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The Boomtown Rats, I Don’t Like Mondays: 1 Hit WONDERful πŸ‘πŸ‘πŸ‘ No. 5 (2023) [πŸ“·: Brent Faulkner / The Musical Hype; Mercury; Julia Larsen, Kurchakto, RDNE Stock project, Victor Terrell from Pexels; Andrew Martin from Pixabay]In the 5th edition of 1 Hit WONDERful πŸ‘πŸ‘πŸ‘, we highlight β€œI Don’t Like Mondays β€ performed by The Boomtown Rats.

It only takes ONE hit to solidify a musical legacy πŸ’―! On 1 Hit WONDERful πŸ‘πŸ‘πŸ‘, we highlight songs that were the SOLE hit by a given musician.  To be fair, it is possible that the artists appearing on this list earned a minor hit or two, BUT for the most part, it’s that ONE hit that earned them recognition. So, in the 5th edition of 1 Hit WONDERful πŸ‘πŸ‘πŸ‘, we dive into 🎡 β€œI Don’t Like Mondays β€,  the one hit wonder by πŸŽ™ The Boomtown Rats.

The Boomtown Rats, The Fine Art of Surfacing [πŸ“·: Mercury]β€œTell me why / I don’t like Mondays / I wanna shoot the whole day down.” Mondays tend to be an unpopular day, but in the case of 🎡 β€œI Don’t Like Mondays”, the hatred is far more pronounced.  Irish rock band πŸŽ™ The Boomtown Rats wrote and recorded a song that references the Grover Cleveland Elementary School shooting. Infamously, 16-year old Brenda Spencer, who truly didn’t like Mondays, killed two adults and injured eight children with a .22 caliber semiautomatic rifle at the elementary across from her house 😒. A worldwide hit from their 1979 album, πŸ’Ώ The Fine Art of Surfacing, the song marks the only charting single by The Boomtown Rats on the Billboard Hot 100. Notably, β€œI Don’t Like Mondays” was a top five hit in many countries, including hitting no. 1 in Ireland, Australia, and the UK. In the United States, it settled for no. 73.  Again, this was the collective’s sole charting hit, hence, one hit wonder status.

β€œThe silicon chip inside her head / Gets switched to overload / And nobody’s gonna go to school today / She’s gonna make them stay at home.” Those lyrics, from the first verse of β€œI Don’t Like Mondays”,  capture an unhinged person, in this case, a delusional mass murderer. In the first verse, πŸŽ™ Bob Geldof captures the shock of Brenda’s father, asserting, β€œAnd daddy doesn’t understand it / He always said she was good as gold.” This sometimes occurs in cases from mass murderers and serial killers where the parents didn’t see any signs, hence why β€œAnd mother feels so shocked, father’s world is rocked” (verse two).  The third verse is incredibly disturbing:  

β€œAnd all the playing’s stopped in the playground now

She wants to play with the toys a while

And school’s out early and soon we’ll be learning

And the lesson is how to die.”

boxingMorbid, morbid, morbid. Beyond the songwriting, 🎡 β€œI Don’t Like Mondays” is incredibly ear catching, thanks to its art pop/New Wave sound.  The piano and keyboard work is brilliant by πŸŽ™ Johnny Fingers.  Furthermore, the backing vocals only accentuate Geldof’s fabulous lead.  Also, shout out the marvelous strings/string arrangement. Fun fact: πŸŽ™ Tori Amos covered β€œI Don’t Like Mondays” on her 2001 album, πŸ’Ώ Strange Little Girls.  The one is 1 Hit WONDERful πŸ‘πŸ‘πŸ‘, indeed!  

Appears in πŸ”»:


πŸŽ™ The Boomtown Rats β€’ πŸ’Ώ The Fine Art of Surfacing β€’ 🏷 Mercury β€’ πŸ—“ β€―1979

The Boomtown Rats, I Don’t Like Mondays: 1 Hit WONDERful πŸ‘πŸ‘πŸ‘ No. 5 (2023) [πŸ“·: Brent Faulkner / The Musical Hype; Mercury; Julia Larsen, Kurchakto, RDNE Stock project, Victor Terrell from Pexels; Andrew Martin from Pixabay]

 


the musical hype

the musical hype (Brent Faulkner) has earned Bachelor's and Master's degrees in music (music education, music theory/composition respectively). A multi-instrumentalist, he plays piano, trombone, and organ among numerous other instruments. He's a certified music educator, composer, and freelance music blogger. Faulkner cites music and writing as two of the most important parts of his life. Notably, he's blessed with a great ear, possessing perfect pitch.