WEBVTT
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I'm Christine.
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And I'm Christina.
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In 2024, I moved to Texas from LA.
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And to keep in touch, Christine and I started a weekly game where we each pick a song that fits a chosen theme.
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This game deepened our understanding of each other and the songs that shape us, inspiring the podcast you're listening to now.
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Each week we share our pics, swap stories, and dig into tracks you might love and a lot of the time have never heard of.
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Welcome to Stereothematica, your favorite atypical music podcast.
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Hey Christina.
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Oh hi, Christine.
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Did you know that I only recently learned that say less is something the kids say and that it essentially means that you agree?
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Did you know this?
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I did know this, and this only furthers a theory that's circulating that I'm not from this planet.
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I am not.
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I said it loud and clear.
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I'm from Pulowski.
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Don't you work with a lot of Gen Z?
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Don't they be like, say less?
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Well, you know what?
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That's what I I that's why it was a surprise to me.
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It was actually Thomas who told me this.
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And yeah, I've I've never heard this one.
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I've heard other things like TDLR, like actually not just writing it, but saying it.
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Saying it out.
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That's kind of cool.
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I actually liked it.
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You like it?
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Okay.
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T T L D R too long didn't read TLDR.
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Yeah.
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See, the thing with those that they don't roll off the tongue, it's hard for me to remember which way which way the letters go.
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I could see that.
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Like I would say T R D L.
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Yeah.
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Mess it up.
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Well, like and now I'm a hundred years old.
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I know.
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And then the band that you talked about a couple weeks ago, NRBQ.
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Oh yeah.
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Is that it?
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It is.
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Okay, cool.
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Yeah.
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Anyway, magnet.
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Yeah.
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Yeah, that was a good one.
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But say less.
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I think it's a fun one.
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I'm I'm getting to like it.
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It's funny.
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I I imagine like a lot of parents, especially, are like parroting their kids and saying less, but then they might like not get exactly what it means.
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And I would be probably one of those people.
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But despite what some people might think, say less is not something that Gen Z started.
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Of course, it is actually according to the idiom's website, the phrase developed within African American vernacular English, otherwise known as A-A-V-E, where it meant I understand no further explanation is necessary.
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So yeah.
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Of course, for this week's theme, I'm being literal.
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And I hope I was clear when I propose it to you.
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We are talking about songs you really like until the singing starts.
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Therefore, say less or even say nothing at all.
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Aside from today's pick, do you have any other songs you feel this way about?
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No, and actually this was a hard theme for me because I think usually if a song has words and I don't like the way that they're sung, I don't like the song.
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Yeah.
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So I yeah, I I I will not lie, I struggled with this theme, even picking one song because it was not something that I could immediately be like, oh, okay, I got it.
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What about you?
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I mean, do you have a learning list?
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I don't have a list, and I feel very similarly to you, except it was actually another song that made me think of this theme.
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It came on.
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I was listening to music and the band's Stage Fright, which is such a good song.
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And I'm talking about the band, the band not the band that we're talking about today, but but the band that scored with Bob Dylan featured in the last waltz blog.
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You you get it.
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Oh, yeah, yeah.
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But do you know the song Stage Fright?
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No, and that's funny that you say that because I was trying to think of it as you mentioned it.
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How does it go?
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It's oh god, I can't do it.
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Um, but it has a such a great opening with piano, and it's just like it feels like it's gonna be such a powerful song.
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And then Rick Denko comes on with the focus.
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He's usually, but not always, but yes, and um suddenly it feels like a cute song, like like something that would be on Sesame Street.
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And it's not that I start to hate it, but like it just loses its edge.
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So uh I'm just like yeah.
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But um, then I remembered an even better song when once the vocals came in, I was like, what the fuck?
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And before we get to that, let's listen to the nonverbal wizardry of the opening of Yes's Heart of the Sunrise.
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You've got Chris Squire as the overlord on the bass, Steve Howe shredding like a motherfucker, Bill Bruford with machine-like intensity on the drums, and Rick Wakeman doing some pretty groovy organ meistering.
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It makes me want to bang my head, nervously tap my foot, and play air guitar and air drums with Reckless Abandon.
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And I have been doing that for the past week and a half while driving on the 405 to and from work.
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What a visual image.
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I love it.
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I now, did you think someone hacked my phone when you got this song?
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Or is this just me being predictably unpredictable?
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Well, you know, you are someone who is constantly surprising me.
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So this was one of those surprises, just because I never would have thought we would be talking about yes on this podcast.
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Yes.
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So I was surprised.
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I didn't think anyone hacked your phone.
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I was just like, what has she got up her sleeve?
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Oh, good.
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Yeah.
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No, it's it's weird.
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Every once in a while, one of these songs comes to me, and I'm like, it it gets under my skin, and I just I just don't know what to do with myself, except like be, I don't know, like a 16-year-old boy.
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Oh, perfect.
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But I had completely forgotten about this song until I listened to the Deep Cuts Lost and Found podcast a few months ago.
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Nice.
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And and they were doing an episode on music and movies, and one of the guys, Chris, of course, like I feel like everyone in my orbit has some form of the name Christ.
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Um well, he shared this very song, which was featured in Vincent Gallo's 1998 film, Buffalo 66.
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I know you're not a Gallo fan.
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It's just that Gallo's scary.
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He's like so scary looking.
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Yeah, and this is not even his most scary movie or creepy.
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Fair was that Brown Bunny?
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Oh, I've no no, never seen it.
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Okay, yeah, not suitable for work.
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So in in the movie, this the song comes on toward the end when Gallo's character enters a strip club and he's about to kill the kicker from the Buffalo Bills.
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Long story there.
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But the scene opens with Squire's bass solo, which begins immediately after what I just played, and it's so slow and sultry compared to what you've just heard.
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And it's it's kind of a perfect scene, but it gets really intense.
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So I kind of think the trauma of watching the movie blocked the song from my memory.
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But then they played it on the podcast, and they only played about three minutes of the 11-minute song, and the movie only played about two minutes of it, and so far it's all instrumental.
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So at this point in my life, I've only heard those first three minutes, and I'm loving every second of those three minutes.
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Actually, I'm I'm kind of curious.
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Did you feel the first three minutes?
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Yeah, I mean it's it's crazy because like when you pull the song up, you're like, oh my god, this is an 11-minute song.
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Like this could have maybe been on our long song episode.
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Yep.
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But yeah, I really enjoyed the instrumental parts.
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Good, good.
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And I will say, I don't want to get ahead of myself, but my favorite part is the last 30 seconds.
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Oh, interesting.
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Okay, yeah, cool.
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And that's not because it's ending or anything, it's just because it's another song.
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Yeah.
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It's very like, it's a it's a cool part.
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I don't know, I don't know how to describe it, but I was like kind of I almost I actually thought it was another song, and I checked my phone to make sure it hadn't like switched to the next song, and I saw it was still this one.
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I was like, oh, okay, cool.
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Yeah, cool.
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So I'm loving every second of you know what we've heard.
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The first three minutes, it's just like you feel like you've been all taken on many different journeys, there's different movements, different time signatures.
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Very cool.
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And then at three minutes and 40 seconds, everything slows down and becomes quiet, and John Anderson's vocals enter.
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Love comes to new follow.
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Sharp distance.
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How can the wind with its arms around me?
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Lost all the way.
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And I think it's a completely different song, and I'm so disappointed, and I'm like, I guess this is prog rock.
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You know, I mentioned there's already been like a couple of signature changes in those first three minutes, so I'm trusting it, but those wistfuls like vocals just keep going on, and then the organ comes back with the drums and bass, and it gets kind of interesting again, but I don't care to hear more.
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I just want to listen to those first three minutes and 30 seconds over and over.
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So you did listen to the entire song.
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So I did you listen to it more than once?
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I'm curious.
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I did actually.
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The first time you shared it with me, I listened to it and then I listened to it again today in preparation.
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Okay.
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But I'm curious, yeah, do you once once the vocals come on, do you just start the song back over?
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Well, so okay, I was, I don't know, before I started prepping for this episode.
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So, like maybe the last few months I had been doing that.
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But, you know, I like to prepare thoroughly for the podcast.
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And yes, you do.
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I'm I'm listening to it, and I'm like, I'm just gonna listen to all of it.
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And dude, major plot twist here since we decided that this would be the theme.
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I've been listening to the song like very closely on a loop, and I'm starting to appreciate the vocals on the track.
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Okay, that is a plot twist.
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Yeah, no, and especially like as I listen to the other songs on the album and their other albums, like now it's a part of this this greater work, and I'm definitely appreciating like what this this piece, Heart of the Sunrise, is so yeah now.
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Um, before I talk a little bit about Yes, who by the way was formed in London in 1968, which I don't know, I was surprised about that.
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The the London.
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Because you thought they might have been American.
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They feel so American to me.
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Yeah, I don't disagree with you.
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Right.
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They feel like American, like of that same and I don't even know.
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Like, is Rush American?
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This is so embarrassing.
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I don't know anything about they're Canadian, but oh yeah, that's right.
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But yeah, I was I don't know, and and maybe because I'm thinking more of like 80s, yes, and that song Lonely Heart.
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Yeah, owner of the Lonely Heart, which I don't even know is them until today.
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No, and that's the thing, that's the only song I really associated with them, which is why the initial hatred or distrust maybe.
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But yeah, that and it's funny enough, that's like the only song that that ever reached number one on the Hot 100.
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But anyway, I want to acknowledge that we've previously discussed the self-indulgence of prog rock a little bit, you know, the long songs, the grandiosity, extended instrumentals, mystical lyrics.
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I think you like that though.
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Um, rock music trying to be symphonic.
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Yeah.
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We've we've definitely called out rush.
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We kind of maybe even have here, I don't know.
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And we've been called out more importantly.
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True.
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My dear friend Christina with a K, who is a huge Rush fan, gave us some grief about our Rush shit talking.
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So I was curious what she thought about yes, given that yes is a big influence of Rush.
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So sure enough, she loved them.
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And she's loved them since high school and has even seen them twice.
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And I've known her since college, and I did not know this about her.
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But honestly, the more I listen, I totally get it.
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So yeah, I no longer think that prog rock is a dirty word.
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Like most musical genres, there's a spectrum.
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And after listening to Yes's first five albums, and when I say I've listened to them, like I've listened closely and I have found the songs that I love.
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And there are seven songs.
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Oh my god.
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And they're all linked in the show notes.
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So please, everyone, I want you to check out because I do think there might be some yes naysayers who might reconsider after hearing these picks.
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Do you count yourself as a naysayer or not even a sayer because you didn't know enough about yes to begin with?
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I do just want to acknowledge how much I like yes naysayer.
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Yeah.
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Um, that was clever.
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Good job.
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Thank you.
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But I just like they've never really entered my consciousness.
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Like, literally, like I mentioned, I didn't know owner of a lonely heart was yes until today.
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Wow.
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And it's just kind of one of those bands that has eluded me.
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Yeah.
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Um, and I'm okay with that.
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But no, it's funny.
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This song, I mean, I like that you asked me to listen to this song, essentially, because I never would have.
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Yeah.
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And to me, it feels like a deep cut because you know, I'm not watching Buffalo 66 or whatever.
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But yeah, it's interesting.
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Okay, cool.
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Yeah, it's funny because I would have thought that maybe like your parents would be listening to this, or it would somehow it would be in your orbit, but that's kind of like I don't think so.
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They're probably gonna be mad when you sorry, your parents are too cool.
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Too cool too.
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I don't know though.
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Mom and dad, reach out.
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And they will.
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Anyway, so so of the songs that I really enjoy, Heart of the Sunrise is still my favorite, at least at this moment.
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And it was the final track on Fragile, Yes's fourth studio album, which was released at the end of 1971.
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And Fragile was the first album with the classic Yes lineup of Anderson, Squire, Howe, Bruford, and Wakeman.
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Wakeman, fun fact, played on Bowie's hunky dory.
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Oh, and he was in another UK band called The Strobs.
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Anyway, he came with this like very expansive keyboard rig and just kind of like pushed them to this like more expansive level of musicianship, maybe.
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But anyway, the album features four full band pieces, including another favorite roundabout and the more radio-friendly long-distance runaround.
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I feel like that one.
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I mean, if you're a kid in the 70s like I was, that was something that was on the radio.
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But again, different times, so yeah, I don't expect you to know that one.
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But you probably, if you hear it, you would know it.
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Okay, yeah.
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Yeah, you would.
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But then they have these five short solo showcases, and you get the collective power of the band, plus these, you know, idiosyncratic like songs that the musicians wrote, and they're not completely solos, but it showcases like each of their talents.
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And at the end of Heart of the Sunrise, there's a pause, like 30-second pause or so, and then it's actually we have Heaven, which I believe was Jon Anderson's solo piece that comes on at the end.
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Yeah.
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Wait, so that part that I said I liked.
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I think so, yes.
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Okay, yeah.
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So it's a different song.
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It's a different song on that album, yeah.
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Yeah, but it's a piece of that song.
00:17:06.799 --> 00:17:07.039
Okay.
00:17:07.200 --> 00:17:07.359
Yeah.
00:17:07.680 --> 00:17:08.559
Does that make sense?
00:17:08.960 --> 00:17:09.279
No.
00:17:09.599 --> 00:17:10.079
Really?
00:17:10.319 --> 00:17:10.559
Okay.
00:17:10.799 --> 00:17:11.279
Well, okay.
00:17:11.759 --> 00:17:23.920
So in this album, Fragile, they have like each of the the musicians has their own piece that they they write, and they're it's like it's some of it, it's not fully slowos, but they showcase their talents.
00:17:24.160 --> 00:17:27.440
And then the one that I can never remember the name of.
00:17:28.160 --> 00:17:28.960
I'm so bad.
00:17:29.039 --> 00:17:31.279
I can't, I just looked at the name, I can't remember it.
00:17:31.519 --> 00:17:32.559
Something about heaven?
00:17:32.720 --> 00:17:32.960
Yes.
00:17:33.200 --> 00:17:48.079
We have heaven is the third track on the first side of the album, and it's one minute and 39 seconds, written and performed almost entirely by John Anderson, but then it comes back at the end of Heart of the Sunrise.
00:17:48.400 --> 00:17:49.920
Okay, I get it now.
00:17:50.000 --> 00:17:50.480
I get it.
00:17:50.720 --> 00:17:53.200
I don't know why they picked that to tack on at the end.
00:17:53.519 --> 00:17:55.200
They're just mystical.
00:17:55.519 --> 00:17:56.319
Yeah, I know.
00:17:56.480 --> 00:17:58.400
I mean, maybe the heaven aspect of it.
00:17:59.039 --> 00:18:08.880
Anderson has said Heart of the Sunrise is about being lost in London with the city's energy and confusion contrasting with the desire for peace and human connection.
00:18:09.119 --> 00:18:15.519
Squire cited King Crimson's 21st century schizoid man as the main influence.
00:18:15.680 --> 00:18:16.480
Do you know the song?
00:18:16.720 --> 00:18:18.240
I feel like I've heard it, but I don't know it.
00:18:18.559 --> 00:18:19.039
It's so good.
00:18:19.279 --> 00:18:20.000
This is another one.
00:18:20.240 --> 00:18:20.400
Okay.
00:18:20.559 --> 00:18:25.279
I feel like King Crimson is the next band that I'm gonna be obsessed with.
00:18:25.519 --> 00:18:32.160
I was gonna say there was a time when we had talked about King Crimson, so then I was listening to some of their work.
00:18:32.559 --> 00:18:35.119
But yeah, it's not what I was expecting.
00:18:35.359 --> 00:18:43.039
Yeah, no, Robert Fripp, the guitarist, we we talked about him because he did the solo, the guitar solo, in Babies on Fire in the Brighton.
00:18:43.359 --> 00:18:43.599
That's right.
00:18:43.759 --> 00:18:43.920
Yep.
00:18:44.079 --> 00:18:44.319
Yeah.
00:18:44.559 --> 00:18:54.960
So anyway, and then Bruford, who left Yes in 72 to join King Crimson as their drummer, said the band had found its real template with Heart of the Sunrise.
00:18:55.200 --> 00:19:03.200
So the more I listened to Yes, I know it's the drums that are locking me in, especially in their version of America.
00:19:03.519 --> 00:19:07.279
Both Anderson and Squire loved Simon and Garfunkel.
00:19:07.599 --> 00:19:12.960
And on their 72 album, Close to the Edge, they do a cover of America.
00:19:13.200 --> 00:19:15.039
And truly, it's like no other.
00:19:15.200 --> 00:19:24.720
And it reminds me of the Canadian band, Angine de Poitrine, their song, Mata Ziklek, who we will talk about in a future episode.
00:19:24.799 --> 00:19:26.880
So I don't want to like get ahead of myself there.
00:19:27.119 --> 00:19:27.440
Okay.
00:19:27.599 --> 00:19:28.240
I'm excited.
00:19:28.400 --> 00:19:28.720
Yeah.
00:19:28.960 --> 00:19:31.599
But but again, it has to do with that like locking in.
00:19:32.720 --> 00:19:33.759
I know you love that.
00:19:34.000 --> 00:19:36.160
Yeah, it's very exciting to my brain.
00:19:36.400 --> 00:19:39.039
Anyway, I'm not saying I'm entering a new era here.
00:19:39.200 --> 00:19:43.519
Maybe I'm hinting at it though, but I'm definitely expanding my library.
00:19:43.680 --> 00:19:47.519
And who knows at this rate I might even get into rush.
00:19:47.680 --> 00:19:51.279
Um I'm just saying, this is your midlife crisis, like the progress.
00:19:51.680 --> 00:19:51.839
Right.
00:19:51.920 --> 00:19:52.960
It kind of feels like it.
00:19:53.200 --> 00:19:53.839
I agree.
00:19:54.000 --> 00:19:55.680
And I want to see where it goes.
00:19:55.839 --> 00:20:01.519
You start like following some prog rock band around on a stadium tour around the country.
00:20:01.839 --> 00:20:02.240
Let's see.
00:20:02.400 --> 00:20:03.920
I mean stranger things have happened.
00:20:04.079 --> 00:20:04.559
For sure.
00:20:04.880 --> 00:20:15.200
But I'm gonna stop here because there are so many rabbit holes that I'm afraid of going down, and I'm ready to say less and have you say a lot more about your pick.
00:20:15.279 --> 00:20:16.480
So take it away.
00:20:16.799 --> 00:20:19.359
What a fun journey this has been already.
00:20:19.519 --> 00:20:24.640
And I'm gonna stay in a similar era as you, maybe unsurprisingly.
00:20:24.880 --> 00:20:30.640
And the song I chose was most likely put on a Spotify created playlist for me.
00:20:30.799 --> 00:20:35.680
Because I had never heard, well, I had heard of but never listened to the Boomtown Rats.
00:20:35.759 --> 00:20:36.079
Yeah.
00:20:36.319 --> 00:20:40.000
And I actually didn't know that was Bob Geldof's band.
00:20:40.240 --> 00:20:43.839
Now I am so concerned that I'm gonna say Geldorf.
00:20:44.480 --> 00:20:53.599
Listener, sometimes we write notes for our prep, and I had written Geldorf over and over, even though I know it's Geldof, but now it's in my head.
00:20:53.680 --> 00:20:54.880
It's almost like Gandalf.
00:20:55.039 --> 00:20:55.279
I know.
00:20:55.440 --> 00:20:55.680
Okay.
00:20:55.839 --> 00:21:00.160
But I was familiar with Geldof by name only because I know he was like a public figure.
00:21:00.240 --> 00:21:09.519
And then weirdly, like he had a daughter named Peaches Geldof, who had some like blog house notoriety in the early aughts.
00:21:09.759 --> 00:21:11.119
But I was like, who is she?
00:21:11.200 --> 00:21:12.240
Who is Bob Geldof?
00:21:12.319 --> 00:21:12.799
I don't know.
00:21:13.039 --> 00:21:24.079
So anyway, this song comes on, and I hear this very gripping and like theatrical opening that starts with like that twinkly and then very serious piano playing and some hand claps.
00:21:24.160 --> 00:21:28.160
And I'm like, oh my gosh, like something is about to be so good.
00:21:28.799 --> 00:21:32.720
And then you hear Bob's voice and just yikes.
00:21:32.960 --> 00:21:38.960
Like it sounds like he's really congested and just powering through so they can get the song recorded that day.
00:21:39.200 --> 00:21:39.359
Oh.
00:21:39.599 --> 00:21:44.960
And I know that's mean, but I recently had a sinus infection, and that was like all I could hear.
00:21:45.119 --> 00:21:48.240
Like, because I had that congested gun, and then I'm hearing him, you know?
00:21:48.400 --> 00:21:48.720
Yeah, yeah.
00:21:49.440 --> 00:21:54.079
But I did listen to some more of their songs, and it turns out he just sings like that.
00:21:54.559 --> 00:21:56.400
So I'm gonna give a quick sample.
00:21:56.559 --> 00:21:59.839
Here's I don't like Mondays by the Boomtown Rats.
00:22:00.079 --> 00:22:04.000
From their third studio album, The Fine Art of Surfacing.
00:22:23.440 --> 00:22:27.359
Silicon Chip inside the head switched.
00:22:27.839 --> 00:22:29.119
What do you think, Christine?
00:22:29.279 --> 00:22:31.920
Were or are you a Boomtown Rats fan?
00:22:32.240 --> 00:22:37.200
You know, I was not, and I didn't realize this was Boomtown Rats.
00:22:37.359 --> 00:22:39.359
I knew who Bob Gildoff was.
00:22:39.440 --> 00:22:41.519
I knew who the Boomtown Rats were.
00:22:41.759 --> 00:22:48.960
It's funny because even just hearing the first like 25 seconds of the song, it's almost prog rocky.
00:22:49.279 --> 00:22:53.759
Like it's it's very like over the top and theatrical.
00:22:53.920 --> 00:22:55.680
So I'm definitely digging it.
00:22:55.920 --> 00:22:57.920
I'm not bothered by his voice though.
00:22:58.160 --> 00:22:58.400
Okay.
00:22:58.799 --> 00:22:59.200
Interesting.
00:22:59.440 --> 00:22:59.759
Yeah.
00:23:00.079 --> 00:23:05.119
I do think for me it's like the combination of the voice, and I don't know.
00:23:05.200 --> 00:23:10.240
We'll talk more about the song, but the song, it is a little bit just on the nose.
00:23:10.400 --> 00:23:12.079
Like anyway.
00:23:12.240 --> 00:23:12.480
Yeah.
00:23:12.720 --> 00:23:18.319
And since I never listened to the Boomtown Rats, I had to do a bit of research when I was preparing for this.
00:23:18.400 --> 00:23:23.200
And like I'm curious what you think because I get strong Elvis Costello vibes.
00:23:23.680 --> 00:23:24.240
Absolutely.
00:23:24.559 --> 00:23:25.759
In fact, I thought it was.
00:23:26.000 --> 00:23:26.240
Okay.
00:23:26.480 --> 00:23:26.559
Yeah.
00:23:27.119 --> 00:23:27.920
I thought the song was.
00:23:28.000 --> 00:23:28.240
Yeah.
00:23:28.480 --> 00:23:35.359
Because it almost felt like, oh my gosh, you have such a huge crush on Elvis Costello, and you're like making a band after them.
00:23:35.519 --> 00:23:41.680
But even I could hear like also some Rick Springfield and Bruce Springsteen based on some of their other work.
00:23:42.079 --> 00:23:44.880
Maybe not necessarily this song, but some of their other songs.
00:23:45.039 --> 00:23:45.359
Yeah.
00:23:45.599 --> 00:23:53.200
And like, even though I love New Wave and Bruce, which are not in the same category, this band just wasn't really doing it for me.
00:23:53.359 --> 00:23:53.599
Yeah.
00:23:53.839 --> 00:24:01.599
However, there was a fun song called Someone's Looking At You from the Same Album that has like very heavy Bowie vibes.
00:24:01.839 --> 00:24:04.480
So if you haven't heard that one, check it out.
00:24:04.559 --> 00:24:12.880
I'll link to it in our show notes because it does kind of just sound like, oh, they are hearing musicians that they like and maybe emulating that.
00:24:13.039 --> 00:24:13.359
Yeah.
00:24:13.519 --> 00:24:17.119
That's that's what I got a little bit of from bouncing around.
00:24:17.200 --> 00:24:17.440
Yep.
00:24:17.680 --> 00:24:19.759
Maybe like kind of like our friend Shuggy.
00:24:20.240 --> 00:24:20.720
Exactly.
00:24:20.799 --> 00:24:21.119
Yeah.
00:24:21.599 --> 00:24:24.400
Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, whatever.
00:24:24.720 --> 00:24:29.920
But yeah, I just this was not a band that I was like really wanting to go like on your yes pilgrimage.
00:24:30.160 --> 00:24:33.200
I was not about to do the same thing for the Boomtown Rats.
00:24:33.519 --> 00:24:38.079
But I do want to talk a little bit about the band before I get into the song and the inspiration.
00:24:38.400 --> 00:24:42.079
The band originated in Dublin in 1975.
00:24:42.319 --> 00:24:50.559
And while they're labeled New Wave, while I was researching this band, I stumbled across a new to me term Ted's or Teddy Boys.
00:24:50.720 --> 00:24:52.559
Is this something you're familiar with?
00:24:53.039 --> 00:24:56.400
Are they people that have a fetish for teddy bears?
00:24:58.079 --> 00:24:59.519
Such a good guess.
00:25:00.160 --> 00:25:08.720
So it's like I guess back in the like maybe kind of late 70s, like when punk was emerging.
00:25:09.200 --> 00:25:11.519
These well, the TEDs had been around for a while.
00:25:11.680 --> 00:25:15.519
I found a blog called Punk 77, which is really interesting.
00:25:15.839 --> 00:25:34.160
And according to Punk 77, TEDs or Teddy Boys quote, date back to the late 40s when, following the war, a generation of youngsters with money to burn appropriated Edwardian Teddy clothing style currently in fashion on Seville Row and cranked it up a notch, end quote.
00:25:34.400 --> 00:25:45.920
So this was like, I'm sure you've kind of seen it, like it was the very kind of, I don't want to say posh, but like the peg leg pants, like the special kind of loafers.
00:25:46.160 --> 00:25:56.799
They had these hairstyles that were called DA, which stands for ducks arse, because their hair was like done in a in a duck-ass kind of way.
00:25:56.960 --> 00:25:57.119
Yeah.
00:25:57.279 --> 00:25:57.839
Okay, I could see.
00:25:58.079 --> 00:25:59.279
Which I'm obsessed with.
00:25:59.920 --> 00:26:03.519
But apparently the punks and the Teds were at odds with each other.
00:26:03.759 --> 00:26:16.559
And apparently the Teds did not like that the punks were kind of dressing weird or like they didn't like, I think some of the gender fluidity that was happening, the safety pins, things like that.
00:26:16.640 --> 00:26:28.559
And they also didn't like the music because the Teds really loved American rock music and were kind of idolizing, you know, maybe like the Elvis look or kind of even older than that, Buddy, think Buddy Holly, things like that.
00:26:29.039 --> 00:26:39.440
And I don't think the Boomtown Rats are either punk or Teds, but it's interesting that this rivalry kind of actually inspired violence between the two groups.
00:26:39.599 --> 00:26:49.680
And I only mention this because on that same Punk 77 blog I read about Bob Geldof, he was punched in the face during a set that the Boomtown Rats were playing.
00:26:50.000 --> 00:26:54.880
And I think it was because someone perceived them to be punk.
00:26:54.960 --> 00:26:59.839
They had this song where they like kind of say, kick, you know, kick your whoever's next to you, or whatever.
00:27:00.000 --> 00:27:02.640
And people did start kind of moshing and whatnot.
00:27:02.960 --> 00:27:06.480
So it's just like such an odd, this was totally new to me, the TEDs.
00:27:06.559 --> 00:27:11.119
So I was like, Oh, I know about punk, I know about new wave, I know about all this.
00:27:11.200 --> 00:27:13.920
So I was kind of excited to learn about a new thing.
00:27:14.160 --> 00:27:18.480
Uh, but I'll link to both of those articles so folks who are interested can dive in.
00:27:18.799 --> 00:27:30.079
But essentially, the Boomtown Rats, they did end up with two UK top 40 singles, Rat Trap, which was the first rock song by an Irish band to reach number one on the UK charts.
00:27:30.319 --> 00:27:32.000
And I don't like Mondays.
00:27:32.240 --> 00:27:45.839
And while they did have some other success, including Geldoff having a starring role in Pink Floyd's The Wall, and he co-wrote the charity song, Do They Know It's Christmas, which was performed by Band-Aid.
00:27:45.920 --> 00:27:46.400
I'm sure you remember.
00:27:46.640 --> 00:27:47.599
Oh, yes, yes.
00:27:47.839 --> 00:27:52.160
And as a former Christian, that song always annoyed me.
00:27:52.400 --> 00:27:55.039
Like, not everyone celebrates Christmas.
00:27:55.200 --> 00:27:59.200
And I am glad they raised 8 million pounds for the famine in Ethiopia.
00:27:59.279 --> 00:28:01.680
But I it feels so white savior to me.
00:28:01.920 --> 00:28:02.480
Oh, yeah.
00:28:02.640 --> 00:28:04.960
What do you remember from that time, like when it came out?
00:28:05.200 --> 00:28:09.039
I mean, okay, so so this is what 19 like 85, right?
00:28:10.160 --> 00:28:10.960
Or was it earlier?
00:28:11.200 --> 00:28:11.440
Yeah.
00:28:11.599 --> 00:28:14.480
I think I think it's around 80, let's just say mid eighties.
00:28:14.960 --> 00:28:19.920
But I don't honestly, I don't have vivid memories of of it the concert.
00:28:20.000 --> 00:28:26.880
I remember like live aid was a big deal, kind of like the other like various concerts that were raising money.
00:28:27.119 --> 00:28:27.440
Yeah, yeah.
00:28:27.759 --> 00:28:32.400
I don't know, honestly, if I had like if I was as cynical about it as I am now.
00:28:32.640 --> 00:28:33.440
Like I doubt it.
00:28:33.519 --> 00:28:35.839
I was like what 12 years old.
00:28:36.240 --> 00:28:36.559
Sure.
00:28:37.039 --> 00:28:45.599
Well, I mean, I could be, but I I think that it's I truly I don't have much of a memory of how I felt about it at the time.
00:28:45.759 --> 00:28:54.640
I mean, definitely now I'm like, yeah, there's some shit there that probably needs examining, and and yeah, maybe don't do that again.
00:28:54.799 --> 00:29:03.680
But it was funny to watch the video because it's like Bono and George Michael and Boy George, and they're all singing about like the Christmas.
00:29:04.079 --> 00:29:05.359
Yeah, and David Bowie too, right?
00:29:05.440 --> 00:29:06.880
I feel like Bowie.
00:29:07.200 --> 00:29:07.359
Yep.
00:29:07.519 --> 00:29:08.000
You know what?
00:29:08.160 --> 00:29:10.079
It's just like it was the time.
00:29:10.240 --> 00:29:10.480
Yep.
00:29:10.640 --> 00:29:11.519
It was a different time.
00:29:11.680 --> 00:29:11.920
Yep.
00:29:12.079 --> 00:29:13.759
But anyway, back to the song.
00:29:14.000 --> 00:29:22.480
Uh, if you're a true crime uh admirer, not admirer, no, if you are aware of and know about true crime, yeah.
00:29:22.559 --> 00:29:28.400
If you're a true crime sicko like me, um, you might be familiar with the premise for this song.
00:29:28.559 --> 00:29:36.319
So the quote, I don't like Mondays, comes from a tragic shooting that took place on Monday, January 29th, 1979, in San Diego.
00:29:36.559 --> 00:29:50.000
Brenda Spencer, who is a 16-year-old girl who lived in a house across the street from an elementary school, began shooting from her house at children who were waiting for the principal to open the gates to Grover Cleveland Elementary School.
00:29:50.160 --> 00:29:51.440
Yeah, it's so dark.
00:29:51.759 --> 00:29:59.200
She ended up killing the principal, Burton Rag, and the custodian Mike Sukar, as he tried to pull a student to safety.
00:29:59.359 --> 00:30:02.960
And eight children and a police officer were shot and injured.
00:30:03.119 --> 00:30:07.440
But I mean, the two people who died were the principal and the custodian.
00:30:07.680 --> 00:30:09.920
So, what does that have to do with the song?
00:30:10.160 --> 00:30:14.400
When asked why she committed the crime, Brenda said, I don't like Mondays.
00:30:14.480 --> 00:30:15.680
This livens up the day.
00:30:15.839 --> 00:30:16.160
Oh wow.
00:30:16.480 --> 00:30:16.880
Tragic.
00:30:17.039 --> 00:30:17.279
Yeah.
00:30:17.599 --> 00:30:22.319
And they can say no reason, no reason why we can do it.
00:30:30.960 --> 00:30:35.039
Don't land and don't land.
00:30:42.400 --> 00:30:43.839
The whole day down.
00:30:44.480 --> 00:30:46.640
Geldoff had been in the US.
00:30:46.799 --> 00:30:54.960
He was actually in Atlanta on like, I think a college campus tour, or like, you know, a tour, and he read about the crime.
00:30:55.279 --> 00:31:01.680
And like many others, he was shocked by the senseless nature of the crime and the lack of remorse from the killer.
00:31:01.839 --> 00:31:04.880
Her flippant, I don't like Mondays, shocked the nation.
00:31:05.039 --> 00:31:10.000
And as it turned out, this was the first mass shooting at an elementary school.
00:31:10.240 --> 00:31:18.559
And while we're sadly much more used to seeing mass violence in schools today, I can't imagine what it was like back then to see this in the news.
00:31:18.640 --> 00:31:21.920
It must have really had a deep impact on him.
00:31:22.880 --> 00:31:31.920
And I am curious, Christine, considering you are from Southern California and might have been somewhat aware of this at the time.
00:31:32.079 --> 00:31:34.160
Do you remember when the shooting happened?
00:31:34.480 --> 00:31:36.880
I have no recollection of this at all.
00:31:37.200 --> 00:31:38.079
Oh, yeah.
00:31:38.480 --> 00:31:43.920
I mean, it's, you know, you're a kid, you're the news is on, but then what am I doing?
00:31:44.240 --> 00:31:45.519
I'm not watching the news.
00:31:45.759 --> 00:31:46.720
So I don't know.
00:31:46.799 --> 00:31:53.039
I like truly, I I, you know, clearly I blocked trauma, but I it's possible I just was not aware of this.
00:31:53.279 --> 00:31:56.559
And had you heard of this like before today?
00:31:56.720 --> 00:31:57.519
No shooting.
00:31:57.920 --> 00:31:59.039
Oh wow, interesting.
00:31:59.759 --> 00:32:00.559
I'm sheltered.
00:32:01.039 --> 00:32:03.839
No, I I think it might say more about the song.
00:32:05.200 --> 00:32:16.400
But yeah, speaking of which, the song did not make the top 40 in the US, but it still received extensive radio airplay outside of the San Diego area, despite the Spencer family's efforts to prevent it.
00:32:16.960 --> 00:32:24.720
Supposedly, Geldoff claims that Brenda Spencer wrote to him saying she's glad that he wrote the song because it made her famous.
00:32:24.880 --> 00:32:25.279
Oh wow.
00:32:25.519 --> 00:32:28.559
But Spencer actually denies ever contacting him.
00:32:28.799 --> 00:32:37.440
So it's TBD, what the truth is, but still it said that Geldoff regrets writing the song because of this letter.
00:32:37.759 --> 00:32:42.079
And who's to say maybe he should have said less after all?
00:32:42.319 --> 00:32:43.680
Oh, sick.
00:32:44.240 --> 00:32:44.480
Wow.
00:32:44.559 --> 00:32:45.759
Yes, I know.
00:32:46.400 --> 00:33:00.720
Well, thank you for for that and and sharing a piece of California history that I was not at all familiar with and a song that I really I knew, I just didn't know was Bob Geldoff in the boomtown rap.
00:33:01.279 --> 00:33:02.559
Or Bob Geldorf.
00:33:02.640 --> 00:33:03.680
Or Geldor.
00:33:04.400 --> 00:33:04.880
You never know.
00:33:05.119 --> 00:33:06.240
There's gotta be one of those.
00:33:06.640 --> 00:33:19.039
Well, in keeping with the theme, my unsolicited advice for today, if I may just get to the point, and and I hope to follow it here, is to say less.
00:33:19.359 --> 00:33:24.559
It's okay not to have an opinion about something, it's okay not to have a fully formed thought.
00:33:24.799 --> 00:33:28.160
And it's okay to sit in silence and just be.
00:33:28.480 --> 00:33:29.119
Say less.
00:33:29.359 --> 00:33:30.799
I'm glad you agree, Christina.
00:33:30.960 --> 00:33:31.839
Advice over.
00:33:32.079 --> 00:33:36.640
So, what will you be delighting us with for our next episode?
00:33:36.960 --> 00:33:38.720
Let's get quotidian.
00:33:38.960 --> 00:33:40.799
Thanks for listening to Stereothematica.
00:33:40.880 --> 00:33:44.880
If you like what you're hearing, please consider a review, rating, or sharing with a friend.
00:33:45.119 --> 00:33:50.559
And follow us on Instagram at Stereothematica, where you can share your say less songs.
00:33:50.720 --> 00:33:54.480
We've also got our infinite Spotify playlist linked in our show notes.
00:33:54.640 --> 00:33:58.480
And visit stereothematica.com for more fun.
00:00:04.080 --> 00:00:05.120
I'm Christine.
00:00:05.360 --> 00:00:06.480
And I'm Christina.
00:00:06.719 --> 00:00:09.279
In 2024, I moved to Texas from LA.
00:00:09.359 --> 00:00:14.640
And to keep in touch, Christine and I started a weekly game where we each pick a song that fits a chosen theme.
00:00:14.880 --> 00:00:21.039
This game deepened our understanding of each other and the songs that shape us, inspiring the podcast you're listening to now.
00:00:21.280 --> 00:00:27.600
Each week we share our pics, swap stories, and dig into tracks you might love and a lot of the time have never heard of.
00:00:27.760 --> 00:00:32.399
Welcome to Stereothematica, your favorite atypical music podcast.
00:00:35.439 --> 00:00:36.320
Hey Christina.
00:00:36.560 --> 00:00:37.520
Oh hi, Christine.
00:00:37.759 --> 00:00:46.880
Did you know that I only recently learned that say less is something the kids say and that it essentially means that you agree?
00:00:47.039 --> 00:00:47.920
Did you know this?
00:00:48.159 --> 00:00:54.640
I did know this, and this only furthers a theory that's circulating that I'm not from this planet.
00:00:54.880 --> 00:00:55.679
I am not.
00:00:55.840 --> 00:00:57.119
I said it loud and clear.
00:00:57.200 --> 00:00:58.640
I'm from Pulowski.
00:00:59.119 --> 00:01:00.960
Don't you work with a lot of Gen Z?
00:01:01.200 --> 00:01:02.799
Don't they be like, say less?
00:01:03.039 --> 00:01:03.679
Well, you know what?
00:01:03.840 --> 00:01:06.159
That's what I I that's why it was a surprise to me.
00:01:06.239 --> 00:01:08.480
It was actually Thomas who told me this.
00:01:08.879 --> 00:01:11.680
And yeah, I've I've never heard this one.
00:01:11.840 --> 00:01:18.079
I've heard other things like TDLR, like actually not just writing it, but saying it.
00:01:18.319 --> 00:01:18.799
Saying it out.
00:01:19.200 --> 00:01:20.239
That's kind of cool.
00:01:20.799 --> 00:01:21.359
I actually liked it.
00:01:21.680 --> 00:01:22.079
You like it?
00:01:22.239 --> 00:01:22.400
Okay.
00:01:22.640 --> 00:01:26.159
T T L D R too long didn't read TLDR.
00:01:26.239 --> 00:01:26.319
Yeah.
00:01:26.480 --> 00:01:33.120
See, the thing with those that they don't roll off the tongue, it's hard for me to remember which way which way the letters go.
00:01:33.439 --> 00:01:34.079
I could see that.
00:01:34.239 --> 00:01:36.560
Like I would say T R D L.
00:01:36.959 --> 00:01:37.280
Yeah.
00:01:37.680 --> 00:01:38.159
Mess it up.
00:01:38.319 --> 00:01:40.079
Well, like and now I'm a hundred years old.
00:01:40.319 --> 00:01:40.560
I know.
00:01:40.640 --> 00:01:44.239
And then the band that you talked about a couple weeks ago, NRBQ.
00:01:44.560 --> 00:01:44.959
Oh yeah.
00:01:45.200 --> 00:01:45.840
Is that it?
00:01:46.079 --> 00:01:46.480
It is.
00:01:46.719 --> 00:01:47.359
Okay, cool.
00:01:47.519 --> 00:01:47.760
Yeah.
00:01:47.920 --> 00:01:48.879
Anyway, magnet.
00:01:49.120 --> 00:01:49.280
Yeah.
00:01:49.519 --> 00:01:50.640
Yeah, that was a good one.
00:01:50.799 --> 00:01:52.079
But say less.
00:01:52.319 --> 00:01:54.079
I think it's a fun one.
00:01:54.799 --> 00:01:56.560
I'm I'm getting to like it.
00:01:56.799 --> 00:01:57.680
It's funny.
00:01:57.840 --> 00:02:08.560
I I imagine like a lot of parents, especially, are like parroting their kids and saying less, but then they might like not get exactly what it means.
00:02:08.879 --> 00:02:11.280
And I would be probably one of those people.
00:02:11.599 --> 00:02:17.360
But despite what some people might think, say less is not something that Gen Z started.
00:02:17.520 --> 00:02:32.719
Of course, it is actually according to the idiom's website, the phrase developed within African American vernacular English, otherwise known as A-A-V-E, where it meant I understand no further explanation is necessary.
00:02:33.439 --> 00:02:34.319
So yeah.
00:02:34.560 --> 00:02:37.680
Of course, for this week's theme, I'm being literal.
00:02:37.840 --> 00:02:41.199
And I hope I was clear when I propose it to you.
00:02:41.360 --> 00:02:45.680
We are talking about songs you really like until the singing starts.
00:02:45.840 --> 00:02:49.520
Therefore, say less or even say nothing at all.
00:02:50.080 --> 00:02:55.360
Aside from today's pick, do you have any other songs you feel this way about?
00:02:55.759 --> 00:03:08.159
No, and actually this was a hard theme for me because I think usually if a song has words and I don't like the way that they're sung, I don't like the song.
00:03:08.960 --> 00:03:09.280
Yeah.
00:03:09.520 --> 00:03:19.840
So I yeah, I I I will not lie, I struggled with this theme, even picking one song because it was not something that I could immediately be like, oh, okay, I got it.
00:03:20.000 --> 00:03:20.560
What about you?
00:03:20.639 --> 00:03:22.319
I mean, do you have a learning list?
00:03:22.639 --> 00:03:31.199
I don't have a list, and I feel very similarly to you, except it was actually another song that made me think of this theme.
00:03:31.360 --> 00:03:32.400
It came on.
00:03:32.560 --> 00:03:38.240
I was listening to music and the band's Stage Fright, which is such a good song.
00:03:38.400 --> 00:03:49.039
And I'm talking about the band, the band not the band that we're talking about today, but but the band that scored with Bob Dylan featured in the last waltz blog.
00:03:49.120 --> 00:03:49.599
You you get it.
00:03:49.840 --> 00:03:50.400
Oh, yeah, yeah.
00:03:50.639 --> 00:03:52.240
But do you know the song Stage Fright?
00:03:52.400 --> 00:03:56.639
No, and that's funny that you say that because I was trying to think of it as you mentioned it.
00:03:56.800 --> 00:03:58.000
How does it go?
00:03:58.240 --> 00:04:00.240
It's oh god, I can't do it.
00:04:00.400 --> 00:04:07.520
Um, but it has a such a great opening with piano, and it's just like it feels like it's gonna be such a powerful song.
00:04:07.840 --> 00:04:11.680
And then Rick Denko comes on with the focus.
00:04:12.719 --> 00:04:20.800
He's usually, but not always, but yes, and um suddenly it feels like a cute song, like like something that would be on Sesame Street.
00:04:21.360 --> 00:04:25.120
And it's not that I start to hate it, but like it just loses its edge.
00:04:25.279 --> 00:04:27.439
So uh I'm just like yeah.
00:04:27.680 --> 00:04:34.879
But um, then I remembered an even better song when once the vocals came in, I was like, what the fuck?
00:04:35.279 --> 00:04:44.000
And before we get to that, let's listen to the nonverbal wizardry of the opening of Yes's Heart of the Sunrise.
00:05:19.839 --> 00:05:33.839
You've got Chris Squire as the overlord on the bass, Steve Howe shredding like a motherfucker, Bill Bruford with machine-like intensity on the drums, and Rick Wakeman doing some pretty groovy organ meistering.
00:05:34.160 --> 00:05:41.920
It makes me want to bang my head, nervously tap my foot, and play air guitar and air drums with Reckless Abandon.
00:05:42.079 --> 00:05:47.920
And I have been doing that for the past week and a half while driving on the 405 to and from work.
00:05:48.800 --> 00:05:50.160
What a visual image.
00:05:50.319 --> 00:05:50.879
I love it.
00:05:51.199 --> 00:05:55.439
I now, did you think someone hacked my phone when you got this song?
00:05:55.600 --> 00:05:58.959
Or is this just me being predictably unpredictable?
00:05:59.279 --> 00:06:04.240
Well, you know, you are someone who is constantly surprising me.
00:06:04.399 --> 00:06:12.079
So this was one of those surprises, just because I never would have thought we would be talking about yes on this podcast.
00:06:12.319 --> 00:06:12.639
Yes.
00:06:13.360 --> 00:06:16.639
So I was surprised.
00:06:16.720 --> 00:06:18.079
I didn't think anyone hacked your phone.
00:06:18.240 --> 00:06:20.800
I was just like, what has she got up her sleeve?
00:06:21.040 --> 00:06:21.680
Oh, good.
00:06:21.839 --> 00:06:22.319
Yeah.
00:06:22.560 --> 00:06:23.759
No, it's it's weird.
00:06:23.920 --> 00:06:36.800
Every once in a while, one of these songs comes to me, and I'm like, it it gets under my skin, and I just I just don't know what to do with myself, except like be, I don't know, like a 16-year-old boy.
00:06:37.439 --> 00:06:38.319
Oh, perfect.
00:06:38.560 --> 00:06:45.040
But I had completely forgotten about this song until I listened to the Deep Cuts Lost and Found podcast a few months ago.
00:06:45.360 --> 00:06:45.600
Nice.
00:06:45.759 --> 00:06:55.040
And and they were doing an episode on music and movies, and one of the guys, Chris, of course, like I feel like everyone in my orbit has some form of the name Christ.
00:06:55.680 --> 00:07:03.920
Um well, he shared this very song, which was featured in Vincent Gallo's 1998 film, Buffalo 66.
00:07:05.040 --> 00:07:06.639
I know you're not a Gallo fan.
00:07:06.959 --> 00:07:08.160
It's just that Gallo's scary.
00:07:08.720 --> 00:07:10.319
He's like so scary looking.
00:07:10.639 --> 00:07:15.519
Yeah, and this is not even his most scary movie or creepy.
00:07:15.759 --> 00:07:17.040
Fair was that Brown Bunny?
00:07:17.199 --> 00:07:18.720
Oh, I've no no, never seen it.
00:07:18.879 --> 00:07:20.959
Okay, yeah, not suitable for work.
00:07:22.240 --> 00:07:31.680
So in in the movie, this the song comes on toward the end when Gallo's character enters a strip club and he's about to kill the kicker from the Buffalo Bills.
00:07:32.079 --> 00:07:33.120
Long story there.
00:07:33.920 --> 00:07:45.519
But the scene opens with Squire's bass solo, which begins immediately after what I just played, and it's so slow and sultry compared to what you've just heard.
00:07:45.839 --> 00:07:50.959
And it's it's kind of a perfect scene, but it gets really intense.
00:07:51.600 --> 00:07:57.839
So I kind of think the trauma of watching the movie blocked the song from my memory.
00:07:58.639 --> 00:08:09.759
But then they played it on the podcast, and they only played about three minutes of the 11-minute song, and the movie only played about two minutes of it, and so far it's all instrumental.
00:08:09.920 --> 00:08:17.759
So at this point in my life, I've only heard those first three minutes, and I'm loving every second of those three minutes.
00:08:17.920 --> 00:08:19.759
Actually, I'm I'm kind of curious.
00:08:19.920 --> 00:08:22.079
Did you feel the first three minutes?
00:08:22.879 --> 00:08:29.759
Yeah, I mean it's it's crazy because like when you pull the song up, you're like, oh my god, this is an 11-minute song.
00:08:30.000 --> 00:08:33.919
Like this could have maybe been on our long song episode.
00:08:34.080 --> 00:08:34.320
Yep.
00:08:34.559 --> 00:08:36.879
But yeah, I really enjoyed the instrumental parts.
00:08:37.200 --> 00:08:37.519
Good, good.
00:08:37.759 --> 00:08:42.559
And I will say, I don't want to get ahead of myself, but my favorite part is the last 30 seconds.
00:08:42.720 --> 00:08:43.440
Oh, interesting.
00:08:43.600 --> 00:08:44.559
Okay, yeah, cool.
00:08:44.720 --> 00:08:48.399
And that's not because it's ending or anything, it's just because it's another song.
00:08:48.639 --> 00:08:49.120
Yeah.
00:08:49.759 --> 00:08:52.080
It's very like, it's a it's a cool part.
00:08:52.240 --> 00:09:01.600
I don't know, I don't know how to describe it, but I was like kind of I almost I actually thought it was another song, and I checked my phone to make sure it hadn't like switched to the next song, and I saw it was still this one.
00:09:01.679 --> 00:09:02.480
I was like, oh, okay, cool.
00:09:02.639 --> 00:09:03.279
Yeah, cool.
00:09:03.519 --> 00:09:06.399
So I'm loving every second of you know what we've heard.
00:09:06.480 --> 00:09:15.279
The first three minutes, it's just like you feel like you've been all taken on many different journeys, there's different movements, different time signatures.
00:09:15.600 --> 00:09:16.399
Very cool.
00:09:16.559 --> 00:09:25.039
And then at three minutes and 40 seconds, everything slows down and becomes quiet, and John Anderson's vocals enter.
00:09:25.360 --> 00:09:28.639
Love comes to new follow.
00:09:39.759 --> 00:09:42.879
Sharp distance.
00:09:44.799 --> 00:09:50.639
How can the wind with its arms around me?
00:09:54.080 --> 00:09:55.200
Lost all the way.
00:09:55.600 --> 00:10:02.159
And I think it's a completely different song, and I'm so disappointed, and I'm like, I guess this is prog rock.
00:10:02.480 --> 00:10:20.080
You know, I mentioned there's already been like a couple of signature changes in those first three minutes, so I'm trusting it, but those wistfuls like vocals just keep going on, and then the organ comes back with the drums and bass, and it gets kind of interesting again, but I don't care to hear more.
00:10:20.159 --> 00:10:25.120
I just want to listen to those first three minutes and 30 seconds over and over.
00:10:25.600 --> 00:10:28.159
So you did listen to the entire song.
00:10:28.399 --> 00:10:30.559
So I did you listen to it more than once?
00:10:30.639 --> 00:10:31.039
I'm curious.
00:10:31.600 --> 00:10:32.320
I did actually.
00:10:32.399 --> 00:10:37.120
The first time you shared it with me, I listened to it and then I listened to it again today in preparation.
00:10:37.360 --> 00:10:37.600
Okay.
00:10:37.759 --> 00:10:43.840
But I'm curious, yeah, do you once once the vocals come on, do you just start the song back over?
00:10:44.159 --> 00:10:49.039
Well, so okay, I was, I don't know, before I started prepping for this episode.
00:10:49.200 --> 00:10:52.399
So, like maybe the last few months I had been doing that.
00:10:53.279 --> 00:10:57.039
But, you know, I like to prepare thoroughly for the podcast.
00:10:57.120 --> 00:10:58.000
And yes, you do.
00:10:58.320 --> 00:11:01.679
I'm I'm listening to it, and I'm like, I'm just gonna listen to all of it.
00:11:01.919 --> 00:11:07.919
And dude, major plot twist here since we decided that this would be the theme.
00:11:08.159 --> 00:11:16.559
I've been listening to the song like very closely on a loop, and I'm starting to appreciate the vocals on the track.
00:11:17.200 --> 00:11:18.559
Okay, that is a plot twist.
00:11:18.720 --> 00:11:36.960
Yeah, no, and especially like as I listen to the other songs on the album and their other albums, like now it's a part of this this greater work, and I'm definitely appreciating like what this this piece, Heart of the Sunrise, is so yeah now.
00:11:37.039 --> 00:11:46.320
Um, before I talk a little bit about Yes, who by the way was formed in London in 1968, which I don't know, I was surprised about that.
00:11:46.480 --> 00:11:46.960
The the London.
00:11:47.440 --> 00:11:49.360
Because you thought they might have been American.
00:11:49.600 --> 00:11:51.120
They feel so American to me.
00:11:51.360 --> 00:11:52.799
Yeah, I don't disagree with you.
00:11:52.879 --> 00:11:53.039
Right.
00:11:53.519 --> 00:11:58.879
They feel like American, like of that same and I don't even know.
00:11:58.960 --> 00:12:00.159
Like, is Rush American?
00:12:00.240 --> 00:12:01.039
This is so embarrassing.
00:12:01.279 --> 00:12:04.879
I don't know anything about they're Canadian, but oh yeah, that's right.
00:12:05.120 --> 00:12:13.360
But yeah, I was I don't know, and and maybe because I'm thinking more of like 80s, yes, and that song Lonely Heart.
00:12:13.440 --> 00:12:17.200
Yeah, owner of the Lonely Heart, which I don't even know is them until today.
00:12:17.600 --> 00:12:26.080
No, and that's the thing, that's the only song I really associated with them, which is why the initial hatred or distrust maybe.
00:12:26.320 --> 00:12:32.559
But yeah, that and it's funny enough, that's like the only song that that ever reached number one on the Hot 100.
00:12:32.799 --> 00:12:47.279
But anyway, I want to acknowledge that we've previously discussed the self-indulgence of prog rock a little bit, you know, the long songs, the grandiosity, extended instrumentals, mystical lyrics.
00:12:47.519 --> 00:12:48.799
I think you like that though.
00:12:49.360 --> 00:12:51.840
Um, rock music trying to be symphonic.
00:12:52.000 --> 00:12:52.240
Yeah.
00:12:52.480 --> 00:12:54.240
We've we've definitely called out rush.
00:12:54.320 --> 00:12:56.559
We kind of maybe even have here, I don't know.
00:12:56.799 --> 00:12:58.639
And we've been called out more importantly.
00:12:58.879 --> 00:12:59.120
True.
00:12:59.360 --> 00:13:08.320
My dear friend Christina with a K, who is a huge Rush fan, gave us some grief about our Rush shit talking.
00:13:08.480 --> 00:13:15.039
So I was curious what she thought about yes, given that yes is a big influence of Rush.
00:13:15.360 --> 00:13:17.440
So sure enough, she loved them.
00:13:17.759 --> 00:13:21.600
And she's loved them since high school and has even seen them twice.
00:13:21.919 --> 00:13:25.840
And I've known her since college, and I did not know this about her.
00:13:27.120 --> 00:13:30.080
But honestly, the more I listen, I totally get it.
00:13:30.559 --> 00:13:34.000
So yeah, I no longer think that prog rock is a dirty word.
00:13:34.240 --> 00:13:37.360
Like most musical genres, there's a spectrum.
00:13:37.440 --> 00:13:47.279
And after listening to Yes's first five albums, and when I say I've listened to them, like I've listened closely and I have found the songs that I love.
00:13:47.440 --> 00:13:49.200
And there are seven songs.
00:13:49.519 --> 00:13:50.080
Oh my god.
00:13:50.320 --> 00:13:51.840
And they're all linked in the show notes.
00:13:51.919 --> 00:14:01.679
So please, everyone, I want you to check out because I do think there might be some yes naysayers who might reconsider after hearing these picks.
00:14:01.919 --> 00:14:09.519
Do you count yourself as a naysayer or not even a sayer because you didn't know enough about yes to begin with?
00:14:09.840 --> 00:14:12.799
I do just want to acknowledge how much I like yes naysayer.
00:14:13.039 --> 00:14:13.200
Yeah.
00:14:13.600 --> 00:14:14.879
Um, that was clever.
00:14:15.360 --> 00:14:15.679
Good job.
00:14:16.000 --> 00:14:16.320
Thank you.
00:14:16.639 --> 00:14:20.559
But I just like they've never really entered my consciousness.
00:14:20.799 --> 00:14:25.759
Like, literally, like I mentioned, I didn't know owner of a lonely heart was yes until today.
00:14:26.080 --> 00:14:26.320
Wow.
00:14:26.480 --> 00:14:29.200
And it's just kind of one of those bands that has eluded me.
00:14:29.360 --> 00:14:29.600
Yeah.
00:14:29.759 --> 00:14:31.600
Um, and I'm okay with that.
00:14:31.759 --> 00:14:32.960
But no, it's funny.
00:14:33.279 --> 00:14:39.600
This song, I mean, I like that you asked me to listen to this song, essentially, because I never would have.
00:14:39.759 --> 00:14:39.840
Yeah.
00:14:40.080 --> 00:14:44.240
And to me, it feels like a deep cut because you know, I'm not watching Buffalo 66 or whatever.
00:14:44.799 --> 00:14:46.080
But yeah, it's interesting.
00:14:46.320 --> 00:14:46.879
Okay, cool.
00:14:47.039 --> 00:14:58.480
Yeah, it's funny because I would have thought that maybe like your parents would be listening to this, or it would somehow it would be in your orbit, but that's kind of like I don't think so.
00:14:58.799 --> 00:15:02.320
They're probably gonna be mad when you sorry, your parents are too cool.
00:15:02.879 --> 00:15:03.600
Too cool too.
00:15:03.840 --> 00:15:04.480
I don't know though.
00:15:04.639 --> 00:15:06.240
Mom and dad, reach out.
00:15:07.279 --> 00:15:08.000
And they will.
00:15:08.320 --> 00:15:17.679
Anyway, so so of the songs that I really enjoy, Heart of the Sunrise is still my favorite, at least at this moment.
00:15:18.000 --> 00:15:26.559
And it was the final track on Fragile, Yes's fourth studio album, which was released at the end of 1971.
00:15:26.799 --> 00:15:34.799
And Fragile was the first album with the classic Yes lineup of Anderson, Squire, Howe, Bruford, and Wakeman.
00:15:35.279 --> 00:15:39.600
Wakeman, fun fact, played on Bowie's hunky dory.
00:15:39.840 --> 00:15:43.440
Oh, and he was in another UK band called The Strobs.
00:15:43.600 --> 00:15:56.320
Anyway, he came with this like very expansive keyboard rig and just kind of like pushed them to this like more expansive level of musicianship, maybe.
00:15:56.960 --> 00:16:06.879
But anyway, the album features four full band pieces, including another favorite roundabout and the more radio-friendly long-distance runaround.
00:16:07.039 --> 00:16:08.720
I feel like that one.
00:16:08.879 --> 00:16:13.840
I mean, if you're a kid in the 70s like I was, that was something that was on the radio.
00:16:14.240 --> 00:16:17.440
But again, different times, so yeah, I don't expect you to know that one.
00:16:17.679 --> 00:16:20.080
But you probably, if you hear it, you would know it.
00:16:20.639 --> 00:16:21.200
Okay, yeah.
00:16:21.360 --> 00:16:22.159
Yeah, you would.
00:16:22.399 --> 00:16:40.000
But then they have these five short solo showcases, and you get the collective power of the band, plus these, you know, idiosyncratic like songs that the musicians wrote, and they're not completely solos, but it showcases like each of their talents.
00:16:40.559 --> 00:16:55.840
And at the end of Heart of the Sunrise, there's a pause, like 30-second pause or so, and then it's actually we have Heaven, which I believe was Jon Anderson's solo piece that comes on at the end.
00:16:56.000 --> 00:16:56.320
Yeah.
00:16:56.559 --> 00:16:58.399
Wait, so that part that I said I liked.
00:16:58.799 --> 00:16:59.840
I think so, yes.
00:17:00.000 --> 00:17:00.559
Okay, yeah.
00:17:00.879 --> 00:17:02.000
So it's a different song.
00:17:02.240 --> 00:17:03.840
It's a different song on that album, yeah.
00:17:04.559 --> 00:17:06.559
Yeah, but it's a piece of that song.
00:17:06.799 --> 00:17:07.039
Okay.
00:17:07.200 --> 00:17:07.359
Yeah.
00:17:07.680 --> 00:17:08.559
Does that make sense?
00:17:08.960 --> 00:17:09.279
No.
00:17:09.599 --> 00:17:10.079
Really?
00:17:10.319 --> 00:17:10.559
Okay.
00:17:10.799 --> 00:17:11.279
Well, okay.
00:17:11.759 --> 00:17:23.920
So in this album, Fragile, they have like each of the the musicians has their own piece that they they write, and they're it's like it's some of it, it's not fully slowos, but they showcase their talents.
00:17:24.160 --> 00:17:27.440
And then the one that I can never remember the name of.
00:17:28.160 --> 00:17:28.960
I'm so bad.
00:17:29.039 --> 00:17:31.279
I can't, I just looked at the name, I can't remember it.
00:17:31.519 --> 00:17:32.559
Something about heaven?
00:17:32.720 --> 00:17:32.960
Yes.
00:17:33.200 --> 00:17:48.079
We have heaven is the third track on the first side of the album, and it's one minute and 39 seconds, written and performed almost entirely by John Anderson, but then it comes back at the end of Heart of the Sunrise.
00:17:48.400 --> 00:17:49.920
Okay, I get it now.
00:17:50.000 --> 00:17:50.480
I get it.
00:17:50.720 --> 00:17:53.200
I don't know why they picked that to tack on at the end.
00:17:53.519 --> 00:17:55.200
They're just mystical.
00:17:55.519 --> 00:17:56.319
Yeah, I know.
00:17:56.480 --> 00:17:58.400
I mean, maybe the heaven aspect of it.
00:17:59.039 --> 00:18:08.880
Anderson has said Heart of the Sunrise is about being lost in London with the city's energy and confusion contrasting with the desire for peace and human connection.
00:18:09.119 --> 00:18:15.519
Squire cited King Crimson's 21st century schizoid man as the main influence.
00:18:15.680 --> 00:18:16.480
Do you know the song?
00:18:16.720 --> 00:18:18.240
I feel like I've heard it, but I don't know it.
00:18:18.559 --> 00:18:19.039
It's so good.
00:18:19.279 --> 00:18:20.000
This is another one.
00:18:20.240 --> 00:18:20.400
Okay.
00:18:20.559 --> 00:18:25.279
I feel like King Crimson is the next band that I'm gonna be obsessed with.
00:18:25.519 --> 00:18:32.160
I was gonna say there was a time when we had talked about King Crimson, so then I was listening to some of their work.
00:18:32.559 --> 00:18:35.119
But yeah, it's not what I was expecting.
00:18:35.359 --> 00:18:43.039
Yeah, no, Robert Fripp, the guitarist, we we talked about him because he did the solo, the guitar solo, in Babies on Fire in the Brighton.
00:18:43.359 --> 00:18:43.599
That's right.
00:18:43.759 --> 00:18:43.920
Yep.
00:18:44.079 --> 00:18:44.319
Yeah.
00:18:44.559 --> 00:18:54.960
So anyway, and then Bruford, who left Yes in 72 to join King Crimson as their drummer, said the band had found its real template with Heart of the Sunrise.
00:18:55.200 --> 00:19:03.200
So the more I listened to Yes, I know it's the drums that are locking me in, especially in their version of America.
00:19:03.519 --> 00:19:07.279
Both Anderson and Squire loved Simon and Garfunkel.
00:19:07.599 --> 00:19:12.960
And on their 72 album, Close to the Edge, they do a cover of America.
00:19:13.200 --> 00:19:15.039
And truly, it's like no other.
00:19:15.200 --> 00:19:24.720
And it reminds me of the Canadian band, Angine de Poitrine, their song, Mata Ziklek, who we will talk about in a future episode.
00:19:24.799 --> 00:19:26.880
So I don't want to like get ahead of myself there.
00:19:27.119 --> 00:19:27.440
Okay.
00:19:27.599 --> 00:19:28.240
I'm excited.
00:19:28.400 --> 00:19:28.720
Yeah.
00:19:28.960 --> 00:19:31.599
But but again, it has to do with that like locking in.
00:19:32.720 --> 00:19:33.759
I know you love that.
00:19:34.000 --> 00:19:36.160
Yeah, it's very exciting to my brain.
00:19:36.400 --> 00:19:39.039
Anyway, I'm not saying I'm entering a new era here.
00:19:39.200 --> 00:19:43.519
Maybe I'm hinting at it though, but I'm definitely expanding my library.
00:19:43.680 --> 00:19:47.519
And who knows at this rate I might even get into rush.
00:19:47.680 --> 00:19:51.279
Um I'm just saying, this is your midlife crisis, like the progress.
00:19:51.680 --> 00:19:51.839
Right.
00:19:51.920 --> 00:19:52.960
It kind of feels like it.
00:19:53.200 --> 00:19:53.839
I agree.
00:19:54.000 --> 00:19:55.680
And I want to see where it goes.
00:19:55.839 --> 00:20:01.519
You start like following some prog rock band around on a stadium tour around the country.
00:20:01.839 --> 00:20:02.240
Let's see.
00:20:02.400 --> 00:20:03.920
I mean stranger things have happened.
00:20:04.079 --> 00:20:04.559
For sure.
00:20:04.880 --> 00:20:15.200
But I'm gonna stop here because there are so many rabbit holes that I'm afraid of going down, and I'm ready to say less and have you say a lot more about your pick.
00:20:15.279 --> 00:20:16.480
So take it away.
00:20:16.799 --> 00:20:19.359
What a fun journey this has been already.
00:20:19.519 --> 00:20:24.640
And I'm gonna stay in a similar era as you, maybe unsurprisingly.
00:20:24.880 --> 00:20:30.640
And the song I chose was most likely put on a Spotify created playlist for me.
00:20:30.799 --> 00:20:35.680
Because I had never heard, well, I had heard of but never listened to the Boomtown Rats.
00:20:35.759 --> 00:20:36.079
Yeah.
00:20:36.319 --> 00:20:40.000
And I actually didn't know that was Bob Geldof's band.
00:20:40.240 --> 00:20:43.839
Now I am so concerned that I'm gonna say Geldorf.
00:20:44.480 --> 00:20:53.599
Listener, sometimes we write notes for our prep, and I had written Geldorf over and over, even though I know it's Geldof, but now it's in my head.
00:20:53.680 --> 00:20:54.880
It's almost like Gandalf.
00:20:55.039 --> 00:20:55.279
I know.
00:20:55.440 --> 00:20:55.680
Okay.
00:20:55.839 --> 00:21:00.160
But I was familiar with Geldof by name only because I know he was like a public figure.
00:21:00.240 --> 00:21:09.519
And then weirdly, like he had a daughter named Peaches Geldof, who had some like blog house notoriety in the early aughts.
00:21:09.759 --> 00:21:11.119
But I was like, who is she?
00:21:11.200 --> 00:21:12.240
Who is Bob Geldof?
00:21:12.319 --> 00:21:12.799
I don't know.
00:21:13.039 --> 00:21:24.079
So anyway, this song comes on, and I hear this very gripping and like theatrical opening that starts with like that twinkly and then very serious piano playing and some hand claps.
00:21:24.160 --> 00:21:28.160
And I'm like, oh my gosh, like something is about to be so good.
00:21:28.799 --> 00:21:32.720
And then you hear Bob's voice and just yikes.
00:21:32.960 --> 00:21:38.960
Like it sounds like he's really congested and just powering through so they can get the song recorded that day.
00:21:39.200 --> 00:21:39.359
Oh.
00:21:39.599 --> 00:21:44.960
And I know that's mean, but I recently had a sinus infection, and that was like all I could hear.
00:21:45.119 --> 00:21:48.240
Like, because I had that congested gun, and then I'm hearing him, you know?
00:21:48.400 --> 00:21:48.720
Yeah, yeah.
00:21:49.440 --> 00:21:54.079
But I did listen to some more of their songs, and it turns out he just sings like that.
00:21:54.559 --> 00:21:56.400
So I'm gonna give a quick sample.
00:21:56.559 --> 00:21:59.839
Here's I don't like Mondays by the Boomtown Rats.
00:22:00.079 --> 00:22:04.000
From their third studio album, The Fine Art of Surfacing.
00:22:23.440 --> 00:22:27.359
Silicon Chip inside the head switched.
00:22:27.839 --> 00:22:29.119
What do you think, Christine?
00:22:29.279 --> 00:22:31.920
Were or are you a Boomtown Rats fan?
00:22:32.240 --> 00:22:37.200
You know, I was not, and I didn't realize this was Boomtown Rats.
00:22:37.359 --> 00:22:39.359
I knew who Bob Gildoff was.
00:22:39.440 --> 00:22:41.519
I knew who the Boomtown Rats were.
00:22:41.759 --> 00:22:48.960
It's funny because even just hearing the first like 25 seconds of the song, it's almost prog rocky.
00:22:49.279 --> 00:22:53.759
Like it's it's very like over the top and theatrical.
00:22:53.920 --> 00:22:55.680
So I'm definitely digging it.
00:22:55.920 --> 00:22:57.920
I'm not bothered by his voice though.
00:22:58.160 --> 00:22:58.400
Okay.
00:22:58.799 --> 00:22:59.200
Interesting.
00:22:59.440 --> 00:22:59.759
Yeah.
00:23:00.079 --> 00:23:05.119
I do think for me it's like the combination of the voice, and I don't know.
00:23:05.200 --> 00:23:10.240
We'll talk more about the song, but the song, it is a little bit just on the nose.
00:23:10.400 --> 00:23:12.079
Like anyway.
00:23:12.240 --> 00:23:12.480
Yeah.
00:23:12.720 --> 00:23:18.319
And since I never listened to the Boomtown Rats, I had to do a bit of research when I was preparing for this.
00:23:18.400 --> 00:23:23.200
And like I'm curious what you think because I get strong Elvis Costello vibes.
00:23:23.680 --> 00:23:24.240
Absolutely.
00:23:24.559 --> 00:23:25.759
In fact, I thought it was.
00:23:26.000 --> 00:23:26.240
Okay.
00:23:26.480 --> 00:23:26.559
Yeah.
00:23:27.119 --> 00:23:27.920
I thought the song was.
00:23:28.000 --> 00:23:28.240
Yeah.
00:23:28.480 --> 00:23:35.359
Because it almost felt like, oh my gosh, you have such a huge crush on Elvis Costello, and you're like making a band after them.
00:23:35.519 --> 00:23:41.680
But even I could hear like also some Rick Springfield and Bruce Springsteen based on some of their other work.
00:23:42.079 --> 00:23:44.880
Maybe not necessarily this song, but some of their other songs.
00:23:45.039 --> 00:23:45.359
Yeah.
00:23:45.599 --> 00:23:53.200
And like, even though I love New Wave and Bruce, which are not in the same category, this band just wasn't really doing it for me.
00:23:53.359 --> 00:23:53.599
Yeah.
00:23:53.839 --> 00:24:01.599
However, there was a fun song called Someone's Looking At You from the Same Album that has like very heavy Bowie vibes.
00:24:01.839 --> 00:24:04.480
So if you haven't heard that one, check it out.
00:24:04.559 --> 00:24:12.880
I'll link to it in our show notes because it does kind of just sound like, oh, they are hearing musicians that they like and maybe emulating that.
00:24:13.039 --> 00:24:13.359
Yeah.
00:24:13.519 --> 00:24:17.119
That's that's what I got a little bit of from bouncing around.
00:24:17.200 --> 00:24:17.440
Yep.
00:24:17.680 --> 00:24:19.759
Maybe like kind of like our friend Shuggy.
00:24:20.240 --> 00:24:20.720
Exactly.
00:24:20.799 --> 00:24:21.119
Yeah.
00:24:21.599 --> 00:24:24.400
Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, whatever.
00:24:24.720 --> 00:24:29.920
But yeah, I just this was not a band that I was like really wanting to go like on your yes pilgrimage.
00:24:30.160 --> 00:24:33.200
I was not about to do the same thing for the Boomtown Rats.
00:24:33.519 --> 00:24:38.079
But I do want to talk a little bit about the band before I get into the song and the inspiration.
00:24:38.400 --> 00:24:42.079
The band originated in Dublin in 1975.
00:24:42.319 --> 00:24:50.559
And while they're labeled New Wave, while I was researching this band, I stumbled across a new to me term Ted's or Teddy Boys.
00:24:50.720 --> 00:24:52.559
Is this something you're familiar with?
00:24:53.039 --> 00:24:56.400
Are they people that have a fetish for teddy bears?
00:24:58.079 --> 00:24:59.519
Such a good guess.
00:25:00.160 --> 00:25:08.720
So it's like I guess back in the like maybe kind of late 70s, like when punk was emerging.
00:25:09.200 --> 00:25:11.519
These well, the TEDs had been around for a while.
00:25:11.680 --> 00:25:15.519
I found a blog called Punk 77, which is really interesting.
00:25:15.839 --> 00:25:34.160
And according to Punk 77, TEDs or Teddy Boys quote, date back to the late 40s when, following the war, a generation of youngsters with money to burn appropriated Edwardian Teddy clothing style currently in fashion on Seville Row and cranked it up a notch, end quote.
00:25:34.400 --> 00:25:45.920
So this was like, I'm sure you've kind of seen it, like it was the very kind of, I don't want to say posh, but like the peg leg pants, like the special kind of loafers.
00:25:46.160 --> 00:25:56.799
They had these hairstyles that were called DA, which stands for ducks arse, because their hair was like done in a in a duck-ass kind of way.
00:25:56.960 --> 00:25:57.119
Yeah.
00:25:57.279 --> 00:25:57.839
Okay, I could see.
00:25:58.079 --> 00:25:59.279
Which I'm obsessed with.
00:25:59.920 --> 00:26:03.519
But apparently the punks and the Teds were at odds with each other.
00:26:03.759 --> 00:26:16.559
And apparently the Teds did not like that the punks were kind of dressing weird or like they didn't like, I think some of the gender fluidity that was happening, the safety pins, things like that.
00:26:16.640 --> 00:26:28.559
And they also didn't like the music because the Teds really loved American rock music and were kind of idolizing, you know, maybe like the Elvis look or kind of even older than that, Buddy, think Buddy Holly, things like that.
00:26:29.039 --> 00:26:39.440
And I don't think the Boomtown Rats are either punk or Teds, but it's interesting that this rivalry kind of actually inspired violence between the two groups.
00:26:39.599 --> 00:26:49.680
And I only mention this because on that same Punk 77 blog I read about Bob Geldof, he was punched in the face during a set that the Boomtown Rats were playing.
00:26:50.000 --> 00:26:54.880
And I think it was because someone perceived them to be punk.
00:26:54.960 --> 00:26:59.839
They had this song where they like kind of say, kick, you know, kick your whoever's next to you, or whatever.
00:27:00.000 --> 00:27:02.640
And people did start kind of moshing and whatnot.
00:27:02.960 --> 00:27:06.480
So it's just like such an odd, this was totally new to me, the TEDs.
00:27:06.559 --> 00:27:11.119
So I was like, Oh, I know about punk, I know about new wave, I know about all this.
00:27:11.200 --> 00:27:13.920
So I was kind of excited to learn about a new thing.
00:27:14.160 --> 00:27:18.480
Uh, but I'll link to both of those articles so folks who are interested can dive in.
00:27:18.799 --> 00:27:30.079
But essentially, the Boomtown Rats, they did end up with two UK top 40 singles, Rat Trap, which was the first rock song by an Irish band to reach number one on the UK charts.
00:27:30.319 --> 00:27:32.000
And I don't like Mondays.
00:27:32.240 --> 00:27:45.839
And while they did have some other success, including Geldoff having a starring role in Pink Floyd's The Wall, and he co-wrote the charity song, Do They Know It's Christmas, which was performed by Band-Aid.
00:27:45.920 --> 00:27:46.400
I'm sure you remember.
00:27:46.640 --> 00:27:47.599
Oh, yes, yes.
00:27:47.839 --> 00:27:52.160
And as a former Christian, that song always annoyed me.
00:27:52.400 --> 00:27:55.039
Like, not everyone celebrates Christmas.
00:27:55.200 --> 00:27:59.200
And I am glad they raised 8 million pounds for the famine in Ethiopia.
00:27:59.279 --> 00:28:01.680
But I it feels so white savior to me.
00:28:01.920 --> 00:28:02.480
Oh, yeah.
00:28:02.640 --> 00:28:04.960
What do you remember from that time, like when it came out?
00:28:05.200 --> 00:28:09.039
I mean, okay, so so this is what 19 like 85, right?
00:28:10.160 --> 00:28:10.960
Or was it earlier?
00:28:11.200 --> 00:28:11.440
Yeah.
00:28:11.599 --> 00:28:14.480
I think I think it's around 80, let's just say mid eighties.
00:28:14.960 --> 00:28:19.920
But I don't honestly, I don't have vivid memories of of it the concert.
00:28:20.000 --> 00:28:26.880
I remember like live aid was a big deal, kind of like the other like various concerts that were raising money.
00:28:27.119 --> 00:28:27.440
Yeah, yeah.
00:28:27.759 --> 00:28:32.400
I don't know, honestly, if I had like if I was as cynical about it as I am now.
00:28:32.640 --> 00:28:33.440
Like I doubt it.
00:28:33.519 --> 00:28:35.839
I was like what 12 years old.
00:28:36.240 --> 00:28:36.559
Sure.
00:28:37.039 --> 00:28:45.599
Well, I mean, I could be, but I I think that it's I truly I don't have much of a memory of how I felt about it at the time.
00:28:45.759 --> 00:28:54.640
I mean, definitely now I'm like, yeah, there's some shit there that probably needs examining, and and yeah, maybe don't do that again.
00:28:54.799 --> 00:29:03.680
But it was funny to watch the video because it's like Bono and George Michael and Boy George, and they're all singing about like the Christmas.
00:29:04.079 --> 00:29:05.359
Yeah, and David Bowie too, right?
00:29:05.440 --> 00:29:06.880
I feel like Bowie.
00:29:07.200 --> 00:29:07.359
Yep.
00:29:07.519 --> 00:29:08.000
You know what?
00:29:08.160 --> 00:29:10.079
It's just like it was the time.
00:29:10.240 --> 00:29:10.480
Yep.
00:29:10.640 --> 00:29:11.519
It was a different time.
00:29:11.680 --> 00:29:11.920
Yep.
00:29:12.079 --> 00:29:13.759
But anyway, back to the song.
00:29:14.000 --> 00:29:22.480
Uh, if you're a true crime uh admirer, not admirer, no, if you are aware of and know about true crime, yeah.
00:29:22.559 --> 00:29:28.400
If you're a true crime sicko like me, um, you might be familiar with the premise for this song.
00:29:28.559 --> 00:29:36.319
So the quote, I don't like Mondays, comes from a tragic shooting that took place on Monday, January 29th, 1979, in San Diego.
00:29:36.559 --> 00:29:50.000
Brenda Spencer, who is a 16-year-old girl who lived in a house across the street from an elementary school, began shooting from her house at children who were waiting for the principal to open the gates to Grover Cleveland Elementary School.
00:29:50.160 --> 00:29:51.440
Yeah, it's so dark.
00:29:51.759 --> 00:29:59.200
She ended up killing the principal, Burton Rag, and the custodian Mike Sukar, as he tried to pull a student to safety.
00:29:59.359 --> 00:30:02.960
And eight children and a police officer were shot and injured.
00:30:03.119 --> 00:30:07.440
But I mean, the two people who died were the principal and the custodian.
00:30:07.680 --> 00:30:09.920
So, what does that have to do with the song?
00:30:10.160 --> 00:30:14.400
When asked why she committed the crime, Brenda said, I don't like Mondays.
00:30:14.480 --> 00:30:15.680
This livens up the day.
00:30:15.839 --> 00:30:16.160
Oh wow.
00:30:16.480 --> 00:30:16.880
Tragic.
00:30:17.039 --> 00:30:17.279
Yeah.
00:30:17.599 --> 00:30:22.319
And they can say no reason, no reason why we can do it.
00:30:30.960 --> 00:30:35.039
Don't land and don't land.
00:30:42.400 --> 00:30:43.839
The whole day down.
00:30:44.480 --> 00:30:46.640
Geldoff had been in the US.
00:30:46.799 --> 00:30:54.960
He was actually in Atlanta on like, I think a college campus tour, or like, you know, a tour, and he read about the crime.
00:30:55.279 --> 00:31:01.680
And like many others, he was shocked by the senseless nature of the crime and the lack of remorse from the killer.
00:31:01.839 --> 00:31:04.880
Her flippant, I don't like Mondays, shocked the nation.
00:31:05.039 --> 00:31:10.000
And as it turned out, this was the first mass shooting at an elementary school.
00:31:10.240 --> 00:31:18.559
And while we're sadly much more used to seeing mass violence in schools today, I can't imagine what it was like back then to see this in the news.
00:31:18.640 --> 00:31:21.920
It must have really had a deep impact on him.
00:31:22.880 --> 00:31:31.920
And I am curious, Christine, considering you are from Southern California and might have been somewhat aware of this at the time.
00:31:32.079 --> 00:31:34.160
Do you remember when the shooting happened?
00:31:34.480 --> 00:31:36.880
I have no recollection of this at all.
00:31:37.200 --> 00:31:38.079
Oh, yeah.
00:31:38.480 --> 00:31:43.920
I mean, it's, you know, you're a kid, you're the news is on, but then what am I doing?
00:31:44.240 --> 00:31:45.519
I'm not watching the news.
00:31:45.759 --> 00:31:46.720
So I don't know.
00:31:46.799 --> 00:31:53.039
I like truly, I I, you know, clearly I blocked trauma, but I it's possible I just was not aware of this.
00:31:53.279 --> 00:31:56.559
And had you heard of this like before today?
00:31:56.720 --> 00:31:57.519
No shooting.
00:31:57.920 --> 00:31:59.039
Oh wow, interesting.
00:31:59.759 --> 00:32:00.559
I'm sheltered.
00:32:01.039 --> 00:32:03.839
No, I I think it might say more about the song.
00:32:05.200 --> 00:32:16.400
But yeah, speaking of which, the song did not make the top 40 in the US, but it still received extensive radio airplay outside of the San Diego area, despite the Spencer family's efforts to prevent it.
00:32:16.960 --> 00:32:24.720
Supposedly, Geldoff claims that Brenda Spencer wrote to him saying she's glad that he wrote the song because it made her famous.
00:32:24.880 --> 00:32:25.279
Oh wow.
00:32:25.519 --> 00:32:28.559
But Spencer actually denies ever contacting him.
00:32:28.799 --> 00:32:37.440
So it's TBD, what the truth is, but still it said that Geldoff regrets writing the song because of this letter.
00:32:37.759 --> 00:32:42.079
And who's to say maybe he should have said less after all?
00:32:42.319 --> 00:32:43.680
Oh, sick.
00:32:44.240 --> 00:32:44.480
Wow.
00:32:44.559 --> 00:32:45.759
Yes, I know.
00:32:46.400 --> 00:33:00.720
Well, thank you for for that and and sharing a piece of California history that I was not at all familiar with and a song that I really I knew, I just didn't know was Bob Geldoff in the boomtown rap.
00:33:01.279 --> 00:33:02.559
Or Bob Geldorf.
00:33:02.640 --> 00:33:03.680
Or Geldor.
00:33:04.400 --> 00:33:04.880
You never know.
00:33:05.119 --> 00:33:06.240
There's gotta be one of those.
00:33:06.640 --> 00:33:19.039
Well, in keeping with the theme, my unsolicited advice for today, if I may just get to the point, and and I hope to follow it here, is to say less.
00:33:19.359 --> 00:33:24.559
It's okay not to have an opinion about something, it's okay not to have a fully formed thought.
00:33:24.799 --> 00:33:28.160
And it's okay to sit in silence and just be.
00:33:28.480 --> 00:33:29.119
Say less.
00:33:29.359 --> 00:33:30.799
I'm glad you agree, Christina.
00:33:30.960 --> 00:33:31.839
Advice over.
00:33:32.079 --> 00:33:36.640
So, what will you be delighting us with for our next episode?
00:33:36.960 --> 00:33:38.720
Let's get quotidian.
00:33:38.960 --> 00:33:40.799
Thanks for listening to Stereothematica.
00:33:40.880 --> 00:33:44.880
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00:33:45.119 --> 00:33:50.559
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00:33:50.720 --> 00:33:54.480
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00:33:54.640 --> 00:33:58.480
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