Forgive me while I go off on a tangent here.
Like lots of folks do, I was listening to music while I was driving to my class last night, and I had a thought. Not necessarily a good one, but a thought nonetheless.
I was listening to David Lee Roth’s 1986 classic album Eat ‘Em and Smile, and a song called “Ladies’ Night In Buffalo?” in particular. One of the crazy things back in the stone age, before the birth of music videos, was the listener sometimes used to actually form an image in their own head around the lyrics to songs.
Now, DLR and Van Halen were huge in the 80s and were arguably in their prime at the dawn of MTV, and their videos were iconic. “Hot For Teacher”, anyone?
Anyhow, this particular track was not a single and did not have a video, so it’s one of those where I was forming an image in my own head. What would a video look like? What would the sleeve of an old 45 rpm single look like? Shit like that.
I got home from class, threw the song on, and got to work with the old AI to create an image that I thought fit the song.
Below are the lyrics, the track, and my interpretation in digital image. If this tune was a single, that’s the artwork I can see going with it.
Talk about the high cost of lovin’
I think I hear freedom drummin’
It seems
Give me your heart
And I’ll give you the stars
“Yeah right”, she says
“Maybe in your dreams”
Heat wave blast, kids are screamin’
Pavement’s hot (and the) sidewalk’s steamin’
Only me, happens every time
Thinkin’ ’bout you and me
Hello – Goodbye
You can jazz it up or play it slow
It’s still the only song I know
It’s 2 a.m. and traffic’s slow
Another ladies’ night in Buffalo
I was listenin’ to the DJ sayin’
“Put the stone behind”, he said
Then the words can blow better, better
I don’t mind some stormy weather
Tonight, no
I can feel it, the
Heat wave blast, kids are screamin’
Pavement’s hot (and the) sidewalk’s steamin’
Only me, happens every time
Thinkin’ ’bout you and me
Hello – Goodbye
Put the top down, hit the road
I sing the only song we know
It’s 2 a.m. the traffic’s slow
It looks like ladies’ night in Buffalo
Oh, baby
I got kinda sense of deja vu
I could swear I’ve seen you somewhere before
You don’t think you’ve ever seen me somewhere before, do you, huh?
So it must have been two other people
I know, baby, I say, I didn’t want to half drag you
It’s too far to drive back, baby
I don’t want to drive alone tonight
Well it ain’t much all right I know
But it’s the only song I know
2 a.m. and the traffic’s slow
Another ladies’ night in Buffalo
The Beginning At Last 
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