When asked about the contents of his iPod, John McCain declares the love that dare not speak its name:
“Dare I say Abba?” he replied. “Everybody says, ‘Ugh. Abba.’ Why is that? Abba was the largest-selling record act ever. Nobody likes them, but they sold more records than anybody in the history of the world, including the Beatles. But everybody hates them. You’re a no-class guy if you like Abba. Why does everybody go see Mamma Mia!? Hypocrisy! Rank hypocrisy! I’m not embarrassed to say I like Abba.”
The Telegraph busts McCain on the fact that the Beatles have sold 150 million more records than ABBA — just wait until ThinkProgress and the HuffPo get ahold of that less-than-straight talk. However, the musical Mamma Mia! (the movie adaptaion of which opens a week from today) has grossed over $2 billion. The paper’s Ivan Hewitt takes a chance on dissecting the Scandanavian quartet’s formula, while the Independent’s James Delingpole enlisted the expertise of famed lyricist Tim Rice (who has worked in some capacity with all of the band’s members) to try to explain it.
As for why McCain cannot resist ABBA, we may have to await the learned opinions of Rand Beers or McCain’s former Democratic colleagues like Bob Kerrey, Max Cleland and Chuck Robb.
Comment by happyfeet on 7/11 @ 8:02 am #
couldn’t escape if I wanted to
Comment by happyfeet on 7/11 @ 8:06 am #
On the other hand I guess, if this does business he’ll come out looking like he’s got his finger on the pulse and all that. To me it looks kind of ghastly though. What an ungainly cast really.
Comment by Education Guy on 7/11 @ 8:08 am #
Heh. The wife dragged me to see Mama Mia! on Wednesday.
Comment by Smirky McChimp on 7/11 @ 8:09 am #
It’s official. I’m voting third-party.
I could support a man whose fawning by the meretricious media back in 2000 led him to believe he was shinier, brighter, sparklier than the rest of the GOP. A healthy ego is necessary for a successful politician.
I could support a man whose attitudes about illegal immigration come straight from Pandagon. Comprehensive reform won’t work, so we’re basically back to square one for the next election.
I could even grit my teeth and hold my nose and pull the lever for a guy who thinks cap-and-trade a good idea. A good insurgency in Congress will kibosh that bad-boy, and quick.
But I am not voting for a fucking ABBA fan. ABBA makes God cry.
Comment by happyfeet on 7/11 @ 8:13 am #
Ok for real I like ABBA too. A*Teens rule. For real what’s better to listen to when it’s just you and a buddy, cruising down PCH1 with the top down…
Comment by Smirky McChimp on 7/11 @ 8:16 am #
Feet, I may have to kill you. Nothing personal.
Comment by SevenEleventy on 7/11 @ 8:24 am #
Opening his mouth is hazardous to his campaign. What’s next? I expect him to announce his preference for polyester and bell bottoms.
Comment by SarahW on 7/11 @ 8:29 am #
I get them mixed up with Ace of Bass sometimes. Some scandi-phile I am.
Comment by BJTex on 7/11 @ 8:34 am #
Could be worse. Could be a-ha or Ace of Base
*shudder*
Comment by happyfeet on 7/11 @ 8:37 am #
Ace of Base was in good shape until that one kid’s neo-nazi thing sort of ruined everything. That was an unusual choice I remember thinking at the time. Then it turned out he was a big progressive liberal and it all made sense really.
Comment by Mikey NTH on 7/11 @ 8:39 am #
He didn’t give the popular answer, did he?
Comment by McGehee on 7/11 @ 8:41 am #
McCain likes ABBA?
Maybe he is serious about wanting my vote…
Comment by McGehee on 7/11 @ 8:41 am #
<ducks, runs, gets hit anyway>
Comment by BJTex on 7/11 @ 8:42 am #
feets: This line is Hi-larious!
No, I’m not! Yes, Uffe, you were! Bwaa Hahaha!
Comment by SarahW on 7/11 @ 8:42 am #
I was just going to correct that “base” thing.
Ulf always struck me as a big blumbering goof.
But then, have you ever noticed? Swedish women are all drop dead gorgeous pert minxes, but Swedish men have that “goofy Swede” thing going on? I have miniature portraits going back to the 18th century, and the Swedish men all have this same goofy looking expression.
Comment by Ouroboros on 7/11 @ 8:46 am #
Ok, I need to amend my previous comment … I’ll take old Men at Work over Abba any day… Even the stupid “who can it be” song..
Comment by Sdferr on 7/11 @ 8:48 am #
Lorenzo:
…Since nought so stockish, hard and full of rage.
But music for the time doth change his nature.
The man that hath no music in himself,
Nor is not moved with concord of sweet sounds,
Is fit for treasons, stratagems and spoils;
The motions of his spirit are dull as night
And his affections dark as Erebus:
Let no such man be trusted. Mark the music.
W.Shakespeare, Merchant of Venice
Comment by Karl on 7/11 @ 8:50 am #
16: Yeah, but the feminists are working hard to get their signs removed. I saw their signs.
Comment by McGehee on 7/11 @ 8:50 am #
If I’d been surrounded by drop dead gorgeous pert minxes during my adolescence, I’d look goofy too.
Comment by Education Guy on 7/11 @ 8:55 am #
From the wiki entry on Sweden:
Also, Ingrid Bergman and Greta Garbo – both Swedes. Who knew?
Comment by BJTex on 7/11 @ 8:56 am #
“The Sign” has been proven to cause Grand Mal seizures.
Comment by Education Guy on 7/11 @ 8:58 am #
This could be important:
Comment by SarahW on 7/11 @ 9:26 am #
A GIS of “swedish man” popped this right up. Best Swedish Man Ever.
Goof-smile? Check!
Comment by BJTex on 7/11 @ 9:29 am #
Linky no orky, Sarah.
Comment by Cincinnatus on 7/11 @ 9:35 am #
“That’s not my bag, baby.”
Comment by N. O'Brain on 7/11 @ 9:37 am #
What no “fuckin’ scandi” comments?
What’ll Ace say?
Comment by Mikey NTH on 7/11 @ 9:45 am #
What’ll Ace say?
“Die, hobo! Die!”
Comment by BJTex on 7/11 @ 9:46 am #
no “W”orky, doesn’t work, link no good, blah blah
Comment by Lamontyoubigdummy on 7/11 @ 9:46 am #
“I saw their signs.”
Karl, you’re going to hell for that. Jebus! It’s bad enough McCain is apparently some kind of dancing queen.
I want “couth” points for not making an awful McCain/ ABBA music/ POW torture comment.
What? It would have been classy.
Comment by Jeff G. on 7/11 @ 9:55 am #
I’m comfortable enough in my manhood to admit to having at least 3 ABBA songs on my iPod.
Ace of Base, not so much. I mean, I’m no queer.
Comment by psycho... on 7/11 @ 9:56 am #
The only thing worse than an ABBA fan (I’m one of those) is an ABBA fan who’s taking a stand and sticking it to the Man, all Maverick-style, by bravely declaring (unprompted) that he’s an fan of a band almost everyone likes (in the same brave-Maverick-y way, to hear them tell it).
McCain is never not a douche, about anything.
I’ve despised every major-party Presidential nominee since about 1800, but this year’s special. They’re just amazing assholes.
Comment by Jeff G. on 7/11 @ 10:07 am #
Barry Manilow, too. There, I said it. Unprompted. Because I’m just that fucking cool that I don’t even care what you think — this being a performative of my indifference to your unspoken taunts, writ large, and, by its very existence, ironized.
Put that in your pipe and smoke it, Wayne Booth.
Comment by Lamontyoubigdummy on 7/11 @ 10:07 am #
“I’m comfortable enough in my manhood to admit to having at least 3 ABBA songs on my iPod.”
I call bullshit. No way you’d “admit” that prior to jettin’ around, taking specialized MMA lessons.
You only said that ABBA nonsense so some idiot will come for your lunch money, and you can fuck ‘em up all legal like.
I’m on to you.
Comment by Karl on 7/11 @ 10:09 am #
Jeff,
The Mountain Goats covering “The Sign” is kinda funny, however.
Comment by Lamontyoubigdummy on 7/11 @ 10:11 am #
“Barry Manilow, too.”
That prooves it!
Do not approach JeffG on the street.
Hookers, that means you too.
Comment by Jeff G. on 7/11 @ 10:12 am #
Oh, you’re wrong, Lamont. In fact, how anyone CAN’T like “Take a Chance on Me” or “Fernando” or “Waterloo” is beyond me.
I call bullshit on the haters!
Comment by cranky-d on 7/11 @ 10:12 am #
Just a note, for anyone who has “Dancing Queen” on their iPod or whatever, that it was rated “Gayest Song Ever” a while back. NTTAWWT.
BTW, I happen to like that song, as well as a few other ABBA songs. Part of my youth and all that.
Comment by Karl on 7/11 @ 10:13 am #
Ironically, when the Mountain Goats play Sweden, they go for a mash-up of Thin Lizzy and R. Kelly.
Comment by BJTex on 7/11 @ 10:13 am #
Damn it, Karl. IT BURNS!!!!!
psycho:
Not the change you were looking for?
Comment by SevenEleventy on 7/11 @ 10:14 am #
Jeff, please tell me Fernando isn’t one of the ABBA songs on your iPOD. Next, you’ll tell us Eric Carmen’s, “All by Myself”, is your favorite song.
Comment by MayBee on 7/11 @ 10:25 am #
Abba is fun. Fun fun fun fun fun.
Anybody who doesn’t like at least some Abba is a bit fat cranky crankypants.
Comment by Sdferr on 7/11 @ 10:27 am #
That John Darnielle guy sounds like a young Loudon Wainwright III
Comment by Log Cabin on 7/11 @ 10:28 am #
I’m not very happy hearing about this ABBA thing with McCain, but
… knowing me, knowing you, it’s the best I can do.
Comment by Jeff G. on 7/11 @ 10:30 am #
You had to be there, SevenEleventy. This was the stuff that was playing on the radio at daycamp back in the day. Nostalgia kicks in. The Knack. “Bluer than Blue.” “Sad Eyes.” Crack the Sky, Rush, Climax Blues Band, 10 CC…
Everytime I drop a little Jewish kid during a game of dodge ball these days, I think back fondly on “Grand Illusion” or “Desperado”; I am the Proust of sprawled out, scraped up Jewlettes who’ve left a tiny bit of their dignity on the asphalt at Camp Mildale.
Comment by Sdferr on 7/11 @ 10:32 am #
If you are intent on garden growing Jeff, maybe this would fit the mood.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tgXMxhMhYm4 (Bernstein Candide, finale)
Comment by SarahW on 7/11 @ 10:33 am #
Oh, I’m a hater. I hate the “Fernando” song by ABBA most of all. It’s on my top ten of hated songs.
They are Swedish and should not be singing about guys named Fernando crossing the Rio Grande.
Comment by SarahW on 7/11 @ 10:35 am #
Sometimes I’m accused of hating Mexico.
Comment by MayBee on 7/11 @ 10:35 am #
That should be big fat, not bit fat.
Haters.
Comment by SarahW on 7/11 @ 10:38 am #
“Bit Fat”. It’s only two days since that chocolate Rocket. I can’t be fat yet.
Comment by SevenEleventy on 7/11 @ 10:40 am #
I was Jeff. Aerosmith, Black Sabbath, Ted Nugent, etc. were the rage in Upstate New York. I got my ass kicked at football practice for listening to “Afternoon Delight” with my girlfriend during lunch hour.
Comment by SarahW on 7/11 @ 10:40 am #
What will kids of the future remember too fondly? “Behind these Hazel Eyes?”
Comment by SarahW on 7/11 @ 10:44 am #
I found “Afternoon Delight” a little shocking. I was 12 or thirteen, I guess. I remember that tragic aging hippie band that sang it, though not the name so much. “Starlight funshine Hippie parade”? They seemed all over-excited surprised about their midday outdoor TV talk show performances.
They were mostly awful and got broomed off the stage in short order.
Comment by Lamontyoubigdummy on 7/11 @ 10:45 am #
Well, shit Jeff…
…if that’s all true, my poster of you comes off the wall and goes in a trunk. A trunk with all the good comics that Marvel made “gay.” And my Star Wars and Lego stuff. And my Micronauts. And my leaky Stretch Armstrong (I shot him with an arrow. It was a good shot).
Anyway, it’s a big fucking trunk. And ABBA puts you in it (but, please God, don’t stop writing).
BTW, I think Stretch Armstrongs’ were filled with gooey uranium but I haven’t verified it on the internet.
Anyway, it’s a big fucking trunk.
This awful truth has ruined my weekend.
On the other hand…I now know why you had to learn to fight. So I learned something.
That’s always good.
Comment by SarahW on 7/11 @ 10:50 am #
“leaky Stretch Armstrong”
Food-grade corn syrup. Don’t ask.
Comment by SevenEleventy on 7/11 @ 10:52 am #
I found “Afternoon Delight†a little shocking.
I was trying to get laid! I would’ve listened to Janis Ian to get a blowjob!
Comment by Lamontyoubigdummy on 7/11 @ 10:55 am #
“Food-grade corn syrup.”
My Mom said the same thing.
But Stretch’s innards looked like something that could fuel the space shuttle, and that makes him cool.
Comment by SevenEleventy on 7/11 @ 10:56 am #
They seemed all over-excited surprised about their midday outdoor TV talk show performances.
They were mostly awful and got broomed off the stage in short order.
Are we talking Mike Douglas? I think I’m gonna be sick!
Comment by Sdferr on 7/11 @ 10:58 am #
That was a funny screed, SarahW. I knew Bill and Taffy Danoff in ‘68, long before their brush with pop fame. They were hippies though not a bit dirty and reasonably good bar musicians at the time. And they shared their weed, so they were ok by me.
Comment by SarahW on 7/11 @ 10:59 am #
I remember at that age being bothered by the unwholesome turn of my thoughts.
Like, the Starshine Volatile Leftover-Seventies Band had these girl singers – this skinny girl and an Hawaiian or Asian cutie, and I think their was some inter-band marriage and it caused bad thoughts. They seemed all old and wifey to me at the time. I think maybe now I would have a different perspective.
Comment by Karl on 7/11 @ 11:11 am #
Sdferr,
Unless you Googled that John Darnielle guy, I suspect you already know he’s quite the lyricist in his own right. Plus, he’s written a book about Black Sabbath. He is a man of diverse tastes.
BTW, at either of those Mountain Goats links, you can click on the “Mountain Goats” and bring up all MG tracks currently streaming at the Hype Machine.
Comment by Sdferr on 7/11 @ 11:17 am #
Karl, I don’t know the guy as they say, from Adam. I did google to find his name but didn’t bother to hang in there to learn more. His voice and guitar style just hit the LWIII button in my head (though I think JD a better singer as such than LWIII). I once thought LWIII was the coolest thing and drove my poor father mad playing his first record to death. Lost interest after awhile. Quelle suprise.
Comment by LionDude on 7/11 @ 11:19 am #
My first visit to Stockholm two years ago showed me that tall and rather attractive women wearing boots in Sweden were not limited to lead vocalists from a 1970’s pop band. If I may…simply wow. Made it difficult to see the stage for a Ryan Adams concert at the Berns Hotel, however, and I’m 6′2″. I have 36 ABBA songs on my iPod. Bring it, bitches!!
Comment by BJTex on 7/11 @ 11:24 am #
Mama Mia!
Comment by cranky-d on 7/11 @ 11:26 am #
Is it scary that I know the name of the “Afternoon Delight” band without googling? Probably. I remember not really understanding exactly what they were talking about. I also remember their video, and that there was an Asian chick in the band. That’s about it. Oh, and of course, I know the lyrics.
Somebody shoot me.
Comment by Pablo on 7/11 @ 11:27 am #
ABBA is OK, but they’re no Little River Band.
Comment by cranky-d on 7/11 @ 11:28 am #
Have you heard about the lonesome loser? He figured it was time for a cool change.
Comment by Pablo on 7/11 @ 11:28 am #
When that was out, I was dating a girl who had a cousin in the band. Yep, I’m a starfucker, twice removed.
Comment by Pablo on 7/11 @ 11:29 am #
Hey, Take It Easy On Me.
Comment by SevenEleventy on 7/11 @ 11:34 am #
Pablo, sounds like you’ve been “Reminiscing”.
Comment by Aldo on 7/11 @ 11:37 am #
On the other hand…I now know why you had to learn to fight. So I learned something.
Instead of “A Boy Called Sue” Johnny Cash should have sung about a boy who listens to Abba and Barry Manilow.
Comment by BJTex on 7/11 @ 11:37 am #
Ears … bleeding …
Comment by SevenEleventy on 7/11 @ 11:39 am #
Instead of “A Boy Called Sue†Johnny Cash should have sung about a boy who listens to Abba and Barry Manilow.
“Egg Sucking Dog” if you’re at the Downs in Bristol.
Comment by Karl on 7/11 @ 11:40 am #
Sdferr and all,
I can attest that the Mountain Goats put on an entertaining show, much more fun than the recorded angst would suggest. These videos from the M-Shop are in the ballpark.
But if you’re going to bring the Wainrwight, I have to say that empirically, Rufus Wainwright is pretty gay. Openly so. Recreated the Judy Garland conert at Carnegie Hall, in fact.
And on a total note of trivia, both Loudon and Rufus have bit parts as singers in Scorsese’s The Aviator.
Comment by Lamontyoubigdummy on 7/11 @ 11:40 am #
LionDude,
In Sweden it’s an (actual/ no bullshit/ swear to God) crime to not put the toilet seat down.
Just saying…watch out for that.
…and ABBA’s gay.
…also, when you mention Ryan Adams most of us don’t know who the fuck that is and we’re to lazy to Google, so we can’t help but think “Bryan Adams.” Who is an awful Canadian retard that possibly inspired that South Park movie in the late 90’s.
ABBA is gay.
Stop doing that.
Comment by Karl on 7/11 @ 11:43 am #
Also, I’m a little disappointed that no one has gone for the Anchorman reference yet.
Comment by cranky-d on 7/11 @ 11:52 am #
Never saw Anchorman. I find that guy whose name escapes me to spend a lot of time trying too hard to be funny. To me, he’s always on the two-person cheerleading squad.
Yeah, I’ll rag on him. And I don’t care who knows.
Comment by Sdferr on 7/11 @ 11:52 am #
Heh, Karl, I know Rufus (Doofus?) Wainwright about as well as I know John Darnielle, so far am I out of the pop loop. Would that someone was up to the task of re-creating Benny Goodman’s Carnegie Hall concert. Don Byron mebbee? But who’ld be Lionel, let alone Teddy Wilson, Krupa, and James?
Comment by SevenEleventy on 7/11 @ 11:52 am #
Rufus Wainwright is pretty gay
No, he’s militantly gay. NTTAWWT! I won tickets to his concert in San Diego through a local radio station two years ago. Between songs we were treated to his views on gay right. He couldn’t remember the words to the songs he sang. It sucked(no pun intended)!
Comment by Brainster on 7/11 @ 11:54 am #
ABBA is cliche for “the band you love but are embarrassed to admit you love”.
Comment by Education Guy on 7/11 @ 11:57 am #
I went to an Ani Difranco show on Monday, Mama Mia! on Wednesday, and now that it’s Friday I guess the only thing left to do is to go find a purse that matches my shoes. Shit.
NTTAWWT.
Comment by SevenEleventy on 7/11 @ 12:01 pm #
ABBA is cliche for “the band you love but are embarrassed to admit you loveâ€Â.
Jeff admitted it, and LionDude jumped in with both feet. They’re balls drag on the ground!
Comment by Lamontyoubigdummy on 7/11 @ 12:02 pm #
Karl has shamed me.
But only because I’m running low on Sex Panther…by Odeon.
Today I’m wearing “London Gentleman.” Look out ladies.
You go fuck yourself Karl..er, I mean San Diego.
What? Wha’d I say?
Comment by SevenEleventy on 7/11 @ 12:02 pm #
Jeff admitted it, and LionDude jumped in with both feet.
They’reTheir balls drag on the ground!Comment by Karl on 7/11 @ 12:03 pm #
Sdferr,
It’s far from a recreation of Benny Goodman, but the new album from Wynton Marsalis & Willie Nelson is streaming for free through the weekend via AOL.
Comment by happyfeet on 7/11 @ 12:05 pm #
cigarettes and chocolate milk is my theme song
Comment by BJTex on 7/11 @ 12:06 pm #
Hah, ED. My wife took me to see “First Wives Club” several years ago. I’ve been leveraging that horror in avoiding chick flicks at the theater ever since.
Of course I did take her to see “Schindler’s List” on Valentine’s day. It’s why I’ll be seeing “Dark Knight” with my son.
Comment by BJTex on 7/11 @ 12:08 pm #
Whoa … E’G’ … Whoa …
Comment by Dewclaw on 7/11 @ 12:08 pm #
ABBA IS NOT FUCKING GAY!!!!
Gender identity issues….
That’s another story…
Comment by Education Guy on 7/11 @ 12:12 pm #
Of course I did take her to see “Schindler’s List†on Valentine’s day.
Heh. When I was in High School I took a date to see Platoon on Valentine’s day. It’s a good thing she really liked me anyway.
Also, on Wednesday it was the stage version which is something like 33% less manly than the screen version. Plays are just like that. Not sure why.
Comment by Education Guy on 7/11 @ 12:13 pm #
I can admit to liking some of the music. In fact, I promised my wife I would learn to play some of it for her.
While she holds my purse, of course.
Comment by Dewclaw on 7/11 @ 12:14 pm #
“Knowing me, knowing you…”
Comment by lee on 7/11 @ 12:22 pm #
There’s an awful lot of gayety here for such a queer thread. I mean, a presidential candidate coming out about what’s on his pod?
Actually, perhaps Dancing Queen being on his pod is the only thing that reconciles the fact that the oldest candidate ever is running in a time when cultural mores are changing faster than ever.
Comment by Dewclaw on 7/11 @ 12:25 pm #
Damn.
“ABBA rules out reunion
July 8, 2008
Despite the astonishing success of Mamma Mia!, ABBA has ruled out any reunion tour.
Songwriters Bjorn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson of the Swedish pop quartet told Britain’s Sunday Telegraph that ABBA will never perform together again.
Ulvaeus said “money is not a factor and we would like people to remember us as we were. Young, exuberant, full of energy and ambition.”
ABBA was one of the biggest bands of the 1970s, with hits including “Waterloo,” “Dancing Queen” and “Money, Money, Money.” The group also included singers Agnetha Faltskog and Anni-Frid Lyngstad.
ABBA split in 1982 but continues to sell nearly 3 million records a year. Last week all four members appeared at the Swedish premiere of “Mamma Mia!,” a film based on their hits.”
Comment by Lamontyoubigdummy on 7/11 @ 12:26 pm #
Good Lord. How’d we get from Anchorman to Schindler’s List and (what sounds like) a drive-in theater in 3 comments?
You guys cut it out with your crappy venue dates…
…unless you banged her behind the snow cone/ popcorn machine, or some such…
In which case we’d like to hear all about it.
Comment by Karl on 7/11 @ 12:29 pm #
lee,
My unstated (until now) presumption has been that ABBA was topping the charts during his post-Vietmam, “wild oats” phase, much like it makes Jeff G think of daycamp.
Comment by The Lost Dog on 7/11 @ 12:32 pm #
I think I am beginning to understand why, when I look at McQuacky, I see two hams attached to his wrists, rather than hands.
Comment by Dewclaw on 7/11 @ 12:34 pm #
So Karl, are you saying that McMaverick was banging Thai and Fillipino hookers (like the rest of the Navy) while he was doing those WESTPAC cruises?
NTTAWWT
Comment by Education Guy on 7/11 @ 12:34 pm #
There may be a lot of gayety in this thread, but not nearly as much as in South Carolina apparently.
Comment by BJTex on 7/11 @ 12:35 pm #
“We had joy, we had fun, we had seasons in the sun…”
Oh, sorry. I was just reminiscing about my polyester girly-man sensitive new age guy phase.
Carry on!
Comment by Dewclaw on 7/11 @ 12:38 pm #
OK… I’m listening to Iron Maiden now to purge the gayness.
Comment by Jeff G. on 7/11 @ 12:38 pm #
I love Little River Band, as well. I’ll be listening to “Lady” and “Cool Change” in short order. While practicing my grip strength by tearing a phone book in two.
I am a man of mystery.
Comment by lee on 7/11 @ 12:39 pm #
I’m sure you are right Karl, I was just trying to fit in the maximum number of homo references in the quickest time possible.
You know, like opening night of Mama Mia!.
Comment by Jeff G. on 7/11 @ 12:40 pm #
Terry Jacks, BJTex. On my iPod. Along with a lot of Dave Loggins and Sammy John.
No worries, though. I’m heading to the Styx / Boston concert on Sunday. Wearing an ACDC concert tee. So that oughtta set the universe back in balance.
Comment by Dewclaw on 7/11 @ 12:41 pm #
Now I’m listening to Judas Priest TO REALLY purge teh gay….
… uh….
whoops.
Comment by Sdferr on 7/11 @ 12:41 pm #
Making the maverick only the 34th president to have suffered a venereal disease at sometime in his life should he be elected, eh dewclaw?
Comment by Karl on 7/11 @ 12:43 pm #
Dewclaw,
I was referring to McCain tomcatting around once he got back from Vietnam (as opposed to his early aviator days with the Brazilian model).
BJTexs
I was just listening to some Terry Jacks the other day.
Comment by Lamontyoubigdummy on 7/11 @ 12:43 pm #
This thread ‘oughta come with a rainbow sticker.
Now I have to drunk dial ex-girlfriends while playing Barry White as loud as it will go.
Comment by Dewclaw on 7/11 @ 12:43 pm #
#105
I think VD should be a REQUIREMENT to be president.
Comment by lee on 7/11 @ 12:45 pm #
EG,
South Carolina’s top tourism agency has canceled an overseas advertising campaign targeting gay tourists.
Ha! They probably took note of what happened to California after Arnold had similar plans.
Those lightning bolts can be a bitch
Comment by Karl on 7/11 @ 12:45 pm #
Jeff G,
I once was invited onstage at a Soul Asylum show and given free beer because I correctly identified Sammy Johns as the original “artist” responsible for their cover of “Chevy Van.” Which I have on a 45. Which I bought during my one vacation in Denver.
Comment by LionDude on 7/11 @ 12:45 pm #
Lamont,
Had to have the toilet seat in my Stockholm hotel room removed to make room for my ground-dragging ‘nads. The manager said it was no problem. That is, he said it after I discovered I had been dragging him under my ‘nads accidentally all over the Vasa Museum.
Comment by Jeff G. on 7/11 @ 12:48 pm #
Chevy Van is on the iPod, along with a few others. I have his greatest hits CD. He’s actually really good — more than just a one hit guy.
Another greatest hits CD I recommend is BW Stevenson. Died way too young, he did.
Comment by BJTex on 7/11 @ 12:48 pm #
Dude, Arrowsmith T shirt! That way you ease back into balance rather than jerking it into place.
Man, I have an overwhelming urge to rub up against velvet and hum “Oooo, Love to love you baybee…”
GET OUT OF MY HEAD!!!!!
Comment by Karl on 7/11 @ 12:49 pm #
Jeff,
I’ll make a note of that. Or a letter.
Comment by Pablo on 7/11 @ 12:49 pm #
Sha la la la la la my lady.
Surprisingly, this is not gay.
Comment by Jeff G. on 7/11 @ 12:50 pm #
And of course, some of the lefties have already gone after me for my admiration of Fogelberg. I can deal.
Comment by Dewclaw on 7/11 @ 12:51 pm #
Is Styx still using that (~substandard~) replacement singer, or did Dennis DeYoung finally pull his head out of ass and rejoin the group?
Comment by Pablo on 7/11 @ 12:52 pm #
Seasons in the Sun is enormously gay. I can say that because I have no idea what happened to the 45. It’s not like I really cared about it.
Comment by Jeff G. on 7/11 @ 12:52 pm #
Jay Ferguson is on the iPod, too. “Thunder Island” is the name of the song. Man, if I could pull off that hair and mustache, I’d be so there. In fact, I think I’m going to make that my goal for next summer…
Comment by Dewclaw on 7/11 @ 12:53 pm #
Dan Fogelberg is one of my faves.
Just another reason to loathe the left.
Comment by Karl on 7/11 @ 12:54 pm #
Jeff,
Had you not been leaving town, I would have recommended catching Dennis DeYoung at the Naperville Rib Fest. And Foghat.
Which reminds me of a delightful night at the Cubby Bear where a band named “Snaketrain” — the members of which could not have legally entered the bar — concluded their opening set with a dead-on jamming cover of “Slow Ride.”
They were opening for a band called The Service, who also had “Chevy Van” in their set list.
Comment by Pablo on 7/11 @ 12:55 pm #
You got Alan O’Day on there? That guy is a stud.
Comment by Karl on 7/11 @ 12:56 pm #
Dewclaw,
As you can now see, DeYoung remains estranged.
Comment by Lamontyoubigdummy on 7/11 @ 12:56 pm #
“Wearing an ACDC concert tee. So that oughtta set the universe back in balance.”
You know it’s summer, right?
The kids stuck in bible camp fucking hate you right now.
You should build them all bunk beds to make up.
Or just buy them a lap dance if your really busy.
I don’t know what your schedule’s like.
Back n Black bitches.
Comment by SevenEleventy on 7/11 @ 12:56 pm #
England Dan and John Ford Coley
Comment by Education Guy on 7/11 @ 12:57 pm #
Since I feel as if I’m among friends I can admit to having “Sundown” on my iPod. Also some Bruce Cockburn. Which I’m having looked at.
And no, they are not necessarily gay. They are Canadian. Common mistake.
Comment by Jeff G. on 7/11 @ 12:57 pm #
I have half a mind to start a band that does covers of all those great forgotten seventies tunes.
On my birthday a few years back, I hopped on stage and did Chevy Van with whatever bar band happened to be playing at the time. Surprisingly, they remembered the song after I sang a little bit of it.
I pretty much sucked, but I had fun. Almost as much fun as the time I sang “Mandy” at a biker bar. Got a standing o for that one.
Comment by Dewclaw on 7/11 @ 12:57 pm #
Didn’t Mark Andes play base with Jay Ferguson? I met Mark when he lived in Boulder and I was working at a health food store there.
Mark later played base for Heart, among MANY others.
A very nice guy.
Comment by Jeff G. on 7/11 @ 12:59 pm #
England Dan and John Ford Coley are also all over my iPod. I love their cover of Todd Rundgren’s “Love is the Answer,” among others.
Comment by lee on 7/11 @ 12:59 pm #
I just hope no one here has the Village People on their IPod.
That might be more than I can take.
Comment by Jeff G. on 7/11 @ 12:59 pm #
EG –
How can you NOT have “Sundown.” Or “Early Morning Rain,” for that matter.
Comment by Karl on 7/11 @ 1:00 pm #
I saw AC/DC a while back. Went with a couple I met in school. The wife is from England, so my favorite part of the show may have been that — while she liked the band well enough — she had no idea of what a gathering of thousands of AC/DC fans would be like.
Comment by Dewclaw on 7/11 @ 1:00 pm #
Karl,
I was afraid of that.
I saw a Styx video recently, and seeing that replacement guy in his sequined Captain Stubbing jacket singing Lady was very depressing.
Comment by Jeff G. on 7/11 @ 1:01 pm #
If Alan O’Day does “Undercover Angel,” I have that on my iPod, too. Under 70s music. I have most of the “Have a Nice Day” set.
And yeah, I have David Soul on there, as well. Come and knock this battery off my shoulder. I DARE YOU!
Comment by Karl on 7/11 @ 1:01 pm #
At my regular web gig, I annually make a big deal of the anniversary of the wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald.
Comment by BJTex on 7/11 @ 1:03 pm #
OK, finally, I really liked Fogelberg. Good song writer, great musician and excellent singer.
One of the best live shows I ever saw was Dan and his band (One Trick Pony? Karl?) at Tanglewood in bucolic Western Mass in 1975. Except…We arrived at the show and it was announced that his band wouldn’t be playing. He came out and grumped that the good folks at Tanglewood determined that his band was “too loud,” which ticked him off to no end.
He procceded to perform for over three hours, three encores (I think) playing piano and multiple guitars, including classical instrumentals. He was in beautiful voice and it was one of the most enjoyable, most professional shows I have ever seen. I was only pissed aboput the fact that I didn’t have a date that night because it would have been, how you say, in the bag.
I’ve performed “Longer” at a couple of weddings and shed a tear when he died of prostate cancer. A real folk/rock giant.
I’ll take the slings and arrows for $1000, Alex.
Comment by Karl on 7/11 @ 1:03 pm #
One of my friends was subjected to a England Dan and John Ford Coley concert at his school. It still gives him the shakes, even worse that Hamilton, Joe Frank & Reynolds.
Comment by Jeff G. on 7/11 @ 1:05 pm #
Tommy Shaw is doing a lot of the lead vocals for Styx now, I hear. In fact, to my surprise, I learned recently that they’ve put out several albums in the last decade.
Another band to look up, for those of you who like a bit of the soft rock/folk, is Pure Prairie League. Everyone remembers “Aimee,” but “Boulder Skies” is one of my favorite tunes.
Comment by Jeff G. on 7/11 @ 1:06 pm #
Okay. Off to listen to “This Old Cowboy” from Marshall Tucker Band. To make sure my balls are still attached.
Comment by Dewclaw on 7/11 @ 1:07 pm #
Dobie Gray – Drift Away
Comment by Education Guy on 7/11 @ 1:09 pm #
Amen Jeff. “If You Could Read My Mind” is another Lightfoot must have.
Comment by Dewclaw on 7/11 @ 1:11 pm #
For Album Rock… you can’t do any better than Kansas.
My favs are their less popular songs, like “Play the Game Tonight,” “Chasing Shadows,” and “The Pinnacle.”
Comment by Karl on 7/11 @ 1:12 pm #
BJTexs,
IIRC, Fogelberg’s backup was Fool’s Gold.
Comment by Dewclaw on 7/11 @ 1:13 pm #
Did I really post “base” instead of “bass?” (i.e. post 128)
~sadly leaves to turn in rock cred~
Comment by Karl on 7/11 @ 1:14 pm #
Ace of Bass.
Comment by Dewclaw on 7/11 @ 1:15 pm #
Heh
Comment by Pablo on 7/11 @ 1:16 pm #
Gilbert O’Sullivan. Top that.
Comment by Dewclaw on 7/11 @ 1:16 pm #
Kool and the Gang
Comment by BJTex on 7/11 @ 1:17 pm #
Thanks Karl! I only saw him solo so I never got to hear his band. I had heard that they were pretty decent.
One of the highlights of my life was performing “Leader of the Band” for my father. He cried, I cried and my older brother told us to stop, we were embarrassing him.
Good times…
EG: While Gordon Lightfoot was a disappointment live, never be embarrassed to have him on your IPod. Karl, you did a great tribute here on the “Wreck.”
Right now I’m a little obsessed with “Nickle Creek” which takes me completely out of this genre discussion.
Comment by Karl on 7/11 @ 1:17 pm #
Michael Martin Murphy.
Comment by happyfeet on 7/11 @ 1:19 pm #
Y’all are so those guys from The Big Chill.
Comment by Dewclaw on 7/11 @ 1:20 pm #
Lindsay Lohan. TOP THAT!!!
(not really)
Comment by SevenEleventy on 7/11 @ 1:20 pm #
Henry Gross
Comment by BJTex on 7/11 @ 1:20 pm #
Pablo: Didn’t we do a “bad song thread” about a year and a half ago that ran over 400 comments? I remember the tears streaming down my face and the dizziness from the non stop laughing.
Comment by SevenEleventy on 7/11 @ 1:21 pm #
Rupert John’s Sad Eyes
Comment by Dewclaw on 7/11 @ 1:23 pm #
OK… Rupert is very gay. You win.
Comment by Karl on 7/11 @ 1:23 pm #
1. Hey, I brought the Mountain Goats;
2. Who is it that gets all of hf’s Madonna allusions? Me.
3. I’m really more a Diner guy. Don’t touch my records.
4. Really, who can get through the day without a juicy rationalization?
Comment by happyfeet on 7/11 @ 1:24 pm #
Oh. Touchy. I just felt left out is all.
Comment by Karl on 7/11 @ 1:25 pm #
Rupert Holmes, otoh, is not gay, just adulterous.
Comment by Karl on 7/11 @ 1:26 pm #
hf,
Between the Madge and the Rufus, I would think you would be enjoying everyone’s feminine side. ;-)
Comment by Dewclaw on 7/11 @ 1:27 pm #
Karl. PLEASE. Look at the video for “Sad Eyes” and tell he me he is not a rump ranger…
Comment by happyfeet on 7/11 @ 1:27 pm #
I try to check out your “regular gig” once a week or so. That’s an amazing amount of work you do really. So for real, I know you are a lot au courant. Dazzlingly au courant really.
Comment by happyfeet on 7/11 @ 1:28 pm #
Oh. I was kind of figuring no one would really get that cigarettes and chocolate milk thing anyway. Busted.
Comment by Karl on 7/11 @ 1:28 pm #
And I’m cool with talking good and bad music from the past few decades, but immediately spotted the McCain ABBA thing as eminently within the pw sphere.
Comment by SevenEleventy on 7/11 @ 1:29 pm #
Actually Henry Gross is mega-gay, Shannon.
Comment by Dewclaw on 7/11 @ 1:29 pm #
Oh. Robert John. My bad.
Comment by B Moe on 7/11 @ 1:29 pm #
Another band to look up, for those of you who like a bit of the soft rock/folk, is Pure Prairie League. Everyone remembers “Aimee,†but “Boulder Skies†is one of my favorite tunes.
“I’ll Fix Your Flat Tire, Merle” was one of my faves. Did you know Vince Gill was in that band?
Comment by Karl on 7/11 @ 1:30 pm #
hf,
I see my regular gig as sorta Bizarro-world Instapundit.
Comment by happyfeet on 7/11 @ 1:32 pm #
I wish you would make your name orangey really. Claude gets pushed down my bookmarks sometimes and then I have to rediscover it.
Comment by Pablo on 7/11 @ 1:33 pm #
Robert John is not gay. Rupert Holmes would fuck anything with a pulse. These Swedes are not gay. And yet, this will gladly blow you in the nearest men’s room. Yes, it is a mystery.
Comment by BJTex on 7/11 @ 1:35 pm #
BMOE: Vince Gill was in Pure Prairie League???? Holy crackers you just caused a mini explosion inside my head.
Did he do all of the tasty lead acoustic guitar work?
Comment by Karl on 7/11 @ 1:36 pm #
hf,
The orangey is mostly a function of when I’m signed in to post stuff.
Pablo,
The Blue Swede I find preferable even to the original BJ Thomas. It’s all about the ooga-chuckas.
Comment by MarkD on 7/11 @ 1:40 pm #
Afternoon Delight indeed. Not only do I have the album, yes on vinyl, but I could name the song on the B side of the single, which I actually liked better. There’s a group that faded fast.
Comment by BJTex on 7/11 @ 1:43 pm #
Pablo: I’m pretty sure that you’ve committed a “Crime Against Humanity.” (ooga chaka)
This, on the other hand, is more retarded geh.
Comment by Karl on 7/11 @ 1:44 pm #
As for being au courant, a friend probably came closer in calling me “a gushing firehose of pop culture trivia.”
Comment by happyfeet on 7/11 @ 1:46 pm #
It’s so not trivial. I really believe that. But then I would.
Comment by SevenEleventy on 7/11 @ 1:47 pm #
“Silly Love Songs”! I couldn’t bring myself to link it.
Comment by Karl on 7/11 @ 1:49 pm #
The Starland Vocal Band landed their own short-lived CBS variety series,which featured a then-unknown David Letterman.
Comment by Jeff G. on 7/11 @ 1:50 pm #
First of all, while Pablo was typing, I was outside on the phone talking to Tony C, and “Alone Again Naturally” by Gilbert O’ Sullivan came up, along with “I Believe in Music” by Gallery. Both on the iPod.
Secondly, Robert Johns did said eyes. Rupert Holmes did the Pina Colada Song. Both on the iPod.
Right now I think I’ll go download Jack Wagner’s “All I Need,” then go outside and kill a rabbit with my teeth to make up for it.
Comment by SevenEleventy on 7/11 @ 1:50 pm #
Boogie Till You Puke
Comment by Karl on 7/11 @ 1:51 pm #
In the summer, I’m more of a “Jet” guy. In fact, this week’s cutout bin features a “Jet” cover from Big Dipper.
Comment by SarahW on 7/11 @ 1:51 pm #
The best vintage goofy Swedes disco party you have ever seen. And you WILL be gay by the end of it. Klicka Thar!
Comment by B Moe on 7/11 @ 1:52 pm #
Did he do all of the tasty lead acoustic guitar work?
He joined in the late 70s, not really sure what albums he played on.
Comment by Karl on 7/11 @ 1:52 pm #
IIRC, I have “I Believe in Music†by Gallery on a K-Tel compilation with that title from back in the day.
Comment by Pablo on 7/11 @ 1:53 pm #
Karl, with much respect to BJ Thomas, I concur.
Comment by SevenEleventy on 7/11 @ 1:56 pm #
John Paul Young’s Love is in the air. I still think Henry Gross is giga-gay.
Comment by Karl on 7/11 @ 1:56 pm #
BTW, the cutout bin this week also has a cover of “Jimmy Loves Maryann,” plus selections from the Bay City Rollers, Hot Chocolate and… Whiskeytown (for you Ryan Adams fans).
Comment by Karl on 7/11 @ 1:57 pm #
The John Paul Young thing puts me right back at the roller-rink.
Comment by Pablo on 7/11 @ 2:01 pm #
BJ, this is a crime against humanity. But I apologize for the Hasselhoff.
Comment by SevenEleventy on 7/11 @ 2:01 pm #
The Lion Sleeps Tonight. Henry Gross may be tetra-gay.
Comment by Karl on 7/11 @ 2:04 pm #
Pablo, that BCR leads the cutout bin.
Comment by Karl on 7/11 @ 2:05 pm #
Then again, I have a weakness for anything that sounds like cheerleaders.
Comment by cranky-d on 7/11 @ 2:09 pm #
Bay City Rollers? Before I check, I expect to be dancing to the rock and roll of Saturday Night.
Comment by cranky-d on 7/11 @ 2:14 pm #
Spot on.
Comment by Dewclaw on 7/11 @ 2:18 pm #
Karl,
Toni Basil?
Comment by BJTex on 7/11 @ 2:20 pm #
Pablo: That’s Crime Against All Living Things!™
However, almost universally considered the worse song evah, beyond crime or teh gey is this.
I condemn myself in advance.
Comment by Dewclaw on 7/11 @ 2:20 pm #
Tetra-ghey x 1000:
Olivia Newton John and ELO signing “Xanadu.”
… and I LIKE ELO.
~shudder~
Comment by Karl on 7/11 @ 2:21 pm #
Dewclaw,
Of course. Did you know she did the video for the Talking Heads’ “Once in a Lifetime?” And choreographed the hop in American Grafitti?
Also The Cars’ “Let’s Go.”
Currently the Ting Tings’ “That’s Not My Name.”
Comment by Karl on 7/11 @ 2:22 pm #
Also, if you like ELO, check the cutout bin track from Apples In Stereo. Their latest album is vocoderiffic.
Comment by Karl on 7/11 @ 2:25 pm #
BJTexs,
MacArthur Park was written by the then boy-genius Jimmy Webb, who also wrote “Up, Up & Away,” “Wichita Lineman,” “By the Time I Get to Phoenix” and many more.
Comment by SevenEleventy on 7/11 @ 2:27 pm #
The Last Farewell by Roger “Buttdart” Whitaker, a lot teh gay.
Comment by Karl on 7/11 @ 2:31 pm #
the start of some Roger Whittaker song about a ship leaving England used to be the station ID for WGN before it was a superstation.
Comment by Dewclaw on 7/11 @ 2:37 pm #
Karl, you are exploding my brain with all this trivia.
You truly are the Cliff Claven of music…
“NORM!”
Comment by Pablo on 7/11 @ 2:38 pm #
Oh, come on! Why Roger Whittaker gotta be a homo? Dude was fixing to go off and die in the war. Kinda like Billy, who did indeed go be a hero.
Comment by BJTex on 7/11 @ 2:40 pm #
I knew that, Karl. He’s an extemely talented songwriter, one of the giants.
My assumption was it was either bad pad acid or a three day bender in Tijuana that made him write that incoherent muddle of pop nonsense. The cake metaphor is the funniest “not meant to be funny” image of all time. Unrequited love, indeed.
Comment by Karl on 7/11 @ 2:43 pm #
BJTexs,
Webb is famous for not wanting to discuss MacArthur Park, but from what I have heard from him over the years, it’s actually autobiographical and not nearly as trippy-poetic as most think.
Comment by BJTex on 7/11 @ 2:43 pm #
Don’t go there, Pablo, if you have an ounce of mercy in your soul.
Karl, I bow to you and your knowledge of pop culture, especially music.
Comment by Jonas on 7/11 @ 2:45 pm #
McCain isn’t doing anything maverick here. People have been making “brave ABBA confessions” since the ’70s, when people like Elvis Costello and Pete Townshend declared their affection for the group’s music.
And rightly so: ABBA’s best stuff is utter pop perfection. (There’s a lot of dross and filler in there too, but so it is with any prolific act.) Those harmonies and melodies were yummy enough to eat. So was Agnetha Faltskog. Christ, I’d tear into those platform boots and sequined skirt like there’s no tomorrow. Luscious little blondie, mmm mmm mmm.
Comment by SevenEleventy on 7/11 @ 2:45 pm #
Pablo, we are joking around, aren’t we? Sorry if I offended anyone!
Comment by BJTex on 7/11 @ 2:47 pm #
I would agree with that, having heard him say something to that effect. It’s a combination of the pretencious chord changes, Harris’ thin, dewy voice and the strange imagery that, rolled together, makes it so deliciously awful.
Comment by Karl on 7/11 @ 2:48 pm #
This is not unlike what most Fridays would have been for me in college. Hanging with my friend who ran the local record store, “High Fidelity” style, except also drinking in the store.
Comment by Jonas on 7/11 @ 2:51 pm #
He’s right, by the way: Apples in Stereo is a great band. Occasionally a little twee, but consistently, marvelously well-crafted.
Comment by Dewclaw on 7/11 @ 2:56 pm #
High Fidelity is an awesome movie.
Kindred spirits, and all that. :)
Comment by BJTex on 7/11 @ 2:57 pm #
I can’t decide if this is Teh Geh, which is scaring me.
Comment by Jeff G. on 7/11 @ 2:58 pm #
Bo Donaldson and the Heywoods. And then, Paper Lace. Some friends and I used to get hammered at parties and do Billy Don’t Be a Hero and the Night Chicago Died back to back.
But let us not forget the brilliance that was Pilot. Or Nick Lowe, whose Cruel to be Kind had a resurgence thanks to 10 Things I Hate About You.
Make me stop. Please, I beg of you. LOOKING GLASS!
Comment by Karl on 7/11 @ 2:58 pm #
I find it very strange that what definitely sounds like a cover of the Apples In Stereo’s “Powerpuff Girls Theme” is in that new phone commercial, when the little screen says Apples In Stereo.
Comment by Clint on 7/11 @ 3:00 pm #
While using the Yahoo online music thing, I specifically learned the first few notes to two songs so that I could change/skip them as quickly as possible.
Nick Lachey and Paris Hilton.
I’ve got A-ha on mine, so whatever that might say.
Comment by Karl on 7/11 @ 3:02 pm #
Paper Lace also covered “Billy, Don’t Be A Hero,” which is like crossing the streams.
Pilot’s “Magic” was produced by Alan Parsons.
Nick Lowe is fabulous. Before the hit version of “Cruel,” his Jesus of Cool record (Pure Pop for Now People in the US) is the bomb. And recently reissued on CD, iirc.
Comment by BJTex on 7/11 @ 3:02 pm #
Perhaps a snifter of Brandy?
Comment by Karl on 7/11 @ 3:03 pm #
Also, The Service (mentioned upthread) used to do an incredible cover of “Brandy,” like Exile-era Stones would have done it.
Plus: The Sweet.
Comment by BJTex on 7/11 @ 3:04 pm #
Speaking of the pure definition of “one hit wonders.”
Comment by BJTex on 7/11 @ 3:07 pm #
Karl: Brandy is actually a really fun song to play. I used to sit in with a friend of mine who did gigs around town to do that and a couple of other chestnuts. It’s got some really cool chord progressions done pretty fast.
Comment by Karl on 7/11 @ 3:07 pm #
I missed BJT’s earlier link to Yusuf Islam. I still have some residual fondness for a few, though I perefer the Tremeloes’ take on “Here Comes My Baby.”
Comment by Karl on 7/11 @ 3:11 pm #
Technically, Looking Glass was a two-hit wonder (the aforementioned “Jimmy Loves Maryann” being the other).
The Sweet had at least three — “Ballroom Blitz,” “Fox on the Run” and “Little Willy (more cowbell).” “Action” also got airplay, but I don’t recalll how high it charted.
The Service’s “Brandy” would enlist the audience for the back-up vocals. And the “rage and glory” would become a “raging something else.”
Once I saw the service give away a bag from McDonalds to a member of the audience who could sing them through the first verse of “Come sail Away” (laaaaad.)
Comment by BJTex on 7/11 @ 3:13 pm #
Well that Cat Steven’s song was what was refered to in the day as the “layin for a layin’” song. Leonard Cohen, Boz Scaggs, Randy Newman’s “Marie”, James Taylor, Paul Simon.
Never underestimate the power of the acoustic guitar and voice.
Comment by Karl on 7/11 @ 3:13 pm #
Clint,
a-Ha was (and sorta still is) big in Europe. I once read a music blogger diss them and a horde of a-Ha heads descended on her.
Comment by Karl on 7/11 @ 3:15 pm #
So true, even though in the back of my mind, I always picture Belushi taking Bishop’s guitar and going all Townshend with it.
Comment by Pablo on 7/11 @ 3:17 pm #
SevenEleventy, kidding yes, offended no.
The Chili Peppers do a sweet cover of Brandy.
Comment by BJTex on 7/11 @ 3:19 pm #
Hah, Karl! I was thinking about the Belushi/Bishop bit as I wrote that comment.
I had forgotten about “Jimmy Loves Maryann” and I don’t remember it being that big. I must say those guys had a good grove and were playing a lot of jazz chords in their music.
Must hit the road. I’ll check back later.
Comment by Karl on 7/11 @ 3:20 pm #
The RHCP also did a fab cover of “Crosstown Traffic.”
Comment by Clint on 7/11 @ 3:22 pm #
Karl,
As Type O Negative printed on their liner notes to “Bloody Kisses” – “Do not mistake lack of talent for genius.”
And I think the entire Pop genre since about 1990 is a testament that being popular has nothing to do with ability.
That said, STP’s “Creep” is currently playing in my ears.
Comment by Karl on 7/11 @ 3:23 pm #
“”Jimmy Loves Maryann” hit #28 in the fall of 1973. And I must skedaddle for a bit now also.
Comment by Karl on 7/11 @ 3:24 pm #
I prefer “Interstate Love Song” or “Vaseline,” but must away now.
Comment by Dewclaw on 7/11 @ 3:25 pm #
Adios, Sultan of Seismic Rock Utterings….
:)
Comment by The Lost Dog on 7/11 @ 3:27 pm #
Jeff,
But are you man enough to admit that you like Michael Bolton?
I happen to like him because his real name is Michael Bolotin, and he used to be my hash dealer.
Comment by SarahW on 7/11 @ 3:29 pm #
“Pure Pop for Now People in the US”
Oh lord, did I play my copy to death.
Nick Lowe is still a fave in the present day.
Comment by The Lost Dog on 7/11 @ 3:30 pm #
Oh yeah.
Anybody remember “Afalafagah”?
Hint: Soupy Sales.
Comment by SarahW on 7/11 @ 3:35 pm #
TLD – that is really freaky man. For some reason I was just now thinking about Soupy Sales and the “go get the green stuff from Mommy’s purse” debacle. Seriously.
Comment by Karl on 7/11 @ 3:53 pm #
I’m back, intermittently.
Comment by Karl on 7/11 @ 4:03 pm #
…and now I can get my mitts on Billboard’s Book of Top 40 hits.
Corrections: “Jimmy Loves Maryann” only made it to #33.
The Sweet had 5 top 40 hits
Little Willy, #3 (3/17/73)
Ballroom Blitz, #5 (8/2/75)
Fox on the Run, #5 (11/22/75)
Action, #20 (3/6/76)
and
Love Is Like Oxygen, #8 (4/15/78)
Comment by Pablo on 7/11 @ 4:18 pm #
Love is Like Oxygen is a great rock and roll song, as is the RHCP’s cover of Higher Ground.
Has anyone mentioned The Raspberries yet?
Comment by Slartibartfast on 7/11 @ 4:22 pm #
Love is like oxygen. Sometimes, when there’s too much of it, it can incinerate your entire space capsule.
Comment by Slartibartfast on 7/11 @ 4:27 pm #
Here ya go. 80’s synth-pop at its finest.
Comment by Slartibartfast on 7/11 @ 4:31 pm #
Men without chairs.
Comment by Karl on 7/11 @ 4:44 pm #
Pablo,
The Raspberries no, though someone took a swipe at Eric Carmen’s “All by Myself” early in the thread. But “Go All the Way” and “I Wanna Be With You” are pure gold, imho. Like Orbison fronting the Fab Four.
Comment by Karl on 7/11 @ 4:45 pm #
Slart,
“Don’t You Forget About Me” has some the most dead-on drumming in modern pop.
Comment by Slartibartfast on 7/11 @ 4:55 pm #
Would you prefer death by Squeeze, or by Stranglers?
Comment by Slartibartfast on 7/11 @ 4:55 pm #
Oh, I like Simple Minds well enough, Karl. I just think ’80s pop videos were…well, whatever they were, it didn’t translate well into a couple of decades later.
Comment by SevenEleventy on 7/11 @ 5:03 pm #
Boney M’s Rivers of Babylon
Comment by Jeff G. on 7/11 @ 5:09 pm #
When I found out the lead singer of Looking Glass was white, I was shocked.
Anybody else have Feliciano’s “Chico and the Man” on their iPod? I have that, John Sebastian’s “Welcome Back Kotter,” Bob James’ Taxi Theme (which is called something else, a chick’s name, I think — too lazy to Google, “Angela”, maybe?), and the themes to Hill Street Blues and Rockford Files.
Comment by SevenEleventy on 7/11 @ 5:11 pm #
Chris Rea’s Fool(if you think it’s over)
Comment by Smirky McChimp on 7/11 @ 5:16 pm #
Good Christ, I leave a thread that was all about proper ABBA-hate and come back and everyone’s waxing nostalgic about mewling 70’s pop like they’re auditioning to be in the opening sequence of Reservoir Dogs. The fact that I own a copy of Sweet’s “Desolation Boulevard” on vinyl spares none of you my scorn. None.
I’m gonna go listen to Raw Power and reflect on how people will listen to anything if there’s a hot chick involved.
Comment by Slartibartfast on 7/11 @ 5:18 pm #
Oh, that’s a classic, 7-11ty. I like Rea’s later stuff ok, but that’s kinda ’70s cringeworthy.
Comment by SevenEleventy on 7/11 @ 5:24 pm #
I bought a CD, Hard to Find 45s on CD. Here’s a few that are equally cringeworthy:
Last Song by Edward Bear
Love Really Hurts Without You by Billy Ocean
My Angel Baby by Toby Beau
Ebony Eyes by Bob Welch
Driver’s Seat by Sniff ‘N’ the Tears
Beautiful Sunday by Daniel Boone
Which Way You Going Billy by The Poppy Family
Comment by McGehee on 7/11 @ 7:06 pm #
Toot toot, haaaaaaa, beep-beep!
Comment by Karl on 7/11 @ 7:30 pm #
Smirky,
“Search and Destroy” is also in the cutout bin this week.
SevenEleventy,
“Driver’s Seat” is excellent. It can be heard in “Boogie Nights” iirc.
Comment by Jonas on 7/11 @ 7:45 pm #
I’m gonna go listen to Raw Power and reflect on how people will listen to anything if there’s a hot chick involved.
Well, in ABBA’s case, the hot chick (occasionally chicks, depending on the redhead’s hair style) was just a bonus. The real music magic was created by the two dudes. Or, at least, the one who wrote all the melodies. Bjorn or Benny, can’t recall which is which. That guy and their studio engineer, actually.
Comment by Pablo on 7/11 @ 8:36 pm #
Hell, yes. That may be the most infectious groove in the pop rock pantheon, and the black dude’s backing vocal is classic. I’ll also stick up for Ebony Eyes, but I’m gonna leave Last Song to Jeff. He’ll probably have to find a wolf to bugger after that one. If I’m gonna get squishy, I’ll stick with Rod Stewart and maintain some hope of respecting myself in the morning.
Comment by Slartibartfast on 7/11 @ 8:36 pm #
Fuck it all, Sniff n the Tears is a great band. Drivers Seat is probably the worst song on that album.
Comment by dorkafork on 7/11 @ 8:38 pm #
You come in to look for a king, anybody could be that guy, night is young and the music’s high..
Comment by Pablo on 7/11 @ 8:53 pm #
#259 Slart
Really? I don’t think I’ve heard anything else from them. What songs stand out?
Comment by happyfeet on 7/11 @ 8:56 pm #
brilliant, dorkafork. And that smile is infectious.
Pingback by The Female Privilege Checklist [Karl] on 7/12 @ 9:07 am #
[...] natch. I suppose I could add one about how women will never have their sexuality questioned for loving ABBA, but the main point here is to raise the profile of said checklists, because of the patriarchy. [...]
Comment by Swen Swenson on 7/12 @ 9:33 am #
I’m amazed no one has mentioned Pricilla! Yes, I’ll admit it’s one of my favorite movies, thus proving my ultimate manliness. Every gay cliche ever known. But they wouldn’t be cliche if they weren’t terribly true.
Comment by Slartibartfast on 7/12 @ 9:46 am #
Pablo, “popular” and “good” are not interchangeable. But you don’t need me to tell you that.
New Lines On Love is quite good. Also The Thrill Of It All. Slide Away would have been their biggest hit, in a better world. Driver’s Seat did have good hooks, though, and that’s what sells songs.
I used to have a recording of the whole album lying around, or possibly even the album itself. I’ll have to rifle my vinyl collection and see if I can transcribe it to digital. It’s one of those pieces that I never got tired of listening to.
Comment by Slartibartfast on 7/12 @ 9:53 am #
Back to ABBA, though…spawn of Abba.
They did have teh ghey thing all locked down, though. The really remarkable thing about ABBA is there are several tribute/lookalike bands that, according to their websites, make a fair living at touring and doing ABBA’s material.
Pingback by Found it on 8/29 @ 4:47 pm #
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