Great song… pg14 rating

I am still being amazed at the stuff buried on my iTunes collection. Because I listen to such a huge variety of music, things get buried. And since I listen to it in a more or less random order, some things take years to get played. I had two interesting things come on today. The first was a bootleg recording of Sarah McGlachlan doing “Angel” Yes, I know that it was played to death on the radio, but this one was a duet with her and Sinead O’Connor. Let me tell you their voices are perfect compliments, a wonderful performance. I always think that it’s a crime to keep things like that from the public, why don’t they record it and sell it? I’m sure that it would have sold a bunch back when it was at it’s height of popularity.

The second song is from NOFX and is called “Lori Meyers.” I’ve always had a great respect for any artist that can throw our preconceived ideas back at us and show how strange they really are. Of course the best ones also hint that we should have them anyway. I like honest art, music in particular. Hole’s first album has always been exhibit “A” for me in this regard (“When I was a teenage whore”, etc..). This song is a quick snapshot of the same kind of brutal honesty that I love.

Lori Meyers used to live upstairs
Our parents had been friends years
Almost every afternoon we’d play forbidden games
At nine years old there’s no such thing (as shame)

It wasn’t recognition of her face, what brought me back was a
familiar mark
As it flashed across the screen
I bought some magazines, some video tape scenes
Incriminating acts, I felt that I could save her

“Who are you to tell me how to live my life?
You think I sell my body; I merely sell my time.
I ain’t no Cinderella, I ain’t waitin’ for no prince,
To save me in fact until just now I was doin’ just fine.
And on and on..”

“I know what degradation feels like
I felt it on the floor at the factory
Where I worked long before, I took control now I answer to me
The 50K I make this year will go anywhere I please

Where’s the problem?”

The lyrics are one thing, but the performance is another. Kim Shattuck from the Muffs sings Lori’s part and she nails it. It’s accusatory, defensive, strong, and reflective at just the right time. At the end you want to say, “But no, I’m going to help you…” and you can see him getting thrown out of wherever they were “talking”. I think there are several places on the web you can hear this for free, but I say go buy it…

Isaac