from Everybody’s a Jerk, 1993

Just back from the first dog walk of summer (“Hey, a sidewalk full of unripened mulberries goes right through ya!” says Pearl). Thinking of this, my favorite season, I always return to the music I remember from my first summers on the planet. I suppose I could have grown up normally, my nascent ear nurtured by the likes of The Beach Boys and Motown (which I loved then and still do), but for some reason I always felt more drawn to the stable of lovable nerds on A&M – the Burt Bacharach, the Herb Alpert, the Sergio Mendes & Brasil 66!!! Maybe it was the fact that when you heard one of their tunes for the first time, you couldn’t necessarily predict what the next three minutes of your life were going to be like; I didn’t like my pop culture spoon-fed to me even then. Maybe it was the undercurrent of melancholy that runs through so much of what these guys put out, even in the “happy” songs – come to think of it, that’s definitely it – I mean, have we met?! This tune, from my first CD a hundred years ago (which I think means I now own the masters???), hearkens back to a time before entertainment became completely focus-grouped and homogenized – intended as a tribute to a now nonexistent industry faction that once rewarded originality and innovation, not to mention off-beat weirdness. Welcome to summer, old-school A&M-style: enjoy it while it lasts. (Even though this is officially my Favorite Day of the Year, I can’t stop myself from noticing that tomorrow they start getting shorter!)

Drums, percussion – Ray Grappone
Bass – Scott Rosette
Polite café applause – Mick Cantarella, Casey McClellan, MH
Classical guitar, piano, all vocals, antique hand-cranked and steam-driven keyboards – MH

Music & Lyrics by Michael Holland; Arranged and produced by MH
© Holland Highwater Music, ASCAP; Ⓟ1993 Miss Prim Records