Even Beavis and Butt-Head like Jill Sobule

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May 14, 2010
Even Beavis and Bu,-­‐Head like Jill Sobule
Total People in Discussion: 2
Categories: Music, Music News
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From Musikfest to Riverfusion ... Croc Rock to Godfrey
Daniels ... Mayfair to the Allentown Fair — welcome to
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and record reviews from our resident pop music
aficionados.
Posted by John J. Moser at 09:21:05 AM on May 14, 2010
My first awareness of Jill
Sobule – who tonight plays
at Listen Live! Music in
Zionsville -­‐-­‐ came in 1995,
when the video of her
song “I Kissed a Girl”
appeared on an episode of
“Beavis + BuQ-­‐Head,” and
the two cartoon slackers
missed the tune’s whole
meaning in their crude
commentary.
Or maybe they got it right
– singer Katy Perry more
than dozen years later had
a huge hit with the same
Xtle and preQy much
Beavis + BuQ-­‐Head’s
senXments.
My next awareness of
Sobule came soon aZer
that, when her song
“Supermodel” appeared in
the hit movie “Clueless.”
My daughter, then a
‘tween, was preQy much
the perfect target audience
for that film and – despite her age – very much understood the snarky lyrics:
“I wish I was like Tori Spelling/With a car like hers and a dad like hers.”
By that Xme, unbeknownst to me, Sobule already had her albums produced
by music luminaries such as Todd Rundgren and Joe Jackson (for whom she
opened during 1991).
But beyond those mid-­‐‘90s brushes with mass appeal, Sobule never really
caught on with the masses. She was dropped from two major labels, but
remained at the edges of popularity and criXcal acclaim. I can’t help but think
that’s because the masses so thoughtlessly consume pablum like Perry’s song
that they’ll never understand true source arXstry like Sobule’s.
Sobule entered my consciousness again in 2005, when she opened for Cyndi
Lauper’s “ The Body AcousXc” tour, and was funny, smart, engaging and
entertaining – both with pop sensibiliXes and thoughdulness the masses will
never understand. My wife even bought me couple of her CDs.
As I was wriXng about Sobule’s appearance tonight, I ran across an interview
in which she very openly – and delighdully crudely -­‐-­‐ criXcized Perry for
stealing her idea for “I Kissed a Girl.” Her candor reminded me of the things I
like about Jill Sobule.
http://blogs.mcall.com/lehighvalleymusic/2010/05/even-beavis-...
Beavis and BuQ-­‐Head would have liked it, too.
JILL SOBULE, 8 p.m. today, with Jay Lapp, Listen Live! Music, Upper Milford
Township Municipal Center (formerly King’s Highway School), 5671 Chestnut St.,
Zionsville. Tickets $22, door. 610-­‐966-­‐6419, www.listenlivemusic.org.
ABOUT THE WRITERS
GARY BLOCKUS He bought his first album at
age 14: Bread's "Baby I'm A Want You." The
next day, he bought Black Sabbath's
"Paranoid" and Deep Purple's "Machine
Head." He's covered everything in the
metal/hard rock genre, from Motley Crue to
Papa Roach to Ted Nugent and Aerosmith to the soYer
side like Bon Jovi.
JODI DUCKETT As The Morning Call's
assistant features editor responsible for
entertainment, she spends a lot of Hme
surveying the music landscape and sizing up
the Valley's fesHvals and club scene. She's no
expert, but enjoys it all — especially arHsts
who resonated in her younger years, such as Crosby, SHlls,
Nash, Young, Tracy Chapman, Santana and Joni Mitchell.
KEITH GROLLER Our local sports editor
strays from his post on Groller's Corner for
another of his passions. He's a^racted to the
sights (Shania, Faith, Carrie, MarHna) and
sounds (Paisley, Strait, Adkins, Keith) of
today's country music scene and likes to add
a li^le twang to the conversaHon.
ARLENE MARTINEZ Her music was
influenced by her mom, who hasn't turned
the radio off since Arlene came home from
the hospital. She's a top-­‐40 kinda girl with a
special place in her heart for hip-­‐hop, R&B,
rancheros and musical soundtracks.
Favorites include the Bee Gees, Jill Sco^, Neil Diamond,
Q-­‐Tip, Juan Gabriel, T.I., Britney Spears and all of "Les
Miserables." She is used to people making fun of her
taste.
JOHN L. MICEK caught the rock bug young.
The TMC Harrisburg Correspondent bought
his first record, U2's "Under a Blood Red Sky,"
at age 13 and hasn't looked back. Besides
listening to arHsts ranging from The Ramones
2/20/11 7:50 PM
http://blogs.mcall.com/lehighvalleymusic/2010/05/even-beavis-...
2/20/11 7:50 PM