Peanut Butter On The Brain: Paul McCartney’s “Driving Rain”
I don’t know what Alice in Chains was referring to when they talked about something sticking to your mouth like peanut butter on the brain, but it’s another way for me to describe the feeling of a song getting stuck in my head.
There are many reasons and ways to slag off Paul McCartney, but damn if the man doesn’t craft melodies that stick like peanut butter on the brain!
The first two melodies bouncing around the echo chamber that sits atop my neck this morning were The Beatles’ “For No One” and McCartney’s “Driving Rain.” Praising The Beatles isn’t cliche to the point of pointless, but it’s damn close. Saying something nice about McCartney’s later works is semi-novel territory.
There’s nothing special about the song on its face. It’s lyrically vacant but not insipid or insulting. McCartney plays to his strengths as a vocalist and stays in his comfort zone as a great singer of pop rock songs. There is just a little fray in his voice as age has begun to compress the range of notes he can comfortably hit and command, but it’s all very pleasant and unobtrusive. It’s hard for me to say this with a straight face considering we are talking about Monsignor Whitebread here, but there’s almost a little funk to this one. The electric guitars insistently clink and chink low in the mix, giving this simple pop rock song a hint of R&B/funk flavor.
What, then, has me listening to this song on repeat this morning? The crackrock melody. “Driving Rain” wasn’t a hit and it’s not the best thing he’s ever done but it has a melody with vicious sharp teeth. Listen to it twice and you are fucked, because it’s not letting go of you. Ever.
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, let’s go for a drive…
Filed under: Music of the Moment, Paul McCartney
