I have always loved pop songs where the lyrics contained a story. How wonderful it always was to have a tale, sometimes tragic, with a beginning, a middle and an end all within 3 minutes on the radio. I know that is because when I was a child I grew up listening to country music and also groups like Fleetwood Mac, Eagles, and Abba who always seemed to have a story in their songs. So by the time I became totally obsessed with pop music from 1981 onwards I already had a song structure in my head that has remained with me ever since.
Kim Wilde, for me, has to be one of pop's greatest stars. Her whole image (especially that black and white top), her gorgeous attitude and of course her hit singles. From the very early songs like Kids In America, Chequered Love, View from A Bridge, The Second Time and Child Come Away to the later hits like You Keep Me Hangin' On, You Came and If I Can't Have you.
There was one song that is also in my top ten songs of all time. That song was her 4th single and is Cambodia. It was produced by her brother Ricky and written by Ricky and their father Marty.
It is a great story song. It was a number 12 hit in the UK, 15 in Ireland and number one in France, Sweden, Denmark and Switzerland.
Kim's Child Come Away, for me was a classic example of a song that's almost a bit scary. Godley & Creme's Under Your Thumb is another. Cambodia is also a song where 'something happened'. The video for Cambodia is here and the clip below is a better audio version and is also the reprise version of the song.
From November 1981 this is song number 37 of my 40, Cambodia.
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Cambodia
I have always loved pop songs where the lyrics contained a story. How wonderful it always was to have a tale, sometimes tragic, with a beginning, a middle and an end all within 3 minutes on the radio. I know that is because when I was a child I grew up listening to country music and also groups like Fleetwood Mac, Eagles, and Abba who always seemed to have a story in their songs. So by the time I became totally obsessed with pop music from 1981 onwards I already had a song structure in my head that has remained with me ever since.
Kim Wilde, for me, has to be one of pop's greatest stars. Her whole image (especially that black and white top), her gorgeous attitude and of course her hit singles. From the very early songs like Kids In America, Chequered Love, View from A Bridge, The Second Time and Child Come Away to the later hits like You Keep Me Hangin' On, You Came and If I Can't Have you.
There was one song that is also in my top ten songs of all time. That song was her 4th single and is Cambodia. It was produced by her brother Ricky and written by Ricky and their father Marty.
It is a great story song. It was a number 12 hit in the UK, 15 in Ireland and number one in France, Sweden, Denmark and Switzerland.
Kim's Child Come Away, for me was a classic example of a song that's almost a bit scary. Godley & Creme's Under Your Thumb is another. Cambodia is also a song where 'something happened'. The video for Cambodia is here and the clip below is a better audio version and is also the reprise version of the song.
From November 1981 this is song number 37 of my 40, Cambodia.
Dublin's Got Dance
Here in Ireland it usually takes us at least 47 years to catch up on popular culture trends. It was not long ago that a 'night out' resembled the picture above. In many places it still does.
Maybe the flash mob in a southside shopping centre happens on a regular basis here in Dublin but I haven't seen it before on the auld internet.
The video below, taken from Ms Panti's blog, brought a smile to my face today. It has some good dancers, some truly-awful-but-bless-them dancers, dancing Mammies and a 'that's the last time Dolores drags me to Harvey Nicks!' older man at the end. They could also release the music clip as a kind of Stars On 45 2009.
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