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July 26, 2007
Numerology: Quarter Life Crises
by David Klein
Twenty-five is a nice chunky number that gets its mojo from how neatly it fits into 100. It’s most often associated with anniversaries, whether matrimonial or historical, but no one ever wrote a great song about a 25th anniversary. What matters to songwriters is that 25 is a melodious sounding numeral that plays well with others, as these lines from “All the Young Dudes” attest: “Speed jive/don’t want to say alive/when you’re twenty five…”
Disqualifiable on technical as well as aesthetic grounds, “In the Year 2525,” by the redoubtable Zager & Evans, is annoying on many levels. I’ll just give you one: they switch to singing about the year “6510” when they run out of words that rhyme with five. (R.E.M. used to cover it, and it was still pretty bad.) Another song you can still hear on oldies radio is “25 or 6 to 4” by Chicago. Based on a pretty cool descending chord pattern, the song has an admirably numerical title, albeit one that has puzzled people for decades. It was thought that the title was some kind of mystical drug reference but in fact, it refers to the time in the middle of the night when you can only approximate how late it’s getting. But in the final analysis, 25O6T4 is weighed down by its bombastic horn section and the forced drama that has marked cheesy pop tunes since time immemorial. (You didn’t really think Chicago would win, did you? But I will confess to a highly uncool appreciation of “If You Leave Me Now.”)
Because of its vital place in the base 10 world, 25 inspires songwriters to go all mathematical on us. Many knocked Veruca Salt as a poor man’s Breeders, but the group never got props for its mathematical bent: on the debut American Thighs are no less than three numerically titled songs, including “25,” on which Veruca demonstrated a solid understanding of multiplying by 5s. (When I was 5 I took a dive/when I was 10/ I walked again…”). Not surprisingly, Johnny Cash shows us definitively how a counting song is done, in “25 Minutes to Go,” which he performed, appropriately enough, for the inmates at Folsom Prison on his immortal 1968 LP. To a hoedown beat that gradually picks up, a man counts down his last moments:
Well they’re building a gallows outside my cellI’ve got 25 minutes to go
And the whole town’s waiting just to hear me yell
I’ve got 24 minutes to go
Well they gave me some beans for my last meal
I’ve got 23 minutes to go
But nobody asked me how I feel
I’ve got 21 minutes to go…”
In the cabaret-style version by the Tiger Lillies, the song ends with a truly disturbing choking sound that hasn’t been equaled since Monty Python’s “And Now, the Sound of John Denver Being Strangled.”
An obvious contender for the 25 crown is “Twenty Five Miles” by Edwin Starr. Combining the countdown approach with an irresistible groove, the result was a major crossover hit in 1969. While not quite as big as Starr’s signature song, “War” (as in “War/huuuuh/what is it good for/absolutely nuthin’) this journey song is spurred on by a driving beat and Starr’s stirring vocals. I’ve always been ambivalent about the fact that he never gets home. With five miles to go, there is a final self-exhortation of “I got to keep on/WALKIN’” and some seriously funky drumming, and the song fades. I guess it would have been lame to end with, “I got 60 more feet to go now” but to me the song feels somehow unresolved. I would venture to say that most listeners will assume that Edwin makes it home, and I can live with that, but one question has always stayed with me, namely, just why he’s walking in the first place. Has he just been released from prison? Did his car break down? In a rare mystery from Motown, we never do find out.
Edwin Starr - "Twenty-Five Miles"
Australian garage purists the Lime Spiders put out a screaming howler called “Twenty Fifth Hour,” which, one imagines, might have found a place in Spike Lee’s movie of the same name if Lee had elected to shoot a scene in the Anna Paquin character’s apartment, as she slips into a slutty dress before her night on the town. (Note to trivia enthusiasts: this is the second time Anna Paquin has been conspicuously mentioned in the course of this column.)
Similarly high-energy is Sleater-Kinney’s “By the Time You’re 25,” which takes scathing aim at music industry success, led by Corin Tucker’s distinctively ululating vocals. (Note to indie-rock enthusiasts: in the course of researching this article I consulted Wikipedia and discovered that the Sleater-Kinney page cannot be edited right now due to “vandalism.”) Rounding out the pack is Olivia Tremor Control’s gentle “NYC 25,” in which the number does not appear, and “25 Years” by proto-proggers Hawkwind. Yes, there are more, but we have to get serious now.
Why it all comes down to two drug songs is something for the pundits to consider. It just does. First we have to consider “25 O’Clock” by Dukes of Stratosphear, the alias of XTC for two releases in the late ‘80s. Several pronounced strains emerged in the music of XTC—a strong element of Beatles/Beach Boys melodicism, an undercurrent of Captain Beefheart-style gruff experimentalism, and an unabashed affection for the widescreen, ear-tickling effects of the psychedelic era. To give full vent to the latter style, the Swindon quartet did what any sensible edgy post-punk outfit would do: they took on a new identity as a ‘60s psychedelic combo, replete with new names for the musicians (Sir John Johns, The Red Curtain, Lord Cornelius Plum and E.I.E.I Owen).
The Dukes’ first and best release was their first release, the EP 25 O’Clock. Produced by legendary producer John Leckie (The Stone Roses’ self-titled, Radiohead’s The Bends, George Harrison, Pink Floyd—hey, is that legendary or is that legendary?), these five songs deftly distill the essence of the era while avoiding the too-literal route. The stirring title track makes musical reference to a half dozen or so classic acid rock songs, from Amboy Dukes’ “Journey to the Center of the Mind” to the Electric Prunes’ “I Had Too Much to Dream Last Night,” to (well, maybe not classic) “2000 Light Years From Home,” all churned through the XTC blender and emerging like something authentically from the ‘60s era. The slowly gathering chaos of clock sounds at the beginning of “25 O’Clock” sets the stage for the six stylistically diverse tracks that follow. Although the record was something of a tongue-in-cheek affair—XTC did nothing to link itself to the record, which came out on April Fools Day of 1987—the music is too heartfelt and rich to be written off a mere pastiche.
Dukes of Stratosphear - "25 O'Clock"
But folks, my 25 song wins because it succeeds on so many fronts, including being recorded by a numerically named band that shone briefly but brightly. I first encountered, the Northern California trio 28th Day on WNYU college radio. It was a song called “Pages Turn,” which I found haunting and have played perhaps 800 times since, and for my money it’s the band’s most perfect statement, ever so slightly more transcendent than this one because of Manning’s sublime lead vocal. I later came across their self-titled record and was struck by the vivid painting on the cover (“Goose of My Dreams” by one Michael Schlussler) and the lengthy review excerpt on the cover sticker, which read in part, “This trio’s “25 Pills” is one hit R.E.M. will never record—a drug anthem for the ‘80s hitched to bloodvessel-bursting guitars and one of those peculiar irresistible pop hooks that the Athens National Monument write in their sleep.” The other line I particularly liked was “Barbara Manning drags folk music screaming into 1985 with dizzying, gory adeptness.”
I cannot top that description. For the 2003 re-release of the EP, which included a ton of extra music, the band played some gigs and the critical reappraisal was extremely positive.
Although Barbara Manning is clearly the vocal star of the band (she has had an exemplary if unheralded career in ensuing decades), on “25 Pills” she steps back and provides perfect accompaniment to Cole Marquis’s impassioned, sassy vocal, for a bracing blend of male/female voices that recalls the spirit of such vintage pairings as John Doe and Exene, or even Grace Slick and Paul Kantner of Jefferson Airplane. For the final chorus, Marquis reaches deeper and flies higher, providing a drug-free high that feels like pure triumph.
Lyrically, the song is “Waiting For the Man” Northern California style. Sure, they want to get high; they’re just a little less addicted and in a little less of a hurry. It’s more a matter of choice: “I feel like leaping through the door again. My hands start creepin’ for my only friends.” But there is darkness in the music, as well as in the message. The song starts with the promise that “a few more dollars will make things right,” but ends up on a curiously down note.
And maybe the circus will leave this townAnd I’ll be the only clown around.
On 25 thrills you’ve never seen, man
25 places you’ve never been
On 25 pills
Numerology is our pal Dave's ill advised quest to find the definitive song for every number from one to a hundred. The plague of self absorbed twenty-something songwriters should see him through for now, but there are rough times ahead.
Previously: No. 1, 2-4, 5-7, 7 (counterpoint), 8, 9, 10/11, 12/13. 13 (counterpoint), 14/15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24
Posted by Jeff Klingman at July 26, 2007 02:30 PM
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Comments
Hot Diggity Dog !!!
I have the original issue of 28th Day's EP, and I've always loved their sound. Kinda like REM meets X. Of course, the EP's up in my attic along with the other 1000+ vinyl circles, so I really appreiciate getting this one on MP3 so I can listen to it on my MP3 player. The other song I love on the EP is their take on the folk classic "This Train is Bound for Glory". Love the "25" theme. I'd suggest Chicago's "25 or 6 to 4" but I really don't like it anymore.
Posted by: Silent 3 at July 26, 2007 05:27 PM
Do you know In the Year 2525? Zager and Evans? 1969+/-?
Posted by: Dan at July 26, 2007 05:38 PM
It's in there, bro.
Posted by: david at July 26, 2007 08:17 PM
What kind of vandalism do you suppose the Sleater Kinney page gets? I'm legitimately stumped....
Posted by: Jeff K at July 27, 2007 08:55 AM
I did find an angry web posting in which the writer railed against someone who had called Sleater-Kinney 'the greatest band in the world.' The writer was adament, almost seething about how "over" the band is/was. I suspect there must be a lot of factions in the S-K camp, with all its politics.
But the very odd thing is that I just checked the wiki page and found the vandalism notice missing. At the bottom of the page is a note that said "This page was last modified 03:09, 26 July 2007," which by my calculations is about a half hour after the "25" column got posted. Does that mean Wikipedia constantly monitors Swankster and immediately rethought the status of its Sleater-Kinney page when MS asked why? It seems an ODD coincidence...
Posted by: david at July 27, 2007 09:16 AM
My apologies go out to Sting for neglecting to mention his stirring "Twenty Five to Midnight," which seems to be a song written about the time of night he allows his pregnant personal chef to go home. And also, the sublime "25th December" by Everything But the Girl should have been included on this list.
Posted by: david at July 28, 2007 10:27 AM
You nailed this one. And although I remember feverishly playing you the brand-new Dukes music when it came out, it was you, my fine feathered friend, who first played me the transcendent 28th Day. And for that I thank you.
The boy/girl vox on this track remind for some reason of 11th Dream Day...another numerically-named West Coast band from around the same era.
And since you brought it up, I have seen you "jam out" in your underwear to "If You Leave Me Now". I have never witnessed such heartfelt emoting.
Posted by: david's brother jonny at July 29, 2007 11:57 PM
You're just determined to trample my street cred, aren't you? Thanks for the praise though. And btw, 11th Dream Day hail from Chicago, not the west coast. (God are you embarrassing)
Posted by: david at July 30, 2007 10:44 AM
This sibling rivalry is turning into quite the revealing numerology subplot.
Posted by: Sebastian at July 31, 2007 02:27 PM
I just heard the Edwin Starr when I watched Adventures in Babysitting last weekend. Love that song!
Posted by: Ryan at November 28, 2007 11:33 AM
