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February 07, 2008
Numerology : Lashes, Winks, Years, Feet--We Got 'Em!
Ladies and gentlemen, we have struck gold. We haven’t witnessed this type of numerical downpour since the opening credits of The Matrix. Big round numbers are bound to have inspired a bunch of songs, it’s true, but you don’t have to be on a mad numerological quest to know that 40 is a hotter decade number than 70, or even 30. There are just so many meanings and primal events associated with 40. Think of it: you can drink a 40, catch 40 winks, spend 40 days and 40 nights pining for your baby, and top it all off with 40 lashes. Let’s not forget Top 40 radio, the band UB-40 (who took their name from an unemployment form) and Ali Baba and the 40 Thieves (a phrase lustily intoned by the Beastie Boys on “Rhymin’ & Stealin’”). In fact, some people contend that life itself begins at 40. Be that as it may, in songdom, 40 tends to be a matter of miles, days, years, or ounces.
Let’s start with ounces. I cannot address the cultural significance of the 40 oz. from personal experience; I prefer a nice orgranic microbrew myself, but ignoring it would be a grave oversight. Malt liquor went global in the mid-80s when Billy Dee Williams did his seminal St. Ides ads; in a few years, people like Snoop Dog and Ice Cube were singing the praises of 40s and introducing the term to frat boys nationwide. Of course, malt liquor is not really a joke, as its nickname “liquid crack” suggests. Chuck D. who sued St. Ides for sampling his voice in a radio ad, wrote “One Million Bottle Bags” to express his hatred for the entire industry, devoted as it is to selling cheap, high-alcohol brew targeted for consumption by inner city youth. Nevertheless, for years, 40s have been held up as one of the iconic objects of rap and rebellion—from the early ‘90s, with Black Sheep (“Pass the 40”) and Sublime (“40 Oz. to Freedom”) to more recent fare from political punkers Leftover Crack (“Rock the 40 Oz.”) and D12, a Detroit crew devoted to bringing “the sick, the obscene, the disgusting,” and who, in “40 oz.,” prove more than willing to fight to the death rather than pour their 40’s out in the gutter.
Forty days and 40 nights, the length of the Biblical flood, inspired Muddy Waters’ sublimely soulful “Forty Days and Forty Nights,” which in turn inspired a lead-footed cover by Steppenwolf and a slew of riffs on the title, including the waggish Badly Drawn Boy’s “Forty Days, Forty Fights,” and the Donnas’ “40 Boys and 40 Nights.”
The sexy synths on Lali Puna’s “40 Days” would segue smoothly into “40 Years Back/Come,” the gelid closer from Royksopp’s Melody A.M. The twangalicious Duane Eddy instrumental “Forty Miles of Bad Road” was covered in true surf style by the Lively Ones, who then re-covered it as “Forty Miles of Bad Surf.” Crazy, man. There’s a bit of an evil surf drum vibe in “Forty Odd Years Ago” by the Exploited, and no discernable surf influence to be found in either the tender Dave Matthews song “40” or “40 Kinds of Sadness” by Ryan Cabrera, a Matthews acolyte who sings with young-man angst you can almost smell.
I’ve tried hard not to mention Anal Cunt by name, but I have to at least give a shout-out for the cannily titled 40 More Reasons to Hate Us (Track 1: “You’re a Trendy Pussy”). I wonder how they’d feel about sharing a bill with Jimmy Buffet. Maybe AC could join Jimmy onstage for “A Pirate at 40.” Just a thought. While we’re talking also-rans, I’ll just throw in “40 Hour Week” by Alabama and leave it at that.
High on the list of runners-up is the Undertones-worshipping Seattle punk band known as the Briefs, whose entirely enjoyable ode to cougar hunting, “Forty and Above,” might bring comfort to the long in tooth while confusing the band’s young male fans.
But here’s where it gets tough. Any one of the following is worthy of winning the top spot here: Wire’s subtly thrilling “40 Versions,” the closing track from the band’s crucial third LP, 154, is seductive, discordant, inscrutable and just plain cool. Godflesh did a darker, heavier cover on the Wire tribute WHORE, but the original is light on its feet, with a hypnotic guitar figure that loops through the song like a replicating virus. But with Wire taking two spots on this list already, I have to draw a line somewhere. Nothing to stop me from choosing Mercury Rev’s dreamy “Opus 40,” itself a bit inscrutable, with its refrain of “Tears in waves/minds on fire.” But it’s one of those songs that resembles a vivid dream, and you wouldn’t want the words to be any more literal. With a timeless groove set by Levon Helm, and an arrangement worthy of Mr. Helm’s former outfit, “Opus 40” stands out on the all-around terrific Deserter’s Songs, (which is now ten years old. Sheesh.) Also in favor of “Opus 40” is that it would sound really good coming after “‘39” by Queen. Both have more than a touch of Oz to them.
U2’s “40,” based on Psalm 40 of the Bible, has been a regularly scheduled sing-along in the band’s live set for about 25 years now. It’s hard to deny the simple beauty of how those liquid strums (played by bassist Adam Clayton, sounding entirely Edge-like) combine with the military kick of the drums and the keening energy of Bono’s vocal to create something pretty heavenly. And in another one of these funny numerological coincidences, the album from which “40” comes, War (1983), is ranked no. 40 on Rolling Stone’s 100 Greatest Albums of the ‘80s. And here comes another one: what’s with all these 40 songs being album closers? Along with Wire and U2, I give you Franz Ferdinand’s wickedly good “40' ” the final track from the 2001 self-titled debut. I don’t really understand the anti-FF vibe these days. Maybe nobody likes a Mercury Prize winner. In any case, this dark tale of mountaineering gone wrong features the band’s trademark spring-loaded rhythm section and a rustic melody that would sound at home in the Balkans or a Fiddler on the Roof revival. It really is kind of funny that these guys are Scottish. Full of bespoke textures—plinks, smudgy chords, ghostly melodica, aggressive theremin—and nimble playing throughout, “40' ” mimics the long journey of its protagonist, rising and falling, reaching a full-on assault then backing down to a whisper, and then continuing up the mountain.
Cue Johnny Cash and June Carter Cash singing “When it’s Springtime in Alaska (It’s Forty Below).” I know it doesn’t rock, but I have to go with my gut here. This tale of an Alaskan prospector who gets more than he bargains for when he dances with a redheaded gal on a Kodiak rug, is my favorite 40 song. For one thing, it’s sung by a man who is already dead. And who better to do that than Johnny Cash? His voice is just so room-filling and godlike; the way it sounds next to June’s voice, with her exquisite pronunciation of “see-loon,” is nothing short of divine.
Johnny Cash and June Carter - "When it's Springtime in Alaska (It's Forty Below)"
Numerology is our pal Dave's ill advised quest to find the definitive song for every number from one to a hundred. It's starting to creep everybody out.
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, 25, 26/27, 28 , 29 , 30, 30 (counterpoint), 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39
Posted by David Klein at February 7, 2008 04:30 PM
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Comments
A dark horse candidate emerges...
Posted by: Jeff K at February 18, 2008 12:08 PM
Ah, Jeff...you do realize that Conan has co-opted our winner for no. 30 ("Thirty Days" by Chuck Berry) and renamed it, for some unknown reason, "40 Days," yes? Well, at least your support for it seems to confirm the wisdom of my 30 choice (which you opposed, in favor of Pere Ubu's "30 Seconds Over Tokyo"). However, you're keeping your eagle eyes open for number songs, and that I like!
Posted by: david at February 18, 2008 12:20 PM
I just think Conan is surprisingly rad as a singer...
Posted by: Jeff K at February 18, 2008 12:54 PM
...and for the record, I'd be more geeked if he whipped out a rockabilly version of Pere Ubu called "40 Seconds Over Tokyo"
Posted by: Jeff K at February 18, 2008 02:48 PM
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