Tag: huey lewis & the news

#Weeknotes S02 E30

There’s a theme this week, and it appears to be age.


Behold, the greatest Huey Lewis and The News video since “I Wanna New Drug,” just released the other day.

This was also the week I finally caught up on the third season of STRANGER THINGS. And the most horrifying thing about it to me had nothing to do with the plot, but with how many memories of life in 1985 that came back to me. You know, I’m the exact same age at those kids and I think I spend an inordinate amount of time imagining how much more f’ed up they’d be in 2020. It’s morbid, really and not very helpful. I mean, you’d at least think I’d try to write a story about it. Okay, there may be an outline somewhere.

Between the phage in the air and the brownshirts in the streets, it’s been another week of trying to get by, paying the bills the best one can, and hunkering down with loved ones and weapons. Asher here has the right idea, don’t you buddy?

We’ll take a nap in the afternoon
That’s just part of the fun
So much of youth is wasted on the young
Watch your tongue
–Huey Lewis and The News, “While We’re Young”

Quickie Review of WEATHER by Huey Lewis & the News

MTV actually did what everyone was afraid it would do to a 10 year-old child in the 80s, such as myself: lure me into The Devil’s Music. I saw this concert on cable TV late one weekend night, and that was it. Jesus — I mean, Satan — those harmonies! That harmonica! The Tower of Power! The end-of-concert tag line that I got to hear when I finally caught them live — “I’m Huey Lewis… and you just heard the News!!”

Fast forward mumblemubmlemumblesomething years later, and what else could I say about this quote from ESQUIRE except, “It me.”

So of course I had to pick up their newest album WEATHER. I have the rest of the catalog, so why not? Anyone’s opinion of a Huey Lewis & the News album will depend one’s opinion of the band. If you don’t like them, there’s nothing for you here. If you do, WEATHER is solid stuff, because it’s always solid stuff. I’ve never met a fellow fan who was like “X album sucked, compared to the rest of them.” (Not even their 1980 debut.) WEATHER maintains the groove from PLAN B (and the last 4 tracks of their TIME FLIES compilation, except a little more stripped down and not as “produced.” A couple of tunes like “Her Love Is Killin’ Me” have a little bit of hints of the 80s, but not enough to call it a retread by any means.

Now because of Huey’s current struggle with Meniere’s Disease, there could be some truth to the hype that this “could be their last album.” Now I thought of Johnny Cash’s AMERICAN sessions while I listened to this and thought I was being a little overwrought. No one was dying while this was being recorded. But then I heard the last track…

If WEATHER really is the last album we’ll get from Huey Lewis & the News, I’m really going to be sad.