# Older songs with outdated references **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 28, 2015, 1:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/older-songs-with-outdated-references/735959 "2015-10-28T13:07:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Morbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morbo/32/389_2.png) [@Morbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morbo)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2015, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/older-songs-with-outdated-references/735959/21 "2015-10-28T17:32:01Z")
“Mama don’t take my Kodachrome away” “You don’t have to watch Dynasty, to have an attitude” “Fashion shoots with Beck and Hanson, Courtney Love and Marilyn Manson, you’re all fakes run to your mansions, come around we’ll kick your asses!” ---
**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**Post date:** [October 28, 2015, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/older-songs-with-outdated-references/735959/22 "2015-10-28T17:38:14Z")
Cole Porter used now-dated references a lot. In his “You’re the Top,” he mentioned: Bendel Bonnet Vincent Youmans Garbo’s salary Arrow collar Coolidge dollar The great Durante The dam at Boulder (now Hoover Dam) Zuider Zee (now Lake IJsselmeer) Roxy Usher ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2015, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/older-songs-with-outdated-references/735959/23 "2015-10-28T17:40:30Z")
“You can’t catch me 'cause the rabbit done died” I was born in the 70s and I didn’t get it until I watched “Rabbit Test” on some UHF channel sometime in the late 80s. ETA: for those about 10 years younger than me and younger, “UHF” was the set of broadcast TV channels higher than about 12 or 13, normally populated with PBS channels and low-power local stations, almost all of them airing old syndicated shows e.g. “I Love Lucy,” “The Andy Griffith Show,” etc. Also an excellent source for seeing “The Three Stooges” and bad kung-fu movies. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2015, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/older-songs-with-outdated-references/735959/24 "2015-10-28T17:43:01Z")
> [@DCnDC](#): > > “You can’t catch me 'cause the rabbit done died” > > I was born in the 70s and I didn’t get it until I watched “Rabbit Test” on some UHF channel sometime in the late 80s. Now you got me thinking about home pregnancy kits with boxed up rabbits. ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2015, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/older-songs-with-outdated-references/735959/25 "2015-10-28T17:45:24Z")
> [@WOOKINPANUB](#): > > I think this has been mentioned here, but how long did it take most of us to decipher “gee our old LaSalle ran great” from the theme song on _All in the Family_? > > Put another dime in the jukebox, baby. Don’t put another dime in the jukebox I don’t wanna hear that goddam song no more. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2015, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/older-songs-with-outdated-references/735959/26 "2015-10-28T17:50:57Z")
Billy Joel’s “Sleeping With the Television On” begins with the final notes of “The Star-Spangled Banner” and the _beeep_ of a test pattern, for those of us who remember when TV stations signed off for the evening. ---
**Author:** ![Crotalus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crotalus/32/41_2.png) [@Crotalus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crotalus)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2015, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/older-songs-with-outdated-references/735959/27 "2015-10-28T17:53:25Z")
> [@OneCentStamp](#): > > And the world never did get it through its collective thick skull that shaking a Polaroid picture never did make it develop any faster. 😛 The original Polaroid film required that the user coat the picture with a fixing agent after pulling the picture from the camera. The fixing agent then had to dry. People shook the picture to hasten that process. Now I feel really old. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2015, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/older-songs-with-outdated-references/735959/28 "2015-10-28T17:59:05Z")
> [@Morbo](#): > > “You don’t have to watch Dynasty, to have an attitude” Duck Dynasty? 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2015, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/older-songs-with-outdated-references/735959/29 "2015-10-28T18:04:29Z")
Money for Nothing - with the quaint concept of music videos on MTV. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2015, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/older-songs-with-outdated-references/735959/30 "2015-10-28T18:05:25Z")
> [@cochrane](#): > > Billy Joel’s “Sleeping With the Television On” begins with the final notes of “The Star-Spangled Banner” and the _beeep_ of a test pattern, for those of us who remember when TV stations signed off for the evening. Dean Friedman, “Ariel” has: _We sat and talked into the night, but Channel 2 was signing off the air I found the softness of her mouth; we made love to bombs bursting in air_ ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2015, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/older-songs-with-outdated-references/735959/31 "2015-10-28T18:09:57Z")
> [@WOOKINPANUB](#): > > I think this has been mentioned here, but how long did it take most of us to decipher “gee our old LaSalle ran great” from the theme song on _All in the Family_? > > Put another dime in the jukebox, baby. Long as she’s got a dime, the music will never stop. Turn on my VCR, same one I’ve had for years. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2015, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/older-songs-with-outdated-references/735959/32 "2015-10-28T18:14:31Z")
> [@Crotalus](#): > > The original Polaroid film required that the user coat the picture with a fixing agent after pulling the picture from the camera. The fixing agent then had to dry. People shook the picture to hasten that process. Now I feel really old. I had one of those! It was a [Big Swinger](https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/28/38/70/283870b9971a807db7035781eedef727.jpg) and took black-and-white pictures. Each pack of film came with an applicator that spread the solution onto the print. Later I had a [Polaroid Colorpack](http://www.forgottencharm.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/il_fullxfull.327718195.jpg) that didn’t require the fixer on the print. This still used the peel-away film, it was before the SX-70. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2015, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/older-songs-with-outdated-references/735959/33 "2015-10-28T18:18:43Z")
L.A.'s fine, the sun shines most all the time And the feeling is laid back, Palm trees grow and _rents are low_… ---
**Author:** ![Dendarii\_Dame](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bbce88/32.png) [@Dendarii\_Dame](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dendarii_Dame)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2015, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/older-songs-with-outdated-references/735959/34 "2015-10-28T18:20:39Z")
In the musical **Bye, Bye, Birdie** , when Albert’s writing a song, he tries out the line “What is your dentifrice?” as a rhyme for “One last kiss”. The line doesn’t make the finished song, but I bet even in the 1980’s, when my high school did it, there were kids in the audience who didn’t know what a dentifrice was. Later in that same musical, in the song “Kids”, one line was “Why can’t they dance like we did?/What’s wrong with Sammy Kaye?” In a TV remake, the line was changed to “In a romantic way,” which was probably a good idea, to avoid confusion. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2015, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/older-songs-with-outdated-references/735959/35 "2015-10-28T18:22:44Z")
> [@RTFirefly](#): > > L.A.'s fine, the sun shines most all the time > And the feeling is laid back, > Palm trees grow and _rents are low_… Louder, the chair can’t hear you! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2015, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/older-songs-with-outdated-references/735959/36 "2015-10-28T18:22:44Z")
> [@cochrane](#): > > Billy Joel’s “Sleeping With the Television On” begins with the final notes of “The Star-Spangled Banner” and the _beeep_ of a test pattern, for those of us who remember when TV stations signed off for the evening. The album _Danger Days_ by My Chemical Romance “ends” with the SSB and an anarchic approximation of a test pattern, which granted many listeners will not understand. (I say “ends” because then the group comes on for an encore.) ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2015, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/older-songs-with-outdated-references/735959/37 "2015-10-28T18:30:16Z")
The song “Drops of Jupiter” contains a reference to the subject of the singer’s adoration doing “Tae-bo.” I win the thread. There’s no way that isn’t easily the most instantly dated reference in the history of popular music, because tae-bo was popular for maybe ten minutes longer than the running time of “Drops of Jupiter,” and fairly soon will be totally forgotten. Things like VCRs, juke boxes, and telephone operators may be mostly gone, but they lasted long enough that people will remember their existence. My kids have probably never seen a jukebox in their lives, but could tell you what a jukebox is. Tae-bo? Fat chance. ---
**Author:** ![chacoguy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/50afbb/32.png) [@chacoguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chacoguy)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2015, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/older-songs-with-outdated-references/735959/38 "2015-10-28T18:31:13Z")
Back in the USSR. ---
**Author:** ![Kenm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/bc79bd/32.png) [@Kenm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kenm)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2015, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/older-songs-with-outdated-references/735959/39 "2015-10-28T19:35:06Z")
Electric Light Orchestra’s Telephone Line, 1976: _O.K. so no one’s answering, Well can’t you just let it ring a little longer_ 1934 — On the Sunny Side of the Street: \*And if I never had a cent I’d be rich as Rockefeller \*1934— Mae West in Anything Goes: \*If driving fast cars you like, If low bars you like, If old hymns you like, If bare limbs you like, If Mae West you like Or me undressed you like, Why, nobody will oppose! When every night, The set that’s smart Is intruding in nudist parties in studios, anything goes. \*1899 — Hello! Ma Baby \*Every single morning you will hear me yell, “Hey Central! Fix me up along the line.” - \*Send me a kiss by wire, baby my heart’s on fire! \*I bet even that star of stars who even turned Kermit green, Michigan J. Frog, would be an unknown. ---
**Author:** ![OneCentStamp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/13edae/32.png) [@OneCentStamp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OneCentStamp)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2015, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/older-songs-with-outdated-references/735959/40 "2015-10-28T19:48:39Z")
> [@Kenm](#): > > 1934 — On the Sunny Side of the Street: > > _And if I never had a cent > I’d be rich as Rockefeller_ Well, a modern listener of my kids’ generation would just be surprised to know that Jay-Z named [his record label](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roc-A-Fella_Records) after an actual person. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/older-songs-with-outdated-references/735959.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/older-songs-with-outdated-references/735959.md?page=3)