his theft into a whole of feeling which is unique, utterly different from that from which it was torn; the bad poet throws it into something which has no cohesion.' - The Sacred Wood: Essays on Poetry and Criticism T.S. Eliot">Annotated Lyrics of Bob Dylans Love and Theft</a> has expanded and now features Annotated lyrics for <a href="http://www.bobdylan.republika.pl/streetl/index.html" title="Street Legal comes the closest to where my music is going, you know. It has to do with an illusion of time, I mean, what the songs are necessarily about is the illusions of time.- Bob Dylan 1978">Street Legal</a>, <a href="http://www.bobdylan.republika.pl/kol/" title="'I’m thinking about calling this album Knocked Out Loaded. Is that any good, you think, Knocked Out Loaded?' - Bob Dylan 1986 (to Mikal Gilmore">Knocked Out Loaded</a>, <a href="http://www.bobdylan.republika.pl/ohmercy/index.html" title="'Most of [Oh Mercy songs] are stream-of-consciousness songs; the kind that come to you in the middle of the night, when you just want to go back to bed.'- Bob Dylan, 1989">Oh, Mercy</a> and <a href="http://www.bobdylan.republika.pl/mt/index.html" title="'I'd make this record no matter what was going on in the world. I wrote these songs in not a meditative state at all, but more like in a trancelike, hypnotic state. This is how I feel? Why do I feel like that? And who's the me that feels this way? I couldn't tell you that, either. But I know that those songs are just in my genes and I couldn't stop them comin' out.' - Bob Dylan 2006">Modern Times</a>. And he is already on top of Dylan's quotes of <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/14/arts/music/14dyla.html?_r=1&ref=music&oref=slogin" title="But maybe you've heard his words, if you're one of the 320,000 people so far who have bought Bob Dylan's latest album, 'Modern Times,' which made its debut last week at No. 1 on the Billboard album chart. It seems that many of the lyrics on that album, Mr. Dylan's first No. 1 album in 30 years (down to No. 3 this week), bear some strong echoes to the poems of Timrod, a Charleston native who wrote poems about the Civil War and died in 1867 at the age of 39. ">Henry Timrod</a> on the new album. On a related tip, someone waved a lawyer at Eyolf &#0216;strem, so he removed all his tabs from his Dylan tablature site, <a href="http://www.dylanchords.com/" title="My Back Pages Bob Dylan - Chords and lyrics - For chords, go to one of the mirrors. The rest you may still find here">My Back Pages</a>. But, fortunately there are some mirrors and the blog of <a href="http://dylanchords.info/" title="Aug 26: Didn’t I say it? And it was so. I was going to wait until the official release date, but since a) I am going away for a week, and b) most people seem to have it already, I figured: why wait any longer? Modern Times it is.">this one</a> has a tab page for Modern Times already.
It's like 10 000 spoons when all you need is a knife
<a href="http://www.thephoenix.com/article_ektid14634.aspx">32 worst lyrics of all time</a>
Gracenote.com announces legal lyrics downloads
<a href="http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2006/07/14/BUG1MJUJOT29.DTL">An end to</a> <a href="http://www.kissthisguy.com/">mondegreens?</a> It looks like <a href="http://www.gracenote.com/">Gracenote</a>, the company behind the <a href="http://www.mp3-converter.com/faq/cddb.htm">CDDB</a> (CD database), is looking to enhance your music-listening experience by providing an expansive and "legitimate" lyrics database <a href="http://www.betanews.com/article/Gracenote_Inks_Deal_to_Offer_Lyrics/1152903017">in association with major on-line digital music providers</a>. Will this be the end of the road for <a href="http://www.mredkj.com/other/lyrics-illegal2.html">existing lyrics sites</a>? <small>[more inside]</small>
i was standing by the window
Made most popular to many Americans as the closing song for the Grand Ole Opry programs, Will The Circle Be Unbroken was written in 1907 by Ada Habershon, an intensely religious young woman and acquaintance of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dwight_Moody">Dwight Moody</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ira_David_Sankey">Ira David Sankey</a>. The music was "composed" by <a href="http://desmoinesregister.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/99999999/FAMOUSIOWANS/501300335">Charles Gabriel</a>, a popular songwriter and composer of the era who is often solely credited with the song, but while he may have put the notes down on paper, the tune itself already existed as the African-American spiritual Glory Glory / Since I Laid My Burden Down. [lots more inside]
Music CopyRight Cops Strike Again
<a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/4508158.stm">Now they're after the lyrics.</a> The MPA isn't stopping at the MP3 files.
Singhing the blues
<a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/g2/story/0,,1581445,00.html">When science meets art.</a> Science writer <a href="http://www.simonsingh.com/">Simon Singh</a> was annoyed with the lyrics to British singer <a href="http://www.katiemelua.com/">Katie Melua</a>'s latest single. He rewrote them to be scientifically accurate, and she sings <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/today/listenagain/ram/today1_melua_20051015.ram">the unfortunate result</a> (RealAudio file).
the saddest song I've ever heard
<a href="http://www.musicanet.org/robokopp/usa/asiwoits.htm"><i>The Streets of Laredo: The Cowboy's Lament</i></a> was originally written as the Irish drover balled <i>Bard of Armaugh</i> (or <i><a href="http://www.ierland.com/lyrics/bard_of_armagh.txt">Armagh</a></i>), which later mutated into <i>A Handful of Laurel</i>, about a young man dying of syphilis in a London hospital, musing back on his days in the alehouses and whorehouses. Immigrants settling in the Appalachians brought their own version, <i><a href="http://www.mudcat.org/@displaysong.cfm?SongID=7101">The Unfortunate Rake</a></i>, sung as early as 1790, about a young soldier dying of mercury poisoning, a result of treatment for venereal disease, who requests a military funeral - a slight but important evolution from the previous version. The current lyrics are most popularly attributed to cowboy <a href="http://www.cowboypoetry.com/fhmaynard.htm">Frances Henry "Frank" Maynard</a>, who copyrighted them in 1879. While various <a href="http://www.mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=46310">versions</a> of the song were popular in the US before Maynard took pen to paper and needle to wax cylinder (under such titles as <i><a href="http://www.mudcat.org/@displaysong.cfm?SongID=3672">Locke Hospital</a></i>, <i><a href="http://www.mudcat.org/@displaysong.cfm?SongID=5525">St. James Infirmary Blues</a></i>, <i>Tom Sherman's Bar</i> and <i>Way Down in Lodorra</i>), his version is the one with which we are most familiar today.</br> </br> <i>beat the drum slowly, play the fife lowly / sound the death march as you carry me along / cover my body in sweet-smelling posies / for I'm the young</i> (rake, soldier, man, girl, lass, etc) <i>cut down in</i> (his/her) <i>prime</i> (or <i>and I know I've done wrong</i>)</br> </br> The song has been recorded by pretty much every country, western and folk-identified musical artist since recording music became practical, although the most popular versions must be those by <a href="http://www.arlo.net/bio.shtml">Arlo Guthrie</a> (who once said it was "the saddest song I know," and who sings it on his album <i>Son of the Wind</i>) and <a href="http://www.johnnycash.com/Cashcareer.htm">Johnny Cash</a> (who added <a href="http://www.lyricsdepot.com/johnny-cash/streets-of-laredo.html">a few verses</a> to his 1965 version, improving the song a bit and making it more emotionally complex). <a href="http://www.ibiblio.org/jimmy/folkden/php/search/individ.php?mid=103">Roger McGuinn's</a> creative commons-licensed version is one of my personal favorites, as is Bobby Sutliff's <a href="http://www.houseofideas.com/bobby_sutliff/sound.htm">version</a>.
People have a problem with me, cause I ain't lazy...
<a href="http://www.pegcity.com/images/bastidpipismitty.mov">"I Ain't Lazy"</a> (lyrics NSFW) featuring <a href="http://www.skratchbastid.com/">Skratch Bastid</a>, <a href="http://www.peanutsandcorn.com/artists/johnsmith.html">John Smith</a> &amp; <a href="http://www.peanutsandcorn.com/artists/pipskid.html">Pip Skid</a>. A day-in-the-life indie hip-hop video directed by Jason Lapeyre featuring another top notch crew of <a href="http://www.metafilter.com/mefi/40944">PCRs</a>.

Below, you'll find extensive information on leading Tupac Shakur articles and products to help you on your way to success.

Tupac Shakur: Biography
By Luke Kirk
Tupac was born to Afeni Shakur, June 16th 1971. His birth name, Lesane Parish Crooks, was changed shortly after his birth to Tupac Amaru Shakur. Tupac Amaru meaning ‘Shining Serpent’, and Shakur meaning ‘Thankful to God’ in Arabic. Two years after his birth, Afeni Shakur gave birth to Tupac’s half sister Sekyiwa. However, shortly before, the father of Sekyiwa - a Black Panther - was sentenced to 60 years for a fatal armoured car robbery. It was at this point Tupac’s ‘Thug Life’ really began. His mother was addicted to crack, and they were moving all the time. Tupac never got the chance to ‘fit it’. A line from Dear Mama reads, “I shed tears with my baby sister, over the years we was poorer than the other little kids.”

Growing up around such poverty without a man to guide him, Tupac had to learn to walk on his own. His childhood the was reason he became who he was. Having to deal with all his struggles by himself, seeing the things he did he had no one to sympathize - which is probably the reason he was so sensitive. Tupac existed in Solitude even as a child, until he discovered his love for acting, writing and poetry.

“When I was young, I was quiet, withdrawn. I read a lot. I wrote poetry. I kept a diary. I watched TV all the time. I stayed in front of the television. And I could see all these people out there in this pretend world. And I knew I could be part of it if I pretended too. The way Arnold looked on Diff’rent Strokes, I used to like the lifestyle, the way he used to live. So early on, I just watched and emulated. I thought if I can be an actor and act like those characters, I could have some of their joy.”

Tupac stated the above in the DVD: Tupac Resurrection. At the age of 12, he discovered rather than keeping all his thoughts and emotions to himself, he could share them through poetry, or perhaps emulate other character’s emotions through acting. Tupac’s first acting job was at the Apollo Theatre, as Travis from Raisin in the Sun. He claimed the feeling that rushed to him as the curtains were lifted was better than anything. I was like, “Whoa, this is it.”

Tupac attended The Baltimore School for the Performing Arts where he studied Acting and Ballet after his family moved to Baltimore, Maryland, as a result of his mother losing her job in new York. At the time, Baltimore had the highest rate for black killings in the country. This was when Tupac was really exposed to poverty. “I was living in the ghetto. We didn’t have lights and electricity.” At the age of 15 he discovered his love for rap music, and writing lyrics. As MC New York, he wrote his first rap.

His family moved to California to escape the violence, but was exposed to more poverty. At this point Tupac began hanging with the wrong crowd. He didn’t have enough credits to graduate, so he dropped out. He needed a way to make money, so he tried selling drugs. But instead, the drug dealers used to give him money and tell him, “Don’t get involved with this. Get out there, do your dream.”

“So they was like my sponsors. My dream was to make a living rapping. Just to make music that was coming from my heart. When I first started rapping, I needed the money, and I had to work.”

At the age of 20, Tupac joined the Rap group Digital Underground where he began his career as a dancer. Later on, Leila introduced him to Atron who was managing Digital Underground: “I’ll send you to Digital Underground. They’re in the studio. Rap for Shock G

You Can't Catch Me
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nSfx1nZTAuM">You Can't Catch Me</a>, Music and Lyrics by Chuck Berry. <a href="http://www.last.fm/music/The+Rolling+Stones/_/You+Can%27t+Catch+Me">The Stones covered it.</a> John Lennon was<a href="http://www.abbeyrd.net/lenlevy.htm"> sued (twice!)</a> for <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rXdo1jGfzsM">covering it</a> and <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0e7AQQTONvg">appropriating the lyrics</a>. If Iggy Pop and the Stooges were never sued for doing the same thing as "Come Together" in <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I7dKnF0coxQ">1970</a>, perhaps it's because nobody could understand what exactly he was saying, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radio_Birdman#Origins">not even the bands that took their names from the adapted lyrics</a>. Perhaps JJ Cale was thinking of the chorus when he wrote <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NVUBsEMgW5o&feature=related">Call Me The Breeze</a> in 1971. Finally, though Jonothan Richman's "Roadrunner" clearly took inspiration from the <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G4qp3T476co&feature=related">Velvet Underground's Sister Ray </a>and Bo Diddley's "<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VUKUt8CtSOI">Road Runner</a>"(<a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2007/jul/20/popandrock5">among other things</a>), but, <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NTT-wj69ObE">as a Berry fan</a>, you can hear Richman echoing the lyrics in the Spirit of 1956 going Faster Miles an Hour, with the radio on, tuned to Rock And Roll. More covers: <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m3_x2I8FQ8Q">Steven Stills</a>. <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Anthology-Blues-Project/dp/samples/B000001EIV/ref=dp_tracks_all_2#disc_2">Blues Project</a>. Lyrics: <strong>Can't Catch Me</strong> I bought a brand new airmobile It was custom made It was a Flight DeVille With an outboard motor And some hideaway wings Push in on the button and you can hear her sing Now you can't catch me No, baby, you can't catch me 'Cause if you get too close You know I'm gone like a cool breeze New Jersey Turnpike in the wee wee hours I was rolling slowly 'cause of drizzlin' showers Up come a flattop he was movin' up with me Then come sailin' goodbye In a little old suped up mini I put my foot in my tank and I begin to roll Moanin' sirens, was the state patrol So I get out my wings and then I blew my horn Bye-bye New Jersey I become airborne Now you can't catch me No, baby you can't catch me 'Cause if you get too close You know I'm gone like a cool breeze Flyin' with my baby last Saturday night Wasn't no gray cloud floatin' in sight Big full moon shinin' up above Cuddle up honey be my love Sweetest little thing that I ever seen I'm gonna name you Mabelline Flyin' with all the things set on flight control Radio tuned to rock 'n' roll Two, three hours passin' by Altitude dropped to 505 Fuel consumption way too fast Let's get on home before we run out of gas Now you can't catch me No baby, you can't catch me 'Cause if you get too close You know I'm gone like a cool breeze <strong>Come together</strong> Here come old flattop. He come grooving up slowly He got ju-ju eyeballs. He's one holy roller He got hair down to his knee Got to be a joker he just do what he please Shoot me! Shoot me! Shoot me! He wear no shoeshine he's got toe-jam football He got monkey finger he shoot Coca-Cola He say "I know you, you know me" One thing I can tell you is you got to be free Come together right now over me. Shoot me! Shoot me! Shoot me! He buy production he got walrus scumble He's got Ono sideboard he's got spinal cracker He's got feet down below his knee Hold you in his arms till you can feel his disease Come together right now over me. He's roller-coaster he's got early warning He's got muddy water he's got mojo filter He say "One and one and one is three" Got to be good looking 'cause he's so hard to see Come together right now over me. <strong>1970</strong> Out of my mind on Saturday night 1970 rollin' in sight Radio burnin' up above Beautiful baby, feed my love All night till I blow away All night till I blow away I feel alright, I feel alright Baby oh baby, burn my heart Baby oh baby, burn my heart Fall apart baby, fall apart Baby oh baby, burn my heart All night till I blow away All night till I blow away I feel alright I feel alright <strong>Roadrunner</strong> Roadrunner, roadrunner Going faster miles an hour Gonna drive past the Stop 'n' Shop With the radio on I'm in love with Massachusetts And the neon when it's cold outside And the highway when it's late at night Got the radio on I'm like the roadrunner Alright I'm in love with modern moonlight 128 when it's dark outside I'm in love with Massachusetts I'm in love with the radio on It helps me from being alone late at night It helps me from being lonely late at night I don't feel so bad now in the car Don't feel so alone, got the radio on Like the roadrunner That's right Said welcome to the spirit of 1956 Patient in the bushes next to '57 The highway is your girlfriend as you go by quick Suburban trees, suburban speed And it smells like heaven(thunder) And I say roadrunner once Roadrunner twice I'm in love with rock &amp; roll and I'll be out all night Roadrunner That's right Well now Roadrunner, roadrunner Going faster miles an hour Gonna drive to the Stop 'n' Shop With the radio on at night And me in love with modern moonlight Me in love with modern rock &amp; roll Modern girls and modern rock &amp; roll Don't feel so alone, got the radio on Like the roadrunner
Rhymes with ta-ra-ra-boom-de-ay.
<a href="http://www.playgroundjungle.com/">Playground Jungle:</a> <i>The "folk process" in the subversive songs, rhymes, stories and jokes you told when the teacher wasn't around.</i> Visit the whole (growing) collection via the <a href="http://www.playgroundjungle.com/2009/12/index-of-first-lines.html">index of first lines</a>.
Hurricane Chris
Shreveport rapper <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hurricane_Chris_(rapper)">Hurricane Chris</a> <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l0PCQYalZU8">performs</a> for the Louisiana State Legislature.
But what would Frank Lloyd Wright say?
<i>"[Jax de Leon's] last project as a student was a graphic representation of every note, word, instrument and voice from <a href="http://www.jaxdeleon.com/illinois/introduction/">Come on, Feel the Illinoise! by Sufjan Stevens.</a>"</i> Read an <a href="http://perfectlaughter.com/index.php/sufjan-illinois-jax-de-leon/">interview with him here.</a>
Filed under: he said what now?
<a href="http://www.snacksandshit.com/">Snacks and Shit</a> - The <a href="http://www.noroomservicejustsnacksandshit.com/2009/02/1_05.html">premise</a> is simple: A single hip-hop <a href="http://www.snacksandshit.com/2009/02/71.html">l</a><a href="http://www.snacksandshit.com/2009/02/75.html">y</a><a href="http://www.snacksandshit.com/2009/02/32.html">r</a><a href="http://www.snacksandshit.com/2009/02/25.html">i</a><a href="http://www.snacksandshit.com/2009/02/58.html">c</a>, taken out of context, with bonus commentary.
Enter Sandkitty
<a href="http://img179.imageshack.us/img179/6798/af20907621cbf76cee7547eco9.jpg">Herein</a> lies a link to a JPG of LOLcats representing the famous Metallica lyrics. (<a href="http://status.metafilter.com/">Again</a> 'cause I can't help myself.) You have to zoom in when the page loads.
National Anthems of the World
Have you ever wondered what the national anthem of Bolivia, Nepal or The Republic of Seychelles sounded like? Well wonder no more because <a href="http://www.nationalanthems.info/">NationalAnthems.info</a> has got you covered! It claims to have the national anthem for every country in the world in MIDI format, along with downloadable lyrics and sheet music so you can sing and play along. But if the MIDI format isn't doing it for you, there's also other sites that you can visit that have downloadable MP3s of pretty much every national anthem this planet and its inhabitants have to offer, <a href="http://www.national-anthems.net/">such as this one</a> or <a href="http://www.navyband.navy.mil/anthems/national_anthems.htm">this one</a>, which is notable in that the anthems featured there were performed by the US Navy Band. And finally, for your further reading and listening pleasure, <a href="http://www.nationalanthems.us/">check out this forum</a> which contains background information on and even more links to downloadable national anthems.
Prewar Blues Lyrics &amp; Dylan Lyrics Concordances 'N Stuff
The things I like best about Michael Taft's <a href="http://www.dylan61.se/michael%20taft,%20blues%20anthology.txt.WebConcordance/framconc.htm" title="">Prewar Blues Lyrics Concordance</a>, a subsection of T. G. Lindh's <a href="http://www.dylan61.se/concordance_meny.html" title="&#0169; Copyright TG Lindh , all rights reserved ">Web Concordances of Pre-War Blue Lyrics and Bob Dylan Lyrics</a>, are the listings of the lyrics by singer: <a href="http://www.dylan61.se/MTBluesA_C/Michael%20Taft,%20Blues%20Anthology%20with%20Index%20by%20Artist%20A-C.htm" title="Pre-war Blues Lyric Poetry: an Anthology - A - C">A - C</a>, <a href="http://www.dylan61.se/MTBluesD_H/Michael%20Taft,%20Blues%20Anthology%20with%20Index%20by%20Artist%20D-H.htm" title="Pre-war Blues Lyric Poetry: an Anthology - D - H">D - H</a>, <a href="http://www.dylan61.se/MTBluesJ_L/Michael%20Taft,%20Blues%20Anthology%20with%20Index%20by%20Artist%20J-L.htm" title="Pre-war Blues Lyric Poetry: an Anthology - J - L">J - L</a>, <a href="http://www.dylan61.se/MTBluesM_R/Michael%20Taft,%20Blues%20Anthology%20with%20Index%20by%20Artist%20M-R.htm" title="Pre-war Blues Lyric Poetry: an Anthology - M - R">M - R</a> and <a href="http://www.dylan61.se/MTBluesS_Y/Michael%20Taft,%20Blues%20Anthology%20with%20index%20by%20Artist%20S-Y.htm" title="Pre-war Blues Lyric Poetry: an Anthology - S - Y">S - Y</a>. And the nice thing about the blues lyrics is you don't need to ask for a log in and password. It 's all right there. Explore and enjoy. <a href="http://www.dundee.ac.uk/english/wics/cncintro.htm" title="''Its simplest use is as an index, to locate quickly any passage in a text. All you need to know is one word from the passage: look up that word in a concordance to the text and you will find the passage.''"><em>What is a Concordance ?</em></a> you may ask. Well, woot, there it is: <em>A concordance is a comprehensive index of the words used in a text or a body of texts. </em>. See also <a href="http://www.dundee.ac.uk/english/wics/wics.htm" title="This site is devoted to the study of literature using literary computer concordances, a form of analysing text. This document will attempt to help students understand what is meant by literary concordancing and will ask questions about featured Romantic writers which may be answered by using the English department concordance site.">The Web Concordances and Workbooks</a>. Not to mention the less scholary, more incomplete and occasionally rather dubious <a href="http://www.federalcigarjugband.com/Pages/glossary.html" title="What follows is an excerpt from the dictionary portion of The Jug Band Dictionary and Companion&#0169;. The Jug Band Dictionary and Companion&#0169; is a work in progress by Federal Cigar Jug Band bass player/juggist, Bill Boslaugh -- the completed work is expected sometime in the (not too?) distant future. ">Jug Band Dictionary</a>, as the etymologies of some words therein are sometimes more folk than the author realizes...
Lyrical visuals
<a href="http://www.vimeo.com/658158">Solar, with lyrics.</a> A very pretty, surprisingly wordy video. <a href="http://www.warrenellis.com/?p=5558">(via)</a>
Protest Songs
So are you ready to march on Washington to protest in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protest_song">song</a>? Here are some <a href="http://www.ocap.ca/lyrics.html">lyrics</a>. Some <a href="http://www.brownielocks.com/sixtieswarsongs.html">examples</a> from the 60's. Something <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A-op0vyUhkE">sweet</a> from <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob_Dylan">Bob Dylan</a>. Speaking of Zimmermans, here's <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xlUyNmUABbc">Roy's</a> take on Iraq. Roy is new to me, but <a href="http://royzimmerman.com/">apparently</a> he protests in song about a lot of stuff.
Famous First Words
<a href="http://www.spinner.com/2007/08/06/best-opening-lyrics-no-25/">The 25 Best Pop Song Opening Lyrics, like EVER</a> - a spinner.com 'hit list', complete with wry commentary and abruptly cut-off audio clips. Bonus: <a href="http://www.spinner.com/2007/08/24/readers-best-opening-lyrics-no-25/">25 more</a>, suggested by people who don't work for the webside. If you are as annoyed by the one-item-per-page format as I am (and if you don't have AdBlock, the video ads are extra annoying), here they all are sorted by artist name: 50 Cent <a href="http://www.spinner.com/2007/08/06/best-opening-lyrics-no-22/">#22</a>, Fiona Apple <a href="http://www.spinner.com/2007/08/06/best-opening-lyrics-no-24/">#24</a>, The Beatles <a href="http://www.spinner.com/2007/08/06/best-opening-lyrics-no-4/">#4</a> <a href="http://www.spinner.com/2007/08/24/readers-best-opening-lyrics-no-11/">R11</a>, Beck <a href="http://www.spinner.com/2007/08/06/best-opening-lyrics-no-7/">#7</a>, Bon Jovi <a href="http://www.spinner.com/2007/08/06/best-opening-lyrics-no-10/">#10</a>, Johnny Cash <a href="http://www.spinner.com/2007/08/24/readers-best-opening-lyrics-no-13/">R13</a>, The Carpenters <a href="http://www.spinner.com/2007/08/06/best-opening-lyrics-no-6/">#6</a>, Elvis Costello <a href="http://www.spinner.com/2007/08/06/best-opening-lyrics-no-11/">#11</a>, The Doors <a href="http://www.spinner.com/2007/08/24/readers-best-opening-lyrics-no-8/">R8</a>, The Eagles <a href="http://www.spinner.com/2007/08/24/readers-best-opening-lyrics-no-14/">R14</a>, Erik B and Rakim <a href="http://www.spinner.com/2007/08/24/readers-best-opening-lyrics-no-12/">R12</a>, Merle Haggard <a href="http://www.spinner.com/2007/08/06/best-opening-lyrics-no-18/">#18</a>, Jimi Hendrix <a href="http://www.spinner.com/2007/08/06/best-opening-lyrics-no-14/">#14</a>, Human League <a href="http://www.spinner.com/2007/08/06/best-opening-lyrics-no-25/">#25</a>, Michael Jackson <a href="http://www.spinner.com/2007/08/06/best-opening-lyrics-no-15/">#15</a>, Joe Jackson <a href="http://www.spinner.com/2007/08/24/readers-best-opening-lyrics-no-5/">R5</a>, Rick James <a href="http://www.spinner.com/2007/08/06/best-opening-lyrics-no-1/">#1</a>, Jefferson Airplane <a href="http://www.spinner.com/2007/08/24/readers-best-opening-lyrics-no-18/">R18</a>, Led Zeppelin <a href="http://www.spinner.com/2007/08/24/readers-best-opening-lyrics-no-10/">R10</a>, Jerry Lee Lewis <a href="http://www.spinner.com/2007/08/24/readers-best-opening-lyrics-no-24/">R24</a>, LL Cool J <a href="http://www.spinner.com/2007/08/06/best-opening-lyrics-no-5/">#5</a>, Lynyrd Skynyrd <a href="http://www.spinner.com/2007/08/24/readers-best-opening-lyrics-no-6/">R6</a>, Madonna <a href="http://www.spinner.com/2007/08/24/readers-best-opening-lyrics-no-21/">R21</a>, George Michael <a href="http://www.spinner.com/2007/08/06/best-opening-lyrics-no-19/">#19</a>, Nirvana <a href="http://www.spinner.com/2007/08/24/readers-best-opening-lyrics-no-19/">R19</a>, Roy Orbison <a href="http://www.spinner.com/2007/08/06/best-opening-lyrics-no-12/">#12</a>, Ozzy Osbourne <a href="http://www.spinner.com/2007/08/24/readers-best-opening-lyrics-no-23/">R23</a>, Pavement <a href="http://www.spinner.com/2007/08/06/best-opening-lyrics-no-16/">#16</a>, Carl Perkins <a href="http://www.spinner.com/2007/08/06/best-opening-lyrics-no-8/">#8</a>, Tom Petty <a href="http://www.spinner.com/2007/08/24/readers-best-opening-lyrics-no-20/">R20</a>, Prince <a href="http://www.spinner.com/2007/08/06/best-opening-lyrics-no-17/">#17</a> <a href="http://www.spinner.com/2007/08/24/readers-best-opening-lyrics-no-25/">R25</a>, The Ramones <a href="http://www.spinner.com/2007/08/06/best-opening-lyrics-no-3/">#3</a>, Otis Redding <a href="http://www.spinner.com/2007/08/24/readers-best-opening-lyrics-no-15/">R15</a>, The Righteous Brothers <a href="http://www.spinner.com/2007/08/06/best-opening-lyrics-no-23/">#23</a>, The Rolling Stones <a href="http://www.spinner.com/2007/08/06/best-opening-lyrics-no-2/">#2</a> <a href="http://www.spinner.com/2007/08/24/readers-best-opening-lyrics-no-1/">R1</a>, Bob Seger <a href="http://www.spinner.com/2007/08/24/readers-best-opening-lyrics-no-17/">R17</a>, The Sex Pistols <a href="http://www.spinner.com/2007/08/06/best-opening-lyrics-no-20/">#20</a>, Simon &amp; Garfunkel <a href="http://www.spinner.com/2007/08/06/best-opening-lyrics-no-21/">#21</a>, Paul Simon <a href="http://www.spinner.com/2007/08/24/readers-best-opening-lyrics-no-22/">R22</a>, Sir Mix-A-Lot (!?!) <a href="http://www.spinner.com/2007/08/24/readers-best-opening-lyrics-no-2/">R2</a>, The Smiths <a href="http://www.spinner.com/2007/08/24/readers-best-opening-lyrics-no-16/">R16</a>, Patti Smith <a href="http://www.spinner.com/2007/08/06/best-opening-lyrics-no-9/">#9</a>, Bruce Springsteen <a href="http://www.spinner.com/2007/08/24/readers-best-opening-lyrics-no-4/">R4</a>, Rod Stewart <a href="http://www.spinner.com/2007/08/24/readers-best-opening-lyrics-no-7/">R7</a>, Three Dog Night (?)<a href="http://www.spinner.com/2007/08/24/readers-best-opening-lyrics-no-3/">R3</a>,Weezer <a href="http://www.spinner.com/2007/08/06/best-opening-lyrics-no-13/">#13</a>, Warren Zevon <a href="http://www.spinner.com/2007/08/24/readers-best-opening-lyrics-no-9/">R9</a>.
Carlos Gardel and the Tango
<a href="http://www.gardelweb.com/index-english.htm">Carlos Gardel was a singer</a> who became a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Carlos_Gardel_Abasto_Buenos_Aires.jpg">national icon of Argentina</a>. <a href="http://www.gardelweb.com/Gardel_music.htm">He sang<a href="http://www.totango.net/ttindex.html"> the tango </a>among other styles, but would now be most famous for <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dBHhSVJ_S6A">this</a>, which was originally <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AGrDh5OLS-M">this</a>. (<a href="http://www.planet-tango.com/lyrics/porunaca.htm">Lyrics here</a>.) For those of you who think this is all too romantic, listen to <a href="http://www.todotango.com/spanish/biblioteca/letras/letra.asp?idletra=154">another side of tango</a>...(<a href="http://www.planet-tango.com/lyrics/cambalac.htm">Translation here</a>.)</a>
Bomb the Bass
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ncHsp1Sn5-M">Bug Powder Dust</a> <br><a href="http://www.sauna.org/kiulu/powder.html">Lyrics</a>, by <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bomb_The_Bass">Bomb the Bass</a>
Great Russian Voices
<a href="http://russia-in-us.com/Music/GRV/">Giants of Soviet opera are little known in the West.</a> But Victor Han has taken it upon himself to keep their memory alive....my personal favorite is <a href="http://russia-in-us.com/Music/GRV/Reizen/index.htm">Mark</a> <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=afLLdU8Odfs">Reizen</a>, a deeply nuanced bass, who was powerful enough to carry on <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1MzO56PmjQ4">singing into his ninth decade</a>. If you'd care to follow along with some of the songs, you can use Emily Ezust's <a href="http://www.recmusic.org/lieder/">massive archive of lyrics</a>, to which Victor contributes. Or, try listening in <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V-ch6dmen2k">English</a> first. Too much music? <a href="http://www.vor.ru/English/Music_Portraits/Music_Portraite_06.html">Here's some reading</a>.
Haaaaah ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha! The Laughing Policeman!
<a href="http://www.laughingpoliceman.com/sing_along.htm">When I was a kid, my dad, who grew up in London, during the Blitz, used to play this old record: a song called "The Laughing Policeman."</a> It always put a smile on my face. According to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Laughing_Policeman_%28song%29">Wikipedia</a>, it was written in 1922 by Charles Jolly, who wrote "numerous other laughing songs (The Laughing Major, Curate, Steeplechaser, Typist, Lover, etc)." If you want to hear the happiest policeman ever, <a href="http://www.radiocraft.co.uk/laughiiceman.mp3">here's the mp3</a>. The song has inspired <a href="http://www.cartoonstock.com/directory/l/laughing_policeman.asp">cartoonists</a>, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0752847724/metafilter-20/ref=nosim/">mystery novelists</a> (great series, by the way!), <a href="http://imdb.com/title/tt0070292/">filmmakers</a>, a <a href="http://www.brillianttv.co.uk/timmymallett/recordings-laughingpoliceman.html">more-recent recording</a> (<a href="http://www.brillianttv.co.uk/timmymallett/sound/mallett2.mp3">mp3</a>), and, inevitably, some <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MH1Atggwzfc">scary</a> <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7HAD1fcPDOM&mode=related&search=">people</a> <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tpvYV32eQIQ&mode=related&search=">on</a> <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VYEIcPPEydk&mode=related&search=">youtube</a>. Speaking of youtube, <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iZPkrkT6BVQ">this</a> is how I remember the song.
Paroles, Paroles, Paroles...
<a href="http://lyricwiki.org/Main_Page">LyricsWiki</a> is the place to find reliable lyrics without invasive ads. <a href="http://www.songmeanings.net/">SongMeanings</a> when you've been wondering what those lyrics mean. <a href="http://www.kissthisguy.com/">The Archive of Misheard Lyrics</a> because sometimes your version is much better than the original.
Songophobia
<a href="http://blogs.guardian.co.uk/observer/archives/2006/09/29/jarvis_cocker_w.html">What inoffensive songs do people find scary?</a> A list asked for by a curious <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jarvis_Cocker">Jarvis Cocker</a>, former frontman of the band Pulp. <br>My favorite entry:<br>"Laughing Gnome - Bowie. Scared the crap out of me as a kid. I remember getting my parents to check under the bed. My father, a bit of an evil electronics bastard put a speaker under my bed one night and played the song just as I was drifting off. He then ran in when I started screaming and pulled out a doll from under the bead and chopped its head off with a machete. God I need therapy."
Bob Dylan Annnotated and Tablaturated
Artur J's <a href="http://republika.pl/bobdylan/lat/" title="'Immature poets imitate; mature poets steal; bad poets deface what they take, and good poets make it into something better, or at least something different. The good poet welds his theft into a whole of feeling which is unique, utterly different from that from which it was torn; the bad poet throws it into something which has no cohesion.' - The Sacred Wood: Essays on Poetry and Criticism T.S. Eliot">Annotated Lyrics of Bob Dylans Love and Theft</a> has expanded and now features Annotated lyrics for <a href="http://www.bobdylan.republika.pl/streetl/index.html" title="Street Legal comes the closest to where my music is going, you know. It has to do with an illusion of time, I mean, what the songs are necessarily about is the illusions of time.- Bob Dylan 1978">Street Legal</a>, <a href="http://www.bobdylan.republika.pl/kol/" title="'I’m thinking about calling this album Knocked Out Loaded. Is that any good, you think, Knocked Out Loaded?' - Bob Dylan 1986 (to Mikal Gilmore">Knocked Out Loaded</a>, <a href="http://www.bobdylan.republika.pl/ohmercy/index.html" title="'Most of [Oh Mercy songs] are stream-of-consciousness songs; the kind that come to you in the middle of the night, when you just want to go back to bed.'- Bob Dylan, 1989">Oh, Mercy</a> and <a href="http://www.bobdylan.republika.pl/mt/index.html" title="'I'd make this record no matter what was going on in the world. I wrote these songs in not a meditative state at all, but more like in a trancelike, hypnotic state. This is how I feel? Why do I feel like that? And who's the me that feels this way? I couldn't tell you that, either. But I know that those songs are just in my genes and I couldn't stop them comin' out.' - Bob Dylan 2006">Modern Times</a>. And he is already on top of Dylan's quotes of <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/14/arts/music/14dyla.html?_r=1&ref=music&oref=slogin" title="But maybe you've heard his words, if you're one of the 320,000 people so far who have bought Bob Dylan's latest album, 'Modern Times,' which made its debut last week at No. 1 on the Billboard album chart. It seems that many of the lyrics on that album, Mr. Dylan's first No. 1 album in 30 years (down to No. 3 this week), bear some strong echoes to the poems of Timrod, a Charleston native who wrote poems about the Civil War and died in 1867 at the age of 39. ">Henry Timrod</a> on the new album. On a related tip, someone waved a lawyer at Eyolf &#0216;strem, so he removed all his tabs from his Dylan tablature site, <a href="http://www.dylanchords.com/" title="My Back Pages Bob Dylan - Chords and lyrics - For chords, go to one of the mirrors. The rest you may still find here">My Back Pages</a>. But, fortunately there are some mirrors and the blog of <a href="http://dylanchords.info/" title="Aug 26: Didn’t I say it? And it was so. I was going to wait until the official release date, but since a) I am going away for a week, and b) most people seem to have it already, I figured: why wait any longer? Modern Times it is.">this one</a> has a tab page for Modern Times already.
It's like 10 000 spoons when all you need is a knife
<a href="http://www.thephoenix.com/article_ektid14634.aspx">32 worst lyrics of all time</a>
Gracenote.com announces legal lyrics downloads
<a href="http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2006/07/14/BUG1MJUJOT29.DTL">An end to</a> <a href="http://www.kissthisguy.com/">mondegreens?</a> It looks like <a href="http://www.gracenote.com/">Gracenote</a>, the company behind the <a href="http://www.mp3-converter.com/faq/cddb.htm">CDDB</a> (CD database), is looking to enhance your music-listening experience by providing an expansive and "legitimate" lyrics database <a href="http://www.betanews.com/article/Gracenote_Inks_Deal_to_Offer_Lyrics/1152903017">in association with major on-line digital music providers</a>. Will this be the end of the road for <a href="http://www.mredkj.com/other/lyrics-illegal2.html">existing lyrics sites</a>? <small>[more inside]</small>
i was standing by the window
Made most popular to many Americans as the closing song for the Grand Ole Opry programs, Will The Circle Be Unbroken was written in 1907 by Ada Habershon, an intensely religious young woman and acquaintance of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dwight_Moody">Dwight Moody</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ira_David_Sankey">Ira David Sankey</a>. The music was "composed" by <a href="http://desmoinesregister.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/99999999/FAMOUSIOWANS/501300335">Charles Gabriel</a>, a popular songwriter and composer of the era who is often solely credited with the song, but while he may have put the notes down on paper, the tune itself already existed as the African-American spiritual Glory Glory / Since I Laid My Burden Down. [lots more inside]
Music CopyRight Cops Strike Again
<a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/4508158.stm">Now they're after the lyrics.</a> The MPA isn't stopping at the MP3 files.
Singhing the blues
<a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/g2/story/0,,1581445,00.html">When science meets art.</a> Science writer <a href="http://www.simonsingh.com/">Simon Singh</a> was annoyed with the lyrics to British singer <a href="http://www.katiemelua.com/">Katie Melua</a>'s latest single. He rewrote them to be scientifically accurate, and she sings <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/today/listenagain/ram/today1_melua_20051015.ram">the unfortunate result</a> (RealAudio file).
the saddest song I've ever heard
<a href="http://www.musicanet.org/robokopp/usa/asiwoits.htm"><i>The Streets of Laredo: The Cowboy's Lament</i></a> was originally written as the Irish drover balled <i>Bard of Armaugh</i> (or <i><a href="http://www.ierland.com/lyrics/bard_of_armagh.txt">Armagh</a></i>), which later mutated into <i>A Handful of Laurel</i>, about a young man dying of syphilis in a London hospital, musing back on his days in the alehouses and whorehouses. Immigrants settling in the Appalachians brought their own version, <i><a href="http://www.mudcat.org/@displaysong.cfm?SongID=7101">The Unfortunate Rake</a></i>, sung as early as 1790, about a young soldier dying of mercury poisoning, a result of treatment for venereal disease, who requests a military funeral - a slight but important evolution from the previous version. The current lyrics are most popularly attributed to cowboy <a href="http://www.cowboypoetry.com/fhmaynard.htm">Frances Henry "Frank" Maynard</a>, who copyrighted them in 1879. While various <a href="http://www.mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=46310">versions</a> of the song were popular in the US before Maynard took pen to paper and needle to wax cylinder (under such titles as <i><a href="http://www.mudcat.org/@displaysong.cfm?SongID=3672">Locke Hospital</a></i>, <i><a href="http://www.mudcat.org/@displaysong.cfm?SongID=5525">St. James Infirmary Blues</a></i>, <i>Tom Sherman's Bar</i> and <i>Way Down in Lodorra</i>), his version is the one with which we are most familiar today.</br> </br> <i>beat the drum slowly, play the fife lowly / sound the death march as you carry me along / cover my body in sweet-smelling posies / for I'm the young</i> (rake, soldier, man, girl, lass, etc) <i>cut down in</i> (his/her) <i>prime</i> (or <i>and I know I've done wrong</i>)</br> </br> The song has been recorded by pretty much every country, western and folk-identified musical artist since recording music became practical, although the most popular versions must be those by <a href="http://www.arlo.net/bio.shtml">Arlo Guthrie</a> (who once said it was "the saddest song I know," and who sings it on his album <i>Son of the Wind</i>) and <a href="http://www.johnnycash.com/Cashcareer.htm">Johnny Cash</a> (who added <a href="http://www.lyricsdepot.com/johnny-cash/streets-of-laredo.html">a few verses</a> to his 1965 version, improving the song a bit and making it more emotionally complex). <a href="http://www.ibiblio.org/jimmy/folkden/php/search/individ.php?mid=103">Roger McGuinn's</a> creative commons-licensed version is one of my personal favorites, as is Bobby Sutliff's <a href="http://www.houseofideas.com/bobby_sutliff/sound.htm">version</a>.
People have a problem with me, cause I ain't lazy...
<a href="http://www.pegcity.com/images/bastidpipismitty.mov">"I Ain't Lazy"</a> (lyrics NSFW) featuring <a href="http://www.skratchbastid.com/">Skratch Bastid</a>, <a href="http://www.peanutsandcorn.com/artists/johnsmith.html">John Smith</a> &amp; <a href="http://www.peanutsandcorn.com/artists/pipskid.html">Pip Skid</a>. A day-in-the-life indie hip-hop video directed by Jason Lapeyre featuring another top notch crew of <a href="http://www.metafilter.com/mefi/40944">PCRs</a>.

on the spot. If he like you, I’ll pick you up.”

Tupac made is first appearance in Digital Underground’s hit Same Song. From this point, Tupac went on to become the most notorious rapper in history. Now with the alias 2Pac, he released his own album ‘2Pacalypse Now’, which was a huge success. Amongst the tracks, was the hit Brenda’s Got a Baby which gave him the boost he needed. Another of the tracks featured on 2Pacalypse Now, Tupac rapped about police brutality. Ironically, shortly thereafter, he was allegedly assaulted by Oakland police following an arrest for Jaywalking - he filed a $10 million lawsuit, but settled with $42 thousand.

His amazing talent resulted in him being offered a role in the film Juice. From here Tupac went on to release his second solo album, ‘Strictly for my N.I.G.G.A.Z’ - another huge success. Also in 1993, Tupac featured aside Janet Jackson in the movie Poetic Justice, which revealed Tupac’s more sensitive side. Just as things seemed to be going great, a 19 year old woman- whom Tupac met just four days before - is allegedly sexually abused by the rapper.

In early 1994, Tupac played the role of Birdie in the movie Above the Rim alongside Marlon Wayans. As things seemed to be picking up again, Tupac is shot five times and robbed for $40 thousand jewellery in a Times Square recording studio. Despite doctor’s orders, Tupac checked himself out of Bellevue Hospital just hours after surgery. The case remains unsolved; however Pac was convinced that Puffy and Biggie - members of the Bad Boy group - were responsible for the shooting. Just two months later Tupac was sentenced to up to four and a half years in prison, as a result of being found guilty of sexual abuse. Whilst serving his time in New York’s Rikers Island penitentiary, Tupac’s third album - Me Against the World - reaches #1 and goes double platinum within 7 months.

After serving 8 months in prison, Tupac was released after Death Row Records CEO Suge Knight posts a $1.4 million bail. In return, Tupac signed with Death Row and began recording All Eyez On Me immediately after flying to Los Angeles.

September 7th 1996, after watching the Mike Tyson vs Bruce Seldon fight in Las Vegas, Tupac was shot four times in the chest in a ‘drive-by’ shooting involving a white Cadillac. Suge Knight, the driver, was merely grazed by a bullet, and immediately rushed Tupac to the University Medical Centre. He has his right lung removed during surgery.

After six days in critical condition, on September 13th, Tupac Shakur - at the age of 25 - was pronounced dead at 4:03pm… Even in his death, Tupac continues to reach hundreds and thousands of fans…

Ten years after his death, Tupac’s murder remains unsolved. A conspiracy theory was created, and many people today believe that Tupac faked his death… That he is alive. To find out more, read my article - Is Tupac dead or alive?: http://www.tupac-amaru.com/index.php/is-tupac-dead-or-alive/24

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This article was written by Luke Kirk. To learn more about Tupac Shakur, visit Tupac Shrine - the home for dedicated Tupac fans!

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