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Nice to see some Shakespears Sister (however you spell it) lovers... quite sad that they broke up so dramatically though.

Someone mentioned Talking Heads, I love them too.

One of my favs:

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Wow! Blondie and Rapture! Haven't seen the video for a while. Blondie is hip. She's one of the earliest to rap!

RAPPPPTUUUURRREEEE !!! And that silly rap about men from mars eating cars. Makes me want to dance in the dancehall in rapture.

We are young, heartache to heartache we stand ! No promises, no demands. LOVE IS A BATTLEFIELD!

I wanna dance so bad . Into the break of dawn on the city streets.

80s rock/pop/whatever is so rad.

After all, tomorrow is another day. ~ S O'Hara

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This Paris song is very 'listenable'. Tks

On a lighter note, here's Friendly Fires (Aeroplane Remix feat. Au Revoir Simone). Just ignore the gold Paris Hilton. My most repeated track while doing vacuuming the flat. Haha

After all, tomorrow is another day. ~ S O'Hara

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Black_Hat , Pat Benator was during my primary school days. So how did you know about her?

I was about to post her, but you made a step earlier than me .

The next song - Tonight is What it means to be Young - was based on a movie Streets of Fire. It was about a guy who tried to save his girlfriend, a singer, kidnapped by a gang of motorbike gangsters.

Diane Lane didn't sing this song. Someone else did.

Can't remember, but my brother used to play this for hours in the house

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The 70s 80s rock singer , poet and song writter Patti Smith's name was honoured in the Hall of Fame in 2007, recognizing her two decades of music contribution to the rock .

Much of her songs dealt with human rights, coupled with her contribution to her many human activist works.

As such, she had toured and worked with few prominent singers and songwriters like Bob Dylan himself.

Rumour has it she did had a brief affair with bisexual famous photographer, Robert Mapplethorn. She ended it which set him into a depression.

However, after his death due to HIV, she wrote and dedicated a book of poem called The Coral Sea, to him, using one of his works as the cover.

I still have a copy of the book, unwrapped.

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The 70s 80s rock singer , poet and song writter Patti Smith's name was honoured in the Hall of Fame in 2007, recognizing her two decades of music contribution to the rock .

Patti Smith! I'm a fan! (Glad you posted 'Gloria', which I definitely think is her best.)

She's definitely one of the most important female artists in rock, next only to the likes of Joni Mitchell, Aretha Franklin, and Janis Joplin.

I posted about Joni before, so I think I'll post something from the other two:

These two ladies are the foundation of soul.

“Do not take life too seriously. You’ll never get out of it alive.” — Elbert Hubbard

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How could I have forgotten about Sigur Rós!!! Alternative to the core, half the time I don't even know what language they are singing in, the other half it's mostly ambient, trippy, instrumental muzack that I'm most hooked on. I mean I think I have 3 or 4 Sigur Rós albums chock full of the kind of cool sounds they make. EPIC MASTERPIECE!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zgEGVKwURKc

Only to lie like this between the bombs, dreaming away and not alone, because time was very short.

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How could I have forgotten about Sigur Rós!!! Alternative to the core, half the time I don't even know what language they are singing in, the other half it's mostly ambient, trippy, instrumental muzack that I'm most hooked on. I mean I think I have 3 or 4 Sigur Rós albums chock full of the kind of cool sounds they make. EPIC MASTERPIECE!!!

Uh, Sigur Ros. My favorite too.

I had musical ear orgasm whenever I hear Glosoli. The way it unravels the lushful wall of ambience and builds its way to the final climax is just superb.

“Do not take life too seriously. You’ll never get out of it alive.” — Elbert Hubbard

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Also I'd like to recommend All India Radio, an Australian trio that has been compared to DJ Shadow, Thievery Corporation, Brian Eno, Boards of Canada, Spiritualised and Transglobal Underground. Their music was also even featured in CSI: Miami. Enjoy!!!

Only to lie like this between the bombs, dreaming away and not alone, because time was very short.

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Uh, Sigur Ros. My favorite too.

I had musical ear orgasm whenever I hear Glosoli. The way it unravels the lushful wall of ambience and builds its way to the final climax is just superb.

Gorgeous! Gorgeous! I feel like leaping off the cliff with them :))) thanks for the great recommendation.

Only to lie like this between the bombs, dreaming away and not alone, because time was very short.

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i think vanessa paradis was mentioned . . . this is the one i remember of her. wonder if anyone else does?

Oui! Oui! I adore Vanessa Paradis....especially her Variations sur le même t'aime album when she collaborated with the great Serge Gainsbourg. Also her self-titled English debut album with Lenny Kravitz which produced Be My Baby, fantastic stuff!!! Will never forget her Chanel ads and her famous gapped teeth. Looking back, I have much of her CDs, so Asperger you are not alone :)))

Only to lie like this between the bombs, dreaming away and not alone, because time was very short.

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Gorgeous! Gorgeous! I feel like leaping off the cliff with them :))) thanks for the great recommendation.

Glad you like it. Thanks for All India Radio too, now that's a band I've never heard the slightest of, and a good one at that.

I wonder what you all think about the Krautrock scene, which encompasses many experimental German music in the early 1970s. Key bands include Can, Faust, Neu!, Kraftwerk, Tangerine Dream, Cluster, Amon Duul II, Ash Ra Tempel, Popol Vuh, and Klaus Schulze. They sort of revolutionized music, especially in the electronic and ambient front, at times even industrial music. David Bowie's Berlin Trilogy is a famous example for the incorporation of Krautrock influence within the popular music conscience.

Some of you may have heard of electronic pioneer Kraftwerk:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kXD6Gtinvbc

My personal favorite is Can, which is quite obscure but still entertaining in its own bizarre way (think of it as a proto-progressive rock music):

“Do not take life too seriously. You’ll never get out of it alive.” — Elbert Hubbard

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The French song was forwarded from a friend of mine, who mastered music and French when he studied overseas.

Simply love this piece !

Simple haunting musical arrangement.

If you like to watch naked French Hunks showering ( back only, sorry guys) this is definitely quite quite an eye candy.

I think the guys are ignoring her presence ( in the video) is as thought she is some kind of invisible ghost.

Till today, he has not get back to me whats the meaning of the lyrics.

Thus I am now venturing into alternative French music

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2r9ZGeF0ns4

Edited by TheVisitors
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The French song was forwarded from a friend of mine, who mastered music and French when he studied overseas.

Simply love this piece !

Simple haunting musical arrangement.

If you like to watch naked French Hunks showering ( back only, sorry guys) this is definitely quite quite an eye candy.

I think the guys are ignoring her presence ( in the video) is as thought she is some kind of invisible ghost.

Till today, he has not get back to me whats the meaning of the lyrics.

Thus I am now venturing into alternative French music

If you want French chanteuse, try Mylene Farmer, I'm not sure if you've already heard of her but she's somekinda gay icon in France....her latest song has a fantastic video. Check it out. The title in French is Oui Mais...Non, which I think translated means Yes And No. Simply love this track! Give it a try and let me know what you think. It's a great workout song.

Only to lie like this between the bombs, dreaming away and not alone, because time was very short.

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Anyone into smooth jazz songs? Sade Adu's voice is mesmerizing, and Stuart is one of those few saxophonists whose playing isn't cheesy. Great song for chilling out.

Sade has a new Ultimate Collection featuring her classics and a new song Love Is Found. Very up your alley Derry! But I prefer her remix versions better. It's very Sade don't you think?!

Only to lie like this between the bombs, dreaming away and not alone, because time was very short.

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Glad you like it. Thanks for All India Radio too, now that's a band I've never heard the slightest of, and a good one at that.

I wonder what you all think about the Krautrock scene, which encompasses many experimental German music in the early 1970s. Key bands include Can, Faust, Neu!, Kraftwerk, Tangerine Dream, Cluster, Amon Duul II, Ash Ra Tempel, Popol Vuh, and Klaus Schulze. They sort of revolutionized music, especially in the electronic and ambient front, at times even industrial music. David Bowie's Berlin Trilogy is a famous example for the incorporation of Krautrock influence within the popular music conscience.

Some of you may have heard of electronic pioneer Kraftwerk:

My personal favorite is Can, which is quite obscure but still entertaining in its own bizarre way (think of it as a proto-progressive rock music):

Well when it comes to German stuff, they certainly are experimental....I mean the Can track is 18 mins long! But I do like Kraftwerk, in fact it's the only name I know in your long list of German acts. So I'm not so knowledgeable in German music other than Tokio Hotel or Rammstein. But I do listen to this duo group called Autechre although I'm not sure if they are German. Very cool stuff.

Only to lie like this between the bombs, dreaming away and not alone, because time was very short.

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Sade has a new Ultimate Collection featuring her classics and a new song Love Is Found. Very up your alley Derry! But I prefer her remix versions better. It's very Sade don't you think?!

Up my alley? Sounds like something else, lol. :twisted:

But yeah, I like the Sade song you embedded here.

Well when it comes to German stuff, they certainly are experimental....I mean the Can track is 18 mins long! But I do like Kraftwerk, in fact it's the only name I know in your long list of German acts. So I'm not so knowledgeable in German music other than Tokio Hotel or Rammstein. But I do listen to this duo group called Autechre although I'm not sure if they are German. Very cool stuff.

I agree. German music is very experimental, wait until you hear industrial pioneer Einsturzende Neubauten. His earlier works are cling-clangings on rusty metal taken too literally. Nick Cave eventually take the lead singer of the band (Blixa Bargeld) as a guitarist and background vocalist for the Bad Seeds, over time of which the music of Blixa's own band is sort of 'tamed down' into something less destructive to the ears.

I'm not going to embed Einsturzende Neubauten's earlier works for fear of being sued under the tort of negligence (haha :lol: but you can Youtube them at your own risk), but here's one of the band's late period works. With a song title like that, and an atmosphere that creepily builds, I can't help but to feel really intense waiting for the song to 'let rip'. Will a blasting noise come out all of a sudden, and if so, when....? I'm not giving you spoiler on that. :lol:

I tried Autechre before, but I'm still trying to understand them. IDM/electronic masters seem to be way too forward-thinking that I cannot hang on to their tails. I do like some Autechre tracks, and I like Aphex Twin too. The marching-like beats on this song '4' is quite reminiscent of Bjork's 'Hunter'.

“Do not take life too seriously. You’ll never get out of it alive.” — Elbert Hubbard

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Guest Asperger

she s been around; but i only discovered her lately: regina spektor. quite a no. of good songs, this is the most accessible one, from the soundtrack of 500 days of summer:

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One half of Humpe Humpe is now 2Raumwohnung.

Found out from a friend their song Spiel Mit means Play Me. :)

Ooooh! Very nice....I like. She sounds like Nina Persson, you know the lead singer of The Cardigans....they are German right? Spiel Mit sounds German to me :) I like you nick glowingember....

Only to lie like this between the bombs, dreaming away and not alone, because time was very short.

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Guest felmon

Ooooh! Very nice....I like. She sounds like Nina Persson, you know the lead singer of The Cardigans....they are German right? Spiel Mit sounds German to me :) I like you nick glowingember....

yes spiel mit is German

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This song reminds me of an old friend. who used to spin this song endlessly when he is in his depression.

This is a timeless classic...the voice of Julia Fordham

Don't know where is she now...

Thank you very much TheVisitors....now Julia Fordham's Happy Ever After is gonna be looping inside my head for the rest of the week!! :) haha....such a beautiful song and once you listened to it, it's like forever etched inside your psyche...never letting go.

Only to lie like this between the bombs, dreaming away and not alone, because time was very short.

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I like this song. Tks.

Somehow the video reminds me of Lady Gaga's Bad Romance. Both videos are great.

If you want French chanteuse, try Mylene Farmer, I'm not sure if you've already heard of her but she's somekinda gay icon in France....her latest song has a fantastic video. Check it out. The title in French is Oui Mais...Non, which I think translated means Yes And No. Simply love this track! Give it a try and let me know what you think. It's a great workout song.

After all, tomorrow is another day. ~ S O'Hara

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Ya, now that you mentioned Cardigans, they do sound alike.

When I listen to Spiel Mit, I close my eyes and imagine Naomi, Linda, Claudia, Christy and Cindy doing their catwalk (I'm from that era :lol: )

regarding the nick: tks!

Ooooh! Very nice....I like. She sounds like Nina Persson, you know the lead singer of The Cardigans....they are German right? Spiel Mit sounds German to me :) I like you nick glowingember....

After all, tomorrow is another day. ~ S O'Hara

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The first Vanessa Paradis I heard was Joe le taxi. Her first British hit.

Think she was 14 then.

Gosh! She looked so young!!! But I love the song....thanks for the intro :)

Only to lie like this between the bombs, dreaming away and not alone, because time was very short.

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I'm not certain if the following are 'alternate' music...

Linkin Park?

Nirvana (thsy say it's Grunge) - but iTunes lists them as Alternative

Pet Shop Boys?? yeah! our kind of group haha

Depeche Mode?

Cranberries???

The Offspring? haha like this group...

to me tho... this is my kind of 'alternative' music...

luv this group...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7bjXbx4zyUg

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Guest felmon

lol!

Lesbians rule the scene but the homos are the coolest of the cool!

tks. brought me a smile.

Plus the pink triangle on the shirt :lol:

glad you enjoyed it! they are my fave along with Sonic Youth

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Up my alley? Sounds like something else, lol. :twisted:

But yeah, I like the Sade song you embedded here.

I agree. German music is very experimental, wait until you hear industrial pioneer Einsturzende Neubauten. His earlier works are cling-clangings on rusty metal taken too literally. Nick Cave eventually take the lead singer of the band (Blixa Bargeld) as a guitarist and background vocalist for the Bad Seeds, over time of which the music of Blixa's own band is sort of 'tamed down' into something less destructive to the ears.

I'm not going to embed Einsturzende Neubauten's earlier works for fear of being sued under the tort of negligence (haha :lol: but you can Youtube them at your own risk), but here's one of the band's late period works. With a song title like that, and an atmosphere that creepily builds, I can't help but to feel really intense waiting for the song to 'let rip'. Will a blasting noise come out all of a sudden, and if so, when....? I'm not giving you spoiler on that. :lol:

I tried Autechre before, but I'm still trying to understand them. IDM/electronic masters seem to be way too forward-thinking that I cannot hang on to their tails. I do like some Autechre tracks, and I like Aphex Twin too. The marching-like beats on this song '4' is quite reminiscent of Bjork's 'Hunter'.

Silence Is Sexy is very cool. Love the vid, totally original. Thanks. IDM is a genre of music that is really too hard to follow some time, I mean I really dig Aphex Twin, but somehow can't really get into it, if you know what I mean.

Only to lie like this between the bombs, dreaming away and not alone, because time was very short.

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I'm not certain if the following are 'alternate' music...

Linkin Park?

Nirvana (thsy say it's Grunge) - but iTunes lists them as Alternative

Pet Shop Boys?? yeah! our kind of group haha

Depeche Mode?

Cranberries???

The Offspring? haha like this group...

Alternative is an umbrella term that encompasses various genres, incl. grunge itself. I'm going to copy-paste Wikipedia that "throughout much of its history, alternative rock has been largely defined by its rejection of the commercialism of mainstream culture."

The explosion of alternative in late 1980s (led by R.E.M.) leading up to its 1990s mainstream breakthrough (notably by the grunge scene, i.e. Nirvana) has further obscured the line between what is alternative and what is not. But do note that R.E.M. and Nirvana just happened to be well-liked by the mass, as opposed to writing songs with the sole intention of selling their singles like hot pancakes. There's a difference.

For corporate pop stars, clearly their intention of throwing Justin Bieber and Katy Perry to the public is to make bucks out of these artists instead of attempting to present us audience with a modern-era equivalent of Mozart. In other words, it's 90% business and 10% art. Ultimately, the line that differentiates between what is alternative and what is not alternative will depend on how much we agree on the business:art ratio. This is where the confusion comes in.

Most of the bands you listed maintain close to a 50:50 ratio, and thereby they are only arguably alternative. Nirvana and Depeche Mode would represent a tendency towards alternative values, while Linkin Park would be on the other end with a higher proportion of commercial values.

“Do not take life too seriously. You’ll never get out of it alive.” — Elbert Hubbard

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nouvelle vague's softer rendition of guns of brixton by joy division.

heard them live in 2007 at zouk and still lingers.

but the original nevertheless was epic.

the song when the weekdays are getting too long

:lol:

oh well the devil makes us sin but we like it when we're spinning, in his grin.

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Alternative is an umbrella term that encompasses various genres, incl. grunge itself. I'm going to copy-paste Wikipedia that "throughout much of its history, alternative rock has been largely defined by its rejection of the commercialism of mainstream culture."

The explosion of alternative in late 1980s (led by R.E.M.) leading up to its 1990s mainstream breakthrough (notably by the grunge scene, i.e. Nirvana) has further obscured the line between what is alternative and what is not. But do note that R.E.M. and Nirvana just happened to be well-liked by the mass, as opposed to writing songs with the sole intention of selling their singles like hot pancakes. There's a difference.

For corporate pop stars, clearly their intention of throwing Justin Bieber and Katy Perry to the public is to make bucks out of these artists instead of attempting to present us audience with a modern-era equivalent of Mozart. In other words, it's 90% business and 10% art. Ultimately, the line that differentiates between what is alternative and what is not alternative will depend on how much we agree on the business:art ratio. This is where the confusion comes in.

Most of the bands you listed maintain close to a 50:50 ratio, and thereby they are only arguably alternative. Nirvana and Depeche Mode would represent a tendency towards alternative values, while Linkin Park would be on the other end with a higher proportion of commercial values.

Totally agree, so most alternative acts showcase more experimentation and less commerciality. They avoid mainstream trends and they measure success by their creativity and originality. Most acts tread that 50:50 ratio. Some tread the divide very finely like Bjork or Tori Amos. Others are totally commercial like J-Lo or Hilary Duff. But most alternative acts are either underground or obscure. I don't consider REM, PSB or Depeche Mode to be alternative. Anybody remembers Electronic or New Order? Both brainchild of Bernard Sumner. Are they considered as alternative?

Edited by Avecinfuser

Only to lie like this between the bombs, dreaming away and not alone, because time was very short.

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I personally consider R.E.M. and Depeche Mode to be alternative (Pet Shop Boys, not quite there yet), but this is the case on which we cannot agree on the exact business:art ratio that defines alternative.

For those who are still unsure whether or not to recommend your favorite music, just be reminded that for the purpose of this thread, most things that are not blatantly commercial would qualify.

This thread isn't meant to be so strict; your music recommendation doesn't have to be so anti-commercial it consists of nothing but fart noises. I created this thread because I noticed that many other music-related discussion in BW seems to be revolved around the usual mainstream suspects (Lady Gaga, Katy Perry, etc). I don't mind those, but I find that less commercial music has been underappreciated by our community.

A lil bit of discussion on artists that are less dictated by trends sure wouldn't hurt. :)

Edited by derryfawne

“Do not take life too seriously. You’ll never get out of it alive.” — Elbert Hubbard

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Guest Black_Hat

Speaking of REM, their signature song is representative of the mixture of feelings I had as I gradually lost faith in religion years ago(but strangely I still believe there's a God), and the realization that i got into religion for the wrong reasons, which were pretentiously decorous.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JEPUk8UJAVw

on a lighter note, I LOVE THIS SONG. ROLL IT.

By God she sounds awesome live.

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I'm surprised no critics have ever pointed this out.

Unintentional plagiarism? Judge by yourself.

It's a Heartache (1977) by Bonnie Tyler

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EY0_oVV29PM

I’ll Stand by You (1994) by The Pretenders

And even this,

for the Youtube video.

Estoy Aquí (1996) by Shakira

“Do not take life too seriously. You’ll never get out of it alive.” — Elbert Hubbard

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Speaking of Pet Shop Boys...

I like this song very much for a while...I think it's about being miserable as a new style(?)

But...I found Paninaro 95 very hypnotizing...Chris Lowe rapped and the 2 fabulous male dancers. Yum.

A big regret as I didn't watch this performance when they were in Singapore...

Edited by glowingember

After all, tomorrow is another day. ~ S O'Hara

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Speaking of Pet Shop Boys...

I like this song very much for a while...I think it's about being miserable as a new style(?)

But...I found Paninaro 95 very hypnotizing...Chris Lowe rapped and the 2 fabulous male dancers. Yum.

A big regret as I didn't watch this performance when they were in Singapore...

I'm a BIG HUGE fan of PSB. I think they are the most AWESOME group in the world. I grew up listening to them and even now in the age of downloads, I will actually take the trouble to make my way down to HMV to buy their latest CDs....although their latest one is a ballet production, a full-length dance work with music by Pet Shop Boys I think...is that considered alternative? I attended their last concert in Singapore...I forgot what year.

Only to lie like this between the bombs, dreaming away and not alone, because time was very short.

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This next song from INXS from Aussie, is super haunting in a nice, strange way

Beautiful Girl. Its like almost 20 years ago.

They are still performing, but the original lead singer died in a drug related death

There is something about this song and its arrangemnet, which fits listening at anything of the day.

I never seems to get tired of listening to this song. Each time it draws you to like it even more.

It was most memorable, when one year , a mini-bus drive across the acrid Aussie dessert, the Ausie radio station played this piece, and all of us started singing !

The confusing part of this song is...

On one hand, the video potrays beautiful as accepting oneself inspite how we look like, yet if you listen to the lyrics, it is as thought, the singer picked up a young beautiful street hooker under the neon lights , and spent the night with her...

Edited by TheVisitors
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