PowerPop... An Eclectic Collection of Pop Culture

Jimi Hendrix – Crosstown Traffic

“Crosstown Trafic” was recorded at the Record Plant in 1968. Traffic’s Dave Mason was a guest vocalist on this song. This song includes a famous kazoo riff, which Hendrix originally performed using a comb and a piece of cellophane.

This song peaked at #52 on the Billboard 100 in 1968. The album was Electric Ladyland and it was Jimi’s only number 1 album in Billboard.

Hendrix wanted a Linda Eastman photo for the album cover… A photo of the band and some kids at Central Park on an Alice In Wonderland Statue… he wrote “Please use color picture with us and the kids on the statue for front or back cover — OUTSIDE COVER,” but Reprise ignored his request…this is the photo he wanted.

Instead, they used this one

The UK cover was of 19 nude women which again…Jimi didn’t want or ask for… The public opinion was that the cover was tasteless. Hendrix agreed. He distanced himself from the photo in interviews and proclaimed disdain for the photo.

From Songfacts

This song is about a girl who is hard to get rid of. Getting through to her that she’s not wanted is like getting through crosstown traffic.

The lyrics are similar to many Blues songs in that they are filled with sexual references in clever metaphors: “I’m not the only soul, who’s accused of hit and run, tire tracks all across your back, I can see you’ve had your fun.”

Dave Mason from the group Traffic sang on this. That’s him singing the high part on the word “Traffic.”

Chas Chandler produced the original tracks, but Hendrix remixed them when he started producing his own music in 1968.

Crosstown Traffic

You jump in front of my car when you
you know all the time
Ninety miles an hour, girl, is the speed I drive
You tell me it’s alright, you don’t mind a little pain
You say you just want me to take you for a drive

You’re just like crosstown traffic
So hard to get through to you
Crosstown traffic
I don’t need to run over you
Crosstown traffic
All you do is slow me down
And I’m tryin’ to get on the other side of town

I’m not the only soul who’s accused of hit and run
Tire tracks all across your back
I can, I can see you had your fun
But, darlin’ can’t you see my signals turn from green to red
And with you I can see a traffic jam straight up ahead

You’re just like crosstown traffic
So hard to get through to you
Crosstown traffic
I don’t need to run over you
Crosstown traffic
All you do is slow me down
And I got better things on the other side of town

Animals – Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood

This song peaked at #15 in the Billboard 100 and #3 in the UK in 1965. The Animals were a tough Rhythm and Blues band formed in Newcastle upon Tyne. Burdon’s voice drives this Animals song.

This song was written by Horace Ott, Bennie Benjamin, and Sol Marcus. Benjamin and Marcus were a songwriting team that had been working together since the 40s… their songs include “Lonely Man” by Elvis Presley and “Fabulous Character” by Sarah Vaughan.

Ott started writing the song after getting in a heated argument with Gloria Caldwell, whom he had recently married. Sitting down at the piano, he expressed in song how he was well-intentioned, but misunderstood by his wife – a sentiment many married men could relate to.

Gloria Caldwell is listed on the credit instead of Ott because of contractual issues. She learned to understand him: the couple stayed together.

The Animals were one of the British Invasion bands…One of the rawer and bluesy bands.

From Songfacts

Nina Simone was the first to record this song, releasing an orchestrated, downtempo rendition on her 1964 album Broadway-Blues-Ballads that nicked the US chart at #131. The best-known version is by The Animals, who reworked it into a rock song. Eric Burdon recalled in Rolling Stone magazine, “It was never considered pop material, but it somehow got passed on to us and we fell in love with it immediately.”

In our 2010 interview with Eric Burdon, he said: “I’ve really been misunderstood. By my mom, my dad, school teachers, a couple of the women that I married. I’ve been misunderstood all of my life.”

In 2013, Eric Burdon recorded a new version of this song with Jenny Lewis for the HBO TV series True Blood. “When I was asked to record a new version of ‘Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood’ for the new season with Jenny Lewis, I had to bite,” Burdon said of recording the song for the vampire drama. The song was included on Volume 4 of the show’s soundtrack.

Other well-known versions include covers by:

Joe Cocker, who covered this on his 1969 debut album, With a Little Help from My Friends. His version was played over the ending credits of the 2004 film Layer Cake.

Disco group Santa Esmeralda’s 1977 dance version, which incorporated flamenco, salsa, and other Latin rhythm and ornamentation elements. Released as a single it reached #15 on the Billboard Hot 100. The song’s instrumental passage was later used by Quentin Tarantino during the duel between The Bride and O-Ren Ishii in his 2003 movie Kill Bill: Volume 1

Lana Del Rey, who covered this for her 2015 Honeymoon album. Her version is in the vein of Nina Simone’s jazz original but also uses The Animals organ sound. Del Rey had previous covered another Nina Simone song “The Other Woman” for her Ultraviolence album. The “Video Games” singer told NME she is drawn to Simone’s “melodies and words.” “Personality-wise we’re quite different,” she added. “We may have had some of the same issues, but I picked that song simply because it resonated with me.”

Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood

Baby, do you understand me now?
Sometimes I feel a little mad
But don’t you know that no one alive can always be an angel
When things go wrong I feel real bad.

I’m just a soul whose intentions are good
Oh Lord, please don’t let me be misunderstood

Baby, sometimes I’m so carefree
With a joy that’s hard to hide
And sometimes it seems that, all I have to do is worry
And then you’re bound to see my other side

I’m just a soul whose intentions are good
Oh Lord, please don’t let me be misunderstood

If I seem edgy, I want you to know,
That I never mean to take it out on you
Life has its problems, and I get my share,
And that’s one thing I never mean to do

Cause I love you,
Oh,

Oh, oh, oh, baby – don’t you know I’m human
I have thoughts like any other one
Sometimes I find myself, Lord, regretting
Some foolish thing, some little simple thing I’ve done

I’m just a soul whose intentions are good
Oh Lord, please don’t let me be misunderstood
Yes, I’m just a soul whose intentions are good
Oh Lord, please don’t let me be misunderstood
Yes, I’m just a soul whose intentions are good
Oh Lord, please don’t let me be misunderstood

Yes, I’m just a soul whose intentions are good

Rolling Stones – All Down The Line

One of my favorites off of Exile on Main Street. This was going to be the first single off of the album but Tumbling Dice… understandably was the first. This song didn’t chart but it just added to the greatness that is Exile on Main Street.

Engineer Andy Johns talked about this single. It was the first song finished for the album and Mick thought it was perfect for the first single. Andy disagreed and told Mick. I know this is a long quote but it’s worth a read. It shows you how much power some bands like the Stones had in the 60s and 70s.

Andy Johns:

“It was the first one that was finished cause we’d be working for months and months. Mick got very enamored. ‘It’s finished! It’s going to be the single!’ I thought, ‘This isn’t really a single, you know.’ I remember going out and talking to him and he was playing the piano. ‘Mick, this isn’t a single. It doesn’t compare to “Jumpin’ Jack Flash” or “Street Fighting Man.” ‘Come on, man.’ He went, ‘Really? Do you think so?’ I thought, ‘My God. He’s actually listening to me.’ (laughs). And then, I was having a struggle with the mix I thought was gonna be it. Ahmet Ertegun then barged in with a bunch of hookers and ruined the one mix. He stood right in front of the left speaker with two birds on each arm (laughs).
I told Mick, ‘I can’t hear it here. If I could hear it on the radio that would be nice.’ It was just a fantasy. ‘Oh, we can do that.’ ‘Stew (piano player Ian Stewart), go to the nearest FM radio station with the tape and say we’d like to hear it over the radio. And we’ll get a limo and Andy can listen to it in the car.’ I went, ‘Bloody hell…Well, it’s the Stones. OK.’
So sure enough, we’re touring down Sunset Strip and Keith is in one seat, and I’m in the back where the speakers are with Mick, and Charlie is in there, too. Just because he was bored (laughs). And Mick’s got the radio on and the DJ comes on the air, ‘We’re so lucky tonight. We’re the first people to play the new Stones’ record.’ And it came on the radio and the speakers in this car were kind of shot. I still couldn’t tell. And it finishes. Then Mick turns around. ‘So?’ ‘I’m still not sure, man.’ I’m still not used to these speakers’. ‘Oh, we’ll have him play it again then.’
Poor Stew. ‘Have them play it again’ like they were some sort of radio service. It was surreal. Up and down Sunset Strip at 9:00 on a Saturday night. The Strip was jumpin’ and I’m in the car with those guys listening to my mixes. It sounded OK. ‘I think we’re down with that.’ So then we moved on.”

From Songfacts

When The Stones gave this to a Los Angeles radio station in 1971 while they were still working on it so they could hear what it sounded like on the radio, it spread rumors that it would be the first single off Exile on Main St., but that honor went to “Tumblin’ Dice.”

Producer Jimmy Miller added percussion. He had to play some of the instruments on the album because The Stones were rarely together during the sessions, which took place at a French villa Keith Richards rented.

Kathi McDonald sang backup. She was a backup singer for Leon Russell and went on to record with Nicky Hopkins and Quicksilver Messenger Service.

All Down The Line

Yeah, heard the diesel drumming all down the line.
Oh, heard the wires a humming all down the line.
Yeah, hear the women sighing all down the line.
Oh, hear the children crying all down the line.

(All down the line)
We’ll be watching out for trouble, yeah.
(All down the line)
And we’d better keep the motor running, yeah.
(All down the line)
Well, you can’t say yes and you can’t say no,
Just be right there when the whistle blows.
I need a sanctified girl with a sanctified mind to help me now.

Yeah, all the people singing all down the line.
Mmmm, watch the men all working, working, yeah.
(All down the line)

(All down the line)
We’re gonna open up the throttle yeah.
(All down the line)
We’re gonna bust another bottle, yeah.
(All down the line)

I need a shot of salvation, baby, once in a while.
Hear the whistle blowing, hear it for a thousand miles.

(All down the line)
We’re gonna open up the throttle, yeah.
All down the line, we’re gonna bust another bottle, yeah.
Well you can’t say yes, and you can’t say no,
Just be right there when the whistle blows.
I need a sanctified mind to help me out right now.

Be my little baby for a while.
Won’t you be my little baby for a while?
Won’t you be my little baby for a while?
Won’t you be my little baby for a while?
Won’t you be my little baby for a while?

Speed Racer 1967

“Here he comes, here he comes; Speed Racer. He’s a demon on wheels…” that will always stick with me.

I first saw this in the 70s at some point and it was different. I had said that Jonny Quest was different and it was but this one…was completely different than anything I had seen. It was my first viewing of Japanese Anime. Speed Racer was one of the first Japanese anime cartoons to make it stateside back in the 1960s. The show originally called Mach Go Go Go reached millions of kids around the world while in syndication. My first thought while watching it while I was older…this was NOT Hanna-Barbera.

I discovered Speed Racer and Jonny Quest at the same time. I would watch it at my cousin’s house and was blown away by the different animation.

Speed Racer (Go Mifune) is the young driver of the Mach 5, an incredible supercar designed by his father “Pops” Racer (Daisuke Mifune). Speed would race dangerous routes against dangerous people and come out on top with his “girlfriend” Trixie (Michi Shimura) trailing him in a helicopter and his little brother Spritle (Kurio) and his pet chimp Chim-Chim (Sanpei) frequently stowing away in the trunk.

Through the years there have been remakes of the show in the 90s and a movie in 2008 which was not received well. It was a groundbreaking show in the US and opened the door for Japanese Anime afterward.

I still catch the show when I can.

https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Anime/SpeedRacer

Buddy Holly – Peggy Sue Got Married

Peggy Sue Got Married was the sequel to Holly’s hit Peggy Sue. The original hit was named after the girlfriend of Crickets drummer Jerry Allison.

Buddy Holly recorded this alone, on acoustic guitar, in his New York City apartment, along with “Crying, Waiting, Hoping,” “That’s What They Say,” “What to Do,” “Learning the Game” and “That Makes it Tough” which would be his last songs. After his tragic death, these recordings would be overdubbed to become the Holly songs we know today.

A little more than five months after Holly’s death, Coral Records on July 20, 1959 released “Peggy Sue Got Married.” It appeared as a B-side to Buddy Holly’s “Crying, Waiting, Hoping.”

Below is the demo of the song and the released version which Buddy would never hear.

The real Peggy Sue… Peggy Sue Gerron passed away at 78 years old in 2018.

From Songfacts

In this song, Holly finds out that the girl from his 1957 hit “Peggy Sue” has gotten married. It was one of the first sequels of the Rock Era.

This song provided the title for the 1986 movie Peggy Sue Got Married, starring Kathleen Turner and Nicolas Cage. In the movie, Holly’s demo version with just his voice and acoustic guitar was used.

When producer Jack Hansen augmented Holly’s demo of this tune and made a hit out of it, it was the first instance of an entirely ‘new’ unheard song being completed and released after a star’s death. Later instances of songs of deceased acts being revived and “completed” include tunes by The Beatles, the Carpenters, The Doors, Lynyrd Skynrd, Bob Marley, Charlie Parker, Frank Sinatra, Biggie Smalls, Tupac and Hank Williams.

Demo

Released Version

Peggy Sue Got Married

Please don’t tell
No, no, no
Don’t say that I told you so
I just heard a rumor from a friend

I don’t say
That it’s true
I’ll just leave that up to you
If you don’t believe I’ll understand (understand)

You recall a girl that’s been in nearly every song
This is what I heard of course the story could be wrong

She’s the one
I’ve been told
Now she’s wearing a band of gold
Peggy Sue got married not long ago

You recall a girl that’s been in nearly every song
This is what I heard of course the story could be wrong

She’s the one
I’ve been told
Now she’s wearing a band of gold
Peggy Sue got married not long ago
Peggy Sue got married not long ago

Kinks – Apeman

I always feel good when I hear this song. I first heard it when I was using my stereo recordable 8-track to record songs off of the radio. This one and the Walter Egan song Magnet and Steel I got back to back…I can’t hear one without thinking of the other.

The song peaked at #41 in the Billboard 100 and #5 in the UK in 1971. It was on the Lola Versus Powerman and the Moneygoround, Part One album. The song is reminiscent of Lola which is on the same album. The album peaked at #35 in the Billboard Album Charts in 1971. This album was somewhat of a comeback album in the US. They had released great albums but didn’t get the airplay they deserved.

From Songfacts

Ray Davies wrote this song about a man who is unhappy with the modern world. Looking to escape the problems caused by his fellow humans, he plans a journey away from home, where he can live like an “apeman.” Escape from our modern-day society is a theme prevalent in many of Ray Davies’ other songs, both solo, and with The Kinks.

Ray Davies had to re-dub the line “the air pollution is a-fogging up my eyes” for the radio, and for their November 1970 performance on Top Of The Pops, because it sounded too much like “the air pollution is ‘a f—ing’ up my eyes.” The Kinks had the same situation with their previous single, “Lola” where Ray had to replace the line “Where you drink champagne and it tastes just Coca-Cola” with “Cherry cola” for airplay. >>

John Gosling (aka “The Baptist”) wore a gorilla outfit while sitting behind his keyboards during the Kinks’ Top of the Pops performance of this song.

The song was covered by former Marillion singer Fish for his 1993 album Songs from the Mirror.

This appeared in the 1986 Robin Williams movie Club Paradise.

Apeman

I think I’m sophisticated ’cause I’m living my life
Like a good homo sapiens
But all around me everybody’s multiplying and
They’re walking round like flies man
So I’m no better than the animals sitting
In the cages in the zoo man
‘Cause compared to the flowers and the birds and the trees
I am an apeman

I think I’m so educated and I’m so civilized
‘Cause I’m a strict vegetarian
But with the over-population and inflation and starvation
And the crazy politicians
I don’t feel safe in this world no more
I don’t want to die in a nuclear war
I want to sail away to a distant shore and make like an apeman

I’m an apeman, I’m an ape, apeman, oh I’m an apeman
I’m a King Kong man, I’m a voodoo man, oh I’m an apeman
‘Cause compared to the sun that sits in the sky
Compared to the clouds as they roll by
Compared to the bugs and the spiders and flies I am an apeman

In man’s evolution he’s created the city
And the motor traffic rumble
But give me half a chance and I’d be taking off my clothes
And living in the jungle
‘Cause the only time that I feel at ease
Is swinging up and down in the coconut trees
Oh what a life of luxury to be like an apeman

I’m an apeman, I’m an ape, apeman, oh I’m an apeman
I’m a King Kong man, I’m a voodoo man, oh I’m an apeman
I look out the window but I can’t see the sky
The air pollution is a-fogging eyes
I want to get out of this city alive and make like an apeman

Oh come on and love me, be my apeman girl
And we’ll be so happy in my apeman world

I’m an apeman, I’m an ape, apeman, oh I’m an apeman
I’m a King Kong man, I’m a voodoo man, oh I’m an apeman
I’ll be your Tarzan, you’ll be my Jane
I’ll keep you warm and you’ll keep me sane
We’ll sit in the trees and eat bananas all day, just like an apeman

I’m an apeman, I’m an ape, apeman, oh I’m an apeman
I’m a King Kong man, I’m a voodoo man, oh I’m an apeman
I don’t feel safe in this world no more
I don’t want to die in a nuclear war
I want to sail away to a distant shore and make like an apeman

Anissa Jones (Buffy)

Anissa was on the popular family comedy called Family Affair. Everyone knew her as Buffy and her TV brother (Johnny Whitaker) as Jody. I watched the show in the early seventies. I watched in syndication and I grew up with Buffy and Jody. It seemed unreal in 1976 when I heard on the news that Anissa Jones had died at the age of 18.

At eight years old, Anissa was cast as Buffy on Family Affair, which aired from 1966 until 1971. Just a year before she started on Family Affair, her parents had gone through a terrible divorce with a long and bitter custody battle for her and her little brother. Sadly, her father died shortly after he was awarded custody in 1973.

She did appear in an Elvis movie “The Trouble With Girls” in 1969. Family Affair was the last thing she did besides a Dick Cavett appearance.

She was known to be a caring person as a kid up until she died. Earl Graham was the janitor on the set of the show Family Affair. When he passed away during the third year of the show, the cast and crew attended his funeral. By the following Monday, everyone was ready to get back to work. To Anissa, it seemed like everyone was acting like Earl had never existed at all. Anissa went to her mother and asked if she could take an ad out in Variety saying goodbye to her good friend. The ad cost Anissa $400.00. Anissa’s Mom said that was one of her proudest moments as a mother.

She was up for the Regan MacNeil part in The Exorcist but the director was fearful that people would think “Buffy” had been possessed. Her friends and family said she was relieved when she was turned down because she wanted to be with her friends in school. She was also invited to try out for “Easy” Steensma in Taxi Driver but turned it down. She was very intelligent but fell into the wrong crowd.

In 1975 she started to skip school and take drugs and ended up in a juvenile hall for a bit. She eventually dropped out of high school working at restaurants until she was 18 in 1976 and she gained control of 180,000 dollars she got from Family Affair. She fell into the drug culture.

On August 28, 1976, Anissa died of a drug overdose. It was ruled an accidental with cocaine, PCP, Seconal, and Quaaludes found in her system. She was at a party with friends. The coroner would call it one of the most massive overdoses he’d ever seen.

Arlo Guthrie – Coming Into Los Angeles

Seeing the news and blog posts on the 50th anniversary of Woodstock made me think of this song. I bought the Woodstock triple album set in the late seventies or early eighties…this song I liked automatically. It’s catchy and is about as anti-authority as you can get. The imagery is fun in this song… Chicken flying everywhere around the plane
Could we ever feel much finer and Walking in the hall with his things and all
Smiling, said he was the Lone Ranger

This is the song that really got me into Arlo…though I had heard City of New Orleans. After hearing this I wanted to check out his music.

Arlo wrote this song and it was on his second album Running Down the Road. The great Clarence White played guitar on this song. Other musicians on the album were Ry Cooder, Gene Parsons, and James Burton. The song didn’t chart because it’s pretty clear why (Coming into Los Angeles, Bringing in a couple of ki’s, don’t touch my bags if you please
mister customs man)…but the album peaked at #54 in the Billboard Album Charts in 1969.

The best-known version is the Woodstock version.

Studio Version

Woodstock

Coming Into Los Angeles

Coming in from London from over the pole
Flying in a big airliner
Chicken flying everywhere around the plane
Could we ever feel much finer

Coming into Los Angeles
Bringing in a couple of ki’s
Don’t touch my bags if you please
Mister customs man, yeah

There’s a guy with a ticket to Mexico
No, he couldn’t look much stranger
Walking in the hall with his things and all
Smiling, said he was the Lone Ranger

Coming into Los Angeles
Bringing in a couple of ki’s
Don’t touch my bags if you please
Mister customs man

Hip woman walking on the moving floor
Tripping on the escalator
There’s a man in the line and she’s blowing his mind
Thinking that he’s already made her

Coming into Los Angeles
Bringing in a couple of ki’s
Don’t touch my bags if you please
Mister customs man

Coming in from London from over the pole
Flying in a big airliner
Chicken flying everywhere around the plane
Could we ever feel much finer

Coming into Los Angeles
Bringing in a couple of ki’s
Don’t touch my bags if you please
Mister customs man, yeah, all right

August 16, 1977

I can tell you what I was doing 42 years ago on August 16, 1977… I was ten years old and played some baseball with the neighborhood guys and went inside in the afternoon. I started to watch Gilligans Island and then the news interrupted the show. Elvis Presley had died.

It really didn’t affect me too much at the time until I saw my mom and stepdad react. My mom was somewhat upset and although I knew Elvis’s music, the impact just wasn’t there until the news items started to roll across. I called my dad and talked to him and it bothered him…he had just seen Elvis a few years before in Murfreesboro Tn.

I really wouldn’t know how they felt until December 8, 1980, when Lennon was killed. It’s a shame what happened to Elvis because he was trapped by his fame, manager, and by his own excesses. After reading about him more it seemed like it was inevitable…I just wished it could have been different.

Fotomaker – Where Have You Been All My Life —Powerpop Friday

This band had ex Rascals and Raspberries members.

Fotomaker was founded by former Rascals members Gene Cornish (bass) and Dino Danelli (drums) They two contacted ex-Raspberries guitarist Wally Bryson. The Fotomaker lineup was subsequently completed with guitarist Lex Marchesi and keyboardist Frankie Vinci (lead vocal duties were split between several members).

This song peaked at #81 in the Billboard 100 in 1978. The band opened for the likes of Aerosmith, Alice Cooper, Foreigner, and Van Halen. Their self-titled debut album was released in early 1978. They had one more minor hit in 1978 with “Miles Away” which peaked at #63 in 1978.

The band released 3 albums in all before disbanding in 1979.

Where Have You Been All My Life

It used to be
My life was like a puzzle in a million pieces
And it seemed
My purpose and my destiny were mysteries then
Girl you came
Into my life
And you brought my heart a one way ticket
Straight to paradise

And just where have you been all my life
Tell me where have you been all my life
Girl where have you been all my life

Once I believed
My life was like a story book of empty pages
But now I see
All the years I spent in waiting were preparing me for you
And it’s true
Love can make someone brand new
‘Cause I feel just like a newborn child
Whenever I’m with you

And just where have you been all my life
Tell me where have you been all my life

All my life I’ve been waiting
All my life I’ve been waiting
All my life I’ve been waiting

Just for you
Where were you all my life?

Marcy Playground – Sherry Fraser —Powerpop Friday

This song was released right after Sex and Candy. The song was not a hit but did get some airplay at the time. I liked it just as well as their hit.

The band was named after the Marcy Open grade school in Minneapolis, which is the school John Wozniak attended. He chose the name because many of his songs were inspired by his childhood. Marcy Playground emerged in the late 1990s. Influences include David Bowie, Paul Simon, Neil Young, Van Morrison, Jimi Hendrix, Syd Barrett of Pink Floyd, Nirvana, Wham! and the Beatles.

Sherry Fraser, the namesake of the song, is the founder of the band Two Ton Boa. Lead singer/writer/guitarist John Wozniak said: “Sherry was my first girlfriend. When I was 15, she was 16. She was my first true love. And still a very close friend. She did all the artwork for our latest record, Leaving Wonderland. She’s a really terrific visual artist and also a great musician. She has a band called Two Ton Boa, which is really cool. I always tap Sherry for her ideas and her creativity, and I have for years. But she’s since married somebody else and we haven’t been together since 1993 or something. So it’s been a long time, almost 17 years. Well, I guess for that age it was a long time. I met her in ’87, and we stopped dating in ’93. We remain friends and made music together. We wrote a bunch of stuff. She sings on the very first record that I ever did, which was the Zog Bogbean – from the Marcy Playground. And we wrote some songs together.”

From Songfacts

The last single from Marcy Playground’s debut album, this is song is about a real person. In our interview with Marcy Playground lead singer/songwriter John Wozniak, he explained:

There are some Alice in Wonderland references in the lyrics, a theme that would recur in Marcy Playground’s 2009 album Leaving Wonderland. Wozniak told us: “Sherry and I started experimenting with LSD when we first got together. I was 15 and she was 16 and we were tripping on acid a lot. And Through the Looking Glass was always both of our favorite book. And so it’s part of it, I suppose. But the way I write songs is with a lot of imagery, and not necessarily a lot of direct meaning. It’s all multi-layered feelings, like ‘disco lemonade’ (from “Sex and Candy”) doesn’t mean anything. There’s no such thing. (laughs) It’s a feeling.”

Sherry Fraser

Oh I saw stars falling all
Around her head
Red gold and blue
Sherry Fraser where are you
‘Cause I saw stars falling
All around your head
When we were young
Sherry Fraser where have you gone
We’re all wondering
When will you come back
And play some day.
Sherry yeah
The mad hatter he waits for Alice
To come to tea again
He waits forever for his old lover
And always wonderin’
Will I see stars falling all around your head
When you return
Sherry Fraser what have you learned
And we’re all wondering
When will you come back
And play some day
And please do come back
And play some day
Please do come back
And play some day
Sherry yeah

https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Marcy_Playground

Cars – Bye Bye Love —Powerpop Friday

One of the many great songs on the Cars debut album. The song to my surprise was not released as a single but it received plenty of airplay through the years. I was written by Ric Ocasek and sung by bassist Benjamin Orr.

One of my favorite songs by the Cars that is not played as much as some of the others.

The Cars debut album Peaked at #18 on the Billboard 100 in 1979 and stayed on the Charts for 139 weeks. The Cars album was huge despite being released through the height of disco.

From Songfacts

“Bye Bye Love,” written by Rick Ocasek, is the seventh track from their debut album The Cars. Benjamin Orr does the lead vocals here – he and Ocasek shared lead vocal duties in the group.

“Bye Bye Love” is not at all to be confused with the song of the same title by The Everly Brothers (and covered by Ray Charles, Simon & Garfunkel, and others). The Everly Brothers song implies a comma: “Bye Bye, Love” where The Cars is: “Bye, Bye Love.” Of course, the lyrics and arrangement are completely different as well.

This song has been used in the HBO TV series Big Love, where it was chosen for having an ’80s sound. Since the song was written and released in 1978, that tells you how far The Cars were looking ahead.

In Frank Moriarty’s Seventies Rock – The Decade of Creative Chaos, it is noted that “The clever melding of disparate elements that characterized 1978’s The Cars led to an astonishing success for the band, chiefly because the stodgy album-oriented radio stations – which had in large part attempted to ignore punk and New Wave – finally were confronted with new music that they couldn’t help but play.”

Note also that in April of 1978, four of the top five singles currently parked on the charts were by the Bee Gees. America had Saturday Night Fever and there seemed to be no cure, so getting something not-disco on the charts at all was a spectacular achievement.

Bye Bye Love

I can’t feel this way much longer
Expecting to survive
With all these hidden innuendoes
Just waiting to arrive

It’s such a wavy midnight
And you slip into insane
Electric angel rock and roller
I hear what you’re playin’

It’s an orangy sky
Always it’s some other guy
It’s just a broken lullaby
Bye bye love
Bye bye love
Bye bye love
Bye bye love

Substitution mass confusion
Clouds inside your head
Involving all my energies
Until you visited

With your eyes of porcelain and of blue
They shock me into sense
You think you’re so illustrious
You call yourself intense

It’s an orangy sky
Always it’s some other guy
It’s just a broken lullaby
Bye bye love
Bye goo’ bye love
bye bye love
Bye bye love

Substitution mass confusion
Clouds inside your head
Well foggin’ all my energies
Until you visited

With your eyes of porcelain and of blue
They shock me into sense
You think you’re so illustrious
You call yourself intense

It’s an orangy sky
Always it’s some other guy
It’s just a broken lullaby
Bye bye love
Bye bye love
Bye bye love
Bye bye love

Kinks – A Rock ‘N’ Roll Fantasy

When I was 12, I was in a Dime Store in my small town (long since gone…another WalMart casualty) walking by the Mynah Bird all of us kids talked to in 1979…looked down at the record rack and I saw this record by the Kinks. When I first saw it I thought it was the Rock ‘N’ Roll Fantasy I’d been hearing on the radio…by Bad Company.

I was pleasantly surprised when I heard the record and liked it more. I had a Kinks greatest hits album and knew some about them but this record got me into them heavily.

This song peaked at #30 in the Billboard 100 in 1978. Rock ‘N’ Roll Fantasy was on the Misfits album and it peaked at #40 on the Billboard Album charts in 1978.

Inspired by the death of Elvis Presley and the departures of bassist Andy Pyle and pianist John Gosling from The Kinks, Ray writes about whether rock and roll is something mature adults should do.

From Songfacts

Kinks leader Ray Davies wrote this song, calling it a “Method acting songwriting job.”

While he was writing the song in 1977, he learned that Elvis Presley had died, which influenced the lyric. He was staying in New York at the time, and when he looked out his window late at night, he saw a single light on in one of the buildings. Davies imagined that light being the apartment of an ardent Elvis fan, which became the character Dan the Fan in the song.

The Kinks were falling apart around this time; guitarist Dave Davies wanted to stop touring, and keyboard player John Gosling and bass player Andy Pyle had decided that Misfits would be their last album with the group. Ray Davies explained in Rolling Stone: “The song was almost a homage to them; if you listen to the lyrics, it’s about someone leaving the band because they’ve given up the cause, and the two brothers will find a way through this.”

The line, “The King is dead, rock is done,” is a reference to Elvis.
The lyrics go on to describe a man named Dan living in Davies’ block who is a huge fan of The Kinks. Whenever he feels unhappy, Dan loses himself in their music, “living in a rock ‘n’ roll fantasy.”

By 1978 The Kinks may have been selling out Madison Square Garden, but they weren’t altogether happy. “A Rock ‘n’ Roll Fantasy” details Ray Davies and his brother Dave considering breaking up the band. “The song is about two guys,” Ray told Q Magazine. “Shall we call it a day?”

Released as the first single from Misfits, the track was The Kinks’ most successful single in the US since their 1970 top ten hit “Lola.”

A Rock ‘N’ Roll Fantasy

Hello you, hello me
Hello people we used to be
Isn’t it strange, we never changed
We’ve been through it all, yet we’re still the same

And I know, it’s a miracle we still go
For all we know, we might still have a way to go

Hello me, hello you
You say you want out, want to start anew
Throw in your hand, break up the band
Start a new life, be a new man

But for all we know, we might still have a way to go
Before you go, there’s something you ought to know

There’s a guy in my block, he lives for rock
He plays records day and night

And when he feels down he puts some rock ‘n’ roll on
And it makes him feel alright

And when he feels the world is closing in
He turns his stereo way up high

He just spends his life living in a rock ‘n’ roll fantasy
He just spends his life living on the edge of reality
He just spends his life in a rock ‘n’ roll fantasy

He just spends his life living in a rock ‘n’ roll fantasy
Look at me, look at you
You say we’ve got nothing left to prove
The King is dead, rock is done
You might be through, but I’ve just begun

I don’t know, I feel free and I won’t let go
Before you go, there’s something you ought to know

Dan is a fan and he lives for our music
It’s the only thing that gets him by
He’s watched us grow and he’s seen all our shows
He’s seen us low and he’s seen us high

Oh, but you and me keep thinking
That the world’s just passing us by

Don’t want to spend my life living in a rock ‘n’ roll fantasy
Don’t want to spend my life living on the edge of reality
Don’t want to waste my life hiding away any more

Don’t want to spend my life living in a rock ‘n’ roll fantasy

Guns N’ Roses – Patience

With Guns N’ Roses, I liked some of the stuff they did…I wasn’t a huge fan of Rose but I liked the rawness they brought and Slash’s guitar playing.

This song peaked at #4 on the Billboard 100 and #10 in the UK, in 1989.

The song was on their second studio album G N’ R Lies released in 1988. The title for the album was Lies! The Sex, The Drugs, The Violence, The Shocking Truth. Geffen Records decided it was too long, so they changed it to just Lies.

From Songfacts

This song was a trendsetter in its use of all-acoustic instrumentation. This song made it safe for hard rockers to display their sensitive, vulnerable sides in a more understated way rather than utilizing the power ballad format.

The video for this song can be seen playing in the background of the Robert DeNiro film Cape Fear.

This is a very popular Karaoke song, but one that you might want to avoid. Kimberly Starling of The Karaoke Informersays it’s one of the top 5 songs that tends to bomb: “It just eludes the average ear and when you get off key on this one it sounds to the ear like a turd in a punch bowl looks to the eye.”

On January 30th, 1989, Guns N’ Roses played this at the American Music Awards with Don Henley on drums.

Axl Rose can be heard whistling on this track. He’s also the one who blows the whistle on “Paradise City.”

Patience

One, two, one, two, three, four

Shed a tear ’cause I’m missin’ you
I’m still alright to smile
Girl, I think about you every day now
Was a time when I wasn’t sure
But you set my mind at ease
There is no doubt you’re in my heart now

Said woman take it slow, and it’ll work itself out fine
All we need is just a little patience
Said sugar make it slow and we’ll come together fine
All we need is just a little patience (Patience)
Mm, yeah

I sit here on the stairs
‘Cause I’d rather be alone
If I can’t have you right now, I’ll wait dear
Sometimes I get so tense but I can’t speed up the time
But you know love there’s one more thing to consider

Said woman take it slow and things will be just fine
You and I’ll just use a little patience
Said sugar take the time ’cause the lights are shining bright
You and I’ve got what it takes to make it
We won’t fake it, I’ll never break it
‘Cause I can’t take it

Little patience, mm yeah, mm yeah
Need a little patience, yeah
Just a little patience, yeah
Some more patience, yeah (I’ve been walking the streets at night, just trying to get it right)
A little patience, yeah (Its hard to see with so many around
You know I don’t like being stuck in the crowd)
Could use some patience, yeah (And the streets don’t change but maybe the names)
(I ain’t got time for the game ’cause I need you)
Gotta have more patience, yeah (Yeah, yeah but I need you)
All need some patience (Ooh I need you, whoa I need you)
Just a little patience is all you need (Ooh, this time, ah)

Beatles – Nowhere Man

This song’s harmonies are great and so is the incredibly treble solo in the middle. John wrote this song. John wrote this song after he spent all night trying to write a song. He eventually gave up and laid down and then the song came to him. The song peaked at #3 in the Billboard 100 in 1966.

John: “I’d spent five hours that morning trying to write a song that was meaningful and good, and I finally gave up and lay down. Then ‘Nowhere Man’ came, words and music, the whole damn thing, as I lay down…So letting it go is what the whole game is. You put your finger on it, it slips away, right? You know you turn the lights on and the cockroaches run away. You can never grasp them.”

The guitar solo was performed by both John and George in unison on their identical Sonic Blue Fender Stratocasters. George: “I decided I’d get a Strat, and John decided he’d get one too. So we sent out our roadie, Mal Evans, said go and get us two Strats. And he came back with two of them, pale blue ones. Straight away we used them on the album we were making at the time, which was ‘Rubber Soul.’ I played it a lot on that album, (most noticeably) the solo on ‘Nowhere Man’ which John and I both played in unison.”

The Beatles pushed the engineers to add treble to the solo that John and George were playing. Run it through and put the treble on it again and again. The Engineers said, “We can’t do that”…Paul told them that it was ok…if it is terrible we simply won’t use it…they kept on pushing and it worked perfectly. The engineers were also afraid of getting fined by EMI for doing things against regulations…with the Beatles though it soon became commonplace.

This shows how the Beatles were changing the rules as they were going along. Not only in writing superb songs but pushing the limits of the studio as well as doing things that pop stars just didn’t do before them…

From Songfacts

John Lennon came up with this after struggling to write a song for the album. Said Lennon: “I thought of myself sitting there, doing nothing and getting nowhere.”

This was used in the animated Beatles movie Yellow Submarine. They sing it to Jeremy Hillary Boob, Ph.D., who describes himself as an “eminent physicist, polyglot classicist, prize-winning botanist, hard-biting satirist, talented pianist, good dentist too.” The Beatles decide to take him Somewhere, and he eventually helps them to defeat the Blue Meanies. >>

This starts with a three-part harmony sung by Lennon, Harrison, and McCartney.

This is probably the first Beatles song that has nothing to do with love.

Typical of many John Lennon compositions are the “falling” melodies, which can be heard in “Nowhere Man.” Folk music often has falling melodies, indicating melancholy. In Baroque music, a falling melody means sadness.

There is a very audible feedback 38 seconds into the song after the word “missin’.”

Natalie Merchant performed this at the 2001 special, Come Together: A Night For John Lennon’s Words And Music. She did a mellow version, as the show was also a tribute to victims of the terrorist attacks on America.

In a 1971 interview with Rolling Stone, Lennon recalled the background to this song: “I remember I was just going through this paranoia trying to write something and nothing would come out so I just lay down and tried to not write and then this came out, the whole thing came out in one gulp.”

In 2003, John Lennon’s original handwritten lyrics to this song were auctioned at Christie’s of New York for $455,500.

One of the many songwriters influenced by The Beatles is Graham Gouldman of 10cc, who toured with Ringo’s All-Starr Band in 2018. According to Gouldman, this song is an example of how they would create a two-part harmony, but leave out third part, which is implied. “That’s screaming out for the third harmony, but they never did it,” he told Songfacts. “And in your head, you sing along, if you’re musical, the third harmony.”

Nowhere Man

He’s a real nowhere man
Sitting in his nowhere land
Making all his nowhere plans for nobody

Doesn’t have a point of view
Knows not where he’s going to
Isn’t he a bit like you and me?
Nowhere man please listen
You don’t know what you’re missing
Nowhere man, The world is at your command

He’s as blind as he can be
Just sees what he wants to see
Nowhere man, can you see me at all
Nowhere man don’t worry
Take your time, don’t hurry
Leave it all till somebody else
Lends you a hand
Ah, la, la, la, la

He’s a real nowhere man
Sitting in his nowhere land
Making all his nowhere plans for nobody
Making all his nowhere plans for nobody
Making all his nowhere plans for nobody