By ajostu
Pockets! A challenging topic, perhaps? There was no shortage of great songs to choose from. In songs, it turns out pockets are useful for carrying many things: metaphors, narratives, figures of speech, you name it. For the A-list, I decided to use a YouTube annoyance (some songs cannot be added to a playlist) as a way of helping structure the music. So there’s a prologue and epilogue, fully a part, and yet slightly apart, from the other songs. For the B-list, I just went for the vibe.
Prologue:
We start with jazz-jam trio Medeski, Martin & Wood setting the mood while John Lurie describes a special creature that, if you’re lucky, lives in your pocket: The Squalb.
The A-List Continues …
Money – or lack thereof – was a consistent theme in this week’s nominations. Cop Shoot Cop have a $10 Bill. But that’s not the only thing in their pocket. They also have a useful device for guarding that money and, just maybe, increasing that amount.
I’m a sucker for “punchline” songs – songs that lead up to a key lyrical moment. Spearhead set up a nice little mystery- why does the protagonist need to buy thread? Hole In The Bucket hides the answer in plain sight.
To quote nosuchzone: “In Hungary, there's any number of things you can put in your 'Zseb'. A coin, a condom, a phone, a gun, an ID card for Buda and quite another for Pest.” I’ve never let a lack of lyrical understanding put me off before, and this Gidnim'Rém song was too much fun to resist.
Money can’t buy you love, but that’s OK because Clouds are carrying around plenty of the latter in their Pocket. In this moody, swampy song, it seems our singer could still do with some of the folding stuff.
When it comes to The Paper Kites and Pocket Full Of Rain, I’m sure the title isn’t meant to be taken literally, and could refer to all forms of cloud-based precipitation. A melancholy song about getting through the difficult times with someone special.
Blue Öyster Cult also use the idea of Pocket metaphorically. “In the pocket of the moment” is a nifty lyrical phrase; I’m not sure if they’re borrowing from the rhythmic idea of ‘in the pocket” or whether they’re mean a physical pocket and the idea of being enclosed therein, but they then go on to rhyme it with “socket” and that’s probably all that matters. I have made sure to include the umlaut to respect cultural sensitivities.
I wonder if anyone’s thought of writing a book called Everything I Learned In Life I Learned From Reggae. You could do worse than using The Gladiators to guide your life: a good friend is better than pocket money, and if you do evil, Ja will cut you down. This is a case where it’s worth checking a lyrics site so that you can read the words in all their biblical poetry.
If you don’t have any money, you have to make your own fun. I’m not sure Connie Converse makes that sound appealing, there’s more of a sense of resignation in the Empty Pocket Waltz.
When Ruth Moody sings of Pockets, she’s using a figure of speech, as in “living in each others pockets,” in this languid remembering of difficult times, aided by someone doing a very good Mark Knopfler impersonation.
It sounds like Alicia Keys is broke for now, but in Empire State Of Mind (Part II) Broken Down she’s got a pocket full of dreams.
Oddjob give us a brief interlude; the tune for a Musical Pocket Watch, as written by that great melodist Ennio Morricone.
Remember the three rules of showbiz? Never work with animals, puppets or children. Why? Because they’re unpredictable. Jackie Leven sings of a man working on a farm when a horse gets a bit frisky with his clothing. Billy Ate My Pocket, he mourns, and the worst thing to keep in your pockets is a secret.
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Epilogue:
Pocketful of Miracles is a charming little tune. It was written by Sammy Cahn and Jimmy Van Heusen as the opening theme to the film of that title, sung by a childrens’ chorus. Frank Sinatra was supposed to be in the film, but wasn’t, but nonetheless ended up recording the “standard version” of the song. In that version, Frank sings it with a Nelson Riddle arrangement; it’s expertly crafted but maybe a bit kitsch. Dionne Warwick takes the song and transforms it; it’s as if she sings it with her whole life.
The A-List in Full:
Medeski, Martin & Wood - The Squalb (nilpferd)
Cop Shoot Cop - $10 Bill (happyclapper)
Spearhead - Hole In The Bucket (Isabelle Forshaw)
Gidnim'Rém - Zseb (nosuchzone)
Clouds - Pocket (Nicko)
The Paper Cups - Pocket Full Of Rain (Loud Atlas)
Blue Öyster Cult - Pocket (Vikingchild)
The Gladiators - Pocket Money (magicman)
Connie Converse - Empty Pocket Waltz (TarquinSpodd)
Ruth Moody - Pockets (Fred Erickson)
Alicia Keys - Empire State Of Mind (Part II) Broken Down (severin)
Oddjob - Musical Pocket Watch (untergunther)
Jackie Leven - Billy Ate My Pocket (TatankaYotanka)
Dionne Warwick - Pocketful of Miracles (severin)
The B-List Playlist:
Tower Of Power - Pocketful Of Soul (BanazirGalbasi)
Willy Colon & Hector Lavoe - Calle Luna Calle Sol (pejepeine)
J.J. Barnes - Our Love Is In The Pocket (Uncleben)
The Four Vagabonds - Hit That Jive, Jack (Nicko)
St Paul & The Broken Bones - Broken Bones and Pocket Change (Fred Erickson)
Curtis Mayfield - Love Me (Right In The Pocket) (untergunther)
Belén López - Bolsillos Genéticos (Maki)
Balanescu Quartet - Pocket Calculator (nosuchzone)
Einstürzende Neubauten - Taschen (nosuchzone)
Ennio Morricone - Watch Chimes (For A Few Dollars More) (untergunther)
Esperanza Spalding - I Want It Now (untergunther)
Guru’s Wildcards:
Empty Your Pockets, exhorts Maaya Sakamoto, and go on a journey. I dunno, I would’ve thought it’d be worth packing some ciggies for the border guards. The song was originally used in The Vision of Escaflowne, a late 90s isekai, and if you don’t know what that word means, good news – it’s in the dictionary.
For Charan Po Rantan, their sweetheart has travelled far away (the title: Beyond That Hill), so they keep a photograph in their pocket. The song does remind me a bit of something I’ve heard before, or am I sheepish to think that?
I hadn’t heard Momen no handkerchief until Nicko mentioned it – but didn’t nom it! My interest was piqued. The song, a huge hit for Hiromi Oota in 1976, is sung from the viewpoint of a women whose man has left her to make it in the big city. In the verses, she reads his letters and in the choruses she gives her reply. A cynic (not me) might regard the original as maybe a bit twee or kitsch. However, in this version, actress Ai Hashimoto sings it in character and completely straight. Another song transformed. Lyrics in the captions.
These playlists were inspired by readers' song nominations in response to last week's topic: Handy: songs about pockets and their contents. The next topic will launch on Thursday after 1pm UK time.
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