2. Melanie: Midwest Auckland emo four piece Melanie released their full length album 42 Losers in May 2020 and have been playing a fine selection of gigs and house parties since
1. Born on the 3rd February 1947 in Astoria, New York deceased 23rd January 2024, Melanie made her first recording, "Gimme a Little Kiss", when she was five.
She first found chart success in Europe. Her 1969 song "Bobo's Party" reached number one in France. Later that year she had a hit in the Netherlands with "Beautiful People" before performing at Woodstock. Apparently, she was inspired to write "Lay Down (Candles in the Rain)" by the audience lighting candles during her set; the song became a hit in both Europe and the USA. Her biggest hit in the USA was "Brand New Key", also known as "The Roller Skate Song". She has been awarded three gold albums.
Three of Melanie's compositions were hits for The New Seekers: "Look What They've Done to My Song Ma", "Beautiful People", and "The Nickel Song".
With one exception her albums have been produced by her husband, Peter Schekeryk. Her three children - Leilah, Jeordie and Beau-Jarred -are also musicians. Beau-Jarred is a guitarist and accompanies his mother on The 2003 Australian hip-hop track "The Nosebleed Section" by The Hilltop Hoods sampled Melanie's "People in the Front Row".
In 2004 Melanie released Paled by Dimmer Light, which is co-produced by Peter and Beau-Jarred Schekeryk.
In 2010 the last album co- produced by her now late husband Peter Schekeryj and their son Beau Jarred Schekeryk was released: Ever Since You Never Heard Of Me
Melanie, who became the voice of an era in one magical instant onstage at Woodstock, has been putting the pieces in order.
Pieces of a career, scattered by the winds of experience and assembled again by the force of love into the most personal and brilliant moments of her musical journey.
Melanie is poised to enlighten new generations about what it means to sing with both passion and eloquence, to write at once with intelligence and emotion, and to inspire through song… and nobody does this better than Melanie.
Others learned this that night at Woodstock, where as a New York kid barely known outside of the coffeehouse circuit in Greenwich Village, she sang her song "Beautiful People" and inspired the first panorama of candles and cigarette lighters ever raised at a concert event. That, in turn, moved the young singer to write "Lay Down (Candles in the Rain"), which sold more than one million copies in 1970 and
prompted Billboard, Cashbox, Melody Maker, Record World, and Bravo to anoint her
as female vocalist of the year. Her single "Brand New Key," an infectious romp about
freedom and roller skates, topped the charts in 1971.
And so her story began.
With guitar in hand and a talent that combined amazing vocal equipment, disarming
humor, and a vibrant engagement with life, she was booked as the first solo pop/rock
artist ever to appear from the Royal Albert Hall to Carnegie Hall, the Metropolitan
Opera House, and later opened the New Metropolitan Opera House in New York, the
Sydney Opera House, and in the General Assembly of the United Nations, where she
was invited to perform on many occasions as delegates greeted her performances
with standing ovations.
The top television hosts of all time -- Ed Sullivan, Johnny Carson, and Dick Cavett --
battled to book her. (After her stunning performance on his show, Sullivan goggled
that he had not seen such a "dedicated and responsive audience since ElvisPresley.")
Accolades rolled in, from critics ("Melanie's cult has long been famous, but it's a cult
that's responding to something genuine and powerful -- which is maybe another way
of saying that this writer counts himself as part of the cult too," wrote John Rockwell
in The New York Times) as well as peers ("Melanie," insisted jazz piano virtuoso
Roger Kellaway, "is extraordinary to the point that she could be sitting in front of us in
this room and sing something like 'Momma Momma' right to us, and it would just go
right through your entire being.")
In the years that followed Melanie continued to record, continued to tour.
UNICEF made her its spokesperson; Jimi Hendrix's father introduced her to the
multitude assembled for the twentieth anniversary of Woodstock. Her records
continued to sell -- more than eighty million to date. She's had her songs covered by
singers as diverse as Cher, Dolly Parton, and Macy Gray. She's raised a family, won
an Emmy, opened a restaurant, written a musical about Wild Bill Hickok and Calamity
Jane…
She has, in short, lived a rare life. But all of it was just a prelude to what's about to
come.
"For the first time, I'm not afraid to voice exactly what I feel. I used to feel that I didn't
want to say too much, but now I can say anything. I feel like a person who's never
been heard. Maybe people think they've heard me, but they never really have. I'm a
new artist who is having so much fun with my voice -- a person shouldn't be allowed
to have so much fun. I'm the woman I wanted to be when I was sixteen and going for
Edith Piaf. It's me -- I'm back."
(Written by Robert L. Doerschuk)
Apathy
Melanie Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I can't eat, I can't fight
This damned old apathy is killing me
I can't love, I can't hate
I can't run, I can't wait
This damned old apathy is killing me
Ooh oh babe, I'm feelin' so damned low
And I can wait anymore
Ooh honey, you don't treat me nice at all
You lead me to the edge
And then you ask me why I fall
You ask me why I fall
I can't sleep, I can't write
I can't eat, I can't fight
This damned old apathy is killing me
I can't love, I can't hate
I can't run, I can't wait
This damned old apathy is killing me
Ooh oh babe, I don't care no more
I don't remember fighting
But I feel like I lost the war
Ooh child, I'm gonna leave you with this song
If you don't believe I'm leaving
Count the days I'm gone
Count the days I'm gone
Who needs this damned old apathy
It's wearing out my heart and drying out my brain
Oh set me free from this damned old apathy
This damned old apathy
I can't laugh, I can't cry
I can't live and I can't die
'Cause this damned old apathy is killing me
I can't end, I can't begin
I can't lose but I can' win
'Cause this damned old apathy is killing me
This damned old apathy is killing me
Ah this damned old apathy is killing me
This damned old apathy (Who needs apathy?)
This damned old apathy (Who needs apathy?)
The lyrics of Melanie's song "Apathy" describe the suffocating feeling of being stuck in a state of apathy. The singer emphasizes that she cannot find the motivation to do anything, and everything feels pointless. She cannot sleep, write, eat, or fight - all things that require effort and energy. The chorus indicates that the apathy is literally killing her because it is preventing her from feeling love or hate, running or waiting. The frustration and hopelessness reach a peak in the second verse where the singer reveals she feels like she has lost the war, even though she cannot remember fighting. The bridge is a cry for help, asking to be released from the grips of apathy because it is wearing out her heart and drying out her brain. By the end of the song, the singer is at a point where she cannot even laugh or cry, which leaves her feeling like she cannot live or die.
Overall, the song portrays a feeling many people experience at some point in their lives - a lack of motivation and purpose. It is a feeling that can be overwhelming and lead to depression if not addressed. The song serves as a reminder that it is essential to address moments of apathy and not let them take over.
Line by Line Meaning
I can't sleep, I can't write
I am feeling so low that I am losing my ability to sleep and write.
I can't eat, I can't fight
I am so emotionally drained that I can't find the energy to eat or fight.
This damned old apathy is killing me
This persistent feeling of apathy is destroying me from within.
I can't love, I can't hate
I am feeling numb and unable to express any emotions at all, whether positive or negative.
I can't run, I can't wait
I feel stuck and unable to make any progress or changes in my life.
Ooh oh babe, I'm feelin' so damned low
I am feeling intensely sad and depressed.
'Cause I've been waiting around here
Because my life has become stagnant and unchanging, leading to a sense of hopelessness.
And I can't wait anymore
I am finding it difficult to endure this state of inaction and numbness any longer.
Ooh honey, you don't treat me nice at all
I am feeling mistreated by someone in my life.
You lead me to the edge
This person has pushed me to my emotional breaking point.
And then you ask me why I fall
And yet, this person seems surprised when I finally crumble under the weight of my emotions.
Ooh oh babe, I don't care no more
I am feeling so emotionally drained that I no longer care about anything.
I don't remember fighting
I don't even remember what it feels like to fight for something or someone.
But I feel like I lost the war
But despite my lack of effort, I still feel like I have lost in life.
Ooh child, I'm gonna leave you with this song
I am using this song as my final message before I leave this situation/person behind.
If you don't believe I'm leaving
If you doubt that I am capable of walking away.
Count the days I'm gone
Wait and see how long it takes for me to finally make a change and leave this situation/person behind.
Who needs this damned old apathy
I am questioning why anyone would ever choose to feel this way.
It's wearing out my heart and drying out my brain
This feeling of apathy is causing physical as well as emotional damage.
Oh set me free from this damned old apathy
I am begging for a way out of this emotional rut.
I can't laugh, I can't cry
I am feeling so emotionally detached that I can't even express basic human emotions like joy or sadness.
I can't live and I can't die
This state of emotional numbness has left me feeling like I am neither truly alive nor truly dead.
'Cause this damned old apathy is killing me
This feeling of apathy is slowly destroying my soul.
I can't end, I can't begin
I feel stuck and unable to move forward in any way.
I can't lose but I can' win
I feel like I will always be stuck in this state of emotional limbo, without the ability to improve or worsen my circumstances.
This damned old apathy is killing me
This feeling of apathy is consuming me and preventing me from truly living.
Ah this damned old apathy is killing me
I am expressing my desperation and despair at this terrible emotional state.
This damned old apathy (Who needs apathy?)
I am posing a rhetorical question, asking why anyone would ever choose to experience this feeling.
This damned old apathy (Who needs apathy?)
I am once again emphasizing the terrible nature of this feeling and question its value or purpose.
Contributed by Gavin C. Suggest a correction in the comments below.