Sound clips available directly from the artist. (Yay!)

I don't want to stop the madness of our love
Crazy things we do, I never tire of
Pebbles thrown against my window, while the city sleeps
The feeling that we'll be together for keeps
Passion ebbs and flows, and feeds the fire
Your midnight calls incite me with desire
You're some demented angel from above
I don't want to stop the madness of our love

Late-night embraces, no sleep leaves traces
Of mornings after, days gone by
The silent parting, stopping, starting
It all comes down to you and I

So come, My Love, be here with me
Let's not trifle 'bout eternity
We're here right now, and that's enough
I don't want to stop the madness of our love
No need to stop the madness of our love

-- Denise Jannah (music)/J. Gannij (lyrics)

Jannah's main page is here.

Sound clip of Marcia Ball's cover version available here.

Hello, long distance friend
So good to hear your voice again
In my memory, you seem to stay
So close and yet so far away
So close and yet so far away

We've got a good connection, and that's hard to find
I can't wait forever on this telephone line
'Cause it's getting late, and my room's so dark
I sure could use a little heart-to-heart
Yes, I sure could use a little heart-to-heart

But I'm so many miles from your loving
So many miles from your touch
So many roads standing between us
So many rivers to cross

I got your letters
I got your postcards, too
And I get the picture, yeah, of me and you
We've got short hellos and long goodbyes
Like two trains passing in the night
Like two trains passing in the night

Operator, please try again
I got disconnected on the other end
And now I'm low on change, and high on time
There's a lonesome whistle coming through the line
There's a lonesome whistle coming through the line...

-- Jodi Siegel/Daniel Moore

Ball's homepage is available here.

Just a little PSA for old and/or new LJ friends:

This journal doesn't jump much, I admit. It's basically a storage space for whatever songs I'm listening to obsessively over and over again, patterning a fic and/or piece of artwork after. Yes, I'm freely indulging my free-roaming pretensions-- for free! (Because I'm too broke cheap to shell out for a paid account.)

Which brings me to the Rhapsody dot com thing. I have used them to link to several sound clips, but I am not a Rhapsody dot com subscriber. In fact, I recently heard some less than flattering things about them from somebody I know IRL. So bear in mind that mine is a marriage of convenience to them and to any other company I'm linking to in this journal. No endorsements, no compensation, no harm, no foul, at least until further notice. Caveat Emptor, blah blah blah.

Thanks. Enjoy the show, and please make sure that your cellphone stays switched off during the performances. ;)

-- cleome45

Sound clips available here

He wants to keep in contract
He wants to buy the things he doesn't understand
He wants all the credit
He wants the right to the soul of every man

Well, I'm not above him, but I want to go
Down below the surface, where he lives

Fighting with fire
Money is the only thing he has

He wants to get down to business
It's a long way down
But he'll go the extra mile
I wonder when all this started?
Who left him empty-hearted
When he was a child?

Well, I'm not above him, but I want to go
Down below the surface, where he lives

Fighting with fire
Money is the only thing he has
Money is the only thing he has...

-- Sam Phillips

Phillips' homepage is available here.

Sound clips available here

Gather 'round, People
Come hear the call.
You gots to come down to the Judgment Hall.
You talk about sin, all about vice,
You talk about it, yet forget to see the light.

You got nobody to blame
When The Devil come 'n call your name.

You got one hand out,
The other in your pocket
You got no shame, he wants this soul in his locket.
To finally win, you've sunk so low,
For a hundred bucks, he gonna' save your soul.

You got nobody to blame
When The Devil come 'n call your name.

Find me a preachin', political man
Might be somebody, your best friend
To watch your back, a trusted soul
Listen to you howl when you lose control.

-- James Solberg

Solberg's homepage is available here.

Sound clips available here.

When I was young, I would swing on a swing.
Cares would go flying so far and away.
Dreams I would dream would come crashing through
And the stars they would cry, for the last Red July.
Slow as the turtles would crawl, the sunset would bleed
And the mountains stood firmly in place.
When I was a child, and the music was blaring
Angels fled, fearing the last Red July.

Red July, don't want another
Don't want to see another Red July.
Not another Red, running down my head
Thinking of all those sad, sad things that we said
That July.

-- KJ Denhert

Denhert's homepage is available here.

Sound clips available here.

Romance
A glance of poetry
And yes, your smile
Light in the trees.
I hold your love
As it's my own.
Or is this just a sweet illusion?

Fate will
Decide if this is true.
I long
To make this vision last
But I know
I can't go on like this.
To live inside a sweet illusion
Drifting in your poetry
I was blind, but now I see
All this passion
Right here in my heart.

To be
Trapped in
A sweet illusion

Please let me go
Sweet illusion.

-- Stanley Cowell (music)/Dean Bowman (words)

Saxophonist/Composer Jane Bunnett's page is here.
Singer/Songwriter Dean Bowman's MySpace page is here.
Short Artist Direct bio of pianist/composer Stanley Cowell is here.

Sound clip is here.

In Cochabamba
La Paz, Bolivia
High in the Andes
Or high through the Pyrenees
Oh, it would be a breeze

Let's book a flight today
I need a holiday
Why don't we just steal away?
Stealaway...

Go down to Sri Lanka
Or Andalusia
Fly down to Bali
See Serches by the sea
It would be heavenly

Let's book a flight today
I need a holiday
Why don't we just steal away?
Stealaway...

-- Fay Victor (music) /Jochem Van Dijk (words)

Victor's homepage is available here.

Sound clip of the Betty Carter (1930-1998) version is here.

Oh, the good life full of fun seems to be the ideal
Mmmm, the good life lets you hide all the sadness you feel
You won't really fall in love, for you can't take the chance
So please be honest with yourself, don't try to fake romance

It's the good life, to be free and explore the unknown
Like the heartaches, when you learn you must face them alone
Please remember, I still want you, and in case you wonder why
Well, just wake up, kiss the good life goodbye.

-- Alexander Sacha Distel (music) /Jack Reardon (lyrics)

Biographical page about Carter available here.

Sound clip available here.

Well, I know you were a bit surprised by The Constellation Jeeves
Maybe there's something there that once was me
But you know what they say about how opposites attract
Especially when they're more alike than the naked eye can see
And when I've had my fill of stupid jesters on the way
Won't you come up and see me?
And when I've had my fill of stupid answers I'll await for you
To come unto me

Just like the love of Jesus when you come unto me
It's like a lover of Jesus, come unto me
Just like a lover of Jesus, when you come unto me.

Now you don't want to compromise
I can see that in your face.
Maybe we should have talked it out
Instead of rolling around in place.
Now you know I had to shake the tree
'Cause the apple looked good to me.
Holy Mandala, Saints Alive,
Now I'm buzzing like a bee
And when I've had my fill of stupid questions on the way
Won't you come up and see me?
And when I've had my fill of stupid answers I'll await for you
To come unto me.

Just like the love of Jesus when you come unto me
Just like a lover of Jesus, won't you come unto me?

-- Stew (aka Mark Stewart)

Stew's homepage is here, and if you're reading at work, please turn the speakers off first.

Sound clip available here.

O, ma jeune jolie ti monde
Moi je connais tu me donnes les blues, bebe
Mais o, ti monde ma chere poupee
On a eu pour se separer
O, ti monde
Moi je connais tu me fais du mal, ti monde

Tu m'as dit tu veux rester avec moi
Mais asteur moi j'ai vu t'es pas la, bebe
Tu peux dire tu m'as canaile
O, ti monde, chere
Tu connais j'ai eu les blues juste pour toi
O, ti monde

*****

Oh, my young, pretty Little World
I know you give me the blues, Baby
But, oh, Little World, my dear doll
Oh, Little World
I know you do me wrong, Little World

You said you would stay with me
But now I see that you're not here, Babe
You can tell your parents, Babe
You can say you did me wrong
Oh, dear Little World
You know I've had the blues just for you
Oh, Little World.

-- Trad., Translation: Sharon Arms Doucet

Beausoleil's homepage is available here.

Sound clip available here.

Hey
Was that smile you sent
Totally innocent?
'Cause I lust, the closer you come
How could I be anyone?

Hey
Maybe I'm insane
Over the top
Oh, I admit
I shine, and it keeps going on
I'd give anything
As long as I could have a clue
Am I a puppet on a string?
Oh, the story inside of you
Of you...

In the light, it could mean anything
I could be wrong, but I'll keep on trying
I'd give anything
If only I could have a clue
Am I a puppet on a string
Or the story inside of you?
I'd give anything
If you really want me to
Am I a puppet on a string?
Ah, the story inside of you
Of you...

-- Antietam

Antietam on MySpace

Sound clip available here (original) or here (cover)

Yesterday we were always laughing
Always good for a laugh in passing
Stepping outside of the rules for asking

Misery passes and so does crying
Just look around when you feel like dying
Stepping outside of the rules when trying

Hopeless cases will drag you under
Fiery lovers will make you blunder
Tearing all the rules asunder

Trying to cakewalk but it's too boring
Coming to life at four in the morning
You think you're alive
But then you're just yawning

-- Young Marble Giants

Fun, but not quite SFW '07 interview with YMG songwriter/leader Stuart Moxham available here.

Sound clip available here.

Now when you're young, lovely and healthy
You don't need money
For you was born rich, wow!
Baby, you're rich
La da dee da da

You don't need ten minks and a Cadillac car
Eight Great Danes and a Jaguar
'Cause you're rich, ooh wow!
Baby, you're rich
La da dee da da

Your face is so priceless
And your love means everything
Just one kiss from your wealthy lips
And my heart just leaps and sings
Now I don't want you to cry no more
Your tears are too valuable to overflow
'Cause you're rich, oh, wow!
Baby, you're rich!

-- Percy Mayfield (1920-1984)

A short biography of Mayfield is available here.

Soundclips available here.

The Fight
I've been searching for the right and the wrong
In the things I do and the things I say and
Where did I go wrong

I've been trying to find the meaning in my life
But I don't know why and I don't know
Where I belong

Think I want to cry just a little bit longer
Think I want to pray just a little bit deeper
Want to break down from the fever
But I can't give up and I won't get back
I'm not giving up the fight

I feel so easy when they tell me I'm so strong
If they only knew the hell I've been through for oh, so long
I sit here telling all my sorrows to strangers in the night
Moving to my time, to my story in rhyme...

You've got to take me, break me
To make me give it on up...

Those Who've Flown Away
Play just what you hear, say just what you feel
Call it what you want, when all your friends have flown away

If you hear my rhyme, you can take the time
There'll always be a season, for the ones who are dying away
Dying, dying away...

When the winter comes, we will be the ones
To always remember those who've flown away

Playing what I hear, saying what I feel
Call it just a song, for those who've flown away.

Foster's homepage is available here.

*Yeah, yeah, I know. But I hate December. Holidays, darkness, cold, personal baggage. Feh. It's my own tradition to mope and play sad music and have a thirty-day theraputic wallow. Deal with it.

Soundclip available here.

I fell asleep on the train
With the towering mountains rolling by
And woke to the sound
Of thunder crashing in the sky
The air was ghostly blue
The mist was rising slow
It's still a vivid memory
From a few thousand days ago

As we passed through small quiet towns
Crossed miles of burning desert sands
And fields of green and gold
I began to see and understand
The wonders great and small
That this world has to show
In a way I never had before
Just a few thousand days ago

I had made up my mind
It was time to let familiar things fall behind
I was glad to be all alone
In the middle of the wide unknown

Through lost, empty towns
Across miles of burning desert sands
And fields of green and gold
I began to feel and understand
The wonders great and small
That this world has to show
Like the promise in a new sunrise
A few thousand days ago

It set my heart and soul at ease
To hear the silence and the wind through the trees
I was glad to be all alone
In the middle of the wide unknown...

-- Marshall Crenshaw

Crenshaw's homepage is here.

Soundclip available here.

If you live, your time will come
I say if you live, your time will come
So, Child, don`t mess with that cotton sack
It's gonna' scratch your knees and bend your back
And if you live, your time will come

If you live, your day will come
If you live, your day will come
So, Child, don`t play with those pots and pans
They will soon enough ruin your pretty hands
And if you live, your time will come

If you live, a day will come
If you live, a day will come
When the sun will shine
And the crops will grow
And you think that you`re not gonna worry no more
But if you live, your time will come
Your time will come...

-- Mose Allison

Allison's homepage available here.

Soundclip available here.

The breeze is whispering "O, promise me"
As a band of mariachis serenade up in a tree
Chirping cherubs sing along -- harmonize our song
From the streets below, to the stars above
Nothing is stranger than love

I never thought that I would ever meet
That someone who could put a pair of wings upon my feet
Vegas wedding in my dreams -- your hand held in mine
From the supermarket to the stars above
Nothing is stranger than love

I want to paint your portrait on the wall
See your name in fiery letters at the entrance to the mall
Baby Elvis sings to us -- things are very strange
Of all the weird things that I've dreamed of
Nothing is stranger than love

-- Richard "Bob" Greene

The Bobs' homepage is here.

Sound clip available here.

Feeling dry, like an empty cup
Looking for something to fill me up
Wandering lost, like a desert wind
Waiting for love to come around again

Well I'm standing on the corner, but the light won't turn
I hear that voice inside of me yearn
Should I move, or should I be staying
I can't figure out what that voice is saying

Well I was out of love, went down the drain
I closed my heart, 'cause I felt the pain
Distraction's where I've had my fill
I'm looking for more than just a hollow thrill

I ain't gonna' lie and say I'm just like you
I've got my own ways, my own sense of the truth
What do I see when I look in your eyes?
The same old longing that I feel inside

Well, I'm waiting for love to come around again...

-- Sue Foley

Foley's homepage is here.

Soundclip available here.

Blackberry blossoms in the springtime
Bring the fruit for jams and jellies
Gathered from the bramble bushes
Growing, crawling on the ground
The bramble bushes and the berries
Climb the fences and the trees
The thorny bushes shelter berries
And the snakes and bees

Brambles blossom into berries
Promises of fruit in winter
In the summer grow maturing
Just before the coming fall
Blackberry bramble in the springtime
In profusion on the wall
Without blossoms
There would be no berries here at all

Blackberries blossom in the sunlight
Growing almost everywhere
Where the seasons bring the changes
And the winter cold night air
But berry branches, thorny bushes
Bring the blossoms in the spring
Purple, white, and red and yellow
It's a wondrous thing.

-- Abbey Lincoln (words)/Traditional (music)

Good commentary and more links about the glory that is Ms. Lincoln are available here.