Confession: I have a strange fascination with truckers. I blame this on my unhealthy childhood obsession with Big Trouble in Little China. The notion of spending one’s life on the road has been highly romanticized in my imagination and I don’t intend on changing my opinion. Jack Burton, Kurt Russell’s character, passes the long hours by waxing poetic on his CB Radio and eating burritos. His pithy dialogue and rugged good looks paired with his individualistic nature make him a veritable dreamboat for those of us who are attracted to men for all the wrong qualities.
Another main attraction of the trucker lifestyle is the cute cozy nooks they get to sleep in. I can often envision myself tucked away comfortably, dog by my side, in our sleeping cabin (which would look like the inside of the Genie’s bottle) with some greasy diner fare and a good book. Or maybe we’d burn the midnight oil, putting pen to paper writing the next great American novel (because in this alternate universe I’d actually be disciplined enough to do so). Other bonuses of the trucker lifestyle: rest-stop showers (I’m totally serious, they have good showers), breakfast sandwiches, tons of radio listening time, 24 hour diners, burnt coffee, witnessing shifting landscapes, and tons of cool trucker stories.
So, what does this have to do with today’s song? The name of the game today is to select a song which reminds you of an event. My event involves, for a fleeting moment, being the leader of a convoy.
My friend Ned and I had a lot of pretty mundane pastimes when we were in our late teens. We loved to hang out at Wendy’s and read tarot cards, we loved to eat dill pickle chips and play Mario Cart in his basement, we loved to go to playgrounds in the rain, and we loved driving around late at night listening to music (mostly Ned’s “Now 6” CD), chatting and smoking cigarettes. Well, Minneapolis is known for its construction season. Often stretches of highway are completely closed down and travelers are sent on confusing and ill planned detours. One night, this worked in our favor. We found ourselves aimlessly driving around a desolate southwest Minneapolis neighborhood when we stumbled upon two lost and out of place Semi Trucks. We pulled up next to them and they asked us how to get to the highway. Quickly realizing the tremendous opportunity we had been granted, we seized the moment and offered to direct them to the highway ourselves. Ned pulled his golden chariot (busted Nissan Maxima) to the front of the behemoths and we led a convoy from Linden Hills, down Xerxes, to the highway. It was freaking awesome!
“What does any of this have to do with today’s song?” you may still be wondering. Well, as fate would have it, at the exact moment we became convoy leaders, “Brass in Pocket” by The Pretenders came on the radio. Holy fuck it was amazing! Back story: Ned and I love this song, super a lot. The fact that it played at that moment was unreal! We were both completely and utterly shocked. We had, lucky for us, by this time perfected our performance of it. If my memory is correct, we had even devised an accompanying car dance. Till this day I have not had a surge of adrenaline that matches the one I experienced that night. We couldn’t sleep for hours. We drove around discussing how awesome our night had been until morning. We laughed so hard we cried. Literally, we laughed for at least an hour straight. It hurt. To this day, I still consider it to be one of the most amazing events of my life. Whenever “Brass in Pocket” plays I think of Ned and that incredible evening.
At that moment I knew that Ned and I were destined to be life long friends. His ability to revel in events that most others would consider humdrum is a true testament to the amazing person that he is. We truly are kindred spirits.
Also, Chrissie Hynde is mega awesome and we love her.
Brass in Pocket Lyrics
Got brass in pocket
Got Bottle, I'm gonna use it
Intention, I feel inventive
Gonna make you, make you, make you notice
Got motion, restrained emotion
Been driving, Detroit leaning
No reason, just seems so pleasing
Gonna make you, make you, make you notice
(CHORUS)
Gonna use my arms
Gonna use my legs
Gonna use my style
Gonna use my sidestep
Gonna use my fingers
Gonna use my, my, my imagination
'Cause I'm gonna make you see
There's nobody else here
No one like me
I'm special, so special
I gotta have some of your attention, give it to me
Got rhythm, I can't miss a beat
Got new ne skank, it's so reet
Got something, I'm winking at you
Gonna make you, make you, make you notice
(CHORUS)
Gonna use my arms
Gonna use my legs
Gonna use my style
Gonna use my sidestep
Gonna use my fingers
Gonna use my, my, my imagination
'Cause I'm gonna make you see
There's nobody else here
No one like me
I'm special, so special
I gotta have some of your attention
Give it to me
'Cause I'm gonna make you see
There's nobody else here
No one like me
I'm special, so special
I gotta have some of your attention
Give it to me!
Runners Up:
1.“Let the River Run” by Carly Simon-Riding the Staten Island Ferry and seeing the statue of Liberty for the first time
2.“Ridin’ Dirty” by Chamillionaire- Driving through Alabama to Staci and Tucker’s Florida wedding/creation of the Hater Party Crew
3.“Hip Hop” by Dead Prez-New Years 2007 at Thanh Do
Next up:
A song that you know all the words to
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