I noticed something the other day when i was thinking about writers being on a par with rockstars, i noticed that actually dostoeevsky gets quite a few mentions in songs. I was trying to figure out why this was when i saw a clip from the office where david brent is 'helping' someone with a crossword clue- something about a dissedent russian author. then there is that episode of father ted where he tries to impress a woman by saying he had read crime and punishment (he enjoyed the crime but thought the punishment let it down abit).
it appears that in our pop culture the sign of intelligence is whether you are familiar with dostoyevsky. if you are you can drop his name into something and look as though you are well read. so i thought i might see what songs a could remember that name dropped him. i thought of the 3 below but i'm sure there are more that i can't think of for now. if anyone can (and i'm sure rainey would have noticed some maybe you can send tham my way.
oh look what ive gone and done. i've only gone and dropped dostoyevsky into my blog so i look intelligent. huh
Sleeper-Lie Detector
she's got green eyes and she's lovely
reminds me of the 'it' girl with her lips
got an automatic license
reads all Dostoevsky's household tips
Willy Mason- Still a fly
But still, you're just a kid
You shouldn't read Dostoevsky at your age
That and nicotine will make you pale and lean
And twist your face like Mr. Grays
Religious manifests in paintings that you make
Or else your eyes will stay the same
Are you that hungry for a change?
Belle & Sebastian- This a Just a Modern Rock Song
I'm not as sad as Dostoevsky
I'm not as clever as Mark Twain
I only buy a book for the way it looks
And then I stick in on the shelf again#
Fun Lovin criminals-Come Find Yourself
I'm not a man with a grasp on reality
Kerouac is wack but I'm down with Dostoevsky
Sugar's got my back plus Baretta .380's
One of which I dropped as the man tried to bait me.
one i found i response to jonny's comment about doing more than just name dropping:
Mountain Goats, The - Love Love Love
raskalnikov felt sick
but he couldn't say why
when he saw his face reflected
in his victim's twinkling eye
some things you do for money
and some you'll do for fun
but the things you do for love
are gonna come back to you one by one
4 comments:
Given the interesting context of using D. in all of these songs, I would be VERY curious to see how many people have actually READ anything by him?? Apparently its the new cool thing to do to read Russian writers these days anyway. Check most folk artist websites and you will see name dropping of this kind all over the place.
How funny! Geordan was just grumbling last night about how Ronaldo is so washed- up. He DID just stand around! Ronaldinio should be wearing the captian's band for sure- although I have to say I wasn't too impressed with him either.
I know what you mean about the underdog. As much as I would LOVE for US or England to go through as far as possible- I'm secretly rooting for Trinadad and Tobago :)The sweet things have been out dancing in the streets since they found out they qualified!
And yeah! I have issues with Italian football period! Love the country, love the language, love the food, love the people- but come on! Get it together! When there is that much scandal in your national league- you have no right going and winning the world cup! :)Personal oppinion of course!
The windows of the world are covered with rain, where is the sunshine we once knew?
I think song writers stick the guy in there because people who listen to their music are sophisticated wannabes. oooo look i'm listening to music that mentions a dead russian, i'm sophisticated.
Really they should stick some of D's content in there rather than jsut his name.
I think i'm sophisticated because I have a hat made out of a rabbit.
And I wear small purple shorts.
this is very very old.
all i would like to say is: namedropping isn't a crime. they are enlisting Dostoevsky in a broad way, yeah, but they're aware of that: Dostoevsky as representative of something. they may not have read much of his work but in certain contexts, such as mason's, namedropping to sound clever isnt what they're aiming for.
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