I’m not talking about media that you consider to be bad. I’m talking about media that was specifically designed to fail for insurance purposes, sabotaged to hurt those involved, or made to promote a separate goal.
Case in point: “Timothy”, written by Rupert Holmes for the group The Bouys in 1970. The song about cannibalism in a cave mine came about when Holmes decided to promote a small band by writing a song that was sure to get banned from radio stations so that the group would get talked about. Needless to say the plan backfired when the stations that played it found they had a hit on their hands, causing record officials to con the other stations into believing that the “Timothy” in the song was the miner’s mule. The song made the Top Ten, but Holmes was unable to write another successful hit for The Bouys that was as good as his “failure”.
Too late to add: Here are the lyrics to “Timothy”
Bon Appétit
Springtime for Hitler?
Real examples only, please.
30 Rock was the show that was only supposed to last one season, not Studio 60.
Real events?
Did someone in real life actually put on “Springtime For Hitler” for the purpose of failure, only for it to become a hit?
Click on his link and scroll to the bottom of the page for real world examples.
My apologies-I didn’t see the “Real Life Examples” in the bottom half.
BTW,the most Springtime for Hitlery example looks to be Marty, number 2 on this Cracked list.
I just think it’s funny that the OP was scolding people for bringing up “Springtime for Hitler”, and people keep bringing it up anyhow.
My best example is another “Springtime for Hitler” reference:
“A real-life ‘Springtime for Hitler’ from India?”…
When did we stop recognizing jokes on this board? :rolleyes:
It’s rare that anyone creates things with an eye to failure. Sometimes the success can be greater than people expect, but it’s rare that something is done simply to fail.
I suppose the closest I can think of was The Stunt Man. It was created to succeed, but the production company thought it was a surefire flop and refused to release it for two years. When finally released, it got good reviews and made money, though that was hindered because the production company didn’t think it was worth advertising.
Do we go as far as “song that started as an obscure B-side but went on to become that band’s greatest hit” ? Or is that too mundane for this specific thread?
This is speculation on my part, but how about* Police Squad!* (in color)?
There were bits in the show (Drebin driving into one garbage can in Episode I, two in Episode II and so on; the complete listing of everyone from every previous episode who went to Stateville Prison, etc.) that would have been unsustainable had the show lasted even one full season.
True, ABC canceled the show "because the viewer had to watch it in order to appreciate it” (this was in the days before DVDs and even before VCRs were commonplace in ordinary homes), but I have to wonder if Zucker Abrahams Zucker weren’t actually hoping it would happen.
The song Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye was created to serve as a B-side. Steam recorded it in one session and they didn’t even bother to finish writing the words.
I’m too lazy to google it (Kids, don’t let this ever happen to you!), but I remember from an article that “Steam” wasn’t really a band. It was one guy who grabbed whoever was in the studio to play on the track. When it hit the top of the charts, the “band” got booked for gigs, and he had to find some musician friends to go on the road with.
He *might *(sorry, I’m on the couch and google is waaay too far away…) be the guy who had two (three?) hit songs with different cobbled together groups at the same time.
I’ve just listened to it on YouTube. I’ve heard it once before, a long time before, but never really paid attention closely to it. Well, now that I have, there are a number of points I must raise.
What gave them the idea that they had a hit on their hands, and why would people respond to the song that way? For one thing, it’s terribly mixed, at least the version I heard. The vocals are way out of balance, the guy’s voice sucks, and the obnoxious squealing string arrangement is also out of balance.
For another, the lyrics don’t flow well at all. I’m familiar with other Rupert Holmes songs. His best known hit was “Escape (The Pina Colada Song)”, but he had two other big songs, “Him” and “Answering Machine.” I consider all of those songs to be pretty good songs from a musician/arranger’s standpoint. The latter two are particularly good. Holmes employs some oddly-syncopated, stop-and-start lyrical devices in both of them, and does so tastefully, IMO. But the lyrics of “Timothy” are just stilted and awkward.
I’m astonished that this song had any success at all, let alone made it to the top of the charts.
Obviously you haven’t heard D.O.A. by Bloodrock.
One quibble, though. A member of Bloorock said in an interview the song was “banned” by the FCC. It wasn’t - in fact, it got a pretty good amount of airplay, although not on your basic teen-oriented pop stations.
Just last night, I heard on NPR that 50 years ago, when “Hair” debuted, nobody thought it would be a hit on ANY level.