go and beat your crazy head against the sky

If you pressed me on my favorite 60s pop bands, the Lovin’ Spoonful would be right up there with the Beatles, Beach Boys, Byrds, and Left Banke. I think it’d be fair to say that the Spoonful laid down the initial prototype for what became known as Sunshine Pop, which is self- explanatory, I think. Even the most cynical, miserable, beaten-down person in the world can’t help but smile when Do You Believe in Magic comes on the radio. It's magic if the music is groovy, it makes you feel happy like an old-time movie... The great thing about the Spoonful, though, is that they evolved, adopting a slightly more serious vibe as the 60s progressed with songs like Summer in the City and Younger Generation, but they never crossed over into rock, insisting instead on keeping the music and the arrangements pleasingly nimble. John Sebastian later became a little more pretentious and ‘heavy’ as a solo artist, but that’s what people were doing at the time, so it’s hard to fault the guy too much. I give him the benefit of the doubt if only because he was such a gifted songwriter and performer. …Tonight’s song is my favorite Spoonful song. I love the way the horns and strings build, but the climax owes more to Burt Bacharach than it does to Sgt. Pepper’s. Like I said, the Spoonful never got overly serious or self-important. But this doesn’t mean the song can be dismissed as disposable, middle-of-the-road trash. Not at all. Its tone is at once, wistful, wise, and compassionate, expressing a degree of human understanding and connectedness that’s rare in music of any kind. It’s lovely in at least a dozen different ways, and it’s just the kind of thing I need right now…