how i love his voice (edited)

in junior high, back when they still played videos on MTV and VH1, i saw one particular video 1 time. it was called “Always the Last to Know” by a scottish band called Del Amitri. (the video is not on the web, the link is just to the song) i loved the song and watched religiously for the video again. never saw it. in fact, i think i might have only seen it once more since then!

when the video was not forthcoming, during one of my weekend trips to hang at the mall, i marched myself into the Warehouse and bought myself the cassette single. the B-side was another song from the album called Be My Downfall. (<–this is a live performance and some asshole is talking over it. sorry)

this single change the course of my musical education.

from that single i have amassed all of their albums and about 15 imported CD singles. i have enough unreleased “b-sides” to fill 2 more albums (album being about 12-15 songs. however, one album that was released, hatful of rain, was some of these b-sides and i did not buy it) i have worn out the CDs and had to replace them. i have turned at least 4 people on to the music. just about every song i learned on the guitar was Del Amitri too. when i feel heartbroken i will often turn them on and lament with Justin about lost loves, hurt, regret, and journeys. when i feel homesick, or nostalgic, Del Amitri gets me though.

i even have an online buddy, who i have never met, but have known for about 12 years, because we connected over our love of Del Amitri and Justin Currie. (hahaha back in the days when everyone had AOL) thanks to my friend and his ongoing obsession with the now-defunct band, i have discovered a new track by a band called Green Peppers. here is the video. i guess the guy in the video is the singer for GP, but the vocal tracks are Justin Currie, even though he does not appear in the video.

some other great videos by Del Amitri are:

Driving With the Brakes on

Tell Her This (one of my V.best friends and i text parts of this song to each other to let the other know that we are thinking about them, even though we hardly ever can get together - i love you Rookie.)

and to top it off, in true Spinal Tap fashion, they were always changing drummers.

so there is your musical education for today. happy listening!

i’m curious, has there been 1 band that has changed your life?