BY MIKEY MIGO
A lot of music keeps a similar theme. Many would say there are only a handful of general topics any music or literature for that matter is about. The art is putting your own twist and story on the long used themes. Topics like love, revenge, rebellion, despair, and more have been used and abused by dozens of genres in more voices than comprehendible.
The direction I'm going with today is the somewhat random topic of believing. It's when one feels so strongly about something that it becomes an actual "belief". Everyone has them. Some are spiritual, some literal, and almost always something of a strong stance.
In music there are tons of songs about feeling strongly about something.
I Believe I Can Fly by R. Kelly
In this 1996 R&B song R. Kelly lets us know that he believes he can fly. In retrospect I'm not quite sure if this was a metaphor or not. R. Kelly could very well believe or have believed at one point in his life that he can, in fact, fly. He's a pretty weird dude. One thing for sure is that in the 90's the only person who really came close to literally flying is Michael "Air" Jordan. Michael Jordan was so popular that they made a movie about him playing basketball with the Looney Toons and the world ate it up. The movie was huge and part of that was THIS song. R Kelly was given the huge task of providing the main theme to this movie and he knocked it out of the park. It's not so much the song is great as much as the song being implanted into the brains of pretty much anyone older than twenty. R Kelly can make a 40 part rap opera about hanging out in closets or (allegedly) pee on all the underage girls he wants. He's the dude that sung "I Believe I Can Fly" and that will always get him some kind of credibility with someone.
I Believe In A Thing Called Love by The Darkness
If this English rock band could come together to dress up like a cross between Queen and Ziggy Stardust then and rock the hell out to let us know about it then it's worth a listen. I was a fan of The Darkness and was sad that they couldn't quite stick together, but we'll always have this song. It feels just like yesterday that The Darkness was letting us know about their belief in "a thing called love". Awww shucks. I think we all should believe in a thing called love. There are way worse things to believe in…
Do You Believe In Magic by The Lovin' Spoonful
There are some songs that have been used in so many commercials, movies, shows, and productions that you kind of forget that it's actually music and not a jingle. Many old timers would consider "magic" to be that of the devil. That didn't matter to The Lovin' Spoonful. They were rebels because they apparently did believe in magic and at the same time wanted to know if YOU believe in it as well. Well,… (looks around mischievously)… do ya?
I Believe (When I Fall In Love It Will Be Forever) by Stevie Wonder
I can officially proclaim that this is my favorite Stevie Wonder track. I think I'm used this song in a few columns over the past few years. It's just that damn great. I grew up a Stevie fan, but it took a John Cusack movie to plant this miracle of music into my brain. In this 1972 track from "Talking Book", Stevie Wonder tells us his belief that when he falls in love it will be forever. I'm sure that's a hope that many have, but not many actually put as so soulful and eloquently as Mr. Wonder does in this masterpiece.
Daydream Believer by The Monkees
The Monkees tell us about a daydream believer. Be a daydream believer is kind of like watching Lost with the sound down. I've never actually seen Lost, but that's just how I stare off and think about it. I'm a big Monkee's fan. They put out a lot of really underappreciated tunes. This one, eh, it's okay, but at least it's about believing something.
We Believe by American Head Charge
I'm not even that big of a fan of American Head Charge. I've seen then a few times in concert and enjoyed myself, but it's not a band I went out of my way to listen to. But for some reason this song stood out and was almost instantly added to this list when made. This track tells us they "We" Believe. It's an ironic way of getting in some surprisingly decently written jabs at organized religion and the hypocrisies of it. There are a million metal songs like this, but this is easily one of Head Charge's best tunes. If anything, it stuck out enough for me to remember it. Sadly, the band broke up in the summer of 2009. I guess there really wasn't a "We" in "We Believe"…
Something To Believe In by Poison
Bret Michaels pours his soul out in this 80's hair metal ballad as he tells us he's looking for SOMETHING to believe in. Some people have "Every Rose Has It's Thorn", but for real Poison fans like myself, we have "Something to Believe In". My problem here is that there is absolutely no desire to hear the verses of this song. We want the chorus over and over again.
Believe by The Bravery
Like Poison, The Bravery are searching, looking, and wanting SOMETHING to believe. I don't know what it is about this song, but I really dig it. I liked The Bravery's first break out album and then they changed it up rather quickly and just about completely switched their fan base. The song has been in a lot of movies, TV shows, and even covered American Idol. I don't have any lame one-liners about this one. I just like the song and want to hear more like it.
Believe by Cher
If you had asked me before rewatching/relistening this song when it was released I'd had said the 80's, but no. It was 1998 and it is one of the best selling singles of all time. I think it has to easily be one of her top two or three songs to be parodied. I mark this one up to a phenomenon that I just don't get. This sounds as lame and generic as any other techo-dance song I remember from back then. Is it because it's Cher or because it's good? Who knows, but I have trouble believing. While rappers are using auto-tune these days like it's something they just discovered, Cher was using it to win Grammys back in the late 90's when Nelly was still cool. How about that, hip hop community? How does it feel to be Cher's bitch?
Don't Stop Believin' by Journey
I should have put my foot down here. You best believe I'm not going to leave this Journey song out. There will be a slew of people bringing this song up saying I they couldn't believe I snubbed it. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I don't like this song, but some reason after The Sopranos used it the song became cool again. I'm not attempting to sound like a music snob, but I've really tried keeping my finger on the pulse of music and pop culture especially since writing this column and especially when I was a little younger. This song is being laughed at and not with by those who are being ironic, witty, or obnoxious. That's not cool. TV shows use it to parody the 80's for a silly montage. People at bars cheer it on because it's like one step above requesting Limp Bizkit. I know there are the one or two of you out there who really have enjoyed Journey's music, but it's the rotten apple spoiling the bunch theory. If this song teaches you anything though, it's that you shouldn't stop believing.
|
