The final MMB post for April. Find a song with April in the title or the lyrics.
Scoundrel Days was the second long-player release from a-ha, which was highly anticipated after the success of their first album, Hunting High and Low (1985), which had reached #2 in the United Kingdom’s Album Chart, and number 15 in the United States’ Billboard 200 in the previous year. Scoundrel Days was recorded in England in early 1986 in Wimbledon, South-West London. The record was produced by Alan Tarney, who had produced the band’s singles “Take On Me” and “The Sun Always Shines on T.V.” in the previous year, and it was engineered by Gerry Kitchingham.
The songs were composed by Pal Waaktaar and Magne Furuholmen; the band’s vocalist Morten Harket did not contribute to the songwriting as he had on their first album. Waaktaar and Furuholmen also self-produced three of the record’s tracks, “I’ve Been Losing You”, “Maybe Maybe”, and “Soft Rains of April”.
The soft rains of April are over The soft rains of April are over, over
Anybody home now I am on the phone now, please… The soft rains of April are over The ferry across the water to Dover, over
Anybody home now I am on the phone, oh I’d like to go back Is it raining back home I’m so alone
Just got up today And my thoughts are miles away With you
Well, they gave me four years Three more to go Keep writing letters Time’s passing so slow
So soft rains of April are over The soft rains of April are over Over
This week for SLS, Jim Adams has asked us to choose a song (not a single?) from an album that’s in the Rolling Stone magazine list of The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time either 2003, 2012, 2020, or 2023.
Hail to the Thief is the sixth studio album by the English rock band Radiohead. It was released on 9th June 2003 through Parlophone internationally, and through Capitol Records in the United States on 10th June. It was the last album released under Radiohead’s record contract with EMI, the parent company of Parlophone and Capitol. The song I have chosen from it is; A Punch up at a Wedding. It expresses the helplessness guitarist/vocalist Tom Yorke felt in the face of world events, and his anger over a negative review of Radiohead’s homecoming performance in South Park, Oxford, UK in 2001. Yorke said the performance was “one of the biggest days in my life”, and expressed dismay that “someone, just because they had access to a keyboard and a typewriter, could just totally write off an event that meant an awful lot to an awful lot of people”.
[Outro] No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no
It’s the penultimate week to find a song linked to April. This could be a word in the title or in the lyrics.
Neutral Milk Hotel was an American band formed by Jeff Mangum in Ruston, Louisiana, in 1989. They were active until 1998, and then from 2013 to 2015. The band’s music featured a deliberately low-quality sound, influenced by indie rock and psychedelic folk. Mangum wrote surreal and opaque lyrics that covered a wide range of topics, including love, spirituality, nostalgia, sex, and loneliness. He and the other band members played a variety of instruments, including non-traditional instruments like the singing saw and uilleann pipes.
The song April 8th is about reclusive artist Henry Darger, whose 15,000 page novel, The Story of the Vivian Girls, in What is Known as the Realms of the Unreal, of the Glandeco-Angelinian War Storm, Caused by the Child Slave Rebellion, and 300 associated paintings were not discovered or known of until after his death. Darger, in a similar way to Jeff Mangum, is considered a genius who hid much of his art from the world.
Much of Darger’s work was inspired by the story of Elsie Paroubek, a girl who was kidnapped and murdered on April 8, 1911, which was likely the inspiration for the title of the song.
The theme of SLS this week is to find a track from an album that is listed in the top 200 Hall of Fame.
Pyromania is the third studio album by English ROCK band Def Leppard, released on 20 January 1983 through Vertgo Records in UK and Europe and through Mercury Records in the US. The first album to feature guitarist Phil Collen who replaced founding member Pete Willis, Pyromania was produced by Robert John “Mutt” Lange. The album was a shift away from the band’s traditional heavy metal roots toward a more radio-friendly sound, finding massive mainstream success. Pyromania charted at No. 2 on the Billboard 200, No. 4 on the Canadian RPM Album chart and No. 18 on the UK Albums Chart. Selling over ten million copies in the US, it has been certified diamond by the RIAA. In 2003, the album was ranked No. 384 on Rolling Stone‘s 500 Greatest Albums of All Time, and later inducted into the Hall of Fame (see second video).
Rock of Ages was the second single released from Pyromania in June 1983. I have the remastered re-issue vinyl album on the back to black label. It’s a curiosity…it has all Bob Marley tracks pressed on the a-side! And yet the b-side is as it should be. I’ve no idea how many were pressed like that.
[Verse 1: Joe Elliott] Rise up, gather ’round Rock this place to the ground Burn it up, let’s go for broke Watch the night go up in smoke
[Verse 2: Joe Elliott] Rock on (Rock on) Drive me crazier No serenade, no fire brigade Just the pyromania, come on
[Pre-Chorus: Joe Elliott] (What do ya want?) What do ya want? (I want rock ‘n’ roll) Yes, I do (Long live rock ‘n’ roll)
[Verse 3: Joe Elliott] Oh, let’s go, let’s strike a light We’re gonna blow like dynamite I don’t care if it takes all night Gonna set this town alight, c’mon
[Pre-Chorus: Joe Elliott] (What do ya want?) What do ya want? (I want rock ‘n’ roll) All right (Long live rock ‘n’ roll) Oh, yeah, yeah!
[Bridge: Joe Elliott] We got the power, got the glory Just say you need it And if you need it, say yeah (Yeah!) Ooh, yeah, heh-heh-heh-heh Now listen to me
[Verse 4: Joe Elliott] I’m burnin’, burnin’, I got the fever I know for sure, there ain’t no cure So feel it, don’t fight it, go with the flow And gimme, gimme, gimme, gimme one more for the road, yeah
[Pre-Chorus: Joe Elliott] (What do ya want?) What do ya want? (I want rock ‘n’ roll) You betcha (Long live rock ‘n’ roll) Now hit it
[Guitar Solo]
[Chorus: Joe Elliott] Rock of ages, rock of ages Still rollin’, keep a-rollin’ Rock of ages, rock of ages Still rollin’, rock ‘n’ rollin’
[Bridge: Joe Elliott] We got the power, got the glory Just say you need it And if you need it, say yeah (Yeah!) Say yeah
[Outro: Joe Elliott] We’re gonna burn this damn place down, woo-hoo Down to the ground
This is week 3 of the MMB with another April theme. Find a song with either the month or maybe find April as a girl’s name that’s in the title or the lyrics.
“April Sun in Cuba” is a song recorded by New Zealand group Dragon, released in October 1977. It is the first single to be released from Dragon’s fourth studio album Running Free. “April Sun in Cuba” first charted on 7th November 1977, peaking at number 2 on the Australian Kent Music Report Singles Chart and staying on the chart for 22 weeks. It also reached number 9 on the New Zealand singles chart. The b-side of the single, a non-album track called “Telephone”, was credited to “Dr. Agony”.
[Verse 1] I’m tired of the city life Summer’s on the run People tell me I should stay But I’ve got to get my fun So don’t try and hold me back Ain’t nothin’ you can say Snake eyes on the paradise And we got to go today
[Chorus] Take me to the April sun in Cuba, woah-oh-oh Take me where the April sun Gonna treat me so right So right, so right
[Verse 2] I can almost smell the perfumed night And see the starry sky I wish you were comin’ with me baby ‘Cause right before my eye See Castro in the alley way Talkin’ ’bout missile love Talkin’ ’bout JFK And the way he showed him up
[Chorus] Take me to the April sun in Cuba, woah-oh-oh Take me where the April sun Gonna treat me so right So right, so right
[Bridge] I’m tired of the city life Summer’s on the run Birds in the winter sky Are headin’ for the sun Oh, we can stick it out In this cold and rain Snake eyes on the paradise And we got to go today, yeah!
[Chorus] Take me to the April sun in Cuba, woah-oh-oh Take me where the April sun Gonna treat me so right So right, so right
Take me to the April sun (Come on take me) Take me to the April sun (Come on take me) Take me to the April sun (Come on take me) Take me to the April sun (Come on take me) Take me to the April sun
The theme of SLS this week is about money/taxes. Thanks to Jim and Melissa.
Shake Your Money Maker was recorded by Led Zeppelin and Fleetwood Mac (amongst others) during their early years, but was written and first performed by Elmore James in 1961. This version by Jimmy Page and the Black Crows is from the 1999 ‘Live at the Greek’ album (which has just been released again).
[Chorus] Shake your moneymaker Shake your moneymaker Shake your moneymaker Shake your moneymaker Shake your moneymaker And then
[Chorus] Shake your moneymaker Shake your moneymaker Shake your moneymaker Shake your moneymaker Shake your moneymaker And then
[Chorus] You gotta shake your moneymaker Shake your moneymaker, baby You gotta shake your moneymaker Shake your moneymaker You gotta shake your moneymaker And then
[guitar solo]
[Verse 2] I got a gal and she just won’t be true I got a gal and she just won’t be true She’s locked to the bridge, she won’t do a thing I tell her to do
[Chorus] She won’t shake her moneymaker Won’t shake her moneymaker She won’t roll her activator She won’t shake her moneymaker She won’t shake her moneymaker She won’t
The second week in April. Once again, the theme is to find a song that has the word April in the lyrics or the title.
Warrant is an American glam band formed in 1984 in Holywood, California, that experienced success from 1989 to 1996 with five albums reaching international sales of over 10 million. The band first came into the national spotlight with their double platinum debut album Dirty Rotten Filthy Stinking Rich (1989). The band’s success continued in the early 1990s with the double platinum album Cherry Pie (1990), which provided the hit song of the same name.
Following the critically-acclaimed gold album Dog Eat Dog (1992), which included the April 2031 track, the band started to experience frequent changes to the line-up and despite the drop in popularity with the arrival of grunge, they released Ultraphobic in 1995 and a successful greatest hits album in 1996. The band also changed their musical direction with the release of the grunge-influenced Belly To Belly in 1996, but returned to their roots very quickly by the end of the decade. The band experienced highs and lows in the 2000s with successful tours and a new covers album Under The Influence. Lead singer Jani Lane died of alcohol poisoning in 2011. As of 2024, the band is still recording music and performing, now with former Lynch Mob lead vocalist Robert Mason.
[Verse 1] Say the sky used to be blue I don’t quite believe it It’s probly always been the color that it is And there were cotton candy clouds Birds to fly through it Stories we all love to tell our kids
[Pre-Chorus] So I’ll close my electronic door and keep the cold outside (Side) Hug my aluminium pillow so tight And pray the radiation doesn’t make me sick tonight
[Refrain] (April 2031)
[Verse 2] Say there used to be a wind Wasn’t caused by fans I wonder how it would have felt in my hair And the nuclear ring around the moon was caused by man If it was, then it’s much too late to care
[Pre-Chorus] So I’ll put my safety goggles on and gaze out at the sun (Sun) The artificial atmosphere machines give off a constant hum In a world that’s cold and peaceful, April 2031
[Chorus] No more sky and no more trees (April 2031) No more oxygen to breathe (April 2031) No more hate and no more war (April 2031) Nothing left worth fighting for 2031
[Verse 3] As far back as Vietnam Shoulda learned our lesson But we closed our eyes and sent our sons away And they told us we were winning As we sold more ammunition Some were angry, most just looked the other way, oh-oh
[Pre-Chorus] The night’s illuminated by the endless glowing sand (Sand) That swallowed all the oceans and choked off all the land In a world beyond resuscitation, even by God’s hand
[Chorus] No more mountains, no more sea (April 2031) No more you and no more me (April 2031) No more music, no more songs (April 2031) And no God left to blame it on (April 2031)
[Outro] (No more children playing, April 2031) (No more need for praying, April 2031) (No more children playing, April 2031) (No more need for praying, April 2031)
The theme of SLS this week is to find a song that has the word black in it’s title (there are a lot to choose from!). Thanks to Jim and Melissa.
This week I’ve chosen a track from one of my favourite all-time rock albums. Rainbow Rising features Ronnie James Dio as lead vocalist as well as guitarist Ritchie Blackmore. Ronnie is the star man on the album in my opinion. His vocals are superb throughout. The album was first released in 1976 on the oyster/polydor label in the UK.
Can’t forget his face, what a lonely place Has he really let us go? All the time that’s lost, what’s the final cost? Will I really get away?
And all my life it seems is just a crazy dream Just reachin’ for somebody’s star Can’t believe it all, did he really fall? What to do now, I don’t know
Somethin’s callin’ me back There’s a light in the black Am I ready to go? I’m comin’ home
Breathed the air before, heard the thunder roar Never knew it was for me Always looking down, lost and never found Eyes that look but not to see
All my life it seems is just a crazy dream Just reachin’ for somebody’s star Like an open door that you’ve passed before But you’ve never had the key
Somethin’s callin’ me back There’s a light in the black
Am I ready to go? I’m comin’ home, I’m comin’ (home) yeah (I’m goin’ back to my home)
I’m goin’ (home, home, home) (Goin’ home, home, home) I’m comin’ back Don’t forget his face, what a lonely place Did he really let us go? All the time that’s lost, what’s the final cost? Will I really get away?
All my life it seems is just a crazy dream Reachin’ for somebody’s star Can’t believe it all, did he really fall? What to do now, will I know?
Somethin’s (callin’ me back) (Like a light in the black) (Yes, I’m ready to go) I’m comin’ (home, home) yeah
I’m on my way back home To the sky, there in the sky I see a star
Yes, it’s April already! That means you need to find the word April in the title or in the lyrics of a song.
The Jesus and Mary Chain are a Scottish alternative band formed in East Kilbride in 1983. The band revolves around the songwriting partnership of brothers Jim and William Reid, who are the two founders and only consistent members of the band since its formation. They are recognised as key figures in the development of the shoegaze and noise pop subgenres. The band’s biggest commercial success was their second album Darklands, which reached No. 5 on the UK Album Charts in 1987 and spawned the hit single “April Skies”, peaking at No. 8 in the UK.
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