And, since we spent a bit of time earlier this week dissecting the cover of that Charlton oddity, Go-Go #5, it's a perfect time to look inside the issue and sing along with The Rotting Stumps and their 1st major hit, Wailin' Welfare Blues #69!!
Yes, you see, The Rotting Stumps apparently are a terrible band, yet they hit it big!! No one can stand their music, but it sells millions!! That's the kind of wry...uh...satire...you get from Go-Go.I know, you would think that telling your target readership that they have terrible musical taste might seem to be bad marketing, but Go-Go is nothing if not bold!!
And by 1967, you might think that even the white-collar middle-aged types making this magazine might have twigged just a little bit onto the fact that some popular music might actually be good and have artistic value!! Not our creators at Go-Go, however...they dare to tell it like it is--anything popular actually sucks, even as we try to market this comic to you by claiming to represent pop culture!!
Too bad we never got to see these guys respond to punk, eh?Anyway, let's enjoy the lyrics...and don't be afraid to sing along:
...and...
...and...
Uh-oh, better close-up on those lyrics:
And finally, as the band goes on the Ed Sulkivan Show (get it? GET IT?!?):
And in case we haven't gotten it, the band's manager and promoter give us a funny moral:
Hahahahaha!!So, in case you missed all the layers of this sophisticated parody, our creators are telling us that a) pop music has no artistic value, and in fact sounds awful, b) our readers, therefore, have no taste, c) while still pimping out pin-ups of pop-stars on our cover as a selling point, d) and having our heroes sing lyrics that serve as a scathing (?) indictment of welfare. And I didn't even show you their attack on the IRS!!!
Too much to believe? Baby, this is Go-Go, and it makes it's own rules!!! Sing along, dammit!!
Oh come with me, please marry me,
And we'll raise a family,
You be a squaw, I'll be your chief,
And we'll live on govt. relief
Man, they don't write 'em like that anymore...
Not that uncommon an approach. I remember a similar (though much better drawn) "Mad" story, reprinted in one of those paperback editions, in which record company execs explained that evolution was running backwards through Bing, Sinatra, Elvis and the Beatles, so the next big pop music stars would be chimps.
ReplyDeleteAnd then there's "The Girl Can't Help It", a film which preserves great footage of '50s rock'n'rollers, but just oozes contempt for their music.
Sooo...sympathizing with hard-line, straight-edge, very establishment, conservatives?...In a satire comic book? Umm, is that effective? Am I misinterpreting?
ReplyDelete