Song Of The Day 2/9/2014: Tom Watt - "Subterranean Homesick Blues"


Quarterly Covers Report: With all the flak Our National Treasure Bob Dylan got for appearing (actually appearing) in Chrysler ads during last week's Super Bowl (or, as Jon Stewart called it, "The Seattle Seahawks celebrating Sunday's 'Bring-the-Broncos-To-Work Day'"), I figured, hey, it's a beautiful night, there's a nice snow falling outside, I'm feeling limber -- let's heap on the insults to start this Quarter's Covers Report!

This version of "Subterranean Homesick Blues" was brought to my attention from one Johny Baltimore, and at first sounds like one of those fatally misguided options that we sometimes had to deal with as fallout from the new wave invasion of the late '70s. However, I'm warming to the idea that this could have been, if not exactly a prank, then not really intended to be one for the ages. The 1986 cover Tom Watt's only known recording (except for the B-side, "Guess I Had Too Much To Drink Last Night," which I'm hoping was a commentary on the events documented on the A-side). But what's more, Watt was in fact an actor at the time, known for his role of Lofty Holloway on the BBC soap opera EastEnders. So this was almost certainly an intentional, one-off lark.

Later on Watt indulged his true passion for sports journalism, and he now hosts a talk show on the channel devoted to the Arsenal football team. He also appeared in the film "version" of Sherlock Holmes as "the carriage driver."

It's Covers Week. I both anticipate and dread this week every three months. Now it's your turn.



Comments