{Note: Apologies if you are getting this email a second time. I don’t think you are, but this morning’s episode seems to have not been sent. If you do have #16, it is exactly the same as #16A, I just have to change the title. Thank you so much for listening and sharing! Suggestions, requests, show ideas, all that much appreciated}
We have known this for some time. Even before the pandemic, before we were locked down with only ourselves and our families to observe our off times all the time we knew. Perhaps it is a result of global bad health or a planet that is fading fast. Maybe it is the ease with which the rude rule the web. The loudest person in the room is obviously the smartest, else he (it is usually “he,” right?) wouldn’t be yelling and slapping his hand on the table and generally creating a ruckus of bluster and piss while others discuss where to locate the new coffee machine.
When did we swap good manners for bad is the subject of a new intellectual reckoning in The Atlantic. You can read that here: Why are People Acting So Weird?
But make it snappy! We have some tunes to hear.
OUTRAGEOUS BEHAVIOR includes The Records, on the verge of the 80s, with an urge to get messed up before going out. The Dells’ “Oh What a Night” is a completely sweet memory, although the phrase often indicates a calamity.
But look out! Here comes spousal abuse from The Crystals, outright violence so vile Fleetwood Mac recorded it under an assumed name, and how to handle a brat from the upright Ramones. Sex, drugs, and Bad Manners team up for Inner London Violence and finally the Pet Shop Boys plead with Dusty Springfield with the typical victim refrain: “What Have I Done to Deserve This?”
Seriously. What HAVE we done?
Hurry summer! Stay focused!
ALL MESSED UP AND READY TO GO The Records
OH WHAT A NIGHT The Dells
HE HIT ME (AND IT FELT LIKE A KISS) The Crystals
SOMEBODY IS GOING TO GET THEIR HEAD KICKED IN TONIGHT Earl Vince and the Valiants
Everybody is rockin' and everyone just wants more, moreSo there's gonna be a pool of blood on the dancin' floor, floor Somebody's gonna get their head kicked in tonight! We're gonna rip off the hallsTear down the wallsAll those boys, gonna be a big fightAnd... take it outside Everybody is rockin' and everyone just wants more, moreSo there's gonna be a pool of blood on the dancin' floor, floor Somebody's gonna get their head Somebody's gonna get their head Somebody's gonna get their head kicked in tonight!
BEAT ON THE BRAT The Ramones
INNER LONDON VIOLENCE Bad Manners
WHAT HAVE I DONE TO DESERVE THIS? Pet Shop Boys & Dusty Springfield
