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"Weird" Songs That Were Hits

#43
Bunk McNulty said:
The author apparently has never heard the term "novelty songs." What a load of pretentious nonsense. And as I was there at the time, I can say I do not remember anyone suggesting "Brand New Key" was about sex.

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All popular music is about sex. Or not getting sex. Or cars. Or getting/not getting sex in the back seat of cars. And booze. Lots and lots of booze.
 
#45
Bunk McNulty said:
The author apparently has never heard the term "novelty songs." What a load of pretentious nonsense. And as I was there at the time, I can say I do not remember anyone suggesting "Brand New Key" was about sex.

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RE: Brand New Key

Shoot, I thought that was common knowledge. Heck, even the Pastor at my Church knew that’s what it was about. He was known for going on about the evils of modern rock music.
 
#48
Michedelic said:
Also overlooked is the sub-genre of “teen death” songs(with the attached ghost story variant)of the very early 60’s. While adolescents go through some sort of obsession with death, these songs tapped the subconscious fear of the nuclear annihilation concerns of the time period, Cuban missile crisis and all that. Dickie Lee was the king of such stuff, “Patches”, “Laurie”, and more, plus J. Frank Wilson’s “Last Kiss”. Later on, there was maudlin stuff like Bobby Goldsboro’s “Honey”. Then, ‘recitation’ records, like Jimmy Dean’s “Big Bad John”(more death), Red Sovine’s “Phantom 309”(another ghost story), and sappy stuff like Walter Brennan’s(an actor who portrayed crotchety farm hand types)record, “Old Rivers”.
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And "Johnny, Remember Me", too.

'80s brought some novelty songs makers as well, like Haysi Fantayzee, Sigue Sigue Sputnik, and Videokids.
 
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#49
Bunk McNulty said:
The author apparently has never heard the term "novelty songs." What a load of pretentious nonsense. And as I was there at the time, I can say I do not remember anyone suggesting "Brand New Key" was about sex.

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I always thought that song was about sex. Heather Graham's turn as "Roller Girl" in Boogie Nights didn't nothing to dispel that thought!
 
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#51
Eli_Kyiv said:
And "Johnny, Remember Me", too.

'80s brought some novelty songs makers as well, like Haysi Fantayzee, Sigue Sigue Sputnik, and Videokids.
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Few in the US know of it, but there was a British singer, Twinkle, who had a doomed boyfriend song, “Terry”.

But those others, I wouldn’t count as weird/novelty, it was just where a certain section of Euro youth culture was at that time. Remember Grebo? The point of SSS was to be obvious hype and no substance, as commentary on how plastic things were(and still con the public while they were doing it).
 
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#56
lOmnivore S said:
Well I'm French so weird songs..

Here's piece of something weird that enjoyable. It's Serge Gainsgourg, in its entry piece of his 1968 concept album "Melody Nelson". That was a mere few months before the big hit "Je t'aime moi non plus" (scoring #1 in England no less.) (another weird one.) Video has to be from JC Averty, arrangments ('harmonizing') from JC Vannier, two big names too.

For all you bass loving guys and garlz here's an easy click below. It's seven minutes long, and yes it's mightily bass driven (has to be Precision with rounds) (or flats ??) Just check the few early seconds and you'll be fine.

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Speaking of French novelty songs, Les Rita Mitsouko's "C'est Comme Ça" got a surprising amount of airplay in the US for a moment in the 80s, though I don't think it charted.
 
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#57
Michedelic said:
Also overlooked is the sub-genre of “teen death” songs(with the attached ghost story variant)of the very early 60’s. While adolescents go through some sort of obsession with death, these songs tapped the subconscious fear of the nuclear annihilation concerns of the time period, Cuban missile crisis and all that. Dickie Lee was the king of such stuff, “Patches”, “Laurie”, and more, plus J. Frank Wilson’s “Last Kiss”. Later on, there was maudlin stuff like Bobby Goldsboro’s “Honey”. Then, ‘recitation’ records, like Jimmy Dean’s “Big Bad John”(more death), Red Sovine’s “Phantom 309”(another ghost story), and sappy stuff like Walter Brennan’s(an actor who portrayed crotchety farm hand types)record, “Old Rivers”.
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Well, that theme goes way way way back. Think "Mary of the Wild Moor", "Jimmy Brown the Newsboy", "Hobo Bill's Last Ride", "Katie Dear", "The Banks of the Ohio", "Footprints in the Snow", "Long Black Veil", "Green Grass of Home", "Wreck of the Old 97", and how many others?
 

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