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Post by mikef6 on Jun 17, 2020 21:00:42 GMT
The novelty song (comical, satirical, non-sensical) is no stranger to the rock era. This one from 1956 uses snatches from contemporary hit tunes.
Sometimes they could go dark, if not creepy, like Napoleon XIV’s “They’re Coming To Take Me Away Ha-Ha” from 1966 and this one, “Mr. Custer” (1960) from Larry Verne.
But here’s one that is particularly awful from Perry Como in 1959. (Millennials, ask your parents, or more likely your grandparents, about Perry Como.) A lot of people think it is funny but I absolutely loath this song.
Now, your personal likes and dislikes.
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Post by bravomailer on Jun 17, 2020 23:23:33 GMT
Elvis's career in a nutshell. It's actually by Bobby Bare, not Bill Parsons.
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Post by bravomailer on Jun 18, 2020 3:11:53 GMT
The first few times I heard Bowie's Space Oddity I thought it was a hilarious novelty song.
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Post by mikef6 on Jun 18, 2020 15:53:48 GMT
The first few times I heard Bowie's Space Oddity I thought it was a hilarious novelty song.
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Post by Nalkarj on Jun 18, 2020 16:30:29 GMT
Bob Merrill (“How Much Is That Doggie in the Window?,” “Mambo Italiano,” “If I Knew You Were Comin’ I’d’ve Baked a Cake,” “There’s a Pawn Shop on the Corner of Pittsburg, Pennsylvania”) was a master (using the term loosely) at this genre (using the term loosely)!
My favorites (using the term loosely), though, have got to be “The Thing” and “The Coffee Song.”
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Post by bravomailer on Jun 18, 2020 16:36:12 GMT
Harris's The Thing was used in the film The Last Picture Show.
I wonder if Google/YouTube will one day take down Please, Mister Custer.
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Post by NJtoTX on Jun 18, 2020 16:55:44 GMT
The first few times I heard Bowie's Space Oddity I thought it was a hilarious novelty song. I still think of Bohemian Rhapsody as one.
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Post by bravomailer on Jun 18, 2020 17:24:45 GMT
The first few times I heard Bowie's Space Oddity I thought it was a hilarious novelty song. I still think of Bohemian Rhapsody as one. Novelty song or not, it's laughable.
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Post by cypher on Jun 18, 2020 18:40:40 GMT
Neil Innes - Re-cycled Vinyl Blues
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Post by mikef6 on Jun 18, 2020 21:33:57 GMT
Harris's The Thing was used in the film The Last Picture Show. I wonder if Google/YouTube will one day take down Please, Mister Custer.Dunno. The Native Americans won that one. Custer was, in fact, totally out generaled by Crazy Horse.
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Post by mikef6 on Jun 18, 2020 21:41:16 GMT
NalkarjOh. Em. Gee. THE THING! Has it ever happened that someone mentions something from your youth or childhood that you hadn't thought about in decades, forgotten even, and its recall hits you in the face? No? Well, it has happened to me and you posting of "The Thing" did it. Probably embarrassment for the delight that my five or six year old self took in that stupid song caused my brain to push it far, far down into the recesses of my subconscious. I'm mostly exaggerating and joking but it's true that I had totally forgotten "The Thing" and it brought back memories. Thanks.
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Post by BATouttaheck on Jun 18, 2020 21:44:39 GMT
Sheb Wooley of Rawhide and High Noon
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Post by bravomailer on Jun 18, 2020 22:09:33 GMT
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Post by NJtoTX on Jun 19, 2020 2:01:30 GMT
I used a line from the B side, Shoily Klein, on my mom's tombstone. "What a shayna maidel!"
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Post by bravomailer on Jun 19, 2020 2:18:30 GMT
I used a line from the B side, Shoily Klein, on my mom's tombstone. "What a shayna maidel!" "What a beautiful girl"? in Yiddish.
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Post by Nalkarj on Jun 19, 2020 2:35:28 GMT
Nalkarj Oh. Em. Gee. THE THING! Has it ever happened that someone mentions something from your youth or childhood that you hadn't thought about in decades, forgotten even, and its recall hits you in the face? No? Well, it has happened to me and you posting of "The Thing" did it. Probably embarrassment for the delight that my five or six year old self took in that stupid song caused my brain to push it far, far down into the recesses of my subconscious. I'm mostly exaggerating and joking but it's true that I had totally forgotten "The Thing" and it brought back memories. Thanks. Heh! You’re, er, um, well, welcome for reminding you of it, er, uh, yeah… So, true story: my grandfather first sang me that song when I was a kid (he sang all kinds of songs, from novelty to musical theater to ’30s Tin Pan Alley to the Beatles), and naturally I really wanted to know what “THE THING” was. So he told me he’d tell me when I was 15. I didn’t forget. When I was 15, I asked my grandfather what it was. He said he’d tell me when I was 18. When I was 18, I asked my grandfather what it was, knowing full well by this point he didn’t know what it was. He said he’d tell when I was 21. When I was 21, I asked my grandfather what it was, wondering what his excuse would be this time. He said it was only for old men like him to know and certainly not for whippersnappers like me, and since I’d never be older than him he could never tell me! My grandfather in a nutshell.
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Post by BATouttaheck on Jun 19, 2020 2:55:29 GMT
EARWORM warning
[
Sure it's a Christmas song BUT it's a NOVELTY Christmas Song and an any time o' the year favorite !
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Post by Eva Yojimbo on Jun 19, 2020 3:31:56 GMT
I still think of Bohemian Rhapsody as one. Novelty song or not, it's laughable. I can't believe that I just read this exchange... One of the most original, creative, brilliant rock songs ever written... a novelty song? Hell, that's one of the few rock songs I've actually seen classical and jazz snobs respect.
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Post by Eva Yojimbo on Jun 19, 2020 3:33:30 GMT
How about a novelty musical act?
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Post by ellynmacg on Jun 19, 2020 3:39:40 GMT
One of my favorite songs in my "little girl" days:
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