G. Love & Special Sauce

I hate that so much of this blog is about music--I'm sorry about that. I PROMISE a book review will be coming soon. I've already got the book in mind, so all you have to do is wait it out.
Anyway, years and years ago, my pal Will told me about some guy named G. Love. He was a fan of his music, I think, and Will's had more than a couple of pals in the time I've known him who have been in bands, and I assumed that G. Love was one of those guys. Just some guy Will knew who was probably adequate with a guitar. Seemed likely.
Do you guys remember 3 or 4 years ago when Coke started using "I'd Like to Teach the World to Sing" for its commercials again, changing the words to, "I'd like to teach the world to chill," and I think somewhere in the song it said, "I'd like to give the world a Coke?" Well, I was fond of those commercials. I thought they sort of embodied the fun, mellow atmosphere of summer, and I really liked the guy's voice who was singing the song. I mention this fact to Will one day, and what does he tell me? THAT'S G. LOVE! He wasn't some pal of Will's--he was a real guy, who had had a couple of pretty popular songs. He headed up a trio called G. Love and Special Sauce, and pretty much all of their songs had the same laid-back, funky feel as the Coke song.
Well, I had forgotten completely about G. Love until about two days ago. But on one of the XM radio stations we get with DirecTV, I heard the original version of "I'd Like to Teach the World to Sing" (by the New Seekers), and I thought I should download that, but while doing so, I remembered G. Love. I tried to find his copy of the Coke song, but to no avail.
However, I did end up downloading about 20 or so of his songs, and I am just enjoying the heck out of them. I'm not really one to use the word "chill" as an adjective, but that's the one that comes to mind when faced with describing G. Love's music. It's not profound. It's not deep. It's not inspiring. It sports such sentiments as, "Caught a chill vibe, orange juice in my ride. Wawa's to the right, they got beverage inside," or, "I don't want my Wheaties, give 'em to the needy. Feelin' kinda greedy, I keep 'em for myself." Or how about, "I was hungry, my take-0ut had been fixin'; ordered fried rice, egg roll, wonton, and big chicken?" True, I just chose some of the most ridiculous lyrics I could find, but these are all from cool, catchy songs.
Not all of them are quite as ludicrous as these ("Cold Beverage," "Milk and Cereal," and "Rhyme for the Summertime," respectively), but I'm not exactly knocking the lack of depth and meaning in songs such as these. For being lazy, lying out in the sun, or just riding around (if you're fortunate enough to have a car and/or license), this stuff is not too shabby. However, if you want the same fun, mellow sound without the ridiculous food references and artless rhymes, I'd recommend such tunes as, "Love," "Kiss and Tell," "Gimme Some Lovin'," and "Free at Last." Those are just a few of the ones I'm getting pretty fond of.
By the way, the group has actually done a few things with one Mr. Jack Johnson (I know a lot of people are pretty fond of him, so he's probably a good plug for G. Love). They've been friends since the group's 4th album, Philadelphonic, they did some shows together, recorded a couple of songs, and they are now on Johnson's label, Brushfire Records. Also (fun little tidbit), they used to be the house band on the Comedy Central show, "Turn Ben Stein On."
So you should go check these guys out. Will they change your life? Probably not. But they'll give you a fun soundtrack to live it by.