Colt 45 Beer Jingle

Wow. That is quite the sustained (implied) orgasmic burst from our friends at the National Brewing Company (now owned by Pabst).

Just the tiniest snippet from this 80's malt liquor commercial entered my consciousness in the wee hours this morning. No known mental antecedent for it.


Artist: unknown
Year: c. 1980s
Rating: I'll pass. But do check out their Billy Dee Williams ads!

Louie Lime Green

Yesterday at work, I was whistling to myself all afternoon. I do this a lot (it helps that my Friday bookkeeping gig is at an awesome local music school). Working down column upon column of credit card transactions, the mind can automatically conjure up tunes and still manage accurate data entry. I thought I'd share with you the sequence of songs I was whistling. The thematic progression: roots rock, prog rock, Elizabethan minstrel music. Somehow it flowed. It helps that Rush is like, totally, Ren Faire.





Louie, Louie
Artist: Richard Berry (writer); The Kingsmen; etc.
Year: 1957; 1963; various
Rating: Warm

Limelight (Redux; last in my head on July 13, 2010.)
Artist: Rush
Year: 1981
Rating: Warm

Greensleeves
Artist: various; unconfirmed origin.
Year: c. 1580
Rating: Warm

The Waiting, Redux

This song floats into my head frequently, but last time it was first thing in the morning was July 30, 2009. There does always seem to be something I'm waiting for, something unreachable. Best stick in the Now rather than the Anticipation.

Artist: Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers
Year: 1981
Rating: Luke Hot

*Note, my rating of this song has improved since I last blogged it. Tom Petty's pretty dang cool. And those jangly guitars really get me.

Earworms! Earworms! Yay! Boo!

Hello, loyal readers and folks new to my navel-gazey project affectionately titled The Songs in My Head! I just wanted to make an official announcement about my spankin' new Facebook page where you are most welcome to gather and join the conversation about earworms great and horrifying. Lately, mine have been on the horrifying spectrum, but alas, that's what you get for growing up in the 1980s. Please do feel free to comment here on the blog, over at FB, or on Twitter @soozzip and keep on singin,' whistlin,' and fist-pumpin' along to The Songs in My Head!

xo
Sooze

Hands to Heaven

You gotta be kidding me! "We Want Some Pussy" and now this? Earworm gods: please spare me!

Artist: Breathe
Year: 1987
Rating: Cold

We Want Some Pussy

What can I say? There comes a time when this song gets stuck in everyone's head, right?

Artist: 2 Live Crew
Year: 1986
Rating: NC-17

Young At Heart

Woke with this unmistakable melody this morning. A good reminder to us all to be young, and open, and view the world with fresh eyes every day.

Artist: Frank Sinatra
Year: 1953
Rating: Warm

Come Sail Away

Starting to amass quite an arsenal of Styx music in the bloggic record of songs in my head. This one suits my emotional set of late, struggling with the obligatory logistics of life under considerable emotional stress over the last couple years:

I'll try, oh lord, I'll try (EPIC PIANO BREAK) to caaaaarrrrry on!

The similarity ends at the whole aliens/starship thing, though.

70s prog rock: Where Middle Earth meets Outerspace.*

Artist: Styx
Year: 1977
Rating: Luke Hot

*Tip o' the hat to Liz Bohm.

Do You Want Crying? or Two (or Three)-Hit Wonders

As I was waking up yesterday, I heard a baby crying somewhere outside my window. I opened the blinds, and saw a man walking with a toddler on the other side of the street, and the kid was sobbing all the way down the block. This relatively obscure secondary hit song by 80s popsters Katrina and the Waves then emerged in my head and stayed with me all day.

It's sort of timely, because Scott and I were recently talking about making a playlist of lesser hits by artists that only had two or three charting songs. You probably recall Katrina's bigger hit a lot better than this one, right?

Or you know how this song immediately springs to mind when you think of Crowded House? Well, instead, we'd put "Something So Strong" on the mix.



I've always preferred it, actually, even though (or maybe because) it's gotten way less air play over the years.

Or, take the band Thin Lizzy. You probably quickly conjure up this 1976 hit, but if you perk up your mind's ears a moment, you might remember this one:



So, readers, what are some other second-rate songs you love by Two (or Three)-Hit Wonders?

Artist: Katrina & the Waves
Year: 1985
Rating: Luke Hot

Dear Sons and Daughters of Hungry Ghosts

Been whistling this song all day. I was itching to hear some Spencer Krug, so I played the video for friends a few days ago. It's been stuck since. A lovely, brilliant earworm if there ever was one.

Artist: Wolf Parade
Year: 2005
Rating: Hot!