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Song Stories

“The Gaudy Side of Town”

Gayngs | 2010

Bon Iver's Justin Vernon makes a crooning cameo on this slinky, Eighties-inspired soft-rock number by the two dozen or so musicians who embody this somewhat tongue-in-cheek supergroup-of-sorts. According to lyricist Zach Coulter, "Gaudy Side of Town" is about "trying to keep a straight face during particularly emotional times." That musi inude times like the one when Prince showed up and almost took the stage at the band's prom-themed album release show.

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“Jump in the Pool”
Friendly Fires | 2008
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“(We're Not) The Jet Set”
George Jones and Tammy Wynette | 1973

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Song Stories

“Everyday People”

Sly and the Family Stone | 1968

"Everyday People" managed to trailblaze in two different ways -- it was one of the first pop hits to deal with the subject of racial harmony, and it utilized Larry Graham's "slap" technique on the bass guitar, which would soon be copied by countless other bassists. Graham once said about his pulsating style, "I'd never done that before … that's where the freedom of creativity came in for the band, that we'd be allowed to do that." In 1978, the song's line "Different strokes for different folks" would be borrowed for the title of the hit television show Diff'rent Strokes.

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