A typical Friday or Saturday night for me, 2002-05.
In our too-connected world, what do we do when we manage to find a missing link?
I recently cleaned out my old bedroom at my parents’ house. Along with the circa-2001 Pentium III, its 16″ CRT monitor, and the third-row seat from an ’88 Suburban (complete with seatbelts and ashtrays,) I reclaimed about 500 CDs from around 1997-2010.
As you might imagine, that CD arc starts with agreeable major-label stuff like OMC, Smash Mouth and Barenaked Ladies, then briskly devolves into Napster-sourced mix CDs and DIY scenester-press CDRs, and the first and second albums of lots of bands that went on the Warped Tour (Of course, I had heard about ’em on the Tour’s companion compilations.) The most recent stuff in this collection was more polished indie output (which, 20 years on, has aged rather well!) on indefinite loan from my college radio station. When I moved out, I got into vinyl and didn’t have room for any of these CDs; but how could I possibly throw such precious artifacts in the trash? My parents graciously left my room alone all these years. I realize I am a spoiled brat.
The first CDs I put on when I got home were the “hometown heroes,” the lovingly crafted CDRs of original work by teenagers playing all-ages shows. I never failed to spend $5 for one of these CDs whenever I attended a show I enjoyed. Not only was I legitimately into the scene, but I always wondered if any of the albums might eventually be valuable if the band ever made it big.
There was one group I had particularly enjoyed back then, but I (privately!) accused them of plagiarism. It’s forgivable in retrospect to exist around the scene for years and have a phrase from somebody’s great lead guitar part eventually show up in your rhythm part. When I heard the song again, I was immediately reminded of the original song I thought they were ripping off. (I will not mention that offending song or artist here.) The song I was thinking of came back to me. The chorus: “My heart will race all night tonight!”
As I replayed the ripoff track, more lyrics from the song I wish I was listening to came back to me. It’s not a great song: It follows the formulaic progression of a thousand bands with music like this. The lyrics are superficial. You could say it paved the way for a lot of music I do not like today. But, it will always remind me of my youth, and for that I will always be compelled to appreciate it.
I can’t find anything at all about the song: Who wrote it? where are the lyrics posted? This situation I am in reminds me of an episode of the Reply All podcast (link) in which someone remembered a song they heard on the radio in the late 90s but could not find it. In fact, I am going through almost exactly the same situation: The song comes back to me after years, and I remember more than half the lyrics, yet Google is absolutely clueless. Search terms around the hook “My Heart will Race All Night Tonight” bring up advice better suited for folks worried about arrhythmia or palpitations.
So, I make this post as a beacon in the hopes that one day the right person will find it and reconnect me with this post-hardcore gem once again: “My Heart Will Race All Night Tonight.” I think they were a upstate New York band. I am completely certain of the lyrics I remember. I never saw the band live, but I remember hearing the song on Myspace or Purevolume.
I might as well do what the guy did in Reply All: Influence the process by reconstructing the song.
Lyrics:
CHORUS:
My heart will race all night tonight
My heart will race all night tonight
My heart will race all night tonight
[guitar fill]
My heart will race all night tonight
My heart will race all night tonight
My heart will race all night tonight
VERSE:
For all it’s worth
You are the first
To make me hurt
You are the worst
(Guitar hook)
VERSE:
For all ??? ???
You ??? ??? ???
Forgive and take
You go your own way
(Guitar Hook with lyrics whispered:)
I can’t let go…
CHORUS:
My heart will race all night tonight
My heart will race all night tonight
My heart will race all night tonight
My heart will race all night tonight
My heart will race all night tonight
My heart will race all night tonight
BRIDGE:
I can’t let go
I can’t let go
I can’t let go
CHORUS (fade out)
—-
Remember this song?
Get in touch!
– Leon
Leon Ferri 