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July 3, 2008 Earworm

As if Romeo Void's "A Girl In Trouble (Is A Temporary Thing)" isn't mysterious enough, I just read that Deborah Iyall claimed that it was an answer to Michael Jackson's "Billy Jean". Oh, that helps: "Billy Jean" wasn't at all oblique...

WTF?

Having purchased the 12" single before the album, I always feel cheated by the album mix; denied the almost two minutes of bleats and beeps that extend the dance mix, I miss the opportunity to vacillate like Faye Dunaway in "Chinatown" between the obvious connotation of a girl "in trouble" and the dismissal of the notion that Ms. Iyall would ever be that obvious.

What is obvious is that producer David Kahne could make sandpaper shiny because the coarseness that Ric Ocasek exploited in his production of their earlier work has been buffed away on this track and the rest of the album. All that's left to distinguish Romeo Void from the other dance/new wave acts is that deliciously abrasive sax and the enigma of a girl's problem.

"A Girl In Trouble (Is A Temporary Thing)" was the recipient of one of the 80's most horrendous videos. Marvel at it's vapidity...




Have a great extended weekend. Stay out of trouble and remember, if engulfed by flames, it's best not to inhale...

July 2, 2008 Earworm

Rising up from the "I can't believe this wasn't a hit" pile is the proud and regal heartache that is Dan Folger's "The Way Of The Crowd", one of the finest examples of Nashville soul. Arranged to perfection by Bergen White, this Bobby Russell and Buzz Cason production bursts into the room ready to create a messy scene before wisely taking a more sophisticated approach, refusing to fulfill the rough neck stereotype expected of it. Romantic politics and class warfare unfold as Dan tries to talk some sense in to the girl who has decided she's a little bit more than she is because she's been picked up by the "better" set. One can't help but notice a heaping helping of insecurity in this argument, no matter how hard the horns try to hide it, and that's probably what makes it so endearing.

Being a firm believer in remembering from whence you came, no matter how high you climb, I keep this one close yet it never gets too familiar. Yesterday, just as I was turning off my work computer it was chosen by my ITunes program and I had to stop to listen again, hoping that the ending might turn out happier this time.

Dan Folger is probably best known as the writer of "Weeping Annaleah", a song that's been covered by an array of artists as diverse as Tom Jones and Nick Cave, but "The Way Of The Crowd" is his calling card in certain circles. And I can't help but feel a little smug about being a part of that crowd.

Go figure.

You can find "The Way Of The Crowd" on the ace Ace compilation, "Phil's Spectre III: A Third Wall of Soundalikes"
and on Kent's "Northern Soul's Classiest Rarities"

July 01, 2008 Earworm

As we anxiously await the domestic release of Paul Weller's new one, "22 Dreams", Kmatt's lost in "Wild Wood" while I'm blinded by "Illumination" and my favorite track from it, "It's Written In The Stars". It brings back memories of those long ago days (2003) when we had a new house to paint and prep and the idea that the five weeks we had before moving in would be a luxurious amount of time to get everything done. Five years later we're still discussing what it is that we want to do with this and/or that, bemoaning what the terriers have done to the beautiful back yard we thought we were giving them, and wondering why I've yet to build the desperately needed shelving for earworm central while we watch the gorgeous sunsets to which our perch on top of the hill provides a perfect perspective. The vivid pinks and blues turn livid and the stars become full of themselves as the day quiets down and then one of the terriers spots the neighbor's cat.

June 30, 2008 Earworm

Weezer's "Heart Songs" starts with a shout out to Gordon Lightfoot and finishes with one to Nirvana, capturing the span of top 40 music that provided the soundtrack to Rivers Cuomo's life. I think he just wanted the attention of the earworm.

Like he wouldn't have ended up here eventually...

Hey Rivers, it wasn't Debbie Gibson who revived "I Think We're Alone Now", it was Tiffany. Or was that an ironic observation of the interchangeable personalities of...
Oh, never mind. Besides, Debbie wrote her own songs.