Wednesday, June 01, 2011

79. Marshall Crenshaw, "Something's Gonna Happen" (1981)

(listen)

You may unfortunately have to take my word on this, because whoever holds the copyright initially blocked it within 48 hours when I threw it up on YouTube (although a week later it appears to be accessible again, hence I'm trying the link). The downloadable version that you can purchase is not the one I came to know from a promo compilation of 20 years ago, which is the A-side of his debut single on the Shake label. I'm not about to get embroiled in a copyright dispute (and will remove the link by request), but I'm happy to second-guess Crenshaw himself if he thinks this isn't the best version out there of a terrific song and one of his best recordings ever. It busts right out of the gate and gallops along with a deceptive insouciance whose intensity is only revealed when you start moving to it or trying to sing along. It's all about the anticipation, and it's not exactly licit ("Now just forget about your boyfriend / And I'll forget about my girlfriend"), but when the guitar erupts at the break to take it home two things are immediately clear: 1) no point whatsoever in hesitating, and 2) Crenshaw may still be one of the best-kept secrets in rock 'n' roll. As songwriter, as guitar player, he's up there with some of the best pop auteurs. Or maybe I'm just getting carried away by the timeless moment? Suggestion: Hunt down any of his albums, the self-titled 1981 Warners debut is widely agreed to be his best and I have no argument with that. See what you think. If you like it, get some more. It's all good. Live with it for awhile. Then try to imagine a song in the style arguably even better.

1 comment:

  1. Darn it is blocked. Now I'm really curious of what this sounds like.

    ReplyDelete