But I do know

I'm enjoying the hell out of the Genius playlist based on "A Campfire Song" that I blogged about a couple days ago. It has really caused me to rediscover a lot of good old music that I had completely forgotten about. So I thought I'd milk it for a few more blog posts as I know there are some people out there reading that enjoy the retro music and the stories from my high school years surrounding them!

For your consideration tonight is Sinead O'Connor's "Mandinka".



My first exposure to Sinead O'Connor was not, as it was for many people, her cover of Prince's "Nothing Compares 2 U" which you could not avoid during my senior year of school if you tried. It wasn't even "Mandinka" - it was actually a song called "I Want Your (Hands On Me)" Apparently she was taking cues from Samantha Fox in using the parentheticals, but I think that was the only similarity between her and Samantha Fox. Anyway, I think I saw the video for "I Want Your (Hands On Me)" on PostModern MTV in the summer of 1988 and, because it was the summer of me trying to break free of the trashy dance pop that has a hold of my soul, I gave it more of a listen than I might have otherwise. That led me to O'Connor's debut album The Lion & The Cobra, which I purchased at Pamida for a scandalous $5.99. In other news, trashy dance pop still has my soul.

"Mandinka" was easily my early favorite. I love how it really is a pop song, albeit cut from a different cloth than the other stuff that was on the radio that summer. "Mercedes Boy" it was decidedly not. (click on that link, it's from frickin' Night Tracks!!) It has this driving guitar that would lend itself well to the never-to-be Guitar Hero: Divas Edition.

And while there are other really good tracks on the album, a quick scan of my iTunes library reveals only 4 songs from the album in there. Of course, that's nearly 50% of it which was yet another positive to the album. It was quick and to the point. It didn't run any longer than was necessary. Sometimes I miss those concise albums, but the CD has really made it seem like 9 songs and 42 minutes of music is a rip off.

I never got into O'Connor's big commercial breakthrough I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got. I never really liked "Nothing Compares 2 U", although I do have a soft spot for its instant-flop follow-up, "The Emperor's New Clothes". And then what followed after that album was so hit-and-miss that by the time she tore up a picture of the Pope on Saturday Night Live, I had stopped following O'Connor altogether.

But we had a good run, and I still listen to "Mandinka" - probably more in the last week than in the last 4 years.

I've made a personal vow to do a blog post a day in November - kind of to go along with Heidi's participation in NaNoWriMo. Expect more posts of this ilk. They're fun to write and, as I said, I know I'll at least have Mary interested.