Songs of Note: Stray Cats
Now, my favorite collection of Stray Cats songs came from my friend Tiffany, who gave me my first non-vinyl Stray Cats music. All these songs are from that compilation CD called Runaway Boys. It’s a pretty good disc to check out for any of you that haven’t listened to the Stray Cats, a very good intro, indeed.
- Cruisin’: This song, what can I say, it goes down smooth. It’s not as hard-rockin’ as some of the other Stray Cats numbers, but it’s a fun “tap the steering wheel” kind of tune. It actually reminds me of a friend of mine who got really into rockabilly with me, because it’s a lot like how he used to sing some of our favorite songs, so I guess I like it for that reason, too. There’s an unspeakable bond between rockabilly fans, those of us that understand how music like that started everything, and that’s what this brings me back to, for some reason.
- I Won’t Stand In Your Way: “I got a low down dirty feeling/That I’ve been cheated on and lied to/If it’s so then it’s wrong/We’ve hung on for so long/Why don’t we have that magic anymore?” It sucks when you find out that things in a relationship aren’t going as well as you’d expect them to, but somehow, sad in rockabilly is so much easier to handle then sad in, say, a torch song. It’s so pretty, you’re happy you get to sing it at all, even though it’s sad. I’d much rather brood over a lost love to a song like this than to, like, Phil Collins. (Sorry, Michael!) “Something shines in your eyes/Something stirs deep inside/I won’t stand in your way anymore.”
- Fishnet Stockings: It would be a very hard feat to not think of this song every time I wear fishnet stockings. This also makes me want to wear fishnet stockings more often. Especially the black ones: “Well she’s got a pair in pink, got a pair in red/When she wears the black ones well she makes me lose my head…” Ohhh yeah. Before fishnet stockings were worn by every girl to make any kind of random fashion statement (sometimes very wrong ones), they were worn by some pretty cool chicks. This reminds me of that and also enforces my pride in the best kind of legwear around.
- 18 Miles to Memphis: When I listen to this song, all I can imagine is a tour bus, so apparently, they did something right. I’m someone who lives for road trips of any kind, but sadly, I’ve never had the good fortune to be on tour for anything. This makes me really want to make that happen some day. “Alabama, Mississippi, Florida, Louisiana, big ol’ Texas/From New England down to Georgia, Kansas City, Colorado, California/Well, it’s the last night of our tour, we’re gonna rock you through the roof, just wait and see.” It’s like “I’ve Been Everywhere” but a couple decades later…or something…whatever, I really like it.
- Rock This Town: Growing up in the house that I did, my parents exposed me to all kinds of music, and the Stray Cats were part of the rotation, for sure. I got into the Brian Setzer Orchestra right around the time The Dirty Boogie came out, so I was thrilled to see that “Rock This Town” was originally played by the Stray Cats. It’s kind of how I first made the transfer from big band to rockabilly, and from there I listened to Johnny Cash, and everything else just fell into place. For this reason, “Rock This Town” was kind of a genesis song for me. Done well by Brian Setzer in both bands, no doubt.
Photo Credit: magannie
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