"JUST LIKE HONEY" THE JESUS & MARY CHAIN (1985)

For the month of October, I’m taking the #OctAtoZBandChallenge challenge. The premise is simple. Pick a band starting with the day’s assigned alphabet letter and then choose a song from that band.

Day 10

Songs are peculiar little things. They make us feel things. Happy feelings. Sad feelings. Angry feelings. And sometimes they prompt rather extreme emotions, like sheer euphoria or utter outrage. The lyrics, of course, play a big role in this. Words have power. But words aren’t always necessary as we’ve seen throughout music history – from Beethoven’s “Moonlight Sonata” masterpiece to The Doors’ “Moonlight Drive”. The musical arrangements and instrumentation can be just as powerful. This is especially true with the 80’s anthem “Just Like Honey”.

I discovered The Jesus and Mary Chain a good four years after “Just Like Honey” was released. My favorite radio station WDRE (formerly WLIR) was giving the frenetic, electric “Head On” decent airplay and I just couldn’t get enough. My introduction to the band immediately gave me the feeling that they wanted to take me on a ride. “Head On” was like a demon-possessed roller coaster – and the thing wouldn’t stop. But “Just Like Honey” was more like a carousel of bliss. It seems to swirl around indefinitely in a hazy slo-mo daze. And once I’m on, i don’t ever want to come down.

“Walking back to you is the hardest thing that I can do.”

"JUST LIKE HONEY" THE JESUS AND MARY CHAIN (1985)

It’s time to get back to my favorite decade. For the month of March, I’ll be looking back at some of my favorite jams from the 80s. These songs often came to me via MTV or the radio. NYC-area stations WDRE, WPLJ, WNEW, K-ROCK and Z100 introduced me to everything from irresistible pop confections to under-the-radar post-punk anthems. I would not be who I am today if it weren’t for the 80s. It was the decade when I discovered music can be a truly powerful thing. #31DaysOf80sSongs

Songs are peculiar little things. They make us feel things. Happy feelings. Sad feelings. Angry feelings. And sometimes they prompt rather extreme emotions, like sheer euphoria or utter outrage. The lyrics, of course, play a big role in this. Words have power. But words aren’t always necessary as we’ve seen throughout music history – from Beethoven’s “Moonlight Sonata” masterpiece to The Doors’ “Moonlight Drive”. The musical arrangements and instrumentation can be just as powerful. This is especially true with the 80’s anthem “Just Like Honey”.

I discovered The Jesus and Mary Chain a good four years after “Just Like Honey” was released. My favorite radio station WDRE (formerly WLIR) was giving the frenetic, electric “Head On” decent airplay and I just couldn’t get enough. My introduction to the band immediately gave me the feeling that they wanted to take me on a ride. “Head On” was like a demon-possessed roller coaster – and the thing wouldn’t stop. But “Just Like Honey” was more like a carousel of bliss. It seems to swirl around indefinitely in a hazy slo-mo daze. And once I’m on, i don’t ever want to come down.

“Walking back to you is the hardest thing that I can do.”

"HEAD ON" THE JESUS AND MARY CHAIN (1989)

When you boil it down, there are two characteristics that make a song exceptional. There are the songs that feel like they were written for you, that capture your mood or emotion. Then there are songs that lift you out of some preexisting condition and usher you into a new kind of mood or emotion. “Head On” is the latter. When I’ve felt awful, hopeless or uninspired, “Head On” gave me a firm kick in the ass and put me into a totally different mindset. Songs can do that.

“And there's something going on inside. Makes you want to feel, makes you want to try. Makes you want to blow the stars from the sky. I can't stand up, I can't cool down. I can't get my head off the ground.”