By ParaMhor
“In the eastern sky there was a yellow patch like a rug laid for the feet of the coming sun...” – Stephen Crane.
'“Yes, sir,' said Jeeves in a low, cold voice, as if he had been bitten in the leg by a personal friend.” – P. G. Wodehouse
“Even on Central Avenue, not the quietest dressed street in the world, he looked about as inconspicuous as a tarantula on a slice of angel food.” – Raymond Chandler
The A-list this week is primarily an exercise in nostalgia. No apologies, there were just too many songs that I thought (long) zedded, but weren’t, and fit the rubric. To paraphrase Steven Wright in this week’s topic introduction (did I say how good it was, Landlord?) a metaphor is, a simile is like.
All that said, the first song is another of those Beck songs you wonder how you missed the first time. A beauty from 2018, as one YouTube comment says: “It’s insane thinking of some parents growing up listening to Beck and now their kids are!”
Wow from 2018. Thanks to 9hairs9knots for this one.
“It's your life
Falling like a hot knife.”
Lloyd Cole and the Commotions’ album Rattlesnakes has been a favourite since it first appeared in the mid 80s. By turns literate, awkward and witty. Growing up in public and chock full of imagery, a staple of any Glasgow party in the mid 80s. Here’s the title track, courtesy of Uncleben.
“Her heart, heart's like crazy paving
Upside down and back to front.”
Next up, Definition of Sound’s 1991 exhortation to Wear Your Love Like Heaven. Sampling Donovan’s song of the same name and The Hombres’ Let it out (Let It All Hang Out). Still sounds great, as do les Hombres. Thanks to Isabelle Forshaw.
Our resident magicman asks if this is Smokey Robinson’s greatest lyric. The Love I Saw In You Was jJust a Mirage is, as ever with the Miracles, heartfelt, smart, beautifully sung and accompanied by a great melody.
“Just like the desert shows a thirsty man
A green oasis where there's only sand.”
Rita and the Tiaras were Rita Graham and session singers she never actually met. Her solo album Rita Graham Vibrations was produced by Ray Charles in 1969 and she subsequently successfully sang, wrote novels and is now working at Georgia State University. Gone With The wind Is My Love is a marvel, suggested by attwilightlarks.
“He's gone with the wind, is my love, like a petal on a rose.”
My first thought on hearing Stevie Wonder’s If It’s Magic was, bugger, why didn’t I nom that for harps? On further reflection, I congratulate swawilg for thinking of this fabulous song so late in the day.
“If it's magic...
Then why can't it be everlasting
Like the sun that always shines
Like the poets in this rhyme
Like the galaxies in time.”
This Mortal Coil were a collective formed at 4AD records by Ivo Watts-Russell and producer John Fryer. Perhaps best known for Song to the Siren (long since zedded), their records hold other treasures, including this stunning take on the Big Star song from their third album, Sister Lovers. The remarkable Cindy Sharp on vocals, thanks to MussoliniHeadkick for reminding me of this magnificent version of Kangaroo.
“Oh, I want you
Like a kanga roo”
So to Leonard Cohen. Bird On The Wire. Il miglior fabbro. With thanks to Ravi.
“Like a bird on the wire
Like a drunk in a midnight choir
I have tried in my way to be free
Like a worm on a hook
Like a knight from some old-fashioned book
I have saved all my ribbons for thee.”
Written by Jimmy van Heusen and Johnny Burke, Like Someone in Love is now a standard. Many versions out there, but this, by Chet Baker, is lighter than air. Thanks to megadom for the prompt.
“Lately
I seem to walk as though I have wings
Bump into things
Like someone in love
Each time I look at you I'm limp as a glove
And feeling like someone in love.”
Another late call. As 9hairs9knots (prompted by Uncleben) gave us this one. As he has eloquently stated: “It is always a weird and sometimes unnerving experience, each time I listen to it. For me, it has become as timeless as air.”
Van Morrison, Ballerina
“So all you gotta do is ring the bell
And step right up, and step right up
And step right up, just like a ballerina.”
Nicko gave me the best discovery of the week. Cheikh Lô singing Guiss Guiss is a thing of beauty.
“I will take care of my body
I will look after my friends
Just as the rain waters the mountains.”
So on to a real honky tonk. Chris7572 suggested Ramble on Rose by the Grateful Dead. A terrific song, beautifully sung by Jerry Garcia.
“Just like Jack the Ripper
Just like Mojo Hand
Just like Billy Sunday
In a shotgun ragtime band.”
And finally. This song has been nominated so many times in my brief time here (chiefly by Ravi, I think). Absolute cracker from the Allman Brothers Band, Here is Whipping Post, not the 23-minute live version (did I hear a sigh of relief at the back?), but the whip-thin take from their first album. Thanks to the returning amylee for this reminder.
“Sometimes I feel
Like I've been tied
To the whipping post.”
Thanks all for another great week. And as ever, to the Landlord and Marco. Particularly fond of the B-liss this week, and I could have just as easily swapped for the As. Service with a s(i)mile.
This article was brought to you by the Apostrophe Protection society
Sensational Similes A-List Playlist:
Beck – Wow (9hairs9knots)
Lloyd Cole and the Commotions – Rattlesnakes (Uncleben)
Definition of Sound – Wear Your Love Like Heaven (Isabelle Forshaw)
Smokey Robinson and the Miracles – The Love I saw In you Was Just a Mirage (magicman)
Rita & The Tiaras – Gone With the Wind Is My Love (attwilightlarks)
Stevie Wonder – If It’s Magic (swawilg)
This Mortal Coil – Kangaroo (MussoliniHeadkick)
Leonard Cohen – Bird On A Wire (Ravi Ramen)
Chet Baker – Like Someone in Love (megadom)
Van Morrison – Ballerina (9hairs9knots)
Cheikh Lô – Guiss Guiss (Nicko)
The Grateful Dead – Ramble on Rose (Chris7572)
The Allman Brothers Band – Whipping Post (amylee)
The ‘Similarities’ B-List Playlist:
Dolly Parton – Love is Like A Butterfly (Philipphilip99)Velvelettes – Needle in a Haystack (tincanman)
Ike and Tina Turner – Funkier than a Mosquito’s tweeter (9hairs9knots)
Boogie Down Productions – My Philosophy (magicman)
Lavern Baker – Bumble Bee (Traktor Albatrost)
Dean Martin – That’s Amore (ajostu)
Joaquin Sabina – 19 Dias Y 500 Noches (Maki)
Iceage – Painkiller (Vanwolf2)
Placebo – Pierrot the Clown (Leaveitallbehind)
Captain Beefheart – Pachuko Cadaver (Derek Bum)
Sparklehorse – Rainmaker (happyclapper
Bert Jansch – Fresh As A Sweet Sunday Morning (Suzi)
Abbey Lincoln – Softly, As In a Morning Sunrise (Seth Miller)
Gillian Welch – Wrecking Ball (barbryn)
Guru’s Wildcard Pick:
Orange Juice – Consolation Prize
As Uncleben notes, almost that time of year (poor November, missed by nobody), so with due apologies, I’ll cannibalise this:
Benjamin Britten – A Ceremony of Carols - "As Dew in Aprille"
These playlists were inspired by readers' song nominations from last week's topic: It's like this: songs with similes. The next topic will launch on Thursday at 1pm UK time.
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