Sunday, December 17, 2006

80s Music Video Sunday #2

Last night was the second night of Hanukah Hanukkah Channuka Chanukah, and shortly after lighting the candles, the Little One fell asleep. The poor kid was positively exhausted, having not slept at all during the day, so when he put his head on my lap and closed his eyes, we realized (and indeed hoped) that it would be the beginning of his night's sleep. At eight-o'clock on the dot, Husband's brother – aka The Babysitter – knocked on the door. We left a few cursory instructions for what to do in the event that the Little One woke up while we were out (we needn't have bothered, as he ended up sleeping until 6:20 this morning), grabbed our winter coats (it was six degrees celsius outside!), and ran down to the car.

We spent the evening out with a group of friends, celebrating a birthday. We're still waiting for the foccacia to arrive, but other than that, I do believe that a good time was had by all. The service was atrocious and some of the dishes weren't as good as they should have been, but my gnocchi with veal and mushrooms in a red wine cream sauce tasted sensational (though truthfully, the gnocchi was a bit chewy, but the dish still tasted amazing). Hot cider with wine (my new favorite drink) ended the meal quite nicely, and we managed to make it home before midnight.

My friend Z (with whom I split two main courses - the one described above and a seafood fettucini dish, causing much confusion for the waiter, who was slow to realize that the man I'd chosen to twirl pasta with was not my husband) mentioned that he and his family had recently been driving up North, and during the course of the ride, they put on a CD of 80s music. One of the songs was by a-ha, and he and his wife R went crazy trying to remember the name of the lead singer, even going so far as to make a round of phone calls, but without any luck. At this point in his story, I interrupted and said "It's Morten Harket". Everyone who'd been paying attention to the story just looked at me (with what I've chosen to believe was reverent awe). Clearly, they didn't know who they were dealing with. I chastised R and Z for not having called me at the time, as this was definitely my area of expertise. We continued to discuss 80s music, and I told Z about 80s Music Video Sunday and my quandary regarding which song to choose for today's post. A number of options were discussed as we showed off our knowledge of 80s music trivia, and I narrowed it down to two choices. It wasn't an easy decision, as both songs are a lot of fun. One leans towards reggae, while the other is pure 80s, and appears on nearly every 80s music compilation I've ever heard. Somewhere, I believe I've got both singles, unless my parents unloaded them when they moved last year. The song I didn't choose will inevitably appear in another 80s Music Video Sunday post, as it's one of my faves.

The song I did choose was released in September 1982, by a group of four schoolboys from Birmingham, England. It took the world (at least my little corner of it) by storm with its catchy beat infused with reggae, and though we all knew and loved the song, we'd all have been hard-pressed to truly sing along, as the words were completely unintelligible. To this day, I still don't know the real words, but a quick internet search has filled this gaping hole in my life. Not surprisingly, the actual lyrics bear only a passing resemblance to what I always thought they were, so reading through them has truly been an eye-opening experience. Having read them, it's probably best that we didn't know them then, as we'd have made total idiots of ourselves as awkward little white-bread American pre-teens from the 'burbs trying to sing lines like, "Give me little music make me wind up me waist", "You play it on the radio a so me say", or this classic line, "'cause the spirit of jah you know he leads you on." This group remained together for a while, but the boys were never able to match the success of their first and only hit, placing them in that infamous 80s sub-genre of one-hit wonders, many of which, will undoubtedly be featured in the 80s Music Video Sunday series.

Anyway, back to our song. Figured it out yet? Did the lines above jar your memories at all? Without further adieu, I present to you today's 80s music video. Pass the Dutchie, by Musical Youth. The lyrics appear below the video, and now that we finally know what they really are, I expect that we'll all be sleeping much better at night, having crossed another burning musical question off our list.



Pass The Dutchie
Musical Youth
Music & Lyrics : Mittoo - Simpson - Ferguson

This generation
Rules the nation
With version

Music happen to be the food of love
Sounds to really make you rub and scrub

I say: Pass the Dutchie on the left hand side
Pass the Dutchie on the left hand side
It a gonna burn, give me music make me jump and prance
It a go done, give me the music make me rock in the dance

It was a cool and lovely breezy afternoon
(How does it feel when you've got no food ?)
You could feel it 'cause it was the month of June
(How does it feel when you've got no food ?)
So I left my gate and went out for a walk
(How does it feel when you've got no food ?)
As I pass the dreadlocks' camp I heard them say
(How does it feel when you've got no food ?)

Pass the Dutchie on the left hand side
Pass the Dutchie on the left hand side
It a gonna burn, give me music make me jump and prance
It a go done, give me the music make me rock in the dance

So I stopped to find out what was going on.
(How does it feel when you've got no food ?)
'Cause the spirit of Jah, you know he leads you on
(How does it feel when you've got no food ?)
There was a ring of dreads and a session was there in swing
(How does it feel when you've got no food ?)
You could feel the chill as I seen and heard them say
(How does it feel when you've got no food ?)

Pass the Dutchie on the left hand side
Pass the Dutchie on the left hand side
It a gonna burn, give me music make me jump and prance
It a go done, give me the music make me rock in the dance

'Cause me say listen to the drummer, me say listen to the bass
Give me little music make me wind up me waist
Me say listen to the drummer, me say listen to the bass
Give me little music make me wind up me waist, I say

Pass the Dutchie on the left hand side
Pass the Dutchie on the left hand side
It a gonna burn, give me music make me jump and prance
It a go done, give me the music make me rock in the dance

You play it on the radio, a so me say, we a go hear it on the stereo
A so me know you a go play it on the disco
A so me say we a go hear it on the stereo

Pass the Dutchie on the left hand side
Pass the Dutchie on the left hand side
It a gonna burn, give me music make me jump and prance
It a go done, give me the music make me rock in the dance

I say east, say west, say north and south (on the left hand side)
This is gonna make us jump and shout (on the left hand side)

19 comments:

Nicole said...

oooh i love this song too (but could never have told you who sings it). And I like your new color scheme better now too

tafka PP said...

Ooh you've cheered me right up with this piece. I too never knew what the words were. And this just goes to show how all the best things/people come from Birmingham!

And your new look is great. Happy Latkes!

Life Out East said...

Nice choice, though would never have expected it to follow Lennon from last week.
"dutchie" actually means joint, spliff etc. Unless everyone already knew that.

Anonymous said...

Wow... this song made me smile !!!

Cool & Groovy Choice!!! ;)

JJ said...

I was such a dork in high school, I had no idea what a "dutchie" was! But that song does take me back!

Re. A-ha, while all the girls were hot for Morten (I knew his first name but not his last!), I had a major crush on Mags, the keyboard player- what a babe!

lisoosh said...

I had no idea what a "dutchie" was either. I was definitely a dork.

lisoosh said...

Had to go to youtube to check out A-ha and "Take on me". What a great video, my 5 year old asked to see it over and over. Remember when that girls hair would have been considered cool.

Who sang "Oh Mickey"?

Jessica Brogan said...

fantastic new diversion with your blog!!! happy holidays liza, i hope they are full of noise and good times.

Life Out East said...

Lisoosh, (Oh)Mickey was by Toni Basil, 1982, a cover of an earlier British song (Kitty) from 1979. Sorry about the details, getting boring now.

I had such a thing for her when I was a kid, despite her being 41 when that was released and me being 10. Arghh, happy days!

Liza said...

Nicole: Thanks!

Tafka PP: Glad you like the look, and very pleased that I cheered you up.

Life Out East: Hmmm... "Never would have expected it to follow Lennon from last week". I can't decide if you're impressed or disappointed. :-P My tastes are all over the place, so you can expect to see 80s songs from all over the musical spectrum as the feature continues.

Did not know what a dutchie was, as I was (and still am) rather hopelessly naive about such things. Thanks for sharing!

Arik: Cool AND groovy? Wow! Isn't it a funky little song? I've always liked it. I think my brother and I owned the single at one point.

rr: You and me both! I was (and still am) such a geek!

I liked all three - had a big a-ha poster over my bed in my parents' house.

Lisoosh: You were a dork too? I'm shocked! You always come across as being a lot more worldly than I am. :-P

I love the "Take on Me" video! Don't be surprised if it surfaces in 80s Music Video Sunday at some point. Gotta love 80s hair!

Jessica Brogan: Glad you like it! Happy holidays to you guys as well. Have a safe trip to the US!
BTW, I've been enjoying your "winter" posts tremendously!

Life Out East: Oooh! A fellow 80s groupie! I always liked the Spanish version she did of the song. Remember that scary cheerleading outfit?

Life Out East said...

Yep, vividly. Many a happy moment watching her cavort around in that.
No, not disappointed just didn't expect that. A real surprise. I'll try not to second guess this week.
The Smiths were huge in the eighties and listed as one of the most influential of the decade, not sure if they were a success in the States. Do you know them?

Liza said...

I do know and like The Smiths, but I have to admit, I only discovered them once I was living in Israel. I think I'd heard of them before, though, just never knew their music. I'm a huge fan of The Housemartins, though, and I don't think anyone in the US knows them. Ditto XTC, with the exception of "Making Plans for Nigel" and "Senses Working Overtime".

Life Out East said...

Never really got into XTC, apart from the two songs you mentioned. Housemartins were good. A few from the band went on to form The Beautiful South, an excellent group. The Cure and The The were another two greats from the eighties. Quite a good decade really with some pretty good one hitters too.

Liza said...

I've got some Beautiful South as well. My good friend Anglosaxy (a Brit living here who'd probably give a lot of money to trade places with you in Thailand) told me about them. Have heard of The The, but don't know any of their songs. Always liked The Cure, too.

Anonymous said...

No Doubt (Gwen Stefani) did a cover of TheThe in 2003, didn't they?
What, no one mentioning DuranDuran? I was such a fan back in 1985-86...
also The Smiths, Depeche Mode, Tears for Fears (the Shout days)
I could watch The Wedding Singer a million times just for the music!!

Anonymous said...

The back-up cheerleaders in the Oh Mickey video were REALLY scary looking!!

Life Out East said...

Not sure if they covered The Smiths but they did cover a Talk Talk song, It's my Life, in 2003. Another great band of the eighties.
Yep, I liked Duran Duran too. One of those bands you can help but like every time you hear one of their songs. Like ABC and Tears for Fears.

Liza said...

I have that Talk Talk song. I love it! The video was great too! Expect it to appear here at some point...

Anonymous said...

A "dutchie" is not a spliff, it's Jamaican slang for a large cooking pot - a Dutch oven, thus "dutchie" (which is why the song references food all the time). Now, where ganja comes in is that "Pass the Dutchie" is actually an inferior, sanitized-for-public-consumption of the Mighty Diamonds song "Pass the Cutchie." A cutchie, or chalice, is the ceremonial pipe used by Rastas for smoking ganja. The original song goes "Pass de cutchie pon de left han' side," the preferred way to do it in Rasta religious ceremonies, and instead of "How does it feel when you got no food," it's "How does it feel when you got no herb?".

The more you know.