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SF Air/SF Hair
 photo by Laura Cottingham This song is about seeing and trying to come to terms with the unexpected. San Francisco was always known for being the big California city with clean air. Now, because of the Northern California wildfires, its air can sometimes be worse than the smog in Los Angeles. The realization of this change and its impact and how to communicate it vocally was inspired by Elvis Presley’s notorious “Desert Storm” speech of 1974. Elvis was in the midst of his divorce from Priscilla Presley and finishing up what would become his final residency in Las Vegas. There are recordings of his nine minute tirade against the gossip/movie/entertainment magazines for reporting/spreading rumors that he was “strung out on heroin.” During this melt down he claims that he has never been strung out on heroin and that the only thing that he has ever been strung out on was music. The audience is clapping and very supportive of him during this harangue. He goes on to say how dangerous these kinds of rumors/reports (fake news) are to his father, his band, his audience and his little daughter. That is when I got to thinking about how his daughter, Lisa Marie Presley, is/was one of the Ramones’ biggest fans. She was close friends with Johnny Ramone and helped pay for the statue of him at his gravesite in Hollywood. Johnny, who was everyone else’s nightmare (the subject of “The KKK Took My Baby Away”), was the light of Lisa Marie’s life. I think that there is a Buddhist moral in there somewhere but moving right along…. Editor's Note: These are the first new Girls On Fire recordings since 1985! Thanks for the Feedback
 Bringing back the autobiographical elements along with real potty talk and some important, helpful public health information, the lyrics speak for themselves: Cheap imitation furniture
Socratic landscaped Broken sunglasses Anthill off the freeway Nice white ladies With asses made of sandpaper Sadly and quickly Wore away the toilet seat Go glasses away Leviticus 2018 It is broken Fuck this dumb shit It turns out You can’t get scabies From sitting on A toilet seat
16 Comments
Jim Barker
12/7/2018 17:52:50
Very entertaining/amusing/bonkers. Hope there's gonna be some more.
Rafael González
12/7/2018 18:36:27
Wonderful and great! I love. I really like your creations and your explanations of the tracks are incredibly enlightening and fun ¡Viva la poesía!
Chris Phinney
12/7/2018 20:03:51
Leslie,
Evan Cantor
12/8/2018 13:56:34
Believe it or not, dying on the shitter is a very common occurrence. Elvis was on so many drugs (not heroin, I suppose) that his system was compromised. If you are badly constipated and squeeze sufficiently hard, you give yourself a heart attack. I'm not making this up. Eat yer prunes!
Hal McGee
12/8/2018 14:02:49
Prune Juice is a daily part of MY active lifestyle!
Chris Phinney
12/8/2018 18:20:07
Oh yes I know it is a commom occurence, look at Lenny Bruce different story though my mommy would have loved you if you had'nt od'ed on the crapper :) I forget where I heard that, or read it record jacket or t shirt. Yes of course his system was compromised, hence Nics trunk.
Adam J Naworal
12/8/2018 02:25:16
Love the article and the new tunes! Great job and glad to see you're back in business with the music, Leslie! 12/8/2018 03:06:31
I totally enjoyed your recordings I lived near San Francisco for time though I am originally from Orange County California, so I can totally confirm the air has gotten bad over there as well as a bunch of other stuff.
Evan Cantor
12/8/2018 13:59:04
great stuff, Leslie! I've been wondering where my bonkers went after all these years... you're an inspiration.
Leslie Singer
12/8/2018 23:11:56
Thanks so much to Jim, Chris, Evan, Adam, Aimee, Rafael and Hal for your responses. Much appreciated! From Dr. Nic to Orange County to heart attacks to Lenny Bruce to la poesia to prune juice, I think that we’ve got another bonkers Girls on Fire song in the works! Thanks again!!!
Lumen K
12/9/2018 08:04:32
One of my favorite recordings of late. Everything about this, in fact, including the article and photos is magnificent. It is evocative of so much of the American imaginaire and yet so beautifully encapsulated at the same time. Kudos!
Leslie Singer
12/13/2018 22:28:15
Lumen, thanks so much for your response and appreciation!
Dylan Houser
12/11/2018 05:47:46
That looped Kool-Aid guy-esque "OHHH YEAH" sample is great
Leslie Singer
12/13/2018 22:33:49
Dylan, thanks for your funny, insightful response! As I recall that Kool Aid guy was quite a cheerful monster!
Frank
12/13/2018 21:48:39
Great, to hear new material from you, Leslie! Did you start recording, because of EC influence or did you secretly still made music for yourself?
Leslie Singer
12/13/2018 22:37:56
Frank, thanks! Hal and all of you great EC folks are the inspiration for my return to music. Girls on Fire is like the Phoenix rising from the ashes! I can’t thank you all enough! Leave a Reply. |
Leslie SingerAfter high school and a year in the DC noise band, Psychodrama, I moved to SF in 1982. Archives
November 2020
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