Saturday, September 18, 2010: Billy Idol - To Be A Lover

Billy Idol - To Be A Lover
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Is White Wedding a cooler Billy Idol song?  Probably.  But this isn't COOLEST Song Of The Day, merely Cool Song Of The Day, thank you very much.

Besides, it's that damn boogie-woogie piano in To Be A Lover, it absolutely kills me. Every time.  I want to be that piano player.

And there opens a large window into my horribly flawed personality and debilitatingly low self-esteem. Do I want to be the handsome, cheeky, punk-ish lead singer? No. Do I want to be the killer guitar god with the cool threads and long hair? No. Do I want to be the fat, dumpy guy in a cheap suit smoking a stogie and playing boogie-woogie piano? YES! Yes I do, I want to be THAT guy.

God, I'm a mess.

Hopefully, gentle reader, you will see past my flawed character choices, which are legion, and enjoy this Saturday selection.

On VH1's Storytellers, Billy Idol tells about how he originally heard "I Forgot To Be A Lover" as a reggae song in the late 70's, and only later to find it was originally done by Stax soul artist William Bell in 1960's.

And this is why I love Billy Idol.  Those versions are perfectly acceptable performances of an absolutely middle-of-the-road song.  And leave it to our spiky-haired wonder to turn the song around and into a full on barroom brawl.

For some reason I have pictured all my faithful readers doing laundry on this Saturday, dancing around the house in their PJ's with To Be A Lover cranked up, screaming "Have Mercy!" above the din of the washer and dryer.

God, I'm a mess.

Have a good Saturday.