In Defence of 'Afternoon Delight'

Subject: RE: In Defence of 'Afternoon Delight'
From: GUEST
Date: 13 May 06 - 09:42 PM

I love this song too! Who cares if it's cheesy. Had some nice harmonies on it if I remember rightly (haven't heard it since the 70s I don't think).

Subject: RE: In Defence of 'Afternoon Delight'
From: clairerise
Date: 13 May 06 - 08:23 AM

what. i love this song. so happy. saw it on anchorman too. so funny

Subject: Lyr Add: AFTERNOON DELIGHT (Danoff)
From: clairerise
Date: 13 May 06 - 08:22 AM

Gonna find my baby, gonna hold her tight
gonna grab some afternoon delight.
My motto's always been; when it's right, it's right.
Why wait until the middle of a cold dark night.
When everything's a little clearer in the light of day.
And you know the night is always gonna be there any way.

Sky rockets in flight. Afternoon delight. Afternoon delight.

Thinkin' of you's workin' up my appetite
looking forward to a little afternoon delight.
Rubbin' sticks and stones together makes the sparks ingite
and the thought of rubbin' you is getting so exciting.

Sky rockets in flight. Afternoon delight. Afternoon delight.

Started out this morning feeling so polite
I always though a fish could not be caught who wouldn't bite
But you've got some bait a waitin' and I think I might try nibbling
a little afternoon delight.

Sky rockets in flight. Afternoon delight. Afternoon delight.

Please be waiting for me baby when I come around.
We could make a lot of lovin' 'for the sun goes down.

Sky rockets in flight. Afternoon delight. Afternoon delight.

Repeat chorus.

Subject: RE: In Defence of 'Afternoon Delight'
From: GUEST
Date: 13 May 06 - 12:32 AM

Subject: RE: In Defence of 'Afternoon Delight'
From: Little Hawk
Date: 07 May 06 - 02:32 PM

I buy every Shatner album I can find. You'd be amazed at the rare Shatner stuff in my collection. It's priceless. I'll sell it all someday and buy myself an island somewhere. ;-)

Subject: RE: In Defence of 'Afternoon Delight'
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 07 May 06 - 11:25 AM

Customers who bought that album also bought:

Lounge Against the Machine ~ Richard Cheese

Spaced Out: The Best of Leonard Nimoy and William Shatner ~ Leonard Nimoy

Tuxicity ~ Richard Cheese & Lounge Against the Machine

Aperitif for Destruction ~ Richard Cheese

Rock Swings ~ Paul Anka

I'd Like a Virgin ~ Richard Cheese

Diary of a Loungeman ~ Bud E. Luv

Fade to Bluegrass: The Bluegrass Tribute to Metallica ~ Various Artists

I'd guess that those numbers are based on such slim sales volume that if LH bought this and a couple of Shatner albums at the same time Shat would turn up on this list.

SRS

Subject: RE: In Defence of 'Afternoon Delight'
From: John O'L
Date: 07 May 06 - 05:52 AM

"No More Mister Nice Guy"?

From the photo, I'd still trust him with my wallet.

Subject: RE: In Defence of 'Afternoon Delight'
From: Cluin
Date: 07 May 06 - 01:33 AM

Honestly, you gotta listen to his version of Ozzy's "Crazy Train". Gives the Shatman a run for his money.

Subject: RE: In Defence of 'Afternoon Delight'
From: Cluin
Date: 07 May 06 - 01:27 AM

But Pat Boone put out a whole album of heavy metal songs. Love letters in the coke.

Subject: RE: In Defence of 'Afternoon Delight'
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 07 May 06 - 01:06 AM

Apparently also good for suppressing the rest of one's life and career, if the response to his Laugh-In appearance is anything to go by. Much more exaggerated than for someone like Rick Nelson whose "Garden Party" took a shot at those who would keep him in one place singing all of the same songs. Tim didn't have that kind of rebuttal to "Tiptoe," did he?

SRS

Subject: RE: In Defence of 'Afternoon Delight'
From: Little Hawk
Date: 06 May 06 - 08:00 PM

He was a killer talent, Stilly. Amazing, really. "Tiptoe" was what is called in the business a "novelty song", like "One-eyed One-horned Flying Purple People Eater" or "Winchester Cathedral" or "Itsy-Bitsy, Teeny Weeny, Yellow Polkadot Bikini" or "Monster Mash". Novelty songs are great for getting people's attention and getting lots of airplay.

Subject: RE: In Defence of 'Afternoon Delight'
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 06 May 06 - 11:23 AM

Little Hawk is branching out--he has started a Tiny Tim thread, totally ignoring the worthwhile discussion that could occur here regarding the widely dismissed "Tiptoe Through the Tulips." It was very popular, it was very silly, but behind it lurked someone who I think was a very serious musician and performer and probably had a very good voice. I think I've heard some of his other non-falsetto work and he was actually a baritone, wasn't he?

SRS

Subject: RE: In Defence of 'Afternoon Delight'
From: The Fooles Troupe
Date: 06 May 06 - 07:43 AM

Ah John - Fools rush in... join the Troupe!

Subject: RE: In Defence of 'Afternoon Delight'
From: Peace
Date: 05 May 06 - 10:22 PM

Twist the knife; go ahead!

Subject: RE: In Defence of 'Afternoon Delight'
From: John Hardly
Date: 05 May 06 - 10:18 PM

see? ...now if your allusions hadn't been so esoteric, more than one of us might have been able to fully appreciate your brilliant humor. As it stands, there is now one laughing (foolestroupe) and one embarrassed by ignorance (me).

Subject: RE: In Defence of 'Afternoon Delight'
From: Peace
Date: 05 May 06 - 09:27 PM

Robo's last post was May 1.

Subject: RE: In Defence of 'Afternoon Delight'
From: Peace
Date: 05 May 06 - 09:25 PM

Sorry, John.

The reference to that is about Foolestroupe whose name is Robin.

Subject: RE: In Defence of 'Afternoon Delight'
From: John Hardly
Date: 05 May 06 - 09:22 PM

"That came from a guy named Ro--"

Robomatic?! I haven't seen hide nor hair of him around here lately (of course that could be a result fo my absence, not his). So he agrees with my nephew, Mason?

Subject: RE: In Defence of 'Afternoon Delight'
From: Peace
Date: 05 May 06 - 09:19 PM

You too, Seamus. Easy man, easy.

Subject: RE: In Defence of 'Afternoon Delight'
From: Divis Sweeney
Date: 05 May 06 - 09:17 PM

Thanks buddy, now another cup of coffee and a morphine patch and lay down again.
Take care and keep healthy
Seamus

Subject: RE: In Defence of 'Afternoon Delight'
From: Peace
Date: 05 May 06 - 09:10 PM

Oh, man, you have my sympathy and empathy.

Subject: RE: In Defence of 'Afternoon Delight'
From: Divis Sweeney
Date: 05 May 06 - 09:09 PM

Thanks so much peace. Will search it out on limewire. Great song but never got anywhere in charts. Glad I just hopped on tonight, couldn't sleep, just got a spinal block injection for back which isn't working !

Subject: RE: In Defence of 'Afternoon Delight'
From: Peace
Date: 05 May 06 - 09:05 PM

Got it, sorry Divis.

Shandi Sinnamon

Subject: RE: In Defence of 'Afternoon Delight'
From: Peace
Date: 05 May 06 - 09:02 PM

Julia Fordham?

Subject: RE: In Defence of 'Afternoon Delight'
From: Divis Sweeney
Date: 05 May 06 - 08:57 PM

Afternoon delight is a great song, probably like many it just brings back great memories of a hot August in 1976. Remember buying it and another one, correct me if I am wrong, think it was by a female singer called Shandy Cinnimon. Song was called Rainbow in my heart, can anyone help an old man down memory lane ?

Subject: RE: In Defence of 'Afternoon Delight'
From: The Fooles Troupe
Date: 05 May 06 - 08:34 PM

;-)

Subject: RE: In Defence of 'Afternoon Delight'
From: Peace
Date: 05 May 06 - 07:48 PM

That came from a guy named Ro--

Ah, forget it.

Subject: RE: In Defence of 'Afternoon Delight'
From: The Fooles Troupe
Date: 05 May 06 - 07:44 PM

That has always been the main appeal of Batman for decades. Glad to see that nine-year-olds can still think for themselves... :-)

Subject: RE: In Defence of 'Afternoon Delight'
From: John Hardly
Date: 05 May 06 - 05:31 PM

My nine-year-old nephew made perfect sense.

He mentioned that, of all the superheros in the world, he most admired Batman.

"Hmmm. Why is that?" I asked him.

"Look..." he said, "What those other guys do isn't heroic. It's no big deal to stop a speeding bullet that you know won't hurt you. But Batman's just, you know, human. He could actually get hurt saving someone"

I like the way my nephew thinks.

Subject: Lyr Add: SUPERMAN'S SONG (Crash Test Dummies)
From: Peace
Date: 05 May 06 - 05:23 PM

Crash Test Dummies LYRICS

"SUPERMAN'S SONG"

Tarzan wasn't a ladies' man
He'd just come along and scoop 'em up under his arm
Like that, quick as a cat in the jungle
But Clark Kent, now there was a real gent
He would not be caught sittin' around in no
Junglescape, dumb as an ape doing nothing

[Chorus:]
Superman never made any money
For saving the world from Solomon Grundy
And sometimes I despair the world will never see
Another man like him

Hey Bob, Supe had a straight job
Even though he could have smashed through any bank
In the United States, he had the strength, but he would not
Folks said his family were all dead
Their planet crumbled but Superman, he forced himself
To carry on, forget Krypton, and keep going. CHORUS

Tarzan was king of the jungle and Lord over all the apes
But he could hardly string together four words: "I Tarzan, You Jane."

Sometimes when Supe was stopping crimes
I'll bet that he was tempted to just quit and turn his back
On man, join Tarzan in the forest
But he stayed in the city and kept on changing clothes
In dirty old phonebooths till his work was through
And nothing to do but go on home. CHORUS

Subject: RE: In Defence of 'Afternoon Delight'
From: John Hardly
Date: 05 May 06 - 01:01 PM

And I don't sing superhero songs as much as I did back when I had super powers.

Subject: RE: In Defence of 'Afternoon Delight'
From: Little Hawk
Date: 05 May 06 - 12:12 PM

Good comments there, Bee-Dub and Kaleea...

I loved "Like A Rolling Stone" when I was in my 20's and 30's, and I loved singing it. I don't sing it anymore, because it doesn't fit my mindset nearly as well now as it did when I was an "angry young man".

Yes, our tastes change as the decades go by.

Subject: RE: In Defence of 'Afternoon Delight'
From: Cruiser
Date: 05 May 06 - 11:53 AM

Geewillikers JJ!

{Quote}
"Cruiser, if you were at Ft. Ord, you weren't in boot camp. You were in basic training. That's what the Army calls it.

So says the former company clerk in a basic training unit, A-7-2, Ft. Jackson, SC."
{End Quote}

Boot camp is an overall general term for ALL branches of training camps for military recruits just as basic training is the initial period of training of a recruit in ALL the armed forces. Sure, the Marines may call theirs Recruit Training while the Army calls it Basic Training, but it is all "recruit-basic-boot camp" training.

So says just about any dictionary you care to look at.

Army Company clerks are picky! So says Cruiser.

Since this is a music thread and not a military one, I guess I should suggest a new version of a well known song by Ms. Sinatra...'These Boots Are Made For Marching'

Subject: RE: In Defence of 'Afternoon Delight'
From: Kaleea
Date: 03 May 06 - 01:50 PM

The Starland Vocal Band helped to remind us that the voice is an instrument during a time when techno & disco were all the rage. I quite enjoyed the song, Afternoon Delight, especially considering that I had recently become single & discovered that my exhusband was quite, shall we say, more than a bit of a clumsy ox in the delight department.
If one considers the vast amount of scaryness of the disco era, one might have a listen to the "Ethel Merman Disco Album" before waxing nasty at the Starland Vocal Band.
By the way--I have great respect for Ethel Merman & her terrific talent to entertain.

Subject: RE: In Defence of 'Afternoon Delight'
From: Bee-dubya-ell
Date: 03 May 06 - 01:16 PM

To return briefly to the original topic...

I think the public's relationship with some songs is analagous to romantic infatuation. There's an appeal to something that feels good, but when it's over many of us tend to look back on it somewhat shamefacedly. Just like that girl/guy we once had the hots for about whom we now ask ourselves "What in the hell was I thinking?", many people genuinely liked many of the songs mentioned in this thread only to find later that there was something about the songs that just didn't fit.

Maybe it's just part of growing up. Just as most of us ultimately choose mates who provide something deeper than mere titillation, most of us wind up appreciating music that appeals on more levels than "Afternoon Delight" or "Chevy Van".

Now, that's not to say that all of us reach that point. There are still lots of fifty-year-old men who think "Free Bird" is the greatest song in the world. They also think the girl working the beer concession at the Lynnard Skynnard concert is an angel incarnate. There's nothing wrong with that. There's no law that says everybody has to grow up.

Subject: RE: In Defence of 'Afternoon Delight'
From: Little Hawk
Date: 03 May 06 - 12:40 PM

So that's what that song was about. I always wondered.

Subject: RE: In Defence of 'Afternoon Delight'
From: GUEST,saulgoldie
Date: 03 May 06 - 12:20 PM

Fools,
I am embarassed to admit that I remember it, but...

"The Greatest American Hero"

Believe it or not, I'm walking on air;
Never thought I could feel so free;
Flying away on a wing and a prayer
Who would have believed?...
Believe it or not, it's just me.

He never fully mastered flying and other powers. He was always flying into things, and landing very awkwardly.

Oh goody, perhaps the memory is still working (although it does fail me quite often).

Subject: RE: In Defence of 'Afternoon Delight'
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 03 May 06 - 12:01 PM

Yes, I remember that. Strange program. Katt (not Katz) was the son of a TV eye candy original, Barbara Hale (Della Street on Perry Mason). And Perry Mason had one of the most memorable themes (no words that I know of) in TV history (beaten no doubt by Hawaii Five-O). It sounds like a chunk of Gershwin's Concerto in F to me. (No words to that one, either!)

As to hamsters being light and airy things compared to muskrats, I beg to differ, or at least add an exception to that rule. My daughter is caring for* a hamster of some variety for a friend whose mother is afraid of small furry mice-like objects. This little thing lives in a terrarium of sorts on a bookshelf in my daughter's dark bedroom at her father's house. My two cats would not be good companions, so it stays over there. It must be a very lonely, depressed, dark hamster--I don't think it even gets much light from the window. This sounds like a creature who will need drugs or psychotherapy if he is ever moved back to his original home.

SRS

*one begins to think that a complete transfer has actually happened, but I hope not, because I hate to think of this little critter being warehoused on a bookshelf all by itself with no external stimulation of any sort.

Subject: RE: In Defence of 'Afternoon Delight'
From: John Hardly
Date: 03 May 06 - 09:56 AM

Greatest American Hero. Starring William Katz. Eye candy provided by Connie Selleca.

Theme sung by Joey Scarborough. Believe it or not (I'm walking on air, I never thought I could feel so free.....)

Subject: RE: In Defence of 'Afternoon Delight'
From: The Fooles Troupe
Date: 03 May 06 - 07:01 AM

"Hardest of ALL is superheroes. Almost no pop songs about superheroes." - John Hardly

Well there was the TV show about the guy (who had a CIA or something mate?) who found the suit and became an accidental superhero - can't remember the title, but the song was something like "look at me I'm walking on air".... which I suppose probably proves your point somehow, as the song created such an underwhelming impression on me I can't even remember the words, let alone the title...

Subject: RE: In Defence of 'Afternoon Delight'
From: John Hardly
Date: 03 May 06 - 06:36 AM

Well, in this "True Confessions" thread wherein we're admitting to liking the unlikeable...

I loved Jimmy Webb's writing -- probably Glen Campbell's take on them the best -- but back in the 60's the Fifth Dimension released "Magic Garden" that was full of Webb stuff. There was a song on there called "The Girl's Song" (...if he hasn't changed his number, if he hasn't changed his mi-i-i-i-i-i-i-ind...) that may be my favorite Webb song. Maybe it's because it never got airplay and therefore never wore out its welcome with me, but a favorite nonetheless.

Subject: RE: In Defence of 'Afternoon Delight'
From: M.Ted
Date: 02 May 06 - 11:42 PM

The Wichita Lineman went to Phoenix, on his way to MacArthur Park.

Subject: RE: In Defence of 'Afternoon Delight'
From: Little Hawk
Date: 02 May 06 - 10:06 PM

I'll be darned. I got the 100th post, and I wasn't even trying to.

Subject: RE: In Defence of 'Afternoon Delight'
From: Little Hawk
Date: 02 May 06 - 10:05 PM

It's interesting to me that the same person would have written all three of those, because MacArthur Park is really different from the other two.

Damn shame Shatner never covered it. It would have suited his overdramatic approach to a "T".

Subject: RE: In Defence of 'Afternoon Delight'
From: John Hardly
Date: 02 May 06 - 10:02 PM

I've really enjoyed this discussion. It's so hard to find people who really understand the muskrat.

I had a pre-Cambrian shirt. I loved that thing. That soft denim blue belied its true toughness. That shirt wore like iron. Probably lasted me years before it finally frayed apart. Sad? 'Frayed so.

Subject: RE: In Defence of 'Afternoon Delight'
From: Once Famous
Date: 02 May 06 - 10:02 PM

I have followed country music for many years. MacArthur Park was actually a minor country hit by Waylon Jennings in the late 1960s. Even though I was a big fan of his for a long time, I could never get into the song other than as a parady

Jimmy Webb's Wichita Lineman and By the Time I Get to Phoenix were just more listenable.

Subject: RE: In Defence of 'Afternoon Delight'
From: Little Hawk
Date: 02 May 06 - 09:50 PM

You are so right about muskrats, John. They are extremely deep animals. Hamsters are far less complex. The obvious sunny, open, guileless innocence of the hamster is the main reason that causes serious songwriters to avoid hamster metaphors, specially in love songs. They're just too straighforward and cute. Muskrats are another story! I'm sure that James Joyce would have written a lengthy novel based on Muskrats, had he lived long enough, not to mention Joseph Conrad.

The lyrics in the Batman theme, as you say, are almost the height of inanity and repetitiveness, surpassed only, I think, by the aforementioned "My Baby Does the Hanky Panky" and "Bird Is The Word".

Despite this the Batman theme has remained popular with pre-schoolers to this day. It's innately hummable. And it sounds a fair bit like the old taunt "Na Na Na Na Naaaaah Nah!" which children have been inflicting on other children since pre-Cambrian times if not before. That explains its appeal to the younger age groups.

Subject: RE: In Defence of 'Afternoon Delight'
From: John Hardly
Date: 02 May 06 - 09:38 PM

Don't be too hard on yourself, LH. Writing about hamsters can be tricky. Muskrats may be even harder. I thinnk this is because muskrats, being dark, brooding, emotional animals full of animal angst, they seem to take more out of a writer. I've heard of writers who have tried to pen lyrics about muskrats being given to bouts of severe depression.

Hardest of ALL is superheroes. Almost no pop songs about superheroes. Oh sure, they're alluded to -- "....don't tug on superman's cape" comes to mind. And note: "Sunshine Superman" isn't really about the big guy. Again, just as with the muskrat, it is, like, symbolic.

And sure there's a theme to "Batman", but the lyrics are just so innane...

na na na na na na na na na na....Batman!..... na na na na na na na na na....and so on.

Subject: RE: In Defence of 'Afternoon Delight'
From: Little Hawk
Date: 02 May 06 - 09:23 PM

LoL! That's brilliant, John. I feel somewhat embarrassed not to have twigged to that obvious metaphor right from the first listening.

Subject: RE: In Defence of 'Afternoon Delight'
From: John Hardly
Date: 02 May 06 - 09:12 PM

It's not about muskrats. That's just the imagery, the symbolism. It's really about hamsters.

Problem was, it just would have sounded so silly as "Hamster Love". Surely you can see that.