Sunny Breaks

I’ve always thought it was right for each person to have a theme song; one particular song that encapsulated their personality – maybe partly through lyrics but certainly not necessarily. In fact I had often been drawn to instrumentals.

My first theme song was The Lonely Bull by Herb Alpert & the Tijuana brass. Up until recently it was the version of The Guns of Navarone that The Skatalites, an old ska band, did. I think I’ve just switched again.

That’s right, Hall & Oates, I Can’t Go For That (No Can Do). Rediscovering it again last week—and then looking into the history of the track sealed the deal. Blue-eyed soulsters. A couple of whiteys successfully imitating a black sound, with this track at least. I like that sort of cross-over. Using violins on disco tracks is a similar example, although unrelated to (no can do).

I’d actually like to write a major motion picture detailing the rise (and fall) of the Hall & Oates duo. One pitfall I can immediately see is that it would be difficult to not have a lot of it set in a recording studio, which would be boring. I would have one or two gratuitous scenes to do with John Oates’ moustache. They would not be overly long, but enough to make the critics comment on it.
Another theme would be the teamwork thing, how eventhough Daryl Hall was the frontman and the pretty boy/girl he needed Oates there as some sort of cosmic balancer. I like it how, in the videoclips, Oates essentially does nothing. He holds a guitar, sings the odd backing word and has a moustache.