This week’s theme for Song Lyric Sunday gave me pause for thought. It is to play a song by a band that wore uniforms. Did this mean military style uniforms or, as Americans call their sports kits ‘uniforms,’ was this an homage to some sporting event taking place there today? No idea what it might be, though, as they just don’t hype it up enough. Jim’s post – I Don’t Need No Stinking Uniform – explains what he intended.
I know that a lot of bands started out back in the Sixties with a nice booted and suited look – The Beatles and The Rolling Stones among them – but I consulted the Wikipedia oracle for some real uniforms. I found the names of several bands I had heard of but knew little about, like Devo, but then the lightbulb moment happened. Who needs someone else’s list when you already know of a band that fits the bill? A few weeks ago I played you a song by the Finnish bluegrass band Steve ‘N’ Seagulls, and that country also gave us the weird Eurovision winners Lordi some years ago. There must be something in the water there, as they have another band of lunatics and they are who I’m featuring today. I’m giving you three by them, as they are worth a good look and don’t take themselves too seriously, which is probably just as well. This first one is a cover of a 1970 hit for a Canadian band – The Guess Who – but I think you’ll get the idea:
And you thought Donald Trump’s hairstyle was original? No chance – like everything else about him, he stole the idea! As this is SLS I should really give you the lyrics before going any further:
American woman, stay away from me
American woman, mama, let me be
Don’t come a-hangin’ around my door
I don’t wanna see your face no more
I got more important things to do
Than spend my time growin’ old with you
Now woman, I said stay away
American woman, listen what I say
American woman, get away from me
American woman, mama, let me be
Don’t come a-knockin’ around my door
Don’t wanna see your shadow no more
Coloured lights can hypnotize
Sparkle someone else’s eyes
Now woman, I said get away
American woman, listen what I say, hey
American woman, said get away
American woman, listen what I say
Don’t come a-hangin’ around my door
Don’t wanna see your face no more
I don’t need your war machines
I don’t need your ghetto scenes
Coloured lights can hypnotize
Sparkle someone else’s eyes
Now woman, get away from me
American woman, mama, let me be
Source: AZLyrics.com
Writer(s): Randy Bachman, Jim Kale, Burton Cummings, Garry Peterson
And now for some background on the band. The Leningrad Cowboys were created by the Finnish film director Aki Kaurismäki together with two members of the Finnish comedy rock band Sleepy Sleepers – yep, more crazy Finns! The three of them conceived the idea in a bar in 1986 as a joke on what they perceived as the waning power of the Soviet Union. Kaurismäki directed their first music video, which resulted in three short films and then a feature film about them, Leningrad Cowboys Go America, in 1989. This live performance is typical of what they do – humour, outrageous clothes and hairstyles, and lots of fun. In the beginning they played mostly cover versions, but have released their own songs too.
Here’s another cover version, though they wore suits as their uniform for this one. The hair and shoes remain, though:
A little different from the Mary Hopkin original. which I don’t remember involving any farmyard animals. The accordion gives it a suitably French feel, though, to fit the way they themed it.
In keeping with their name they have recorded and toured a lot with versions of the Red Army Choir, though presumably without explaining the band’s origins to them. You might have seen them briefly in the first video, if you were quick enough! The Cowboys have made nine studio albums and four live records, though here hasn’t been anything new from them since 2013. Their fourth album, Go Space, was released in 1996 and was their first to contain entirely original songs. To close today I’m playing the lead single from it, written for them by Per Gessle, who was one half of the Swedish band Roxette:
No, I have no idea why they were flying around the Universe on tractors, either – presumably part of their Finnish rural upbringings. But the song has a nice melodic feel to it, though the humour of their outfits and hairstyles is still there. It was a cheeky touch to include NASA in the credits for the video, too. The single wasn’t a hit anywhere as far as I can tell, but the album reached #2 in Finland, #48 in Austria, and #88 in Germany. Maybe they are an acquired taste? 🤣
That’s all for today. This may not be what Jim had been expecting when he chose ‘bands in uniforms’ as this week’s theme, but amongst all the other things music can give us it needs to bring fun and a smile every now and then, and these guys and their lovely ladies knew how to do that. See you again for Tuesday Tunes, what?
