Just as the juiciest parts of Milton's "Paradise Lost" are those about the devil, news of evil and death outsells tales of heroism and virtue. Not only does that become oppressive, but it gets hard to know where danger begins and ad space ends. As I drove my six-year-old to school, NPR reported a classroom massacre in the Middle East. "What?," Roman asked, "20 kindergarteners killed?" "Yes," I said, "but on the other side of the world." Then come stories about gun deaths in Chicago and the death of a famed scientist. "And now, traffic," they say, to which I say, "I can't bear to hear 'They shot 'im! They shot 'im!' I only want to hear, 'We saved them! We saved them!'"
lyrics
I don't want to hear "We got 'im!" "We got 'im!"
I can't bear to hear "They shot 'im!" "They shot 'im!"
All I wanna hear when the dust has cleared is "We found 'em! We found 'em! We found 'em!"
All I wanna hear is "Yes, my dear, the fear is nearly over."
I want that man to say "I love you, my brother"
To take away the day when someone has to tell bad news to a mother
And I want to see the day when you men in grey say "I won't destroy another…another"
The boys in the city and the girls so pretty should run for fun, not for cover…for cover
From the front seat…he hears him…in the backseat…singing and laughing
As he drives him to class, all the radio blasts is death…just death, and traffic
He feels he has to shield his young boy's ears from the world that's all around him, that surrounds him
So he says louder than the news, "Let's go out to the zoo, and go for ice cream," and he says, "Can we?," he says, "Can we?"
I just want to hear, "We saved them! We saved them!"
I just want to hear, "We saved them! We saved them!
I only want to hear, "We saved them! We saved them!"
I only want to hear, "We saved them! We saved them!"
credits
from DANCE SCANDAL AT THE GYMNASIUM!,
released March 23, 2018
Piano, organ and melodica - Johnny Iguana
Lead vocal - Berit Ulseth
Backup vocal - Zach Verdoorn and Johnny Iguana
Bass - Zach Verdoorn
Drums - Matthew Torre
Percussion - Mark Neill
The Claudettes fuse Windy City piano blues with the full-throttle energy of rockabilly and punk, jazz-age echoes of
burlesque and vaudeville and the sultriness of '60s pop-soul to write a thrilling new chapter in American roots music. Johnny Iguana (ex-Junior Wells/Otis Rush/oh my god) works the piano alongside singer Berit Ulseth, bassist/singer Zach Verdoorn and drummer Matt Torre....more
The production here sounds brand-new, while the sun-splashed soul sounds old-school without being self-consciously "retro" at all. Excellent singing (Al Green moments abound) and songs here. The Claudettes
Deerhoof mix manic energy, experimentalism (in composition and in the studio) and grooviness like no one else. Dig the creepy-cool sounds of "Let's Dance the Jet" and "Secret Mobilization." The Claudettes
Disc by Cincinnati's patriarch of piano blues sounds like it could have arrived half a century earlier. (Except an electric shot in the arm from guest guitarist Peter Frampton!) Really, really nice. The Claudettes