Saturday, October 25, 2008

Happy Hour



And at the end of a perfect afternoon (NOT!) comes ...

Matthew Ryan - Happy Hour

As far removed from the vibe of The Housemartins as it is possible to be. A real 'stop-you-in-your-tracks' lyric if ever I heard one. Magnificent, imo.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Ted Hawkins also sang an unhappy song called 'Happy Hour' -

"Welcome to Happy Hour, blinking on the neon sign
She won't mind, if I stop for just one
I can still make it home in time

As my eyes grow accustom to the smokey dim lights
I see the juke box near the door
There she is, in another man's arms
slow dancing across the floor..."

Worth a listen but I can't find a link.

I've also written my own Walkin' Woman's Afternoon Blues

Went ridin' this afternoon ma
I wasn't but half awake
The exhaust fell off my car, ma
And it began to shake
The rain lashed down in torrents
As I limped into the garage
The man said "Come back Monday,
There'll be a substantial charge..."

Wo-o-o- I got the afternoon walkin' blues ...

Anyone want to buy a Fiat?

Anonymous said...

New to me and liked it. Interesting vocal style, might become a bit wearing on a full album, if he doesn't change it up a bit.

Anonymous said...

@ Ali - no thanks. I've just parted with a five-figure cheque this week to replace my Rover!

@ Shoey - you're on the right lines about the 'problem' about Matthew Ryan's albums. Try his Strays Don't Sleep collaboration as a first album:

http://www.myspace.com/straysdontsleep

Then head for his solo stuff:

http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=6797300

It's difficult to recommend a first album as his US & UK releases are completely different.