advice for the young at heart...

i have to be the only one in Singapore right now who has "Advice for the Young at Heart" and Head Over Heels" on her pod unless someone has a titanic megabyte memory Pod which houses all the music ever created and which are as varied as Italian arias to Indian chants to the top ten songs in the US BillBoard Charts...right? hehehe I knew you would say yes....but maybe not...

But if you are a fan of one of the biggest influences in my love for music, the well-loved but slightly underrated "Tears for Fears" then you have those songs obviously on your music player I believe. No other music from my childhood has ever been as emblazoned on my brain as theirs. Well except for Madonna but then no one ever forgets Madonna anyway LOL. And what is so weird about their music is I have no idea why I have loved listening to them then and why I continue to love listening to them now!

You do have to agree with me though, the band's lead singer, Roland Orzabal, has a very distinct voice which can soar to very difficult falsettos for the normal male singer. I mean you can find their songs on any karaoke bar songlist I would assume but very few men would actually probably dare to sing their songs because of the degree of difficulty. But then again we are digressing from the main point here. Orzabal, in my opinion, has one of the most flexible voices in the music industry so far. I have heard many male singers but technically it's one of the reasons why I love him. And I love male singers who can simplify a high note by not shouting or screaming at the microphone...hehehe...

Also I have to admit, 80's music lyrics had so much weight to them...there is so much meaning to the words and the sentences and the song that that is probably one of the reasons I have many songs from that period in my pod. Tears for Fears' songs were songs which carried so much undertone to them. I can somehow visualize the words in their songs real well although basically it's Orzabal's voice which I like listening to. It also helps that in my mind the beats which filter the songs take me to a time when in moments of fun and games with cousins, the faint music of the electric guitar strummings of Tears for Fears from my hippy/grunge-esque male cousin's casette player inside his room would penetrate the musical environment along with our shouts and screams and yehey's and hurrah's.

It could be a combination of nostalgia, musical preference, personal significance, and awe at pure vocal power which has led me to love this band and their songs. But then I think I am being crazy by trying to disseminate and dissect what I love about this band. It's practical to say I am giving myself a headache where there should have been none but just pure enjoyment at feeling the embrace of Orzabal's voice when he sings:

"And when I think of you and all the love that's due I'll make a promise - I'll make a stand...

Cos to these big brown eyes, this comes as no surprise We've got the whole wide world in our hands "

or when he belts:

"We will find you acting on your best behavior ...Turn your back on Mother Nature.... Everybody wants to rule the world"

or when he haunts me with:

"Shout, Shout.... Let it all out ....These are the things I can do without... Come on.... I'm talking to you Come on... "

or when he makes me succumb to:

"I wanted to be with you alone....And talk about the weather...

But traditions I can trace against the child in your face....Wont escape my attention...

You keep your distance with a system of touch...And gentle persuasion......."

Long live "Tears for Fears!" Their music rules and their musical legacy lives on!! They have been such a big influence in my musical preferences and of course in terms of getting lyrically orgasmic with male vocalists...hahahahahhaa!!!!