Wednesday, April 13, 2011

I DON'T FIND THIS STUFF AMUSING ANYMORE: I didn't need to know that the line about "a short little span of attention" in Paul Simon's "You Can Call Me Al" was a reference to penile inadequacy, though the rest of this transcribed piece on the making of Graceland is cool.

But is it really a song just about midlife crisis and personal awakening in Africa? Or, is it (also) the story of an alcoholic's coming to terms with his illness -- with "Betty" being the Betty Ford Clinic and "call me Al" meaning, yes, I am willing to label myself as an alcoholic in need of your help.  (And what is a roly-poly little bat-faced girl, anyway?)

6 comments:

  1. randy7:37 PM

    Hunh.  So much for the fun-to-discuss theory back in university that "You Can Call Me Al" was based on Dante's "Divine Comedy"...

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  2. isaac_spaceman8:36 PM

    I don't care about the penises and the liquor, but I stand by my statement that the line "spinning in infinity" makes just about a perfect sound. 

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  3. Joseph J. Finn10:35 PM

    I love how at the end of this:

    "<span>A loose affiliation of millionaires </span>
    <span>And billionaires and baby "</span>

    He almost sounds of out of breath at JUST HOW DAMN GOOD Boy in The Bubble sounds before he recovers and finished the song.

    (Also, I have an mp3 somewhere of Simon and Willie Nelson performing Graceland on SNL that's just delightful for Nelson singing the line about "there's a girl in Austin Texas, who calls herself the human trampolin.")

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  4. I believe this is from the 'Classic Albums' episode about Graceland- they air it sometimes on VH1 Classic. Lots of fun to watch. Paul really is a master.

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  5. Marsha12:34 PM

    Sometimes a roly poly little bat-faced girl is just a roly poly little bat-faced girl.

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  6. Meghan4:56 PM

    I have to say, rare is the occasion when I have been familiar enough with an album to really find these types of annotations memorable.  But, like everyone else, this album spoke to me at a time and place in my life where the songs resonated with me profoundly.  Very, very cool to read about. (Yeah, I finished with a preposition. What of it?)

    "You Can Call Me Al" was always one of my least favorite tracks on this album but my husband pointed out that it's likely because I saw the video before being able to appreciate the song.  That's probably true.  I don't think the video adds anything to the song.

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