By Shiv Sidecar
Let’s be open-minded about this. Single-mindedness can embrace a whole range of ideas and emotions – concentration, determination, persistence, relentlessness, even obsessive behaviour. When properly applied it can lead to a beneficial effect for you, me and everybody. Perhaps luckily that’s how the Song Bar chose to interpret the topic. Well, mostly.
Let Primal Scream introduce you to Vietnam veteran Kowalski (no other known name), whose only motivation is to drive. And drive. The character, and his on/off escapes from the highway patrol, are the subject of 1971 cult film “Vanishing Point”, which also named the Scream’s parent album. (Consult Wikipedia if you’re interested in the full mythology). Another figure to be celebrated for his persistence – and not for the first time at this Bar – is The Greatest himself, Muhammad Ali. His victory over George Foreman at the Rumble In The Jungle in Kinshasa has acquired mythic status, as celebrated here by The Fugees (with A Tribe Called Quest, Busta Rhymes and John Forte).
Desperation – to eat, to work, to find a home – concentrates the mind like nothing else. Nico Wayne Toussaint’s “Mali Mississippi” is an odyssey of continent-hopping in search of security, only to discover that the Promised Land may not hold that much promise after all. But “It doesn’t make sense not to keep on pushing”, as Curtis Mayfield sings on one of the best of The Impressions’ inspirational songs.
Referencing the Impressions’ era, but utterly contemporary, is David Holmes’s (with Raven Violet) 2023 tribute to single-mindedness, “Necessary Genius”. Who? “Dreamers, misfits, radicals, outcasts, outsiders, oddities, revolution, working class…” I doubt that the UK government’s new “woke tsar” will approve – assuming she recognises the names cited.
Enough politics – unless you count personal politics. Taylor Swift seems like a decent sort, until you hear details of her Cunning Plan: “No one wanted to play with me as a little kid so I've been scheming like a criminal ever since to make them love me, and make it seem effortless.” It seems to have worked; shame she had to draw attention to it in a song modestly titled “Mastermind”.
Roxy Music seemed to live and move in a refined world of rich, louche relationships where you expect to get what you want, then move on to the next target. But Bryan has found the relationship he wants and is determined to get it: “Since I fell in love with you I need you more and more” – unfortunately she doesn’t want it. “All I Want Is You”, with a marvellously busy instrumental backdrop, is a performance to treasure. A different kind of obsession is revealed in Animals That Swim’s “Bed Island”. The narrator sees piles of books surrounding the bed in somebody else’s bedroom. (Many of us may recognise this scenario). He sets out to create his own bed island. Does he succeed? Now read on…
Wary of authority? Fearful of bigger kids? You have The Flinch. Dave Hause had it when young, but he single-mindedly worked to abolish it, and now he leads a 5-piece band in front of audiences of thousands (hopefully). An original song about a rarely-acknowledged problem. On the face of it, Fountains Of Wayne‘s song “All Kinds Of Time” describes a mere incident during an American football game when a player spots an open opportunity, and takes it. “Just as he planned, the whole world is his tonight”. But we’re dealing with the great cosmic scheme of things here; his newly-found single-mindedness is going to become crucial throughout his life.
On first hearing, Fiona Apple’s “Under The Table” sounds odd and even slightly deranged. By the third listen it’s become essential. “Leave me alone, don’t push me… don’t shush me”. I still don’t know what the phrase “fucking mutton” means, though.
“It's my life, and I'll do what I want, it's my mind, and I'll think like I want” was a lyric created by Brill Building songwriters for “It’s My Life”, but in the hands of The Animals, and particularly singer Eric Burdon, it acquires a drive and menace much harder than most of the jaunty pop propping up the UK charts of the time. The sound is stolen from the US, but sounds as though it also reverse-influenced the US bands of the “Nuggets” generation.
I’d like a bit of Northern Soul now. There were several candidates nominated, all great. But today we’ll go with Dean Parrish, and “Determination”. Lovely.
Time to wind down with a slightly mischievous spin on relaxation records. Nocturnal Emissions’ “Never Give Up” is, well, relaxing. Good advice included.
Adamant A-List Playlist:
Primal Scream – Kowalski
The Fugees (with A Tribe Called Quest, Busta Rhymes and John Forte) – Rumble In The Jungle
Nico Wayne Toussaint – Mali Mississippi
The Impressions – Keep On Pushing
David Holmes (with Raven Violet) – Necessary Genius
Taylor Swift – Mastermind
Roxy Music – All I Want Is You
Animals That Swim – Bed Island
Dave Hause – The Flinch
Fountains Of Wayne – All Kinds Of Time
Fiona Apple – Under The Table
The Animals – It’s My Life
Dean Parrish – Determination
Nocturnal Emissions – Never Give Up
Boldly Hellbent B-List Playlist:
U2 – I Will Follow
The Sound – Sense Of Purpose
Talking Heads – Mind
The Temptations – Let Your Hair Down
Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes – Concentrate On Me
Boogie Down Productions – My Philosophy
Giant Crab – Intensify Your Soul
Kevin Coyne – I Want My Crown
PJ Harvey – M-Bike
Bobbie Gentry – Fancy
Amy MacDonald – This Is The Life
Sufjan Stevens - Everything That Rises
Neil Young – Don’t Be Denied
The Triffids – Wide Open Road
Iris DeMent – Goin’ Down To Sing In Texas
Guru’s Wildcard Playlist:
Julian Cope – Try Try Try
Hüsker Dü – Dead Set On Destruction
Eurythmics – Never Gonna Cry Again
Ronnie Lane & Slim Chance – Don’t Try And Change My Mind
Della Reese – If It Feels Good, Do It
These playlists were inspired by readers' song nominations in response to last week's topic: Concentrate! Songs about single-mindedness. The next topic will launch on Thursday at around 1pm UK time.
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