As some of you out there might know, I began my professional life as an entertainment writer, focused mostly on music reviews. I did that for roughly four years, after which I was so burned out on music that my car radio stayed tuned to talk and news-stations from 1993 through 2000... and I hardly played any music on my system at home. To this day, I still have not been to a life concert, or even watched one on television.
Major exceptions to my time away from music were certain works by Jerry Goldsmith, John Williams, Beethoven, and/or Handel... and everything by one of the 20th century's great composers and guitar players, Mike Oldfield.
I have loved Mike Oldfield's music since I first heard "Ommadawn". I prefer his long-form instrumentals over his pop/rock songs, but everything he's done is good. Even his weakest releases are far, FAR better than the best that many other modern song-writers and musicians produce.
Mike Oldfield turns 70 years old today. I honor him on his birthday, and I thank for enriching my life, inspiring my creativity--characters and storylines have all sprung into my head while listening to Oldfield--and bringing light into my world during my darkest times.
This post also celebrates over five decades of brilliant music composed and performed by giving you a chance to listen to some of my favorite songs from him, along with a few videos. Only a few of them actually that fit the black-and-white format around here, starting with a fan-made one (which features a little nudity, so be careful where you watch it), but I hope you'll be inspired to check out more of his music and come to love his work the way I do.
Here's another fan-made video, mostly abstract and set to some very pretty Oldfield tunes.
"Five Miles Out"--the title track from the 1983 album that is Mike Oldfield's greatest masterpiece. "Taurus II" (a 27-minute long track that occupied most of Side 1 of the LP record when it was first released) is his very best work, containing some of his greatest themes and melodies.
In 1984, Alphaville released one of their greatest songs and biggest hits, "Forever Young". They released at least three different versions of the song (two of which were on their self-titled debut album from that same year), each one better than the previous. It's a song from which I've personally drawn much creative inspiration over the years, and it was a song many European Gen Xers loved. (Americans might have loved it too... I don't know if Alphaville made it over to the States or not.)
It's a song that's been covered many times, by many different performers. In the early 2000s, Mr. Hudson recorded this cover. Then, in 209, Mr. Hudson teamed up with rapper Jay-Z to record this... well... it's not really a cover, but it's got way too much of "Forever Young" incorporated to be considered an original work. So--a remake? Yes. Let's call it a remake.
In 2009, rapper Jay-Z teamed up with singer Mr. Hudson to remake "Forever Young" for a new generation, carrying much of the same messages. While it couldn't have existed without Alphaville's song, it is an interesting work in its own right. Watch the video, listen to the lyrics, let me know if you agree.
Jay-Z's version was reportedly a hit in its own right, so it's not surprising that it spawned a parody or two. In fact, it was a parody of that version that made me aware of Jay-Z's remake in the first place--a track by comedian Keith From Up Da Block that I recently came across in the distant corners of YouTube. It starts out a bit rough--Keith should not quit his day job for a career in music--but it is very funny if you stick with it. Check it out:
When the nation of Kazakhstan is mentioned, the first thing that springs to most people's mind is probably Borat, the goofy reporter character played by comedian and hidden camera prankster Sasha Baron Cohen. As a friend of Shades of Gray who hails from Kzakhstan was quick to point out back around 2006 when the "Borat" movie was taking the world by storm, it was a funny character but overall insulting to her country.
It would be so much better if the trio Made in KZ came to mind rather than Borat when Kazakhstan is mentioned, I think.
They don't capture the creepy nature of the song--in fact, they excise it completely by just featuring the first verse and the refrain in their cover--but the arrangement is so entertaining that it hardly matters. Just imagine that you're listening to the music from an ad for the Hotel California.
The Jaded Heart Club is a rock band with a classic 1960s sound with a hard modern edge, and they have several videos supporting their singles that make them perfect guests for Musical Monday. Few, however, are as perfect as the video for "I Put a Spell On You" with its 1960s horror film sensibility.
Check out "I Put a Spell On You" below. It's a great way to awaken the Halloween Sprit within you!
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