Tracy Bonham – The Burdens Of Being Upright

Oh man, I was digging through a pile of CDs and stumbled upon a treasure from the past. I’d forgotten I even had this CD! Cool! That’s right, it’s the Mother Mother singer! And we all know that there’s so much more here than that one song, too, like The One, or the ones that shoulda been radio hits, like Bulldog or Navy Bean, right? Right! I mean, we’re not jaded and cynical to the point of forgetting these things, are we? Are we? Hello? Hm.

You know, I’d forgotten how much fun the 90’s sound was, frankly. Back in the day, I totally loved this CD. Each song bops along and tries (sometimes hilariously) to sound angry, arty and disaffected. All the ‘period sound’ tricks are here: the quiet/loud, the wailing guitar solos, the crunchy guitar chords, the lighter little ditties that have weird, trippy edges to them. Ah, the 90’s. I miss ‘em… No really, I do. Sometimes. Like now, with this record in my player.

And the best part about this story? I got to see this little blast from the more-recent past live and in concert, at a three-day summer festival in, lessee… 1996. Wow. Eleven years ago. There she was, about as big as a minute, much shorter than the size of her voice leads you to believe, rocking out with a violin. I was second row from the front, a little to the left, and the crowd sure seemed into it at the time. I know I sure had fun jumping around and singing along.

Funny, when I played this CD back, I still remembered all the words! So how is it, then, that I can’t seem to remember the actual, important stuff in my life? What does this say about me? Yes, OK, I’m a geek, and remembering the words to a record that most people except Bonham’s fans and parents will have forgotten is my own little special superpower. I should totally have a cape. A red one!

Look, this record is a total trip and I highly recommend you head up to the attic and blow the dust off of your copy. I know you still have it. Go on, admit it. It’s OK. Really! Give it a spin. Trust me, it can still be fun!

And hey! Wonder what she’s doing now? Have a look here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tracy_bonham In my book, anybody who covers The Who with the Blue Man Group has gotta be pretty cool.

Admit it. You’re intrigued.