Count Me Out--In

Posted by Amanda | Posted in | Posted on 12:50 PM

Most of these songs tie into the stick-it-to-the-man theme in obvious ways (the Pink Floyd and Frank Zappa selections, for example), some are a a little less in-your-face (Coldplay, Monsters of Folk), and a few need a note of explanation. I've included "Back in the USSR" because here the Beatles are simultaneously paying tribute to Chuck Berry (who stuck it to the man in his own ways), parodying The Beach Boys, and supporting Russia (some say "Back in the USSR" could be taken as "Backin' the USSR," a la the 1968 campaign"I'm Backing Britain"). You gotta love the White Album. Like when they make fun of Bob Dylan's speaking/singing/mumbling habit in "Rocky Raccoon"--the guy changed folk by plugging in his guitar and introduced the Beatles to pot and still they are willing to poke fun at him on an album, he who was pretty dang good at stickin' it to the man himself? That's gutsy. And funny. But I digress. I put "Revolution 1" on here instead of "Revolution 9" for one reason:

"But when you talk about destruction,
Don't you know that you can count me out--in"

Take it as you will, but I take that "in" as a sign of the Beatles' humor and kinda post-modern self-awareness, some of the things I like most about them, especially during the Sgt. Pepper's/White Album phase. So great.

And, lastly, Stravinsky. If you don't know the story, Google it fool, 'cause it's awesome. This guy's work started a classical music RIOT at its premiere. How great is that? People just couldn't hack it--all those polytonalities, dissonances, and polyrhythms. Way to stir things up, Stravinksy.

Okay, that's all. Enjoy!
  1. "School of Rock" from School of Rock
  2. "Back in the USSR" by the Beatles
  3. "A Rush of Blood to the Head" by Coldplay
  4. "Welcome to the Machine" by Pink Floyd
  5. "Piggies" by the Beatles
  6. "Black or White" by Michael Jackson
  7. "Don't Panic" by Coldplay
  8. "Baby Boomer" by Monsters of Folk
  9. "The Times They Are A-Changin'" by Bob Dylan
  10. "Revolution 1" by the Beatles
  11. "Plastic People" by Frank Zappa
  12. The Rite of Spring" by Stravinsky
(Making a widget for this list was taking too long, so I'll just email the songs to you.)

Comments (1)

Cabeza Said on March 17, 2010 at 10:57 AM

I know most of the songs you have here. Looks like a good list. I had considered using "Back in the U.S.S.R."--glad you did. And wow. I had never caught that "out--in" bit in "Revolution 1" before. So great!

And as a side note--Stravinsky's "Rite of Spring" is on the golden LPs that went up with the Voyager space probes. I'm hoping that when alien species find those things they don't get overwhelmed and start rioting. Unless it's those awful Ridley Scott aliens. Forget them!

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