Earworm of the Day: HAW HAW

I hear the Mule Skinner Blues, but Levi's style (as in the embedded video), at 3 a.m., and it's guaranteed to lead me down some strange pathways. Not only do I wander into Bluegrass turf, such as from Bill Monroe and Dolly Parton, but even more, the brain starts tripping out on memories of all those  psychedelic ads Levi's ran, back in the day, especially those featuring the voice of Ken Nordine (please click on this last one, especially!)...

Earworm of the Day: Castles in the Air

I'm city born, but I love the country life.

I suppose this might have come, in a round-about manner, from somebody having made me watch several Doctor Who episodes in recent days (that somebody being myself). After all, this scene has staying power, in all its manipulative majesty, and it, quite naturally, would lead one to hear this song. And, for me, there's a natural progression from one of his songs to the next.

Or, maybe it's still just a residual effect from having gotten stuck, off and on, for several decades, on a song about a mummy.

Nevertheless.

Enjoy.

Rituals Must Be Observed

It's that time, again.

Not an earworm. Just a part of my life, annually appreciated.

Earworm of the Day: Green Shirt

Actually, it's teal, and it doesn't have buttons, but it's still a shirt. You can please yourself, though.

I've enjoyed listening to Declan Patrick McManus since we were both quite young (he's only a handful or so of years my senior, so…get off my lawn!). I can't quite say I had a crush on him, because I reserved that starry-eyed stupor for far odder sorts of fellows (draw your own conclusions).

Further confession: I've had regular migraines since my earliest teens, and had been instructed by my doctor to take an aspirin/caffeine product at the earliest sign of aura, to ease the severity of the headache. Somewhere about the 1980s, I started singing an early Elvis Costello and the Attractions song to/about that over-the-counter treatment each time the headache abated:

Anacin, you know this world is killing you
Anacin, my pain is through…

Not that I brought the pain on myself, in those days. Or, maybe I did. I was, after all, young and utterly stupid, unlike now, when I'm old and forgetful and only frequently stupid.

But that's another song, another band entirely.

Enjoy.

Earworm of the Day: Get Down On It

Some days, getting started is…difficult. There is no such option as rolling out of bed and hitting the floor running. Still, that doesn't mean the music can't nag me. Or, for that matter, nag you.

But that's Kool.

Have a happy Monday.

Earworm of the Day: Apeman

There's nothing quite like being on social media discussing 1960s animated kids' shows to bring up strange associations. I blame Chuck, again, for this. I was hoping the theme from one of those cartoons would be today's winner, but not even the Mach 5 could beat Ray and Dave Davies.

Earworm of the Day: Romeo's Tune

I have no idea. I woke up in the middle of the night… everything was all right. Except this song was playing. Over and over and over. It just would not fade, as promised, like magazines.

What exactly does the moon smell like, in your perfume? White Linen? Sweet Honesty? Oh, I know!

It smells just like Me!

Okay, all snickering aside, I remember actually wearing White Linen, Sweet Honesty, Charlie, and, at a much earlier age, Love's Fresh Lemon. In those days, it really did smell like fresh lemons, and… wait, did I hear "Wear Your Love Like Heaven" in the background of that advertisement all those years ago, and subliminally get suckered in?

Earworm of the Day: Lovin' You

I'm not exactly loving this. More like hating on it. Thanks to Mike for putting it in my head. I could probably have gone another decade without that squeak.



OTOH, Riperton was impressive. There aren't too many people who can out-tweet the piccolo. Plus, she was a nice Chicago girl (albeit from a little closer to the loop than I was). And her courage as an early face for breast cancer awareness, after her radical mastectomy, redeems her from the sin of bringing an overplayed seventies tune to the ears. And bonus points for producing Maya Rudolph. Her daughter has some talent at comedy and music.

Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel - Make Me Smile 1975 HD

The album featuring this track, The Best Years of Our Lives, was an Alan Parsons project in the literal sense: Parsons produced it, as he had the Beatles' Abbey Road & Let It Be, as well as Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon. As a later turnabout, Steve Harley sang "The Voice", on Alan Parsons Project's I Robot album – another one of those albums I had in vinyl, 8-track, cassette, and CD, because… well…heck, have you listened to it? 

Listen to this album, too.

This particular song comes to you, today, thanks to my having heard it again late at night, while watching The Full Monty. According to Wikipedia, it was also used in the closing credits for Velvet Goldmine. I may have to watch that movie soon. It has an excellent cast and ruffled the right feathers.



And this I truly did not know before today: Cockney Rebel's original bassist, Paul Jeffreys, died in the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 in 1988. He was with his bride on their honeymoon.