About A Girl

Vote For Pedro: Don’t forget, next week will be the hotly-anticipated birthday/anniversary post. There’s still time to let me know what songs from the past year you’d like reposted. Just leave a comment or click on the Contact tab at the top of the page.

My wife and daughter are out of town this weekend. Not having my ladies around the house has gotten me thinking about the women in my life, past and present. So I’m taking that self-destructive urge to drunk-dial old girlfriends at 4 a.m. and redirecting it into something more productive.

Jacqui Naylor “Lola” (The Kinks)
I really like Jacqui Naylor. She’s always good for a swinging jazz tune. There’s some great Hammond organ and nice percussion work here along with her wonderful voice.

One could make the argument that this song isn’t really about a woman since it’s about picking up a transvestite in a bar. I would argue that Lola thinks of herself as a woman, at least while she’s at the bar.

Della Reese “Whatever Lola Wants” (From Damn Yankees)
This is a pretty sexy song to start with, but Della’s absolutely smokin’ on this cha-cha. I’ve never dated a Lola, so posting two songs about women with that name is just a coincidence. Honest.

Rachel Stamp “Carmelita” (Warren Zevon)
I’ve never been to Los Angeles but if I ever do get there the first place I’ll go is the Pioneer Chicken Stand on Alvarado Street. I won’t try to score any heroin, I’ll just get some chicken and people watch.

I absolutely adore this song, I’ve got eight different versions of it and I think I’ve posted them all. It’s the greatest song ever written about being strung out on heroin and it’s a touching love song to boot.

Queen Adreena “Pretty Polly” (Traditional)
You knew that I couldn’t post a collection of songs about women without at least one murder ballad. It’s things like this that make my wife nervous. Not really, my love of murder ballads just makes her roll her eyes.

This version starts off slow and dreamy but all hell breaks loose when she gets to the part where Polly gets murdered.

Frank Zappa “Lucille Has Messed My Mind Up” (Jeff Simmons)
This is one of those songs that may or may not really be a cover. Jeff Simmons was in the Mothers in the early 70s and also has released a few solo albums. In 1969 he cowrote this song with FZ (one of the very few times that FZ cowrote a song with anybody) for his album of the same name. FZ produced the album and played lead guitar on “Lucille.” Then in 1979 FZ released this version on the Joe’s Garage album with a totally different arrangement. Can you cover a song that you wrote and played on if somebody else released it first? Discuss.

If there ever was a song that was the soundtrack of a drunk-dailing episode, this is it.

9 thoughts on “About A Girl

  1. mojohand

    I’m sorry to have to relay this, but the Pioneer Chicken on Alvarado Street (next to Echo Park) closed last year. Will this desecration of our national heritage ever cease?

  2. Steve McI

    I’m crushed to hear that. Is nothing sacred? I should have made more of an effort to get to LA I guess.

    Thanks for letting me know.

  3. Sue LaFleur

    Murder, heroin (2 mentions), drunk dialling and chicken fantasies. Mrs Freak better hurry home now!

  4. don't call me bob

    sorry to tell you,

    pioneer chicken is gone. there are a few that call themselves pioneer. but they’re really just old pioneer’s thart new owners decided to keep using the same name. on one corner there used to be a pioneer and kentucky fried chicken. pioneer was a local southern california franchise.

  5. Mrs. Freak

    Can you believe he actually reminded me to check out CF this week??? I would have a sassy comeback, but this week’s post has left me speechless.

  6. Sue LaFleur

    I think Steve better don a dress and heels and come on over to K Road where all the above scenarios would be realised!!

  7. Dan

    Congrats on four years. FYI — Frank Zappa cowrote the “Lucille Has Messed My Mind Up” song with Jeff Simmons. It’s one of the rare writing credits Zappa has ever shared.

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