Friday Night Jukebox, Vol. CDLXXIII--Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers: Don't Come Around Here No More

 Once again, a week late.  Ah, well....

When this week's featured tune first was released, it was quite a departure from the usual Tom Petty fare and wasn't well received by many.  I was not among them--I thought Petty had walked the fine line between releasing a song that was different (Petty has mentioned this was a goal of the sessions), but still captured the vibe that was Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers.  Time has proven those of us who heard its brilliance early on to be correct--it is widely considered to be one of his best tunes....

I wrote about Tom Petty in Vol. CLXIII, and much like Bruce Springsteen a couple of weeks ago, find it hard to believe this is only the second song of his that I've written about as he is truly one of my musical icons.  As with Springsteen, I'm sure there will be a lot of catching up in the years to come.  As for the bio, been there, done that and since his passing in 2017, not much new to add.

"Don't Come Around Here No More" was the first single released from Petty's excellent 1985 release, Southern Accents.  The single peaked at #13 (with a bullet!) on the Billboard Hot 100, while the album reached #7 on the Billboard 200.

Fun Fact:  Petty co-wrote the song with Dave Stewart of Eurythmics.  Stewart actually started the song after spending the night (platonically) at Stevie Nicks' home.  In the wee hours, her former flame, Joe Walsh of Eagles fame, came looking for her and as Nicks booted him from her home, she reportedly told him, "Don't come around here no more."  Stewart came up with a chorus from it, and Petty wrote the rest.

One need only to listen to the opening sitar to know that Petty and the Heartbreakers (though Stewart played the sitar) are going to take us on a very different musical journey with this week's tune.  Petty's trademark scowl marks his foray through the vocals, and the Heartbreakers (if ever there was an underrated backing band...) perform with their usual aplomb, complimenting Petty's scowl with a rousing "Hey!" in their backing vocals and kicking ass and taking names later with their instrumentation.  The song's closing--with Mike Campbell playing a jangly guitar to end all jangly guitars--is just this side of the Eagles "Hotel California" in wondrous glory, and the song captures all the pain and anger in telling a one-time flame to stay the fuck away.  A veritable masterpiece.

Lyric Sheet:  "I don't feel you anymore/You darken my door/Whatever you're looking for/Hey! Don't come around here no more..."

Enjoy:

Republicans = Nazis

Peace,

emayce

Friday Night Jukebox, Vol. CDXVIII--Pete Droge: Beautiful Girl

 Oftentimes a song that's in a movie takes on a new meaning after having seen said film, but this week's tune had already endeared itself into my heart long before I ever saw the movie from whence it came (actually a quite enjoyable flick as well, Beautiful Girls).  This week's featured song is another in a long list of songs/albums that I discovered during my eighteen years with Camelot Music, which ultimately proved a lot more musically fruitful than financially....

Mercifully, after several of the featured artists of the past few weeks literally had novel length bios, the Wikipedia entry for Pete Droge was quite short...and hopefully my artist info paragraph will be as well.  Droge was born in Seattle in 1969 and his solo career began in 1994 with the release of his debut album, Necktie Second (with the minor hit "If You Don't Love Me (I'll Kill Myself)").  Droge would add his backing band, The Sinners, on his second effort.  In 2003 he was a part of the supergroup (who were so super that I'd never heard of them until I read about it this past week) The Thorns with Matthew Sweet and Shawn Mullins.  Droge has had some good fortune with movie soundtracks, having songs featured in Dumb and Dumber and Zombieland (as well as the aforementioned film of our weekly tune).  He also had a cameo in one of my all-time favorite movies, Almost Famous.  For his career, Droge has released seven studio albums, with the last coming in 2014.

Fun Fact:  Not that anyone other than me and my longtime partner care, but I've been calling the love of my life "Beautiful Girl" for as long as I can remember, and not only did her nickname come from this week's featured tune, but she actually is quite a beautiful girl....

"Beautiful Girl" was not released as a single (though it should have been, God damnit), and surprise of surprises was featured on the soundtrack Beautiful Girls.  Despite my best efforts (Google search), I was not able to discern if the soundtrack ever charted.

Written with Dave Stewart of Eurythmics fame, "Beautiful Girl" starts with some ominous imagery, but eventually becomes a different kind of love song--one that speaks to the contentment of being where you want to be with the person you want to be with.  Droge delivers spot on vocals (with a hint of early Dylan's short and sweet staccato vocalizing) that capture not only the uniqueness of a burgeoning love but also its uncertainty.  The chorus is a sweet piece of pop pie, and the guitar (especially the solo at the close of the song) captures all the yearning and heavenly serenity of holding your baby in your arms.  All in all, it's a reminder that while not all love songs are created equal, they still can make the world go round....

Lyric Sheet (Dedicated to the one I love...):  "Stained glass casts a flickering light/With the curtains closed I can't tell if it's night/But I know for sure that this sure feels right/With you here between my arms..."

Enjoy:

Republicans = Losers

Peace,

emaycee