School's In Top Ten: Don't Stand So Close to Me (#8)

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My timing is messed up in my golf game. I came roaring in like gangbusters earlier in the season, and now I'm playing like the season's over. I shot horribly tonight. But I had fun!!! And, after listening to the thrilling finish of the Cubs/Reds game (where not even a bad call by an umpire could rescue the pitiful Cincinnati bullpen), I'm here with another song on my list of favorite songs set in school. If you thought yesterday's song is overplayed by FM classic rock, here's today's song. #8: Don't Stand So Close to Me - Police Yeah, these guys really did record other songs besides this one and "Every Breath You Take." That's one of the reasons I gave up listening to FM classic rock. I'll say something else about the Police: you talk about some incredible energy in their live shows!!!! Wow. I saw them in 1981 on the Ghost in the Machine tour, and they blew me away. I was always particularly fond of Andy Summers, who was bounding around the stage as much as, if not more than, Sting (who's nine years Summers' junior). But let's talk about this song. This is a recurring theme on this countdown: students with crushes on their teachers. Sting, who actually was a teacher before he turned his interests to music, wrote this song about a girl who's "hot for teacher" (hey, @JohnRoberts wanted to see that song here! ). They even work in a reference to the classic novel Lolita ("just like the old man in that book by [Vladimir] Nabokov"). Yes, you'll see this theme again (and again) on this countdown. Meanwhile, enjoy one of the great hits by a classic late 70s/early 80s band. (PS: Stewart Copeland is left-handed, but he didn't make the top ten list of my favorite southpaw musicians.) Don't Stand So Close to Me Written by Sting Recorded by the Police From Zenyatta Mondatta, 1980 And extra credit to Sting for wearing a Beat t-shirt!