On time two weeks in a row? My legion of fans (all three of them) has to be wondering what's up with that....
My introduction to this week's tune was via a cable TV music channel when I was living in the great city of Belleville, Il, on the east side of the Mississippi River and the suburban metropolis that is St. Louis. You've probably seen said channels, usually somewhere in the thousands on your channel numbers and featuring just about every genre and era of music (Cable Reggae, Cable Jazz, Cable Emo, Cable 70's, Cable 1890's). All these channels show is a picture of the album the song currently playing is from and a timer letting you know how much longer you a) can enjoy current tune, or b) you have to suffer listening to current tune. I used to use such channels to learn about new music (like our song for this week), but now it's mostly just to listen to some of my favorite golden oldies....
Fastball got its start in Austin, Texas in 1992, and like many a band before them were the result of its members being in a number of bands before finding the combination that clicked. The band earned its stripes through solid shows in and around its home, and word of mouth led them to a recording contract and releasing their first album in 1996. They would follow it up with a second record in 1998, which would be the only hit of their career, but quite the hit it was. It led to two Grammy nominations and a nomination for an MTV Award. While the band has not come close to the commercial success of that second LP, they've managed to continue to tour and record up to this very day. For their career, Fastball has released nine studio albums and one EP. The band retains all three of its original members and released its latest album just last year.
Fun Fact: Contrary to what you might think, the band is not named for the baseball pitch, but rather its favorite porn film. The band claims, and I have no reason to doubt, that despite its somewhat different origin their name has no ulterior meaning.
"Out of My Head" was the third single released from their 1998 album, the rather despondently entitled All the Pain Money Can Buy. The single would peak at #20 (with a bullet!) on the Billboard Hot 100, while the album would reach #29 on the Billboard 200. It should be noted, however, that in Canada the single hit #11 and the album #18--as we all have learned over the past two months, there truly are just so, so many cool kids in Canada!
Opening with some divine organ work, lead singer Tony Scalzo weaves the tale of a man finally figuring out that within the confines of a relationship talk is cheap and it's deeds that speak volumes (as the song is based on a past relationship one can assume that Scalzo was a bit late in coming to that realization). Scalzo delivers some fine blue-eyed soul with his vocals, and for whatever odd ass reason, I've always loved the cadence he uses in the chorus--it almost has a rhythm all its own. There's a nice guitar solo from Miles Zuniga, and an almost false ending that allows Joey Shuffield to show off his chops before the band breaks into the chorus just one more time. And speaking of that last chorus (segues are for amateurs), I never noticed until I was doing my half-assed research that Zuniga echoes Scalzo on that final chorus and it really makes for a rock-solid closing. I've always been a fan of smart pop, and "Out of My Head" is smart pop at its finest.
Lyric Sheet: "Give it a spin, see if you can somehow factor in/You know there's always more than one way/To say exactly what you mean to say..."
Enjoy:
Fuck Donald Trump
Peace,
emaycee
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