Last week when I announced the video for episode 700, I saw and received some happy reactions that Friday Videos had made a return. That’s delightful, so hey! Friday Videos!
I woke up today with Caribbean Blue by Enya stuck in my head, so I went looking for videos. This song came out in 1991 so this is mid-high school for me (also around the time I studied abroad so maybe the song followed me) and for my brain, it’s a total sound bath of nice feelings.
Also Enya famously bought a castle and renamed it Manderley Castle after the house in Rebecca. And according to Wiki, she outbid Michael Flatley (aka Lord of the Dance, “whose legs flail about as if independent from his body.”)
When I have a song stuck in my head, I go research it to try to soothe whatever part of my brain is clinging to it so loudly.
Sidenote: I had thought that Enya sang on Clannad’s Theme from Harry’s Game, which is very haunting (tw for violent imagery in the video as it’s about the Troubles in Northern Ireland):
But that was Enya’s older sister Máire Brennan. (Also, Harry’s Game, as the wiki page put it, was, “about the futility of political violence” which – yes, indeed.)
Back to Caribbean Blue.
First, I’m kinda thinking this performance, from Tele Spain in 1991, is lip sync or overdubbed with the original studio recording because the audio is so pristine, but I Want Those Earrings.
LOOK AT THEM. Also the song is good.
She was also on Top of the Pops in 1991 with Those Earrings AND a fog machine:
Also the coat with long tails hanging off the back of the piano bench – glorious.
Her CBS Sunday Morning segment shows the exterior of the castle. (I think it’s extremely funny that we were both on CBS Sunday Morning at one point, Enya in 2001 and me in 2017):
Clearly the earrings are The Caribbean Blue earrings because she wears them in the video, which is eye candy to go with the ear candy.
It’s inspired by the paintings of Maxfield Parrish, specifically the color named after him, Parrish blue:
So that’s the song stuck in my head this morning. What about you?
I woke up with Franz Ferdinand’s Take Me Out stuck in my head.
Take Me Out reminds me of all of the times I played Guitar Hero with my son when he was a teenager – good times!
This morning I watched Dolly Parton’s re-recording of “Light of a Clear Blue Morning,” featuring Lainey Wilson, Miley Cyrus, Queen Latifah & Reba McEntire, and now I want to put it on autoplay. The new recording celebrates Dolly’s 80th birthday (!) and supports pediatric cancer research at the Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt. A comforting anthem for “troubled and uncertain times.”
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=McaD2PG8jOE&t=1s (I’m not sure how to create a link here, but you can copy and paste)
When I first read Susan Cooper’s THE DARK IS RISING Sequence, Caribbean Blue played in my head from the first book, but particularly when Will Stanton and Bran Davies appeared. I was today-years-old when I found out Will and Bran are a popular slash ship. You know where I’ll be spending the rest of my afternoon.
Argh. I used the wrong /italics in my html code, if anyone wants to fix it. Thanks.
Thank you for Friday videos! A favorite way to end my week.
I had Linda Ronstat’s Long Long Time in my head this morning.
The Enya strongly takes me back to winter 91-92, northern Maine, the kiddos tucked in their beds, streetlights reflecting off the snow, candle on the dresser, me in bed with a book and listening to this on CD. How quiet and the music taking me away.
Omg I love this feature so much. A throwback to the old school blogging days! Also, love her earrings.
I’ve always got music stuck in my head, and occasionally burst into song since I live alone. Most recently it’s been Gerry Raffetty’s Baker Street. Back in my late teens I went through a Melanie phase where I’d play her stuff on repeat to my brother’s disgust. Then when I was on night shift & day sleeping, he’d retaliate with Carole King or Gerry Rafferty. Hate to admit it, but Baker Street was the best of the lot.
However, today I actually followed a song down a video rabbit hole. The song was Windmills of your Mind, and it was the theme for The original 1968 version of The Thomas Crown Affair. There’s some videos on YouTube that set clips of the movie to the song, and I was just marveling at how visually stunning it is more than a half century later. I may have to watch the actual movie again, as I was too young to fully appreciate Steve McQueen and Faye Dunaway back then. However, this film is romantic, not a romance, so there’s that.
Here’s the address :
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=OXFh-mYh2dQ
I didn’t have any CDs or a player until my graduation in ’98. Then I was gifted with a player, and my first CD was Enya’s Paint The Sky With Stars compilation album. (Along with a road trip to Rhode Island to tour the fancy houses.) I still have that CD.