Title Fight: "Hearts on Fire"

Detail of the cover of Pantomime magazine, February 11th, 1922

I'll admit that the Title Fights can't all be close races - I had a good one planned for today (Stephen Malkmus/Extra Glenns), but I'm going to do that one next week. This one is more like, "Why did this guy write a decent song and then give it a name that already belongs to a song that's un-mess-with-able?"

So why DID Andy Bopp, mastermind of the (terribly named but still quite good) power-pop band Myracle Brah, write a song called "Hearts on Fire"? Is it possible that he never heard the Gram Parsons-Emmylou Harris duet of that name from Parson's amazing '74 album Greivous Angel? It's unlikely, I think. Maybe the theory is this: invoking a legendary song can add some depth or something to a pretty-good song by connecting the two songs on some level.

Does it work on Myracle Brah's "Hearts on Fire"? The song is an acoustic ballad that bears more than a passing resemblance to the Parsons "Hearts on Fire" - the tempo is similar and the melody starts with a similar descending line. There's even a slide guitar solo! And he doesn't hide from the phrase "hearts on fire", either - it's repeated throughout the song. Overall, I think I'd have preferred the song if it had a different title, but I have to give Andy Bopp some credit for recording his "Hearts on Fire" in mono. The song was on Myracle Brah's 1999 album Plate Spinner, which is all recorded in mono and sounds quite good that way.

Winner: GRAM PARSONS

"Hearts on Fire" by Gram Parsons

"Hearts on Fire" by Myracle Brah