Topic .5 - The Giving of Thanks
There are certain words that seem to lend themselves to song titles. Hello. Love. Fire. Anaconda.
"Thanks" and variations on that word make up a not insignificant part of our musical culture. I'm going to explore a few key ones here in the hopes of providing a soundtrack to your next few days. If you are celebrating Thanksgiving, I encourage you to play them especially loud should anyone try to engage you in conversation while you're gorging.
Let's also call attention to the lack of decent Thanksgiving carols at this time. We wouldn't have to do this if there was a wealth of decent genocide themed songs. There's just "Run To The Hills" by Iron Maiden, but we as a society mustn't leave all the heavy lifting to them.
We start with the funkiest song on the list in the hopes that it will temporarily exorcise from your skull whatever ear worms are currently tormenting you.
For the record, "The Thong Song" constantly runs through my head and I've been trying to push it out for over a decade. If I meet Sisqo on the road, I will kill him. In a zen sense, this makes Sisqo my own personal Buddha.
Anyhow, first "Thank You" song:
If I could just isolate the bass, that is the sound I'd like to play whenever I enter a room. People would assume I was the coolest grandfather in the world, until they learned I had no kids or grand-kids. Then they'd just think I was a strange old man with a bass fixation. They'd be right.
If you're more of a classic rock person, you might prefer this Led Zeppelin tune:
You'd, of course, be wrong to prefer this particular track to that Sly and the Family Stone track. Zep's "Thank You" sounds like everything that was wrong about late 60's rock - you can practically hear stoned hobbits prancing through elven fields. Then they realize they let some dark riders leave the Shire with the One Ring and the world ends. All because of smoking Hobbit Weed.
That is, coincidentally, an award winning Middle Earth PSA that warned off dozens, maybe even hundreds, of young hobbits from a dissolute lifetime of pipe weed smoking.
The only thing I'm ever thankful for regarding this song is when it ends, because then I can flip the Led Zeppelin II over and listen to "Heartbreaker." Which naturally leads me to the Dread Zeppelin version of "Heartbreaker (At The End Of A Lonely Street)." There's something to be thankful for.
Feel free to include both of those on your playlist this week, even though they don't say 'Thank you' in the lyrics. People will understand you're grateful.
And then there's this comprehensive thank you list from Alanis Morissette:
In the chorus, Alanis thanks everyone and everything. I like to imagine that there is a 3 day long version of this song where she actually does thank everything she can think of. Choruses like:
Thank you paper cuts
Thank you Sominex
Thank you THANK YOU legumes
She even mentions you and I by name in my fantasy version. I mean, she gets serious about thanking people. She even pronounces everything right.
We started funky. Let's end with the least funky song in the history:
I lie - "Having My Baby" is even less funky than this. I'm not linking it so don't add it to your playlist.
Right as Mr. Newton starts singing "Danke Schoen," the audience recognizes the song and applauds. I like to imagine that he's thinking "Oh, thanks audience, for totally ruining the song with your unnecessary applause." Then he goes out and pours a drink over the head of some insurance salesman from Duluth. Inside, he feels like he's caused that man - Robert Schmidt, Duluth High Class of 1946 here on vacation with his lovely wife, Mipsy - both joy and pain, thus fulfilling the song's lyrics.
Poll Thank You Poll
Take a second to enjoy the other Topic .5 entries. I'll be back next week for the big new LJ Idol Season kick-off.
"Thanks" and variations on that word make up a not insignificant part of our musical culture. I'm going to explore a few key ones here in the hopes of providing a soundtrack to your next few days. If you are celebrating Thanksgiving, I encourage you to play them especially loud should anyone try to engage you in conversation while you're gorging.
Let's also call attention to the lack of decent Thanksgiving carols at this time. We wouldn't have to do this if there was a wealth of decent genocide themed songs. There's just "Run To The Hills" by Iron Maiden, but we as a society mustn't leave all the heavy lifting to them.
We start with the funkiest song on the list in the hopes that it will temporarily exorcise from your skull whatever ear worms are currently tormenting you.
For the record, "The Thong Song" constantly runs through my head and I've been trying to push it out for over a decade. If I meet Sisqo on the road, I will kill him. In a zen sense, this makes Sisqo my own personal Buddha.
Anyhow, first "Thank You" song:
Click to viewIf I could just isolate the bass, that is the sound I'd like to play whenever I enter a room. People would assume I was the coolest grandfather in the world, until they learned I had no kids or grand-kids. Then they'd just think I was a strange old man with a bass fixation. They'd be right.
If you're more of a classic rock person, you might prefer this Led Zeppelin tune:
You'd, of course, be wrong to prefer this particular track to that Sly and the Family Stone track. Zep's "Thank You" sounds like everything that was wrong about late 60's rock - you can practically hear stoned hobbits prancing through elven fields. Then they realize they let some dark riders leave the Shire with the One Ring and the world ends. All because of smoking Hobbit Weed.
That is, coincidentally, an award winning Middle Earth PSA that warned off dozens, maybe even hundreds, of young hobbits from a dissolute lifetime of pipe weed smoking.
The only thing I'm ever thankful for regarding this song is when it ends, because then I can flip the Led Zeppelin II over and listen to "Heartbreaker." Which naturally leads me to the Dread Zeppelin version of "Heartbreaker (At The End Of A Lonely Street)." There's something to be thankful for.
Feel free to include both of those on your playlist this week, even though they don't say 'Thank you' in the lyrics. People will understand you're grateful.
And then there's this comprehensive thank you list from Alanis Morissette:
In the chorus, Alanis thanks everyone and everything. I like to imagine that there is a 3 day long version of this song where she actually does thank everything she can think of. Choruses like:
Thank you paper cuts
Thank you Sominex
Thank you THANK YOU legumes
She even mentions you and I by name in my fantasy version. I mean, she gets serious about thanking people. She even pronounces everything right.
We started funky. Let's end with the least funky song in the history:
I lie - "Having My Baby" is even less funky than this. I'm not linking it so don't add it to your playlist.
Right as Mr. Newton starts singing "Danke Schoen," the audience recognizes the song and applauds. I like to imagine that he's thinking "Oh, thanks audience, for totally ruining the song with your unnecessary applause." Then he goes out and pours a drink over the head of some insurance salesman from Duluth. Inside, he feels like he's caused that man - Robert Schmidt, Duluth High Class of 1946 here on vacation with his lovely wife, Mipsy - both joy and pain, thus fulfilling the song's lyrics.
Poll Thank You Poll
Take a second to enjoy the other Topic .5 entries. I'll be back next week for the big new LJ Idol Season kick-off.