I discovered this week's tune as I have a few others here on Friday Night Jukebox as I flipped channels and came across an episode of Austin City Limits in which The Polyphonic Spree was the weekly featured artist. While I haven't explored much of their catalog, I like to think that if I live to a hundred and win a million dollars I might find the time and cash to check them out further....
The Polyphonic Spree (gotta admit, it's a great name) were formed in Dallas, Texas, in 2000, though it's beginning is of a sad nature: the catalysts behind The Polyphonic Spree were originally in a band called Tripping Daisy (they had a minor MTV hit with "I Got a Girl" which I vaguely remembered after a couple of listens) which disbanded and formed their new group in the wake of the death from a drug overdose of Tripping Daisy guitarist Wes Berggren. Tim DeLaughter became the de facto leader of the band, and over the past nearly twenty years the Polyphonic Spree have released six studio albums, none of which have cracked the top 100 of the Billboard 200 (though two did chart, hitting #113 and #121), and three EPs. The band is known for a) having numerous members--the current lineup features 23 band members, and past members would push the number close to a hundred, and b) for wearing colorful robes--a la a choir--in their live peformances. While commercial success may have eluded them, the band has had a hand in a number of songs for soundtrack albums, continues to tour, and released their latest LP in 2014. As I've noted numerous times before, beats the hell out of slaving away in a grocery store....
"Hold Me Now" (not to be confused with the Thompson Twins single "Hold Me Now" which was a not particularly good single released in the 80's new wave frenzy) was released in 2004 on their album Together We're Heavy. While "Hold Me Now" was not released as a single here in the States, it did reach #87 in Scotland, and #72 in the U.K.--there's just so many cool kids in the U.K., isn't there?
While I was lying in bed, unable to sleep, and trying desperately to think of who The Polyphonic Spree reminded me of--and, yes, I do need to get more of a life--I could have saved myself the trouble by doing my half-assed research a bit earlier. It was the Electric Light Orchestra, with a little Queen, the Beatles, and the Beach Boys mixed in. "Hold Me Now" features lush orchestration, with--surprise!--choir-like vocals, and a hell of a hook in the chorus. There's definitely an anthemic vibe to the song--numerous instruments (my best guess is somewhere around fourteen different instruments) are featured as well as a theme of reminding us that no one is alone in this world (or that getting old isn't a death sentence...so to speak). There's also a grandiose instrumental break which reminded me (blasphemy alert!) of the Beatles' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band album. All in all, it's a song just a bit off the beaten path, and in a just world, would have been a top ten single that we all run around humming to ourselves every time we hear it on the radio...which pretty much describes my week after several listens....
Lyric Sheet: "He's walking along with his soul in his lungs/Ya stare at him long you can find a new song/Everyone thinks they've got a new phrase/But you're still miles away..."
Enjoy:
Lyric Sheet: "He's walking along with his soul in his lungs/Ya stare at him long you can find a new song/Everyone thinks they've got a new phrase/But you're still miles away..."
Enjoy:
Fuck Donald Trump,
emaycee
emaycee
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