I mean.... Cats is good, it’s a fun little musical, but goddamn that movie missed the fucking mark. Watch the 1998 version not...whatever the 2019 version was
"We're no threat people We're not dirty, we're not mean We love everybody, but we do as we please When the weather's fine We go fishing or go swimming in the sea We're always happy Life's for living, yeah, that's our philosophy" Great song!
I just adore this song. I can't explain it it's just so happy! And god damn I can't get enough of Mungo Jerry's weird wardrobe and constant look of awkwardness.
I think he was actually part Indian or even part Black, but descended from some 18th century Black Briton. He does look slightly Black, with his copper skin, full lips and big teeth. But then again some peasant English have rough features (Mick Jagger, Garry Linneker etc)
No way! I was pretty sure I was the only person under 50 who knew this song existed! I love it as a summer song, like a Christmas song. Works only when you're doing something summer-ly. It's not a party-jam so much as it's a cookout-jam. Great review too.
An Australian anti drinking add used this song. At the point in the song where it says "go for a ride and see what you can find" the actors get in a car and drive off, only to instantly smash into a tree and kill almost everyone.
In retrospect, perhaps that's the version of "Knockin on Heaven's Door" they should've played near the end of Lethal Weapon 2, considering its Apartheid era South African appeal, certainly would've changed the tone of Riggs' motionless gunned-down body...
That Hollywood Music Festival lineup is ridiculous, I hope there's bootlegs of it somewhere. (EDIT: It looks like most of the bands on the flyer didn't actually show up, so The Flying Burrito Brothers and Traffic did not in fact perform on the same stage.)
...i'm stuck with the impression that him saying "if her daddy's rich, take her out for a meal" isn't so much "bc you need to impress her" but more "try and get her to pay"
I thought because of a capitalist system a poor person has less power so you can do what you want. If you anger the rich girl she has more power so you need to watch what you do. Critique on capitalism for me.
@@NoQuarter1995 Bruh it's Mungo Jerry. Your friend from school who was at every party but never brought any weed or alcohol. Keep the commie shit away.
Dude I am an old guy and I am hear to tell you that drinking was ENCOURAGED when driving in the 70's. That way it didn't hurt nearly as much when your car exploded.
I am also an old guy. And I agree. I remember getting pulled over once, and when I got out of the truck, an empty beer can fell out. The cop didn't say a thing. Then when I went to get back in, a FULL beer fell out, spilling all over the street. The cop rolled his eyes and went on his way.
No, the cars back then didn't blow up when you got in an accident in them. They just popped out the dents in the fender, wiped your brains off the steering wheel, and drove it to the used car lot. "Crumple Zones" were not a thing.
I think I know why this song is so unable to annoy people. Mungo Jerry just sound like they're having so much fun and they mean absolutely no harm to anybody. Mungo Jerry pretty much sound like, yes, those hobos living out of a wrecked train car playing instruments they made for themselves, but they also sound like guys who, if they ever did get money, they'd go to the nearest bar and buy a round of beer for everyone and keep on living and loving the simple things they got. Kinda noble in that sorta way. They're just a bunch of well meaning drunks who happen to be able to play instruments and cannot be mad at anyone, kinda like those incredibly charismatic tramps in movies you see from time to time.
I can just picture an old timey cartoon with a bunch of hobos hanging around a can fire in the trainyards having fun with homemade instruments, and this is the tune that they're playing.
I have to admit, I'm probably the one person who's resistant to the charms; something about this poor man's voice makes my skin crawl. That being said, you totally have a point, because as much as I have a visceral "oh god no" reaction to the *music*, I thoroughly enjoy watching these doofuses slap their instruments around.
For the next April Fools day, Todd should do a completely straight faced OHW on a band like Zeppelin or The Beatles and pick one of their least popular songs as the One Hit Wonder
april fools is over but he ought to have done never gonna give you up like he says he never will (as astley had several hits). on second thought, that'd be too obvious
My dad literally remembers the hard snap between the pop music of the 60's and the 70's. He says there was a particular two week period in 1970, when he was at school, where it seemed like an avalanche of crap music descended.
In the UK, they actually used this song in an anti-drink driving campaign around the early 90's (which was my introduction to the song). Summer sun iis shining, people are drinking, happy, the song is playing, it could be a commercial for alcohol. A car drives away, the music slows, then, they pull away from a car smashed into a tree. Very effective
Whenever I watch those lists of "Top 10 Scary PSAs" from Americans I always laugh. Even the relatively tame British ones, ie. from the 2000s on, put those to shame.
jonisilk Funny, I remember making a joke at work before about how this song could work for that specific purpose. Didn't think it would've ever happened anywhere though.
Todd, do a OHW on Redbone's excellent "Come and Get Your Love"! They're a super unique band that everyone's heard at least once but never really heard about, and they deserve a lot more coverage.
That's a good suggestion! I only recently found out that the entire band was Native American after seeing a video of them. Super unique, especially for the time period.
What blows my mind about this one is that Todd will probably never cover another song that was as big a hit as "In the Summertime." This song that took 10 minutes to write sold 30 million goddamn records. Michael Jackson never recorded a single that sold that much. Neither did the Beatles. Bill Gates doesn't even make that much in 10 minutes. "In the Summertime" was seriously inescapable in 1970, in Europe especially. My dad was a foreign exchange student in Italy when this got big, and he got so thoroughly, thoroughly sick of it that he can't stand to hear it to this day. It's a shame, really - it's a solid tune. Then again, I didn't hate "Shape of You" until I heard it a million times, either.
The Wikipedia article for best-selling singles used to say "In The Summertime" sold 30 million. I remember that because that number seemed suspiciously high. Sure it sold a bunch, but the 3rd best selling single of ALL TIME? No way. Its since been changed to say 10 million and that seems more realistic.
@@munjee2 For anyone wondering including SPS for streaming units the list iirc is 1. White Christmas 2. Shape Of You 3. Despacito 4. Light by Xiao Zhan (Biggest hit in China ever) 5. Candle In The Wind 6. In The Summer Time
"Back then you probably could drink and drive and nobody would say anything." Yes, yes you could. I remember when they started actually speaking out against that, and I was born in 1969. It was a huge controversy.
I remember seeing TV interviews on RU-vid from the 80s (I think) of people saying how “muh rights” are being infringed because the government is cracking on Drinking and driving.
If anyone has actually read Lolita and actually fantasizes about being Humbert... I don't know if that's more confusing or depressing. "Gee, it's super exciting to imagine falling in love with someone who will inevitably move on and want nothing more to do with me, but I guess the fact that she's literally the young child of my wife is a tiny bit ethically monstrous."
I mean a lot of people miss the monstrous elements in Lolita because Humbert uses his education to attempt seduce the reader like he *thinks* he seduced Lolita. There's a reason women have a much stronger reaction to Lolita because men often empathise unconsciously with Humbert, whereas women empathise with Lolita far more strongly. It's not the fault of men, they're taken in by Humbert which was Nabokov's intention. Most men are horrified when they re read it and realise what a monster he was and how he hid it with the beauty of his language. It's a really interesting book because of that.
“Gentlewomen of the jury...” ugh, I adore that novel. Problematic subject matter; purely batshit amazing style. It’s just impeccable writing... as good as Gatsby, and longer / more poetic. One of the greatest novels I’ve ever read, imo.
It's possible that Mungo Jerry was more familiar with the Kubrick film than the novel. It's a bit less sleazy than the novel due to 60's censorship. Like he said in the video, you wouldn't really expect them to put a lot of literary references in their songs.
@Bob Bobbertson if you read Lolita because you want pre-pubescent titillation then you're going to be very, very disappointed. The books most famous sex scene is a 50 year old man forcing himself on a crying 14year old who is mourning her deceased mother and has literally no one else in the world and just let's it happen. It is dark, monstrous, uncomfortable, uncompromising and horrifying. "I've not read it, I'm not a pedo" is a ridiculous thing to say about Lolita because it depicts peadophilia as the most horrible and evil thing a person could do to another human being. Lolita ends up a broken, empty vessel with nothing in the world who is eventually disgarded by the men chasing her for being "too old" at just 19. Humbert Humbert, the narrator, writes the book as a message to the jury and he believes that his education and wealth will save him. He writes in a beautiful complex prose, and at any opportunity will try and manipulate you into agreeing with him or hide his misdeeds by claiming that "She seduced me". He's an unreliable narrator, but as time goes on you realise that his mask is slipping and that he's not the elite, rich, educated individual he's trying to present but a remorseless monster who groomed and raped a child and doesn't give a fuck about her beyond that. The reason "Lolita" as a name becomes so important is because he knows fuck all about her outside of that and often just repeats her name and when she does behave like herself, like a person, he finds her annoying and becomes angry at her for being a real person and not just a living fantasy doll for his desires. Seriously dismissing Lolita as a "peado book" as you're doing is ridiculous. A book about a man seducing a child would not be considered one of the greatest literary works of the twentieth century. A book about a manipulative, unreliable monster trying to convince the reader he's not that and that "she wanted it as much as me" might though. I'll put it another, far more succinct way - the way Humbert and other peadphiles groom children? That's what Humbert as the narrator is doing to the reader of the book. For the duration of the book you are experiencing the same manipulation and madness that Lolita did. You are the person he's grooming.
Did you know that this is the third best selling song ever. Also one and two are White Christmas and Candle in the wind. So this is the best selling song that didn't get boosted by stuff like Christmas and Princess Diana's death.
I always heard "If the night is rich, take her out for a meal, if the night is poor, just do what you feel." Kind of a "splurge if you've got the means, if not, hell just take a walk and watch the sunset." I also thought "Have a drink, have a drive, go out and see what you can find" was a series of OR not AND statements.
Say what you want about it, but it's absolute simplicity makes it timeless. I guarantee people will be listening to this probably after even millennials have died off.
oliverpk Americans call them side burns on account of General Burnside of the American Civil War... who dawned some impressive sideburns. Burnside also invented a cavalry carbine in the 1850s.
I'm pretty disappointed to find out this song isn't from a bunch of Cajun black dudes in new Orleans but just some British guys.... This is a good song though and it will be stuck in my head all day
happyMOO5 It sounds like that because the British have always seemed to have a love for black music like blues, jazz, and rock, and it comes out in their sound. Even more than it would come out in a less pop-aspiring 50s or 60s act, which could be a lot. Think Eddie Cochran, The Everly Brothers, Benny Goodman, Wild Cherry. I guess that brit rock bands I haven't seen are black a lot, and I'm usually wrong. And the accents are suprisingly similar. At least between the UK and New Orleans. And at least for the 'lower-class' accents. There's something that brings their differentness together that I can't put my finger on.
Well you saw the pictures of the original of these bands...they consisted of Black people. This music and style comes from somewhere, you werent wrong on that instinct.
Speaking here in the middle of the coronavirus crisis in june 2020 I actually wish I could go back to fucking 2013 and dance some stupid Skillex dubstep thing freely instead of being stuck in my home on friday and seeing so many deaths reported on TV.
As much as I love Because I Got High comparisons, there's nothing hedonistic about it. That man's life is being destroyed by pot. He loses his job, kids, wife, fails class and can't even sing his own song right because he's so high. It's a cautionary tale through and through. It should be played in schools.
My favorite aspect of this song is the video. I love how none of them know what to do when looking at the camera. Between that and the EXTREMELY 70s fashion, it's almost endearing in a dorky way. The song itself sort of reflects this, what with the laid-back attitude undercut by casual mentions of dangerous and illegal things. It's almost trying too hard to be cool and easygoing. Good episode as usual, Todd. I always like it when you cover a song I've actually heard of haha.
Here are some suggestions from some unknown bands Beatles- hey Jude Led Zepellin- stairway to heaven Metallica- enter sandman The who- baba O' reily Rolling Stones- satisfaction I doubt you even know these songs too be honest
Nirvana- Smells Like Teen Spirit Pearl Jam- Jeremy Guns N' Roses- Sweet Child O'Mine Soundgarden- Black Hole Sun Jimi- Hendrix- All Along The Watchtower Michael Jackson: Smooth Criminal Phil Colins- In The Air Tonight
"The 80s were a mistake" As someone who has spent years analyzing the sudden shakeup in culture during the Reagan/Thatcher years, I can honestly say that no truer words have ever been spoken
I thank you for picking this song, Todd, I unironically love it. You should do Norman Greenbaum's "Spirit in the Sky" another really cool vibe song that still is around, especially in commercials.
14:41 "England, is this how you did Disco?" 14:51 "It's like we got the Star Wars of Disco and this is like old Dr. Who re-runs." Proceeds to play disco from the Bee Gees, an openly British band, to show American superiority in the genre.
The whole Mungo Jerry aesthetic influenced my parents FOR YEARS. Our home decorating was a wild mix of 70s/80s/Jug Band. Like there was a picture of two Very 70s People bathing in a barrel in my childhood bathroom.
Yeah, Tatu would be fun. I remember than everybody in Russia talked how lesbian they were (they weren't). I literally can't remember anything else about them.
I must admit, I was kind of hoping the outro music would be "Annoyed Grunt" by Neil Cicierega. Also, that statement about 2017 being the bleakest summer ever for music is just hilarious now.
"there were quite a few 60s bands with that kind of skiffle/jugband sound" *doesn't mention 13th Floor Elevators, the band with a literal jug player in it*
I love it that there was an English jug band named after a T.S. Eliot character at all. The fact that they had a MAJOR INTERNATIONAL HIT is just gravy. (Also: you didn't expect a literary reference from a band that - I reiterate - named itself after a T.S. Eliot poem?)
He should do Around The World (La La La La La) by ATC/A Touch Of Class! Their history, image, songs and videos are insane! I'm In Heaven When You Kiss Me would rival Automatic Man.
"They sound like they don't read anything but beer labels. Also, does he know what Lolita was about?" - I think one of these sentences kind of answers the other.
The one song I want you to cover on one hit wonderland is no rain by blind melon. And I will wait every day until that happens. Or I'll just wait until requests come back around
