(50) Sundays of Music: #24

#24: Say Anything - Is A Real Boy

"And the record begins with a song of rebellion..."

I have to admit. I hated this cd when I first heard it. Kind of ironic that it now kicks off the under-25 portion of the countdown. I think I hated it because it was pushed down my throat by my roommate at the time. Also ironic? He and I now bond over the memories of this cd.

My initial thoughts the first time I heard the vocals of Max Bemis was "this is weird." And indeed, the cd is kind of weird. But Say Anything are... different. And in a time period where I was coming from Fall Out Boy and Yellowcard being my favorite bands (don't take that as disrespect to those guys) I guess I needed something different.

Ultimately, the song that got me was the classic "Alive with the Glory of Love." The beginning captures anybody's attention when he starts out "When I watch you / wanna do you / right where you're standing." Come to find out the song came from stories of his grandparents meeting in a time of war. I could be wrong but at the current moment, I'm too lazy to fact check. But the story goes something like that.

The rest of the cd is mental journey, from "Spidersong" to "Chia-Like I Shall Grow." This was also a period of angst for me so while I couldn't relate to the lyrics, I could relate to the tone of "Every Man Has a Molly."

A note of interest is the song "Woe." In music, I feel that if the "f word" is used properly, it is almost needed. And this song is one of the best examples of the use of that four letter guilty pleasure of mine.

But the defining song on this cd comes toward the end. More than "Glory" and "Woe" combined is none other than "I Want to Know Your Plans." In a cd full of the rantings of a mad man (Bemis spent time in a mental hospital between this release and the next cd), this was as close to a love song as you were going to get. And while it was nothing out of Shakespeare, it was, in a word, real.

While the verses are his own form of poetry, Bemis hits a home run with the chorus that you have to hear to truly feel:

"You're what keeps me believing the world's not gone dead,
Strength in my bones put the words in my head.
When they pour out to paper, it's all for you.
'Cause that's what you do."

You're A Dirty Girl!

Ok, that title is from an episode of Rob & Big. Classic, classic good times.

And this post was inspired by the recent offerings of Mr. Condescending. In the link is the result of a simple request: "I’d like you to email me a racy, but captivating snippet of lust in only 100 words." The results have been great so far. I wanted to try and come up with something, but I'm honestly not that creative. But then something came to my mind today...

Most everything I do in life can be brought back to music and this is no different. Today, I was listening to my headphones and I had it on a Kooks cd (that was recommended to me by Miss*H) and a lyric in there really caught my attention. That's when it hit me -- while I can't come up with anything, I do love some lyrics that vaguely refer to sexual themes.

You see, I'm not talking about hip hop and rap songs where they say straight up what's going down (with classic lines such as "You ain't gotta say too much From the look in your eyes I can tell you want to fuck").

I mean, the subtle stuff that you can find in poems is what some of my favorite artists do. I will share mine, but this post is for you -- what are some of your favorite lyrics that fall into this category? I know I am missing some and am hoping you guys can help me out. But the following are just three of my favorites.

The Kooks - Sofa Song:

Me and my girl
Are going out for some air
And I will do my best
Just to get under her dress

Taking Back Sunday - Little Devotional:

well i'm blowing smoke out of your window
and you're slipping back into your dress.
you know you were always such a lady.
i've always been impressed.
but gentlemen, they don't ask questions,
just keep quiet, pay attention
/
well i pictured you in blue
but i have to say i'm more partial to the red.
deep, dark, and devastating,
leaving no question as to where you've been.
i calm the crowd by keeping quiet,
move like a shadow up to your mattress.
gentlemen don't ask questions.
we could pay attention.

Say Anything - Alive With The Glory of Love:

When I watch you, wanna do you, right where you're standing…yeah.
Right on the foyer, on this dark day, right in plain view…oh, yeah….

Ok, so that last one isn't really subtle at all. But it is still a classic. So now, it's your turn. Give me some lyrics that can relate to this post and I will... love you forever. Or at least pimp you out. One of the two (maybe both?)

EDIT: I almost forgot. Today on facebook people were doing this thing where they went to urbandictionary.com and typed in their name and posted the results. I kid you not, here were mine:

ancient greek translation for "eternal sex-god". It is beleived that anyone that holds this name has a great level of skill and ability to perform sexual acts for long periods of time. Men posessing this name are also well endowed. Girl 1: I wish my boyfriend was a matt Girl 2: Oh you poor thing

Also, if you want to relive the awesomeness of Bobby Light's "Dirty Girl" just click HERE