About
Key Em, tempo 100
1983
An ode to the the early 80s Austin club scene. I remember a club called Angles near the campus that had an amazing 5 for 1 Happy Hour. We danced to New Wave music, along with the hits from Madonna, Michael Jackson, and Prince. I drank way too much, but somehow managed to work 40 hours a week, attend classes and maintain a 4.0 GPA, and work as Labor Czar at the student co-op I lived in. This song makes fun of the very superficial discussions you’d have when dancing with a girl for the first time, including the obligatory questions, “What’s your major? Where ya’ from?” At the end of the video there is a montage with me in my graduation cap and gown. I’m trying to express my current amazement that I somehow managed to graduate back then despite all those incredible temptations I faced. Without the steadying influence of my future wife Debbie at my side, I’m not sure I would have survived and my life would have been very different indeed…
Musically this is a mid-tempo guitar-driven rocker with a quasi roots feel. I think I’m trying to emulate the raw sound of James McMurtry’s 2003 live album “Live in Aught-Three“, one of all time my favorites. Clearly I am emulating his one note vocal range…
The second logo of the lips in the video is courtesy of Enrico Varrasso at https://www.behance.net/gallery/31209775/red-lips