(How neglected is my MySpace page? I couldn’t even remember the link correctly when I built the Friends of the Blog. That’s since been corrected, along with a few other additions. Just another step into turning this blog into a worldwide internet portal.)
While listening to Pandora today a song came on that I love but that my enjoyment of the song pretty much means that I should tear up my music critic membership card. I thought that I’d list some of these guilty pleasures. None of these songs are considered critical masterpieces but I guarantee you’ll be singing them for the rest of the day.
Big Country “In a Big Country”: This is the one that caused all of this. Some bands name their first album after themselves. Big Country took it further and named their first single after the band. I still think this song is one of the best ever even though it consists of only eight lines and probably half of those contradict the other half. But it had a really funky guitar line that was mixed to sound like bagpipes and was sung with such passion you really felt that declaring it a Big Country was the most important point one could make in the world. Also, watching the video as a kid made me want to be a musician in that it implied being in a band involved riding in boats, deep sea diving and racing across the countryside in ATV’s. Like learning to play guitar automatically earned you the right to be a low rent James Bond.
Asia “The Heat of the Moment”: There is no good reason to like Asia. (I mean the band, not the continent. I’m not that cynical.) Liking the band is basically saying you like bad prog rock and really fancy album covers. But for some reason you can’t really question how cool this song is. I don’t even know if you could say that it sounds two decades old. More like it’s one of those songs where you immediately sing along with the chorus. (Question: Am I right in remembering this video as having this strange, Raiders of the Lost Ark vibe, going on? Like the band members had to deal with a lot of traps that seemed to be invented by some ancient civilization that was really, really focused on guitars? Or am I thinking about something else?)
Len “Steal My Sunshine”: Look, we are all allowed to have one summer song that we can enjoy regardless of the fact that it seems like it written by the dumbest band ever. I mean, they sampled “More More More” for crying out loud. Plus, if the video was anything to go by, I think the entire song was about going out and buying ice cream. Still, this is one of those bright, happy songs that no one ever believes that I have hidden in my music collection, packed away next to albums that consist entirely of murder ballads.
(Extemporaneous Discussion: Here is the most frightening fact that I learned at work today. Christina Aguilera’s new single was written by Linda Perry. Who is Linda Perry you may ask? Is it Steve Perry after a sex change? Sadly, no, but you do know Linda Perry. Remember the incredibly frightening singer in 4 Non Blondes who sang “What’s Going On”? That’s her (technically, the song was called What’s Up but people only remember the chorus and her even scarier hat). This is who is writing your pop hits. It’s like looking behind the curtain when you see the wizard.)
The New Radicals “You Get What You Give”: I really, really like this song and am constantly bummed when I see it listed as a one hit wonder. Sure, it was the only hit but it seemed to deserve much more than to be included alongside the Macarena and Disco Duck. It was a song that preached rebellion by being silly, as opposed to most bands in the late nineties who seemed to imply that rebellion involved wearing black and cutting yourself. Plus, Danielle Brinsbois was in the band and she was also in Archie Bunker’s Place. Until Soleil Moon Frye starts a band this is the best we can hope for.
Men at Work “Down Under”: The first piece of music that I ever purchased with my own money was a Men at Work cassette. Yeah, that really doesn’t sound impressive. I should lie and say it was Miles Davis’ “Kind of Blue” but give me a break. I was nine. Instead I listened to Australian music that featured more instruments than technically necessary and a sense of humor that seemed to make everything they did a novelty song. Which isn’t fair since they were a good band and memorable. I hope they go down in history for the following. When Sydney was awarded the Summer Olympics in 2000 someone asked the lead singer what he felt this meant. He thought for a second and went, “Guess it means I’ll have to get the band back together.” They knew they were going to be playing at the ceremonies, that they were going to be the de facto theme song, and they figured they might as well sound good doing so. That is when you know you’ve written a good song.
No comments:
Post a Comment