YOU ARE HERE: zharth.net / Zharth's Music Log / Week 97 (School Days)
(Originally finalized on September 22, 2024)
Preface: Heralding the arrival of autumn, school is back in session (and well underway), so I thought it would be fun to spend a week listening to songs about school life. Take your seats, boys and girls; class is about to begin!
Monday: AC/DC - School Days [T.N.T., 1975]
Comments: With no disrespect to Chuck Berry, this is AC/DC covering one of the quintessential songs written about school life, from their second album released only in Australia. And who better to pay homage to the true king of rock 'n' roll than a band heavily influenced by him? Guitarist Angus Young even adopted a version of Chuck Berry's signature "duckwalk" - and has been known to perform on stage wearing a schoolboy uniform!
Tuesday: The Runaways - School Days [Waitin' For The Night, 1977]
Comments: Not to be confused with Chuck Berry's song, this one was written by Joan Jett and manager Kim Fowley for The Runaways' third album - and their first after lead singer Cherie Currie left the band. More than anyone else we'll hear from this week, these girls were young enough to still be in school. But lucky for us, they found their calling early in life.
Wednesday: The J. Geils Band - Homework (Live) [Full House, 1972]
Comments: Written by Al Perkins and popularized by blues legend Otis Rush, this song was covered by Peter Green's Fleetwood Mac for their Blues Jam in Chicago in 1969 before the J. Geils Band put it on their debut album the following year. But the studio version feels lethargic next to the energy and passion delivered on Full House, one of the great live albums of '70s rock. This song always reminds me of some advice a good friend of my dad told me after meeting my high school sweetheart: "A pretty girl is not conducive to good grades, but it is to a good life; balance them well."
Thursday: Van Halen - Hot For Teacher [MCMLXXXIV, 1984]
Comments: Featuring one of the most distinctive drum intros in rock 'n' roll history, this song is one of the rare highlights from the '80s, from Van Halen's last album with lead singer David Lee Roth. Considered for my theme on taboo relationships, it describes a student's attraction to his teacher in a humorous - but not entirely unrelatable - manner.
Friday: Motley Crue - Smokin' In The Boy's Room [Theatre Of Pain, 1985]
Comments: Also from the '80s, here's another rock classic about juvenile delinquency. Popularized by Motley Crue, this song was actually a hit for original band Brownsville Station 12 years prior. Their version is solid, but it can't be denied that Motley Crue's cover (with a music video to rival Van Halen's Hot For Teacher) has expanded this song's reach.
Saturday: Pink Floyd - Another Brick In The Wall [The Wall, 1979]
Comments: The second of a three part motif from Pink Floyd's late '70s rock opera about war and depression and social isolation, with a chorus of schoolchildren chanting "we don't need no education" (and riding a conveyor belt into a meat grinder in the music video), the impact of this song - which somehow hits closer to home with regards to the darker side of the educational establishment - really can't be overstated. There was a time in my life when I listened to it so much, I burned myself out on it. But the fact remains, it's one of the band's all-time greatest hits.
Sunday: Alice Cooper - School's Out [School's Out, 1972]
Comments: Both an album opener and a title track (I swear, I'm gonna stop pointing these things out sooner or later :-p), this is not only another one of the quintessential songs written about school, but is also one of Alice Cooper's biggest hits. And it's an excellent way for us to end the school year - er, I mean, this theme. Class dismissed. See you next week!
Extra Credit: Cheap Trick - Daddy Should Have Stayed In High School [Cheap Trick, 1977]
Comments: Since I already mentioned Heaven Knows by The Pretty Reckless during my Heaven and Hell theme, here's a track from Cheap Trick's hard-rocking debut album that's bound to raise a few eyebrows. Similar to, but considerably more salacious than Good Morning Little Schoolgirl, it highlights a subject we'll be returning to before long.