Dark Romance #7 ~ "Be With You" by The Jack Rubies

Image info below.

I dunno what I was reading online the other day, but as my eyes took in the words, "...hung, drawn, and quartered," the gears of my brain cranked to life. That'd tickled the memory of some long-forgotten song, one I could have heard only on my most beloved alternative radio station, WLIR (the station that dared to be different!). And in a rush it all came back to me—those words were used in the opening line of Be With You by The Jack Rubies, back in 1987.

I immediately scrambled to the Interwebs to see what I could dig up but, apart from a fan-made video with unpleasantly distorted audio, a fan-made vid with better audio but cut short just after a couple of minutes, and this myspace page which I think must also be fan-made, I got bupkis. There's no official band Web site or page and, alas, it seems the poor lads have faded into obscurity, though the warm words of fellow fans of the tune, devilhoppin and Dan Seeger, and this hater's backhanded praise, have given them some little presence online.

Apparently taking their name from the guy who murdered the assassin of JFK, the British band (::swoons::), led by chocolatey-voiced (woof) singer Ian Wright, melted my heart with Be With You, back in the day. Check out the lyrics:

To be hung, drawn, and quartered
would be uncomfortable and awkward
but a fate I would endure to be with you.

You see, my idea of torture
is not a beating of the harshest order,
but the day when I'll no longer be with you.

And I hope the hour never comes
when you leave the table and I pick up the crumbs.
And I hope I never see the day
when you leave the table and I put your plate away.

To be drowned in murky water
would, of course, make my life shorter
but I would gladly sink below to be with you.

And then it just basically lathers, rinses, and repeats.

The dark romance of it all:

1. Yes, those lyrics are melodramatic (and, to me, adorably goofy), but being hung, drawn, and quartered ain't no walk in the park, y'all. And I'm damned if I don't want the right fella to feel this way about me.*
2. Did I mention the velvety vocal stylings of Ian Wright? (OK, from time to time he dances around the melodic line like it's got the cooties, but still...) ::shudders with dark delight::
3. The band's British—that automatically makes them sexaaaaay. (Don't question me on this; just learn it, live it, and love it!)
4. Hearing Be With You again inspired a dramatic, dark, and romantic series of "scenes" for one of my WIPs, currently titled There Are Monsters.
5. This groovalicious tune took me back to the "me" who spiked her hair, spritzed Poison on her wrists, and dreamed of a future in which she made magic. Given my recent batches of crises, this was a much-needed reminder.

*Even though I'm romantic enough to want to reclaim my long-shelved dreams, I'm pragmatic enough to understand that folks aren't guaranteed soul-mates. I don't believe I've been called by God/fate/the Universe to experience a true, enduring, passionate romantic love, which makes it all the more imperative for me to get on with realizing my creative visions, wouldn't y'all agree?

Because the video I'd found on YouTube had such badly distorted sound, I decided to buy a used copy of the CD (which is out of print, le suck) and see if I could make my own vid (a first for me!). Unfortunately, the audio on the CD, for this song at least, is also distorted. It sounds perhaps marginally better than the one on the 'Tube, so I'm uploading it here. Raspy audio notwithstanding, hope you can enjoy the jangly goodness as much as I do:

Image info: Eternal Spring by Rodin, chillin' at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, pic inexpertly snapped by me.

Sparks ~ Parfums

For this edition of Sparks (things I dig), I'm focusing on perfumes that really ring my olfactory bells.

The first is an oldie that came out in the mid 80s. Poison by Dior intrigued me with its dark, mysterious sexiness (naturally), and deluged my mind with images of a sophisticated dinner party, held in some foreign land (probably England), on a cool and rainy Saturday night, where my destiny awaited in the form of someone tall, dark, and toothsome...

Now, when I wear it in winter (it doesn't seem right for warmer weather, to me), I remember putting it on it in 1987 and listening to Depeche Mode's If You Want as I made ready to go...somewhere. (Given that I was incredibly sheltered and my mom hardly ever let me go anywhere that wasn't somehow related to school or family, you'd think I'd remember where the hell I was going, but I totally don't. I blame Momnesia.) 

Next is Michael Kors by Michael Kors. I find this robust, exotic scent perfect for summertime wear, as it makes me think of beaches and ocean breezes, and moonlit nights with...well, a fella who's tall, dark, and toothsome. :-)

Last is Florence by Tocca. I sniffed it on someone working in my office one day and followed my nose to the source to learn the name of this elegant, almost candy-like scent. I love wearing it on a crisp fall or spring day (which is lucky, as now all my seasonal scent needs are covered). Oh, yeah; and I'd totally wear it for an impromptu picnic of buttery brie, sesame crackers, lush red grapes, and a lovely Californian cabernet sauvignon with Mr. Tall-Dark-and-Toothsome.

I've wondered what it is about these three perfumes that resounds with me on such a visceral level and learned that the one thing they all have in common is tuberose at their core. I can certainly detect this in the Michael Kors and Florence, but don't have such an easy time sniffing it out in Poison, possibly because of the many other notes in that perfume, as well as the emotional attachment I have to it...all I know is I take a whiff of Poison and my soul growls, "Woof!" Looking further into tuberose, I got a big kick out of Blogdorf Goodman's post on this scent...::sighs::, it's just so me (I like to flatter myself). :-D

So what do y'all like to wear when you wanna feel sexy?

All pics in this post were (poorly) snapped by me.