Friday Night Jukebox, Vol. DXII--David Bowie: Space Oddity

While this one is more than a week late, pretty sure licking your wounds is a pretty good excuse....

Sometime during the pandemic, I forced my youngest son to watch David Bowie:  Finding Fame on Showtime one night, and it turned out to be quite good.  It took a look at Bowie's early years (no one worked harder to become a rock star than David Bowie--no one), and during the course of said watching, this week's tune played a prominent role (it was his first hit single).  Though I'd been familiar with the song before watching the documentary, it took on a new life and sent me on a Bowie binge that lasted for several months.  It was a good ride....

I wrote about David Bowie in Jukebox Vol.CCCXXV, and while I wrote that it would be impossible to write a bio paragraph about him, I still managed to do a half-assed one.  Alas, this time there's nothing more to add as his 2016 death pretty much precludes much in the way of new information.

"Space Oddity" was the first single from Bowie's oh so cleverly named second album, David Bowie.  The single would hit #5 in the U.K., but only #124 (with a weak ass bullet) in the U.S.  The album charted in neither.  After Bowie's Ziggy Stardust success in the early seventies, both the album and the song were re-released, and the song would hit #15 (now that's a bullet!) in America in 1973, and number one in the U.K. in 1975 (leave it to the music industry to cash in on a good thing...).  The album would hit #16 in the U.S. and #17 in Great Britain. The album also went through some name changes, but this paragraph has already reached short story level....

Fun Fact:  The song has been said to have been heavily influenced by early Bee Gees music (which has been described as psychedelic folk), and as it was being recorded, Bowie himself said as much.  

The musical and technical complexity (not to mention its multi-layered production) does not lend itself to a single paragraph review, especially to an amateur reviewer such as myself.  In a word?  Otherworldly.  The story of an astronaut lost in space has been given many interpretations, but the one I'd like to share is from James E. Perone, who said that Major Tom was a metaphor for "individuals who are unaware of, or do not make an effort to learn, what the world is."   It seems like that interpretation makes it an apt song for what we witnessed this past Tuesday, with the legions of fools who voted for Donald Trump without any idea of what they've unleashed.  May they, like Major Tom, end up floating far from the world, and away from those of us who did not put selfishness before the rights and dignity of our fellow Americans.

Lyric Sheet:  "For here, am I sitting in a tin can/Far from the world/Planet Earth is blue/And there's nothing I can do..."

Enjoy:

R.I.P. America

Peace,

emaycee

A right good show!

Well done England! ⤵️ pic.twitter.com/zjCpira7f5

— Just saying (@kangaroos991) June 1, 2024

Republicans = Nazis

Peace,

emaycee

 

Friday Night Jukebox, Vol. CDLXXXIV--The Clash: Hitsville U.K.

What's all this fuss about being late?

This week's tune came from the much-anticipated follow-up album to The Clash's stunning masterpiece, London Calling.  It was a three-record set, sprawling and experimental and adventurous...and it took a while to grow on me.  But once it did, holy shit, what a record.  Always reminded me (not musically, just in its disparate songs) of The Beatles' unwieldy but brilliant White Album (and Lord have mercy would The Clash have ripped my heart out of my chest for that comparison).  And in its disparity, it yielded one of their more pop oriented songs, with a tongue-in-cheek nod to Motown....

I wrote about The Clash in Volume CCXXX, and as Joe Strummer hasn't risen from the dead (not from lack of trying, I'm sure), and Mick Jones, Paul Simonon, and Topper Headon have repeatedly said they have no desire to reunite or go on an oldies tour (like The Clash have anything that could remotely be called an oldie), I'll just leave it at the very good bio (if I do say so myself) of "The only band that matters" that I wrote for their first post.

"Hitsville U.K." was the second single released from the band's revolutionary named three LP set, Sandinista! (exclamation point theirs, not mine--the Sandinistas were a revolutionary left-wing Nicaraguan political group).  The single hit #56 in the U.K. but did not chart in America.  The album reached #19 in Great Britain and #24 here in the States.  It was also ranked at #323 on Rolling Stone's list of "The 500 Greatest Albums of All-Time."

Fun Fact:  Despite the fact that Joe Strummer sang the vast majority of their songs, somehow I've managed to pick two that were sung by Mick Jones (though this week he is ably supported by his then girlfriend Ellen Foley).

Every now and again, a song has a small but indelible moment.  In "Hitsville U.K.," it's about halfway through right before the instrumental break when Jones says (with his English accent) "So 'it it."  Can't ever listen to the song without waiting for that two second blip--it was one of the first things I noticed about the song when I first heard it some forty-three years ago.  The song, its title a nod to Motown's nickname "Hitsville U.S.A.," is a paean to the then burgeoning indie music scene in Great Britain, and how it had opened up the music business for everyday boys and girls.  It features nice vocal play between Foley and Jones, some funky ass bass work from Simonon, and is, much like my last post on The Clash, much more pop oriented than their usual fare.  Wonder why I'd like those two so much....

Lyric Sheet:  (Remember)/They say true talent will always emerge in time/When lightning hits Small Wonder/It's Fast Rough Factory time..."

Enjoy:

Republicans = Nazis

Peace,

emaycee

Friday Night Jukebox, Vol. CDLXXX--Graham Parker: Temporary Beauty

Better late than never, or so they say....

This week's tune came along at a time when I was still early in my musical journey, and it was the first single after this week's artist had released an album that was a bit of a disappointment after the classic album he'd released before that.  I was still naive enough to believe that critical success would one day lead to glory...but for Graham Parker it never really did.  No matter--he's provided me (and many others, I'm sure) with plenty of glorious listening....

I wrote about Graham Parker way back in Volume XXVI (that was 454 posts ago!), and while I wasn't writing bio paragraphs per se back then, I wrote enough of one for Parker to not write another.  I would like to note that Parker released an album just last year (his twenty-fifth), and much like Squeeze that I wrote about a few posts back, feel like it's a damn shame that he hasn't been elected into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.  A great--and underrated in my humble opinion--talent.

"Temporary Beauty" was the first single from an album that was not another grey area, Another Grey Area.    The single did not chart in America but hit #50 on the U.K. Singles Chart.  The album reached #42 in his native U.K., and #50 here in the United States.

Fun Fact:  This week's album was the last of Parker's studio albums to chart in the U.K., but his next five would chart in America.  A bit odd as smaller British acts (as in not the Beatles or the Stones) tend to be bigger in their homeland for longer periods than they are here.

"Temporary Beauty" is one of my favorite songs by Graham Parker, and it was one of those songs that I knew the first time I heard it that it would be a favorite for years to come.  Very few people write put down songs better than Parker, though I think the lyrics in the chorus for this one takes a little of the edge off and shows Parker in a more empathetic light.  Parker juxtaposes the catty commentary of the stanzas with a catchy chorus that is to die for.  As always, his vocals carry the day, and like Mick Jagger, he is able to convey so much (especially anger and disgust) through them.  There's nothing temporary about this one...and it's a beauty.

Lyric Sheet:  "The world is full of little people like you/They have to read a book to learn what to do/They hang around in second hand stores for clothes/And every kind of pressure steps on their toes..."

Enjoy:

Republicans = Nazis

Peace,

emaycee

Friday Night Jukebox, Vol. CDIII--Supertramp: Goodbye Stranger

 Alas, both of my loyal readers, but this is not a Friday Night Jukebox post at last actually posting on a Friday...but rather one that's a week late.  Time and tide, friends, time and tide....

My fun story intro this week involves my oldest son, who a number of years ago went on a tirade about how bad this week's featured band was...and at the time, I had no idea he even knew who they were (it'd been twenty years, give or take, since their heyday) let alone despise them.  Not to scare my two loyal readers off, but my younger brother thinks they suck, too....

Supertramp formed in London in 1969 (for whatever reason, I thought they were Australian until I did this week's half-assed research).  Their first couple of albums received neither critical nor commercial success, but they persevered, and their third album yielded a couple of hit songs and sent them on their way.  By the end of the seventies, they had achieved superstar status, but the disparate personalities and musical tastes of founding members and chief songwriters Roger Hodgson and Rick Davies led to Hodgson leaving.  The band would go on to have a few more hits but disbanded in 1988.  They have regrouped three times since (always sans Hodgson) but have not performed together since 2015.  For their career, Supertramp sold over sixty million records, releasing eleven studio albums with three hitting the top ten in their native U.K., and two here in the States (including a number one).  They also had a live album hit the top ten in both the U.K. and the U.S.  The band also released 28 singles, which somewhat oddly, overall did much better in America.

Fun Fact:  For whatever reason, Canadians really took a shine to Supertramp, with two of their albums reaching diamond (10x platinum), and Canada was also home to the only two number one singles of their career.

"Goodbye Stranger" was the third single released from Supertramp's career making album, Breakfast in America.  The single would reach #15 on the Billboard Hot 100, but only #57 on the U.K. Singles chart. The album was their only number one in America, and their highest charting in the U.K., peaking at #3.

Every now and again a band that usually wouldn't be your cup of tea comes along with a song (or in Supertramp's case for me, three) that catches your fancy, and you find yourself singing it again and again during your weekly research forty some odd years down the road even though every time you do you think to yourself, "What the hell?"  There's a busyness to "Goodbye Stranger" that I really like, especially the way Davies baritone in the stanzas juxtaposes with Hodgson's falsetto in the chorus or the bing bong of the piano--which almost sounds like church bells--at the beginning.  Hodgson also has a wicked guitar solo at the end just to put a cherry on top.  In all honesty, Supertramp is like many of the vanilla pudding bands the late seventies produced (Journey, Styx, REO Speedwagon to name a few), but for some goofy ass reason this week's tune just resonated with me where others did not, and so it takes its place in the annals that are Friday Night Jukebox.

Lyric Sheet:  "Now some they do and some they don't/And some you just can't tell/And some they will and some they won't/And some it's just as well..."

Enjoy:

Republican = Traitor

Peace,

emaycee

Friday Night Jukebox, Vol. CCCLXXXV--The Babys: Isn't It Time?

 Fitting that the week my youngest son graduates from high school, Friday Night Jukebox is featuring a tune from the year I graduated....

The Babys formed in London, England in 1974 and a mere two years later had released their first album.  Though the band had a couple of top forty hits and developed a good reputation for their live shows, their disappointment at not having more commercial success drove the band to an early demise, and they broke up in 1981.  For their career, The Babys released six albums and nine singles.  Lead singer John Waite went on to have a #1 single on the Billboard Hot 100 as a solo artist, and with three other members of The Babys formed the supergroup Bad English (which also had a number one hit in America).  In 2013 two original members of The Babys reformed the band and they continue to perform, having released their last album in 2014.

Fun Fact:  The Babys featured a backing vocal group known as The Babettes, which contained singers from gospel icon Andrae Crouch's backing band The Disciples.

"Isn't It Time" was the first single released from their 1977 album Broken Hearts.  The single was the first of two for The Babys to peak at #13 (with a bullet!) in the United States (it did hit number one in Australia--so many cools kids Down Under!), while the album reached #34 on the Billboard 200.

In the hands of many, "Isn't It Time" could have been just another love ballad (and to some it might still be....), but The Babys took the song one step beyond by incorporating the best of the 70's with the best of gospel.  Accompanied by a stark piano, Waite opens with a sultry confession before The Babettes (and the rest of the band) kick in with some good old-fashioned rock and roll.  The back and forth between Waite and The Babettes for the rest of the song--with an assist from the drums--really makes the song a cut (so to speak) above the normal fare, though I freely admit that being one whose formative music years were spent in the seventies might help a bit, too.

Lyric Sheet:  "I've finally found the answers/To the questions that keep going through my mind/Hey babe!/Isn't it time?...

Enjoy:

Republican = Traitor

Peace,

emaycee

Friday Night Jukebox, Vol. CCCLXXIII--Spice Girls: Wannabe

 My first recollection of this week's tune is it being played constantly by a young man (whose name I've long forgotten and that wasn't a particularly good employee who quit without notice) during its height in popularity in the latter years of my career with Camelot Music.  At first the song was kind of annoying, but over time I came to realize it was a hell of a pop song.

Not going to lie, between the invasion of Ukraine and Joe Biden's State of the Union address my weekly half-assed research was really more like one-tenth-assed since there was little time for other reading, and frankly the Wikipedia entries for the band, the album, and the single were Beatlesque in length, and the Spice Girls (Scary Spice, Sporty Spice, Ginger Spice, Posh Spice, and Baby Spice) were a) not nearly that talented, and b) not nearly that interesting.  So...we'll have to settle for the first paragraph synopses.  The Spice Girls were created out of a series of auditions in 1994 and released their first album in 1996--which took them into the stratosphere with regard to their popularity and commercial success.  A movie followed shortly thereafter, and they also won several Brit Awards.  The band would release two more albums, both of which resulted in decreasing sales before disbanding to pursue solo careers in 2000.  They reunited for tours in 2007, 2012, and 2016, before reuniting for good in 2018 (though Posh Spice, aka Victoria Beckham, wife of soccer superstar David Beckham, has not been with the band since the 2007 reunion).  The Spice Girls sold over 100 million records, have the highest grossing tours for female bands in history, and made a shit ton of money in endorsements and band related enterprises.  My quick take on their career should not take away from the fact that the five women in Spice Girls were a significant force for female empowerment, especially for younger women, and contributed greatly to making our world more diverse and female friendly (though much work remains).

"Wannabe" was the debut single from their debut album (both released in 1996), the flavorfully entitled Spice.  The single reached #1 (with a bullet!) on the Billboard Hot 100, as well as on the U.K. Singles Chart, and would top the charts in 37 countries.  The album also hit number one in America and Great Britain, and just for good measure, topped the charts in 22 more countries.

Fun Fact:  This week's single, as well as the album it was released on, are the best-selling single and album by a girl group in recorded music history.  That's some serious success.

Alternating between a hip-hop rap and infectious pop segues, "Wannabe" stresses the importance of respecting and accepting your lady love's friends...which is actually a hell of a sentiment for a pop song (and not one I recall seeing in any other song).  The Spice Girls trade off vocals, with every member of the band taking turns at singing lines/verses, and, somewhat surprisingly, their vocals mesh perfectly.  Scary and Ginger rap back and forth, with a jaunty piano in the background, and the backing music for the rest of the tune is just a pop dream.  I couldn't name (or probably even recognize) another song by the Spice Girls, but this one is more than enough:  among the best of what pop music has to offer.

Lyric Sheet:  "If you wanna be my lover/You gotta get with my friends (gotta get with my friends)/Make it last forever/Friendship never ends..."

Enjoy:

Republican = Traitor

Peace,

emaycee

Friday Night Jukebox, Vol. CCCLIV--Rod Stewart: Oh No Not My Baby

 I knew a little about Rod Stewart's catalog when I started managing a Camelot Music store in 1981, but a few months after I started I became considerably more familiar with the depth of his hitmaking, thanks to a customer who brought back a defective (that wasn't so defective) copy of a best of compilation LP from his days on the Mercury label.  In fact, it was so good I not only bought it, but the second compilation from those years as well, and spend a good chunk of the early eighties listening to the both of them.

I wrote about Rod Stewart around a million years ago in the third ever post for Friday Night Jukebox.  While the earlier posts didn't have quite the biography of the newer ones, I'll still keep this mercifully short as plenty of writers better than I have covered his illustrious career.  I will make note, though, that since his humble beginning busking on the street with a harmonica in 1962, Stewart has won multiple Grammy Awards, been elected into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame twice (solo and as a member of Faces), been elected into the U.K. Music Hall of Fame, and been knighted.  He's also sold over 250 million records, and has had ten #1 LP's and six #1 singles in his native U.K., as well as four #1's of each here in the U.S.  And to top it off, he'll be releasing his thirty-first album sometime later this year.

Fun Fact:  The first solo album Stewart released did not chart in his native U.K.  The second one hit #62.  Of the next twenty-eight he released, twenty-seven of them reached the top ten in the U.K., and the one that missed peaked at #11.  That is one hell of a streak....

"Oh No Not My Baby" (which for whatever reason does not make the usual use of punctuation marks) was written by the great Carole King and her one-time husband Gerry Goffin in 1964.  It was originally a hit that same year for Maxine Brown, peaking at #24.  Rod Stewart recorded his version in 1973 while still a member of the Faces, but it was released as a solo effort even though he was backed by them in the studio.  It was never released on a studio album.  The single hit #6 in the U.K. (so many cool kids in Great Britain), and #59 (with a bullet!) on the Billboard Hot 100.

With "Oh No Not My Baby" Rod Stewart (who produced the single himself) took the best of sixties pop, added the best of seventies pop, and created a blue-eyed soul gem.  There haven't been too many rock and roll vocalists who can do vocally what Stewart can, and he makes his voice into an instrument of its own as he sings the tale of a man whose friends and family tell him not to trust his lady love, but who's certain that they're oh so wrong about her.  The Faces--with the help of a string section and possibly some horns--make a musical panoply in the background of Stewart's plaintive wailing (especially impressed with the drumming which give the song a nice funk groove) that glues the other pieces together.  If you're an aficionado of pure sweet pop--I know I am--this one is right up there with the best of what pop has to offer.

Lyric Sheet:   "When my friends told me you had someone new/I didn't believe a single word was true/I told them all I had faith in you/I kept a-right on sayin'/Oh, no, not my baby..."

Enjoy:

The Republican Party Is Now a Fascist Cult Just Like Nazi Germany

Peace,

emaycee

Friday Night Jukebox, Vol. CCCLIII--Mungo Jerry: In the Summertime

 For those wondering (both of you), it has dawned on me that this week's tune might have been a bit better featured when it was actually...summertime?  But after enjoying listening to it this week, I don't really think it much matters.  It's a great tune--winter, spring, summer, or fall....

Mungo Jerry (named for the poem "Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer" by T.S. Eliot, from his collection Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats) formed in England in 1969, and are still recording and touring to the present day.  Ray Dorset has been joined by twenty-three other musicians over the last fifty-two years to keep Mungo Jerry performing, as they last released an album in 2019.  While they're only remembered in the U.S. for their one hit, they had a number of successful singles in their native U.K. and Europe over the course of their music making.  For their career, Mungo Jerry has released nineteen studio albums (only their first two LPs charted in their native U.K. and only their first album in the U.S.), one live album, and eighteen compilation albums (the joys of having a massive hit single).  They've also released sixteen singles, and have had five top five hits on the U.K. singles charts and one in the U.S.  In a first for Friday Night Jukebox, Mungo Jerry is the initial band featured to be known for playing skiffle, a genre of folk music.

"In the Summertime" was originally released as a maxi-single (very rare for its time) in 1970, and after it became a hit was put on their second LP, Electronically Tested (so named for a claim on packages of Durex condoms).  The single would hit #1 on virtually every country's top singles chart (so many cool kids around the world) except for the United States where it reached #3 (with a bullet).  The album was one of their two that charted in the U.K. (#14), but did not hit the LP chart in America.

Fun Fact:  Since its release, "In the Summertime" has sold over thirty million copies, making it the third best selling single ever (though the sales number is disputed).  That's...pretty goddamn amazing when you think about it.

While there have been scores of songs written about the joys of summer, for my money "In the Summertime" is the one that actually captures the joy of summer the best.  From its beginning to its end, the lyrics, the instruments, and the vocals all ooze with the giddiness that the warmth and fun of summer brings after the month of snowy and/or rainy weather that preceded it.  Swimming in the ocean, driving around in the warm air, fishing, enjoying the company of women--Mungo Jerry leads everyone on a summer outing that's sure to please.  It's hard to believe it's been fifty years since I first heard this on the radio and bopped around Lake Comanche on our annual summer camping trip--but it has been and it still makes me both bop around and smile, smile, smile whenever I hear it.

Lyric Sheet:  "When the weather's fine/We go fishing or go swimming in the sea/We're always happy/Life's for living, yeah, that's our philosophy..."

I don't often comment on the videos, but whatever you do as you're watching this one take note of a) how much fun the band is having, and b) the banjo player who's also playing the jug, which is just about as close to perfection as a pop song can get.  Enjoy:

The Republican Party Is Now a Fascist Cult Just Like Nazi Germany

Peace,

emaycee

Friday Night Jukebox, Vol. CCCXXXVIII--Oasis: Some Might Say

 A few years back I was making dinner and listening to my favorite tunes on shuffle (as is my custom) when this week's song came on and I had an epiphany--while I'd always loved the song, for whatever reason its essential greatness suddenly became readily apparent that evening.  There are those who say it is the band's quintessential song, but I'll leave it to folks who are more knowledgeable about the lads from Manchester than I to judge such matters....

As the annals of Friday Night Jukebox have already been graced with a post about an Oasis song, I'll skip the bio bit this week other than to update what brothers Liam and Noel Gallagher are using their talents for these days.  After the breakup of Oasis in 2009, Liam Gallagher continued the band under the moniker Beady Eye; in 2017 he went solo and has since released two albums, both of which hit #1 on the UK Album Chart.  Noel Gallagher formed the band Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds and they have released three albums--all of them went to #1 on the same chart.  Sadly (or not--it's their lives) the personal and professional differences between the brothers that led to the breakup of Oasis do not seem to have been reconciled, and the brothers remain estranged for the most part.

Fun Fact:  Noel Gallagher freely admits that he borrowed "Some Might Say" from the song "Fuzzy" by Grant Lee Buffalo, and if you listen to its intro, you'll notice that he did....

"Some Might Say" was the first single released in the U.K. from Oasis' seminal album, (What's the Story) Morning Glory?  It would go on to become their first #1 single on the UK Singles Chart, and also topped their album chart.  It was not released as a single in America, but the album would become their breakthrough in the States, peaking at #4 on the Billboard 200.

I've never seen Oasis perform live, but I have seen "Some Might Say" performed in concert footage and all I can say is every band prays for a song like it (and there are quite a few who manage to have one), where from the moment it starts, thousands of fans are flicking their lighters and singing along at the top of their voices.  The word I would use--and I'm not sure it even does it justice--is anthemic.  It's one of those songs that the music (look up "catchy" in the dictionary and it's likely to say, "see also, "Some Might Say'") just fills every inch of your body, and the chorus whirls round and round and surrounds your being like the sun and the stars.  Liam's vocals are as good as it gets, and Noel's guitar just flows from one of the best song's he's ever written.  I sound like an overwrought fan boy, but since I checked last week and found this was my song of the week, the song has been delightful ear candy...and probably will be for weeks.  A stellar effort.

Lyric Sheet:  "Some might say that sunshine follows thunder/Go and tell it to the man who cannot shine..."

Enjoy:

You Have a Choice:  Pass a Voting Rights Bill, or Welcome Fascism to America

Peace,

emaycee

Friday Night Jukebox, Vol. CCCXXXIV--Steve Winwood: While You See a Chance

I'd been working for Camelot Music about five months when this week's tune came out--all I remember of it at the time was that I didn't like it much.  Fast forward a few years and it came on the radio as I was driving to work one morning, and I remember thinking to myself."Why in the hell didn't I like this song?  This is a great song!"  And my epiphany would become the first of many through the years.

While most of us were playing with our toys and watching TV when we were in grade school, Steve Winwood was backing blues musicians such as B.B. King, Chuck Berry, Bo Diddley, and Muddy Waters on their U.K. tours playing organ and guitar.  He joined his first band, the Spencer Davis Group, when he was fourteen, and the band had a number one hit in the U.K. by the time Winwood was 17.  He left shortly thereafter for the seminal sixties band Traffic, and then after several albums left them to help form Blind Faith (with among others, Eric Clapton).  In the late seventies Winwood finally got around to pursuing a solo career (at the ripe old age of 29), and it was there he had his greatest commercial success.  For his solo career, Winwood has released nine studio albums, with three top tens in the U.K. and three top fives in the U.S. (including one number one).  He has also released 25 singles, with six top ten hits in the U.S., including two #1's (for whatever odd reason, Winwood did not have nearly the single chart success in the U.K.).  Winwood has been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Traffic, but surprisingly has not been inducted as a solo artist.  Though Winwood has not released a new album since 2008, he continues to tour regularly 

"While You See a Chance" was the first single released from Winwood's second solo album, Arc of a Diver  in 1981.  The song reached #7 (with a bullet!) on the Billboard Hot 100, and the LP hit #3 on the Billboard 200.

Fun Fact:  Winwood is a multi-instrumentalist, and played all of the instruments on Arc of a Diver, as well as the release that followed, Back in the High Life.  

"While You See a Chance" is a carpe diem song, with Winwood exhorting us to take our best shot at both love and life.  Winwood's organ (synthesizer?) playing drives the song throughout, giving Winwood's exhortation an invigorating backdrop.  But in the end, it's Winwood's vocals (blue-eyed soul, an emaycee fave) that takes the song to another level.  Winwood has said his singing style was patterned after Ray Charles, and while he's not quite as gifted vocally as Charles, it's easy to see the similarities, especially the guttural, from the heart soul that resonates from the tips of your toes to the ends of your fingers.  Just another dazzling piece of pop music.

Lyric Sheet:  "Stand up in a clear blue morning/Until you see what can be..."

Enjoy:

It Was an Insurrection--the Blood of Those Killed on January 6th Is on Republican Hands

Peace,

emaycee

Friday Night Jukebox, Vol. CCCXXXII--Blur: Song 2

 We have another first for Friday Night Jukebox:  the first song that both of my readers are probably sick of, especially if they've seen a sporting event or any numbers of movies over the course of the past twenty some odd years....

Blur formed in London, England in 1988.  Originally a Britpop band, Blur would reinvent itself a couple of times over the course of its career with excellent results.  The band has had considerable commercial and critical success in its native U.K., and while they haven't quite enjoyed the same success here in the states, they have had a few hits and a nice following.  In the mid 90's Blur had a running battle with Oasis for the best band in the U.K.  It's generally conceded that Blur did not wind up on the winning end of the battle, but to even be a part of such rarefied air has to be a nice consolation prize.  Blur has released eight studio albums (with the last six all debuting at #1 on the U.K. Album Chart), five live albums, and five compilations.  They've also released 34 singles with 2 #1's and nine more top ten singles on the U.K. Singles Chart.  Blur has won five Brit Awards and been nominated for a Grammy.  The band took a hiatus from 2004-2008, and has been on another hiatus since 2016 but has not ruled out a future reunion.

"Song 2" was released as a single in 1997 from their cleverly titled fifth album, Blur.  The single reached #2 in Great Britain, and #55 (with a bullet!) on the Billboard Hot 100.  The album was their third straight number one in the U.K., but peaked at #55 in America.

Fun Fact:  "Song 2" is two minutes and two seconds long, has two verses and two choruses, and was the second song on its album, as well as the second single released from said album.  No word as to whether the number two was a particular band member's lucky number...

Originally written by frontman Damon Albam as an acoustic tune to fuck with their record label, the song took on a new life when guitarist Graham Coxon suggested they play the song with a power pop energy...and their record executives surprisingly loved it.  It's one of those songs that after the first couple of guitar chords is instantly recognizable, and the opening progression is widely considered not only Coxon's best work but one of the better guitar openings in rock history.  From there it's a nod to American alternative power guitar, some frenetic vocals from Albam, and a whole heck of a lot of "woo-hoo"'s (it's the little things...).  Even with the ubiquity of the song, it's still a great listen and two minutes and two seconds of power pop joy.

Lyric Sheet:  "I got my head checked/By a jumbo jet/It wasn't easy/But nothing i-is/No/Woo-hoo..."

Enjoy:

It's Not Just an Infrastructure Bill, It's a Jobs Plan, Too

Peace,

emaycee

Friday Night Jukebox, Vol. CCCXXV--David Bowie: Rebel Rebel

 The first time I heard this week's tune, I was driving my parents car to one of my college classes, and I was absolutely convinced it was a Neil Young song I'd never heard before because the guitars sounded exactly like Neil Young guitars.  When I got home later that day I immediately went to check my three or four Neil Young albums and was extremely disappointed that it appeared on none of them.  Some time later, I managed to get to a music store and checked the big music catalogs they used to have (whose name I have completely forgotten) and discovered it was by David Bowie.  Oddly enough, as I did my half-assed research this week, the guitar work in the song was compared again and again to the Rolling Stones.  After re-listening, I still think it sounds a lot more like Neil Young....

Man, I'm not even going to try a synopsis of David Bowie's career.  Not only is it long, varied, and critically acclaimed,  it is flat intimidating.  He truly was one of the few geniuses pop music ever spawned, and his influence will be felt long after most of us have left this vale.  Just to give you an idea, in the first week after his death, Bowie had 19 albums and 13 singles in the U.K. top one hundred albums and singles.  He is obviously a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and in 2016 Rolling Stone named him the greatest rock star ever (debatable, but I certainly didn't think "You've got to be fucking kidding!").  In the you don't know what you've got till it's gone category, Bowie won the bulk of his Grammy Awards and Brit Awards after his death in 2016.  His discography is mammoth, having released 27 studio LPs and 128 singles over the course of his 54 year career. He will be remembered for his music, his lyricism, his artistic tendencies, and his showmanship.  A once in a lifetime artist--enough said.

Fun Fact:  I was actually going to make this post's fun fact the fact that I could have made an entire post of fun facts just about Bowie's career, but I decided to opt instead for what Bowie said after he listened to "Tutti Frutti" by Little Richard for the first time:  it was like he had "heard God."

"Rebel Rebel" was released as the first single from Bowie's seminal work Diamond Dogs in 1974.  The single would hit #5 in his native U.K. and a somewhat disappointing #64 (with a bullet!) in the U.S. (possibly because his label released a shorter version here that most think pales in comparison to the original).  The album went to #1 in the U.K. and was Bowie's first big hit in the States, peaking at #5 on the Billboard 200.

"Rebel Rebel" is considered to be Bowie's goodbye to glam rock and his Ziggy Stardust persona, and if so, it's a hell of a parting.  Needless to say, the amount of my life spent partaking in anything other than reading about glam would fit inside Donald Trump's pea brain.  Nonetheless, when you hear Bowie's guitars (and yes, it's Bowie playing the guitar) and his fuck all vocals you are left captured by an incredible swan song.  And the fact that you don't need to live the glam life to both feel and understand this paean to youth probably says all you need to know about it.  It was the song that made me begin paying attention to David Bowie, and had I but world enough and time, I'm sure I would have explored every nook and cranny of his music.    As is, a brilliant tune from a brilliant--and much missed--artist.

Lyric Sheet:  "We like dancing and we look divine/You love bands when they're playing hard/You want more and you want it fast..."

Enjoy:

400,000 Dead Americans Because the Pro-Life Party Botched the Pandemic

Peace,

emaycee

Friday Night Jukebox, Vol. CCCXIX--Squeeze: Pulling Mussels (from the Shell)

For shits and grins, I thought I'd actually do one of these posts on a Friday, just to stun both of my readers....

 

I am notoriously bad at hearing lyrics, and this week's tune is no exception.  I originally thought the chorus was "pulling muscles for Michelle...."  Guess I thought it was a song about a guy doing some serious bodybuilding to impress a gal named Michelle....

I wrote a brief history of Squeeze in Vol. 227 for their song "Tempted," so I'll just note here that forty-seven years down the road they are still touring and sadly have yet to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame although groups with half their talent, such as Abba, have been.  It's a cruel world.

Fun Fact:  I've been listening to this week's tune since the early 1980's, and had no idea until I did my weekly half-assed research that "pulling mussels" was British slang for coitus.  And now, sadly, I am far too old to ever have a chance to use the phrase to show how cool I am....

"Pulling Mussels (from the Shell" was the second single released (in the U.K.) from Squeeze's whimsically titled LP Argybargy (more British slang, for a rousing argument or discussion).  The song was not released in the U.S. as a single, but did reach #44 on the UK Singles Chart.  The album reached #32 in Great Britain, and was the first Squeeze album to chart here in the States, peaking at #76.

"Pulling Mussels (from the Shell)" is like a short story, a soliloquy of painted lyrics from Chris Difford describing a typical English middle class holiday.  When you add in Tilbrook's understated melodies to Difford's vivid portrait, you have a masterpiece.  Tilbrook sings with a light-hearted lilt, and the song has an uptempo instrumental break featuring Tilbrook on guitar for a bit (he swears he only plays one note...he does wonders with it) which segues into a brilliant piano solo featuring the incomparable Jools Holland.  It's got a catchy as all hell chorus--emaycee fave--to boot.  It's a band making the most of its abilities for your musical enjoyment...and I still have at least one more Squeeze song to go (sometime in 2024, I believe).  A wondrous piece of Brit pop.

Lyric Sheet:  "But behind the chalet, my holiday's complete/And I feel like William Tell/ Maid Marian on her tiptoed feet/Pulling mussels from a shell..."

Enjoy:

492,000+ Dead Americans Because of Donald Trump's Incompetence

Peace,

emaycee

Friday Night Jukebox, Vol. CCCXVI--Des'ree: You Gotta Be

 We have another first this week on Friday Night Jukebox--this week's artist is the first to have an apostrophe in the middle of their name.  How exciting!

Des'ree (original name:  Desiree Annette Weekes) was born in London, England in 1968, and at the ripe old age of 22 had her first record contract (her boyfriend had sent a demo to a record label).  Her first album was released just a few short weeks after her signing, and wound up a top thirty hit in the U.K.  She had the bulk of her success in the nineties, though she did release her first album in sixteen years in 2019.  Des'ree has won a Brit Award.  I have to admit to being a bit surprised that this week's tune didn't grab at least one Grammy nod--must have been a good year for female R & B.  For her career, Des'ree has released five studio albums, two compilations, and 18 singles.  While she has taken a couple of hiatuses through the years (once to train as a nutritionist and once to take care of her ailing mother), she does continue to make music.

Fun Fact:  Des'ree and 600,000 British schoolchildren became the world record holders for "most people simultaneously singing the same song" when she led them in a rendition of "You Gotta Be" in 2008.  Which, come to think of it, is a pretty cool record to hold.

"You Gotta Be" was originally released as a single in 1994 from her album I Ain't Movin.  The song reached #5 (with a bullet!) on the Billboard Hot 100, while the album reached #27 on the Billboard 200.  The single was released twice more, in 1995 and 1999 (the latter after it was used in a Ford Focus commercial).  Oddly, the 1999 release charted higher than the original in her native U.K., peaking at #10 versus #20 for the original.

Every now and again, a song comes out of nowhere and becomes a pleasant surprise in providing listening pleasure, which "You Gotta Be" has now done for me for the better part of twenty-six years.  Des'ree flashes her power of positive thinking vibe throughout, and even for an "expect the worst, hope for the best" kind of guy like me it works perfectly.  Amazingly enough, the music is upbeat throughout, with a catchy as all hell chorus that can even make the hopelessly rhythm challenged into good dancers (I'm proof posi...well "good" might be stretching it).  Des'ree nails the vocal with a soulful sweetness that shoots straight from her lungs and right on out through her heart.  Hell, when I watch the music video, it's as if Des'ree is a high priestess guiding us all up into clouds filled with peace, love, and happiness--and when a song can make you feel like you're in another world, you know that that's one fine piece of music.

Lyric Sheet:  "You gotta be cool, you gotta be calm, you gotta stay together/All I know, all I know, love will save the day..."

Enjoy:

427,000+ Dead Americans Because of Donald Trump's Incompetence

Peace,

emaycee

Friday Night Jukebox, Vol. CCCXV--Bee Gees: I Started a Joke

This week I could easily have picked any of seven or eight different songs by the featured band, though after doing my weekly half-assed research I was glad I picked this one for what will be seen as a not particularly good reason to anyone other than me....

Like a number of other music artists featured here on Friday Night Jukebox, the Bee Gees are larger than life and their success is much too great to be summed up in a single paragraph.  Their history has been chronicled by writers much better than I and I will leave it to you, dear reader, if you're truly interested to check the link to Wikipedia above.  That being said, the Brothers Gibb for me personally are much like Rod Stewart (though I liked Stewart's early work much better than the Bee Gees)--after the mid-seventies their music (the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack changed the trajectory of their career and music both--and neither in a particularly good way) went in a direction that was exceedingly successful commercially...but was most definitely not one in which my aural sensations were even remotely interested.  Despite my lack of interest, though, the Bee Gees will go down in history as the third greatest selling band behind only the Beatles and the Supremes, and the Gibb brothers have been surpassed in songwriting success only by Lennon and McCartney.  Unsurprisingly, the band has been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the Songwriters Hall of Fame, and has won five Grammys.  Their discography shows 22 albums and 83 singles released, but that hardly does justice to their career--they literally had chart success that at times even bettered the Beatles.  But for my money--and here I bolster my old fart cred--the first 20 years of their career was where the best of their talents were shown.  Sadly, only Barry Gibb remains with us today--Maurice passed in 2003 and Robin in 2012.

Fun Fact:  Many people--myself included--though that the letter words Bee Gees stood for the "Brothers Gibb" but they do not.  It actually stands for Bill Goode (with a nod to Barry Gibb who shared his initials), a speedway promoter who gave them a big break very early in their careers and let them play at his racetrack in between races.  They did not have a name for their band so Goode graced them with his initials.

"I Started a Joke" was released as a single in 1969 from their album of the same year Idea.  It would reach #6 (with a bullet!) on the Billboard Hot 100.  It was not released in their native U.K. (born there, though their career got its start in Australia) so as to try and sell more albums--which worked quite well as the album hit #4 on the U.K. charts but peaked at #17 on the Billboard 200.

The Bee Gees admit that the song has very little meaning--it was written at a time when psychedelia was popular and the brothers put together a few somewhat odd lyrics and listeners found their own meanings in the song (and is my reason for being glad I chose this song as I noted above).  The tune is a good reminder of the music of its era--it's a prime example of sixties pop (reminiscent to me of the Mersey sound), and while a bit on the self-indulgent side, it's a hell of a song.  While Barry's falsetto punctuated much of their late 70's success, in their early days it was Robin's soulful vibrato that carried their music, and he uses it to great effect on "I Started a Joke."  The music is soft and melodic--though multiple instruments are used, the strings lovingly smooth the way for the other instrumentation and Robin's vocals.  All in all, it makes for a song that takes me back to a time when peace, love, and dope seemed to be enough to hope for, and the world seemed still to be ours.  Time and tide may have proven that unattainable...but this week's tune is a nice reminder of when it all still seemed possible.

Lyric Sheet:  "Till I finally died, which started the whole world living/Oh, if I'd only seen that the joke was on me..."

Enjoy:

405,000+ Dead Americans Because of Donald Trump's Incompetence

Certified Tally--Biden:  306 EV's, Trump:  232

emaycee

Friday Night Jukebox, Vol. CCCI--The Psychedelic Furs: Pretty in Pink

 This week's tune is novel for the fact that a remade version of it charted higher here in the States than did the original version--despite the fact that it completely lost the edge that made the original such a visceral experience.  The remake was done for a movie of the same name supposedly based on the song...which actually had nothing whatsoever to do with the song (though not a bad movie).  Moral of the story:  avoid the 1986 version like the plague (probably not a good comparison in a year in which a pandemic played such a central role...).

The Psychedelic Furs--one of rock and roll's better monikers--formed in London in 1977 and had most of their original success in the U.K. and Europe.  Their second album broke them in the U.S. and they would go on to have a string of hits here and across the pond through 1992, at which time they took an eight year hiatus.  After reforming in 2000 the Furs have toured regularly and just this year released their first album in thirty years.  Brothers Richard (vocals) and Tim (bass) Butler are the only two members to have remained in the band throughout their tenure, and the Furs, like many a band before them, has had numerous incarnations.  For their career they have released eight studio LPs, two live albums, and eight compilation albums.  They've also released 22 singles, with much more success in Great Britain than here.  Overall, the Furs have had a solid career over the course of the last forty-three years, and one would imagine it beat the hell out of working in a fish and chips shop.

"Pretty in Pink" was originally released as a single in 1981 from their somewhat repetitively titled second album, Talk Talk Talk.  The song did not chart here in America, but would reach #43 on the UK Singles chart (so many cool kids in the U.K.!).  The album hit #30 in the British Isles and #89 here in the U.S.  Sadly, the remake was their biggest hit single in England and their second biggest single in the States--sometimes there's just no accounting for taste.

Occasionally, if you follow the world of rock and roll, you'll come across a song or a band that's described as garage rock, i.e. it sounds like music an enthusiastic group of young musicians whipped up in their garage.  I've often thought "Pretty in Pink" (and to a degree much of the Furs early work) falls into this category.  It's a little rough around the edges...but that roughness is what drives the song and takes a not so easy to tell story and makes it into a great song (the song chronicles a young woman who is sexually adventurous and some believe that pretty in pink refers to her nude body).  Butler's gravelly vocals (one of the few British singers who keeps a hint of his accent as he sings) toes the line between respect for her sexual choices and scorn for her often callous lovers.  The guitars reverberate like oceans waves continuously crashing the shore, and the drums explode from the song's opening moment to its last, smashing and smashing a manic beat.  It's one of those songs where a pretty good band turns in a stellar performance--so much so that even thirty-nine years later some doofus like me is still waxing enthusiastic about it.

Lyric Sheet:  "She turns herself 'round and she smiles and she says/"This is it, that's the end of the joke"/And loses herself in her dreaming and sleep/And her lovers walk through in their coats..."

Enjoy:

219,000+ Dead Americans

Fuck Donald Trump,

emaycee

Friday Night Jukebox, Vol. CCXCIII--The Ting Tings: That's Not My Name

My introduction to this week's tune came some years back one New Year's Eve when the Ting Tings were a guest on one of the countdown shows as I waited for the clock to strike up the New Year.  Couldn't begin to remember which show it was, but the song was one I knew I had to hear more of and I haven't come close to forgetting it since.

The Ting Tings formed in 2007 when Katie White and Jules De Martino bonded over the fact that they were both fans of Portishead.  With a friend they formed a band called Dear Eskimo, only to quit a short time later due to a dislike of their label's management style (theme for their career).  White got a job as a bartender at a club and she and De Martino formed the Ting Tings around an incorporation of sounds heard at the club.  They eventually landed another label deal and released their first LP in 2008.  It became a big hit and started them on path that lasts to this day, though commercial success has been scant since that first release.  For their career, the Ting Tings have released four LPs and have had a #1 album on the U.K. Albums chart.  They have also released ten singles and had two of them hit the top ten on the U.K. Singles charts, including one #1.  They have received two nominations for the Brit Awards and a Grammy nomination as well.  They released their latest album in 2018.

Fun Fact:  The Ting Tings were named for a coworker of White's at the aforementioned club whose name was, surprisingly enough, Ting Ting.  It supposedly sounds a lot like the Mandarin word for "bandstand," and also means "the sound of innovation on an open mind."  Alrighty, then.

"That's Not My Name" was released as the third single from their first album, We Started Nothing.  Both the album and the single reached #1 in the U.K. (so many cool kids across the pond!), while here in the States the song hit #39 (with a bullet!) on the Billboard Hot 100 and the album #78 on the Billboard 200.

"That's Not My Name" started out as a rant by White over her anger at the recording industry...and became a nice slice of pop pie.  The song is a cornucopia of rhythm--the drums are prominent throughout and they make liberal use of (emaycee fave!) hand claps.  Even the vocals are delivered as if shot from a machine gun.  White sings with a fierce fury, evoking the determination of a woman who has been wronged for the last time.  There's a nice bridge where De Martino tosses out some sing song lyrics while White sings over it with a harmony that borders on the ethereal.  In the end, the Ting Tings make use of a plethora of musical styles--rock, electronica, rap, funk, dance--and engender a syrupy sweet pop gem.

Lyric Sheet:  "Holding back, everyday the same/Don't want to be a loner/Listen to me, oh no/I never say anything at all..."

Enjoy:

Fuck Donald Trump,
emaycee

Friday Night Jukebox, Vol. CCLXXXVII--Mott the Hoople: All the Young Dudes

My introduction to this week's tune, oddly enough, came when Queen had success with the David Bowie penned "Under Pressure."  I was about six months into my career with Camelot Music when the song was released, and a co-worker noted upon it reaching hit status that Bowie had bailed out another band whose career was headed into oblivion (might have been a slight exaggeration for Queen).  I nodded like I understood what he meant (actually had no clue) and went home that night and found some old rock and roll books and was able to deduce that he was speaking of this week's tune....

Mott the Hoople (named for a character in a novel of the same name who earned his living as a circus freak) formed in 1969 in England and had a couple of incarnations before settling in as a band.  They had some moderate success with their first four albums, but were ready to disband when David Bowie, a fan of the group, heard and offered them his song "Suffragette City."  The band said no thanks (who the fuck turns down a song from David Bowie?), so Bowie offered them this week's tune in 1972 and the rest, as they say, is history.  The single gave them enough credibility that they were able to continue as a band until 1980.  They've had four reunions since then, and as of this year are officially a group once again.  For their career, Mott the Hoople released 7 studio albums (and two more as just Mott), nine live albums, and 12 compilations.  They also released 15 singles, seven of which charted in the U.K., and three of which charted here in the states.  Sadly, two of the band's original members have gone to The Great Rock Concert in the Sky, but as noted above, Mott the Hoople continues to trudge along the oldies circuit.

"All the Young Dudes" was released as a single in 1972 from their album entitled, appropriately enough, All the Young Dudes.  The song would go on to become the biggest hit of their career, reaching #3 in their native U.K. and #37 (with a bullet!) on the Billboard Hot 100.  It was also #253 on Rolling Stone's original list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All-Time.

Fun Fact:  The song is often considered a glam rock anthem and/or a gay anthem, but Bowie staunchly insisted it was neither.  He said it was about the end of life as we know it on earth and the young men having to deliver that news to the rest us.

While Bowie may not have considered the song to be an anthem, that is certainly what it became.  I've seen (on film) Bowie perform it live (remarkably similar to Mott the Hoople's version), and I can guarantee you it's one of those songs that not one person in the audience isn't singing and swaying along.  Vocally, Ian Hunter delivers the performance of a lifetime, replete with an urgency reflected again and again in the impromptu shouts of the chorus that gives the song a life of its own.  All the more is that Bowie wrote what may be the best lyrics of his career (I'm sure many would disagree) and Hunter and the band do not waste a one of them--from the poignant guitar that opens to the rousing backing vocals through the chorus there is never a doubt in this one that you are listening to one of the truly great songs in the annals of rock and roll.

Lyric Sheet:   "Television man is crazy/Saying we're juvenile delinquent wrecks/Oh, man, I need TV when I got T-Rex..."

Enjoy:

Fuck Donald Trump,
emaycee

Friday Night Jukebox, Vol. CCLXXXI--Gerry and the Pacemakers: Ferry Cross the Mersey

If they gave musicians lessons on how to write the perfect pop tune, this week's ditty (one of my all time favorite pop songs) could serve as an exceptional example of how to do exactly that.

Gerry and the Pacemakers were formed in 1959 (the same year I was born--coincidence?  I think not...) in Liverpool, U.K. (hmm, seems some other band I know of was from there...) by Gerry Marsden.  After being signed by Brian Epstein (of The Beatles fame), they recorded their first single in 1963 (produced by George Martin, who helped produce a song or two for The Beatles) which promptly went to #1 on the U.K. Charts, as did their next two singles, making them the first band ever in the U.K. to have their first three singles reach the top of the chart.  Their fourth single release would just miss, reaching #2.  Though for several years Gerry and the Pacemakers and their Merseybeat sound rivaled the Beatles  in popularity in their native U.K., by 1966 they were finished, but they reunited off and on from 1972 through 2018 when Marsden announced his retirement.  For their career they released a dozen albums (with a #2 and #19 in the U.K., a number 13 here in the U.S.), and 19 singles with six top ten hits in the United Kingdom and three here in the States.  They also made a film (see below) which many consider, for better or worse, to be their A Hard Day's Night (and considering the plots are remarkably similar and they had the same management as the Beatles, it's not surprising).  Other than its theatrical release, the movie has never been shown on TV or released on video.

"Ferry Cross the Mersey" was released in 1965 on the soundtrack for the film of the same name as noted above.  The single would reach #6 (with a bullet!) on the Billboard Hot 100, and #8 on the U.K. chart.  The soundtrack was their second highest charting album in the U.K. and their highest charting LP here in America.

Fun Fact:  It's a lot funner for me, but as regular readers (both of you) know, I've mentioned the Chicago radio station WLS-AM 89 a time of two here before as being quite the influence on my musical tastes (a collective yawn is not taken personally!), and interestingly enough (or not) "Ferry Cross the Mersey" had its best sales in Chicago, where it reached #1 on...WLS-AM 89.  Too cool for words....

In an odd confluence, as I was roaming about the house this week singing "Ferry Cross the Mersey" to my heart's content, it dawned on me that the song reminded me of (and I am in no way equating the two) The Kinks' "Waterloo Sunset"--and sure enough as I was doing my weekly half-assed research I checked out the Wikipedia entry for the the Kinks song in which Ray Davies noted that he was heavily influenced by the Merseybeat sound when he wrote the song, and that the song was originally called "Liverpool Sunset."  For those not familiar, the Mersey is a river which runs through Liverpool and into Liverpool Bay.  Much like "Waterloo Sunset," "Ferry Cross the Mersey" is a nice song about a moment in time in one's home city and the strong bond that many are lucky enough in life to develop to it.  Marsden delivers an understated vocal that captures his bond with Liverpool, and the lyrics offer a beautiful slice of the life he loves there.  The melody is the stuff dreams are made of--I've literally been singing it for the last three days and it just never gets old.  Wondrous, artful, serene--I'm not sure there are enough adjectives to describe how much I love this slice of pop music pie, another in a long line of songs that have made every moment I've spent listening and learning about music more than worth the while.

Lyric Sheet:   "People around every corner/They seem to smile and say/We don't care what your name is boy/We'll never turn you away..."

Enjoy:

Fuck Donald Trump,

emaycee