My introduction to this week's tune was fairly simple--back in my Camelot Music days we'd get promotional copies of new LPs, and when we got a free copy of this week's featured album the band's name (a clever play on words) and the album cover piqued our interest and we gave it a spin. Though it's been a thousand years since I heard it, I recall that while this week's song was obviously the standout track (hence it being "featured"), the rest of the album was pretty darn good, too. You'll never guess who grabbed the free copy when all was said and done....
Timbuk 3 was born in Madison, Wisconsin in 1984 by the husband-and-wife team of Pat MacDonald and Barbara Kooyman and...a drum machine. Shortly thereafter they moved to Austin, Texas and got their first recording contract. They released their debut album in 1986, had a moderate hit, and were nominated for a Grammy for Best New Artist. Over time they did some soundtrack work and were also featured in a movie. They also got a chance to do work with Bob Dylan, Jackson Browne, and Sting. Unfortunately, the couple eventually divorced and released their last album together in 1995. For their career as Timbuk 3, they released six studio albums, one EP, and seven singles. In the years since their demise, both have continued to perform. MacDonald has released ten solo studio albums, worked with numerous artists as a songwriter, and been in two bands. Kooyman has released four solo studio albums and was one of three artists to set up the charitable organization Artists for Media Diversity, which protects free speech and helps promote independent media.
"The Future's So Bright, I Gotta Wear Shades" was the first single they released from their very first album, the rather salutationally entitled Greetings from Timbuk 3. The single would reach #19 (with a bullet!) in the United States and #21 in the U.K, while the album peaked at #50 in America and #51 in Great Britain.
Fun Fact: Just to show that there are some artists left who still have integrity, Timbuk 3 has refused lucrative offers from AT & T, Ford, the U.S. Army, and Ray-Ban sunglasses to license their song for commercials. Good on them--Corporate America doesn't have to bastardize everything....
"The Future's So Bright, I Gotta Wear Shades" got its start when Barbara said to Pat at a particularly auspicious time in their lives (newly married, starting a family, band was getting plenty of gigs) "The future is so bright we'll have to wear sunglasses!" Which Pat tweaked and turned into a song not about a great future for a college grad (common error--I made it, too) but a warning about the dangers of nuclear energy (with some very optimistic music). A couple of notes from my half-assed research--had forgotten how much (excellent) harmonica (emaycee fave!) there was in the song. Also didn't remember Kooyman's excellent backing vocals throughout. MacDonald's vocals capture perfectly the cockiness of youth and the music throughout is buoyant. In the end, it's that rarest of songs--catchy and prescient. A fun beauty.
Lyric Sheet: "Well, I'm heavenly blessed and worldly wise/I'm a peeping tom techie with x-ray eyes/Things are going great, and they're only getting better..."
Enjoy:
Fuck Donald Trump
Peace,
emaycee
