Comments on: Adventures Through The Mines Of Mellow Gold 40

By: nancy z

nancy z — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 15:37:42 +0000

Thanks for a good laugh. I’ve always taken “Hello Its Me” at face value. Gosh, he must be a super sensitive guy to say those things. Do I feel dumb! Still love the song but whenever I listen now I chuckle a bit.

By: Dave

Dave — Fri, 25 Jan 2008 22:51:49 +0000

Thanks alot. I tried to read this at work on the sly, but my cube mates noticed the milk exploding out of my nose and the tears rolling down my cheeks when you got to the “spend the night if you think I should” part.

By: Stephen

Stephen — Thu, 26 Jul 2007 01:56:00 +0000

I did a search for "Couldn’t I Just Tell You" on iTunes and discovered a bizarre country version…the sample I listened to featured the exact same solo — played on a pedal steel. Actually sounded kind of good.

By: Jason

Jason — Tue, 24 Jul 2007 15:26:21 +0000

Jon,

"Hello It’s Me" is very much available on iTunes - I think I count at least 16 instances of the song by Todd on there, let alone all the other weenies who have covered it - but I’m glad that the search for the tune led you and your wife here. Anybody who has a better day as a result of Mellow Gold in #1 in my book. Hope you guys will stick around!

By: jon

jon — Tue, 24 Jul 2007 15:15:35 +0000

Jason, you made my wife’s day. She was looking for "Hello It’s Me" and discovered that it’s not available on itunes or emusic, except the recent "Todd and friends" version. Apparently Todd has a friend who thinks that everything goes better with Velveeta-cheesy sax solos. She enjoyed the humor in your posts, esp. the one about Paul Davis’ speed metal phase. I told her that bloggers appreciate comments, and she told me to do it. Yes, dear! That’s the way I roll, Paul Davis style.

By: Robert

Robert — Sun, 22 Jul 2007 19:48:14 +0000

Probably one reason he smirks through the song now is because, as Blow It Out Your Ass pointed out, he wrote it nearly 40 years ago. I think he wasn’t even 20 yet when Nazz started. Are any of us still thrilled with stuff we wrote in our late teens?

By the way, is it just Nazz or is it THE Nazz? I don’t think “The Nazz” ever appeared on their album covers. And what’s up with Rhino’s edition of “Nazz III”? Everything I’ve read about this album says that Rundgren’s vocals were erased on the final product, but his voice is clearly the one singing “Loosen Up” and “You Are My Window.” Anyone know what the deal is?

By: Stephen

Stephen — Sun, 22 Jul 2007 18:57:12 +0000

Oh, and does anyone by chance want to upload that Joe Jackson cover?

By: Stephen

Stephen — Sun, 22 Jul 2007 17:52:57 +0000

Of course the one week I don’t have internet, the song I’ve been begging for all along goes up! Kudos on the lyric analysis, it does contain some of the most awkward lyrics ever put to tape, but I suppose I always figured Todd knew just how cheesy and wussy the lyrics were, but either didn’t care or just thought it was funny. Considering so much of the album is kind of a joke, I guess I assumed this one could’ve been too — but I think I’m giving him way too much credit, especially when you consider some of the cheesiness of his older songs.

By: Robert

Robert — Sun, 22 Jul 2007 17:40:34 +0000

Rocky and Elaine, you two are cruel for linking to Bebe Buell pictures we can’t access! Were either of you trying to link to the shot of her wearing nothing but a T-shirt with Rundgren’s face on it?

I read the parts about Rundgren in her book — yes, she makes him look like a tool, but when she says Prince wrote “Little Red Corvette” about her even though they’d never met, she looks like a tool herself. I think I commented on this before on this site: Buell thought Prince was saying “Bebe, you’re much too fast” instead of “Baby, you’re much too fast,” and even in 1983, about six years past her celebrity prime, she still considered herself popular enough in the rock community that Prince, who was relatively new to the scene, would want to reference her in a song. Good grief …

Dw, I like your theory about the song quite a bit. Rundgren is manipulative but trying to appear sensitive. I think we all knew a guy like this in college. He got all the women while I fumed about being oversensitive and not smart enough to be manipulative. Poor fucking me. I haven’t heard Joe Jackson’s cover of “Couldn’t I Just Tell You”; I’ll have to look that up. Smudge, an Australian band, did a down-tempo cover of it in the ’90s that’s nice. I feel like I’ve heard another cover of the song somewhere before.

Jason, your Woody Allen impression is frighteningly close to the actual voice of Poison’s C.C. DeVille. What do you think of bandmate Bret Michaels’s new reality show, C.C.? And is Bret bald underneath all those cowboy hats and bandannas? Is that what he’s trying to cover up?

Miss Lisa, when Todd gets serious it’s not pretty — have you heard “Sometimes I Don’t Know What to Feel,” where he talks about a car crushing “a little dog under its wheels”? Or “Bag Lady”? Not in your wheelhouse, Todd! Back away!

I remember seeing that “Hello It’s Me” performance on VH1 Classic five years ago. Not the best performance, but still fun to see Rundgren doing it without irony, because these days he half smirks his way through it.

By: Miss Lisa

Miss Lisa — Sat, 21 Jul 2007 05:20:52 +0000

I remember when he got all tough and political in Utopia’s "Hiroshima," which ended with the chorus: Hiroshima, Nagasaki, Don’t you ever forget–don’t you ever fucking forget–HIROSHIMA!!! (Boom! fizzzz [sound fx]). It was a lushly orchestrated toughness. Tough lush Rundgren. And probably on my death bed some semblance of "Hello It’s Me" will be running through my thoughts at some point–so damn catchy and annoying, yet truthful in its "sensitive cad" construct.