The SUNDAYS in 15 Songs

This is me, on stage for, my band Oh, Alchemy’s, first ever album release party on the last day of January in 2009.  My idea of rock star/musician had been nurtured by some of my favorite women in the indie rock scene and, very much, influenced by Harriet Wheeler of the Brit-pop band, the SUNDAYS.  I started listening to the SUNDAYS in the early 90s after first seeing them on the alt-rock MTV show, ‘120 Minutes.’  Someone with my demeanor, known to be rather quiet and demure, wasn’t expected to be in a band.  Not many people I knew had high aspirations for me performing under hot lights in front of a crowd presenting my own music for others to judge.  Yet, here I was doing just that.  I feel as if I owe so much to Harriet Wheeler as an inspiration for me to make all of that happen.  From the brunette up-do to the black sleeveless dress, even her aesthetic inspired me.  I honestly don’t know if I would have been writing songs and performing with a band if not for the SUNDAYS.

I surprised myself joining a band too.  Music meant a lot to me ever since I was very young.  Still, that front woman stuff seemed out of my reach.  I spent so much time with the SUNDAYS first album, ‘Reading, Writing, and Arithmetic’ you’d think I was obsessed with it.  In some ways, I was obsessed with it.  The music, with its jangle pop guitars and female vocals kept me entranced.  This was incredibly encouraging to see.  Listening to the SUNDAYS again, today, makes me very emotional.  The hours and hours I spent with these songs comforting me.  It was as if I had to take this path to become the songwriter I became.

I think it is fair to say, The SUNDAYS are underrated.  the band never got the exposure they deserved.  They weren’t on heavy rotation on alternative rock radio and I had only a handful of friends who knew who they were.  They followed their own path and they were committed to their own unique sound.  The SUNDAYS gave us an ethereal experience when you listened to them.  The songs were pure and powerful without screaming at you, still, the raw emotion within was made very clear.  Listening to The SUNDAYS was an escape for me.  “Hygge” a Danish term I have cemented into my vernacular over the past several years, applies to the band The SUNDAYS.  It is described as the feeling of coziness and well being.  Taking the time to appreciate nature and love.  To me, this is what The SUNDAYS were to me.

The list of my very favorite Top 15 songs by The SUNDAYS can be found below.  I have listened to each song and ranked them in an order that feels right to me.  I have provided thoughts on each song as well.  As per usual, thank you for reading and I hope you enjoy this journey as much as I did.

15 Monochrome
The last song on the third and (perhaps) final album from the SUNDAYS, ‘Monochrome’ is a song about the Apollo 11 Moon landing in 1969.  The scene is painted so lovely as Harriet Wheeler sings about watching the event with her family on a black & white television and witnessing history.  The slow tempo song features lulling guitar sounds all balanced out by Harriet’s beautiful voice.  The entire song transports you to the space and time of which she sings and you are there.

14 What Do You Think?
The SUNDAYS weren’t all soft spoken ballads.  They had a songs with a harder edge and driving melodies.  The song, ‘What Do You Think?’ is one of those songs that makes you move.  This song with lyrics like: “Everything about me is driving me mad.”  The narrator sings of needing a break.  It could be a night off or it could be for a year.  Have you ever needed some time off from being yourself?  I’ve been there.  It is something you can relate to and understand.  “What Do You Think?” is on the SUNDAYS second album, “Blind.”

13 More
I find this song so hypnotic.  There seems to be a pleading or calling out in the chorus that feels therapeutic.  Vocals sore throughout this song.  the way Harriet Wheeler’s vocals play and float over and under the key changes is both dramatic and beguiling.  The song has a sense of restlessness that can’t be tamed.  A youthful hopefulness that is unrelenting in each verse.

12 A Certain Someone
“Reading, Writing, & Arithmetic” is the debut album from the SUNDAYS.  It is also my favorite album by the SUNDAYS.  As mentioned earlier, it is one of the albums I listened to that truly influenced me as a songwriter, vocalist, and just as a person.  This song is sassy and fun.  I like the tone Harriet Wheeler takes as she sings and delivers the lyrics.  It sounds very confident and honest.  The song is a high energy SUNDAYS song.  it is an energy you can feel and you can’t help but sing along.

11 Goodbye
I think this song could be about saying goodbye to anything to which you want to say goodbye.  I’ve read comments from so many others saying the SUNDAYS music gives goose bumps and isn’t that the truth?  This song is especially goose bump worthy.  There are layers upon layers of vocals mid-song/bridge area of the song and it is gorgeous.  There is so much movement in the song.  From the start until the very end, the song moves with grace and with ease.

10 You’re Not The Only One That I Know
I listened to The SUNDAYS when I lived with my parents and had a shared wall with my older brother.  He asked me about the band and became a fan from hearing the songs so many times.  He liked them so much he started learning how to play a few of the SUNDAYS songs on guitar.  “You’re Not The Only One That I Know” was one of the songs I remember he learned how to play.  The song has a strong strumming melody throughout with the lovely Harriet Wheeler vocals to tie everything together.  I like the attitude of the song and the unclear toss and turn of emotions you hear in the lyrics.

9 Hideous Towns
This song isn’t like any other song I heard during this era.  Harriet Wheeler sings about ‘hideous towns make me throw up’ and the way she sings it is cool and fun to sing along with, for certain.  It is an upbeat song that throws you a little bit.  It is quirky and a little off center.  The drum sound that is actually off beat – and the overall feel of the song makes me giddy.  The playfulness is inviting and, truly, everything about the song brings back the best memories I have of the SUNDAYS.

8 Love
I was watching the music video for this song and someone commented on it with this quote from John Yeats, “Beauty is truth, truth beauty, – that is all ye know on earth, and all ye need to know.”  I mean, that kind of says it all.  There are elements of beauty in this song that, I don’t believe, can be explained or put into words.  This is something The SUNDAYS gave to us that few other band could give.

7 Can’t Be Sure
From The SUNDAYS first album, “Reading, Writing, & Arithmetic,” the song “Can’t Be Sure’ was the first single released.  This album had such a vibe of being carefree and limitless.  I think we are able to relate to a band or an album, often, because of the impact it made on you when you  listened to it.  I listened to this album when I wasn’t yet in a band but had these fledgling feelings about it.  The songs were so important to me because I was dreaming.  Songs like this which nurtured me and encouraged me to write songs and sing.  This song, in particular, is about not being one hundred percent sure what I want but it’s okay because it will happen when it happens.  The comfort in being okay with not knowing.

6 I Feel
I could have said this at any point in this dissection of The SUNDAYS best songs but I will say it now, they could be The Smiths.  Yes, in some ways, they could be The Smiths.  I hear a strong Smiths influence in their sound and, sometimes, their lyrics.  Johnny Marr guitars and lines like: “I feel fine, don’t wake me up yet, O the young and the old they get everything and it’s my turn.”  I can hear Morrissey singing this.  There are many songs by The SUNDAYS I could hear the Smiths performing.  I am a huge Smiths fan so I’m all about it and the comparison is a huge compliment.

5 Don’t Tell Your Mother
I have seen the title as “Don’t Tell Mother” and “Don’t Tell Your Mother.”  The song can be found on the DGC Rarities Vol. 1 album that, I think, everyone had a copy of in the 90s.  Rightly so, it was a very good album.  The album featured Nirvana, Weezer, Hole, Sonic Youth, Beck, among others.  The album was released in 1994.  A prime time for all of these artists.  The album did fairly well and I often wondered if there was a volume 2 in existence and… sad to say, there is not.  I loved the contribution by the SUNDAYS.  “Don’t Tell Your Mother” is a brilliant, playful song that you can’t get out of your head.

4 Skin and Bones
This is the first song on The SUNDAYS first album, “Skin & Bones” sticks with me, and has for so many years, because it opens this wondrous collection of songs.  This song showcases Harriet Wheeler’s voice as it soars throughout and plays with range.  There is this whimsical apathy about it as the lyrics are sung, “can’t say I really care at the end of it all.” There is something quite magical about just letting go.

3 Wild Horses (cover)
Have you ever heard a cover song and thought: this is better than the original?  This is how I feel about The SUNDAYS cover of the Rolling Stones’ “Wild Horses.”  It is as if Harriet Wheeler’s voice was meant to sing it.  This version of the song is haunting and enveloping.  Whenever I listen to it I feel overwhelmed with emotion.  I don’t think there is a cover of this song that exists that is even close to as good as this one.

2 Summertime
I remember, fairly vividly, riding around in the summertime listening to this song.  A glorious album from the SUNDAYS, ‘Static & Silence,’ the song, “Summertime” delightfully makes my heart flutter.  The music video for the song is equally as opulent as the song.  The colors pop and the visuals are heartwarming.  I highly recommend this video if you haven’t seen it.  It is, likely, my favorite video featuring the SUNDAYS and I believe it suits the song so perfectly.   The chorus is spine-tingling and everything about this song makes me feel happy.

1 Here’s Where The Story Ends
As I have been posting about bands and ranking my favorite songs, there has been a pattern of not choosing the band’s most popular or note worthy song for the number one spot on the list.  For the SUNDAYS, however; I’m flipping the script.  I am choosing the song they are most likely known for because it is the song I always come back to when I think of my relationship with the SUNDAYS songs.  My memory of staying up late and watching the video for “Here’s Where The Story Ends” on MTVs ‘120 Minutes’ is something that changed me and made me excited about new music.  David Gavurin and Harriet Wheeler even guest hosted the show ‘120 Minutes.’ I want to comment on how adorable these two are as band mates and as a couple.  They are a joy to watch whether it is chatting together or performing together.  I’m certain their natural chemistry is what made the SUNDAYS songs so lovely and impactful.

Writing about The SUNDAYS has been therapeutic for me.  I have found that revisiting these songs has transported me to a simpler time where I can see the sun stream in through my bedroom window and the ceiling fan spin steady as I absorbed these songs for the first time.  The SUNDAYS stand out for their career that was free of scandal.  The band was rather unlike other bands at the time, in that, they were more private and, still are, to this day.  I respect the band immensely for this and have an understanding for it as well.  I would love to see a comeback album from The SUNDAYS.  There were rumors of a possible comeback and new material revealed in an interview from 2014 but I haven’t heard of anything since.  As I was researching more information about The SUNDAYS, I noticed actor, Elijah Wood, was tweeting about them.  I learned he is a big fan of The SUNDAYS and wants to see a The SUNDAYS make another record.  I say, “Yes!” and “Please!”  I would completely endorse this as well.  I miss The SUNDAYS.  I am beyond thankful for the music they gave to us.  I won’t give up hoping that there may be new material.. one day.

I would love to hear about your favorite songs by The SUNDAYS.  Please feel free to contact me via Twitter: @ohalchemygirl or via email: ohalchemygirl@gmail.com

Lemonheads Lucky 13

This is me holding Lemonheads tickets.  I saw the Lemonheads twice.  The first time was at Mississippi Nights and it was soon after the release of ‘Come On Feel the Lemonheads’ in the early 90s.  I had to stand over in the Under 21 section, which was over to the right of the stage if you are facing the stage.  I remember Evan Dando walking right past me as he was getting ready to preform and how surreal it felt.  The second Lemonheads show, where I am holding the Lemonheads tickets above, was at the Abbey Pub in Chicago.  Awww, remember when you had actual tickets you could hold in your hand and save for your scrapbook or put on the refrigerator or whatever? This show on June 9, 2009.  The tour included the iconic Lemonheads album, ‘It’s A Shame About Ray’ to be played in its entirety.  I went with my friend and former band mate, Derek.  He took the picture and was kind enough to join me for this show.  We stood up close to the stage for this show and I was able to sing along to every song as if I was listening to it or the first time.

“It’s a Shame About Ray” comes in at a little over 30 minutes.  It’s an album of delectable bite-size songs that go down easy and smooth.  I believe it is the album where Lemonheads truly became Lemonheads.  The Lemonheads formed in 1986 and, as far as I know, Evan Dando is the only founding member still in the band today.  The Lemonheads sound morphed into some sort of bubble pop punk college rock with a twinge of bluegrass as the years progressed.  I found Lemonheads albums while I was listening to bands like Descendents, Juliana Hatfield, and Dinosaur Jr.  It was like they showed up right on time.  Most Lemonheads songs were catchy and fun while other songs were dark and sweet.  Dando’s writing style was clever and kind.  His voice was honey coated and lovingly warm.  I felt an earnestness to these songs.  I felt as if ‘It’s a Shame About Ray’ was written as a cohesive story.  When I heard the Lemonheads were touring to play this entire album with each song in sequence as it was meant to be heard, I had to be there.  It felt like a historical moment and for me, it was.  You can tell from the picture how I feel.  That smile says it all.

Evan Dando is a curious personality in rock history too.  He had a life that seemed buoyant and carefree.  In 1993 Evan Dando was inducted into ‘People’s 50 Most Beautiful’ a title he seems to view as a blessing and a curse.  It is ‘whatever’ but then it can also be harming.  He stated in an interview he wasn’t taken as seriously after the buzz about being an ‘alterna-hunk.’  Helping him or hurting him, I cannot deny a crush on Evan Dando.  Everyone had a crush on Evan Dando!  He had something very magnetic about him.  He also became known for dynamic cover songs.  The most famous being Simon and Garfunkel’s ‘Mrs. Robinson.’  Evan Dando had a way of singing a familiar song and making it even more lovely.  His latest adventure is a cover song album called, “Varshons 2.”  This album, to be released February 8, includes songs written by Yo La Tengo, The Jayhawks, and Paul Westerberg, to name a few.  The album is a sequel, if you will, to the 2009 cover album entitled, ‘Varshons.”  Here’s the thing, he is good at it.  I could listen to him sing cover songs all day.

Evan Dando is interesting and I’m further in pursuit of more Lemonheads music whether it is a cover song or an original.  Inspired by my Lemonheads fandom, the picture above of me holding my Lemonheads tickets and just noticing how frequently I go back into the Lemonheads catalog of music, I have compiled a list of my favorite Lemonheads songs.  I have chosen my top 13.  I’m calling it the Lemonheads Lucky 13. Why is it lucky?  Lucky 13 to sound ironic but mostly I chose the word ‘lucky’ because it is how I feel to be a part of the audience when the Lemonheads were making such memorable music in the 90s.  Making this song list and ranking them was not an easy task.  I noticed something I adore about Lemonheads songs is how nicely they fit into a sequence.  Some of the songs feel as if they are meant to be listened to as a collection.  It took some time to decide what songs stood out from the collection and what songs I held more personal than others.  My list begins below and, per usual, I have chosen the songs that meant the most to me.  There are a decent amount of cover songs in this list.  This simply means, the Lemonheads, and specifically Evan Dando, was brilliant at choosing fantastic songs to cover and, perhaps, even improve upon.  I would like to hear your take on the Lemonheads and hear what songs make your list.  Please feel free to contact me and let me know.

13 Confetti
This playful song sounds so very Lemonheads.  it is rock that pops.  It is fun and it sounds happy even though, lyrically, it is rather sad.  Frightened Rabbit does a cover of this song and it is almost revealing the song for what it really is, which is sadness in disguise.  The song is not even three minutes long but it captures your attention from the very beginning.  I love every song on “It’s A Shame About Ray” but this one is a favorite.

12 If I Could Talk I’d Tell You
A catchy song, this one.  It is almost impossible not to sing along or get it stuck in your head.  I read a quote from Dando saying the song is ‘deceptively bright’ which is very true.  I would say the Lemonheads have a knack for hiding the darkness and making it sound sunny.  There is an art to it.

11 Rockin Stroll
One of the best things about the Lemonheads show I went to in 20009 was that we were able to hear the “It’s A Shame About Ray” album in its entirety.  That means, the show started with this song.  It is one of my favorite album opening songs of all time.  It is pure joy.

10 Luka
The Lemonheads covered this song in 1989.  It can be found on the album, ‘Lick.’  I wasn’t familiar with this cover for a long time.  I found it on a whim.  Meanwhile, Evan Dando was giving us clues by wearing a ‘Hello my name is Luka’ tag in the video for another cover song that would bring the Lemonheads lots of acclaim, ‘Mrs. Robinson.’ Suzanne Vega wrote ‘Luka’ and the song was released in 1987.  Have I mentioned how much I love Suzanne Vega?  Well, I adore Suzanne Vega.  In February, on a snowy night 3-4 years ago, I saw Suzanne Vega in Bloomington, Illinois with my friend, Julie.  The show was absolutely lovely.  The audience in the theatre was space, that night, because the weather was so bad but Julie and I were there.  It was almost as if the show was just for us.  It was one of my favorite performances.  To hear the song covered by the Lemonheads, and covered so well, warms my heart.

9 Hannah & Gabi
“Got me watching your eyes watching things go by outside of the window of a train.”  This first line is beautiful.  Dando has this way of painting a picture with his songs.  The guitar melody dancing around the lyrics the entire time.  This was one of the first songs where I heard a slide guitar and accepted it.  As much as I didn’t care for country music or any of its components, I was okay with this slide guitar here.  In fact, I liked it.  The Lemonheads did this quite a bit integrating the slide guitar or a typical country guitar strum into songs and it works.

8 Turnpike Down
Evan Dando is such a personal songwriter.  Much of his life is put into Lemonheads songs.  I feel like he is able to describe emotions in a simple yet poignant way.  In this song, he sings, “between a want and a need to” which is a line that has always stuck out for me.  “Butterscotch streetlamps mark my path/mark my path/mark my path down.”  When this album came out I was writing poems and admiring words like this.  He had a soothing power in his vocals which I needed at this time and often, still do.

7 Into Your Arms
It was this year, possibly this month, even… that I learned ‘Into Your Arms’ was not an original Lemonheads song.  The song was written by Robyn St. Clare.  The Lemonheads cover made it popular.  Honestly, it reminds me of Nirvana covering Meat Puppets songs or the Vaselines.  A band covers a song like this and makes it, not only more potentially more amazing, but also visible.  I listened to the original for the first time today and I really like it a lot as well.  It’s a sweet, sweet song.  It always makes me happy when I hear it.   To me, it will always be a Lemonheads song.

6 The Outdoor Type
I first heard this song in a mix of shuffled Lemonheads songs.  This song, a cover, is brilliantly selected by Evan Dando.  The song fits the Lemonheads sound like a glove.  It is subtle and clever.  Dando sings this song and delivers it the way only he can, earnest and true. If you haven’t heard this song yet – please find it and listen to it.  Admittedly, I too, lied about being the outdoor type… and maybe that is one reason I like this song so much.

5 Mrs. Robinson
One of the songs that shined a light brightly on the Lemonheads was their take on the Simon and Garfunkel song, “Mrs. Robinson.”  The Lemonheads introduced the song to a new generation.  It rocks, it’s fun, you can jump around and dance to it.  I have two copies of the album, “It’s A Shame About Ray” because I had the first version without “Mrs. Robinson” on it before the song was added to the album.  I had to buy it again.  I would go as far to say that it is amongst the best cover songs of all time.

4 The Great Big No
This song opens the album, “Come On Feel The Lemonheads.”  It’s delightful and when I hear the beginning of it, I think about how I received this album as a gift for my birthday and I ran to my room, immediately and listened to it.  I watched an interview with Evan Dando and he said this album was named, “Come On Feel The Lemonheads” to put emphasis on the word ‘The’ rather than have people think the band was just called ‘Lemonheads.’  This is news to me.  I have referred to the band as both ‘Lemonheads’ and ‘The Lemonheads.’

3 It’s A Shame About Ray
You were anticipating this song from the moment you read the title of this post.  I put it at number 3 because it is an amazing song.  I love it.  I just have a couple other songs that meant a bit more to me.  This song, also being hugely popular, has been excellent for the Lemonheads.  We have heard the song so many times.  That said, I’m fine hearing it over and over again.  I think Evan Dando will always play this song as long as he performs and the audience will always sing along with him.

2 Kitchen
I read Nic Dalton wrote the Lemonheads song, ‘Kitchen.’  The song suits the Lemonheads so well.  The lyrics are delightful.  It begins with “thrilled to be in the same post code as you.”  The chorus “we repeat the same stories but of course never in front of friends.”  There is an intimacy spelled out in the lyrics to this song that I adore.  I wish I would have written it.  This album came out when I was making mix tapes and this song usually made the cut.  It was short and sweet but it had everything a song needs.  I do have to address the sound of the siren in the song, however… I never liked siren in songs.  This is the one and only exception I make for this.

1 Being Around
This song is the most beautiful song that captured my attention from the first moment I heard it.  I love the simplicity of the song.  It is easy to sing and the lyrics are authentic and, I believe, from the heart.  I love singing it.  Evan’s voice being much deeper than mine, I have been challenged with getting the tone right and starting lower than usual to make that climb as the verse persists when I sing along with it.  There is something very endearing about a rock star singing a quiet and sweet song like this one.  It hypnotizes me every time I hear it in the best way possible.

That is the list.  I could have added many more.  I could have added every song on ‘It’s A Shame About Ray.”  I wanted to take time with songs on this list and get to the personality of each song listed rather than have a bunch of songs that fit together nicely.  This process is always a learning experience for me and I look forward to each time I am able to write about band in such a way where I can learn more about them and also backtrack to find the memories I have associated with the music.  This writing project, in particular, felt very comforting to me.  I don’t really want it to end.  I have an honorable mentions list, as a way to include those other songs that I love.  I didn’t include the songs from ‘It’s a Shame About Ray’ on the honorable mentions list because, as I said, it could be all of them so just assume all the songs from that album are honorable mentions for certain.  I did choose a couple songs, however; listed below, which I didn’t want to leave out.

Honorable Mentions:
Pittsburgh
The Lemonheads have a self-titled album that, I think, is stunning.  This song is my favorite from the album.  The album was released in 2006 and I remember listening to it on my way to work each morning after buying it.  Something incredibly attractive about the Lemonheads new line up for this album is that he added, Karl Alvarez and Bill Stevenson of my favorite punk rock band, the Descendents.  You can hear it in the drums, especially, it was so refreshing to hear this after so many years.  If you haven’t heard of the self-titled Lemonheads album released in 2006, I highly recommend it.

My Hero, Zero
My brother bought me the “School House Rock! Rocks” album when I graduated from college. This album had all of these 90s alternative rock stars covering School House Rock songs.  So, Better than Ezra, for example covered ‘Conjunction Junction.’  For the song, ‘My Hero, Zero’ the Lemonheads/Evan Dando was joined by Gibby Hayes from the band Butthole Surfers and Melissa Auf der Maur and Patty Schemel from Hole.  It is playful and fun and catchy.  The cover is the reason I know of the song at all.

As always, I would love to hear about your memories and your favorite Lemonheads songs.  You can contact me at: ohalchemygirl@gmail.com or via Twitter @ohalchemygirl or whatever way is easiest for you to contact me and say hello.  Thank you for taking the time to read my thoughts on this fantastic band.