Saturday, February 20, 2010

Song of the Day: Fishbone - Sunless Saturday

I don't know exactly how I came across Fishbone, but I've owned Reality of My Surroundings on cassette, CD and vinyl.  I still remember getting the cassette at Coconut Records, a chain which went out of business a long time ago, and I'm pretty sure my dad had to buy it for me, thanks to the Parental Advisory sticker on it (I was probably 15, and I think you had to either be 16 or 18 to buy albums with the sticker).  Despite a few clunkers, I still really like the album, though Truth and Soul is probably the stronger of the two.

Saturday Night Live was my first exposure to what Fishbone was like live, and it was quite an experience.  There weren't a lot of black rock bands at that time (and sadly, there seem to be even fewer now), and there certainly aren't many bands led by black guys with mohawks.  In fact, you can check out the song "Everyday Sunshine"


Fishbone - Everyday Sunshine Live at Saturday Night Live

daniele | MySpace Video


But the other song they performed, "Sunless Saturday," is my favorite (unfortunately, I can't find a video of it.) Why do I like it? The acoustic guitar intro, the "whoa"s, the apocalyptic lyrics and the trumpet solo at the end are first-rate. Fishbone were a great party band, but they also wrote some great serious songs (and many in-between). Without further ado:

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