Man, it has not been a good week for some of my rock and roll favorites from my youth--Eddie Money on Friday and now news that Ric Ocasek , the wizard behind the Cars, was found dead at the age of 75 in his apartment on Saturday. My loyal followers (both of you) will recall that I wrote about the Cars' song "My Best Friend's Girl" on Friday Night Jukebox a little more than a year ago.
It's hard to understate what a breath of fresh air the Cars were when they first arrived on the scene--while they may have eventually thrown their lot with commercial success, their first album was unlike anything that many of us (especially those of us growing up in small and conservative midwestern towns) had ever heard. Ocasek was the quirky genius (Jesus, he's one of the few humans that could make dorkiness look and seem cool) who brought it all together--his lead guitar, vocals, and songwriting had a uniqueness that opened the door for a lot of bands that followed.
Fortunately, as a great man (Bob Seger) once noted in song, rock and roll never forgets--the sadly appropriate, "Since You're Gone":
And it's off to my original hometown of San Francisco for this week's tune--who knew there were so many cool kids in San...wait, I do--I'm a cool kid dork from The Bay Area...
Romeo Void was formed in 1979 at the San Francisco Art Institute by lead singer Deborah Iyall and bassist Frank Zincavage. Their first album, It's a Condition, is considered by some to be a post-punk classic (sadly, another in a long line of greatly reviewed albums I've never heard--so much good music, so little time...), and they were compared favorably to Joy Division (can definitely hear it), and Gang of Four (not familiar enough with to know). They would follow that up with an EP produced by Ric Ocasek, which contained this week's featured tune, and their second full length album, which yielded their only top forty hit, "A Girl in Trouble (Is a Temporary Thing)" (not my cup of tea). They would release one more LP before disbanding in 1985, though they have reunited on occasion through the years. Lead singer Iyall went on to become an art teacher, and still dabbles in the odd musical side project, and most of the other band members have continued their musical adventure in one incarnation or another. At the end of my weekly half-assed research, I came to the conclusion that for having only released 3 and 1/2 albums, they sure have garnered a lot of critical music cred and that's not a bad legacy for such a short-lived band.
Released on their cleverly named EP, Never Say Never, in 1981, "Never Say Never" never charted as a single, so once again this week we have no shout outs for Billboard magazine. Interestingly, the video for the song was an MTV staple after its release, and is a spoof of Jean Luc-Godard's classic film Breathless (he says like he's some movie connoisseur though the only French film he's ever seen is Amelie, and that was like eighty years ago). The song was also released on their second album, Benefactor, presumably as a way to boost sales....
While I presume the song is about a one-sided sexual attraction, Iyall's lyrics (she is considered one of the better lyricists of her era) are a bit obscure, so it's really anybody's guess. The song is driven (much like Joy Division's "Love Will Tear Us Apart") by the bass line (and what a bass line it is), though the jangly guitar (one piece called it jagged, but I'll stick with my favorite guitar description) certainly gives the song nuance. The creme de la creme, though, is the saxophone, which for a new wave/post-punk band of the early 80's is something of a novelty--and really sets the song apart from so many others of its era. Not to be forgotten are Iyall's vocals which really kind of round the song out with their bluntness and cavalier disgust, which never really borders on anger. As I listened to it closely for the first time in years, I was struck by how much it presaged the Alternative movement that would hit in the next ten years. It's a song of and before its time, and a gem of a tune from my city by the bay.
Lyric Sheet: "Old couple walks by, as ugly as sin/But he's got her and she's got him..."
Hard as it may be to believe nearly forty years down the road, but when the Cars released their first album in 1978 they were right up there with a slew of bands from the mid to late 70's such as Elvis Costello, The Clash, The Sex Pistols, The Ramones, The Police, Talking Heads, and Dire Straits as far as bands that all the cool kids (or music dorks) were listening to and music critics were fawning over. Alas, unlike the the other performers who shared their time frame (with the exception of Dire Straits who pretty much followed a similar career path as the Cars), the Cars stopped pushing the envelope musically after their first LP and headed straight into massive mainstream success and rested upon the laurels of their debut album.
But, oh, what laurels to rest upon....
Formed circa 1976 in Boston Massachusetts, the Cars exploded onto the music scene in 1978 on the heels of their aptly entitled debut, The Cars, which would go on to sell six million copies and remain on the Billboard 200 for 139 weeks (and rank at #284 on Rolling Stone's "500 Greatest Albums of All Time" list), Over the course of the next ten years the Cars would release five more albums, garner a couple of Grammy nominations, win the first ever Video of the Year at the MTV Video Music Awards in 1984 (Zzzzz....), sell millions more records, and call it quits in 1988. Twenty-two years later they reformed and released the obligatory reunion album replete with the obligatory reunion tour (sadly, co-founder--along with Ric Ocasek--Benjamin Orr had passed away in 2000 from pancreatic cancer), and they remain together to the present day, still touring and still hoping for that call from the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame that so many of their contemporaries noted above (except Dire Straits) have already received.
Fun (and slightly sad) Fact: Nirvana performed a cover version of "My Best Friend's Girl" at their final concert in 1994.
Opening with a funkily tuned guitar that until I did my weekly half-assed research I had always assumed was a bass guitar line, and mixing in some hand claps shortly thereafter, "My Best Friend's Girl" can best be described as quirky fun--without being a novelty song. The rather strange subject matter (a man salaciously describing his best friend's girlfriend...who it just so happens, used to be his girlfriend), Ric Ocasek's matter of fact vocals, and, of all things, some rockabilly guitar licks surrounded by synth pop technology made for a song (as with others on their debut album) that wasn't quite like anything I'd ever heard before in 1978, and made for months of delicious fun singing along with the band's backing vocalists as they harmonized "my best friend's girlfriend" again and again in support of Ocasek's oddball lyrics and lovestruck vocals. Alas, the song would only reach #35 (with a bullet!) on the Billboard Hot 100, but would go to #3 in the U.K. (why are there so many cool kids in the British Isles?). Still, it's a delightful blast from my past, and has not diminished in my eyes one iota in the last forty years, and is just as joyous and catchy as the first time I heard it.
Lyric Sheet: "You're always dancing down the street/With your suede blue eyes..."
If you're like me, certain songs have certain moments that for whatever odd reason, take a song from being a great song into being one of your all time favorites. For example, there's Paul McCartney's scowl toward the end of "Hey Jude" or Steve Miller's "Oooh, Lord" in "Take the Money and Run" that take the songs to another level.
"Buddy Holly" is chock full of them--from Oh-wee-ooo to Oh, Oh, to Hoo Hoo, if ever there was a song with nonsense syllables to gladden the heart, this week's tune is full of them.
Weezer was formed in 1992 (where the fuck did the time go? seems like just yesterday...), by front man Rivers Cuomo and has had quite the career since, still performing and releasing albums nearly 25 years later. Their first two albums are considered classics and often show up on best albums of all time lists, and they've had a long collection of singles that have charted. For those who may be curious (or not), "Weezer" was a nickname Cuomo's father had for him when he was a child. Cuomo is also one of the few rock stars who possesses a degree from Harvard--a Bachelor of Arts in English. The band has released ten studio albums since its inception, three of which have gone platinum and two of which have gone gold. Not too bad for a power pop band.
Released on their Weezer (Blue Album)--not to be confused with Weezer (Green Album). Weezer (Red Album) or Weezer (White Album (hey that one's been used before!)--"Buddy Holly" was actually the second single released from the album ("Undone-The Sweater Song" was actually first, a piece of trivia I had forgotten over the years). It would eventually reach #18 (with a bullet!) on The Billboard Hot 100. Another fascinating (or not) fact: the single was released on Buddy Holly's birthday. Not really sure why since the song has very little to do with Buddy Holly and doesn't sound much like anything Holly ever did, but there you have it. Also, we have Ric Ocasek (former Cars front man) to thank for the song--Cuomo thought it was too stupid and didn't want to put it on the album but producer Ocasek campaigned for it and eventually won out. Thanks, Ric!
"What's with these homies dissin' my girl?" Uh--how can you not love a song that opens with that line? Jesus, it's one of those "You had me at hello" moments. And the song gets nothing but better. There's heartfelt but not overwrought vocals by Cuomo, all the joys and horrors of young love, all kinds of power guitars, a catchy as all hell chorus, a reference to the delightful Mary Tyler Moore , and as noted earlier, plenty of nonsense syllables to help you sing along. There are plenty of songs that when I hear I am reminded of how good they are, or sound just as good as ever, but there aren't many that get nothing but better with time and "Buddy Holly" is one of them. It's a song that will get stuck in your head and you'll be smiling all day because it is. A true power pop classic.
Lyric sheet: "I don't care what they say about us anyway/I don't care 'bout that..."
The average American gets paid just enough so he doesn't quit his job, and works just hard enough so he doesn't get fired.
"When fascism comes to America, it will be wrapped in the flag and carrying the cross." Source unknown
Uncle emaycee Wants You For the Coming Class War! Enlist today....
Capitalism: Give a man a fish, feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you can exploit his labor, become filthy rich, and keep the poor bastard living paycheck to paycheck for the rest of his life.
