What does "cod reggae" have to do with fish, anyway?

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I never even heard the phrase until this year, but I get the idea it's been around in England for a long time. Does it just mean white guys trying ineptly to do reggae, or what? Where does it come from? And what do "cods" have to do with it??

― chuck, Monday, 8 December 2003 21:53 (6 years ago) Permalink

It's like codpiece. Cod=fake. No idea about the genealogy tho.

― bugged out, Monday, 8 December 2003 21:55 (6 years ago) Permalink

i am proud to have at least partially inspired this thread.

― fiddo centington (dubplatestyle), Monday, 8 December 2003 21:56 (6 years ago) Permalink

i have no idea where it came from either, but it's certainly one of those things that pop out in my writing that show me up for what a huge anglophile i was in another life.

― fiddo centington (dubplatestyle), Monday, 8 December 2003 21:58 (6 years ago) Permalink

Do any cod reggae people actually WEAR codpieces?? Animal from Anti Nowhere League had a magnificent one, but they never even did a ska song, I don't think. Neither did W.A.S.P., as near as I can recall.

― chuck, Monday, 8 December 2003 22:01 (6 years ago) Permalink

And wait, what's "fake" about a codpiece? What's the real equivalent -- a fig leaf???

― chuck, Monday, 8 December 2003 22:03 (6 years ago) Permalink

Good point.

Anyway, Webster's defines it as a hoax or sham, and credits it to "British slang." I would imagine the genealogy goes back centuries.

― bugged out, Monday, 8 December 2003 22:08 (6 years ago) Permalink

― Marcel Post (Marcel Post), Monday, 8 December 2003 22:12 (6 years ago) Permalink

― gaz (gaz), Monday, 8 December 2003 22:15 (6 years ago) Permalink

I asked this question (sort of) on ILX once and I think N. came up with a really good response. I can't recall what the thread was, though. Maybe one of those "Sister N. Explains It All" threads.

Anyway, I was just thinking how much I love cod reggae--"Redondo Beach", "Mother and Child Reunion", "Do You Really Want to Hurt Me". Those are three of my favorite songs. We should do a POO cod reggae thread.

― Arthur (Arthur), Monday, 8 December 2003 22:50 (6 years ago) Permalink

I was thinking of starting a thread on cod-tribalism. Maybe we should start a catch-all POO/POX "cod" thread.

― bad jode (Jody Beth Rosen), Monday, 8 December 2003 22:52 (6 years ago) Permalink

both!

― gaz (gaz), Monday, 8 December 2003 22:58 (6 years ago) Permalink

jbr i just started one

― fiddo centington (dubplatestyle), Monday, 8 December 2003 22:59 (6 years ago) Permalink

POX: "cod [blank]"

― fiddo centington (dubplatestyle), Monday, 8 December 2003 23:02 (6 years ago) Permalink

I'm afraid I can't remember my devastating explanation and 'cod' is rather hard to search for on ILX.

― N. (nickdastoor), Monday, 8 December 2003 23:08 (6 years ago) Permalink

OK, so I found it, but I fear it's not terribly illuminating.

― N. (nickdastoor), Monday, 8 December 2003 23:17 (6 years ago) Permalink

was cod ever used as a substitute for more expensive fish?

― gaz (gaz), Monday, 8 December 2003 23:20 (6 years ago) Permalink

I guess I hadn't really asked the same question after all, N. Still, I knew I could count on you to find the thread!

― Arthur (Arthur), Monday, 8 December 2003 23:41 (6 years ago) Permalink

According to the Concise Oxford Dictionary, cod, meaning hoax or parody, was first recorded in the 19th century and is of unknown origin.

codpiece, bagged appendage to front of men's breeches, comes from the Middle English (1150-1500) cod, meaning scrotum.

― chris j (chris j), Monday, 8 December 2003 23:46 (6 years ago) Permalink

Bob Marlin & The Whalers to thread

― Stewart Osborne (Stewart Osborne), Monday, 8 December 2003 23:47 (6 years ago) Permalink

So perhaps "cod" was just a polite Victorian way of saying something was complete bollocks?

― chris j (chris j), Monday, 8 December 2003 23:50 (6 years ago) Permalink

Scrotum Reggae was a competing term for a while but cod won.

― N. (nickdastoor), Monday, 8 December 2003 23:50 (6 years ago) Permalink

Is (I Don't Want to) Go To Chelsea by Elvis C cod-reggae? I love that one

― Matt Helgeson (Matt Helgeson), Tuesday, 9 December 2003 00:03 (6 years ago) Permalink

was cod ever used as a substitute for more expensive fish?

I recall an NME review which described something as "haddock-reggae". I like that.

― DJ Mencap (DJ Mencap), Tuesday, 9 December 2003 11:11 (6 years ago) Permalink

What does "cod reggae" have to do with fish, anyway?

Erm, presumably they call it "cod", because it's got no SOLE!!!! (Doh!!!!!!!!)

― Old Fart!!! (oldfart_sd), Tuesday, 9 December 2003 17:02 (6 years ago) Permalink

You're floundering there, Old Fart.

― nickn (nickn), Tuesday, 9 December 2003 21:11 (6 years ago) Permalink

The end of Faith No More's "Epic" was cod-prog and it had a fish flopping around in the video.

― Matt Helgeson (Matt Helgeson), Tuesday, 9 December 2003 21:30 (6 years ago) Permalink

you got a haddock? i got a haddock! i take asprin, what about you?

― Sterling Clover (s_clover), Wednesday, 10 December 2003 04:09 (6 years ago) Permalink

i've always kind of though it because cod is a particularly white, european fish. but that might be nonsense

― adam b (adam b), Wednesday, 10 December 2003 04:30 (6 years ago) Permalink

You're floundering there, Old Fart.

Yes, you could say it was a bit of a red herring...

― Old Fart!!! (oldfart_sd), Wednesday, 10 December 2003 09:46 (6 years ago) Permalink

scenes from the dawn of punk

― mark s (mark s), Wednesday, 10 December 2003 10:56 (6 years ago) Permalink

in spain, thrashy eurodance is called 'bacalao', spanish for cod.

― Jay Kid (Jay K), Wednesday, 10 December 2003 11:02 (6 years ago) Permalink

6 years pass...

― brews before HOOS (s1ocki), Monday, 1 February 2010 20:25 (7 months ago) Permalink

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