This Kind of Feeling/Slavedriver/We're in Control .(Line (Germany)) - 1979

Where the songs came from

by Joe Nolte

THIS KIND OF FEELING (lyrics) Listen to a clip of this song: (MP3)

(written Jan 14, 1977) I wanted to write an ersatz Beatle song - in the period spanning late Summer '76 to late Spring '77 I was obsessed with recreating various 60's motifs, little knowing how such a brief obsession would mark me nor the influence it would arguably have - so I thought, if one wants to really sound like someone, one should aspire not to sound like them, but rather to sound like whoever they were trying to sound like. So I imagined myself as a young John or Paul trying to rip off the Everly Brothers, and came up with this. It's not about anyone, as far as I can remember.

SLAVEDRIVER (lyrics) Listen to a clip of this song: (MP3)

(written February 1978) Basically a tongue in cheek homage to all bosses. I started out pissed off against my current boss, but was unable to keep the song serious, for obvious reasons. There is an obvious "oh shit" just before the instrumental, so it was rather bizarre when KROQ started playing the thing in the fall of '79. Wow, swear words on the radio. This was evidently a favorite of the early fledgling O.C. punk rock kids, who used to chant it while skateboarding.

WE'RE IN CONTROL (lyrics)

(written Spring 1978) Vitus wrote this - one of his first. As best as I can figure, it really is about the oppressive Brezhnev regime. One of my favorite Vitus melodies ever. His original demo is probably better than the recorded version, but if we put his demo on this site he would almost certainly kill us. This showed up on Bomp's "Waves" compilation in April '79, and was released as a 12 inch in Germany by Line records.