- "Well the kids don't eat and the dog can't sleep, there's no escape from the music in the whole damn street, cause she's playing all night and the music's alright, Mama's got a squeeze box, Daddy never sleeps at night." Pete Townshend was surprised that this dirty little joke became a big hit for The Who. Here are his reflections on "Squeeze Box" from the "The Who By Numbers" album liner notes: "Intended as a poorly aimed dirty joke. I had bought an accordion and learned to play it one afternoon. Amazingly recorded by The Who to my disbelief. Further incredulity was caused when it became a hit for us in the USA." A squeeze box is of course slang for an accordion. The lyrics in the song are nothing more than euphemisms for hanky panky, or making whoopee if you prefer. "Squeeze Box" spent the most time on the Billboard top 100 singles chart out of all The Who singles. Speaking from personal experience, unless you are Pete Townshend don't bother trying to teach yourself accordion.
- "Like a country morning all smothered in dew, ah she's got a way to make her man feel shiny and new, and she sing in the evening, oh familiar tunes, and she feeds me love and tenderness and macaroons." If you dig the banjo and nice harmonies then you'll have a hard time resisting "Sweet City Woman". It's a fun song in the vein of "In the Summertime" by Mungo Jerry. My favorite memory of this song is from last summer. I was making a 2am drive in Ocean City Maryland from Seacrets to Tugos for some late night pizza. My friend and I, windows down, blasted "Sweet City Woman" for our own amusement but also for the pleasure of the girls in the car next to us at the traffic light. Amazingly these girls (young 20s I'd guess) were not feeling "Sweet City Woman". Sadly the Stampeders were lost on them. Another fond memory of this song involved eating Bunny Burgers (no macaroons...sorry) on the way to State College. "Bon c'est Bon!"
Childlike Wildlife- Jason Mraz
- "Well I guess I'll treat her right, I guess I'll treat her more right this time, I'll try not to rely, try not to rely on the perfect line." This is a somewhat obscure Mraz song. It appeared in studio form on two early independent releases- 1999's "A Jason Mraz Demonstration" and 2001's "From the Cutting Room Floor". It showed up again in 2007 on the live "Selection For Friends" online release. The most notable thing about "Childlike Wildlife" is the 2nd half of the song which is based on a groove that sounds oh so much like the riff from "Curbside Prophet". Speaking of "Curbside Prophet" there is a great live version on 2002's "Sold Out (In Stereo)" which contains a number of brilliant lyrical references including one about the Stevie Wonder episode of The Cosby Show. "Jammin' on the one!". I have tickets to see the "geek in the pink" at the University of Delaware in September. I planned on going with a hot married friend but when she proved unavailable I resorted to taking a hot single friend who has no interest in me. It's great to have options.
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