MILB: "Dreaming of You" by The Coral

I've changed my mind about this blog post at least 4 times in the last 10 minutes.  I've actually written 2 of them, and then erased them.  They were, "Head Like a Hole" and "Hey Man Nice Shot."  Both of those titles should tell you all you need to know about my mindset the last few days.  That's just angry music.

Then, as I was writing the Head Like a Hole blog, my iPod turned to a band called The Coral.  They're from the Wirral Peninsula in Northern England, near Liverpool.  (In fact, most people I know from there just say Liverpool when talking to Americans, because it's hard to understand when they say Wirral.)  The Wirral is an interesting place, with a pretty rich music history.  The Boo Radleys, Paul Heaton from Beautiful South and the band Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark are from there, and Elvis Costello formed his first band there.  So, nice little musical influences.

The Coral are a straight up Mersey-side sounding band.  1960s sound, with folk and guitar mixed in.  "Dreaming of You" was their first big hit, and was a smash on both sides of the Atlantic.  (That doesn't always happen.  Ask Robbie Williams why he can live in the US and not be mobbed, but can't walk anywhere in the UK.)  The song evoked a simple mid-1960s sound that brings to mind The Beatles and Gerry and the Pacemakers.  But, definitely brings to mind, "My World is Empty Without You Babe" from The Supremes.  (Taking in yet another Mersey-side tradition, ripping off American Girl Groups as George Harrison did accidentally with "My Sweet Lord", taking the tune from The Chiffons, "He's so Fine".  "My Sweet Lord" is a great song too, btw.)

It's an upbeat song that moves quickly, and has a quirky use of a 1960s synthesizer. It's a give-a-way song, to be honest.  It's about a young man that's in love with a girl, but he's got to get rid of her.  (At least that's my interpretation.)  With lyrics like, "Up in my lonely room/when I'm dreaming of you/oh what can I do/I still need you but/I don't want you now" you know you've got a great song. The lyrics are fantastic, but don't really match the jaunty tune.  It's a little like listening to the lyrics of "I Ain't missing you at all" and the completely at odds chorus.  The two shouldn't go together, but they do. The 2nd verse starts, "When I'm down and my hands are tied (hands are tied)/I cannot reach a pen for me to draw the line."  How great is that?  I mean, it's brilliant.

The video is even crazier, with a guy dressed like General Patton, a bear with a trumpet and everyone singing and playing in a tiny room covered in posters from the band.  This is just crazy.  I mean, in the part where he's singing about pain, the guy kicks the bear in the groin.  Then they somehow end up on a beach after riding BMX bikes in front of a screen showing them on roads, apparently on the Wirral.  It's insane.

Look for the video, and then go listen to the tune.  It'll definitely give you a more positive outlook.  I know it has for me today.