I just can't resist these hybrid posts! Lately I've just been going for overall song themes, regardless of how they fit the established categories, and then just trying to fit them into the current framework. This time the theme is just as vague as it sounds: songs dealing with the possibility of love, and with the dangers of getting too close to it. Five tracks populate each portion of this post, featuring both hit singles and subdued ballads. Suede start things off with a midtempo rock track about deluded expecations, the late career single "Obsessions." New Order's catalog is full of beyond amazing 12" singles, like the dreamy "Thieves Like Us" about possession and desire. Madonna is featured in remixed form again, this time with her bleak downtempo European single "Drowned World/Substitute For Love." Saint Etienne jumped onto the scene with the sobering yet upbeat "Only Love Can Break Your Heart," included here in its longform Andrew Weatherall dub. Also early in their career, the ever-changing Texas declared their independence from dependency with "I Don't Want A Lover."
The ballads portion of today's feature kicks off with a song that probably isn't actually a ballad, but more of a humorous rant. The White Stripes, a band that I only sometimes tune into, steal the show with the hilarious "It's True That We Love One Another," playing on the storied married-or-sibling relationship of Jack and Meg White. The Pet Shop Boys are firmly tongue-in-cheek as well with "The night I fell in love," a fantasy about a fan who gets a bit closer to their favorite rap star than ever imagined (rumored to be about Eminem as response to his hit "Stan"!). Björk goes too deep with her yearning could-be-love ballad "Possibly Maybe," included here in its excellent Dallas Austin version. Sade can either captivate or lull you with many of her ballads, and "No Ordinary Love" is no exception. To finish, Beyoncé is always a sure bet, as with her showboating ballad of hearbreak "Dangerously In Love 2."
Hits 33:
Suede, "Obsessions" [YSI] (from Singles)
New Order, "Thieves Like Us" (12" Version) [YSI] (from International)
Madonna, "Drowned World/Substitute For Love" (BT & Sasha's Bucklodge Ashram Remix Edit) [YSI] (original on Ray Of Light)
Saint Etienne, "Only Love Can Break Your Heart" (Andrew Weatherall's Dub Symphony In Two Parts) [YSI] (from Casino Classics)
Texas, "I Don't Want A Lover" [YSI] (from The Greatest Hits)
Tender Ballads 11:
The White Stripes, "It's True That We Love One Another" [YSI] (from Elephant)
Pet Shop Boys, "The night I fell in love" [YSI] (from Release)
Björk, "Possibly Maybe" (Dallas Austin Mix) [YSI] (original on Post)
Sade, "No Ordinary Love" [YSI] (from The Best Of Sade)
Beyoncé, "Dangerously In Love 2" [YSI] (from Dangerously In Love)
***Note: Links removed***
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