# Can you listen to the Mamas and the Papas without getting squicked out? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 6, 2011, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-listen-to-the-mamas-and-the-papas-without-getting-squicked-out/566606 "2011-01-06T14:40:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![singular1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ba9def/32.png) [@singular1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/singular1)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2011, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-listen-to-the-mamas-and-the-papas-without-getting-squicked-out/566606/1 "2011-01-06T14:40:57Z")
For years, every time the Mamas and the Papas came on the radio, I couldn’t help but think about Mama Cass choking on a ham sandwich. Yeah, I know it isn’t true, but it’s one of those pop culture memes that stuck. Today I was on the way to work and _I Dig Rock and Roll Music_ came on, and all I could think about was a drugged up Papa John boinking his drugged up daughter. I may be more inclined to think this way because of the Adam Carolla podcast - he has ranted about hearing _California Dreamin’_ while at Disneyland with his kids, so the idea was already planted. Is this squickiness only common to Carolla fans? ---
**Author:** ![singular1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ba9def/32.png) [@singular1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/singular1)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2011, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-listen-to-the-mamas-and-the-papas-without-getting-squicked-out/566606/2 "2011-01-06T14:50:01Z")
(missed the edit window)And apparently this squickiness extends to Peter, Paul and Mary, who recorded the song that sent me into this reflective state… ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2011, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-listen-to-the-mamas-and-the-papas-without-getting-squicked-out/566606/3 "2011-01-06T14:52:24Z")
Probably. What John did to his daughter has nothing to do with the beautiful music his group made. “I Dig Rock & Roll Music,” OTOH, is the work of Satan and should be scrubbed from existance immediately. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_A.Robrin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sam_a.robrin/32/14497_2.png) [@Sam\_A.Robrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_A.Robrin)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2011, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-listen-to-the-mamas-and-the-papas-without-getting-squicked-out/566606/4 "2011-01-06T17:10:17Z")
It amazes me how many people don’t recognize “I Dig Rock & Roll Music” for the sanctimonious slander it was intended to be. ---
**Author:** ![drastic\_quench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e36b37/32.png) [@drastic\_quench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drastic_quench)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2011, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-listen-to-the-mamas-and-the-papas-without-getting-squicked-out/566606/5 "2011-01-06T18:47:47Z")
Only if a Polanski film is on in the background, and I’m hanging with my pals Rob Lowe, Jeffrey Jones, and Chuck Berry. ---
**Author:** ![kapri](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/4491bb/32.png) [@kapri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kapri)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2011, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-listen-to-the-mamas-and-the-papas-without-getting-squicked-out/566606/6 "2011-01-06T19:05:50Z")
I don’t get squicked out, or at least didn’t–maybe now I will. Their harmony was terrific. I love “California Dreamin’.” ---
**Author:** ![Bridget\_Burke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7cd45c/32.png) [@Bridget\_Burke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bridget_Burke)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2011, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-listen-to-the-mamas-and-the-papas-without-getting-squicked-out/566606/7 "2011-01-06T19:14:32Z")
Many people who have produced fine art have had less than sterling personal lives. ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2011, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-listen-to-the-mamas-and-the-papas-without-getting-squicked-out/566606/8 "2011-01-06T19:17:50Z")
Sure. I don’t always think of the people when I hear a song. Sometimes I vaguely think about it when a Mamas and the Papas song comes on, but I have a high squickometer. And sometimes squicky things can be interesting, too. ---
**Author:** ![Jeff\_Lichtman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jeff_lichtman/32/1531_2.png) [@Jeff\_Lichtman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jeff_Lichtman)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2011, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-listen-to-the-mamas-and-the-papas-without-getting-squicked-out/566606/9 "2011-01-06T19:50:29Z")
[Mama Cass died from a heart attack,](http://www.snopes.com/music/artists/mamacass.asp) not from choking on a ham sandwich. There are plenty of musicians who died young. Should listening to The Doors squick me out because of the image of Jim Morrison’s corpse in a bathtub? Should my enjoyment of Janis Joplin’s recordings be destroyed by my knowledge of her death from an overdose of heroin? Or is Mama Cass special somehow? ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2011, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-listen-to-the-mamas-and-the-papas-without-getting-squicked-out/566606/10 "2011-01-06T19:57:19Z")
Yeah, this is a total non-issue. Want a far worse thought? That John Stewart made Denny sing “I Saw Her Again” every night as punishment for having an affair with Michelle even though Cass was in love with him. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2011, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-listen-to-the-mamas-and-the-papas-without-getting-squicked-out/566606/11 "2011-01-06T20:24:03Z")
I think you mean John _Phillips_. Otherwise…:eek: ---
**Author:** ![KinkiNipponTourist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e9bcb4/32.png) [@KinkiNipponTourist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KinkiNipponTourist)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2011, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-listen-to-the-mamas-and-the-papas-without-getting-squicked-out/566606/12 "2011-01-06T20:26:50Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > Yeah, this is a total non-issue. > > Want a far worse thought? That John Stewart made Denny sing “I Saw Her Again” every night as punishment for having an affair with Michelle even though Cass was in love with him. Word. That had to be painful for Cass to sing too. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2011, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-listen-to-the-mamas-and-the-papas-without-getting-squicked-out/566606/13 "2011-01-06T20:27:31Z")
> [@kapri](#): > > I don’t get squicked out, or at least didn’t–maybe now I will. Their harmony was terrific. I love “California Dreamin’.” One of my all time favorites. Doesn’t bother me at all. I “dig” their music! ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2011, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-listen-to-the-mamas-and-the-papas-without-getting-squicked-out/566606/14 "2011-01-06T20:40:06Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > I think you mean John _Phillips_. Otherwise…:eek: D’oh! I was actually confusing him with this other Californian musician/composer [John Stewart](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Stewart_(musician)). ---
**Author:** ![singular1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ba9def/32.png) [@singular1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/singular1)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2011, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-listen-to-the-mamas-and-the-papas-without-getting-squicked-out/566606/15 "2011-01-06T23:44:35Z")
> [@Jeff\_Lichtman](#): > > [Mama Cass died from a heart attack,](http://www.snopes.com/music/artists/mamacass.asp) not from choking on a ham sandwich. > > There are plenty of musicians who died young. Should listening to The Doors squick me out because of the image of Jim Morrison’s corpse in a bathtub? Should my enjoyment of Janis Joplin’s recordings be destroyed by my knowledge of her death from an overdose of heroin? Or is Mama Cass special somehow? Read the OP again. I know that. ---
**Author:** ![singular1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ba9def/32.png) [@singular1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/singular1)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2011, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-listen-to-the-mamas-and-the-papas-without-getting-squicked-out/566606/16 "2011-01-06T23:46:23Z")
> [@drastic\_quench](#): > > Only if a Polanski film is on in the background, and I’m hanging with my pals Rob Lowe, Jeffrey Jones, and Chuck Berry. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2011, 7:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-listen-to-the-mamas-and-the-papas-without-getting-squicked-out/566606/17 "2011-01-07T07:53:56Z")
They were one of the best-sounding groups ever. I had the privilege of seeing them perform live 2-3 times, and I still love listening to their music. And when I do, I don’t think about anything but what I’m hearing. ---
**Author:** ![Markxxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@Markxxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Markxxx)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2011, 9:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-listen-to-the-mamas-and-the-papas-without-getting-squicked-out/566606/18 "2011-01-07T09:37:17Z")
\ If Mama Cass had given that ham sandwich to Karen Carpenter that would’ve been two lives saved \ 😃 \ Seriously though, I can listen to both Cass Elliot CDs (I like her solo work as well) and the Mamas and Papas and not think about anything other than the songs. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Rieux](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@Dr.Rieux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Rieux)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2011, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-listen-to-the-mamas-and-the-papas-without-getting-squicked-out/566606/19 "2011-01-07T20:32:35Z")
My first thought upon hearing about Mckenzie Phillips’ revelation: “Guess who didn’t go to Rock and Roll Heaven.” ---
**Author:** ![DMark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@DMark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DMark)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2011, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-listen-to-the-mamas-and-the-papas-without-getting-squicked-out/566606/20 "2011-01-07T20:38:47Z")
Great group, great music and they lived the life of that era. Lots of other sad, creepy stories about other celebrities as well, but whenever I hear the music of the Mamas and the Papas, I just think back to happy, sunny, summer days. BTW, after I finally did move to California, whenever I would hear the song “California Dreamin’” it would bring a smile to my face. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-listen-to-the-mamas-and-the-papas-without-getting-squicked-out/566606.md?page=2)