Songs of the month - November 2020
Oops. Well, at least I'm only 1/2 a month late. Anyway, here's a list of songs that turned up often in my history for November!
Against The Wind - Bob Seger Band
Against the Wind was the second single in the album "Against the Wind", by the Bob Seger and the Silver Bullet Band. It was released in April 1980 and is classified under "Heartland" and "soft" rock.
Inspiration came from Bob Seger's days as a high-school cross country runner, with key themes of "trying to move ahead" and "keeping sanity and integrity at the same time", also referencing Janey Dinsdale (who he had a relationship with from 1972 to 1983).
Bob Seger talked more about the song's meaning in a 1980 interview with magazine Rolling Stone, where he discusses how the song is about "knowing the difference between when people are using you and when they truly care about you"
The song reached 5 on the US Billboard Top 100 and was apparently featured in the movie Forrest Gump, Which I haven't seen yet.
Bad Day - REM
Bad Day is a Alternative / College Rock song by REM, it is one of two songs that were previously unreleased until REM compiled their 2003 album "In Time: The Best of R.E.M", making the album's lead single.
The song however, had appeared 18 years earlier in 1985 under the name "PSA" , when lead singer Michael Stripe sang a few words of the song during a concert during their Reconstruction tour in Albany, New York.
It was based off a time Michael Stripe was confronted with a camcorder lens when he opened the front door and although it wasn't released in '85, it shared common themes with the band's song "It's the End of the World as we know it (and I feel fine)."
The Band decided that it was still relevant in 2003 and recorded it for their compilation, renaming the song "Bad Day".
So Far Away
"So Far Away" is the opening track on Dire Straits' 5th album "Brothers in Arms". It was released on 8th April 1985, and had "Walk of Life" on the record B-Side; Which I'd guess, from my post-millennium perspective, means that "Walk of Life" was recorded on the other side of the vinyl disc.
It is about a long distance relationship, with references dotted everywhere. I mean the song is literally called "So Far Away".
A fun fact about the lyrics is that "See you've been in the sun and I've been in the rain" apparently references Mark Knopfler's wife who was in England while he was recording the song in the West Indies.
Lady Writer - Dire Straits
"Lady Writer" is another Dire Straits song, in their 1979 album of the same name.
It has a simple meaning, Mark Knopfler was watching TV one day, and there was a lady writer "talking about the Virgin Mary". Some think that the person referenced is Marina Warner, but it hasn't been confirmed.
Playlist
Conclusion
This month, you're only getting 4. Sorry.
"What to leave in, What to leave out", I guess...
