287. Boomtown Rats - "I Don't Like Mondays" (The Fine Art of Surfacing, Columbia Records, 1979)
My uncle Gerry introduced me to this song over dinner one evening when I was 11 or 12. I don't remember why, all I know is that he probably had about 7 or 8 glasses of wine, and felt it the appropriate time to start singing an 80s hit about a school shooting on a Monday morning. While it's not the most upbeat of new wave ditties, it certainly has survived the test of time, along with a terrible cover by 90s darling/inexplicable gay icon/terrible musician Tori Amos.
Brenda Ann Spencer was only 16 years old when she shot and killed the principle and the head custodian of a San Diego elementary school, and seriously injured eight of the students. When asked why she did this, she replied "I don't like Mondays, this livens up the day." Written by Bob Geldof (founder of Live Aid) and performed by his band the Boomtown Rats (NOT to be confused with this band), "I Don't Like Mondays" was released the same year as the shooting, and quickly became the band's biggest hit to date.
This is also, hands down, on of the greatest videos of the decade, if not ever.
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