That's What "They" Say About Love

Album: BoDeans, Outside Looking In, 1987

Acquired: Purchased from the sound department of the Little Creek Naval Amphibious Base Exchange in 1987

Best Track: "Forever Young (The Wild Ones)"

Lasting Memory: Attending a free concert at the Virginia Beach Oceanfront in late August 2007, Brah!

Seeing the BoDeans earlier this year reminded me that I am no longer forever young in oh so many ways. How do I age me? Let me count the ways.

I first saw the BoDeans when they opened for, I think, the Ramones at Norfolk's Boathouse in the summer of 1986. The Boathouse has since been torn down to make way for a really killer minor league baseball stadium.

The BoDeans have had exactly two hits. "Fadeaway" charted in 1986. "Closer to Free," a.k.a. the Party of Five theme, charted in 1996. Casey Kassem either forgot or chose not to anoint a BoDeans single in 2006, possibly because Ryan Seacrest had smarmily and robotically taken over the Countdown by then. Which all by itself is a tough thing to have pulled off. I mean, you would think the oleaginousness would substitute for a personality, but you'd be wrong. Go figure, and while you're figuring, keep a good thought for Sammy and Kurt to break the Top 40 again in 2016 when they the other proud sons of Waukesha, Wisconsin, who make up the BoDeans will be between the ages of 55 and 57.

Third, I am old. Middle-aged, at least. Certainly not getting any younger. Hey! You kids get off my lawn! What was I typing about again?

Right. What I really came to blog about today is how much the BoDeans love love. Not the emotion, mind you. The actual word "love." Nearly every song on Outside has "love" in its title, and all but two of the songs have the word as at least one of the lyrics. The BoDeans note that it's "Only Love" but also want to know "What It Feels Like" to be in love. The band can be excused for being a little confused because the boys had obviously been listening to too much of what the anonymous but oft-referenced "they" had to "Say About Love."

I approve of these BoDeans lyrics that get delivered over folky electric guitar strumming and liberal use Jew's harps and tambourines. Who am I to say that the word "love" stinks? Nobody, that's who. Even though this my blog and I could rant about how love is a four-letter word that gets used far too often, I won't because "love" is nice. It's also easy to rhyme and be it new, everlasting, tested, or shattered, love is the topic of most great songs.

Just ask Billy Bragg, which I virtually will in all but one of next week's posts. Stay tuned.

Listen to a clip for "Forever Young (The Wild Ones)"

Up Next: Billy Bragg, Back to Basics, 1987

Word Count to Date: 8,592