Skid Row - I Remember You

Skid Row started out in 1986, folded in 1996, got back together in 1999, and have been active ever since. A heavy metal band, they were successful in the late 1980's and early 1990's. By the start of 1997, they had sold more than 20,000,000 (20 million) albums worldwide. 

Temperament that it hits on: Melancholic 

I Remember You is all about a man's strong and clean love for a woman. Melancholics are generally more romantic than the other temperament types. The singer also wants the woman to remember him, and melancholics never forget. 

This song has the greatest guitar solo that I have ever heard. 

TobyMac - Steal My Show

TobyMac was the third Christian musician to have a number one debut on the billboard 200 chart (whatever that is). 

Temperament that it hits on: Phlegmatic 

Steal My Show hits on my phlegmatic because phlegmatics usually take surrender and humility easier than any of the other temperament types. 

We were all created by God to share in His Glory. Since we are really useless to Him, every action contrary to His Will is to be rejected. The only way to truly attain perfection is to surrender to God, as stated in the song. 

NOTICE VI

    I am going to be out of town for a little more than a week. Sadly, that means that I won't be able to publish during that time. While this is a tragedy, this doesn't mean that anyone should withhold any comments. 

Slaughter - Spend My Life

Slaughter (named after lead vocalist Mark Slaughter) has been active since 1988. This is one of their biggest songs. 

Temperament that it hits on: Sanguine 

Spend My Life hits on my sanguine for a few different reasons. Like most sanguines, it is full of energy from beginning to end, and also very dramatic. He goes from hardly having the will to survive to "and then I noticed you there" to wanting to spend his life with this woman. This drama and quickness to a strong attachment to somebody is not healthy, but the point of this song is that love ultimately ends in marriage. This is something that must never be forgotten. 

I never like lines that say stuff like, "'Cause you're the only one for me, baby I'm the one for you." Other than that, this song is one of my all time favorites. Come on, who can't enjoy the music in this one? 

Guns N' Roses - Sweet Child O' Mine

Guns N' Roses, active since 1985, has sold more than 100,000,000 (one hundred million) records in their time. They were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2012. If you think that this is a long song, Guns N' Roses has 12 songs that are over six minutes long and four that surpass eight minutes. 

Temperaments that it hits on: Melancholic / Choleric 

Sweet Child O' Mine hits on my melancholic because he loves his daughter as well as his wife. Melancholics are often the most invested in their relationships. It hits on my choleric side because, as St. John Bosco said, it is not enough that parents love their children, but that they let them know it. 

Sweet Child O' Mine was released in 1987 and has been world famous ever since. Maybe the awesome (first) guitar solo was part of it. 

The Kinks - Waterloo Sunset

The Kinks were active from 1963 through 1997, and may be working on a reunion. They were a British rock band that was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1990 and into the UK Music Hall of Fame in 2005. 

Temperaments that it hits on: Phlegmatic / Melancholic 

Waterloo Sunset hits on my phlegmatic because it is about a guy who wants to get away from the world and relax at his peaceful spot. It hits on my melancholic because there are some romantic themes in the song, and melancholics tend to be the most fond of that sort of stuff. 

"Her hair reminds me of a warm, safe place where, as a child, I'd hide..." 

Johnny Horton - Sink The Bismarck

Johnny Horton played with a band called Johnny Horton and the Roadrunners for a while. 

Temperament that it hits on: Choleric 

Sink The Bismarck hits on my choleric side because it is all about one of the most important victories of the entire Second World War. If the Germans still had the Bismarck a year later, everybody would have been toast, considering the fact that the United States and Great Britain were fighting a secret naval war until Pearl Harbor. This all ties into cholerity in that cholerics take victory very seriously, and because they tend to like honoring the valor of their fallen fathers. 

This song was on in a movie of the same name. The same goes for another of Johnny Horton's songs that will be published on this blog, North To Alaska. I have seen neither film. 

I Can't Find Videos For All Of Them

Here are two songs that I would have published on this blog, but can't on account of the lack of an appropriate video. 

Don Henley - The Boys Of Summer (Melancholic) 

Jerry Jeff Walker - Nolan Ryan (Sanguine) 

I'll write about them anyway. 

Don Henley's The Boys Of Summer came out in 1984 and was a huge success. The title comes from Roger Kahn's book about the Brooklyn Dodgers of the 1940's and 1950's. Apparently, the song is about a guy who's sad that his girlfriend is going out with members of the baseball team. 

Jerry Jeff Walker's Nolan Ryan came out in 1991, two years before The Ryan Express retired. Let's count up some numbers, he's 74 years of age. He's got 5,714 strikeouts and seven no-hitters to date. He's 61 shutouts, right up against 324 wins. (The song says this near the end, but the numbers are incomplete, of course.)

Sammy Kaye - Remember Pearl Harbor

Sammy Kaye was one of the biggest names of the big band era. He had great success from the 1930's through the 1950's. This song was released in 1942, practically after the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. 

Temperament that it hits on: Melancholic 

Remember Pearl Harbor hits on my melancholic because the attack shocked many Americans. Sammy Kaye and songwriter Don Reid tried to help the country cope with the loss and have confidence for victory in the upcoming war. Melancholics always try to remember important events and never forget those who they have lost. 

Another reason for my liking this song is that it came out right after the attack took place. There are not many songs that have been released this recently after the event it chronicles. 

While World War II is still fresh in everybody's mind, let's have another song about it. This one will be about a great victory in the war. 

Marty Robbins - The Ballad Of The Alamo

Marty Robbins, active from 1948 through 1982, was perhaps the the most important country and western singer of all time. He is a member of both the Country Music Hall of Fame and the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame, and he was named the 1960's Artist of the Decade. 

Temperament that it hits on: Melancholic 

The Ballad of The Alamo hits on my melancholic temperament because melancholics love to remember the past. Being a Texan, this is important to me. At the Battle of San Jacinto shortly after the Alamo, Sam Houston yelled, "Victory is certain. Remember the Alamo!" With this, the Texans defeated the Mexicans. While this was an important part of American and Texan history, I'm not going to say that everything was handled without atrocity. Let's leave it at that. 

This song is a masterpiece of music and history. I like it a lot because many people nowadays don't even know about the Alamo. 

On Monday, as promised, I will publish my favorite song of the 1940's. 

Bobby Hackett - Soft Lights And Sweet Music

 

Bobby Hackett was a jazz player from the 1920's until his death in 1976. He was very popular, and had associated acts with such legends as Louis Armstrong and Glenn Miller. 

Temperament that it hits on: Melancholic 

Soft Lights And Sweet Music hits on my melancholic because it is slower than most other songs, even jazz. Melancholics are also generally pretty artistic and tend to go for this kind of music. 

This particular song was released in 1946 and did well with the people. This is probably the best piece of jazz that I've heard, and my second favorite of the 1940's. For my first pick from the decade, read Monday's post. But first...