Monday, November 11, 2013

Twisted Mix-Tape Tuesday: Man, Have I Got A Story For You

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After the general "Free-For-All" that took place last week, Queen of the Hop, Jen (as well as the other great co-hosts) has come up with a theme for this week's Twisted Mix-Tape Tuesday Hop.  

This is good because I'm currently unable to think for myself.  Yep, it's cold season again and good old bronchitis has made itself present in my cigarette smoke ravaged lungs.  I almost stayed away this week to keep from possibly infecting all of you with this wonderful challenge to daily activity, but what the hell, it is better to give than to receive.  Right?

Anyway, this week's theme is "... songs that tell a story ... a real story, not that love la la crap."  

You know, stuff like, "I love you so much and want you to be mine forever until I meet someone else that I want to be with forever unless you meet someone else that you want to be with forever first, unless you happen to have a horse and a dog in love and you're deciding between taking a train or a pick-up truck to the rodeo after you stop by the bar and get drunk while listening to the jukebox."


Kind of like a country love song, I guess!

So, let us get started before I succumb to the sleep signals that keeps saying, "Forget about this writing crap and go to bed and get well!"  I never was one to pay attention to good advice.

First one up will take us back into the early 60's.  The Sunday Comic strips used to be filled with nonsensical funnies about different phases of life.  One such strip, entitled "Alley Oop", took us all the way back to the days of the cavemen.  I don't really remember much about it, as it wasn't one of my favorites back then.  (Dagwood & Blondie and Dick Tracy held those spots.)  However, this comedy / novelty song did fairly well on the charts, so someone must have like it!
Hollywood Argyles  "Alley Oop"

Since we're on the caveman theme, here's a song from the early 70's done by the Jimmy Castor Bunch.  I can't tell you how many teenage boys would repeat the lyrics, "Gotta Get A Woman, Gotta Get A Woman" endlessly after hearing it.  Yep, even though the band was mostly known as a jazz band, they released this comedy / novelty hit.  Enjoy!


Jimmy Castor Bunch  
"Troglodyte (Cave Man)"

Ray Stevens was the master of the comedy / novelty song back then.  He wrote songs about streaking, crazy squirrels in a Mississippi church, and even a stalker whisperer who called a lady named Margaret endlessly.  Yet, among all his comedy songs, "Gitazan" and this one seemed to be the favorites of the masses.  Forget about being politically correct here.  That concept wasn't known in the late 60's.

Ray Stevens  "Ahab The Arab"

We've all heard stories of cave miners being trapped after a cave-in.  This wasn't only a fear of one who was claustrophobic, but of anyone who thought of a death that they would not want to suffer.  No one told the tale of a cave in better than Jimmy Dean with his classic, "Big Bad John."  (And "yes", this is the same Jimmy Dean that was later known for his breakfast sausage.)
Jimmy Dean  "Big Bad John"

Are you ready for a good cry?  I think we all need one every now and then.  Right?  Well, if you're ready, here's a classic that's guaranteed to get the water flowing.  Losing a spouse due to an early death is a heartbreaking topic on it's own, but Bobby Goldsboro had every household in America crying with this one back in the 60's.  Need a Kleenex?

Bobby Goldsboro  "Honey"

Phantom hitchhikers and strangers have always accompanied the lonely as they traveled dark and empty highways late at night.  Just imagine, there you are, traveling in the dark, in unknown territory, and your car has engine problems.  You're alone in the dark, without a cell phone, and you have no idea what awaits you.  Suddenly, a trucker comes by and volunteers to give you a lift.  Should you go?

Red Sovine  "Phantom 309"

I guess one way to keep that from occurring would be to make your own car.  That's what Johnny Cash sang about when he decided to do just that in our next song.  Imagine, working at an automobile factory and accumulating a whole car over a period of decades.  Putting it all together might just be somewhat problematic, wouldn't you say?

Johnny Cash  "One Piece At A Time"

Arlo Guthrie is best know for his 17 minute story song "Alice's Restaurant."  I almost put that one in, but I figured others would do it, along with Gordon Lightfoot's classic boat wreck, Bobbie Gentry's bridge secret, and David Bowie's classic space tragedy.  However, "Alice's..." wasn't the only story song Arlo wrote and performed.  How would you like to be traveling on a motorcycle at breakneck speed on a mountain and suddenly find yourself airborne?  Give Arlo a chance to tell you all about it.

Arlo Guthrie  
"Motorcycle (The Significance Of A Pickle) Song"

Bob Dylan wrote so many songs that would classify as story songs that it is almost difficult to choose.  However, his story of a boxer wrongly set-up, accused, and imprisoned has to be one of his most detailed.  A rising boxer sent to jail became a story that set the nation on fire in efforts to free him.  Sit back and listen to his tale of "this couldn't happen in America" with this selection.
Bob Dylan  "Hurricane"

Our last entry is a tail of forecasting the future.  As America was in debate over civil rights and Vietnam, two songwriters sat down and composed a song depicting what the future could become.  If you've heard this before, listen deeply to the words.  It's much more than just a duo with a catchy tune.  In fact, some of it may already be taking place a few centuries early.
Zager & Evans  
"In The Year 2525 (Exordium & Terminus)"

And that's it ... over for another week!  Once again, do your best to get around to the other blogs in the hop and see what others have to offer.  I may be a little slow doing that this week, until I can shake this bronchitis junk and do a better job of keeping my eyes open.  

Hope you enjoyed!

Ciao!



26 comments:

  1. If you're wondering why no comments yet it's cause your link was broken, but I fixed it. NOW can I say I only knew Alley Oop, Big Bad John (which got a shout out), Mack Trucks, One Piece at a Time ;-) and the year 2525, I have to listen closely to the rest. But not Honey. Because you know what? I can't do that crap. That's like Red's Teddy Bear, why not post some heart breaking song about a crippled boy whose daddy died? That would cheer us right up!

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    1. Jen - Thanks for the repair!! Linda had Tweeted me about the broken link but Linky Tools wouldn't let me do a thing. Oh, come on ... everyone needs to cry a little! lol Actually, it was a toss up between Honey and Teddy Bear, but since Phantom 309 was also Red's, Honey won out! :) I almost went the route of The Rupert Holmes "Escape", but I knew that wouldn't make anyone happy either. Many Thanks!

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  2. "mo….tor……..sickle" I really loved that, back in the day. the rest of the songs? er… I read about them in …in musical history class!! yeah! that's where I heard "alley oop ("…oop") sure.
    lol good stuff

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    1. Clark - I've developed this cough ... almost every time you start talking about "musical history class." (cough, cough ... there it goes again!) lol Thought I'd throw some different stuff in this one. You know, the stuff one can think of when they've stopped thinking. Many Thanks!

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  3. I, too, ignore the voices from the outside world, and those in my head saying that I need to go to bed when I'm ill (although I hope you're better soon, bronchitis SUCKSASS)...
    Ach I forgot about Caveman - what an epic adventure. I remember trying to memorize the words with my friends!!! And hellz yeah, everybody needs a good cry. Heal quickly, my brother from anothah mothah.

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    1. Hey Sis! I'm beginning to believe I should have listened to the voices. Seems to be getting stronger, instead of weaker. The wit has pretty much left me at this time. Thanks for the kind words. I think I'm gonna have to answer the rest of these later. Many Thanks!

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  4. I pick Guthrie and Cash as my faves of this list. Guthrie is ever the social message maker and Cash is one great singer and storyteller!

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    1. Michelle - I agree with you completely as far as Arlo is concerned. Not much of a social message in this one though. Cash was forever the storyteller and unique in his vocal even through today's music artists. Many Thanks!

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  5. Ray Stevens! I adored him. In junior high, I won a lip-sync contest with several friends by performing "Guitarzan."
    I was the monkey.
    I've said too much.

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    1. Cyn - There's so many directions I could go with the "monkey" comment, but I'm going to just slowly ride into the sunset chuckling softly inside. :) Love it! Many Thanks!

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  6. Some stuff in here that's new to me! Yeehawwww!

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    1. Melissa - Glad you found something different here! I tried to stretch through a couple of three different genre's here. Glad you enjoyed! Many Thanks!

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  7. I had forgotten about Big Bad John. I LOVE that song. Thanks for bringing it back to my frontal lobe. :) (Also this is the first time I've seen the new layout - NICE.)

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    1. Tracy - Glad to see you back! Big Bad John came out when I was a kid. I still remember Jimmy Dean doing it on his weekly 30 minute television show. It's one of those songs that always comes back to you, for sure. I changed this a couple of weeks ago. Was growing bored with the old. :) Many Thanks!

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  8. I'm glad you included Johnny Cash! I wanted to, but couldn't decide which song to include.

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    1. Jill - I know what you mean. I figured someone else would do "A Boy Named Sue", but that the others were kind of up for grabs. I've been so sick, I haven't had a chance to go around yet and see what everyone else used. Many thanks!

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  9. Well that was a trip way back. Big Bad John, I remember watching the Jimmy Dean Show, with the Muppets before they went Hollywood. And Ray Stevens, he had such a gift. Almost forgot about the caveman era... wow. Honey, god how I hated that song. Interesting list. very interesting.

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    1. Kat - Good to see you! You and I might have been watching the same show way back then. lol Ray Stevens was a master at his trade. What I find strange is that hardly anyone remembers his great straight song, "Everything is Beautiful." I loved "Honey" when it first came out, but quickly tired of it after hearing it on every TV show and radio station 15 million times. It and "You Light Up My Life" go into the same category. Your "Very Interesting" reminds me of "Laugh In". lol Many Thanks!

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  10. "Hurricane" is such a great story/song, and I was surprised how many of the others I knew, although I didn't recognize them from the titles alone. I remembered pickle rhyming with motor-sickle, and "Alley Oop," and others. I think I knew some of them from listening to Dr. Demento's show on the radio when I was a teenager. And I vaguely remembered a lot of "Honey." Fun mixtape!

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    1. Marcy - Dylan's "Desire" album was always a favorite of mine from beginning to end. It contains so many great tunes. I know I'm in the minority, but that one and "Blood on the Tracks" are at the top of the list with me. Novelty songs filled my childhood. In fact, the first song I ever remember hearing was "The Purple People Eater" by Sheb Wooley. Glad you enjoyed! Many Thanks!

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  11. Ray Stevens has always been one of those shared things with my mother and we used to always start our phone conversations with "Its me again, Margaret" Though it was much funnier before Caller ID. Anyway, I love the whole verse of what Fatima was doing when Ahab got to her tent. I had liked Dylan song way before I ever really knew the whole story behind it.

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    1. Dream - Your mother is a person I'd like to meet if that's the case! lol Great sense of humor, for sure! Oh, you too! :) This could actually have been a post of nothing but Ray Stevens songs. He definitely found his niche, even though he was actually a great singer, and had a big hit with "Everything Is Beautiful". I was lucky enough to be around and reading Rolling Stone reviews when "Desire" was released, so I had a real good idea what it was talking about even before purchasing it. That whole album is one that has always been a fav with me, as well as "Blood On The Tracks." Really appreciate the comments! Many Thanks!

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  12. I didn't recognize them all. But Bobby Goldsboro (blub, blub) was a blast from the past.
    Zager and Evans and Johnny Cash also brought back some great memories.

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    1. Bryan - Good to see you here my new friend! I think "Honey" was sponsored by the Kleenex Corporation as it had to of boosted sales dramatically. lol Zager and Evans was kind of an ominous look at the future ... much different than many of us anticipated back when it was released. Johnny Cash ... well, there will never be another like him. Many Thanks

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  13. Political correctness ruins everything.

    I remember 2525, and wondering how they really knew what would happen. I was just a stupid kid.

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    1. Coach - Good to see you back! You know, there were so many stories of a miserable future (1984, Fahrenheit 451, Soylent Green, The Omega Man, etc.) that one almost wondered if any of the writers knew what they were talking about. Even the hilarious Woody Allen movie "Sleepers" showed the irony of the stupidity of mankind. It's a shame we didn't listen to them. Many Thanks!

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