No.
Nope - Uh-uh.
Oh, hell yeah!
I'll have you know that one of my very favorite music genres is 70's AM pop. I don't mean disco stuff, or Zeppelin / Stones songs (though I love that too) , I mean the lite pop hits, often by one hit wonders, that played on AM radio back in the 1970's. And I don't like it in a kitchy, ironic way either. I really do enjoy listening to it, and this song might be my favorite of the bunch.
I really don't know how I came to know this song, or any others like it. For some reason these songs give me a huge wash of nostalgia, even though I can never put my finger on a specific instance that I remember hearing them. Almost all of them remind me vaguely of living in Barnesville Ga (when I lived from year one to year five before moving to Athens), riding around in the family's huge red Pontiac with my Mom, me leaning over the middle seat (car seats? In the 70's? Pshaw) and listening to the radio as we drove around town. I think I somehow just absorbed all of these 70's songs into my memory banks though pure osmosis, and even today when I hear one I haven't encountered in a while I get a sudden rush of recognition and an instant return to feeling four years old again. It's amazing how music can do that.
So, that's all to say that I have no idea who or what Starbuck is or was, but damn I love listening to this song. It begins with very warm synth sounds (futuristic!) backed by a funky little guitar chord on the backbeat. The delivery of the verse is great - the singer (Bruce Blackmon) delivers a lazy, swingy, loungey kind of vocal, just cool and hip as the 70's could get. My favorite part of the song actually happens at the end of every verse, just before the chorus (at :50, 1:38 and 3:13 on the clip)- a throw off little "ha-ha" that he just tosses in there. Something about that is so silly that it's almost magical.
The chorus just repeats the song's title , answered by a "bling bling" from the keybord, while the synth is repeating the five note hook. Then we're back to the verse and doing it all over again. Let's take a look at the second verse's lyrics:
We'll lay back and observe the constellations
And watch the moon smilin' bright
I'll play the radio on southern stations
Cause southern belles are hell at night
You say you came to Baltimore from Ole Miss
Class of seven four gold ring
The eastern moon looks ready for a wet kiss
To make the tide rise again
There is some pretty nice imagery there for a pop song, and I like the narrative idea too. Not too often are "southern belles" mentioned in pop hits, and it's got to be the only song ever to hit the charts to name check Ole Miss. A check of Wikipedia shows me that Starbuck is actually from Atlanta (!), so there's your southern vibe right there.
Then, following this verse, we get the kicker that could only be recorded in the 70's, the part that takes this song over the top....MARIMBA SOLO! (1:55 on the video) Seriously, listen to it. It kicks ass, and it's so out of left field that it works perfectly.
So here's the song and an appropriately cheesy youtube clip of it too. If you choose to download it for your collection, but don't want to admit it, it's OK. I can love 70's music enough for the both of us.
http://www.mediafire.com/?xq1qatjw5wh
4 comments:
I listened to the song and then read your take, and damn if you weren't right about that marimba solo. My reaction was 'What the?...Sweet'
That song's a keeper.
Also,
http://www.scifi.com/battlestar/images/downloads/desktops/starbuck_1152.jpg
Since Trey isn't around, I'll just submit that I bet your Mom was so freaking hot when you were between 1 and 5.
The song is kinda addictive with the 5 note hook you referred to.
Nice to hear from the eeej.
Thanks, Mike....I guess?
It took me a minute to wonder what the hell that had to do with...anything, but then I reread the post.
"it's got to be the only song ever to hit the charts to name check Ole Miss"
Actually, no – it appears in Billy Joel's, "We Didn't Start the Fire". Not nearly as good of a song, mind you.
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