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What’s up Sorry Staters?
Another week, another smattering of records piling up around us here at Sorry State. I’ll be honest, I’m a bit flustered while I’m writing this. I’m the resident diabetic in the Sorry State crew, and I’ve been having a rough go of it for the last 12 hours or so. My insulin pump broke, and all morning I’ve been on and off the phone with both my doctor and customer service for the company who manufactures my pump. I’ll be working at the store today like usual, but keeping an extra close eye on my blood sugar, and sneaking into the bathroom periodically to give myself shots haha. Oh well, such is life. I’m trying to stay positive. Dom is playing “Electricity” by OMD, so that’s helping.
Speaking of music that eases feelings of frustration, I’ve been listening to Eddie & The Hot Rods a whole lot. Specifically, the Life on The Line record. I’m a regular viewer of the Analog Attack YouTube channel, and have tried my best to keep up with the series What Are You Listening To? Mike, the face of Analog Attack, has been cranking out episodes with different special guests every single week. Selfishly, I hope this rate of output doesn’t slow because, as a fellow record nerd, I eat it up. I love seeing dudes bringing good energy and cool records week after week. Should Mike invite me on and give me a chance to be a guest on the show one day, then I’d love it… if I can overcome my deep-seated self-consciousness, that is. Anyway, I digress. Eric Good, Pittsburgh resident and all around cool hardcore dude, talked about Eddie & The Hot Rods when he appeared on a recent episode. This rekindled my interest in the band.
Life On The Line is one of those records that I’ve seen come through the shop a million times, but I’ve never taken a copy home. And it’s not even really an expensive record. Which is weird, because this record is right up my alley. There’s a few bands that I would lump into the category of UK pub rock with a melodic edge that falls right on the heels of the punk explosion. “Do Anything You Wanna Do” is really a song to end all songs in my book. I’ve been listening to that song on constant repeat ad nauseum style. I’ve been in a weird mood over the last couple weeks and the melancholic undercurrent of this song has been striking a real sus-chord with me (get it? I’m such a dork). The song has that perfect blend of early glam a la T Rex, but mixed with a bit Heartbreakers attitude, Stiv Bators Disconnected-era catchiness, and that underlying debt to Mott The Hoople and Bowie. Speaking of which, (they mention this in the Analog Attack episode too) the dude on the front cover of the record kinda looks like Mick Ronson – well, you know, without my face being expertly super-imposed with Photoshop overtop of his haha. The lyrics speak to that feeling of dissatisfaction with your surroundings and desperate yearning for more. Acknowledging feelings of loneliness, but with that hard outer shell of feeling like you’re better off alone. The lyrics are just vague enough to be totally timeless and (for me anyway) relatable. The sentiment is similar on “Quit This Town,” which is also a banger and a bit more of an up-tempo rager than the anthemic opener. And I gotta be honest: the first 2 tracks are where it’s at for me. Eddie and the boys kinda lose me on “Telephone Girl.” That’s not to say there aren’t other great moments on this album. But in my childlike obsessive replay listening habits, I think a single with “Do Anything..” on the A-side and “Quit This Town” on the B would be ideal. Just a damn classic.
Anyway, that’s all I’ve got this week. As always, thanks for reading.
‘Til next week,
-Jeff