March 7, 2008 Earworm

The opening bass work is instantly recognizable as the hands of Peter Hook and sounds like something - or one - coming undone, which is usually the case when one person asks of another, "What Do You Want From Me". If that question has to be asked, your probably feeling as though you've given all that you can to a relationship but not being fairly compensated for your efforts. The next thing that should be said is, "This is what I want from you and from now on I plan to be less passive/agressive, you selfish dick/bitch".

But in the case of this song, we'll let it slide 'cause somebody is on shaky ground here and those delightfully sunny shalala lalalala's are probably not helping. Rumour has it that Peter Hook and David Potts may be giving us a new Monaco album and that's exactly what I want from them. "What Do You Want From Me" is a perfect single from an album of perfect music with the added bonus of a seven page fold out of a photograph that still provides surprises after more than ten years.

Have a great weekend.

March 06, 2008 Earworm

Before T Bone Burnett became synonymous with taste and distinction, and before The BoDeans became synonymous with the theme song from "Party of Five", the former produced the latter's debut album, "Love and Hope and Sex & Dreams", and its scathing side two opener, "Misery".

Meaner than a snake but far funnier, "Misery" is a list of a trollop's wrongs delivered in a snarling nasal twang that borders on parody and surpasses snide. By the time that he calls her a tramp, you may find yourself cheering. It may not be the gentlemanly thing to do - airing your girl's dirty laundry, or in this case, soiled panties, in public - but he does pack her bags and call her a cab so...

It's not hard to see how T Bone got from this stage of his career to that "Old Timey Music" but the Party of Five thing still has me scratching my head.

March 05, 2008 Earworm

I love a good conversation and I love a song that contains conversation so I love Club Nouveau's "Why You Treat Me So Bad". So much so that I probably burned through three or four copies of the 45 before finally buying the cd.

"Why You Treat Me So Bad" wraps one of the grooviest beats around a battle of accusations which essentially allows you to eavesdrop on the arguing couple at the edge of the dancefloor. The only thing you miss is the look on his face when she drops the bomb that's she's found another man.

Club Nouveau's Denzil Foster would go on to mastermind En Vogue so I have two things for which to thank him.

"Why You Treat Me So Bad" was treated to one of the worst videos that I've ever seen:

March 04, 2008 Earworm

Speaking of lumpy old broads, I woke up with that Duane Eddy in red sauce guitar riff of Boy George's take on "The Crying Game" this morning. Then I wondered why George went with a Roz Russell circa "Auntie Mame" wig for the video. Then I remembered the reaction "the big reveal" got from the elderly woman seated behind me at the movie theater - "Oh, dear..." And then I remembered being in Turtles Record Store to buy the soundtrack when a dude with a gun came in to rob the place - my reaction was pretty much the same as the elderly woman's.

Is it any wonder that I love this song?

March 03, 2008 Earworm

The flowers were officially dead on Saturday - it was nice of them to hold on for so long - so Valentine's is over. I can't think of a more fitting song than "The Big Hurt" by Miss Toni Fisher to start the month. As much as it is admired for its sound, it's the image that the sound conjures that nails me to the wall: A bawdy blond, just past the point where lush turns to lumpen, in a dimly lit diner drinking from a lipstick smeared coffee cup. In front of an overflowing ashtray, she clings to the memory of the aftershave on another woman's husband, and while the world moves past her, she waits while wondering if that was the last time that she would see him.

Of course, you're free to create your own scenario because "The Big Hurt" is a piece of art, textured and layered, yet open to interpretation. It's been widely reported that Jimi Hendrix found this record to be an inspiration for his own artistry but I've not yet seen it in quotations.

For the less imaginative, "The Big Hurt" is recognized as the first record to use a phasing effect, the result of an accident, in this case. When hearing the playback, Miss Fisher's husband, songwriter Wayne Shanklin, felt that her vocal was buried too deep in the mix. Since the track was cut in mono, engineer Larry Levine made a copy of the tape and then fed them both through a third recorder. Fiddling with the frequencies, the slightly out of sync tapes created a staggered - some say staggering - effect and an innovation was born.