This Is This

There are some sounds that you associate with each other. Firework booms and joyful awe, for example.

For me, there are some songs that I hear that are so similar that I can not get the two out of my head or draw much of a line between them.

For some reason, I will forever associate Dream Academy’s “Life In A Northern Town” with “Kokomo” by The Beach Boys.

One is a tribute to Nick Drake, the other an ill-conceived comeback single on the Cocktail soundtrack.

This honestly bugs me, so I wonder if anyone else finds them similar. I think the chord progressions are the same in the lift to the chorus, but I’m not sure. I’m not musically trained in that kind of thing and I don’t know how scales work scales or chord progressions or theory stuff.

But this couldn’t be weirder and I think the contrast between the two songs couldn’t be more hilarious.

Humour me. Follow it in your head:

…The evening had turned to rain
Watch the water roll down the drain,
as we followed him down
to the station.
(steel drums fade into background)
And though he never would wave goodbye,
you could see it written in his eyes
as the train rolled out of sight,
bye-b
Aruba, Jamaica ooooo I wanna take you
to Bermuda, Bahama come on pretty mama
Key Largo, Montego life in a Northern
to Kokomo.
We’ll get there fast
And then well take it slow yaayaa doo doo’n daeeya
we wanna go
life in a northen t-
Port. Au-Prince. I wanna catch a glimpse.

Am I right? It’s not just me is it?

Unless it is, and I have honestly, I finally lost it, live online. Can we get a webcam set up in time for the Bloggies?

But - I would love to hear them played at the same speed side by side before they cart me off, because it’s one of those things that’s always bugged me.

Like if you played Bob Marley’s Redemption Song at five times normal speed, would it sound like bluegrass?

Won’t you help me sing ding ding ding diddleiddleiddleiddle ding dip dip dip dip dip dip dip diddleiddleiddleiddle -

dim diddle iddle iddle IP- DOOOOOEEEEEWWWWWWWWW.

————————————-

Three Word Story

“You don’t understand your power over the common man,” said Alistair Campbell.

The words seemed to echo endlessly around their cell. Digging a tunnel had proved fruitless and oddly phallic. Finding a vein had been the laborious task ahead, but they opted to forge ahead while singing “We Are The Champions”.

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My grandfather fought in the First World War, my uncle fought in the Second, my cousin fought in the Gulf. In my defense, none of them has ever made it past level 7 on Commandos 2: Medal of Honour.
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This entry was posted on Sunday, October 1st, 2006 at 10:20 pm. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed, or you can skip to the end and leave a comment yourself.