Crowdsourced Song Of The Day 1/14/2013: A Day To Remember - "Homesick"

Today's CSOTD comes to us courtesy of Rat. I'd like to re-enact the process by which we came to this decision.

Me (on my Facebook page): Time for your Crowdsourced Song Of The Day suggestions. Go!

Rat (in a comment since deleted): "Shattered Dreams" by Johnny Hates Jazz.

Me (comment): Um... Nice start. Anybody else?

At this point I should discuss the unspoken tenet of CSOTD, which I probably should have spoken: With very rare exception, I don't put up songs that have hit the Billboard Top 10. Before you scream, yes there have been exceptions. "Makin' It" by David Naughton (#5, 1979) for example. I only posted that because it took over my soul, body and mind for three hours, and instead of going on a small-time robbery spree I made it Song Of The Day. There are probably some others there that are as old as dirt that nobody recalls anymore, and I didn't look up their chart positions because nobody remembers them. I also don't put up songs that everybody's heard on the radio over the last 50 years.

Why? Because I'm a pretentious fuck. Anyway, back to the conversation in the comments. "Shattered Dreams" by Johnny Hates Jazz hit #2 in the '80s. So I thought Rat was kidding. He then, in an act of defiance, made other suggestions:

Rat: Some boring shit by Rush

Rat: Some flute-raped garbage by Jethro Tull

Rat: Some endless overrated drivel by Pink Floyd

Rat: Something everyone is sick of by the Beatles

Me: Glad to see you're taking this exercise seriously Rat.

(For the record, neither Rush, Pink Floyd, the Beatles nor -- [cough, snicker] -- Jethro Tull has ever been featured on Song Of The Day. I featured an obscure John Lennon song once.)

Rat: I was serious about the now-deleted Johnny Hates Jazz, but you rebuked me. So now I'm just making fun of Beatle/Jethro/Floyd fans.

Me: You were serious about "Shattered Dreams?"

Rat: Yes. Yes, I was.

So now I feel like shit. 'Cause I didn't mean to rebuke anyone. And I certainly didn't want to make fun of anyone. I never meant to cause you any sorrow. I never meant to cause you any pain. I only wanted to one time see you laughing. And for heaven's sake, I hope that Rat wasn't referring to a specific dream of his that got shattered, because then I'd just be a hard-hearted ass.

It's just that I know Rat, better than I know... well, I know him. He's a hard-edged dude. Not to the point where he roams the backroads preying on the defenseless with malice, an omelette pan and ball peen hammers -- those days are over -- but certainly not someone I thought felt deeply about Johnny Hates Jazz.

I mean, I can't take Johnny Hates Jazz seriously. You know why? They hate jazz. It's right there in their name, you don't even have to read their lyrics. Or maybe they don't really hate jazz, but they have appointed themselves the spokesmen of a certain "Johnny," who has expressed his hatred of jazz. So in a circuitous way, they are speaking on behalf of the jazz-hating contingent. I happen to enjoy jazz. Right off the bat, there, JHJ and I aren't hitting it off.

So anyway. Rat made another suggestion for A Day To Remember.  I didn't reprint his suggestion in the above conversation because it would have destroyed the narrative flow, and if there's one thing I've learned in The Artist's Way, it's that it's okay to omit portions of the story that paint your friends and loved ones in a fairer light if doing so will sell more advertising. But it happened, trust me. To that end, Rat and I present to you: "Homesick" from A Day To Remember.

However, in the best interests of all involved: