Song of the Day: 'Who's That Girl' by Eurythmics (without the 'THE')

Since the first time I heard "Jennifer" -- on a cassette my friend Greg made me of the "Sweet Dreams" album -- I have been in awe of Annie Lennox and Dave Stewart. I'd lie on my bed on West Kiva back in my Dobson High days playing it over and over. wondering how fellow humans could come up with something so captivating and haunting. (That Newsweek cover still transports me back to 1984.) The entire record was a revelation  -- "Love Is a Stranger" was one of the best singles of the new wave, and "Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)" was one of the most iconic, which is to say nothing about "The Walk" -- and they continued making smart albums packed with infectious singles in the years that followed, including today's pick. What a thrill to at last see these childhood idols inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, about which Annie wrote this: 

Ever since I learned about Eurythmics induction I’ve been seeing my life run before me - Performing in tiny hole in the wall clubs, then theatres and eventually arenas, stadiums, and festivals across every major city.. sleeping on ‘the bus’ arriving in Boston, Nashville, Chicago ..every venue in the USA and everywhere else around the world. Backstage dressing rooms, sound checks, road crews, catering.. every aspect of touring, rehearsals, travelling in cars, buses and airplanes.. TV and radio stations, Press interviews.. Writing and recording songs in the studio, Conceiving and creating videos.. The impact of ‘Fame’. The life of an ‘artist’, as opposed to a ‘celebrity’. There’s a difference! Everyone inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame knows this as a ‘lived’ experience. I’m very grateful to EVERYONE who made this all happen! 

ps. We’re Eurythmics without the ‘THE’!!! 🤣

This also happens to be one of the best videos ever.

UPDATE: Read what Dave Stewart had to say about the honor BELOW.

Song of the Day: 'Under Pressure' by David Bowie and Annie Lennox

 

Who could forget this classic moment from the tribute concert for Freddie Mercury in 1991, the same year the killer Queen died from complications of AIDS? 

And watch them rehearse HERE.

Song of the Day: 'Sex Crime (1984)' by Eurythmics

I don't know about you, but I rarely find the time to watch all the videos that I'd like to. (Too little time, too much content.) But I'm sure glad I took a few minutes over the weekend to finally take in this interview with Annie Lennox. (If only more people could be like her, and Ari Melber.) Her modesty is sincere -- but way to go for speaking up about this underrated classic!

Song of the Day: 'Tous les Garçons et les Filles' by Eurthymics

Forgot about this delightful cover of an old Francoise Hardy hit. This one-time B-side was later included on the CD reissue of "Be Yourself Tonight." Sometimes songs sung in foreign languages annoy me, but not this one, which is more than I can say for poor Damian, who has to listen to me attempt to sing lyrics I don't know in a language I don't know!

Song of the Day: 'When Tomorrow Comes' (acoustic) by Eurythmics

If you had asked me what my favorite Eurythmics song was anytime in the past four decades I'd have definitely said "Love Is a Stranger." Yes, "Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)" made them international stars. But the song needed another verse and lacked the haunting quality of its U.K. predecessor (and U.S. followup). But since delving into the complete Dave and Annie catalog, I must say the song that routinely gives me goosebumps like no other is "When Tomorrow Comes," from the duo’s fifth studio album, "Revenge." Although it wasn't released as a single in the U.S., and only reached No. 30 in the U.K., it boggles the mind how "Missionary Man" could be seen as the standout from the album, which finds the duo at its creative peak. So perhaps if "Love Is a Stranger" is still my "Heart of Glass," "When Tomorrow Comes" might be my "Dreaming": A perfect pop-rock single that didn't quite get the recognition it deserved at the time that has finally gotten its due, as evidenced by some wonderful covers over the years.

What's your favorite?

An acoustic live version from 1986 ...

Anna Ternheim's dark Swedish spin ...

And Erika Spring's sunny take ...

Song of the Day: 'Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)' by Weezer

I thought it was kinda kitschy when Weezer did a note-for-note cover of Toto's "Africa." But now that I'm realizing their entire retro covers album -- which also features songs by A-Ha, Tears for Fears and ELO -- is entirely like that, I kind of wish they'd mixed it up just a bit. I could almost swear they're sampling Dave and Annie on this one ...

Song of the Day: 'Requiem for a Private War' by Annie Lennox

Annie Lennox returns with an ethereal new song that evokes Sade's "I Never Thought I'd See the Day." The song is from "A Private War," a new film about celebrated war correspondent Marie Colvin. 

Song of the Day: 'Ladies of the Canyon' by Annie Lennox

How adorable is it to see Annie Lennox fan-girl on Joni Mitchell in this old photo?

Song of the Day: 'Shining Light' by Annie Lennox

Discovered this video from her 2009 "best of" while on my Annie Lennox binge. (Also never knew she covered Blondie, Psychedelic Furs and Joni Mitchell on various "Medusa" b-sides/bonus  releases!) Although I'm not sure this video is a nod to the Go-Go's, the butch drummer and dark-haired guitar players sure reminded me of the "Head Over Heels" clip!

Song of the Day: 'Winter Wonderland' by Eurythmics

My Annie Lennox bender hasn't let up for a minute. But this "bomb cyclone" makes this the obvious pick for today!

UPDATE: I went to rip my Annie Lennox CDs and realized I had actually bought "Bare," but obviously had never played it.

Song of the Day: 'Pavement Cracks' by Annie Lennox

From the "What was I thinking files": I totally adored Annie Lennox's first two solo albums -- and kind of became a much bigger Eurythmics fans as a result, after the fact. So it might surprise you to know that I completely lost interest when her third LP came out, 2003's "Bare." (I blame that horrendous cover art for completely turning me off.)

Here we are 15 years later and I just listened to it for the first time (on YouTube!) and it may be her best yet. I might add that I did buy the followup "Songs of Mass Destruction" but never listened to it until my "Bare" discovery. (I know.) It's not nearly as good, but definitely didn't deserve to be collecting dust in my apartment for a decade.

(Video looks like it's dead but it works.)

Kid Tells Annie Lennox She May Have a Future in Music

This reminds me of when "the kids" were so blown away by Annie Lennox's performance of "I Put a Spell on You" at the 2015 Grammys. The Autotune Generation didn't realize people could actually sing ... live! #whatbecomesalegendmost

On the Rag, Vol. 326

A weekly look at what's making news in the free gay mags:

Get Out! magazine: La Leche is New York City's biggest Halloween party / Read HERE.

Next: Cazwell takes the gay rap game back to the dance floor with his long-awaited third album / Read HERE.

Get Out! magazine catches up with Annie Lennox / Read HERE.

Metro Weekly (D.C.): Ted Clements and Peter Lloyd are soaring high with construction underway for the new DC Eagle / Read HERE.

Echo (Phoenix): What’s in a Name? Arizona drag queens sound off on Facebook’s “real-name” policy / Read HERE.

Grab (Chicago): Boystown is ready for Halloween / Online edition HERE.

Annie Lennox Returns With 'Nostalgia'

Great to hear that Annie Lennox is back with a new solo album, even if it made me cringe to realize it's her sixth -- and I only know the first two -- and own what I thought was the third but turns out to be the fourth (that I've never played ... oops). I like Annie a lot, but she's never been one of "my" girls, despite loving her solo debut beyond belief. Am happy to take a reaming from any diehard Annie fans on why I need to get the missing albums ASAP. Her latest, "Nostalgia" -- a second covers collection, this time made up of favorites from her youth -- is available to pre-order now HERE.

Nostalgia - Annie Lennox

Song of the Day: 'You Have Placed a Chill in My Heart' (acoustic) by Eurythmics

With thanks to Marc who alerted me to this vintage live -- and acoustic -- version of one the duo's best songs, as performed on "Top of the Pops." Dave Stewart and Annie Lennox will reportedly reunite for the first time in years for an upcoming Beatles tribute. Read HERE.

 

Song of the Day: 'Give It Up' by Chrissie Hynde and Annie Lennox

I'm what you'd call a selective obsessive compulsive. Despite being a professional copy editor, I think nothing of littering my blog with typos (or worse) -- when I'm in writer mode, who has time to go back and review their work? -- yet when it comes to my music collection, I will leave no "i" undotted or "t" uncrossed. Case in point when I decided to import my Pretenders collection into iTunes over the weekend, a endeavor as performed by me that would render the average person unable to stop their sobbing. Now I'm not talking about the band's nine main albums -- those have been in my computer for years. But in my obsessive compulsiveness, I also have another 36 sources of material -- a Flexipop single from 1981, UB40 collaborations, soundtrack contributions to "The Living Daylights," "1969," "Indecent Proposal," "Wayne's World 2," "G.I. Jane," "Fever Pitch," "The Other Sister" and "The Wild Thornberrys," tracks on tribute albums to Jimi Hendrix, James Bond themes, Burt Bacharach, Gram Parsons, Bruce Springsteen, the Doors, Sun Records, John Lennon and the Ramones, plus a duet with the Chairman of the Board, collaborations with Moodswings, Tube & Berger, a PETA benefit plus assorted b-sides, live covers and the bonus material included on the Rhino reissues of the band's classic first four albums. Back when I was producing CDs with my friend Greg, I was content to have these songs all lumped together on compilation discs. But with iTunes, my idiot savant mind would not rest until each and every one of these 226 songs was in its rightful place in chronological order -- complete with proper artwork -- so I wound up staying up till the sun came up Sunday, finally able to sleep knowing everything was at long last where it belonged. During my research, I came across this gem of a song that I wasn't even aware until about 3:30 a.m. Sunday morning -- a rollicking cover of KC and the Sunshine Band's "Give it Up" performed by Chrissie Hynde and Annie Lennox during the Colombian Volcano Relief Concert at the Royal Albert Hall in London on February 9, 1986. (You'll also Pete Townshend on guitar, on a break from his child pornography "research.") Maybe I was a little loopy by then, but it sure seemed like the most adorable thing I've seen in ages. I've been Chrissie Hynde's biggest fan for 30-some years -- unlike Debbie Harry, I've never even tried to meet her ... because I'm afraid of her -- and I wasn't even aware she knew how to smile, much less let go and have fun! Watch for yourself. If nothing else, you'll get a kick out of Chrissie's pants!

P.S. As obsessive as I am about having song and the chronology of my music, for some strange reason it doesn't bother me that, say, Debbie Harry gets alphabetized under "D" rather than "H." I have friends who go through all their artist and change them -- Harry, Debbie -- yet my brain is OK with it. 

Jesse Tyler Ferguson's Magic 'Touch'

How much are you loving Gavin Bond's Out 100 photos, based on iconic images of the 20th century? (Remember then?) Jesse Tyler Ferguson as Annie Lennox is genius -- and Kathy Griffin as Madonna? The closest I ever thought she'd ever get to that one is "Medusa: Dare to be Truthful"! See 'em all HERE.

Also love comedian Karey Dornetto as Patti Smith:

And the covers are nice, too:

Music Box: Marilyn

It was the first week of 1984 and Newsweek had a Technicolor Boy George and Annie Lennox splashed across the cover proclaiming the second coming of the British Invasion, yet all my sexually confused 16-year-old eyes could see was endless possibilities. He looked like a chick. She looked like a dude, sort of. I specifically remembering staring at the cover while listening to the Eurythmics' haunting song "Jennifer" and feeling completely sick to my stomach thinking, maybe I wasn't the only one who felt this way.

This was the year before I went all Trapper Keepers
Like many gay people growing up during the '80s, the new wave explosion was a welcome escape from the boy-girl society around us, a convenient way to hide our sexuality behind the fashions and styles of the time. (I'm not sure what I'd have done, say, in the '70s or '90s.) And with each passing year someone new came along to push the boundaries. From Visage, Culture Club and Eurythmics to Haysi Fantayzee and Dead or Alive. But of all the artists of that gender-bender era, none garnered my affections the way Marilyn did.

I'll never forget seeing the 12" single of his debut song, "Calling Your Name," in the bin at Zia Records on Mill Avenue in Tempe, Ariz., with his glamorous blond dreadlocks tossed to the side, perfect makeup and his exposed chest. After tearing up the U.K. charts with that one he never had another real hit even in his homeland, so the singles and subsequent album, "Despite Straight Lines," were never even released here in the states. But that didn't stop me from snatching up every new thing he released (my friend Laura Thomas even had the picture disc of "Cry and Be Free" with the rare b-side "Running" on it, which I promptly taped!) and every No. 1 magazine and Smash Hits that he appeared in. (That's him in the bottom lefthand corner of my English folder from Dobson High. Can you name the others?) Was I sexually attracted to Marilyn? No. But I was definitely drawn to him in some strong way. Looking back I think it was his ability to have enough self-confidence to be who he was with no apologies that made me admire him, despite his increasingly obvious lack of musical abilities. (His outsider within the group of outsiders status was certainly something I related to, too.) When Boy George brought the era to life in the show "Taboo"a few years ago it was Marilyn's biting oneliners that stole the show, of course. And every so often I'll dust off my homemade Marilyn CD of everything he ever released (none of which ever made the leap to the digital age officially) and play it with fond memories of the pretty boy who wasn't afraid to be himself.


"Calling Your Name"



"Baby U Left Me (in the Cold)"

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