Something to mull over through the weekend
Sometimes you hear songs that make you think.
Some songs make you wonder why the singer ever sang the song (e.g. summer of 69) and some make you wonder why the singer ever sang (e.g. summer of 69).

Some artists, however, write songs deep enough to make you think about the subject. Phoebe from Friends is one such artist. Smelly cat (lyrics provided in Appendix 1) is the best known of the lot, but some others are equally thought provoking. For instance:

Blackout
New York City has no power.
And the milk is getting sour.
But to me this is not scary,
'Cause I stay away from dairy.

Weird Al is another one. Sticking to the theme of fermentation, I reproduce the following, sung to the tune of a famous Aerosmith song:

Livin' in the fridge
There's somethin' weird in the fridge today
I don't know what it is
Food I can't recognize

My roommate won't throw a thing away
I guess it's probably his
It looks like it's alive...

And livin' in the fridge...livin' in the fridge

There's somethin' gross in the fridge today
It's green and growin' hair
It's been there since July

If you can name that object
In that baggie over there
Then mister, you're a better man than I

It's livin' in the fridge
(You can't stop the mold from growin')
Livin' in the fridge
(Can't tell what it is at all)

Tell me do you think it should be carbon-dated
Fumigated or cremated and buried at sea?

You try to save a little bit of your home cookin'
Couple weeks later, got a scary-lookin' specimen
It always happens, my friend

Again and again and again and again

Somethin' stinks in the fridge today
And it's been rottin' there all week
It could be liver cake or woolly mammoth steak
Well, maybe I should take another peek...

etc.

But if you thought Indians were incapable of producing such poetry, you are terribly mistaken. Some songs can be highly philosophical. For instance:

Ande Ka Funda
…
Omlete Ke O Mein Anda Chocolate Ke Cho Mein Anda
Tohfa Ke To Mein Anda Coca Ke Co Mein Anda
Toilet Ke To Mein Anda Voilet Ke Vo Mein Anda
Hotel Ke Ho Mein Anda Botal Ke Bo Mein Anda

Fashion Ke Show Mein Anda Ration Ke Row Mein Anda
Arrow Mein Bow Mein Anda Come And Go Mein Anda
King Kong Mein Bhi Anda Ping Pong Mein Bhi Anda
Ding Dong Mein Bhi Anda Sing Song Mein Bhi Anda

Is Mein Chupa Hai Jeevan Ka Fal Safa
...

Please note that these songs are vastly different from other classics easily mistaken to be thought provoking, e.g. We didn't start the fire by Billy Joel, Subterranean homesick blues by Bob Dylan (and indeed a whole lot of Dylan) etc.

Some readers might argue that "Oh Manjula" belongs to this genre, but there is a subtle difference. Manjula misses a very important point - songs of the category in question can be delivered with a straight face and sans emotion and yet drive the message home. Manjula necessarily requires the performer to distort his face (and/or possess a distorted face as is the case with the original composer) to drive any sort of message home. In the case of Manjula, specifically, the message was "please switch off the television".

Anyway, I hope the reader will have something to think about this weekend, thanks to this intellectual post.

Appendix 1: Some other classics by Phoebe

Shower Song
I'm in the shower and I'm writing a song,
Stop me if you've heard it,
My skin is soapy and my hair is wet,
And Tegrin spelled backwards is Nirget.

Chorus:
Lather, rinse, repeat,
And lather, rinse, repeat,
And lather, rinse, repeat,
As needed.

The Animal Song
Oh, the cow in the meadow goes moo,
Oh, the cow in the meadow goes moo.
Then the farmer hits him on the head and grinds him up,
And that's how we get hamburgers!

Nooowww, chickens!

Smelly Cat
Chorus:
Smelly Cat, Smelly cat what are they feeding you?
Smelly Cat, smelly cat it's not your fault...

They won't take you to the vet.
You're obviously not their favorite pet.
You may not be a bed of roses,
And you're no friend to those with noses.

Smelly cat, smelly cat what are they feeding you?
Smelly cat, smelly cat it's not your fault!
- posted by Rallix @ 2:45 AM