Edie Brickell & New Bohemians//What I Am

Thinking about Paul Simon made me think about Edie Brickell (whom he married in 1992 and has three kids with). I got so so into this album (Shooting Rubber Bands at the Stars) sometime in high school. I think I can actually remember rocking out to it on my discman. The whole thing is oozing with late-80s/early-90s cheese and sincerity, but of course you couldn’t help but fall in a dated kind of love that’s still nice to return to periodically (like all your favorite episodes of My So-Called Life, especially that one featuring Juliana Hatfield as a homeless angel-OMG).

The New Bohos formed in the 1980s in Dallas, Texas (as a ska band?) and briefly included incredible session/multi-act drummer Matt Chamberlain.

This was the single. It got a lot of Top 40 play because it’s really a perfect one hit—a little off the beaten track from what was popular at the time; interesting vocals; annoyingly catchy. It’s the kind of song that gets stuck in your head all week and you’re not sure if that’s a good thing or a bad thing and for that, hey, I’m sorry.

Something cool about Edie Brickell: she’s actually in a band called The Heavy Circles with Paul Simon’s “travelling companion” in yesterday's song, his son Harper. Also, the New Bohemians had a reunion in 2006 and put out a third album. Has anyone heard it?



What I Am.mp3

Philosophy is the talk on a cereal box.
Religion is the smile on a dog.
I'm not aware of too many things.
I know what I know, if you know what I mean.