Song sung

More in the continuing series of gleanings from YouTube, with assists from Wikipedia. WikiTube?

What would you do

Everyone of a certain generation loved 'Family Ties', and remember that scene at the train station where Alex goes after Ellen, with that Billy Vera and the Beaters song in the background. I was surprised at how good the song is even on its own; in some ways this is the epitome of the one-hit wonder, the perfect melding of a voice with a song with a time.

Sukiyaki

It's always puzzled me how a song sung entirely in Japanese reached the top of the U.S. pop charts in 1963. Maybe it's entirely because of the melody, along with its apparent mix of sunniness and melancholy. The Wikipedia entry sheds no light, but does have an amusing look at what the lyrics mean and the odd and long list of artists who have done cover versions (Bob Dylan to KISS to Will Smith). There must be something inherently magical about the song.


Start wearing purple

In addition to having a great title, this is a very unusual song... it's by Gogol Bordello, which Wikipedia says is a:

Gypsy punk band from the Lower East Side of New York City that formed in 1999. They are renowned for their frenetic, theatrical stage shows. Much of their sound is inspired by Gypsy music, as most of their members are immigrants from Eastern Europe. The band incorporates minor-key accordion and fiddle (and on some of their albums, saxophone) mixed with cabaret, punk, and dub.

There's indeed a frenetic energy to the video; it sortof makes sense that they're NYers, although really, it most reminds me of a Serbian movie I once stumbled across, Black Cat, White Cat. Same mix of an almost post-apocalyptic setting and faces, which would repel you if it wasn't so interesting and unexpectedly funny. (The movie, incidentally, has one of the best portrayals of a third world bully/strongman I've ever seen--it gets the bombast combined with emptiness, cunning and low comedy exactly right).