#543 Musings Beyond the Bunker (Wednesday December 28)
Good morning,
This morning, a wonderful quotation from Neil Gaiman on books and writing, provided by Adam Torson, followed by the continued exploration of horrific songs.
“We writers – and especially writers for children, but all writers – have an obligation to our readers: it's the obligation to write true things, especially important when we are creating tales of people who do not exist in places that never were – to understand that truth is not in what happens but what it tells us about who we are. Fiction is the lie that tells the truth, after all.” —Neil Gaiman, “Why our future depends on libraries, reading and daydreaming” (2013)
SONGS THAT MAKE MY SKIN CRAWL (PART 2)
More of the horrible, the deliciously horrible and the “so horrible it’s good” list. There is a close correlation between terrible tune and terrible lyric…
“Having My Baby,” by Paul Anka (“what a lovely way of sayin’ how much you love me…”)
“Alone Again (Naturally),” by Gilbert O’Sullivan
“Wildfire,” by Michael Murphy (“she’ll be ridin’ wa-a-a-a-a-a-a-ild fi-i-er…”)
“Playground In My Mind,” by Clint Holmes (with the seminal lyric, “My girl is Cindy, when we get married we're gonna have a baby or two, We're gonna let them visit their grandma, that's what we're gonna do.”)
“Disco Duck,” by Rick Dees and His Cast of Idiots (although it was meant to be stupid)
“I Kissed a Girl,” by Katy Perry
“To All the Girls I Loved Before,” by Julio Iglesias and Willie Nelson (a mismatched duo in a horrible song—musically and lyrically
“Get Outta My Dreams Get Into My Car,” by Billy Ocean
“Seasons in the Sun,” by Terry Jacks (“we had joy, we had fun, we had seasons in the sun, but the hills that we climbed were just seasons out of time…”)
“Lovin’ You” by Minnie Ripperton (thought I like the high riff—and she is the very talented Maya Rudolph’s mother!)
Others jumped in with their nominees:
Mark DiMaria adds two Elton John staples: “Philadelphia Freedom” and “Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me.” I agree on the ode to a women’s tennis team. But I’m with Elton not letting the sun go down. He also adds “Candy Man,” by the inimitable Sammy Davis, Jr. While I admit it’s terrible, Sammy is the consummate performer who happened to jump into what he thought was “modern pop.”
Bradley Tabach-Bank “recommends” “Elusive Butterfly,” by Bob Lind. He notes that that it has “the worst and poetically most offensive use of a metaphor in a song title (with equally insipid lyrics throughout.”
Chris Cook agrees with many of these. He also suggests “Afternoon Delight,” by the Starland Vocal Band. And while this song is ridiculous, it has special meaning for me—for the tune, for its evocation of the time and for my mother’s reaction to it. She really liked this upbeat “innocent” song. I had to explain to her what was meant by “afternoon delight.” She was incredulous…!
But Russ Chittenden has identified perhaps the most horrific of the era: “Billy Don’t Be a Hero,” by Bo Donaldson and the Heywoods (with that iconic lyric, “don’t be a fool with your life.”)
Mark adds “Hooked on a Feeling,” by Blue Swede. Mark’s wrong—it’s a classic. I can’t hear this without smiling. Terrible in a fun sort of way. Russ says it’s “so bad, it’s almost good.” Indeed, it’s almost good…
By the way, what young man of the 70s didn’t think Maria Muldaur singing “Midnight at the Oasis” wasn’t speaking directly to him?
Have a great day,
Glenn
From the archives: