I am a sleep-away camp survivor graduate. I loved going away to camp. I can still remember my first day, feeling rather uncertain, not really knowing anyone and standing off to the side while joyous reunions took place all around me. Well, the summer passed by in a blur of sports, Zionism, song, and high-jinks, and in subsequent years, I had more than my fair share of joyous reunions on the first day of the session.
One of the best things about camp was the people. Being that it was the national summer camp for our youth organization, we had campers from across the US, as well as an astounding number of Puerto Ricans, Israelis, and the occasional European. During these magical summers, I made some amazing friends, developed my love for Israel, and learned a great deal about life. Most of all, I learned a great deal about music. It was there that I first heard the Grateful Dead, and it was there that I learned the words to most popular Israeli songs from the 60s, 70s and 80s. The summer of 1986 (when I wasn’t actually a camper, but a member of the service staff) is particularly memorable, as that was the summer when I learned about Squeeze. I’d never heard them before, but shit was I hooked. We must have listened to Singles, 45s and Under about a million times, over and over again. I couldn’t believe they’d been around for years without my ever having heard them, and now I was making up for lost time. I left camp that summer with my tape-to-tape recording of Singles…, and never looked back. It came with me to Israel that fall, and somehow managed to survive my college years in Boston. I even managed to get to one of their concerts, and it was, without a doubt, one of the best concerts I’ve ever attended.
So, in case you haven’t guessed it yet, today’s entry for 80s Music Video Sunday is going to be by Squeeze, one of my all-time favorite bands. I’ve been wracking my brain trying to figure out which song to pick, and believe me, it hasn’t been easy! Some (such as anything off the Cool for Cats album) were eliminated simply because they were actually released in the late 70s, rendering them automatically ineligible. And while I love Pulling Mussels (from the Shell), the only video clip I found wasn’t very high quality, so I’ve reluctantly knocked that one out of the running as well. A number of the other songs I considered were not to be found anywhere on YouTube, It all came down to two. It was a tough decision, and tempted as I was to go with Black Coffee in Bed, in the end I went another way.
Tempted
(Difford/Tilbrook)
I bought a toothbrush, some toothpaste
A flannel for my face
Pyjamas, a hairbrush
New shoes and a case
I said to my reflection
Let’s get out of this place
Past the church and the steeple
The laundry on the hill
Billboards and the buildings
Memories of it still
Keep calling and calling
But forget it all
I know I will
Tempted by the fruit of another
Tempted but the truth is discovered
What’s been going on
Now that you have gone
There’s no other
Tempted by the fruit of another
Tempted but the truth is discovered
I’m at the car park, the airport
The baggage carousel
The people keep on crowding
I’m wishing I was well
I said it’s no occasion
It’s no story I could tell
At my bedside empty pocket
A foot without a sock
Your body gets much closer
I fumble for the clock
Alarmed by the seduction
I wish that it would stop
I bought a novel, some perfume
A fortune all for you
But it’s not my conscience
That hates to be untrue
I asked of my reflection
Tell me what is there to do
They’ve done some real good tunes. This isn’t my favourite Squeeze song but a goody all the same. I tend to think of them as 70s rather than 80s, like you mentioned. I think Jools Holland was one of the founding members. I had no idea Squeeze had made an appearance in the States.
Not my favorite either, but it was one of their only songs from the 80s that had a good quality video on YouTube, which I found rather surprising. I love Pulling Mussels, Another Nail in My Heart, Slap & Tickle, Goodbye Girl, etc.
That’s a good song, but I agree, Cool For Cats had some really great stuff- too bad it didn’t qualify 馃檨
I first heard of Squeeze when they had a few hits in the US in the late 80’s from “Babylon and On”- I liked them so much I actually bought the tape, then learned about their earlier stuff from friends who had spent a year in Israel and introduced me to a lot of music that never made it in the US. One of the first songs they played for me was “Pulling Mussels from the Shell”!
this has been a rather early 80’s 5 weeks… When do we move on to Eurasure, Duran Duran, A-ha, Frankie Goes to Hollywood?? The Go-Go’s… The Cure…Wham!…Ah, so many sundays… so much to look forward to…
Maybe you could do some Split Enz in honor of my trip to New Zealand (arriving there next sunday!). May I recommend Hard Act to Follow…:-)
Ooooh, love Squeeze. And did you know that Jools Holland also plays great jazz piano?
Plus, you went to Israel for a while in fall of 1986? I was there from December thru September 1987 – how’s that for a coincidence?
I think I was there in ’86 too, did we talk about this? hope all is well…….