Saturday (Not-So)-Morning Soundtrack -- "Duty Free" by Ike Reilly

Well, I'm starting a little late today, but you know the drill: The curtain has gone down on our rock and roll writing class but that doesn't mean the music is going to stop! Keep checking back every weekend for good music and fun commentary.

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"Duty Free" -- Ike Reilly (2001)

"Once upon a time, there was a rowdy folk singer named Ike Reilly who really loved his Crown Victoria. The End."

So reads the review of Ike Reilly's Salesmen and Racists from Hybrid Magazine.

Works for me.

I discovered Reilly's music through Steve Almond's book Rock and Roll Will Save Your Life, and after buying the album, I did what Steve sagely advises us to avoid doing--I played the living crap out of it until I could barely stand listening to it anymore. What can I say? When it comes to great music, I'm like a dog staring at a big plate of bacon. (Or, you know, me staring at a big plate of bacon.) You can explain to me that I shouldn't mow through it all at once, that it's a bad bad idea, that I should try to make it last. But in the end, you know I'm just going to gorge myself until it makes me sick.

Reilly's album is fantastic--difficult to describe in terms of genre or style. It's rock music that makes you remember why you love rock music. That'll have to be good enough. Reilly gets compared to Bob Dylan a lot because of his clever wordplay, but that doesn't seem all that accurate to me. That Hybrid article above mentions the band Cake (calls Reilly just as wry, but half as pretentious). Okay, I buy that. I've heard others mention The Replacements. Hmmm. Personally, I think he sounds like a slightly less immature version Offspring--only if Loudon Wainwright III wrote all their music and, you know, the band didn't suck.

So there you have it. (Seriously, just listen to the video already.)

What should you expect from Reilly? Out of this world musicianship. Catchy, moody, hard rocking tunes. Lyrics that are at once humorous and clever (and often delightfully filthy)--what Amazon.com calls "shock value with a heart."

(Seriously, just listen to the video already.)

All I can say is that this is my favorite song from the best album I've bought in years, and given everything that's in the news lately, I thought a song with the lyrics "Do you need anything from duty free / I gotta get out of the U-S-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A" seemed strangely timely.

(NSA, if you are reading this post, I want to go on record as saying I love America and I love you. You're fair and beautiful--like a majestic-yet-fearsome butterfly. . . . Please don't drone strike my house. Instead, kick back and listen to the video already.)

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Love the song? Hate it? Have thoughts to share? Please, feel free to leave a message in the comments below. And, if you would like to write a Guest Entry for the "Saturday Morning Soundtrack" series where you creatively respond to one of your favorite rock songs, don't hesitate to contact me with queries.