The Volokh Conspiracy

Do songwriters understand behavioral economics better than law professors?  They might.  Liam Delaney and Alex Tabarrok have been suggesting songs for “the behavioral economics songs hall of fame.”  Delaney nominates “The Yeah Yeah Yeah Song” by the Flaming Lips.  Tabarrok suggests Chris Smither‘s “Hey, Hey, Hey” for these lyrics:

Pretty soon you’re gonna ask me,
How come the life you lead,
Doesn’t make you very happy,
Or satisfy your needs,
You talk about your needs as though
You know just what they are,
When in fact to really know them,
Is like traveling to a star,
It takes so long you die along the way,
So I say hey, hey, hey.

These two are not alone. (Just see the comment thread on Tabarrok’s post.)  Perhaps some songwriters understand aspects of human behavior better than us academics.  [Perhaps?!?Is there any question? -ed.]

The 82nd Annual Academy Awards airs tonight.  Five songs were nominated for Best Original Song, but none of the artists will perform on the program — perhaps because this year’s nominees are a bit underwhelming.  Which song will win?  Although Randy Newman penned two of the five songs, my guess is “The Weary Kind” by Ryan Bingham from Crazy Heart.  I have not seen the film, but I think this is the strongest of the five nominated songs.  Here’s a taste:

Your body aches…
Playing your guitar and sweating out the hate
The days and the nights all feel the same

Whiskey has been a thorn in your side
and it doesn’t forget
the highway that calls for your heart inside

And this ain’t no place for the weary kind
And this ain’t no place to lose your mind
And this ain’t no place to fall behind
Pick up your crazy heart and give it one more try

Here are the full lyrics, the song, a live performance by Bingham, and another by Jeff Bridges.

UPDATE: And a winner it is.

Carly Simon is releasing a new version of her 1972 hit, “You’re So Vain,” renewing speculation over who the song is about.  For years, many assumed the song was about Warren Beatty — indeed, that’s what Beatty himself said.   Other speculation is summarized on the song’s Wiki page. The new version of the song adds a new twist, however, as it contains a back-played whisper of the name “David,” leading some to argue the song must be about David Geffen, or perhaps David Bowie.  Perhaps Simon will tell one day.  In the meantime, here’s how the song opens:

You walked into the party like you were walking onto a yacht
Your hat strategically dipped below one eye
Your scarf it was apricot
You had one eye in the mirror as you watched yourself gavotte
And all the girls dreamed that they’d be your partner
They’d be your partner, and….

You’re so vain, you probably think this song is about you
You’re so vain, I’ll bet you think this song is about you
Don’t you? Don’t you?

Here are the full lyrics and other tidbits about the song from CarlySimon.com.  And here are the 1972 version of the song and a live version.

There have been quite a few songs on “torture” — but most are about the loves lost or relationships gone wrong, something quite different from the subject of the infamous OLC memos.  Consider the “Torture” lyrics by The Psychedelic Furs (song), The Replacements (s0ng), Berlin (song), and (who can forget) the Jacksons (video).  Leave it to the The Cure to pen a darker song, closer to the subject at hand.  Their “Torture,” from 1987′s Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me, begins:

I’m in the room without a light
The room without a view
I’m here for one more treacherous night
Another night with you
It tortures me to move my hands
To try to move at all
And pulled
My skin so tight it screams
And screams and screams
And pulls some more

Here are the full lyrics, the song, and a mediocre live video.

In March 1985, USA for Africa released the star-studded single “We Are the World,” written by Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie, to raise money for famine relief in Africa.  The song rapidly become the fastest-selling pop single.  This weekend, the We Are the World Foundation released “We are the World 25 for Haiti,” a remake of the song to raise money for disaster relief in Haiti.  The lyrics are largely the same, with the addition of some rap lines penned by Will.I.Am.

There comes a time
When we heed a certain call
When the world must come together as one
There are people dying
And it’s time to lend a hand to life
The greatest gift of all

We can’t go on
Pretending day by day
That someone, somewhere will soon make a change
We are all a part of
God’s great big family
And the truth, you know love is all we need

Like many remakes, the new version is no match for the original.  An autotuned Lil Wayne and Jamie Foxx are poor subsitutes for Bob Dylan and Ray Charles.  The New York Times called it “big name karaoke for a good cause.”  And that’s the point, it is for a good cause — you can download from iTunes here, and proceeds will go to Haiti — or watch the video here.

Who remembers the Housemartins?  They were a fun British alt-pop band from Hull, England.  They only put out a few albums, and their lyrics blended Christianity and Marxism, but it was fun stuff.  After breaking up, one of their members formed Beautiful South and another created Fatboy Slim.

The People Who Grinned Themselves to Death was the album that introduced me to the Housemartins, and I’ve always liked the dark humour of the opening track.

They smiled so much and waved their flags
As she saluted to the military band
Most of the people failed to see
She had a broken bottle in the other hand
And she took them by surprise
When she took them by the throat
And said “My friend you’re not allowed to vote”
But they shook it all off
With a nervous laugh and cough
“Next time,” she said “I’ll let those people choke”

The people who grinned themselves to death
Smiled so much they failed to take a breath
And even when their kids were starving
They all thought the queen was charming

Here are the full lyrics, the song, and a live performance.

I am a huge Bob Mould fan.  From Husker Du and Sugar through his solo work.  His first solo album, Workbook, is one of my all time favorites.  It’s filled with great songs.  Here’s a taste of “Wishing Well.”

Wishing well runs wet and dry
I wish for things I never had
Surrounds and wells up in my eyes
The screaming voice, it lies
Wishing well gets someone’s attention
Every wish you ever had
In a day of nights, in the darkest of light
Sits and cries, watch the lies

Could you give me a wish if I tell you what I want?
Will the price be no object?
I wish for dreams of light
I live for wishing well surprise

Here are the full lyrics, the song, and the song live solo and with a band (the sound quality on the latter is quite mixed).

Some standards are standards for a reason.  “You Go to My Head” is one of those songs.  Written by J. Fred Coots (music) and Haven Gillespie (lyrics) in 1938, its been recorded by everyone from Judy Garland and Marlene Dietrich to Louis Armstrong and Frank Sinatra, to Rod Stewart and Bryan Ferry.  The Billie Holiday recording is among the better known, and the Diana Krall recording is also quite good.  Here’s a bit of the lyrics.

You go to my head,
And you linger like a haunting refrain
And I find you spinning round in my brain
Like the bubbles in a glass of champagne.

You go to my head
Like a sip of sparkling burgundy brew
And I find the very mention of you
Like the kicker in a julep or two.

Full lyrics may be found here.

It’s cold and gray in northeast Ohio.  The snow’s stopped, but everything’s still blanketed in white.  Still, it’s not such a bad place to be.  I’m reminded of the opening line of “Winter Passing” by The Academy Is . . . (Yes, their name includes the elipsis.)  “Winter Passing” was released as a single in December 2008 and is usually performed acoustically at live shows.  It’s supposed to be a “holiday” song (albeit a melancholy one), but I have yet to take down our icicle lights so I think it’s not too late to post it. Here are the first two verses:

It’s winter again,
A white-washed and frozen sky.
I came to the door,
Eyes maladjusted from the light,
But your voice rang clear.

You said, “For all I thought I’d ever need,
It’s hard to face the holidays without.”
Well, I’ve left my last message on your machine.
It’s hard to face the holidays when you’re looking for the words to say.

Here are the full lyrics, the video, and a live acoustic version.

What was the best album of 2009?  The best song?  Spin gives top honors to “Zero” by the Yeah Yeah Yeahs and ranks their album It’s Blitz! second (behind Animal Collective’s Merriweather Post Pavilion).  NME also ranks “Zero” as the best track of 2009 and ranks It’s Blitz! third.  (By comparison, Rolling Stone puts “Zero” at 9 and It’s Blitz at 20, but you’ve got to question any list that puts Miley Cyrus’ “Party in the USA” in the top 5.)

I’ve liked the Yeah Yeah Yeahs for quite some time.  When I saw them at the Beachland Ballroom several years back they put on a great show (as did their opening act, TV on the Radio).  Karen O’s lyrics are a bit difficult to figure out (and perhaps no less difficult to fathom).  The appeal is as much in the delivery than the content.  In any event, here’s a bit of “Zero” (as best I can figure it out).

Shake it like a ladder to the sun
Makes me feel like a madman on the run
Find me, never, never far gone
So get your leather, leather, leather on

You’re a zero
What’s your name?
No one’s going to ask you
Better find out where they want you to go

Here’s the video and a pair of live performances (1, 2).

The Yeah Yeah Yeahs may have topped the Spin and NME lists.  Who topped yours?

What was the worst hit song of 2009?  For me it’s not even close: “Fireflies” by Owl City.  Sure it’s catchy — in a cloying way.  It topped the charts and was the most downloaded song on iTunes, but I think it’s absolutely awful.

You would not believe your eyes
If ten million fireflies
Light  up the world as I fell asleep

Cause they fill the open air
And leave teardrops everywhere
You’d think me rude
But I would just stand and stare

I’d like to make myself believe
That planet earth turns slowly
It’s hard to say that I’d rather not stay awake when I’m asleep
‘Cause everything is never as it seems

What’s your pick for the worst his song of 2009?

We know Eugene’s least favorite Christmas song, but what’s your favorite?  I agree with Eugene that Silent Night, Holy Night is “suberb.”  It’s always been one of my favorite “classic” carols.

Silent night, holy night
All is calm, all is bright
Round yon Virgin Mother and Child
Holy Infant so tender and mild
Sleep in heavenly peace
Sleep in heavenly peace

What of popular or rock-n-roll Christmas songs? I’ve always liked the Kinks’ “Father Christmas,” but I’ve posted a Ray Davies holiday song before.  “Christmas Wrapping” by The Waitresses is also a longstanding favorite of mine — it’s an ’80s classic.

“Bah, humbug!” No, that’s too strong
‘Cause it is my favorite holiday
But all this year’s been a busy blur
Don’t think I have the energy

To add to my already mad rush
Just ’cause it’s ’tis the season.
The perfect gift for me would be
Completions and connections left from

Last year, ski shop,
Encounter, most interesting.
Had his number but never the time
Most of ’81 passed along those lines.

So deck those halls, trim those trees
Raise up cups of Christmas cheer,
I just need to catch my breath,
Christmas by myself this year.

Here are the full lyrics, the song set to x-mas lights, and a cover by The Donnas

So those are two of my favorites.  What are yours?

There are lots of songs about movie stars; even more that make reference to them.  But songs about somewhat-obscure movie characters? They’re fewer and farther between.  For this reason, “Veronica Sawyer Smokes,” the title of a track on the new AFI album, Crash Love, caught my eye.  Veronica Sawyer, ’80s teen flick afficianados may recall, is Winona Ryder‘s character in “Heathers,” a somewhat dark, teen film from 1989 that mocked conventional sensibilities, in particular the contemporary obsession with teen suicide. (The top-charting song in the movie is Big Fun’s “Teenage Suicide (Don’t Do It)”).  So what did AFI do with Veronica Sawyer?  Here’s a taste:

Oh I saw you every time I closed my eyes,
In the Hughes film I had scored, produced and starred in, in my mind.
I could recite you, well, I’d written every line . . .
But you strayed far from my flawless script on which I’d spent a lifetime

Appropriate stuff for a melancholy ’80s-retro, teen angst-oriented riff.  Does it matter Winona Ryder was never in a John Hughes film?  Anyhow, here’s the song, and a live performance.

I’m sure you know Adam Sandler’s “Hanukkah Song,” but did you remember that he has a Thanksgiving Song too? It’s almost as funny.  Here’s a taste of the lyrics — much funnier sung by Sandler than read.

Love to eat turkey
‘Cause it’s good
Love to east turkey
Like a good boy should
‘Cause it’s turkey to eat
So good
Turkey for me
Turkey for you
Let’s eat the turkey
in a big brown shoe
Love to eat the turkey
At the table
I once saw a movie
With Betty Grable
Eat that turkey
All night long
Fifty million Elvis fans
Can’t be wrong
Turkey turkey doo and
Turkey turkeydap
I eat that turkey Then I take a nap

Here’s a performance of it from Saturday Night Live, and a live recording without video.

Glenn Beck likes Muse.  He’ s hardly alone, given the award-winning British Altrock band’s growing popularity in the U.S.  While most other Muse fans may be drawn in by the music, Beck likes the lyrics.  “These guys are brilliant, they know the time that we live in,” he said during a September broadcast. “All of the lyrics are… dead on, on what’s coming our way.”   After Beck praised the band and read their lyrics on his radio show, a Muse representative contacted the program seeking a retraction — or so Beck said.  The Telegraph reports it was all a joke.  In any event, looking at the lyrics from the band’s hit single, “Uprising,” it’s easy to see what Beck likes.

The paranoia is in bloom,
The PR transmissions will resume,
They’ll try to push drugs to keep us all dumbed down,
And hope that we will never see the truth around,
So come on!

Another promise, another seed,
Another packaged lie to keep us trapped in greed,
With all the green belts wrapped around our minds,
And endless red tape to keep the truth confined,
So come on!

They will not force us,
They will stop degrading us,
They will not control us,
And we will be victorious!
So come on!

Here are the full lyrics, the video, and a live performance. [UPDATE: That live clip is no longer available on youTube, so here are two more: 1, 2.]  And here are the lyrics to “United States of Eurasia,” another tune that apparently caught Beck’s fancy.

Czechs celebrated the 20th Anniversary of the Velvet Revolution with a star-studded concert in Prague.  Among the highlights, according to news reports, was Lou Reed and Renee Fleming singing Reed’s “Perfect Day.” I’m not sure what the song has to do with the reason for the celebration (most believe it’s about heroin), but it’s a classic track from Reed’s classic album, Transformer.  Here’s a taste of the lyrics:

Just a perfect day,
Problems all left alone,
Weekenders on our own.
It’s such fun.
Just a perfect day,
You made me forget myself.
I thought I was someone else,
Someone good.

Here are the full lyrics and another Reed performance.

What’s scarier, alleged Illuminati puppet Lady Gaga sung by Daughtry or sung by Cartman?  Covers can be scary things.  Occasionally a cover is completely unexpected, but still works. Sometimes they are simply inspired, and the cover artist seems to own the song as much as the original.

One of my absolute favorite covers is Joe Jackson‘s “Got the Time” sung by Anthrax.  There’s nothing scary about it (other than it’s sung by Anthrax).  However much I like Jackson’s original, the song fits Anthrax perfectly — so much so that many Anthrax fans don’t realize it’s a cover of the British New Wave pioneer.

Here’s how the lyrics begin:

Wake up, got another day to get through now
Got another man to see
Got to call him on the telephone
Got to find a piece of paper

Sit down, got another letter to write
Think I’ll got to get the letter just right
There’s a ringing on the telephone
Oh no, got to write a little later
No such day as tomorrow, only one two three go!

Time – got the time tick-tick-tickin’ in my head (repeat)

Here’s a live version of the original and the Anthrax cover video.  The full lyrics can be found here.

“Weird Al” Yankovic turned 50 on Friday. (Can you believe he’s been around that long?  And that he has a new album?)  Yankovic’s exceedingly goofy, and quite clever.  He also has a song off of his 2006 album, Straight Outta Lynnwood, that seems somewhat appropriate for the VC: “I’ll Sue Ya.”  It begins:

I sued Taco Bell
‘Cause I ate half a million Chalupas
And I got fat!

I sued Panasonic
They never said I shouldn’t use their microwave
To dry off my cat

Huh, I sued Earthlink
‘Cause I called them up
N’ they had the nerve to put me on hold

I sued Starbucks
‘Cause I spilled a Frappucino in my lap
And brrr, it was cold!

I sued Toys’R'Us
‘Cause I swallowed a Nerf ball
And nearly choked to death

Ugh, I sued PetCo
‘Cause I ate a bag of kitty litter
And now I got bad breath!

The full lyrics are on a fan site here, and here’s the video.  More “Weird Al” birthday wishes, etc. at Idolator.

I sued Taco Bell
'Cause I ate half a million Chalupas
And I got fat!

I sued Panasonic
They never said I shouldn't use their microwave
To dry off my cat

Huh, I sued Earthlink
'Cause I called them up
N' they had the nerve to put me on hold

I sued Starbucks
'Cause I spilled a Frappucino in my lap
And brrr, it was cold!

I sued Toys'R'Us
'Cause I swallowed a Nerf ball
And nearly choked to death

Ugh, I sued PetCo
'Cause I ate a bag of kitty litter
And now I got bad breath!

Hank Williams‘ “I’m So Lonesome, I Could Cry,” was the first Sunday Song Lyric.  Appropriately so as Hank Williams is easily one of the greatest American song writers of all time.  He died at only 29, and yet left one of the most impressive songbooks of any song writer.  Bob Dylan (no song-writing slouch himself) observed that “in Hank’s recorded songs were the archetype rules of poetic songwriting.”

One Williams song I hadn’t heard for some time is “Cold, Cold Heart,” which topped the country charts in 1951.  It’s not the sort of thing I listen to much, but it’s still an incredible song.  It begins:

I tried so hard my dear to show that you’re my every dream.
Yet you’re afraid each thing I do is just some evil scheme
A memory from your lonesome past keeps us so far apart
Why can’t I free your doubtful mind and melt your cold cold heart

Here are the full lyrics and a TV performance.

One of these days we may get treated to even more Hank Williams songs, in a way. Dylan reportedly came into possession of 20 to 25 unfinished Williams songs, mostly lyrics without music, and has asked noted artists to record them for a tribute album.

Crooner Andy Williams made some press last week for attacking President Obama.  He accused the President of “following Marxist theory” and said Obama “wants the country to fail.”   Yet in the long run, Williams will not be remembered for his own words, but the words of others.  Among his most famous songs was “Moon River,” written by Johnny Mercer and Henry Mancini.   The song was first performed by Audrey Hepburn for the movie Breakfast at Tiffany’s, but Williams sang it at the 1962 Academy Awards (where it won Best Original Song), and it became one of his standards.  The lyric begin:

Moon river, wider than a mile
I’m crossing you in style some day
Oh, dream maker, you heart breaker
Wherever you’re goin’, I’m goin’ your way

Here are the full lyrics and a performance of the song.

The VC may have a new blog platform, but I thought it was a good day for a classic song lyric.  David Bowie is among my favorite artists and songwriters of all time, and “The Man Who Sold the World” is among my favorite Bowie songs, even if the original studio version is a bit off.   The song begins:

We passed upon the stair
We spoke of what and when
Although I wasn’t there
He said I was his friend
Which came as a surprise
I spoke  into his eyes
I thought you died alone
A long, long time ago

Here are the song, the  full lyrics and a live version from a few years back.  (I’ve always preferred live versions – I particularly enjoyed hearing this song at a 1995 concert when Bowie was touring with Nine Inch Nails.)

Depeche Mode has a new album. No, really. Here’s the opening of NME‘s review:

While it’s obvious what to do when you’re too old to rock (buy a stool, invest in an acoustic, learn how to play ‘In The Pines’), there’s no real career path for synth-pop acts like Depeche Mode to follow. After all, they can’t play unplugged gigs, can they? On their 12th album and 29 years into their career, the Basildon bondage boys have switched down a gear by hunting for vintage synths and drum machines on eBay, imagining an alternative past where technology froze at some point round 1990, but their desire to make futuristic music didn’t. So the album doesn’t sound old but there’s a refreshing warmth emanating from these fizzing and burbling Moogs and Parker Steinway keyboards.

I’m not sure if I’ll pick up the CD. I rarely listen to all the old DMCDs I have now, though there was a time I couldn’t get enough of Some Great Reward. The album title came from “Lie to Me,” a song that could just has easily been about politics as seduction.

Promises made for convenience
Aren’t necessarily
What we need
Truth is a word
That’s lost its meaning
The truth has become
Merely half-truth
So lie to me
Like they do it in the factory
Make me think
That at the end of the day
Some great reward
Will be coming my way

Here’s a live performance. And for those curious, here’s the video for new single, “Wrong.”