favorite song friday: the need for speed

Pharrell's latest song, "Come Get it Bae" has joined a long tradition in modern music of making a correlation between sex and cars, or in this case, motorcycles. Good looking and fast-moving vehicles have metaphor-ed their way into some of music's greatest hits.

The Beach Boys wrote lots of songs about cars. And girls. And girls and cars.

"You wanna ride it, my motorcycle
You've got a license, but you got the right to
Gonna pop a wheelie, don't try too high too
Take it easy on the clutch, cause girl I like you"

Marc Bolan of T Rex was pretty forthright with mixing his automobile as pretty girl metaphors in "Bang a Gong" and "Jeepster."

"You're built like a car, you've got a hub cap diamond star halo
You're dirty sweet and you're my girl."

"Just like a car
You're pleasing to behold
I'll call you Jaguar
If I may be so bold ...
Girl I'm just a jeepster
For your love"

Prince took things a step further (as he is wont to do) with "Little Red Corvette."

"Believe it or not, I started to worry
I wondered if I had enough class
But it was Saturday night, I guess that makes it all right
And you say, "Baby, have you got enough gas?", Oh yeah
Little red corvette
Baby, you're much too fast (yes, you are)
Little red corvette
You need to find a love that's gonna last"

Music and sex and cars seem to be a winning combination. These are my favorites, but there are many others:

"Mercedes Benz" - Janis Joplin
"Drive My Car"
"Slow Ride" - Foghat
"Cars" - Gary Numan
"Pink Cadillac" - Bruce Springsteen
"Little Deuce Coupe" - Beach Boys
"Mustang Sally" - Wilson Pickett
“Drive (Who’s Gonna Drive You Home?)" - The Cars
“I Can’t Drive 55" - Sammy Hagar
“I’m In Love With My Car” - Queen
"I Drove All Night" - Roy Orbison

Any great songs I've left out? Let me know.

And to finish things up, this song by Rose Royce seems to say summer to me ...

"Hey, get your car washed today
Be in our band, you don't have to pay
Come on and give us a play"

i draw the line at led zeppelin (and billy joel and ... and ...)

We listen to the radio a lot in the car when we're out and about. I get sick of all the Kelly Clarkson/Taylor Swift/Katy Perry stuff on the pop station that my daughter likes, so we frequently switch to the oldies station — my mom, who has dementia, actually perks up and recognizes all of her favorite artists from times past, like the Bee Gees, Bruce Springsteen, Beach Boys, and the Eagles.

My mom had a mega-crush on Barry Gibb — probably still does

My mom was always a big fan of rock music, so our spins on the dial can land on either a pop or rock station. I don't mind hearing the Eagles and even the Bee Gees (although they rarely play the great, early songs), but I have to admit that lately I have been drawing the line at Led Zeppelin and changing the station when they come up. I'm not sure why their music sounds to me not just nostalgic, like the others, but out of date. Maybe it's Robert Plant's voice? I know for rock 'n roll aficionados, to criticize Zeppelin is probably as unpopular or unbelievable a statement to make as, "I hate chocolate," but there it is. I just don't have the patience while driving to sit through "Stairway to Heaven" for the umpteenth time. Ditto "The Wall" by Pink Floyd.

Yes, they are one of rock's great bands. No, I don't want to listen to them.

My mom never seems to mind if I skip Zeppelin or Pink Floyd. She's always been more of a Beatles/Rolling Stones fan anyway. I have found that I actually enjoy hearing the Stones more these days than when my mom played their music when I was a kid. Other no-gos: I don't want to hear Eric Clapton either. Or Elton John or Billy Joel if I can help it. So sue me.  I'm not always so successful with the latter two artists, as my mom really likes Elton John. "Crocodile Rock." Ouch.

We saw Elton at Madison Square Garden together many years ago. He was great. I just wish our local station would play some different songs by him. They seem caught in a "Crocodile Rock" and "Levon" programming loop.

Of course these days I'm as likely to hear music from my youth on an oldies station as from my mom's era. Time flies. Sigh. Music of the '80s and '90s are in as heavy rotation as "Moving Out" and “How Deep Is Your Love.” To be fair, there are artists from my oldies era that I will also skip if I can. Cyndi Lauper. Her songs are well-written, and I'd like to see Kinky Boots. It's just her voice that grates me. The Eurythmics. I know. Annie Lennox is great, but I don't want to hear "Here Comes the Rain Again." Ever.

Are there any songs or artists from bygone days that I am surprised that I am happy to hear? Michael Jackson comes to mind. Maybe it's because our station plays songs like "Man in the Mirror" and "Off the Wall" versus "Bad." But his music is always upbeat. K.C. and the Sunshine Band is also guilty pleasure fun. I have to admit that sometimes it feels a bit like I'm driving around in a time capsule. Will I ever get to hear contemporary music again — that isn't the kid's bubblegum pop? Suggestions welcome.

watering can

She looks like Christopher Robin . . .

bossa nova

I watched the HBO rock 'n' roll hall of fame special last night and it was a true blast from the past, as it should be. About half-way through I realized that I had seen almost all of the big namers live in concert at one time or another. Which must mean I'm almost as old as these geezers or I used to have a bit of fun. Let's stick with the second choice for now, shall we?

It was an HBO special in the way that the cable channel used to have specials when hardly anyone had cable and the channel was trying to sign people up with the lure of a once-in-a-lifetime event. Every time you thought that the big act on stage must be the finale, another bigger rock legend would hit the stage. I was wondering for a moment when they started talking about Roy Orbison if I should prepare myself for a Lynchian ghost moment, but it turned out to be another Springsteen duo/duet.

I'd like to watch it again and tape parts of it, not all—chacun à sont goût as they say en francais. No offense to Aretha, but her segment gave me time to take a bathroom break, and Annie Lennox, who I love on disc, has never thrilled me live, I'm afraid. In fact, it was when Annie was doing her less-than-amazing thing that it occured to me that I have seen a lot of these folks live.

I saw Annie open for Sting, who I've seen live many times, who played with Stevie Wonder, who I saw at the Obama concert, where I also saw U2, James Taylor, John Legend, Bruce Springsteen and Jackson Browne. Browne I also saw many years ago as a teenager at the No Nukes concert while on a class trip to D.C. Simon and Garfunkle I saw in Central Park and Lou Reed at The Bottom Line. Ray Davies I saw in the same venue, Madison Square Garden, and in much better voice and spirits fronting The Kinks. I saw Mick Jagger in an elevator once...




So not only was it fun to listen to, but I was enjoying my own six degrees of concert bacon, so to speak. I'm not sure if how the concert was edited for HBO was how it was actually performed, as it seemed a little clunky when they brought out Sting once, then again later, and then did the same thing with the Boss. Not everyone always hit the right note every time, but hell, it's rock 'n' roll. Highlights included Sting + Stevie reaching Higher Ground, Bono, Bruce and Patti Smith doing Because the Night, Bruce and Sam of Sam and Dave doing Soul Man and Bruce and Billy Joel having fun being bridge and tunnel doofuses. Hell, it was Bruce's night. I've never been a huge fan, mostly because he comes from my old stomping grounds the Jersey Shore (I was born in Neptune, N.J.) and it was assumed that you were automatically a Springsteen fan at birth. I can't remember a 7-11 wall from my childhood without "Springsteen Rules!" graffiti on it. I've never been much of a joiner, so I tried to avoid that particular fan club. But it's impossible to grow up in Jersey and not know the catalogue, or the names Clarence Clemons, Nils Lofgren, Little Steven, etc. I will admit to loving 10th Avenue Freeze-out. Who doesn't?

So all in all, a good musical time, the Boss included, although I more highly recommend my "director's cut."