Practical MIDI

The other day I came across a song title on the web. It was a tune by Lisa Stansfield called, “You Can Do That.” At first glance I thought it was a typo and that she was really doing a remake of The Beatles’, “You Can’t Do That.” But such was not the case. It did, however, get me to thinking about all the contradictory song titles out there. You know, where one title says one thing while another popular song with a similar title says the opposite. You younger readers may not remember, but 45 rpm records came with music on both sides, unlike the CDs of today. Here are some songs that would have made for interesting two-sided hits.

On The Beatles first Vee Jay album, “Introducing The Beatles” they have a song called “Ask Me Why.” Yet three albums later on the “Hard Day’s Night” album they have a song called “Tell Me Why.” Come on lads, make up your mind.

Aaron Neville had a hit single out called, “Tell It Like It Is.” Apparently he wanted the straight, unadorned scoop from his girl as to where they stood in their relationship. However, Fleetwood Mac took the opposite approach with their song, “Tell Me Lies.” They didn’t want to know where they really stood and opted for the denial approach.

In Al Green’s, “Let’s Stay Together” Al tells his girl that he wants to commit for the long haul. Boz Scaggs went the other way with his declaration song, “It’s Over.” Okay baby, scram. Ray Charles, who sang, “Don’t Set Me Free” back in 1963, explored the same theme. Two years later The Kinks crooned, “Set Me Free.” What’s it gonna be, fellas?

The weather sometimes becomes the inspiration for a song. I guess it depends on your mood as to which scenario you write about. John Lennon must have been feeling blue when he wrote, “Rain” but George Harrison turned it into a positive statement with his, “Here Comes The Sun.” It’s all a matter of perspective.

I found it odd that The Average White Band released two songs in what I considered the wrong order. Their first hit was called “Pick Up The Pieces.” The follow-up song was called, “Cut The Cake.” You’d think you’d have to cut the cake before there’d be any pieces to pick up.

Duke Ellington must have aimed his song, “Don’t Get Around Much Anymore,” at the shut-ins, while the younger, more mobile Beach Boys exclaimed, “I Get Around.” Kinda like the song on Chicago’s second album, “Movin’ In.” Billy Joel took the opposite stance with, “Movin’ Out.” Chicago also sang about a tight relationship with “Just You And Me” from their sixth album. But then Eric Carmen took out the “you” and sang, “All By Myself.”

The Beatles had determination with these next two songs. In one song they sing, “I Want You.” While in the next song they sing, “I’ll Get You.” Too bad they didn’t release a version of James Brown’s, “I Got You.” Would have made a nice trilogy. The Fab Four also sang about chronology, even though Paul chose “Yesterday” to reflect upon while George went back a bit further with, “All Those Years Ago.”

How about this for a two-sided record? Side A – Bobby Goldsboro’s, “Summer (The First Time)” and Side B – The Rolling Stones’, “The Last Time.” Or how about The Bee Gees on one side with “How Do You Mend A Broken Heart” backed by Gene Pitney’s, “Only Love Can Break A Heart.” Further back in your collection of 45s you might find a Lynyrd Skynyrd song called, “Sweet Home Alabama” backed by The Blues Brothers’, “Sweet Home Chicago.”

I guess where you dance can also become fodder for song title material. Case in point: King Harvest’s, “Dancing In The Moonlight.” Martha & The Vandellas narrowed that down a little more with, “Dancing In The Street.” Gender can play a part in song titles as well. Take for example The Rolling Stones’, “Honky Tonk Woman.” Could easily be on the same record with the Clint Eastwood soundtrack song, “Honky Tonk Man.”

Janis Ian looked back with her song, “At Seventeen,” while Paul McCartney (who was 24 when he wrote it) looked ahead with, “When I’m Sixty-Four.” Huey Lewis wasn’t quite sure when he sang, “If This Is It.” But Kenny Loggins was more sure of himself when he sang, “This Is It.”

The two-sided singe that really tickled my fancy (and it hasn’t been tickled in quite a while) was The Beatles’ “She Loves You” backed by a song by a band called Puddle of Mud, who sang, “She Hates Me.”

As for me and my musical career, two songs sum it all up. I started out more than 40 years ago in what The Association would have called a “Six Man Band.” These days, with the help of Cybermidi’s professional sequences, I am able to take the Three Dog Night approach to performing…“One Man Band.”

©2007 Bill Bernico for CYBERMIDI.com Downwind Publications