Friday Night Jukebox, Vol. DLII--Shawn Mullins: Lullaby

A little ditty, about...another FNJ post that's (stylishly?) late....

My introduction to this week's tune came back in the day when I was still living in my one-bedroom apartment in Belleville, IL.  Memories being what they are, I can't remember if it was via the video on MTV or VH-1 or Much Music, or on my cable services radio on the TV.  I was intrigued but not certain of the song after my first listen, if I recall, but after a few more times hearing it came to love its take on L.A.'s lifestyles of the rich and famous....  

If ever there was an artist here on Friday Night Jukebox that met the definition of one hit wonder, it's Shawn Mullins.  Born and raised in Atlanta, GA, Mullins got his start musically in high school (Clarkston Hight School in Clarkston, GA, not to be confused with Clarkston High School in Clarkston, MI where my youngest son went to school...oh the things we learn here on our Friday Night posts, or Sunday night as the case may be), continued during his time in the military (honorably discharged as a first lieutenant), and began in earnest when his military service ended.  His big hit came in 1998, and it's allowed him to carry on as a musician now for thirty-five years.  He also joined a supergroup (of sorts--they all had modest success), The Thorns, with emaycee kind of fave Pete Droge (first post, second post) and Matthew Sweet.  For his career, Mullins has released 10 studio albums, five live albums, and three compilations.

Fun Fact:  Please don't take this in the wrong way, because I thoroughly believe having even just one minor hit, let alone a top ten hit, in your musical career is utterly astounding, but one of Mullins' compilations is called The Essential Shawn Mullins and it struck me as kind of funny because how "essential" can the music of a one hit wonder be?  Again, see opening words of previous sentence....

"Lullaby" was the first single released from Mullins' sixth album, the rather existentially entitled Soul's Core.  The single would reach #7 (with a bullet!) on the Billboard Hot 100 (and #2 in Canada--so many cool kids in the Great White North!), while the album peaked at #54 on the Billboard 200 (and was eventually certified as platinum--another feather in Mr. Mullins' cap).

For a hit single, "Lullaby" is certainly something of an oddity.  For one, it's a nuanced portrait of a sad rich girl, growing up around the stars in L.A., and a gentle poke at the Los Angeles celebrity culture.  For another, other than the chorus, it's more a spoken word performance than actual singing.  But Mullins makes it work, delivering a deadpan description of her life and the star-studded city, and, probably most importantly to its hit status, absolutely nailing a catchy as all hell chorus.  Throughout there's a discerning acoustic guitar, some nice electric guitar bits in the chorus, and just enough from the drums to keep the rhythm flowing.  In the end, it's just a different enough take on a pop tune to keep you coming back for more, and a pat on the back to Mr. Mullins for rolling the dice and having it come up Top Ten Hit.

Lyric Sheet: "I ain't so sure about this place/It's hard to play a gig in this town/And keep a straight face/Seems like everybody's got a plan/It's kind of life Nashville with a tan..."

Enjoy:

Fuck Donald Trump

Peace,

emaycee

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

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhh! Part 1

For fuck's sake, Francis, I'm losing my fucking mind.

Why on earth would any human being on the planet--let alone people voting for the most powerful person in the world--give two shits what Ted Nugent thinks about anything?  So the Motor City Idiot gives some half-baked opinions about President Obama--we're talking a third rate music talent who had one minor hit ("Cat Scratch Fever"--not worth the effort to listen to) nearly forty years ago--I mean, who gives a fuck?

Dave Loggins had a hit with "Please Come to Boston"--are we seeking out his opinions on President Obama?  Martin Briley had a hit with "The Salt in My Tears"--are we covering his remarks on the Democrats?  What about Shawn Mullins of "Lullaby" fame?  What do you suppose he thinks?

For Christ's sake--I imagine had any of those three had an IQ of ten and made their life's goal to kill Bambi maybe their thoughts would matter then....

Peace,
emaycee