"The Horizon Has Been Defeated" by Jack Johnson (at right): A mellow aging surfer, drifting away on weed, contemplates a philosophical shift in his outlook on the natural world--maybe? I don't think I could listen to too much Johnson (pardon the classic-movie in-joke pun), but I like this one, though I'm not sure I've figured out the title yet--surfer lingo? goodbye, nature? I'm too high to see 10 feet in front of me?"Housequake" by Prince, from Sign 'O' the Times (1987): One of my favorite Prince tracks, set at a rockin' house party just before the neighbors call the cops; there are lyrics, with Prince's voice sounding like it's been sped up or processed or something, but the most fun is the chanting: "Shut up already/ Damn!" "My Lord!" "Bullshit!!" and "What was that? … Aftershock." Prince was rarely this fun again.
"Hot Rod Lincoln" by Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen, 1972: A novelty tune about a guy having fun racing his Lincoln until the cops get him. This was the fourth chart version of this tune which was first a hit in 1951. It's a fun story song complete with sound effects, but oddly I find Cody's (George Frayne's) spoken, almost growled, vocals kinda sexy. I wonder what he sounds like when he's singing? (I know I've heard his '75 version of "Don't Let Go" but I can't remember what it sounds like.)"Hummingbird" by Seals & Crofts, 1973: I was not really a big fan of the duo; I saw them in concert in '73, but only because Cheech & Chong cancelled their scheduled show and Seals & Crofts was the only other show we could switch our tickets for. This song starts with a nice yearning intro, bursts into the catchy chorus ("Hummingbird, don't fly away, fly away"), midway through has a great sweeping bridge ("Haven't you noticed the day/Somehow keeps getting longer…"), and finally a lovely chord-change coda. My favorite S&C, with second place going to "We May Never Pass This Way Again."
"House of the Rising Sun" by Frijid Pink: This Detroit band's only top 10 hit, from 1970; the vocal can't touch Eric Burden's, but the fuzz and wah-wah guitars give this an apocalyptic grunge/garage sound that works well. The video below looks live, but it's lip-synced.
2 comments:
Commander Cody was a great hippy rockabilly cover band. Check out their greatest hits, Too Much Fun http://www.amazon.com/Too-Much-Fun-Best-Commander/dp/B000002OES. The song was originally recorded in the 50s.
Other trivia: I think I remember reading in the liner notes--uh, CD booklet--that there was considerable disagreement in the band over which one was Cody.
Re: "Hot Rod Lincoln": I did note its original recording was in 1951, and I'll go one better: it was first done under the title "Hot Rod Race" by a 350-pound band leader named Tiny Hill. As "Hot Rod Lincoln," it was a chart hit twice in 1960, by country singers Johnny Bond and Charlie Ryan.
As for who was Cody, all I know is that George Frayne formed the band and sang lead vocals, and in rock & roll, lead singing is nine-tenths of the law, er, the claim to be leader of the band. I'll have to head over to iTunes to see if any Cody song clips are available for listening. The history of the SF hero Commander Cody is even more complicated, so I'll stop here.
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