Black Rain

I think many are confused when they hear of how off the wall Ozzy is but, for the most part he's a pretty peace loving guy. While no doubt he's gone over the top time and again, most of his music would paint an alternative picture.

Heard a comment yesterday that war never determines who was right or wrong, simply who is left. Ultimately nobody ever wins a war, when you start adding the costs how can anyone call anything a victory?

While I think "Black Rain", this particular track is more about the more recent conflict in the middle east, ultimately this covers just about any battle I can think of.

The black rain is falling
Contaminating the ground
The human race is dying
The dead are scattered around
What is the price of a bullet?
Another hole in the head
A flag draped over a coffin
Another soldier is dead

How many victims have fallen
How many more have to die
People dying in masses
Angel of death standing by

We've got our marching orders
Defenders of our home and our pride
We've crossed too many borders
Military suicide

War killing sons and daughters
Another failed attack
There is no turning back
Blood running down like water
You'll think you got away
Until the judgment day comes

Politicians confuse me
I watch the body count rise
Why are the children all marching
Into the desert to die?
The human psyche is twisted
The madness rising again
Another empire falling
I watch them dying in vain

We've got our marching orders
Defenders of our home and our pride
We've crossed too many borders
Military suicide

war sends our sons to slaughter
Another failed attack
There is no turning back
Blood running down like water
You'll think you got away
Until the judgment day comes

Are you ready?

Black rain, black rain
Black rain, black rain

War killing sons and daughters
Another failed attack
There is no turning back
Blood running down like water
You'll think you got away
Until the judgment day
You'll think you got away
Until your judgment day comes

I just hope that should the time come I can be like this guy mostly because I'm afraid of what may be left should those that want their way actually get it.

Ice Ice Baby

Well, had a few deeper and more meaningful posts of late so have to mix it up and lighten the tone.

Today's song is "Ice Ice Baby" by Vanilla Ice. Sure he kinda stole the beat from Queen, but lets face it, he's never going to really make it as a rapper, he's simply too white and too nerdy (refer to Weird Al on that one). That said, don't think many have heard the "Too Cold" version of this song a kind of Rap meets Rock cross over, kinda like Limp Bizkit.

I think everyone enjoyed Vanilla Ice for the week he was famous, heck he even got a movie of his own. More recently he's taken to social media and done a few local ads without taking himself so seriously. Anyone see the movie, "The New Guy"? He's a cameo in there too. Ultimately I don't do rap but somehow this doesn't really qualify as rap, but surely more a parody? I can't help but sing along when ever I hear this one, because, well it makes me laugh.

Yo,Vanilla,kick it one time Boy

Yo, VIP, Let's kick it!

Ice Ice Baby, Ice Ice Baby
All right stop, Collaborate and listen
Ice is back with my brand new invention
Something, grabs a hold of me tightly
Flow like a harpoon daily and nightly
Will it ever stop? Yo; I don't know
Turn off the lights, and i'll glow
To the extreme I rock a mic like a vandal
Light up a stage and wax a chump like a candle.

Dance, go rush the speaker that booms
I'm killing your brain like a poisonous mushroom
deadly, when I play a dope melody
Anything less than the best is a felony
Love it or leave it, You better gain way
You better hit bull's eye, The kid don't play
If there was a problem, Yo, I'll solve it
Check out the hook while my DJ revolves it

Ice Ice Baby, Vanilla Ice Ice Baby
Vanilla Ice Ice Baby, Vanilla Ice Ice Baby,
Vanilla

Now that the party is jumping
With the bass kicked in and the Vegas are pumpin'
Quick to the point, to the point no faking
Cooking MCs like a pound of bacon
Burnin’ ‘em, if you aint quick and nimble
I go crazy when I hear a cymbal
And a hi hat, with a souped up tempo
I'm on a roll, it's time to go solo

Rollin' in my 5.0
With my ragtop down so my hair can blow
The girlies on standby, waving just to say Hi
Did you stop? No -- I just drove by
Kept on, pursuing to the next stop
I bust a left and I'm heading to the next block
That block was dead, yo, so I continued to A1A
Beachfront Avenue

Girls were hot wearing less than bikinis
Rockman lovers driving Lamborghinis
Jealous, 'cause I'm out getting mine
Shay with a gauge, and Vanilla with a nine
Ready, for the chumps on the wall
The chumps acting ill because they're full of “Eight Ball”
Gunshots, ranged out like a bell
I grabbed my nine -- All I heard were shells

Falling, on the concrete real fast
Jumped in my car, slammed on the gas
Bumper to bumper, the avenue's packed
I'm trying to get away before the jackers jack
Police on the scene, you know what I mean
They passed me up, confronted all the dope fiends
If there was a problem, Yo, I'll solve it
Check out the hook while my DJ revolves it

Ice Ice Baby, Vanilla Ice Ice Baby
Vanilla Ice Ice Baby, Vanilla Ice Ice Baby
Vanilla

Take heed, 'cause I'm a lyrical poet
Miami's on the scene just in case you didn't know it
My town, that created all the bass sound
Enough to shake and kick holes in the ground
'Cause my style's like a chemical spill
Feasible rhymes you can vision and feel
Conducted and formed, this is a hell of a concept
We make it hype, and you want to step with this
Shay plays on the fade, slice like a ninja
Cut like a razor blade so fast, Other DJs say, "damn"
If my rhyme was a drug, I'd sell it by the gram
Keep my composure when it's time to get loose
Magnetized by the mic while I kick my juice
If there was a problem, Yo -- I'll solve it!
Check out the hook while DJ revolves it.

Ice Ice Baby, Vanilla Ice Ice Baby
Vanilla Ice Ice Baby, Vanilla Ice Ice Baby, Vanilla Ice

Yo man -- Let's get out of here! Word to your mother!

Ice Ice Baby Too cold, Ice Ice Baby Too cold, Too cold
Ice Ice Baby Too cold, Too cold, Ice Ice Baby Too cold, Too cold

This wasn't just cool in the day, it was frozen! :P

Arms

It always sounds cheesy when someone says something like "There's no place like home" or "Home is where the heart is". However this

"Arms" by Christina Perri reminds me of something my mother once told me, "Home is where you, your brothers and your father are." What many may not know is that we've moved around quite a bit over the years and from country to country. Pretty much leaving me no real or accurate answer to the question, "So, where are you from?" The only real answer I've been able to come up with was, "Where would you like me/need me to be from?" Most seem to think I'm just being a smartass until I start my story. The most concise version of that is, "My two brothers and I were all born in different countries and this isn't even one of them."

Today's song is a simple reminder that a home is not made of metal, wood or stone it's made of stuff that's a lot stronger.

I never thought that you would be the one to hold my heart
But you came around and you knocked me off the ground from the start

You put your arms around me
and I believe that it's easier for you to let me go
You put your arms me and I'm home

How many times will let you me change my mind and turn around?
I can't decide if I'll let you save my life or if I'll drown

I hope that you see right through my walls
I hope that you catch me 'cause I'm already falling
I'll never let our love get so close
You put your arms around me and I'm home

The world is coming down on me and I can't find a reason to be loved
I never wanna leave you but I can't make you bleed if I'm alone

You put your arms around me
and I believe that it's easier for you to let me go

I hope that you see right through my walls
I hope that you catch me 'cause I'm already falling
I'll never let our love get so close...

You put your arms around me and I'm home...

I tried my best to never let you in to see the truth
And I never opened up, I've never truly loved till you
You put your arms around me
and I believe that it's easier for you to let me go

I hope that you see right through my walls
I hope that you catch me 'cause I'm already falling
I'll never let our love get so close...

You put your arms around me and I'm home

You put your arms around me and I'm home

There's no place like home because a home has that something special that you can't find anywhere else.

High Hopes

I've posted this one before, but no harm in adding it again.

"High Hopes" is a Pink Floyd track but I prefer the louder, almost angrier and far more dramatic cover done by Nightwish.

There's something just so special about this particular song and I'm not quite sure what it is. While being rather dark and sombre I just love the lines: "There's a hunger still unsatisfied / Our weary eyes still stray to the horizon". There's something to be said about remaining hungry for something while keeping your head up no matter how worn down we may become.

For the most part I think the song covers how we slowly change as we get older. How we start with such high hopes and slowly they decay or are abandoned. Forever moving forward with no way of going back.

Beyond the horizon of the place we lived when we were young
In a world of magnets and miracles
Our thoughts strayed constantly and without boundary
The ringing of the division bell had begun

Along the long road and on down to the causeway
Do they still MEET there by the cut

There was a ragged band that followed in our footsteps
Running before time took our dreams away
Leaving the myriad small creatures trying to tie us to the ground
To a life consumed by slow decay

The grass was greener
The light was brighter
With friends surrounded
The nights of wonder

Looking beyond the embers of bridges glowing behind us
To a glimpse of how green it was on the other side
Steps taken forwards but sleepwalking back again
Dragged by the force of some inner tide

At a higher altitude with flag unfurled
We reached the dizzy heights OF that dreamed of world

Encumbered forever by desire and ambition
There's a hunger still unsatisfied
Our weary eyes still stray to the horizon
Though down this road we've been so many times

The grass was greener
The light was brighter
The taste was sweeter
The nights of wonder
With friends surrounded
The dawn mist glowing
The water flowing
The endless river

Forever and ever

I guess that's why little people are awesome, if you get the chance get them to describe just how green the grass really is. When you see the wonder, you'll get it.

Love Song

Today's song, "Love Song" by Sara Bareilles seems all upbeat and cheerful but was really written as a protest. It would seem that her recording company decided that she had to write them a love song as her next hit. I guess she showed them.

Every verse has a different view on how things are, how they seem and ultimately how it's not really working for her. I find it rather amusing that this love song is really just an anti-love song, pointing out all the flaws in this relationship that could really apply to any form of relationship.

Sometimes I guess you just have to sit back and just say no, not today.

Head under water
And you tell me to breathe easy for a while
breathing gets harder, even I know that
You made room for me but it's too soon to see
If I'm happy in your hands
I'm unusually hard to hold on to

Blank stares at blank pages
No easy way to say this
You mean well, but you make this hard on me

I'm not gonna write you a love song
'cause you asked for it
'cause you need one, you see

I'm not gonna write you a love song
'cause you tell me it
Makes a break in this
If you're on your way
I'm not gonna write you to stay
If all you have is leaving I'm gonna need a better
Reason to write you a love song today

I learned the hard way
That they all say things you want to hear
And my heavy heart sinks deep down under you and
Your twisted words,
Your help just hurts
You are not what I thought you were
Hello to high and dry

Convinced me to please you
Made me think that I need this too
I'm trying to let you hear me as I am

I'm not gonna write you a love song
'cause you asked for it
'cause you need one, you see
I'm not gonna write you a love song
'cause you tell me it's
Make or breaking this
If you're on your way
I'm not gonna write you to stay
If all you have is leaving I'm gonna need a better
Reason to write you a love song today

Promise me that you'll leave the light on
To help me see with daylight, my guide, gone
'cause I believe there's a way you can love me

Because I say
I won't write you a love song
'cause you asked for it
'cause you need one, you see

I'm not gonna write you a love song
'cause you tell me it's make or breaking this
Is that why you wanted a love song
'cause you asked for it
'cause you need one, you see
I'm not gonna write you a love song
'cause you tell me it's make or breaking this
If you're on your way
I'm not gonna write you to stay
If your heart is nowhere in it
I don't want it for a minute
Babe, I'll walk the seven seas when I believe that
There's a reason to
Write you a love song today

Then... when you want to do something, nothing is too much or too far when you decide that today is the day.

If You Seek Amy

Well, it's time for another Britney track. "If You Seek Amy" caused quite a stir when first released (if you didn't get the memo, just read the chorus out loudly to yourself), but I think it was more a dig at all the "haters" out there.

Much like "Piece of Me", this track is aimed at pointing out that no matter what people think they're still wanting something from you. Usually in a negative light regardless of how they are perceived to view you, your actions or your stance on something.

I just love it, apart from the fact it's a Britney track, it really just throws it all back in the face of all. Say what you want about me, at the end of the day you still want me.

Lalalalala

Oh baby baby
Have you seen Amy tonight?
Is she in the bathroom
Is she smokin' up outside
Oh

Oh baby baby
Does she take a piece of lime
For the drink that I'm gonna buy her
Do you know just what she likes
Oh

Oh Oh
Tell me have you seen her
Because I'm so
Oh
I can't get her off of my brain
I just want to go to the party she gonna go
Can somebody take me home
Ha ha he ha ha ho

Love me hate me
Say what you want about me
But all of the boys and all of the girls are
begging to If You Seek Amy
Love me hate me
But can't you see what I see
All of the boys and all of the girls
are begging to If You Seek Amy

Lalalalalala

Amy told me that she's gonna meet me up
I don't know where or when and now they're closing up the club
Oh

I've seen her once or twice before she knows my face
But it's hard to see with all the people standing in the way
Oh

Oh Oh
Tell me have you seen her
Because I'm so
Oh
I can't get her off of my brain
I just want to go to the party she gonna go
Can somebody take me home
Ha ha he ha ha ho

Love me hate me
Say what you want about me
But all of the boys and all of the girls are
begging to If You Seek Amy
Love me hate me
But can't you see what I see
All of the boys and all of the girls
are begging to If You Seek Amy

Oh
Say what you want about me
Oh
But can't you see what I see
Oh
Say what you want about me

So tell me if you see her
Let me know what she was wearing and what she was like
Cause I have been waiting here forever
Let me know when she going out
Oh baby baby
If You Seek Amy tonight
Oh
Oh baby baby
We'll do whatever you like
Oh baby baby baby
Oh baby baby baby

Lalalalalala
Lalalalalala

Love me hate me
Say what you want about me
But all of the boys and all of the girls are
begging to If You Seek Amy
Love me hate me
But can't you see what I see
All of the boys and all of the girls
are begging to If You Seek Amy

Oh
Say what you want about me
Oh
But can't you see what I see
Oh
Say what you want about me

All of the boys and all of the girls are
begging to If You Seek Amy

If haters are going to hate, do potatoes potate?

Kickapoo

A little more humor this morning methinks. "Kickapoo" by Tenacious D sets the scene for the movie, Tenacious D and the Pick of Destiny.

This song always makes me think of my youngest brother. The lines, "in the city of fallen angels, where the ocean meets the sand, You will form a strong alliance, and the world's most awesome band." Pretty much refer to heading out to Hollywood, but little do most folk know that here in Durban there is a monument that fits that bill too. Check out the Durban Cenotaph.

One of these day's we'll finally get it together and form the world's most awesome band. In the meantime, think I need to find the Pick of Destiny - 'cos I'm a pretty rubbish musician.

A long ass fuckin' time ago,
In a town called Kickapoo,
There lived a humble family
Religious through and through.
But yay there was a black sheep
And he knew just what to do.
His name was young J.B. and he refused to step in-line.
A vision he did see-eth
Fuckin' rockin' all the time.
He wrote a tasty jam and all the planets did align.

Oh the dragons balls were blazin' as I stepped into his cave,
Then I sliced his fuckin' cockles,
With a long and shiney blade!
'Twas I who fucked the dragon,
Fuckalize sing-fuckaloo!
And if you try to fuck with me,
Then I shall fuck you too!
Gotta get it on in the party zone!
I gots to shoot a load in the party zone!
Gotta lick a toad in the party zone!
Gotta suck a chode in the party zone!

You've disobeyed my orders, son,
Why were you ever born?.
Your brother's ten times better than you,
Jesus loves him more.
This music that you play for us comes from the depths of hell.
Rock and roll's The Devil's work, he wants you to rebel.
You'll become a mindless puppet;
Beelzebub will pull the strings!
Your heart will lose direction,
And chaos it will bring.
You'd better shut your mouth,
Better watch your tone!
You're going for a week with no telephone!
Don't let me here you cry,
Don't let me hear you moan!
You gotta praise The Lord when you're in my home!

Dio can you hear me?
I am lost and so alone.
I'm askin' for your guidance.
Won't you come down from your throne?
I need a tight compadre who will teach me how to rock.
My father thinks you're evil,
But man, he can suck a cock.
Rock is not The Devil's work,
It's magical and rad.
I'll never rock as long as I am stuck here with my dad.

I hear you brave young Jaybles,
You are hungry for the rock.
But to learn the ancient method,
Sacred doors you must unlock.
Escape your father's clutches,
And this oppressive neighborhood.
On a journey you must go,
To find the land of Hollywood!
In The City of Fallen Angels,
Where the ocean meets the sand,
You will form a strong alliance,
And the world's most awesome band.
To find your fame and fortune,
Through the valley you must walk.
You will face your inner demons.
Now go my son and rock!

So he went from fuckin' Kickapoo With hunger in his heart;
And he journeyed far and wide to find the secrets of his art;
But in the end he knew that he would find his counterpart.
Rooooock. Rah-ha-ha-ha-hock. Raye-yayayayaye-yock.

Somehow I'm always drawn back to that place, where the ocean meets the sand.