"Suddenly Last Summer" by The Motels

       Hello friends! Thanks for checking back with Kyle’s Radio Dial, where we specialize in bringing you great songs that deserve a second listen! Today the spotlight falls on a top ten hit from late 1983, recorded by California based new wave group The Motels. Sit back, and listen to “Suddenly Last Summer”.

Comprising of front woman Martha Davis, Guy Perry, Marty Jourard, Michael Goodroe, Brian Glascock, and Scott Thurston, The Motels are best remembered today for their 1982 US #9 hit “Only the Lonely”. However, “Suddenly”, taken from the 1983 LP Little Robbers, equaled the peak position of the earlier hit, yet has been largely forgotten by current terrestrial radio.

From the moment I first heard it as a nine-year old (my age when the song debuted), I detected a bit of an unsettling and despondent vibe… what exactly happened last summer? Why has it affected this woman so much? Why do the descending tones in the bridge of the song give me the chills? (Yes, even at that age, I was interested in figuring out the stories behind popular songs. Don’t judge me.)

For years I assumed “Suddenly” was simply about a bad breakup, though eventually, and after really listening to the lyrics, my interpretation became that the song is about some sort of physical abuse, quite possibly rape. Consider these lines from verse one.

“It happened one summer… It happened one time… It happened forever… For a short time”

The event only happened once and ended quickly, but was devastating enough to seem like it went on forever.

“A place for a moment… an end to a dream… forever I loved you… forever it seemed.”

She truly loved this other person, and was expecting a sweet and emotional interaction (the “moment”), until the event which changed her forever, crushing any future dreams she may have had with this individual.

Though it’s a bit vaguer, the second verse seems to outline her internal conflict in coming to grips with what happened the previous summer. She goes back and forth between wanting to leave, and wanting to stay, and being frightened and feeling alone. The verse ends with her declaring “and wish that I could…”, without further clarification. I assume this means she wishes she could move past this trauma, but the line is rather ambiguous, as I'm sure it was intended.

Now, it was the chorus which really solidified my interpretation of the song…

“One summer never ends... one summer never begins. It keeps me standing still, it takes all of my will, and then suddenly... last summer”. 

The summer that “never ends” is the one in which the event occurred, the memory of which she revisits in her mind constantly. The summer that never begins, is the summer that should've been – fun, carefree, relaxing, filled with great memories. The aftermath of emotions is crippling her, and then SUDDENLY, she remembers the event all over again. Pretty deep and heavy stuff for a new wave pop song.

It was only recently that I read a quote from Martha Davis in which she explains that “Suddenly…” was not speaking to a specific relationship or event, but the feeling of melancholy and loss of innocence as one reaches adulthood. She goes on to say that the song was inspired by the final visit of the ice cream truck, as the seasons change from summer to fall. The repeating melody throughout the song was an attempt to mimic the song of the ice cream truck.

I am not one to question her, she wrote the song after all, however, I got something different out of “Suddenly”, and I feel that what makes any work of art great. Different listeners, (or readers, or viewers), can take away from the same work of art many different feelings and interpretations that even the creator may not have intended. Bravo, Martha, “Suddenly” is truly a great song for that very reason.

Nowadays, I hear “Only the Lonely” on the radio several times a year, but it's been forever since I've heard “Suddenly...” probably at least 10 years or more, despite it’s equal chart popularity, and being, arguably, the better song.

So give “Suddenly” a spin, and create your own interpretation of this classic track. Leave me a comment if you’d like to compare notes.

“One summer never ends... one summer never begins. It keeps me standing still, it takes all of my will, and then suddenly... last summer”.

"Days of the Week" by Stone Temple Pilots

       Ah yes, friends, I'm glad to see you have all made it over to my modest little corner of the “interwebs” in the new year! We kick off our fifth year of bringing you underplayed hits and overlooked album cuts, with an upbeat number from one of the '90s most influential alternative rock groups., although the song now carries a degree of sadness about it due to recent events. Tonight, we present, San Diego's own Stone Temple Pilots, and “Days of the Week”!

“Monday, back from the dead... I'm letting it go, back for another one.”

Featuring Eric Kretz on drums, bass by Robert DeLeo, Rob’s older brother Dean on lead guitar, and vocalist Scott Weiland’s deeply personal lyrics, “Days” serves as Scott's commentary on how heroin addiction negatively impacted his marriage. With lines that reference compulsion, frustration, and regret, in addition pushing away those you love, then desperately needing them back again, the song's remorse and self-awareness is made more palatable by the upbeat, hook-laden, Cheap Trick-style vibe of the music, authored by Dean.

“Tuesday, shoot me in the head, I'm takin' it back, takin' it back, I'll take it back.”

Released as a single from STP's 2001 LP Shangri-La Dee Da, “Days...” made its biggest impact on two rock-specific sub-charts of the Billboard listings. On the Mainstream Rock Tracks chart, it reached #4, and the on the Modern Rock Tracks, it hit #5. This success did not translate into hot 100 acceptance, amazingly, and “Days...” ended up stalling one position below the hot 100, essentially landing at US #101. This phenomenon is known as “bubbling under”.

This was no anomaly in STP's chart career however. Despite their iconic status, STP never had a Billboard top 40 presence. Their highest single on the Hot 100 was 2000’s “Sour Girl”, which managed US #78. No, STP made their mark on the aforementioned Mainstream Rock and Modern Rock (Alternative) charts, in addition to the Album Rock charts. However, they were clearly no slouches in those areas, as Scott and the guys frequently reached the top 20 on all three lists with great tracks like “Sex Type Thing”, “Creep”, “Vasoline”, “Big Bang Baby”, “Trippin’ on a Hole in a Paper Heart”, and their cover of the 1973 Led Zeppelin classic “Dancing Days”. 

Of course, STP’s popularity was also helped by frequent inclusion on the MTV programs 120 Minutes and Alternative Nation, (the latter of which was hosted by the snarky and beauteous Kennedy), so top 40 radio acceptance wasn't necessarily missed by the boys from San Diego. 

“Wednesday, she's looking for a friend, she'll get what she wants... can't seem to get enough.”

Tragically, Scott left us on December 3, 2015. There's no need to go into the reasons here, as you can read all about it on other websites if you choose. What we'd like to say is this...

Scott's legacy, perfected while singing lead for STP for the majority of their history, and with the supergroup Velvet Revolver, is that of an extremely talented vocalist, who always brought his own unique energetic presence to concerts, videos, and studio recordings. Scott’s lyrics, while often cryptic, nevertheless delved into topics like alienation, addiction, the loss of innocence, the trappings of fame, and troubled relationships, which resonated with an entire generation of cynical young adults coming of age in the ‘90s and beyond.

Thanks for the music Scott. From all of us here at the Dial, we hope you achieve much deserved peace in the next life.

“I've got to find a way to find her... where can she be? Four days of the week, she thinks I'm the enemy.”

"You're Not Alone" by Amy Grant

       It's the holiday season friends, and the Radio Dial's gift to you is an upbeat album track that should've been a hit off of one of the top selling pop albums of 1991. Let us present miss Amy Grant and her compassionate ode to a heartbroken friend, “You're Not Alone”.

“I saw you walking by yourself, your eyes were crying out for help...

I know you feel your pain is more, than anyone's been hurt before...”

The seventh track off of Amy's 1991 quintuple-platinum “Heart in Motion” LP, “You're...” was one of the few tracks from that album not issued as a single, and thus not played on pop, A/C, dance, or Contemporary Christian (CCM) radio outlets. Heart in Motion's string of hits included “Baby Baby”, “Every Heartbeart”, and “I Will Remember You”, which successfully broke Grant into the world of mainstream top 40 radio, after brief flirtations with the format in 1985 (the US #29 pop crossover hit “Find A Way”), and her 1986 chart topping Peter Cetera duet “The Next Time I Fall”.

Personally, “You're...” was the big hit off the album for me, and it's the only song on the entire LP that I still revisit on a regular basis – even over two decades after it's release. I've always wondered how the song would have done had it been released as a single. I'd think top 20 at least.

Curiously, “You're...” is the only Heart in Motion track not co-written by Grant herself, instead being authored by the UK based songwriting team of Dennis Morgan/Simon Climie/Rob Fisher, who, either together, or individually, penned such great hits as Naked Eyes' “Promises Promises”, Pat Benatar's “Invincible”, George Michael & Aretha Franklin's “I Knew You Were Waiting For Me”, and Rod Stewart's “My Heart Can't Tell You No”. The trio also charted under their own band name of Climie Fisher with the 1988 US #23 hit "Love Changes (Everything)".

Even though it was released by a well-known CCM artist, I never heard “You're...” as religious in any way, mainly because Heart in Motion was such a push into pure pop, and the majority of the songs are not overtly religious at all. Amy sings of hope and love and longing and happiness and sacrifice, but every adult contemporary artist deals in that stock and trade.

I always interpreted it as telling the tale of a guy suffering from a devastating romantic loss, (and whom may even be contemplating suicide), and his female friend (Amy) that is consoling him. Amy’s character comforts the fellow by assuring him that no matter how bad he feels, SHE will always be there for him, hence, HE is not alone in this world. The entirety of verse 2, listed below, solidified this interpretation in my mind.

“The moment that I looked at you, I recognized the killing truth...
You really think there's no way out, but if you let me, I can help you now.
Through all these shattered emotions, there's a lesson to learn...
So come on let me hold you closer, love can soothe what love has burned.”

Alternatively, it also crossed my mind that Amy may have been telling the guy that he's not alone in that everybody has gone through a terrible break up in their lives. His situation, while heartbreaking, is not unique, so Amy and MANY others, can empathize with his plight.

However, while researching the song for my review, I've since learned that the real intent of the song is to say that “you’re not alone because a higher power is always watching over you”. Now, it seems so obvious to me, but I sure didn't arrive at that interpretation on my own.

So whether you hear "You're Not Alone" as a song of friendly compassion and empathy, or reassurance that there is a higher power, I sincerely hope you enjoy this overlooked album cut from the queen of Contemporary Christian music, and for a time in the early 90s, a master of classic upbeat adult contemporary pop.

And, slated on the Radio Dial docket for the new year, a tribute to an iconic alternative rocker who recently left us too soon at the age of 48; and a forgotten top 10 hit for an ‘80s new wave group which draws inspiration from the final visit of the ice cream truck each summer.

And from the entire Radio Dial family, Happy Holidays, Seasons Greetings, Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, and any other positive holiday related greeting you may wish to hear! (oh yeah, and have an awesome Festivus for the rest of us!) Kyle's Radio Dial... The more you listen, the more you REMEMBER!

“You've got to remember... you're not alone in this world...

Always remember... You're not alone in this world”