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Best tunes of 1993: #8 James “Laid”

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“This bed is on fire with passionate love, the neighbours complain about the noises above, but she only comes when she’s on top”

If there’s one song by Manchester-based alternative rock band, James, that you’re bound to know, it’s “Laid”. The title track off their 1993 album is their biggest hit outside of England, especially here in North America where it gained popularity when it was used for the trailers for the first two “American pie” films. Before that, though, it was featured on the first “Frosh” compilation, wildly popular here in Canada in the late 90s, so pretty much anyone of a certain age who was in university or college here around that time knows these first couple of lines quite well. And for sure, they shouted along with them on a packed dance floor or three.

For myself, I’ve been a huge fan of the band since the early 90s and still follow them closely today, as you might already have guessed if you’ve been around these parts before. “Laid” was actually the first album I owned by the band. I picked it up on CD from BMG* after seeing the video for an early single called “Sit down” on MuchMusic’s “CityLimits” and deciding to check them out further. That the album title was provocative didn’t even occur to me until I received my order and I noticed the band photo on the cover and its members’ various states of cross-dress. “Laid”, both the album and the song, became quick favourites of mine, with repeat listens and repeat listens, and remain favourites and see a lot of repeat listens, still, to this day.

“Dressed me up in women’s clothes
Messed around with gender roles
Line my eyes and call me pretty”

The only problem I really have with “Laid” (the song) is that it leaves you wanting more. It is way too short, coming in at just over two and a half minutes. Other than that, it’s pure pop perfection. Staccato and popping drumming, a wooly wall of sound instrumentation care of the massive band and Brian Eno’s intricate production, and, of course, the inimitable vocals of frontman Tim Booth. The words are a fun and hilarious companion to the dance-ready tune, a real floor filler, and creator of good times and good memories.

Go ahead now. Press play, turn it up, and I dare you to not to stomp your feet wildly to that rhythm, wave your arms above your head with abandon, and howl the title “Laid” loudly along with Booth at each chorus break.

*Those who know, know.

For the rest of the Best tunes of 1993 list, click here.

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Best tunes of 2013: #25 Cayucas “A summer thing”

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Tomorrow is the last day of August. And although, technically, there’s still three more weeks left of the season, the passing from August into September always feels like summer is coming to an end. This is why the timing is perfect for this song to pop up and for me to share this very post. “A summer thing” by Cayucas was a great summer song back in 2013 but it could also be perfect for every summer since.

“The summer’s starting to drift away but you don’t want to let go.
Now you’re watching the rainfall by yourself from your bedroom window.
And I’ll be checking the mailbox for the postcards you said you’d send,
Telling me that you might stop by in the winter for the weekend.”

Zach Yudlin was originally making music by himself in the early 2010s under the moniker Oregon Bike Trails. By 2012, though, he had enlisted his twin brother Ben to the project, changing its name to Cayucas, and then, they signed to Secret Canadian Records. They’ve release four albums in all, the latter two were self-released but the only one I am really all that familiar with is the debut, 2013’s “Bigfoot”. It’s 9 tracks and just a smidge over 30 minutes of sunshine and surf and nostalgia for California, where of course, the brothers call home.

The real gem of the album is track four. “A summer thing” sounds unabashedly like The Beach Boys. Harmonies and yellow light filtered through a kaleidoscope and a music box playing “Sloop John B” on repeat. A bopping bass line and zipper-like guitars and ticky tacky drums. Even the most jaded of music fans or Beach Boys purists couldn’t hate this song. It’s faithful in its blue-eyed wonder and wistfully drenched in memories. It’s a song you just want to restart before it comes to an end because maybe, just maybe, it might delay that cold weather just a little bit longer.

For the rest of the Best tunes of 2013 list, click here.

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Best tunes of 2003: #16 The White Stripes “Girl, you have no faith in medicine”

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I first came across The White Stripes with their third album, 2001’s “White blood cells”. The primary single from that album, “Fell in love with a girl”, came in at number three on my Best tunes list for that year. And I wrote in that very post about their blues-influenced garage rock and their contribution to the early 2000s indie rock resurgence.

For an encore, Jack and Meg White put together what is arguably their best album, critically and commercially, as a group. Recorded in two weeks in the spring of 2002, purportedly without the help of any technology newer than the early 1960s, “Elephant”, their fourth, found favour with a lot of people, placed the group in the hearts and minds of everyone, each player recognized for their instrumental prowess and the album on many best of the year, decade, and century lists. Personally, I found it delightful from many angles, my favourite track a moving target from day to day while I was initially discovering it, finding in it much to pick apart and unpack. In the end, though, it wasn’t their two big tracks “The hardest button to button” or “Seven nation army”*, nor the Burt Bacharach/Dusty Springfield cover “I just don’t know what to do with myself”** but the penultimate track on the album, “Girl, you have no faith in medicine”, that got me going every time.

Interestingly, this track was recorded for and was supposed to appear on “White blood cells”. Meg wasn’t a fan of it, however, so it was pulled and shelved until Jack lobbied hard for it a couple of year later. A lyric that Meg really took offence to was pulled and the track was re-recorded for “Elephant”. Jack being Jack, he used to tease Meg with it when they played it live and changed the lyrics to ‘Meg, you have no faith in medicine’. I don’t know and really don’t want to investigate what the offending lyric was because if Meg thought it misogynistic, I don’t want it to ruin the song for me.

Indeed, the words in this song have always little import for me. Some have talked about its placebo references and linked it to relationships and others have marvelled how White managed to string the word ‘Acetaminophen’ into the lyrics. I just think the song rocks, and that, in an album full of bangers. Meg’s anger with the skins is palpable and Jack is unrelenting on the guitars. He howls and screams breathlessly and dares us all to keep up with him. Sometimes it’s just this energy that you need to feel and absorb and that will get you through.

*The latter of which is played every night in some stadium or arena somewhere on earth.

**Though it is quite fantastic also.

For the rest of the Best tunes of 2003 list, click here.