Beth Rowley - I Walk Beside You (from the BBC series C.B. Strike)

The BBC detective series--C.B. Strike

Good detective tv series are hard to come by, but as luck would have it, I stumbled upon the BBC series C.B. Strike on HBO (C.B. Strike (TV Series 2017– ) - IMDb). I'm a Columbo and Mike Hammer fan from before, and the recent Sherlock series with Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman caught my interest as well. My criteria for 'good' are several: I have to be drawn into the plot almost immediately; the detective(s) have to have some appealing qualities--they can be gruff or rude at times, but at heart be decent people; the story has to make sense and to have a reasonable conclusion. C.B. Strike fits the bill. Tom Burke plays private eye Strike with a certain gravitas; Strike doesn't laugh too much, he's not silly or a caricature of a private eye. He's served his country militarily and come back from the Afghanistan war as an amputee--missing part of his leg after an explosion. He worked as a military policeman in the British Special Investigation Branch until he left to become a private detective. He ends up taking on a parter, Robin Ellacott, played by Holliday Grainger. There is undeniable chemistry between Strike and Ellacott, but their personal lives are complicated and they don't pursue their attraction to each other. I find myself thinking about The X-Files and how the series kept us waiting for Fox Mulder and Dana Scully to get together; it was part of the attraction of the series for many years. Interestingly, once they did get together, some of the excitement of the series was diminished. Both Burke and Grainger are superb in their roles; at this point, Tom Burke is Strike because he plays him so well. It's like the character was written specifically for him. 

C.B. Strike is based on the novels by Robert Galbraith (the pseudonym for J.K. Rowling of Harry Potter fame). Rowling is a very good writer who knows how to invent good plots, weave excitement into them, and keep us on the edge of our seats waiting for resolution. I've read all the Harry Potter books; most of them are very long, but Rowling's dramatic pacing is such that the pages fly by. I haven't read the Strike books, but I imagine they are very much the same. So it's been enjoyable so far to watch the tv series--good entertainment, very good stories, and very good actors. You can't ask for much more. I should also add that the opening graphics and title song are also excellent; the song 'I Walk Beside You' is sung by Beth Rowley and was written by Adrian Johnston and Crispin Letts. As always, I like to include the lyrics to songs I like; here they are:

I Walk Beside You

You and me
Me and you
Somehow we made it through
I may be gone
I may be far away
But I walk beside you
Every step of the way
When you're used
Bruised
Black and blued
I'll think about it
Never doubt it
I'll walk beside you 

To the Last Whale... / Critical Mass / Wind on the Water

This song by Crosby, Stills, and Nash got my attention from the first moment I heard it. I remember my reaction at the end of the song to hearing the whales 'talk'. It grabbed my heart and never let go. Beautiful and plaintive at the same time; the lyrics are also memorable and heartbreaking, especially when they sing 'it's not that we don't know, it's just that we don't want to care'. So true. The song makes you feel for the whales, it inspires empathy, and that's a good thing. We need more of that in music nowadays. Rest in peace, David Crosby. 

To the Last Whale... 

Over the years you have been hunted

By the men who throw harpoons

And in the long run he will kill you

Just to feed the pets we raise

Put the flowers in your vase

And make the lipstick for your face

Over the years you swam the ocean

Following feelings of your own

Now you are washed up on the shoreline

I can see your body lie

It's a shame you have to die

To put the shadow on our eye

Maybe we’ll go

Maybe we'll disappear

It's not that we don’t know

It's just that we don't want to care

Under the bridge

Over the foam

Wind on the water

Carry me home

Written By

David Crosby & Graham Nash

A Flock Of Seagulls - I Ran (So Far Away) (Video)

Another great song from 1982......

Lyrics

I walk along the avenue

I never thought I’d meet a girl like you

Meet a girl like you

With auburn hair and tawny eyes

The kind of eyes that hypnotize me through

You hypnotize me through

And I ran

I ran so far away

I just ran

I ran all night and day

I couldn’t get away

A cloud appears above your head

A beam of light comes shining down on you

Shining down on you

The cloud is moving nearer still

Aurora Borealis comes in view

Aurora comes in view

And I ran

I ran so far away

I just ran

I ran all night and day

I couldn’t get away

Reached out a hand to touch your face

You’re slowly disappearing from my view

Disappearing from my view

Reached out a hand to try again

I’m floating in a beam of light with you

A beam of light with you

And I ran

I ran so far away

I just ran

I ran all night and day

And I ran

I ran so far away

I just ran

I couldn’t get away

Song name: I Ran (So Far Away)

Artist: A Flock of Seagulls

Year: 1982

Original text by Alistair M. Score, Francis Reynolds Maudsley, Michael Score, Paul Reynolds

Original text copyright Universal Music Publishing Group

Modern English - I Melt With You (Official Video)

One of my favorite songs from 1982......

Lyrics

Moving forwards, using all my breath

Making love to you was never second best

I saw the world thrashing all around your face

Never really knowing it was always mesh and lace

I'll stop the world and melt with you

You've seen the difference and it's getting better all the time

There's nothing you and I won't do

I'll stop the world and melt with you

Dream of better lives the kind which never hate

(You should see why)

Trapped in the state of imaginary grace

(You should know better)

I made a pilgrimage to save this humans race

(You should see why)

Never comprehending the race had long gone by

I'll stop the world and melt with you

(Let's stop the world)

You've seen the difference and it's getting better all the time

(Let's stop the world)

There's nothing you and I won't do

(Let's stop the world)

I'll stop the world and melt with you

The future's open wide

I'll stop the world and melt with you

(Let's stop the world)

I've seen some changes but it's getting better all the time

(Let's stop the world)

There's nothing you and I won't do

(Let's stop the world)

I'll stop the world and melt with you

The future's open wide

Hmmm hmmm hmmm

Hmmm hmmm hmmm hmmm

Hmmm hmmm hmmm

Hmmm hmmm hmmm hmmm

I'll stop the world and melt with you

(Let's stop the world)

You've seen the difference and it's getting better all the time

(Let's stop the world)

There's nothing you and I won't do

(Let's stop the world)

I'll stop the world and melt with you

(Let's stop the world)

I'll stop the world and melt with you

(Let's stop the world)

I'll stop the world and melt with you

(Let's stop the world)

I'll stop the world and melt with you

Source: LyricFind

Songwriters: Gary Frances McDowell / Michael Frances Conroy / Richard Ian Brown / Robert James Grey / Stephen James Walker

I Melt With You lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group

One more song by Gilberto Gil--Andar com fé (Walk with Faith)

Another song by Gilberto Gil that I love--Andar com fé (Walk with Faith) from his album: Um Banda Um. 

Toda Menina Baiana by Gilberto Gil

Toda Menina Baiana (Every Bahia Girl) is a great song by one of my favorite Brazilian artists--Gilberto Gil. I first discovered Gil in the mid-1980s in the world music section of Tower Records in Manhattan. I used to stop there often on my way home from work, and usually left with a new album or two. I fell in love with most of Gil's music and spent some time trying to learn to pronounce the lyrics (in Portuguese) when I sang the songs. I had no idea what I was singing about, but it didn't matter. The music was captivating and made me happy, which was a welcome change for my life at that time. This song was released in 1979 but I didn't hear it for the first time until the mid-1980s. 

As fate (God) would have it, a young Brazilian scientist (Juli) started working at my research institute in 2006, and we got to talking. I mentioned that I loved Gilberto Gil, and lo and behold, where do you think she came from? Bahia. The area of Brazil that Gil comes from and sings about. Coincidence? I don't think so. She too loved Gil and she gave me a CD with some of his music. Over the years we've become good friends and in 2009 we attended the World Music Festival here in Oslo where Gilberto Gil was performing. His concert was wonderful; people didn't want it to end and kept clapping so that he would continue singing. I would love to see him again in concert, but I wonder if he still tours (he's 80 years old now). Every time I hear Toda Menina Baiana I think of my friend, the Bahia girl. She lives permanently in Norway now and doesn't get back to Brazil very often. I've never traveled to Brazil but I'd love to visit the country at some point, and Bahia will be on my list of places to visit. 

Barbara Acklin - Am I the Same Girl from 1968

I don't remember this song from growing up, probably because it was a bit before my time. I heard it recently as background music on, of all things, a garden program about a Swedish couple who had built their dream garden in the backyard of the house they had purchased in Sicily. When construction was finished, they had a party, and this song was playing in the background. So I just had to know what song it was......I love it. Swing Out Sister did a very good version of it in 1992; you can find it here: Swing Out Sister "Am I The Same Girl" 1992 - YouTube

Drake--Flight's Booked

Drake's new song--Flight's Booked 👍👍from his Honestly, Nevermind house music album. A great dance song.....

Minnie Riperton- Inside My Love

I stumbled on this song when I was listening to the Jackie Brown film soundtrack. It's a beautiful and sensual love song with fairly explicit lyrics (amazingly allowed in 1975), and what a song it is, sung by an incredible singer. Minnie Riperton's voice lifts it into the ether; it's not hard to imagine her and her husband Richard Rudolph writing it together when they were first in love. I love it. 

Inside My Love

Two people, just meeting, barely touching each other
Two spirits, greeting, tryna carry each further
You are one, and I am another
We should be, one inside each other

You can see inside me, will you come inside me
Do you wanna ride, inside my love
You can see inside me, will you come inside me
Do you wanna ride, inside my love

My love, my love, my love
My love, my love, my love

Two strangers, not strangers
Only lacking the knowing
So willing, feeling
Infinite growing
While we're here, the whole world is turning
We should be, one, fulfilling the yearning

You can see inside me, will you come inside me
Do you wanna ride, inside my love
You can see inside me, will you come inside me
Do you wanna ride, inside my love
You can see inside me, will you come inside me
Do you wanna ride, inside my love

Say that you'll ride, inside this love with me
Come ride, inside this love with me

You can see inside me, will you come inside me
Do you wanna ride, inside my love
You can see inside me, will you come inside me
Do you wanna ride, inside my love

You can see inside me, will you come inside me
Do you wanna ride, inside my love
You can see inside me, will you come inside me
Do you wanna ride, inside my love

Source: LyricFind

Songwriters: Leon Ware / Minnie Riperton / Richard Rudolph

Inside My Love lyrics © Downtown Music Publishing, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC

Water by Golda May

Water, sung by Golda May, is the ending song to the movie The Weekend Away, now showing on Netflix. The movie was a pretty decent thriller starring Leighton Meester, and the ending song seemed appropriate for what the movie was about. I'm including the lyrics: 

Water 

I hear water in my dream

Lapping at my feet, talking to me

All red shoulders in the heat

So I step into the sea, floating softly

It's tryin' to say somethin'

A warnin' or maybe nothin'

Oh, this water keeps on showin' up

Oh, I'm a daughter drownin' in a cup

It's filling my lungs up

Dripping from my tongue now

Oh, this water keeps on showin' up

In deep, sister by my side

These waves are twice our height in the high tide

In life I usually despise her

But here she saves my life, I don't die

It's tryin' to say somethin'

A warnin' or maybe nothin'

Oh, this water keeps on showin' up

Oh, I'm a daughter drownin' in a cup

And It's filling my lungs up

Dripping from my tongue now

Oh, this watеr keeps on showing up

(Oh, this water keeps on showing up)

It's filling my lungs up

Dripping from my tongue now

Oh, this water keeps on showing up

Ah ah ah ah

I thought I could hеar you

I thought I could hear you

When you came to me every night

I thought I could hear you

Source: Musixmatch

Songwriters: Brian Brundage / Ariella Golda Sosis

Water lyrics © Bad Ponjo

The Beatles - Eleanor Rigby (From "Yellow Submarine") from 1966

Eleanor Rigby lyrics

Ah, look at all the lonely people

Ah, look at all the lonely people

Eleanor Rigby

Picks up the rice in the church where a wedding has been

Lives in a dream

Waits at the window

Wearing the face that she keeps in a jar by the door

Who is it for?

All the lonely people

Where do they all come from?

All the lonely people

Where do they all belong?

Father McKenzie

Writing the words of a sermon that no one will hear

No one comes near

Look at him working

Darning his socks in the night when there's nobody there

What does he care?

All the lonely people

Where do they all come from?

All the lonely people

Where do they all belong?

Ah, look at all the lonely people

Ah, look at all the lonely people

Eleanor Rigby

Died in the church and was buried along with her name

Nobody came

Father McKenzie

Wiping the dirt from his hands as he walks from the grave

No one was saved

All the lonely people (ah, look at all the lonely people)

Where do they all come from?

All the lonely people (ah, look at all the lonely people)

Where do they all belong?

Seals & Crofts - We May Never Pass This Way Again [w/ lyrics]

This song was released in 1973, almost fifty years ago. It is a beautiful song/love song and pure poetry, expressing all the sentiments that many of us have about time passing and the wanting to spend the time we have on earth with those you love. The song makes you reflect on your life and your relationships, as did so much of the music we grew up with. 

The majority of music at present is not like this. It is harsher and more superficial. Perhaps it reflects the times we live in. There are a few exceptions, but by and large commercial hits with little substance are the norm. Artists make their money and move on. Some of them are one-hit wonders. I will try and find some of the exceptions; I know they exist. 

More Than This by Roxy Music

More Than This by Roxy Music is one of the most beautiful songs ever written. Whenever I listen to it I am transported to the past--music is an immediate portal to the past. It reminds me of my former boss at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, who loved this song. I think he secretly wanted to be Bryan Ferry; he looked a bit like him and he definitely dressed like him. It also reminds me of my brother. Both live on in my memory; my brother died in 2015 and my former boss in 2020. Listening to the music and the lyrics makes me feel connected to them, for which I'm grateful. 

 

More Than This

Roxy Music

I could feel at the time
There was no way of knowing
Fallen leaves in the night
Who can say where they're blowing?

As free as the wind
Hopefully learning
Why the sea on the tide
Has no way of turning

More than this
You know there's nothing
More than this
Tell me one thing
More than this
Ooh there's nothing

It was fun for a while
There was no way of knowing
Like a dream in the night
Who can say where we're going?

No care in the world
Maybe I'm learning
Why the sea on the tide
Has no way of turning

More than this
You know there's nothing
More than this
Tell me one thing
More than this
No there's nothing

More than this
Nothing
More than this
More than this
Nothing

Source: Musixmatch

Songwriters: Bryan Ferry

More Than This lyrics © Bmg Rights Management (uk) Limited

Todd Rundgren - Hello It's Me (1972)

Just a beautiful, classic song. Thank you to And Just Like That for using the song in such a poignant way. Raw and emotional scenes between Carrie and Big, not easily forgotten.  

Raised by Wolves - Main Theme (OPENING TITLES) by Ben Frost and sung by Mariam Wallentin

You'll find the sci-fi series Raised By Wolves on HBO (Max in the USA, Nordic in Norway). I recommend it highly. It is creative, intriguing, exciting, and gripping. I'm glad to hear that it was renewed for a second season. I will write another post about the actual series soon. The theme song for the series is also haunting and emotionally-gripping and is sung by Mariam Wallentin, a Swedish musician (vocals, percussion, composer) who has done a lot of work in experimental jazz.

The lyrics, which are poetic and beautiful, are as follows: 

[Verse 1]

The door that finally opens

With light flooding in

Spilling out on the floor

The core that never was

Now it will be

The bones of what was there before

Every step, every beat

Every thought, every breath

Everything is longing

Every wind, every wave

Every sky, every cloud

Every grave is longing (2X)

Pulling you from the sky

Just like love will do

[Verse 2]

The door that finally opens

With light flooding in

Spilling out on the floor

The core that nevеr was

Now it will be

The bones of what was thеre before

Every step, every beat

Every thought, every breath

Everything is longing

Every wind, every wave

Every sky, every cloud

Every grave is longing (2X)

Pulling you from the sky

Just like love will do

Pulling you from the ground

Just like love will do

Reflections on what was and what can no longer be, and how important it is to remain awake

I was on Twitter the other day; I have an account from back in the days when I was working for the science library at the University of Oslo. Twitter is dominated these days by political tweets, most of them having to do with the upcoming presidential election. Both sides are at it, furiously attacking and condemning the other side. One of the tweeters is Rob Reiner, the actor who played Michael Stivic in the sitcom All in the Family that ran from 1971-79 on American television. Reiner is rabidly anti-Trump, and it struck me the other day how his character Michael and Archie Bunker (played by Carroll O'Connor) would probably have been at each other's throats over Trump's presidency had the sitcom appeared now. One thing always leads to another; I googled the show's theme song Those Were the Days to read the lyrics, and realized that the America presented in the lyrics is perhaps the America that Trump supporters want a return to. Unlikely? I don't think so the more I think about it. But there is no returning to what was, ever. Since 1979, the world has seen the rise of the digital age, cell phones, internet, and social media. The way we live our lives is completely different than how we did growing up in the 1960s and 70s. Television is not even what it once was. It is no longer a medium for social change; it merely reflects the vacuity of modern society with the majority of its programming. If we're busy watching mindless television like reality-TV programs, then we won't be paying attention to what goes on around us, or to the power-grabbers and would-be dictators. Google 'Bread and Circuses' to read about how easily people can be pacified (lulled into a stupor) with food and entertainment, whether it be from their government or from societal institutions/businesses whose sole goal is to create addicts who won't and don't think in the name of greed. And if not greed, you could wonder what the goal is. If we readily give up our free will and ability to think for ourselves, we will find that it will not be easy to get them back, especially if our country moves toward autocracy. 

The world waits for no one, and change is the only constant in life, whether or not you like it. You can be a reactionary; it won't matter because the world will not wait for you anyway. You can work to create the type of world you'd like, but I'm not sure we'd want an Archie Bunker world as our reality. Women and minorities would be most affected (subjugated) by it.

Here are the lyrics to Those Were the Days; you can judge for yourself whether this is the America that Trump supporters want a return to. As always--my opinion. Others are entitled to their opinions, because that is the basis for our democracy. Let's hope the USA remains one. 

Boy, the way Glenn Miller played

songs that made the hit parade
Guys like me we had it made
Those were the days

Didn't need no welfare state
ev'rybody pulled his weight
gee our old LaSalle ran great
Those were the days

And you knew who you were then
girls were girls and men were men
Mister we could use a man like Herbert Hoover again

People seemed to be content

fifty dollars paid the rent
freaks were in a circus tent
Those were the days

Take a little Sunday spin

go to watch the Dodgers win
Have yourself a dandy day
that cost you under a fin

Hair was short and skirts were long
Kate Smith really sold a song
I don't know just what went wrong
those were the days

Songwriters: Charles Strouse / Lee Adams

Love this song--J. Balvin, Dua Lipa, Bad Bunny, Tainy - UN DIA (ONE DAY)

 Beautiful song and lyrics........

UN DIA (ONE DAY)

Dua Lipa, Bad Bunny, ...

You know that sometimes
I think about us now and then
But I never wanna fall again, ah-ah-ah
Yo no te quisiera olvidar (eh-eh)
Pero contigo es todo o na' (eh-eh)
Yeah-yeah

You're deep in the water, yeah, you're drownin' us
You question my love like it's not enough
But I hate that you know, you know, you know
You got me tied up
You regret it now, but it's your mistake
What makes you think that my mind will change?
And you hate that you know, you know, you know
You know you messed up

One day you'll love me again
One day you'll love me for sure
One day you'll wake up feelin' how I've been feelin'
Baby, you'll knock at my door
One day you'll love me again
Hug me again 'til the end
One day you'll beg me to try
One day you'll realize I'm more than your lover
I'm more than your lover, I'm your friend

Acércate un poquito nomá'
Que yo quiero que te quedes conmigo
Deja a tus amiga' allá atrás
Que no' vamos en un viaje escondido'
No' vamo' pa' Turks and Caicos
Y ahí calmamo' las ganas
Suéltate conmigo, mamá
Que ya no hay marcha atrás
Una noche sin ti
No es tan fácil, baby
Que yo soy pa' ti
Y tú eres pa' mí

Nunca me dejes de querer
Oh, na-na-na
Contigo por siempre, baby
No quiero dejarte esta vez

One day you'll love me again
One day you'll love me for sure
One day you'll wake up feelin' how I've been feelin'
Baby, you'll knock at my door
One day you'll love me again
Hug me again 'til the end
One day you'll beg me to try
One day you'll realize I'm more than your lover (yeah, yeah, yeah)
I'm more than your lover, I'm your friend

Yo sé que estoy en tu corazón, quizás en el fondo
Otra baby me escribe, nunca le respondo (no)
La vida da vuelta' y el mundo es redondo
Y yo voy a que te beso de nuevo en London
O si no en Marbella (wuh)
Encima de la arena viendo las estrella'
Yo sé que ni la' ola' han borrao' mi huella (yeh)
Pero tu pichaera es lo que me atropella
Sol, playa y en la arena, vamo' allá (wuh)
Baby, no te quedes callá'
Yo sé que tú quiere' guayar conmigo
Otra vez me tienes en depresión
Fumando en la habitación, eh
Pero yo sé que

One day you'll love me again (wuh)
One day you'll love me for sure
One day you'll wake up feelin' how I've been feelin'
Baby, you'll knock at my door
One day you'll love me again
Hug me again 'til the end
One day you'll beg me to try
One day you'll realize I'm more than your lover
I'm more than your lover, I'm your friend

Baby (ay-ay-ay-aye)
One day you'll love me again
One day you'll realize I'm more than your lover
I'm more than your lover, I'm your friend
J Balvin, man
Bad Bunny, baby
Tainy
Latino Gang (yeah)
La Familia

Source: LyricFind

Songwriters: Alejandro Borrero / Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio / Clarence Coffee / Daystar Peterson / Dua Lipa / Ivanni Rodríguez / José Álvaro Osorio Balvin / Marcos Efraín Masis

UN DIA (ONE DAY) lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC

Black Pumas - Fire (Official Live Session)

Black Pumas. They are described as 'an American psychedelic soul band based in Austin, Texas, led by singer/songwriter Eric Burton and guitarist/producer Adrian Quesada' (Wikipedia). Psychedelic soul--I like the sound of that. Wikipedia again: 'Psychedelic soul (sometimes called black rock or conflated with psychedelic funk) is a music genre that emerged in the late 1960s that saw black soul musicians embrace elements of psychedelic rock, including its production techniques, instrumentation, effects units (wah-wah pedal, phaser, etc.) and drug influences'. 

I really like both of the songs, Fire and Colors, that I'm posting today. Black Pumas is a relatively new band, but I wasn't aware of them until today. I heard the song Fire and loved it. And then I listened to Colors and loved that one too. This is the music I grew up with and loved. Listening to these songs takes me right back to that time. Sly and the Family Stone, Curtis Mayfield, Undisputed Truth, Edwin Starr, and so many others wrote songs that fell under this genre. I liked psychedelic soul without knowing that this is what I was listening to.

 

Why Can't We Live Together by Timmy Thomas

Why Can't We Live Together

Timmy Thomas

Tell me why, tell me why, tell me why
Why can't we live together
Tell me why, tell me why
Why can't we live together

Everybody wants to live together
Why can't we be together

No more war, no more war, no more war
Just a little peace
No more war, no more war
All we want is some peace in this world

Everybody wants to live together
Why can't we be together

No matter, no matter what color
You are still my brother
I said no matter, no matter what color
You are still my brother

Everybody wants to live together
Why can't we be together

Everybody wants to live
Everybody's got to be together

Everybody wants to live
Everybody's going to be…