An infinite number of songs can each be THE greatest record ever made, as long as they take turns. Today, this is THE GREATEST RECORD EVER MADE!
THE RASPBERRIES: "I Wanna Be With You"
In the liner notes of the collection Raspberries' Best, writer Randall S. Davis refers to The Raspberries' quartet of "horny singles": "Go All The Way," "I Wanna Be With You," "Tonight," and "Ecstasy." No other string of four singles presents a more concise and efficient embodiment of power pop as these. One could argue (with quite a bit of validity) that perhaps an ideal power pop song should incorporate some innocence, and maybe not be quite so obsessed with sex; but power pop, by definition, should feel urgent, and the horny singles sure do feel urgent.
The crucial role of The Raspberries in the power pop story cannot be overstated. Where several other acts played in a pop style, The Raspberries consciously set out to recreate the frenzied rock ‘n’ roll excitement of Beatlemania. They didn’t want to be a revival act; they wanted to bring the pop of the ‘60s up-to-date with the power of the ‘70s.
The Raspberries made incredible records, often combining the leering salaciousness of The Rolling Stones with a facade of choirboy (or Beach Boys) innocence that enabled them to get away with blunt sexual solicitations like “Go All The Way,” a # 5 hit in 1972. “Go All The Way” was followed later that year by the similarly-themed “I Wanna Be With You,” perhaps the definitive power pop single.
Dave Wolin, co-owner of the Big Deal record label in the 1990s, recalled the appeal of The Raspberries’ unique dichotomy: “The Raspberries may have dressed up their songs with beautiful melodies, but the underlying themes were basically smoke pot and have sex with minors. It represented the ultimate Rabelaisian, hedonistic world view, but in a package that could be sold to the masses. That is the essence of rock ‘n’ roll. There is something really sublime about taking your parents’ worst nightmares, sugarcoating them a little and getting them to dance unwittingly to it at a Bar Mitzvah.”
That's a fair description of "I Wanna Be With You," a record so eager for connubial bliss that you might go blind just from listening to it. After decades of hindsight, many have zeroed in on the song's line If you believe that we're doing is right, close your eyes and be still as a cringe-worthy suggestion of seducing a reluctant partner, or even date-rape.
It's a difficult and damning notion to address; naive romantic that I am, I've just never heard it that way. To me, "I Wanna Be With You" has always been about a mutual leap into passion, a kiss, another kiss, and consensual steaminess to follow. I realize I'm about the only one who interprets it that way, and the line as written is jarring and uncomfortable once considered in a harsher context. But I don't think that was the intent. I hope it wasn't. It is a song about teenage sex, for sure, but I don't think it's meant to be an account or confession of a crime taking place.
I hear it in purer (if still sweaty) terms. Our love could live forever after tonight. The boy's a bit of a leering oaf, but I think his intentions are...well, "honorable" wouldn't be an accurate description. But I do believe he's in love, or that he at least thinks he's in love, and that the girl thinks she's in love with the dope, too. As a song cycle, "I Wanna Be With You" is a perfect prologue to The Shirelles' "Will You Love Me Tomorrow," perhaps followed by Dusty Springfield's "I Only Want To Be With You." That's a benevolent, hopeful path forward, and that's how I choose to hear "I Wanna Be With You."
My memory of my first exposure to The Raspberries does not match real-world chronology. I'm positive that I heard "I Wanna Be With You' on Syracuse's WOLF-AM before later hearing "Go All The Way" on the same station, even though the latter predates the former. That can't be right, but it's how I remember it. I further remember thinking "Go All The Way" was an incredibly great follow-up to "I Wanna Be With You." Pesky facts say otherwise. Nonetheless. I absolutely remember a WOLF DJ introducing "I Wanna Be With You" the same way the station had introduced me to Badfinger a few years before that: These guys sound like The Beatles!
That they did. Just hornier.
You can support this blog by becoming a patron on Patreon: Fund me, baby!
Fans of pop music will want to check out Waterloo Sunset--Benefit For This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio, a new pop compilation benefiting SPARK! Syracuse, the home of This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio with Dana & Carl. TIR'N'RR Allstars--Steve Stoeckel, Bruce Gordon, Joel Tinnel, Stacy Carson, Eytan Mirsky, Teresa Cowles, Dan Pavelich, Irene Peña, Keith Klingensmith, and Rich Firestone--offer a fantastic new version of The Kinks' classic "Waterloo Sunset." That's supplemented by eleven more tracks (plus a hidden bonus track), including previously-unreleased gems from The Click Beetles, Eytan Mirsky, Pop Co-Op, Irene Peña, Michael Slawter (covering The Posies), and The Anderson Council (covering XTC), a new remix of "Infinite Soul" by The Grip Weeds, and familiar TIRnRR Fave Raves by Vegas With Randolph, Gretchen's Wheel, The Armoires, and Pacific Soul Ltd. Oh, and that mystery bonus track? It's exquisite. You need this. You're buying it from Futureman.
That's a fair description of "I Wanna Be With You," a record so eager for connubial bliss that you might go blind just from listening to it. After decades of hindsight, many have zeroed in on the song's line If you believe that we're doing is right, close your eyes and be still as a cringe-worthy suggestion of seducing a reluctant partner, or even date-rape.
It's a difficult and damning notion to address; naive romantic that I am, I've just never heard it that way. To me, "I Wanna Be With You" has always been about a mutual leap into passion, a kiss, another kiss, and consensual steaminess to follow. I realize I'm about the only one who interprets it that way, and the line as written is jarring and uncomfortable once considered in a harsher context. But I don't think that was the intent. I hope it wasn't. It is a song about teenage sex, for sure, but I don't think it's meant to be an account or confession of a crime taking place.
I hear it in purer (if still sweaty) terms. Our love could live forever after tonight. The boy's a bit of a leering oaf, but I think his intentions are...well, "honorable" wouldn't be an accurate description. But I do believe he's in love, or that he at least thinks he's in love, and that the girl thinks she's in love with the dope, too. As a song cycle, "I Wanna Be With You" is a perfect prologue to The Shirelles' "Will You Love Me Tomorrow," perhaps followed by Dusty Springfield's "I Only Want To Be With You." That's a benevolent, hopeful path forward, and that's how I choose to hear "I Wanna Be With You."
My memory of my first exposure to The Raspberries does not match real-world chronology. I'm positive that I heard "I Wanna Be With You' on Syracuse's WOLF-AM before later hearing "Go All The Way" on the same station, even though the latter predates the former. That can't be right, but it's how I remember it. I further remember thinking "Go All The Way" was an incredibly great follow-up to "I Wanna Be With You." Pesky facts say otherwise. Nonetheless. I absolutely remember a WOLF DJ introducing "I Wanna Be With You" the same way the station had introduced me to Badfinger a few years before that: These guys sound like The Beatles!
That they did. Just hornier.
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You can support this blog by becoming a patron on Patreon: Fund me, baby!
Fans of pop music will want to check out Waterloo Sunset--Benefit For This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio, a new pop compilation benefiting SPARK! Syracuse, the home of This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio with Dana & Carl. TIR'N'RR Allstars--Steve Stoeckel, Bruce Gordon, Joel Tinnel, Stacy Carson, Eytan Mirsky, Teresa Cowles, Dan Pavelich, Irene Peña, Keith Klingensmith, and Rich Firestone--offer a fantastic new version of The Kinks' classic "Waterloo Sunset." That's supplemented by eleven more tracks (plus a hidden bonus track), including previously-unreleased gems from The Click Beetles, Eytan Mirsky, Pop Co-Op, Irene Peña, Michael Slawter (covering The Posies), and The Anderson Council (covering XTC), a new remix of "Infinite Soul" by The Grip Weeds, and familiar TIRnRR Fave Raves by Vegas With Randolph, Gretchen's Wheel, The Armoires, and Pacific Soul Ltd. Oh, and that mystery bonus track? It's exquisite. You need this. You're buying it from Futureman.
(And you can still get our 2017 compilation This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio, Volume 4, on CD from Kool Kat Musik and as a download from Futureman Records.)
Hey, Carl's writin' a book! The Greatest Record Ever Made! (Volume 1) will contain 100 essays (and then some) about 100 tracks, plus two bonus instrumentals, each one of 'em THE greatest record ever made. An infinite number of records can each be the greatest record ever made, as long as they take turns. Updated initial information can be seen here: THE GREATEST RECORD EVER MADE! (Volume 1).
Hey, Carl's writin' a book! The Greatest Record Ever Made! (Volume 1) will contain 100 essays (and then some) about 100 tracks, plus two bonus instrumentals, each one of 'em THE greatest record ever made. An infinite number of records can each be the greatest record ever made, as long as they take turns. Updated initial information can be seen here: THE GREATEST RECORD EVER MADE! (Volume 1).
I thought I was the only one to prefer “I Wanna Be With You” to “Go All the Way,” but if it’s in a (forthcoming) book it must be true!
ReplyDeleteThis remains my all-time favorite song…I’m glad to see that someone agrees with my feelings about it!
ReplyDelete