BTT: Sing! Sing a Song

[fourzoas]

Something different for Booking Through Thursday today, and frankly, I could use this difference:

But, enough about books … Other things have words, too, right? Like … songs!

If you’re anything like me, there are songs that you love because of their lyrics; writers you admire because their songs have depth, meaning, or just a sheer playfulness that has nothing to do with the tunes.

So, today’s question?

* What songs … either specific songs, or songs in general by a specific group or writer … have words that you love?
* Why?
* And … do the tunes that go with the fantastic lyrics live up to them?

You don’t have to restrict yourself to modern songsters, either … anyone who wants to pick Gilbert & Sullivan, for example, is just fine with me. Lerner & Loewe? Steven Sondheim? Barenaked Ladies? Fountains of Wayne? The Beatles? Anyone at all…

There are two musical acts that make the cut with me Every Single Time, and one that mostly does with a few icky exceptions. In no particular order, here they are, complete with YouTube links for your listening/viewing pleasure.

1. They Might Be Giants: These guys always hit the mark because they OWN THEIR GEEKINESS. They had me at hello (literally, with Dial-a-Song), but I think of these tunes as quintessentially TMBG:
   
   
   First, the one that I think everybody knows--"Birdhouse in Your Soul":
   
   
   
   
   And a (very) few others. I'm kinda ashamed, now that I've got that massive list for XTC below, but TMBG's catalog is truly vast and I'm afraid to go in search of more.
   
   
   • Ana Ng, a love song about people who may or may not exist.
   
   
   • I Palindrome I, a little language lesson in a story about murderous urges.
   
   
   • Destination Moon [this is a fan vid], not as widely known, but one of my absolute favorites, its narrative a sweet and sad love letter to dreams and old age.


2. XTC: These guys are not together anymore, which is tragic, but I can't complain; they stuck it out for 20+ years and have consistently produced gorgeous, fun, maddening, complex songs with lyrics and music that never fail to make me see/hear/feel something new. I put a lot of links here, many of which are fan vids since XTC was mainly a studio act; Andy Partridge's stage anxiety kept them from touring for most of their career, and their last albums didn't seem to have any video support that I could find. I hope you like them.
   
   
   First, a video for "Senses Working Overtime." This song makes me happy to be alive every time I hear it. "And all the world is football shaped / it's just for me to kick its face / and I can see hear smell touch taste / and i've got one two three four five / senses working overtime / trying to take this all in"
   
   
   
   
   And others (I kinda went overboard, more for my own squee factor. I really love these guys):
   
   
   • Grass, a dreamy, steamy, gritty song. "Over and over we flatten the clover."
   
   
   • Another Satellite, the pissiest, angriest, most beautiful "stop wanting me" song in the universe.
   
   
   • Summer's Cauldron, the track that appears before "Grass" on Skylarking, is another gorgeous dream. "Drowning here in summer's cauldron / Under mats of flower lava / Please don't pull me out this is how I would want to go"
   
   
   • All of a Sudden. "Life's like a jigsaw / you get the straight bits / but there's something missing / in the middle."
   
   
   • Respectable Street, a raucous romp about pompous and fake people. Thrashing.
   
   
   • The Disappointed, a piece of gorgeous schmoopy pop fluff that just works. "Seems your ring upon my finger signifies that I've become the spokesman of / the disappointed".
   
   
   • Jason and the Argonauts. "seems the more i travel / from the foam to the gravel / as the myths unravel / all exotic fish i find / like jason and the argonauts"
   
   
   • The Wheel and the Maypole. "If the pot won't hold our love / then we'll dash it to the ground."
   
   
   • Mermaid Smiled Lyrical, beautiful, haunting
   .
   
   • Ballet for a Rainy Day/1,000 Umbrellas: This is one of my absolute favorite XTC songs, and I can only find a vid recording of The Dukes of Simpleton, an XTC cover band, performing it. Not as lush as the recording on Skylarking, but I had to have this on the list.


3. The Beautiful South: Almost never disappoint. Just a couple of tunes:
   
   
   • Perfect 10. Love your body!
   
   
   • Song for Whoever, tongue in cheek to fan(dom)s.
   
   
   • The Table
   
   
   • How Long's a Tear Take to Dry?: Listen for the Doctor Who reference!

Your faves?