Amy Lu's View

What if I DIDN’T do an 80’s song for our church’s coffee house?

I’ve considered this scenario, really I have. In fact, I have tried to think of modern songs that would fit for me. I even did one recently when I performed “Lilacs” by Waxahatchee. And yes I’ve done some 90’s songs but for the purposes of this post and my efforts to do something more or less current, that doesn’t really count. 

I do think it’s a little sad when people are stuck in the music of their youth. Not that I don’t love 80’s popular music, and I’m not trying to deny that I’m 51 and that’s the music of my teen years. We shouldn’t throw out the gems of yesteryear or have delusions we’re hip (although if you are a hip 50 plus something by all means go for it! I just cannot join you). 

But I do listen to some current music–really, I do! Still, the songs of the 80’s seem to be what’s seeped into my veins. When I think, “What song can I relatively quickly whip into shape for coffeehouse” I more often than not land on an 80’s song (or something else that I heard before I was 25). 

So sticking to brand, my latest online coffeehouse cover is of the 1985’s Tears for Fears song, “Head Over Heels.” But…I was at least inspired to perform it because I heard a recent (2019) cover of it by the totally current and relevant artist Japanese Breakfast. 

When I recently heard the Japanese Breakfast version of “Head Over Hells,” it not only reminded me how much I love this song, but made me think that as a woman was covering the song, maybe I could cover it, too. 

“Behind the Music” of my cover:

• As usual, it was harder than I thought it would be, as the vocal range is–or at least feels–pretty big. It definitely gets low for me!
• Chad gave me advice about how I should play the A9 chord when he saw my chord list to the song lying around, to which I responded “Huh, that’s probably good to know but that’s not how I’m going to play it.” I wouldn’t even have any clue what an A9 (or any 9 or 7 chord) is without Chad and I was perplexed why it was an A9 rather than an A2 so happy to have that mystery solved…but I still did it the way that was easiest for me. #LookAtMeBeingAMusicTheoryGeek–and if you are actually interested in what an A9 chord is, let me know!. (Oh, and Chad’s response: “Okay, play it wrong if you want to.”)
• Yes, I did do the song my way! I actually take a little pride in making a song my own–this didn’t sound like Japanese Breakfast or Tears for Fears–even though “making it my own” usually means figuring out what musical accommodations to make so I can actually play and sing the song. (And Chad said my erroneous A9 actually worked just fine).
• I do wish I could have found a way to sing the countermelody at the end of the song (which I just learned the lyrics to–”Nothing gets done when you’re acting your age”–AWESOME!) but I just couldn’t sing two parts at once in the same timeline.
• This is one of my favorite videos ever–or at least, I remember that I loved it. Dare I watch it now? I love that it’s set in a library (although totally annoyed by the “shush-ing librarian stereotype–if only we got to do that) and I adore the card catalog craziness. 
  • Update: I was brave and I just watched the video again and I DO still love it! It holds up. The librarian isn’t shushing so much as bitchy and I’m all for that. And I love that the keyboardist has the sexy rocker look going on and that he gets the keyboard from the circulation desk. The monkey is still cute and still perplexing. 
• Revisiting this song has also inspired me to revisit the experience of being “Head Over Heels”–not just in romantic love (which when I was 15 in 1985 pretty much meant dramatically wallowing in unrequited love) but head over heels by the delights and mysteries of life–both big and small.

I also just remembered that the Go-Go’s had a completely different song titled “Head Over Heels!” that predated Tear for Fears by a year! (1984 vs. 1985) I couldn’t remember how it went except for the chorus–how in the world could I forget THAT?! Hmmm, my first thought is that the range and vocals don’t quite fit me, but it IS a keyboard forward song…