MySpace is the best thing to happen to a music nerd in a whole lotta years. Despite whatever reservations I have about Rupert Murdoch's plans for world domination, I'm constantly amazed by the talent just floating willy-nilly around the "friend" empire. Case in point: Lee Bob Watson, the bass player for California indie band Jackpot, who you may remember from that Jason Lytle compilation, Under the Radio. Lee Bob recently asked to be my friend on MySpace, so I clicked over, gave a listen to his songs and was very, totally, really, completely impressed! What especially struck me was "To Juliette," from Lee Bob's 2004 album Punk Sinatra (BUY HERE). For a while, I couldn't figure out why it hit home so squarely. The lyrics -- a loser musician in love with an upstanding gal and bitterly in need of a hit to prove his worthiness (very Springsteen) -- are self-effacing and melancholy, but that's not really it. It's this strangely haunting and familiar melody...
But of course!
Lee Bob appears to have lifted it unscathed from the 80s power ballad "Home Sweet Home" by Motley Crue. The song is a classic, of course, but who actually wants to hear the original again given all we know about Vince's manslaughtering and the misadventures of the drummer's wang? In quoting Crue, Lee Bob has added a poignant meta-riff to his lyrical bitterness about the hit-making industrial-complex that once gave all the power and glory to idiots like Motley Crue. Juliette needs to understand this, so Lee Bob's making the (quite poignant and beautiful) case. Marry him, Juliette! Do it for love! You know, like in The Wedding Singer. Give it a listen and then visit and befriend Lee Bob, he's a special cat.
"To Juliette" - Lee Bob Watson & the Santa Cruz Gospel Choir
"Home Sweet Home" - Motley Crue
(Go to our MySpace site to hear Lee Bob's Phil Spector-ated "Let the Hate In," the current soundtrack to the Driftwood space.)
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