All Quiet On the Western Front

I ain't got shit to say today. Nothin', really. I've been obsessing over a few songs.

Remember Urge Overkill? I have their third record, "The Supersonic Storybook" from 1991. There were so many interesting things going on in music in the early '90s, especially '91. Sonic Youth referred to it as the year "punk broke." It broke in two ways, (a) it broke out of the underground and into the mainstream, and (b) because of the newfound popularity, the ideals fell apart. Suddenly, bands that you would've been lucky to hear on college radio were getting airplay on MTV, it was completely surreal. I remember being so pissed when I first saw the video for "Smells Like Teen Spirit." That wasn't meant for everyone else, it was for us. I've grown up about these things now, but back then, I was always trying to search deeper. Chicago's Urge Overkill were one of these 'deeper' bands. Their third record, "Supersonic Storybook" had a single on it, "The Candidate," which had a video on MTV. I loved it. It was somehow rockin' yet mellow at the same time. It's the voice, I guess, but I liked it a lot. I bought the album that year, but I barely listened to it. So, I pulled it out recently, and I've been listening to the same song over, and over, and over again. The rest of the album is good, really, I swear. "Bionic Revolution" is a weird freakout, "Blackie's Birthday" is poppy goofiness, "The Kids Are Insane" is kind of a statement about the Chicago indie scene and all the posturing, but it's all about "Emmaline" for me. In the early '70s, there were two bands called Hot Chocolate. One was American, they had a few hits, but nothin' worth mentioning. The other band was from the UK. I know you know their big hit, because it's "You Sexy Thing." I guarantee that you've heard it. Anyhoo, another one of their hits was "Emmaline." I've never heard the original version of the song as far as I know, but the UO version just blows me away. It's downright hott. I'm really impressed. This is a band that started out with seriously mediocre musicianship, and here's a song that is walkin' the line between falling apart and keepin' it together. They keep it together well. I should make it clear that "Emmaline" is a slow-burner, it's not a rockin' song, it's kinda bluesy, in fact. It's just...good.