So just two songs ago on this list, I posted about how I always connected the song in question, The Boo Radleys’ “Lazarus”, with drunkenly dancing at Toronto’s The Dance Cave back in the 90s and here’s another one I remember dancing to a heck of a lot back in the day. And though I definitely remember it from The Dance Cave as well, it is one of York University’s campus pubs that sticks with me when it comes to “Homeboy” by Adorable… and it’s mostly the fault of a young lady.
The pub in question was Jac’s in the basement of Norman Bethune College*, which I discovered early into my third year of “higher education” had alternative music and dancing on Friday nights, and the young lady was one of many who had caught my attention, but whom I later learned was very much interested in me. She requested the DJ play “Homeboy” and when he did, I recognized** the tune from the radio and joined her on the dance floor. I asked after the artist and it was only then that I connected the song with the group that also performed “Sunshine smile” and she added that it was her older brother that introduced her to the song. And just before I lost myself in the song, she laughingly whispered the word ‘Rage’ in my ear: an ongoing joke between the two of us about whether a song needed to be angry to be worth listening to.
Not long after that, I was out at my favourite music store at the time, Penguin Music, and found a copy of Adorable’s debut album, “Against perfection” on the used CD racks and snatched it up. It became one of my favourite new finds, spending a lot of time in my player. It would be years before I ever heard any of the group’s other work and this, thanks to the magic of the internet. Their largely forgotten sophomore (and only other released) long player was also quite good but fell victim to a music press that was keen to move on from the baggy and shoegaze scenes to which Adorable was attributed and embrace the budding brit pop wave.
“I’m tripping into the back of my mind
And your words like angels crash inside
And a word and a movement and a touch
And a word and a movement and it’s all too much”
“Homeboy” is exactly the type of song that I would’ve loved to dance to in the early to mid 90s. A rumbling bass line and peppy drumming underpins the entire track but really comes into focus during the verses as it acts as the counterpoint to Pete Fijalkowski’s wistful vocals. Then, at the chorus, the guitars crash in, finally making good on the chiming threats to take over, and our protagonist becomes more passionate in his delivery. Hence, the ‘rage’ the ‘young lady’ referred to. But the rage is not necessarily directed at anyone or any external thing – it’s an internalized shot as he bemoans, “You’re so beautiful”, over and over, at the one that got away.
This is a crazy good track and it makes me smile at all the memories, every damn time.
*Back in those days, all of the campus college had their own pubs, but from what I understand, all but the main campus pub have long-since closed.
**As did a bunch of my friends.
For the rest of the Best tunes of 1993 list, click here.
My (life in) music lists 