# Stray Cat Strut **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** music\ **Created:** [September 11, 2023, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stray-cat-strut/989948 "2023-09-11T19:41:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Pleonast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pleonast/32/1183_2.png) [@Pleonast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pleonast)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2023, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stray-cat-strut/989948/21 "2023-09-12T00:57:28Z")
Who cares about the words when that bass is strumming your heartstrings? ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2023, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stray-cat-strut/989948/22 "2023-09-12T00:59:41Z")
I hated hated the Dead Cats when they were new. They were the “rat rods” of the day: appropriating something that they didn’t understand, and got wrong. Now that it has been longer between now and 1980 than it was between 1980 and the era of rockabilly, I have mellowed. Setzer’s Rockin’ Christmas Extravaganza is one of our yearly watches. ---
**Author:** ![foolsguinea](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foolsguinea/32/14751_2.png) [@foolsguinea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/foolsguinea)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2023, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stray-cat-strut/989948/23 "2023-09-12T01:27:29Z")
Maybe these are what 12tone calls “vibes lyrics.” Not a single narrative throughline so much as a bunch of thematically similar verbal phrases with good sound and attitude. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2023, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stray-cat-strut/989948/24 "2023-09-12T01:42:58Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > I hated hated the Dead Cats when they were new. They were the “rat rods” of the day: appropriating something that they didn’t understand, and got wrong. > > Now that it has been longer between now and 1980 than it was between 1980 and the era of rockabilly, I have mellowed. Setzer’s Rockin’ Christmas Extravaganza is one of our yearly watches. A dead cat bounce? ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2023, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stray-cat-strut/989948/25 "2023-09-12T01:43:24Z")
> [@foolsguinea](#): > > Maybe these are what 12tone calls “vibes lyrics.” I don’t think they fit his criteria (as explained in [this video](https://youtu.be/zIfCjLfxGfc) starting at about 7:30): > [@](#): > > the first of these is, of course, meaninglessness. > taken as a whole, the lyrics can’t have any obvious semantic meaning. > that’s the point. > individual lines might make sense in isolation, but they do not make sense together. > there can be a bit of a consistent theme, but any hint of long-form narrative or worldbuilding is enough to disqualify a song, even if it has some really good gibberish. > > speaking of which, my second criterion is spectacle, which is basically a measure of the density of cool words and phrases. > a true vibes lyric is packed to the brim with things that sound awesome, provocative, and unexpected. > > the third criterion is sincerity: it’s important that the lyrics are fully committed to the bit. > > and finally, my last criterion is maximalism. > this isn’t about the lyrics themselves, it’s about the accompanying music. > vibes lyrics are 100% committed to a bonkers aesthetic, and they need the music underneath them to match that commitment. > this maximalism can take many forms, but as a rule, the track needs to be just as awesome as the words. I think the lyrics make perfect sense if you imagine the singer as a sort of cartoon character cat. Cartoon characters can freely mix and match human and animal characteristics. ---
**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:** [September 12, 2023, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stray-cat-strut/989948/26 "2023-09-12T01:44:30Z")
The very notion of a mouse having a pet dog is offensive. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2023, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stray-cat-strut/989948/27 "2023-09-12T01:52:23Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > A dead cat bounce? It would seem so! I have so many Brian Setzer Orchestra CDs that I must have ten versions of Stray Cat Strut and Rock This Town. My twenty year old self would think I got brain damage. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2023, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stray-cat-strut/989948/28 "2023-09-12T02:00:20Z")
> [@Jaycat.again](#): > > I saw them play at the Paradise in Boston some time in the 80s They played in Boston on: - July 16, 1982 - Paradise - July 17, 1982 - Spit - Dec 16, 1982 - Metro - Jan 14, 1984 - Orpheum - Oct 12, 1986 - Axis - May 11, 1989 - Citi ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2023, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stray-cat-strut/989948/29 "2023-09-12T02:47:06Z")
I mean, everything in the OP pretty much describes Fritz the Cat…. ---
**Author:** ![Biggirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biggirl/32/3294_2.png) [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2023, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stray-cat-strut/989948/30 "2023-09-12T14:58:04Z")
> I mean, everything in the OP pretty much describes Fritz the Cat…. I always imagined the song was about Top Cat. ---
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2023, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stray-cat-strut/989948/31 "2023-09-12T19:06:29Z")
> [@Biggirl](#): > > I always imagined the song was about Top Cat. He’s the boss, he’s the VIP, he’s the championship… ---
**Author:** ![Biggirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biggirl/32/3294_2.png) [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2023, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stray-cat-strut/989948/32 "2023-09-12T19:24:37Z")
Well, he IS the most tip top. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2023, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stray-cat-strut/989948/33 "2023-09-12T19:54:04Z")
I was today years old when I found out that Phil Silvers didn’t do Top Cat’s voice. It was Arnold Stang doing a Phil Silvers impersonation. ---
**Author:** ![DavidNRockies](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidnrockies/32/6279_2.png) [@DavidNRockies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidNRockies)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2023, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stray-cat-strut/989948/34 "2023-09-12T22:24:21Z")
I don’t feel like I have _too_ much to add to this thread, but I _would_ like to just leave this picture. It’s a solo front suspension part meant to be mated with a 1980’s Mercury Cougar: [![](https://shop.redline360.com/cdn/shop/products/kyb-excel-g-shock-strut_9b2c5c0d-e1f4-4e8a-813d-791a123b9f38_1024x1024@2x.jpg?v=1657565465) ](https://shop.redline360.com/cdn/shop/products/kyb-excel-g-shock-strut_9b2c5c0d-e1f4-4e8a-813d-791a123b9f38_1024x1024@2x.jpg?v=1657565465) ---
**Author:** ![Akaj](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/akaj/32/145_2.png) [@Akaj](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Akaj)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2023, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stray-cat-strut/989948/35 "2023-09-12T22:26:53Z")
> [@DavidNRockies](#): > > a solo front suspension part meant to be mated with a 1980’s Mercury Cougar IOW, a stray Cat strut. Well played. ---
**Author:** ![BlankSlate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blankslate/32/80_2.png) [@BlankSlate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlankSlate)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2023, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stray-cat-strut/989948/36 "2023-09-12T22:30:25Z")
Wasn’t there a _Stray Cat Strut_ thread years ago that asked the question: just how much does it cost to rent a fence? ETA: Now that I’ve read the lyrics, just what kind of cat goes _Howling to the moonlight on a hot summer night_? Is he really a stray dog? ---
**Author:** ![foolsguinea](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foolsguinea/32/14751_2.png) [@foolsguinea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/foolsguinea)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2023, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stray-cat-strut/989948/37 "2023-09-13T00:35:28Z")
Isn’t Deadcats a different band? ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2023, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stray-cat-strut/989948/38 "2023-09-13T00:40:16Z")
You don’t understand Siamese cats, do you? They howl, oh boy they howl! 😊 ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2023, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stray-cat-strut/989948/39 "2023-09-13T00:41:23Z")
Even if you do not please. ---
**Author:** ![snfaulkner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snfaulkner/32/433_2.png) [@snfaulkner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snfaulkner)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2023, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stray-cat-strut/989948/40 "2023-09-13T03:35:16Z")
> [@BlankSlate](#): > > just what kind of cat goes _Howling to the moonlight on a hot summer night_? A horny one. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stray-cat-strut/989948.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stray-cat-strut/989948.md?page=3)