The Boomtown Rats (truly one of rock's great band names) formed in 1975 in their native Ireland and had a fine bit of success through 1985 when they broke up, but it has largely been overshadowed (probably rightfully so) by the charitable work of lead singer Bob Geldof. Over the course of those ten years, the Rats released six LPs, three of which reached the top ten in the UK. They also had nine singles reach the top twenty on the UK charts, including two of which went to #1. The Rats did reunite--and are still together minus a player or two--in 2013. The band's musical work, though, pales in comparison to Geldof's tireless devotion to making Africa and her many peoples a better place to live. Geldof, with Midge Ure of Ultravox fame, wrote the now classic Christmas tune "Do They Know It's Christmas" to aid with the famine in Ethiopia in 1984 and it would go on to sell over eleven million copies and raise more than ten million dollars. Geldof would also stage Live Aid, a star studded concert across the continents, a little later to raise even more money for Africa, and has worked tirelessly through the years for debt relief and numerous other programs to help the continent. Sometimes jokingly referred to as "St. Bob" for his work, Geldof does have a demon side and has been criticized for numerous comments throughout his life. Still, the tale of the Boomtown Rats shows that while pop music has its decadent and its silly side, it is also capable of quite a bit of good--as many in the nations of Africa will readily attest.
Fun Fact: The Boomtown Rats took their name from a group of children in Woody Guthrie's autobiography, Bound for Glory.
"I Don't Like Mondays" was released in 1979 on their LP, The Fine Art of Surfacing. The single reached number one in the UK, their native Ireland, and the top ten in eleven other nations. Surprisingly (or not), the song only reached #73 (with a bullet!) on the Billboard Hot 100--but I'm not sure if this is because of a lack of cool kids here in the states or because the mass shooting chronicled in the song happened here and some stations were reluctant to play it.
For those not familiar, "I Don't Like Mondays" was written by Geldof in response to a school shooting in January of 1979 by Brenda Ann Spencer in San Diego, CA in which two were killed and nine others injured. When asked why she had done it, Spencer replied, "I don't like Mondays. This livens up the day." As I listened to it in prep for this week's post, I was struck by several things, the first of which is how well it's aged. One could listen to it in comparison to other songs through the years chronicling school shooters, such as Pearl Jam's "Jeremy" from the nineties or Foster the People's "Pumped Up Kicks" from this decade (there are probably others I'm not familiar with or don't remember off the top of my head), and both musically and thematically it would hold its own. I was also impressed by Geldof's compassion for all those involved: the school's students, the school's parents, other parents worrying about their own children, and even, to a degree, the shooter herself. Lastly, I was truly amazed at how much Geldof and the Rats did within the confines of a pop single. From the use of a single piano (there may be strings, I wasn't sure) to convey both the horror and the sadness, to the rat-a-tat hand claps, to the understated backing vocals, to Geldof's vocal performance itself, invoking anger, empathy, and confusion (but never despair), "I Don't Like Mondays" is a testament to what a well written, wonderfully orchestrated, and dexterously performed pop song can accomplish.
Lyric Sheet: "Sweet 16 ain't that peachy keen/No it ain't so neat to admit defeat/They can see no reasons 'cause there are no reasons/What reason do you need..."
Enjoy:
Fuck Donald Trump,
emaycee
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