Track 17: Joshua Kadison - Jessie
I like a good heartfelt piano ballad. And beyond the obvious candidates (Billy, Elton), there are a lot of one hit wonder types who do this sort of thing very well too. Randy Edelman. Bruce Hornsby. Marc Cohn. And here's another one - from 1993, when I was 21 and really shouldn't have been listening to this sort of thing. Except that I was a hopeless romantic even then, so while all the cool kids were getting into grunge, I was getting down to Joshua Kadison. (Grunge came later.)
From a phone booth in Vegas, Jessie calls at five am
To tell me how she's tired of all of them
She says, "Baby, I've been thinking 'bout a trailer by the sea
We could go to Mexico... you, the cat, and me
We'll drink tequila and look for seashells
Now, doesn't that sound sweet?"
Oh, Jessie, you always do this every time I get back on my feet
Looking at the video, which I don't think I've ever seen before, Kadison wouldn't have looked out of place in the grunge scene, with his long unkempt hair and sleeveless vests. Fair play to him then for going out and recording this kind of epic singer-songwritery slush when all the cool kids were doing the whole quite-loud thing with their angst.
Apparently he wasn't quite a One Hit Wonder in the States, and his second hit, Beautiful In My Eyes, became a big wedding favourite. The video of that has him riding down the highway like Bon Jovi... but he still sounds like a 90s Dan Fogelberg tribute act. Jessie is a far better tune.
Track 18: The Sugarhill Gang - Rapper's Delight
You don't get much more old skool than this. Of course, I wasn't in to rap music in 1979. Apart from Debbie Harry, who was? But I came to appreciate this later, like most people, and probably prefer it to most of the rap that followed. It's got a sense of humour, which a lot of rap seems to lack these days (or if it is funny, it's nasty-funny), and while the rhymes start out pretty basic, if you take a listen to the longer version, there are all kinds of hidden treats, including this gem of a story from Wonder Mike...
Ever went over a friend's house to eat and the food just ain't no good?
I mean the macaroni's soggy, the peas are mushed, and the chicken tastes like wood
So you try to play it off like you think you can, by sayin' that you're full
And then your friend says, "Momma, he just being polite, he ain't finished, uh-uh, that's bull!"
And so your heart starts pumpin', and you think of a lie, and you say that you already ate
And your friend says, "Man, there's plenty of food!" so you pile some more on your plate
And while the stinky foods steamin' your mind starts to dreamin' of the moment that it's time to leave
And then you look at your plate and your chicken's slowly rottin' into something that looks like cheese
Oh, so you say, "That's it, I got to leave this place! I don't care what these people think
I'm just sittin' here makin' myself nauseous with this ugly food that stinks!"
And so you bust out the door while it's still closed, still sick from the food you ate
And then you run to the store for quick relief from a bottle of Kaopectate
And then you call your friend two weeks later to see how he has been
And he says, "I understand about the food, baby bubbah, but we're still friends"
Many years later, I'm sure Flight of The Conchords paid tribute to that here...
Flight of the Conchords - Hurt Feelings
I didn't put the long version on CD32, but I reckon Sam might be ready for it now.
Track 19: Huey Lewis & The News - The Heart of Rock n Roll
I've probably said enough about these guys recently. Besides, Huey says it best...
When they play their music, ooh that modern music
They like it with a lot of style
But it's still that same old back beat rhythm
That really, really drives 'em wild
They say the heart of rock and roll is still beating
And from what I've seen I believe 'em
Now the old boy may be barely breathing
But the heart of rock and roll, heart of rock and roll is still beating
Track 20: The Beatles - I Should Have Known Better
I'll be honest - I've no idea why I ended this CD with such an obscure Beatles track. The early CDs were pretty Beatles heavy, because they're often good basic catchy melodies that little kids dig... no wonder they were so successful. Keep It Simple, Stupid. But there were plenty of more obvious tracks I still hadn't featured by the time I hit CD32... maybe this was the exact right length for the space I had left on the CD? It wouldn't be the first time that criteria has led to a final song selection...
