#himi vs

[greighish]

Alone Again (Naturally) by Gilbert O'Sullivan, one of my favorite songs.

The first half of the original song is about suicidal ideation brought on by a broken heart after being left at the alter and feeling forsaken by God. The latter half is about the author's grief over his father's physical death and his mother experiencing death of the spirit over the loss (of someone who was not kind to her) followed by death of the vessel and the author's greater grief over losing his mother twice; a sense of desertion, once again. It has the feeling of a little ditty shared by someone whose soul is tired. The juxtaposition.

The title is also the chorus, if you can call it that. It only stands alone once in the whole song, and it's almost like an afterthought. Every other utterance is sung with little more than a breath and no musical change between it and preceding verse, though it might be better to call it a pre-chorus. I love unconventional structures.

I also love covers...

FULL YT PLAYLIST

AWOLNATION f. Midland - A music box on its last leg. It has the overlapping reverb quality AWOLNATION is fond of. Feels more like psychosis and less like grief.

Pet Shop Boys f. Elton John - Sounds exactly like what you'd think a collab between them would sound like. I like the high hat and the rain. I love Elton's voice. I also love that he sings the line "I was cheerful, bright, and gay."

Sarah Vaughn - Very lounge. Sad lounge. Genderflip for the first half. My BFF hates her voice, or rather her vocal arrangements. I don't share her sentiments.

Shirley Bassey - No genderflip. Not lounge. More like mid-seventies movie theme song. Is that a clarinet? Some versions really try to bring Big Band back for a minute. I'm always fascinated watching her sing, her gestures and the way she contorts her mouth...

Neil Diamond - A guitar diddy. His tone along with the cadence is almost matter-of-fact.

Ray Conniff & The Singers - How should I say…? Very "I was popular in the 60s but now it's the 70s" White? I mean that observation-ally, of course.

Andy Williams - A little Spanish guitar... and bongos. It's Andy Williams, so a variation on the very 70s White theme.

Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass - Maybe a little too happy? Jaunty? I think that's a marimba. But if I didn't know the lyrics, I'd say it was par for the Herb Alpert course.

Esther Phillips - That voice! Local bar singer. She put some soul on it. I like the strings. Better bongos, well better percussion all the way around. I can't help but think of her when I listen to early Erykah Badu.

Bobby Darin - They couldn't decide which flavor of lounge they were going for. From piano bar to wannabe bossa nova; they really ran the gamut. It has its merits, but the changes are somewhat distracting.

And then there's…

Nina Simone - She definitely put her stamp on it. Musings on her father's dying, their relationship while he was alive, pity for her mother who mourned him, and honesty with herself (if not with others) while in a child's grief after his passing. Leave it to Nina to inject a bridge that's reminiscent of a funeral dirge. And that slightly giddy piano phrase.

Just when I needed him most He was already a ghost And for all my life there were promises And they always have been broken

[greighish]

when reading a flashback, be it comics or prose, does the reading voice in your head change? like, the quality or the volume?

mine starts to sound distant, not like it's fading; I don't have to strain to hear it, but instead of sitting right next to me, the reader sounds like they're down the hall and maybe around the corner.

maybe I should first ask, do you even have a reading voice?

[greighish]

I was tagged in the Last Song game by @minnichan! Thanx so much!

I woke up thinking about the lyrics to Kanye's We Major, but I was not in the mood for Kanye, so I listened to this. It's been in my head off and on for a month or so, and not in the earworm way. I just can't stop thinking about the lyrics in a modern context and wondering what the actual context was because innuendo is a thing.

It starts out talking about sex work, gets creepy with entitlement, and continues with you need a man. This commentary has been running through my head, so I'm taking this opportunity to get it out.

It's still my jam, but I can't hear it any other way now. Colored text = red flag index----------------

You've got the love / You've got the power / But you just don't understand We are basically at your mercy, but you have no idea what you're capable of

Girl, you've been charging by the hour / For your love Sex work is not the way to go

I'm tryin' to show how much I love you / Still believe in romance Pay attention to me!

You're taking way too many chances / With my love You better stop frontin' if you know what's good for you

I remember when you used to be / The talk of the town / All you get is lonely You were better before; you're pitiful now

Turn your love around / Don't you turn me down / I can show you how / Turn your love around Pick me, you better pick me, I'll show you what you've been missing

Without the woman I can make it / But I need the girl to stay I don't need a grown-ass woman, what I need is a young impressionable thing

Oh, don't you let the lady take it all away Don't be gay

When the woman needs a taste of yesterday / But you stay at home / All they get is lonely Women are longing for the days when they were considered property and you (some dude) are on your herbivore kick not fulfilling their desires [implied: I don't want to be the only creep, so let me guilt trip you into supporting my cause]

Turn your love around / Don't you turn me down / I can show you how / Turn your love around Don't be gay, don't be gay, I'll show you what a man can do for you

Oh, girl you know me / I'm alone until you show me / That you're still in love with me I'm an incel

We're gonna make it / We're gonna take it / Back where we belong Let's turn the clock back to those days when womenfolk were under a man's thumb

Turn your love around / Don't you turn me down / I can show you how / Turn your love around I am entitled to your attention; you just haven't found the right man

Turn your love around (This time the girl became a woman) Gay is not the way (Oops, my groomer tendencies are showing)

Don't you turn me down (Every woman needs a man) I'm warning you (Don't be gay)

I can show you how (I love the girl, I love the woman) You just haven't found the right man (Let me prove it to you)

Turn your love around Don't be gay

====

Thanx for reading this far. Tag! You're it! @mywitfailsme, @igotsnothing, @alldaymocha, @waytoomuchcc, @jyaiel, @arianwells, @hiwatari, @cinamun; if you care to. Also, anyone else who wants to play.

[greighish]

Windows Explorer does not want me to find this album. It crashed when I got to Boyz II Men. It crashed when I got to DeBarge. It crashed when I got to Gnarls Barkley.

Why is it against me?

[greighish]

Strands #196 “On the rocks” 🔵🔵💡🔵 🟡🔵🔵🔵

Connections Puzzle #462 🟩🟩🟩🟩 🟦🟦🟦🟦 🟨🟨🟨🟨 🟪🟪🟪🟪

Wordle 1,184 4/6

⬛🟨🟨⬛⬛ ⬛🟨⬛🟩🟩 ⬛⬛⬛⬛🟨 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

[greighish]

Strands #195 “Elements of style” 🔵🔵🔵🔵 🔵🟡🔵

Connections Puzzle #461 🟩🟩🟩🟩 🟨🟨🟨🟨 🟪🟪🟪🟪 🟦🟦🟦🟦

Wordle 1,183 4/6

⬛⬛⬛🟩⬛ ⬛⬛⬛🟨⬛ 🟨⬛🟨🟩⬛ 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

[greighish]

Strands #194 “Boots and saddles” 🔵🔵🔵🔵 🟡🔵🔵🔵

Connections Puzzle #460 🟨🟩🟨🟨 🟪🟪🟪🟪 🟩🟩🟩🟩 🟨🟨🟨🟨 🟦🟦🟦🟦

Wordle 1,182 5/6

⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛ ⬛🟨🟨⬛⬛ ⬛⬛⬛🟨🟨 🟨🟨⬛🟨⬛ 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

[greighish]

Strands #193 “This should be right up your alley” 🔵🔵🟡🔵 🔵🔵🔵

Connections Puzzle #459 (last by default) 🟦🟦🟦🟦 🟩🟩🟩🟩 🟨🟨🟨🟨 🟪🟪🟪🟪

Wordle 1,181 4/6

⬛⬛🟨⬛⬛ 🟩🟩⬛⬛⬛ 🟩🟩🟩🟩⬛ 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩