Pg. 42 & 43
Sometime after lunch, in walks Rob's other crony, Barry. Barry is an as
shole. A loudmouth as
shole. A curiously lovable, loudmouth as
shole. It was Barry apparently who got Rob into making lists. I suppose that Barry feels that if he talks loudly and long enough that nobody will notice that he has nothing much to say. Not that I would know anything about that.
Barry's first act upon entering the store is to mock Dick's taste in music and put his "Monday morning tape" into the stereo. First song: "Walking On Sunshine".
Rob has just been dumped by his girlfriend.
It is not sunny out.
Rob does not want to hear "Walking On Sunshine".
Next song: "Little Latin Lupe Lu" by the Righteous Brothers.
Rob does not want to hear "Little Latin Lupe Lu".
Dick then inquires if it the version by Mitch Ryder and the Detroit Wheels.
Barry has not heard the version by Mitch Ryder and the Detroit Wheels.
The ensuing nerd war is bitter and cruel. In order to save face, Barry must loudly impugn Dick's musical taste to draw attention from his own obvious ignorance, while all Dick must do is smile in quiet superiority, secure in the knowledge that though Barry might shout him down, everyone knows the truth.
This is Barry and Dick in a nutshell.
The Music
Only three songs today. My laziness is pleased. I've actually heard the Righteous Brothers' version of "Little Latin Lupe Lu" off a compilation album my mom bought when I was a kid. Of course, I sometimes skipped it to get to "Gimme Some Lovin'" by the Spencer Davis Group. Awesome song. And of course I've heard "Walking On Sunshine" at least five million times on some commercial or other, but I've never actually, you know, listened to the song. For all I knew it wasn't even a real song, but just the greatest marketing victory in the history of TV. The only truly new thing for me will be Mitch Ryder and the Detroit Wheels. Time to act as referee in the Battle of Dick and Barry.
Katrina and the Waves "Walking On Sunshine"
Alright this is already far less s
hit than I was expecting. Sounds like they prefer to let Blondie do most of the work though. Still, with this amount of energy and fun I can only give so much of f
uck. Perfect song to go on a sunny ride in a convertible, preferably while taking a roadtrip with Britney Spears and all of her generic, dull friends. And I assure you, despite the reference, that I have never seen that movie. But I would totally watch it if it came on on Sunday on UPN and I had nothing better to do but play with myself. Which is most Sundays.
P.S. Looking at the lyrics to the song I see how hilarious it is that Rob was assaulted with this the day he gets dumped. Bless you, Nick Hornby.
The Righteous Brothers "Little Latin Lupe Lu"
Yeah, I've heard this song about fifty million times ever since I stole my mom's CD (she didn't want it, so it doesn't count as theft, so there) and it's some quality 60's garage rock/frat rock. Nice energy, nice lazy vocals, and the saxophone is also rather sweet. Still not as good as "Gimme Some Lovin'" or "Nobody but Me" or "Louie Louie" (all on that album, so you see why I "stole" it), but quite good nonetheless.
Mitch Ryder and the Detroit Wheels "Little Latin Lupe Lu"
Oh, this is better. I've only heard the first like ten seconds, but I can already tell. Dirtier, sloppier, and that openning drum beat is much more punk.
On second thought, I'm not so sure. The Righteous Brothers version has its merits over Mitch Ryder. First of all, the vocals have more of a cheesy charisma that makes it quite fun, whereas Mitch Ryder (I'm assuming he's the singer) doesn't really sound like anything particularly special. He goes along with the more stripped down music in his version, but still, I'm sure you can find plenty of singers like him in plenty of other garage bands.
The Righteous Brothers also has a much more warm production, whereas the Mitch Ryder version is again, much more stripped down, and has a live feel to it. Which is all good, and would probably be better live, but on record, the other version is more enjoyable.
So, I'm gonna have to give this one to Barry and assume that Dick is just being an obscurist snob.