Songs That I Like #5: Ryan Adams "Tennessee Sucks"

As Ryan Adams fanatics go, I came to the party pretty late. My first "this is great" moment was hearing "Nuclear" from the Demolition album/demo collection. I dove straight in and when I got to track eight I fell in love. "Tennessee Sucks" is the quite anthem for anyone living in a semi-shitty place in the sweltering heat of June, July, and August. Wisconsin definitely sucks in the summer so I can only imagine what it's like in Tennessee.

Ryan Adams -- Tennessee Sucks
From the Demolition album.

P.S. And like this lone questioner on Yahoo! Answers: "Anybody heard of the Ryan Adams Box Set due late this winter? Know a release date?" This question resonates through the infinite abyss of the universe.

Previously on Songs That I Like:
#4: Shawn Colvin "Sunny Came Home" or a pyro gets revenge.
#3: Van Morrison "Comfortably Numb" or the soundtrack to a car crash.
#2: The Libertines "Good Old Days" or please don't reminisce.
#1: Saves the Day "Freakish" or I think I love you.

Song That I Like #4: Shawn Colvin "Sunny Came Home"

I remember distinctly in my high school A.P. English class reading a poem...I can't remember who wrote it but I remember it was about a flower bed. Our teacher, Mr. Sampson, [the best English teacher I ever had, college included] asked us what we thought the poem was about...I was certain it was about a wife who had killed her husband and buried him in the flower bed and that was why she took such good care of it.

Man I wish I could rediscover that poem today just to see if I was close with ten years of literary experience behind me...Anyway, I raised my hand, gave my answer, and silence of the class gave me a clue that I might be off base a little bit...Mr. Sampson looked down, ran his hand through his beard, and said, "well...that's a unique perspective."

Much the same can be said about the focus of this post Shawn Colvin's song "Sunny Came Home." It is one of those song that I listed to a thousand times on I-94 in my hometown until I actually took the time to listen to what she was singing about.

Let's examine the lyrics:

Sunny came home to her favorite room
Sunny sat down in the kitchen
She opened a book and a box of tools
Sunny came home with a mission

[The obvious question is where did Sunny come home from? At this point, let me propose either it was jail, or my personal favorite, a mental institution.]

She says days go by
I'm hypnotized
I'm walking on a wire
I close my eyes and fly out of my mind
Into the fire

[More evidence that the mental institution might be the right answer...she feels "hypnotized" maybe by the drugs they give her. The lyric "I fly out of my mind" maybe a reference to schizophrenia. And then we come to the final lyric of the chorus and possibly the answer to why Sunny would be in the institution to begin with: pyromania].

Sunny came home with a list of names
She didn't believe in transcendence
It's time for a few small repairs she said
Sunny came home with a vengeance

[Now we are coming to one of my favorite verses in contemporary pop music. What I think we have is Sunny has escaped from a mental institution and she's out for revenge against the people that put her there..."A few small repairs"? How about a few fires and maybe a few singed bodies? I wish I could write lyrics like "Sunny came home with a vengeance."

She says days go by
I don't know why
I'm walking on a wire
I close my eyes and fly out of my mind
Into the fire

[Repeated chorus.]

Get the kids and bring a sweater
Dry is good and wind is better
Count the years, you always knew it
Strike a match, go on and do it

[Here I think we are in Sunny's mind...they pyromaniac side is giving her instructions..."Dry is good and wind is better" are clearly reference to the best conditions to start a good house fire. "Count the years, you always knew it / Strike a match, go on and do it" we are referring again to the time that she spent in the institution plotting her revenge...]

Days go by
I'm hypnotized
I'm walking on a wire
I close my eyes and fly out of my mind
Into the fire

Light the sky and hold on tight
The world is burning down
She's out there on her own and she's alright
Sunny came home
Sunny came home...

[Sunny is literally burning down the world now and she makes her escape to make the next "repair" on her list...]

Or this all could be metaphorical...

Shawn Colvin -- Sunny Came Home
From the A Few Small Repairs album.

P.S. Here is the album cover in case you think I'm off base:

Songs That I Like #3: Van Morrison "Comfortably Numb"

I've recently been watching the final three seasons of The Sopranos just to remind myself how good the show was and how exactly the series ended. And to end the debate, Tony dies at the end of the series. End of discussion.

This song is playing when Michael drives off the road in Season Six, Part 2, leading to his death at Tony's hands. It is Mr. Morrison covering Pink Floyd's classic.

Van Morrison -- Comfortably Numb [Live]
From the Van Morrison At the Movies: Soundtrack Hits album.

Songs That I Like #2: The Libertines "Good Old Days"

I really fell in love with this song four years ago and still listen to it often when I need a reminder of what's important in life. I've never really understood if there is maybe a sense of humorous irony to what The Libertines stood for at first and what their lead singer and songwriter Pete Doherty became as a drug addict. Did they really believe the things they sang about in such anti-drug anthems of "Good Old Days" and "What A Waster" and do they realize that Pete became/nearly became that very same Waster.

I don't think you should be allowed to sing lyrics like "If you've lost your faith in love and music, oh the end won't be long" without being dead serious about what rock music can do and the serious nature of it. No smirking allowed. It was this seriousness that attracted me to The Libs and they almost pulled it off until the humanity of the members caught up with them.

The Libertines -- Good Old Days
From the Up the Bracket album.

Songs That I Like #1: Saves the Day "Freakish"

Song: "Freakish"
Time: 3:47
Group: Saves the Day
Album: Stay What You Are
Label: Vagrant Records
Release Date: July 10, 2001

Sometimes I think that I make things too complicated so we will start a new series that keeps things nice and straightforward. To begin, we have the song that without a doubt has had the biggest effect of my life thus far. I first heard this song in the summer of 2001, shortly after it's release and I really, really, really liked it. I picked up the album, and started working through Saves the Day's back catalogue. STD became my new cause celeb and I even bought a patch and put it on my school bag. A lot of people commented on it and many of them thought it was some sort of organization like Unicef...

One day, a girl noticed the patch on my bag...now I'm not saying that's the only reason she thought maybe I was a little cool...it was probably my award-winning personality...but we started hanging out, watching Alias, and eventually fell in love...how's that for a quick progression! The impact that that girl has had in my life is incredible...and it may have all started with a Saves the Day song.

Saves the Day -- Freakish