Five Song Friday: Just Say Yes
Belgian exports, baby singers and the solo nobody wants.
I grew up in the golden era of Just Say No.
Back then, young people lived in constant fear of Nancy Reagan and her drug-fighting partner: a giant, trenchcoat-wearing police dog.
They worked as a team to clean up the streets. Lurking in the shadows, waiting to pluck joints from the lips of kids in search of a buzz.
Someone told me that the former First Lady was fast, like a ninja. She could snatch a doobie and crush it to dust under the heel of her red delicious patent leather pumps before you knew what was what.
They REALLY didn’t want kids doing drugs.
And those finger wagging bullies didn’t stop with narcotics.
They came after our music too.
The morality police warned us that listening to heavy metal would turn us into violent monsters who worshiped the devil and craved human baby meat.
It was all nonsense. Most of the metal fans I knew never ate a baby. The worst you could accuse them of was an unhealthy denim fetish, wearing fingerless gloves and using too much hairspray.
But it turns out that the censorship crusaders might have been right to come after our vinyl, CDs and cassettes. Medical research has shown that music has unique and profound effects on the brain, not unlike powerful narcotics.
Science has solid evidence that songs can change your ability to perceive time.
Music can tap into your primal fears and memories.
It can make you stronger, smarter and healthier.
Sounds cool, right?
So if music is like drugs, I guess that makes me your “drug dealer.”
Wow. This is huge.
I’m humbled by the opportunity to change your brain and alter your consciousness.
I am truly honored to be your dealer.
Please enjoy your “drugs.”
And if you have any friends who like “drugs,” please share.
Yours truly,
DJ Crankypete
Five Song Friday 004
“Pick a Trick” - In Flagranti
Sasa Crnobrnja and Alex Gloor first bonded over their mutual love for the Italian cosmic music scene of the late 70s/early 80s. They made their partnership official by forming In Flagranti (which is Italian for “getting caught in the act of a sexual misdeed”).
The band’s bio mentions the pair’s devotion to a ‘cut and paste’ aesthetic and how important visuals are to the whole “In Flagranti experience.” But you don’t need to see their silk-screened album art or watch their arty videos to get the gist. The music works fine on its own.
“Pick a Trick” is a toe-tapping, hand-clapping, head-nodder of a pop song that starts at a trot and never slows down. The vocals by Amypop make the song nostalgically familiar and fresh at the same time.
But my absolute favorite thing about this song is that there is no spontaneous flute solo. Flute solos are bad enough when you expect them, but getting surprised by that shit is the worst.
“Suspicion” - ToY!
When it comes to exports, the Belgians are famous for diamonds, chocolates and waffles. Seventies and eighties pop hits? Not so much.
I’ll give them Plastic Betrand, because nothing kicks quite like "Ça plane pour moi." But other than that, the country didn’t make much of an impact on the international pop charts.
Which is a shame, because “Suspicion” is a fine little ditty that fits right in. The 1980 single from ToY! features the lead singer doing his best Ray Davies impression over some nice, rough-edged hooks and dash of Euro-pop polish.
This is a lost gem that deserves a place in your favorite early 80’s indie pop mix.
“Far Rockaway” - KAMAUU
Sometimes I talk to songs. I know they can’t hear me and they won’t talk back, but I do it anyway.
The first time I heard the opening to “Far Rockaway,” I was like, “Oh, okay… this is nice.”
And then I was like, “Oh… wow, I did NOT see that coming. Good one, KAMAUU.”
This song caught me off guard in a good way. KAMAUU found a way to mix genres that feels like musical time travel. The result sounds seamless, despite occasional drops of dead silence.
In his bio, the Washington D.C.-born and New York-based “artist, rapper, poet, and thinker” joked that he “came out of the womb singing.”
Can you imagine that?
I can.
I’m imagining it right now…
The doctor urges KAMAUU’s mom to go for that last big push. The overhead lights go dark and a single spot illuminates the newborn. The glistening newborn baby is held high and handed a microphone.
A quick cry to clear his throat and then: “We're no strangers to love/You know the rules and so do I.”
“Everything is Simple” - Widowspeak
There’s no shortage of amazing, female-fronted indie bands these days. Maybe I’m partial to this tune from Widowspeak because it so perfectly scratches my Mazzy Star itch.
“Everything is Simple” is a broody, simmering song that’s not in a hurry to get anywhere. It’s got that fuzzy, ethereal thing going with low-key, breathy vocals. There aren’t many twists or turns. This is definitely a late night drive on a straight stretch of desert highway.
Band members Molly Hamilton and Robert Earl Thomas uprooted their urban life in Bushwick, Brooklyn to relocate to the Hudson River Valley. It’s possible that the slower pace of country living infused their music with a new sense of calm.
It’s amazing how relaxed you feel knowing that you’ll always have a parking space.
“Ride” - Clans
It turns out that “Ride” is not a song about Uber.
Niko Monjarez, the Los Angeles producer, songwriter, vocalist and guitarist (aka Clans) wrote that “Ride” is “all about sexual tension and questionable intentions.”
So now what? I had this whole diatribe about ride-sharing ready to go. Now I’m suppose to write about sex? You want me to talk about the intimate relations between consenting, naked adults?
No way.
Nice try, Satan!
Listen on Spotify
Listen on YouTube Music
That’s all for now.
Thanks for reading!
“Writing about music is like dancing about architecture.” - Martin Mull
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