Get Paid
Richard & Linda Thompson - I Want To See the Bright Lights Tonight (1974 / Folk Rock)
Hello internet pals of music. Today let’s introduce a new bi-weekly feature.
Jobs.
The Seattle band Whale Bones put out a record around ten years ago, and on it is a song called “I Don’t Wanna Live in the City No More”. It contains the line that has resonated with me more than any other song lyric in the history of music:
I don’t wanna have a fuckin’ job no more
Who needs ‘em, eh?
Well, who wants them anyway.
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I’m not going to pretend the song below is some sort of classic to me. I’ve known it by name for years upon years because I’m old and am only finally learning to listen to artists I used to write off because I was expected to like them. I’ve written about this awfully stupid character flaw before, although I can’t claim to be much better about it since then.
And as usually happens in these rare moments, I realize I’ve been a fucking idiot.
I’m too impatient to give this song to a Friday, for a timely reason we’ll get to after listening to this paean that easily fits on any playlist with 9 to 5, Working for the Weekend and Take This Job and Shove It.
See, it really is about jobs. We don’t really want them, and it’s ok to say that. And because we have to have them, and they’re just this whole imaginary stress we’ve created for ourselves over the course of generations, then we surely have to recognize that the phenomenon of the weekend warrior is chained to our other ankle. We’re all weekend warriors of some sort, trying to squeeze our entire free selves into as much of the momentary lapse as possible, even if that means just being so mentally / physically wiped we end up on the couch mashing our little fingers into the phone and ordering an $80 Pad Mee through Uber in time to watch 4 hours of Rock of Love Season 1.
Give me the lights, let me forget just for a night.
There was a point for bringing this all up.
Sometimes it’s hard for you to open all the emails that mass up in bold face, the piles of digital clothes on the floor of your closet that you pulled off the hanger but then couldn’t even be bothered with it. And sometimes, most times lately, it’s been hard for me to write these. I remember for a full year or more, I did this every few days. It’s psychotic. Not DSM or anything, but clearly unsustainable.
So to keep the waters of life fresh (because life is no less crazy than when I started this and we still need some sort of salvation), here is a new feature of songs that are also piling up on me because writing about them all would keep me pushing this digital rock up that eternal hill.
You’ll get one every 1st and 15th of the month. It won’t pay your rent or mortgage, and like a shitty boss I may not even get it to you on time but hey, we’re trying...
Click below for the Spotify (bleh) link.
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