Peaches And Cream - Larry Williams

Peaches And Cream - Larry Williams

2:01

single, 1958

Written by Larry Williams

More Chuck Berry than Little Richard, this Williams rocker is, of course, about a rather inappropriately young girl whom the narrator is crazy for.  Sigh; it's best to assume that all these '50s (and onward) boogies about minors are written for, and from the perspective of, teenage boys.  Anyway, this is an archetypical example of the genre, with references to drive-ins on Saturday night, parking in the dark, and comparing the girl to a movie star.  "Great balls of fire, honey, I wanna be your man / I′m not jivin', it's understood / You′re the cutest in the neighborhood."  Rapid-fire piano tinkling and wailing sax give this song its fire.

Positive Charge - Gaslight Anthem

Positive Charge - Gaslight Anthem

4:06

History Books, 2023

Written by Brian Fallon, Alex Rosamilia, Alex Levine, and Benny Horowitz

A growling rock anthem about finding yourself again, whether youth, lost love, or something else.  Demons have been faced and now we're ready to step into the sunshine.  "It's hard to know when your mind declares a war on you / Like the thoughts inside my skull would do, like I was blind / And I'm sure I saw the signs but didn't know."  Now life seems precious, arms open wide, wanting to keep love alive as long as possible.  I love the songcraft and the lyrics, although to me the mix seems strangely muffled, dampening the message somewhat.

Pumping On Your Stereo - Supergrass

Pumping On Your Stereo - Supergrass

3:20

Supergrass, 1999

Written by Gaz Coombes, Danny Goffey, Mick Quinn, and Rob Coombes

A decently catchy Brit-rock song, even it leans too hard on titular repetition as chorus for my taste and the lyrics would be at home on a Spinal Tap album ("Well life is a cigarette, smoked to the end / But if you rock it a little bit / Then you burn all your friends" — wise words, David St. Hubbins!).  It's a groovy, silly, cheery glam-rock party song, tongue in cheek down to the "humping on your stereo" wink.  But as Nigel Tufnel wondered, "What's wrong with being sexy?"