# Half forgotten old songs **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** music\ **Created:** [June 13, 2024, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/half-forgotten-old-songs/1002840 "2024-06-13T17:24:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2024, 8:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/half-forgotten-old-songs/1002840/61 "2024-06-15T08:15:07Z")
This one from South Africa was #3 on the charts in the US, where I remember it being in high rotation (probably on WLS with Larry Lujak out of Chicago) [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/A0WvXpyufT8/hqdefault.jpg?sqp=-oaymwEmCOADEOgC8quKqQMa8AEB-AG-AoAC8AGKAgwIABABGHIgWCgtMA8=&rs=AOn4CLDm_c6YYs6q-wQp_-bYsXH9NCsV5g ""Master Jack" 4 Jacks and a Jill") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A0WvXpyufT8) ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2024, 8:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/half-forgotten-old-songs/1002840/62 "2024-06-15T08:41:27Z")
Apparently it’s “thing” now to use half-forgotten frothy pop songs from the Bubblegum era to ironically underscore the extreme violence in the entirely-forgettable genre of Netflix live-action graphic novels. I’ve mixed emotions on that. I don’t know what effect they’re going for. But I can’t criticize incongruous music. In 1994’s _Colonel Chaubert_, a horrific calvary charge was shown underscored with Schubert’s mournful Sonata in A major D959 2nd movement, effectively conveying what old books describe as “the pity of war.” The pilot episode of _The Leftovers_ used the same piece over a riot scene, but only came off as pretentious. [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/AZBLXxa4T_E/hqdefault.jpg?sqp=-oaymwEmCOADEOgC8quKqQMa8AEB-AG-AoAC8AGKAgwIABABGGUgZShlMA8=&rs=AOn4CLBB24Tao8b-aTnFDRSlbSswkvJWcA "SCHUBERT D 959, Piano Sonata No 20 in A 2 Andantino") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AZBLXxa4T_E) ---
**Author:** ![XOldiesJock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/ec9cab/32.png) [@XOldiesJock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XOldiesJock)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2024, 12:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/half-forgotten-old-songs/1002840/63 "2024-06-15T12:30:32Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > \*Do you not [watch movies or TV\*](https://www.jbhifi.com.au/blogs/music/soundtrack-staples-elo-mr-blue-sky)? My comment was in reference to songs not getting play on terrestrial radio, not movies or TV. That’s a whole different thing. ---
**Author:** ![SuntanLotion](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/suntanlotion/32/16165_2.png) [@SuntanLotion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SuntanLotion)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2024, 12:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/half-forgotten-old-songs/1002840/64 "2024-06-15T12:58:10Z")
Reading this thread, I wondered what song would, out of nowhere, pop up in my head. I am pleased to say it was Lucy and Ramona by Mike Nesmith. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2024, 1:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/half-forgotten-old-songs/1002840/65 "2024-06-15T13:05:48Z")
Aah, yes, sorry. ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2024, 1:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/half-forgotten-old-songs/1002840/66 "2024-06-15T13:11:33Z")
> [@scabpicker](#): > > Heheh, maybe you heard the Gershon Kingsley original, instead? > > I heard the Hot Butter one first, then I heard the Kingsley version and I thought “wow, this sounds wrong.” I like the Kingsley version better now. Whoa, mind blown! I was four when the Hot Butter version was all the rage, and it was inevitable for a few months and sounded very futuristic at that time (it was one of the first electronic hits). But I’ve never known that it was a cover, and how I like the original! And though there’s only a three year gap between, I know that there were fast evolutions of synths between 1969 and 1972, which makes the original (which is much more complex, I’ve always thought that the Hot Butter version is a perfect example for effective minimalist music) even more remarkable. ---
**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:** [June 15, 2024, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/half-forgotten-old-songs/1002840/67 "2024-06-15T14:07:13Z")
Thanks to this thread I’ve been rediscovering all the music I’d forgotten about in my collection and on Youtube. On the upside, I have a very expanded play list for the Summer. On the downside, if I never hear another slide guitar boogie in G it will be too soon. Southern rock of the late 70s was fun, but kinda one-dimensional. ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2024, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/half-forgotten-old-songs/1002840/68 "2024-06-15T14:16:52Z")
I’m a pretty big Who fan. I was watching some TV show recently, and the intro music was [Slip Kid](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a4xjr9v5ehk), and it reminded me of how awesome that song is, and that I rarely hear it. ---
**Author:** ![XOldiesJock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/ec9cab/32.png) [@XOldiesJock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XOldiesJock)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2024, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/half-forgotten-old-songs/1002840/69 "2024-06-15T14:47:03Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > _Aah, yes, sorry._ No offense taken, MrDibble! It **is** interesting how many times “Mister Blue Sky” has been used in other media. Another example of that is Donovan’s 1968 hit “Hurdy Gurdy Man.” (One of my all-time fave psychedelic relics!) It’s been used dozens of times in comedies, dramas, horror films and TV shows. It’s probably not a song a lot of people remember from Donovan, but somehow it keeps showing up time and again because it fits all manner of situations. I hope he’s getting residuals for it! ---
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2024, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/half-forgotten-old-songs/1002840/70 "2024-06-15T19:38:01Z")
There are also artist that seem to get overlooked who were quite a thing back in the day. James Gang - Walk Away Steve Miller - Abracadabra Robin Trower - Day of the Eagle Robert Palmer - Addicted to Love, Riptide ---
**Author:** ![scabpicker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scabpicker/32/8268_2.png) [@scabpicker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scabpicker)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2024, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/half-forgotten-old-songs/1002840/71 "2024-06-15T20:39:18Z")
> [@EinsteinsHund](#): > > Whoa, mind blown! I was four when the Hot Butter version was all the rage, and it was inevitable for a few months and sounded very futuristic at that time (it was one of the first electronic hits). But I’ve never known that it was a cover, and how I like the original! Hehe, and today I learned that there’s a connection between the two. Stan Free, the guy who fronted Hot Butter played in Kingsley’s The First Moog Quartet. They used “Popcorn” for a closer. > **[Hot Stuff: The History of Gershon Kingsley's "Popcorn"](https://vintageking.com/blog/2018/05/gershon-kingsley-popcorn)** > > As one of the first hit songs to ever use a Moog synthesizer, "Popcorn" was both a sign of its times and a look far ahead into the future of music. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2024, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/half-forgotten-old-songs/1002840/72 "2024-06-15T21:38:17Z")
> [@SuntanLotion](#): > > I am pleased to say it was Lucy and Ramona by Mike Nesmith. More accurately titled **Cruisin’** , though I call it _Sunset Sam_, so pick whichever you prefer. ---
**Author:** ![Zyada](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zyada/32/3028_2.png) [@Zyada](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zyada)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2024, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/half-forgotten-old-songs/1002840/73 "2024-06-15T21:45:44Z")
> [@Lucas\_Jackson](#): > > Steve Miller - Abracadabra Eminem just released a song sampling this. I could have gone the rest of my life without hearing it again ---
**Author:** ![Biggirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biggirl/32/3294_2.png) [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2024, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/half-forgotten-old-songs/1002840/74 "2024-06-16T00:39:31Z")
> [@Lucas\_Jackson](#): > > Steve Miller - Abracadabra Abra abra cadabra I wanna reach out and stab ya! Just so people know, those are not the real words. ---
**Author:** ![Zyada](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zyada/32/3028_2.png) [@Zyada](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zyada)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2024, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/half-forgotten-old-songs/1002840/75 "2024-06-16T00:51:17Z")
But is how I feel about whoever wrote those lyrics ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2024, 1:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/half-forgotten-old-songs/1002840/76 "2024-06-16T13:43:21Z")
It was for me a pleasure to rediscover some early Monkees tunes. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/CXReAj13lWg/maxresdefault.jpg "Randy Scouse Git") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CXReAj13lWg) [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/fWRNUQWKhA8/maxresdefault.jpg "Goin' Down") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fWRNUQWKhA8) ---
**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:** [June 16, 2024, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/half-forgotten-old-songs/1002840/77 "2024-06-16T14:41:43Z")
There are some real gems in the early Monkees albums. They got stuff from good songwriters. ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2024, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/half-forgotten-old-songs/1002840/78 "2024-06-16T15:40:22Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > They got stuff from good songwriters. And they had Mike Nesmith, who was a very good songwriter in his own right. ---
**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:** [June 16, 2024, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/half-forgotten-old-songs/1002840/79 "2024-06-16T16:05:35Z")
Without a doubt. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/dHYRxPWJUnM/maxresdefault.jpg "The Monkees papas genes blues music video") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dHYRxPWJUnM) ---
**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:** [June 16, 2024, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/half-forgotten-old-songs/1002840/80 "2024-06-16T18:00:38Z")
And themselves. “Randy Scouse Git” was written by Mickey and “Goin’ Down” is a jam by all four with Diane Hildebrand’s lyrics. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/half-forgotten-old-songs/1002840.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/half-forgotten-old-songs/1002840.md?page=5)