Salt of Joy

Album: The Heat (1991)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • In the late '80s or early '90s, you may have seen the Dan Reed Network on bills with The Rolling Stones, Bon Jovi or UB40. They were very popular in the Portland, Oregon area and cracked the Top 40 with the song "Ritual." The Heat was their last album, and two years after it was released, Dan Reed wrote to the Dalai Lama and was granted an interview with His Holiness, which was published in Spin magazine in 1994. This led to a more spiritual journey for Reed, which is reflected in his music and his lifestyle. In our 2010 interview with Dan Reed, we asked him if there was a song from his DRN days that he was particularly proud of, and Reed replied: "'Pride' is something that I have tried to slowly delete from my life, but there are songs from the past that I am still comfortable playing and being behind the lyric. I think that 'Salt of Joy' is one of those songs. Although blindly optimistic, it still rings true to how I feel today regarding having hope for the future even in the face of corporate globalization and all that that brings."

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Songs in Famous Movie Scenes: '80s Edition

Songs in Famous Movie Scenes: '80s EditionMusic Quiz

You know the scenes - Tom Cruise in his own pants-off dance off, Molly Ringwald celebrating her birthday - but do you remember what song is playing?

History Of Rock

History Of RockSong Writing

An interview with Dr. John Covach, music professor at the University of Rochester whose free online courses have become wildly popular.

Don Brewer of Grand Funk

Don Brewer of Grand FunkSongwriter Interviews

The drummer and one of the primary songwriters in Grand Funk talks rock stardom and Todd Rundgren.

Tim Butler of The Psychedelic Furs

Tim Butler of The Psychedelic FursSongwriter Interviews

Tim and his brother Richard are the Furs' foundation; Tim explains how they write and tells the story of "Pretty In Pink."

Paul Williams

Paul WilliamsSongwriter Interviews

He's a singer and an actor, but as a songwriter Paul helped make Kermit a cultured frog, turned a bank commercial into a huge hit and made love both "exciting and new" and "soft as an easy chair."

Experience Nirvana with Sub Pop Founder Bruce Pavitt

Experience Nirvana with Sub Pop Founder Bruce PavittSong Writing

The man who ran Nirvana's first label gets beyond the sensationalism (drugs, Courtney) to discuss their musical and cultural triumphs in the years before Nevermind.