You knew this was coming. I warned you. I'm a man of my word and so few ideas that I've got to milk every threadbare, half-baked concept and hope to get it done before mom comes home and kicks me off her computer. Mama's looking fine today!
So songs with the word September in them--not as many to choose from as I would've liked. Kids today simply aren't using the calendar to its full potential. Sure there's a band called Thursday, but the dearth of great "Thursday" songs is appalling. Especially for such a swell day. If I had my druthers, there would also be many more songs championing the wonders of daylight savings time. But, alas, I just work here.
David Blue--"These 23 Days in September": Somebody clue this dude in. I don't know if his mom was trying to save money by buying economy-priced calendars, but there are 30, count 'em, days in September. But I like this guy, who also recorded as S. David Cohen. Even better, I liked the one review of this album where the reviewer pointed out that it had "far fewer of the glaringly off-key notes that had bedeviled his first LP." If only more people offered up this kind of faint praise, we'd have a much more honest and interesting review database to work from. And I wouldn't always look like such a jerk.
Lou Reed--"September Song": Speaking of guys known for their "glaringly off-key notes," ladies and gentlemen, Lou Reed! He doesn't actually sing off-key. He simply doesn't sing in any key. Often singers with limited range are credited with singing in a monotone, but Reed actually does exactly that: one tone. This Kurt Weill standard has been covered by many people. But I like to think of it as a Lou Reed song, since only Lou can make it sound like a man crawling off to die.
Big Star--"September Gurls": People always wondered why Big Star didn't make it famous. But being on a small, lousy record label and never bothering to tour have to be right up there if you're looking to lay some blame. While this marvelously catchy tune should have been a hit, it wasn't. Because it was no longer 1966 when this song would've sounded like everything else on the radio. Instead it was the mid-'70s when everything was mellow. I'm sure they could've written something as atrocious as "Me And You And A Dog Named Boo" if they really tried.
Earth, Wind and Fire--"September": There's nothing I like more than a lazy rhyme. Why struggle with "orange" and "door hinge" when you could settle for "girl" and "world," "self" and "shelf" and "remember," "September" and "December"? Yeah! I've never been able to figure out why this song features anything about September in it. It doesn't seem to be important to how the love between these two people evolves. Yet, it's right there in the title. Maybe I'm missing the symbolism. Maybe the band's management owns the month or something. Maybe it's supposed to remain a mystery.
Ryan Adams--"September": Allegedly, Ryan Adams was going to call the whole album "September," but then in a moment cloaked in secrecy with, perhaps, a call from Earth, Wind and Fire's management (who I just arbitrarily decided owns the month), the album title was quickly changed to Jacksonville City Nights and another non-selling Ryan Adams album was born! Yes, Adams has written 3,000 songs, recorded 900 albums and sold fewer records than Peter Frampton. Now, if Peter Frampton's audience hadn't died over the years--natural causes in most cases--maybe this wouldn't be so. Because I think Pete's audience would've dug this guy.