home

The 25 Most Misunderstood Rock Songs

By Jeralyn, Section Media
Posted on Tue Apr 17, 2007 at 04:19:26 PM EST
Tags: (all tags)
Share This: Digg! StumbleUpon del.icio.us reddit reddit

Too much crime news today, time for a change of topic. Via Rolling Stone, 25 Rock Songs with a Secret. Number One: Louie, Louie.

[hat tip Althouse.]

Which ones did they forget?

< Happy 5th Blogiversary to Atrios | I.R.S. Gives Extension to Those Affected by Va. Tech Shootings >

  • The Online Magazine with Liberal coverage of crime-related political and injustice news

  • Contribute To TalkLeft


    • Display: Sort:
    The 25 Most Misunderstood Rock Songs | 14 comments (14 topical)

    Readers Must Login or Create an Account to Comment

    1 (none / 0) (#1)
    by Deconstructionist on Tue Apr 17, 2007 at 04:30:34 PM EST
    Purple Haze for one.

     (Although I both wonder about who supposedly misunderstood some of those songs in the ways claimed and also if the author ever heard of the concept of double entendre.

    There was nothing misunderstood ... (none / 0) (#4)
    by Sailor on Tue Apr 17, 2007 at 05:12:14 PM EST
    ... about Purple Haze ... you either knew exactly what he was talking about or you never will.

    Parent
    no (none / 0) (#8)
    by Deconstructionist on Wed Apr 18, 2007 at 07:00:12 AM EST
      The number of people who heard the line "excuse me while I kiss the sky" as "kiss this guy" was a running joke for years.

      The breadth of your astounding ability to be wrong is unparalleled.

    Parent

    thanks for proving my point (none / 0) (#9)
    by Sailor on Wed Apr 18, 2007 at 09:25:51 AM EST
    You either got it or you didn't ... you didn't. Guess we know the answer to "Are You Experienced."

    Parent
    I "got it" (none / 0) (#12)
    by Deconstructionist on Wed Apr 18, 2007 at 10:19:30 AM EST
     The point is that many people did not hear the line correctly. No matter how trivial the subject your "burning desire" to prove yourself to be the most obtuse and foolish person here (quite an accomplishment) is remarkable.

    Parent
    Fleetwood Mac: Don't Stop (none / 0) (#2)
    by joshyelon on Tue Apr 17, 2007 at 04:47:58 PM EST
    "Don't Stop [thinking about tommorrow]," by Fleetwood Mac.

    According to Wikipedia, this was written by Christine McVie after her divorce with John McVie. The breakup was caused in part by Christine McVie's affair, hence the line in the song:

    "I know you dont believe that its true,
    I never meant any harm to you."

    So basically, the song is saying "I'm sorry I cheated on you, but now that I'm gone, you have a bright future."  I couldn't believe that Bill Clinton used this song as a campaign theme!!!

    My favorite relic ... (none / 0) (#3)
    by Sailor on Tue Apr 17, 2007 at 05:09:25 PM EST
    ... from a previous career, is an 'unbreakable' carbon fibre drumstick that was broken during Louie, Louie when I worked a show by the Kingsmen.

    BTW, the drummer, (who sang LL), told me he didn't know what the lyrics were on the record. He said he was slightly indisposed the day they recorded it. He also told me that folks who said they knew what the lyrics on the recording were ... didn't.

    In other news.

    A day in the life (none / 0) (#5)
    by rdandrea on Tue Apr 17, 2007 at 05:50:46 PM EST
    Why did I need to know how many holes it takes to fill the Albert Hall?  Oh, wait, it was in the Lennon part of the song.  I didn't.

    um, some of those (none / 0) (#6)
    by cpinva on Tue Apr 17, 2007 at 06:02:54 PM EST
    songs i don't recall, but of the ones i do, most were pretty obvious, even when they were initially released.

    are the readers of rolling stone just getting dumber?

    an example: if, the first time you heard the kinks' "lola", and didn't figure out it was about a transvestite, then you were either stoned or just plain stupid.

    Duh.... (none / 0) (#7)
    by kdog on Tue Apr 17, 2007 at 08:44:37 PM EST
    I know what I am and what I am is a man and so is Lola.

    Yeah, that one was real tough to figure out.

    Parent

    I alway heard (none / 0) (#11)
    by Deconstructionist on Wed Apr 18, 2007 at 09:48:44 AM EST
    the last stanza as

    "Well I'm not the world's most masculine man.
    But I know what I am, and I'm glad I'm a man
    and so's Lola."

      Arguably, that is ambiguous. Is Lola also a man or also glad he's a man?

      Given the whole song, I think it's obviously the former, but it shows how easy it is to mishear sung lyrics. There is even a word for it "Mondegreen."

    Parent

    Please Please Me (none / 0) (#10)
    by Carolyn in Baltimore on Wed Apr 18, 2007 at 09:33:31 AM EST
    I've been a Beatle fan since 1964 when Toni Ferrara introduced my 5th grade class to them.
    So I knew Please Please Me as a great song but learned it as an innocent. It makes total sense and if it were a new song now I'd probably get it.

    Parent
    Who Is To Say? (none / 0) (#13)
    by john horse on Wed Apr 18, 2007 at 12:13:45 PM EST
    Who is to say what a song is about?  
    Who is the Rolling Stone to say that a song is about this but not about that?

    Does it even matter what the person who wrote the song meant by the lyrics?

    Ultimately, what a song means is what it meant to us.  
       

    I agree (none / 0) (#14)
    by peacrevol on Wed Apr 18, 2007 at 03:05:55 PM EST
    it always means so much more if it's still open to interpretation. For example, if we fast forward from most people's comments to the 1990s, think Pearl Jam - Yellow Ledbetter. In my eyes, part of the reason that it is sung that way is to leave it open to interpretation. If you cant really even completely understand what he's saying, you can sort of put in the words that fit for you and understand it how you'd like. ie "i dont know who wins the boxer or the bag..." or "i dont know whether it's a box or a bag..." - two completely different meanings and depending on what you think subconsiously the song should be about, you assume words are what you think they sound like if they fit your initial interpretation. or, maybe eddie vedder was just really f***ed up in the studio...

    So that's my toss into the bag of most misunderstood songs of all time - Pearl Jam - Yellow Ledbetter.

    Parent

    The 25 Most Misunderstood Rock Songs | 14 comments (14 topical)

    Readers Must Login or Create an Account to Comment