More uncomfortable than intended

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More uncomfortable than intended

Postby cmsellers » Thu Jul 21, 2016 9:29 am

I was listening to Marty Robbin's song "Devil Woman," and while I enjoy it musically, I can't help being rather uncomfortable with it. It's a song where the singer blames his mistress for seducing him and talks as if he has no responsibility for his infidelity.

Of course the attitude that men can't help but think with our dicks is common even today. But that song reminded me of a thread I wanted to start, about sounds that seem slightly disturbing in ways that likely weren't intended.

One such song is Harry Chapin's "Mail Order Annie."

In particular, the lyrics:
"Mail Order Annie, never mind your crying. Your tears are sweet rain in my empty life."
However it's a Harry Chapin song, and it's entirely possible he meant it to be slightly disturbing.

And then there's Neil Diamond who has written multiple such songs, with two in particular sticking out. First there's "Desiree":

The fact that he refers to her as "a girl almost twice my age" seems to imply that she was in her 20's, which would probably put him below the age of consent. Plausibly, she could be around 30 and he could be 18 (or 26 and 16) and the words would still plausibly work. However for me at least, it evokes pubescent fantasies about babysitters and such, which make make me feel slightly more uncomfortable about it than I should. (Though of course the beauty of the song and remembrance of those fantasies--which were wonderful as fantasies--more than make up for that.)

Also, there's "Girl You'll Be a Woman Soon," where I find the ambiguity of the situation described even more disturbing. My father didn't see it when I brought it up to him, so I'm wondering if anyone else does.
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Re: More uncomfortable than intended

Postby Tesseracts » Thu Jul 21, 2016 4:13 pm

This song is musically good but extremely sexist.

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Re: More uncomfortable than intended

Postby JamishT » Thu Jul 21, 2016 9:19 pm

There's at least two that I can think of:


A song all about how she found love with a farmhand on her grandparent's farm, and likens losing her virginity to him to strawberry wine. At 17. YAY!


Originally a Garth Brooks song (but he doesn't like his music being online), this is about a young man going to work for a widow in the middle of nowhere who teaches him all about sex. Maybe he became the guy in the previous song! WHOA.

I thought of another one!

It took me way too long to realize that Britney just wants a threesome with two guys, and that's all this song is about. She also offers a foursome.
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Re: More uncomfortable than intended

Postby 52xMax » Thu Jul 21, 2016 9:35 pm

There's two ways to deal with those lustful thoughts about teenagers.


Feeling guilty and trying to put some distance, like Gary Puckett


Or telling them to jump into your arms, a la Ringo Starr.

Before we get too judgy, I'd just like to remind people that these are just songs, and as far as we know not admissions of guilt. Art takes licenses, and music can be a form of expression similar to writing fiction. As far as we know, Johnny Cash really didn't shoot a man in Reno just to watch him die.
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Re: More uncomfortable than intended

Postby cmsellers » Thu Jul 21, 2016 9:44 pm

@Max: "Young Girl" probably doesn't count; it's supposed to make you feel uncomfortable. On the other hand, "you led me to believe that you were old enough to give me love..."

JamishT wrote:A song all about how she found love with a farmhand on her grandparent's farm, and likens losing her virginity to him to strawberry wine. At 17. YAY!

Oh! That reminds me of another one.

"She Came From Fort Worth" where a city girl meets a guy one time, he says "I have a cabin in Colorado, come live with me" and she ... does exactly that.
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Re: More uncomfortable than intended

Postby Kivutar » Thu Jul 21, 2016 11:15 pm

JamishT wrote:A song all about how she found love with a farmhand on her grandparent's farm, and likens losing her virginity to him to strawberry wine. At 17. YAY!


No offense, but I would have thought losing your virginity at 17 is pretty normal.

And that's why I love Rammstein: it's exactly as uncomfortable as intended and never disappoints.



Now that's what I'd call uncomfortable.
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Re: More uncomfortable than intended

Postby Grimstone » Thu Jul 21, 2016 11:38 pm

I like this song but the lyrics are messed up(intentionally).

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Re: More uncomfortable than intended

Postby Twistappel » Fri Jul 22, 2016 3:13 am

While Lola by the Kinks was probably always intended to be uncomfortable, I think changing attitudes about trans people have rendered it even more uncomfortable.



Similarly, thanks to changing attitudes about underage sex, Stray Cat Blues by the Rolling Stones has gone from risque to "Dude, what the fuck?".



Oh, and now that I think about it, Maggie May by Rod Stewart. Sure, 16 is the age of consent in the UK, where Stewart is from, so it's plausible that the narrator could be school aged and still able to legally consent to sex, but it's pretty obvious that he has been manipulated, "lured away from home" and used for sex by a much older woman.



Memphis Tennessee is a cute song about a man trying to get in touch with a girl called "Marie". The song's final verse reveals that Marie is a child, and presumably not a lover but the narrator's daughter. However given Elvis Presley's proclivity for underage girls, the song takes on some rather uncomfortable overtones when performed by him.

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Re: More uncomfortable than intended

Postby cmsellers » Fri Jul 22, 2016 7:19 am

It isn't just Elvis who had a thing for underage girls. It seems to have been rather common in rock 'n' roll in general. Jerry Lee Lewis of course married his 14-year-old cousin, Bill Wyman started his relationship with Mandy Smith when she was 14, Little Richard stated up with a relationship with a 16-year-old who later claimed he tried to get her involved in an orgy, and Chuck Berry was convicted under the Mann Act for sex with a 14-year-old waitress.

Chuck Berry was the author of "Memphis, Tennessee," but when he performed it I don't get any sexual overtones (I don't really get them with Elvis either, but that voice sure is sultry). Which isn't to say that Chuck's innocent of writing creepy songs. Meet "Little Queenie": "she's too cute to be a minute over seventeen."



As a bonus, here's Jerry Lee Lewis and Keith Richards performing a cover:
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Re: More uncomfortable than intended

Postby Marcuse » Fri Jul 22, 2016 7:28 am

Would you guess, I have a few of these.

Lindemann - Praise Abort NSFW


While the lyrics are exactly what he means to convey, this does bear an unintentionally heavier impact because it's in English. Looking over Rammstein lyrics, these aren't really much different, but unlike those songs where you can forget the meaning of the German (as an English speaker with a passing knowledge of German) it's impossible to forget the narrative of this song.

I'll dig around for a few more later.
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Re: More uncomfortable than intended

Postby Twistappel » Fri Jul 22, 2016 7:53 pm

Shame and Scandal is probably rescued to some extent by the final verse (It's OK, because his mum has been sleeping around too!), and it was admittedly written at a time when people at least pretended like crazy that everyone waited until they were married to have sex (except the protagonist's parents). But let's be honest here, the son was totally banging those women, so as until his equally lecherous mother sets him straight, he thought he'd been boning his half-sisters. And the song doesn't make it clear whether anybody ever tells his father the truth about the situation.

Also, I've linked the Madness cover of the song. Because I just like that version. So sue me.



And not the whole song, but this line from Summer Nights:


Sonny (I think) is pretty much asking Danny whether he raped and/or sexually assaulted Sandy. In a way that implies that he is totally OK with that, and would like to hear the details of Danny's conquest. Apparently the rest of their friendship group are fine with that too (dooby-do-dooby-do-dooby-dooby-dooby-down).
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Re: More uncomfortable than intended

Postby FaceTheCitizen » Sat Jul 23, 2016 4:19 am

...
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Re: More uncomfortable than intended

Postby Twistappel » Sat Jul 23, 2016 1:34 pm

I'm pretty sure George Harrison's Got My Mind Set on You is supposed to be about winning somebody over and proving that you are worthy of their affection. However the song is kind of vague about what Harrison has got his mind set on doing with the object of his obsession, that's going to take so much money, patience at time.

What are you planning, George? Dinner and a movie? Romantic proposal? Plastic surgery to turn yourself into their "twin"? Using the promise of a cask of amontillado to lure them into the basement of your creepy, semi-sentient mansion, chaining them to the wall, bricking up the exit and spending the next week or so jerking off to their anguished screams?

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Re: More uncomfortable than intended

Postby 52xMax » Sat Jul 23, 2016 2:46 pm

Frankly, I'm more appalled that George complained so much how it took him so long to die so he could be with Lord Krishna... or that he totally ripped off the Chiffons.



Come to think if it...
"I don't know how I'm gonna do it but I'm gonna make him mine",
"he can't shy away forever",
"we gotta get together, the sooner the better"
those lyrics exude kind of a rapey vibe too. Well...girl power, I guess?

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Re: More uncomfortable than intended

Postby cmsellers » Thu Sep 22, 2016 5:14 am

I'm amazed I forgot this one. It's one of the most cringe-inducing songs ever. But then who today listens to the Mills Brothers? I only know it because I ripped all my grandfather's CDs and listened to them all when I was a teenager.

Mills Brothers - "Paper Doll"
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