1990s – Page 8 – PowerPop… An Eclectic Collection of Pop Culture

Johnny Cash – Delia’s Gone

First time I shot her
I shot her in the side
Hard to watch her suffer
But with the second shot she died
Delia’s gone, one more round
Delia’s gone

When I first heard this song in the 1990s I did a double-take. Did he sing what I thought he sang? I had never heard the original version he did in the 60s. I do prefer the 1994 version but both are worth a listen.

This song is coming from a man who once had a lyric that stated I shot a man in Reno just to watch him die. This song…goes much darker than that.

Johnny Cash originally recorded this song written by Karl Silbersdorf and Dick Toops on his 1962 The Sound of Johnny Cash album.

He re-recorded it in 1994, on American Recordings produced by Rick Rubin. He explained why he chose to redo the song: “‘Delia’s Gone’ is the Devil’s deed of daring, we were talking about ‘Folsom Prison Blues’ and ‘I shot a man in Reno just to watch him die’ and I said, ‘I want another song like that.’ So Rick and I started listening and we found ‘Delia’s Gone.’ We realized I had recorded it in the ’60s, but not the way I’ve recorded it on American, and that I should work it up and do it over. So we started working on it and we did it and we came up with this version.”

in 1992, Rick Rubin reached out to Cash with the prospect of releasing a new album of music on his label, American, to which Cash was initially skeptical, but curious. Johnny Cash didn’t know who Rick Rubin was and couldn’t understand why Rubin would want to work with him. Johnny Cash’s sales were not like they were in the 60s and early 70s. Rubin just told him to grab a guitar and sing some songs he would want to do.

That shows you the mindset of some stars…some. Cash was wondering why someone would want to work with him which blows my mind.

Rubin was finally able to convince him to make the album and it was released in 1994. The album marked the beginning of a career resurgence for Cash, who was widely recognized as an icon of American music but whose record sales had suffered during the late 1970s and 1980s

This song was inspired by a true-life story. Late on Christmas Eve, 1900, young lovers Delia Green age 14, and Moses Houston, age 16, attended a party that night.

As usual at parties, Moses had too much to drink. Witnesses say he began to tease Delia, making her angry. He called her his “little wife” and they were not married. This escalated to the point of Delia calling Houston a “Son of a Bitch”, which carried much more weight at that time than it does now. Moses then pulled out a gun and shot Delia in the groin, and he ran away.

Moses was caught by the authorities and not only confessed to the killing but said he would do it again! Delia ended up dying at 3:00 AM Christmas morning. Mr Houston got a life sentence but it ended up shorter. Cooney served 12 1/2 years, the last several years at a facility in Commerce, GA. He was granted parole in October 1913, by Governor John M. Slaton.

After 120 years without a headstone at her grave…Delia got one in 2020. Here is the article.

Delia’s Gone

Delia, oh, Delia
Delia all my life
If I hadn’t shot poor Delia
I’d have had her for my wife
Delia’s gone, one more round
Delia’s gone

I went up to Memphis
And I met Delia there
Found her in her parlor
And I tied her to her chair
Delia’s gone, one more round
Delia’s gone

She was low down and trifling
And she was cold and mean
Kind of evil make me want to
Grab my submachine
Delia’s gone, one more round
Delia’s gone

First time I shot her
I shot her in the side
Hard to watch her suffer
But with the second shot she died
Delia’s gone, one more round
Delia’s gone

But jailer, oh, jailer
Jailer, I can’t sleep
‘Cause all around my bedside
I hear the patter of Delia’s feet
Delia’s gone, one more round
Delia’s gone

So if your woman’s devilish
You can let her run
Or you can bring her down and do her
Like Delia got done
Delia’s gone, one more round
Delia’s gone
Delia’s gone, one more round
Delia’s gone

Willie Nile – Places I Have Never Been

I’ve really been into New York music recently. I’ve been listening to Garland Jeffries, Mink DeVille, Willy DeVille, and now Willie Nile. He is an incredible songwriter. He has been compared to Dylan and Springsteen as you will see below. This guy is very accomplished for not being as well known as some.

By the late 1970s, Nile was part of the wave of young New York musicians who were breaking through. He was a regular performer at CBGB and the now-closed Kenny’s Castaways on Bleeker Street, a venue that gave performers like Patti Smith and the Smithereens a stage. In 1978, the New York Times wrote a rave review about Nile, comparing him with Buddy Holly, Bob Dylan, and Bruce Springsteen. That led to his first record contract with a major label.

Willie Nile: “So I made a record, I toured with a band across the United States for the first time. We finished the tour at The Roxy Theatre in Los Angeles. There was all kinds of talk about this new hot shot from New York City. Freddie Mercury came to the show. That’s when The Who’s manager offered me the tour. I went from playing 300 or 400-seat clubs to playing 25,000-seat arenas. It was amazing.”

Willie Nile made his self-titled debut album in 1980. He promptly got the “kiss of death” thrust upon him…”The New Bob Dylan” was hung on him. After releasing another album in 1981 he suddenly stopped. “I had two highly acclaimed records, but I was dissatisfied with problems from the business end, there were managers and lawyers. I thought, I didn’t get into this for hassles and I don’t want anyone to kill my buzz with music. So I just walked away.”

He didn’t release another until 1991 and that is what today’s song came off of. Roger McGuinn, Richard Thompson, and Louden Wainwright are on that album…including two musicians from Paul McCartney’s band. That’s a hell of a lineup and shows you how highly regarded Nile is.

The song today was the title track to the album Places I Have Never Been. The guy has his admirers everywhere. He has garnered respect and admiration from the likes of Bruce Springsteen, The Who, Ringo Starr, and Lucinda Williams. His wide audience appreciates his songwriting and ability to bring rock and roll to life.

One thing I really admire about the guy is every article I read…it says what a humble and nice guy he is in real life. He is still out there making albums and touring.

Willie Nile: “The last show that (saxophonist) Clarence Clemons played was in Buffalo, although we didn’t know it at the time, I went with my daughters, and was given great seats by the side of the stage. Bruce was up there rocking, and wandered near us. I leaned over and said to my daughter, ‘I think he just saw me.’ Five minutes later, I get a text from an assistant saying ‘Bruce wants you up here. Come backstage now.’ Next thing you know, I’m sharing a microphone with Little Steven singing Jackie Wilson’s ‘Higher and Higher.’ It was an amazing performance by the band. I looked at my daughters and we were just laughing. You can’t make this stuff up.”

Willie Nile: “I don’t put out songs unless I think they can be special, I want my music to be meaningful to people who listen. I have no interest in being full of myself or being famous. Fame didn’t do a lot for Michael Jackson or Whitney Houston. For me, it’s all about the songs and the music: the recording and the shared experience of playing live. Life is hard for everybody. I’m able to go onstage for two hours, have a blast with my mates, and hopefully raise spirits.”

Places I Have Never Been

The streets of Rome are filled with wonder
The Chinese wall is lined with gold
I hear the lightning and the thunder
Of a thousand tales untold

All my doors are open
All my thoughts are free
There’s a great big world out there
For you and me

Come and take me on a trip so far away
Come and show me things that I have never seen
Come and walk me through your world – unpredictable
Come and take me places I have never been

You gave me food when I was hungry
You gave me drink when I was young
You took me in when I was lonely
You put your lips right on my tongue

Now my wars are over
All my battle past
All I want is for this moment here
To last and last

Come and take me on a trip so far away
Come and show me things that I have never seen
Come and walk me through your world – so wonderful
Come and take me places I have never been
All my doors are open (wide)
All my thoughts are free (hey)
Hey Babe, are those telepathic messages for me

Come and take me on a trip so far away
Come and show me things that I have never seen
Come and walk me through your world – so magical
Come and take me places I have never been

Come and take me on a trip so far away
Come and show me things that I have never seen
Come and walk me through your world – unpredic

Garland Jeffreys …a New York Original

CB (Cincinnati Babyhead) and I have got together again and worked on this post. When CB sent me the link to “Wild In The Streets” I was sold, hooked, and happy. The more I listened to Jeffreys music the more it affected me like Bruce Springsteen and Van Morrison did when I first heard them. Jeffreys’ music found a spot in me where Morrison and Springsteen lives. It’s deep, sprawling, and meaningful. Not many artists affect me like this. Like Big Star, The Replacements, and others…this man should be known to more people.

This post is a sample platter…I kept it relatively short so you can enjoy the songs. I’ll be covering more Garland Jeffreys coming up in the next few weeks to give more information rather than cramming everything in one post.

Jeffreys is a Brooklyn, N.Y.-born singer/songwriter who has released 15 studio albums in his 53-year career. His mixed heritage Puerto Rican and African-American is mirrored in his music, which embraces rock, soul, R&B, and reggae. He began his career performing solo in Manhattan clubs in 1966 after attending college at Syracuse University as an art major, where he became friends with Lou Reed. He then spent some time in Italy studying art before he came back to further his education at New York’s Institute of Fine Arts.

In 1969 he formed a band called Grinder’s Switch, they released just one album Garland Jeffreys & Grinder’s Switch. Members of that band played on the debut album of John Cale of the Velvet Underground. Jeffreys wrote a song for the album called Fairweather Friend and did backup vocals for it. In 1973 he released his first album entitled Garland Jeffreys.

Springsteen opened for Jeffreys at the Cafe Au Go Go back in 1972. They’ve stayed in touch ever since. Jeffreys appears on Light of Day, a great Springsteen tribute album, performing “Streets of Philadelphia” with just as much emotion as its author. He was friends with peers like Lou Reed, Bob Marley, John Lennon, and Joe Strummer, explored in both original songs (“Reggae on Broadway”) and a pair of choice covers (“I’m Waiting for the Man,” “Help”).

One thing I found is he really connected with baseball. His album One Eyed Jack has him on the front cover when he was a young kid in a baseball uniform and his childhood idol Jackie Robinson was on the back. Some of his credits list baseball players from Bobby Bonds to Brian Doyle.

Let us start off with the first song that CB sent me that won me over within a few seconds. It’s as New York as Martin Scorsese, Springsteen, The Yankees, The Statue of Liberty, and subways. It was released in 1973 as a single and was included in the 1977 album Ghost Writer… it is called Wild In The Streets. It’s naked, raw, and genuine…just like Jeffreys.

35 Millimeter Dreams is a song off of the 1977 album Ghost Writer. This one is catchy and it’s too bad it didn’t catch on when released as a single.

Hail Hail Rock and Roll…CB did a take on Hail Hail Rock and Roll. Some of his take: A little tribute to Rock n Roll by one of the best guys out there. This song gets into your blood. Garland knows his stuff. CB has been thinking about this rock and roll thing lately. All the music and pioneers that have contributed to this thing he loves so much. This song more than touches on a lot of those thoughts and feelings.

It was released in 1983 on the album Don’t Call Me Buckwheat.

Roller Coaster Town was released in 2011 on the album The King Of In Between. The album made numerous annual Best Of lists with NPR naming it a “best of the year so far” and Rolling Stone calling it one of the Best Under The Radar Albums of 2011.

City Kids is off the American Boy and Girl album released in 1979. Here is what CB says about the album: “This is NY music from Jeffrey’s experience. He’s lived it. Another one of those “How come artists that never made it bigger?” He is a NY poet. Songs got into me, moved me. What can I say? Springsteen’s ‘Wild Innocent’ vibe. This is his world like Scorsese’s. Close to the streets. When he sings ‘City Kids’ I’m gone with him. Sends a few shivers. Love the feel. Cousin to ”Jungleland’ by Bruce. ‘Matador’ is just beautiful. Sung in his distinctive voice. Hit the romantic side of CB.”

…

Shawn Mullins – Lullaby

I was trying to think of the name of this song and described what I could…and my friend Dave gave me the answer from my few clues. In 1998 I heard this song constantly and always liked it.

The lyric that made me like the song was They hung out with folks like Dennis Hopper and Bob Seger and Sonny and Cher. I’m a sucker for pop culture references… like that should surprise anyone. Shawn Mullins wrote the song after a woman in Los Angeles talked to him about her childhood and teenage years. Mullins said “There were certain details, like Sonny & Cher and Bob Seger, things in it that were real. But there’s also certain things about her character in the song that aren’t really like her. The person in the song took a sadder turn. The actual girl really had her act together and she was very smiley. Her smile was incredible.”

Shawn was based in Atlanta and pressed copies of the single that was released independently. Good fortune hit when an Atlanta radio station slipped the song into the rotation. Lullaby gained traction and Columbia won a bidding war and he signed with them. He started to open up for big names but never hit the Hot 100 again. Mullins’ first album, he said he wanted to do something different and it flopped… as well as his second album. He now records independently.

He has probably made a decent living off of this song because it’s been used in movies and TV shows…I remember hearing it on The Office. The song peaked at #7 on the Billboard 100, #2 in Canada, and #9 in the UK in 1998-99.

Shawn Mullins: “The whole album was written from journal entries that I would do on the road, so, after that night the lyric was pretty much done. I never edited back then at all.”

Lullaby

She grew up with the children of the stars
In the Hollywood hills and the boulevards
Her parents threw big parties
Everyone was there
They hung out with folks like Dennis Hopper and Bob Seger and
Sonny and Cher

She feels safe now in this bar on Fairfax
And from the stage I can tell that she can’t let go and she can’t
Relax
And just before she hangs her head to cry
I sing to her a lullaby
I sing:

Everything’s gonna be all right
Rock-a-bye, rock-a-bye
Everything’s gonna be all right
Rock-a-bye, rock-a-bye, rock-a-bye

She still lives with her mom outside the city
Down that street about a half a mile
And all her friends tell her she’s so pretty
But she’d be a whole lot prettier if she smiled once in a while
‘Cause even her smile looks like a frown
She’s seen her share of devils in this angel town

Everything’s gonna be all right
Rock-a-bye, rock-a-bye
Everything’s gonna be all right
Rock-a-bye, rock-a-bye, rock-a-bye

I told her I ain’t so sure about this place
It’s hard to play a gig in this town and keep a straight face
Seems like everybody’s got a plan
It’s kind of like Nashville with a tan

Everything’s gonna be all right
Rock-a-bye, rock-a-bye
Everything’s gonna be all right
Rock-a-bye, rock-a-bye, rock-a-bye

…

Cheap Trick – In The Street ….Under the Covers Tuesday

Wish we hadA joint so bad

I’m a huge Cheap Trick fan but when I heard this song as the theme to That 70s Show… I just asked myself why? Why not use the original version of the song? That’s not a dig at Cheap Trick…they did fine with it but it was unnecessary. The show later covered a Big Star song in an episode…the haunting song Thirteen. The band had lost out on stardom in the early seventies and now many people really like the theme song but have no clue who wrote it. In a way though…unfortunately, that fits Big Star perfectly.

In the first season, the theme song was done by Todd Griffin. It’s a close copy of the original soundwise but with different lyrics by Ben Vaughn. The rest of the show’s seasons was replaced by the Cheap Trick version. The only reason I can think of not using Big Star is they needed an edited version of the song and felt they had to change the song’s lyrics although the lyrics would have fit the show. Cheap Trick’s version is very good of course because it’s Cheap Trick…but it would have been nice to hear the original. Many people think that Cheap Trick wrote the song.

Chris Bell and Alex Chilton are credited with writing the song. In 2000, Chilton confirmed that he was paid $70 in royalties each time the show aired, an amount he thought ironic, given the show’s title. The song was originally on their debut album #1 Record.

Recently I watched some performances they did on the Leno show later on when Alex Chilton and Jody Stephens reformed the band with two members of the Posies. The introduction made me do a double take…“Big Star…the missing link between the Beatles and The Replacements.” How could I not like that? Three of my favorite bands right there.

The #1 album was hailed by critics and got radio play when released. The feedback from people who heard it was very positive. There was one problem though. They signed with Stax Records which normally didn’t deal with pop and rock bands. They weren’t prepared to promote them and the biggest problem was there was no distribution. People started to go to record shops to buy it but there were no Big Star albums there. Stax was in financial trouble as well. They carried on for three albums but with no commercial breakthrough…although bands like Cheap Trick, The Replacements, R.E.M., KISS, and others all say they were heavily influenced by them.

Jody Stephens drummer of Big Star: “I don’t know if the general population even knows that Big Star had anything to do with it.”

Mike Mills of REM: “I heard the first two records first, Radio City and #1 Record, I just thought they were perfect. If I could make records, that would be the sort of records I would make. The third one took me a bit longer to get into, but it does reward repeated listening. What Big Star was doing made sense to me.”

The Todd Griffin version

The Cheap Trick version

The Orginal

In The Street

Hanging out, down the streetThe same old thing we did last weekNot a thing to doBut talk to you

Steal your car, and bring it downPick me up, we’ll drive aroundWish we hadA joint so bad

Pass the street lightOut past midnight

Ahh

Hanging out, down the streetThe same old thing we did last weekNot a thing to doBut talk to you

Webb Wilder

Webb Wilder: It’s sorta like we’re a roots band for rock ‘n’ roll fans and a rock band for roots fans” He also uses these phrases…“Swampadelic”, “Service-station attendant music”, “Uneasy listening”, “Psychobilly.”

Good morning everyone…since posting about the Scorchers yesterday…I thought Wilder would be good to go over today. Webb deserved more attention than he got. Good songwriting and his voice fits the roots music he plays.

In 1991 I was walking through a street fair in Nashville and there he was, playing with his band. He had just put out an album called Doo Dad that got some local and national airplay. His music is a mixture of rock/country/rockabilly/punk and anything else he can throw in. The man has the gift of gab also. His music is just different. He looks like he dropped out of a 50’s black-and-white detective show. I also saw him shortly later at the Exit Inn.

Webb Wilder’s quote when asked what kind of music he plays.

“I came to Nashville as kind of a hunch, an educated guess that it would be a good place for me. Rock ‘n’ roll and country have more in common than not. We don’t have the typical Nashville country sound, but we thought we could use that to our advantage. It’s sorta like we’re a roots band for rock ‘n’ roll fans and a rock band for roots fans” he also adds these phrases…“Swampadelic”, “Service-station attendant music”, “Uneasy listening”, “Psychobilly.”

His real name is John “Webb” McMurry and according to wiki “The Webb Wilder character was created in 1984 for a short comedy film created by friend called “Webb Wilder Private Eye.” The character was a backwoods private detective who fell out of the 1950s and happened to also be a musician. The short appeared on the television variety show “Night Flight.”^[Whatever it is… it works.

This song I first heard on our local then rock radio station WKDF in Nashville. Poolside is what first drew me in. After I saw him in Nashville at a street fair I was a fan for life. I like unique…and Webb is unique…God bless him…

It also has elements of the 80s cowpunk music and just good rock and roll. I saw him twice through the nineties and he was excellent each time I saw him. This song was released in 1986 and it was on the album It Came From Nashville. Again…the local play in Nashville turned it into a regional hit.

My favorite song by Wilder is this one called Meet Your New Landlord. I purchased the Doodad album and this song is what I zeroed in on. The hit off the album was Tough It Out which peaked at #16 on the Mainstream Charts. It included guest appearances by Al Kooper and Sonny Landreth.

The guitar riff is instantly catchy and the first verse was about losing your house/land in a poker game. A great storytelling song.

He slapped his cards down on the table
Said, “Boys, I got me a winning hand.”
But the sight that made old T. Jim tremble
Was the king that took his land

This was probably his closest thing to a hit in America. In Nashville, it was played a lot on local rock stations. The song peaked at #16 in the Mainstream Rock Songs in 1992. This song came off of Doo Dad and is about the time I saw him for the first time. This song was being played on MTV at the time.

In 1990 this song charted on the Australian charts and it got a lot of airplay here.

Human Cannonball

Saw the ad in the paperSaid the hell with it allTook a gig with the circusAs the human cannonball

It didn’t take longTo learn my tradeVery first show, manI blew the folks awayNow the job’s a little riskyBut I’m my own bossI gotta tell ya, JackIt really gets me off

I live in a tent withThe world’s strongest manWhen I met the motherLike to broke my handMy baby she’s a ladyIn the high wire actWhen I’m feeling tenseShe walks on my back

Now the pay’s OKThe benefits are greatI get to shoot the bullWith the world’s smartest ape

Ahh hahhhI’m the human cannonballI’m the human cannonball y’all

Well, I’m a hot shotI’m a cool breezeUnderneath the big topI’m the big cheeseI lay it on the lineLet it all hangWhen I go least I knowI’ll go with a bang

I reckon I’m livingEvery kid’s dreamIt’s a buzz, its a gasIt’s a real scream

Ahh hahhhI’m the human cannonballI’m the human cannonball y’all

Yeah…

Alright folks, just make yourself at homeHave a snow cone and enjoy the show

They put me on the coverOf the USA TodayTell the world what theHuman cannonball got to sayOn the Carson showThey said “HC.What you do you got to beRight out of your tree”

Well, it’s a little riskyBut I’m my own bossI got to tell you, John,It really gets me off

Ahh hahhhI’m the human cannonballI’m the human cannonball y’all

I’m the human cannonballI’m the human cannonball y’all

Yeah…

HahahahahaNow blast off!I said… Blast Off

AhhahahhhahhhahhhaAhhahahhhahhhahhhaAhhahahhhahhhahhha

John Hiatt – Perfectly Good Guitar

The first time I heard this song, I loved it. John Hiatt always releases songs of quality, and they are all solid. Saying that, he is most remembered for his songs that other people cover. I don’t understand that because he has a fine, distinctive voice with a consistently excellent band behind him. The keyword here is distinctive, I guess, which I look for.

I first noticed Hiatt with the song Slow Turning. When Bonnie Raitt released Thing Called Love in 1989, I knew the song from Hiatt…I was just getting into him. I’m glad Raitt covered that song because it helped him. He has released 25 albums in total, ranging from 1974 through 2021, and it’s about time for another. My friend Christian does a good review of the album here...check it out if you can.

This song was the title track on his 1993 eleventh studio album. The album peaked at #47 on the Billboard 100, #34 in Canada, #67 in the UK, and #19 in New Zealand. It was his last album on A&M Records and his highest-charting album on Billboard. This album was probably the most rock & roll-oriented album of Hiatt’s career. I do like the guitar tone that Matt Wallace, the producer, got on this album. He had previously produced The Replacements.

The song peaked at #16 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Charts and #76 in Canada. The record company pulled 5 singles off of this album, and 2 were in the top 40 in the Mainstream Charts.

Perfectly Good Guitar

Well he threw one down form the top of the stairs
Beautiful women were standing everywhere
They all got wet when he smashed that thing
But off in the dark you could hear somebody sing

Oh it breaks my heart to see those stars
Smashing a perfectly good guitar
I don’t know who they think they are
Smashing a perfectly good guitar

It started back in 1963
His momma wouldn’t buy him
That new red harmony
He settled for a sunburst with a crack
But he’s still trying to break his momma’s back

He loved that guitar just like a girlfriend
But ever good thing comes to an end
Now he just sits in his room all day
Whistling every note he used to play

There out to be a law with no bail
Smash a guitar and you go to jail
With no chance for early parole
You don’t get out till you get some soul

Late at night the end of the road
He wished he still had the old guitar to hold
He’d rock it like a baby in his arms
Never let it come to any harm

Paul Kelly – To Her Door… and more

This extended from my last chat with CB… we had Graham Parker last week and Paul Kelly was brought up. I ran out of time last week to write this one up. I really like great storytellers…and Paul Kelly is one of them. His music touches on many styles. Country, rock, folk, reggae, bluegrass, and touches of many more styles. He has been described as the poet laureate of Australian music. He writes about everyday life that many people can relate to. I’ve seen this stated about him… Paul Kelly’s songs dig deep into Australia: how it feels, looks, tastes, sounds.

Today I’m going to give you a small sample platter of this great artist.

Here is a very short bio of Paul Kelly.

Paul Kelly was born in 1955 is from Adelaide, Australia. Debuted in Hobart, Australia, 1974; moved to Melbourne and performed in pubs, 1976; formed band the Dots, released albums Talk, 1981, and Manila, 1982; moved to Sydney, 1984; released Post with Steve Connolly and Ian Rilen, 1985; formed as Paul Kelly and the Coloured Girls, released Gossip, 1986; regrouped as Paul Kelly and the Messengers, released Gossip in the U.S., followed by Under the Sun, 1987; published collected writings volume Lyrics, 1993; formed new lineup with Shane O’Mara, Bruce Haymes, Peter Luscombe, Stephen Hadley, and Spencer Jones. Kelly is still releasing albums. His last album was Paul Kelly’s Christmas Train released in 2021. Altogether he had 28 studio albums, 6 live albums, 8 compilation albums, and an incredible 64 singles.

He also comments on important social and historical events and their significance to Australian identity and life. Several of his songs highlight the plight of Australia’s Indigenous people including ‘Maralinga (Rainy Land)’, a song about atomic testing by the British in Australia’s outback and its effects on the Indigenous people of that area. He and Midnight Oil were some of the artists who contributed to the album Building Bridges – Australia Has A Black History. All sales proceeds were donated to the National Coalition of Aboriginal Organisations.

The first song I listened to by Paul Kelly was “To Her Door.” It reminded me of Steve Earle or Springsteen. Not because of his voice but because of the songwriting. The story…the way lyrics flow and ebb and fit together like a puzzle. All the while this is going on the music has great dynamics that rise up to meet the lyrics head-on and punctuates it. The song was released in 1987 and was on the album Under The Sun that peaked at #14 in Australia.

That album also produced the single Dumb Things. This song has a shuffle that jumps. It starts off with a cool harmonica blasting and invites you in. This character-driven song stuck with me for days. This one peaked at #36 in Australia and #17 on the Billboard Alternative Charts in 1987.

Now it’s time for a pure rock song by Kelly called Darling It Hurts. This song was off of the album Gossip released in 1986. The song peaked at #25 in Australia and #19 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Charts.

This one is called Bradman and it’s off of Gossip as well. It has a sports connection. I’ll be the first to admit I don’t know much about Cricket but the song is great. It’s about Sir Donald Bradman, arguably…. the greatest ever cricketer (and definitely the greatest ever Australian cricketer). This one peaked at #51 in Australia and was part of a double A-sided single along with the song Leaps and Bounds.

I’m going to close this on this song or I could go on for pages. This song is called Careless. It was released in 1989 on the album So Much Water So Close to Home. It’s an incredibly catchy song but a song that means something. Like a mixture in a bottle, like a frozen over lake, Like a long-time, painted smile I got so hard I had to crack, You were there, you held the line, you’re the one that brought me back

If you liked what you have heard…do some homework and look this artist up…you won’t be sorry. He will now remain on my playlist. I’ve given you a few samples but it’s so much more to explore.

Rock Critic David Fricke: “I have had the pleasure and privilege of seeing Paul Kelly in performance more times than I can count – although it’s still not enough. I’ve seen him in performance in the Northeast and Southwest Hemispheres, unplug and plugged in, solo, with his band and, on one memorable evening in New York, on stage exchanging songs, quips and composing tips with Jimmie Dale Gilmore, Michelle Shocked and Allen Toussaint. If memory serves me right, Paul actually sang a few bars of Fats Domino’s‘Blueberry Hill’ one thanksgivings back in the mid 80s at my apartment in Manhattan as he pored over a road atlas- his forefinger on the city of New Orleans – and excitedly pointed out the route he was taking on a car trip through the southern United States”

Now here is one for the road…this song’s title appealed me right away… “How to Make Gravy.”

How To Make Gravy

Hello Dan, it’s Joe here
I hope you’re keeping well
It’s the 21st of December
And now they’re ringing the last bells
If I get good behaviour
I’ll be out of here by July
Won’t you kiss my kids on Christmas Day?
Please don’t let ’em cry for me

I guess the brothers are driving down from Queensland
And Stella’s flying in from the coast
They say it’s gonna be a hundred degrees, even more maybe
But that won’t stop the roast
Who’s gonna make the gravy now?
I bet it won’t taste the same
Just add flour, salt, a little red wine
And don’t forget a dollop of tomato sauce
For sweetness and that extra tang

And give my love to Angus, and to Frank and Dolly
Tell ’em all I’m sorry, I screwed up this time
And look after Rita, I’ll be thinking of her
Early Christmas morning when I’m standing in line

I hear Mary’s got a new boyfriend
I hope he can hold his own
Do you remember the last one? What was his name again?
Ahh, just a little too much cologne
And Roger, you know I’m even gonna miss Roger
‘Cause there’s sure as hell no one in here I want to fight

Oh, praise the Baby Jesus, have a Merry Christmas
I’m really gonna miss it, all the treasure and the trash
And later in the evening, I can just imagine
You’ll put on Junior Murvin and push the tables back

And you’ll dance with Rita, I know you really like her
Just don’t hold her too close
Oh, brother, please don’t stab me in the back
I didn’t mean to say that, it’s just my mind it plays up
Multiplies each matter, turns imagination into fact

You know I love her badly, she’s the one to save me
I’m gonna make some gravy, I’m gonna taste the fat
Ahh, tell her that I’m sorry, yeah, I love her badly
Tell ’em all I’m sorry, and kiss the sleepy children for me
You know one of these days, I’ll be making gravy
I’ll be making plenty, I’m gonna pay ’em all back

Yeah, do-do-do-do, do-do
Do-do-do-do, do-do

Blue Rodeo – Til I Am Myself Again ….Power Pop Friday

Happy Friday to you all! Today and Saturday I will be out of town but I will keep checking when I can.

This song could fit into different categories…country, country-rock, and power pop. It has a touch of the Byrds in this because of the 12-string Rickenbacker sound. Its melody is the reason that I like this one so much. This one (and a Sloan song) was going to go in Canadian Week but I ran out of days.

Blue Rodeo is a Canadian country rock band formed in 1984 in Toronto. Jim Cuddy and Greg Keelor, have been friends since high school, having both attended North Toronto Collegiate Institute.

Their record company did try to break into America because they hired Danny Goldberg as their US manager. Danny Goldberg was involved in some giant bands. He got his start in the 1970s with Led Zeppelin and later on, went to The Allman Brothers and then to Nirvana. Unfortunately, Goldberg left after the Casino album was released. He didn’t end up having much to do with the band according to Jim Cuddy.

This song was on their album Casino and it was released in 1990. The song peaked at #3 in Canada, #1 in the Canadian Country Charts, and #2 in the Canadian Adult Contemporary Charts. The song was on the Casino album released in 1991. The album peaked at #6 in Canada. The song was written by Jim Cuddy and Greg Keelor. Cuddy and Keelor are the two main singer/songwriters in the band.

They got Pete Anderson to produce the album. Anderson produced Dwight Yoakam, Roy Orbison, Jackson Browne, Buck Owens, K.D. Lang, and Lucinda Williams. He took the approach to Blue Rodeo as if they were recording 10 singles. He said their songs were entirely too long at that point and the band worked to tidy the songs up to under 4 minutes as you can see in the quote below.

Pete Anderson: “They loved to jam, but the songs were way too long. They were ahead of bands like Phish and The String Cheese Incident. They were not a jam band per say, but they were on the front-end of that jam-band world. Those bands are not on the radio. A programmer looks at the back of the record and sees songs that are over four minutes and they will not play those songs unless it is hippy radio. We were going for a three-minute and 20-second consciousness for this record.

Jim Cuddy: “That was a very tumultuous time. Our manager [Danny Goldberg] quit right when we had finished recording; he really never had anything to do with us. That was a lesson learned. We did not make that record to break into the U.S. market or cater it for radio. That idea was imposed on us. We thought all our records would be accessible in the States. We made Casino based on records we liked such as Dwight Yoakam’s Guitars, Cadillacs, Etc. Etc. That was a guy Anderson worked with. We wanted to sound like that sonically and artistically. Pete came up before we went to L.A., made extensive notes, and shared them with us. We did some demos on an eight-track machine in our studio on Sorauren Avenue. Those demos are interesting to go back and listen to now. For example, ‘What Am I Doing Here.’ I remember Pete cut out one of the bridges in that song. I thought that was a great suggestion. We never were good with self-editing.

Bass Player Bazil Donovan: “That’s one of Jim (Cuddy’s) songs that came out of the time when we first toured the States and we were gone so long, that we became disconnected with reality. We spent so much time on a bus, in a plane or going to a gig somewhere, and we were new to all of that. It took its toll on us, we weren’t taking care of ourselves and we were probably drinking too much, and on the long road depression sets in. The song captures that, about how you can lose your spirit. We had spent like a whole year on the road. It’s funny how a dark experience can result in a great song. People dance to it like it’s a happy rocker, but the lyrics remind me of that dark time.”

Bazil Donovan: “Pete had a concept. I remember one night we went to eat at El Pollo Loco and he said to us, ‘I want to make a record with you guys that has 10 singles on it. I don’t want to make stuff that is not going to get played. I don’t care if you have one arty tune that is an album track. My idea is to make hit songs.’ Listen to that record today and you can hear that. They are all three-minute pop-rock hits, which Pete was very good at. Some of our biggest songs came out of that record. I learned a lot from him. Before that, I didn’t know a lot about arranging. After I watched Pete work with arrangements it opened up the door for me and I thought about arranging myself. A lot of the stuff I learned there I have applied to stuff I’ve done since.”

Til I Am Myself Again

I want to know where
my confidence went
one day it all disappeared
and I’m lying in a hotel room
miles away
voices next door in my ear

Daytime’s a drag
nighttime’s worse
hope that I can get home soon
but the half-finished bottles of inspiration
lie like ghosts in my room

I wanna go
I know I can’t stay
but I don’t want to run
feeling this way
til I am myself
til I am myself
til I am myself again
There’s a seat on the corner
I keep every night
wait til the evening begins
I feel like a stranger
from another world
but at least I’m living again

There are nights
full of anger
words that are thrown
tempers that are shattered and thin
but the moments of magic
are just too short
they’re over before they begin

I know it’s time
one big step
I can’t go
I’m not ready yet
til I am myself
til I am myself
til I am myself again
I had a dream
that my house was on fire
people laughed while it burned
I tried to run but my legs were numb
I had to wait til the feeling returned

I don’t need a doctor
to figure it out
I know what’s passing me by
when I look in the mirror
sometimes I see
traces of some other guy

I wanna go
I know I can’t stay
but I don’t want to run
feeling this way
til I am myself
til I am myself
til I am myself again

Natalie Imbruglia – Torn ….Under The Covers Tuesday

I really liked this song in the 90s as VH1 would play Natalie’s video almost non-stop through a certain period.

I had no idea that this song was a cover song. Natalie Imbruglia is an Australian actress who was on the Aussie soap opera Neighbours from 1992-1994 Imbruglia was making the leap from soap opera actress to singer and recorded Torn as her debut single. The song was a phenomenon and shot the then-22-year-old to worldwide fame. I always thought she wrote this song.

It was actually written by Los Angeles musicians Anne Preven, Scott Cutler, and producer Phil Thornalley in 1993 – and later released by their band Ednaswap. It had been covered twice before Imbruglia recorded it. It has more of a rock edge to it and I like it a lot.

Anne Preven said the demo they did of the song was more like the pop version done by Imbruglia. She said they didn’t want to be labeled as a pop band when Nirvana and harder bands were popular at the time.

The Imbruglia version peaked at #42 on the Billboard 100, #1 in Canada, #2 in the UK, #5 in New Zealand…. and #1 on the US Billboard Hot 100 Airplay, #1 Adult Contemporary, and #1 on Mainstream Top 40 Billboard Charts. in 1997-98. I am shocked it didn’t peak higher on the Billboard 100…well there is a reason for that.

The song was released only as a radio promo single, however, as Imbruglia’s label withheld the availability of a single in the hope that consumers would instead purchase her album. Songs that were not available for purchase as singles were ineligible for the Hot 100 until December 5, 1998, when Billboard revised the policy, allowing songs not available at retail to appear on the chart with airplay factored into the ranking. Torn was at the end of its run at this point, but still managed to make the chart at #42 that week before dropping off two weeks later.

At first, no American label wanted to release the song. That is until it started to get popular in other countries.

Anne Preven: We didn’t want to be a little pop-act, so we were overly self-conscious about it. And in retrospect, now that I’m older and I can see, I think… God we’re such idiots. [But] I don’t regret it now at all. The song changed both Scott’s and my life in terms of everything. It showed us we should stick to songwriting and not waste too much time in the band. And that all worked out great for us.

Producer and co-writer Phil Thornalley: We didn’t think anything of Natalie’s version… we thought it was just another European cover. And we really didn’t give it another thought, until, all of a sudden, we get a call saying it’s number one in the UK. For Scott and me it was obviously a mixed bag. We were thrilled to have a hit. But it was also bittersweet because it wasn’t our band.

Scott Cutler: Natalie’s version was very much the version we wrote. It was just a couple beats per minute faster. And a little bit higher, I think. In the moment I thought it was little light. I love it now – when I hear it I get it. Seeing the video I remember thinking, ‘Oh she’s really got it made. She just looked cool – she had the jumper on, there was just something about the video. I got the video.

Scott Cutler on the money it brought in: It’s just some phenomenal amount of money. For one song… It comes in spits and spurts, but it starts out slow and then one day you get a check for like $300,000 or some crazy number. And you think it’s a mistake. Like, I have a check here for $297,000? [You think] someone added one zero too many and some day they’re going to come ask for their money back. And then it starts doing this crazy thing for about a year or two. And then it just becomes this yearly thing where every year you get a check every quarter and it stays up in a decent number – it’s not ending.

Even now…years after the song was released…the songwriters receive around $150,000 a year each from Natalie Imbruglia’s version.

Here is the version that Imbruglia heard

Here was the rock version released by Ednaswap

Torn

I thought I saw a man brought to life
He was warm, he came around like he was dignified
He showed me what it was to cry
Well, you couldn’t be that man I adored
You don’t seem to know, or seem to care what your heart is for
But I don’t know him anymore

There’s nothin’ where he used to lie
The conversation has run dry
That’s what’s goin’ on

Nothing’s fine, I’m torn
I’m all out of faith
This is how I feel
I’m cold and I am shamed
Lying naked on the floor
Illusion never changed
Into something real
I’m wide awake and I can see
The perfect sky is torn
You’re a little late
I’m already torn

So I guess the fortune teller’s right
Should’ve seen just what was there and not some holy light
But you crawled beneath my veins and now

I don’t care, I had no luck
I don’t miss it all that much
There’s just so many things

That I can touch, I’m torn
I’m all out of faith
This is how I feel
I’m cold and I am shamed
Lying naked on the floor
Illusion never changed
Into something real
I’m wide awake and I can see
The perfect sky is torn
You’re a little late
I’m already torn
Torn

There’s nothing where he used to lie
My inspiration has run dry
And that’s what’s goin’ on

Nothing’s right, I’m torn
I’m all out of faith
This is how I feel
I’m cold and I am shamed
Lying naked on the floor
Illusion never changed
Into something real
I’m wide awake and I can see
The perfect sky is torn
I’m all out of faith
This is how I feel
I’m cold and I’m ashamed
Bound and broken on the floor
You’re a little late
I’m already torn
Torn
Oh

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Tragically Hip – Ahead By A Century

I learned about this band from my Canadian friends Dave and Deke. What a wonderful band they were and I’m still shocked they didn’t make a bigger impact in America. The Tragically Hip remains a national treasure in Canada. This song is not only beautiful but it weaves together past, present, and future. It is about time, memory, loss, disappointment, and desire.

The song was released in 1996 on the album Trouble In The Henhouse. The album peaked at #1 in Canada, #7 on the Billboard Heatseeker Album Charts, and #134 on the Billboard Album Charts.

They got their name from Elephant Parts. That was a video by Michael Nesmith (Monkee guitarist) and they heard it in an Elvis Costello song (Town Cryer) also. Gordon Downie said: “There’s one skit in there that is sort [of] like a TV plea: ‘Send some money to the Foundation for the Tragically Hip.’ And that phrase has also appeared in an Elvis Costello song. It crops up every now and again, and it’s just a name that we like.”

They formed in 1984 in Kingston, Ontario. They were together until 2017. They have released 13 studio albums, one live album, one compilation album, two video albums, two extended plays, and a boxed set. In December 2015, their lead singer Gordon Downie was diagnosed with terminal brain cancer.

Following Downie’s terminal diagnosis, he soldiered on for one final tour with the group that had over a thirty-plus-year career and become known as “Canada’s Band.” Night after night, the group’s set closed with a lengthy ovation for a man that had…in his impressive body of work…seemingly captured everything that made Canada…well Canada.

On the last night of the tour – in the band’s hometown of Kingston, Ontario – Downie said his final goodbye with this song. The credited songwriters are Rob Baker, Gordon Downie, Johnny Fay, Paul Langlois, and Gord Sinclair.

Gordon Downie died on October 17, 2017, and the country mourned his passing.

Gordon Downie: “Originally, that song was entirely different,” he revealed. “The lyrics were almost totally overhauled, which is not usually my style, but whatever—it seemed like the way to go. Originally, what was it: ‘First thing we’d climb a tree, and maybe then we’d talk; I will touch your cunt, you will touch my cock; then we’ll be married, then we won’t have to hide.’ Those were sort of working lyrics, but they stuck there, they said to me ‘innocence’, and that’s what I wanted, because I thought, ‘It’s two little kids, and they don’t know what a cunt is and they don’t know what a cock is—they just heard them called that.’

“People picked up on that within the band, but then it became apparent that I was going to have to defend one’s right to use words that possibly offend other people, and I didn’t really care to have a Lenny Bruce situation on my hands. But the biggest concern—which was pointed out to me by our guitar tech, Billy—was that no one’s gonna get to hear this song because no one’s gonna play it, and ultimately the real reason no one’s gonna hear it is because they’re only gonna hear those lines and not the rest of the song. People’s ears are gonna race to those words and start having a little debate about what those words mean.

The last concert and last song…Ahead By A Century

Ahead By A Century

First thing we’d climb a tree
And maybe then we’d talk
Or sit silently
And listen to our thoughts
With illusions of someday
Cast in a golden light
No dress rehearsal
This is our life

And that’s where the hornet stung me
And I had a feverish dream
With revenge and doubt
Tonight, we smoke them out

You are ahead by a century
You are ahead by a century
You are ahead by a century

Stare in the morning shroud
And then the day began
I tilted your cloud
You tilted my hand
Rain falls in real time
And rain fell through the night
No dress rehearsal, this is our life

But that’s when the hornet stung me
And I had a serious dream
With revenge and doubt
Tonight, we smoked them out

You are ahead by a century
You are ahead by a century
You are ahead by a century

You are ahead by a century
You are ahead by a century
You are ahead by a century
And disappointing you is gettin’ me down

John Prine – In Spite of Ourselves

He’s got more balls than a big brass monkey
He’s a wacked out weirdo and a love bug junkie
Sly as a fox and crazy as a loon
Payday comes and he’s a howlin’ at the moon

There will be only one John Prine. He was down-to-earth and a wonderful songwriter. This song describes more couples than people may think. Both describe their marriage to each other in a different light.

I do have a second-hand John Prine story. A friend of mine named Chris went to see John Prine and Arlo Guthrie in the ’80s and met John in the parking lot after the concert. Prine was really talkative and asked Chris if he could boost his car off…which he did. Chris told me he was really down to earth and a genuinely nice guy.

He wrote this for a movie called Daddy and Them released in 2001. Prine is in the movie also…he plays Billy Bob Thorton’s brother and Andy Griffith is their dad. Prine talked about it and said that made him Opie’s stepbrother.

Iris Dement dueted with Prine on this song and fit the song perfectly. Prine developed cancer in 1998 in his neck…and after the operation, he wasn’t sure if he could sing again. After recording this song…everyone was happy because he still could do it. It was originally released in 1999 on the album In Spite Of Ourselves…and was released again when the movie came out in 2001.

That album was an album of duets. He thought that most people would turn him down but most agreed. Lucinda Williams, Trisha Yearwood, Connie Smith, Melba Montgomery, Emmylou Harris, Patty Loveless, and Dolores Keane also appear. In Spite of Ourselves was the only original song on the album…the rest were covers.

The album peaked at #21 on the Billboard Country Charts and 197 on the Billboard 100. Critic Robert Christgau wrote: “… the costar is Iris DeMent, who kills on both the Bobby Braddock cornpone of “(We’re Not) The Jet Set” (rhymes with “Chevro-let set”) and the conflicted spouse-swapping of the impossible old George & Melba hit “Let’s Invite Them Over”—as well as Prine’s only new copyright, the title track, in which a husband and wife who love each other to death paint totally different pictures of their marriage.

In Spite of Ourselves

She don’t like her eggs all runny
She thinks crossin’ her legs is funny
She looks down her nose at money
She gets it on like the Easter Bunny
She’s my baby
I’m her honey
I’m never gonna let her go

He ain’t got laid in a month of Sundays
I caught him once and he was sniffin’ my undies
He ain’t too sharp but he gets things done
Drinks his beer like it’s oxygen
He’s my baby
And I’m his honey
Never gonna let him go

In spite of ourselves
We’ll end up a’sittin’ on a rainbow
Against all odds
Honey, we’re the big door prize
We’re gonna spite our noses
Right off of our faces
There won’t be nothin’ but big ol’ hearts
Dancin’ in our eyes

She thinks all my jokes are corny
Convict movies make her horny
She likes ketchup on her scrambled eggs
Swears like a sailor when shaves her legs
She takes a lickin’
And keeps on tickin’
I’m never gonna let her go

He’s got more balls than a big brass monkey
He’s a wacked out weirdo and a love bug junkie
Sly as a fox and crazy as a loon
Payday comes and he’s a howlin’ at the moon
He’s my baby
I don’t mean maybe
Never gonna let him go

In spite of ourselves
We’ll end up a’sittin’ on a rainbow
Against all odds
Honey, we’re the big door prize
We’re gonna spite our noses right off of our faces
There won’t be nothin’ but big ol’ hearts
Dancin’ in our eyes

There won’t be nothin’ but big ol’ hearts
Dancin’ in our eyes

In spite of ourselves

…

A Question For the Readers

The reason I’m posting this at night? I want to make sure it works…and I didn’t want to be scrambling with it on my way to work.

I am putting together my new music computer and I haven’t recorded anything in a few years… and what a project it has been! I was wondering if you all would be receptive if I posted any of my songs once in a while? I’m only talking every once in a while…not many. The only thing I request of you…is if you can… listen to it… if possible wear headphones. The reason is I am NOT a good mixer and I mixed them down in headphones which you should never do.

On most, I played all the instruments myself unless I note it otherwise. When I was playing more (before covid) with the guys in my garage…I would make demos to show them…hey this is how it goes.

The songs you will be hearing are basically demos… I made them a few years ago for our band to learn so we could record them properly. Well life happens and that never happened. Some of you have heard some of the songs I’ve emailed to you… and I’ve somehow got positive feedback. I did most of the instruments my self…guitar, bass, vocals, keyboards, and programming real drums sounds which I’m not good at. These were never meant for public consumption but what the hell…I’m not 20 anymore trying to make something.

The reason I haven’t posted them before? My terrible voice and I was waiting for my cousin Mark…who is a proper singer to take over but that will take a while…so you would be hearing the rough demos.

So what do you think? Are you game for this? I’ve included an example of a song…this one has no vocals…just something a friend I have and I put together in 10 minutes (really just 10 minutes) a few years ago to work on later. It’s just guitar (him), bass (me), and some drums that I programmed from real drum kits. We called it “Whats In That Brown Paper Bag?”…more as a joke. This is not one of the songs I want feedback on…the feedback on this is how it sounds over your system. It is harder than the usual songs I write. Chris, my friend who plays guitar on this, came up with this riff. It gave me an excuse to have fun playing bass…Also….does it even play?

It’s very repetitive because like I said…it was for the fun of it and so we wouldn’t forget it. Today we are using it as a test. IF it goes well and I don’t get too many “no’s” then I will post one within a week or two with singing and a real song.

…

Izzy Stradlin And The Ju Ju Hounds – Shuffle It All

I loved this song when it was released. I saw the video before I heard it on the radio. I knew two of the members straight off the bat. Izzy Stradlin was a founding member of Guns N Roses. The other guy I knew was Rick Richards of Georgia Satellites on lead guitar. To round out the band, Jimmy Ashhurst of Broken Homes on bass, and Charlie Quintana on drums.

To my surprise…on the organ was former Faces/Small Faces member Ian McLagan. Ron Wood also played on the album. Another surprise was super session man Nicky Hopkins. Izzy had some big guns playing with him.

Stradlin quit Guns ‘N Roses in 1991 during their hottest period. He moved back to his Indiana town Lafayette and put this band together and wrote the material. The song has a very Stonesy Keith Richards feel to it.

I was surprised, to be honest…I’ve never been a fan of lead singer Axl Rose. I liked Stradlin’s voice much more. I’ve always been a fan of voices that are a little out of the norm. This album was released within a few months of the Black Crowes The Southern Harmony & Musical Companion so the airwaves were full of rootsy blues rock and roll.

The album was self-titled Izzy Stradlin and the Ju Ju Hounds released in 1992…wow has it been that long? The album peaked at #102 on the Billboard Album Charts. They did a huge tour into September of 1993.

Izzy has made 10 solo albums and also two more EP’s with the JuJu Hounds. He refused to rejoin Guns N’Roses in 2016 because they refused to cut the money evenly. He also played with former bandmate Slash in Velvet Revolver.

On quitting Guns N’ Roses he said some of it was due to Axl Rose’s chronic lateness and him being a diva. He was then offered a contract. “This is right before I left – demoting me to some lower position. They were gonna cut my percentage of royalties down. I was like, ‘Fuck you! I’ve been there from Day One. Why should I do that? Fuck you, I’ll go play the Whisky.’ That’s what happened. It was utterly insane.”

Shuffle It All

Boredom saturation
It’s a never ending clue
Isn’t just to fill the time
When there’s nothing else to do

She drove on out of New York
She had enough insane
And drivin’ just though Texas two days
She ended up in L.A.

Shuffle it all
Shuffle it all, yeah
Shuffle it all
Pack up your life again

A pile of records spread out
The covers still look good
Picture here a Peter Tosh’s
startin’ down and a smokin’ wood

My dog dreaming is running
I see him twitch a paw
My woman playing Dr. Mario
On the TV all night long

Just another cigarette
Staring at the moon, yeah
Then I’m headin’ off to bed
Sleepin’ without you, yeah

Shuffle it all
Shuffle it all, yeah
Pack up your bags again

It’s a long and winding road
Sure enjoy the view, yeah
If you want to see it
Just slow down
You’re so welcome to come along

Lookin’ for a tune to play
I’m gonna see it again
When the day is over
Try to write you ’bout the rain

Feel the motors winding on
There ain’t no news
If you see those old friends out there
Tell them that I send my love

Wake up, time to leave again
Try to find my shoes
Put the luggage in the van
Roll up your Doctor Dolittle

Shuffle it all
Shuffle it all, yeah
Shuffle it all
Pack up your things again
Shuffle it all (Keep movin’ along)
Shuffle it all (Keep movin’ along)
Shuffle it all (Keep movin’ along)
Pack up your life again

Keep on shufflin’

Orange Humble Band – Down In Your Dreams…. Power Pop Friday

Bruce from Vinyl Connection referred me to this song after The Stems post I did last week. I liked it the minute I heard it. This song was off of an EP called Down in Your Dreams released in 1998.

This band at one time or another included Darryl Mather, Mitch Easter, Ken Stringfellow, Jody Stephens, Bill Smith, Jon Auer, Dave Smith, and Rick Steff.

You may recognize some of those names. Ken Stringfellow and Jon Auer were in the Posies and the later Big Star with Alex Chilton, Mitch Easter was the producer of R.E.M. and a member of Let’s Active. Darryl Mather was in the Australian band Lime Spiders.

Mather along with his bassist friend Bill Gibson formed this band in 1994 in Australia. The band released 3 albums… Assorted Creams (1997), Humblin’ (Across America) (2001) and Depressing Beauty (2015). They had one EP and that would be this one and two singles named Apple Green Slice Cut and Any Way You Want It.

I’ve dived into their catalog and song after song shows different styles and really likable music. I would strongly suggest you checking this band out. Plus…what a cool name!

Down In Your Dreams

Sorry…I could NOT find the lyrics.

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