Thursday, November 29, 2007

Number 534 - Bangles


Number 534

Bangles

"Walk Like An Egyptian"

(1986)
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................Genre: Pop...............
Another month gone by, almost a whole year, damn it's gone fast. So much time has passed and so little has been achieved. I was telling Mr. Almighty a bit ago how busy life seems to have gotten, way to busy, I forget to breath sometimes, haha. Seems my only down time is listening to music, such a wonderful thing music. It's my sanity but it is also my insanity. I listen to lose myself, I listen to find myself. I listen to calm myself, I listen to be agitated. Music is a huge chunk of my life.
But eh, the music arts are here, will always be here and these little ladies seem to have been extremely popular in their time.
Even my kids like this song, go figure!!! It's a catchy tune, can't say I have any fond memories associated with this tune, other than some people really seemed to walk like that for awhile, snicker. Anyways, enjoy, The Bangles are a great girl band have some really good songs that I enjoy, this is one of them……. Tez.

Walk Like an ?
Liam Sternberg wrote the song after seeing people on a ferry walking awkwardly to keep their balance as figures do in Ancient Egyptian reliefs. The opening lyrics state, "All the old paintings on the tombs/They do the sand dance don't you know". The reference to the sand dance possibly refers to a music hall routine performed by Wilson, Keppel and Betty where Wilson and Keppel danced around in the postures portrayed on the reliefs wearing the fez while Betty watched. The music video for "Walk Like an Egyptian" similarly featured people dancing in such a pose.
The perception that ancient Egyptians normally walked in such a way has been reflected in other items of popular culture such as the song "King Tut" performed by comedian Steve Martin and the King Tut Strut. Ancient Egyptian sculptures reflect the subjects walking normally.
Sternberg offered his song to Toni Basil
who turned it down. David Kahne, the producer of Different Light, took the song to The Bangles who agreed to record it. Kahne had each member of the group sing the lyrics to determine who would sing each verse with Susanna Hoffs, Vicki Peterson and Michael Steele each singing lead vocals on a verse in the final version. "Walk Like An Egyptian" was released as the third single from Different Light. It debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 in September 1986. The song reached a peak of number three on the UK Singles Chart in November 1986 and reached number one in the U.S. on December 20, staying at the top of the Hot 100 for four weeks, carrying it over into January, 1987. The song is the first song by an all female group playing their own instruments to top the Billboard. The success of the song and "Manic Monday" propeled Different Light to number two on the Billboard 200 chart, making it the group's most successful album.
On the American Top 40 Top 100 of 1987 radio show, host Casey Kasem reported the song was added to album as a joke, to which he added, "Some joke. Here's the punchline: The Bangles' sand dance of the ancient pharaohs walks away with the pyramid prize of the year!" contrasting how the song was added to the album with how popular it became, as it topped the year-end Billboard Hot 100 Singles chart, which is the chart American Top 40 was using at the time.
The song was also the Bangles' last non-cover Top 40 hit that wasn't co-written by at least one band member. Subsequent charted singles (with the exception of "Hazy Shade of Winter," which is a cover) were co-written by Susanna Hoffs and Debbie Peterson.
"Walk Like An Egyptian" was one of a List of songs deemed inappropriate by Clear Channel following the September 11, 2001 attacks, presumably due to its reference to Egypt.
In 1997, it had also sparked a joke which mocked the death of Harrods heir and film producer Dodi Fayed, who died in a Paris car crash which also claimed the life of Diana, Princess of Wales. Several websites joked that Dodi Fayed had recorded a song called Die Like an Egyptian. The Clear Channel findings were by far the most highly publicised reports of the song's criticism. ~ [Source:Wikipedia (soon to be banned from schools.. sheesh)]
What does Rolling Stone think about the Bangles?
The 1986 album 'Different Light' was the commercial breakthrough for the Los Angeles hard-harmony quartet the Bangles, but it was also the sound of their careers getting away from them. All of the hits were written by outside writers; many of the instruments were played by session players; and the slick sound was different from – and softer than – the sharp, harmony-laden power pop of their earlier records. But the album's success gave Susanna Hoffs, Michael Steele and Debbi and Vicki Peterson the leverage and the confidence to do more of the work in house. Bangle members wrote or co-wrote everything on Everything, and new producer Davitt Sigerson, who helped David and David make their dark visions palatable to the masses, encourages the Bangles to kick hard into their songs.Not that they're doing this all themselves. Hired guns Billy Steinberg and Tom Kelly helped Hoffs write three songs, most notably the insouciant, inviting "In Your Room." But by taking more chances, the Bangles sound more comfortable than they have since their 1982 EP Bangles. On numbers like "I'll Set You Free" and "Make a Play for Her Now," their harmonies are the clearest and most evocative they've ever been – their voices float, coalesce and soar. The only problem is the lyrics. The Bangles are indeed comfortable on Everything, but the flip side to being comfortable is being complacent. The words of "Bell Jar," "Glitter Years" and several other songs circle around ideas without zeroing in, settling for cliché when they give up on precision. But the lyrics are balanced by the strong music, which is everything the quartet wants it to be. (RS 540) [JIMMY GUTERMAN]
For more Bangles see #642, #612
For Toni Basil see #674
Artist Fact File
Name:The Bangles..................Related to³:No-one
Yrs Active:1981 to now............Site:www.thebangles.com
Best Song¹:Walk Like an Egyptian..#1fan:www.the-bangles.co.uk
Best Album²:Different Light.......Grammy Awards:0
Albums Sold:7 Million +...........Next best thing:The Go-Go's
¹Number of downloads WINMX ²Artistdirect choice ³Associated acts or collaborations

Need more information on the song "Walk Like an Egyptian"? Here are some SongFacts for you to ponder over! Click here > Fact Stuff

Official Website for Fat Boy Slim @ This addy & for other Information/Biography click this link > Here ~ crowbarred [because power is knowledge]

Rolling Stone Top 500 Songs ranked this song at Number (For the 3rd time..) and the Album ranked at Number (Bangles are for wearing only)
This song has a Definitive 1000 rating of 74.2 out of 108 pts

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posted by Tez at 9:17 pm

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