By nosuchzone
Inspired by the Landlord’s palindromical poem from last Thursday, I’ve had a go myself. You might enjoy disagreeing with my equivalences in the sine-wavy mirrors of these three hump-backed things. Then again, you may actually concur, or half agree, or just give it a pass. Me, I was rather proud of equivalencing Beefheart’s slurry blues harp with Piazzola’s bandoneon. There’s some thought gone into this.
Mind you, I can’t believe I forwent the chance to slot in Soft Machine, or Fela Kuti, or the Roberta Flack, or a track from Bill Evans at The Village Vanguard — all manner of thing I’m madly devoted to — but the game of pairing up and paring back just took over in the end. I’ve added lyrics — a few lines of which are quite brilliant — and for the one instrumental (from my own picks), I’ve written a poem of my very own.
The About-Face A-List Playlist:
–6
Concha Buika – Volver, Volver
Y volver volver volver
a tus brazos otra vez,
llegaré hasta donde estés…
And to return, to return,
to return to your arms again,
I arrive at where you are…
–5
Soul II Soul – Back To Life
Back to life, back to the present time.
–4
Everything But The Girl – Flipside
Like— ‘what of the future, what of the past,
what of the present will last?’.
Say I did forget — and revert
to the old days, forget this hurt —
am I better off or in reverse? —
–3
Robert Wyatt – Born Again Cretin
I'm a free agent, I can protest —
this must be freedom! — I must be happy!
–2
Max Romeo – One Step Forward
One step forward, two steps backward
down in a Babylon.
Straight is the road that leads to destruction —
ah, hear me when I say.
–1
Pretenders – Back On The Chain Gang
I found a picture of you — well,
it hijacked my world at night,
to a place in the past
we've been cast out of.
Now we're back in the fight,
we're back on the train,
back on the chain gang.
0
Tyrannosaurus Rex – Deboraarobed
Dug and redug and dug and redug…
+1
Pretenders – My City Was Gone
I went back to Ohio
but my city was gone —
there was no train station,
there was no downtown.
Well, I went back to Ohio
But my family was gone.
I stood on the back porch —
there was nobody home.
+2
Aswad – Back to Africa
Got to leave
these critical states —
we got to get out
before it's too late.
+3
Beach Boys – Do It Again
Well, I've been thinking about
all the places we've surfed and danced
and all the faces we've missed,
so let's get back together and do it again.
+4
Missy Elliott – Work It
Is it worth it? Let me work it —
I put my thang down, flip it, and reverse it
(ti esrever dna ,ti pilf ,nwod gnaht ym tup I)
+5
Propellerheads (ft Shirley Bassey) – History Repeating
They say the next big thing is here,
That the revolution's near,
But to me it seems quite clear
that it's all just a little bit of history repeating.
+6
Tom Waits – Yesterday Is Here
Well, today is grey skies,
tomorrow is tears —
you'll have to wait till yesterday is here.
Backsliding. Sliding Back B-List Playlist:
–6
Memphis Jug Band – Stealin’, Stealin’
I'm stealin' back to my same-old-used-to-be.
–5
Billie Holiday – Good Morning, Heartache
I turned and tossed until it seemed you had gone
but here you are with the dawn.
–4
Ben Watt – Retreat To Find
Retreat from the ties that bind, retreat to eventually find
here — here in my heart — there is a place
where I can outface … death.
–3
Captain Beefheart – Grow Fins
I'm leaving — I'm gonna take up with a mermaid
and leave you landlubbin' women alone.
–2
Alton Ellis – Can I Change My Mind
The wind is howling tonight —
I keep looking back, but my baby's not in sight
and I would like to start all over again.
–1
Talk Talk – I Believe In You
On the street so young, laying wasted.
Enough — ain't it enough? Crippled world —
I just can't bring myself to see it starting.
0
Captain Beefheart and his Magic Band – The Dust Blows Forward 'n The Dust Blows Back
The dust blows forward and the dust blows back
and the wind blows black through the sky
and the smokestack blows up in a sun’s eye —
what am I gonna die?
+1
Radiohead – Backdrifts
All evidence has been buried,
all tapes have been erased,
but your footsteps give you away —
so you´re backtracking.
+2
Ken Boothe – Come Running Back
When you walked out, it was in my bed —
now you come running back to me.
+3
Astor Piazzola / Roberto Goyeneche – Vuelvo al sur
Vuelvo al Sur, llevo el Sur…
I am returning to the South, I carry the South…
+4
PJ Harvey – England
England, you leave a taste, a bitter one.
I have searched for your springs.
+5
Billie Holiday – Lover, Come Back To Me
Love had its day —
that day is past, you've gone away.
This aching heart of mine is singing
‘Lover, come back to me’.
+6
The Copper Family – Spencer The Rover
The night being approaching, to the woods he resorted,
with woodbine and ivy his bed for to make.
He dreamt about sighing, lamenting and crying
‘Go home to your children and rambling forsake’.
Been There Done That But Still Great To Do It Again Z-List Playlist:
–6
Elvis Presley – Return To Sender
–5
Steely Dan – My Old School
–4
Tyrone Davis – I Keep Coming Back
–3
Amy Winehouse – Rehab
–2
Joni Mitchell – California
–1
The Beatles – Tomorrow Never Knows
0
Devo – Jocko Homo
+1
The Beatles – Helter Skelter
+2
The Carpenters – Yesterday Once More
+3
Amy Winehouse – Back To Black
+4
Tyrone Davis – Turn Back The Hands of Time
+5
Odyssey – Back To My Roots
+6
Fine Young Cannibals – Johnny Come Home
Guru’s Vudus:
Elephant9 – Way of Return
Steering
The way of return
is not the way we came.
The city I come from
is not the city I came from.
The roadblocked arteries,
the sealed up tunnels,
the flooded liftshafts,
the cauterised cells.
That past, it passed me
riding pillion, dopler slurred,
on the rack, on the pinion —
last road out, last vein in.
which displaced some songs I was going to go for —
Robert Wyatt – Was A Friend
It's been a long time —
I almost forgot where we buried the hatchet.
Fried – When You Get Out of Jail
You've done eighteen months, got eighteen more —
that's so much time to wait for.
Swing Out Sister – You On My Mind
Searching for a perfect ending
that we'll never find —
if we could make it work this time.
And back to … Robert Wyatt
These playlists were inspired by readers' song nominations from last week's topic: Back-tracking: songs about regressing, reversing and relapsing. The next topic will launch on Thursday at 1pm UK time.
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