March 09, 2009 Earworm

The Jackson Five passed their sell by date by 1974 and realized it before anyone at Motown did. Jumping to Philadelphia International via Epic, they dropped the "5" for legal reasons, and started fresh. "Enjoy Yourself" got them off to a good start in 1976 but the Jackson juggernaut did not happen until they took creative control in 1978 and the "Destiny" album was released, spawning the platinum single "Shake Your Body Down To The Ground" and the dance floor classic, "Blame It On The Boogie". At the time it was impossible to see what was coming but 1979 brought Michael's "Off The Wall" with The Jackson's "Triumph" album hot on its heals in 1980. The first single, "Lovely One", played it safe and does not stray far from the sound of "Shake Your Body..." but the second single, "Heartbreak Hotel", stood out as something we'd not heard from them before. Writing credit is Michael's alone, and in hindsight, it's clear that it is here that he first encountered "Billy Jean", "Dirty Diana", and all the other women who seem to have caused him so much anxiety over the years. All the MJ hallmarks of recrimination, paranoia, and fear of adult sexual intimacy are on display as things go bump and crash in the night and we all get our cheap thrills by observing. "Heartbreak Hotel" is obviously the warm up for "Thriller" and, considering how well this nightmare swings, Michael may not have needed Quincy Jones as much as we thought.

March 05, 2009 Earworm

This is me still pretending that today is the day before.

All this Jonas Brothers business is making me think of my generation's one teen idol with power pop cred, however belated it was. With a career so surreal that being presented with his Grammy for best rock vocal by Ted Nugent and Adam Ant seemed logical, Rick Springfield was old enough to be the father of the Jonas Brothers by the time he hit the heights but it was well worth the wait. Two excellent albums built around a clutch of great singles added a nice crunch to top forty radio circa 81-83. "Jessie's Girl" may have kicked it off with a number one bang - bravo for "cute"/"moot" and briefly bridging the ghastly gap at number one between Air Supply's "The One That You Love" and "Endless Love" - but to my ears, his crown jewel is "Don't Talk To Strangers". Sitting tight for four weeks at number two, trying to relieve of us the ghastliness of "Ebony And Ivory", their was not enough crunch to withstand the treacle but, twenty-eight years later, I'm still far more interested in that "slick European dude" getting his ass kicked than living in anybody's perfectly boring harmony.

March 04, 2009 Earworm

Even if you don't buy into the myth of Scott Walker as patron saint of romantic gloom, you have to admit that there is no one who could do what he did exactly as he did it with The Walker Brothers. Even when we've heard the songs before - and we usually have - they are always darker yet prettier than you could have imagined. If you happened to have flipped over "The Sun Ain't Gonna Shine (Anymore)" - a hard thing to do, I know - you, too, may have found yourself as I did last night: dead tired with a wide awake mind that seemed to have nothing to think about. Over and over, my mind could only spin Scott's story as the string section tried to paint a different, happier, story while lingering above the world's loneliest bar at closing time.

I woke up exhausted, emptied the house, and filled it again with the ever familiar story, now my own, minus the pigeon and, thankfully, a night as empty as Scott's to anticipate.

March 03, 2009 Earworm

Have you ever wondered what a glam rock cover of Dylan's "Leopard-Skin Pill-Box Hat" would sound like? No, me neither. But, I'm trusting that you all have already shelled out your cash for the new benefit cd, "Warchild presents Heroes", and you already know what Beck has done with the song.

If not, tsk tsk, and what are you waiting for? There's only one duff in the bunch and that's the only clue I'm going to give.