Last Call: Patti Smith On "Because The Night," 40 Years Later

Regular readers of Last Call will know that The Takeout collectively shares a great affection for Bruce Springsteen, but we all know it's Patti Smith who rules their collaborative hit, "Because The Night," turning 40 this year. This Billboard oral history of the song is pretty great. My favorite gem: Smith at first put off listening to a cassette demo of the Springsteen song, preferring to write her own songs. Finally, after much cajoling from producer Jimmy Iovine, she played it: "It's in the key of A, my key; anthemic; great beat. I listen to it, and I remember it, all by myself, standing there. There are certain things in my past I can't remember, but this I can remember second by second. I stood there, and I shook my head, and I might have said it out loud: 'It's one of those darn hit songs.'" [Kate Bernot]

I have laughed very little during this nightmare week, even though this span of seven days included my own birthday (and many thanks for all of your well wishes!). So to end this week on a (slight) upswing, I bring you the What The Fluff challenge. Basically, you hold up a blanket between you and your dog, and disappear behind it. Your dog may freak out. They may just start scratching. They may search for you in the entirely wrong direction. Somehow, whatever the response is, it's always hilarious. I really wish I had a dog so I could try this at home and amuse myself all weekend; Kate Bernot, can you please do the WTF challenge with yours and let us know how it turns out? [Gwen Ihnat]