Ted's Polish-Mexican Page

After the Calexico show last week, where they covered a Bobby Fuller Four song, I decided to pop in my Bobby Fuller Four Boxed Set and listen to them again. The only song of theirs that most people remember is "I Fought the Law." That, plus the bizarre circumstances of Bobby Fuller's death, leads people to believe they were some sort of tough guy band. Actually, most of what they did were strong pop songs about love and lonliness. They didn't write "I Fought the Law," it was written, oddly enough, by fellow Texan and former Cricket Sonny Curtis. I say "oddly" because the other song he wrote that you have heard is the theme from the Mary Tyler Moore Show.

The song that Calexico covered is "Let Her Dance." My brother thought that this was a Del Shannon song. At some really basic level, yeah, Bobby Fuller Four is part of that same mid-sixties pop-rock axis as Del Shannon. But the songs are very different, Shannon's songs tended to be more bitter. For example, "Let Her Dance" is one of these "you are with another guy now, I'm sad but I want you to be happy..." songs. Del wouldn't have dreamed of writing a song like that. His songs are like "Hats Off To Larry" or "So Long Baby." Here's a sample of the latter song:

I hear you laughing
And you're telling everyone in town
That you made a fool of me
Well go on talk some more
'Cause baby I don't care no more
You don't bother me at all

'Cause, I've got news for you
I was untrue too
And I don't care what you say
So long baby
Be on your way

A far cry from the Bobby Fuller song:

Let her dance with him all night long
Let her dance to our favorite song
Let her dance with him all night long

Interestingly enough, the song that Calexico did was used for an ad for Gallenkamp shoes. Can you imagine a band letting their song be used in a shoe ad?



A fellow calling himself Don Kiyoti (I don't think that's his real name...) has posted pictures of Saturday's Roller Derby bout. You can access them on his web page. The pictures on the TRD site are copyrighted and not downloadable.

Next time, I'm bringing my own camera.


But, back to the subject of songs used in commercials. I wrote before about songs that may or may not be appropriate for some ads. Boston Market has started using the Reverend Horton Heat song "Eat Steak." I love the song, but there is a verse that I dare them to use on the commercial:

Look at all the cows in the slaughterhouse yard
Gotta hit'em in the head, gotta hit'em real hard
First you gotta clean'em then the butcher cuts'em up
Throws it on a scale throws an eyeball in a cup

Naw, they'll never do it. Maybe if they bring back Olbermann...


Another song that seems to be showing up often is Liz Phair's "Extraordinary." I think that the people who are picking it thinks it's a good "girl power" anthem (it was used by the WNBA last year). A quick check of the lyrics shows it to be in an uncomfortable place: somewhere between "without you I'm nothing" and stalking:

You think that I go home at night
Take off my clothes, turn out the lights
But I burn letters that I write
To you, to make you love me

Yeah, I drive naked through the park
And run the stop sign in the dark
Stand in the street, yell out my heart
To make, to make you love me

I am extraordinary, if you'd ever get to know me
I am extraordinary, I am just your ordinary
Average every day sane psycho
Supergoddess
Average every day sane psycho

Reminds me of those pinheads that think that "Every Breath You Take" and "The One I Love" are great wedding songs.


Do zobaczenia. Hasta la proxima.