I accidentally, last time, sent off this posting before I got to the songs. Here you go...
I am pleased to announce that for the first time, I think ever, Underdog Victorious, is available on all your newfangled preferred music service or platforms. My pal Blake Morgan's ECR is also rereleasing Dottie's Charms, California Years, Prozak and the Platypus, and giving a new push to, if I may say ---fab, Nostalgia Kills.
I also do have around 20 CDs left of the original Underdog. Anyone interested in such a treasure? You even get an original Will Shortz crossword that he made for the booklet inside!
If interested email Abby at jillsobuleasst@gmail.com
Underdog Victorious song facts:
1. Freshman - I was still a struggling artist, even after having a couple of hits - much to my parents surprise.... The best part of the song is where I mention moving to Brooklyn, as I couldn't afford Manhattan rents. How funny is it now, in less than a decade, that folks are actually moving back into Manhattan from Williamsburg -- --- -– which has become too expensive. The track opens up with an Omnichord.
2. Jetpack - A fan favorite, Jetpack, is not only a love song to someone who lives on the other end of the Island, but it's also homage to the city that I call home. However, I am still pissed that the Jetson flying cars and affordable Jetpacks that we were promised have not come to fruition. The song is also, musically, a nod to Harry Neilson, as you can probably tell.
3. Cinnamon Park- Yes, I did mushrooms once in 8th grade. But, I have only really gotten drunk once in my life, and that was at David Miller's Bar Mitzvah. Back in 2004, it was still a time when folks were sampling really cool stuff. We shamelessly sampled Chicago's "Saturday in the Park" throughout the track.
4. Tender Love- In my mind, I pictured this really sexy 1950s pulp fiction, bossy-boots lesbian in jodhpurs singing this. I wonder if anyone else does.
5. Underdog Victorious- This is my "Bennie and the Jets", my "All The Young Dudes". This is an anthem! It’s for a bullied little butterball queer boy who believes that one day he will be the envy of all his former classmates. It's actually for most of us. We Are Underdog Victorious.
6. Under the Disco Ball - this is a little ditty, now that I'm thinking, that could be about the our Underdog Victorious boy, if he had horrible right-wing evangelical parents who made him go through reparative therapy.
7. The Last Line- A sad couple whose relationship is not helped by the amount of cocaine they do.
8. Tel Aviv- A young Eastern European girl who has been sent to Tel Aviv with the promise of good work. Robin and I wrote this after reading a horrific article about the sex trafficking in Israel.
9. Joey - At one point, I wanted to write a song-cycle of sad tabloid news stories. When I was little, I was fascinated with Joey Heatherton.
10. Nothing Natural- Just a beautiful love song, with no irony or wink. These are hard to write. Could not have done it without Robin Eaton, like so many others.
11. Angel/Asshole- I wanted to write a sympathetic song for the person that is...the dumper. The person that breaks up with someone. No one gives him or her (or they) their due.
12. Strawberry Gloss- The worst breakup I ever had was not with anyone romantic or sexual, it was with a best friend - my best friend in 7th grade. She, at some point, wanted to hang out with the more popular girls, or the ones who just cared about makeup and shopping. It was devastating.
13. Thank Misery- I think too often about all the mistakes I've made. I could've made some better decisions, for sure, earlier in my life. I could have stayed in college, or been more ambitious career wise, But, then again, I might not have written any of these songs. And right now, as I'm listening to Underdog Victorious, I feel pretty proud.
14. I Saw a Cop- okay; here is an homage to fat-Elvis with a lesbian cop theme. Where else are you going to get this?
One thing that pisses me off with iTunes and streaming services -other than the fact that the artist is completely getting ripped off- is that they don't provide credits or liner notes. My favorite thing as a kid was to know who played on the tracks, who produced, who co-wrote, who did the art design, etc.
So here we are:
ALBUM CREDITS
Written by Jill Sobule and Robin Eaton (Feel My Pain Music/Administered by Bug Music, ASCAP / Left Right Left Publishing/Administered by Bug Music, BMI) “Cinnamon Park” contains elements of “Saturday In The Park” written by Robert Lamm (Lamminations Music/Big Elk Music, ASCAP) “Tender Love” also written by Bill Demain (Jollybottom Music/Administered by Bug Music, ASCAP) “Under The Disco Ball” and “Strawberry Gloss” written by Jill Sobule (Feel My Pain Music/Administered by Bug Music, ASCAP) “Joey” written by Jill Sobule and Bill Demain (Feel My Pain Music/Administered by Bug Music, ASCAP / Jollybottom Music/Administered by Bug Music, ASCAP)
Jill Sobule: vocals, guitars, Omnichord, Casio, Moog, sound effects, funny sounds Robin Eaton: background vocals, harmonica, bass Marykate O’Neil: background vocals Neil Rosengarden: classical guitar Chris Carmichael: violin, viola David Henry: cello Jim Hoke: flute, clarinet Rob Burger: piano, Casio Brad Jones: piano, organ, guitars, rhythm guitar, bass Pat Buchanan: guitar Al Perkins: pedal steel Will Kimbrough: slide guitar Bill Demain: electric piano Ross Rice: piano Michael Rhodes: bass Dennis Diken: drums Micky Grimm: drums, percussion
Produced by Brad Jones & Robin Eaton “Thank Misery” produced by Roger Moutenot
applicable laws.