This song was on their Straight Up album but it’s when they were live it came alive. They have a terrific groove going on and Pete wails on the solo. This was Badfinger live as they ventured out of power pop into a jam band. The live version of the band is much different than the studio version.
This song was going to be the B side to Name of the Game issued as a single but Apple never released it. The song has a power pop base but with hard electric on top and it changes the dynmaic of it.
Making the Straight Up album was no easy task. They started off with Geoff Emerick (he produced their last album and engineered several Beatle albums) producing them. The songs were rejected by the Apple’s head of US operations Allan Steckler. George Harrison thought a lot of Badfinger, especially Pete Ham and wanted Name of the Game to be released as a single before the album. George then started to produce the band himself. He worked with them and they started to make progress. He played slide with Pete on the hit Day After Day and Leon Russell played piano.
They were making great progress but then the Bangladesh concert came up and George was distracted. He handed off the producing to Todd Rundgren. The band and Rundgren didn’t mix well but he finished producing it in two weeks. The members were much happier with George who actually listened to their ideas.
It was a great album but one of the complaints from the band was it lost a lot of rawness and energy after Rundgren mixed it.
Going through three producers…it’s a wonder it’s as good as it is.
The Studio version is the second video but I would reccomend the live version…and I don’t do that a lot.
Suitcase
Suitcase, suitcase, follow me ’round Bootlace, bootlace, tie me down Money for fun, yeah, golden crown It’s all inside a game we’ve been playing for so long
Driver, driver, go too fast Miser, miser, make it last Pusher, pusher, on the run It’s all inside a game we’ve been playing for so long
And I’m sorry to be leavin’ Yeah, that’s all I get to say ‘Cause I’m sorry to be leavin’ today
[guitar solo (Pete Ham)]
Well I’m sorry to be leavin’ But that’s all I get to say ‘Cause I’m sorry to be leaving today
(Driver drive)
Driver, driver, go too fast Miser, miser, make it last Pusher, pusher, on the run It’s all inside a game we’ve been playing so long
The holy trinity of power pop for me are…Badfinger, Big Star, and The Raspberries…those were the 70s pioneers. Badfinger was the most successful out of the three…hit wise anyway. You can hear later bands like Cheap Trick, The Posies, Teenage Fanclub, Matthew Sweet, and even KISS get something from each three.
My love for this song is so over the top. Baby Blue, to these ears, is the perfect power pop song. It has the right combination of the hard British crunch and pop with an irresistible guitar riff. Lets talk about that guitar riff. I know there are other good rock riffs but the perfection in this one is sensational. He plays a variant of it through the song always changing plus a walk down or two. Nothing is purely defined and that is just pure brilliance. The solo is simple but fits perfectly. No nuance in this song is wasted…it was in there for the good of the song…not meant to be flashy.
It’s a hook here, a hook there, and a hook everywhere…and…I’ve been hooked since I first heard it. Everything blends. Even the ending is perfect. On top of that it was produced by a power pop guy Todd Rundgren.
You can hear a young Rick Nielsen of Cheap Trick listening and learning from this.
I had gone through Han’s entire album draft without mentioning my name sake…Badfinger…I’m here to rectify that now. I learned about Badfinger as a wee young kid who thought “Come and Get It” was a long lost Beatle song. I found out more about them and bought the album Straight Up. I liked many of their album cuts more than their hits.
As they went along they started to move away from the power pop genre because of the too close Beatle connection. During live performances they sorta became a jam band. Later on they made some excellent albums that no one heard because of a manager who would make Allen Klein (Satan, snake, etc) look good. Arguably the most tragic story in rock and roll…but that is for another day. We are looking now at Badfinger in 1972 before the rug got pulled out from underneath them.
A year ago or so I posted a ranking of my favorite power pop songs. This one was at the top of my list before I wrote it, during the process of writing it, and is still at the top. The others have changed places depending on my mood but not this one.
The song peaked at #14 in the Billboard 100 in 1972. The “Dixie” in the song was Pete Ham’s ex-girlfriend, Dixie Armstrong whom he’d met during the band’s US tour of 1971. Dixie was from Wichita Kansas (thanks run-sew-read).
The song was revitalized again in the great show Breaking Bad. I’m happy that Breaking Bad showcased this song so that another generation knows the song and hopefully that will lead more people to learn about Badfinger. After the show’s finale with this song…the song entered the charts again.
*** Here is the clip from Breaking Bad…but warning…it has a major spoiler for those who haven’t watched it.
Or you can watch them below that with an awkwardly cool Kenny Rogers introducing them. The music is not live but the vocals are…they are playing to a backing track…but listen to those live voices….although they are mic’d up so they are probably playing low along with the backing track.
Baby Blue
Guess I got what I deserved Kept you waiting there too long, my love All that time without a word Didn’t know you’d think that I’d forget or I’d regret The special love I had for you, my baby blue
All the days became so long Did you really think, I’d do you wrong? Dixie, when I let you go Thought you’d realize that I would know I would show the special love I have for you, my baby blue
What can I do, what can I say Except I want you by my side How can I show you, show me the way Don’t you know the times I’ve tried?
guitar solo
Guess that’s all I have to say Except the feeling just grows stronger every day Just one thing before I go Take good care, baby, let me know, let it grow The special love you have for me, my Dixie, dear.
As with the Buzzcocks…I had friends with Jam albums and that is how I found out about them.
This was their first single and introduction to the Jam and singer/guitarist and Jam songwriter Paul Weller. Weller wrote this song and borrowed the title from a Who single I’m A Boy with the B side In The City.
It was released in 1977 and peaked at #40 inn the UK Charts. This was their first Top 40 single and the beginning of their streak of 18 consecutive Top 40 singles. The single came off the album of the same name. The album peaked at #20 in 1977.
The song’s opening bassline re-appeared a few months later on the Sex Pistols’ single “Holidays in The Sun.” Weller had a fight with Sex Pistols bassist Sid Vicious in the Speakeasy Club over stealing the riff.
Paul Weller:“We had a different sort of birth to a lot of the bands, our contemporaries of that time. Because we’d been playing for five years – pubs and working men’s clubs and anywhere that would have us really. I’d been plating since I was 14, sort of semi-pro if you like. So I never got the thing about not turning your guitar.”
“I wrote this after I’d seen the Pistols and The Clash and I was obviously into my Who phrase. I just wanted to capture some of that excitement.” “It was a big tune for us. We’d open our set with it, we’d probably play it at the end and if we could get an encore, we’d play it again. The reaction it got from the audience, we knew it was a big tune.”
“I’m not sure about some of the lyrics in … I was 17, 18 man. But it was a good youth anthem, I thought.”
From Songfacts
While only a minor hit on the charts, this mod/punk number is well remembered for serving as England’s first introduction to singer/guitarist and Jam songwriter Paul Weller. The song’s #40 chart position when the song was first released marked the beginning of his band’s streak of 18 consecutive Top 40 singles. After their breakup in 1982, Weller would continue to notch up chart entries well into the 21st century firstly with Style Council, then under his own name.
Weller was only 18 when he penned this celebration of youth in the big city. He recalled writing this song to Q magazine April 2011: “It was the sound of young Woking, if not London, a song about trying to break out of suburbia. As far as we were concerned, the city was where it was all happening; the clubs, the gigs, the music, the music. I was probably 18, so it was a young man’s song, a suburbanite dreaming of the delights of London and the excitement of the city. It was an exciting time to be alive. London was coming out of its post-hippy days and there was a new generation taking over. The song captured that wide-eyed innocence of coming out of a very small community and entering a wider world, seeing all the bands, meeting people, going to the clubs, and the freedom that it held.”
The single has the particular distinction of reaching the UK Top 50 on four different occasions. The song originally peaked at #40, then when “Going Underground” became the group’s first #1 single three years later, Polydor decided to re-issue all nine of the group’s prior singles and “City” was the only one to make the Top 40 again, peaking at #40 for a second time. After the group’s breakup at the end of 1982, the record company re-issued every single of the band’s career in early 1983 and this time “City” peaked at #47. Finally, in May 2002, Polydor decided to commemorate the 25th anniversary of The Jam by re-releasing their debut single in its original packaging, in its original 7″ vinyl record format, and at its original price of 75 pence. The limited pressing sold out immediately, this time peaking at #36, higher than it ever did in its original release and two subsequent reissues.
In The City
In the city there’s a thousand things I want to say to you But whenever I approach you, you make me look a fool I want to say, I want to tell you About the young ideas But you turn them into fears
In the city there’s a thousand faces all shining bright And those golden faces are under 25 They want to say, they gonna tell ya About the young idea You better listen now you’ve said your bit-a
And I know what you’re thinking You still think I am crap But you’d better listen man Because the kids know where it’s at
In the city there’s a thousand men in uniforms And I’ve heard they now have the right to kill a man We want to say, we gonna tell ya About the young idea And if it don’t work, at least we said we’ve tried
In the city, in the city In the city there’s a thousand things I want to say to you
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
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
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
Great way to start a morning listening to this 60s influenced guitar riff. It’s a pure joy power pop song.
Nikki was influenced by The Stooges and the MC5 in her teen years, before a friend pushed her on stage in the Detroit punk scene in 1978. Nikki and The Corvettes formed and recorded their self-titled and only studio album in the late ‘70s in Detroit. It was released in 1980 by Bomp! Bomp! records. This song was on that self-titled album.
The album they released influenced many starting bands in the years to follow. Nikki didn’t realize this until it was reissued in 2000. The band was short lived. They were only together from 1978-1981. Nikki returned to music in 2003 with Nikki and the Stingrays. They released an album called Back to Detroit.
In 2009 she formed a band called Gorevette and they opened up for Blondie and the Donna’s at a few shows.
Sorry I couldn’t find the lyrics…Just enjoy the song!
It’s a shame this guy didn’t get the recognition he should have. He was obviously influenced by the Beatles and Paul McCartney especially.
Emitt was turned down by A&M Records so he built a studio in his parents garage. Rhodes recorded his first album (Emitt Rhodes) in that studio. ABC/Dunhill Records signed him and they released his album as well as the next three albums he recorded.
He played all the instruments himself and recorded on a four track tape machine. ABC/Dunhill then transferred the tapes to 8 track and Emitt redone all of his vocals.
This song is on his debut album Emitt Rhodes and every song is quality. The first single Fresh as a Daisy peaked at #54 in the Billboard 100 while his album Emitt Rhodes peaked at #29 in 1970.
The album was a critical success – Billboard called Rhodes “one of the finest artists on the music scene today” and later called his first album one of the “best albums of the decade“.
Unfortunately Emitt passed away in 2020 in his sleep.
From Wiki: Italian director Cosimo Messeri shot a documentary movie about Emitt Rhodes’s vicissitudes: life, past, present, troubles and hopes. The movie, titled The One Man Beatles, was selected for the International Rome Film Festival 2009, and it received standing ovations. In 2010 The One Man Beatles was nominated for David di Donatello Award as Best Documentary of 2010. Its US premiere screening was scheduled for May 29, 2010, at the Rhino Records Pop Up Store in Westwood, California.
Long Time No See
It’s been a long time, I remember you well It’s been a long time no see, where you been keeping yourself?
You’ve been staying all alone when you should be playing Been feeling all alone when you should be praying It’s been a long time no see.
It’s been a rough road to ride, says the sun in the West It’s been hard but I get by with a moment to rest.
Been thinking all the time that things will get better And living all alone can’t make me much sadder It’s been hard but I’ll get by.
Oh oh oh oh, yeah Oooh…
It’s been a long time, I remember you well It’s been a long time no see, where you been keeping yourself?
You’ve been staying all alone when you should be playing Been feeling all alone when you should be praying It’s been a long time no see.
I haven’t posted a Badfinger song in a while…and this is the first one I’ll post that came after Pete Ham passed away. Pete Ham was the principle songwriter but Joey Molland and Tom Evans were no slouches. This edition included Tony Kaye, formally of Yes.
This song is slow but the melody is fantastic. This song was long after Pete Ham was gone from the band in 1975. This song was written by bass player Tom Evans. In 1977 the guitar player Joey Molland and Evans started the band back after the death of Ham.
They were signed by Electra Records and released an album called Airwaves. I remember when I was around 11 I saw this in a cutout bin…I bought it because I’d read so much about them from Beatle books. It’s a good album considering there is no Pete Ham
The album flopped, only hitting #125 in America. “Lost Inside You Love”, however, was selected to be the album’s first single release. Backed with the Joey Molland-written track “Come Down Hard”, the song, like the album, was not successful, not charting in America or Britain. Another single followed named “Love Is Gonna Come at Last”, that same year which got some radio play.
In 1983, after a dispute with former bandmate Joey Molland over royalties for the song “Without You”, Tom Evans hanged himself in his garden only eight years after Pete Ham did the same.
Lost Inside Your Love
What can I say, what can I do?
All of my life I’ve been a victim of you
What can I say or do?
Lost inside your love
What can it be, who can I see? All of your life you’ve been the winner in me What can I say or do? Lost inside your love
Is it any wonder there’s no reason why? Is it all because I left it open wide for your pride To leave me one more time Are you leaving me one more time?
[guitar solo (Joey Molland)]
What can I say, what can I do? All of my life I’ve been a winner with you What can I say or do? Lost inside your love Lost inside your love Lost inside your love.
LOST INSIDE YOUR LOVE [solo demo version] (Tom Evans) What can I say, what can I do? All of my life I’ve been a victim of you What can I say or do? I’m lost inside your love
What can it be, who can I see? All of my life you’ve been the loser in me What can I say or do? I’m lost inside your love
Is it any wonder there’s no reason why? Is it all because I left it open wide for your pride To lose me once again Am I losing you once again?
What can I say, what can I do? All of my life I’ve been a loser with you What can I say or do? I’m lost inside your love Lost inside your love Lost inside your love.
This 80s band started off as a surf band and then they switched to a more garage band sound. The song has a 1960s feel…it would be expected from a band who had a song called (I Wish It Could Be) 1965 Again.
The Barracudas are an English-Canadian band that formed in 1978 when Robin Wills (from London) met Jeremy Gluck (from Ottawa) and they are now based in England. The band’s original line-up consisted of Jeremy Gluck (vocals), Robin Wills (guitar and vocals), Starkie Phillips (bass and vocals) and Adam Phillips (drums).
The band broke up in 1984 but reformed in 1989. In 2005 they released their back catalog and that provided a boost to their career. They started to release singles and an album in 2014. They ended up with more compilations albums than regular releases.
This song was released in 1981 on their debut album Drop Out.
There was also a sixties band with the same name.
Jeremy Gluck:Radio was an enormous influence. You can’t imagine now how important it was then, it would seem sentimental to get into it. There were some good local stations, like CFRA, that played the Top 40 – I remember calling them like crazy in hope of my “Bang-a-Gong” request hitting paydirt. But the best was on FM. The night my top FM DJ played all of ‘Quadrophenia’ days before its release was one of many highlights. At night through the crystal clear winter skies I could tune in dozens of American stations, and discovered a lot of music and madness that way. Radio is magic: the first time I heard a record of mine on radio (John Peel show!), it was an epiphany.
Jeremy Gluck is the author and founder of the Nonceptualism art manifesto…yea don’t ask me but he described it.
“Nonceptualism is about the (an) end to art, and the end of the idea of an artist in self-concept and conception and execution of work, as we and consider it…but maybe it’s also my way of saying, It’s about an end to some or all of me as I’ve conceived myself since conditioning began – as it does with all of us – not long after birth. Which I like…”
We’re Living In Violent Times
Stayed in all day I was scared of getting killed Didn’t pick up my pay I know I’ll just get bills Maybe it’s all in my frozen mind We’re living in violent times Maybe it’s in my mind We’re living in violent times Took the news off the TV It always depresses me Put my new car in the garage I’m so scared of a crash I couldn’t wait to turn off the lights We’re living in violent times I tell ya We’re living in violent times Protested Guess I should look at the bright side And be glad just to be alive I’ll be happy right now If I come through this and survive I’m not imagining this I see the signs We’re living in violent times
The slightly distorted 12 string guitar and Nick Saloman’s voice gives a strong Byrds sound. The song though is just good with or without the Byrds sound. Lights Are Changing was released in 1987 and this is what I wish was playing on the radio in my area.
Nick Saloman began performing thirty years ago as a guitarist in cover bands during the late 1960s in London. In 1979 he formed a band called the Von Trap Family.
In 1986, Saloman released a ninety minute cassette to a few friends of himself playing original material under the alias The Bevis Frond name. The first releases was under his own record company Woronzow records.
This song was on the Triptych album released in 1988. Saloman is productive if nothing else. They have released 27 albums. https://bevisfrond.bandcamp.com/
On the bands first recordings Saloman played many of the instruments. Members include Cyke Bancroft, Dominic Colletti, Martin Crowley, Graham Cumming, and Rie Gunther.
The band has had many members through the years but they are there to do Nick Saloman’s music projects. Their albums have had underground success.
Nick Saloman: “When you’re [as old as I was at the time] and you’ve never gotten anywhere, you kind of think that you’ve had it. So I just started doing self-indulgent stuff on my own without worrying about things like getting a record deal. I honestly didn’t think anyone would care. But lo and behold, people were interested, and it changed my life.”
Lights Are Changing
Disappearing out of sight along the open road Into indistinct horizons – they had no time to reload Like a silver bullet from a gun, an arrow from a bow Like an equine star you hear about me everywhere you go
All through nebulae I was racing in my mind I tripped on the light fantastic and I’ve never looked behind You slow down you slow down my lights are changing You slow down you slow down our lights are changing You fly so high yeah and you move so fast You’re running blindly from the past Slow down you slow down green lights are changing
Oh changing all the time Oh changing all the time
Looking through these hollow eyes across the great unknown Growing greater every second, growing harder with each stone Yeah and you who judge your freedom by the quantity you score Would it make you any freer if you took a little more?
All that summertime I revolved around your eye In accelerating spirals in an asymmetric sky You slow down you slow down my lights are changing You slow down you slow down my lights are changing You fly so high yeah and you move so fast You’re running blindly from the past Slow down slow down green lights are changing
Oh changing all the time Oh changing all the time You slow down you slow down lights are changing You slow down you slow down my lights are changing Well you slow down you slow down my lights are changing
I hardly ever post #1 songs but when this song came out our radio station liked it. No they LOVED IT. I kid you not it was on every hour. It got to be a running joke with my friends on how many times we would hear this song in an afternoon.
It was either this song or the Outfield song “Your Love”…they were a year apart but they seemed joined at the hip on our rock radio station. The two songs had distinctive openings…Oh I, I just died in your arms tonight and Josie’s on a vacation far away…
Our band was playing in a bar at this time and we would just play the opening line and mock it… Oh I, I just died in your arms tonight It must have been something I ate… everyone applauded and laughed because they were as tired of it as we were.
After a few years I hardly heard it anymore and then something happened…I started to like it…a lot! It is a fun 80s style power pop song that I probably liked when I first heard it but I heard it too many times back then. It was written by Cutting Crew lead singer Nick Van Eede.
They formed in London in 1985 and hit big with their first album Broadcast with two hit singles.
The song was huge…it peaked at #1 in the Billboard 100, #1 in Canada, #4 in Canada, and #50 in New Zealand.
Nick Van Eede:“Yes, I cannot tell a lie. It’s a song written about my girlfriend (who is actually the mother of my daughter). We got back together for one night after a year apart and I guess there were some fireworks but all the time tinged with a feeling of ‘should I really be doing this?’ Hence the lyric, ‘I should have walked away.
I know it sounds corny but I awoke that morning and wrote the basic lyrics within an hour and wrote and recorded the demo completely within three days.”
From Songfacts
Richard Branson started Virgin Records in England in 1972, but it wasn’t until 1987 and the release of Cutting Crew’s Broadcast album that Virgin broke through in America. Nick Van Eede told us about his experience with the record company: “We were signed to Siren records which was part of Virgin so we were always a little bit on the outside but it was the ’80s and they certainly put their money where their mouth was. We were flown to New York for the initial recordings of the album and this is where we got a great recording of ‘I’ve Been In Love Before.’ Then we were flown to Australia to shoot videos… all a bit crazy really. We gave them their first US #1 with ‘(I Just) Died In Your Arms’ but the company soon outgrew us as music stars were changing in the early ’90s. We wrote one slightly veiled song having a pop at US A&R antics in our ‘Between A Rock And A Hard Place’ from The Scattering (1989) album. I sang, ‘I got a brick but I can’t find a window,’ as they continually blocked our album’s release for months making us lose so much momentum.”
Mika used a great deal of this song on his 2007 track “Relax (Take It Easy).” Says Nick: “I know as well as any other song writer that these things can happen and its just the way of the composing world. I am completely confident Mika stumbled in to it accidentally and I am proud to be given the co write… Kerching!!!”
This song has been sampled or interpolated by a number of rap and R&B artists. Jay-Z did a remake of the song, and Amerie used it on her track “I Just Died.”
This was used in the Stranger Things episode “Suzie, Do You Copy?” (2019) and the Cold Case episode “Lonely Hearts” (2006). It also appears in these movies:
The Lego Batman Movie (2017) Hot Tub Time Machine (2010) Hot Rod (2007) Never Been Kissed (1999)
In a 2020 Planters commercial that aired during the Super Bowl in 2020, Matt Walsh and Wesley Snipes are riding the Peanutmobile, singing along as this song plays on the radio. Mr. Peanut is driving. When he swerves to avoid an armadillo, the vehicle goes off a cliff and the three are left hanging by a tree. To save the others, Mr. Peanut plunges to a fiery death. His elegy reads: “Mr. Peanut. 1916-2020.”
(I Just) Died In Your Arms
Oh I, I just died in your arms tonight It must have been something you said I just died in your arms tonight
I keep lookin’ for somethin’ I can’t get Broken hearts lie all around me And I don’t see an easy way to get out of this Her diary, it sits by the bedside table The curtains are closed, the cats in the cradle Who would’ve thought that a boy like me could come to this
Oh I, I just died in your arms tonight It must’ve been something you said I just died in your arms tonight Oh I, I just died in your arms tonight It must’ve been some kind of kiss I should’ve walked away I should’ve walked away
Is there any just cause for feelin’ like this? On the surface, I’m a name on a list I try to be discreet, but then blow it again I’ve lost and found, it’s my final mistake She’s loving by proxy, no give and all take ‘Cause I’ve been thrilled to fantasy one too many times
Oh I, I just died in your arms tonight It must’ve been something you said I just died in your arms tonight Oh I, I just died in your arms tonight It must’ve been some kind of kiss I should’ve walked away I should’ve walked away
It was a long hot night She made it easy, she made it feel right But now it’s over, the moment has gone I followed my hands not my head, I know I was wrong
Oh I, I just died in your arms tonight It must’ve been something you said I just died in your arms tonight I, I just died in your arms tonight It must’ve been some kind of kiss I should’ve walked away I should’ve walked away
I have heard mostly the 90s music from this band…I recently found this album from 1987 and love it. They formed in 1982 in Glasgow Scotland and are still together today. The only original member left is lead singer Bobby Gillespie. They have shifted in sound through the years. This song was during their power pop period.
This song was on the Sonic Flower Groove album released in 1987. It was met with mixed to bad reviews at the time. The bad reviews caused internal strife within the band. Two members Jim Beattie and Gavin Skinner subsequently resigned. The band then changed directions and shifted to a more rock sound. In the mid-eighties a Byrds sound was not exactly the height of popularity but it would start taking off with bands like REM soon after.
I love the jangling guitar and the overall sound of the song and album. This song, Imperial, Treasure Trip, and many more make this a very good album to me.
Most reviewers now look back on the album with praise. It charted at #62 in the UK charts in 1987. Gentle Tuesday peaked at #87 in the UK charts in 1987.
Gentle Tuesday
Shadow masking matters Can’t conceal the way you really feel It doesn’t fit our souls exist That of they asked me how it is
New morning dew for you Sweet honey hips your lips Hold spells when cast they dwell Like magic in your kiss
Confusion colours cruel designs Unhappy girl, you’re out of time
Gentle Tuesday Sad and lonely eyes Gentle tuesday See yourself tonight
Memories as fat as bees Presents a mess of poison tears A word unkind that tricks our minds We really warned before your time
Happiness, nothing less A universal way Bad seeds but fruit are sweet You choke on empty days Confusion colours cruel designs Unhappy girl you’re out of time
It’s hard not to like this song. it’s fun and the video should not to be missed. When I was growing up…I don’t remember any friend’s moms looking like Rachel Hunter though.
The song was credited to Chris Collingwood and Adam Schlesinger…but Schlesinger wrote it. Stacy’s Mom was released in 2003 on the Welcome Interstate Managers album.
The intro resembles the Cars Just What I Needed and they even asked Ric Ocasek to be in the video for the song. He never responded but they had some tributes to him in the video. A license plate reads “I ♥ RIC” and a young kid dressed similar to Ocasek with dark hair and sunglasses. They also re-created the scene from the movie Fast Times at Ridgemont High, which featured the Cars’ “Moving in Stereo.”
Adam Schlesinger said that he had Simon & Garfunkel’s “Mrs. Robinson” in the back of his mind when he wrote Stacy’s Mom… “It was a contrast of that story against a track that sounded like ’80s new wave, like The Cars or something.”
Adam also said that one of his friends when he was 11 or 12 was attracted…not to his mom but to his grandmother. He told Schlesinger that she was “really hot.” That incident helped him write the song.
It peaked at #21 in the Billboard 100, #11 in the UK, and #13 in Canada in 2003
The band Bowling For Soup has been misidentified as the band that did Stacy’s Mom. Youtube and even some of their fans even thought they were the band that did the song…so…they covered it! They do sound somewhat like Fountains Of Wayne.
Jaret Reddick (Bowling for Soup leader) said that by finally releasing their own version of the song, “I’ve basically just taken care of a large part of the population that’s been wrong for years, and I’ve made them right.” The cover art for their version of the song release reads: “Finally you can say this is your favorite song by BFS and not look like an idiot!”
Unfortunately Adam Schlesinger passed away on April 1, 2020 from complications of Covid-19…he was only 52 years old.
Songfacts
The Cars’ influence is obvious – just compare the intro of their track, “Just What I Needed,” to the intro of “Stacy’s Mom” to hear for yourself.
This song was a commercial success and reached #1 on iTunes’ Most Downloaded Songs chart. In 2004, it was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Vocal Pop Performance. Adam Schlesinger told us “Stacy’s Mom” “is definitely the biggest of my own band stuff.” Schlesinger added to Bullz-Eye.com that he does not think Fountains of Wayne will achieve the same level of success they did with “Stacy’s Mom” ever again: “I think ‘Stacy’s Mom’ was a fluke thing where it was the right song and the right video, and you kind of had the novelty factor, and all that stuff. And you can’t really make that happen again.”
Actress and model, Rachel Hunter, portrayed Stacy’s mom in the song’s official video – directed by Chris Applebaum. Parts of the video bear a striking resemblance to the movie Fast Times at Ridgemont High. At one point in the movie, a character named Brad is in a bathroom fantasizing about his sister’s friend and the friend walks in on him. His sister’s name, coincidentally, is Stacy. .
The song featured in a commercial for the Cadillac SRX, which shows a woman picking up her daughter from school. As she does so, men gaze longingly at her “beautifully practical and practically beautiful” …car.
Stacy’s Mom
Stacy’s mom has got it goin’ on Stacy’s mom has got it goin’ on Stacy’s mom has got it goin’ on Stacy’s mom has got it goin’ on
Stacy, can I come over after school? (after school) We can hang around by the pool (hang by the pool) Did your mom get back from her business trip? (business trip) Is she there, or is she trying to give me the slip? (give me the slip)
You know, I’m not the little boy that I used to be I’m all grown up now, baby can’t you see
Stacy’s mom has got it goin’ on She’s all I want and I’ve waited for so long Stacy, can’t you see you’re just not the girl for me I know it might be wrong but I’m in love with Stacy’s mom
Stacy’s mom has got it goin’ on Stacy’s mom has got it goin’ on
Stacy, do you remember when I mowed your lawn? (mowed your lawn) Your mom came out with just a towel on (towel on) I could tell she liked me from the way she stared (way she stared) And the way she said, “you missed a spot over there” (a spot over there)
And I know that you think it’s just a fantasy But since your dad walked out, your mom could use a guy like me
Stacy’s mom has got it goin’ on She’s all I want, and I’ve waited so long Stacy, can’t you see you’re just not the girl for me I know it might be wrong But I’m in love with Stacy’s mom
Stacy’s mom has got it goin’ on She’s all I want and I’ve waited for so long Stacy can’t you see you’re just not the girl for me I know it might be wrong I’m in love with (Stacy’s mom oh oh) I’m in love with (Stacy’s mom oh oh) Stacy can’t you see you’re just not the girl for me I know it might be wrong, but I’m in love with (Stacy’s mom oh oh)
Bruce Springsteen:“Overnight Sensation (Hit Record) should go down as one of the great mini-rock-opera masterpieces of all time”
In the nineties I bought the Raspberries greatest hits. I listened with headphones to each song until I heard this one. I stopped and listened to it repeatedly. It’s one of those songs that goes beyond other songs…It is truly a pop-rock symphony. I was amazed that I never heard this before.
Overnight Sensation (Hit Record) is an epic, ambitious, grand, lofty, extravagant, and brilliant song from the Raspberries. They were swinging for the fences when they made this song and they hit it out of the park. It’s on the album Starting Over released in 1974.
Put some headphones on and listen to this completely to the very end… When I hear it, I think this is what it would sound like if The Who, Beach Boys, and Beatles made a song together…this would be it. Musically you have a little of everything. Sliding bass lines, tasteful guitar licks, great vocals, a sax solo that gives way to more lyrics as the song morphs into an AM radio sound… and then comes a solo piano.
Stay until the very end because they dupe you into a fake ending and the drums will come in as if the world is going to end. Then… a Beach Boys final huge crescendo wave will wash over you like a warm summer moonlit night. It’s a wall of sound of ecstasy that you wish would go on forever.
The song is about trying to make it in the music business. It’s Eric Carmen singing with desperation wanting a hit record on the radio. After this album, the Raspberries were no more. This was Eric Carmen at his absolute best before he went solo and became an ordinary pop singer. He would never try anything this ambitious again.
Certain songs we all know are timeless. In a perfect world this one deserves to be on that list. I don’t use the word masterpiece a lot but I would consider this song one. The musical arrangement is second to none in terms of arrangement, production, and harmonies.
Although “Go All The Way” was their big hit of their career…this one is in a different league and they never equaled it. Most people don’t know this song and it’s a musical injustice. I only hope more people discover it.
The three best power pop bands of the early to mid-seventies were Big Star, Badfinger, and The Raspberries. Badfinger were the most successful (and they paid dearly for it), Big Star wasn’t even known, and The Raspberries had one top ten hit with few very good minor ones. All three of these bands were too rock for pop radio and too pop for rock radio…in varying degrees they fell into the cracks of history… none of them had long careers.
John Lennon was said to be a fan of the group. He was producing Nilsson’s Pussycats at the same time The Raspberries were making this album at the Record Plant. John supposedly was blown away by Overnight Sensation.
The song peaked at #18 in the Billboard 100 and #22 in Canada in 1974.
Overnight Sensation (Hit Record) Well I know it sounds funny But I’m not in it for the money, no I don’t need no reputation And I’m not in it for the show
I just want a hit record, yeah Wanna hear it on the radio Want a big hit record, yeah One that everybody’s got to know
Well if the program director don’t pull it It’s time to get back the bullet So bring the group down to the station You’re gonna be an overnight sensation
I’ve been tryin’ to write the lyric Non-offensive but satiric too And if you put it in the A-slot It’s just got to make a mint for you
I fit those words to a good melody Amazing how success has been ignoring me So long I use my bread making demos all day Writing in the night while in my head I hear The record play Hear it play
Hit record, yeah Wanna hit record, yeah Wanna hit record, yeah (number one)
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