The vocals on this song won me over when I heard it. Keyboard player Nickey Barclay nails the vocals on this song. She goes from 0 to 100 and she turns into a Janis Joplin. It builds up slowly and then Barclay wails the vocal while June Millington breaks out on the slide guitar at the end to a huge crescendo. The drummer Alice de Buhr does a really cool rhythm pattern for this song…
There have been a few all female rock bands (not enough) but this one…to me is the most talented one I’ve heard. They were not a “girl group”…they were a full fledged rock band. They didn’t have the pop song to take them over the top but for what they did…they didn’t need it.
The live version I have on the Midnight Special is much better than the studio cut. This song was written by Randy Newman and it has such wonderful lines in it.
I saw a vampire, I saw a ghost Everybody scared me, but you scared me the most In the dream I had last night
From all the clips I’ve seen of Fanny live…their live sound just wasn’t caught in the studio and they were much better live. BTW…love the eye-shadow or glam-shadow (thanks Vic)…what ever it is…another reason to love the seventies.
Last Night I Had A Dream
Last night I had a dream You were in it, and I was in it with you And everyone that I know And everyone that you know was in my dream I saw a vampire, I saw a ghost Everybody scared me, but you scared me the most In the dream I had last night In the dream I had last night
In my dream
Last night I had a dream Scared me before you know I woke up screaming Saw all of my in-laws and whole lot of outlaws In my dream I saw the wolfman Jack and saw the mummy too
In the dream I had last night In the dream I had last night In that dream
It started out in a barnyard at sundown And everyone was laughing And you were lying on the ground
You said, “honey, can you tell me what your name is?” “Honey, can you tell me what your name is?” I said, “damn damn what your game is”
You know what my game is
In the dream I had last night In the dream I had last night
I saw a vampire, I saw a ghost Everybody scared me, but you scared me the most In the dream I had last night In the dream I had last night
In the dream I had last night, in my dream In the dream I had last night, in my dream
Last night I had a dream You were in it, and I was in it with you And everyone that I know And everyone that you know was in my dream I saw a vampire, I saw a ghost Everybody scared me, but you scared me the most In the dream I had last night In the dream I had last night, in my dream
Happy Monday everyone! Everything that I’ve heard by them is loud, catchy, aggressive, and with a power pop hook. I listened to the Buzzcocks in the 80s with some friends that owned some imports. I hoped they would break in America but never did.
The Buzzcocks crossed pop with punk. The Go-Go’s have said they were a huge influence. Jane Wiedlin said: “our favorite band, the band that we always tried to emulate was the Buzzcocks, who had that great pop song done in a punky style.”
Grunge bands admired the Buzzcocks also. Pearl Jam invited the band to open US shows for them in 2003, including the Buzzcocks’ first ever appearance at New York’s Madison Square Garden. Nirvana invited them to open dates on their last ever European tour, in early 1994.
Steve Diggle wrote this song and did the lead vocals on it. He said the “harmony” in the song is the sound of the crowd when they played.
To get the right sound for the song, Diggle smoked 20 cigarettes to get the gruff sound of the vocals. The song peaked at #32 in the UK charts in 1979. The song was just released as a single not an album.
They released 3 albums, 6 non-album singles, and broke up in 1981 after a dispute with their record company. They reunited in 1989 and released 6 more albums. Pete Shelley continued to play with the band until his death of a heart attack in 2018. The band still continues to tour with Diggle.
Steve Diggle: “I was reading James Joyce’s Ulysses, which is a heavy book but it had a lot of cinematic imagery – so ‘Harmony’ wasn’t a linear story like pop songs are. The Arndale Centre had just been built and it gave me a real sense of alienation. I wanted to walk down the street and hear the percolation of the crowds – that was the ‘harmony.’ Life was never going to be sweet and nice and it’s not always doom and gloom. The ‘Harmony In My Head’ was the sound of the crowd. That’s how real life is.”
From Songfacts
When Buzzcocks played their first concert, Steve Diggle was their bassist, but founding frontman Howard Devoto’s departure prompted the band to reshuffle, with Pete Shelley becoming lead vocalist/guitarist and Diggle moving from bass to guitar and co-vocalist.
Diggle also had a few early co-writing credits and contributed chords and choruses to “Promises” shortly after Pete Shelley’s “Ever Fallen In Love (With Someone You Shouldn’t’ve).” “Harmony In My Head,” which reached #32 in the UK, is probably Diggle’s best known song.
Engineer Alan Winstanley recalled to Uncut: “‘Harmony’ is interesting as it’s the only one Steve Diggle sings – it doesn’t have that Pete Shelley sweetness – but when he comes in on the chorus it really changes it. Then off Steve goes again with his growly voice.”
Released as a standalone single on July 13, 1979, the song spent six weeks on the UK singles chart, peaking at #32.
Harmony In My Head
Whenever I’m in doubt about things I do I listen to the high street wailing sounds in a queue Go out for my walking sailing social news Don’t let it get me down I’m long in the tooth
When I’m out in the open clattering shoppers around Neon signs that take your eyes to town Your thoughts are chosen your world is advertising now And extravagance matters to worshipers of the pound
But it’s a harmony in my head It’s a harmony in my head
The tortured faces expression out aloud And life’s little ironies seem so obvious now Your cashed in cheques have placed the payments down And there’s a line of buses all wait to take you out
But it’s a harmony in my head It’s a harmony in my head It’s a
It’s a harmony in my head It’s a harmony in my head It’s a harmony in my head It’s a harmony in my head
Whenever I’m in doubt about things I do I listen to the high street wailing sounds in a queue I go out for my walking sailing social news Don’t let it get me down I’m long in the tooth
‘Cause it’s a harmony in my head It’s a harmony in my head It’s a harmony in my head It’s a harmony in my head
When I was around 10 years old …with help from mom, I ordered Three Dog NIght’s greatest hits off of a commercial on television. When I got it I wore it out and zeroed in on this song (and Celebrate). This is an environmental song…probably one of the first that I heard or least paid attention to. The message is really good.
I think the writers were influenced slightly by “It’s All Too Much” a Beatle song that George Harrison wrote. That is why I think I liked it so much…it sounded familiar. To be truthful about it…I thought this post was going to be a Three Dog Night “deep cut” (yea people would line up for that)…I had no clue it was a hit…of course being on the greatest “hits” should have clued me in. I just never heard it on the radio.
The Family of Man is a song written by Paul Williams and Jack Conrad, produced by Richard Podolor. It was on their 1971 album, Harmony.
The Family of Man peaked at #12 in the Billboard 100, and #5 in Canada. The album Harmony peaked at #8 in the Billboard Album Charts and #11 in Canada in 1971. So it just missed being a top 10 hit and was a top 5 hit in Canada.
Three Dog Night were huge in the seventies. They had 3 number 1 songs, 21 songs in the top 100, and 11 top ten hits in the Billboard 100. Not bad for a group with three lead singers. I’m alright with them as long as I don’t hear Joy To The World again.
The commercial that I ordered it from…
Family Of Man
This tired city was somebody’s dream Billboard horizons as black as they seem A four-level highway across the land We’re building a home for the family of man
Prices are rising, the devil’s to pay Moving the mountain that got in the way Prayer books and meetings to find a plan Deciding the fate of the family of man
So hard Whatever are we coming to? Yes, it’s so hard With so little time and so much to do
Memories replacing the loves that we lost Burning our bridges as soon as they’re crossed Factories built where the rivers ran Time’s running out for the family of man
So hard
So hard So hard So hard, family of man So hard, family of man So hard, family of man So hard, family of man So hard, family of man So hard, family of man So hard, family of man So hard, family of man So hard, family of man
The bass in this song punches you like a heavy weight fighter and will roll you like wholesale carpet…the timing is absolutely perfect. I hear some Otis and Wilson Pickett in this song and it will make you move. I wanted to touch on the seventies R&B/funk side in the draft…I can’t do any better than this one.
Floyd takes almost a full minute to build up to the chorus and it’s well worth the wait when he kicks it in. Also wanted to mention that a musician named Vernie Robbins plays the bass in this song…the bass along with Floyd carries the song…and the horns don’t hurt either.
This was the B side to a song called What Our Love Needs and DJ’s played a role in making this a hit after spinning this side more. They started to play this song in the New Orleans region and it took off nationally… something that would not happen today.
This was recorded at the same session as Jean Knight’s “Mr. Big Stuff.” In the 80s I heard this song and was hooked on the first listen. Back then it took me a while to track it down…but track it down I did at Tower Records. I get all misty eyed when thinking of pulling into the parking lot of Tower or Port O’ Call Records. .
This is a song that has not been worn out…in fact we need it more. I love the dynamics going on in the chorus when it kicks in. The song was released in 1970 and peaked at #6 in the Billboard Hot 100.
On how Floyd wrote this song… He was working at a box factory and noticed a woman there:She’d just watch me and smile at me all day. When I went to the water fountain, she would make it her purpose to come up to the water fountain. But, I was so shy. So, I decided one day that I was gonna write this poem and give it to her and I wrote ‘Groove Me.’ Believe it or not, after I finished it she never came back to work. It blew me away. So, I never gave her the poem. Man, I’d sure like to meet her one day just to thank her!”
Groove Me
Hey there sugar darlin’ Let me tell you something Girl, I’ve been trying to say, now You look so sweet And you’re so doggone fine I just can’t get you out of my mind You’ve become a sweet taste in my mouth, now And I want you to be my spouse So that we can live happily, nah-nah In a great big ol’ roomy house And I know you’re gonna groove me, baby Ahh, yeah, now You make me feel good inside Come on, and groove me, baby I need you to groove me Ahhh, yeah, now, now, darling Uhh! Come on, come on! Hey! Uhh!
Hey there, sugar darlin’ Come on, give me something Girl, I’ve been needing for days Yes, I’m good, good loving With plenty, plenty hugging Ooh, you cute little thang, you Girl, between you and me, nah-nah We don’t need no company No other man, no other girl Can enter into our world Not as long as you groove me, baby Ahh, come on Make me feel good inside Come on and groove me, baby Move me, baby Ahh, sock it to me, mama Uhh! Ahh, I like it like that, baby Uhh! Groove me, baby! Hey! Uhh! Groove me, darling! Come on, come on I need you to sock it to me, mama Come on and groove me, baby Hey! Uhh! Good, God! It makes me feel so good inside, mama Now, come on, come on, and uhh Groove me, baby, groove me, baby Ahh, sock it to me Sock it to me Rock it to me Come on, come on! Come on! And uhh Groove me, mama, I want you to Groove me!
Great up tempo power pop song. Three O’Clock came from the Paisley Underground movement in the 80s. They were a mixture of 60s psychedelia and early 80s pop sensibilities.
The Three O’Clock was a rock group associated with Los Angeles’ Paisley Underground scene in the early 1980s. Lead singer and bassist Michael Quercio is credited with coining the term “Paisley Underground” to describe bands such as Dream Syndicate, Rain Parade, Green On Red and the Bangles from the area. The Three O’Clock was originally formed under the name The Salvation Army in 1981 but then changed it’s name to Three O’Clock when legal problems with the actual Salvation Army forced the band to change their name.
This song was on the EP called Baroque Hoedown released in 1982. They later had a college hit with a song called Jet Fighter.
After signing with I.R.S. Records they got MTV play with a song called Her Head’s Revolving. After that Prince signed them to his own Paisley Park Records and they made one album and vanished. They did record a song Prince wrote for them called Neon Phone.
They had a reunion of the classic line-up, Michael Quercio (vocals/bass), Louis Gutierrez (guitars) & Danny Benair (drums) — were joined by new member Adam Merrin (keyboards). The group played both weekends of the Coachella festival, and also played on Conan on April 10, 2013.
They later embarked on a mini-tour, and released several archival recordings that same year. The final show at the time was at a record store in Long Beach California in June of 2013.
As of 2018 they reunited band remained active touring around California.
This album was quite different than the other two Big Star albums. This song has a wonderful melody but it sounds like the world is collapsing around him when he sings it.
This song was on their 3rd album “Third/Sisters Lovers.” By this time the bands founder Chris Bell had been gone since the debut album was released and bassist Andy Hummel quit after their second album Radio City. There were only two original members on the album…Alex Chilton and drummer Jody Stephens. This album sometimes has been looked at as an Alex Chilton solo album…Jody did contribute a song and brought in a string section that was used in other songs.
They used different Memphis musicians on the album. Alex was dating Lesa Aldridge (who would go on to form a punk band calle The Klitz) and she helped with the album also.
Jim Dickinson produced this album and he got close to Chilton and encouraged him to try new things. Alex sometimes cut tracks late at night, then presented them to Jim the following day. After the two had been discussing the producer’s role, Alex showed up with “Like St. Joan,” possibly referencing the martyred Joan of Arc, which morphed into “Kanga Roo.”
Jim jumped into action, adding electric guitar feedback, strings via a Mellotron, and his own amateurish drums—since Jody wasn’t there that day—including a very loud cowbell. Inspired, Alex grabbed a drumstick to use as a bow on his Strat, creating an eerie sound. Effects were added to Alex’s drowsy vocals, which presumably related the story of his and Lesa’s love affair:
Jim Dickinson:“Alex came in one morning and he had this little evil grin on his face,” “He said, ‘Lesa and I cut something last night I want you to hear.’ Okay, so he plays me ‘Like a Kangaroo’ [its second title], which is acoustic twelve-string and vocal on one track [making it difficult to separate the sounds]. I said, ‘Yeah, Alex, what do you hear on that?’ And with the evil grin, he says, ‘Well, why don’t you produce it, Mr. Producer?’” “I first saw you, you had on blue jeans / Your eyes couldn’t hide anything . . . Thought you were a queen, oh so flirty.” Alex later said of the lyrics that he was spewing things out loud, just song after song. . . . The whole process was kind of automatic, free association.” “I think of Alex as a collaborator. He allowed me to collaborate with him.
Kanga Roo
I first saw you You had on blue jeans Your eyes couldn’t hide anything I saw you breathing, oh I saw you staring out in space
I next saw you You was at the party Thought you was a queen Oh so flirty I came against
Didn’t say excuse Knew what I was doing We looked very fine ‘Cause we were leaving
Like Saint Joan Doing a cool jerk Oh, I want you Like a kanga roo
This song is absurd and hilarious. Paul wrote this song and got right to the point. Do what in the road Paul? We might never know. Well actually at the bottom of the post he does explain it…but a warning…you cannot un-see what you read.
I’ve always liked it because it is fun. Some people try to take it seriously but it’s not meant to be…a song with two lines to the complete song…that is being a minimalist or little lazy. The first rumor I read about this song was that Paul was desperate for the Beatles to tour again and this was his message to the band…Why don’t we do it in the road? It turned out to be not true…it was inspired by two monkeys…not Monkees…see the Paul quote on down.
It’s a fun song that sounds more like a John song than a Paul. It will never win a best Beatle song award but it’s fun and fits like a glove on the eclectic White Album. That is what I love about the White Album. Listening to the album you never know what is coming next. It still has a sound that threads all the songs together though.
Paul and Ringo were the only two playing on this song. John Lennon liked the track but later he said he felt hurt when Paul would leave him out on a track and just do something himself. Paul’s voice is outstanding on this one…very aggressive. This is not the “Yesterday” Paul.
This is interesting…The Beatles were not touring when this was released and Paul McCartney didn’t play it live until October 8, 2016 when he performed it at the Desert Trip festival with Neil Young.
Paul McCartney:“The idea behind ‘Why Don’t We Do It In The Road’ came from something I’d seen in Rishikesh, I was up on the flat roof meditating and I’d seen a troupe of monkeys walking along in the jungle and a male just hopped on to the back of this female and gave her one, as they say in the vernacular. Within two or three seconds he hopped off again, and looked around as if to say, ‘It wasn’t me,’ and she looked around as if there had been some mild disturbance but thought, ‘Huh, I must have imagined it,’ and she wandered off.”
“And I thought, ‘Bloody hell, that puts it all into a cocked hat.’ That’s how simple the act of procreation is, this bloody monkey just hopping on and hopping off. There is an urge, they do it, and it’s done with. And it’s that simple. We have horrendous problems with it, and yet animals don’t. So that was basically it. ‘Why Don’t We Do It In The Road’ could have applied to either f*cking or sh*tting, to put it roughly. Why don’t we do either of them in the road? Well, the answer is we’re civilized and we don’t. But the song was just to pose that question. ‘Why Don’t We Do It In The Road’ was a primitive statement to do with sex or to do with freedom really. I like it, it’s just so outrageous that I like it.
Paul McCartney and Neil Young…doing it in the road. A very rare live performance.
Why Don’t We Do It In The Road
Why don’t we do it in the road? Why don’t we do it in the road? Why don’t we do it in the road? Why don’t we do it in the road?
No one will be watching us Why don’t we do it in the road?
Why don’t we do it in the road? Why don’t we do it in the road? Why don’t we do it in the road? Why don’t we do it in the road?
No one will be watching us Why don’t we do it in the road?
Why don’t we do it in the road? Why don’t we do it in the road? Why don’t we do it, do it in the road? Why don’t we do it in the road?
No one will be watching us Why don’t we do it in the road?
This 1993 song has a sixties feel to it. The lead singer Shannon Hoon did a great job on this track.
Blind Melon bass player Brad Smith wrote this song before he formed the band. He had moved from Mississippi to Los Angeles, where he fell into a down period. He said that the song is about not being able to get out of bed and find excuses to face the day when you have nothing. At the time he was dating a girl who was going through depression and for a while he told himself that he was writing the song from her perspective. He later realized that he was also writing about it himself.
The video was very popular. It has a very intriguing video featuring a girl dressed in a bee costume. The bee girl, Heather DeLoach, was 10 years old when she starred in it, creating one of the most enduring images on MTV.
The concept for the video was inspired by the Blind Melon album cover, which features a 1975 photo of Georgia Graham, the younger sister of Blind Melon drummer Glenn Graham. DeLoach was the first to audition for the role, and because she resembled Graham’s sister so much, director Samuel Bayer (who also directed Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit”) chose her.
This song peaked at #1 in Canada, #20 in the Billboard 100, #17 in the UK, and #15 in New Zealand in 1993.
Blind Melon’s songs, were credited to the entire band even when one member wrote most of the song, as Brad Smith did with this one. Brad says that even though he wrote it, lead singer Shannon Hoon took it to a new level with his vocal.
The video made #22 on MTV’s Greatest Videos Ever Made countdown at the end of 1999.
From Songfacts
The bee girl parlayed the role into a credible acting career, appearing in the movie Balls of Fury, a remake of the Shirley Temple film A Little Princess and the TV shows ER and Reno911. She got married in 2017. DeLoach recalled to MTV News her audition for the bee girl: “They told me Sam didn’t look at any other tapes. I went in with my hair in braids and wearing those chunky glasses, because they said to look nerdy. My mom said we had to find some glasses before we went in, so we ran to a local mall right before the audition and bought them, and Sam liked them so much they’re the same ones I used in the video.”
This was a hit on a variety of formats. It reached #1 on the AOR (classic rock), modern rock and metal charts.
The first performances of this song were on Venice Beach, where Brad Smith would do his busking. “That’s where the lyric and the song was inspired from, is just having to write songs,” he said. “Then being in the state of mind I was in and having to come up with material to go play down on the beach for change. I played that song on the beach for change for over a year before Shannon Hoon actually joined the band and really made that song a hit.”
The band didn’t always appreciate this song. When they opened some shows for The Rolling Stones in 1994, they left it off their setlist. Their tour manager, Paul Cummings explained: “They had become one of those bands that hate their hit – at least at that point. I couldn’t understand it, but it’s not my call. That probably would have been the only song that crowd would have recognized.”
A hallmark of Brad Smith’s lyrics a feeling of melancholy, which doesn’t always match the music he puts to the song. He describes the music to this song as a “jaunty little happy halfway island beat,” which sounds like “Don’t Worry, Be Happy.” He explained: “A lot of my songs come from a darker place. And if you just met me walking down the street, you’d say, ‘Oh, you’re such a happy guy, Brad. Why the dark songs?’ I’m like, ‘I don’t know.’ For me, it just has more meaning if you can get inside someone’s soul and identify with them on a heavier level and try to connect with them on that level. Because when you’re sad and you’re down, you’re the most vulnerable, and you feel the most alone.”
In 1993, Heather DeLoach reprised her role as Bee Girl in the Weird Al Yankovic video for “Bedrock Anthem” (a parody of “Give It Away” by the Red Hot Chili Peppers).
The inertia described in this song sounds typical of the stoner ennui like that described in “Because I Got High,” but you can blame this one on the herb. “I wasn’t even on drugs or drinking,” Brad Smith told us. “It was just a tough point in my life. And the cool thing about that song, I think a lot of people do interpret those lyrics properly and can connect with it on that level, where ‘I don’t understand why I sleep all day and I start to complain that there’s no rain.’ It’s just a line about, I’d rather it be raining so I can justify myself by laying in the bed and not doing anything. But it’s a sunny day, so go out and face it.”
In 2003, this was used in a commercial where a girl in a hot dog costume meets a guy in a Pepsi costume. Love blooms.
Pearl Jam has a song called “Bee Girl” that they first performed in 1994. With lyrics like, “Bee girl, you’re gonna die. You don’t wanna be famous, you wanna be shy,” the track was seen as a very accurate warning to Shannon Hoon that he was on a path of destruction. The song can be found on their Lost Dogs rarities album.
In 2016, the pop singer Mandy Jiroux released a song called “Insane” using many elements of “No Rain,” including the signature riff. Her song has similar but different lyrics, for instance:
All I can say is that my life’s not really plain
I like dancing in puddles that gather rain
In places where Shannon Hoon sang “no rain,” Jiroux substituted “insane.”
This prompted Blind Melon to file a lawsuit using the same lawyer who won big bucks for Marvin Gaye’s estate in the “Blurred Lines” case. Had Jiroux simply covered the song, it wouldn’t be an issue, but Blind Melon claimed that she created a “derivative work” that requires licensing.
The suit is unusual in that the plaintiff is trying to prove that the defendant didn’t make the song similar enough.
This song was featured in the 2004 comedy movie Without A Paddle.
No Rain
All I can say is that my life is pretty plain I like watchin’ the puddles gather rain And all I can do is just pour some tea for two And speak my point of view but it’s not sane It’s not sane
I just want someone to say to me, oh I’ll always be there when you wake, yeah You know I’d like to keep my cheeks dry today So stay with me and I’ll have it made
And I don’t understand why I sleep all day And I start to complain that there’s no rain And all I can do is read a book to stay awake And it rips my life away but it’s a great escape Escape, escape, escape
All I can say is that my life is pretty plain You don’t like my point of view, you think that I’m insane It’s not sane, it’s not sane
I just want someone to say to me, oh I’ll always be there when you wake, yeah You know I’d like to keep my cheeks dry today So stay with me and I’ll have it made, I’ll have it made, I’ll have it made Oh, no, no, you know, I really wanna, really gonna have it made You know, I’ll have it made
For everyone that follows me on the weekend…I’m working on a home project and I will only post one Twilight Zone each day with no music posts this weekend. Have a great weekend.
This song was released in 1985 on the Watermelon’s album Past, Present and Future.
The Watermelon Men were a Swedish five piece band that were around from the mid Eighties up till 1994. They had quite a following in Sweden, Germany, England, among other places.
The band is still popular over ten years after they ceased. They are praised in power pop circles in Europe. They were mostly known for garage rock and brought good melodies with jangly guitars in a lot of their music.
When they were together they released three albums, an Ep, and three singles. One album remains unreleased…it’s up in the air on if it will come out.
The guitar player Imre von Polgar died in the tsunami disaster in Khao Lak in 2004. Shortly after, the band reformed for a one time show in his memory.
Seven Years
If the man can’t choose which way to go If the girl don’t know where she belongs Then you’re apt to say all the love can’t kill the pain Till they meet, he’ll be a traveling man When his hope was buried in the ground In tears she left her man behind The you’re apt to think seven years has passed today Till they meet, she’ll dream her life away
You won’t feel, you’ll meet her someday And in his arms, she’ll always stay But it’s the story No one ever fades
In surprise they think When they both run from themselves Till they meet, the story has no end
You won’t see, you’ll meet her someday And in his arms, she’ll always stay But it’s the story No one ever fades
If you heard this song on the radio in the sixties it probably wasn’t the Kinks version unless you lived in Germany where it peaked at #1, The Netherlands where it peaked at #3 and #2 in Belgium.
The mighty Herman Hermits covered the song and it peaked at #5 in the Billboard 100, #1 in Canada, #3 in New Zealand…sometimes life just isn’t fair.
It is said to have been written about Dave Davies, mostly about his rock star lifestyle… Dave confirmed in the documentary about Dave Davies.
The song was on the Face to Face album.. one of the first rock and roll concept albums. In the album’s original inception, Davies attempted to bridge the songs together with sound effects, but was forced to revert to the more standard album because of the record company.
Ray Davies: “I think it was about someone, probably me, who needed to make up his mind about relationships. Also about my brother, who was flitting from one girl to another. It’s a more serious song than it seems. It’s about a man who’s trapped by his own indecision with relationships and lack of commitment. That’s the way I’d write it now, but when I was twenty-two or twenty-three I wrote it about a jovial person who’s a womanizer.”
From Songfacts
Running to just 2 minutes 22 seconds, “Dandy” was written by Ray Davies, and is the third track on the band’s 1966 Face To Face album.
The song ends with the line “…Dandy, you’re all right”.
Sadly, this sentiment was not reciprocated; in the aforementioned documentary, Dave Davies said that he loved his brother, even though he was an arsehole!
“Dandy” was released as a single in Europe on the Pye label backed by “Party Line.” The single was produced by Shel Talmy, who worked on most of the early Kinks material.
I’m so sorry but I feel I’m obliged to post the Colossal Hermit’s version also.
Dandy
Dandy, Dandy Where you gonna go now? Who you gonna run to? All you life You’re chasing all the girls, They can’t resist your smile. Oh, they long for Dandy, Dandy.
Checkin’ out the ladies, Tickling their fancy, Pouring out your charm To meet all your own demands, And turn it off at will. Oh, they long for Dandy, Dandy.
Knockin’ on the back door, Climbing through the window, Hubby’s gone away, And while the cat’s away, The mice are gonna play. Oh, you low down Dandy, Dandy. Dandy
Dandy you know you’re moving much too fast, And Dandy, you know you can’t escape the past. Look around you and see the people settle down, And when you’re old and grey you will remember what they said, That two girls are too many, three’s a crowd and four you’re dead.
Oh Dandy, Dandy, When you gonna give up? Are you feeling old now? You always will be free, You need no sympathy, A bachelor you will stay, And Dandy, you’re all right. You’re all right. You’re all right. You’re all right. You’re all right. You’re all right.
Just saw this a few minutes ago. Lately I’ve been living in a bubble because of work but this is the new Get Back trailer. This is not the sneak peak Peter Jackson released before. On November 25,26, and 27th… 6 hours of the Let It Be/Get Back music, comedy, and drama will all unfold on the Disney plus.
As a very young Beatle fan I read about these sessions and only saw still photographs. Later on I saw them do Get Back on MTV while on the rooftop and it was like photos coming to life…I read where they had 56 hours of video footage sitting in a vault from this album. Now we will see 6 hours out of that anyway…you what what? I would happily sit through 56 hours… Peter Jackson has done such a great job on the look of the film…it looks like it could have been filmed yesterday. Peter, need an assistant for free?
With the previews I’ve seen…it looks like it was a lot of fun and the bad drama was not prevalent through the filming. Ringo has said that people have focused on the negative but it was much more positive than that. What is great about Get Back is the good time they had and it wasn’t all doom and gloom. I can’t imagine the pressure they were under to deliver and be as good as their last album. In this case, when they filmed this, it was just a few months after they released The White Album…The Let It Be album didn’t get released until after their last studio album Abbey Road.
We all know Revolution by the Beatles but this is the acoustic version of the song. They fell into a nice groove doing this. It took a while for this to grow on me but now I like it just as well as the single fast hard rocking version.
The fast version was released as the B-side of “Hey Jude” in August 1968, three months before the slow version appeared on The White Album. John Lennon wanted it to be the first A-side released on Apple Records, the label The Beatles started, but Paul McCartney’s Hey Jude got the honor.
Brian Epstein, the Beatles manager was always careful with them by asking them to not talk about controversial subjects like the war, politics, and anything that could cause controversy…I don’t think John Lennon got that memo many times. After Brian died they started to be more open and they talked a little more freely.
John Lennon said : “I wanted to put out what I felt about revolution,” “I thought it was about time we spoke about it, the same as I thought it was about time we stopped not answering about the Vietnamese war when we were on tour with Brian Epstein and had to tell him, ‘We’re going to talk about the war this time and we’re not going to just waffle’…That’s why I did it: I wanted to talk, I wanted to say my piece about revolutions. I wanted to tell you, or whoever listens, to communicate, to say, ‘What do you say?’ ‘This is what I say.’”
“I think our society is run by insane people for insame objectives. If anybody can put on paper what our government, and the American government, and the Russian, Chinese…what they are actually trying to do, and what they think they’re doing, I’d be very pleased to know.” John wanted to see a plan as the song goes. John said he believed that revolution comes from inner change rather than social violence.
On the two versions. On one John said “count me in” and the other he said “count me out” as he explains below.
John Lennon:“There were two versions of that song, but the underground left only picked up on the one that said ‘count me out.’ The original version, which ends up on the LP, said ‘count me in’ too; I put in both because I wasn’t sure. I didn’t want to get killed. I didn’t really know much about the Maoists, but I just knew that they seemed to be so few and yet they painted themselves green and stood in front of the police waiting to get picked off. I just thought it was unsubtle. I thought the original Communist revolutionaries coordinated themselves a bit better and didn’t go around shouting about it.”
Engineer Alan Brown:“I was in the control room of studio three and there on the other side of the glass was a figure in semi-darkness going over and over some lines of a song. I knew the voice and sure enough I knew the face. John Lennon was about 30 feet away! He was working on ‘Revolution,’ the slow one, and I remember him going through the song again and again in rehearsal, changing a word or two every time. Each time it would alter very slightly, it would develop and evolve. ‘When you talk about destruction…you can count me out.’ ‘When you talk about destruction…you can count me in.’” John either hadn’t decided which way he felt or which way would be more palatable to his audience.
John eventually decided to opt for both, singing “count me out…in” on this vocal performance, which was sung in a “light voice” in imitation of Martha Reeves and Diana Ross, as his handwritten lyric sheet reminded him.
White Album Version
Revolution 1
Ah, take 2 OK!
You say you want a revolution Well you know We all want to change the world You tell me that it’s evolution Well you know We all want to change the world
But when you talk about destruction Don’t you know that you can count me out in
Don’t you know it’s gonna be alright Don’t you know it’s gonna be alright Don’t you know it’s gonna be alright
You say you got a real solution Well you know We’d all love to see the plan You ask me for a contribution Well you know We’re doing what we can
But if you want money for people with minds that hate All I can tell you is brother you have to wait
Don’t you know it’s gonna be alright Don’t you know it’s gonna be alright Don’t you know it’s gonna be alright
You say you’ll change the constitution Well you know We’d all love to change your head You tell me it’s the institution Well you know You better free your mind instead
But if you go carrying pictures of Chairman Mao You ain’t going to make it with anyone anyhow
Don’t you know it’s gonna be alright Don’t you know it’s gonna be alright Don’t you know it’s gonna be alright
The Milwaukee, Wisconsin band Violent Femmes are best known for their song Blister in the Sun released in 1983. A girl that I knew drove me crazy playing that song but after a while I started to like it…more than the girl. The song started to be played on alternative and college radio.
James Honeyman Scott (Pretenders guitar player) was booked to play a gig and he was so impressed by the Violent Femmes that he let them open for him. They were were then offered a record deal by Slash Records and soon after that they released their 1982 debut album, “Violent Femmes.” The album slowly hit and later went platinum.
This song was on their Why Do Birds Sing? album in 1991 and it was their fifth studio album. The album peaked at #141 in the Billboard Album Chart but the song peaked at #2 on Billboard‘s Modern Rock chart.
Through breakups and reunions the band minus the original drummer Victor DeLorenzo are still together. Gordon Gano is the singer- songwriter and Brian Ritchie is the bass player with new drummer John Sparrow.
They released an album in 2019 called Hotel Last Resort and it peaked at #29 in the Billboard Indie Charts.
American Music
Can I, can I put in something like… “This is “American Music”… take one.” 1-2-3-4! Do you like American music? I like American music. Don’t you like American music, baby?
I want you to hold me, I want your arms around me. I want you to hold me, baby… Did you do too many drugs? I did too many drugs. Did you do too many drugs, too, baby?
You were born too late, I was born too soon, But every time I look at that ugly moon, it reminds me of you. It reminds me of you… ooh-ooh-ooh.
I need a date to the prom, would you like to come along? But nobody would go to the prom with me, baby… They didn’t like American music, they never heard American music. They didn’t know the music was in my soul, baby…
You were born too soon, I was born too late, But every time I look at that ugly lake, it reminds me of me. It reminds me of me…
Do you like American music? We like American music. I like American music… Baby. Do you like American music? We like all kinds of music. But I like American music best… baby.
You were born too late, and I was born too late, But every time I look at that ugly lake, It reminds me of me… It reminds me of me It reminds me of me Do you like american music It reminds me of me Do you like american music It reminds me of me Do you like american music It reminds me of me I like american music It reminds me of me She like american music It reminds me of me I like american music It reminds me of me She like american music It reminds me of me I like american music It reminds me of me She like american music It reminds me of me I like american music It reminds me of me She like american music It reminds me of me I like american music It reminds me of me She like american music It reminds me of me
When Tattoo You came out I bought the single Start Me Up and couldn’t get enough of it…yea I have had about enough of it now. I bought the album played it non stop. 10 years later a friend and I took a trip to Pensacola after playing a gig and this album was on all of the way. This song stood out at the time because I skipped the hits. Mick sings it in a falsetto voice that works well.
The Stones dug down deep in their vaults for this album because they wanted to tour in 1980. They had released Some Girls in 78, Emotional Rescue in 80, and Tattoo You in 1981 and needed some songs. This song’s origins go back to 1976’s Black and Blue.
This song features a guitar solo by Wayne Perkins, who had once auditioned as a potential replacement for Mick Taylor, and Billy Preston on keyboards.
Tattoo You peaked at #1 in the Billboard Album Charts, #1 in Canada, and #2 in the UK in 1981.
Worried About You
Sometime I wonder why you do these things to me Sometime I worry girl that you ain’t in love with me
Sometime I stay out late, yeah I’m having fun Yes, I guess you know by now that you ain’t the only one
Yeah-hey, oh baby Ooh, sweet things that you promised me babe, yeah Seemed to go up in smoke Yeah, vanish like a dream Baby I wonder why you do these things to me
Cause I’m worried I just can’t seem to find my way, baby
Ooh, the nights I spent just waiting on the sun, yeah Just like your burned out cigarette You threw away my love Why did you do that baby
I wonder why, why you do these things to me well, oh
I’m worried Lord, I’ll find out anyway Sure gonna find myself a girl someday ‘Til then I’m worried Yeah, I just can’t seem to find my way Ooh
Yeah, I’m a hard working man When did I ever do you wrong? Yeah, I get all my money baby, yeah I bring it, I bring it all home Yeah, I’m telling the truth, yeah
Well, sweet things, sweet things that you promised me
Well I’m worried and I just can’t seem to find my way, baby
I’m worried about you, yeah I’m worried about you, yeah Tell you something now I’m worried ’bout you (oh, yeah) I’m worried ’bout you, child (oh, yeah) I’m worried ’bout you, woman (oh, yeah) That’s come on, tell you something now I’m worried ’bout you (oh, yeah) I’m worried about you (aw yeah), yeah
Yeah, I’m worried Lord, I’ll find out anyway Sure as Hell I’m gonna find that girl someday Lord, I’m worried Lord, I just can’t seem to find my way
Sixteen Blue was inspired by bassist Tommy Stinson. Tommy played his first gig with the Replacements in June of 1980 when he was just 13. The other members were 5-6 years older than Tommy.
Westerberg had witnessed how Stinson had been forced to grow up way faster than most kids, yet still faced the typical teenage issues and doubts. Westerberg also said it was about his lonely teenage years.
The song is on their Let It Be album released in 1984. Let It Be was the first of a three album stretch (Let It Be, Tim, Please To Meet Me) that they are probably best remembered for today.
Peter Jesperson (manager):“Hearing it the first time they did it, at a sound check in Boston, I thought, Jesus, he’s written a song about Tommy.”“Tommy was kind of the mascot of the band, and Paul had written about him in songs before. But this wasn’t just some goofy thing. This was serious and tender.”
Paul Westerberg on why they named the album Let It Be
“We were riding around . . . kicking around silly [album] names and we thought, ‘The next song that comes on the radio, we’ll name it after that.”
“We peed our pants [laughing], and Peter (manager and Beatles fan) is at the wheel, silent as hell, thinking, ‘They’re not going to do this, ““We did it pretty much to piss him off and pretty much to show the world, in a Ramones kind of way, how dumb-smart we were. . . . Just to figure how many feathers we can ruffle.”
Sixteen Blue
Drive yourself right up the wall No one hears and no one calls It’s a boring state It’s a useless wait, I know
Brag about things you don’t understand A girl and a woman, a boy and a man Everything is sexually vague Now you’re wondering to yourself If you might be gay
Your age is the hardest age Everything drags and drags One day, baby, maybe help you through Sixteen blue Sixteen blue
Drive your ma to the bank Tell your pa you got a date You’re lying, now you’re lying on your back
Try to figure out, they wonder what next you’ll pull You don’t understand anything sexual I don’t understand Tell my friends I’m doing fine
Your age is the hardest age Everything drags and drags You’re looking funny You ain’t laughing, are you? Sixteen blue Sixteen blue…
John eventually decided to opt for both, singing “count me out…in” on this vocal performance, which was sung in a “light voice” in imitation of Martha Reeves and Diana Ross, as his handwritten lyric sheet reminded him.
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