Singleversity #58

Audiversity’s weekly column on music we stumble across during our sonic adventures. No random numbers, just straight audio goodness.

MA:



While Michael cooks a little something up in the kitchen, I'll go ahead and fill in the gaps of our ongoing saga. It's unofficially summer here in the Windy City, announced at the beginning of last weekend with temperatures in the high 80s, girls in high heels and higher skirts, sunburns at the beach, and strong stints for the local Boys of Summer. I also found myself begging for AC and more cold drinks than I should be allowed. One classic jam pegging this mood perfectly is The Kinks' "Sunny Afternoon." Ray Davies' broken aristocrat alter-ego had it hard for this little tune from the 1966 album Face to Face: Taxman's taken his yacht, his girlfriend's run off with his car after a fight, and here he is telling us commoners his woes over that great class equalizer, the pint of beer. "All I've got's this sunny afternoon," he muses. Too bad nobody thought to drag the schmuck out to a street festival.

PM:



But if heat is the most troubling issue as we round the year's warmest months, it's certainly not the only one: On the floor above mine, it appears as if the people living in their apartment train elephants for the circus at all hours of the day. Kingston, Jamaica's The Paragons capture my mood on their 1973 version of "Man Next Door" that was originally inspired by Garnet Mimms & The Enchanters' 1964 version "A Quiet Place." There are a ton of versions out there under varying song titles by everyone from Dennis Brown to Portishead, but this rendition has grown to become my favorite.