"Somebody" by Depeche Mode

I had another song picked out for today but I wasn't feeling it. Instead, I've decided to share my favorite Depeche Mode song! That seems like kind of a bizarre sentence - what normal person has a favorite Depeche Mode song? Can you even name another Depeche Mode song? Didn't think so. Anyway, I feel like I've been posting too much contemporary pop lately, so I thought some 80s New Wave would be a nice change. And I haven't heard it in a very long time and I was thinking about it yesterday. I swear, I do have a plan for this blog. It's just I have this bad tendency to....change my mind at the last minute. Some people would call it being spontaneous, others would just call it annoying. I know The Husband isn't very fond of this "switching boats mid-stream" business. He says it makes it difficult to buy me things, but I'm generally so easy-going, I'm just happy he actually thought enough to consider buying something for me. Oh well. I think being flexible and adaptive a very important personality trait. Makes it somewhat easier to deal with the chaos.

I want somebody to share

Share the rest of my life

Share my innermost thoughts

Know my intimate details

Someone who'll stand by my side

And give me support

And in return

She'll get my support

She will listen to me

When I want to speak

About the world we live in

And life in general

Though my views may be wrong

They may even be perverted

She'll hear me out

And won't easily be converted

To my way of thinking

In fact she'll often disagree

But at the end of it all

She will understand me

I want somebody who cares

For me passionately

With every thought and

With every breath

Someone who'll help me see things

In a different light

All the things I detest

I will almost like

I don't want to be tied

To anyone's strings

I'm carefully trying to steer clear of

Those things

But when I'm asleep

I want somebody

Who will put their arms around me

And kiss me tenderly

Though things like this

Make me sick

In a case like this

I'll get away with it

It's not a very long song, lyrically, so - fuck it - I posted all the lyrics. Like always, I think the beauty of the song is in its simplicity and honesty. Isn't that all we're looking for? Someone who just understands.

Anyway, I don't have much to say today. I'm not feeling that great - sore throat, just generally low energy and empty. I will mention how I found this song, though. It was when YouTube was still young and the most common thing you'd find on the website is video compilations of movie clips and various songs. In fact, that was the only way you could find songs back then. You didn't have artists dropping their new videos straight onto the platform back in the day. True to form, I was searching for "Moulin Rouge" clips, which is how I found "Somebody." Someone had put together a montage of Satine and Christian with Depeche Mode as the backdrop. Unfortunately, that video is no longer on YouTube. Out of nostalgia, I tried to find it but to no avail. It lives on only in my memory now. Instead, please enjoy the delightfully kitschy original music video from the 80s.

"Somebody" Video

"Addicted to Love" by Robert Palmer (as covered by Florence + the Machine)

I'm going to try to keep this short because I'm exhausted but I wanted to fit one more song into January. This song is also a good transition into February's theme and, besides....did you really think I'd let this month end without a dose of Florence Welch? Never!

The original song is by Robert Palmer, an English rock singer from the 80s. Due to its popularity, "Addicted to Love" became his claim to fame - he wasn't exactly a one-hit-wonder but pretty close to it. It was also supposed to be a duet with Chaka Khan, but that never happened due to contractual constraints. There are several cover versions of this song but this version is my favorite. If you listen to the original, it is the quintessential 80s song - from the electric guitar and keyboards to the twang in Robert Palmer's voice. It's easy to imagine it playing as the backdrop to John Hughes movie - in fact, I would be surprised if I did some research and discovered it on the soundtrack for multiple 80s teen romances. It's also an extremely long song - the album version is slightly over 6 minutes long, which was frowned upon in the 80s and nearly unheard of for pop music of the time. The single version they cut down to 4 minutes - mostly getting rid of the unnecessary instrumental breaks and the bulk of the end where he's repeating the chorus. "Might as well face it, you're addicted to love." You know....it's catchy but after 4 minutes of that, you get pretty fucking bored and you're pretty much begging for the fadeout by the end. Florence + the Machine cuts it even further to just under 3 1/2 minutes, only leaving room for the essentials. And that's the important thing about any type of art - you gotta leave them wanting more. Give your audience just enough and they'll keep coming back. I just made that up but it feels pretty true some I'm just going to say it is and call it a day.

You see the signs, but you can't read

You're running at a different speed

Your heart beats in double time

Another kiss and you'll be mine, a one track mind

You can't be saved

Oblivion is all you crave

If there's some left for you

You don't mind if you do

Whoa, you like to think that you're immune to the stuff, oh yeah

It's closer to the truth to say you can't get enough

You know you're gonna have to face it, you're addicted to love

Moving on, I'm not sure the emotion/feeling the song is describing is love, per say. It sounds more like infatuation - that all encompassing need at the beginning of a relationship to be with someone all the time. The obsessive thoughts. The pull that keeps you coming back for more. That "addicted" feeling fades eventually, but what you have remaining - should you choose to continue (and sometimes even if you don't) - is love. Infatuation (and Lust) is what's explosive like that; Love is much more subtle. Unfortunately, it's the fluttery, energetic pulse of the former that gets all the glory. The peaceful calm of unconditional love - well, that gets it's own songs, too, but they're not the ones you expect. They're usually the ones acknowledging that we're only human and things happen. Acknowledging that we are flawed but, at least for a moment, that didn't matter.

Just FYI: While working on this post, I discovered that there is a movie named "Addicted to Love." A Meg Ryan movie, in fact, and one that I haven't seen. Shocking, I know. It's a romantic comedy (naturally) where two people (Meg Ryan and Matthew Broderick) are trying to break up a couple (his cheating girlfriend and her ex-fiance) but fall in love in the process. It looks delightful, even though it sounds like the main characters sound like they start off as assholes in the beginning. And it came out in 1997, which was peak Meg Ryan and peak Matthew Broderick (a powerful combination, I'm sure). To be honest, I've been trying to cut down my screen time, so I probably won't be watching this any time soon. But if you're looking for a 90s romantic comedy to break through a bout of existentialism, this one's probably about as good as any you'll find.

Side Note: Another revelation - the official video for Robert Palmer's version of "Addicted to Love" is the music video that Bill Nighy's character in "Love Actually" is parodying. Love. It.

Florence + the Machine Version

Robert Palmer Version

Throwback Thursday: "Faith" by George Michael

So, I listen to the radio a lot. You know that. It's inevitable -- I pretty much cannot drive whatsoever without music so if I don't have my iPod (or, more accurately, I forget to plug my iPod in before I start driving), I'll turn on the radio. San Antonio radio stations, if possible, suck even more than Sierra Vista radio stations. The only alternative rock station.....is the worst rock station I have ever heard. And that's saying something. And the modern music stations really take the 80s part of the "80s, 90s, and today" tagline really seriously. If I'm driving, I can basically hear Prince, Cindy Lauper, Madonna, or all three within the span of an hour. Yes -- I am finally over "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun." It took nearly 27 years but -- yeah -- no more. Anyway, the other day, it's 5 am in the morning --I'm tired and I have already had to switch stations to avoid ::shudder:: "Moves Like Jagger" for the upteenth time in my life--and they play this little gem.

The 80s fashion in this video alone could cheer me up in a heartbeat. How did people take themselves seriously while wearing those jeans? And that jacket?! Oh, man...I'd hate to run into George Michael in a dark alley. Indeed, this song turned my dreary Monday morning into a feel-good adventure through one of the most poorly designed cities for torrential downpours. Surprisingly, I survived to drive another day. No, I don't recommend driving in SA.

It may not be a "Moonlight Sonata" or a "Bohemian Rhapsody" but it'll do. 'Cause I gotta have faith-ah-faith-ah-faith-ah.