THE GREATEST RECORD EVER MADE: I'm Ready For My Luck To Turn Around

This will appear in my long-threatened book The Greatest Record Ever Made! (Volume 1). If, y'know, I ever follow through on the threat. It will follow this chapter, and lead directly into this chapter.

An infinite number of tracks can each be THE greatest record ever made, as long as they take turns. Today, this is THE GREATEST RECORD EVER MADE!

MARYKATE O'NEIL: I'm Ready For My Luck To Turn Around

Written by Marykate O'Neil and Jill Sobule

Produced by Roger Moutenot and Jill Sobule

From the album 1-800-Bankrupt, self-released, 2006

Belief feeds hope.

Marykate O'Neil is a singer-songwriter, originally from Massachusetts, relocated to New York City. She released four albums--Marykate O'Neil, 1-800-Bankrupt, mkULTRA, and Underground--in a period from 2002 to 2009. My first exposure to her music was her able cover of the Monkees' "Pleasant Valley Sunday" in 2000 (from a various-artists Monkees tribute album called Through The Looking Glass: Indie Pop Plays The Monkees). 2006's "I'm Ready For My Luck To Turn Around" was my go-to. It became even more of a go-to in 2020.

Initially, my resumed embrace of the song was prompted by my own feeling of spiritual restlessness; I had turned 60 in January of 2020, and had grown frustrated with the long and seemingly fruitless effort to get a book published. I was ready for...you know. 

Beyond my petty little whining, the song soon took on a much wider meaning, as we tried to deal with all of...this, from a pandemic and an incompetent pretend President through episodes of violence, brutality, racism, and myopic resistance to the simple concept that Black Lives Matter. Marykate O'Neil provided me with a spark of fleeting comfort throughout this weird and troubled time. 

I'm ready for my luck to turn around.

I used to say that I was made out of hope. Maybe I still am. Marykate O'Neil's wonderful track was one of my most beloved security blankets in 2020, first as I attempted to calibrate my own frustrations and expectations, and then more gravely as the year became...that year. I don't think O'Neil designed the song to be a comfort for anyone. That's just how it turned out. Ultimately, even the artist's own goals fall away as the audience adopts the work as its own. 

I'm ready for my luck to turn around. As this world continues to give us more and more reason to question what we think we know, to lose faith in what we believe to be unshakeable truth, it's a sentiment worth adopting as both shield and sword. Stand by me. 

If you're ready.

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Carl's new book Gabba Gabba Hey! A Conversation With The Ramones is now available, courtesy of the good folks at Rare Bird Books. Gabba Gabba YAY!! https://rarebirdlit.com/gabba-gabba-hey-a-conversation-with-the-ramones-by-carl-cafarelli/

If it's true that one book leads to another, my next book will be The Greatest Record Ever Made! (Volume 1). Stay tuned. Your turn is coming.

This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio with Dana & Carl airs Sunday nights from 9 to Midnight Eastern, on the air in Syracuse at SPARK! WSPJ 103.3 and 93.7 FM, streaming at SPARK stream and on the Radio Garden app as WESTCOTT RADIO. Recent shows are archived at Westcott Radio. You can read about our history here.

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