So this week there was only one official music video among the songs I cited. All the other videos are of live concert performances of the songs. The music video is for "Cat's in the Cradle" by Ugly Kid Joe. The video is very good and well worth watching as it captures the theme of the song about a Dad who doesn't really spend much time with his son and so loses all those irreplaceable years of father/son relationship. The key twist to the song is in the final verse when the Dad rings his son to see if he can catch up with him. His son puts him off saying he'd love to but is too busy with his own family matters: "you see the new job's a hassle and the kids got the flu, but it's been sure nice talking to you Dad, it's been sure nice talking to you."

The other two live concert songs that are worth watching are the Kinks performance of the "Ape man" (mainly because the guy playing the piano is dressed like an ape) and Ian Dury and the Blockhead's version of "Hit me with your rhythm stick" just so you can admire Ian's cool "sunnies" with the leather side covers.

So the next few songs were ones I considered for my 10 album covers but I rejected them because the album covers were boring. Not sure whether I can theme this last set so will just let them rip. As I mentioned a couple of days back will continue until they open up the aquatic centre and I can finally go swimming again. Hopefully not too many married folk are singing this after 54 days of being shut inside. Strange at the end of this video how the audience start to throw what looks like paper discs onto the stage?

"The marriage vow is very sacred..."

OK given Helen is currently reading 1984 and since there is no discernible change in the Johnson government's behaviour, I thought I would share two more songs from David Bowie's Diamond Dogs album before returning to my 21^st century theme. The second half of the album had three songs all dedicated to the dystopian novel 1984. I remember studying this novel for the HSC (yes back in 1984 in fact: I'm a very old git now) and we studied it alongside Aldous Huxley's "A Brave New World". I think Huxley's book is a more accurate prediction of what would happen in the Western world up until what I will call the "post-truth" Trump era. However, the doublethink of 1984 certainly appears to be becoming more present in modern political discourse. One absolutely unforgettable scene in the book is when Winston Smith turns to his lover and says "We are the dead". She replies "We are the dead". Then the government speaker on the wall sounds to life saying: "You are the dead". Freaky stuff which is captured well by Bowie in today's Covid Island Disc.

But now
We're today's scrambled creatures, locked in tomorrow's double feature
Heaven's on the pillow, its silence competes with hell
It's a twenty-four hour service, guaranteed to make you tell
And the streets are full of press men
Bent on getting hung and buried
And the legendary curtains are drawn 'round Baby Bankrupt
Who sucks you while you're sleeping
It's the theater of financiers
Count them, fifty 'round a table
White and dressed to kill
Oh caress yourself, my juicy
For my hands have all but withered
Oh dress yourself my urchin one, for I hear them on the stairs
Because of all we've seen, because of all we've said
We are the dead
We are the dead
We are the dead

The next set of songs were never part of the original facebook posts as I finished the postings on day 77. However, given Covid has dragged on and I have now created my own website, I thought I would continue the playlist. Got to now play catch-up so will publish a week's worth of songs each day. This one was the next one I had on my list. Certainly a dark song which sadly captures the spirit of our age.

Another one of John's song from his Double Fantasy album which came out only shortly before he was assassinated in New York. I also wonder what this genius would have produced if he had lived another 30 or so years. Sadly we shall never know.

Time to finish the first week of 2021 with another classic song from arguably the greatest Australian wordsmith Paul Kelly. A great story about a guy struggling with alcohol addiction who ends up splitting up with his wife while he receives inpatient therapy for his addiction. The story then covers the nervousness of his returning to his home after such a long time away.

He came in on a Sunday
Every muscle aching
Walking in slow motion
Like he'd just been hit
Did they have a future?
Would he know his children?
Could he make a picture
And get them all to fit?
He was shaking in his seat
Riding through the streets
In a Silvertop
To her door

Well it is my lovely wife's birthday today and I have the perfect song for this day. "Happy Birthday Helen" by Things of Stone and Wood. Sadly, the audio quality of this video is very poor so I have put two versions of the song one so you can see the Aussie band members of Things of Stone and Wood performing, the other so you can hear the song with decent sound quality. It is always gratifying when one can find the perfect song for an occasion (slightly more aligned than the song I chose for our 20^th wedding anniversary (Covid Island Discs Day 26) 😀.

Video of the band performing but poor sound quality

Audio of song with no video

I think part of the attraction of the Proclaimers has to be their very, very Scottish accents. A great little number although unfortunately, I could not find a videoclip of the song on Youtube so this embedded video is only the soundtrack of this classic song - "Aha, Aha."