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The Right Profile tells the story of one-time movie star Montgomery Clift and his troubles and tribulations before dying at a very young age. The song itself is great because of Joe Strummer’s singing which really sets off the feeling of an out of control lifestyle. The horns also add a lot to the song as well.

Here’s a link to a Montgomery Clift tribute video using the song as backing music

And of course, the lyrics:

Say, where did I see this guy?
In Red River?
Or a place in the sun?
Maybe the Misfits?
Or From Here to Eternity?

ARRRGHHHGORRA BUH BHUH DO ARRRRGGGGHHHHNNNN!!!!

Talk Talk is one of those great lost 60’s hit songs from the garage band era. You don’t hear it on oldies stations–well, I’ve never heard it on an oldies station–I doubt there’s a muzak version, but it’s a song that was well ahead of it’s time.

There’s not too much to the meaning of the song. The singer has done something that has damaged his reputation, and doesn’t want to resolve things through apology. If you’ve ever screwed up you can likely identify.

There’s a pretty cool interview with band member Sean Bonniwell at Ready, Steady Go. From that interview:

RSG: The first introduction to the Music Machine is usually through the hit single ‘Talk Talk’. Can you remember when and how that song was written and what it was like to record it?

SB: “”Talk Talk” was written in 1965. I was waiting for my girlfriend to finish primping for our date. The song was composed in about 15 minutes, and we recorded it at RCA (studio C) in L.A., in two takes! There’s quite a story behind our 1st hit; the details (profound and humorous), can be found in Beyond The garage (the book)”.

RSG: Many people cite ‘talk talk’ and other similar tracks from 60s Garage bands as a prelude to 70’s punk. What do you make of it all?

SB: “In the context of what 60s music contributed to what is heard today, my guess would be that 70s punk imitated us. But just adding glitter and snot doesn’t pay tribute to bands of the 60s that were progenitors, musical units that invented a sound and style that continues to resonate in contemporary rock. Each generation discards the fad symbols of the previous generation — and their rebellion is to the manor born, but when the original is a copy of a copy, it degenerates into mindless noise”.

Here’s a link to a TV performance

And of course, the lyrics:

I got me a complication
And it’s an only child
Concernin’ my reputation
As something more than wild
I know it serves me right
But I can’t sleep at night
Have to hide my face
Or go some other play-ay-ay-ay-ay-ace

Talk talk Talk talk Talk talk Talk talk

For me, part of the major appeal of X is the dissonant harmonies created when Exene Cervenka and John Doe sing together. That and the fact that they are one hell of a great band as well, especially back when Billy Zoom was the regular guitarist. This song is cool–great lyrics, great hooks, just really cool.

From SongMeanings:

In the classic documentary *Decline of Western Civilization* X-ene (sp?) said she got the title from a bible tract. The song is about one of those battles married people experience - about sleeping on the couch, about her disappointment with her husband, her jealousy for an unnamed woman, his callous attitude - and then by one AM she’s back in bed with him; the fight is over but not her bitterness. Anybody who has been married knows the feeelings expressed in this song.

Here’s a link to a live performance in 1981

And of course, the lyrics:

I’ll go somewhere else
I’ll move to the couch
It’s darker in the dark
It’s darker in the day
I forgot you were a liar
Now it’s five to twelve
Shut up and smoke
And I’ll go somewhere else
No more orange nightgowns

A life of intermission

Can’t Wait One Minute More is a cool song about seizing the day and living your life the way you want, not the way anyone else wants you to. It’s a cool song with a great drum beat.

Here’s a link to the video

And of course, the lyrics:

Been passed by so many times fed up so long and I’m sick
Sense of pride, got by my side I’ve got to trust in myself

Saving up for a rainy day As the sun went by and I slept
Passes me by, I don’t wonder why
That it all make such sense to me
I need room to breathe I work for the goals that I set
Wasted time weighs on my mind….You can bet
I can’t wait one minute more
Wait one minute more
I can’t wait one minute more
I can’t wait one minute Wait one minute…….

A little-known Hives gem — my favorite band.

Under-dated because of the title, this gem is a crunchy but cryptic  typical Hives tune — sly winks, insider-isms, and no matter how wild the song may be, it’s laden with deeper meaning about larger corruptions we tolerate.

Here are the lyrics.

Do you know the secret hand shake - you best use it.
Here they come with ringing ears - social misfits.
Someone has got to go
Just thought you should know and so it had to be
The one who held the key.
Check the time T-5 and you’re still looking.
Too good to be true - so what’s the secret.
Someone has got to go
Just thought you should know and so it had to be
The one who held the key

Holidays In the Sun was the opening track from Never Mind the Bollocks…, and it’s a great song. Angry, frustrated nihilistic vocals, a good rocking sound, and a lot of energy put it over the top.

From Wikipedia:

The song was inspired by a trip to the Channel Island of Jersey, “We tried our Holiday In The Sun in the isle of Jersey and that didn’t work. They threw us out”, followed by a couple of weeks spent in Berlin. Although they described the city as “raining and depressing”, they were relieved to get away from London. Says John Lydon, “Being in London at the time made us feel like we were trapped in a prison camp environment. There was hatred and constant threat of violence. The best thing we could do was to go set up in a prison camp somewhere else. Berlin and its decadence was a good idea. The song came about from that. I loved Berlin. I loved the wall and the insanity of the place. The communists looked in on the circus atmosphere of West Berlin, which never went to sleep, and that would be their impression of the West.”

Someone did a video using footage from A Clockwork Orange:

And of course, the lyrics:

A Cheap holiday in other peoples misery!

Please don’t be waiting for me

Thus begins the latest theme week: under-dated songs, or more to the point, songs who’s subject matter is out of date or no longer of importance.

California Uber Alles is one of the Dead Kennedys best known songs. From Wikipedia:

The focus of the song is centered on Jerry Brown, the Governor of California between 1975 to 1983, and is sung from what is supposedly his perspective. In it, an imaginary Brown outlines a bizarre hippie-fascist vision for America, in which his “suede denim secret police” kill un-cool people with “organic poison gas” chambers. The song illustrates lead singer Jello Biafra’s concern with the dilution of the radical and revolutionary tendencies of the 1960s by “yuppies” and their representatives, such as, one presumes, Jerry Brown. Biafra’s accusation of fascism was meant to highlight his dislike for what he saw as the centrist policies of self-professed progressive Jerry Brown. Other lines, such as “Serpent’s egg already hatched” (a reference to a line from William Shakespeare’s play Julius Caesar), simply comment on the corrosive nature of power. The line “Now it is 1984″ references the totalitarian regime of George Orwell’s novel Nineteen Eighty-Four, which also happens to be the year in which Brown would complete his first term of office if elected President.

Beyond that, the song just rocks. I love the way the guitars work, the bits in the middle as the song slows down and a sense of menace arises, the humor of the lyrics turning into dread. Just a great song.

There’s a fan video on YouTube

And of course, the lyrics:

I am Governor Jerry Brown
My aura smiles
And never frowns
Soon I will be president…

California Uber Alles
California Uber Alles
Uber Alles California.
Uber Alles Californai

People Who Died is a song of both celebration and loss. Tragic though it is, at the same time it works also as a tribute to those who have fallen. I first heard the song when I was about 13, and I know it had an effect upon me.

The song itself is a simple recounting of the people Carroll had known who had died, including his brother Eddie. You can hear some of his pain in his vocals, but at the same time there’s positive energy too.

If you want to read much more about Jim Carroll, there’s tons of information at Catholic Boy, the official website. I also found a pretty interesting write up in Google’s cache.

There’s a fan video on YouTube

And of course, the lyrics:

Teddy sniffing glue he was 12 years old
Fell from the roof on East Two-nine
Cathy was 11 when she pulled the plug
On 26 reds and a bottle of wine
Bobby got leukemia, 14 years old
He looked like 65 when he died
He was a friend of mine

Repeat Refrain; repeat song to Eddie

The last thing I ever expected to hear from the Clash was unabashed bubblegum pop, but here you go.

1-2, Crush On You is a great song, but it definitely sounds much more Bay City Rollers than the Only Band that Matters. It’s a very fun, very hummable tune, with tongue-in-cheek, sweet lyrics about a young lad having a crush on a girl. It’s just a fun song, and the thing that makes it stand out is that it’s by the Clash.

Someone made a video for this song using footage from Lost

And of course, the lyrics(courtesy of London’s Burning):

STANDING IN A QUEUE OF A SCHOOL CANTEEN
GUYS ON THE CORNER THEY WERE LAUGHIN’ AT ME
BUT I DON’T MIND IF THEY SEE IT ALL
YOU KNOW I GOTTA COME CLEAN
I GOTTA COME CLEAN
I GOT A CRUSH ON YOU

WHY SHOULD I GET A CRUSH ON YET?

This is a great, anthemic rock song. Best as I can tell, it’s about stoicism, and the tendency to over analyze things to the point of stagnation and a loss of humanity. Oh, did I mention that it rocks?

And of course, the lyrics:

Barren lands and barren minds
In another place and time
I feel I’ve never known myself
Frozen in the sand again

We sit and pray together that they might change the weather
My love for you will never die
If I sound distant, that’s because
You shouldn’t see me crying ice cold ice