For the month of November, I’ll be selecting songs in conjunction with the music Twitter challenge: #WelcomeToTheOccupation.
During my high school years, my friend’s older sister introduced me to WDRE/WLIR. “They play cool music.” The introduction went something like that. That radio station literally changed the trajectory of my musical preferences. I was forever stuck in classic rock. And when I say forever, I’m referring to 8th-10th grades. WDRE was the city’s local alt / college rock station, which made it a treasure trove especially during the eighties. XTC is a band that I wouldn’t have discovered if it weren’t for that station. Songs like “Earn Enough For Us”, “Making Plans For Nigel”, “Dear God” and “Mayor of Simpleton” got regular airplay on it.
XTC was always big on clever lyrics and inventive, yet catchy melodies. The brainchild of Andy Partridge, “Mayor of Simpleton” has both. The song’s lyrics took an interesting approach, pairing shortcomings of being simple-minded with knowing perhaps the one thing that really matters. The rather abrupt guitar chord intro, Beatlesque chorus and soaring bridge deliver all the charm you can handle.
“And I can't unravel riddles, problems and puns. How the home computer has me on the run And I may be the Mayor of Simpleton. But I know one thing And that's I love you.”