I Lost My Heart to a Starship Trooper

I figured I would pick a few songs this week purely because their videos were so horribly bad. Subsequently I think they're great.

"I Lost My Heart to a Starship Trooper" by Sarah Brightman and Hot Gossip has to be easily one of the worst music videos I've seen to date. Check it out here.

This particular track was released in 1978 (before I was born!) and was the beginning of what would be a fantastic career in music for Sarah. Although I think all the shiny spandex wasn't really the way to start. That said, if David Bowie can rock it out... why not try.

Arcaida X-ray X-ray delta niner niner zero
This is Starfleet control
You are clear to go hyper space
Acknowledge

Affirmative, Star-com
We have situation gold

Niner niner zero, roger
You're looking good for trans-light

I lost my heart to a starship trooper
I lost my heart to a starship trooper
Oh...

Hey, Captain Strange
Won't you be my lover
You're the best thing
That I've ever discovered
Flash Gordon's left me
He's gone to the stars
And evil Darth Vader
Has me banished to Mars

Tell me, Captain Strange
Do you feel my devotion
Or are you like a droid
Devoid of emotion
Encounters one and two
Are not enough for me
What my body needs
Is close encounter three

I lost my heart to a starship trooper
Flashing light in hyper space
Fighting for the Federation
Hand in hand we'll conquor space

Listen, Captain Strange
What's our destination
The scanners seem to
Indicate a small devation
Static on the comm
It's Starfleet Command
Requesting your position
It's their final demand

You're intentions are known
They've found out at least
So if you're gonna take me
Please make it fast
Touch me
Feel me
Do what you will
I want to feel
That galactic thrill

I lost my heart to a starship trooper
Flashing light in hyper space
Fighting for the Federation
Hand in hand we'll conquor space

Niner niner zero
This is Star Comm
We got a problem
On your vector
Request status check
Over

Oh, baby...

Arcadia
This is strategy control
You have course deviation
At five mark six
Acknowledge

I love you...

Arcaida
We show condition red
Confirm

Love me...

What's going on out there

Oh...
I lost my heart to a starship trooper
Flashing light in hyper space
Fighting for the Federation
Hand in hand we'll conquor space
I lost my heart to a starship trooper
Oh...

Space suit is lying
On control room
Pulse rate increasing
As the heat factor soars
Take me
Make me
Feel the force
Ignore the computers
We're locked on course

I lost my heart to a starship trooper
Flashing light in hyper space
Fighting for the Federation
Hand in hand we'll conquor space

I lost my heart to a starship trooper
Flashing light in hyper space
Fighting for the Federation
Hand in hand we'll conquor space
REPEAT AND FADE THE ABOVE WITH
Niner niner zereo
This is Star Comm
Be advised you
Have serious
vector deviation
I repeat,
Serious vector deviation

Arcadia
Niner niner zero Do you copy
This is Starfleet Control

Still not a fan of spandex, but it does make me laugh at times.

Turn it Up

Been rather ill of late (yeah, I get a cold and go into hibernation) and somehow my my way into work this morning I got this song stuck in my head.

"Turn it Up" by Pixie Lott is another of those that I can't quite explain but somehow just makes me happy. While the topic and theme of this particular song aren't all that happy but the tempo rather upbeat. So simply because it was stuck in my head this morning...

'coz I know you can't stay, so I won't be waiting, anticipating for the fall. We had our time, baby, so I won't be waiting, anticipating for the call.

Baby, its over, we both know, lets go forward.
I love you, but in a different way, I love you, forever.
Now that we've come to the end of a story-y and I know that it's gonna be hard for me.
Might hurt some, might get too much, but I gotta let it be.
As the world turns around and we go different places, new things, new dreams, new faces.
Wanna shake up, when we break up, but we keep our memories.

'coz I know you can't stay, so I won't be waiting, anticipating for the fall.
We had our time, baby, so I won't be waiting, anticipating for the call.
Turn it up, turn it up for the people that say "we're moving on and we'll be okay".
Turn it up, turn it up for the people that say "we're moving on and we'll be okay".

Baby, it's better, and I want you, to be happy.
Sometimes people find that it's so hard just to say goodbye.
it ain't easy the more and the more you try.
So they'll be cheating, be decieving, but not me and my boy.
We understand that we're friends and it just ain't working, no point in the constant fighting.
So we'll be grown ups, for a minute, and admit that we're just not in it.

I know you can't stay, so I won't be waiting, anticipating for the fall.
We had our time, baby, so I won't be waiting, anticipating for the call.

Turn it up, turn it up for the people that say "we're moving on and we'll be okay".
Turn it up, turn it up for the people that say "we're moving on and we'll be okay".
Turn it up, turn it up for the people that say "we're moving on and we'll be okay".
Turn it up, turn it up for the people that say "we're moving on and we'll be okay".

I might lose my mind for a while, but I'll be fine (fiiiine).
Have you heard there's this thing that heals, and it's called time (tiiiime).
Clock can tick away, happy will fall in place.
and though, my heart will break, a new me will fill the space.

I know you can't stay, so I won't be waiting, anticipating for the fall.
We had our time, baby, so I won't be waiting, anticipating for the call.
Turn it up, turn it up for the people that say "we're moving on and we'll be okay".
Turn it up, turn it up for the people that say "we're moving on and we'll be okay".
Turn it up, turn it up for the people that say "we're moving on and we'll be okay".
Turn it up, turn it up for the people that say "we're moving on and we'll be okay".

Turn it up... because... well... no matter how ill I may be... I'll be okay.

Whale (BooHoo)

I chanced upon this track which was playing on TV the other morning. I'm a sucker for the piano (as mentioned several times before) and this one is quite simply the vocalist singing along to the sharp notes being played.

Dear Reader started off as a duo but seems to have become a solo project. This particular track, "Whale", comes from the album "Idealistic Animals" where each track is given an animal name in addition to a more descriptive title.

I'm still not quite sure on this one, "Whale" or "BooHoo", really covers. Is it a funeral... is it simply loss? I'm taking a stab in the dark here and saying that the wave, sea and canoe are all representative of time and travel. Ultimately you can't stay in one place for all time. We all move on and at some point the last time we see anyone it's as we're heading back out to see (or simply deeper into our lives).

Just gotta keep on moving, that's our way
It's not for a wave to stay in one place
And when the ice melts far away
We have no say, we gain the weight

Till we cover New York
with icy, icy blue
And the Statue of Liberty
she'll be poking through
And the last time that you see her
it'll be from a canoe
Floating on our tears and your tears too
Boohoo
Boohoo
Boohoo

Her mom died yesterday
She will not be going to a funeral
But she'll put on a pretty black dress anyway
And then she'll go to the park and play in the sandpit

Then we'll cover New York
with icy, icy blue
And the Statue of Liberty
she'll be poking through
And the last time that you see her
it'll be from a canoe
Floating on our tears and your tears too

We'll cover New York
with icy, icy blue
And the Statue of Liberty
she'll be poking through
And the last time that you see her
it'll be from a canoe
Singing Mama Goodbye
You know we'll always miss you
Boohoo
Boohoo
Boohoo

Someday we're all going to be taking a canoe trip... and the wave will be our last. As sad as that is, waves were never supposed to stay in one place.

Pepper

Well, nice to see my brother post something this morning on YouTube.

"Pepper" by the The Butthole Surfers (gotta love that name) was pretty much their one hit but in many ways I guess you only need one to make an impact.

Pepper seems to make little sense on the surface and while many may look to the lines, "You never know just how you look / Through other people's eyes" as being the most significant, I really don't think so. While that's very much a valid point I think the point behind this song is how so many are hell bent on personal destruction. Many references here go out to kids doing silly things in what seem to be sex, drugs and extreme lifestyle.

It's the lines, "Pauly caught a bullet / But it only hit his leg / Well it should have been a better shot / and got him in the head" that really stick with me. While many seem to meet their demise it would seem that Pauly doesn't but the mental scaring of what actually happens is far worse than the actual wound. Perhaps it's really a song about those that manage to survive life's ordeals and how these things shape us.

Marky got with Sharon
And Sharon got Cherese
She was sharing Sharon's outlook
On the topic of disease
Mikey had a facial scar
And Bobby was a racist
They were all in love with dyin'
They were doing it in Texas
Tommy played piano
Like a kid out in the rain
Then he lost his leg in Dallas
He was dancing with a train
They were all in love with dyin'
They were drinking from a fountain
That was pouring like an avalanche
Coming down the mountain

I don't mind the sun sometimes
The images it shows
I can taste you on my lips
And smell you in my clothes
Cinnamon and sugary
And softly spoken lies
You never know just how you look
Through other people's eyes

Some will die in hot pursuit
And fiery auto crashes
Some will die in hot pursuit
While sifting through my ashes
Some will fall in love with life
And drink it from a fountain
That is pouring like an avalanche
Coming down the mountain

I don't mind the sun sometimes
The images it shows
I can taste you on my lips
And smell you in my clothes
Cinnamon and sugary
And softly spoken lies
You never know just how you look
Through other people's eyes

(In Reverse:
I don't mind the sun sometimes
The images it shows
You never know just how you look
Through other people's eyes)

Another Mikey took a knife
While arguing in traffic
Flipper died a natural death
He caught a nasty virus
Then there was the ever-present
Football player rapist
They were all in love with dyin'
They were doing it in Texas
Pauly caught a bullet
But it only hit his leg
Well it should have been a better shot
and got him in the head
They were all in love with dyin'
They were drinking from a fountain
That was pouring like an avalanche
Coming down the mountain

I don't mind the sun sometimes
The images it shows
I can taste you on my lips
And smell you in my clothes
Cinnamon and sugary
And softly spoken lies
You never know just how you look
Through other people's eyes

How do we look through other peoples eyes? After we've managed to survive so much, does it really matter?

Coming Clean

I posted this one quite a while back, but it pretty much covers how I see the summer rain. After far too many sleepless nights, we finally had a little (not much) rain and... some sleep.

"Coming Clean" by Hilary Duff which I mentioned yesterday is my rain song. For so many reasons, but ultimately the lines, "Let it wash away / My sanity" because everyone knows that I'm pretty much nuts - when I start making sense you know something's wrong.

But, a little rain... and everything is right as, well... rain.

Let's go back
Back to the beginning
Back to when the earth, the sun, the stars all aligned

'Cause perfect didn't feel so perfect
Trying to fit a square into a circle
Was no life
I defy

Let the rain fall down
And wake my dreams
Let it wash away
My sanity
'Cause I wanna feel the thunder
I wanna scream
Let the rain fall down
I'm coming clean, I'm coming clean

I'm shedding
Shedding every color
Trying to find a pigment of truth
Beneath my skin

'Cause different
Doesn't feel so different
And going out is better
Then always staying in
Feel the wind

Let the rain fall down
And wake my dreams
Let it wash away
My sanity
'Cause I wanna feel the thunder
I wanna scream
Let the rain fall down
I'm coming clean, I'm coming clean

I'm coming clean
Let the rain fall
Let the rain fall
I'm coming...

Let the rain fall down
And wake my dreams
Let it wash away
My sanity
'Cause I wanna feel the thunder
I wanna scream
Let the rain fall down
I'm coming clean, I'm coming clean

Let the rain fall down
And wake my dreams
Let it wash away
My sanity
'Cause I wanna feel the thunder
I wanna scream
Let the rain fall down
I'm coming clean, I'm coming clean

Let's go back
Back to the beginning

Let the rain fall down, before the winter months start...

Summer Rain

Well, I'm still not sleeping and really not sure what I can do about it at this time.

I did get to thinking at some part last night how it's been a long, long time since we've had a decent downpour (or any rain of note) in what is really a summer rainfall zone, so it could be that I'm just longing for that once again.

"Summer Rain" by Belinda Carlisle was one of those romantic tracks that seemed to instantly hit gold in the late 80's & 90's - a time when cheese ruled. I must confess I do have a soft spot for cheese and this is a winner.

Much like "Handful of Rain" by Savatage, there are snippets of this that seem to hold so true to my reliance on Summer Rain to just keep my sane (if at all possible). The lines, "Doesn't matter what I do now / Doesn't matter what I say / Somewhere in my heart I'm always / Dancing with you in the summer rain" - there is that part of me that always simply loves the summer rain, as Hillary Duff would say, "I'm coming clean".

Whispering our goodbyes
Waiting for a train
I was dancing with my baby
In the summer rain
I can hear him saying
Nothing will change
Come dancing with me baby
In the summer rain

I remember the rain on our skin
And his kisses hotter than the
Santa Ana winds
Whispering our goodbyes
Waiting for a train
I was dancing with my baby
In the summer rain

I remember laughing til we almost cried
(There at station that night)
I remember looking in his eyes

Oh my love, it's you and that I dream of
Oh my love, since that day
Somewhere in my heart I'm always
Dancing with you in the summer rain

Doesn't matter what I do now
Doesn't matter what I say
Somewhere in my heart I'm always
Dancing with you in the summer rain

I can hear the whistle
Military train
I was dancing with my baby
In the summer rain
I can here him singing
Ooh "Love Is Strange"
Come dance with me baby
In the summer rain

I remember the rain pouring down
And we poured our hearts out
As the train pulled out
I can see my baby
Waving from the train
It was last time that I saw him
In the summer rain

Every time I see the lightening
Every time I hear the thunder
Every time I close the window
When this happens in the summer
Oh the night is so inviting
I can feel that you are so close
I can feel you when the wind blows
Blows right through my heart

Every night and every day now
Though I know you've gone away
Somewhere in my heart I'm always
Dancing with you in the summer rain

Perhaps all I'm waiting on is just a little more summer rain. It does after all soothe the soul. Maybe it will finally offer the rest that's so desperately wanted.

Insomnia

Well I'm back to not sleeping once again. Really wish I knew what was triggering severe periods of insomnia. I don't think anyone's died from not sleeping simply because they weren't able to, but don't really want to test this theory however.

Today's track is just that, "Insomnia" by Faithless is one that got a lot of play through those late nights after high school and now seems as relevant as ever.

Deep in the bosom of the gentle night
Is when I search for the light
Pick up my pen and start to write
I struggle, fight dark forces
In the clear moon light
Without fear... insomnia
I can't get no sleep

I used to worry, thought I was goin' mad in a hurry
Gettin' stress, makin' excess mess in darkness
No electricity, something's all over me, greasy
Insomnia please release me and let me dream of
Makin' mad love to my girl on the heath
Tearin' off tights with my teeth
But there's no release, no peace
I toss and turn without cease
Like a curse, open my eyes and rise like yeast
At least a couple of weeks
Since I last slept, kept takin' sleepers
But now I keep myself pepped
Deeper still, that night I write by candle light
I find insight, fundamental movement, uh
So when it's black this insomniac take an original tack
Keep the beast in my nature under ceaseless attack
I gets no sleep
I can't get no sleep

I can't get no sleep
I can't get no sleep
I need to sleep, although I get no sleep
I need to sleep, although I get no sleep

I need to sleep, although I get no sleep. I wonder if I should just pick up a pen and start to write?