01.31.14
For no reason should the song ‘Africa’ by Toto have anything less than an entire article devoted to its greatness. No, I did not misspeak; I said it’s greatness.
A few months ago, when winter was starting to become a real cunt about things, my spouse and our dear friend and comedian companion, Rishika, and I were driving to the QC (Quad Cities) to visit some more dear friends. Jake, my spouse, had been spending time working on mixes of the greatest songs of all time and he had one of these mixes blasting as we sped along the highway.
On came what I considered to be the greatest song of all time; ‘More Than a Feeling’ by Boston. Oh my god...have you heard that song!? If you are struggling to think of the song then hold your place here, go to Youtube, and get your fix. You will probably want to watch it way more than one time so luckily, this article will still be here when you get back.
Okay, back? Great. Or, thank you for reading, whichever is appropriate.
So, pretty amazing, yes? Absolutely. Everything, just everything, about that song is amazing! The beginning verse is so soft, you’re not sure what you’ve just gotten yourself into. You’re skeptical; “really? This is what’s so great?”. But you give it a minute because you can feel it; you can feel the magic unfolding in your deep insides. Suddenly, there’s a crescendo that’s exquisitely introduced as such that you’re not even aware you’re riding it until you hear;
“I closed my eeeeeyes and I slipped awaaaaaayyyyyyyyyeeee”
AND THEN YOU’RE THERE!
And everything is perfect. It’s just perfect. I guarantee, if you’ve heard this song, you are either singing it to yourself or in your head, or you’re searching frantically for the album you swear it’s on! Only to find it’s not on there and you actually don’t have that album and you happen to be one of those people who still don’t know how to use the internet so you are freaking out!
Relax! Just keep reading.
Because this isn’t about Boston. Or ‘More Than a Feeling’.
It’s about the little song that won me over.
After ‘More Than a Feeling’ ended, I swore there was no song on the planet that would beat that sweet ear candy (i.e. ear cocaine).
This is when the little diddy, ‘Africa’, cued up. When it started, my initial reaction was “oh my god - this song suuuucks!”. Good lord...I am not proud of that moment. I’m really not. But I’d never heard it outside of a grocery store and I always just thought it was really funny because kids don’t understand music that they can’t memorize in 3 listens.
Jake was the fierce defender.
“What are you talking about? This song is awesome!”
I think there was more to that but it was a long time ago so those are the only words based in fact that I can remember.
“It’s a grocery store song!” I replied (sort of, not word for word).
Thus was born the argument of ‘which is better; ‘More Than a Feeling’ or ‘Africa’?’, and for months I was on the side of Boston. I never had another song that made me feel so happy and whimsical!
But the more I heard ‘Africa’, and the more I attempted to actually understand the lyrics, the more I realized that Boston was seeing some tough competition. I tend to make everything a competition. In this case, they are tied neck and neck. Will either ever come out on top? Oh..I don’t know and frankly, I’m not concerned about that.
‘Africa’ really takes me back to the 80’s. It’s flamboyant in both style and comfort. It makes the gold and fur and diamonds and silks and perfect manicures feel...normal. There’s also a longing that I could relate to. It took me back to when I was a child and I used to dream about what it would feel like when I got older and longed to be a child again. That’s what we call meta-depression. It’s the depression with the highest suicide rate. But Toto knew what they were doing, as they also happen to be the cure. Goddamn brilliant.
