What the Hell is This Song About?

Comments

[manogirl]

A Bollywood star named Asha? I'm pretty sure that's what I heard.

[Agi T. Prop]

Drugs. My step-dad says that if you can't tell what a song is about by its lyrics, then it's probably about drugs.

[Scott Lemieux]

Why, jerking off to a sexy picture on a record cover, of course...

[sylamore]

It's perfectly obvious: "Everybody needs a bosom. Mine's on the 45." What could be clearer?

[rickhavoc]

Its about three minutes.

[jayinbmore]

I don't know(and have often wondered myself). I any case the Fatboy Slim re-mix is far superior.

[OTTami]

It's about an Anne Rice novel yet to be written. I'd tell you more, but I'd have to kill you.

[RJ Eskow]

Hey, that's Cornershop! I agree with the guy who says it must be a tribute to a Bollywood star named Asha. "Everybody needs a brimful of asha on the 45" ...

I think he's he goes on to say "everybody needs a bosom for a pillow/mine's on the 45." Then I think he mentions a bunch of other Bollywood stars. (Plus some old phono equipment or something.) In short, I gotta go with Scott's theory there. I think it's like "Pictures of Lily" for the English/East Asian community.

The part about the government advocating the simple life and building dams ... well, ya lost me there.

[John]

Simple!

[grumpyhead]

It's one of those Brady Bunch songs, so it's technically about The Brady Bunch.

[meester grumpyhead, dude]

ok, technically speaking, it may very well be about Linda Ronstadt's frequent collaborator and, if memory serves, her studio producer, Peter Asher. That only makes sense, since he is singing about vinyl records, which was all anyone really had in the 70s. And hope. People had hope.

The occasional "waa-waa" sounds that the electric guitar is making is entirely indicative of the style of guitar that the post '60s pop music audience was grooving to after The Beatles break-up in the early 1970s. People simply couldn't take it, and they longed for "groovy" tunes that sounded rather similar to this much more modern, catchy "retero" ditty you have asked about with such emotion.

Also, at one point, you can hear the singer coughing, which may very well be a reference to smoking something not unlike marijuana, which was quite popular to do in the 1970s, especially the early 1970s before cocaine came into heavy popularity and made everyone jump around to the famous Disco craze.

The phrase "end of the line" is most possibly a reference to the cocaine's popularity, for obvious reasons, but also reference the singer's wish, should he ever be transported via time machine device back to those days, of course, and as Peter Asher, that the craze be over with so that he and the world could get out of that Disco Era and once again back into some mellower tunes, man. Obviously, the singer would never get such a wish entirely fulfilled in the 1980s, the era of MTV, synthesizer rock, and, in certain circles, rock "crack" cocaine.

Also, since he keeps referring to "bosoms," 45 would be the singer's ideal breast measurement among all the myriad women in the world he has to choose from. He wants, for whatever reasons he may have, to publicly proclaim that he happens to be a "tit-man," for all to hear about and learn from. That would also explain the "dam" reference, obviously , because a brassiere or "bra" might be technically referred to as a "dam for the bust" -- especially for someone who had a 45 inch chest size. He is accusing the government of being contradictory and hypocritical, advocating the "simple life" on one hand (bra-less), while also "building dams" (encouraging women to wear bras). People used to actually spend time arguing over these sorts of things, back then, from what I understand. It was an era of controversy and unease.

The chest thing might, also, be some sort of reference to Linda Ronstadt, herself, although I don't recall a large chest size as being one of her physical features in the early 1970s. However, I was a mere child, back then. Nowadays, of course, that might very well be one of her physical features, and it may very well be an actual 45 inch bosom, of course.

The name "Sakarondi" or something like that is sung, which may, indeed , be a reference to Linda Rondstadt, and she did, in fact, "keep the dream alive" in that she was a major bestselling recording act throughout the 1970s and the 1980s, the late 70s being notable in the recording industry for a time of very low record sales among artists who had once been heavy hitters in the music industry, like David Bowie, John Denver, and The Carpenters.

The songer/songwriter is imagining himself as Peter Asher doing something of a sexual nature with Linda Ronstadt involving her bosom in some Los Angeles recording studio ("behind the movie scenes" meaning the other big entertainment industry in L.A. "behind" movies and television) in the early to mid 1970s, and the government is saying they like it/don't like it and how he, Peter Asher, doesn't care what they are saying, either way. Perhaps he feels it's none of their concern, or he is simply preoccupied with Linda's bust in the L.A. recording studio in the early to mid 1970s

Or it could be just another Brady Bunch song.

[pam]

You're all very creative people. All I heard was "It's a grim cougar-lasher on the 45."

[TravisG]

It's about Asha Bhosle, the Bollywood actress/singer, and the Fatboy Slim remix is indeed superior. But neither versions are as good as Bhosle's "Dum Maro Dum." Wow. That song's got it all. Do yourself a favor and pick up one of her compilations with that on it, cuz the rest of her stuff is pretty great, too.

But I've gotta admit that's a well-argued theory about Linda Ronstadt, meester grumpyhead.

[ik]

its a tribute song to indian singers

Asha as in asha bhosle

[mo]

i am damn sure it is more of a tribute to bollybood movies. asha bhosle is indeed the great lady of bollywood music, still releasing.
the thing about simple life and dams is a critique of indian policy, as there is a great dam building project going on i think in kerala where the indian government is resettling loads of villages. the famous indian writer arundhati roy was leading the protests.
then there are lots of tributes to other artists and labels, as trojan records, one of the big jamaican reggae labels.

[brandie]

can someone tell me the title and artist of this song?

Cornestone - Brimful of Asha

Corneshop actually

[sagar]

well baisically asha is a singer, and it just so happens in gujrati asha measn hope. he is saying a brimfull of hope. lata makeshkar is ashas sister, they are both bollywood singers

sadi rani measn our queen in panjabi
the 45 refers to 45rmp vinly record

7-7000 piece orchestra set - typical of the large orchestras commonly
used to perform Indian film soundtracks

dancing in movie scences- a typical bollywood film