Friday Night Jukebox, Vol. CDXLVII--George Ezra: Shotgun

 I first heard this week's tune while I was slaving away for Save-A-Lot filling grocery shelves and running the cash register.  It's one of those songs that certainly made the workday go just a little bit better....

George Ezra (birth name George Ezra Barnett) was born in Hertford, U.K. in 1993, and though he turned thirty this year, if you look at his face, you'd swear he could have graduated from your local high school this past May.  Ezra comes from a musical family, as his sister joins him on tour and his younger brother makes music as Ten Tonnes.  Much to my surprise (this week's tune is my sole exposure to his music), Ezra, who started his musical career at the ripe old age of twenty, is a huge star in the U.K. (as well as Australia, Ireland, Germany, New Zealand, and Belgium--so many cool kids around the world!) with all three of his albums hitting #1 on the U.K. Albums Chart, and eight top ten singles on the U.K. Singles Chart since 2013.  For his career, he has released three studio albums (as noted above), two EPs, and fifteen singles.  Ezra is currently completing a tour of Europe, and also has a podcast in which he chats with other musicians.

"Shotgun" was the third single from Ezra's 2018 release Staying at Tamara's.  The single was the only #1 single (so far!) for Ezra in the U.K., though it did not chart on the Billboard Hot 100.  The album hit #1 in the U.K. (once again, as noted above), while it reached #68 here in America.

Fun Fact:  When Ezra began writing his second album, he went to Barcelona, but instead of staying at a fancy hotel he rented a spare room from a woman named Tamara (whose home was an artist's colony of sorts).  Not only did his stay there inspire the title for this week's album, a nearby mountain provided the inspiration for this week's song.

"Shotgun" has nothing to do with the weapon, but rather is a reference to riding shotgun--which is something our narrator is having a blast doing while tooling around the world.  Two things really stand out for me.  First is Ezra's vocals--his range is otherworldly, and his vocal inflections are truly one of a kind.  Second, while not technically a summer song, for all intents and purposes, it's a summer song--celebrating the joys of warm weather and being outdoors.  Throw in that it's as catch-catch-catchy as can be, and you have three and a half minutes of pop perfection.

Lyric Sheet:  "We got two in the front/Two in the back/Sailin' along/And we don't look back..."

Enjoy:

Republicans = Nazis

Peace,

emaycee

Friday Night Jukebox, Vol. CDXLIV--The Charlatans: Impossible

Another week, another tune I was introduced to by my darling daughter.  She's made me some killer mix CDs through the years--and several of her picks have added to the luster that shines forth from Friday Night Jukebox....

The Charlatans formed in West Midlands, England in 1988, and while having virtually no success in the U.S. (none of their singles have hit the Billboard Hot 100, and only two of their albums have reached the Billboard 200, with their debut LP peaking the highest at #73), they have had a mammoth career in their native U.K.  They released their debut album in 1980 and it was an immediate success, hitting #1 on the U.K. Albums Chart.  The Charlatans have put together a nice string of hit singles and albums, while expanding and experimenting with their sound, over the past thirty-five years, and not surprisingly have mixed in numerous tours.  For their career, they have released thirteen studio albums (nine of which have hit the top ten in the U.K., with three #1's), three live albums, and six compilations.  The band has also released 48 singles, four of which peaked in the top ten on the U.K. Singles Chart.  The band is still touring; sadly, original members Rob Collins (auto accident, 1995) and Jon Brookes (cancer, 2013) are no longer with them.  The Charlatans haven't released a new studio album since 2017.

Fun Fact:  Due to there already being a band called The Charlatans in the U.S., for a number of years the English version had to dub themselves The Charlatans U.K. here in the States.

"Impossible" was the third single from their 1999 album the rather selfishly entitled Us and Us Only.  The single hit #15 on the U.K. Singles Chart, while the album reached #2 on the U.K. Albums Chart.

Opening with some thickly strummed and stark acoustic guitar, "Impossible" lets you know right off the bat that it's not going to be just another single.  A little later a jaunty piano joins in, followed closely by some driving drums and the song becomes catch-catch-catchy as all hell.  The lyrics chronicle a dying (if not dead) relationship, and while they're definitely a cut above the usual pop music fare, they're also a bit on the bitter side--not quite a "fuck you" but not far from it either.  As I listened to it while doing my weekly half-assed research, it struck me that the song--both musically and vocally--was reminiscent of mid to late sixties Bob Dylan, only to discover that, sure enough the band had been fans of, and the album was influenced by, Dylan (among others).  When my daughter first sent it to me, it was a song I wanted to hear again and again--and some twenty odd years later I still turn the volume up just a little bit more when I hear it, and it won't be long before I'm back for yet another listen....

Lyric Sheet: "You can't kill an idea cause it's raining/Keep it in the family, keep it in the kids/You know, they're all handing out free tickets/This big old boat is-a-startin' to sink..."

Enjoy:

Republicans = Nazis

Peace,

emaycee

Friday Night Jukebox, Vol. CDXXIV--Doves: Catch the Sun

 I've been wracking my brain this week trying to remember what introduced me to this week's tune.  At first, I thought it was via my TV while I was living in St. Louis on one of those music channels that come with a cable subscription...until I realized I'd left St. Louis by the time the single was released.  I also thought it might be through MTV--apparently the video isn't available anymore though it was supposed to have been really cool--but I have no recollection of said really cool video.  No matter--a good tune is a good tune whether you remember where you heard it first or not....

The Doves (comprised of Jimi Goodwin and twin brothers Jez and Andy Williams) met in high school at the age of fifteen, and a few years later started a dance band called Sub Sub.  They had a couple of hits on the U.K. Singles chart in the early nineties, but in 1996 their studio burned to the ground, and they decided to start anew as an alternative band named, surprisingly enough, Doves.  It would prove to be quite the shrewd move, as their first album would be nominated for the Mercury Prize, and they would go on to have two #1 albums and a #2 in their native U.K. between 1998-2010.  The Doves took a hiatus in 2010 and didn't reform until 2018.  They released another album in 2020 and it, too, hit the top of the U.K. Albums Chart.  For their career the band has released five studio albums and seventeen singles.  While they have been quite the phenomenon in their home country, they've never had an album reach higher than #83 here in the U.S.--still they've had a pretty good gig over the past thirty some odd years.

"Catch the Sun" was the second single released from their debut album Lost Souls.  The single reached #32 in the U.K., and the album hit #16 there as well.  Neither charted in the U.S.

Fun Fact:  The Doves worked as Badly Drawn Boy's backing band for his album The House of the Bewilderbeast shortly before releasing their first album.  Oddly enough, both albums were nominated for the Mercury Prize in 2000 and the Doves lost to...Badly Drawn Boy.

When I listen to "Catch the Sun" I hear a cacophony of sounds but despite its helter-skelter musicality, it works not in spite of but because of its simplicity--it's just guitar, bass, and drums but you'd swear there's an orchestra behind it.  The song--a carpe diem, of sorts--is infused with a measured exuberance both musically and vocally that takes it many steps beyond so many other songs that seek to inspire us in our daily toils.  Throw in a chorus that's so catchy it would make the Gods of Pop weep for its aural euphoria, and you have a brilliant piece of pop that makes for another righteous addition to the annals of Friday Night Jukebox.

Lyric Sheet:  "Catch the sun, before it's gone/Here it comes, up in smoke and gone...

Enjoy:

Republicans = Nazis

Peace,

emaycee

Friday Night Jukebox, Vol. CCCLXXIX--Travis: Why Does It Always Rain on Me?

This week's featured tune is another in a long list of artists/songs introduced to me by my lovely daughter.  At one time, she was quite the aficionado of Brit Pop, and her sharing of her love of the genre led me to many a good tune and many a good band....

Travis had its beginnings in 1990 in Glasgow, Scotland, and by 1991 had all of the members who would form the core of the band.  They had their first taste of success with their debut album, Good Feeling, in 1997, and with their second album (featuring this week's tune) in 1999 were well on their way to critical and commercial success. While the bulk of their success has been in their native U.K., they have had a modicum of success here in the States.  Travis has won two Brit Awards and are considered by some as having set the stage for Keane and Coldplay (both of whom have also been blessed enough to be featured on Friday Night Jukebox).  For their career, Travis have released nine studio albums (with two #1's on the U.K. Albums Chart and seven of the nine reaching the top five), and 24 singles (six of which have hit the top ten on the U.K. Singles Chart).  They released their latest LP in 2020 and continue to tour and record.  For those wondering, the band's name came from the character of Travis Henderson (portrayed by Harry Dean Stanton) in the critically acclaimed film, Paris, Texas.

"Why Does It Always Rain on Me?" was the third single released from Travis' career making second album, The Man Who.  The song would hit #10 (with a bullet, or whatever the British equivalent of Billboard's bullet is) on the U.K. Singles Chart, while the album was their first #1 on the U.K. Albums Chart.  Neither entered the top 100 in America.

Fun Fact:  This is probably the coolest Fun Fact yet...When Travis played the Glastonbury Festival in support of the recently released The Man Who album, the album had already peaked on the album chart and was beginning to look like a sales disappointment.  However, as the band broke into "Why Does It Always Rain on Me?" it began to rain (after several hours of sunshine) and stopped raining when the band finished the song.  Word of mouth about the incident caused people to flood radio stations with requests and the band's album as well as the single became a hit, very likely rescuing the band's career.

Every now and again while preparing Friday Night Jukebox, I come across a song that I had forgotten how wonderful it truly was, and "Why Does It Always Rain on Me" was such a song this week.  From Fran Healy's understated but heartfelt vocals to the melancholy--yet still hopeful--lyrics, this tune is about as good as a pop song can get.  The melody is like a dream, and the band hits all the right notes, highlighting Healy's vocals while adding their own signature to the song.  Bonus points because my Mom liked this one a lot, too.

Lyric Sheet:  "Sunny days/Where have you gone?/I get the strangest feeling you belong/Why does it always rain on me..."

Enjoy (props to Fran Healy for wearing a kilt in the video):

Republican = Traitor

Peace,

emaycee

Friday Night Jukebox, Vol. CCXCIV--Suzanne Vega: Marlene on the Wall

A thousand years ago when I first took over a Camelot Music store in Fairview Heights, Illinois it was not the best of times.  But the debut album by this week's featured artist went a long way toward helping me survive one of the toughest stretches I went through as a music store manager....

Suzanne Vega was born in Santa Monica, CA and moved to New York, New York at a young age.  While attending Barnard College she began playing her folk music at clubs throughout Greenwich Village and in 1984 landed her first recording contract.  And the rest, as they say, is history.  While Vega has never had commercial success of great heights, she has had more than enough to support her career over the past thirty-six years.  Vega is most known for her single "Luka" about an abused child which, despite its rather dark subject matter, reached #3 on the Billboard Hot 100.  She is also well known for the DNA remix of her acapella song "Tom's Diner."  For her career, Vega has released nine studio albums (one of which hit #11 on the Billboard 200), a four LP set of acoustic material, two compilation albums, and five live albums.  She has released 23 singles, but only two of them charted here in the states, though she has had considerable more chart success in the U.K. (so many cool kids in Great Britain!).  She has won a pair of Grammy Awards and written a number of songs for movie soundtracks.  Vega continues to record (last album in 2016) and tour, and is sometimes joined by her daughter for her live performances.

(Not So) Fun Fact:  In 1989, Vega became the first woman to headline the Glastonbury Festival in England.  Unfortunately, a crazed fan had threatened her before the show and she had to perform the entire concert while wearing a bulletproof vest.

"Marlene on the Wall" was the first single from Vega's debut album, entitled appropriately enough, Suzanne Vega.  The single did not chart here in America, but did reach #21 in the United Kingdom (so many cool...never mind, already hit that number).  The album only reached #91, but was listed at #80 on Rolling Stone's list of the hundred best albums of the eighties.

"Marlene on the Wall" tells the story of a young woman who has had a series of lovers move in and out of her life, with the only constant being the stare of a Marlene Dietrich poster from the wall of her abode.  Every now and again as I do my half-assed research of my weekly tunes, I find something that I'd never noticed before but makes the song even more special.  This week it was how fast Vega delivers her vocals--which fuses with the spinning of her character's life, a life that she's beginning to question (is she actually falling in love with this one?) and the destiny of which she may be changing.  It's a nice slice of folk (emaycee fave!), literate without being pretentious, and Vega delivers it with a subtle yet melodic (I never really noticed or had forgotten how marvelous her voice is) overtone.  Listening to "Marlene on the Wall" this week was like seeing an old friend who you hadn't seen in a while and couldn't believe you'd almost forgotten about--a fine trip down memory lane for a damn fine song.

Lyric Sheet:  "But the only soldier now is me/I'm fighting things I cannot see/I think it's called my destiny/That I am changing...Marlene on the wall..."

Enjoy:

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. CCLVI--Adam and the Ants: Antmusic

And again this week we have another tune discovered during the After Dinner Music Sessions, courtesy of CBS Records and their promotional single extravaganza...

Adam and the Ants formed in London in 1977.  Their first incarnation lasted until January of 1980 when three members of the band left to form Bow Wow Wow .  The second incarnation would go on to have considerably more commercial success than the first, especially in their native U.K., and last until 1982.  Adam Ant (yeah, nobody really named their kid that--real name Stuart Goddard) was the only link between the two, and he would go on to some solo success, as well.  The band released three LPs during their short tenure, with one going to #1 and another to #2 on the British charts.  Adam Ant would release six albums before calling it quits (two more top five albums in the U.K.) in 1995, though in another instance of Money Matters in Rock and Roll, resumed his solo efforts in 2013 and has released two more albums.  The band had six top five singles, and Ant himself had two more.  The band has also released 11 compilations and three box sets, which is pretty impressive considering Adam and the Ants have only released eleven studio albums in their careers.  Still, they had an impressive run for four years, and are considered part of the second British Invasion into the U. S. music market (though with considerably less financial success than the first).

"Antmusic" was released in 1980, and was the third single from their album Kings of the Wild Frontier.  The single would reach #2 on the British charts, though it did not have any success on the Billboard Hot 100.  The album would reach #1 in the U.K. and was the best selling album for 1981 in their native land (it would peak at #44 on the Billboard 200).  The album would also go on to win a Brit Award for album of the year.

Fun Fact:  In what will be a first and last here on Friday Night Jukebox, this week's band makes use of Burundi drums and their music is considered to be Burundi beat (for the music it borrows from comes from Burundi--the only other band to employ the sound is Bow Wow Wow and I didn't like any of their songs).

And speaking of Burundi drums (segues are for amateurs), one of the many things that sets "Antmusic" apart from so many other minor hits is the drums, which are almost like two drumsticks clicking together and really help, along with the chants, to make the chorus ever so memorable.  The song itself, I believe, is a kick in the ass to disco (though it could just be to the music industry's trend of over saturating talentless tripe in the name of making a buck), and suggests that this month's flavor should be, surprisingly enough, "Antmusic."  Ant does a fine job of of vocalizing his disdain for flavor of the month as a means to making music, there's some nice guitar (nothing fancy, just your average 80's pop song guitar solo) that adds a little edge to the song, and the lyrics are a bit clever as to why one should prefer to be an ant rather than a coked up disco dancer.  No, this one won't make anyone forget "Night Moves," "Baba O'Riley," or "Born to Run," but it's a nice cut that provided a bit of a segue (that word again!) from the punk movement to new wave.  And every now and again, a little fun goes a long way in providing listening pleasure.

Lyric Sheet:  "It's so sad when you're young/To be told you're having fun/So unplug the jukebox/And do us all a favor, yeah/That music's lost its taste/So try another flavor/Antmusic..."

Enjoy:

Fuck Donald Trump,
emaycee

Friday Night Jukebox, Vol. CCXXVIII--Catatonia: Mulder and Scully

Another tune introduced to me by my darling daughter...as I sink farther and farther into the "How Many Weeks Can I Fall Behind on Friday Night Jukebox?" abyss...

Catatonia formed in Wales (which may be an FNJ first, but after two hundred and twenty some odd tunes I honestly can't remember if there's another band in here from Wales) in 1992, when lead singer Cerys (definitely the first time FNJ  has had a band member with the first name Cerys) Matthews met Mark Roberts and the pair began both a romantic relationship and writing songs together.  They had a nice run of success in the U.K. from 1998-2001, accumulating two number one LPs, and six singles that cracked the top twenty on the U.K. Charts (the band had very little commercial success outside of their homeland).  Unfortunately, Matthews and Roberts relationship didn't last, Matthews had quite a problem with alcohol, and after she went into rehab in 2001 the band was disbanded and as of yet hasn't gotten back together for the obligatory golden oldies reunion.  Fortunately, Matthews did not fall into the Amy Winehouse Chasm and has recovered enough to A) Still be alive, and B) Release several solo albums.  Roberts has became a radio personality, and the rest of the band is making music for a living which has always seemed to me to be a pretty good gig.  In all, Catatonia released four albums, 18 singles, and like Squeeze last week has more compilation albums (six) than studio albums.  

Fun Fact:  Though it wasn't true, the band's bio claimed that Roberts and Matthews met while busking, which before I read their Wikipedia entry, I had no idea what it was.  Busking is playing music on the streets for the change thrown in a hat or, better yet, a guitar case.  Oh the things you learn while researching for Friday Night Jukebox!

"Mulder and Scully" was released as a single in 1998 from Catatonia's album International Velvet.  The song would become their highest charting single in the U.K., peaking at #3, and the album was one of their two number ones in the U.K.

A little known yet completely uninteresting fact about emaycee is that he is a huge fan of The X-Files, having seen every episode of the original series, all of both reboot episodes, and both movies.  Sadly, "Mulder and Scully" has very little to do with The X-Files...but that doesn't mean it's still not a great pop tune.  The song's protagonist is falling in love and experiencing both the exhilaration and terror of it, and believes the dichotomy is a question for Mulder and Scully.  In listening to it over the past couple of days, it struck me that a key reason for the song's success is Matthews' vocals, which captures both the joy and pain, as well as being somewhat unique, kind of a cross between Cyndi Lauper and Melissa Etheridge.  There's some nice understated slashing guitar work, pulsating drumming, a catchy as all hell melody, and a dreamlike instrumental coda that actually gets better the more I hear it.  Catatonia is considered an indie/alternative band, but I think this one certainly owes a nod to eighties new wave.  All in all, another one of those little magical moments that bands create that has given me so much joy since I started falling in love with pop music as a dorky fifteen-year-old listening to Top 40 radio.

Lyric Sheet:  "Things are getting strange, I'm starting to worry/This could be a case for Mulder and Scully..."

Enjoy:

Fuck Donald Trump,
emaycee

Friday Night Jukebox, Vol. CCXII--Culture Club: Karma Chameleon

For both of you keeping score at home, this makes three straight weeks without posting on an actual Friday...

I can honestly say that this week's band never had another tune that I remotely liked let alone loved, but when they made featured tune #212, the Gods of Pop threw a thunderbolt with a touch of magic their way and they made the most of it.

Culture Club formed in 1981 in London and head a hell of a run for their first five years. Led by the flamboyant Boy George, the band released four of their six total albums all of which reached the top twenty in their native UK and the top forty here in the States.  They also had ten top ten singles in the UK (two #1's) and seven here in America (one #1).  Sadly the band had some inner turmoil (Boy George and drummer Jon Moss had a tumultuous romantic relationship), and went their separate ways in the mid-eighties.  Boy George through the years has battled addictions to varying drugs and has been arrested for possession a number of times--though he's also found time to start a fashion line, write two autobiographies, continue to write songs, release solo albums, and has become quite a well known DJ.  The band reunited in 1999, released an album that didn't sell, and went back to their lives.  They reunited again in 2011 and have remained together since mostly for touring and the occasional guest appearance, though they did release an album last year.  Overall the band has sold over 150 million records, won a Grammy Award, a couple of Brit Awards (UK's equivalent of our Grammy), and are considered a staple of the eighties new wave movement (with a shout out to MTV).

Fun Fact:  The band's name is a play on the band member's racial, sexual, and religious make-up--it features a gay Irishman, a black Briton, a blonde Briton, and one member of the Jewish persuasion.

"Karma Chameleon" was released in 1983 on their Colour by Numbers album, both of which were the biggest hits of their career.  "Karma Chameleon" went to number one in both the UK (for six weeks) and the US (for three weeks) and eventually sold over five million copies.  The album reached #1 in the UK and stayed at #2 on the Billboard 200 for three weeks behind Michael Jackson's Thriller (there's some luck--having your best selling album on the charts at the same time as the best selling album of all-time) here in America, and sold over sixteen million copies.

There's nothing much fancy about this one--regular readers know that emaycee is a big fan of a) blue-eyed soul, b) harmonicas, and c) catchy pop tunes, all of which are features of "Karma Chameleon."  Ostensibly the song is about staying true to yourself--or rather, the song's protagonist is asking his lover to say true to him/herself.  Boy George' vocals truly carry the day, though there's a nice bass line and some quirky guitar along the way as well.  The chorus is a pop single fan's favorite ice cream--it melts in your mouth and feels good all the way down to the pit of your stomach.  I should also mention that the band chimes in with some really nice backing vocals--a spot here and a spot there that help make the song even better.  "Karma Chameleon" is one of the few songs from the eighties new wave movement that has aged very well and is as hoppin' and boppin' as it was when it first came out thirty-five years ago--another in a long line of great Brit pop.

Lyric Sheet:  "Every day is like survival/You're my lover not my rival..."

Enjoy:

Fuck Donald Trump,
emaycee

Friday Night Jukebox, Vol. CCVI--Shakin' Stevens: You Drive Me Crazy

When my first wife and I were still newlyweds, I used to bring home all the promotional singles from the Camelot Music store that I managed and after dinner we'd listen to several of them to entertain ourselves, in the days when we were too poor to do much else.  Admittedly, it was probably more enjoyable for me than her, but I was amazed at the number of songs (mostly from up and coming artists, most of whom we'd never heard of, some who never did hit the big time) that we ended up liking.  One such tune was this week's featured song--and it still serves as a reminder to me that there's a hell of a lot of music out there, and even though I'll never be able to discover all of it, to try and enjoy all the more the tunes I do find.

Shakin' Stevens was born Michael Barrat in Cardiff, Wales in 1948 (first artist from Wales here on FNJ, I believe).  He started his working career as a milkman while playing gigs on the weekends before embarking on a music career in earnest with his first band, Shakin' Stevens and the Sunsets, in the late sixties.  Stevens' band had very little commercial success though they toured a lot before he was offered a role in the musical Elvis! in London in 1977.  Stevens parlayed the hit show into a solo career, and throughout the eighties was the best selling singles artist in the UK.  While Stevens has never done anything here in the States, in his native UK he has had 33 top forty singles, four number one singles, two number two singles, and three top ten albums.  Over the course of his career, he has released twenty studio albums, twenty-one compilation albums, and 69 singles.  He released his last album in 2016, and will be touring the UK and Europe in 2019.  Good thing he gave up on that milkman gig....

"You Drive Me Crazy" was released in 1981 on Steven's only #1 LP, Shaky (Stevens' nickname, for those wondering, which is probably no one...).  The single would hit #2 (with a bullet...maybe, because I don't know if the UK Top 75 has bullets on hit records) on the UK  Singles chart, and #1 on the charts in Australia, Denmark, and Ireland (so many cool kids in Australia, Denmark, and Ireland...).

Fun Fact:  Though I'm sure she doesn't remember it, my daughter did a mean two legged stomp to "You Drive Me Crazy" when she was a toddler...

For those not familiar with Shakin' Stevens (which would probably be most anyone outside of Europe and the UK), his shtick is basically as a fifties cover artist extraordinaire (great gig in the UK which is nuts for fifties rock and roll), though he generally sticks to less well known songs from that era.  While "You Drive Me Crazy" definitely has a fifties vibe to it, it is actually an original song written around the time the song was recorded.  There's nothing fancy about this one--catchy music, love song lyrics, and an echoed chorus (Cray-ay-zee...).  Stevens sings with a lot of joy and gives the song a real rockabilly feel and there's a short guitar solo as well as some "It's got a good beat and I could dance to it" drumming.  If you're looking for "Born to Run" or "Baba O'Reilly" this one probably isn't for you, but if you like to shake your hips a bit and sing along, it'll do just fine.

Lyric Sheet:  "And when I'm looking in those big blue eyes/I start a'floating 'round in paradise/You drive me crazy..."

Enjoy:

Fuck Donald Trump,
emaycee

Friday Night Jukebox, Vol. CXLVII--Keane: Somewhere Only We Know

This week we'll feature Coldplay's less handsome, somewhat dorkier, and definitely less successful younger brother and his career making hit single...

Sadly (or not), in doing my weekly half-assed research for this week's post, I discovered that the history of Keane is decidedly not that, uh, keen.  Nothing bad, like being supporters of say, Donald Trump, but just a wee bit on the dull side.  Give them credit, though, for forming as a band in 1995 (give or take) and slogging it out until their big break with their first major label release in 2004 (after being discovered by...the same guy, Simon Williams, who discovered their big brother).  Piano player and chief songwriter Tim Rice-Oxley was heard playing by Chris Martin of their big brother and was offered a spot in Coldplay, which he wisely turned down to stick with Keane since Coldplay eventually did away with their keyboardist position.  They are a rarity in pop music as as they are a piano first band, and while the guitar has gotten a bigger role through their career, it's still a background instrument.  Other than that, they've released four studio LPs, an EP, sold over ten million records (which seems slight compared to their big brother's 90 million, but anyway you slice it, it's ten million more records than emaycee's ever sold), and had five major tours.  While they've been much more commercially successful in their native U.K., they've also had more success here in the states than I would have guessed with two of their albums reaching the top ten (#4 and #7) on the Billboard 200.

Fun Fact:  In 2008, Q magazine asked its readers to vote for the the best British albums ever, and Keane placed two albums (Hopes and Fears and Under the Iron Sea) in the top twenty--joining the Beatles, Oasis, and Radiohead as the only artists with two albums in the top twenty.  Pretty heady company there...

Released in 2004 on their aforementioned Hopes and Fears LP, "Somewhere Only We Know" would become a career making single for Keane.  Though it only reached #50 (with a bullet!) on the Billboard Hot 100, it rose all the way to #3 on the UK Singles chart (so many cool kids in England)--and its success paved the way for future tunes to come.

Keane has stated the song is more of a symbol or a metaphor rather than having a specific meaning, though I've always kind of thought of it as a song about a couple struggling with their relationship trying to find their way back to a place where the relationship was flourishing.   As I completely forgot the piano in last week's tune as I raved so much about Norah Jones' vocals, I don't want to make it two weeks in a row without noting that some succulent piano work helps carry "Somewhere Only We Know," as well.  In fact, there are only two instruments featured in the song--piano and drums.  Like last week's tune, though, it's the vocals that really shine.  Tom Chaplin uses his voice to just the right effect, and doesn't turn an epic ballad into an overwrought pop song as happens far too often in the pop music world.  Every now and again a good ballad helps get you through a bad day, and "Somewhere Only We Know" is one of those good ballads that's gotten me through many a bad day.

Lyric Sheet:  "Oh simple thing where have you gone/I'm getting old and I need something to rely on..."

Enjoy:

Fuck Donald Trump,
emaycee