“Now what can I say about ‘Stang’? It's not only the incorrect past tense of sting but it's also the name of an indie record label that put out some incredible R&B sides of the early 70s by The Moments, Linda Jones (my favorite soul singer save for David Ruffin) and the Whatnauts. At the time of recording Silver Alert in 2016, I was under the spell of a record by The Moments called ‘Lovely Way She Loves’ which had something pretty unique—here the woman, the object of the castrato lead singer’s affection, does the spoken word bridge honors and just when it sounds like she’s about to fake an orgasm, the lead singer explodes with a car siren falsetto that's so head splitting you’ll probably run out of your house to stop it out of force of habit.
My spoken word bridge is far stupider than theirs as evidenced by the reference to ”Free To Be...You and Me,’ that Marlo Thomas children’s record from 1972, that taught tots tolerance, having respect for one another's individuality and that anyone, boy or girl, could grow up to achieve anything when they put their mind to it. Even ripping off The Moments.”
Song that this most closely rips off.
“I already mentioned this song’s debt to ‘Lovely Way She Loves,’ but I actually lifted off the drum roll and organ wash from the beginning of the ‘Batman Theme’ by The Markettes, which gets inserted before every chorus. This was actually my first attempt to record a live band at in the Green Room and Nick and Andrew from the GemSeekers did a fabulous job considering that they never heard the song five minutes before the record button was pushed. "
lyrics
Stang!
written by Serene Dominic
Been proven right when I never cared for
The ease with which we've both moved on
Everything is as it should be but I can't help but feel it's all wrong
Destiny open sesame
trap door in your floor I fell through
Oh how it stang, stang, stang, stang, stang
How it stang, stang, stang, stang, stang!
Call into question the stars that I wished upon
Seeing how they'd fallen so far
Was it a lie I was telling myself
Never seeing you as you are
End of a spent love
When the magic ceased to be
How it stang, stang, stang, stang, stang
How it stang, stang, stang, stang, stang!
Spoken: Now I'm free to be you and me
Minus you, that's misery
I knew deep down in my heart that's when the tears would start
How it stang, stang, stang, stang, stang
How it stang, stang, stang, stang, stang!
credits
from Silver Alert,
released May 14, 2017
Serene Dominic: Guitars, bass, organ. vocals
Andrew Jemsek - clavinet
Nick Pasco - drums
New on the always-great label Velvet Blue Music is “Slow Parade” from Gileah Taylor, boasting warm songs built on piano and guitar. Bandcamp New & Notable Apr 26, 2024
