Justin Roberts had his first hit, "Yellow Bus," off his 2001 album of the same name. But my favorite track on Yellow Bus has always been "One Little Cookie," deep into the album.
"One eye watchin' the kitchen door / one hand reachin' for the cookie jar / I heard this voice from up above / Showerin' down these words of love."
And from there proceeds an ever-increasing fit of self-rationalization from the narrator as he eventually eats, uh, ten cookies. He knows he shouldn't, but can't stop himself. Kids will laugh, recognizing the feelings of exhilaration from doing something they know they're not supposed to. Parents will laugh, albeit a little more ruefully. The music, powered by the guitar and drums and Hammond organ, gets increasingly loud and insistent, dovetailing nicely with the narrator's ever-quickening swiping of the cookies. It's a nice match of music and lyrics.
Maybe it's the propulsive beat, but the song triggers thoughts in me of Spoon's "Sister Jack," an urgent song that only gets more urgent as the song progresses.
Roberts can turn out great power-pop songs. This is one of them.
Go here to see a video for "One Little Cookie."
Go here to get to a video for "Sister Jack."
