I worked with a guy, a rather odd guy. He could best be described as a redneck marxist. Anyway, he once related a memory from child hood that I could definitely relate to. He said that when he was a kid, the older kids that he was afraid of were the ones with the prismatic KISS belt buckles. You remember them don't you? Around 1978 or so?
(image from wesclark.com)
You remember the kinds of guys who wore them? Well, those types were still around when I got to high school. The big belt buckle thing had passed, but the attitude was the same. Check out this clip from the movie "Heavy Metal Parking Lot." It's from 1986 and filmed in front of the old Caps center in Landover MD before a Judas Priest/ Dokken concert. Check out the hair! Check out the cars! Check out the air guitar! I don't know if you guys that grew up in larger cities had a similar sub-culture, but they are unforgettable. have fun watching this!
I wonder what would have happened if you had told any of those people that Rob Haleford was gay?
I like all kinds of music, all different genres, all different speeds, political leanings, etc. There's one sub-genres that I have always had a fascination with, the addict song. I'm not talking about "getting wasted" songs, I'm talking about songs that are sung from an addict's perspective. They may indeed be getting wasted, but there's always a context involved, and it's always kind of sad.
Some standouts in this group are "Heroin" by the Velvet Underground, "Loaded" by Hole, and even "Moonshiner" as sung by Uncle Tupelo. I think that every type of popular music is best suited for a particular emotion, or at least the type can express a particular emotion better than others. For me, country music expresses regret better than any other type of popular music. The drug of choice in country music circles has always been alcohol (notwithstanding Johnny Cash's "Cocaine Blues") and there are a lot of standouts in the addict group in country.
Alcohol songs have a special attraction to me. I think that more people can sympathize with an alcoholic than say a heroin addict. Alcohol is everywhere, who hasn't tied one on? Who hasn't gotten drunk when they probably shouldn't have? Alcohol scares me to death for that reason. It's easy to avoid and not be tempted by things like heroin and crack if you grew up the way I did. I'm very glad I developed the habit of not drinking early on. I really believe that if I didn't, I'd have a problem with alcohol today. Crawford men have a long history of being handled by alcohol, and even though I never drink regularly, I still crave it on a regular basis. Thank God for good habits...
Here's a song I just heard, it's called "Whisky Lullaby" and it's sung by Alison Krauss and Brad Paisley. This one is interesting because we get a two-fer. It isn't just an addict, it's a pair of codependents albeit codependents at a distance. It doesn't end well for them, but as Bugs Bunny once said, "You were expecting a happy ending?"
... except that he's not dead of course. The NFL network is now using "Every Day is Like Sunday" for their ad. The title makes sense for them, but like so many other examples of this kind of ad, the rest of the song doesn't.
The song is, IMO, the best apocalypse song of all time. The great thing about the song is that he wants the world to end. C'mon, only the Moz could get away with that. In the song, he says, "Every day is like Sunday, every day is silent and gray..." Not exactly what the NFL is looking for. Funnily enough they don't have him sing the song. The NFL has revamped the song giving it a little more, um, testicularity and a little country twang. When you think of singers with the NFL Hank Williams Jr., sure. The Moz, not so much...
