It may be argued that this thread is nothing more than a thinly veiled attempt at railing against three Red Sox fans at this past Saturday’s Phillies-Red Sox game at Citizens Bank Park. I can assure you that musical content is all that I have on my mind, but if you don’t believe me, let me begin by railing at these three 25-year-old yuppie New Englanders who made it to Philadelphia to root for their home team.
I’ve always said that I have no beef with anyone rooting for their hometown team in an opponent’s ballpark. I did so with Townsman Andyr, cheering on our Phillies just a few weeks ago at new Yankee Stadium. We were pretty vocal but tried to keep it within good spirits and with respect to the Yankees’ fans, especially young Yankees rooters who should not be exposed to blue language while cheering on their men in blue pinstripes. I don’t work blue in front of the kids, man, but that’s not my main beef with the three young stockbrokers from the Boston area who were yelling stuff that would make a fishwife blush. (Truth be told, I don’t even know what a fishwife is, but growing up in my family fishwives were commonly referred to as the sort of foul-mouthed people whose 4-letter vocabulary we should not follow.)
My beef had to do with these fools turning up their stereotypical regional dialect as the Sawx poured it on against a rookie pitcher making his third start with an atypically sleepwalking defense behind him and rain pouring down. When the Red Sox jumped out to a quick lead thanks to a Jason Bay home run, this prematurely balding trio of fans was appropriately enthusiastic, displaying mild traces of their regional accent. Then, as the deluge (both literal and metaphorical) ensued, they started playing up their accent, as if to drive home their recently acquired pride in their hometown team, which they likely ignored while trying to band drunken undergrads in the years before 2004. Bahstahn!!! they started shouting. Sawx!!! Everything they said kept coming out more like the lamest stereotypes of the Boston accent. Honestly, I would have had no beef with them if they naturally spoke in this accent. For 15 minutes they sounded like educated, enthusiastic Red Sox fans appropriately excited over the good fortune of their team to be playing a World Series defending champion that showed up as if it had hit Snooze a few too many times. Then, for the next 20 minutes they turned on an accent that sounded like an ex-New England high school production of Fever Pitch, maybe a production by some high school in Davenport, Iowa. It was painful to hear, maybe the only thing in that park more painful than the Phillies’ opening-inning performance and the promise of a 90-minute rain delay.
But that’s not why I’m posting today. What I’d like to hear is an example of an artist from your region who you feel best represents your regional accent in his or her music and, if one exists, an artist who poorly represents your regional accent, similar to those Boston-area yuppies who played up a facsimile of the Boston accent and likely embarrased true Bostonians who come by that accent sincerely, without sounding as bad as regional dialects look in print. This excercise may be especially helpful for those of us outside your region. For instance, Townsman BigSteve, with his Louisianna roots, may be best able to to tell us where Dr. John (aka The Night Tripper, not our very own Townsman by that handle) falls on this spectrum.
Following the rain delay, if you’re curious, these losers moved onto another standing-room-only section of the park and likely annoyed/embarrassed others in attendance. I spent the rest of the weekend searching my soul to see if I ever play up my trace of Philly accent for some imagined added street cred. My wife said my exclusive wearing of Phillies garb and existing on a diet of cheesesteaks, hoagies, and soft pretzels during last year’s postseason run was just as bad as these clowns trying to come off like “Southies” (or whatever Matt Damon and Ben Affleck played in that mediocre coming-of-age movie that put them on the map), but I disagreed, saying that I was just being a real fan.
I elect The Dead Milkmen as my representatives!
I’m going to ponder this for a little while and it may be tomorrow when I get back to it, but I feel it my duty to give a thoughtful answer here.
But, one of my favorite moments was while visiting my fellow Townslurker MickAvory in the Big Easy. His ex mother-in-law went to high school Mac Rebbenack. He photocopied his page from the yearbook. He presented this page to me with the words, “You all know the Doctor…Doctor John…Mac Rebbenack…”
I vote now to make The Last Waltz the unofficial movie of Rock Town Hall. That film seems to have permeated every fiber of our being.
TB
Mod said:
…my existing on a diet of cheesesteaks, hoagies, and soft pretzels during last year’s postseason run…
I ask:
Dude, did you EVER go to the bathroom during those months? I mean, like, a number two? Did you get scurvy?
This reminds me of the time that I attended a World Cup soccer game at the old Foxboro Stadium in 1994. There was a bunch of drunken Irish fans waving their flag around & having a good old time, notwithstanding the fact that the game was between Ecuador & South Korea.
I listened to Saturday night’s game on the radio & heard the crowd cheer when J.D. Drew got plunked. Anyway, it’s too bad about the behavior of those Sox fans. There’s always an element of fans in every team who leave their brains behind when they see a game. I know I wouldn’t act so noxious if I attended.
As for rock acts w/regional accents, I nominate Jonathan Richman as the New England representative. I was reading an interview w/Danny Fields on Perfect Sound Forever the other day that was interrupted by Jonathan Richman, who called Mr. Fields from Tokyo to talk about the Stooges concert that he attended there. The interviewer listened in the conversation & was amazed about Jonathan’s strong New England accent.
Finally, Mr. Mod, I’m just wondering if there are still any A’s fans in Philly? I bet if there were, they would probably be occupants of nursing homes.
yeah Sat, nobody represents this place on wax quite like Joe Gennaro!
Hrrundi, yes all systems were GO! I did not discontinue my regular practices of drinking 6-8 cups of coffee and eating plenty of fruits and vegetables. We can talk offlist about the benefits of this diet, if you’d like.
I agree with the nominations of Jonathan Richman and The Dead Milkmen for comfortably representing their respective towns.
Diskojoe, I wish I could explain to fans outside Philly (and even within) the subtle degrees of hatred for JD Drew and others on our town’s enemies list. When Drew came up with the Cardinals, I bought tickets for their first visit to Philly about 3 months in advance. I couldn’t wait to get out to old Veterans Stadium and give him a lusty boo. The crowd was really stoked, but it was shameful when a couple of jerks (probably our own version of those Boston guys) threw batteries at him. To this day I still can’t wait to boo Drew, but I always respect his talent. He and his agent simply crossed the lines of sportsmanship when they refused to even negotiate with the Phils.
Isn’t the New England accent the most annoying of all regional accents? Is it just me?
Stompin Tom Conners has a pretty good Canadian Maritime accent, I can say as a local.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E4Jshy6yNJ0
By the way, this song is “Sudbury Saturday Night” one of his best.
Referring to the “New England accent” is about as misinformed as referring to the “Southern accent.”
But yeah, some of ’em are really annoying.
Great use of a f’real Memphis accent: “Blue Blood Blister” by the Simple Ones. (Also a great song about trying to make your way playing rock music in a blues town.)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xR1Vwaa-Heo
In bad movies about Memphis (and the South in general), people play up all of their vowels like they’ve been waiting a lifetime just to stretch out an “i.” Notice how Jared McStay’s accent is more a case of not being able to be bothered to enunciate them.
Perfect.
Oh, man! I’m bummed. People come here to get a flat Cleveland accent so they can be news anchors in other cities. I see them all the time when I travel. Waylon Boot couldn’t change his accent (and he was a doofus that didn’t understand Clevelanders and their love of not winning), so he left to pester someone else. I’m not saying we don’t have any accent, it’s just one that’s much loved by TV and radio personalities.
I guess I’ll pick Dave Thomas as our ambassador. None of you probably know what Jane Scott sounds like, or I’d pick her. Eric Carmen would have been a nice pick, but then he had that embarrassing career after The Raspberries. Joe Walsh would be a choice if I could understand anything he said, but he’s a mumblemouth.
My favorite regional accent has got to be the one the women in Georia have.
Bad morning. Daughter number one forgot one of her school books this morning, couldn’t get back into the house, and therefore decided to smash one of the panes in the door to break into the house. To say the least, very unexpected behavior.
Don’t ask me why, but all this led me to stop and reflect on Al Pacino, and his masterful grasp of diverse accents.
In particular, his work in “Scarface” and “Carlito’s Way” comes to mind immediately. His effortless shift to that of Italiano to Cubano may indeed be the latest piece of evidence that there is indeed a God.
Granted, all this has nothing to do with the initial post, but much praise is due to the man.
E. Pluribus
Carlito’s Way has got to be the most underrated film among Pacino’s impressive body of work. Sea of Love came out around the same time and seemed to hog the spotlight. Granted that film featured Pacino in his embraceable shaggy-dog mode, but I’d argue that Carlito’s Way featured the more finely tuned performance, especially with Al going up against Sean Penn at the top of his game.
The Southern Accent is a varied and difficult one. It really all depends on what area of the South one lives. For example, Texas is very different from Mississippi. However, both are distinct. So, exactly what is that accent Bob Dylan has gained?
For my region, I’m going to pick the one and only Elvis Presley. It’s a true accent with a hint of Southern humble. Plus, he’s tha Kang!
On a side note, one of my favorite accents is the American transplanted to England. The person has lived in England or been around a true Brit long enough that their accent has gelled into some weird hybrid. for further investigation, see Richard Lester or Linda McCartney.
TB
Or Madonna!!!
I think Chrissie Hynde has that hybrid accent too.
Britney Spears had that British accent for awhile. Sounded a little between Julie Andrews and Michael Palin in a dress.
Terry Gilliam is my least-favorite practitioner of the hybrid accent. I know he’s come by it naturally, after living in England for 40-some years, but it bugs me nevertheless. In fact, Gilliam is an artist whose work I like whom I wish I’d never heard interviewed. HE bugs me.
Were the Boston fans pronouncing Bastardo as “bass-TAWD-ah”?
As far as turning accents on and off, I do notice that I shift between my legit, hard-earned “youse” to “you” Philadelph-ese depending on where I am. That said, I really wish “All You Zombies” was “All Youse Zombies” to better represent for the city.
Gilliam’s British woman accent is awesome, though! Sort of like if Edith Bunker were born British!
Dr. John’s accent is kind of a cartoon, part white and part black New Orleanian. I guess he’s been hanging out with black musicians all his life, but when he puts his accent on full bore it’s kind of like a sitcom. I’ve heard interviews with him recently where he’s being serious and talking about Katrina, and he sounds much more like a normal yat. (Down home New Orleanians are called ‘yats’ because the greeting “Where y’at?” is as common as “How you doing?”)
I can’t come up with white yat accents in song. Black ones sure. Professor Longhair is a good one. I love that song where he sings “If I’d known you had company baby, I woulda had weenies for my lernch.” And I like Fats Domino because his accent has a little country tinge to it underneath the city swing. And I haven’t heard that much Lil Wayne, but his accent is what you hear when you realize you’re in the wrong part of town.
That collection of swamp pop songs I posted a while back also has plenty of good singing examples of the way my relatives on my dad’s side of the family talk.
Speaking of regionalism in singing voices, I was listening to the new Grizzly Bear album last night. I really, really liked their last one, Yellow House. I’m having a little trouble with this one. Very clever arrangements, lovely sounds, but something is lacking.
Then it hit me that the singers have absolutely no ‘rock’ in their voices at all. Most rock singing for the past 50 years has been informed to varying degrees by black R&B and white country vocalists. This has led to lots of blackfacisms and urban cowboyisms, but have we reached a point where mass media has drained regionalism from people’s voices?
I have mixed feelings about this issue. I remember I used to meet people who were college students but still talked liked they’d never left their neighborhood, and I wondered how they were unaffected by hearing people on TV. I don’t really want everyone to talk the same, but I can’t help but feel that these people are going to be held back by the fact that their sheltered life was audible.
On the other hand I’ve heard politicians who were well-educated put on a down-home accent to make it appear that they were ‘of the people’ when they wwre clearly not. This is also true of modern country singers who maybe grew up in the suburbs of Orlando and try to sing like members of the Carter Family, though their band sounds like the Eagles.
But back to Grizzly Bear. These guys are based in Brooklyn, but are they from nowhere? Harmony vocals are kind of their signature sound, but when I was listening to them last night they sounded like a glee club, very, very white. Is this what it’s come to?
BigSteve, this was my question concerning Dylan. How can a born and bred Minnesota kid by way of NYC talk the way he does? It’s a weird accent.
TB
The Broad st subway in Philadelphia has an ebonic robot which, at each stop announces “dawes aw opening.”
Steve’s mention of country singers born elsewhere who adapt the “country accent” makes me wonder: if you cover a song (or just sing along at home) that features singing with pronounced accents, do you replicate the accent?
I can’t remember the band now, but somebody covered “Victoria” on Late Night a few years ago, accent free, and I couldn’t get past how weird it was to hear someone singing the title that way.
I agree, Alexmagic, it’s really hard to sing some songs without adopting the accent, the most obvious example possibly being “Garageland.” I mean, is there any song with as high a degree of difficulty in covering without the British pronunciation of “garage?”
I believe it was Cracker. I like David Lowery, but that’s a terrible cover. “Victooria!”
A buddy of mine have an ongoing karaoke game of using inappropriate accent voices to do famous songs. He does Jimmy Buffet covers as Brian Johnson from AC/DC (the only way I can enjoy those songs). And (here’s where it’s germane to the conversation) I do “Waterloo Sunset” in an exaqggerated 90s pop country croon. “Durdy ol’ riverrr, mustcha kayp rollin’…” It’s truly horrible.
sourbob, should you and your friend ever decide to record these performances and consider airing them for the public, please think about the Halls of Rock as an appropriate venue!