Yeah, so the next part took some time to post. But I hope it’s worth the wait. I’d like to tell you I was out on adventures and that why I didn’t just post all this, but truthfully, I was just watching lot of sports. And subsequently being very sad about sports. Still, Thunder Up, etc., Enjoy The Social Commentary and The Sexy, the final chapter of my emo blog series.
THE SOCIAL COMMENTARY
“Romeo Had Juliette,” Lou Reed
In what is a sort of love sonnet and social criticism of New York, Lou Reed’s album – aptly named “New York” – is a snapshot of a seedy side of the city, one that gets all the glamour headlines but whose dark side is ultimately more interesting and celebrated… there are several songs on this album that reflect the pre-9/11 New York, pre-Guiliani, pre-cleanup phase. It’s gorgeous… so much dirt and grime, shots and crime, all wrapped in a hairnet and spat out by one of the coolest people on the planet, Lou Reed. This song is revolutionary to me in a lot of ways because it’s a big Fuck You to The Man, but at its roots it’s a love song… but just one that makes you want to fight.
I can’t pick out just one verse, so here they all are:
Caught between the twisted stars the plotted lines the faulty map that brought Columbus to New York Betwixt between the East and West he calls on her wearing a leather vest the earth squeals and shudders to a halt A diamond crucifix in his ear is used to help ward off the fear that he has left his soul in someone’s rented car Inside his pants he hides a mop to clean the mess that he has dropped into the life of lithesome Juliette Bell And Romeo wanted Juliette and Juliette wanted Romeo And Romeo wanted Juliette and Juliette wanted Romeo Romeo Rodriguez squares his shoulders and curses Jesus runs a comb through his black pony-tail He’s thinking of his lonely room the sink that by his bed gives off a stink then smells her perfume in his eyes And her voice was like a bell Outside the street were steaming the crack dealers were dreaming of an Uzi someone had just scored I betcha I could hit that light with my one good arm behind my back says little Joey Diaz Brother give me another tote those downtown hoods are no damn good those Italians need a lesson to be taught This cop who died in Harlem you think they’d get the warnin’ I was dancing when his brains run out on the street And Romeo had Juliette and Juliette had her Romeo And Romeo had Juliette and Juliette had her Romeo I’ll take Manhattan in a garbage bag with Latin written on it that says “it’s hard to give a shit these days” Manhattan’s sinking like a rock into the filthy Hudson what a shock they wrote a book about it they said it was like ancient Rome The perfume burned his eyes holding tightly to her thighs And something flickered for a minute and then it vanished and was gone“Black Gold,” Soul Asylum
This is not one of Soul Asylum’s hits, though they did have a video for it. And believe it or not, SA had a lot of good song before that horrible “Runaway Train” song that played relentlessly throughout most of the early 90s. For Pete’s sake – Dave Pirner is mentioned in a Liz Phair song, so you know they have to have some sort of coolness about them. “Black Gold” is a song that has a lot of meanings depending on who’s listening. Pirner said it was anti-war, Black Gold in this case meaning oil, but I take it differently. I love when a song can transcend it original meaning. The lyrics remind me of Muskogee, Oklahoma, where I grew up and experienced first-hand what racial violence can do to a town. So much hatred, so many fights and riots, so much stupid fear. I left Muskogee because of that shit.
Two boys on a playground
Tryin’ to push each other down
See the crowd gather ’round
Nothing attracts a crowd like a crowdBlack gold in a white plight
Won’t you fill up the tank, let’s go for a ride
I don’t care ’bout no wheelchair
I’ve got so much left to do with my life
Moving backwards through time
Never learn, never mind
That side’s yours, this side’s mine
Brother you ain’t my kind
You’re a black soldier, white fight
Won’t you fill up the tank, let’s go for a ride
Sure like to feel some pride
But this place just makes me feel sad inside
Mother, do you know where your kids are tonight?
Keeps the kids off the streets
Gives ’em something to do, something to eat
This spot was a playground
This flat land used to be a town
Black gold in a white plight
Won’t you fill up the tank, let’s go for a ride
Sure like to feel some pride
But this place just makes me feel sad inside
Black gold in a white plight
Won’t you fill up the tank, let’s go for a ride
I don’t care ’bout no wheelchair
I’ve got so much left to do with my life.”
Gets me every time – sadness for my hometown, revolutionary “We can make this world better” feelings, my civil rights gene… all activated and on high alert.
THE SEXY
To remain somewhat modest, I won’t go into a lot of detail here. These are the … ummm… loin-stirrers? Now I’m embarrassed. But you get it.
“Slow and Easy,” Whitesnake
There is not a sexier sound in the world than David Coverdale saying “To the Bone.”
“Nasty Girl,” Vanity
Before she went uber-Christian, Vanity wrote a dirty lil’ ditty that is just … good n’ sexy.
“Naughty Girl,” Beyonce
… And Beyonce, uber-sexy just singing “Happy Birthday,” countered Vanity with a modern version.
“Love Interruption,” Jack White
Jack White, he of the tortured sexiness, nails it (wow) in this one. He makes the list with a lot of other songs (“Ball and a Biscuit,” “Sugar Never Tasted So Good” ) but this one is just pure sexiness. And I’m not sure why I find him so attractive. I think it’s his talent.
“All Night Thing,” Temple of the Dog
I had some impure thoughts about Chris Cornell. Then someone told me I looked like him. That kinda broke my mind.
“Say Goodbye,” Dave Matthews
Listen to the lyrics of this song. And if you haven’t lived this moment, you don’t get it. If you have, you want to call up that person and demand a repeat performance. Sheesh.
“Love Trilogy,” Red Hot Chili Peppers
I loathe new RHCP. LOATHE it. But their first three-ish albums were just great, and this little sexy gem is off “Uplift Mofo Party Plan.” The meter of the song is why it’s sexy – and the lyrics, of course – but the – ahem – climax – of the song really explain its meaning.
“The Right Thing,” Simply Red
I had no idea this song was so perverse until I read the lyrics. I’ve always loved it, but wow – it’s kinda dirty. In a good way.
OK, that’s it, until I have another day of emo or crazy emotion. Thanks for reading, and share what y0ur emotional songs are with me and why. That shit fascinates me.
The Garish Chicken 