There are some good songs featuring “Hey” in their title that don’t feature in this episode because they’re just not alternative enough, but I’ve got a soft spot for all of them.
Let me out myself straightaway as being actually quite fond of some songs on Pink Floyd’s ‘The Wall’. Sure, it’s bombastic and maudlin and self pitying, but there’s some unexpected treasure there too. The four-to-the-floor disco beat to Another Brick is remarkably effective – you wonder why they didn’t try that trick again. And then there are all the spoken word samples, e.g. ”There’s only another hour of daylight left, your father’s going to pick up our trail before long”. “Hey You” is for sad saps, certainly. But nice guitar work.
“Hey Jude” is now just a terrace anthem. But it started out life as a sweet little ode to Julian Lennon after his parents split up, as you probably know. I like the first half well enough, though it’s over familiar. But I can’t be doing with the second half of endless na na na na na na na na nas; and I always think McCartney is at his weakest when he does his raucous “come on, come on, little darling, waaaaaah” thing.
“Hey ya” by Outkast is just fantastic – and naughty – fun, no matter how many times you hear it. And you do hear it a lot. I mentioned it to my son Jamie over dinner tonight and, while he admitted loving the track, he’s not keen on east coast hip-hop generally, preferring Californian. So there.
Obviously there are dozens more. Step up, Katy Perry, Eric Clapton, Gary Glitter, Oasis, Crowded House … or rather, don’t. No thanks, not right now.
Anyway, as I say, none of those songs is on this episode. All songs featured have “Hey” in the title as well as the lyrics, other than the first. But since it repeats the word at least 44 times in the song, it seemed as good a place to start as any.
