Throwback Thursday: Perfect Songs - Vehicle

This was originally posted on my tumblr on September 5, 2012. And there's a Starsky and Hutch reference.

Perfect Songs - Vehicle

Any talk about rock music eventually leads to discussion of a song that is either overtly or covertly creepy. In many cases, the riffs are so overpowering, you don’t even realize how totally disturbing the song is until one day, you’re singing along in your car and that one lyric suddenly becomes clear and that “What the fuck did I just sing!?” moment happens. None the less, the song remains and you can’t help but just play it louder anyway. In this case, it’s perfect. And it’s Vehicle by Ides of March.

This song screams 70’s muscle car power, black leather jacket, shades and facial hair to me. The friendly stranger in the black sedan clearly could have been an extra on Starsky and Hutch, who eventually gets chased down for offering candy to little girls. Wait, what the fuck is this song about? This is pre-hipster irony, so I can’t tell if the pimp/pedophile/potential kidnapper in the song is being glamorized or not. The horn riffs are certainly powerful and catchy enough to make it seem that way. But I don’t think that’s the intent at all. Not judging from the album cover, anyway. I think it’s just a story being told. And I’m sure most people never really thought about the lyrics all these years. All that stands out is the funk and soul inspired chorus of “I love you. I need you.I want you, got to have you child. Great God in Heaven, you know I love you.”

All in all, this is man music. The testosterone just drips from the brass section to the vocals. Lyrics be damned, they just get in the way, really. It’s not a car song, and yet makes me drive fast. It’s badassery at its finest, even if paying attention too closely to the lyrics makes you feel icky. And yet, that additional layer might be a big part of why it’s a perfect song. It’s the 70’s, we’re talking about here. It’s the era of grit and grime. It’s the decade of porn and the Son of Sam. It’s only fitting that this song blends it all together. It’s perfect, and I will continue to play it loud.

Perfect Songs - Loving Arms

Music can be discovered anywhere, anytime and forge memories you can't fathom. I have no idea how old I was, but it must have been about 8 or 9, tops. Like most kids my age at the time, I watched tons of probably inappropriate TV. Well, I have a very clear memory of one specific episode of one such show, Starsky and Hutch, which, like most kids my age, I'm sure I was into because of the car. Anyway, this one episode, ended with Hutch, or was it Starsky, no, it was Hutch, singing. It was a country song, and I'd never heard it before, but it stuck with me for years. Many years, just stuck in the back in my head, unknown to me. It would be years before I realized it was stored there, but before I get to that, here's the scene, queued up for you.

Starsky and Hutch S02E23 Long Walk Down A Short... by starskyandhutch1

So, years later, when I was maybe 14 or 15 my uncle tasked me with a project that literally changed my life (well, maybe not that dramatic, but still). He was a huge Elvis fan and had all the vinyl albums and singles, or at least a whole lot of them, and wanted me to transfer it all to that technology of the future: cassette. So for months, I had possession of a collection of albums spanning Elvis's entire career and I wound up hearing everything from every era and became very familiar with all of it. So, I know my Elvis shit, is what is I'm saying, but I digress.

I heard all that shit.

And that's when it all came together. I put one song on, called "Loving Arms" and it immediately triggered the vivid memory of Starsky and Hutch and the connection was overwhelming. How could I remember that scene all those years later? A throwaway scene at the end of some stupid show stuck with me until I found out what it was. No Internets. No Shazam. No nothing. Just the fucked up way my brain stores seemingly trivial shit until it eventually makes sense. I'm not saying I'm special, but you know, maybe. But maybe it's just a good song.

Anyway, this is probably my favorite 70s Elvis song, and it might be, at least partially,  because of this connection. But overall, it's just a perfect song, really. It was written, the Internet now tells me, by a man named Tom Jans and it's been recorded by tons of people, including The Dixie Chicks, which is a version I also like. It's a country ballad with a very slight southern soul tinge, buried in there if you listen very closely. The melancholy of Elvis' version is palpable to me, painting a picture of a man realizing what he's lost, after leaving for the road, for ever. I love this shit and every time I hear it I feel like Starsky, or is it Hutch, no Starsky, just thrilled to hear his buddy singing it and joining in.