"99" by Toto

Hey Dialophiles!

Sometimes in this fast paced, hectic world, filled with way too much NOISE and BOTHER, we here at the Radio Dial feel the need to mellow out. In doing so, we’ll often rummage through our expansive music library to locate a soft rock classic, perhaps one with a light jazz flavor, as we have done tonight. So wrap yourself in a comfy blanket, enjoy a warm cup of herbal tea, and feel the stress of the day evaporate as you listen to tonight’s featured audio entry, “99” by Toto.

Released on the 1979 LP “Hydra”, 99 peaked at #26 on the Hot 100 and was the highest charting single extracted from that album.

The simple, yet cryptic lyrics lent themselves to many wacky interpretations, among them that the song was a tribute to actress Barbara Feldon, known best as Agent 99 on TV’s Get Smart.

But in actuality, 99 was a reference to the early George Lucas science fiction film “THX 1138”, in which people are given license-plate-like numbers instead of names, and emotions and intimacy is forbidden by the state. The stark white setting of the music video is a reference to the “limbo prison” scenes in the film. 

Though the video’s set is basic (and dotted with oversized “99”s, perhaps on loan from the Children’s Television Workshop), it features several interesting and artistic shots, including many “hand level” views of the keyboard being played, and one brief, but memorable shot looking up at drummer Jeff Porcaro through a transparent drum.

After a few years, Toto exploded into the mainstream with the phenomenal Toto IV in ’82, a career defining record that contained the top 10 hits “Africa”, “I Won’t Hold You Back”, and the rumored Ms. Arquette inspired “Rosanna”. However, 99, unlike those three hits, has been largely forgotten by current radio programmers.

As a kid, I had no idea why Toto was singing about a digit one shy of a hundred, and I didn’t much care. I just knew that I appreciated its smooth groove, light funk keyboard break, and mellow vocals. Give 99 a listen, and rediscover this rarely played former minor hit. 

“I never thought it would happen, I feel quite the same,
I don't want to hurt you anymore.
I never knew it would work out, No one to blame,
You know I love you 99” 

"Give Me Novacaine" by Green Day

Happy New Year, Dialophiles!

After an extended winter break, the Dial returns with a track from the 2000’s, a decade whose flavor is not often savored on our music loving blog. Tune in, and enjoy Green Day’s “Give Me Novacaine”.

Built around an absolutely genius metaphor of a dentist’s mouth numbing injection representing distractions from the intense pressures of emotional pain, self-doubt, and daily life, “Novacaine” begins with melodic, yet world-weary verses, then slams into a hard rockin’ chorus wherein Green Day’s lead vocalist Billy Joe Armstrong pleads for relief. Everything will be alright… once he’s been given his novacaine.

Taken from the five times platinum concept album American Idiot, which won the 2005 Best Rock Album Grammy and sold over 6 million copies in the U.S. and 16 mil. worldwide, “Novacaine” was not extracted as a single, but was every bit as strong as the #2 hit “Boulevard of Broken Dreams”, or the iconic title track.

During the course of American Idiot’s storyline, the main character “Jesus of Suburbia”, allows his alter ego “St. Jimmy” to guide him through life as a way of numbing all his internal turmoil and frustration.

However, when listened to as a stand-alone track, the lyrics truly pop out in a brilliant use of medical issues, (“Bitter sweet migraine”, “throbbing tooth ache”, “drain the pressure from the swelling”) contrasted with the desperate desire for relief, (“I can’t take this feeling anymore”, “Tell me that I won’t feel a thing…”) that can only come from the consumption of the titular novacaine.

Conventional interpretation also holds that this track most likely represents drugs and alcohol as a way to temporarily escape one’s personal demons, but it really can represent anything a person can use to achieve the same, such as music, food, wealth, physical intimacy, or emotional love. 

Billy Joe, Mike Dirnt, and Tré Cool’s musical creation allows each individual listener to filter it through their own experiences in order to arrive at a deeper personal meaning.

So relax, and let Green Day’s punk masterpiece course through your veins. Perhaps this very album track will act as your own personal novacaine.

“Drain the pressure from the swelling,
The sensations overwhelming,
Give me a long kiss goodnight and everything will be alright
Tell me that I won't feel a thing
So give me Novacaine.”