# Songs to take oversized mallets to **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** music\ **Created:** [February 19, 2020, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-to-take-oversized-mallets-to/848183 "2020-02-19T17:30:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 8
**Author:** ![whitetho](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whitetho/32/1059_2.png) [@whitetho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/whitetho)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2022, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-to-take-oversized-mallets-to/848183/141 "2022-08-27T20:05:03Z")
> [@XOldiesJock](#): > > The song was written by Shel Silverstein, who was a prolific writer, poet, cartoonist, songwriter, playwright and media personality in the mid-to-late 20th century…like that was supposed to make it any good. An interview with Louisa Pandolfi, aka Sylvia Pandolfi’s mother: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/qZMUx2CfpXI/maxresdefault.jpg "Dr. Hook – Sylvia’s Mother | Het verhaal achter het nummer | Top 2000 a gogo") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qZMUx2CfpXI) ---
**Author:** ![XOldiesJock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/ec9cab/32.png) [@XOldiesJock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XOldiesJock)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2022, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-to-take-oversized-mallets-to/848183/142 "2022-08-27T20:36:05Z")
Well, that’s an interesting story. Still a dreadful song, though. At least the Dr. Hook version. I can imagine it being less grating in the hands of someone else. ---
**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:** [August 27, 2022, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-to-take-oversized-mallets-to/848183/143 "2022-08-27T20:52:44Z")
> [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](#): > > I find the Violent Femmes to be an antidote to any annoying earworm. Humming “Add It Up” or “Blister In The Sun” will drive out any catchy tune my brain is playing on repeat, without itself becoming an earworm. Little off-topic, but it works for me. Now you gave me a “Blister in The Sun” earworm, and you knew it would happen to someone 😉. But it’s good, one of the better earworms. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2022, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-to-take-oversized-mallets-to/848183/144 "2022-08-28T15:12:11Z")
If we can extend this to _albums_ that deserve an oversized mallet hit, Dave Edmunds’ “Subtle as a Flying Mallet” is a good candidate. It’s a compilation of oldies like Da Doo Ron Ron for which Edmunds apparently attempted to recreate 1950s-early 1960s sound. But it comes off ultra-murky, like he and the band are performing from the depths of a giant barrel. ---
**Author:** ![pjd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pjd/32/3009_2.png) [@pjd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pjd)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2022, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-to-take-oversized-mallets-to/848183/145 "2022-08-28T18:45:16Z")
Someone already nominated that ! > [@Songs to take oversized mallets to](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-to-take-oversized-mallets-to/848183/99): > > Albums to take a giant mallet to include Dave Edmunds’ second solo album, Subtle as a Flying Mallet, wherein he covers '50s and '60s oldies in an attempt to recreate period sound. Unfortunately the results are often murky, and poor Dave sounds like he’s performing in the bottom of a barrel. ---
**Author:** ![Guest-starring\_Id](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guest-starring_id/32/21736_2.png) [@Guest-starring\_Id](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guest-starring_Id)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2022, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-to-take-oversized-mallets-to/848183/146 "2022-08-28T21:31:12Z")
It’s possble a few may like this one, but I thought it always perfectly exemplified the more vacuous, shrink-wrapped side of 60s music. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/tyYP8G2wc_s/maxresdefault.jpg "See You in September") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tyYP8G2wc_s) Or the theme from _A Man and a Woman_? (even The Simpsons did a riff on that one, IIRC) ---
**Author:** ![Guest-starring\_Id](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guest-starring_id/32/21736_2.png) [@Guest-starring\_Id](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guest-starring_Id)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2022, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-to-take-oversized-mallets-to/848183/147 "2022-11-01T14:10:38Z")
Yeah especially the chorus in Glenn Frey’s “You Belong to the City”… [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/8TToLgW7zuc/maxresdefault.jpg "Glenn Frey - You Belong To The City") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8TToLgW7zuc) Adult contemporary never sounded so beauteous. ---
**Author:** ![Guest-starring\_Id](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guest-starring_id/32/21736_2.png) [@Guest-starring\_Id](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guest-starring_Id)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2022, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-to-take-oversized-mallets-to/848183/148 "2022-12-03T20:43:50Z")
Always had issues with Canadain singer Corey Hart. His enunciation was always beyind annoying - what the hell’s [he even _saying_ here?](https://youtu.be/56HSPQHSqEE?t=60) Yeah yeah I could google the lyrics in two seconds, but that still does not, in any way, mitigate its preposterousness. _I can’t buh-LEEEEVE it!_ With “It Ain’t Enough”, he redefines ‘maudlin’… _That ain’t enough FAW-YOOOOO_ …and you _gotta_ love this “hot move” at exactly [2:29.](https://youtu.be/H3nb-TIfBgk?t=144) ---
**Author:** ![Guest-starring\_Id](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guest-starring_id/32/21736_2.png) [@Guest-starring\_Id](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guest-starring_Id)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2023, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-to-take-oversized-mallets-to/848183/149 "2023-02-15T16:38:48Z")
Forgot about this one - heard it yesterday at the grocery. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/tt4cR9szMS8/maxresdefault.jpg "America - You Can Do Magic (Official Music Video)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tt4cR9szMS8) ---
**Author:** ![veryfrank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/87869e/32.png) [@veryfrank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/veryfrank)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2023, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-to-take-oversized-mallets-to/848183/150 "2023-02-15T17:32:24Z")
Can’t believe I never saw this thread before. I’ll spare you the links, partly because I’m at work, but if you want to torture yourself you can look 'em up. Lenny Kravitz, “Fly Away” which I’m pretty sure was around the same time as is godawful cover of “American Woman” and I nearly poked holes in my dashboard jabbing at the controls when either would come on. Black Eyed Peas “I Got A Feeling” which was cloying and obnoxious (the “L’chaim!” in the middle of one verse was especially bizarre) but what sealed the deal for me was the mass choreographed dance number they did for Oprah that went viral. Gag-inducing smugness. Can we do an entire record? I’m a huge Springsteen fan, and think he’s an uncommonly brilliant songwriter. But the live album for his stint on Broadway absolutely ruins every classic it contains, both with the endless stories around them, and his gurning overemotive delivery. “Land of Hope and Dreams” is in my top five favorite Bruce songs; I’ll never listen to this live version again if I can help it. ---
**Author:** ![Guest-starring\_Id](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guest-starring_id/32/21736_2.png) [@Guest-starring\_Id](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guest-starring_Id)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2023, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-to-take-oversized-mallets-to/848183/151 "2023-02-15T17:38:28Z")
> [@veryfrank](#): > > Lenny Kravitz, “Fly Away” which I’m pretty sure was around the same time as is godawful cover of “American Woman” and I nearly poked holes in my dashboard jabbing at the controls when either would come on Yes, thank-you, thank-you, thank-you…Bad enough, that “Shlepping Through the Fields of Joy” unforgiveable-ness, but also, all his lame appropriations of older hits - UGH - got in _good_ arguments with co-workers back in the day over his abject awfulness. > [@veryfrank](#): > > …gurning overemotive delivery… 😆 👍 ---
**Author:** ![veryfrank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/87869e/32.png) [@veryfrank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/veryfrank)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2023, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-to-take-oversized-mallets-to/848183/152 "2023-02-15T17:41:36Z")
> [@Guest-starring\_Id](#): > > Yes, thank-you, thank-you, thank-you…Bad enough, that “Shlepping Through the Fields of Joy” unforgiveable-ness, but also, all his lame appropriations of older hits - UGH - got in _good_ arguments with co-workers back in the day over his abject awfulness. I don’t dislike all of Kravitz’s songs, I should mention. His first album had some solid tracks, and as a soul pastiche “It Ain’t Over 'til It’s Over” is quite a groove. I also sort of appreciate Kravitz because he and I were both at the same party once when I lived in L.A. and I was chuffed to see with my own eyes that even in platforms, he was still shorter than me, and as a kid who was sat front row centre of every class photo because of my height, I’ll take my minor victories where I can get them. ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2023, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-to-take-oversized-mallets-to/848183/153 "2023-02-18T23:14:01Z")
Skyrockets in flight, afternoon **KABOOM!!** We had joy we had fun we had seasons in the **POW!** Don’t go breakin my heart, I won’t go **SPLAT!** ---
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2023, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-to-take-oversized-mallets-to/848183/154 "2023-02-21T18:11:45Z")
I’d like to go back in time and nuke _Volare_ before it had a chance to scar my 50s brain. Same with _“Walk right in, sit right down”_ 😬 ---
**Author:** ![Guest-starring\_Id](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guest-starring_id/32/21736_2.png) [@Guest-starring\_Id](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guest-starring_Id)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2023, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-to-take-oversized-mallets-to/848183/155 "2023-03-23T03:43:59Z")
Piped in music (do I still call it Muzak?) - the gift that keeps on giving. Yesterday I was provided with Poco’s crushing definition of the word sappy, with “Crazy Love”. [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/8GY_orHl_sI/hqdefault.jpg "Poco- Crazy Love") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8GY_orHl_sI) _Juuuuuuuuust to waaaaiiiiiit and seeeeeee…_ ---
**Author:** ![Guest-starring\_Id](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guest-starring_id/32/21736_2.png) [@Guest-starring\_Id](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guest-starring_Id)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2023, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-to-take-oversized-mallets-to/848183/156 "2023-04-28T00:33:16Z")
Never had more of a love/hate thing going with any band than probably Yes, with their IMO high points (fast heavy bit opening “Heart of the Sunrise”; “Wurm” section in “Starship Trooper”; “Tempus Fugit”) to their lows (“I hear the tot-tal mass re-_tain!_”; “…Topographic…” opening), but their big commercial AM hit “Owner of a Lonely Heart” was always one of those numbers that I was more or less ok with, with its jaunty “synth yell” breaks and perhaps Chris’s ‘grooviest’ bass line (in the chorus), yet, for some reason, I found myself oddly slow to _finally_ home in on what was kinda “off” about it. But actually really super duper off. The fucking lyrics! Yes, I know Jon has _always_ been, from day one, an abstruse little shrub, but man those OLH lyrics… Was he going through therapy at the time? If I want to hear a motivational pamphlet (like, never, anyway) I probably won’t jibe with it being in a rock song. _You’ve got to want to succeed!_ ---
**Author:** ![Spiderman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spiderman/32/230_2.png) [@Spiderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiderman)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2023, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-to-take-oversized-mallets-to/848183/157 "2023-05-04T15:13:17Z")
Imagine. Though it is the second best sing-along song out there. JL: _♫Imagine there’s no heaven_ Response: _♫Then you’re really fucked!_ - ::Change station:: . , In case you were wondering what #1 is (annoying though not nearly as annoying as above) Boy George: Do you really want to hurt me? Response: **YES!** BG: Do you really want to make me cry? Response: **Damn straight!** or **Absodamnlutely!** or **Of course!** (it changes with the verse) ---
**Author:** ![Guest-starring\_Id](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guest-starring_id/32/21736_2.png) [@Guest-starring\_Id](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guest-starring_Id)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2023, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-to-take-oversized-mallets-to/848183/158 "2023-05-05T01:33:12Z")
Thank-you, yes - I responded almost precisely the same to BG. ---
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2023, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-to-take-oversized-mallets-to/848183/159 "2023-05-05T02:45:16Z")
Not the same thing, but that reminds me of the story of Paul singing “please lock me away…”, and John responding “ok”. ---
**Author:** ![Guest-starring\_Id](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guest-starring_id/32/21736_2.png) [@Guest-starring\_Id](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guest-starring_Id)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2023, 4:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-to-take-oversized-mallets-to/848183/160 "2023-08-10T04:21:36Z")
Speaking of “away”…Bronski Beat, makers of too many steamrollable numbers, ‘runs away’ with one of their hits - “Smalltown Boy” [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/88sARuFu-tc/hqdefault.jpg "Bronski Beat - Smalltown Boy (Official Video)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=88sARuFu-tc) When I think of depressing '80s, I think of this. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-to-take-oversized-mallets-to/848183.md?page=7) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-to-take-oversized-mallets-to/848183.md?page=9)