#104 - Little City

Artist: Jon Bon Jovi
Album: Destination Anywhere
Other Versions: None
Era: N/A

Lyrics

There are several things I like about this song. This is one of my favorites from the album, but if I were to rank every solo song by members of Bon Jovi in order of how much I liked them, it'd probably still be near the bottom. It'd be a bit more even if I just ranked all Jon's solo songs, but I don't think it'd be above anything from either of his other two albums. It's a personal taste thing - nothing against the song, just when I'm listening to music for the most part I prefer upbeat-ness.

I like the feel of this one. It kind of reminds me of "Diamond Ring" - it's dark, most certainly not happy, and it's incredibly lush. The production is very thick, it adds a sense of warmth even as the lyrics and Jon's voice are incredibly mundane and cold. It's one of those songs that just wraps around you when you listen to, like a big heavy blanket that kind of weighs you down but not in a bad way. Sort of like the led apron when you get head x-rays. I would like it noted that this is probably the only time in history any of his songs have been compared to getting pictures taken of the inside of someone's skull. But yeah - it's like a led blanket. Heavy and warm and not necessarily good, but not totally unpleasant.

This song is a triumph of stream-of-consciousness writing. If I were a teacher, or just giving someone advice on writin s-o-c, I'd give 'em this and "The One That Got Away" as examples of how to do it right. This is what is going on in Jon's head, given to you straightforward, a very matter-of-fact line of unhappy, disjointed thoughts. "I got my last cigarette, but I ain't got no light" and "In the rearview mirror, I see someone else's hairline" are absolute gems. There's so much said in those few words, so much emotion brought across with very few, very simple images.

I can't stand when he squeaks - "on the ROCK and doing hard time". I don't know what he's doing there, but it's ridiculous. He's a grown man, his voice stopped squeaking long ago. The sha la la las are neat, though.

My Rating: 7/10

It rained here today, and I was wearing these yellow sandals I have. I jumped over a puddle, and my friend asked me if getting my feet wet was really so bad. "Yes," I replied, "because these sandals get really slippery when wet."

• Without Love
• I'd Die For You

Oh, and if you happen to look at the comments, Queen of New Orleans actually has more votes, but the last vote was cast after I had already started writing.