I Think We’re Alone Now, by Tommy James and the Shondells

Front cover of the single I Think We're Alone Now
Front cover of the single I Think We’re Alone Now by Tommy James and the Shondells – from Discogs

Tommy James is the stage name of Thomas Gregory Jackson, born on April 29, 1947. In 1959, then known as Tommy Jackson, he formed in Niles, Michigan a band called The Echoes; it became Tom and the Tornadoes, and in 1964 James renamed the band Tommy James and the Shondells. This rock band charted many hits, especially in the USA. CONTINUE READING / CONTINUER LA LECTURE…

First Love Never Die, by Soko

Kate Greenaway - Love's greeting
Kate Greenaway – Love’s greeting – Image taken from “Album of Christmas, New Year and other Greeting Cards” Early and Fine Printing Collection item number 719847 AQ741.68

The French singer, songwriter, actress, and dancer Stéphanie Alexandra Mina Sokolinski, known professionally as Soko, started her musical career in 2007. Her debut studio album I Thought I Was an Alien was released in February 2012. Its 7th track “First Love Never Die” tells about two childhood lovers who were separated and meet again after many years. A song full of nostalgia, ending with “I will never love again.” CONTINUE READING / CONTINUER LA LECTURE…

Art Lover, by the Kinks

Cover of the single Art Lover by the Kinks
Cover of the single Art Lover by the Kinks – from Discogs

The two brothers Ray and Dave Davies founded the Kinks in 1963, which became one of the most influential rock bands of the 1960s. It broke up in 1997 as a result of creative tension between the Davies brothers.

Their 19th studio album Give the People What They Want was released in August 1981 in the USA and in January 1982 in Europe. Its 9th track “Art Lover” was released in August 1981 as a single with the 4th track “Predictable” as B-side. CONTINUE READING / CONTINUER LA LECTURE…

Strange Little Girl, by the the Stranglers

Cover of the single Strange Little Girl by the Stranglers
Cover of the single Strange Little Girl by the Stranglers – from Amazon

The English rock band the Stranglers was formed as the Guildford Stranglers in early 1974. That year they wrote the song “Strange Little Girl.” They submitted it to EMI in 1975 as part of a demo; the demo and the band were rejected. Later in their career, they got a contract with the Liberty label, which was part of EMI. In 1982, having decided to leave the Liberty label for Epic Records, they re-recorded the song, and in July released it as a single (with “Cruel Garden” as B-side), their last one on that label. CONTINUE READING / CONTINUER LA LECTURE…

Love, by John Clare

Kate Greenaway - Valentine
Kate Greenaway – Valentine (1879) – from Wikimedia Commons

Love for young girls was at the heart of John Clare’s life and poetry. The following well-known poem, where the word ‘timid’ appears 4 times, illustrates his shy and restrained view of romantic relationships: “True love, it is no daring bird, / But like the little timid wren.” CONTINUE READING / CONTINUER LA LECTURE…

Preciosa and the Breeze, by Federico García Lorca

Karlis Huns - A young Gypsy woman with a tambourine
Karlis Huns – A young Gypsy woman with a tambourine – from Fine Art America

Federico García Lorca, by his full name Federico del Sagrado Corazón de Jesús García Lorca (1898–1936), was a Spanish poet, playwright, and theatre director. Between 1924 and 1927, he wrote the poetry collection Romancero gitano (Gypsy Ballads), which he published in 1928. It brought him fame, and it remains his best known book of poetry. CONTINUE READING / CONTINUER LA LECTURE…

Lonely Star

Darker than Black - A Wish Upon a Shooting Star
Darker than Black – A Wish Upon a Shooting Star

Poets and Lovers has lived four years and a half, longer than its predecessor Agapeta. Hopefully, it should no more be threatened by technical failures or attempts at censorship, but the main obstacle could now become the progressive drying of the poetical sources of its contents. CONTINUE READING / CONTINUER LA LECTURE…