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There was an album that changed my way of listening to music, introducing me to something different from rock. It was Night and Day by Joe Jackson. I was a pimply high school student with a great passion for music. On the only music TV channel at the time, Videomusic, I had listened to Steppin’ Out and from there I bought the vinyl. I had difficulty transitioning from Rock to this global vision of music. Mr. Jackson's World Music.
During that time, there were rumors in student committees that they were looking for a DJ for a local radio station. In the early '80s, radios were still listened to. And as some of you might recall, DJs weren't supposed to talk over the song because the tracks were being recorded. If a word slipped, a curse would be issued for generations and generations. The radio looking for DJs was Radio On Leinì, in the very first outskirts of Turin. From home, I could clearly hear the signal of this radio, and it seemed like a great opportunity. Extremely excited, I went for the interview with a backpack containing a dozen LPs. A classmate was at the helm, and they gave me half an hour. I decided on a rock-heavy playlist, ending with Slow Song precisely by Mr. Jackson. This was the lucky strike, as I was fully recruited. DJ half an hour a week. I would leave home with my moped and my records. After an hour on the road, I could play the music I had chosen. It was amazing, and I was on cloud nine. I told everyone that I had become a DJ. Yes.
During the broadcast, I would leave the phone number for dedications and requests. And one fine day, after the broadcast, two girls called me. Catherine and Jacqueline. Wait a minute. I want to specify that while my passion was indeed music, it wasn't exactly in first place. After a little chat, we decided to meet in Turin, and I had to bring a friend. Good times. Golden times. Testosterone running high even though I didn’t even know what it was.
At the appointed time, I showed up with Macho, my long-time friend, my first guitarist. Mid-afternoon, Turin under the deluge. I remember the bus journey with wet but fearless hair, beautiful as only 16-year-old newbies can be. We approached the meeting point quickly. There they were. Two girls with an umbrella. You couldn’t see their faces. And our almost military stride slowly faded. Like a replay of 90° minuto, I relive the situation. Surely Catherine and Jacqueline were fantasy names, but here we don’t question names for their dreamy sound. The names vanished. Evaporated. Only the faces of two space oddities remained and Macho's murmuring repeating “damn, damn, damn…”
A friend is there when you need them. But Macho pulled a cowardly move. He took a different direction, crossed the street, and left me alone with the oddities. Situation point: I had a bastard friend, and I couldn't ask Commander Koenig for help because Space 1999 was fiction and not reality. Embarrassed but polite, I stayed just long enough to justify my hurry.
The 20th century has passed. In fact, the 2nd millennium has passed. Even now Macho reminds me of the oddities attracted by Night and Day.
Perhaps I have digressed too much and I’ll move on to the review I had in mind, not Night and Day, a record that has been discussed endlessly, but rather Blaze of Glory. An album released later, precisely in 1989. Until yesterday, I didn't know whether I liked it or not, but with a tweak of the playlist, removing 3 awful tracks, I concluded that it's an excellent work. Yes, I know, Night and Day is listened to from start to finish and put on repeat for the magic it conveys. Here you have to choose. The first two tracks are thrilling. Tomorrow's World and Me and You (Against the World) are worthy of the best Jackson. The single released was Nineteen Forever, perhaps not very well chosen. A pity. This LP sold poorly, and poor Joe Jackson wasn't renewed with the record company.
I wish you a whole day with Macho or two oddities. It’s your call.
Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
06 Blaze of Glory (06:08)
Johnny was a young boy
with nothing much except a certain kind of look in his eye
He was discovered one day - you see he had a certain kind of appeal
for a certain kind of guy
Who gave him some advice on what to wear
and sent him out to make the young girls cry
And all the young boys who'd just been dumb and restless
now they could identify
So tell me who'll take the blame
for the way things turned out
Well six long months passed and Johnny was the biggest thing alive
And we loved Johnny and we owned Johnny
and no one knew how Johnny felt inside
And Johnny was so beautiful, he was like a god
and we all went along for the ride
And the ride started to go too fast
and Johnny just conveniently died
And he went up in flames
He did what he had to do
And they say it's a tragic story
he just wasn't there one day
but he went out in a Blaze of Glory
and you and I - you and I just fade away
Well nowadays there's a lot of guys like Johnny
they got it all worked out - like working 9 to 5
But they're all just cartoons - all think they're Superman
but they can't even fly
And they say that Johnny's ghost walks 'round in Memphis
when the moon is full and high
And I wonder if he sees these jokers
and I wonder if he laughs or if he cries
Now he's an angel in flames
But what about you and me
And they say it's a tragic story
he just wasn't there one day
but he went out in a Blaze of Glory
and you and I - you and I just fade away
10 Evil Empire (03:45)
There’s a country where no one knows
What’s going on in the rest of the world
There’s a country where minds are closed
With just a few asking questions
Like what do their leaders say
In sessions behind closed doors
And if this is the perfect way
Why do we need these goddamn lies
This doesn’t go down too well
"we give you everything and you throw it back
Don’t like it here you can go to hell
You’re either with or against us . . ."
There’s a country that’s great and wide
It’s got the biggest of everything
Try to attack it and you can’t hide
Don’t say that you haven’t been warned
You can’t hide in a gunman’s mask
Or kill innocent folks and run
But if you’re good at it they might ask -
Come on over to the other side
There’s a country that’s tired of war
There’s a country that’s scared inside
But the bank is open and you can draw
For guns to fight in their backyard
I could go on but what’s the use
You can’t fight them with songs
But think of this as just
Another tiny blow against the empire
Another blow against the evil empire
Just another blow against the evil empire
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