Let’s see if yesterday’s hot posts have dulled your usually razor-sharp minds. Not just tossed-off allusions to literary works or authors (eg, Van Morrison’s frequent shout-outs to his favorite authors), but songs actually written around the main ideas of said works. And yes, songs with lyrics taken directly from a poem, such as Syd Barrett’s “Golden Hair”, do count!
I just knew this sexy title was going to attract you to today’s Last Man Standing. I was listening to Lou Reed’s “Street Hassle” when the following line jumped out at me – but not for the obvious reason:
“She creamed in her jeans as he picked up her knees from off of the Formica top bar.”
It was the mere mention of Formica, that once-prevalent countertop material of my youth, that got me thinking about songs that refer to uniquely 20th century, post-WWII home goods made of industrial-fabricated-composite materials. I wish I could describe this better: it’s home goods stuff made out of fake materials. Not cars, not surfboards, not jet airliners (Happy birthday, Steve Miller!), but artificial, industrial-made home products that were distinctive of post-WWII American (and European, I suppose) homes: particular types of furniture materials come to mind, home construction materials (but not wood, for instance), wonder cleansers, you name it. There’s one rule (at least for starters): state the home goods material referred to along with the song title. I’ve given you Lou Reed’s “Street Hassle” and the reference to Formica.
The following clip is a hint at another song fitting this Last Man Standing game. Continue reading »
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I’m not really much of a lyrics guy, mainly because I have trouble deciphering them (much to the constant amusement of my wife) but once in a while I can make sense of a lyric that I find to be profoundly meaningful. I’m not talking about a good or clever lyric but rather a lyric that impacts, and/or better puts to words, my notion of the big ones: love, life, existence…
The two that sprang to mind when thinking about this are:
“Life is just what happens to you, while your busy making other plans,
and
“Love’s not a product you can hoard or pack a suitcase with, it’s more a way you have to give.”
What do you got?
Caution: Sappy video clip!
What’s that line from Jerry McGuire, “You had me at ‘Hello'”? What rock song’s lyrics had you at its opening couplet? Not necessarily “the best” couplet, but the “most engaging,” the couplet that makes you – and perhaps any listener – sit up and take notice. Step into the squared circle and present your couplets!
Note: The following video is not recommended to be played at work, in an airport, in church, in the presence of children, and possibly in the privacy of your own home. It is presented here to allow you to hear the music of Young Jeezy, one of three hip-hop artists KingEd has become acquainted with over the past months.
A couple of months ago a friend dropped three then-recent hip-hop releases on me: Young Jeezy‘s The Inspiration, Nas‘ Hip Hop Is Dead, and Ghostface Killah‘s More Fish. “I’d like to get your take on this stuff,” he said. “This Young Jeezy guy is all the rage,” he continued, “it’s hardcore gangsta shit. Some of it’s actually scary.”
This would be some listening assignment, I figured. Just the thought of an artist naming himself Ghostface Killah had been bugging me. Isn’t the body count high enough already? But who am I to judge a rapper by his handle? I spent a few days spinning these CDs as I drove around, and here are my impressions.
Young Jeezy really is nasty. The fist song, “Hypnotize (Intro)”, drops 18 N-bombs. Coupled with the fact that the guy can’t pronounce his own lead-off song title (he repeatedly says “hypmotize”), I’m pretty clear this album will not offer much in the way of critical thought. (Thanks for that helpful, parenthetical hint in the title, by the way.) However, Young Jeezy offers much in the way of unself-conscious social criticism. “Still On It” drops a mere total of 11 N-bombs after a stunning half dozen in the song’s opening seconds. Track 3, “U Know What It Is” gets back on pace with 18 instances of self-hatred. And on and on. Contrary to the album’s title, The Inspiration is the most depressing and vacant music I’ve ever heard. Throw in a cynical mix of canned pop hooks for bad measure.
Continue reading »
I’m listening to today’s tasty Thrifty Music selection, Deep Purple’s “Rat Bat Blue”, and I’m struck by the thought that kick-ass rock guitar riffs may preclude intelligent lyrics. Does Rock Guitar Heroics require thinking with one’s dick? And you know what I’m talking about, SmartyPants – not Tom Verlaine or some other “brainy” guitarist. I’m talking about practitioners of Hot Licks from the late-60s Age of the Guitar Hero and beyond: Hendrix, Cream, Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple, King Crimson, Aerosmith, Frank Marino’s Mahogany Rush…
What’s the best lyric any of these fierce riff-driven artists has produced, “The Wind Cries Mary”? Name a mighty guitarist, and then name a song lyric associated with this artist that’s stupid, funny, or plain silly. I challenge you, and I shall determine which suggestions do not qualify.
I look forward to your responses.
Rodney Anonymous checks in with his views on the union of humor and music.
Being both a victim (although I prefer to use the term “survivor”) and perpetrator of humor in music, has granted me the insight to develop a two-fold theory about the why certain people feel the need to combine music with comedy. For the sake of the following discussion, these theories shall be referred to below as The Weird Al Yankovic Theory and The Frank Zappa Theory, or, if you like, “Theory Y” and “Theory Z” (Please not that both of these theories pertain to INTENTIONALLY humorous acts as opposed to performers like Sarah McLachlan who, although her lyrics never fail to make me laugh, is not actually trying to be funny.
Here is what the two theories hold in common: Just as cartooning has been described as a compromise between the desire to draw well and the inability to do so (or, possibly, the desire to draw dicks on a men’s room wall), it’s entirely possible that “Humorous” music represents a middle ground between wanting to play and or sing well and the complete failure of most of the population (myself included) to be able to do so.
Theory Y: The Weird Al Yankovic Theory
It’s entirely possible that the majority of “Comedy-Rock” artists are
complete and utter morons.
Continue reading »
