Crucial Track for May 2, 2025

"The Logical Song" by Supertramp

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Which song would you use to introduce yourself to someone new?

It has to be The Logical Song by Supertramp.

Supertramp are one of my all-time favourite bands and this song speaks to me on many levels. On the one hand, my dad used to play Breakfast in America for me all the time - he had it on LP and that synthesizer intro just immediately sends me back to the mid 90s.

Secondly the lyrics, originally penned by Roger Hodgson about his time away at boarding school speak to me too. I spent a lot of my life right through into my mid-20s chasing academic success and getting a PhD was the be-all and end-all for me. I had a very tech-bro attitude towards society and I assumed that we could solve all social problems by being logical and sensible but I learned that human beings and society are not that simple and that the important things in life are love and acceptance.

Thirdly, the sax on this track is great. Helliwell does an amazing job of playing what seems like an improved outro which is melodically relatively simple but has bite and attitude.