Center Of The Universe #14
Giant Sand, “Center Of The Universe”
The Mamas & The Papas, “Twist And Shout”
John Prine, “It’s A Big Old Goofy World”
Linkin Park, “Bleed It Out”
Welcome to the Center Of The Universe, a veritable smorgasbord of semi-popular sound. Slow arrangements of pop hits? Not invented for movie trailers! The Arbors had a hit dramatic redux of “The Letter” by the Box Tops in 1969, and The Mamas & The Papas released this grand ballad version of the Isleys/Beatles classic on their 1967 album, Deliver. John Prine’s 1991 album The Missing Years sadly doesn’t list musician credits by song, but the grandeur on “It’s A Big Old Goofy World” likely involves contributions by Benmont Tench, Phil Parlapiano and/or David Lindley, the last of which sadly passed away last month. And then a rare Linkin Park hit featuring handclaps.
Kyper, “Tic Tac Toe”
Ramones, “Somebody Like Me”
The Premiers, “Farmer John”
Air Miami, “I Hate Milk”
Baton Rouge-based one-hit wonder Kyper, with the rare Top 20 hit from 1990 I have no childhood memory of. And I think I’d remember that Yes sample! The Ramones rhyming “get drunk” with “dress punk” on 1983’s Subterranean Jungle. Another one-hit wonder, The Premiers, making the most out of overdubbed audience noises on “Farmer John,” and short-lived Unrest spin-off Air Miami doing their best to achieve a fluke hit themselves on 1995’s Me. Me. Me.
The Fall, “Living Too Late”
The-Dream, “Walking On The Moon (feat. Kanye West)”
The Beatles, “I Don’t Want To Spoil The Party”
The Knife, “One Hit”
It’s a THE block! The Fall riding one murky groove on 1986’s “Living Too Late” - which somehow reached #97 on the UK pop chart! The-Dream, riding one hell of an ersatz Ready For The World hook and featuring a Kanye West guest verse back when that meant something, somehow only reaching #87 on the US pop chart. “I Don’t Want To Spoil The Party,” my favorite song on my least favorite Beatles album, made it to #39 on that chart as the B-side to “Eight Days A Week.” And finally, The Knife with a wonder from 2006 called “One Hit.”
Fairport Convention, “Cajun Woman”
Windy & Carl, “Undercurrent”
George Jones, “I Just Don’t Give A Damn”
Electric Light Orchestra, “Moment In Paradise”
While half of the songs on the classic 1969 album Unhalfbricking by British folk-rockers Fairport Convention are covers, “Cajun Woman” is surprisingly not one of them. A bit of late ‘90s drone from Windy & Carl, a bitter flop by George Jones in 1975, and Jeff Lynne’s Electric Light Orchestra still hooky as hell in 2001, with Ringo Starr on drums!
Kix, “Loco-Emotion”
James Carr, “Loveable Girl”
The Hooters, “Day By Day”
The Jones Girls, “You’re Gonna Make Me Love Somebody Else”
Baltimore’s biggest pop-metal band Kix at their most bubble-gum with “Loco-Emotion” on 1983’s Cool Kids. James Carr doing “Lovable Girl” by O.B. McClinton, a few years before McClinton’s became a cult favorite country singer. While "And We Danced” gets more attention, “Day By Day” was actually the highest charting hit of The Hooters, reaching #18, three spots higher than “Danced.” And finally, Philadelphia International’s The Jones Girls, with their sole Top 40 crossover. While best known for their work with Philly Intl., they’d been recording singles in Detroit for almost a decade before this breakthrough.
Britney Spears, “(I Got That) Boom Boom (feat. Ying Yang Twins)”
Van Morrison, “Astral Weeks”
Talking Heads, “Uh-Oh, Love Comes To Town”
Fats Waller, “You’re Not The Only Oyster In The Stew”
Even if you remember when Britney Spears teamed up with the Ying Yang Twins and a banjo hook, it’s probably been too long since you’ve heard it. You know what else is great? “Astral Weeks” by Van Morrison. The Talking Heads with their first song on their first album, atypically featuring Chris Frantz on steel drum! That’s right, no ringer in the studio there! And Fats Waller going to toe-to-toe with David Byrne for goofy love metaphors in 1934.
Jane’s Addiction, “Been Caught Stealing”
Pitbull, “Hey You Girl”
Kari Faux, “Trouble”
Color Me Badd, “Slow Motion”
Did you ever notice that the two biggest hits by Jane’s Addiction pair third Velvets album lyrics with third Zeppelin album guitars and some random novelty hook? Steel drum on “Jane Says,” sound effects on “Been Caught Stealing.” The novelty hook on Pitbull’s “Hey You Girl” from 2006 couldn’t be better - the guitar riff from “Rock Lobster”! - but that somehow wasn’t enough to make it a single. Our time in the Center Of The Universe ends with a song from Kari Faux’s 2020 mixtape and Color Me Badd’s “Slow Motion,” the fifth single from the once-inescapable, now-utterly forgotten album C.M.B.. I still think it’s a jam! Thanks for your time!