Humor Me
To those of you who are new to my Substack columns, I say welcome. I have been writing these columns for over two years because I wanted a place to express my opinion and in turn, hear other opinions as well. I separate my columns like this: Monday is generally business related. Wednesday is for political thought. Friday is for music and random stuff that pops into my head. As always, I welcome people who disagree and I love being called on the carpet as long as you tell me why you think I am wrong.
I am going to separate this weeks column into two parts. The first will explore my guilty pleasures and the second half will be a continuation of last weeks column, digging into the archives and finding buried treasure.
Guilty pleasures are usually kept to ones self but I don’t mind peeling back a couple of layers and admitting that I like certain artists or certain songs. You can make fun of me all you like but everyone one of has that Bee Gees song they love.
Here goes: First, Rose Royce’s “Car Wash”. I may have mentioned this one before but it never fails to get me hand-clapping or doing my own little dance. It was the title song to some mediocre Blacksploitation movie of the same name. However, pound for pound, Car Wash: The Movie had more stars in it than any film of it’s era. It just was a silly movie.
Another song that will always get me up on the dance floor (you don’t really want to ever see this) is “Groove is in the Heart” by Dee Light. I play this song whenever I want to change my mood because it has an infectious beat that is irresistible. “Y’all are crazy”
Who can sit in their seats when “Bad Girls” by Donna Summer hits the DJ’s turntable. Not me, Beep Beep.
No, it’s not all about Dance Party ‘82, I have guilty pleasures in almost every decade. Madonna for instance. No, I didn’t want to be one of her dancers, if you know what I mean. I just loved some of her music.”Vogue”, “Ray of Light” and “Justify My Love” all rank up there as “Music I play when I am by myself”. Sue me.
Turning to a totally different style of music, Melissa Etheridge was going to be that next big rock and roll star. She had a husky voice, could play guitar and was a very good songwriter. Somewhere things just faded for her but I still love “Bring me Some Water” off of her debut album. I think this was the first single released and it was a wake up call. Rock was slowly drifting off in new directions in 1989 and listening to Etheridge’s vocals and guitar, I thought maybe there is some hope left. It took a few more years but it eventually got buried.
Even though I continually disparage the music from the last 20 or 30 years I still do listen to a few songs, secretly. For example, Geto Boys “My Mind is Playing Tricks on me” is in constant rotation. It is not your typical Gangster Rap garbage. It is a song about being in The Game and how paranoid that life can make a fella. It is not a song for everyone but I saw a totally different side to Rap and the lifestyle I never thought about before.
If you want a laugh, try “Ya Mama” by Pharcyde. It’s a rap between two groups of guys making fun of each other’s mothers. It’s all in good fun and it’s an excellent rap.
In Rap and Hip Hop my last song is “Bust a Move” by Young M C. Seriously good rap, fun song and yes, I would get up on the floor and “Bust a Move” Come on Fatboy.
I am not sure why I love this next song but “Orinoco Flow” by Enya is another guilty pleasure. I have heard this song a thousand times and could listen to it another thousand times. I tend to like mystical songs at times and this fits the bill perfectly.
I am not sure what genre Fatboy Slim fits in but they have two songs I love and considering my eclectic taste, they are both still a stretch. “Praise You” and “Right Here, Right Now”. I think this band has a unique take on things and they can fit the bill in a dance club or a rock club, which is no small feat. How can you not love a band that titles their greatest hits album, Why Try Harder?
Part two of today’s column is once again a deep dive into some songs you haven’t heard in a while or have never heard of.
To start with, The Blues Magoos”. A semi obscure band from The Bronx. They had a couple of minor hits and did get some national attention in the mid to late 60’s but the psychedelic era was powered by The Jefferson Airplane, Quicksilver Messenger Service and Vanilla Fudge. It left little room for The Blues Magoos. The song I dug up (this is from memory only) was “Never Goin Back to Georgia” It sounded like a whole stageful of people jamming to a single line of a song. Hottest xylophone recording ever. Obscure? You can hear it on Youtube but try and find the album from whence it came. Good luck. There is a live version of this song floating out there as well.
These two songs are more about opening up an album and re-listening to it. The Cars self titled debut album was an eye opener for sure. In the morass of crap that was rock and roll back in 1978-1979 came The Cars. A sound so different and so good, it was hard not to go out and buy the album. They ushered in a whole new sound for rock and next to Boston’s debut album, I would rank this one right up there with the greatest debut albums of all time. Granted FM radio beat the crap out of most of the songs on this LP, two songs did not get the same exposure. “Moving in Stereo” segueing into “All Mixed Up”. Brilliant songs, brilliant songwriting.
Even though I am still smarting from Van Morrison pulling a fast one on my family and I at Forest Hills this past summer, I still think he is an incredibly unique talent and he has a catalog of truly great music. One of those forgotten song is “TB Sheets”. The story of a girl suffering from Tuberculosis and the songwriter is beyond sadness for this girl. It is a very sad song for sure but Morrison’s vocals are amazing. I just wonder if there isn’t some truth to the story. That is the blues.
I may have somewhere recommended this song but it bares repeating. War’s “Slipping into Darkness” is an amazing song and trust me, War recorded a lot of great music. I still think they may be one of the most underrated bands ever. Yet, they are not in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. That is all you need to know about the stature of the Rock and Roll HOF. It sucks. Anyway, this song is a perfect example of what War was capable of. Great funk, great vocals, great lyrics and a loose feel that still felt very tight. Everyone should dig into Wars catalog and you will see that they were every bit as good as any band during that era. Live they were even better.
One artist (amongst dozens of others) that passed away way to soon was Warren Zevon. He was like Harry Nilson in that he had a unique vision and a talent for catchy lyrics and melodies. He also had a rock and roll heart and you can definitely feel it on”Lawyers,Guns and Money”. I don’t think he had first hand experience with this particular segment of our society but he definitely knew someone. Another song that got very little airplay that is fun to listen to.
My last song is a throwback. Find Young Holt Unlimited’s “Soulful Strut” . It’s an instrumental but the piano solos and the horns just make this three minutes of musical bliss. I am nothing, if I am not eclectic.