Hello everyone! Questions for the week: -What exactly is the "living thing" that this song is about? -Can you think of any other songs with a dramatic swoop in the melody, like this one? Looking forward, as always, to your thoughts. 😊
i've just looked at the lyrics: fat lot of help they are! i think it's just a celebration of the life force and 'what a terrible thing to lose'. Hello Goodbye does the positive over negative thing? bit more concisely? and no there are no other songs with a dramatic swoop in them: there just aren't.
@@fathommusicnz i came across it in Shaw's man and superman i think: y'know forces that we might be dimly aware of but they drive us and only by harnessing them can we progress as human beings. anyway i can spout this stuff because where would you find a lit. graduate to verify it or dismiss it. no chance. i'm safe :-)
@@fathommusicnz Here is my idea are for an Elton John video. Elton scored hits with two songs that have a number of similarities both in music and lyrical content. These songs are Daniel, a 1972 hit and Nikita another top 10 hit from 1986. Let’s start with a lyrical content. Both songs examine how Cold War politics between the United States and Russia that affected the lives of people. Daniel is a look at a Vietnam war veteran through the viewpoint of his brother. The war veteran becomes blind in the fighting during that conflict. Nikita is a beautiful woman Russian border guard. She has a stone-cold look on her face as can be expected from a border guard. A westerner tries to enter behind the iron curtain but his papers are not in order and is turned back. The female border guard and westerner do lock eyes which is enough with them to fall in love. Elton sings the following lyrics, if there comes a time guns and gates no longer hold you in and if you're free to make a choice. Just look towards the west and find a friend. Ok let review. Both songs describe situations that happen as result of United States and Russian cold war politics. Someone who becomes injured in Vietnam because of a proxy war between the two countries. The other song two people fall in love but they can never pursue a life together because of the Berlin wall that separates east from west. Elton did make a great video for Nikita which you need to watch if you going do a video on these two songs. Also to note David Bowie also hit on the cold war boarder wall theme and to lovers in his song Heroes. Now for the music. Both songs have that classic Elton signature trait and has the same flow. Both songs also feature a synthesizers solo during the instrumental break. Elton sings the songs with that deep emotional vocal expression which he is known for. Nikita is sort of like a newer version of Daniel. I even thought of rewriting the words to Nikita using the word to Daniel. Daniel starts off with the lyrics Daniel is traveling on a plane. I can see the taillights heading to for Spain. Nikita lyrics starts with Hey Nikita, is it cold in your little corer of the word. So this could be changed to Nikita lives behind the iron curtain, I can see Nikita from a distance away from my life. Applying the lyrics to Daniel to Nikita. Interchangeable parts for both songs. Ha ha I hope I gave you enough to go on for a possible video. Again, be sure to watch the Nikita video which I have included a link. If you chose not to make such video I understand and appreciate you giving me a chance to present it. I would love to see more Elton content in the future. Keep up the good work. By the way, did you get a chance to listen to any of the Michael Kiwanuka links I sent you? Here are links to both songs. Just to note, I wonder if Daniel lost his eyesight in the war or his Innocence and a part of him died. Daniel ruclips.net/video/0f0TMfQNRk8/видео.html I thought I throw this one in. A much later day performance by just Elton of Daniel ruclips.net/video/tFJ2YrztYUg/видео.html Ok her is Nikita video. You can see the full storyline image of the song. I think this is the best MTV era video Elton ever made. Great backing vocals on this one that includes the late George Michael. This video is a bit heartbreaking. ruclips.net/video/Tg-Q-Acv4qs/видео.html
The living thing is definitely the relationship...if you get as old as me you'll see that's how long-ass relationships work...the strings are the second protagonist...(the other person with their own agenda, ideas, moods) ... Also, Ekhardt Tolle says that we all have "pain bodies" which feed on our sadness and fear (the past and the future) so that "living thing" could also be that...Love the two of you. So glad to get to watch y'all hang out.
Once again I'm blown away by your analysis. I've been listening to ELO since the 1970s, and you tell me things I never realized. For example, "I'm taking a dive." I always thought he was saying, "I'm thinking of dying." You and your sister make a great team--and you have great taste in music!
The two of you together... giving us all your thoughts and insights into a song you love - is the best thing on the internet. Nancy on her own... is the next best thing on the internet. I love every point you make in this video. You make each one interesting and fun to watch. 32:46 OMG... Nancy gave me such a huge belly laugh when she says: "Can I tell you a secret? Led Zeppelin has also disbanded." And that big smile on her face when she said it... But Anna's response (I'm going to call your sister Anna - because she seems like an Anna to me) was the perfect answer to Nancy's, oh so humorous, secret. The actual lyric in "Don't Bring Me Down" is "groos". In the liner notes of the ELO compilation titled "Flashback" - Jeff said that it is just a word he made up and has no real meaning. But I have dug deeper and found out that he was singing about a girl he had his first crush on in 8th grade (Caroline Groos). Even after all the great success he had with ELO in the 1970s... he found himself pining over Caroline in the middle of the night - and jotted down the lyrics to this song. How did you know that 26.2% of your viewers watch you on their toilets..? I agree with Anna. I thought it was Jeff's take on a meaningful relationship between two people who loved each other. How it starts - goes up then down... back and forth... and sometimes crashes. It's alive... always changing, getting better, getting worse... it moves allover the place. Your endings (out-takes) are always like a desert at the end of an amazing meal.
i'm going for 'plucked strings' too: it's a really nice start. in so many instances in rock pop strings just bow in an even pattern and just block in. I think your Elo series has illustrated that their changes from section to section do have imagination and complexity. why do i get bobby vee take good care of my baby vibes, i think its the melody of the first line. also there's an early 60's song when my little girl is smiling and the strings are maybe replicating that a tad? that's not a put down, i think Lynne is aware of a long heritage ( as with the doo wop elements you highlighted recently). the Doppler effect is enhanced when you start on the guiness and then switch to theakston's old peculiar. talking of legacies, whenever i see/ hear gnarls barkley i sometimes get a scent of elo in their fully orchestrated sound take on rock pop soul. disclaimer: none of these comments were composed or executed on the toilet. honestly girls when they get together, what are they like.
I'm always pleased to hear that this show has illustrated things - and here I thought I was just raving aimlessly about the things I like! It can be tricky to pinpoint specifically what influences Jeff Lynne is choosing from, but I think that part of what makes ELO's music so accessible is that it's already just a little bit familiar to anyone listening to who has listened to anything that came out in the '60s (or, obviously, the Beatles). The Gnarls Barkley conclusion is one that I hadn't even considered! I agree - it's very lush, heavily orchestrated, and coming at you in a wall of sound.
@@fathommusicnz i am super careful not to crash your friendship with abby when i see you talking to each other. but she has replied to a comment of mine (yes I can say to the world that i've had that honour), for example, that the brilliant episode she wrote on rubber soul benefited from your musicians analysis, translated into understandable terms, in your series on that album. let it be said you're very much admired. don't doubt it. fathom spins revolver is highly anticipated.
So the ELO fest continues. I look forward to your hearing your observation when I watch this video later. If you have not already have you consider examining the music of Sir Elton John. Being an Eltonite for all my life I do have a wonderful suggestion for a video.
I want to add... that I never really liked the chorus of this song (The "It's a livin' thing" part.). I always thought it was the weak link in the song. It keeps this otherwise awesome track from being much higher on my list of great ELO songs. *btw... I made up that Caroline Groos name and story. But the word is actually "groos".
Hello everyone! Questions for the week:
-What exactly is the "living thing" that this song is about?
-Can you think of any other songs with a dramatic swoop in the melody, like this one?
Looking forward, as always, to your thoughts. 😊
i've just looked at the lyrics: fat lot of help they are! i think it's just a celebration of the life force and 'what a terrible thing to lose'. Hello Goodbye does the positive over negative thing? bit more concisely? and no there are no other songs with a dramatic swoop in them: there just aren't.
I think the living thing is love. Sometimes as embodied in a specific relationship and sometimes in a more general sense.
@@alanclayton9277 The life force...I like that interpretation.
@@fathommusicnz i came across it in Shaw's man and superman i think: y'know forces that we might be dimly aware of but they drive us and only by harnessing them can we progress as human beings. anyway i can spout this stuff because where would you find a lit. graduate to verify it or dismiss it. no chance. i'm safe :-)
Octopus
Another musical mystery solved by the sibling detective agency!
When Jeff sings Sweet Desire he is bringing out his inner Roy Orbison.
Absolutely! Just like last week's episode, he's really drawing from the music that surrounded him in his early days, I think.
@@fathommusicnz So does that mean you like to hear my idea for an Elton video????? It is a good and interesting one.
@@thejoyofthemusicinmylife7897 Let's have it 😊
@@fathommusicnz Ok I will present it soon. A they say in business give me a little time to write up the proposal. lol :)
@@fathommusicnz Here is my idea are for an Elton John video. Elton scored hits with two songs that have a number of similarities both in music and lyrical content. These songs are Daniel, a 1972 hit and Nikita another top 10 hit from 1986. Let’s start with a lyrical content. Both songs examine how Cold War politics between the United States and Russia that affected the lives of people. Daniel is a look at a Vietnam war veteran through the viewpoint of his brother. The war veteran becomes blind in the fighting during that conflict. Nikita is a beautiful woman Russian border guard. She has a stone-cold look on her face as can be expected from a border guard. A westerner tries to enter behind the iron curtain but his papers are not in order and is turned back. The female border guard and westerner do lock eyes which is enough with them to fall in love. Elton sings the following lyrics, if there comes a time guns and gates no longer hold you in and if you're free to make a choice. Just look towards the west and find a friend.
Ok let review. Both songs describe situations that happen as result of United States and Russian cold war politics. Someone who becomes injured in Vietnam because of a proxy war between the two countries. The other song two people fall in love but they can never pursue a life together because of the Berlin wall that separates east from west. Elton did make a great video for Nikita which you need to watch if you going do a video on these two songs. Also to note David Bowie also hit on the cold war boarder wall theme and to lovers in his song Heroes.
Now for the music. Both songs have that classic Elton signature trait and has the same flow. Both songs also feature a synthesizers solo during the instrumental break. Elton sings the songs with that deep emotional vocal expression which he is known for. Nikita is sort of like a newer version of Daniel. I even thought of rewriting the words to Nikita using the word to Daniel. Daniel starts off with the lyrics Daniel is traveling on a plane. I can see the taillights heading to for Spain. Nikita lyrics starts with Hey Nikita, is it cold in your little corer of the word. So this could be changed to Nikita lives behind the iron curtain, I can see Nikita from a distance away from my life. Applying the lyrics to Daniel to Nikita. Interchangeable parts for both songs. Ha ha
I hope I gave you enough to go on for a possible video. Again, be sure to watch the Nikita video which I have included a link. If you chose not to make such video I understand and appreciate you giving me a chance to present it. I would love to see more Elton content in the future. Keep up the good work. By the way, did you get a chance to listen to any of the Michael Kiwanuka links I sent you?
Here are links to both songs. Just to note, I wonder if Daniel lost his eyesight in the war or his Innocence and a part of him died.
Daniel
ruclips.net/video/0f0TMfQNRk8/видео.html
I thought I throw this one in. A much later day performance by just Elton of Daniel
ruclips.net/video/tFJ2YrztYUg/видео.html
Ok her is Nikita video. You can see the full storyline image of the song. I think this is the best MTV era video Elton ever made. Great backing vocals on this one that includes the late George Michael. This video is a bit heartbreaking.
ruclips.net/video/Tg-Q-Acv4qs/видео.html
This is genuinely fascinating, and multiple hats off for actually taking ELO seriously, whereas so many commentators just go, lol Jeff Lynn.
Love the exchanges between you and your sister.
The living thing is definitely the relationship...if you get as old as me you'll see that's how long-ass relationships work...the strings are the second protagonist...(the other person with their own agenda, ideas, moods) ... Also, Ekhardt Tolle says that we all have "pain bodies" which feed on our sadness and fear (the past and the future) so that "living thing" could also be that...Love the two of you. So glad to get to watch y'all hang out.
Love how much passion and effort you put into dissecting these great tunes.
Once again I'm blown away by your analysis. I've been listening to ELO since the 1970s, and you tell me things I never realized. For example, "I'm taking a dive." I always thought he was saying, "I'm thinking of dying." You and your sister make a great team--and you have great taste in music!
Thank you!
Also, I just wanted to say, "Don't bring me down, Proust" made me absolutely hoot.
The two of you together... giving us all your thoughts and insights into a song you love - is the best thing on the internet.
Nancy on her own... is the next best thing on the internet.
I love every point you make in this video. You make each one interesting and fun to watch.
32:46 OMG... Nancy gave me such a huge belly laugh when she says: "Can I tell you a secret? Led Zeppelin has also disbanded." And that big smile on her face when she said it...
But Anna's response (I'm going to call your sister Anna - because she seems like an Anna to me) was the perfect answer to Nancy's, oh so humorous, secret.
The actual lyric in "Don't Bring Me Down" is "groos". In the liner notes of the ELO compilation titled "Flashback" - Jeff said that it is just a word he made up and has no real meaning. But I have dug deeper and found out that he was singing about a girl he had his first crush on in 8th grade (Caroline Groos). Even after all the great success he had with ELO in the 1970s... he found himself pining over Caroline in the middle of the night - and jotted down the lyrics to this song.
How did you know that 26.2% of your viewers watch you on their toilets..?
I agree with Anna. I thought it was Jeff's take on a meaningful relationship between two people who loved each other. How it starts - goes up then down... back and forth... and sometimes crashes. It's alive... always changing, getting better, getting worse... it moves allover the place.
Your endings (out-takes) are always like a desert at the end of an amazing meal.
My sister and I do this too! We listen to albums and compare notes 📝. It’s so much fun!!!
You forgot Ringo - he became The Fat Controller and married a Bond girl.
The intro is what catches me my older sister referred to it as a Gypsy violin intro (or should I say Roma violin intro
i'm going for 'plucked strings' too: it's a really nice start. in so many instances in rock pop strings just bow in an even pattern and just block in. I think your Elo series has illustrated that their changes from section to section do have imagination and complexity.
why do i get bobby vee take good care of my baby vibes, i think its the melody of the first line. also there's an early 60's song when my little girl is smiling and the strings are maybe replicating that a tad? that's not a put down, i think Lynne is aware of a long heritage ( as with the doo wop elements you highlighted recently).
the Doppler effect is enhanced when you start on the guiness and then switch to theakston's old peculiar.
talking of legacies, whenever i see/ hear gnarls barkley i sometimes get a scent of elo in their fully orchestrated sound take on rock pop soul.
disclaimer: none of these comments were composed or executed on the toilet. honestly girls when they get together, what are they like.
I'm always pleased to hear that this show has illustrated things - and here I thought I was just raving aimlessly about the things I like!
It can be tricky to pinpoint specifically what influences Jeff Lynne is choosing from, but I think that part of what makes ELO's music so accessible is that it's already just a little bit familiar to anyone listening to who has listened to anything that came out in the '60s (or, obviously, the Beatles).
The Gnarls Barkley conclusion is one that I hadn't even considered! I agree - it's very lush, heavily orchestrated, and coming at you in a wall of sound.
@@fathommusicnz i am super careful not to crash your friendship with abby when i see you talking to each other. but she has replied to a comment of mine (yes I can say to the world that i've had that honour), for example, that the brilliant episode she wrote on rubber soul benefited from your musicians analysis, translated into understandable terms, in your series on that album.
let it be said you're very much admired. don't doubt it. fathom spins revolver is highly anticipated.
How about the pre-chorus “ah-woo-oo-ooh” on Goodbye Yellow Brick Road (probably EJ’s finest song if you ask me!) - but is that swoopy enough? Hmm 🤔
That's a good one!!
So the ELO fest continues. I look forward to your hearing your observation when I watch this video later. If you have not already have you consider examining the music of Sir Elton John. Being an Eltonite for all my life I do have a wonderful suggestion for a video.
Well, you know, "J" isn't too far off! ;)
I want to add... that I never really liked the chorus of this song (The "It's a livin' thing" part.). I always thought it was the weak link in the song. It keeps this otherwise awesome track from being much higher on my list of great ELO songs.
*btw... I made up that Caroline Groos name and story. But the word is actually "groos".