very awesome new version of Led Zeppelin’s “Immigrant Song” produced by Trent Reznor, featuring vocals by Karen O of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs; available on The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (soundtrack).
“Immigrant Song” lyrics:
We come from the land of the ice and snow, from the midnight sun where the hot springs blow. The hammer of the gods will drive our ships to new lands, to fight the horde, singing and crying: “Valhalla, I am coming!”
On we sweep with threshing oar, Our only goal will be the western shore.
We come from the land of the ice and snow, from the midnight sun where the hot springs blow. How soft your fields so green, can whisper tales of gore, of how we calmed the tides of war. We are your overlords.
On we sweep with threshing oar, Our only goal will be the western shore.
So now you’d better stop and rebuild all your ruins, for peace and trust can win the day despite of all your losing.
Come on Joe, you’ve got 32 to go, come on Joe, you’ve got 32 to go. Come on now, you’ve got 32 to go, come on now, you’ve got 32 to go. Don’t you know it’s not just the Eskimo. Let me hear your 50 words for snow.
Come on Joe, just 22 to go, come on Joe, just 22 to go. Come on Joe, just you and the Eskimos, Come on now, just 22 to go. Come on now, just 22 to go, Let me hear your 50 words for snow.
an intense, beautiful song about a lake, a ghost, and a dreaming dog. Kate Bush, “Lake Tahoe” - from her new album, 50 Words for Snow.
lyrics:
Lake Tahoe. Cold mountain water. Don’t ever swim there. Just stand on the edge and look in there. And you might see a woman down there. They say some days, up she comes, up she rises, as if out of nowhere. Wearing Victorian dress. She was calling her pet, “Snowflake! Snowflake!” Tumbling like a cloud that has drowned in the lake. Just like a poor, porcelain doll… Her eyes are open but no-one’s home. The clock has stopped. So long she’s gone. No-one’s home. Her old dog is sleeping. His legs are frail now. But when he dreams, He runs… Along long beaches and sticky fields. Through the Spooky Wood looking for her. The beds are made. The table is laid. The door is open - someone is calling: It’s a woman. “Here boy, here boy! You’ve come home! I’ve got an old bone and a biscuit and so much love. Miss me? Did you miss me? Here’s the kitchen - There’s your basket. Here’s the hall - That’s where you wait for me. Here’s the bedroom - You’re not allowed in there. Here’s my lap - That’s where you lay your head. Here boy, oh you’re a good boy. You’ve come home. You’ve come home.”
in your life in the beginning, in the end in your life in the beginning, in the end Isobella, oh! Isobella, oh! in your day while you were so peaceful In your day while you were so true Love, now forever and ever
in your life in the beginning, in the end in your life in the beginning, in the end Isobella, oh! Isobella, oh!
in your day while you were without trouble in your day while you were without sorrow Love, now forever Love, now forever and ever
out of morning and into midnight through the sunrise and under moonlight Isobella, oh! Isobella, dream of me everything that comes from day comes into the heart to stay Love is in your name each day
in the moment you come before me in that moment I see you only Isobella, oh! Isobella, dream of me
everything that comes from night comes within your shining light Love is in your name each night
Kate Bush, “Wild Man”, from her upcoming album, 50 Words for Snow (Nov. 21, 2011).
“Wild Man” lyrics by Kate Bush:
They call you an animal The Kangchenjumga demon Wild man Metoh-kangmi
Lying in my tent I can hear your cry Echoing round the mountainside You sound lonely
While crossing the Lhakpa La Something jumped down from the rocks In the remote Garo Hills by Dipu Marak We found footprints in the snow
The schoolmaster of Darjeeling said He saw you by the Tengboche monastery You were playing in the snow You were banging on the doors You climbed up on the roof Roof of the world You were pulling up the rhododendrons Loping down the mountain
They want to know you They will hunt you down Then they will kill you Run away, run away Run away
While crossing the Lhakpa La Something jumped down from the rocks In the remote Garo Hills by Dipu Marak We found footprints in the snow
We found your footprints in the snow We brushed them all away
From the Sherpas of Annapurna To the Rinpoche of Jinghai Shepherds from Mount Kailash to Himachal Pradesh Found footprints in the snow
You’re not a Langur monkey Nor a big brown bear You’re the wild man
They say they saw you drown Near the Rongbuk glacier They wanna hunt you down You’re not an animal The lamas say You’re not an animal
“Nautical Twilight” - a new song by Tori Amos from Night of Hunters (2011).
lyrics:
As the day gave way to Nautical Twilight I turned my back on the force of which I knew I abandoned it, rupturing a delicate balance when I left my world for his.
Day after day, as my city fades and is swallowed by his sea and She is boundless even breaking on the beach
Every alchemist knows fusion and fission can unify or drive a force to split
He has been possessed to drink of the spices from the east By his liquid mistress Which then pushed me into the lair of Uranium She divides time between Greed and his twin Tyranny
Day after day, cities are betrayed and the earthy sons lay their blame and She is boundless but by then she has been frayed
As the night gives way to Nautical Dawn I can see I must activate the force of which I am made
It has been suggested that the music of “Nautical Twilight” may have been inspired by Mendelssohn’s Venetian Gondola Song.
Sufjan Stevens - “All the Trees of the Field Will Clap Their Hands”
lyrics:
If I am alive this time next year will I have arrived in time to share? And mine is about as good this far And I’m still applied to what you are
And I am joining all my thoughts to you And I’m preparing every part for you
And I heard from the trees a great parade And I heard from the hills a band was made And will I be invited to the sound? And will I be a part of what you’ve made?
And I am throwing all my thoughts away And I’m destroying every bet I’ve made And I am joining all my thoughts to you And I’m preparing every part for you
“Hello Mr. Dollar” (2011) by Eddie Amos, Father of Tori Amos. Yes, it’s true, this is a brand new video by Tori’s Dad, and her Mom is in the video, too. Very bizarre and interesting.
youtube description: Eddie’s first release is an avant garde comical sketch about the current American debt crisis. Using low production for humor and awareness of more serious issues, Eddie’s video presents the question — what will happen to the Arts and Media if the power behind the dollar is destroyed?
Lyrics:
WHO ARE YOU FROM WHENCE HAVE YOU COME MY NAME IS MR DOLLAR AND I AM SICK
LYING IN INTENSIVE CARE UNIT ON A RESPIRATOR MEDIC EDDIE WILL TELL YOU MY SAD STORY
NOT THE GOLD MAN NOT THE SILVER MAN AM I NOT THE COPPER MAN IT’S THE SICK TIN MAN
WHERE YOUR TREASURE IS THERE SHALL BE YOUR HEART ALSO HELLO MR. DOLLAR YOU ARE WITHOUT A HEART
YOU HAD A GOLD HEART DURING THE DEPRESSION WE WERE POOR MR. DOLLAR YOU WERE KING
I DREAMED OF HAVING GOLD A GOLD COIN SOME DAY I KNEW THERE WAS GOLD IN FORT KNOX
WHO ARE YOU AND FROM WHENCE HAVE YOU COME MY NAME IS MR DOLLAR AND I AM SICK
LYING IN INTENSIVE CARE UNIT ON A RESPIRATOR MEDIC EDDIE WILL TELL YOU MY SAD STORY
NOT THE GOLD MAN NOT THE SILVER MAN AM I NOT THE COPPER MAN IT’S THE SICK TIN MAN
IF YOU AIN’T GOLD MR DOLLAR WHO ARE YOU OH THERE WERE THE DAYS OF SILVER
A SILVER DOLLAR A BOX OF CHERRIES TOO TO CELEBRATE GEORGE WASHINGTON’S BIRTHDAY
PRESIDENT KENNEDY WAS HONORED BY MR. DOLLAR NOT GOLD NOT SILVER BUT A COPPER SILVER DOLLAR
WHO ARE YOU AND FROM WHENCE HAVE YOU COME MY NAME IS MR DOLLAR AND I AM SICK
LYING IN INTENSIVE CARE UNIT ON A RESPIRATOR MEDIC EDDIE WILL TELL YOU MY SAD STORY
NOT THE GOLD MAN NOT THE SILVER MAN AM I NOT THE COPPER MAN IT’S THE SICK TIN MAN
MR. DOLLAR AND I WENT AROUND THE WORLD I HAD A FIST FULL OF COPPER DOLLARS
WHAT A GREAT TRIP JOY ME AND MR. DOLLAR COME YANKEE BOY WITH COPPER MONEY
MY HEART WAS LOST WHEN THEY SPIT ON YOU THAT’S TRUE MR DOLLAR THEY SPIT ON YOU
WHO ARE YOU AND FROM WHENCE HAVE YOU COME MY NAME IS MR DOLLAR AND I AM SICK
LYING IN INTENSIVE CARE UNIT ON A RESPIRATOR MEDIC EDDIE WILL TELL YOU MY SAD STORY
HOW LOW CAN I SINK A BUM IN THE WORLD NOT GOLD NOT SILVER IN MY HEART
NOT EVEN COPPER IT’S TIN IN MY HEART THERE IN MY HEART I AM TIN THE LOWEST
MY NAME IS MR. DOLLAR THEY SPIT ON ME DOC JUST ONE MORE CHANCE TO GET THE GOLD
WHO ARE YOU AND FROM WHENCE HAVE YOU COME MY NAME IS MR DOLLAR AND I AM SICK
LYING IN INTENSIVE CARE UNIT ON A RESPIRATOR MEDIC EDDIE WILL TELL YOU MY SAD STORY
NOT THE GOLD MAN NOT THE SILVER MAN AM I NOT THE COPPER MAN IT’S THE SICK TIN MAN
MY NAME IS MR DOLLAR THEY SPIT ON ME DOC JUST ONE MORE CHANCE TO GET THE GOLD
Tori Amos: “Sweet Dreams” with a random improvisation in the middle of the song, live on September 23, 1996, in Madison, Wisconsin. Dew Drop Inn tour deliciousness! [listen to more…]
“Sweet Dreams” lyrics by Tori Amos:
“Lies lies lies everywhere” said the father to the son Your peppermint breath Gonna choke him to death daddy Watch your little black sheep run He’s got knives in his back everytime he opens up You say “you gotta be strong if you want to be a man” Mister I don’t know how you can have sweet dreams
Land land of liberty we’re run by a constipated man When you live in the past you refuse to see when your daughter comes home 9 months pregnant with 5 billion points of light you’re gonna shine them on the face of your friends They’ve got the earth in a sling The world on her knees They’ve even got your zipper between their teeth
Sweet dreams You say you say you say that you have ‘em I say that you’re a liar Go on go on go on and dream Your house is on fire
Well well summer wind been catching up with me “Elephant mind missy you don’t have your’re forgettin’ to fly darlin’ when you sleep” I got a hazy lazy Susan Takin’ turns all over my dreams I got lizards and snakes Runnin’ through my body Funny how they all have my face
Sweet dreams You say you say you say that you have ‘em I say that you’re a liar
I do love the sound of Björk’s latest single, “Crystalline,” with its mystical lyrics about the symphony of life and our direct physical connection to all that exists, even the rocks of the earth. In response to Björk’s reference to an “internal nebula,” here is NASA’s Hubble Telescope video of an external nebula, giving birth to stars…
“Crystalline” lyrics by Björk:
Underneath our feet Crystals grow like plants Listen how they grow I’m blinded by the lights Listen how they grow In the core of the Earth Listen how they glow
Crystalline Internal nebula Crystalline Rocks growing slow but Crystalline I conquer claustrophobia Crystalline And demand the lights
We mimic the openness Of the ones we love Daft till our generosity Equalizes the flow With our hearts We kiss our quartz To reach love
Crystalline…
Octagon, polygon Pipes up an organ Sonic branches Murmuring drone Crystalizing galaxies Spread out like my fingers
Crystalline…
It’s the sparkle you become When you conquer anxiety Sparkle you become Conquer anxiety Sparkle you become When you conquer anxiety It’s the sparkle you become When you conquer anxiety
As soon as you’re born they make you feel small By giving you no time instead of it all Till the pain is so big you feel nothing at all A working class hero is something to be
They hurt you at home and they hit you at school They hate you if you’re clever and they despise a fool Till you’re so fucking crazy you can’t follow their rules A working class hero is something to be
When they’ve tortured and scared you for twenty odd years Then they expect you to pick a career When you can’t really function you’re so full of fear A working class hero is something to be
Keep you doped with religion and sex and TV And you think you’re so clever and classless and free But you’re still fucking peasants as far as I can see A working class hero is something to be
There’s room at the top they are telling you still But first you must learn how to smile as you kill If you want to be like the folks on the hill A working class hero is something to be
This is one of the best Cyndi Lauper songs: “Cold” (a rare b-side from the “Who Let in the Rain” single, 1993).
lyrics:
I met a man who drew the line He couldn’t cross his fear of intimacy He just sighed Because he left behind all his fantasy
If you build a wall up, high You start to crumble And you never know why Your tears never dry
If you’re running from the vision That’s in your eyes There’s a collision with what’s inside This ain’t livin’ I need someone to hold How did it get so cold?
You say you need a little time To heal from some romantic injury And I say fine But if you change your mind You can lean on me
But I’m going on with my life, oh I’ve seen it everyday People get burned And they throw love away
If you’re running from the vision That’s in your eyes There’s a collision with what’s inside This ain’t livin’ I need someone to hold How did it get so cold?
It’s coming from the kitchen It’s coming from the sky It’s coming round the corner Straight for you and I It gets so cold…
There seem to be a ton of unreleased Madonna songs from the past 5 years, and some are really good. This is an early version of “History” titled “Land of the Free.”
lyrics:
I looked all around the world No one has it better than we do One thing I don’t understand Why don’t we help more people ‘cause we can
Why are we separated? I thought that we were related Why aren’t we all united? I’m so sick and tired of fighting Why aren’t we all together Let’s end this fight forever Why are we still divided? I’m so sick and tired of fighting
How many tragedies will we see before we come together It’s easy to forget We have the power to make things better
I have a dream But dreams are not for free We all need to change Or just repeat History
If we were one well, it’s easier said than done you can play a part make a brand new start come together, live forever
