Malvina Reynolds - Little Boxes

  Now this is a song I can't stand. Not because I don't like the melody or Reynolds atonal braying, but because I think it sort of gives voice to the plight of a people who don't really have a plight. This is just one man's opinion, but how hard was it to grow up in the suburbs in 1962? I get that the song is mainly just pointing out how things and people are so similar and maybe there some type of melancholy and boredom that goes along with that sense of conformity, but who cares? I would hate to see a 2011 update of this song, but if there were one, I imagine the rapper that did it would make it more interesting and arresting.

  This song just grates on me in so many ways, especially because you had artists in the south at the same time, who were making better music all while facing racial persecution everywhere they went. This is music for boring white people, and to me it's self serving in a way. Again, an ode to problematic circumstances, where the need for an ode doesn't exist.

  Many were first introduced to this song through the popular Showtime series Weeds, which used it as the show's theme for 3 seasons. During season 2 and 3, alot of contemporary artists did some weird covers. Quick sidenote, the most popular version of this song isn't Reynolds', but a version done by Pete Seeger, who reached #70 on the Billboard Top 100 in 1963. One of the strangest modern versions was done for Weed's by Linkin Park frontman Chester Benington. My friends were able to suggest a few more who'd covered it like Randy Newman and Rilo Kiley, Deathcab For Cutie and Man Man. I thank them. Here are three versions of a weak anti-anthem that exists for no reason!

Sorry about that if you watched any of those. Might I suggest cleansing your palette with Masta Ace's 'Me & The Biz'. Masta Ace is from Brownesville, which is in Brooklyn. He probably grew up with real life problems, thus he made better songs. The two go hand in hand.

Thank you for reading!

The Archies - Sugar, Sugar

  So this is my first post. Whoopty - doo, huh? I know! I can't believe it either. Let's get right into it, shall we?

Two or three days ago I was trying to relax after work, just kicking back and rocking out to an Oldies channel on Pandora, I think it was like Golden Oldies mix or something and Sugar, Sugar by The Archies came on. I can thank that track and a misheard lyric for the idea behind this blog. I really need to get writing again, so since I'm the only person I know who has a genuine appreciation of the songs of yesterday, I figured why not write about them. At least I won't run out of material. So here we go!

 This is a pretty memorable song, just from the hook which made it one of the biggest pop hits of the Bubblegum era. But it's also notable because it was one of the biggest hits ever by a fictitious animated band. That's Jughead on drums and I guess Betty and Veronica are on background vocal duties. I had no idea until I went to write about this that there were so many cartoon bands in the '60s and '70s. Wikipedia lists The Groovy Goolies, The Jackson 5, The Partridge Family and even The Hardy Boys which surprised me. I don't know if they were solving mysteries and then finding time to jam at night or what. Maybe I'll do some research and post about that at another time. I'll include a Hardy Boys video in this post just because.

 Sugar, Sugar was a #1 hit in 1969 and sold over 6 million copies. Cowritten by Jeff Barry and Andy Kim with vocals from The Cuff Links' lead singer Ron Dante it's the only time that a cartoon band took the top spot in Billboard's annual Hot 100. It also became the RIAA Record of The Year. This must have been kind of strange for Dante as the Cuff Links' biggest hit 'Tracy' peaked at No. 9 the same year. In fact the Cuff Links are regarded as a one hit wonder while the Archies are still considered classic, if a little silly today.

  Here's The Hardy Boys with My Little Sweetpea. I'd never heard it before now, but read that it's their most beloved hit, so here you go.