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Working For The Weekend

Steely Dan: Black Friday [Germany 45] (1974)

Freeway Jam is taking a day off today; however, I hate to leave this blog blank for a day (whenever I do, I usually atone by doubling up the following day). Normally, on nights like these when there really aren't enough hours in a day, I put together a keyword playlist, since I can skip the introductory essay.

That's how the "Saturday" and "Sunday" keyword playlists came into existence; fast cop-outs that didn't require a lot of thought.

So I've been keeping a similar ace in the hole for a day-off post for awhile now. I figured that if I ever wanted to skip my Thursday night post, I could always do a "Friday" playlist.

Fridays are great, after all. Who can deny it? Even though it's a workday, it's the best workday; all day you feel that golden release time coming, when your time is your own, you are your own person, and you've got two straight nights of not having to worry about waking up early. Saturday night may be party night, but Friday night is even more fun, because you still have the option of Saturday revelry to look forward to.

David Bowie: Friday On My Mind

Elton John: Saturday Night's All Right For Fighting [UK 45] (1973)

Blondie: Sunday Girl [Germany 45] (1978)

The Bangles: Manic Monday [Netherlands 45] (1985)

So, I thought tonight I'd play that ace, and post a playlist of "Friday" songs and get everyone pumped for the weekend.

Imaging my surprise when I checked my library for songs with "Friday" in the title and discovered that I only had four, out of a pool of 17,019 total titles.

Four! How can there only be four songs written about Friday? I have 26 "Saturday" songs, and 21 "Sunday" songs. How could more be written about Sunday, that day that grows more depressing as the shadows grow long, reminding you that that most despairing of all moments, manic Monday morning lay just a deathlike slumber away?

So naturally, I had to check out the other days of the week:

For "Tuesday", I have 5 songs. Can Tuesday really be more inspiring than Friday? "Wednesday" appeared in only 2 song titles. I've got two "Thursdays" and 14 "Mondays"

The Pogues: Tuesday Morning [UK 45] (1993)

The Pogues: Tuesday Morning [UK 45] (1993)

Simon & Garfunkel: Wednesday Morning, 3AM (1964)

Loverboy: Working For The Weekend [UK 45} (1981)

A search at Allmusic turned up a similar ratio. "Friday", for whatever reasons, has been a neglected topic for songwriters.

So all you songwriters out there, here's a million dollar idea: write something about Friday. I'll buy it; in fact, I'll buy six of them, so that I can have a 10-song playlist at last. Maybe everybody's working for the weekend; some of us are just hanging on for Friday.

For these reasons, no Friday playlist. But I'll profile the four I do have:

The Easybeats: Friday On My Mind ****

The Easybeats are best known to Americans via this garage rock psychedelic classic, which sounds like "Paint It Black" crossed with "Have You Seen Your Mother Baby Standing In The Shadows". Those with a passing familiarity probably know they formed in Australia, but might not know that the original lineup in 1964 did not feature a native Australian; it was two Englishmen, a Scot and a pair of Dutch. The Scot was George Young, elder sibling to AC/DC's Angus and Malcom Young. The Easybeats cranked out 9 albums in 5 years; while none of the albums are essential listening, there are nuggets similar to this one sprinkled throughout.

Steely Dan: Black Friday ****
Steely dan: Katy Lied (1975)

"Black Friday", the leadoff cut from Katy Lied, is a straightforward galloping rocker full of busy guitar playing and interesting keyboard textures. With this album, Steely dan had pretty much stopped being a band, and became more of a vehicle for Walter Becker and Donald Fagen's jazzy pop experiments. This is not a loss; while session playing replaced a cohesive band sound, it is flawless playing with a sheen that avoids becoming slick.

Francis Monkman: Long Good Friday **
Francis Monkman: The Long Good Friday (1989)

Francis Monkman: The Long Good Friday (1989)

Undistinguished movie music from former Curved Air and Sky keyboardist Monkman. Performed entirely on a strident sounding 80's synthesizer, this kind of resembles a poor man's Rick Wakeman, or perhaps Keith Emerson. Monkman was actually a contemporary of those guys, back in the early 70's, as member of prog-rock also-rans Curved Air. Although he isn't a household name by any means, Monkman has worked steadily since then.

The Specials: Friday Night, Saturday Morning ****
The Specials: Ghost Town [UK EP] (1981)

From the ska-revivalist Specials' seminal 3-song EP debut, this is a ska-light melodrama with compelling and funny lyrics: Wish I had lipstick on my shirt/Instead of piss stains on my shoes The title borrows from "angry young man" novelist Alan Sillitoe's "Saturday Night and Sunday Morning" The best song on the EP was "Ghost Town", but this one and "Why" are worthy companions.

¶ 10:55 PM 1 comments

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Working For The Weekend