Antidote for Melancholy #3

Oh, boy--did I just follow the most fun, heart-lifting train of videos on youtube.

All '80's.

All favorites from jr.high/high school/college.

Oh, yeah.

(And once again, CONSIDER YOURSELF WARNED)

But if you are in the mood for some good tunes, please come along! 

It started when I saw that Tears for Fears is coming to perform at a semi-local venue, and I clicked on a link in the email announcement and found myself at the blog of Curt Smith, one of the co-founders. ('80's pop stars blog--who knew?)  Learned he is now a naturalized US citizen (originally from Britian, for those of you who did not pay attention to the '80's) and lives with his wife and two young daughters and two dogs somewhere up here in Northern California.  Somehow I really enjoyed thinking of this guy I used to listen to over and over again through the headphones of my Walkman living a life so similar to that of me and my friends where we are now in life. :  )

ANYWAY of course that got me in the mood for some Tears for Fears;  hence, Everybody Wants to Rule the World.  Of course, while I listened, my eyes were drawn from the video to the "Suggested" videos listed to the side. . . DH can attest I gasped aloud at some of the goodies featured there. . . I started watching one, and then another, since for every excellent video there were several equally totally awesome videos suggested. . .

Something About You -- Level 42 (this is the video that popped up--for some of these I couldn't find the official video for some reason, but that's ok, since it's the music that made me smile tonight), which naturally led to Lessons in Love -- also Level 42.

Then that led to Don't Dream It's Over -- Crowded House.  Don't know why, but I LOVE THIS SONG.  I had this album (ok, cassette tape) and played it over and over and over.  Years later, while in college, I got to see Crowded House in concert at WOMAD (World of Music and Dance) (along with Peter Gabriel, Sinead O' Connor, Lenny Kravitz, and I can't remember who else) I think somewhere around Indianappolis.  When Crowded House played, I had worked my way to the front row, right in front of the bassist, Nick Seymour, and during "When You Come" while I was singing along in raptures--a very young woman in a long black tank dress with an India printed fushia silk scarf wrapped around her hair--he kept looking at me with huge grins.  Later that night I actually got to meet and chat for a moment with Mr. Seymour, among the various booths of arts and cool things to purchase there at the concert.  Right before I was accused of shoplifting a ring from the jewelry vendor next to where we were standing.  Oh, how that appalled and humiliated me.  So another strong memory from that night is walking, bawling, back to rejoin my friends on the lawn while in the dark skies around me Peter Gabriel sang "Salsbury Hill."  And a random vendor leaned out from his booth to call to me, gently, "Hey, is it so bad? C'mon, girl, give a smile." 

And finding that song just now led me to another favorite favorite Gabriel song, "In Your Eyes."  Which, listening to now, I remember played there at the concert just after I had been reunited with my friends.  It is a song of romance, but I have always sung it like a prayer, perhaps never more than that night:  ". . . I look to eternity to keep me awake and alive. . . And all my instincts they return, and the grand facade* so soon will burn.  Without a noise, without my pride, I reach out from the inside. . . in Your eyes I am complete. . . in Your eyes I see the doorway to a thousand churches. . . in your the resolution of all the fruitless searches. . . oh I wanna be that complete. . . "

And then I wanted to look up another favorite, beautiful, uplifting song I remember from the concert and throughout college, Don't Give Up -- Peter Gabriel and Kate Bush (Sinead sang her part at WOMAD--oh, so cool). . . "Don't give up, 'cause you have friends.  Don't give up, you're not beaten yet. Don't give up, I know you can make it good. . . .Rest your head, you worry too much.  It's gonna be alright.  When times get rough you can fall back on us. Don't give up. Please don't give up."

And that video led me to another totally great classic, "I Want To Know What Love Is," -- Foreigner.  "In my life, there's been heartache and pain.  I don't know if I can face it again. . . ."

You see how easily the youtube '80's train is begun and how hard it is broken. 

ANYWAY the final video in the train tonight was another uplifting classic, Broken Wings -- Mr. Mister. "Baby, I think tonight we can take what was wrong and make it right. . . Baby, it's all I know that you're half of the flesh and blood that makes me whole, I need you so. So take these broken wings and learn to fly again, learn to live so free.  And when we hear the voices sing, the Book of Love will open up for us and let us in. . . "

So many good songs.  So many positive feelings in them.  So many memories. 

Feelin' pretty happy all of a sudden.  ; )



*Yes, I know it is Versailles not facade, but facade is what I heard in high school, and that's what I sang to God