Volume 5 of The First Time Ever I Heard That Song: 15 songs that made an impact
Flew into LA one spring night for an independent label conference. Got the rental car and headed up to the hotel, tuning out of habit to KCRW. It was probably 9pm by this point, midnight to me after working then flying across country. So this song comes on which perfectly fit my slightly tired, late-night driving mood - I can still remember it pretty well, though I had no idea who it was and didn't ID it till years later. Slightly moody, solo guy-with-guitar, my first thought was that it was Vic Chestnutt - but they played a Vic song next and I realized that my mystery singer's voice wasn't so distinctive. But the song definitely was, pretty hypnotic with a straightforward downward progression, and one line I still remember, (though I don't think it was a key lyric) 'I was born to entertain, so here I go.'
Wasn't until years later that I googled that phrase to discover that it was the aforementioned Julian Cope song, from the (now out of print) Peggy Suicide album - which I probably should have figured out at the time, but somehow it passed me by. But in some ways, the not knowing what the song was for so long added to the enjoyment...
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