1> A Brooklyn combo formed at… Read Full Bio ↴there are two artists with this name:
1> A Brooklyn combo formed at the urging of Wm. Berger (here playing drums), who recognized creative sparkle in modern dancer Linda Hagood and encouraged her to take up guitar and songwriting. The duo was joined by bassist Alec Stephens on Queen Crab, a wonderful collection of light, idiosyncratic material like "Big Planet," "Lucky" and "Dancing Uvula." With a cartoony Southern voice so high-pitched that many reckoned it to be contrived (it's not), Hagood fits in with the love rock of Beat Happening and the Mad Scene but shows more musical ambition. Contributions to tribute albums for the Fall and Love around this time showed Smack Dab's versatility and humor.
After Berger left to concentrate on Uncle Wiggly, newcomer J.Z. Barrell (ex-Alter Boys) brought his studio engineering prowess and add instrumental versatility to the fuller, more mature Majestic Root. Where Queen Crab was a fanciful one-woman show with excellent support, Majestic Root shows Hagood's positive reflections on love and life in a more adult light, with subdued tones and more intricate arrangements. The agile band covers a great deal of sultry, arty and troubled ground under her indelible stylistic stamp. Stephens exited Smack Dab in 1994 for a career slinging guitar with Railroad Jerk and was suitably replaced by Kansas City's Jeffrey J. Jensen, a Jonathan Richman fanatic.
2> A trio containing Spanish musician Paco Loco, Steve Wynn and his wife and drummer, Linda Pitmon.
I'm Not Listening
Smack Dab Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Fell right in, threw caution to the wind and ignored the signs
Now the dust has settled and I can see but can't believe me eyes
You're back at my door, begging for more but I'm not hypnotized
Say that you love me
Say that you need me
Say that you want me
Once I believed that forever was the time that I could spend with you
And if there was a life beyond"well, I could do that too
But now the spell has broken, reality has spoken and I'm so amazed
Forever came today. I'm finding my way through the smoke and haze (CH)
Will someone shine a light on the fool who believes this was paradise
Kisses fade and what remains is only lies
If you need an explanation and someone to blame, well there's the wall
Say what you want on my behalf, I won't be there at all (CH)
The lyrics of Smack Dab's song "I'm Not Listening" speak about a person who was once in love with someone, but that love did not last. The song starts with the singer saying how he was once entranced by the sparkle in the eyes of his lover, so much so that he ignored the warning signs and fell in love blindly. However, he soon realized that the relationship was not working out, and the break-up made him see things clearly for the first time. Now, his former lover has come back, begging for another chance, but the singer refuses to listen to their words anymore, and he is not willing to be hypnotized by the promises they have made.
The chorus of the song is a repeated refrain of the phrase, "Say that you love me, say that you need me, say that you want me, but I'm not listening." This phrase is a testament to the singer's resolve to move past the relationship and not be swayed by his former lover's pleas. The second verse of the song speaks of the singer's realization that the promises of forever made by his lover had turned out to be empty words. The spell of love had been broken, and he had to come to terms with the reality of the situation. The song ends with the singer telling his former lover that he won't be there to hear their words anymore, and he won't be a part of the game of blame and justifications.
Line by Line Meaning
Once I was dazzled by the sparkle in your eyes until I was blind
I fell for you hard and fast when I first met you, and I couldn't see any of your flaws due to this infatuation.
Fell right in, threw caution to the wind and ignored the signs
I jumped into the relationship headfirst and didn't pay attention to any red flags that might indicate things weren't going to work out.
Now the dust has settled and I can see but can't believe me eyes
After the initial excitement wore off, I can finally see you and our relationship for what they truly are, but it's hard to accept.
You're back at my door, begging for more but I'm not hypnotized
You're trying to win me back, but I'm not falling for it this time like I did before.
Say that you love me
You want to express your love for me.
Say that you need me
You want to express your dependency on me.
Say that you want me
You want to express your desire for me.
But I'm not listening
I won't be fooled again by empty words or false promises.
Once I believed that forever was the time that I could spend with you
I thought our love was endless and we'd be together forever.
And if there was a life beyond "well, I could do that too
I was willing to commit to you and our relationship even if it meant giving up other opportunities or changing my life plans.
But now the spell has broken, reality has spoken and I'm so amazed
I finally see the truth about our relationship and I'm both surprised and disappointed by it.
Forever came today. I'm finding my way through the smoke and haze
Our relationship has ended for good and I'm trying to come to terms with it amidst all the sadness and confusion.
Will someone shine a light on the fool who believes this was paradise
I feel stupid for thinking our relationship was perfect or could last forever.
Kisses fade and what remains is only lies
All the physical aspects of our relationship have faded away and what's left is just a bunch of untruths.
If you need an explanation and someone to blame, well there's the wall
If you're looking for someone to blame for our failed relationship and want an explanation, there's nothing left for me to say or do.
Say what you want on my behalf, I won't be there at all
You're free to say whatever you want about me or our relationship behind my back because I won't be a part of it anymore.
Contributed by Muhammad B. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@yourbaemarra
When you're hot, you're hot
When you're not, you're not
You've got to give a little
To gain a lot
Boy I'm gonna give you all I've got
When you pick and choose
Sometimes you lose
But I choose you boy anyhow
Nothing's gonna stop me now
But I can go over it
(So wide)
But I'm gonna get around it
(Too deep)
Hey I can get under it
(Too high)
So high
Smack dab in the middle of loving you
Baby, baby, baby, baby
Run and hide when love is on my side
I give an inch boy to gain a mile
Loving you is so worth while
Playing hide and seek
Till your heart gets weak
One, two, three, tag on you
No matter where you hide
I'm gonna get you
But I can go over it
(So wide)
But I'm gonna get around it
(Too deep)
Hey I can get under it
(Too high)
So high now boy
Smack dab in the middle of loving you
It's what I wanna do, it's what I wanna do
Hey well I can't get over it
But I'm gonna get around it
Hey I can get under it
So high
Smack dab in the middle of loving you
Can't get away, can't get away boy
You can't get away, you can't get away boy
You can run, you can hide
I've got love on my side
You can pick, you can choose
Sometimes you're about to lose
Give it up, give it up, give it on up
Is what I wanna do
Hey when you're hot, you're hot
Hey baby when you're not, you're not
You've got to pick and choose
But you're bout to lose
No matter what I'm coming thru the middle
I'm coming thru the middle
Give it up, give it up, give it on up
Smack dab in the middle, in the middle
@fairnorth2733
THIS JANICE MCCLAIN SUPER CLASSIC RECEIVED LOADS OF RADIO AIR PLAY HERE IN NEW YORK CITY ON WBLS-FM AND WKTU-FM BACK IN 1979 !!!! IT ALMOST SEEMS CRIMINAL THAT A MASTERPIECE AS THIS IS ALMOST FORGOTTEN BY THE CURRENT MASS MEDIA !!!! BUT THIS SONG BRINGS BACK GREAT MEMORIES !!!! THANK YOU sundayleffe FOR POSTING THIS SUPER GEM !!!! THANK YOU YOU/TUBE !!!!
@YuukiTakemoto1996
The good KTU! Janice McClain, Firefly, Double Exposure, Musique, et. al!!
@jacknjill3000
I’m from the west coast and never heard this song or never noticed it in the clubs. I did find a mint copy of this 12” last week and in the first listen, I knew i had to have it.
You guys in the east. Past and NYC were very lucky to had all this great music that never made it out this way to the left coast,
@ariel423
see my comment at the top@@YuukiTakemoto1996
@jacknjill3000
Never heard this before, but from my first listen at this used record store, this record was coming home with me. It captured the vibe and energy from the golden years of disco and dance music. Glad I finally came across the masterpiece.
@nyceyes
Well said! My YouTube sreeen-name tells you where I'm from: NYC 😊 This was all over 107.5 WBLS, Disco 92.3 WKTU, and 98.7 Kiss WRKS FM. What a great song. Thank you uploader!
@nickynap6238
Listen to her vocals so clean so damn sick YOU go Janice music from the 70's and 80's was just off the hook we grew up in the BEST OF TIMES!!! Wouldn't trade it for anything in the world clubs the Disco seen guys looked great woman looked even better let alone the music yes bring it all back!!
@jacknjill3000
I know everything great comes back, especially if it was once so great. The kids don’t even go out to dance and just go to bars to get drunk with their friends.. yeah, I hope dance music and dance culture comes back again. It did with the house music scene that I was heavily involved with in the early 90’s to about 2006.
@nickynap6238
@@jacknjill3000 This music never died and never will!! I hope Disco come back again soon!!
@jacknjill3000
@Nickynap2368, everything great will comeback and glad I lived it the first time around.