Top Ten Flowers In Music

Songs about flowers, flowers in songs, any which way I can get a song I like onto this list and somehow link it to flowers it's happening. We’ve been using the petalled icon in music for years so this is my Top Ten Flowers in Song.

BUT: NO, San Francisco (Be Sure to Wear Flowers in Your Hair). It's not going on the list.

So lets get to it:

1999 Zed: Oh! Daisy

Prince keeps telling us what year it is. L&P Ice TV stars Jon Bridges and Nathan Rarere are heading the Channel Z breakfast show serving alternative music & topics to a post grunge generation. NZ's first female Prime Minister was about to be replaced with our Second Female Prime Minister. Kiwi Fashion is leading the world stage with the likes of Karen Walker and Zambesi but everyone at home is still pretty much wearing baggy pants or jeans and a T. Then some CHCH upstarts go and do this awesomeness and it ain't no Renegade Fighter. Hate it if you want tall poppies but this is Oh! Daisy.

1987 Ice House: Electric Blue

These pop rock legends with a classical oboist for a lead singer (Iva Davies), Ice house (previously known as 'Flowers'), dropped the iconic Man of Colours Album along with this gem co-written by John Oats from Hall & Oats fame. You know him he's the one with the Stache. So here's electric blue. . . this song soars.

1966 The Statler Brothers: Flowers on the Wall

Its 1994 and Bruce Willis is driving down the road hum-murmuring to this 1966 song when he sees Marsellus Wallace crossing in front of him... Can't beat the harmonies from this gospel country quartet consisting of mostly not actually brothers. Travolta thanks his lucky stars for Pulp Fiction and we thank ours for the soundtrack and discmans (discmen? bit sexist!).

1996 The Wall Flowers: 6th Avenue Heartache or One Headlight?

Was Jakob Dylan the best thing Bob Dylan ever made? hahaha no you silly goose that was Subterranean Home Sick Blues but Jakob's a close 30th runner up. Nah these guys were peaking with their somber but clean alt folk pop. Deep gloomy lyrics, tense feels, hipster hats and an organ. I'm going with One Headlight just because 6th avenue heartache is hard on the eyes with its skipping frame style editing (thanks a lot David Fincher).

1994 Seal: Kiss From a Rose

Firstly the best Batman ever = Val Kilmer (go on fight me!). Seal has spoken (a lot actually) about being embarrassed about this song when he wrote it in 1987. So much so that It wasn't until 93 that he released it on his second album, and It flopped. It took its inclusion in the end credits of 1994's Batman Forever to save it from obscurity. Now if you read between the lines, and its obvious to everyone who's seen it, Val Kilmer's acting as Batman must have been so good that people stayed till the end of the movie credits thus saving Kiss from a Rose from obscurity, pretty much single handedly, by being the best Batman. Seal goes on to marry Heidi Klum, have three children ... thanks Val. Seal doesn't necessarily say it exactly like this (at all) but Here's seal talking about it in a homage to Joel Schumacher after Schumacher past away in 2020. And here's Kiss From a Rose.

2024 Rosé & Bruno Mars: APT

I'm going to claim her floral cause of her name, but also she's NZ, but we have to share her with South Korea. Rosé from K-pop sensation Black Pink strikes out large and with famous friends. I'm not a massive K-pop fan (at all) but it gets forced upon me by a 6 year old at school drop offs from time to time. Lucky its catchy and really good and really fun. It's got an upbeat tempo and its cool to hear Bruno and Rosé harmonies. Apparently APT is a drinking game, here's rose teaching people the rules. and below is the Music Video. They're just so damn cool in it, and now I want a studded leather jacket.

1988 Poison: Every Rose Has its Thorn

Behind the singlets, bangles and sweaty leather pants, every serious glam metal band has a romantic ditty just waiting to be over dramatised with slow motion cuts to black & white and wailing guitar solo breaks. In 1988 Poison brought the goods with this little power ballad. Also there is some down right philosophical yarns happening from these lyrical third eye glam rock prophets, cause roses do have thorns (MIND BLOWN), and also I hate de-thorning rose stems and can’t get to grips with the de-thorning tools. So this one cuts deep…

2004 Outcast: Roses

Sure the Lyrics make no sense to me is it poo-oo or boo-oo? I just want to wedge an Outcast song into the list. My era here!

1991 Roxette: Fading Like a Flower

ROX ETTE! dah dah dah dah dahhh. What an epic romantic anthem. Soft and lonely in the verses and desperate in the chorus, then...fading fading like a rose. Also did you grow up thinking Roxette was actually the name of the female singer in the band and didn't realise it was the name of the duo . . . neither, that would be embarrassing, glad none of us did. However, in truth, Flowers don't have to fade too soon and if you haven't already have a look at my previous blog to help them out a little. I wish I'd done this whole blog entry about Roxette, I adore Roxette.

1965 Rogers & Hammerstein: Edelweiss - movie adaptation

Go on sing along. What about when Captain Von Trapp's voice starts to break up part way through...and then Maria and the kids join in to support him..... and then he joins in..... (I'm not crying...you are). Contrary to folk law Edelweiss wasn't a traditional Austrian folk song or anthem, but its an absolute banger. Here's Edelweiss.

Yes, Edelweiss! that was awesome.

Well that's me for now, I bid adieu to you (and you... and you and you and you-ou)

Laura

Florist & Music person ologist?