The Off Topic Topic

[celedhring]

I also had a phase in college of getting stoned while listening to the Dune OST.

[Barrister]

Yeah, Africa is her favorite song. Wasn't aware they were a thing nowadays.

I think Beeb just has a long elevator ride at work.

They most certainly are having a thing.

https://nypost.com/2018/02/01/totos-africa-is-somehow-a-millennial-frat-anthem-and-the-band-is-boggled/

[Admiral Yi]

They most certainly are having a thing.

https://nypost.com/2018/02/01/totos-africa-is-somehow-a-millennial-frat-anthem-and-the-band-is-boggled/

It looks based on that article they're having a thing in the same way Rick Astley had a thing

[Josquius]

Africas popularity is probably linked to the huge millennial craze for travelling. It's a soundtrack for bus tours in Africa.

[Sheilbh]

And this Vine (RIP ):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FYlFkmekXyM

[Iormlund]

I mean everyone loves Africa. Does anyone know any of their other songs?

I never liked Africa. I love their work on the Dune BSO, though. Trip to Arrakis.

[Barrister]

They most certainly are having a thing.

https://nypost.com/2018/02/01/totos-africa-is-somehow-a-millennial-frat-anthem-and-the-band-is-boggled/

It looks based on that article they're having a thing in the same way Rick Astley had a thing

Sort of - but people liking Africa seems more genuine, not just ironic.  Kind of more like JOurney / Don't Stop Believing.

I think I probably went a decade or more without hearing either song on the radio, but now they'll get significant air play on oldies stations.

[Admiral Yi]

Alright Beeb.  I don't want to kill your elevator buzz.

[dps]

I never liked Africa.

Nor did I.  I was never a huge fan of Toto, but I thought that they were OK up until Africa became a big hit;  it was one of those songs that was played so often that it went from one I simply didn't like to one I couldn't stand, and I never cared for the band after that.

[The Minsky Moment]

Africa was not the worst song of the 80s, not really even close - it is an extremely competitive category.

Africa's lyrics though - a case can be made, although again the competition is strong.

"As sure as Kilimanjaro rises like Olympus above the Serengeti" - that line alone may be the worst single lyrical line of the decade. Forget about the geographical accuracy and bizarre juxtaposition of Olympus, the line doesn't even scan right.  And it is surrounded by magnificent dreck:

The wild dogs cry out in the night
As they grow restless, longing for some solitary company
I know that I must do what's right
As sure as Kilimanjaro rises like Olympus above the Serengeti
I seek to cure what's deep inside, frightened of this thing that I've become

Wow.
That is championship quality awful.

[Admiral Yi]

Tough crowd.

[The Minsky Moment]

The 80s song that truly deserves a young hipster driven comeback is Carl Carlton's magnum opus She's a Bad Mama Jama  It has the virtue of actually being a pretty good song.  And while the lyrics are not 100% #metoo compliant, even back in the early 80s it wasn't meant to be taken seriously.

And what lyrics they are, topped by the inspired rhyming of "see" with "anatomy"

Like so:

She's poetry in motion
Beautiful sight to see
I get so excited
Viewing her anatomy

[Eddie Teach]

True hipsters listen to smooth jazz.

[Tamas]

True hipsters listen to smooth jazz.

On Vinyl. Backwards. Using gold plated audio cables. Running to a 19th century metal gong.

[Sheilbh]

So the new Chancellor's giving his budget.

Apparently by tradition they can drink alcohol during this - unlike other ministers at the despatch box. One of the Deputy Speakers has tweeted a list of some of those drink choices:
George Osborne, Alistair Darling + Gordon Brown: water ()
Ken Clarke: whisky
Nigel Lawson: spritzer 
Geoffrey Howe: G&T
Benjamin Disraeli: brandy & water
William Gladstone: sherry & beaten egg ( )