Songs and the City

Odes to Oil: A slick set of songs

"With Lasers" by Bonde Do Rolê
Mark Knopfler's "Get Lucky"
"12 Songs" by Randy Newman
Sparklehorse

Houston has a lot to offer, as this site clearly shows, but it's probably best known around the world as the home of a massive energy industry. For better or for worse, Houston lives or dies by the barrel. So in honor of the black gold, this installment of "Songs and the City" focuses on tracks about oil and gasoline. Cue it up (and turn it loud) the next time you're cruising down the Energy Corridor.

"Only So Much Oil in the Ground" by Tower of Power

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This funk burner from the "Urban Renewal" album was recorded during the energy crisis in 1975, but its message is as timely as ever. Lead singer Lenny Williams warns us about our wasteful habits ("no excuse for our abuse") and demands more sources of renewable energy. But this isn't your typical didactic protest song, it's a deep soul vibe that's sure to get even the staunchest "drill, baby, drill" proponent on the dancefloor. "Can't cut loose without that juice."

"Marina Gasolina" by Bonde do Role

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I'm not sure what the hell the loonies in the raucous baile funk combo from Curitiba, Brazil are going on about (other than a call-out to the legendary Afrika Bambaataa), but it's hard to resist the charms of "Marina Gasolina." Judging by the sick beats and manic grooves, this is one type of fuel that can keep a party raging all night. If we were just able to harness the energy pulsing from the track, our dependence on crude would be significantly diminished. Besides, if the lyrics are any indication, who wouldn't want an encounter with Ms. Gasolina: "Meet me after school and I'll beat you like gorilla/Bite you like piranha, vem brigar com a minha aranha..." (That last part is apparently Portuguese for something to do with fighting a spider.)

"I Asked For Water (She Gave Me Gasoline)" by Howlin' Wolf

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The good news is that gasoline is much more valuable than water (my sources show a 1,000 gallons of tap water costing a mere $1.50). The bad news is that Mr. Wolf's woman has up and left him and he's feeling downright blue. And although he may be in possession of a relatively pricey liquid commodity, you can't put a price tag on the love of a good lady. Howlin' Wolf's raspy wail, a volatile compound if there ever was one, perfectly serves this dark tale.

"Before Gas and TV" by Mark Knopfler

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Former Dire Straits frontman Mark Knopfler tries to imagine a simpler time before we were distracted by a gaggle of television stations hocking sleazy reality shows and the luxury of high speed travel. "Before gas and TV/Before people had cars/We'd sit 'round the fires/Pass around our guitars," Knopfler sings over his signature guitar shimmer and Irish flutes and whistles that recall the sounds of the old country. The introspection of this track, and the entire 2009 "Get Lucky" album from which it's taken, suits Knopfler well, proving that although he's mellowed with age, this consummate musician hasn't lost his touch. "If heaven's like this/Well then here's where I'll be/On the edge of the field/On the edge of the world/Before gas and TV."

"The Energy Blues" by Biz Markie

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Find me a thirty or fortysomething that doesn't smile widely when you mention "Schoolhouse Rocks" and I'd be stunned. A staple of ABC's Saturday morning cartoon programming, these animated musical educational short films were pure genius. Recalling the clever wordplay and bouncy rhythms of "Conjunction Junction," "Three Is a Magic Number," "I'm Just a Bill," and "Lolly, Lolly, Lolly, Get Your Adverbs Here" still makes me giddy. Taken from a mid-1990s Atlantic Records compilation, Biz Markie's cover version of "The Energy Blues" finds the irreverent one-hit wonder lecturing the kiddies about the need to conserve oil. Written in 1979 at the height of the energy crisis, the song traces the rise of crude from its discovery in 1859 ("Now no-one knew, when that gusher blew/The petroleum years were on us...") to the looming shortages of the day ("So don't be cross when momma says turn that extra light out/Just turn it off till we find us a fuel that never runs out..."). Take a listen and you'll be longing for the day when ABC finally brings back the "rock" to the schoolhouse!

"I'll Oil Wells Love You" by Dolly Parton

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The ultimate ode to gold-digging, this classic track from 1968 is pure Dolly. Exuding strength and conviction via her powerful voice and matter-of-fact delivery, Dolly doesn't hold back when relating the real reasons for marrying her husband. Although she's downright cruel in her candor ("He looked in to my eyes and thought he saw a love light shine/Little did he know that that light was dollar signs"), there's something charming about her scheme, as if she's truly deserving of her good fortunes (and I mean "fortunes" quite literally). Perhaps it's the pedal-steel and fiddle-fueled shuffling country gallop that tempers her callous plot, or maybe it's just because she's Dolly.

"Fried Chicken and Gasoline" by Southern Culture on the Skids

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Peanut butter and chocolate. Abbot and Costello. Fried chicken and gasoline? An odd pairing for sure, but it conjures an image and one that aptly fits the band's name of Southern Culture on the Skids. The music is equally evocative: greasy, country-fried rock and roll with some high octane cowbell to kick things into high gear.

"If You Need Oil" by Randy Newman

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You can always count on Randy Newman for some pointed social commentary, but "If You Need Oil" isn't a wry statement about the ills of our petroleum dependence. Rather it's a desperate plea from a lonely gas station attendant who's longing for some loving. It's certainly the best use of a routine fill-up as sexual innuendo: "Baby, please come to the station/And I'll wipe your windshield clean/If you need oil, I'll give you oil/And I'll fill your tank with gasoline."

"Gasoline Horseys" by Sparklehorse

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What's more "Texas" than gas-powered equine. It's a marriage of old and new Texas, of the Wild West and the Energy Corridor. The R&D folks at ConocoPhillips should look into this. I'd be the first in line. Taken from Sparklehorse's awesomely-titled 1995 debut, "Vivadixiesubmarinetransmissionplot," "Gasoline Horseys" is vintage Mark Linkous, a spooky lo-fi rattle with esoteric allusions that are somehow pleasingly poetic: "They charge forth with fiery manes/And bellies full of clocks/Four ton deaf and dumb/We poor old dogs of God."

"The Backbone of America is a Mule and Cotton" by Abner Jay

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There's nothing I can write that'll match the wonder of Abner Jay's own lyrics. I'll give you the intro to this 1976 eccentric blues classic, then you have to promise to listen to the entire song: "Folk, don't worry about energy crisis because Standard Oil, Shell, Gulf, Mobil, Texaco, Amoco, Esso, Sunoco, Exxon, Nixon, Standard Oil, General Motors, Chrysler, George Wallace and Ford is not the backbone of America. The backbone of America is a mule and cotton."

Movie review

Nerdy teen comedies make a comeback with new movie Summer of 69

Sam Morelos and Chloe Fineman in Summer of 69

Photo courtesy of Hulu

Sam Morelos and Chloe Fineman in Summer of 69.

There was a trend in the late 2010s/early 2020s of bawdy comedies featuring teenage female protagonists, including Blockers, Booksmart, and Yes, God, Yes. Those types of films seemed to go by the wayside in recent years, but they’re making a comeback with the new film Summer of 69.

Abby (Sam Morelos) is a high school senior and video game streamer who has had a crush on her classmate Max (Matt Cornett) for her entire childhood. When she learns that Max has recently broken up with his longtime girlfriend, she’s determined to make her move. With advice from a confidant that Max likes a certain sexual position, Abby sets out to learn as much as she can about it, including hiring a stripper, Santa Monica (Chloe Fineman), to help her.

Coincidentally, Santa Monica is facing a situation where the club at which she works, Diamond Dolls, will be closed if the owner doesn’t come up with $20,000 in a week. Abby, who comes from a well-to-do family, seems to offer the perfect solution, and so the two agree to a week of lessons for that amount. Naturally, all sorts of complications arise, as well as the two women forming an unexpected bond.

Written and directed by Jillian Bell, with help from co-writers Jules Byrne and Liz Nico, the film is both suggestive and innocent at the same time. For all of the talk about sex and innuendo, having the nerdy and inexperienced Abby at the center of the film ensures that the story remains relatively chaste throughout. That includes scenes at the strip club, where Bell makes the choice to show almost no nudity.

Most of the humor of the film stems from Abby’s lack of experience, highlighted by her having “sexual” fantasies about Max that never actually get to the sex part. The juxtaposition between Abby and Santa Monica is also used for laughs, although Bell and her co-writers make sure to include a side story for the dancer that makes her into a three-dimensional person.

What ultimately makes the movie succeed is the way it keeps its characters relatable. Many high school films feel the need to play into a bunch of stereotypes, but those are kept to a minimum here. Instead, Bell upends expectations by delivering honest - sometimes to a fault for the characters - dialogue that acknowledges the spectrum of sexual realities for high schoolers, a version that differs from insatiable horniness of some other teen comedies.

Morelos, one of the stars of Netflix’s That ‘90s Show, makes for a charming lead, someone who can convincingly take her character from awkward to confident over the course of the story. Fineman, best known for her current stint as a cast member on Saturday Night Live, complements her well, showing her comedic prowess in a number of physical scenes. A supporting cast that includes Nicole Byer, Paula Pell, Alex Moffat, and Natalie Morales keeps the energy level high.

Despite its titillating title, Summer of 69 is much more sweet than naughty. Like most coming-of-age movies, it’s about a girl who’s trying to figure out where she fits in the world. The answers she finds aren’t always the ones she was expecting, but in the best possible way.

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Summer of 69 starts streaming on Hulu on May 9.

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