Hello everyone, thanks for checking out the
Dial today for our special coverage of an underplayed hit from one of the most interesting
and beloved rockers of the modern era. Give it up for Mr. Tom Petty and his ’87
hit “Jammin’ Me”.
“You got me in a corner… You got me against
the wall...
I got nowhere to go... I got nowhere to fall"
The lead single from 1987’s “Let Me Up (I’ve Had Enough)” LP, “Jammin’ Me” only reached #18 on the Top 40, but proudly sat at #1 on the mainstream rock singles chart for 4 weeks straight! Three other singles were extracted from the LP, “Runaway Trains”, “Think about Me”, and “All Mixed Up”, none of which reached the hot 100, but all of which charted respectably at mainstream rock.
Written
with rock legend (and fellow “Traveling Wilbury”) Bob Dylan, alongside
Heartbreaker Mike Campbell, Jammin’ Me is about a man reaching his breaking
point in regards to media onslaughts of news reports, celebrity gossip, misinformation,
and commercials. He views all of this as overwhelming noise and distraction,
and he just wants to make some sense of the world around him.
Hence
his angry chant… Quit jammin’ me.
And
keep in mind, this song was written 30 years ago, before social media, reality
TV, constant celebrity scandals, 24 hour news channels, and all the other
current worry and bother in today’s society. As a result, Jammin’ Me resonates
even more now than it did then.
“Take back your angry slander… Take back your
pension plan...
Take back your ups and downs of life... in raisin-land."
The music video is a lot of fun to watch, as a flashing chaotic collage of newspaper headlines, advertisements, and horoscopes serve as a backdrop to Petty and his band mates.
Additionally,
images of wartime, 1950’s nuclear war safety videos, and contemporary news
footage is interspersed with pop culture goodies like Thundercats toy
commercial snippets and a few seconds of Atari’s Marble Madness arcade game to
create a blend that can go from grim and troubling to fun and lighthearted in a
split second.
There’s
also wackiness to be had with lots of close ups of Tom and his Heartbreakers
mugging for the camera, singing along, and a crazy effect where their faces are
scrambled together. I also dig the effect where Tom reaches into a TV and pulls
“static goo” out of the screen while calling out Vanessa Redgrave, Joe Piscopo
and Eddie Murphy. Not sure what he has against these particular folks, or if
he’s naming them just because they were rather popular at the time. I wonder if
Piscopo and Murphy participated in an SNL skit that angered Tom? The lyrics
also contain a reference to Steve Jobs which is slightly more veiled.
So
we invite you to check out Tom’s rant in the video at the end of this article,
and I imagine you’ll agree with his sentiment that we need less media intrusion
into our lives… especially nowadays.
“You're jammin' me, you're jammin' me… Quit
jammin' me!
Baby you can keep me painted in a corner... you can walk away, but it's not over"
Now
of course, for the reason for this particular tribute…
By
the afternoon of Monday, October 2nd 2017, some news outlets were reporting that
Petty had passed, some said he hadn’t, but the common thread was that the news
was bleak, and Tom was on life support.
When
I came home from work that day, my 12 year old son said…
“Dad,
did you hear about Tom Petty, he’s not doing well.”, and he was clearly bummed
by the news, as he’s been a Petty fan for years.
Mrs.
Radio Dial had dialed up Tom’s music videos on the TV, and my 5 year old
daughter was snuggled under her blanket on the couch watching the brilliant Alice
in Wonderland inspired clip for “Don’t
Come Around Here No More”.
She
said: “Daddy, I like Tom, I’m gonna miss him.”
It
gave me the feels something fierce.
Tuesday
morning came the news that we all expected but didn’t want confirmation on.
Tom Petty was no longer with us at the age of 66.
As my good friend Steve succinctly posted on his Facebook page…
“Breakdown.
It’s all right”.
Good
night Tom, thanks for your genius, your sense of humor, your unmistakable
voice, and your awesome, timeless music. We’ll ALL miss you.
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