I'd forgotten about this Smiths cover that was included as a bonus track on the "We Too Are One" reissue in 2005. until I went on a Hall of Fame bender last week. It's hard to imagine someone as lovely as Annie Lennox would want to have anything to do with Morrissey anymore. But what's done is done, and this is done pretty nicely.
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’!!! đŸ¤£
This also happens to be one of the best videos ever.
UPDATE: Read what Dave Stewart had to say about the honor BELOW.
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!
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!
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.
Had a long talk with my sister yesterday, something we don't do nearly as often in the digital age. My nephew, AJ, who just turned 17 and is starting his senior year of high school, was a major topic of conversation. I've long been urging him to go away to college, having felt like I missed out on a big life experience by living at home for most of my higher education. (Don't think it's a coincidence that I still have friends from every era of my life dating back to age 11 but don't really have a "college group.")
When I was a college sophomore, this was my pinned Tweet
It's a weird feeling when your biggest regret in life is also likely the reason you're still alive. If you'll recall, Rock Hudson had just announced he had AIDS in July 1985, during the summer before I started college.
And the year before one of the cooks at a restaurant called the Salad Bar where I briefly worked during my junior year of high school tried to get me to go to Hotbod's Desert Dance Palace (aka Hotbods), which I later learned was Phoenix’s answer to Studio 54.
I was terrified (OK, mortified) that he even asked -- what was it about this bleach-blond Howard Jones wannabe in suede boots from Judy’s and Bananarama badges that made him think I would even consider going to a gay club, even on a lark?! -- and politely declined. Although there's no way of knowing for certain, it seems highly likely I would have been exploring my sexuality if not sooner -- I was 20 when I finally got down to business -- than with more abandon if I’d gone away to school. (You can only go so wild when you're expected home in your childhood bedroom each night.) As a small consolation, my semester internship away on Capitol Hill gave me a taste of dorm life ... 30 years later and I'm still waiting for David Vilter to pay me the $300 he owes me for the phone bill!
When I took little AJ to the Coffee Plantation, one of my old college haunts
My sister, her husband and AJ's grandparents are all concerned he's too "immature" to go away to college. (You have to wonder what they’d be thinking if he didn’t have a university AND a major in mind!) In fairness, he did just get his driver's license and the second day he drove to school he hit a parked car in the lot! The owner of the injured vehicle became hysterical, but not because she was harmed in any way. Turns out her previous car had recently been totaled. But when everything calmed down AJ paid $800 to have her car fixed without involving the insurance agencies, per the girl’s mother’s wishes. (That must have been the poor kid’s entire earnings from his summer job as a lifeguard, which his parents think made it a “valuable lesson.")
Still, I'm happy my sister is taking a “wait and see" approach about college -- she agrees it's just not the same if you're a commuter student -- encouraging her firstborn to apply to his dream school as well as local colleges. (AJ doesn’t know it, but I’ve already been in touch with an adviser where he wants to go.) Depending on what kind of financial aid/scholarships he qualifies for -- his late Uncle Bill left him some money, too -- and the fact that people can mature a lot in one year's time, my nephew may avoid my fate. I wouldn't want to be 17 again. But it feels nice to help someone who is.
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 ...
I try not to listen to this and "Jennifer" and "Love Is a Stranger" and all the other songs from this album because it makes me ashamed that I don't admit it's the most brilliant thing I'll ever hear in my lifetime. Blondie rules!
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.
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.
Well, I'm not sure how that could have been any more fun. Last night at the Cutting Room, Nadya Ginsburg delivered an affectionate skewe...
Fake Jan Alert
My blog is featured in Susan Olsen's tell-all about the ill-fated "Brady Bunch Variety Hour"!
Little Kenny
Growing up in Madison Heights, Mich.
Back to the Old House
The Web leads to an unexpected return to a house I grew up in.
Oceans 11
Carlsbad, Calif. (2008)
1983
Go Behind the Music of my high-school band, A La Plage
A Death in the Family
Little Larry left us too soon.
Once I Had a Love
With Debbie Harry
'Jungle' Fever
With Robert Buckley
Roger & Me
With Roger Federer
Step Brother McMullen
With Ed Burns
Headline News
With Thomas Roberts
Disclaimer
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And the covers are nice, too:
Click to revisit the heyday of Chelsea's 8th Avenue
My blog is featured in Susan Olsen's tell-all about the ill-fated "Brady Bunch Variety Hour"!
Growing up in Madison Heights, Mich.
The Web leads to an unexpected return to a house I grew up in.
Carlsbad, Calif. (2008)
Go Behind the Music of my high-school band, A La Plage
Little Larry left us too soon.
With Debbie Harry
With Robert Buckley
With Roger Federer
With Ed Burns
With Thomas Roberts
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