#the kaye sisters

[allthemusic]

Week ending: 14th September

Whew! Getting into autumn properly, now. And surprise, surprise, the menfolk keep finding new ways to disappoint our female singers. Not Lonnie Donegan, though - he's off on a world tour, this week.

Paper Roses - The Kaye Sisters (peaked at Number 7)

Ooh, okay. We've got a strong start, with a harp that sounds like the beginning of a dream sequence in a rather cliché film. I'm expecting a dreamy sort of sound - and indeed, as the Kaye Sisters begin to sing, they do have a lovely bit of harmony going on. Plus, lots of quasi-angelic ooooh backing. Just the sort of sound you could drift along to quite nicely.

Unfortunately, the lyrics are about a relationship that's anything but dreamy. In fact, they're quite savage - that much is clear from the start, as the sisters sing about paper roses, paper roses / Like your imitation love for me. You see, the sister's man has been sending her real roses, but unless he sharpens his act up, she's having none of it, instead bidding him to take away the flowers that you gave me / And send the kind that you remind me of. She built him up as a perfect man, but like a big red rose that's made of paper / There isn't any sweetness in your heart. Yeowch! Talk about a take-down!

Unfortunately, I think the lyrics are the best thing about this song. They're gloriously catty, and I can see them doing well, in another artist's hands - heck, I know that Marie Osmond took it and made it a big country hit, a decade or so later. But the Kaye Sisters seem to be aiming squarely for "blandly pleasant" with their delivery, no anger or fire at all, and not even much in the way of sadness, which would be the other way you could spin this one. I'd respect a take on this that was either spitting mad or clearly heartbroken, but the Kaye Sisters just sound kind of mildly disappointed. And so the song plods along, in a rather pedestrian clip-clop fashion, and I wonder what's up next, because Paper Roses, sadly, is not doing it for me. Sorry, Kaye Sisters!

Everybody's Somebody's Fool - Connie Francis (5)

Okay, Connie's pretty reliable, at least. I think I've gone on record saying that Connie Francis has been one of my favourite discoveries so far, in this project, and she doesn't disappoint here. She does best when given something a bit sassy, of course - I think she could have sung the heck out of Paper Roses, actually - but this is her at her smitten best, and it's almost as good.

We don't start with Connie, right off, though - instead, we get an intro that sounds like it was played on a Wurlitzer organ? I don't know exactly what it is, and it creates a very strange effect, especially once Connie's voice comes in, with an echo that sounds like she's singing in a wide, empty room. There's ukulele, or possibly banjo, too - it's a very eclectic sound. I kind of like it, though. It gives the whole track a sort of bluesy country-pop vibe, with Connie really leaning into the blues notes in the verses.

The song's about a love interest treating Connie badly, and how much she loves them anyway. Though you only lead me on and hurt me, she sings, I couldn't bring myself to say goodbye. Everybody's a fool for somebody, you see, and for Connie, this is just a love she can't escape, instead recognising that darlin' I'd be twice as blue without you / It hurts, but I'd come running back for more. I don't love that, lyrically - it's far too close to last week's domestic abuse anthem As Long as He Needs Me, except without the excuse of being about a fictional character - but there is a redeeming twist, which is the final verse, in which Connie tells her love that someday they'll fall in love, and their love will treat them like they've treated Connie. You'll cry for her the way I cried for you, Connie sings, sounding vindicated, and there's a real sense of catharsis, just a hint of the savagery of songs like Who's Crying Now? It's not much, but it's enough to tentatively sell me on the song, despite how lame Connie comes off for most of it. Still not my favourite Connie song, but hey, not every song can be a favourite. It's fine, and Connie's singing is, as ever, exceptional.

Interestingly, there was a German version of the song that apparently came out at the same time, Die Liebe ist ein seltsames Spiel ("Love is a strange game"), recorded by Connie herself, after her record label discovered that her English-language lyrics were a barrier to sales in Germany, specifically. She'd already done an Italian album, and was also - mind-bogglingly - planning albums in Spanish, Hebrew and Yiddish. But looking at the much higher sales being made by artists like Freddy Quinn, a vintage German-language rock and roller who'd represented Germany on Eurovision and was apparently quite the hot commodity in 1960, German quickly got bumped up the list, with Connie in particular insisting that she do her own German version. This is the kind of thing you don't really see in Western pop music today - I know a bunch of K-pop groups put out Chinese or Japanese releases, but I can't think of many English-speaking acts who put out translations of their songs, nowadays. It's a shame, really, though I can kind of see why it doesn't happen as much - it seems like quite a lot of effort, and I suspect that tastes in Europe have swung away from translating English-language songs. A pity. Respect to Connie for singing her own translated stuff, though.

Lorelei - Lonnie Donegan (10)

Okay, a completely different vibe for our final song - we're off on a world tour, this time. Specifically, a world tour of all the places where Lonnie's kissed the local girls. This feels like another of those songs born from National Service, and men travelling round the world to all sorts of "exotic" destinations where Britain still had a vague stake, geopolitically. With trips back to Blightly regularly interspersed throughout, of course. Hence lines about how I kissed a girl in Burma, in a town they called Rangoon, how I kissed a girl in Africa, right on the Ivory Coast, how I kissed a girl in London town, right underneath Big Ben, and finally how I kissed a girl in the Holy Land in the Sea of Galilee. A veritable almanac of mid-century naval postings, right there.

All these kisses, according to Lonnie, were quite adventurous affairs, and not necessarily entirely pleasant or gentle - they're spicy as a curry, deep as an ocean, lasting from April to July. Heck, his final conquest kissed me till my sunburnt lips were parched and dry. But none were quite as dramatic or passionate as one particular kiss: I never knew what kissing was till I kissed Lorelei. At this point I'm wondering if Lorelei is the mythical Rhine mermaid - it would fit with the whole "sailor's tall tales" vibe that the song has - and indeed, the final line does, predictably, reveal that Lorelei's a mermaid, half a woman, half a fish. So yeah. Lonnie's been out there epic smooching with a mermaid, and he wants you to know about it.

Running alongside all this, a banjo beat that just doesn't give up, keeping a punishing pace throughout, and brass heralding at least one rather abrupt key change. Plus there's a lot of yodelling, mostly of Lorelei's name. It gives the whole thing a frenetic vibe, without ever quite tripping over the line into feeling silly or comedic, despite the subject matter, which is actually quite impressive. It's also a Lonnie Donegan original, as far as I can tell, but if you'd told me it was a song that had been passed to him by some old mariner, I wouldn't not believe you. It just feels folksy, somehow, evoking a byegone age of uncomplicatedly sexy adventures in foreign parts, and of sailors' tall tales. A fiction, but an evocative one, to be sure.

Well, I solidly didn't mind any of this week's songs. Didn't love them, either, but didn't mind them, either. I am a little tired of songs where women just moan about men being terrible and then promise to go back to them, though. Give me a properly angry break-up song, any day. Or failing that, a song about kissing a mermaid, apparently.

Favourite song of the bunch: Lorelei

[illyanarasputinfan]

Alden Kaye

[letmeliveinelfhame]

I noticed something when rereading some of my favourite parts of The Queen Of Nothing.

The mortals mentioned here are Hazel and Ben from The Darkest Part Of The Forest. Jude thinks they are twins.

However, they are NOT twins, as said here in TDPOTF.

[martianbugsbunny]

Girlboss x malewife enthusiasts I beg of you not to forget these two:

The classics the icons the legends

[viktoriaashleyyx]

Wren has the same nervous habit Kaye does.

"I don't know anyone else with this nervous habit" Roiben said, gesturing to the half moon indents on Kayes palms.

I love them both ❤️❤️

[starkayezer]

me when I haven't talked to my sister for over two hours:

[professorfcknmoriarty]

me talking to my sibling and trying to figure out why tf we watched so many goddamn charlton heston films as kids

we're a decade apart in age, and remember watching the exact same films of his soooo many times

[teamivankaye]

🥚Easter egg search🥚 Tap to find the best company for the weekend! 😄👑 Which character is it? Happy Easter/Ostara/Eostre to all who're celebrating! 🐰🥚🐣

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#IvanKaye #HappyEaster #KingAelle #Vikings #IvarTheBoneless #HammerOfTheGods #LudovicoSforza #TheBorgias #Bryan #TheGreenGreenGrass #TheGreatAlphonso #ApocalypseClown #MickSturrock #TheCoroner #TedButton #SisterBonifaceMysteries #SamSaturday #Pesca #TheWomanInWhite #MrDelaney #WeddingSeason #ReubenStarkadder #ColdComfortFarm #Yankee #GunpowderMilkshake #Patrick #ForLoveOrMoney #Adonijah #Solomon

[letmeliveinelfhame]

It's been (I think) 24 hours since I did a thing and extended the shrine to TWO shelves

It was too crowded on 1 shelf and I had 4 more books to fit on so I had to extend it 😅

[candlers]

tag drop!

[belovedrival]

There are certain scenes where it doesn’t matter how many times I’ve seen them, I belly laugh. This is one of them 😂❤️

Watching Danny break Bing is delightful. WHITE CHRISTMAS (1954)

[sisterbonifacemysteriesfanpage]

Rockin robin 💃🏻💃🏻

[flaviathebibliophile]

Forgotten Sisters by Cynthia Pelayo (ARC Review)

Title: Forgotten Sisters Author: Cynthia Pelayo Type: Fiction Genre: Adult, Horror, Urban Fantasy, Mystery Publisher: Thomas & Mercer Published: March 19, 2024 A complimentary physical copy of this book was kindly provided by Kaye Publicity, Inc. and Thomas & Mercer in exchange for an honest review. Sisters Anna and Jennie live in a historic bungalow on the Chicago River. They’re tethered to a…

[teamivankaye]

New Christmas charity single 'So Delicious', music video and behind-the-scenes clip out now with Ivan as a groovy elf. 😎🤘👑 Costs only 0.99 £/slightly over 1 $/€.

The money goes to the children cancer centre of the Great Ormond Street Hospital.

➡️ li.sten.to/sodelicious

Internationally available on your chosen platform, if the link doesn't lead there directly, just type "So Delicious" in the search bar!

[book-lover85]

the way the catalyst (or at least an important piece in getting the plot to start and continue) for the plots in all the Faerie books is a Faerie falling/being in love

Roiben being in love with Kaye is why she didn't die at the Tithe, why she was able to bring down the Court of Flowers, it's why he trusted and listened to her advice even when he had no real reason to trust her

Kaye being in love with Roiben is why she wants to help him so much, why she declares herself to him and solves his impossible quest, and why she brings down the Court of Flowers to save him

Ravus being in love with Val is the only reason she gets help with her addiction and is kept safe from other Fae

Jack being in love with Hazel is the whole reason she goes to the moonlight revel and gets enough info to save Fairfield

Severin being in love with Ben is the whole reason Ben and Hazel have any interactions with him and get his help to fight the Alderking

Madoc being in love with Eva is the reason he asks her to come back years and years later and kills her when she refuses, the reason why he took Jude and Taryn to Elfhame

Cardan being in love with Jude is vitally important, most of his decisions are made because he loves her and trusts her

Vivi being in love with Heather is the reason she learns to respect and understand humans more than her sisters ever did, the reason she's willing to start all the way over with Heather just to be with her

Oak being in love with Wren is the reason he continues to trust and help her when she literally tries to kill him and locks him, why he risks his sister's trust and the High Court never letting him return to help her

Wren being in love with Oak is the reason she tried so hard to help him, the reason she makes such confusing decisions, she's confused, she loves him so much but she's supposed to let him die

there are tons of Fae scattered throughout the books who are trapped in servitude or prison because they had to save their lover, at any cost

(ofc familial and platonic love also matter and affect the Fae but in an entirely different way)

and the way this all connects back to that line in either Valiant or Ironside saying that Faerie do everything with their whole self, love and hatred, they can love and hate for centuries, promises will never be forgotten and heartbreak hurts deeply

a Faerie loves so deeply in this incredibly genuine way and when a Faerie is in love it thoroughly influences their actions

they tell the truth even in ways they may be unaware of (or deeply ashamed of)

(also also also the way most of these pairings are Fae being in love with mortals is soooo meaningful because like despite many of these characters hatred or distaste for mortals and the Fae's general dislike of mortals they can't help when they fall in love with one as naturally as if they were any other Faerie)

[letmeliveinelfhame]

Reminder that Cardan himself felt trapped:

'"Let me out," Lutie said, although she had little hope. "Please."

The girl gave a tinkling laugh, but the boy drew closer. His eyes glittered with something Lutie didn't like.

"We're all trapped in cages, little sprite," he told her. "How can I free you when I can't even free myself?"'

Extract from The Lament of Lutie-Loo, just before this the descriptions of the girl and boy are given, revealing them to be Nicasia and Cardan. Balekin has Lutie-Loo trapped in a cage made of woven gold, as he wanted to use her to help him get his father's crown. From this, we can tell that this takes place before The Cruel Prince.