Monday March 7, 2022 “Head On (Hold on to Your Heart)” Man Man

So I keep lists of songs that I enjoy in a wide variety of categories for future ‘Songs of the Day’ themes and then I keep a list called ‘stuff’.  ‘Stuff’ are cool tunes that either I am not smart enough to fit into a category or maybe they just fall outside of imaginable themes. 

So this week we are going to dive into that ‘stuff’.

And let’s start with a song by a group, Man Man, that you may not be familiar with but hopefully will be by the end of this short description.

Adventurous songwriting and atypical arrangements served as the basic elements in 2003 when experimental indie band Man Man began crafting a sound that would set them apart from their musical  peers. Centered around the eccentric tendencies of bandleader and principal songwriter Honus Honus (Ryan Kattner,) Man Man matured from their wild early albums into relatively more pop-minded material on their 2011 album Life Fantastic.

In addition to singer/songwriter Honus Honus the band includes Pow Wow (Chris Powell), Brown Sugar (Adam Schatz) and Shono Murphy (Bryan Murphy).  Man Man would gradually evolve into a more mainstream band and would tour with artists like Modest Mouse.

“Head On (Hold onto Your Heart)” comes from Man Man’s 2013 albumOn Oni Pond.

You know that I rely on rock & roll lyrics to provide guidance in my life but I will make an exception here, because anyone who has been in love knows that you really can’t hold on to your heart…and of course you really shouldn’t

Stay safe and well…and there’s a live version of this song by Man Man which is quite good but this video is just so much fun I couldn’t resist sharing it.

 As you watch the video here are the film references in case you wanted to view any of the films in their entirety, research compliments of Brady Anderson:

 –The Amazing Mr. X (1948)  starring Turhan Bey, Lynn Bari, Richard Carlson, Cathy O’Donnell- beginning to :10, 3:52 to 3:55

–Teenage Devil Dolls (1955), also known as “One Way Ticket to Hell”– :28 through :33

–Night Tide (1961) starring Dennis Hopper- :44 through :55, 1:40 to 1:54, 2:41 to 3:00, 3:34 to 3:36

–Carnival of Souls (1962)– :56 through 1:02, 2:35 to 2:40

–Dementia 13 (1963)–  1:04 through 1:11, 2:01 to 2:06, 3:27 to 3:33, 3:37 to 3:40

–Cat Women of the Moon (1953) starring Marie Windsor, Victor Jory, Sonny Tufts, Douglas Fowerly- 1:11 to 1:14, 1:55 to 2:00, 2:11 to 2:17

–The Great St. Louis Bank Robbery (1959) starring Steve McQueen- 1:20 to 1:29, 2:18 to 2:34, very last shot

–War of the Planets (1966)– 1:33, 3:12 to 3:28

–The File on Thelma Jordan (1950) starring Barbara Stanwyck, Wendell Corey, Paul Kelly- 3:56 to 4:15

There's a knock at your door

You don't even recognize the stranger

It's you from before

Tryin' to warn you all about the dangers

There's a hole in your head

At least that's what everybody's guessing

It's why you're always misread

It's why you sleep but you never feel rested

You never get your rest in

 Hold on to your heart

Hold it high above flood waters,

Hold on to your heart,

Never let nobody drag it under.

Hold on to your heart

Even when your body's bitter

Hold on to your heartt

Never let nobody take it over

Ever take it over

Ever take it over from you.

 There's a call on the phone

You don't even recognize the number,

It's an old episode,

Of trying to put the lightning on the monster,

Of the life you have led,

That is always a mess

Are you dreaming of death

Are there ghosts in your chest,

Are you always so restless, yes you are

Is that hard?

 Hold on to your heart

Hold it high above flood waters,

Hold on to your heart,

Never let nobody drag it under.

Hold on to your heart

Even when your body's bitter

Hold on to your heart

Never let nobody take it over

Ever take it over

Ever take it over from you.

 Is it all a game

But bait and switch up your brains

And follow your leaders to hell

Is it all the same, in vein of insane,

As drinking from a poisoned well

And I need new skin for this old skeleton of mine

'Cause this one that I'm in

Let me down once again

I'm over time,

And I need new skin for this old skeleton of mine

'Cause this one that I'm in

Let me down once again

I'm over time.

 Hold on to your heart

Hold it high above flood waters,

Hold on to your heart,

Never let nobody drag it under.

Hold on to your heart

Even when the whole world's bitter

Hold on to your heart

Never let nobody take it over

Ever take it over, ever take it over

Ever take it over, ever take it over

Ever take it over

Ever take it over from you.