Open Thread - Thurs 07 Sep 2023 - Music Rabbithole
A Music Rabbit Hole
When I started writing this open thread post I decided it would be about a rabbit hole into old music from my youth. But I forgot how, for me at least, much of the music I listened to when I was young was about or related to politics and social questions. Much of it... But not always all of it! Maybe that was true for all of us?
The rabbit hole started when I read about the death of Toto Cutugno. I don't remember where I learned of his passing, perhaps it was here? I had to go find the song... the song he was famous for, because parts of it suddenly sprung into my mind after 40 years or so. How? I dunno, but apparently I remember stuff from when I was young even if I only heard it when I was traveling in Europe so long ago (it was released in 1983).
Here's the song by Toto Cutugno: 'L'Italiano'. Sing or hum along if you suddenly remember it, dance around the house, the kitchen, where-ever.
So, for some reason, that sent me towards another foreign song, one that was very, very, very popular in Europe in the late 70's. That would be Ca Plane Pour Moi, by Plastic Bertrand, a guy from Belgium who didn't even sing for the recording - but who cares? Plastic Bertrand's version of the song in the video below rocks.
I remember this song from when I was about 15 or so. But, I remember another song using the same riff even more, probably because one of my favorite bands from the 80's (90's, 00's, 10's...) did it. Jet Boy, Jet Girl. (Warning, this song's lyrics are not for those bothered by sexual images. The videos have no images like that, but the lyrics do). The band I have loved for so long is The Damned. Here's a link to their version of the song. We are now into politics, or something like it, because Jet Boy, Jet Girl is about a teenaged boy, whose older, male, lover dumps him for a girl. I think, in the 70's, that was political - socially dangerous. In fact, the song was banned in the US in 1989. Too late to stop me listening!
Elton Motello, both a punk musician in the 1970's/80's, and a band!, did Jet Boy, Jet Girl as well. Here's a video of him singing the song, which is really good, and really weird!
Note that Plastic Bertrand appears in the above video!
While I was down this rabbit hole I received a mixtape in the mail that I'd ordered recently. The mixtape is on cassette, yes, a CASSETTE. A new one! It's a very limited edition (very, only 250 copies made? Something like that) that goes with the book The Fascist Groove Thing - about punk-anarcho-ska-whatever music in Thatcher's Britain (and after). It has about 20 songs on it, the book talks about way more than 20 songs, but the 20 songs on the tape were picked to feature the mixtapes the book discusses. I lived in Britain during a lot of Thatcher's early to mid years, in the north-east of England. I saw the marches, the strikes, the police brutality, the destruction of entire villages and industries, and all the rest. I had run away to Britain to escape Reagan's America. I was living in the west ghetto in Philly when I did so. But Thatcher's Britain was just as bad. Gads, I hated her and her Tories.
One of the songs on the mixtape is by Chumbawamba, a punk-anarcho-ska band which started in the early 80's and became famous in the 1990's for the song Tubthumping (click the link, you might remember that song!). The song on the tape is called Fitzwilliam, and is about the decline of a pit village (named Fitzwilliam, of course) which was the scene of a riot during the 1984-85 Miners' Strike. The song is very, very cool. It's obviously political, but the music is not very punk. There are no wild thrashing guitars, for instance. The music is Renaissance in flavor. It was recorded in 1985 and is very rare now (here's the discogs entry for the release (a compilation of various artists)), but there's a youtube of it.
The mixtape ends with a 2012 song by Attila the Stockbroker's Barnstormer (now known as Attila the Stockbroker) called Maggots 1, Maggie 0. Modern punk, kinda! It is more like a folk song/march and it's hilarious and I love it. Never heard it before I got the mixtape. I've always promised myself the next time I visit Britain I will dance on Thatcher's grave, and it'll be to this song (and the folk song called I'll dance on Your Grave, Mrs. Thatcher)!
So, what political/social songs and music influenced your youth, and influences you now? Can you, like me, remember lyrics you learned 40 years ago, almost immediately forgot, but once you hear part of the song they pop back into mind as fresh and vigorous as ever?
Thanks for reading and here's the open thread - and remember, everything is interesting if you dive deep enough, so tell us about where you're diving and what you're listening to or listened to once!
Comments
Good Thursday Everyone!
Hope your day, and week, have been going great! It's been pretty good here at the farm, got the onions harvested and processed, the garlic harvested and processed (except for chopping it up and freezing it). Leeks will be harvested soon, green and yellow beans are being picked by the bucketful. Hubby and I love them, so sometimes it seems they are eaten almost as fast as picked
. Still we've frozen pounds and pounds of them.
Enjoy the music, and tell us what's up with you! Love to hear it!
If you're poor now, my friend, then you'll stay poor.
These days, only the rich get given more. -- Martial book 5:81, c. AD 100 or so
Nothing ever changes -- Sima, c. AD 2020 or so
Good morning all
the rabbit hole music is interesting as I have never heard of any of it. Where was I
40 years ago? Oh, that's right - out on the oceans. Not much music to hear out there.
50 years ago, it was mostly political ballads, which I still enjoy in a nostalgic way.
Your garden harvest sounds very fruitful. Thanks for the OT!
Down the Rabbit Hole by Salvador Dali
Great picture, thanx for posting it.
be well and have a good one
That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --
yeah, this is from a private collection
date unknown, but Dali did have a way to transcribe concepts
into ethereal images. Hope your day is going better than the last.
Out on the oceans...
yep, the only music there would be the waves, the fish, the birds, and the motors, maybe the sails too - I remember those from when my Dad raced tiny sailing boats, right about then :). 50 year old political ballads rock too! I used to listen to a lot of those because my parents liked them. I do too
That's a great piece of art by Dali. I love it! Thank you!
If you're poor now, my friend, then you'll stay poor.
These days, only the rich get given more. -- Martial book 5:81, c. AD 100 or so
Nothing ever changes -- Sima, c. AD 2020 or so
Ahh, the memories.
This one really opened the floodgates for me as a songwriter- after hearing it, I got a lot more in-your-face with my own musical political statements. I owe Jello a debt of gratitude...
Twice bitten, permanently shy.
Great Video!
I can see owing Jello a lot. I was lucky in that, when I was young, I got to see the Dead Kennedys in a club in San Fran. Had no idea what I was listening to, at first, didn't even know who the band was. Then after the show was over, I was totally into that music. 'California Uber Alles', exactly!! I was a weird kid going to a catholic university who turned into a punk/goth after becoming a regular at the San Fran clubs. Were we all that weird? I bet we were!
If you're poor now, my friend, then you'll stay poor.
These days, only the rich get given more. -- Martial book 5:81, c. AD 100 or so
Nothing ever changes -- Sima, c. AD 2020 or so
Good morning Sima, very problematic for me to go there.
Besides, define your terms, political, youth, etc. And 40 years ago, late thirties, must've learned some songs then, but not like I did when I was young. In any event, we get rabbit warrens, many of them, connected and unconnected. So there's the whole woody guthrie, pete seeger, cisco houston scene, then the heirs like phil ochs, tom paxton, bob dylan, and all that, but, hey, tommy makim, clancy brothers and hordes of irelanders because we gots fambly history there, and the blues and work songs grouping, leadbelly, for example and down along the border, la cucharacha to carabina, and then, eventually on to country joe and the fish and the dead and airplane and quicksilver, And that doesn't include the volumes of wobbly songs, and a dose of rock or r&b if one knew where to listen, and, of course, reggae. There are, of course, songs of rebellion from all over the world and all throughout time.
So I spun the wheel and found
be well and have a good one
That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --
Your comment is a good one!
Maybe what happens, is we all memorize songs, etc, when at a certain age, and not so much later? I dunno. All those singers, song writers, bands you mentioned are ones I really like as well too. 'Political' music, all of it. My parents used to listen to a rather radical folk/country station in California when I was a young kid. So I got to hear Woody Guthrie, Pete Seeger, Tommy Makem, Clancy Brothers all the time. I have many of their albums/Cds and in my 40s-50s I dived down into their music as an adult, not a child. One kind of music that's 'modern' which I really like is the Sea Shanty music. I guess some online game made it popular, or something. No idea, I just listen to the music! That led me to a Canadian folk punk which is really good. The group is called the Dreadnoughts. Here's a song they wrote about the Northumbria, a ship built on the Tyne. The workers told the bosses she wouldn't do well, and she didn't :(.
Btw, I like where the wheel spinning stopped! Thanks for the video! 'You will never see an outlaw drive a family from their home...'
If you're poor now, my friend, then you'll stay poor.
These days, only the rich get given more. -- Martial book 5:81, c. AD 100 or so
Nothing ever changes -- Sima, c. AD 2020 or so
Good morning Sima, there were some sea chanty,s
in there too, but, oddly, from Alan Lomax's Book. Most I never heard performed, or at least not exactly as transcribed by Lomax, as if the performers were never recorded by anybody else, which could well be true.
be well and have a good one
That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --
I remember singing the song 'L'Italiano'.
ah, there were some good times to be had. Thanks for posting the song.
You are welcome!
Yep, that was a good song to sing, good times. Do you listen to Dritte Wahl or Fiddler's Green? Those are two groups from Germany which I really enjoy. One's punk, one's Celtic punk.
I hope you have a good weekend!
If you're poor now, my friend, then you'll stay poor.
These days, only the rich get given more. -- Martial book 5:81, c. AD 100 or so
Nothing ever changes -- Sima, c. AD 2020 or so
We are having a lovely picnic and I’m
sitting on a bench under a tree in a park like setting with just perfect weather. This is the life. I just need a beer to make it complete.
I’ve decided that dawgs have their taste buds in their stomach because how else can they know if they like what they are eating or even taste it since no matter the size they just swallow without chewing anything we give them so fast that there’s no way that they taste it. So it’s obvious that is where their taste buds are. Right?
Which AIPAC/MIC/pharma/bank bought politician are you going to vote for? Don’t be surprised when nothing changes.
makes sense
different species have various sensors in places which are unlikely
in others. Humankind may not be the norm.
Jaska sez...
after gulping down her favorite jerky chew, that her taste buds are definitely in her stomach! So I think you are on to something
Sounds like a great picnic. Spent the day pruning along the long driveway. For some reason, it was fun and very relaxing. Almost like a picnic!
If you're poor now, my friend, then you'll stay poor.
These days, only the rich get given more. -- Martial book 5:81, c. AD 100 or so
Nothing ever changes -- Sima, c. AD 2020 or so
Viet Nam dominated my
teens and early 20s. Lots of anti-war songs that I will never forget.
By the Reagan reign, I turned to classical music, mainly opera, couldn't listen to the tripe played on the radio here.
Sometimes songs bring me to a time, a place, people. So many of the people I knew when those songs were "our" songs are dead.
sigh...Especially the draftees. If they didn't die in Nam, they came home and died from Agent Orange.
Anyway, music should trigger us to remember, and never forget what we experienced.
Thanks for the OT, Sima.
"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981
Me too
...fortunately I missed the Vietnam war due to my college deferment. Most of my contemporaries from back then are either deceased, or I've lost contact with them. I read everything I could about the war. In government service, I had access to a lot of primary evidence related to the war. I met a lot of veterans and read their first hand accounts. I read a lot of the literature on the war at the time. The music was a big part of the experience. I resolved at some point, that I would not stay on duty unless I could go to Asia. In particular I looked at Korea as a challenge to understand, because the Vietnam war was over. I got a chance to go to South Korea and began studying. That was decades ago.
I remember John Lennon said, or at least it was attributed to him, "Life is what happens when you were planning something else."
My wife's friends just called from South Korea on KaKao talk. Ms So was in the shower. So I answered for laughs. They were surprised I could understand them. My blog (in English of course) mostly on Korean affairs all of sudden has some fans in Singapore. Hardly anyone went there before. I started it as a translation/analysis exercise about five years ago. I use it for a reference. I don't even update it anymore. Wonder who they are? My point is this interest all started with the Vietnam war thing. I should have studied Jung. If you find a purpose, don't give up. Something like that. Forgive my rambling OTC.
語必忠信 行必正直
Ramble on, soryang
You were as lucky on the deferment as one could have been back then.
It is a remarkable history you had, a remarkable life you now live.
"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981
That was a very good ramble...
and a good video too! I really enjoyed it! And it makes me want to get back to learning Russian. Thanks!
My exposure to Vietnam was when I was very young. Couldn't understand why we were fighting. My Uncle served two tours of duty. He came back mentally broken in weird ways. Very right wing all of a sudden, hated black people. That changed as he recovered, but I'll never forget him explaining to my Mom (they were driving, I was in the back seat of the car) how some black soldiers refused to protect the retreat of some other soldier stuck up a hill under enemy fire. And so my Uncle had to do the 'work'. That happened several more times in other ways, and Uncle just hated (and probably greatly feared) it. I understand why the black draftees did what they did. Uncle was a draftee too, but color definitely made a difference
If you're poor now, my friend, then you'll stay poor.
These days, only the rich get given more. -- Martial book 5:81, c. AD 100 or so
Nothing ever changes -- Sima, c. AD 2020 or so
If we were all colorless - that would be the day i like to die
Happy Birthday to me. Now should I be happy to be alive or should I be horrified to live for another year?
My enthusiasm to live one more year is geared towards ... better not. It's ok to live one more day and live day by day, I think.
Thanks for the Open thread, Sima.
Yes, many of the singers are...
moving along, dying, too. I guess that's part of getting old.
I disliked 'pop' music during the Reagan years. It all seemed so vacuous. Now, music triggers some a lot of memories. And, I have to admit, I couldn't begin to tell you anything about famous pop songs now. Taylor Sw... who? What? Heh.
If you're poor now, my friend, then you'll stay poor.
These days, only the rich get given more. -- Martial book 5:81, c. AD 100 or so
Nothing ever changes -- Sima, c. AD 2020 or so
Thanks Sima
That's a very interesting account of your uncle's combat experience. I had encountered combat veterans, who had that same tendency to make an awful combat experience a paradigmatic life's lesson from which to define their own personal prescription for life and the nature of reality.
Often the rules or lessons learned from traumatic experience are skewed and result in prejudices, stereotypes, and debilitating behaviors. I've said here before, how I loved my uncle dearly, who was a WWII marine corps combat veteran. He had symptoms and prejudice from the war, he never got over.
語必忠信 行必正直