A Bad Thing A Good Thing In Music
Bad - Lionel Ritchie’s Fake Jamaican Accent In “All Night Long”
This is a great song. It builds slowly and hots up but never loses its smoothness. It’s got that great middle eight (”Heeeey! Jamba-jamba!”), it has crowd party noise (pre-gangsta, note), the horns are tight and the percussion is amazing. It’s a great song!
But what by the power of all the commodores combined is with the accent?!?!?! It is toe-curlingly awful:
“Once you get stahhted yoo cahhn’t sloh dowwwn.”
My earsssss! It burnssss usssss!!!! Nasty Lionelsssess!
“Everyone danseen dey trobulsway. Come join da pahhtee, seeeeeee how dey pleh!”
Bad Lionel.
Good - The Call And Answer Bit In REM’s “It’s The End Of The World As We Know It”
Michael Stipe: “Birthday party, cheesecake, jelly bean, boom! You symbiotic, patriotic, slam book neck - right?”
Mike Mills: “Right.”
We’ve had to wait five decades since Glen Miller and Pennsylvania 65000 for a decent speaky band interjection, but it’s been worth it.
January 24th, 2006 at 11:33 am
The whistle in the middle of the guitar solo in Molly Hatchet’s ‘Flirting With Disaster’ doesn’t count?
I am so disappointed.
January 24th, 2006 at 3:06 pm
*hums* Pensylvania Six Five Oh Oh Oh….
January 24th, 2006 at 6:03 pm
Band interjection: Bad News’s version of ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’.
All: “Will not let you go… no no no no no no no”
Rik Mayall: “Absolutely not”
January 24th, 2006 at 7:03 pm
Pixies do it quite well live in concert.
Great post, as usual, Cliff.
January 24th, 2006 at 7:04 pm
Oh, and of course, the greatness that is Robyn Hitchcock, running off a very long list of questions to his band (and the audience) and then adding, “Don’t answer me back, anyone!”
Brilliant!
January 25th, 2006 at 8:58 am
Lionel Ritchie always leaves a tiny flaw. Take the video for “Hello” - not one of his best songs. “Blind” girl sculps Ritchie’s head - fine. But why is it that when said “blind” girl comes out of the shower in the video, she turns the light on? Eh?
January 25th, 2006 at 9:26 am
Live versions and parodies do not count. Although I love Bad News’ BoRap. SausagES.
December 13th, 2006 at 12:40 pm
I’m arriving at this discussion VERY late (you and your “Also on This is This”), but what about the call and answer in Van Halen’s Jump? Hey you! Who said that? Baby how you been. Unless that was after the REM one. Sigh.
December 13th, 2006 at 4:04 pm
Wendy - If that wasn’t David Lee Roth saying it to himself, then it’s a perfect speaky band interjection. I know a lot of Van Halen fans read this, so maybe they can pipe up and clear up the matter.