# Amusing Anachronistic Bits of Culture **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 1, 2016, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amusing-anachronistic-bits-of-culture/758873 "2016-07-01T17:00:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2016, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amusing-anachronistic-bits-of-culture/758873/21 "2016-07-02T02:12:13Z")
Just Google “racist Warner Brothers cartoons” and be prepared for an eyeful. Same thing with animal abuse and sexism, too. p.s. “Brick” isn’t that old of a song. ---
**Author:** ![Rick\_Kitchen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rick_kitchen/32/522_2.png) [@Rick\_Kitchen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick_Kitchen)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2016, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amusing-anachronistic-bits-of-culture/758873/22 "2016-07-02T02:24:41Z")
But still anachronistic. ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2016, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amusing-anachronistic-bits-of-culture/758873/23 "2016-07-02T02:25:40Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > Flanders and Swan’s “[Madeira, My Dear](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OW_zi8n4HDQ)” is not as funny as it once was. And the line, “Little and dark, more like monkey than man” is painful today. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2016, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amusing-anachronistic-bits-of-culture/758873/24 "2016-07-02T02:45:42Z")
No love for Jack Jones? Day – after day There are men At the office, And – men will always be men. Don’t – send him off With your hair Still in curlers; You – may not see him again… (_Wives and Lovers_) ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2016, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amusing-anachronistic-bits-of-culture/758873/25 "2016-07-02T02:51:27Z")
Most of Elton John’s “Island Girl” is just cringeworthy today. Hell, it had to be at least a little bit cringeworthy even back when it was released in 1975. ---
**Author:** ![Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/prof.pepperwinkle/32/13627_2.png) [@Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Prof.Pepperwinkle)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2016, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amusing-anachronistic-bits-of-culture/758873/26 "2016-07-02T03:02:59Z")
> [@Pantastic](#): > > I’ve been playing Fallout 4 recently, and one of the songs on the soundtrack is “Atom Bomb”, a catchy little tune comparing a hot chick to a nuclear weapon. I like it because I have a dark sense of humor, but I can’t imagine a jaunty tune openly about nuclear weapons being a hit in my lifetime. Sure, “99 luftballoons” was a big hit in the 80s, but it hides it’s subject matter (especially playing the German version in the US) and it’s actually more of a protest song. Other examples that I could think of either portray them in a negative light or are from obscure punk/metal/etc. bands that aren’t coming anywhere near being a ‘hit song’. Here’s a link to the song: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KXSUEU7ISfQ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KXSUEU7ISfQ) > > What other weird songs/shows/books/etc. that sound really off now but were considered mainstream in their time have you encountered? From the Fallout Wiki: > [@](#): > > Atom Bomb Baby is a song recorded by The Five Stars in 1957, appearing in Fallout 4. It is played by Diamond City Radio. All those songs on Fallout 4 were from the 1940’s-60’s. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2016, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amusing-anachronistic-bits-of-culture/758873/27 "2016-07-02T03:21:02Z")
Kids, anachronistic means something you encountered recently that was from a bygone age, not something you recall from your childhood, fifty years gone by. We can laugh at the tastes of our grandkids, but our greatest laughs, if we are to maintain our moral superiority, should be aimed at bad cover bands. outgrowing ---
**Author:** ![Blake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a9a28c/32.png) [@Blake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blake)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2016, 4:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amusing-anachronistic-bits-of-culture/758873/28 "2016-07-02T04:45:41Z")
> [@dropzone](#): > > Kids, anachronistic means something you encountered recently that was from a bygone age… It means something you encountered at any time that _belongs to another time_. Something simply being old or “from a bygone age” doesn’t make it anachronistic. The White House, for example, isn’t anachronistic, it’s just old. Most of The Beatles’ catalogue isn’t anachronistic, it’s just old. If you released most of those songs today, they would unremarkable. I’m having a degree of trouble seeing how a lot of the things here are anachronistic. How is “Wishin’ and Hopin’” anachronistic? It’s just another “treat you lover right” song. Compare: Show him that you care just for him Do the things he likes to do Wear your hair just for him, ‘cause You won’t get him Thinkin’ and a-prayin’ Wishin’ and hopin’ cf Stand there like a ghost shaking from the rain (rain). She’ll open up the door and say, “Are you insane ('ane)?” Say it’s been a long 6 months And you were too afraid to tell her what you want. And that’s how it works. That’s how you get the girl. cf I should’ve bought you flowers And held your hand Should’ve gave you all my hours When I had the chance Take you to every party 'Cause all you wanted to do was dance Which of those songs is 40 years old and which are 3 years old? Songs like this have been around for as long as humans. Or “I will Follow Him”? It’s just another “I’ll follow my love to the world’s end” song. Compare I will follow him, follow him wherever he may go There isn’t an ocean too deep A mountain so high it can keep Keep me awaaaay! cf Where you go, I’ll go Where you stay, I’ll stay When you move, I’ll move I will follow… cf If I could, then I would I’ll go wherever you will go Way up high or down low I’ll go wherever you will go Anybody want to guess the ages of these songs without Googling? If these lyrics had not been written in the past, but instead been written and released tomorrow, they would not be in any way remarkable. That is the very \*antithesis \*of anachronistic. Anachronistic refers to something that is clearly outside of its era. The example in the OP is (arguably) anachronistic. Lyrics about beating women are anachronistic. Lyrics about going to great lengths to get, keep or get back a lover are the vast majority of songs being written right now. These lyrics are not in any way anachronistic And the most bizarre example is “Brick”. It’s a song, written just 13 years ago, about abortion. The last time we had a hit song with that subject matter was in [2007](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Runaway_Love_(Ludacris_song)). Eight years. So very anachronistic. Seriously, if Brick were released tomorrow, completely unaltered, it would seem like a perfectly contemporary song and would have every chance of being be a hit once more. It’s not like a song about a young couple having an abortion is completely irrelevant in the brave new world of 2016. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2016, 4:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amusing-anachronistic-bits-of-culture/758873/29 "2016-07-02T04:55:45Z")
> [@jayjay](#): > > Most of Elton John’s “Island Girl” is just cringeworthy today. Hell, it had to be at least a little bit cringeworthy even back when it was released in 1975. I knew the song but never paid any attention to the lyrics, until you pointed this out. I just used Google to check them out, and :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek: How did that even get on the radio, anyway? 😕 ---
**Author:** ![Blake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a9a28c/32.png) [@Blake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blake)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2016, 4:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amusing-anachronistic-bits-of-culture/758873/30 "2016-07-02T04:58:38Z")
> [@Pantastic](#): > > … I can’t imagine a jaunty tune openly about nuclear weapons being a hit in my lifetime. Sure, “99 luftballoons” was a big hit in the 80s… Also from the 80s: The Future’s So Bright, I Gotta Wear Shades (so jaunty it was used a a High School graduation theme), Queen’s “Waitin’ for the Hammer to Fall” (one of their jauntier tunes) and the very jaunty synth-pop “I Won’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me”. I can’t think of any post-80s hit songs on the subject, so in that sense I guess it’s still anachronistic, just not as anachronistic as you might think. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2016, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amusing-anachronistic-bits-of-culture/758873/31 "2016-07-02T14:29:31Z")
> [@Trinopus](#): > > And the line, “Little and dark, more like monkey than man” is painful today. Well, that song was written from the point of view of an egotistical jingoist. It was meant to be ridiculous and over the top to satirize nationalism. Compare it to some of Tom Lehrer songs – “I Want to Go Back to Dixie,” or “My Home Town.” They say outrageous things to prove those things are stupid. ETA: My point is that it’s not anachronistic because the attitude was cringeworthy at the time it was recorded. Side note: The producer of the Flanders and Swann albums was a pre-Beatles Sir George Martin. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim_r.mortiss/32/142_2.png) [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_R.Mortiss)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2016, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amusing-anachronistic-bits-of-culture/758873/32 "2016-07-02T15:23:44Z")
> [@gigi](#): > > “I Don’t Like Mondays” by Boomtown Rats was kind of a catchy tune about an active shooter. The song “Pumped Up Kicks” by Foster the People was also a bit of a hit, very jaunty, and appears to be about a serial killer. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/SDTZ7iX4vTQ/maxresdefault.jpg "Foster The People - Pumped Up Kicks (Official Video)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SDTZ7iX4vTQ) ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2016, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amusing-anachronistic-bits-of-culture/758873/33 "2016-07-02T16:22:38Z")
The 1941 matinee serial _The Adventures of Captain Marvel_ has a couple. In one scene, Captain Marvel is fighting a group of gangsters on the roof of a skyscraper. One of the villains lunges at the hero. The hero casually tosses him over the edge of the roof. :eek: You could not do that in a kids’ movie today. In another scene, teenager Billy Batson and his friends are surrounded by an army of the villain’s henchmen. He steps up to a machine gun, and calmly mows down wave after wave of attackers. Not to mention the racial angle: the villain’s henchmen are allegedly Siamese, but played by white actors dressed in costumes out of an Arabian Nights/British Raj movie. ---
**Author:** ![somepumpkin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7feea3/32.png) [@somepumpkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/somepumpkin)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2016, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amusing-anachronistic-bits-of-culture/758873/34 "2016-07-02T16:32:17Z")
I’m always surprised at the lyrics of “Brown Sugar” from The `Stones. ETA: that Ben Folds’ song that **Rick Kitchen** mentioned above is troubling. It’s good musically, but the lyrics are tough to take. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2016, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amusing-anachronistic-bits-of-culture/758873/35 "2016-07-02T16:53:51Z")
_Stray Cat Blues_, by the Rolling Stones, 1968. > [@](#): > > I can see that you’re fifteen years old > No I don’t want your I.D. > I can see that you’re so far from home > But it’s no hanging matter > It’s no capital crime > > Oh yeah, you’re a strange stray cat > Oh yeah, don’tcha scratch like that > Oh yeah, you’re a strange stray cat > Bet your mama don’t know you scream like that > I bet your mother don’t know you can spit like that _Mexicali Blues_, by the Grateful Dead, 1972 > [@](#): > > And it’s three days ride from Bakersfield and I don’t know why I came. > I guess I came to keep from payin’ dues. > So instead I’ve got a bottle and a girl who’s just fourteen, > And a damn good case of the Mexicali Blues. Yeh! Songs involving sex with underage girls wouldn’t pass today. Neither would the original cover for _Blind Faith’s_ album in 1972: WARNING! NSFW! [musicmp3spb.org](http://musicmp3spb.org/images/b/blind_faith/fblind_fait277a04538e1ea906e9820d.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![salinqmind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3ec8ea/32.png) [@salinqmind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2016, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amusing-anachronistic-bits-of-culture/758873/36 "2016-07-02T17:01:12Z")
> [@jayjay](#): > > Most of Elton John’s “Island Girl” is just cringeworthy today. Hell, it had to be at least a little bit cringeworthy even back when it was released in 1975. The first time I heard this song even in 1975, I immediately thought ‘this is about a 6’ 3" black transvestite prostitute.’ I still think that today. And way back in the day, we used to make fun of Jack Jones ‘Wives and Lovers’ (as we did with Bobby Goldsboro’s entire drippy ouevre). None of us high school kids thought getting married meant a cushy gig holding down some rich man’s couch, and we would become trophy wives waiting for our master to come running home! ‘dim all the lights, pour the wine, start the music, time to get ready for loooooooove’. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2016, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amusing-anachronistic-bits-of-culture/758873/37 "2016-07-02T17:27:01Z")
[quote=“Tim\_R.Mortiss, post:32, topic:758873”] The song “Pumped Up Kicks” by Foster the People was also a bit of a hit, very jaunty, and appears to be about a serial killer. [/QUOTE] “Everybody Run! The Homecoming Queen’s Got a Gun” ([Homecoming Queen's got a gun (Unedited!!!) - YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xG3yGdQYwqg)) is from 1987. ---
**Author:** ![furryman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/furryman/32/99_2.png) [@furryman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furryman)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2016, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amusing-anachronistic-bits-of-culture/758873/38 "2016-07-02T18:06:53Z")
This word doesn’t mean what you think it means: anachronistic: The 1940’s World fair predicted super highways. Star Trek predicted floppy disks and flat screen TV’s. Idiocracy predicted reality programs and America’s Funniest Videos.😉 ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2016, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amusing-anachronistic-bits-of-culture/758873/39 "2016-07-02T18:12:34Z")
Gary Puckett and The Union Gap’s “This Girl is a Woman Now” does not refer to her age, but to the fact that she’s had sex! ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2016, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amusing-anachronistic-bits-of-culture/758873/40 "2016-07-02T18:43:12Z")
The Treniers had a hit in the early fifties called “Uh Oh (Get Out of the Car)” about how, if your girl doesn’t come across, you should throw her out of the car and make her walk home in evening gown and high heels. Lyrics not easily available on line, but here’s a recording: [![]( " - YouTube") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6GKUk8mfiXg) Also, check out this great “bathroom book” AMERICAN CORNBALL: A LAFFOPEDIC GUIDE TO THE FORMERLY FUNNY. Well-researched explanations of why out great-grandparents thought domestic violence, outhouses, suicide, and men wearing barrels was funny. > **[Amazon.com: American Cornball: A Laffopedic Guide to the Formerly Funny:...](https://www.amazon.com/American-Cornball-Laffopedic-Guide-Formerly/dp/0062225189)** > > Amazon.com: American Cornball: A Laffopedic Guide to the Formerly Funny: 9780062225184: Miller, Christopher: Books [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amusing-anachronistic-bits-of-culture/758873.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amusing-anachronistic-bits-of-culture/758873.md?page=3)