Tainted by the early 1980s [Δαφνη Ευτυχια Αρθουρος]

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This season, as one could predict, many television and radio advertisements use "The Twelve Days Of Christmas", either as background music or with ad-specific words fitted to it.

The thing is, every time I hear it, even if there are words being sung, in my head what I hear is:

[...]
Three French hens
Two turtledoves
And a beer.

It's environmentally-induced neurological damage, I tell you: my brain got rewired by a comedy routine I found only marginally funny even then. (The shared-meme aspects of quoting them was more significant than what giggles I got from the SNL bits, though I recall the movie being funnier.)

Now that I've got that off my chest, I can devote those brain cycles to collecting my RotK thoughts.

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There are 14 comments on this entry. (Reply.)

same here.

not only that, whenever i see the word "tainted" i instantly think "love... BOMP BOMP!"

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Heh, I do the same thing.

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All I ever get is the one I learned in 7th grade chorus that involved a nasty breakup and the demise of the partridge, doves, and hens. I don't quite remember what the lass did with the rest of the lot beyond the obscene calling birds and the five gold rings that turned her fingers green. I think she just sent them packing somehow.

What does the word "tainted" have to do with the phrase "Love,...BOMP BOMP"? It maybe was part of popular culture in the eighties? From what?

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"Tainted Love" (followed by electronic BOMP BOMP noise), as performed by Soft Cell, on the album Non-Stop Ecstatic Dancing. Ahhhh.

Let's see how much of the XMas break-up song I remember from my [jr?] HS chorus. It seemed funny then, but it's striking me a little creepy now:

The first day after Christmas, my true love and I had a fight
and so I chopped the pear tree down and burned it just for spite
then with a single cartridge I shot that blasted partridge
my true love, my true love, my true love gave to me.

The second day after Christmas I pulled on the old rubber gloves
and very gently wrung the necks of both the turtle doves
The third day after Christmas, my mother caught the croup
I had to kill the three french hens to make her chicken soup

The four calling birds were a big mistake for their language was obscene
The five golden rings were completely fake and they turned my fingers green....

Not sure how it transitions to the wrap up.

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Yep, that's the sucker, all right. And you remember it nearly the same way. And lose it at the same spot I do. I wonder where out there my chorus teacher is? Eh, I should google for the rest. I thought it was funny at the time, too, but have been chewed up in bad breakups enough to sympathize with the fury. I also spent a long time dealing with livestock, love, and money. So the conversion of gift (what kind of white elephant was he giving her in all those people anyway?) into object of rage/vengeance, ridicule, livestock, and rejection is understandable. Or it's just a silly song. I couldn't find the creepy for myself. But then, I like Tom Lehrer and morbid medieval ballads. Not exclusively.

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Maybe this will help. Thanks for mentioning The Twelve Days After Christmas. I may have heard it before once or twice, but I'm not sure. It does seem rather Tom Lehrer-ish.

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I like Tom Lehrer and medieval ballads too (not sure I've heard too many morbid medieval ballads). Unfortunately, since HS I've been exposed to people who feed off anger, who look hard for ways they can imagine themselves wronged so they can feel gleeful and self-righteous about being vindictive and cruel. This song now reminds me of them. I'm glad that for some folks it's just a silly song (really). Certainly the original is silly fun, with all those gifts. I wonder if it was an early cry against the commercialization of Christmas? ;-)

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Tainted Love by Soft Cell. You can hear a sample on Amazon.

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Okay, thanks. I must've missed a lot.

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On my third year at Worldcon, the filkers sang to me

Gimme that Old Time Religion
Gimme that Old Time Religion
Gimme that Old Time Religion
It's good enough for me.

Could have hauled 'em off in hearses
Was so bad, and what was worse is
It went on three hundred verses
And that's quite enough for me.

Three hundred verses
To Old time Religion
And don't forget the Blacksmith of Brandywine!

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I was having so much nostalgic fun that I forgot to ask: What's RotK?

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Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King

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The National Air and Space Museum using the Official Bransle as background for an advert.

Or are they tossing the duchesses into orbit?

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Well...it could be MUCH worse! ;-D You should SEE the scary Dr.Demento-ish playlist that Jeremy has on his ipod. I find myself listening to it and squirming, and then randomly telling people that I want a hippopotamus for chistmas. ;-)

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Δαφνη Ευτυχια Αρθουρος

Tainted by the early 1980s

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12 days of _________

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12 days of _________

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12 days of _________

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Oh, damn and blast!

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Anachronism of the Year

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