Comments on: Whatever happened to really silly pop songs?

By: neo-neocon

neo-neocon — Sun, 27 Jun 2010 21:24:22 +0000

Nancy: “innocence” is of course a relative term. The culture of the 50s, when things were more hidden, did in fact enable children to grow up without the constant overt sexual stimulation and references (some of them of the exploitative sort) they must deal with today. I am assuming that did not grow up during that era or earlier, but most who did realize that in fact there was a great deal more opportunity for children to preserve a relative sexual innocence until they were old enough to handle sexual information and acitivity better.

As far as Cocaine Lil, etc. goes, these were not songs played regularly in front of children in the mainstream culture and watched by them on TV, like today’s music is.

By: Nancy

Nancy — Sun, 27 Jun 2010 21:11:45 +0000

Hi neo-neocon, thanks for the reply. You have some good points.

It is true that things are more out in the open nowadays. And I personally like how in the past songwriters hid ideas in metaphor, allusion, allegory, etc. However, I am not sure I agree with your interpretation of hidden reference:

“When such messages must be hidden, and many people don’t get the reference, that is evidence that the age is more innocent.”

I think when things are hidden or “in the closet,” it’s not necessarily a sign of innocence; it very well could be a sign of oppression (lack of freedom of speech) or heavy social constraints.

In any case, there was plenty of stuff that was quite “out in the open” in the past…for example, these ballads from late 1800s and early 1900s: Cocaine Lil, Morphine Sue, Blacksnake Moan, etc.

By: neo-neocon

neo-neocon — Sun, 27 Jun 2010 17:49:05 +0000

Nancy: neither joking nor naive. Hidden messages known only to the few who “get” them would only go to prove my point. When such messages must be hidden, and many people don’t get the reference, that is evidence that the age is more innocent.

No age, of course, is completely innocent, nor even close to it. Sex, drugs, and the equivalent of rock and roll have always existed, as has pornography, one of the oldest phenomena on earth. But now all these things are out in the open—take the lyrics of rap music as an example—for all to see and/or hear, including young children. This was most definitely not true in the Fifties, the era of nearly all the songs in this post.

By: Nancy

Nancy — Sun, 27 Jun 2010 17:14:30 +0000

You refer to the present moment as a “this far less innocent age.” Maybe you are joking or just naive — who knows. But the pop tunes in the past tended to be explore rather taboo themes, too, like sex and drugs. Take the song, “Hold Tight” by Fats Waller. It’s about oral sex, even if many didn’t get it at the time. And form the 1800s onward there are no shortage of songs about cocaine, morphine, murder, sex, etc.

By: Chainsaw

Chainsaw — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 04:05:48 +0000

I think there are more novelty songs than there ever were – starting with the eighties independent recording boom, and with the internet afterwards.

What there isn’t any more is a monolithic culture that all finds the same things funny in lockstep. For some of us, “Anarchy In The U.K.” was a novelty song – stupid, funny, and ultimately pointless. For others, it was an absolutely serious call to a new way of life. Does Jonathan Coulton do novelty songs? Was the Fast Food Rockers’ “Pizza Hut” a novelty song or just a particularly crass pop song? And what of the entire “lounge” movement?

The conditions for novelty hits haven’t really existed since the advent of narrowcasting in the Seventies, which is when Dr. Demento got started playing ONLY novelties, while they got squeezed out of increasingly specific radio playlists.

By: dustbury.com » Too cute to survive

dustbury.com » Too cute to survive — Sat, 22 Nov 2008 03:45:34 +0000

[...] The one they call neo-neocon laments the loss of the novelty song: [...]

By: Bugs

Bugs — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 18:34:51 +0000

Off the top of my pointy head:

They’re Red Hot by Robert Johnson
Hold that Tiger by The Mills Brothers
Rag Mop by The Mills Brothers
Hold Tight Hold Tight (Want Some Seafood Mama) by the Andrews Sisters
Flat Foot Floogie by Fats Waller
Your Feet’s Too Big by Fats Waller
Minnie the Moocher by Cab Calloway
How Much is That Doggie in the Window? by Doris Day
My Ding-a-Ling by Chuck Berry
Ahab the Arab by Ray Stevens
The Streak by Ray Stevens
Convoy by CW McCall
Telephone Man by Meri Wilson
On the Cover of the Rolling Stone by Dr. Hook
Faraway Eyes by The Rolling Stones
Get Dancin by Disco Tex and the Sex-o-Lettes
Disco Duck by Rick Dees
YMCA by The Village People
In the Navy by The Village People
Boogie Shoes by KC & The Sunshine Band
Valley Girl by Frank & Moon Zappa
Dancin’ Fool by Frank Zappa
Basketball Jones feat. Tyrone Shoelaces by Cheech & Chong
Star Wars Theme/Cantina Band by Meco
Istanbul by The Four Lads (and They Might Be Giants)
Shaddap You Face by Joe Dolce
Anything by Southern Culture on the Skids

By: Eric R.

Eric R. — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 23:06:09 +0000

I can’t help but note that as a therapist, you did not put on your list the all time novelty song champ:

“They’re Coming to Take Me Away”.

By: Lucy

Lucy — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 22:59:29 +0000

I lived next door to Lee Pockriss who wrote both Itsy Bitsy Teeny Weeny Yellow Polka Dot Bikini and Johnny Angel. Polar opposite of his songs.

By: nilk

nilk — Sat, 23 Aug 2008 09:45:41 +0000

Drive-by commenting here.

Gitarzan and Boogie-Woogie Amputee are my never-fails.