As a follow-up to last week's post about there not being a lot of boys named Gary anymore, I promised to tackle girls' names next. And Sam was once again very helpful, particularly when this song popped up on an in-car mixtape...
Still one of Paul Heaton's finest hours, that - and I love the guest appearance by George Michael in the video.
Anyway, as the song played, Sam told me, "there's none of those girls in my school."
(I had to search for that one. Not enough songs about girls called Philippa. There was a Pippa in my 6th form. I fancied her. No chance. She went out with my mate Simon.)
So then, I hear you ask, if Sam doesn't go to school with any of the girls above... what are his female schoolmates called? Well, he knows at least five girls called...
As with the boys' names then, there's been another major shift in what parents are choosing to call their kids these days... and the most popular names are ones that would mostly have belonged to old people when I was a kid.
It's also highly unlikely that Marie will be the name of anyone's latest flame in Gen A... making all these old songs sound even more out of date.
Different Drum was written by Mike Nesmith, and we really can stop any discussion about how great it is right there because: it written by Mike Nesmith. Apparently Nesmith tried to get the tune onto the Monkees soundtrack but it was rejected by the idiots in charge, for idiots they must have been.
Apparently the song was first recorded by The Greenbriar Boys in 1966, a version I'm hearing for the first time as I write this, and I like it a lot. Maybe because it's just such a great song that a bad version isn't really possible. (I'm sure George will try to find one though.)
The version that most people are familiar with is this one...
...although I struggle with that version myself. It starts out a bit too jangly-60s for my tastes, although it does redeem itself as soon as Linda Ronstadt starts singing. (By the way: Ronstadt... hardest pop star name to spell in the history of pop star names? Answers on a postcard if you can think of any that are harder to spell.)
I'd still argue that Nesmith's own version, released a few years later, is better. You may, of course, choose to disagree.
However, I first heard this song back in the early 90s, back before I knew The Stone Poneys or anything about Michael Nesmith's involvement. And it's this version, my first love, which will forever hold a special place in my heart.
The Rio Olympics reminded me that this blog is now four years old. The London Olympics were going on when I started My Top Ten (having carried the idea over from my previous blog, Sunset Over Slawit) and I celebrated with a number of Olympics-themed Top Tens. Back then, I'd convinced myself I could do a Top Ten with very little commentary, so if you happen to click back to My Top Ten Olympics Songs, you'll find that for some of the entries I didn't even say a word. Obviously that didn't last very long...
In last week's comments, The Swede said that "In terms of sheer musical quality, <My Top Ten Songs About Record Company Bosses> has to be up there with the very best of your top tens." I doubt he (or anyone else, for that matter) will have the same praise for this week's list... but you've got to take the rough with the smooth.
Still, ten songs about Rio de Janeiro... it's got to be do-able, right?
Is it possible to separate song from visuals? In the 80s, the answer to that one became a lot tougher. Russell Mulcahy's video to Rio is seen as the worst example of 80s excess with Simon le Bon and co. poncing about on that yacht in their Anthony Price suits. Yes, just watching the first 30 seconds on youtube makes me want to punch them all.
And yet... the song itself isn't that bad. Is it? It's got a terrific intro (the sound of Nick Rhodes chucking a bunch of small metal rods onto the strings of a grand piano, apparently) and a soaring chorus (based on the hook from the TV Eye song Stevie's Radio Station: a band fronted at the time by Andy Wickett, an early Duran Duran member who gave Simon le Bon singing lessons and eventually signed away his songwriting royalties for £600 when he quit in '79). I do own this album because google play were giving it away for 50p or something a while ago, and I certainly wouldn't turn Rio off if it came on the radio.
I saw an article recently claiming 10cc were "the British Steely Dan", an assertion which, I reckon, shows a fundamental misunderstanding of both groups. On the other hand, Rupert Hines' Quantum Jump (the band behind late 70s hit The Lone Ranger) have the smooth, jazzy sound and witty lyrics that Fagen and Becker did so well. They're nowhere near as good as The Dan, but they... well, I dunno, something. I like this one, anyway.
You know when you see a track in your record collection and you have no idea how it got there and you think "well, I've obviously never even listened to that"... and then you listen to it and you think... shit, how do I know this song so well?
What the lead singer of Stone Temple Pilots did next. A promising racket: a bit more rock 'n' roll than the more grungy stuff STPs became famous for, though sadly Weiland died of an overdose shortly after this album's release.
OK, this is a bit of a stretch, but I couldn't resist it. Barry's Copacabana is the hottest spot north of Havana, quite a distance from Rio's glorious Copacabana beach. But close enough for a Cuban cigar in my book.
A couple of the songs on this list, I might not admit to liking in polite company. However, I feel no shame for admitting my love for Tony and Lola's tragic tale. Much is made in the media of Barry Manilow (and this song in particular) being a "guilty pleasure", but I've never felt guilty about enjoying a bit of the old Bazzer boogie. Copacabana has everything I want from a song: a great story, witty lyrics, drama, panache and a great tune. Damn that Rico!
1. Michael Nesmith - Rio
Mike Nesmith has a fascinating story too... if you can be bothered to hear it out... from getting his job in The Monkees because the producer liked his wool hat to the being the first to quit the band in 1970, owing the record company almost $50,000 because he still had three years left on his contract. Thank god his mum invented Liquid Paper... when she died a few years later, the inheritance helped him pay off his debts. Probably the most musically gifted Monkee, he did write a number of their songs, including Listen To The Band and Different Drum (a hit for Linda Ronstadt). But Rio is by far my favourite of his songs, and the title track of a 2 disc Nesmith compilation I picked up a few years back.
It's only a whimsical notion To fly down to Rio tonight And I probably won't fly down to Rio... But then again, I just might
The video's pretty crazy too, showing pretty conclusively that you can take the boy out of the Monkees, but you can't take the Monkee out of the boy...
But which one makes you go, "Rio Riay Riayo Riayo, Riayo, Riayo Riay ay ay ay ay ay ay ay ay"?
