something/anything?

Studio mastermind Todd Rundgren came into his own with the diverse pop perfection of this double-album magnum opus. 'Something/Anything?' was mostly recorded in Los Angeles with Rundgren playing all of the instruments. After an earthquake he relocated to New York and recorded the rest with session musicians. 


Rundgren says: "two tendencies, a more disciplined approach and more eclecticism, came to a head. I almost wrote automatically, I was almost possessed. Most people struggle their entire careers for that state. By the time I got to the end of 'Something/Anything?' I’d listen to it and hear the sameness. It was a snapshot of where I was at the time... I didn’t have much a concept other than that one side should be live. It was originally meant to be a single LP but I continued to write after recording and added things on. Then I thought, ‘I don’t know if I can stretch this one-man band thing into four sides’, so I did the live side. Sometimes I’d record all day, come home at night and carry on, do goofy experiments like 'I Went to the Mirror'. In some senses, most of my early recordings reflected the evolution in drug culture. A psychedelic friend gave me a bottle of Ritalin and said ‘why don’t you give it a try?’ It got my brain into another gear – eight hours in the studio then work on the eight-track at home all night – doing double-duty – then went back to New York." 

In the liner notes, the first side of the album is described as "a bouquet of ear-catching melodies", the second as "the cerebral side", the third as "The kid gets heavy", and the fourth is titled "Baby Needs a New Pair of Snakeskin Boots (A Pop Operetta)". The music runs the gamut from Stevie Wonder and Jimi Hendrix to the Beach Boys and the Beatles with classic torch songs, funk and soul, psychedelia, power pop, and wild studio experimentation. 

'Something/Anything?' peaked at number twenty-nine on the US album chart and eventually was certified gold.

http://www.todd-rundgren.com/

Rundgren says, "'I Saw The Light' took fifteen minutes. The tune was a no-brainer – it was so simple. If you have a formula you can come up with five of those an hour. If I’d carried on it would have devalued them. Things that come too easily have a commensurate value. This pisses people off at times, but… six months later I’m thinking, ‘I can’t do this again, I want to try something new’. Also, psychedelic drugs were causing my musical head to evolve."

"It was late last night

I was feeling something wasn't right

There was not another soul in sight

Only you, only you

So we walked along

Though I knew there was something wrong

And the feeling hit me, oh, so strong

About you

Then you gazed up at me

And the answer was plain to see

'Cause I saw the light in your eyes

In your eyes"

About 'It Wouldn't Have Made Any Difference', Rundgren says, "It’s saying, all of these things would have been trivial if what you felt was love, but a lot of people took it the other way. "

"'Cause I know of hundreds of times I could be

In the most unfaithful arms that you always picture me

And maybe you remember that

Though I can't always show proof I was true

No one else could change my mind or

Stop me coming home to you

But those days are through

You just did not love me enough to believe me

Enough not to leave me

Enough not to look for a reason to be unhappy with me

And make me regret ever wanting you

But those days are through"

'Wolfman Jack'

"Hey baby, you're on a subliminal trip to nowhere.You better get your trip

Together before you step

In here with us!"

Rundgren calls 'Saving Grace' "the theme song of a generation...We were long-haired hippy draft dodgers – the tune in, turn on generation."

"I think I'm gonna love it

I know they won't believe it

When they finally see the saving grace in me"

'Black Maria'

"Black Maria, you scare me so

I feel as though my heart stop dead

You're a liar, this I know

I watch you go around my head

Oh, I'm going down slow

You scare me so

Oh, you never let go

You scare me so"

'Couldn't I Just Tell You' helped to define powerpop.

"Keep your head and everything will be cool

You didn't have to make me feel like a fool

When I try to say I feel the way that I do

I want to talk to you

And make it loud and clear

Though you don't care to hear"

'Little Red Lights' is a tribute to Jimi Hendrix. Rundgren says, "It was also about that drunken power when you get behind the wheel. There was no political element but it was a possible precursor to Crosstown Traffic. I learned a lot in a very fast time. Previously I’d led a bit of a sheltered existence – no drugs or liquor until I was twenty-one. I didn’t learn to drive until I had no one else to drive me around. Never had any lessons. I probably borrowed something from Tony Sales then rented cars for a while."

"You got to ease into line boy

But once I hit the open road

I'll be sailing off and on my own"

'Hello It's Me' was Rundgren's biggest hit, peaking at number five on the US pop chart.

He had originally done the song with his previous band Nazz. He says, "An artist doing a second version of his own song was very rare, not considered an astute move. I think it was only because I had musicians in the studio at the time. My whole concept of what was hip had changed. The new version was a radical change from the dirge-y original."

"Seeing you, or seeing anything as much as I do you,

I take for granted that you're always there,

I take for granted that you just don't care,

Sometimes I can't help seeing all the way through.

It's important to me

That you know you are free,

'Cause I never want to make you change for me."

full album:







All songs written by Todd Rundgren except as indicated.

Side one
"I Saw the Light" – 2:56
"It Wouldn't Have Made Any Difference" – 3:50
"Wolfman Jack" – 2:54
"Cold Morning Light" – 3:55
"It Takes Two to Tango (This Is for the Girls)" – 2:41
"Sweeter Memories" – 3:36
Side two
"Intro" – 1:11
"Breathless" – 3:15
"The Night the Carousel Burnt Down" – 4:29
"Saving Grace" – 4:12
"Marlene" – 3:54
"Song of the Viking" – 2:35
"I Went to the Mirror" – 4:05
Side three
"Black Maria" – 5:20
"One More Day (No Word)" – 3:43
"Couldn't I Just Tell You" – 3:34
"Torch Song" – 2:52
"Little Red Lights" – 4:53
Side four
"Overture–My Roots: Money (That's What I Want)/Messin' With The Kid" (Janie Bradford, Berry Gordy, Jr., Mel London) – 2:29
"Dust in the Wind" (Mark Klingman) – 3:49
"Piss Aaron" – 3:26
"Hello It's Me" – 4:42
"Some Folks Is Even Whiter Than Me" – 3:56
"You Left Me Sore" – 3:13
"Slut" – 4:03