All my regular sources of information are all clogged up with the looming election and I've had enough, so I go looking for another source. I dial up Vimeo and somehow I end up on my account there (that I don't remember having) and I find I have a handful of videos. Most are nothing special, but what's this? The Boss Hoss - Don't Gimme That, the video I had lost all hope of ever tracking down and here I've had a copy of it in my back pocket all along. If that don't beat all.
It starts (and ends) with a shot of the Continental Club, which is located on South Congress Avenue, on the South side of the river in Austin, Texas. That's the other side of the river from all the "important" stuff like the Capitol and UT (University of Texas). I know this because I used to frequent the joint 30 years ago. It was a dive back then, and it doesn't look like it has changed. One corner of the ceiling was falling in, and the carpet used to be some color other than black, but you couldn't tell what it was. If you wanted tunes it was the place to go. However, you wouldn't hear either of the kinds of music that are supposedly indigenous to Texas, Country or Western. I really, really, like this band.
This song has been popping up on YouTube recently. I remember it, of course, from back in the day. It's a great tune, but now when I am listening to it, I got to wondering just what the heck is she singing about? Never bothered me before, it was a hard rocking tune, and I was jammin', the FM radio in my car was my soundtrack. But now I listen to it and I am puzzled. A barracuda is a fast predator that lives in the sea. Has kind of a nasty reputation. Reading the lyrics (because half the time I can't understand all the lyrics and the other half of the time I get half of the words wrong) doesn't really get me anywhere. This story over on Ultimate Classic Rock explains that Ann Wilson was angry with some of the jerks she encountered in the music business, which sounds a whole lot like the Boss Hoss tune Monkey Business. The lyrics don't really make that clear. Actually they don't make a much sense, but hey, poetic license, use your imagination.
Then I'm reading in the Wikipedia article about how Sarah Palin used this as her theme song at the 2008 Republican National Convention, and I'm wondering 'are Republicans really that tone deaf?', but then I remember some other stuff I have read about why Trump is so popular, and I think I understand. They are just like I was, when I was busy and had a job. I didn't know or care what the song was about, I just liked it. It's only now that I am unemployed that I have time to think about such things. The whole thing with the Republicans and Trump is that they want a major change in our nation's direction and they don't care about any of these little chicken-shit issues that those persistent liberal reporter gadflies keep bringing up.. They want a change in direction and if they can't get the train to change direction they will be perfectly happy to derail it because they don't like the direction it is heading. Sounds like a culture war to me.
The tune isn't great, it's not bad, but the video! Well, that's something else. I especially like the Mariachis. Can't tell you why. Maybe the horns come in at just the right time.
Update January 2019. There used to be a very cool video that went with this song, but it has disappeared. I found it on a German site a while back and posted it, but the embedded version doesn't work any more. I kept the link in case anyone wants to try and track down the original video.
WARNING: if you let this video play to the end, it will hijack your browser and take you to Germany. There is also an ad before the video starts. Because this band and this song are so great you should let it take you to Germany and buy some of whatever it is they are selling. Coffee or chocolate last time I played it.
The cool part: It starts (and ends) with a shot of the Continental Club, which is located on South Congress Avenue, on the South side of the river in Austin, Texas. That's the other side of the river from all the "important" stuff like the Capitol and UT (University of Texas). I know this because I used to frequent the joint 30 years ago. It was a dive back then, and it doesn't look like it has changed. One corner of the ceiling was falling in, and the carpet used to be some color other than black, but you couldn't tell what it was. If you wanted tunes it was the place to go. However, you wouldn't hear either of the kinds of music that are supposedly indigenous to Texas, Country or Western. I really, really, like this band.
I had to dig around to locate this video. I could not find it on YouTube. You can find the tune, and a truncated version of this video, but not the whole thing. It is available on the band's website.
I think the tattoo was a fake done only for this video. After watching this video umpteen times I believe that the smudge on the car seat confirms it. Why do I think that is important?
I got onto this from tracking down the originals of some Boss Hoss covers. I like the music for both versions equally well, but I like this video better.
Street View of signpost at the corner of Daggett-Yermo Rd. & 'A' St.
Update: This video is 15 years old. Shows how out of touch I am. It occured to me after I put up The Boss Hoss Don't Gimme That video that both videos had a Texas flavor: Cadillacs and cowboy boots. So I went back and watched this one a little more closely and found proof: the van at the end has a Texas license plate. There is also a street sign at the beginning that looks unique, and sure enough it is. You can find it in Daggett, California, just outside of Barstow. Humph. Not real Texas flavor, it's a California fake. Oh, well, Barstow probably has more in common with El Paso than Hollywood. Wasn't able to find the restaurant though, which was the only other clue I could find. P.S. I love the D.J.
Update 2: For some reason when I am watching this video, I don't notice all the car noises (roaring engines, skidding tires, collisions), but if I am just listening to it while doing something else (i.e. not watching the video portion) they are very prominent. Gives a completely different feel to it.
I'm not quite sure about this. I mean, I like the sound. This particular song has some crude bits, but it is at least embeddable (is that even a real word?), unlike most of The Boss Hoss tunes on YouTube.
What we have here is a German band, singing covers of American popular music, in English, but with a Country-Western flavor. And horns. Given the number of live concert videos posted on YouTube, they must be some kind of phenomena in Germany. It's just weird, man.
