Friday Night Jukebox, Vol. CXXII--Men at Work: Overkill

When you think about the subjects of hit singles, it's unlikely that you'd imagine one with worrying (and with it, insomnia) as its theme.  But that's just what this week's tune delves into, and in so doing created a mini masterpiece about the overwhelming nature of angst.

Men at Work are an abject lesson in Musical Success Cometh And Musical Success Goeth.  Formed in 1978 in Melbourne, they released their first album (Business as Usual) at the end of 1981 and it went on to become an international success, reaching #1 on several countries' pop charts, spawning two #1 singles "Who Can It Be Now?" and "Down Under"--perhaps the best song written about a nation, ever), and winning them a Grammy for Best New Artist.  Their second album was another international success garnering two more top ten singles.  And then their third album...was a stiff and for all intents and purposes, other than the obligatory We Need Money Reunion Tours, Men at Work were finished.  Still, they sold over thirty million records, Business as Usual was voted one of the 100 best Australian albums of all-time, "Down Under" is #4 on a list of Australia's greatest hits, and they made the American music industry take notice of bands coming out of Australia.  Plenty of bands have done worse....

Released on their Cargo album, "Overkill" would reach #3 (with a bullet!) on the Billboard Hot 100 which is really kind of impressive considering its subject matter isn't the stuff hit singles are made of.  The song does, though, capture well the way the worried mind races at night, especially when suffering the misery that is imsomnia:  the walking around in the dark, the desperation of seeking some sort of relief, the exasperation when nothing works.  Lead singer Colin Hay's (who is the one remaining constant in Men at Work--and can be called, without any negative connotations, a poor man's Sting) vocals perfectly embody the anguish of the fretful (especially after the instrumental break), and with a sinister sax, a heartbeat drum rhythm and matching guitar, "Overkill" becomes an ode to despair without sinking into despair itself.  I have to admit that this is a song that grew on me over time (and even more so after a years long bout of insomnia)--it is a song of some intelligence and self-awareness and while not a ticket into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, certainly puts what could have been a One Hit Wonder band into the Could Have Been A Contender annals of Rock and Roll.

Lyric Sheet:  "Day after day it reappears/Night after night my heartbeat shows the fear/Ghosts appear and fade away/Come back another day...."

Enjoy:

Fuck Donald Trump,
emaycee