Friday Night Jukebox, Vol. CDXVII--Avicii: Wake Me Up

 Hard to believe, but with this week's tune we'll wrap up the eighth year of Friday Night Jukebox.  And--surprise of surprises--it's yet another tune recommended by my darling daughter.  I want to say she and my son-in-law first heard the tune when they went to Great Britain for their belated honeymoon...but the memory, while still pretty good, isn't quite what it used to be, so I won't swear to it.  I do remember that she wasn't sure I'd like it (not an unreasonable assumption based on my being an old fart and it being some of that newfangled music), but it proved to be a special single and so here we are, closing season number eight with it....

Avicii (birth name Tim Bergling) was born in Stockholm, Sweden in 1989 and by the time most kids are graduating from college, he'd already had a hit record and was well on his way to becoming a superstar.  Over the course of his unfortunately short career, Avicii worked with numerous artists, had numerous releases, and was credited by some for being one of the driving forces behind electronica's transition into the mainstream in the 2010's.  His Wikipedia bio had a few too many facts to include all of them here, but it was quite obvious that he was a global phenomenon and an incredibly talented D.J.  He released three studio LPs (one posthumously), all of which reached the top twenty in the U.S., and a whopping fifty-six singles in his brief career.  He was also nominated for two Grammy Awards.  Avicii retired from performing in 2016, but the pressure from fans and management for him to return combined with serious substance abuse issues eventually led to his all too untimely death from suicide in 2018 at the far too young age of twenty-eight.  Just a tragic, tragic loss.

Fun Fact:  Avicii took his name from Avici, which is the lowest level of hell in Buddhism and the one with the most suffering.  It is also one of the twenty-eight hells in Hinduism...so there's a hell of a lot of hells when it comes to Avici.

"Wake Me Up" was the first single released from Avicii's debut album, True.  The single reached #4 (with a bullet!) on the Billboard Hot 100 and hit number one in thirty-one countries (so many cool kids around the world!).  The album hit #5 on the Billboard 200 and #1 in four other countries, including his native Sweden.

I'd be the first to admit my knowledge of electronica is just slightly north of my knowledge of string theory, but from the acoustic guitar intro from co-writer Mike Einziger of Incubus, to the soulful vocals of co-writer Aloe Blacc, to the swirling electronica added by co-writer Avicii, it's not too hard to understand just how special this collaboration was.  It's poignant, euphoric, and soothing all at once, as well as groundbreaking with the melding of folk/country with electronica (known as Folktronica).  I've mentioned it a time or two before, but every now and again musically everything falls into place on a particular piece of music and we as fans are fortunate enough to witness brilliance--and Avicii's "Wake Me Up" is just one more instance of our very good fortune.

Lyric Sheet:  "Tried carrying the weight of the world/But I only have two hands/I hope I get the chance to travel the world/But I don't have any plans..."

Enjoy:

Republicans = Losers

Peace,

emaycee

Friday Night Jukebox, Vol. CCXXIII--The Teddybears featuring Iggy Pop: Punkrocker

This week's tune has a bit of the bittersweet to it, as it was introduced to me by my nephew Josh, who we lost last July to the ravages of ALS at the all too young age of 34.  Rest in peace, Josh--and thanks for the tune...

The Teddybears hail from Stockholm, Sweden, and originally formed in 1991.  They started out as a hardcore punk band (as Teddybears STHLM) but over the years have incorporated electronica, hip-hop, rock, and reggae into their music (and are now just the plain old Teddybears).  Over the course of their career they have released 7 albums, 5 EPs, and 18 singles--which must have done quite well in their native Sweden but have done fuck-all here in the States for all the information I could find on their chart success.  Since 2006 the band members have begun donning bear masks for all of their tours and album artwork...I suppose because they can.

Fun Fact:  Because so many Norwegian and Swedish hardcore metal bands (don't know why but it seems a bit odd that such bands hail from Scandinavia, too) have dark and macabre sounding names, the Teddybears went for something soft and cuddly...just to be a wee bit different.

"Punkrocker" was originally released in 2000 on the album Rock 'n' Roll Highschool (no relation to the Ramones soundtrack of the same name, near as I can tell).  It was re-released in 2006, this time with vocals featuring Iggy Pop on their album Soft Machine, which is the version we're celebrating this week.  The Wikipedia entry for "Punkrocker" said it was a minor hit here in America, but I could find no proof of it ever charting so no shout out for Billboard magazine this week.  The song did have a run as the background music for a Cadillac commercial...because the first thing I think of when I think of Cadillac is punk rock....

For those who sit around and wonder, like me, just how important vocals are in rock and roll, one only has to compare the original version of "Punkrocker" to know the answer.  I gave it a listen and it's a nice little pop tune that had I heard back when it was first released, I probably would have liked.  But I tell you what, give the lead vocals to Iggy Pop, and the song soars from nice little pop tune into the realms of great pop singles.  There's a desperation to his vocals that ties in perfectly with the mood of the song, and it takes quite a vocalist to make nihilism sound cool, but Iggy pull that off, too.  The Teddybears liven it up with some scrumptious drumming that really drives the song and some subtle guitar and even a bit of synthesizer that carries it to Catchy As All Hell Heaven.  I defy you to listen to the chorus and not have it swimming in your head happily for the next week.  In a testament to its high quality, it's the kind of song that will almost make you forgive Sweden for ABBA....

Lyric Sheet:  "See me die on Bleecker Street/I'm bored with being good/See me sneering in my car/I'm driving to my star...

Enjoy:

Fuck Donald Trump.
emaycee