“The past is a different country,” said LP Hartley. “They do things differently there.”
If this is true, what can we say about the Nation of 1973?
Judging by some shocking documentary evidence I recently uncovered, I would say that 1973 was a terrifying land of rhythmless dorks who enjoyed dressing up like Indians and plastering insanely cheerful smiles on their faces:
I have a cousin Chip who smiles like this. He had a bad habit of falling on his head, usually by falling off the backs of pickup trucks—or peddling bikes with no brakes down steep hills. (The later happened during a visit to our house in Pittsburgh. All I remember is my brother telling him he was putting his life in danger by riding this bike down this hill—followed by his dramatic helicopter lift to the hospital.)
Was 1973 a nation populated by cousin Chips? The evidence is strong, except I doubt Chip could have pulled off having a trio of sexy “Apache” girls doing what appears to be traditional Native American dances around him.
I ended up looking this song up, by the way, because I heard a version of it in Starbucks— and recognized that it had been sampled a million times. (Most notably by the Sugarhill Gang’s “Jump On It.") I then read on wikipedia that the tune is considered “hip hop’s national anthem.”
If you want a change of pace, however, this tune offers a glimpse of a truly evocative nation of the past— a country I could live in for a thousand years.
Where on earth did you find this bit of kitsch? Clearly, I wasn't paying sufficient attention during the 70s. Yes, "Never Gonna Give You Up" has a lot more appeal. You certainly are covering all bases.
ReplyDeleteYou, dear lady, have been Rickrolled. (Now no one can say I haven't been paying attention to the important class discussions.)
ReplyDeleteIt is probably unfortunate that this blog has gone straight for the pop culture gutter.
Is this for real? It almost looks like a spoof of a 70s video. And that guy's smile is creepy. I hope it doesn't give me nightmares like Trina's lion blog did last week!
ReplyDeleteThe main guy's maniacal laughing and the deep intoning in the last half are when it really gets scary.
ReplyDeleteIt's amazing, though, the memory that this video clip brought up for you! You never know what random association you're going to get from something.
I agree with Nicole about the guy's smile-very creepy. I only hope he was on something when the video was made because if his smile is a reflection of his character then I hope he is in an asylum somewhere.
ReplyDeleteI think I don't like the seventies very much. It all feels so dirty.
ReplyDeleteKemuel... I looked it up. The guy became an alcoholic and died at 53.
ReplyDeleteMr. Proof-- It did have a sort of dirty undertone!
ReplyDeleteThis was REALLY funny, both the video and the blog leading up to it. And, of course, the Rickrollin'
ReplyDeleteWow, that maniacal laughing and crazy smile were really, really creepy! I almost wish you had linked to something that was all sunshine and flowers at the end to ward off nightmares!
ReplyDeleteBy the way, you know that saying that skirt hemlines get shorter as the economy gets tighter? Based on this video, I think the economy must have been much worse than I thought! There were a couple times I feared it would veer into a not-PG rating. And what is with the skin-color outfits? No hemline at all!