Well, from about the same time as the last one, but very different music:
The Fugees: Killing me softly
Soundtrack to a class trip to Prague. Don’t ask me why, but it was kind of the only song we could all agree on listening to on the bus.
Affinity
Art, Fun, & Nonsense.
The Fugees version has a really “tight” rhythm and Lauryn’s phrasing is perfect.
So many people have done this song.
I only now took the time to listen to the original version by Lori Lieberman. Definitely worth a listen. The acoustic guitar is wonderfully sweet and salty.
Roberta Flack’s voice is beautiful, but in the version she did, I don’t like the tempo, that feels too fast, too hurried.
It seems at least 8 Finnish singers have recorded a version*. “Jokainen Päivä On Liikaa” (Every Day Is Too Much) is the title of the Finnish lyrics and the subject of the lyrics is lost love. I prefer the Fugees, Lieberman and Flack versions.
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* = One in English, the rest in Finnish, 7 female singers and one male.
Oh my.
I never really liked this song, but I think that’s partially a function of it being overplayed on radio back in the day.
But I think it really comes down to hating the lyrics. But I like them a bit better, knowing they’re a response to this song.