# Rock/pop songs with now-dated references **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 8, 2010, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rock-pop-songs-with-now-dated-references/535412 "2010-04-08T15:20:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Ichbin\_Dubist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/51bf81/32.png) [@Ichbin\_Dubist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ichbin_Dubist)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2010, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rock-pop-songs-with-now-dated-references/535412/21 "2010-04-08T18:21:38Z")
And I was thinking about this yesterday when Luther Wright’s cover of Pink Floyd’s “Nobody Home” shuffled by on the computer – “There’s 13 channels of shit on the TV to choose from.” That must strike your average 20-year-old as a very low number for channels of shit. There are other references on _The Wall_ that set it in a specific time (the Hendrix perm, the Bomb, etc) but not that many. ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2010, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rock-pop-songs-with-now-dated-references/535412/22 "2010-04-08T18:22:19Z")
Are there parts of the country where you can still call _867-5309_ without adding the area code? ---
**Author:** ![Labdad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/439d5e/32.png) [@Labdad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labdad)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2010, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rock-pop-songs-with-now-dated-references/535412/23 "2010-04-08T18:45:44Z")
“Long distance information, give me Memphis, Tennessee…” For that matter, pretty much any song involving a telephone that uses the word “dial.” “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction”: I’m watching my TV/and a man comes on and tells me/how white my shirts can be/but he can’t be a man 'cause he doesn’t smoke/ the same cigarettes as me" harkens to a time when cigarettes were advertised on TV. ---
**Author:** ![cjepson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a9adbd/32.png) [@cjepson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cjepson)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2010, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rock-pop-songs-with-now-dated-references/535412/24 "2010-04-08T18:47:23Z")
> [@Krokodil](#): > > Are there parts of the country where you can still call _867-5309_ without adding the area code? Probably, but I doubt anyone gives out their number as “BEechwood 4-5789” anymore. ---
**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:** [April 8, 2010, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rock-pop-songs-with-now-dated-references/535412/25 "2010-04-08T18:53:55Z")
> [@Colophon](#): > > AltaVista was _the_ search engine during the late 1990s but was already pretty much totally eclipsed by Google by that point. Does anyone still use it? It still exists, but through a typically convoluted (for .com culture) process of mergers and acquisitions, it’s owned by Yahoo! now. The only reason I ever went to it at all since around 1999 was for Babel Fish, which is now Yahoo! Babel Fish and I just Google it and follow that link on the rare occasions that I want to use it. ---
**Author:** ![An\_Gadai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@An\_Gadai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Gadai)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2010, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rock-pop-songs-with-now-dated-references/535412/26 "2010-04-08T18:58:23Z")
Placebo did a passable cover of The Smiths’ [Bigmouth Strikes Again](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bigmouth_Strikes_Again). The funny thing is they “updated” the lyrics replacing “Walkman” with “Discman” and “Hearing Aid” with “Megadrive”, so that the updated cover version is actually more dated than the original. ---
**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:** [April 8, 2010, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rock-pop-songs-with-now-dated-references/535412/27 "2010-04-08T18:59:25Z")
The entire 1956 Broadway musical and 1960 movie “Bells are Ringing.” The plot (and title song) revolves around a telephone answering service. (When someone called you and you weren’t home, he got connected to a live operator who would take a message.) ---
**Author:** ![An\_Gadai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@An\_Gadai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Gadai)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2010, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rock-pop-songs-with-now-dated-references/535412/28 "2010-04-08T19:00:26Z")
> [@Colophon](#): > > I was just thinking about this one the other day when I heard it on the radio and it struck me what a specific reference it was. This bit from _Let’s Push Things Forward_ by The Streets was pretty outdated even when it was released in 2002: > > AltaVista was _the_ search engine during the late 1990s but was already pretty much totally eclipsed by Google by that point. Does anyone still use it? He makes reference to N64s on at least one of the tracks on that album too. I think even at time it was released this was a bit outdated. ---
**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:** [April 8, 2010, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rock-pop-songs-with-now-dated-references/535412/29 "2010-04-08T19:03:12Z")
When’s the last time someone wrote “Return to Sender” on a letter? Or how about the Adam Again song “Your line is busy”? > [@Markxxx](#): > > Do people still _Pass the Dutchie_ on the left hand side? Or are you know able to pass it however you like 🙂 I don’t think it ever mattered which side you passed the Dutch cooking pot. (The term and original song was “pass the koutchie” but the record execs made Musical Youth remove all drug references from their cover of The Mighty Diamonds’ version. Ex: “How does it feel when you’ve got no [del]herb[/del] food.” Of course, since their version got popular, dutchie became an acceptable slang term). ---
**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:** [April 8, 2010, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rock-pop-songs-with-now-dated-references/535412/30 "2010-04-08T19:14:22Z")
Bob Dylan’s “Leopard Skin Pillbox Hat.” They were very fashionable in the 60s (due to Jackie Kennedy), but rare today – especially if it’s real leopard skin. ---
**Author:** ![Simmerdown](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/simmerdown/32/14859_2.png) [@Simmerdown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simmerdown)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2010, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rock-pop-songs-with-now-dated-references/535412/31 "2010-04-08T19:19:36Z")
The Boomtown Rats’ _She’s So Modern_: _She’s so 20th century She’s so 1970’s She knows the right things to say She’s got the right clothes to wear Cos she’s a modern girl, oh yeah…_ ---
**Author:** ![Dahnlor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dahnlor/32/533_2.png) [@Dahnlor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dahnlor)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2010, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rock-pop-songs-with-now-dated-references/535412/32 "2010-04-08T19:19:52Z")
Bruce Springsteen “57 Channels (And Nothin’ On)” Only 57? ---
**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:** [April 8, 2010, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rock-pop-songs-with-now-dated-references/535412/33 "2010-04-08T19:23:03Z")
Paul Simon’s “Kodachrome.” Kodak phased out production of Kodachrome film in 2009, although it hadn’t seen much pop culture attention for quite awhile before that…TRM ---
**Author:** ![Oakminster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/77aa72/32.png) [@Oakminster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oakminster)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2010, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rock-pop-songs-with-now-dated-references/535412/34 "2010-04-08T19:24:12Z")
> [@Morbo](#): > > When’s the last time someone wrote “Return to Sender” on a letter? Last week. I did it. Got a letter addressed to someone I do not know, at my address. Wrote “Return to Sender. Addressee Unknown” on the envelope. Hummed the tune while walking back from the mailbox. As my nominee for the thread, I submit _American Pie_ by Don McLean. ---
**Author:** ![Jack\_Batty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jack_batty/32/3201_2.png) [@Jack\_Batty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Batty)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2010, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rock-pop-songs-with-now-dated-references/535412/35 "2010-04-08T19:28:41Z")
_After the Gold Rush_ by Neil Young “We got Mother Nature on the run In the 1970’s.” ---
**Author:** ![Bearflag70](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Bearflag70](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bearflag70)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2010, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rock-pop-songs-with-now-dated-references/535412/36 "2010-04-08T19:29:36Z")
_Ready for the '80s_ by the Village People _Russians_ by Sting _Jukebox (Don’t Put Another Dime)_ by The Flirts _Pac-Man Fever_ by Buckner & Garcia _Centerfold_ by J. Geils Band _Video Killed the Radio Star_ by The Buggles ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2010, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rock-pop-songs-with-now-dated-references/535412/37 "2010-04-08T19:45:15Z")
What about **Western Union** , by the Five Americans?\* You can still mail a letter, but you can’t send a telegram anymore, at least in the United States. \*Doper **aha** was one of the members of this band. I haven’t seen him around in ages, though. ---
**Author:** ![Jack\_Batty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jack_batty/32/3201_2.png) [@Jack\_Batty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Batty)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2010, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rock-pop-songs-with-now-dated-references/535412/38 "2010-04-08T19:51:29Z")
_Convoy_ by C. W. McCall … 'nuff said. And while we’re at it … _Disco Duck_ by Rick Dees. ---
**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:** [April 8, 2010, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rock-pop-songs-with-now-dated-references/535412/39 "2010-04-08T19:52:54Z")
> [@Oakminster](#): > > Last week. I did it. Got a letter addressed to someone I do not know, at my address. Wrote “Return to Sender. Addressee Unknown” on the envelope. Hummed the tune while walking back from the mailbox. How did you keep from also writing “No such person. No such Zone?” ---
**Author:** ![cjepson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a9adbd/32.png) [@cjepson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cjepson)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2010, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rock-pop-songs-with-now-dated-references/535412/40 "2010-04-08T20:35:38Z")
The Dictators’ debut album, _Go Girl Crazy!_, was a perfect encapsulation (and shredding) of 70’s “jock” culture. Songs such as “Master Race Rock” and “Two Tub Man” included lines like: “Gasoline shortage won’t stop me now” “I think Lou Reed is a creep” “I got Jackie Onassis in my pants” “I think color TV is a gas, I think Joe Franklin’s real flash” “I’m never gonna watch Channel 13, edjamacation ain’t for me” Not to mention Handsome Dick Manitoba’s immortal spoken intro to one of the songs (“Two Tub Man”, I think) which is an homage to the glory days of professional wrestling. It goes something like this. (Pro wrestling devotees will note that some of the names were intentionally garbled.) “WHHOOOOO HAHHHH!! I JUST GOT BACK FROM MINNEE… EEE… APPOLIS!! WHERE I BEAT VERN CANYON AND DICK THE BRUISER, DADDY!!! YOU CAN BRING ON… HAYSTACK BALLOOOOONN… ERIC BLOOM… I DON’T CARE WHO YOU BRING HERE, DADDY! RAINBOW STRONGBOW… THEY ALL GOIN’ UNDER THE THUNDER… OF MANITOBA!!!” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rock-pop-songs-with-now-dated-references/535412.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rock-pop-songs-with-now-dated-references/535412.md?page=3)