YOU ARE HERE: zharth.net / Zharth's Music Log / Week 134 (Jungle Safari)
(Originally finalized on April 14, 2025)
Preface: We're gonna do another splinter theme this week - this time, it's a spin-off of Natural Landscapes. I almost shared a jungle song that week, until I realized that with just a little bit of scrimping and scraping, I could muster a whole week's worth of solid jungle songs. Grab your machete, we're going on a safari!
Monday: Guns N' Roses - Welcome To The Jungle [Appetite For Destruction, 1987]
Comments: There's really no better song to start the week - after all, this is one of the greatest album openers of all time - only narrowly disqualified as a first impression because the band picked Mr. Brownstone to be their leading single... Regardless, the song introduces a common motif which is to use jungle metaphors to describe not the dangers of the wilderness, but the urban chaos of the modern city - whether it's New York, LA, or anywhere in between.
"You know where you are? You're in the jungle, baby!"
Tuesday: Bruce Springsteen - Jungleland [Born To Run, 1975]
Comments: Although there are a few songs of his that I like, on the whole I've struggled to enjoy Bruce Springsteen's music. There are just so many times you can hear him moan about the postmodern ennuie of blue collar life before he starts to sound like a self-derivative cliche. Unlike, say, The River, the lyrics in this nearly 10 minute long epic are too vague (almost bordering on a Bob Dylan impression) for me to really relate to them. That said, it has a distinctive piano melody, a prominent sax solo, and Bruce's voice gives it palpable emotion, even if you're not especially invested in whatever it is he's mourning (something about urban gang life? I dunno).
"Tonight all is silence in the world, as we take our stand down in Jungleland."
Wednesday: Steve Miller Band - Jungle Love [Book Of Dreams, 1977]
Comments: I swear, every time I hear the sound effects that open this song, I think I'm watching a game show on network television. Coming hot on the heels of their enormously successful album Fly Like An Eagle, this was a band at the height of their popularity. Now, Jungle Love's not one of my favorite Steve Miller Band songs (even from the same album, I prefer Threshold/Jet Airliner), but it's got an insanely catchy chorus that keeps getting stuck in my head every time I encounter something even mildly irritating in my day-to-day life.
"Jungle love - it's driving me mad. It's making me crazy."
Thursday: Jethro Tull - Bungle In The Jungle [War Child, 1974]
Comments: Keeping the mood light, here's one of Jethro Tull's biggest hits - which scores crossover appeal by utilizing jungle metaphors in service of thinly veiled innuendo. Admittedly, it's not one of my favorites, but it's all in good fun. I remember during my freshman year in college, I shared camaraderie with the guy in the dorm across the hall from me because we both grew up in the same city. Upon hearing the classic rock I was blaring from my stereo, he told me this was one of his favorite songs. So we synced it up and played it simultaneously for the benefit of anybody passing by. XD
"Let's bungle in the jungle. Well, that's alright by me."
Friday: Creedence Clearwater Revival - Run Through The Jungle [Cosmo's Factory, 1970]
Comments: Switching gears back to some more serious subject matter, here's what is, in my opinion, one of CCR's most iconic tunes - and that's saying something, coming from an album over half of which consists of Top 5 charting singles. Given the title and effective imitation of a screaming jet heard in the intro and outro, it's not surprising that most people think this is another protest song about Vietnam. But, as John Fogerty has explained, it's really about the alarming rate of gun ownership in our own country. And that's a sobering thought.
"Better run through the jungle. Don't look back to see."
Saturday: The Kinks - Apeman [Lola Versus Powerman, 1970]
Comments: Honestly, I had taken this song to be a humorous throwaway novelty, but it turns out that it was a pretty significant hit, and the followup to Lola (from the same album). It wasn't until I really paid attention to the lyrics that I realized the value of this song, which addresses the confusing dichotomy of us being animals playing at civilization - broaching the at times Kafkaesque struggle of navigating society, as well as the superficial temptation to return to a simpler life among the wilderness. All sung over a jaunty calypso beat.
"Give me half a chance, and I'd be taking off my clothes and living in the jungle."
Sunday: Santana - Jungle Strut [Santana III, 1971]
Comments: Being an instrumental without lyrics, this is one of the more overlooked "jungle songs" out there. Yet, it's one of my favorites on this list. From a time when Santana was the hottest jam band around, filled with talented virtuosos on every instrument - including a young Neal Schon, the guitarist who would go on to co-found Journey. And while we're on the subject of jam bands, I might be missing something (like chemical "enhancement"), but Santana accomplishes more in these five minutes than I've ever heard The Grateful Dead do...