2000 Great Songs #1208: Is She Really Going Out With Him?

Even on a record as packed with wonderful, varied songs as Joe Jackson's amazing 1979 debut Look Sharp, the single "Is She Really Going Out With Him?" obviously stood out from the very first listen. Has there ever been anything as attention grabbing as that spoken-word verse over the punchy bass line? Have you ever been able to hear someone say "look over there" without wanting to shout back "WHERE?" in the 45 years since? No and no.

The only thing that keeps a song like this off the first half of the list is the fact that we played the living f*ck out of it back in the day, the perfect song for young teen boys to crank up and shout along with in the cabin at summer camp, and I haven't had quite as much appetite for it in the intervening decades. On the flip side, there's a reason we played the living f*ck out of it back in the day.

Live on tv 2003:

Sugar Ray's update: