It has not been a very happy week around here for a lot of reasons, which is why we need a little joy. And when it's time for some joy, who else to turn to but. . . Fearless Maria!
Bonjour! Je m'appelle Fearless Maria! I don't know much French, but I can handle that much! So Dad, the title is "A Week in Music." Does that mean we're going to do songs about the days of the week? I suppose we could do Manic Monday, or Tuesday Afternoon, or Friday on My Mind, or Saturday in the Park, or. . . did anyone write a song about Thursday?
I'm having a hard time thinking of a song about Thursday. Maybe that's why we write these things on Thursday!
I'll write a song about Thursday, Dad! Guilty Pleasures, Guilty Pleasures! We write them on Thursday! Guilty Pleasures, Pleasures Guilty, we write them on. . . oh, what rhymes with Thursday anyway?
That might be why there aren't any songs about Thursday, Maria.
It's like trying to rhyme purple, Dad! Or orange! Well, do you have another approach?
Glad you asked, Maria. One thing I do each day on Facebook is post lyrics for a song by an artist whose birthday it is that day. We could look back at the past week or so and see if you like any of these. How does that sound?
I don't know how it sounds, Dad. You haven't played any of the videos, yet! It might sound good, but I'll be the judge of that!
Okay, that appears to be a call to action. Let's start with yesterday's song. As it happens, yesterday was the birthday of Ray Davies of the Kinks. And the song I picked is this one, from about 1970, a cranky little number called:
I've heard of people having a bad day, Dad, but this guy sounds like he had a bad century! Was it really that bad in the 20th Century, Dad! Or did I plan it out smart by being born 15 days after the 20th Century ended?
I mostly enjoyed the 20th Century, Maria. And I'll bet that Ray Davies enjoyed it a little better than he's letting on in this song.
Well, I hope so, Dad! If he was complaining for the entire century, I'll bet people got pretty tired of him! Of course, if I was wearing ugly plaid pants like the guy was in some of the pictures in that video, maybe I'd have been a little cranky, too! Maybe rotten tomato juice got on his pants or something!
As a good a guess as I've heard. Now, speaking of cranky, the next song is from Graham Nash of Crosby, Stills and Nash, whose birthday was earlier in the week. Graham wasn't very happy about what was going on in Chicago in 1968, so he wrote this song:
Dad, I've been to Chicago. It wasn't nearly as bad as these guys were saying! I loved Chicago! Didn't they go to Millennium Park?
No, it didn't exist then.
I know that -- I was teasing! But maybe that would have made them feel a little better about it. They could have played in the fountain instead of whining like 3-year olds!
The weird part, Maria, is that on some of the same land where the fountain is in Millennium Park, the Chicago police were having a big fight with the hippies.
The hippies! I can see it now -- hippie hippie forward hippie hippie arrest!
That's about what it was like, Maria.
Well, glad I waited until 2008 to go to Chicago, then! Forty years seems to have made a difference!
Indeed. So the next song was for Mike Campbell, who is one of Tom Petty's Heartbreakers. This song is one of their very first ones, from way back in 1978, on an appearance on the British music show The Old Grey Whistle Test.
Dad, I'm an American Girl, too, but I sure don't have the problems that this girl they're singing about seems to have! So do you think that the American Girl Company, with all the awesome dolls, would want to hire Tom Petty? He's a little cranky, but he seems to like American Girls better than the Guess Who likes an American Woman!
That's an excellent point, Maria. I hadn't thought of that!
Well, that's why I'm here, Dad! I get what you leave out!
Indeed you do, Maria. So shall we move on?
Sure. So who's next?
The next birthday belongs to Phil Collins of Genesis, who has every reason to be happy, given the huge piles of money he's earned over the years.
I guess Genesis didn't need to take an Exodus from making money, huh, Dad?
Nope. But they did get to prowl the streets of Amsterdam (I think) on this song from 1981:
Dad, didn't you say that Genesis was very successful?
Yes, I did. Why do you ask?
Well, they seemed to get through that whole video without ever actually having full instruments! Couldn't they afford them? Phil Collins was walking around Europe with just drumsticks? That seems strange to me! Or did he have to uh, keep it dark?
The streets in Amerstdam are pretty narrow, Maria. Maybe they couldn't get the tour bus in.
I don't think that's it, Dad. And why would they need a tour bus anyway -- no one would have recognized them in those big trenchcoats! They look like Sherlock Holmes with drumsticks!
It is very mysterious, Maria. Maybe the next song will make more sense.
Based on your track record so far, Dad, I'm not going to count on it. What do you have?
Okay. Another recent birthday was for Louie Perez of one of my favorite bands, Los Lobos. And I've always liked this particular song, a simple shuffle called:
They sure love to jam, don't they? They just keep playing and playing their song! That's a really long train ride, no wonder they didn't stop!
Yeah, they like to play. But they play very well.
If they keep playing much longer, the moon is going to come out and they'll be playing in the moonlight!
Funny you should mention that, Maria --
Oh, did I set you up again, Dad?
You sure did. Another birthday person was Phil Lynnott, the bassist and lead singer of the 1970s Irish band Thin Lizzy. Phil is no longer with us, but this song still works and it's got some moonlight going for it:
Sounds like that if they really got into it, their hair would get caught in the spotlight -- literally! Now these guys really look like 70s guys! I like the finger snapping, but tell me this, Dad -- did they not make buttons in the 1970s?
Why do you ask?
Look at the video, Dad -- their shirts are wide open and you can see all their gross chest hair! Who are they trying to be, Hairy Potter?
I suspect they weren't always up on the grooming tips, Maria.
Well, I can't help them now, but if they were here, I'd have a little talk with them!
I'm almost afraid to show the next video to you, although I think these guys have a little better grooming. The last birthday belongs to guitarist Andy Cox of the English Beat, who recorded this song in 1982:
I confess that this is kind of a weird video, with some guy dressed up as an archbishop and then another guy wearing eye shadow and a cape! He's weirder than Thin Lizzy or even the Kinks' pants! That's saying something, Dad!
So you don't approve, Maria?
Of course not! If there was a survey for this band, and the choices for clothing were excellent, great, fair or poor, I'd make my own line and say extremely poor! It is a good song, but they probably need to visit a clothing store or something!
Well, that's a week's worth of music.
And the best part is that most of it wasn't really that weak! So you know what to do, people! Vote in the comment section! And don't come around here wearing any weird plaid pants!
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