Baby, It's Cold Outside...

I read an article the other day that some radio stations were deciding not to play the song, "Baby, It's Cold Outside" because of its date rape-y lyrics. This was interesting to me and since I spent much of my academic career studying Christmas music, I decided to do a deep dive into the song, put it in context and find out when it started to become a popular yuletide tune.
Wait. Before I write my findings, I am not trying to sway anyone's opinion or feeling about the song in any direction.
 Frank Loesser wrote the musicals "Guys and Dolls," "How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying," and the song "Baby, It's Cold Outside," which won him an Academy Award in 1949. Esther Williams and Ricardo Montalban performed the version that won the award in the movie "Neptune's Daughter."
 Loesser originally wrote the song as a duet (call and response really) for he and his wife to perform at parties. The song charted 5 times with different artists in 1949 and started showing up on recording artists' records in the early 1950s,
The song does not have any Christmas specific lyrics, but like many others (Let It Snow, Jingle Bells, Winter Wonderland), has been incorporated into the season.  Dean Martin's "A Winter Romance" album was released in 1959 with "Baby, It's Cold Outside" (sung with Marilyn Maxwell)  and though not totally a Christmas themed record there were other yuletide tunes like "Rudolph," and "White Christmas." The album was reissued (and renamed) in 1965. "Holiday Cheer" charted in 1965, 66, 67 and 1968.
The tune showed up again on the Christmas albums of the 1990s and early 2000s. Barry Manilow, Vanessa Williams, Dolly Parton, Brian Setzer and Leon Redbone- just to name a few- sang the duet on their yuletide recordings.
The controversy of the song this season is in the lyrics and the suggestive overtone of the wolf voice. Yes, the voices are referred to mouse and wolf in the score. Anyway, I listened to the 1949 recordings and they definitely do not have the vibe that ol' Dino has in his version. The idea of something being in the drink comes from the taboo of couples who were not married staying the night together. And blaming the alcohol for clouding their judgment. I think of the television show "Mad Men" and how there was a lot of baby, it's cold out there kind of mindset that set the narrative of the main characters. So, it is understandable when the current conversation that is trying to be had is no, means, no that the maybe a not so nuanced coercive tone is frowned upon.
Here is one verse of lyrics. Let us take a look.

The neighbors might think (Baby it's bad out there)
Say what's in this drink? (No cabs to be had out there)
I wish I knew how (Your eyes are like starlight now)
To break this spell (I'll take your hat, your hair looks swell) (Why thank you)
I ought to say no, no, no sir (Mind if move in closer?)
At least I'm gonna say that I tried (What's the sense of hurtin' my pride?)
I really can't stay (Baby don't hold out)
Baby it's cold outside

At-a-glance looking at the lyrics in this stanza- the mouse voice is passive (shocking) they wonder what is in the drink. One of the arguments I read about banning this song is that the drink has a roofie in it. Putting it in context of the time, blame the alcohol. There is also a bit of layered sexual ideas going with the mouse voice having maybe a conflict with them saying no because that is the "moral" thing to do. I put a question mark on that statement because the moral winning out with "I really can't stay" is followed by the pressure statement of Baby, don't hold out." 

Hmmmm. That lyric is forward and seems pushy. I wonder if the altering of that final line of the stanza has been changed for any of the more modern recordings?

I am back from spending an amount of time not working and searching the lyrics of many recordings (Barry Manilow, Brian Setzer, Michael Buble, etc) and the only one I found that didn’t have that line was the Willie Nelson/Norah Jones version. Now it could be that the lyrics sites have the same version copied for all of the versions. I would have to listen to all of them and I can’t do that right now. I might tho…
Okay. I did. So far all the versions have the "baby, don't hold out" lyric.
There is, however, this version, which a friend turned me on to.  A duo from Minnesota re-wrote the lyrics so that the wolf voice is not so pushy. Here is a link.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=amK4U4pCTB8

I think that modern day recordings can change up some of the lyrics. I don't think that it has to be recited word for word.  
Should it be banned? I personally do not have a problem with the tune. 
Do I consider this part of the Christmas music canon?
Well...

And now, at last, we plainly see We'll have a dance of liberty ...

Things I am thankful for...
I remember writing essays with this sort of topic in grade school.

A few days after the synagogue shooting in Pittsburgh, I was at Target and I saw a really cute latke tee shirt and so I bought it for M. We have decided to join a synagogue and I thought getting her pumped about their Hanukkah party would be good and she would have a festival shirt to wear to it.
I was at the check out and the woman at the register, a person of color, swiped the barcode of the shirt, looked me right in my eyes and asked, "Are you okay?" My eyes became moist and I replied that I was okay. She smiled and continued to scan my items.

I am thankful for her.

The #METOO movement has brought into the spotlight that mutual consent is crucial  and there are nuances to how communication is transmitted that can be misconstrued and then you take in about 40 other variables and well, it can be complicated. I am a victim of sexual assault. Twice. It was by people that cared about me. There is the complicated part. I think that changing the narrative and bringing awareness to ask questions and make no assumptions is a step in the right direction. It is kind of amazing to me that I was in a band over 20 years ago that had songs about physical and sexual assault and women's prerogative to dress how she pleases and not be judged by it and after listening to them the other day- still relevant. My hope is that the rape culture will be watered down (I know it won't go completely away) and my kid and her friends will not be afraid to speak up, because you know, mutual consent.

I am thankful for the #METOO movement.

Last week I got to hang out with a friend who I hadn't seen in a couple of years. I had a great time. Good friends make hanging out so easy. On Thursday, a bunch of us are getting together for Thanksgiving. It will be the first one without my friend who passed away this summer. My crew of friends are complicated wonderful human beings.

I am thankful for my friends.

Do the Collapse

My friend died.
It seems like every few blog posts involve a death of someone who I care about...

This friend was someone who I had grown close to in the past few years. I had known her forever, and we were definitely hanging out friends, but not really know your inside feeling kind of friends.
I heard the song "The Greatest," by Catpower and it made me think of her.
How did this song even come up? Yes, I own this record but I probably haven't put it in the  CD player for well over 6 years.
A few days ago the song played on KALX and I broke down in tears in my kitchen while I was washing dishes. I cried because of loss, but what got me was the phrasing of the song. It reminded me of her. Catpower's tune "The Greatest," has such deliberate phrasing that it reminds me of the way my friend talked. She typically chose her words very carefully before speaking.
Through my tears, I also recalled a conversation we had before she got sick.
We were talking about how things still matter, but that there is not the urgency of everything like it was when we were younger. Also, the measure of failure is different. If you try something and it doesn't work out then don't consider it a failure. Yes, you may fail at something, but it doesn't define you. It is part of the life ride and one can learn from it and move on, or they can wallow.
The first stanza from Catpower's song hits that conversation right on the head for me.

Once I wanted to be the greatest
No wind or waterfall could stall me
And then came the rush of the flood
Stars at night turned deep to dust

Yes. Yes. The post title for this entry is a GBV (Guided by Voices) reference, but I am not a fan really (she liked them a lot and was in the GBV cult for a while), and I don't really know their material and so, not my soundtrack.
Besides, I have a layered relationship with Catpower and I think it represents the friendship I had with my friend.  Meaning there was a surface friendship that had portions of it where there were deeper layers to it. I think we both respected each other and appreciated our approach to things, which was totally different most of the time.


It is a little funny to me that Catpower is the artist since my friend did not care for female singers. Though I suspect some of that had to do with the fact that her husband loves strummy-strummy acoustic women musicians. And to respect her memory I did not choose a Sleater-Kinney song since she really hated that band.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QT9qM99l9Yk

Super Awesome: All the people in the dance will agree - that we'r...

Super Awesome: All the people in the dance will agree - that we'r...: When I was in Junior High my mom and stepdad bought a house in Long Beach, California. They put it on the market a couple of weeks ago. The...

All the people in the dance will agree - that we're well qualified to represent the LBC

When I was in Junior High my mom and stepdad bought a house in Long Beach, California.

They put it on the market a couple of weeks ago. They lived the house for over 30 years. 

I moved away from Long Beach when I was 20 and came back a life time later and lived back in the LBC for 7 years and then left about 3 1/2 years ago.

I never totally felt at home living there when I came back, but the home that my parents lived in always had a familiarity that I found comfort in.

When I was in high school, my grandmother (#greatestpersonever) moved in with us. And when I was in my 20s she passed away in that house. 

I spent every Christmas (except one) there. My friends threw my wedding shower at that house. A group of us stayed there when we went to our 10 year high school reunion.

It is strange because I am not sentimental about the house, per se, but just about certain things about the house.

The carpet in the family room. The view from the front bedroom. The double vanity in the bathroom.

Driving in the neighborhood.
There are only a handful of friends left in Long Beach that I would see when I came to visit. It will be strange when I go back to visit them, because I won't stay at mom's house. Pretty sure that will be super weird the first time I go back.

Hello, I must be going...

I am in the middle of reading the Phil Collins autobiography.

It is a great read.

Of course since it is me I am going deep into the Collins catalog.

Besides the big roomy gated drum sound, his songwriting and vocals are really emotional as well.

His schmaltzy words epitomize the 1980s in a way that kind of defines a time once past.

If I may be so bold and draw some lines that Phil Collins did what Beethoven did in his latter period in that he created "music as drama." Using his compositions to reflect on his own struggles. Yes, yes I know that many, many, MANY artists do this...I guess what I am getting at is that I think Phil Collins' body of work should be noticed academically. 

I have participated in many discussions about who will be remembered and studied from the popular music in the 20th and 21st century. There has been much discovery in the social context angle of music study and I think there is definitely room for study of Phil Collins' music. 

His drum sound is recognizable and his song writing (not in all cases) memorable. 

Besides his own material he was the drummer on recordings by Brian Eno, Peter Gabriel, Robert Plant, Eric Clapton, Quincy Jones, and of course, Band Aid's "Do They Know It's Christmas?"

I want to delve into his songwriting.

Yes, they are put in some kind of AABA kind of variation, but the lyrical content at times is so dramatic that it reminds me of opera like Tosca, Carmen, or one of Verdi's works.

It reflects on heartbreak that was pre-internet. This mix tape ethos of having to use your imagination to what a love lost is up to...

Some of the phrases that I think reflect this notion of love heartbreak.

So take a look at me now
Well there's just an empty space
And there's nothing left here to remind me
Just the memory of your face

I try to forget and yet, still rush to the telephone
I'm waiting in line
Would you say if I was wasting my time

Leave me alone with my heart
I'm putting the pieces back together again
Just leave, leave me alone with my dreams
I can do without you, know what I mean

There must be some misunderstanding
There must be some kind of mistake I waited in the rain for hours
And you were late




His delivery is also so very important in selling the pain. What makes this authentic is that most of his songs are about heartache that he experienced. Heartache not in a tortured kind of way, but a more everyperson kind of way.


A colleague of mine pointed out the other day that wondering what someone is up to is gone. Just message them on Facebook or check their Instagram. If you want to tell them how you feel with song, curate a Spotify playlist for them and don’t forget to include some Phil Collins. He knows that you can’t hurry love.

Function is the key...

LIVE 105 changed their name to the New Alt 105. I guess it is time to rename rock music?
It is interesting to me  that popular (and semi-popular) music gets re-categorized as it ages. Led Zeppelin was once hard rock and now it is classic rock.  There are old school funk, soul and R&B radio stations that play music that  at one time did not have the term "old school," in front of it.
Unlike music that is often categorized as "classical."
This is a total side note, but I do not like that term, since there is an accepted time period of music called classical, which Mozart is part of and it can be confusing, because the "classical" art period is WAY earlier. Anyway...that is another blog post entry... Classical music or art music, or whatever it is called is often defined by the era for which it was written.
Middle Ages
Renaissance
Baroque
Classical
Romantic
Etc...
Now don't get me wrong, I am completely aware of the issues with this classification. There is a hierarchy, it is linear, and it often disregards non-written music. Again, another blog post entry.

Dang, my mind is wandering. What was my point?
Oh yeah, rock music is changing.

During my youth, there was underground or college rock and modern rock. The difference was that some music was only played "left of the dial," and some was only played on the Live 105s or KROQs. Now to be clear, I am only delving into one area of rock music. The one that sides on the New Wave (another genre) or bands with synthesizers and the second British Invasion, which moved back to the states and into alternative, and then pivoted to indie rock.

I think it is interesting to see where this all going. It seems with technology anybody can self-produce and put something on youtube, bandcamp, and soundcloud. So if the indie production part is not where the distinction comes in, where is it?


Music genres have long been a mind map of cluster tomatoes in describing a sound. I taught a class a few years ago and I asked my class to shout out genres of music. It was incredible. There wasn't a spot left on the board.
So taking in the rock genres that are inspired by the 1980s/90s rock bands by the likes of Sebadoh, Dinosaur Jr., My Bloody Valentine, Fugazi, Bikini Kill, and like a million other bands what is the new definition?

Is there one?

Could it be in the promotion?

Is there an app for that?