Steppin’ Out (Live on SNL) / Joe Jackson
1. We’ll be there in just a while
I married a Rockist. I wish I could say that this doesn’t lead to arguments but of course it does. Sometimes I wear him down and he sees that you don’t need a guitar solo to rule. Other times, he gets furious and storms out of the living room, saying things like, “I don’t understand your taste AT ALL.” (e.g. watching The Grammys this year)
I’ve been having a Joe Jackson type of weekend. Consequently, I’ve been trying to convince my beloved that Jackson wrote some of the most lovely little pop songs of the 80s and that taken outside of their admittedly dated production (always my adversary in these conversations) they are modern standards. He is unmoved. I wash the dishes singing medleys of Jackson hits, veering from Got The Time to Fools in Love to the big climax of Slow Song to a really dicey version of You Can’t Get What You Want (Til You Know What You Want) and of course, the song above. Thanks to my incessant caterwauling, the gentle synth sounds of Steppin’ Out are now stuck in his head like a malicious ear worm. Of course, this will make it harder to convince him of the song’s merits. Nevertheless, it is amusing in a diabolical way as I instant message him the lyrics to keep it in his head.
2. NOW…the mist across the window hides the lines but nothing hides the colour of the lights that shine
The opening line grabs your hand, swings you around and sets the mood. He isn’t asking you to go out, you are out and it is the start of a RAGER. This is crucial. A lot of Saturday night songs tend to be about anticipation. Here, there is none. The bass brilliantly bobs along at the speed of passing streets viewed from an NYC cab. Jackson’s stretched out syllables work in opposition, making everything slightly languorous. You are in the thick of things but you have all the time in the world. Enjoy.
The song’s video tends to emphasize the little people have lives too! theme that all of Night and Day’s music videos were going for (Jackson as wandering magical pianist throwing hats and flowers all over the place, croon/commenting on situations like an unamused 80’s Cole Porter). The lyrics too, with its talk of tear-drying. BOO, I say. He just needed a rhyme. I don’t hear beaten down people HAVING A CHANCE AT LIFE. I hear regular people, who maybe aren’t the greatest dressers or dancers, who no longer care about the cool kids or perhaps they never did, with their blinders on to darkness, having a night out. That’s me. That’s you. This song is ours. Let’s dance.
3. Into the night, into the night
Years ago, I told a friend who was DJing one of my shows to play a floor killer. I needed something to stop the party cold so I could wrap it up and go home. He put on Steppin’ Out. The floor came alive with people throwing their arms out like ballerinas, twirling and high steppin’. The DJ looked bewildered. I don’t get it, he said. But he kinda did.
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