WHAT'S IT ALL ABOUT, VICKI?
Until you find the love you've missed, you're nothing."
(from Alfie by Bacharach & David)
| Song (Duration) | Writer | Artist (Year) | Key lyrics | Notes | Video |
| 1: I'll Never Fall in Love Again (2:53) | Bacharach & David | Dionne Warwick (1968) | What do you get when you kiss a guy?, You get enough germs to catch pneumonia, After you do, he'll never phone ya, I'll never fall in love again. | That's one of Vicki's fave lyrics, from BEFORE she met me! I believe I met 4 of her earlier boyfriends... She was once mauled on the dancefloor by (Fields Medal winning) mathematician Steve Smale, who bore a physical resemblance to his contemporary Burt Bacharach. | YouTube |
| 2: Veronica (3:09) | McCartney & Costello | Elvis Costello with Macca (1989) | A song about losing a parent to dementia | Before she met me, Vicki bought into the "McCartney is soppy" propaganda, possibly reinforced by some dodgy Wings tracks. Despite this, I changed her mind with a PR counteroffensive. In 1983, she'd introduced me to the music of Elvis Costello; yes, I had led a somewhat shetiered life in the late 1970s. Since then, we have seen both artists live numerous times. For me, Elvis towers above all others of his generation. This collaboration of theirs was one of Vicki's fave songs, and one she joyfuly sang in both choir and karaoke settings. | YouTube |
| 3: (What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love and Understanding (3:37) | Nick Lowe | Brinsley Schwartz (1974) | As I walk through this wicked world, Searching for light in the darkness of insanity, I ask myself, "Is all hope lost? Is there only pain and hatred and misery?", And each time I feel like this inside, There's one thing I wanna know, What's so funny 'bout peace, love and understanding? | Years ago Vicki and I agreed that we wanted this played LOUD when we're gone. This is the original unmatchable crisp and chiming version produced by Dave Edmunds. Was there a better sounding disc in 1974? It went unnoticed at the time. (Nick's pal Elvis Costello does this live so much that many people think it's his. Nope.) | YouTube |
| 4: Something (3:01) | George Harrison | The Beatles (1969) | You know the words. | There it is, starting at 1:42: more eloquent than any human voice. | YouTube |
| 5: Because | John Lennon | Vanessa-Mae with George Martin | There are no words needed, at this time. | John Lennon was arguably at his crankiest in 1969, not bothering to finish most of the songs he started, and itching to forego the Fab Four circus for yawn-inducing larks with Yoko. Yet he gave us this most beautiful melody and harmonies (with a little help from his friend Paul & George). | YouTube |
| 6: Photograph (3:57) | Ringo Starr & George Harrison | Ringo Starr (1973) | I can't get used to livin' here while my heart is broke, My tears I cried for you, I want you here to have and hold as the years go by, And we grow old and grey. Now you're expecting me to live without you, But that's not something that I'm lookin' forward to. | One of those songs that seemed interesting at the time, and now, as we age and start to fall off the planet, seems positively visionary. | YouTube |
| 7: I Will (1:46) | Paul McCartney | The Bealtes (1968) | Love you forever and forever, Love you with all my heart, Love you whenever we're together, Love you when we're apart. | There's a cassette tape somewhere in the basement with which I wooed Vicki bakc in 1983. This song and the next one were on it. It seems to have worked. | YouTube |
| 8: Need Your Love So Bad (6:15) | Little Willie John & Mertis John Jr | Fleetwood Mac (1968) | Need someone's hand to lead me through the night, I need someone's arms to hold and squeeze me tight, Now, when the night begins, whoa, I'm at an end, Because I need your love so bad | See the comments for the previous song. | YouTube |
| 9: What the World Needs Now Is Love (3:15) | Bacharach & David | Jackie DeShannon (65) | What the world needs now is love, sweet love, It's the only thing that there's just too little of, What the world needs now is love, sweet love, No, not just for some but for everyone. | That's the message. | YouTube |
| 10. Days (2:54) | Ray Davies | The Kinks (1968) | I bless the light, I bless the light that shines on you, believe me, And though you're gone, You're with me every single day, believe me. | Kirsty MacColl charted with a cover of this in 1988. Over the years, the song has grown on me. The lyrics seem very relevant today. | YouTube |
| 11. Free World (2:36) | Kirsty MacColl | Kirsty MacColl (1989) | I wouldn't tell you if I didn't care. | That line was Vicki's unix email siganture file circa 1990. Another song that she recently picked as being worthy of your attention at this time. Kirsty: "The subject matter is Thatcherite Britain – you know, grab whatever you can and sod the little guy". In 1984, in London, I introduced Vicki to the music of Kirsty. She was a contemporary of ours, with a famous father, Ewan MacColl, and she had perfect pitch and a wicked tongue. We saw her live twice in Atlanta. My first published writing on music was an obit for her dad in Dirty Linen, and my last was an obit for her in Creative Loafing. She was killed at age 41 by a Mexican playboy in a speed boat. An early reminder of mortatality. You might know her for her Pogues duet on "Fairytale of New York" (the best Xmas song ever). | YouTube |
| 12. Life Is a Long Song (3:18) | Ian Anderson | Jethro Tull (1971) | Life's a long song, Life's a long song, Life's a long song, But the tune ends too soon for us all. | Vicki singled out this years ago as one she wanted played when she was gone. We both loved this song since its first release in the early 1970s. | YouTube |
| 13. America (3:35) | Paul Simon | Simon & Garfunkel (1968) | Let us be lovers, we'll marry our fortunes together. | A great fave of hers and mine. We saw its author live twice, and for the 2016 show at the Fox he did this gem solo as his encore---sublime. I've always thought it was his answer to the Beatles' "A Day in the Life". It's certainly the better song! | YouTube |
| 14. In My Life (2:29) | Lennon & McCartney | Sean Connery with George Martin | But of all these friends and lovers, there is no one compares with you | Among the men Vicki wished had been her boyfriends were Hugh Grant, Colin Firth and this Scotsman. | YouTube |
| 15. It's a Motherfucker (2:14) | Mark Oliver (aka E, son of Hugh Everett III, originator of the many-worlds interpretation of quantum mechanics) | Eels (2000) | It's a motherfucker, Getting through a Sunday, Talking to the walls, Just me again, But I won't ever be the same, I won't ever be the same | A short pretty tune whose lyrics now resonate with renewed relevance. | YouTube |
| 16. Alfie (2:41) | Bacharach & David | Cilla Black (1966) | I believe in love, Alfie, Without true love we just exist, Alfie, Until you find the love you've missed, You're nothing, Alfie. | This version, produced by George Martin, really knocks it out of the ballpark at 1:30. THAT'S THE GOTCHA. | YouTube, and see also this live-in-the-studio take (with Burt!) |
| 17. Argument Clinic (3:06) | Monty Python | Michael Palin & John Cleese (1971) | Ah, but if I didn't pay, why are you arguing? Aha! Got you. No, you haven't. Yes, I have if you're arguing I must have paid. Not necessarily, I could be arguing In my spare time. | We were both relatively early converts to Monty Python, in the mid 1970s, long before we met. In those days you'd be lucky to see them on TV, but there was the film Holy Grail, and there were the wonderful ear-opening LPs. Later we independly memorised every line of all 12 Fawlty Towers episodes. In 2014, we had the good fortune to see the Python reunion stage show in London. So many classics to pick from: Four Yorkshiremen, Lumberjack Song, Sit on My Face, Nudge Nudge, Dead Parrot, Cheese Shop, and the Spanish Inquisition. But the Argument clinic tickled both of out funny bones in a mathematical sense, because of Cleese's brilliant turns of logic. | YouTube |
| 18. The Parting Glass (3:25) | "traditional" | The Voice Squad | There is a fair maid in the town, That sorely has my heart beguiled, Her rosy cheeks and ruby lips, I own she has my heart enthralled, So fill to me the parting glass, Good night and joy be with you all. | A traditional Irish song of departure, these days often interpretted as a final farewell. | YouTube |
| 19. Turn, Turn, Turn (3:19) | Dolly Parton with Roger McGuinn | A time to be born, a time to die, A time to plant, a time to reap, A time to kill, a time to heal, A time to laugh, a time to weep. | We both loved Dolly, for her huge tracts of ... talent, and the good she does in the world. | YouTube | |