Rap music gets a bad rap for glorifying promiscuity and misogyny, but it seems to me that there are some songs from the age of more rigorous social standards that seem to glorify some rather raw actions.
In particular, I am thinking of:
“South of the Border” - I seduced an innocent girl in Mexico and now she thinks we’re getting married (and is perhaps pregnant) so I’m going to stay the hell away from Mexico.
“Please Don’t Talk About Me When I’m Gone” - I screwed you and screwed you over but keep your mouth shut about it and don’t ruin my chances with your friends. 'Cause that’s the only decent thing to do.
Under My Thumb by the Rolling Stones would not be desribed as Feminist, by any means…
There are countless threads that discuss songs portraying creeped-out behavior, but I always come back to Possum Kingdom by the Toadies, told from the perspective of a whackjob serial killer seducing his next victim “behind the boathouse, where she can stay young and beautiful forever” - I hate, hate, hate the fact that I love the groove and overall hookiness of this song…
“Every Breath You Take” by The Police. In spite of people often using this for a wedding song, it is a stalker song. You will never get away from me; I will always be following you around, regardless of your wishes. Aw, isn’t that romantic?
The song from the Pirates of the Carribean ride at Disneyland might be considered “classic” and it lists more examples of glorified rotten behavior than anything else I can think of, encouraging people to be devils, black sheep, really bad eggs, mauraders, embezzlers, and dozens more.
I turn this song off when it comes on the radio. I don’t want to revision history or anything, but this song is too much for me. Another example from the Stones would be “Brown Sugar.” So wrong, in so many ways.
I’ve always been bothered by Sweet Home Alabama, by Lynyrd Skynyrd, since it’s a retort to Southern Man, by Neil Young, a song decrying the racism and brutality of the South.
Sweet Home Alabama is essentially saying, Fuck You, Neil Young, we like it here where (as Young sang) “I heard screaming and bullwhips cracking”.
Lighting Strikes by Lou Christie. The guy wants his girl to be true to him while he sleeps around with every girl in sight. Because as a man he can’t help himself. Then after he is done screwing around he will marry the girl because, “every boy wants a girl he can trust to the very end”. That does not apply to him of course. :mad:
There’s kind of a category of songs like “Freebird” and “Ramblin’ Man” which are about men ditching women and explaining that they can’t stay because they have to “ramble.” They don’t want to – they have to. It’s not her fault, there’s just no way he can stay. This bird has to be free.
Brief hijack… when they say:
"In Birmingham they love the governor ohh ooohh ohhh…
Now we all did what we could do"
is that a reference to the Wallace shooting or his support of segregation?
I worked with a drummer who was Lou Christie’s drummer for years. Apparently, he is quite the swordsman and has…quite the sword. He had to be carefully…strapped in…before getting on stage…
[/hijack] (sorry, not many places to drop “Lou Christie’s hung like a horse” type gossip these days…
Watergate does not bother me.
Does your conscience bother you?
If y’all had voted for Wallace in '68, Nixon wouldn’t have gotten in, wouldn’t have run again in '72, and we wouldn’t have had that crook for president.
He had to be carefully…strapped in…before getting on stage…