Sunday, April 27, 2008

Out from the ranks so blue.... Rolf's finest hour

Well I did promise. And it brings a tear to Maddy's eye as well. I love old archive photos so I was very pleased to discover this lovely photo montage on Youtube which perfectly accompanies this towering work of story telling in song. What a twist, eh? I just hope to God this isn't post N° 500...


12 comments:

toVincentPrice said...

blogger formerly known as montelynchwasmyetcetc here

just played the song to my two little boys...trouble is they're 16 and 10, and I interrupted them listening to Green Day and Blink 182...so they just looked at me as if I was an extra-terrestrial
I'll have to try again with my 6 year-old, which was about how I old I was when it first came out

Anonymous said...

Hi Monte cum Vincent: I think you would have had to have grown up with Rolf on the telly (those paintings!!!) to 'get' this song. Let's shut him safely away in the drawer marked 'nostalgia', eh?

toVincentPrice said...

and what about Jake the Peg?! I once got my son Jake, to dress up and perform that quaint artefact, complete with extra leg and long raincoat.
Worked a treat in front of 70 adoring family members.
Novelty songs aint what they used to be...do you think 'Toast' qualifies for the Domestic Playlist?

Anonymous said...

'Toast'? Paul Young (was it?) scat singing?? Ra-Ther!!!!!!! Fab song.

toVincentPrice said...

Yes, Paul Young...Officially The Street Band
Scrape that toast, boys!

Anonymous said...

Now there's brown bread and white bread and.. all kinds of bread with seeds on the top.. (From memory).... CLASSIC!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WJmKStqugMc

ToffeeBoy said...

Lovely clip fp.

My Two Little Girls (aged 16 and 13) love this song - but they've been forced fed this sort of thing since birth and therefore have no choice in the matter.

As for the Street Band's opus, I have been unable to make a slice of toast for the past twenty years without first singing to myself the words "A little bit of ... toast". Fairly dull for anyone who has the misfortune either to live or work with me...

scarymonster said...

fp, tears for souvenirs?

My estranged brother used to sing this to me from the top bunk, as my five year old self drifted off to sleep in the bottom bunk.

Far more resonant than this week's topic, imho...

Sniff.

SM

Proudfoot said...

There's more to Rolf than 'Two Little Boys' you know. All time Rolf Harris Top 10? Coming right up.
1. Sun Arise. Peter Gabriel's Favourite song.
2.Six White Boomers. Best Aussie themed Christmas song ever.
3.I Touch Myself. Yup, the Divinyl's song.
4. Waltzing Matilda. Definitive version. Especially live where he explains what a billabong etc really is. Otherwise it'd just be nonsense, right?
5.Jake The Peg. Look, if Cirque de Soleil did this it would be hailed as visual comic genius.
6. Tie Me Kangaroo Down. There is a homage to the Beatles version he performed on TV.
"Cut yer hair once a year boys"
"Don't ill-treat me pet dingo, Ringo"
"George’s guitar is on the blink, I think"
"Prop me up by the wall, Paul"
"Keep the hits coming on, John"
7. The Wild Colonial Boy. Made Ned Kelly look like a poof. Ripe for a Nick Cave cover I reckon.
8.The Dreaming, feat K. Bush
9.Fine Day. Rolf does rave. No really.
10. The Court of King Caractacus. Lyrical dexterity that would make LL Cool J jealous.


Now, can you see what a genius he is yet?

Anonymous said...

Proudfoot, I bow my head in utter utter repect to that stunning Rolfography. I knew about that Kate Bush but not the others. I am in the presence of true genius.

Anonymous said...

Now that I've wiped my eyes I can comment:-

I still remember the trauma of hearing that 'Two Little Boys' was no longer No 1. I was about 5 years old at the time. I'm not sure that I ever got over it.

That might explain my constant Rolf recommendations...

Anonymous said...

Oh dear now I'm worried. Just reading those comments again - estranged brother? Hope that has been sorted out. If I may say so - life is terribly short so don't leave it until it's too late. Families are really really important and I think that horrible case in Austria this week has made us all just want to hug our nearest and dearest and feel glad we're OK. My heart goes out to them.