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Thursday, February 14, 2008
So it's Valentine's Day, and Hallmark and FTD thank you for your patronage. I spent way too many cynical 14ths of February alone or unhappy in my formative years to completely buy into this whole business; I do my best to let those I care about know how I feel all year 'round. But I will admit that the sentimental side of me is compelled to mark the occasion in my much happier adulthood, with a card and a Magnetic Fields show for a certain someone, and with a few songs for you, dear reader... Obviously "love", both the four-letter word and the concept, played a big thematic part in the (now continuing) existence of the House of Love. In addition to their band name, they had many songs with it in the title ("Love In A Car", "I Don't Know Why I Love You", "Love You Too Much", etc.), and used it as a fallback moniker for a series of songs, some with vocals and some instrumental, recorded throughout the first chunk of their career. Of those that had lyrics, one set was cribbed from elsewhere (see below), and one of the instrumental numbers, "Love IV", became a personal HoL favorite after it appeared on the 1990 "Beatles and the Stones" EP. After that series-ending song, "The Last Edition Of Love", on the 2004 release of their Fontana Years collection, I thought it'd be fun to throw together a little "Love" EP, and I'll use this Valentine's Day as an excuse to share it. Enjoy...  The House of Love the unofficial "Love" EP Love Love II Love III Love IV Love V Love 10 Last Edition of Love bonus track... Love III (Peel Session) Some footnotes... "Love" was recorded very early on, when the band was a five piece outfit, and was a b-side to their debut "Shine On" single. "Love II" pulls its lyrics from Blind Willie McTell's "Dyin' Crapshooter's Blues" (originally written circa 1940). HoL fans may recognize that "Love IV" is based on the main progression from their own "Ray".  |
 neil halstead live in cambridge, ma on november 14th, 2008 previously: joy formidable - boston 2011 recent posts on the 'nac...
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