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[CONCEITS and VANITIES]
Who in the ever-lovin' fuck wrote the words to this thing?!?
I don't remember the single release in 1964, but stumbled across it while studying a 1967 Ron Riley WLS aircheck. He played it as an "oldie."
The lyrics would be disturbing if they were delivered in a serious manner (they're not) and if they weren't so goddam over the top. I haven't been able to hunt down the composer, but the words seem very much in the spirit of postwar R&B "chick abuse" tunes by entertainers such as Louis Jordan and Bull Moose Jackson. (They're not literally about abusing women, but portray the era's Battle Of The Sexes through the eyes of pseudo-macho, beleaguered rascals.)
The musical setting seems like a classic teen, American-Bandstand-style presentation, which puts an offbeat finish on the disc.
Over You, Paul Revere & the Raiders (1964, Columbia 4-43114), via YouTube, embedded for noncommercial commentary, critical discussion, and educational purposes.
Update: just noticed in the YouTube comments that the song is credited to Allen Toussaint and Allen Orange, which helps to explain the nature of the lyrics and the New Orleans flavor to the American-Bandstand-type chart. It says that Aaron Neville recorded it in 1960. Hilarious choice for the Raiders. Wouldn't be surprised if the responsible A&R man was fired over it.
Showing posts with label conceits and vanities. Show all posts
Showing posts with label conceits and vanities. Show all posts
Saturday, August 30, 2014
Monday, July 28, 2014
A new word we might be able to use
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[CONCEITS AND VANITIES]
HIPsight should be a word---a noun---that is shorthand for "something hidden in plain sight" or, alternately, "the quality of being hidden in plain sight". If there were such a word, I might categorize it as an acromanteau, meaning that it is a blending of two words, like a portmanteau, but with one of the words being an acronym or brevity code. As the word first entered limited usage (by HIPsters!), it would be capitalized as it is at the beginning of this paragraph. Mass communication being what it is, I'd expect the spelling to rapidly self-demote to all-lowercase letters, like any other common noun.
I hereby claim the words HIPsight and aromanteau as my personal, original coinages. Likewise, I hereby bequeath these words to humanity for all uses in conversation and other intellectual discourse, but not for trademarking or other commercial use by permission of myself, the creator.
Thank you for your attention in this matter.
[CONCEITS AND VANITIES]
HIPsight should be a word---a noun---that is shorthand for "something hidden in plain sight" or, alternately, "the quality of being hidden in plain sight". If there were such a word, I might categorize it as an acromanteau, meaning that it is a blending of two words, like a portmanteau, but with one of the words being an acronym or brevity code. As the word first entered limited usage (by HIPsters!), it would be capitalized as it is at the beginning of this paragraph. Mass communication being what it is, I'd expect the spelling to rapidly self-demote to all-lowercase letters, like any other common noun.
I hereby claim the words HIPsight and aromanteau as my personal, original coinages. Likewise, I hereby bequeath these words to humanity for all uses in conversation and other intellectual discourse, but not for trademarking or other commercial use by permission of myself, the creator.
Thank you for your attention in this matter.
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