Top 5 songs that horrify you! (And tell us why)
Interpret as you see fit
1. They're Coming To Take Me Away, Ha-Haa! by Napoleon XIV- I still get freaked out by the sparse instrumentation and increasingly manic vocals on this 1966 hit (yes, it peaked at # 3 nationally). Thankfully, someone posted this song on You Tube so that those unfamiliar can listen below.
2. Revolution No. 9 by The Beatles- In my opinion, the worst track to ever appear on a Beatles album.
3. Tutti Frutti by Pat Boone- If you want to hear a ballad in the vein of Love Letters In the Sand or April Love, Pat's your man. However, he has no business going anywhere near a rock and roll classic such as this. What makes the crime even more heinous is that Pat's version (#12) bested Little Richard's original (#17) on the Billboard charts.
4. The discofied version of There's No Business Like Show Business by Ethel Merman (or practically any track off of Merman's 1979 disco album)- R&B and rock stars jumping on the bandwagon was one thing, but when Broadway met Studio 54 you knew the disco train had completely gone off the tracks. Even as a kid when I saw Ethel perform on Dance Fever, I knew something was wrong about the whole thing. Still, The Ethel Merman Disco Album is the audio equivalent of a bad car accident. No matter how horrible it is, it's next to impossible not to listen for a bit.
5. The Loco-Motion by Grand Funk- After hearing this travesty, one can imagine songwriters Gerry Goffin and Carole King yelling "Look what those sons of bitches did to our song ma!"
If you'd like to take part by posting your Top 5 "You" songs on your blog, visit Music Memoirs and leave your link in the comments sections so that others can visit you. If you aren't a blogger but would still like to participate, feel free to leave your top 5 in the comments section of this post.
They're Coming To Take Me Away, Ha-Haa! by Napoleon XIV:
6 comments:
Yeah, "They're coming to take me away, ha ha" is pretty weird, and have to admit that discoified anything's pretty horrifying too (now I realise I should have put Meco's version of the Star Wars theme on my list).
I agree with Revolution 9 that song is enough to horrify anyone. Thanks for playing :)
Revolution 9 is definitely horror inducing.
1. I have to disagree with "Revolution N. 9." It's a pretty interesting piece. Of course, it's not "Come Together," or anything one can dance to. But it holds a fascination for me, at least.
BTW, if you have a blunt with you at the time, it's easier to dance to.
2. I imagine that when Goffin and King heard Grand Funk's version of their song, they probably said, "Cool! More Royalties."
Reminds me of how Jimmy Webb didn't like disco, but loved Donna Summer's recording of "McArthur Park"--because it was the first #1 song he'd written.
Ahk! Forgot about that Coming to take me Away song - excellent choice. High on the creep factor - or just high all around - perhaps that explains it. Astonishingly enough my hubby had not heard it before - so at least for Valentine's Day I got to play it for him - ha ha!
An Eerie Tapestry: I haven't heard Meco's "The Theme from Star Wars" in awhile. I remember that the local R&B station used to play the hell out of that song when I was a kid.
Mistress of the D and Hippie Chick: I had "The White Album" on cassette and I remember having to fast forward, rewind, fast forward, etc. in order to avoid "Revolution No. 9".
X. Dell: Welcome back... it's been awhile. I've never been a fan of music that required me to be high in order to appreciate it. :-)
Even though I'm not a fan of Donna's version of "McArthur Park", I'll pick hers over the Richard Harris original. Long and crappy... that's a lethal combo.
The Bumbles: I remember that "They're coming to take me away, ha ha" used to get a lot of airplay on oldies stations. I wonder if programmers went into PC mode and were worried about offending listeners.
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