I'd like to nominate 'The Hanky Panky' by Tommy James and the Shondells as my favorite example of a song that has a real cool sound to it, but the lyrics are utterly useless, redundant, lame and stupid.
Got a song you like , but hate the lyrics?
Cool sounding song, totally inane lyrics.
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Cool sounding song, totally inane lyrics.
posted at 10/27/2011 4:41 PM EDT
- ZILLAGOD
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Re: Cool sounding song, totally inane lyrics.
posted at 10/27/2011 5:20 PM EDT
- Hfxsoxnut
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My pet example for this is Steve Miller. He has done a lot of great-sounding songs with bad lyrics. -
Re: Cool sounding song, totally inane lyrics.
posted at 10/27/2011 6:05 PM EDT
- mrmojo1120
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Re: Cool sounding song, totally inane lyrics.
posted at 10/27/2011 11:23 PM EDT
- LloydDobler
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Perfect example: "Hello Goodbye" by the Beatles.
Catchy tune, Paul's voice is great ... but the lyrics couldn't be more inane ("You say stop, I say go ..."). -
Re: Cool sounding song, totally inane lyrics.
posted at 10/28/2011 7:19 AM EDT
- leafswin27
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too many to post.. Party Time by The Jazz butcher is one that comes to mind.
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Re: Cool sounding song, totally inane lyrics.
posted at 10/28/2011 9:08 AM EDT
- lefig
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Don't really like the song too much, but the lyric "Only time will tell if we stand the test of time" always struck me as lame. -
Re: Cool sounding song, totally inane lyrics.
posted at 10/28/2011 9:47 AM EDT
- SlimPickensIII
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Pretty much anything by Steely Dan fits for me (Brown Cow stands out). A bit of the Stones as well. (Jumpin Jack Flash is a gas, gas, gas?)
I'd also add Phish, except to my ears their lameness extends well beyond lyrics and the most pathetic attempts at singing ever. -
Re: Cool sounding song, totally inane lyrics.
posted at 10/28/2011 11:57 AM EDT
- p-mike
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Pink Cadillac -
Re: Cool sounding song, totally inane lyrics.
posted at 10/28/2011 1:15 PM EDT
- devildavid
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If a song has a great sound, I am not bothered by inane lyrics. Actually, many times I enjoy inane lyrics. For me, lyrics are secondary. "Good" lyrics can't make me like a song that I don't like the sound of. My approach to music is based totally on overall sound of the song. Good lyrics can add to the enjoyment, but inane lyrics don't bother me none. Blues and early rock songs are loaded with simple. repetitive lyrics and I love that stuff. Some may be considered inane. Are the lyrics to "Bo Diddley" inane? Or "Tutti Frutti"? I think the lyrics to those songs are perfect for them. I'm not looking for much meaning in lyrics, just that they go with the over-all sound of the song. After all, it's only rock and roll (but I like it).
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Re: Cool sounding song, totally inane lyrics.
posted at 10/28/2011 1:24 PM EDT
- ZILLAGOD
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In Response to Re: Cool sounding song, totally inane lyrics.:Don't really like the song too much, but the lyric "Only time will tell if we stand the test of time" always struck me as lame.
Posted by lefig
'Why Can't This Be Love' by Van Halen, I believe.
But what about the rest of the song?...I wasn't talking about just one line but the whole song, maybe you misunderstood. 'The Hanky Panky' just repeats "my baby does the hanky panky" over and over until you want to stuff cotton in the singer's mouth and just listen to that cool guitar sound.
Slim, the Steely Dan song is Black Cow , not Brown Cow, guess you're really not a fan.
DD, I agree with you, lyrics are not the main thing. I own Tommy James and the Shondells Greatest Hits and will play 'the Hanky Panky' because it sounds so great, but I almost wish it was an instrumental.
Another group that often had some unusual lyrics was America. I mean, what does all that stuff about a "Horse with No Name" really mean? Also I love Elton John's 'Benny and the Jets' , but what the heck is he singing about? 40 years later and I really don't know what the heck this song is all about. -
Re: Cool sounding song, totally inane lyrics.
posted at 10/28/2011 3:55 PM EDT
- WhatDoYouWantNow
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In Response to Re: Cool sounding song, totally inane lyrics.:If a song has a great sound, I am not bothered by inane lyrics. Actually, many times I enjoy inane lyrics. For me, lyrics are secondary. "Good" lyrics can't make me like a song that I don't like the sound of. My approach to music is based totally on overall sound of the song. Good lyrics can add to the enjoyment, but inane lyrics don't bother me none. Blues and early rock songs are loaded with simple. repetitive lyrics and I love that stuff. Some may be considered inane. Are the lyrics to "Bo Diddley" inane? Or "Tutti Frutti"? I think the lyrics to those songs are perfect for them. I'm not looking for much meaning in lyrics, just that they go with the over-all sound of the song. After all, it's only rock and roll (but I like it).
Posted by devildavid
Agreed.
Example for me: Big Long Now (Nirvana). I don't hate the lyrics; they don't seem to make much sense but they seem to very much go with the sound of the song.
"Dive" too.
In fact, many Nirvana songs. Then again, he would deliberately change words to similar sounding alternates with the purpose of muddying the lyrics' meaning. -
Re: Cool sounding song, totally inane lyrics.
posted at 10/28/2011 4:08 PM EDT
- ZILLAGOD
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In Response to Re: Cool sounding song, totally inane lyrics.:In Response to Re: Cool sounding song, totally inane lyrics. : Agreed. Example for me: Big Long Now (Nirvana). I don't hate the lyrics; they don't seem to make much sense but they seem to very much go with the sound of the song. "Dive" too. In fact, many Nirvana songs. Then again, he would deliberately change words to similar sounding alternates with the purpose of muddying the lyrics' meaning.
Posted by WhatDoYouWantNow
With Nirvana songs , hating the lyrics is not the question, it's "what the heck is he saying?"...haven't you ever heard the Weird Al Yankovic spoof song? -
Re: Cool sounding song, totally inane lyrics.
posted at 10/28/2011 4:38 PM EDT
- WhatDoYouWantNow
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In Response to Re: Cool sounding song, totally inane lyrics.:In Response to Re: Cool sounding song, totally inane lyrics. : With Nirvana songs , hating the lyrics is not the question, it's "what the heck is he saying?"...haven't you ever heard the Weird Al Yankovic spoof song?
Posted by ZILLAGOD
Yeah that one's pretty hilarious.
I dunno, I've generally been able to understand the lyrics pretty easily. -
Re: Cool sounding song, totally inane lyrics.
posted at 10/29/2011 12:07 PM EDT
- p-mike
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In Response to Re: Cool sounding song, totally inane lyrics.:In Response to Re: Cool sounding song, totally inane lyrics. : Also I love Elton John's 'Benny and the Jets' , but what the heck is he singing about? 40 years later and I really don't know what the heck this song is all about.
Posted by ZILLAGOD
The important takeaway is that Bennie is really keen, apparently . . . but it seems to me that electric boots and a mohair suit make a lot more sense than . . . oh . . . I don't know . . . mojo filter or walrus gumboot (or whatever it is) and I'll bet there are people on this forum who think that jabberwocky is pure genius. -
Re: Cool sounding song, totally inane lyrics.
posted at 10/29/2011 1:34 PM EDT
- ZILLAGOD
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I was always under the impression that Lennon wrote 'I am The Walrus' with silly, meaningless lyrics on purpose because music critics were playing Beatles songs forwards, backwards and sideways looking for hidden drug references, messages from God (Charles Manson, remember?), clues about Paul's death and so forth. people were searching album jackets with magnifying glasses looking for clues to every mystery on Earth. 'Come Together' is absolutely a work of deranged genius like the Dali paintings.
Were the Beatles the 'Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse?
I dunno, but that crazy John , he had some sense of humour. I think 'feet down below his knees' is one hilarious line. -
Re: Cool sounding song, totally inane lyrics.
posted at 10/29/2011 1:40 PM EDT
- Hfxsoxnut
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In Response to Re: Cool sounding song, totally inane lyrics.:I was always under the impression that Lennon wrote 'I am The Walrus' with silly, meaningless lyrics on purpose because music critics were playing Beatles songs forwards, backwards and sideways looking for hidden drug references, messages from God (Charles Manson, remember?), clues about Paul's death and so forth. people were searching album jackets with magnifying glasses looking for clues to every mystery on Earth. 'Come Together' is absolutely a work of deranged genius like the Dali paintings. Were the Beatles the 'Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse? I dunno, but that crazy John , he had some sense of humour. I think 'feet down below his knees' is one hilarious line.
Posted by ZILLAGOD
Lennon's nonsense verse was influenced, I believe, by the work of people like Edward Lear and Lewis Carroll. I bought a book of Lennon's poetry and it was pure nonsense from start to finish, with very silly drawings to boot. The English brand of humor, I guess. -
Re: Cool sounding song, totally inane lyrics.
posted at 10/29/2011 1:56 PM EDT
- kargiver
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Laid. Totally inane lyrics imo. Love the song and turn it up, though...if I'm alone, lol. -
Re: Cool sounding song, totally inane lyrics.
posted at 10/31/2011 9:37 AM EDT
- phsmith8
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with the exception of Under the Bridge, Anthony Kiedis has almost exclusively never made any damn sense. -
Re: Cool sounding song, totally inane lyrics.
posted at 10/31/2011 10:35 AM EDT
- SlimPickensIII
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In Response to Re: Cool sounding song, totally inane lyrics.:Slim, the Steely Dan song is Black Cow , not Brown Cow, guess you're really not a fan.
Posted by ZILLAGOD
Yeah that's it. Totally changes the meaning of the song.
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Re: Cool sounding song, totally inane lyrics.
posted at 11/1/2011 10:38 AM EDT
- MattyScornD
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That's one of the unwritten Laws of Rock and Roll:
"Thy Lyrics Need Not Make Any Sense."
(The Jagger Corollary to which reads: "Or Be At All Intelligible") -
Re: Cool sounding song, totally inane lyrics.
posted at 11/1/2011 2:06 PM EDT
- SlimPickensIII
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Yup. Reminds me (I'm really dating myself now) of that old Steve Allen skit, where he would formally recite the lyrics of hit rock songs for cheap laughs.
Little Richard just popped into my head for no apparent reason. Followed by Yellow Ledbetter ... -
Re: Cool sounding song, totally inane lyrics.
posted at 11/1/2011 3:36 PM EDT
- WhatDoYouWantNow
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In Response to Re: Cool sounding song, totally inane lyrics.:(The Jagger Corollary to which reads: "Or Be At All Intelligible")
Posted by MattyScornD
Hah!
Indeed. He's probably at the top of my list of unintelligibles, even worse than Cobain.
I cannot tell you how many times I listened to Get Offa My Cloud (or any other non-slow song) before giving up with only 1/4 of the lyrics understood.
Eventually end up looking them up if I'm interested...