Timewaster's Guide Archive
Departments => Music => Topic started by: House of Mustard on March 04, 2004, 11:42:31 AM
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So, the other day I was driving and that old Bette Midler (I think it was Bette Midler) song came on the radio "From a distance," and it really got me wondering.
It starts off saying that, from a distance, the world really seems like a dandy place -- no hunger, no war, we're all buddies, etc.
Then the chorus says: "God is watching us, Gofd is watching us, God is watching us, from a distance."
So. If, from a distance, things are great, then does that imply that God thinks Earth is hunky-dory and he's not too worried about us? Does he not realize that there is war and hunger? Does Bette Midler suck?
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You know, I have her greatest hits CD with that song on it, and that part of the song has bothered me for years. I wondered if I was the only one who noticed that. I think you're right, HoM--the song sucks. It's put out as this great inspirational song, but in fact it's really saying something completely opposite. I feel the same way about John Lennon's song that everybody loves so much, the one about no nations, no religion, etc? can't remember the name of it. It's his most famous song.
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"Imagine."
I don't think you're right though. Lennon is saying that this sort of idealistic arrangement is possible, BECAUSE we can imagine it.
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I like imagine because It basically says that all the awful things that are happening can be prevented if people take on some role. Wheter or not thats true is debateable, but at least he has a hopeful message. And hope is important.
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am I the only one here that thinks the Beetles suck and all of them, except for Ringo (beacause then we wouldn't have his funny caveman movie), should have been shot along with Jon Lennon?
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yes, you are.
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In general, if I don't think too hard about Imagine, I like it. In general, it does have a message. It's just that there's a part where it says "imagine there's no god, how happy would we all be," not exactly in those words, but that's the jist. I just found the words:
Imagine
Imagine there's no heaven,
It's easy if you try,
No hell below us,
Above us only sky,
Imagine all the people
living for today...
Imagine there's no countries,
It isnt hard to do,
Nothing to kill or die for,
No religion too,
Imagine all the people
living life in peace...
Imagine no possesions,
I wonder if you can,
No need for greed or hunger,
A brotherhood of man,
Imagine all the people
Sharing all the world...
You may say I'm a dreamer,
but I'm not the only one,
I hope some day you'll join us,
And the world will live as one.
So yeah, it's about brotherhood, but it's also about only living for today, not thinking about eternity, and that just bugs me.
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I'm going to have to agree with SE here, Sprig.
Why do you like Ringo? In my opinion, he was the one with the least talent of the bunch, and seemed to just be tagging along?
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becasue of the funny caveman movie he did, thats the only reason why. And he's not a communist hippy like Lennon or Harrison was, a whiney cry baby hack like McCartney. The Beetles themselfs are the most over hyped thing in the planet, and frainly most their music sucks. And they gave us Yoko Ono, wich is a crime to humanity.
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Man, I have to say I enjoy the Beatles music. Especially that one, "Back in the USSR." Yeah. That one gets me going.
Are there any old bands, from the 60/70's that you like Sprig?
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One thing that I will say, is that I am not a big fan of their early stuff: the Hard Day's Night album and all of that. I love the later stuff, though.
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I like a lot
Rush
styx
pink floyd
some hendrix
some eagles
The Who
simon and garfunel
david bowie
Led Zeppelin
etc...
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If you dont care about the Beetles then the existance of Yoko Ono should matter less to you than the existance of LC industries.
I get that you dont like them, but dont like them for their music, not because one was a communist sympathiser and another was a hippie.
oh and LC industries sells cheap paper products to the US Governement
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I seperate music and the artists. I don't like lots of groups music but still like the musicians. In this case I don;t like either. I don't like the music becasue I don't like the people themselfs (if that makes sence). First came not likeing the music then, once I learned what type of people they were/are, I came to not likeing the people.
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*blink*
I think that, having just spent an hour lecturing my 495 class on the duality in Steinbeck, you're putting too much analysis into pop music.
But I always wondered that about "From a distance" too, if it helps. And then I realized that music often doesn't make sense, either grammatically or lyrically and resolved to ignore the words and enjoy the music.
And for the love of all that is holy, it's the Beatles. Not the Beetles. Beetles are insects. The Beatles spelled their name on purpose so it would have Beat in it, and here you ignoramouses are, spelling things the way Sprig does.
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see, that's messed up. That "funny" caveman movie was not.
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I'm going to have to agree with SE here, Sprig.
Why do you like Ringo? In my opinion, he was the one with the least talent of the bunch, and seemed to just be tagging along?
But Ringo is Mr. Conductor!
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Which is a very good point because, in actuality, I like Thomas the Tank Engine far better than a lot of the Beatles music (particularly "She's got a ticket to Ride.")
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I really do like the Beatles, even if it's mostly their early music, (before the got the guru and the drugs). But you don't have to like them to appreciate that they are important as a cutural/musical landmark. I don't really like Elvis, but I'm not going to try and say he wasn't important.
Of course since I'm a young'un, I knew Ringo Starr (and George Carlin, too) as Mr. Conductor before I knew they had other career tracks. Who would have thought that Mr. Conductor was in some band? Or was a dirty-mouthed standup comic?
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Oh - I absolutely agree that their early stuff (the stuff I don't like) was revolutionary. I just don't like listening to it.
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See I don't, this is the same BS going on with the White Strips. "They're so revolutionary", "Most influental band in years" etc etc. They're music sucks more then the Beatles. They only reason you think it's so revolutionary is because all the fanboys out there tell you it is, so thus you beleave it. Just the fact you don't like it proves my point. How can you say something is so influentual to music and all the BS lines there are, then say "But I don't like it". The only reason people say that about them, and not other bands from the time, was that they're so popular. And that if you say negative things about them, everyone who's been brainwashed into thinking they're great, ridicules you.
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To quote Robin Williams; "I'm sorry. I'd agree with you if you were right."
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*Puts on tinfoil hat*
You poor brainwashed fool.
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And proud of it.
Look- people like the Beatles and Elvis ARE important whether you like it or not, because SO MANY PEOPLE COPIED THEM. They started new trends, new genres. How is that not significant? And if they're popular? They sell billions of records? How is that not significant?
Their lyrics are common phrases in today's society: things like "it's been a hard day's night", and "blue suede shoes" are common knowledge and part of our language. How can you say that you dont' consider them significant?
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Don't forget "Ob-la-di, ob-la-da."
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Yeah love or hate them they were undeniably influentual.
What I dont get is the reason you don't like em Sprig.
But hey thats your right. Now go sit in your corner with your shiney hat.
Personally I like almost their whole catalog but especially SGT Peppers and The Beatles. But hard days night is rockin and I remember singing all their songs with my buddies on board the Legare. Fun, great fun.
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There are very few bands where I can genuinely say that I like all their songs after they've released their third album. Rush. Uh... with no conditions, that's probably it. The Beatles come damn close though. The only song of theirs I don't enjoy is Revolution #9. This means they wrote hundreds of songs that I enjoy. The tunes and the lyrics have been used over and over. The basic sound has been copied endlessly. The revolutionized how people treat rock. Paul McCartney revolutionized the bass. They did a LOT to CHANGE what music in popular culture sounded like, was treated, and functions. THat's what "influential" means. Regardless of whether you or your friends like it.
Just to be clear, I think Rush is a better group of musicians in terms of raw skill, and that over all, most of their lyrics are more thoughtful. But even they build on a base partially established by the Beatles. Don't like 'em all you want, but it's kind of a factual error to say they weren't influential.
Another comparison. I don't think that Marlowe wrote a particularly interesting play when he wrote "Doctor Faust." BUt that doesn't mean it wasn't influential. You can name a dozen major and very important works, many of which are fun and interesting, that incorporated ideas from Marlowe's text and take direction, at least partially from him. "like" has nothing to do with "influence on others"
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Quite frankly, anyone who says that the Beatles suck and that the Ringo caveman movie was funny has no credentials worth paying attention to. It's like my brother-in-law who hated LotR and thought that "The Fast and the Furious" should have swept the Oscars. We've started taking the exact opposite of his movie advice, and been quite pleased with the result.
Of course, I have yet to hear a Beatles song that I don't like, either musically or lyrically. So I'm a little biased.
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number 9, number 9 number 9, number 9, number 9, number 9, number 9, number 9, number 9, number 9.
Yeah thats an annoying beatles song... but it was influential too... I mean who sampled before that...
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oh, *I* didn't say it wasn't influential. Just that I hate listening to it. Damn Yoko.
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I know, I was just musing
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. It's like my brother-in-law who hated LotR and thought that "The Fast and the Furious" should have swept the Oscars. We've started taking the exact opposite of his movie advice, and been quite pleased with the result.
*gape*
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His hatred began with the Two Towers, where, he claimed, absolutely nothing was in focus, and it made him physically sick.
The part of the story he leaves out is that he was sitting on the second row of the theater in front of an enormous screen.
Of course, ever since then he's assumed that there are underhanded deeds going on in Hollywood, and that Peter Jackson must be buying all of the critics Cadillacs so that they say nice things about his awful movie.
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HIT HIM WITH A LARGE SALMON.
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Hmmm... I've always liked "Imagine". The main thing I like about it is that I was at an Our Lady Peace concert and Raine (their lead singer) played an awesome version of it on piano, all by himself. That was probably the most emotional moment I've ever had at a concert. It just seemed perfect.
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returning to Bette Midler, is anyone tempted to sing one of her other songs with the lyrics "Did you ever know that I'm your hero? / I'm everything you want to be / and you can fly higher than an Eagle / Because I am the wind beneath your wings"
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Once or twice.
Much less often than I want to sing, "When I see you smile.... I can taste the world. Whoa-oh."