iPod song of the week – Oingo Boingo
There are several excellent reasons for choosing this week’s track. First off, this song came up on my iPod today whilst riding the train through Baltimore, the very town where I used to listen to it. Second, I’m informed by my houseguest that the name of the song describes the way he feels about his birthday this week (unlike me…. everyone remembers the big countdown to my birthday, we’ll revisit that again later this year).
This band is usually known for quirky party songs and they always seemed too goofy for my taste. In fact, this is the only song by them that I can actually stand. But I think the reason I really love it is that even though it has that trademark bongo-fun sound, the lyrics and the way in which they are sung are really dark and cynical. For instance, there’s this segment with it’s sarcastic final line….
I had a dream last night
The world was set on fire
And everywhere I ran
There wasn’t any water
The temperature increased
The sky was crimson red
The clouds turned into smoke
And everyone was dead
But there’s a smile on my face . . . for everyone
Rock on, Danny Elfman, rock on.
