Friday Night Jukebox, Vol. CC--The Secret Machines: Sad and Lonely

You'd think for #200 that I'd have come up with some super special single--nah, just another rock solid tune from a small band who did their part, like so many other bands, to bring a little musical joy into my life.

The Secret Machines started out in Dallas in the late 1990's, moved on to Chicago where they released their first EP, and eventually landed in New York where buzz about their music brought them interest from Warner Brothers and shortly thereafter they released their first LP.  The trio's music has been described as krautrock (new to me--experimental music from German bands of the late 60's...so many cool kids in Germany!), shoegazing (also new to me--experimental music from Brit bands of the late 1980's...so many cool kids in Great Britain!), psychedelic rock (see also, Zeppelin, Led and Floyd, Pink), and they themselves describe their music as space rock (experimental music by the Secret Machines...so many cool kids here in the States!).  David Bowie (who really should have an FNJ tune of his own by now...someday!) was a big fan of the band.  Since 2002 they've released three LP's and four EP's and while the last was in 2010, the rumor mill has another one just around the corner (or not).  Original members Brandon Curtis and Josh Garza still remain, though sadly, other founding member Benjamin Curtis (brother of Brandon) died in 2013 at the all too young age of 35 from lymphoma.

"Sad and Lonely" appeared on the Secret Machines debut album Now Here Is Nowhere  (great title) in 2004,  and although it was released as the album's second single, never made any dent on the Billboard charts..  I've often felt, though, that if it had been released in the 1970's. it would have been a staple of FM radio for the last forty years.

The first thing I'd note about "Sad and Lonely" is...how it doesn't really seem like the type of song that would make a list of my favorites.  The Secret Machines have been compared to Led Zeppelin and Pink Floyd, both of which rank right up there with The Doors for three of my least favorite bands of all time (as millions of 70's hard rock fans think to themselves, "emaycee sucks!").  The song opens with over a minute of instrumental, and originally it was the drumming from the intro that got me hooked on the song.  There's some nice industrial guitar throughout, and though the vocals are awfully reminiscent of Zeppelin's Robert Plant, there's an urgency to them that draws you into the song.  "Sad and Lonely" closes with roughly a minute of what could best be described as ethereal ambience--space music for the masses.  All in all, it's one of those out of left field tunes that continues to surprise me with each new listen, for both its simplicity and its complexity--and how much I just love the song despite its not being much like my usual musical tastes.

Lyric Sheet:  "And it feels like those around want you to die/Well sometimes you feel just like crying/You're still in love with me and you don't know why..."

Enjoy:

Fuck Donald Trump,
emaycee