In a philosophical climate of intense skepticism, philosopher Edward, Lord Herbert of Cherbury boldly told his Seventeenth Century contemporaries "truth exists" in his 1624 text De veritate. And if we needed any more truth, we need look no further than LFO's "Summer Girls." Has there ever been a more truthful song? It is littered with tactile and metaphysical truths. During the height of the Internet bubble--when stocks in online Bubble Wrap stores were going for $620914 a share--pop-rap soul brothers LFO (Lyte Funky Ones) had the temerity and foresight to take advantage of Sublime and Sugar Ray's inexplicable popularity to create an infectious tune that made us all forget about our incredibly low unemployment rates and high credit scores. "Summer Girls" exposed other boy-pop rivals (N*Sync, Backstreet Boys, Hanson, 98 Degrees, 2Ge+her) for what they were: innocuous, hollow shams. For one thing, LFO knew the pure power of a good non sequitur. As the boys sing: "New Kids on the Block had a bunch of hits / Chinese food makes me sick." There are plenty more, but I don't want to overwhelm you with their brilliance. To return to my earlier theme, notice how these are also both truths? NKOTB had a bunch of hits (thirteen of 'em, depending on who you ask), and, invariably, Chinese food, at one time or another, has made each and every one of us sick. Similarly, Larry Bird's jersey number was 33, William "Billy" Shakespeare did write a bunch of sonnets (154 to be exact), Macauley Culkin really wasn't "home alone," and every straight male in the Western world has claimed their name was Rich while diggin' on a girl "from Abercrombie and Fitch." Plenty of established rock icons have performed classics about Summer, from The Beach Boys and Don Henley to David Hasselhoff and Blue Cheer. But none of them even sniffs the brilliance of LFO's "Summer Girls." No matter how skeptical the most cunning philosophical mind, said philosopher cannot deny that "Summer girls got it goin' on."
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Songs that Changed the Landscape of Human Thought and Understanding: LFO's "Summer Girls"
In a philosophical climate of intense skepticism, philosopher Edward, Lord Herbert of Cherbury boldly told his Seventeenth Century contemporaries "truth exists" in his 1624 text De veritate. And if we needed any more truth, we need look no further than LFO's "Summer Girls." Has there ever been a more truthful song? It is littered with tactile and metaphysical truths. During the height of the Internet bubble--when stocks in online Bubble Wrap stores were going for $620914 a share--pop-rap soul brothers LFO (Lyte Funky Ones) had the temerity and foresight to take advantage of Sublime and Sugar Ray's inexplicable popularity to create an infectious tune that made us all forget about our incredibly low unemployment rates and high credit scores. "Summer Girls" exposed other boy-pop rivals (N*Sync, Backstreet Boys, Hanson, 98 Degrees, 2Ge+her) for what they were: innocuous, hollow shams. For one thing, LFO knew the pure power of a good non sequitur. As the boys sing: "New Kids on the Block had a bunch of hits / Chinese food makes me sick." There are plenty more, but I don't want to overwhelm you with their brilliance. To return to my earlier theme, notice how these are also both truths? NKOTB had a bunch of hits (thirteen of 'em, depending on who you ask), and, invariably, Chinese food, at one time or another, has made each and every one of us sick. Similarly, Larry Bird's jersey number was 33, William "Billy" Shakespeare did write a bunch of sonnets (154 to be exact), Macauley Culkin really wasn't "home alone," and every straight male in the Western world has claimed their name was Rich while diggin' on a girl "from Abercrombie and Fitch." Plenty of established rock icons have performed classics about Summer, from The Beach Boys and Don Henley to David Hasselhoff and Blue Cheer. But none of them even sniffs the brilliance of LFO's "Summer Girls." No matter how skeptical the most cunning philosophical mind, said philosopher cannot deny that "Summer girls got it goin' on."
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In a philosophical climate of intense skepticism, philosopher Edward, Lord Herbert of Cherbury boldly told . . .
ReplyDeleteA new record! The PoMo Jukebox turns into Pitchfork in a mere seven posts! Amazing.
(For the, um, record, I'm being ironical.)
Finding this site was like discovering one of Borges' mirrors or the fabled Aleph. "Fictio cedit veritati." Pavement's Summer Babe (Winter Version) was a mere shadow merged with all other shadows from the light cast of LFO's candle placed between facing mirrors.
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