What the Gloria Jean Hell is this?!

[evadne_noel]

I just heard the most disturbing thing ever on my classic rock station. It was a song which went: "He hit me and it felt like a kiss / He hit me and I knew he loved me."

To this I say...WHAT THE #()*)%#(*)&%#)& IS WRONG WITH PEOPLE!?!

I realize that this song was recorded by Crystals in 1963, but still...this was ever acceptable? "He hit me and I was glad"? And people wonder why we have problems with domestic abuse today when lyrics like this were in popular songs only 40 years ago, in living memory of (my) parents?!

And you know what's even more disturbing? You can get it as A RING TONE. FOR YOUR CELLULAR PHONE. RIGHT NOW.

WHAT. THE. I REALLY WISHED I NEVER PROMISED TO NOT USE THE F-WORD OUTSIDE OF CUTS RIGHT NOW.

'Cause you know, I am not in the best of moods anyway because I just wasted my entire weekend taking a comprehensive exam so I can get my damned degree in August. All I want at this time is to have a hard cider or two, watch the end of Utena (which, as peace of mind goes, is probably not the best thing to be watching right now), and forget that my degree is on the line until I get that damn pass for this exam. And what do I get instead?

FREAKIN' DISTURBING MUSIC!

Comments

[grayestnova.livejournal.com]

maybe she meant, he hit me with a love filled pillow of softness and then...

yeah, ok. it's just disturbing. but then again, you have to take into account that in the 60's most people had a severe inducement of the crazies. mostly brought on by LSD.

[evadne-noel.livejournal.com]

Dude, I thought LSD made the walls crawl and music visible. I did not realize it lead to hallucinations in which physical violence felt like love.

Thank goodness that craze went out then.

[dreagoddess.livejournal.com]

That reminds me of the first time I saw "Carosel", when the heroine's daughter says something like, "He hit me, but it felt almost like he kissed me instead." And the heroine bursts out, "Sometimes it's possible for a slap not to feel like a slap at all!" Gag me.

[evadne-noel.livejournal.com]

So this has a history? Even worse!

[vivian-shaw.livejournal.com]

Yep, that's Hole.

He hit me, and it felt like a kiss;
He hit me, and I knew he loved me
Cause if he didn't care for me
I could have never made him mad
He hit me, and I was glad

It's ironic. Hole's lyrics have always teetered on that knife-edge between profound and WTF, and this is firmly on the WTF side.

[evadne-noel.livejournal.com]

Actually, Hole just covered the song. It's by the Crystals ('62-'63, estimates vary), who may have been ironic, but ultimately kinda failed in that department, as I don't think irony was as widespread in those days.

Which, if anything, makes this song just that much more WTF.

[scaram0uche.livejournal.com]

The world is in a downward spiral. It really hasn't gotten any better, it's just easier to hide now.

[evadne-noel.livejournal.com]

Which, in itself, sounds like song lyrics.

But depressingly true. You'd think with more media in which to expose the horrors of the world, we'd be more aware. But, no. We just ignore harder.

[neato-bandito.livejournal.com]

creepy. i couldn't understand WHY a song like this existed so i looked up the lyrics and read that it's based on Eva Boyd's experience with her abusive boyfriend. reading the lyrics made my stomach turn but at least i didn't have to hear it like you....

i *think* the INTENT was to point out the sick horror and the twisted state of mind the abused fall into. if that's the case, though, it was done very, very irresponsibly.

if it helps at all, i read that even when it came out, it wasn't well-received at all and radio stations ended up pulling it off the air soon after.

[neato-bandito.livejournal.com]

sorry, i forgot to include that Eva Boyd is the woman who sings Loco-Motion.

[evadne-noel.livejournal.com]

I don't understand. If it was never well received, why on earth are they still playing it? For the WTF nostalgia value?

On the other hand, I'm glad there may have been a good reason for this song, no matter how badly it was pulled off. Intent is good, but sometimes, it's just not enough.

[uncc-nee.livejournal.com]

weird, we were just talking about domestic violence in my deviant behavior class.

don't even get me started on that hitting crap..it burns me. why people hit others is beyond me.

[evadne-noel.livejournal.com]

I think that, at any given moment, somewhere in the world, someone's deviant behavior class is talking about domestic violence. Though that would be very hard to prove.

Hitting is just I mindset I can't even comprehend. Though one has to attempt it, because otherwise we'd just ignore what goes on in the world around us.

[hikoslover.livejournal.com]

Humor columnist Dave Barry conducted a "Bad Song Survey" thing a few years back, and this song got a lot of votes. I wonder why. :p

[evadne-noel.livejournal.com]

I think my father has that book. I'll have to go read it. Because, yeah, this song totally deserves to be there.

[eiizabeth-swann.livejournal.com]

There is only one word to describe this situation.

[evadne-noel.livejournal.com]

Yes, I agree. The very existence of this song is lame indeed.

[vinyayavieiel.livejournal.com]

For some odd reason, this reminds me of a Vanessa Carlton song. Only, VC wrote the song with a really good message, and well, the "violence" is implied, not written out. Don't know if you've heard "Paradise", but these are some of the lyrics:

once upon a year gone by
she saw herself give in
every time she closed her eyes
she saw what could have been
well nothing hurts and nothing bleeds
when covers tucked in tight
funny when the bottom drops
how she forgets to fight... to fight

and it's one more day in paradise
one more day in paradise

as darkness quickly steals the light
that shined within her eyes
she slowly swallows all her fear
and soothes her mind with lies
well all she wants and all she needs
are reasons to survive
a day in which the sun will take
her artificial light... her light

i really like that song, even though its not my style of music at all (note YC icon). i think that songs like this that have a message are ok. I think songs that just blantantly describe the violence without a message are crap, and i wonder why they're allowed to play on the radio when you can't show someone commiting suicide or the like on TV (i know in one YC video they showed someone jumping out a window and MTV made them cut it out so no one would commit suicide over it). Also, they blank out swears, but not this (which is much worse!!)...I think it's just stupid.

wow, that was a freaking LONG comment

[evadne-noel.livejournal.com]

I agree that VC song has a message and is socially responsible. Did it get much airtime (I've never heard it, but my radio listening is limited)? It would be nice if it did, but I doubt it, as it is not the happiest of VC songs.

Someone mentioned that "He Hit Me (And It Felt Like A Kiss)" may have been attempting a message, but if it's not clear (and you really have to be clear), then it is just as bad as not having any message at all. People have to be careful.

[restlesswolves.livejournal.com]

yeah...you should definitely never see Carousel, then. lol. When I saw it as a young child, I loved the music and in the beginning the guy is an angel and he's hanging stars in heaven. I saw it a few years ago, however...and I actually listened to the dialogue and I was like "Holy fillibuster, what is going on here?!"

One line from the movie that is sure to make you squirm: "Have you ever had a slap...that felt like a kiss?" asks the daughter after being slapped by the ghost of her father. The mother, who was bruttaly beaten by her husband before he died looks up dreamily into the heavens and says, "Yes, child." paraphrasing, of course, but you get the point.

Moral: People are INSANE!

Liz

[evadne-noel.livejournal.com]

I have seen Carousel, but it was a very long time ago. I remember it not being the happiest of musicals (dead parents!), but I didn't remember the hitting line.

And he beat her? Not just a slap? That's sick and insane. And in a still oft produced musical. Don't people notice these things?

[conser.livejournal.com]

It's entirely possible that the relationships just fucked up, and we're supposed to recognize that. Battered woman will repeatedly say, "I know he loves me, in his way." They're messed up. Maybe this girl is as well.

[evadne-noel.livejournal.com]

It's possible, and someone did mention that this may have been a commentary on a battered woman's life, but I don't think that's clear enough. Implication is nice, but works better with context. Unclear messages are just as bad as no message at all.

[(Anonymous)]

Hmm. Kinda like that old song "So in Love"?

[evadne-noel.livejournal.com]

Never heard of it, but likely. There's probably a lot of old eff-ed up music.

Hahaha...

[estaceye.livejournal.com]

*laughing* Yea, there is some pretty fucked up music out there. Don't let it get to you though, that wouldn't be a very good thing.

Re: Hahaha...

[evadne-noel.livejournal.com]

Oh, I was just having a bad day. The number of people who agreed this is messed up helped, and also the knowledge that this has been turned into an ironic cover by Hole. It's just the very idea that's disturbing.

*UGH*

[lijz-chick.livejournal.com]

*insert sarcasm* I bet the music video is just fantastic!

That reminds me of the justin Timberlake song "Cry me a river" The music video for it is basically like this-

"She cheats on him, so he cheats on her and video records himself doing so. She comes home to find her Tv on, repeatedly playing Justin and some girl making out. (The girl he cheats on also has a striking resemblance to Brittney Spears)

All in all i was like- "What the friken heck? Is the moral of this song 'If someone cheats on you, cheat back?!'" It's nice to see our music today promotes such high standards of integrity....

Re: *UGH*

[evadne-noel.livejournal.com]

I doubt it has a music video; it is from the early sixties. Though a modern version would probably have one of those videos that MTV would only play at 1 a.m.

High integrity? Today's music? Why would you even expect that?

[mothwing.livejournal.com]

Well, there are those for who being hit feels like a kiss. Well, maybe not really like a kiss, but like a caress. As in "Secretary (http://www.secretarythemovie.co.uk/html/synopsis.html), for example. The 1960ies are rather early for venturing into an issue on BDSM, but hey - they were different. They were rebels.

[mothwing.livejournal.com]

And I hope you do get your pass soon. Good luck. :)

He hit...GAH!

[(Anonymous)]

I want to scream at that song. scream scream scream scream scream! Sorry, I'm here looking for SW stuff and I found this. I'm a battered woman in recovery and I want to break that record.

Re: He hit...GAH!

[evadne-noel.livejournal.com]

If I ever find a copy of that record, I'll send it to you so you can break it.

AUGH. Still makes me mad!