Nanci Griffith
Striding the fine line between folk and country music, Nanci Griffith has become as well-known for her brilliant confessional songwriting as her beautiful voice. A self-styled "folkabilly" singer, Griffith began as a kindergarten teacher and occasional folksinger. The country scene took her to heart in the mid-'80s, giving her a reputation as a quality songwriter through hit covers of Griffith's songs by Kathy Mattea and Suzy Bogguss. Finding no luck with commercial country radio however, Griffith recorded several pop-oriented albums and then returned to her folk roots by the mid-'90s.
Griffith was the daughter of musical parents, and she spent her childhood involved with theater and literature as well as music. She began playing clubs around Austin at the tender age of 14 and continued to perform during her college years at the University of Texas and even while she taught kindergarten in the mid-'70s. Griffith finally decided to make music her full-time ambition in 1977. Her songwriting won an award at ~the Kerrville Folk Festival, prompting the local label BF Deal to record Griffith for a compilation and later for her debut album, There's a Light Beyond These Woods (1978). Griffith's hectic touring schedule took her all over North America, playing festivals and TV shows in addition to the small clubs in which she had begun. Meanwhile, she recorded albums in 1982 (Poet in My Window) and 1985 (Once in a Very Blue Moon).
Finally, in 1986, Griffith got her big break after moving to Nashville. The title song from Once in a Very Blue Moon placed modestly on the country charts, she released the acclaimed Last of the True Believers on Philo (the label that later reissued her first three albums), and -- most importantly -- Mattea's cover of "Love at the Five Dime" reached number three in the country charts. Though Last of the True Believers was nominated for a Grammy as Best Contemporary Folk Recording -- perhaps because of the fact -- commercial country radio still found it difficult to accept Griffith.
Griffith signed with MCA and released her major-label debut, Lone Star State of Mind, in 1987. With it, she popularized the Julie Gold song "From a Distance" -- later covered by Bette Midler -- but also gave Griffith her first country Top 40 hit, the title song. Two other singles from the album, "Trouble in the Fields" and "Cold Hearts/Closed Minds," also grazed the country charts. Little Love Affairs and the live album One Fair Summer Evening (both 1988) were slight disappointments, though "I Knew Love" became Griffith's second country Top 40 hit.
Disappointed by lack of support from the country music scene, Griffith moved from Nashville to MCA's /pop division in Los Angeles and paired with noted rock producer Glyn Johns for 1989's Storms. The album included guest stars Phil Everly, Albert Lee, and former Eagle Bernie Leadon and became her best-seller, though it featured no successful singles. A move from rock to pop -- helped by producers Rod Argent and Peter Van Hook -- characterized Late Night Grande Hotel (1991); it was clear by then that Griffith's move away from Nashville was also compromising her folk and country roots.
A move to Elektra in 1992 marked a return to form for Griffith; her 1993 LP Other Voices, Other Rooms was a tribute to her influences, and several of them -- including Emmylou Harris, Chet Atkins, and John Prine -- made appearances. A compilation release of her best from the MCA years also appeared in 1993. The following year, Griffith's tenth studio album, Flyer, continued her dedication to folk. In March of 1997, Griffith released Blue Roses From the Moons; Other Voices, Too (A Trip Back to Bountiful) followed a year later, trailed in 1999 by Dust Bowl Symphony. ~ John Bush
I am a backseat driver from America
They drive to the left on Falls Road
The man at the wheel's name is Seamus
We pass a child on the corner he knows
And Seamus says, "Now, what chance has that kid got?"
And I say from the back, "I don't know."
He says, "There's barbed wire at all of these exits . . .
And there ain't no place in Belfast for that kid to go."
It's a hard life
It's a hard life
It's a very hard life
It's a hard life wherever you go
If we poison our children with hatred then, the hard life is all that they'll know
And there ain't no place in (Belfast) for these kids to go
Cafeteria line in Chicago
The fat man in front of me
Is calling black people trash to his children
And he's the only trash here I see
And I'm thinking this man wears a white hood
In the night when his children should sleep
But, they slip to their window and they see him
And they think that white hood's all they need
It's a hard life
It's a hard life
It's a very hard life
It's a hard life wherever you go
If we poison our children with hatred then a hard life is all that they'll know
I was a child in the sixties
And dreams could be held through TV
With Disney, and Cronkite, and Martin Luther
Oh, I believed, I believed . . . I BELIEVED!
Now, I am the backseat driver from America
And I am not at the wheel of control
I am guilty, I am war and I am the root of all evil
And Lord, I can't drive on the left side of the road
It's a hard life
It's a hard life
It's a very hard life
It's a hard life wherever you go
If we poison our children with hatred then a hard life is all that they'll know
I knew love when it still meant forever
When a feeling shared didn’t always have to hurt
And a promise that was made would go unbroken
I knew love when it was more than just a word
And I knew a time when hope was all you needed
And if you cared you found a way to make things work
When life was what two people shared together
I knew love when it was more than just a word
I knew love
When I could still believe it was greatest power in the world
I knew love when it was more than just a word
I knew hearts when they made it all so easy
And sad goodbyes were seldom ever heard
When you wouldn’t have to read this note that says I’m leavingI knew love when it was more than just a word
I knew love
When I could still believe it was greatest power in the world
I knew love when it was more than just a word
I knew love when it was more than just a word
I don't wanna talk about love
Cuz I've heard it before and it talks too loud
You can hear it in a disco midnight shouting
I don't wanna think about it
Think about it
It comes dressed in its summer clothes
When you're traveling through the heart of the winter's cold
I don't wanna talk about changes
Changes come of their own free will
And if you wanna talk about leavin'
Well, you've always walked . . .
And, you always will
Every time you talk about love
You talk about your yesterdays
Yesterday's washing away with this morning's rain
I don't wanna talk about it
Cuz love has a voice of its own
If all we do is try to out shout it then the love is gone
(chorus)
I don't wanna talk about love now
I don't wanna talk about love now
I don't wanna talk about love now
I don't wanna talk about love now . . .
Can't you hear the voice of my heart
It calls your name in the middle of the night
It's always been a quiet voicewhen it's breaking
I don't wanna talk about this love
This love was my saving grace
So, can't I just say that I love you and we'll call it a day?
(repeat chorus)
Speed Of The Sound Of Loneliness
You come home late and you come home early
You come on big when you're feeling small
You come home straight and you come home curly
Sometimes you don't come home at all
So what in the world's come over you
And what in heaven's name have you done
You've broken the speed of the sound of loneliness
You're out there running just to be on the run
Well I got a heart that burns with a fever
And I got a worried and a jealous mind
How can a love that'll last forever
Get left so far behind
So what in the world's come over you
And what in heaven's name have you done
You've broken the speed of the sound of loneliness
You're out there running just to be on the run
It's a mighty mean and a dreadful sorrow
It's crossed the evil line today
Well, how can you ask about tomorrow
We ain't got one word to say
So what in the world's come over you
And what in heaven's name have you done
You've broken the speed of the sound of loneliness
You're out there running just to be on the run
You're out there running just to be on the run
You're out there running just to be on the run
You're out there running just to be on the run
New Order
Rising from the ashes of the legendary British post-punk unit Joy Division, the enigmatic New Order triumphed over tragedy to emerge as one of the most influential and acclaimed bands of the 1980s; embracing the electronic textures and disco rhythms of the underground club culture many years in advance of its contemporaries, the group's pioneering fusion of new wave aesthetics and dance music successfully bridged the gap between the two worlds, creating a distinctively thoughtful and oblique brand of synth pop appealing equally to the mind, body, and soul. New Order's origins officially date back to mid-1976, when guitarist Bernard Sumner (formerly Albrecht) and bassist Peter Hook — inspired by a recent Sex Pistols performance — announced their intentions to form a band of their own. Recruiting singer Ian Curtis and drummer Stephen Morris, they eventually settled on the name Joy Division, and in 1979 issued their landmark debut LP, Unknown Pleasures.
After completing sessions for Joy Division's sophomore effort, Closer, Curtis hanged himself on May 18, 1980; devastated, the remaining trio immediately disbanded, only to re-form a few months later as New Order with the addition of keyboardist Gillian Gilbert. With Sumner assuming vocal duties, the new group debuted in March 1981 with the single "Ceremony," a darkly melodic effort originally composed for use by Joy Division. The LP Movement followed a few months later, and when it too mined territory similar to New Order's previous incarnation, many observers were quick to dismiss the band for reliving former glories. However, with its next single, "Everything's Gone Green," the quartet first began adorning its sound with synthesizers and sequencers, inspired by the music of Kraftwerk as well as the electro beats coming up from the New York underground; 1982's "Temptation" continued the trend, and like its predecessor was a major favorite among club-goers.
After a year-long hiatus, New Order resurfaced in 1983 with their breakthrough hit "Blue Monday"; packaged in a provocative sleeve designed to recall a computer disk, with virtually no information about the band itself — a hallmark of their mysterious, distant image — it perfectly married Sumner's plaintive yet cold vocals and abstract lyrics with cutting-edge drum-machine rhythms ideal for club consumption. "Blue Monday" went on to become the best-selling 12" release of all time, moving over three million copies worldwide. After releasing their brilliant 1983 sophomore album, Power, Corruption and Lies, New Order teamed with the then-unknown producer Arthur Baker to record "Confusion," another state-of-the-art dance classic, which even scraped into the American R&B charts. The group's success soon won them a stateside contract with Quincy Jones' Qwest label; however, apart from a pair of singles, "Thieves Like Us" and "Murder," they remained out of the spotlight throughout 1984.
Heralded by the superb single "The Perfect Kiss," New Order resurfaced in 1985 with Low-life, their most fully realized effort to date; breaking with long-standing tradition, it actually included photos of the individual members, suggesting an increasing proximity with their growing audience. Brotherhood followed in 1986, with the single "Bizarre Love Triangle" making significant inroads among mainstream pop audiences. A year later the group issued Substance, a much-needed collection of singles and remixes; it was New Order's American breakthrough, cracking the Top 40 on the strength of the newly recorded single "True Faith," which itself reached number 32 on the U.S. pop charts. The remixed "Blue Monday 1988" followed, and in 1989 — inspired by the ecstasy-fueled house music that their work had clearly predated and influenced — New Order issued Technique; their most club-focused outing to date, it launched the hits "Fine Time" and "Round and Round."
After recording the 1990 British World Cup Soccer anthem "World in Motion," New Order went on an extended hiatus to pursue solo projects; Hook formed the band Revenge, longtime companions Morris and Gilbert recorded as the Other Two, and, most notably, Sumner teamed with ex-Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr and Pet Shop Boys frontman Neil Tennant in Electronic, which scored a Top 40 hit with the single "Getting Away With It." Finally, New Order reconvened in 1993 for their biggest hit to date, Republic, which fell just shy of the U.S. Top Ten despite charges from longtime fans that the band had lost its edge. A major tour followed, although rumors of escalating creative conflicts plagued the group; refusing to either confirm or deny word of a breakup, New Order simply spent the mid-'90s in a state of limbo, with Sumner eventually recording a long-awaited second Electronic LP and Hook mounting another new project, Monaco. "Brutal," the first new effort from New Order in a number of years, was featured on the soundtrack of the 2000 film The Beach, and the full-length Get Ready followed one year later.
True Faith
I feel so extraordinary
Something's got a hold on me
I get this feeling I'm in motion
A sudden sense of liberty
I don't care cause I'm not there
And I don't care if I'm here tomorrow
Again and again I've taken too much
Of the things that cost you too much
I used to think that the day would never come
I'd see delight in the shade of the morning sun
My morning sun is the drug that brings me near
To the childhood I lost, replaced by fear
I used to think that the day would never come
That my life would depend on the morning sun...
When I was a very small boy,
Very small boys talked to me
Now that we've grown up together
They're afraid of what they see
That's the price that we all pay
The value of destiny comes to nothing
I can't tell you where we're going
I guess there was just no way of knowing!
I used to think that the day would never come
I'd see delight in the shade of the morning sun
My morning sun is the drug that brings me near
To the childhood I lost, replaced by fear
I used to think that the day would never come
That my life would depend on the morning sun...
I feel so extraordinary
Something's got a hold on me
I get this feeling I'm in motion
A sudden sense of liberty
The chances are we've gone too far
You took my time and you took my money
Now I fear you've left me standing
In a world that's so demanding
I used to think that the day would never come
I'd see delight in the shade of the morning sun
My morning sun is the drug that brings me near
To the childhood I lost, replaced by fear
I used to think that the day would never come
That my life would depend on the morning sun...
Nickelback
Canada's Nickelback started life as a cover band in Hanna, 215 kilometres northeast of Calgary. Eventually, they tired of playing other people's songs and singer/guitarist Chad Kroeger put together a bunch of original songs, borrowed 4,000 bucks off his stepfather, and went to big city Vancouver to record them in a friend's studio. Based on the results, Kroeger's guitarist brother, Mike, and pal bassist Ryan Vikedal all relocated to Vancouver in 1996; that same year, they recorded and released the EP Hesher and full-length Curb independently and embarked on a series of cross-country tours. The group's singer had spent two years selling advertising for a soccer magazine and now applied some of the skills he had learned to his band. He asked his friends to fax and phone radio stations to request their first single until it was played often enough for Nickelback to pick up fans on their own.
In late 1998, the band decided their managers were unable to bring them to the next level and started managing themselves. Mike Kroeger handled all the distribution, brother Chad handled all the radio tracking, and Ryan Vikedal handled all the bookings. The group had also invested $30,000 into a new album. The State was released independently in January 2000 during a slow rock period when Canadian content requirements were increased and local rock radio began desperately seeking out homegrown product. What they found was Nickelback's single "Leader of Men." Nickelback toured ceaselessly for The State and 200 shows later, the band had gone from virtual unknowns to playing in front of over a million people alongside the likes of Creed, 3 Doors Down, Fuel, and more. The band's post-grunge commercial appeal wasn't lost on the record industry and The State was snapped up by Roadrunner/Island, Def Jam in the U.S., and EMI in Canada. It eventually sold an impressive 500,000 copies.
Many of the songs that comprised the next album, Silver Side Up, were written even before The State was released in America and road-tested in front of eager audiences on cross-country treks. The other significant change about this set of songs was Chad Kroeger's conscious decision to write his lyrics in a more direct manner rather than the metaphoric and vague lyrics of previous releases. "Too Bad" was about the father who was never around when Chad and his brother were growing up. "Never Again" is a song inspired by broken homes. "How You Remind Me," the first single from the album, was written at rehearsals shortly before the band went into the studio.
To record the album, the band decided to work with producer Rick Parashar (Pearl Jam, Temple of the Dog) at the same studio as The State, Vancouver's Green House. The album was completed in five short weeks and the 13 tracks were mixed by Randy Staub (Metallica, U2). The combination of Parashar and Staub, Nickelback's growing popularity, and the quality of the songs sent Silver Side Up into the sales charts around the world, spearheaded by the hit single "How You Remind Me." It was only the second time in history since the Guess Who's "American Woman" that a Canadian band had been number one on both the Canadian and U.S. rock charts at the same time. After their initial mainstream exposure, Kroeger produced Vancouver natives Default and colaborated with Saliva singer Josey Scott for the Spiderman soundtrack. In the summer of 2002, the band re-released Curb since it had fallen out of print years before. ~ Ed Nimmervoll, All Music Guide
I missed you so much
That I begged you to fly and see me
You must've broke down
Coz you finally said that would
But now that you're here
I just feel like I'm constantly dreaming
Coz something's gotta go wrong
Coz I'm feelin' way to damn good
For 48 hours I don't think that we left my hotel room
Should show you the sights
Coz I'm sure that I said that I would
We gotta make love just one last time in the shower
Well something's gotta go wrong
Coz I'm feelin' way to damn good
And it's like, every time I turn around
I fall in love and find my heart face down and
Where it lands is where it should
This time it's like
The two of us should probably start to fight
Coz something's gotta go wrong
Coz I'm feeling way to dam good, oh
Feelin' way too damn good
Sometimes I think best if left in the memory
It's better kept inside than left for good
Lookin' back each time they tried to tell me
Well something's gotta go wrong
Coz I'm feelin' way too damn good
And it's like, every time I turn around
I fall in love and find my heart face down and
Where it lands is where it should
This time it's like
The two of us should probably start to fight
Coz something's gotta go wrong
Coz I'm feeling way to dam good, oh
Feelin' way too damn good
Oh, oh, feelin' way too damn good
I missed you so much
That I begged you to fly and see me
You must've broke down
Coz you finally said that would
But now that you're here
I just feel like I'm constantly dreaming
Coz something's gotta go wrong
Coz I'm feelin' way to damn good
And it's like, every time I turn around
I fall in love and find my heart face down and
Where it lands is where it should
This time it's like
The two of us should probably start to fight
Coz something's gotta go wrong
Coz I'm feeling way to damn good, oh, oh
Feelin' way too damn good
(I missed you so much
That I begged you to fly and see me)
Feelin' way too damn good
(I missed you so much
That I begged you to fly and see me)
I like your pants around your feet
And I like the dirt that's on your knees
And I like the way you say please
While you're looking up at me
You're like my favorite damn disease
And I love the places that we go
And I love the people that you know
And I love the way you can't say "No"
Too many long lines in a row
I love the powder on your nose
And now I know who you are
It wasn't that hard
Just to figure you out
Now I did, you wonder why
I like the freckles on your chest
And I like the way you like me best
And I like the way you're not impressed
While you put me to the test
I like the white stains on your dress
I love the way you pass the check
And I love the good times that you wreck
And I love your lack of self respect
While you're passed out on the deck
I love my hands around your neck
And I know who you are
It wasn't that hard
Just to figure you out
Now I did, you wonder why
Why not before, you never tried
Gone for good, and this is it
I like your pants around your feet
And I like the dirt that's on your knees
And I like the way you still say please
While you're looking up at me
You're like my favorite damn disease
And I hate the places that we go
And I hate the people that you know
And I hate the way you can't say "No"
Too many long lines in a row
I hate the powder on your nose
And now I know who you are
It wasn't that hard
Just to figure you out
Now I did, you wonder why
Why not before, you never tried
Gone for good, and this is it
If Everyone Cared
From underneath the trees, we watch the sky
Confusing stars for satellites
I never dreamed that you'd be mine
But here we are, we're here tonight
Singing Amen, I, I'm alive
Singing Amen, I, I'm alive
[Chorus:]
If everyone cared and nobody cried
If everyone loved and nobody lied
If everyone shared and swallowed their pride
Then we'd see the day when nobody died
And I'm singing Amen
Amen I, Amen I, I'm alive
Amen I, Amen I, Amen I, I'm alive
And in the air the fireflies
Our only light in paradise
We'll show the world they were wrong
And teach them all to sing along
Singing Amen, I, I'm alive
Singing Amen, I, I'm alive
(I'm alive)
[Chorus x2]
And as we lie beneath the stars
We realize how small we are
If they could love like you and me
Imagine what the world could be
If everyone cared and nobody cried
If everyone loved and nobody lied
If everyone shared and swallowed their pride
Then we'd see the day when nobody died
When nobody died...
[Chorus]
We'd see the day, we'd see the day
When nobody died
We'd see the day, we'd see the day
When nobody died
We'd see the day when nobody died
Savin' Me
Prison gates won't open up for me
On these hands and knees I'm crawlin'
Oh, I reach for you
Well I'm terrified of these four walls
These iron bars can't hold my soul in
All I need is you
Come please I'm callin'
And oh I scream for you
Hurry I'm fallin', I'm fallin'
[Chorus:]
Show me what it's like
To be the last one standing
And teach me wrong from right
And I'll show you what I can be
Say it for me
Say it to me
And I'll leave this life behind me
Say it if it's worth saving me
Heaven's gates won't open up for me
With these broken wings I'm fallin'
And all I see is you
These city walls ain't got no love for me
I'm on the ledge of the eighteenth story
And oh I scream for you
Come please I'm callin'
And all I need from you
Hurry I'm fallin', I'm fallin'
[Chorus]
Hurry I'm fallin'
All I need is you
Come please I'm callin'
And oh, I scream for you
Hurry I'm fallin', I'm fallin', I'm fallin'
[Chorus]
Hurry I'm fallin'
Nine Inch Nails
Hurt
I hurt myself today
To see if I still feel
I focus on the pain
The only thing that's real
The needle tears a hole
The old familiar sting
Try to kill it all away
But I remember everything
What have I become?
My sweetest friend
Everyone I know
Goes away in the end
You could have it all
My empire of dirt
I will let you down
I will make you hurt
I wear this crown of shit
Upon my liar's chair
Full of broken thoughts
I cannot repair
Beneath the stains of time
The feelings disappear
You are someone else
I am still right here
What have I become?
My sweetest friend
Everyone I know
Goes away in the end
You could have it all
My empire of dirt
I will let you down
I will make you hurt
If I could start again
A million miles away
I would keep myself
I would find a way
