I get some strange shit pop up on my iPod from time to time. That’s thanks to the wide variety of stuff I like, so sometimes shuffle play can be a little jarring from one song to the next. Today’s song of the day is one of my favorite Steve Earl songs, from his most popular album “Copperhead Road”.
The song that came on immediately after was by Too $hort, and told the story of how he and Ant Banks (not the talented keyboardist of Genesis fame, btw) had lost… ahem… “all their hos”. Misogyny ensued. Oh, that Too $hort! Always threatening to hit women and yelling out “BEEEATCH!!!”
I don’t suppose Steve Earle and Too $hort have ever toured or recorded together. That would be… odd.
About as odd as Willie Nelson performing with Snoop Dogg, which has ACTUALLY FUCKING HAPPENED.
Consider your mind blown. Unless you already knew about that.
I remember this album coming out in 1988. I, sadly, listened to pop music back then. Top 40 hits. Fuck you… I was 14.
There was quite a lot of surprise in my adolescent mind (some parts of it are still adolescent, I believe) about hearing what I thought was “Country Music” on my beloved “AM106” top 40 radio station. I can’t even imagine listening to the fucking radio for music any more, but that’s another rant.
I liked the song back then, but forgot about it quick. I soon got into Dead Kennedy’s, Suicidal Tendencies, and lots of other hardcore and punk bands. But my ex had this CD, along with 4 other Steve Earle CDs. Being a nerdy guy who likes collecting music, I figured “what the hell” and copied the CDs to cassette. And from those cassettes a few years ago, I got the clean sounding, Mikeified albums I enjoy in small song-by-song doses when they pop up on shuffle.
I’m not a fan of Country Music. The only other “Country” I have on my iPod are Slim Cessna’s Auto Club… who are so fucking amazing, they could be playing DANCE music and I’d love it.
I fucking hate dance music too. Well, most of it. Ladytron are fucking awesome too.
See how I trick you every time into reading stuff that has nothing to do with the song I mentioned above?
Speaking of that song…. at the end of it, Steve (pre-jail and probably coked up like hell… not unlike my Ex…) yells “I KNEW THERE WAS A FIRST TAKER ON THIS ALBUM SOMEWHERE!” Indeed, no need for a second take here. Remember when bands recorded songs in takes? Remember when they played music and recorded that, rather than whining about their fucking emotions and then splicing shit together in the studio and calling it music?
Peppridge Farm does.
“Snake Oil”, as I just learned from Wikipedia, is specifically about Ronald Regan. That’s not surprising at all. Every god damned politician is a snake oil salesman.
I’ve got a head full of tired, and I’m out of dumb jokes… so I will now say goodnight.
Tomorrow is a half day for me. And then 5 days off! ZOY!!