WRFH/Radio Free Hillsdale 101.7 FM - I've Got Aux: "Operator (That's Not the Way It Feels)" by Jim Croce

Episode Date: April 27, 2024

Ally is on aux this week and takes the crew back to 1972 with Jim Croce's "Operator (That's Not the Way It Feels)." We talk breakup songs, the relevance of quality music even decades later when removed from the signs of their times, and Croce as a songwriter. Ally also makes fun of Gavin (per usual).

Right, well now this is a first, never done this before, but how exciting is this on the internet? Okay, there you go. Foreign to his cell phone and Tinder-obsessed generation is the middleman role of the operator. When we want to reach out to a lover or stalk our ex-partner's mother, we turn to Instagram or Zillow to see how much their childhood home is worth. But the story was much different in 1972, and folk star Jim Crowchey mastered songwriting in such a specific way as to make his discography timeless, despite the details tying it to a particular decade. Today's song, Operator, That's Not the Way It Feels, is one of the most famous tracks

and comes from his most successful 1972 album, You Don't Mess Around with Jim. Crocey talks to an operator and tries to find the phone number of his past lover who has now run off to Los Angeles with his former best friend. He gets the number, and despite informing the operator

that he is much over the heartbreak, he can't read the number due to his volunteers. He doesn't complete the call on the end, and here is where Crocey has a time left heartbroken listeners, stuck in a limbo-like space of unresolved feelings, grasping at a silent line. I'm Allie Hall, and you're listening to I've Got Ox and Radio Free Hillsdale 101.7 FM. This is Operator. That's not the way it feels by Jim Crocey. Operator, or could you help me place this car?

See the number on the matchbook is old and fatal. She's living in at my best. old ex-friend break I just said you knew well and sometimes hated Welcome back to I've Got Ox and Radio Free Hillsdale 101.7 FM. You just heard Operator

That's Not the Way It Feels by Jim Croce which is a song we're chatting about today And I know Bella has heard this at least somewhat recently and Gavin is sort of our blind listener who off the record just said that he doesn't listen to a lot of folk music anymore because he got burnt out on Mumford and Sons.

Would you like to defend yourself? Yeah, yeah. Well, for one, I'd like to apologize to all 70s folk. Because if this is 70s folk, it's not the same thing as 2013 folk. So I grew up listening to a lot of James Taylor, which this is literally James Taylor in another package. It's just as good to me. So I love this. Way better.

I hate James Taylor. Really? So I'm going to wear that right on my sleeve. Why? Why do you hate James Taylor? I just think he's a sleazeback. Okay. I know nothing about him.

I just, I love the song, Mexico and Carolina in my mind. I love, I love Carol King. And so there's a lot of overlap. And obviously, James Taylor was like a huge force in the 70s. And I get it, but I just don't. I have never liked him and I don't like his voice very much. I think Jim Crocey is superior in many ways. But yes, it is very, the songwriting style, vibes.

And it does the same thing for me. is like softer eagles stuff like this is kind of like similar to take it easy in my mind and it is very i don't know if we should say his name on the radio but this is very matt burn it makes sense that he likes this and i like it a lot fair enough so sorry to all folk listeners out there yeah any first comments boa oh i mean i love it it feels very like uh like early holla notes like adjacent to me so i like i really like this kind of stuff he looks like him too and the guitar is so pretty and it's just like it's just like a good vibe yeah yeah and i haven't like like listened to a lot of him because he just recently kind of came on my radar but i really like it

it's a very cute song and i like song i like songs i think we've probably talked about this before but that feel kind of like light and like yeah like you know what i mean yeah but Yeah. That was really nice. And this is something that I never met my grandfather, but when my dad talks about the music he listens to, this is something he would listen to. So it's like, that's a cool idea too, like that two generations ago, this is like their music. Yeah. Just fun. This is one of my dad's albums from college when I got a bunch of records from my family. I got really into this. And I was just listening to it on Spotify and my phone. And, you know, it's one of those things of our generation where you're like, has anyone ever heard this album before? before? It's like, well, yes, it was very famous, long before you even were conceived. But I went and in the pile of records that my dad gave me was, You Don't Mess Around with Jim. And on the inside, it was like one of the first label makers where it's like, it's blue with like a tacky kind of raised white and it says my dad's name. And it's one of his favorite albums. And I think the songwriting on You Don't Mess Around with Jim is, I think it's his best album.

And I think it's one of the best albums of the 70s. It's also very Laurel Canyon vibes of that whole era of like Mamas and Pappas and that kind of gentle sounding 70s music, which I love and was like a huge part of what I did exclusively listen to for many years and what I still kind of gravitate to at the end of the day. Like no matter what my phases are, I kind of always fall back into 70s. Yeah, it's like calming. It's extremely. Yeah. And it's just like it's very substantive. It feels like home late kind of.

Yes. Like even though it is light and kind of has. an airiness to it there's so much there and it feels like you're hollow right exactly you're still like consuming something of substance and what I'm so drawn to about this song which I don't think it's exclusive to

this song especially for all of us who kind of like older music but is kind of what I was talking about with the intro where none of this really applies to us anymore like we do not deal with an operator we have no middle men in fact I think that's one of the problems with our current culture is like we don't have any mediators

and it's constant connection all of the time. And so it's very interesting for any part of this song to resonate with you when it's like, well, we know everything about everyone all of the time and there is no space anymore. So are we missing out or are we, you know, are we in a better place or a worse place? I mean, I feel like naturally you feel like we,

it was never meant to be that we were like in such constant communication with each other. But there's something so human and like genuine, I guess, about like, begging this person to, like, help you even, like, contact this other person. It just seems so real compared to what it is today. Like how you were saying in the intro,

like, you're just Googling these people. And you're like, oh, I know where you live. I know when your house last sold. Yeah, it's funny. I think there's like a, and I've talked about it with my friends a lot, with social media especially. There is never any closure.

Like, even if you break up with someone, you tie up all the loose ends, whatever, it's like you still kind of have them in your little entourage, your social media entourage, and there's never any full close. There's always the option to go back and to know more and to do more. And I don't think that's healthy. I think that some things need to end and stay in their completeness. What's that line he says? Like, I want to call you just to let you know that I'm doing fine. I'm doing fine. What if she doesn't want to know how you're doing? Like, that's an option. Right. But if you're still following each other and you're like purposely updating her, you know, by putting stuff on your.

story or posting things to let her know how you're doing like what if she doesn't want that right and the ambiguity of this is so like is so i like it because in the story it's he's the victim she's run away with his best old ex-friend ray is the line but it's like we don't know the details of the situation and that's what's it's so it's very sweet and i think he wrote i don't know what the story is truly behind it but i know there's something with he was deployed or something there's some like military separation. And he kind of went back to see where, you know, this ex-lover was. And she was, she was off in L.A. with one of his friends.

I know. It's interesting, too, to be like, we're in the same shoes as the operator. Right. We're getting just as many, like, vague details. Oh, okay. He's like, this is person. He's like, sure, bud. Sure, this is.

Right. I promise, you ran away. You're like, I'm not giving you this girl's number. Right. You're a creep. And what I also, like, I love, especially 70. music and I wrote about this when I was writing about Carol King one time is like there is still a sweetness even with breakup songs that we don't have today today it is all about the the performance

of well I was never really in love with you or it's all you never you never meant those words in that song you wrote about me right right Olivia Rodriguez right right something like that which listen there is a role for angry breakup songs and for for being vengeful and like that has its place, but I just, it's such a staunch difference between how we approach relationships today. Yeah. And I think there is that, well, of course you're going to perform aggressively when you know someone's always watching you. Yeah. And the truth is, like a lot of breakups just aren't like that. No. But it's not fun necessarily these days to be like, yeah, we broke up and we're still friends. There's no money in that. Exactly. So, what are you talking about? Most things end as insignificantly as

they begin. We want violence. Yeah. As an audience. We want, you know. No, yeah. There's that element to it. But I like Gavin's point of like, we are the operator in that. And I also, it's kind of a meme now, even the way that the song title is where it's okay, one word.

And then in parentheses, what he actually means. Like, that's a bit on social media right now where it's like, I'm walking to class, but really I'm summoning up the courage to live. You know, like, it's that kind of dichotomy. And so he's, he's, you know, operator. But it doesn't really feel like that. It feels like I'm heartbroken. Yeah.

So, yeah, there's kind of another, like, modern tie to it. It reminds me of every essay title I've ever written where I say something that's like, isn't right. And then I put a little colonel in and I actually write the title of the paper. Yeah, you do something funny. And then you're like, actually, this is about colonialism. Colonial America. Yeah. No, I liked it a lot.

And I, uh, even though you called me. out. I want to apologize. No, I will call you because that was funny. I realize folk music is, is like in the same way country music has changed so much. It's hard to say. Yeah. That folk music now is anything like folk music. Right. And that's not to say that like modern folk is bad. Like Marfordson is great. And most of my favorite artists are contemporary folk. But where did that come from? You know what I mean? Where it's like, well, clearly Jim Crocey was, and he has a lot of artists that I've interviewed who are in the same vein as like folk or indie rock, at least three or four times Jim Crocey has come up.

It's like Jim Croce and then a lot of King, King Gizzard, which is funny. But Jim Croce is always, especially with a lot of bands from Tennessee who I've interviewed, which is interesting. Like there's, there is an adoration for Jim Croce. He's interesting because I feel like it's kind of happening again, but pop and country used to be very similar. And you like Bella's like comparison of hauling notes like yeah very pop but there is a hint of their sound in this. And it's interesting that how I hear like John Denver almost in the way he sings, which is very country.

Yeah. I like in my head as far as artists who you know you kind of listen to together or who end up on playlists together, John Denver is another one of those who falls in sort of a similar category. Jim Crocey died really young. He died in a plane crash. Also, as John Dundered, right? What's up with all these plane crashes? Like, you never hear about famous people dying. I don't think he was 27. I think he was, like, in his 30s or 40s, but he was still pretty young.

And there's a couple, like, live performances. There's, like, one bad documentary made about Jim Croce. And it's really sad because it's, I know we talked about this with, like, Amy Winehouse, but there's certain artists who I would have just loved to see their perspective on life change. Like, what that looks like as they get older. and I think that would be very interesting with him. That's rough. Yeah.

Yeah, well, who's like the last celebrity who died in a plane crash or something? I don't know. I just feel like I always hear about that, but like you don't. Yeah. Like. Could be modern aviation. How are all these famous people dying in plane crash? It was earlier before we had some safety regulations.

Back when you could smoke from the plane. Yeah, right. Back when you could drink and smoke. I feel like our, our, what is. our like our modern day playing yeah what is our play yeah I mean juice world

it's like drugs are yeah no no no you're right I feel like drugs they're probably doing drugs all the play like that's why the pilot as well I don't know it's probably something deep like mental health that's true yeah no I think you're right honestly we're just like

we're making fun of people that's terrible sorry guys no but it's true I'm just so confused too how I've lived my life and never even heard his name before. That's really confusing. I would say that's fairly common because I was not very familiar. And me being like the archetypal, I wasn't familiar with him until I was like 16. But it definitely is, but I feel like once you get it, you get it.

And now you're not going to be able to not think of Jim Crocey and hear him in like anything else that you listen to adjacent to this. Yeah, because I grew up, like I said, I grew up listening to music adjacent to this. So it's strange that my parents just never kind of exposed me to this. So I have to ask my dad what his opinion is. Yeah. Watch him be like who. I know. Well, especially like if you, I mean, you have a lot of yacht rock.

Like rock. And so this is a half step to the side where it's like folk pop. Yeah. And so maybe it takes its own kind of route. Yeah. Because when I think about like my dad listening to, what's that guy's name? Who I just said. Taylor?

James Taylor. that seemed like it kind of random to me compared to his other tastes so that might just been like an outlier and so it makes sense that he wouldn't have gone further to Jim. I think Jim Crocey is really slept on though. Like I think with music people and people who are pretentious and intolerable like myself, they love Jim Croce and there's like a reverence there. But I'm not sure the average listener and maybe someone who didn't grow up around it or with him would know. You know, and that's what's sad is I think that there are probably dozens and dozens of more artists like Jim Caruchy who we don't even know about.

Yeah, exactly. And that's the coolest part about being into music or like having an obsession with a certain type of media is there's always going to be, no matter how old you get, there's always going to be a Beatles song you don't really know or there's always going to be like an artist you've never really heard of. It's like Marvel characters. No. You know, there's Gavin with another Mumford and Sun's comment. We're going to kick him off next season. It's like Marvel character. You're not a nerd if you like music.

I was just, I'm joking. Yeah. That's really good. Thanks for sharing that. Of course. Now I've indoctrinated a couple more people. That's the whole point of this show. And I'm sure anyone over the age of 30 listening to this is rolling their eyes being like,

these kids just found out about Jim Crocey and they're losing their minds. Yeah. But I think it's important. Oh, what? Bad Bad Bad Lee Ward Brown? Yes. Is that him originally? Yes, that is Jim Crocee.

I recognize that title, at least. That's Belroy Brown. Play it. Okay. Play a little snippet for the folks. Yes. These are a part I should skip to or just? No, just right here.

No, this. Yes. Okay. We've got Gavin. Now we have to delete this whole episode because I do know who Jim Cochee is. Yeah, but you didn't really. He's got such a like a quail. of storytelling too, especially you don't mess around with Jim is all about this like strife between

two guys who like beat each other up. But it's awesome. It's so good. And that's that boy is he one of those guys? No, I don't think so. Maybe. Maybe there's some autobiographical content there. Another gym? I feel like he's too humble to be Jim because Jim's like this tall. There's a line that's like tall and dumb as a man can come, which makes me laugh every single time. Yeah. Because it's just like the hymboification of men. That's been happening forever. It's so good. But yeah, if you're just tuning in now, we're wrapping up with, you don't, oh my gosh, no operator. That's not how it feels, but Jim Croce. And we're trying to convince each other that Jim Croce is an important for us still.

Yeah, I'm sure you agree if you've heard his music. That's what, sometimes these shows are so funny because especially when we do older artists, I just know people are in their cars, like wanting to take a sharp right turn in the coming traffic, being like 20-year-olds finally found out who the doors are, you know? but the work we're doing is important to us because we have a lot of friends who might be into music but don't listen to the weird stuff that we do.

Bella's sisters, you know. Bella's sisters, they could tap in. My sister. Oh, and to Jim Crochet? Yeah, into the music. I was like oncoming traffic. We're past that. I'm sorry, I was just that.

Bell's like, is that a threat? They can't even dry. Two of them can. Oh, wow. Shout out Josie, who's always mad. I don't shout her. out just wait. Josie in the car.

Yeah, you can drive, I guess. She's going to be so mad at me. Thanks so much for tuning in. This was our last episode of this semester. Of the year. Of year three. Year three. We've done three full seasons of this.

We won one award this year. We've won one award. We've submitted the same thing for the next awards. Hopefully we get similar results. Okay, you have to out. Any comments questions, complaints can be sent to S. Bertram. hillside.edu.

Go check out our reels on Instagram. Yeah, true. You can check us out on Instagram at at I've Got OX. You can sound that one out. AUX. Yeah. Thanks so much for listening. Well, you've been listening to I've Got Oaks on Radio for Hillsdale

101.1.7 FM. And we'll see you next year. Bye. Bye.