Songs with lyrics that aged poorly

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StevieFan13
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Re: Songs with lyrics that aged poorly

Post by StevieFan13 »

Rob wrote: Wed Dec 01, 2021 10:17 am
Live in Phoenix wrote: Wed Dec 01, 2021 1:13 am My '70s listening list includes Histoire de Melody Nelson, but I've heard it has some problems...
For what it's worth, provocation was always the point with Serge Gainsbourgh.
He almost called Joelle Ursull's 1990 Eurovision entry "Black Lolita Blues" before she was like "NO. Bad Serge."
Music is a world within itself, with a language we all understand - Sir Duke (1976)
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Live in Phoenix
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Re: Songs with lyrics that aged poorly

Post by Live in Phoenix »

Rob wrote: Wed Dec 01, 2021 10:17 am
Live in Phoenix wrote: Wed Dec 01, 2021 1:13 am My '70s listening list includes Histoire de Melody Nelson, but I've heard it has some problems...
For what it's worth, provocation was always the point with Serge Gainsbourgh.
Upon listening to it, my new complaint is, "And the portions are so small!"
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Romain
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Re: Songs with lyrics that aged poorly

Post by Romain »

Live in Phoenix wrote: Wed Dec 01, 2021 5:28 pm
Rob wrote: Wed Dec 01, 2021 10:17 am
Live in Phoenix wrote: Wed Dec 01, 2021 1:13 am My '70s listening list includes Histoire de Melody Nelson, but I've heard it has some problems...
For what it's worth, provocation was always the point with Serge Gainsbourgh.
Upon listening to it, my new complaint is, "And the portions are so small!"
You can try "L'homme à la tête de chou" now. Another concept album about another woman. More dark, more sex, more suave sweat with some grandiose nuggets.
And "L'enfant assassin des mouches" for Jean-Claude Vannier, the arranger.
And all their collaborations in film music "La horse, Les chemins de Katmandou, Cannabis, etc." :music-listening:
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StevieFan13
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Re: Songs with lyrics that aged poorly

Post by StevieFan13 »

Romain wrote: Wed Dec 01, 2021 5:47 pm
Live in Phoenix wrote: Wed Dec 01, 2021 5:28 pm
Rob wrote: Wed Dec 01, 2021 10:17 am

For what it's worth, provocation was always the point with Serge Gainsbourgh.
Upon listening to it, my new complaint is, "And the portions are so small!"
You can try "L'homme à la tête de chou" now. Another concept album about another woman. More dark, more sex, more suave sweat with some grandiose nuggets.
And "L'enfant assassin des mouches" for Jean-Claude Vannier, the arranger.
And all their collaborations in film music "La horse, Les chemins de Katmandou, Cannabis, etc." :music-listening:
I've heard of Vannier - he conducted for Monaco at Eurovision one time. Great arranger, pretty meh conductor.
Music is a world within itself, with a language we all understand - Sir Duke (1976)
Harold
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Re: Songs with lyrics that aged poorly

Post by Harold »

Nick wrote: Tue Nov 30, 2021 11:24 pm Serge Gainsbourg (whose music I love) once recorded a duet with his 12 year old daughter called "Lemon Incest" in which the lyrics describe the mutual sexual attraction between a man and his daughter. The music video featured a shirtless Serge laying in bed with his daughter, who was wearing only a shirt and panties.

The single peaked at #2 on the French charts.
Ah, ze French, zey are a funny people... If Charlotte ever writes a memoir, that will be a doozy. What a life she has had!

I've always loved that talk-show clip of Serge and a young Whitney Houston, where he very matter-of-factly leans towards her and says he wants to fuck her. (He initially says it in French, and the host tries to offer a more diplomatic "translation" to Houston, but Serge, being a man who wants to get right to it - to quote Mulholland Dr. - indignantly corrects him.)
Jirin
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Re: Songs with lyrics that aged poorly

Post by Jirin »

Dude Looks Like A Lady in today’s culture comes off a bit as anti-trans and macho bullying.

And of course, when you learn Delia’s Gone is perhaps not entirely fictional.
Harold
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Re: Songs with lyrics that aged poorly

Post by Harold »

Jirin wrote: Wed Dec 01, 2021 9:40 pm Dude Looks Like A Lady in today’s culture comes off a bit as anti-trans and macho bullying.
Well, it kind of came off that way in 1987, too...
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Re: Songs with lyrics that aged poorly

Post by Jirin »

Harold wrote: Wed Dec 01, 2021 9:52 pm
Jirin wrote: Wed Dec 01, 2021 9:40 pm Dude Looks Like A Lady in today’s culture comes off a bit as anti-trans and macho bullying.
Well, it kind of came off that way in 1987, too...
Thinking that’s a bad thing was a bit less mainstream, no?

There’s also all those 80s normalized racism songs like Turning Japanese.
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Re: Songs with lyrics that aged poorly

Post by Henry »

Jirin wrote: Wed Dec 01, 2021 9:40 pm Dude Looks Like A Lady in today’s culture comes off a bit as anti-trans and macho bullying.

And of course, when you learn Delia’s Gone is perhaps not entirely fictional.
I remember the song being associated with Mrs. Doubtfire and did not find it offensive in that context.
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Holden
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Re: Songs with lyrics that aged poorly

Post by Holden »

Henry wrote: Wed Dec 01, 2021 10:44 pm
Jirin wrote: Wed Dec 01, 2021 9:40 pm Dude Looks Like A Lady in today’s culture comes off a bit as anti-trans and macho bullying.

And of course, when you learn Delia’s Gone is perhaps not entirely fictional.
I remember the song being associated with Mrs. Doubtfire and did not find it offensive in that context.
I’ve never felt like Dude Looks Like a Lady was anything other than just a silly song. Of course I’m not trans but it’s not a hateful song, I don’t think at least.
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luvulongTIM
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Re: Songs with lyrics that aged poorly

Post by luvulongTIM »

Fairytale of NY has topped our Greatest xmas Song List for the last 3 years straight right? Didn’t Kirsty get killed around the xmas season too ironically? That’s why it’s kind of cringe for me to listen to but not as much as Wham’s even ironically titled Last Christmas. Which leads me to the song Father Figure by George Michael. I don’t personally feel it’s as creepy as other people did especially after he came out of the closet so I guess it’s more the listener’s homophobic undertones that get in the way of what I thought was a personal highlight of his.
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Father2TheMan
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Re: Songs with lyrics that aged poorly

Post by Father2TheMan »

Can't believe the thread has gone this long with no mention of "He Hit Me (And it Felt Like a Kiss)"
"The laughs come hard in Old Lang Syne....."
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BleuPanda
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Re: Songs with lyrics that aged poorly

Post by BleuPanda »

Father2TheMan wrote: Fri Dec 03, 2021 5:06 pm Can't believe the thread has gone this long with no mention of "He Hit Me (And it Felt Like a Kiss)"
I feel like that song was always intended to be disturbing, and it was immediately protested in its own time, so I don't think it's any different today than upon release.
luvulongTIM
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Re: Songs with lyrics that aged poorly

Post by luvulongTIM »

Maybe we should do a post on the OLDEST most inappropriate songs sometime soon like from those old timey blues singers like Lucille Bogan. Those songs are always a riot to listen to
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bonnielaurel
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Re: Songs with lyrics that aged poorly

Post by bonnielaurel »

Coon songs:
George W. Johnson - The Whistling Coon (1891)
Ada Jones - If the Man in the Moon Were a Coon (1907)
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