Edison said “Genius is one percent inspiration, ninety-nine percent perspiration.” Great words indeed, but given the songs we are about to look at, clearly, it does not take a genius to write a song! Song writing inspiration can come from anywhere. A loved one, a lusted one, a lost one, politics, religion, funny statements, drunken nights out, coffee runs, drug binges, food poisoning, sun rises, sun sets, forests, deserts, desserts, and the list goes on and on and on.
As a song writer, you are only limited by your imagination. Sometimes that can take you in odd directions or leave you with something that makes you seem a bit more clever that you deserve credit for. The next three songs are just that type. For years, people have heaped praise upon them for various reasons and I’m here to tell you to slow your roll. They are not all that and a bag of potato chips. Well, they are, but they come from some really silly things inspiration-wise.
Green River
This kind of takes a bit of the mystery away from the swamp rock that is CCR. I grew up thinking that these guys were pretty much raised on fan boats hunting alligators every day and drinking moon shine in a shack every night. All of that is true provided you you see Bakersfield, California as the bayou and take the rest of that to is logical conclusion.
Yeah, these guys grew up in the suburbs, not the swamp. So all that “Born on the Bayou”, “Proud Mary” and “Green River” stuff was made up to be matched with John Fogerty’s raspy vocals to sell records. It was a good angle. Seemed to work out well for a while, at least until John got tired of the band and gave away all the publishing to all those million dollar hits just to get out of his record contract. That was smart move. Not like he couldn’t write another 10 hits in his sleep. Well, he couldn’t, but he could get sued for plagiarizing himself.
Hey, he wrote Centerfield.
And as long as there are baseball games, he will make money in some way shape or form.
OK Jay, bring it back into focus. You are really drifting from the main topic here. Right, Green River. So now we know that they didn’t grow up wearing overalls and playing in a jug band. They didn’t even grow up in trying circumstances. They went on vacations to near Winters, California, which is where John supposedly got most of his inspiration for the lyrics to these swampy songs. Not sure what a central California town has regarding swampy areas, but lets say I still think its a baloney. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N0A47NkRI3U Oscar Meyer baloney, but still baloney baby. First and last. John really did paint a picture with his lyrics. Regardless of where they came from, you felt like you were walking along with by Green River.
But, wither come Green River? There is no Green River in California and not even one in Louisiana. Turns out, the River that ain’t easy being Green isn’t even an actual river. No, its a soft drink. In a 1993 Rolling Stone interview, Fogerty revealed: “You used to be able to go into a soda fountain, and they had these bottles of flavored syrup. My flavor was called Green River. It was green, lime flavored, and they would empty some out over some ice and pour some of that soda water on it, and you had yourself a Green River.” So, yeah, that kinda ruins Green River for me. Love the song, but I’m only going to see it as a Mountain Dew commercial now, which I am assuming is the spiritual soda heir to Green River. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qH9A-XYX3Rw If you don’t want to find that rope swing and that river after seeing that commercial, then I feel sorry for you. That is, unless you are worried about the state of the rope after 30 years and numerous teens swinging from it. Maybe I should just do it, to it, Mountain Dew it and be done.
Smells Like Teen Spirit
Does anyone need a refresher on this one? I seriously doubt it. Its the song that defined Generation X and was the kiss of death to hair metal and pretty much anything 1980’s rock and roll-wise. Its a rallying cry, a bullet from the blue, a real once in a lifetime type of song that inspired an entire generation to slack off, wear flannel and say “whatever” a lot.
Whatever Ethan.
Its also a hilarious disappointment as a a “statement” song. Lets start with the song structure. Kurt admitted that he was just ripping off the Pixies, a personal favorite band of his, with the soft, soft, LOUD dynamic. As for the chorus, Kurt would always snidely announce “Here we are now, entertain us” when walking into parties, because he was a smart ass when he wasn’t miserable and probably also when he was. But what about the title Jay? I’m getting to it. You probably knew it was based on Teen Spirit the deodorant made byyyyyy Mennen. Well, if you did know it, you were one up on Mr. Cobain, who though it was some cool arcane anti-establishment motto.
VIve Libre…and pretty, pretty girl deodorant manufactured by a huge corporate conglomerate.
The quote was conceived of by Katherine Hanna, the lead singer of Bikini Kill. Her bandmate, Tobi Vail dated Kurt back in the day. They were young, they were in lust and they were constantly in each other’s pants. Ms. Vail was a fan of the aforementioned Teen Spirit deodorant byyyyyyy Mennen and to be sure, there must be a position in the Karma Sutra where armpits are smeared all over each other’s bodies, because old Kurt would end up smelling like a pretty teenage girl and I imagine like a lot of sex as well. Must have been quite a combo. Kurt’s pretty smell was an inside joke with Hanna and she thought it quite funny.
Girl, you smell hot. You are like In Bloom. You have me in a Heart Shaped Box. What do you call it? Lithium?
One night, after a great deal of partying, drugs and whatnot, Cobain and Vail passed out on top of each other at Kurt’s apartment. Hanna found them there and decided it would be funny to write “Kurt Smells Like Teen Spirit” over his bed in permanent marker. When Kurt came to, he thought it was a compliment on his passion for life and rebellious nature from the singer. He thought for sure that Hanna was celebrating Kurt’s very being with a slogan for the kids to get behind. Bikini Kill was pretty much anti-mainstream American society, so Kurt thought it was a seditious catch phrase. Turns out the joke was on old Kurt and he found out way too late. When it became clear to him, it was well past the song being released and he was very upset. At least I think he was upset at that, he always seemed upset at something.
Damn you song about deodorant that made me famous and a millionaire many times over.
So the song that was the rallying cry of generation, the song that won over every slacker from Boise to Boston was a direct reference to a deodorant marketed exclusively to teenage girls. I don’t think it hurt Kurt in the long run. Only Kurt hurt Kurt, but the song made him and his estate millions. I Am The Walrus “Let the fuckers figure that one out” – John Lennon https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ap6kSV_U45o That quote says it all. Lennon being Lennon for sure here. He was notoriously surly and had a biting sarcasm that came through in songs like this. Legend has it that Lennon received a fan letter from a student at Quarry Bank High in good old Quarry Bank. He mentioned that his class was analyzing Beatles’ lyrics as part of their English curriculum. So John being John wasn’t touched, he was inspired. He took a couple of songs he only had parts of and combined them with the most complete jibberish he could think of just to fuck with this one English class in Quarry Bank. Really an amazing show of disdain for just one little letter asking for insight.
Wanker kids and their “questions” about my “art”
Whiles its now considered to be a minor miracle of pop surrealism, lets call this what it is, lazy. Lennon could be pretty lazy in his song writing. He just opened the paper for A Day In The Life. Pick an article, write a verse. That is pretty lazy. Great result, wonderful melody, fantastic middle 8 by Paul with actual lyrics, but not exactly a mental workout. I’m sure that letter was the perfect excuse for him to just say, “fuck it” and write a bunch of gobbley gook and make it appear like an artistic statement. It was a statement and that statement said “Fuck You Quarry Bank High School”. Still, its a pretty ballsy song even to this day.
Who doesn’t like saying:
I still do.
Blogging to that Parallel Sound 