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Random ponderings on various old tunes
I've been listening to a bunch of my old CDs, and there are lots of bits I hadn't noticed before. Or, in the case of the Kiss Me Kate soundtrack, I'd noticed before but then forgotten all about.
First up, "The Best Of The Rat Pack". Perhaps I'm being silly, but isn't there a rather unpleasant undercurrent in those live recordings? In Swedish I'd use the word "olustigt", but "unpleasant is about as close as English will get. The banter between Frank and Dean feels chummy and is pretty amusing, but there's a rather nasty edge to the banter aimed at Sammy Davis Jr. Can't quite put my finger on it, but I've started skipping them when those tunes crop up on my playlist.
Kiss Me Kate, on the other hand, is an entirely different matter. Great tunes, fun lyrics... but is it just me, or are they really mucky when you actually listen to them? From Too Darn Hot, for instance:
Particularly when some productions sing "According to the Kinsey report"...
Or what about I Hate Men (which, by the way, contains the marvellous line "He may have hair upon his chest, but sister, so has Lassie"):
Some versions use instead "His business is the business that he gives his secretary", which sounds even more dubious....
But then we get to Always True To You (In My Fashion), which was obviously written on the assumption that the intermission would mark the watershed...
I don't get the Thorne bit, but the rest of it sounds pretty dodgy.
And then probably my favourite song from the whole show, just because I always liked the idea of tap-dancing gangsters:
Great tune, but sounds very dubious... Of course, it could just be that I've been around students for too long.
Anyway, moving on, how come I like such dreadful music? Really cheesy tunes, like "5, 6, 7, 8", "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go", "Follow Me", "Heaven Is A Half-Pipe" (which in addition quite explicitly glorifies drugs, but I don't mind because it's a fun, bouncy tune), "Achy BreakySong Heart" and so on. Okay, so much of the time I listen to Weird Al's versions instead, but still. Ah well, it's university. Cheese is good, right.
Well, at least in musical terms. Can't stand the dairy type.
First up, "The Best Of The Rat Pack". Perhaps I'm being silly, but isn't there a rather unpleasant undercurrent in those live recordings? In Swedish I'd use the word "olustigt", but "unpleasant is about as close as English will get. The banter between Frank and Dean feels chummy and is pretty amusing, but there's a rather nasty edge to the banter aimed at Sammy Davis Jr. Can't quite put my finger on it, but I've started skipping them when those tunes crop up on my playlist.
Kiss Me Kate, on the other hand, is an entirely different matter. Great tunes, fun lyrics... but is it just me, or are they really mucky when you actually listen to them? From Too Darn Hot, for instance:
According to the latest Report
Ev'ry average girl you know
Much prefers her lovely doggie to court
When the temperature is low,
Particularly when some productions sing "According to the Kinsey report"...
Or what about I Hate Men (which, by the way, contains the marvellous line "He may have hair upon his chest, but sister, so has Lassie"):
If thou shouldst wed a businessman, be wary, oh, be wary.
He'll tell you he's detained in town on business necessary,
His bus'ness is the bus'ness with his pretty secretary,
Some versions use instead "His business is the business that he gives his secretary", which sounds even more dubious....
But then we get to Always True To You (In My Fashion), which was obviously written on the assumption that the intermission would mark the watershed...
If a custom-tailored vet
Asks me out for something wet,
When the vet begins to pet, I cry "Hooray!"
...
What about that Mister Thorne
Calls you up from night 'til morn?
LOIS:
Mister Thorne once cornered corn and that ain't hay.
...
I could never curl my lip
At a dazzlin' diamond clip,
S'pose the clip meant "let 'er rip,"
I'd not say "Nay!"
I don't get the Thorne bit, but the rest of it sounds pretty dodgy.
And then probably my favourite song from the whole show, just because I always liked the idea of tap-dancing gangsters:
If your blonde won't respond when you flatter 'er
Tell her what Tony told Cleopaterer,
And if still, to be shocked, she pretends well,
Just remind her that "All's Well That Ends Well."
...
If your goil is a Washington Heights dream
Treat the kid to "A Midsummer Night Dream."
If she fights when her clothes you are mussing,
What are clothes? "Much Ado About Nussing."
If she says your behavior is heinous
Kick her right in the "Coriolanus."
Great tune, but sounds very dubious... Of course, it could just be that I've been around students for too long.
Anyway, moving on, how come I like such dreadful music? Really cheesy tunes, like "5, 6, 7, 8", "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go", "Follow Me", "Heaven Is A Half-Pipe" (which in addition quite explicitly glorifies drugs, but I don't mind because it's a fun, bouncy tune), "Achy Breaky
Well, at least in musical terms. Can't stand the dairy type.