The radio at work is tuned to the oldies station, and some of these songs are just beyond comprehension to my turn-of-the-millenium mind. Hopefully, some of the older Dopers around here can clue me in to what the artists are talking about.
First is “Brick House” by the Commodores.
Is this supposed to be a compliment? It sounds like he’s praising this woman, but every woman I know would be insulted by such a description. (And yes, I have asked several female friends about this song. None of them would feel flattered by being compared to a large masonery ediface.)
The other song I’m wondering about is the Rolling Stones’ “Jumpin’ Jack Flash.” What the heck is this song about? “Jumpin’ Jack Flash is a gas gas gas.” Uh, OK, whatever you say Mick. If it gets cold enough, does Jack become a liquid liquid liquid?
Actually, it’s “I’m Jumpin’ Jack Flash, it’s a gas, gas gas.” “It’s a gas” is an [apparently obsolete, damn you young whippersnappers] expression meaning, roughly, “The situation is excellent.”
Another colloquialism you need to know is “She’s built like a brick shithouse.” (Note the pause between the words “brick” and “house” in the song.) Not the nicest way to compliment a woman to her face, but they are singing in the third person, after all.
Biffy, I was aware of the phrase “brick shithouse” but never associated it with this song. I mean, I completely understand the what the singer is trying to convey, but didn’t connect it to the old term. You mention a pause between “brick” and “house” (or howwwwwwwwwse, as it were); does the original version have the word “shit” in it and it’s just blanked out for radio play?
And Dicemen, don’t forget the lyric “that lady’s stacked and that’s a fact, aint holdin’ nothing back”
No, I didn’t mean to imply that. But by leaving that long pause between the two words of the title, the singer, I think, clearly means to imply the naughty expression.
While I was aware of the connection of the “Brick House” to the aforementioned colloquialism, I have never understood why that expression is considered a positive description of a woman’s looks. As Diceman kind of implied, when I think of a woman with a nice figure, a comparison to a masonry structure intended for defecation is not exactly the first thing that comes to mind. Can someone explain this?
When I was a kid (New Jersey, 1970s-1980s), my dad used the term to mean an extremely muscular man - “He’s built like a brick shithouse!” Really strong, see?
Moving into the current, can someone please explain John Mayer’s “Waiting on the World to Change”? (lyrics here) At first listen, it sounds like a good ol’ fashioned change the world rabble rouser, a la Woody Guthrie or Bob Dylan. Then I listen to the actual words, and it’s like the themesong to political and social apathy:
Is it supporting or decrying apathy? Or is it just noting its existence? It makes me cringe, to think that even the songwriters of today just don’t give a rat’s ass. If the fucking pinko commie librul artists don’t speak out against The Man, who will?
Power to the peo— ooh, shiny!
In Louisiana, I heard the same corny zydeco song at every single shop: Don’t Mess With My Toot-Toot. I have no idea who sang it, and, to this day, have no idea what a toot-toot is or why someone is messing with his.
That would be Rockin’ Sydney. I’ve seen it spelled toot toot and tout tout; the latter spelling suggests it might mean something like “my everything”. I think John Fogerty covered it.
“Brick House” is the same code as “Baby Got Back.”
Women with big butts being preferred has been a part of black culture, whether stereotyped or real, for the last century. Have you never listened to Jay Leno teasing Kevin Eubanks?
Surrealism was big back in the late 60’s, ala the Beatles Sgt. Pepper Lonely Hearts Club band. It was cool to sound esoteric, even if it didn’t make much sense and you could try to give meaning to the words when you were stoned. “Pressed between the pages” refers to pressing flowers between the pages of a book. Striped pants were in fashion at the time. When you iron your pants, they’re pressed. Take a bunch of randomly related sentences, put them all togher and you get…
I got nuthin.