Posted: Mon Apr 16, 2007 3:10 am
Roy: Without a doubt Popcorn Double Feature is a track that will have even the most interested fan of later 1960s music scratching their head. I try to limit myself from such interpretations as it often leads to splinters. As you have asked, however, this is my take.
From the title, Popcorn Double Feature, the listener is given the hint, that there is something special about this song. A bonus consistent with two full length films for the price of one, topped off with popcorn. While some may agree that this characterization is spot on, after repeated listenings, I am left with the impression that the majority will feel that this title is somewhat misleading. The double bill may comprised of two B movies that fill the time but not the psyche.
So what if any, is the double bill here? Did Weiss and English give as much thought to the creation of the lyrics those who have interpreted the song over the years? Is this composition another example of psychedelic form over substance, with the instrumentation being the most salient feature of the song? Are we to be left with melody over meaning - an Incense Peppermints or Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds, in which feeling trumps lucidity?
Part of the charm of this song is the melody and its hint of psychedelia. This may be the closest that The Searchers got to this genre but I will leave it to the experts to fully assess in the context of their work.
The Double Feature aspect of this track may be found at a couple of levels, although I confess that this is the result of reading between the lines and throwing caution to the wind.
To begin, there is a double bill with regard to the music and the lyrics. The melody and instrumentation is of a swirling quality that pulls the listener into the auditory feature. In this way there is little need to focus on the content but simple live the experience of the sound. Many songs of the late 1960s fit this bill and I would argue that the melodies were so unique and melodic that the words could have been taken from the newspaper of the day. The lyrics form the second bill in this song describing the difficult times faced by the world (People are dying, babies are crying} with the realization that in the natural order of things there comes a resolution (and good things come after just follow the paths along).
A second and less optimistic interpretation, based solely on the lyrics, attempts to contrast the global conditions of society (People are dying, the babies are crying) with the personal albeit less dramatic experience of everyday living for the composer or person in the street (coffee each morning, don't park or no warning). This macro versus micro view of the world attempts to gain resolution in the first chorus that focuses on the abnormality of the world and the sages who will rescue us.
Popcorn double feature
The whole world's a funny farm
That man is your teacher
No need to be alarmed
In the end, there is no resolution in a world that has become unpredictable and irrational (a funny farm). In an unstable place even those in whom we look for guidance can themselves be lost. We see reference to this condition in the second chorus (No need to be alarmed - NOT MUCH).
Popcorn double feature is a reminder that social problems have become an integral part of everyday living and are reflected in both the worldwide and the local neighbourhood.
The "popcorn double feature world" is the circle of life played out before us in which our personal lives have been influenced by external forces outside ourselves. In essence there is no way out as we have become an individual cog within a global wheel.
I am afraid that I have gotten splinters in my fingers over this one.
From the title, Popcorn Double Feature, the listener is given the hint, that there is something special about this song. A bonus consistent with two full length films for the price of one, topped off with popcorn. While some may agree that this characterization is spot on, after repeated listenings, I am left with the impression that the majority will feel that this title is somewhat misleading. The double bill may comprised of two B movies that fill the time but not the psyche.
So what if any, is the double bill here? Did Weiss and English give as much thought to the creation of the lyrics those who have interpreted the song over the years? Is this composition another example of psychedelic form over substance, with the instrumentation being the most salient feature of the song? Are we to be left with melody over meaning - an Incense Peppermints or Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds, in which feeling trumps lucidity?
Part of the charm of this song is the melody and its hint of psychedelia. This may be the closest that The Searchers got to this genre but I will leave it to the experts to fully assess in the context of their work.
The Double Feature aspect of this track may be found at a couple of levels, although I confess that this is the result of reading between the lines and throwing caution to the wind.
To begin, there is a double bill with regard to the music and the lyrics. The melody and instrumentation is of a swirling quality that pulls the listener into the auditory feature. In this way there is little need to focus on the content but simple live the experience of the sound. Many songs of the late 1960s fit this bill and I would argue that the melodies were so unique and melodic that the words could have been taken from the newspaper of the day. The lyrics form the second bill in this song describing the difficult times faced by the world (People are dying, babies are crying} with the realization that in the natural order of things there comes a resolution (and good things come after just follow the paths along).
A second and less optimistic interpretation, based solely on the lyrics, attempts to contrast the global conditions of society (People are dying, the babies are crying) with the personal albeit less dramatic experience of everyday living for the composer or person in the street (coffee each morning, don't park or no warning). This macro versus micro view of the world attempts to gain resolution in the first chorus that focuses on the abnormality of the world and the sages who will rescue us.
Popcorn double feature
The whole world's a funny farm
That man is your teacher
No need to be alarmed
In the end, there is no resolution in a world that has become unpredictable and irrational (a funny farm). In an unstable place even those in whom we look for guidance can themselves be lost. We see reference to this condition in the second chorus (No need to be alarmed - NOT MUCH).
Popcorn double feature is a reminder that social problems have become an integral part of everyday living and are reflected in both the worldwide and the local neighbourhood.
The "popcorn double feature world" is the circle of life played out before us in which our personal lives have been influenced by external forces outside ourselves. In essence there is no way out as we have become an individual cog within a global wheel.
I am afraid that I have gotten splinters in my fingers over this one.