Touch Me, I'm Sick: The 52 Creepiest Love Songs You've Ever Heard
Registered by 
GoryDetails
of Nashua, New Hampshire USA on 11/25/2009
This Book is Currently in the Wild!
GoryDetails of Nashua, New Hampshire USA on 11/25/2009 This Book is Currently in the Wild!
1 journaler for this copy...
I enjoyed Reynolds' I Hate Myself and Want To Die so much that when I found he had another book about bad/sad/disturbing songs out, I had to have it. This one's subtitled "the 52 creepiest love songs you've ever heard," and a glance at the table of contents tells me that there are some very creepy songs indeed!
Later: Not quite as much fun as "Hate Myself", mainly because there are more songs here that I simply don't know - more modern ones, mostly - whereas I knew almost all of the songs in the other book. But some of the entries here are choice, and the fact that it does include more current music may broaden its appeal.
Interestingly, the author reported having a lot more trouble getting people to submit songs for this theme than he did for the other one; his theory is that "nobody could think of any creepy love songs because they remind us of something we don't want to admit: love today is creepy".
Among the entries I enjoyed most:
"Invisible" - this was a song I was not familiar with, though I have seen the artist (Clay Aiken) on various TV shows. The writeup was very funny, though, and apparently the song has a certain voyeuristic tone, making it definitely creepy.
"Stan" - this is an Eminem song, another one I haven't heard (and don't want to), but the writeup was hilarious.
"Thank Heaven for Little Girls" - yes, the Maurice Chevalier song from "Gigi"! The author admits that the song is probably a lot creepier now than it was when it came out, but even in the film the idea of grooming a young girl from childhood to become a perfect mistress was - well, creepy!
"Making Love Out of Nothing at All" - an Air Supply song that I actually like (despite some wince-inducing grammar and rhyme choices in places), but the author has fun pointing out its flaws: "One of Steinman's lyrical devices is to see how many different ways he can say the same thing repeatedly until it drives everyone crazy."
A surprise entry, "Afternoon Delight" is in here; yep, that very chirpy, cheery '70s song about sneaking away to have sex. Sure, one could argue for sleaziness, but I didn't find it creepy. Then I read the author's personal reminiscence in which the song formed part of a hideous teenage memory...
Undeniably creepy, on the other hand, is "I've Never Been to Me", in which a woman who's apparently had a very successful life as a high-class call girl ("sipped champagne on a yacht", "been undressed by kings", etc.) but is still whining about never having been to herself. I admit to rather enjoying it in a train-wreck kind of way, but it's most certainly qualified to be in this book.
"My Heart Belongs to Daddy" - OK, I think of this one as a nice torch-song about a gold digger and her "daddy", but the author apparently can't get past a literal interpretation of "daddy" and it squicks him out.
Song I'd never heard of until this book: "Marry Me" from 1995, sung by Rammstein. It's in German, which, as the author points out, tends to sound angry no matter what the subject matter - but in this case the marriage proposal is being made to a decomposing corpse (!). Talk about taking teenage-death-songs one step farther!
"My Boy Lollipop" - bouncy, silly, but creepy? The author suggests a very naughty connotation to "lollipop" which, I admit, makes the song a lot more fun, but for me "dirty" doesn't always equal "creepy".
"Muskrat Love" - yay! I was so happy to find this one in here. For all it's supposed cuteness - it was sung by the Captain and Tenille, after all, champions of "bland" - I've always found the odd lyrics and peculiar phrasing and twittery "muskrat sounds" in the background very, very disturbing!
And one of the creepiest of all, "You're Having My Baby," Paul Anka's hymn to motherhood-as-a-way-of-proving-your-love-to-your-man. Eeesh!
Clearly not everyone will have the same reactions to these and the other songs described in the book, but the author's views are so much fun to read that I thin it's worth checking out even if you seldom listen to popular music at all.
Later: Not quite as much fun as "Hate Myself", mainly because there are more songs here that I simply don't know - more modern ones, mostly - whereas I knew almost all of the songs in the other book. But some of the entries here are choice, and the fact that it does include more current music may broaden its appeal.
Interestingly, the author reported having a lot more trouble getting people to submit songs for this theme than he did for the other one; his theory is that "nobody could think of any creepy love songs because they remind us of something we don't want to admit: love today is creepy".
Among the entries I enjoyed most:
"Invisible" - this was a song I was not familiar with, though I have seen the artist (Clay Aiken) on various TV shows. The writeup was very funny, though, and apparently the song has a certain voyeuristic tone, making it definitely creepy.
"Stan" - this is an Eminem song, another one I haven't heard (and don't want to), but the writeup was hilarious.
"Thank Heaven for Little Girls" - yes, the Maurice Chevalier song from "Gigi"! The author admits that the song is probably a lot creepier now than it was when it came out, but even in the film the idea of grooming a young girl from childhood to become a perfect mistress was - well, creepy!
"Making Love Out of Nothing at All" - an Air Supply song that I actually like (despite some wince-inducing grammar and rhyme choices in places), but the author has fun pointing out its flaws: "One of Steinman's lyrical devices is to see how many different ways he can say the same thing repeatedly until it drives everyone crazy."
A surprise entry, "Afternoon Delight" is in here; yep, that very chirpy, cheery '70s song about sneaking away to have sex. Sure, one could argue for sleaziness, but I didn't find it creepy. Then I read the author's personal reminiscence in which the song formed part of a hideous teenage memory...
Undeniably creepy, on the other hand, is "I've Never Been to Me", in which a woman who's apparently had a very successful life as a high-class call girl ("sipped champagne on a yacht", "been undressed by kings", etc.) but is still whining about never having been to herself. I admit to rather enjoying it in a train-wreck kind of way, but it's most certainly qualified to be in this book.
"My Heart Belongs to Daddy" - OK, I think of this one as a nice torch-song about a gold digger and her "daddy", but the author apparently can't get past a literal interpretation of "daddy" and it squicks him out.
Song I'd never heard of until this book: "Marry Me" from 1995, sung by Rammstein. It's in German, which, as the author points out, tends to sound angry no matter what the subject matter - but in this case the marriage proposal is being made to a decomposing corpse (!). Talk about taking teenage-death-songs one step farther!
"My Boy Lollipop" - bouncy, silly, but creepy? The author suggests a very naughty connotation to "lollipop" which, I admit, makes the song a lot more fun, but for me "dirty" doesn't always equal "creepy".
"Muskrat Love" - yay! I was so happy to find this one in here. For all it's supposed cuteness - it was sung by the Captain and Tenille, after all, champions of "bland" - I've always found the odd lyrics and peculiar phrasing and twittery "muskrat sounds" in the background very, very disturbing!
And one of the creepiest of all, "You're Having My Baby," Paul Anka's hymn to motherhood-as-a-way-of-proving-your-love-to-your-man. Eeesh!
Clearly not everyone will have the same reactions to these and the other songs described in the book, but the author's views are so much fun to read that I thin it's worth checking out even if you seldom listen to popular music at all.
Journal Entry 2 by GoryDetails at Peddler's Daughter, 48 Main St. in Nashua, New Hampshire USA on Tuesday, April 13, 2010
GoryDetails at Peddler's Daughter, 48 Main St. in Nashua, New Hampshire USA on Tuesday, April 13, 2010
Released 14 yrs ago (4/13/2010 UTC) at Peddler's Daughter, 48 Main St. in Nashua, New Hampshire USA
WILD RELEASE NOTES:
WILD RELEASE NOTES:
I left this book propped up on a window ledge out in front of the Peddler's Daughter pub at about 1:30 or so. Hope the finder enjoys it!
I left this book propped up on a window ledge out in front of the Peddler's Daughter pub at about 1:30 or so. Hope the finder enjoys it!
