Revenge of the Thirty-Day Song Challenge - Day 10

Day 10 – A 70’s Song

Can you dig it?!

Or perhaps “jive turkey”?

There must be some sort of 70’s slang that I can use incorrectly here to cover for my lack of a compelling introduction. At any rate, today we’re covering a song from the 70’s, a decade notable for spawning a number of hit movies and TV series that were later remade in the late 90’s and early 2000’s. But I digress.

The Knack – “My Sharona”



Nana NANA na NA na NA nana NANA, nana NANA na NA, NAAA NANAnaaaa.

You're welcome.

“My Sharona” is a song whose popularity has always surprised me. Granted, I think it’s totally awesome, and it’s one of my favorite songs from the period, but it’s been both parodied covered a good deal more than I would have assumed fashionable for a near-one-hit-wonder from the late 70’s. The music snob in me wants to make a crack about how what’s good and what’s popular not often being the same thing, but he can go eat one; “My Sharona” is good because it’s good.

Aside from its iconic guitar lick that I so graciously transcribed in the first paragraph, “My Sharona” has a few tricks up its sonic sleeves. For my money, I love the tom-driven drum part; it gives the song a slightly-off-kilter, but still-driving energy, as well as makes it sound pretty distinct. The vocals aren’t exactly American Idol-caliber, but they have a raw edge that works well with the completely unsubtle sexuality pervading the track. Finally, I know I talked about a guitar solo being a deciding factor in a song for me last time, but damn, the time from 2:47 – 4:15 is pure fret-tapping magic.

And before you ask, I totally was NOT introduced to this song by that one Harmonix game, okay? Weird Al’s “My Bologna” came way before that.


As a side note: I hear that there's a part in Super 8 where the kids arbitrarily break into an acapella rendition of “My Sharona.” Yet another reason I'm sorry I didn't get to that movie while it was still in theaters.