By Marco den Ouden
Buttons, Switches, Knobs and Levers - Oh My!
I thought this would be an easy topic but there were so many sub-themes and a surfeit of great songs. And so I took a cue from some other gurus from the past year and opted for a longer A-list - twenty songs. I’ve listed them under sub-categories.
Radio
There were quite a few nominations about radio - turning a radio on or off, adjusting the volume, changing the station and so on. We start off this long set with Edwin Starr’s H.A.P.P.Y. Radio. You know a station with those call letters will rock it to you. We follow that up with ABBA alumnus Agnetha Fältskog’s Back On Your Radio where she compares herself to a radio station as she tries to rekindle a relationship. “Push that reset button baby, turn that magic dial, tune into my frequency. I missed you for a long while.” In the Days Before Rock ‘n’ Roll, Van Morrison tells us, shortwave radio was the thing. I’ve opted for a tribute version by Paul Casey with Terri Hooley.
Of course, creating a record takes more than just the artist. Your studio technicians can add a special touch to a tune. Emerson, Lake and Palmer pay tribute to their producer Eddie Offord with Are You Ready Eddy? Not a typical ELP number, this one is retro rock.
The Computer Age
We start this mini-set with Newcleus and Computer Age (Push the Button), an intriguing bit of techno-funk that asks whether we control our machines or if they control us. It reminded me of the short story The Perfect Mate by Ken Liu.
Kirsty MacColl suggests the anonymous man from Amsterdam may be a creepy cyber stalker but she finds him irresistible. She can’t help clicking on his email links as she gets “another stain on another blue dress.” Here Comes That Man Again has an obvious double meaning.
Heath McNease is your gamer nerd. Pushing and twiddling those game controls has given him a modern malady - Nintendo Thumb!
Artificial intelligence and robotics are making great strides. It might not be too long before the Dresden Girls can buy a real Coin Operated Boy. It’s a rather sad song, a “sad picture of girl getting bitterer,” who never wants to be alone. She recognizes the problem as she asks “Oh, can you extract me from my plastic fantasy” but she doesn’t think so.
If you’re like me, one of the great annoyances of the modern age is playing telephone tag. There’s something incredibly impersonal and cold about automated answering systems, notwithstanding their efficiency. Nowhere is this coldness more felt than when you contact the government as the Disposable Heroes of Hiphoprisy tell us in INS Greencard A-19 191 500. The song deliberately ends abruptly. That is not a mistake. I checked.
Transportation
All vehicles and modes of transportation have to be controlled by various levers, pedals, buttons and gear shifts. I start with two tributes to the railroad. Murray McLauchlan’s Railroad Man has “got to grab on to that Johnson bar and make those drivers whine.” For Brother Rodney the railroad is symbolic of our journey through life. The engineer is the “blessed Saviour” who he implores to “Keep Your Hand Upon the Throttle and your eye upon the rail.” The song is a gospel number dating from 1890 originally called Life’s Railway to Heaven.
There were a few songs nominated about cars, most of them about car radios. But Black Box Recorder uses the imagery of the car to great effect in a charming duet. He wants to drive way too fast. “Don't think the accelerating pedal is the man's best friend,” she says. “A heartfelt seduction lasts a lifetime.” It’s The Art of Driving.
Death and Destruction
In a pointed critique of the death penalty, Graham Parker tells us it’s not just the executioner but the public that supports him that bears the responsibility of taking a man’s life. Everyone’s Hand is on the Switch. “Come on people pull together now, then we can go down to the beach as the Florida sunshine comes out… Sweet revenge is such a bitch.”
For Gemma Ray The Switch is the symbolic switch of our life force as she fantasises suicide.
There were a great many songs about that button. The one that controls the bomb, the big one, the one that can blow us all to kingdom come. It was hard to choose from them all, but I opted for Bobby Bare’s Finger on the Button. There is an undercurrent of sarcasm as Bare “hope(s) nothing hangs him up or ticks him off or bums him out in any way. Lord help him keep his cool cause he could pull the final curtain on my play.”
Mark Knopfler sings a tragic song about a man who installed slot machines. “Put your money in. Pull the levers. Watch them spin. Cash cows in all the pubs.” But someone thought he was skimming money and one morning a coal miner finds him dead in his Jaguar, “shot through with bullet holes.” The time - 5:15 AM.
Romance and Lust
Fairport Convention starts the ball rolling here with a plea. “Please Mr. Lacey, let me work your loving machine. Will you let me control the handles? You know it’s the best thing I’ve ever seen.” Norah Jones offers a romantic torch song. She’s sitting at home since he’s been gone, like a lightbulb waiting for him to come back and “Turn Me On.” On a more bawdy level, we have Lil Johnson’s dirty blues number Press My Button (Ring My Bell). It’s laced with delightful double entendres.
Typewriters
There were several songs nominated about typewriters. Typewriter keys are certainly a kind of button and all of the songs were intriguing. So I close this topic with a largely instrumental number, one with a bit of bounce and a great video where the typewriter keys print images of dancers in various poses. Object One’s Typewriter. “Hit me one more time!”
The Press Advance A-List Playlist:
1. H.A.P.P.Y. Radio - Edwin Starr (florian7)
2. Back on Your Radio - Agnetha Fältskog (Fred Erickson)
3. In the Days Before Rock ‘n’ Roll - Paul Casey with Terri Hooley (Max Visconta Nuclerosa)
4. Are You Ready Eddy? - Emerson, Lake & Palmer (ajostu)
5. Computer Age (Push the Button) - Newcleus (Loud Atlas)
6. Here Comes That Man Again - Kirsty MacColl (Pop Off!)
7. Nintendo Thumb - Heath McNease (Loud Atlas)
8. Coin Operated Boy - Dresden Dolls (amylee)
9. INS Greencard A-19 191 500 - Disposable Heroes of Hiphoprisy (Traktor Albatrost)
10. Railroad Man - Murray McLauchlin (BanazirGalbasi)
11. Keep Your Hand on the Throttle - Brother Rodney (BanazirGalbasi)
12. The Art of Driving - Black Box Recorder (happyclapper)
13. Everyone’s Hand is on the Switch - Graham Parker (Fred Erickson)
14. The Switch - Gemma Ray (Fred Erickson)
15. Finger on the Button - Bobby Bare (Fred Erickson)
16. 5:15 AM - Mark Knopfler (magicman)
17. Mr. Lacey - Fairport Convention (Daysinscotland)
18. Turn Me On - Norah Jones (amylee)
19. Press My Button (Ring My Bell) - Lil Johnson (Nicko)
20. Typewriter - Object One (philipphilip99)
The Big Button B-List:
1. Ignition - R. Kelly (amylee)
2. Push a Little Button - Ninette (TarquinSpodd)
3. You Turn Me On, I’m a Radio - Joni Mitchell (amylee)
4. The Dedication Song - Freddy Cannon (TarquinSpodd)
5. Typewrite Lesson - Cornelius (Traktor Albatrost)
6. (Turn My) Motor On - Kirsty MacColl (ShivSidecar)
7. Pull Out the Pin - Kate Bush (magicman)
8. Experiment IV - Kate Bush (philipphilip99)
9. Turn Off the Lights - Teddy Pendergrass (magicman)
10. The Happy Worker - Tori Amos (Fred Erickson)
11. Bang On - Propellerheads (Traktor Albatrost)
12. Panic Button - The Champs (Pop Off!)
13. Baby’s In Love With the Radio - Johnny “Guitar” Watson (Pop Off!)
14. Long Long Way to Go - Phil Collins (Fred Erickson)
15. The Temptation of Adam - Josh Ritter (Uncleben)
16. The Button Pusher - The Dubliners (philipphilip99)
17. The Switch - Kenny Burrell (Fred Erickson)
18. Click Click - English Beat (Shoegazer)
19. In the Days Before Rock ‘n’ Roll - Van Morrison (Max Visconta Nuclerosa)
20. Turn It On! Turn It Up! - Roomful of Blues (Fred Erickson)
21. Miss It So Much - Röyksopp ft Lykke Li (Fred Srickson)
22. Handful of Keys - Fats Waller (Nilpferd)
23. Button on My Desk - Cult With No Name (TatankaYotanka)
24. This Year - Mountain Goats (Shoegazer)
25. The Typewriter Song - Leroy Anderson (VincentVassiliev)
26. Press Rewind - Alan Parsons Project (Fred Erickson)
Guru’s Wildcard Picks:
Two versions of Push De Button. First, the original by Lena Horne:
And a splendid cover by Earl Grant:
These playlists were inspired by readers' song nominations from last week's topic: How will you take it? Songs about acceptance. The next topic will launch on Thursday at 1pm UK time.
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