Throwbacks

WFMU's Beware of the Blog has done it again, dredging up another nearly forgotten record that deserves a wider audience for its weirdness alone. "Once You Understand" by Think actually made it into the Top 40, peaking during this week in 1972. In the jaded new millennium, we listen to this sort of cheese and wait for a punchline that makes the whole thing funny. But there's no punchline, unless you count the manipulative gut-punch at the end, and it ain't funny. Thirty-five years ago, "Once You Understand" seemed oh-so-relevant. Today, it's just passive-aggressive. The message of "Once You Understand" is that if you parents are too hard on your kids, if you don't respect their lifestyle choices, if you don't let them be who they are, then they'll turn to dope and kill themselves and it'll be all your fault.

Beware of the Blog also notes that the suburban Detroit home of ?, lead singer of the fabled ? and the Mysterians, burned down recently. Click for more here.

Elsewhere around the blogs, we're adding Art Decade, "specializing in music of the 'long seventies' (1966-1984)," to the blogroll on the right. You'll like it. The latest post features one of Rod Stewart's earliest singles, and a fine one: "Handbags and Gladrags." Whenever I hear it, I imagine Rod asking his producer if they could use a full orchestra, only to be told it's too expensive. So Rod keeps asking for smaller combinations of instruments, but is repeatedly told it's still too expensive. So he finally asks, "How much for just the oboe?"

I've also been enjoying Throwback Thursdays at Instrumental Analysis. Today's features the Police.

Since I got into music blogs, Jefitoblog has always been a favorite, and it's been insanely great lately. Go there to read and listen for yourself. One post I particularly want to mention: Around the first of the year, I made passing mention of my dislike for smooth jazz, and I'm pleased to know that Jefito plans to make fun of it regularly. However, today he took a whack at Bob James. My general dislike for smooth jazz has heretofore contained an exemption for Bob James--although it'll be harder for me to maintain it after today.