Why would that be self-parody?
P.S. ian, I promise I won't be sad if you stop taking such an intense interest in my comments.
― St3ve Go1db3rg, Tuesday, 22 April 2008 04:09 (sixteen years ago) link
The only really indefensible thing in this song is this lyric,
Everybody knows a little place like kokomo.
Everybody? A little place? You imagine the singer as a smug 80s asshole so deep in his Reagonomic bubble that he assumes that literally everybody is living his same globe-trotting cocktail-swilling high life. It really ends the song on a shitty note.
But, eh...the chorus is pretty solid (sounds a lot thinner than I remember though) - hooks aside, I think I'd rather take Roger Miller's "England Swings" as far as the narrow genre of songs that give you vacation-planning advice. As for songs on hit Beach Boys comeback extravaganza Still Cruisin' it's all about the title track, "In My Car," and "Somewhere Near Japan."
(I know there's an ILX thread where someone complains about "England Swings" - I have very distinct memories of it - but fucked if I can find it now...)
― Doctor Casino, Tuesday, 22 April 2008 05:01 (sixteen years ago) link
steve, ian picks on you because you talk about stuff he doesn't understand like how to actually play music.
― chaki, Tuesday, 22 April 2008 05:05 (sixteen years ago) link
Really though - I think the objectionable thing about this entire endeavor is the transformation of the "Beach" in the Beach Boys' identity from a sort of plausibly "universal" (ie teenagered) conception of sun, surf, fun, and all that...through the wistful-but-still-adult-reconsideration-of-same ("All Summer Long," "Surf's Up" etc)....to this boomer retiree scenario of "I scored a great deal on a time-share!" Pop doesn't usually track so clearly the disintegration of youthful possibility into crass, compromised consumption. The threat posed by "Kokomo" is that it will ruin all those other, less commodified beaches of yesteryear.
― Doctor Casino, Tuesday, 22 April 2008 05:05 (sixteen years ago) link
Does this song have any marimbas on it? Gotta have marimbas
― Joe, Tuesday, 22 April 2008 13:32 (sixteen years ago) link
Don't think it does.
It's still difficult to credit that, worldwide, this is the Beach Boys' best-selling single. Bloody Tom Cruise!
― Dingbod Kesterson, Tuesday, 22 April 2008 13:35 (sixteen years ago) link
Jammed Cocktail soundtrack for like 6 months after it came out. It was my official chess club music. Probably wouldn't have reached my 1300 rating w/o "Kokomo."
Just thinking of this song gives me a tropical contact high.
― Belles Letterz, Tuesday, 22 April 2008 13:54 (sixteen years ago) link
also really really cant figure out how someone could prefer 'kokomo' to 'wipeout'.
kokomo >>>>> wipeout unless yr talking about the muppet versions
― Curt1s Stephens, Tuesday, 22 April 2008 14:00 (sixteen years ago) link
the bridge to "Wouldn't It Be Nice,"
You have no soul.
youthe bridge to "Wouldn't It Be Nice havehas no soul
fixed
― J0hn D., Tuesday, 22 April 2008 14:07 (sixteen years ago) link
I should GTFO this thread, every time I come back to it I get that horrible "but let's taaaaaaalllllk about it" stuck in my head and it's just eww eww eww, imo Richard Carpenter did what Brian Wilson was trying to do about a million times better
that's right, a MILLION
― J0hn D., Tuesday, 22 April 2008 14:11 (sixteen years ago) link
eww eww eww, ick ick
― gershy, Tuesday, 22 April 2008 14:32 (sixteen years ago) link
to this boomer retiree scenario of "I scored a great deal on a time-share!"
The talk The sex Somebody to trust The Audi TT The house on the Vineyard The house on the gulf coast These are the things I miss the most
― jaymc, Tuesday, 22 April 2008 15:25 (sixteen years ago) link
jaymc OTM
― J0hn D., Tuesday, 22 April 2008 15:44 (sixteen years ago) link
Co-written by Scott McKenzie and John Phillips, so obviously a pension plan was in place somewhere.
― Dingbod Kesterson, Tuesday, 22 April 2008 15:52 (sixteen years ago) link
Is this what New York is really like?
http://youtube.com/watch?v=XZsiY9S4WpI
― Mark Rich@rdson, Tuesday, 22 April 2008 16:12 (sixteen years ago) link
nah its more like Coyote Ugly
― Shakey Mo Collier, Tuesday, 22 April 2008 16:22 (sixteen years ago) link
to counter the J0hn D hate I would just like to say that the Lei'd in Hawaii boot ref'd upthread by naive teen idol is surprisingly great. hilarious rehearsal of "Heroes and Villains" featuring a nasty voiceover of Mike Love making bitter jokes about the song's failure, how inane it is, etc. the other songs are purty (live show recording basically sucks tho)
― Shakey Mo Collier, Tuesday, 22 April 2008 16:26 (sixteen years ago) link
Even though I disagree with J0hn D and have no clue why he got snippy with me on that DeBarge thread for doing the same thing he's doing here, think about it, y'all: wouldn't it be more fascinating to have a rum and coke with someone who prefers "Kokomo" to "God Only Knows" than with the one billionth replicant who thinks "God Only Knows" is in the running for Greatest Song Ever?
Doctor Casino, your posts here are brilliant! Now I just have to find a way to link them to heternormativity.
Two things I'm too lazy to look up:
1. Is the Kokomo the BBs are singing about a real place? If so, where?
2. Did the song appear on a non-greatest hits BB album at the time? If so, which?
― Kevin John Bozelka, Tuesday, 22 April 2008 17:47 (sixteen years ago) link
"fascinating"? I dunno maybe I don't have enough rum n cokes with indie snobs but there are way more people in the general population that know/enjoy Kokoma as opposed to God Only Knows and no most of those people are not fascinating. what kind of contrarian bubble-world bars do you people drink in??
― Shakey Mo Collier, Tuesday, 22 April 2008 17:50 (sixteen years ago) link
I mean if you are ACTUALLy on a beach drinking a girl drink, you're WAY more likely to meet a Kokomo fan than a God Only Knows fan, is all I'm sayin
― Shakey Mo Collier, Tuesday, 22 April 2008 17:51 (sixteen years ago) link
But if you are on a MESSAGE board with a bunch of music nerds and rock critics, you're way more likely to ... oh wait.
― James Redd and the Blecchs, Tuesday, 22 April 2008 18:04 (sixteen years ago) link
And yet, practically EVERYONE I've met who's called "God Only Knows" one of their favorite songs or whatnot was most decidedly not an indie snob, i all I'm sayin.
― Kevin John Bozelka, Tuesday, 22 April 2008 18:04 (sixteen years ago) link
is
really? who are these people?
― Shakey Mo Collier, Tuesday, 22 April 2008 18:05 (sixteen years ago) link
Paul McCartney?
― Shakey Mo Collier, Tuesday, 22 April 2008 18:06 (sixteen years ago) link
life isn't so boring as to have that be fascinating imo
― omar little, Tuesday, 22 April 2008 18:06 (sixteen years ago) link
(fwiw God Only Knows is not my favorite altho it is the best thing on Pet Sounds and it does have a special resonance. the post-Pet Sounds BB material is actually my favorite period)
― Shakey Mo Collier, Tuesday, 22 April 2008 18:07 (sixteen years ago) link
^^what omar said^^
― James Redd and the Blecchs, Tuesday, 22 April 2008 18:09 (sixteen years ago) link
shakey mo what part of "visceral reaction" don't you understand? it has nothing to do with "contrarianism." It has to do with how this crap has sounded to me since I was eight.
"If you don't love this music, you're a contrarian!" go vote Republican with those kinds of values why don'tcha
― J0hn D., Tuesday, 22 April 2008 18:10 (sixteen years ago) link
Let's just go ahead and lay it out:
Aruba, jamaica ooo I wanna take you Bermuda, bahama come on pretty mama Key largo, montego baby why dont we go Jamaica
Off the florida keys Theres a place called kokomo Thats where you wanna go to get away from it all
Bodies in the sand Tropical drink melting in your hand Well be falling in love To the rhythm of a steel drum band Down in kokomo
Aruba, jamaica ooo I wanna take you To bermuda, bahama come on pretty mama Key largo, montego baby why dont we go
Ooo I wanna take you down to kokomo Well get there fast And then well take it slow Thats where we wanna go Way down to kokomo
To martinique, that monserrat mystique
Well put out to sea And well perfect our chemistry By and by well defy a little bit of gravity
Afternoon delight Cocktails and moonlit nights That dreamy look in your eye Give me a tropical contact high Way down in kokomo
Port au prince I wanna catch a glimpse
Everybody knows A little place like kokomo Now if you wanna go And get away from it all Go down to kokomo
Ooo I wanna take you down to kokomo
― Z S, Tuesday, 22 April 2008 18:12 (sixteen years ago) link
hey J0hn I understand its no big deal - I don't think you're being deliberately contrarian cuz you have some secret aesthetic agenda a la geir or whatever. If you'll read the post I was actually responding to I was arguing that liking Kokomo is actually NOT that contrarian, because it is the BIGGEST SELLING BEACH BOYS SONG OF ALL TIME. Its only considered "contrarian" to like it in music nerd circles - like this one.
x-post
― Shakey Mo Collier, Tuesday, 22 April 2008 18:13 (sixteen years ago) link
Port, au prince, I wanna catch a glimpse
cue the sax! http://lindaryanfineart.com/art/image_105.gif
― Z S, Tuesday, 22 April 2008 18:14 (sixteen years ago) link
lol at Geir's "secret" aesthetic agenda
― HI DERE, Tuesday, 22 April 2008 18:14 (sixteen years ago) link
(iow Kevin John Bozelka seems to live in some universe where God Only Knows, and not Kokomo, is THE BIGGEST SELLING BEACH BOYS SONG EVER and I am curious as to what the bars are like there and who drinks in them)
― Shakey Mo Collier, Tuesday, 22 April 2008 18:15 (sixteen years ago) link
yeah OK I get you, sorry to snap at you
― J0hn D., Tuesday, 22 April 2008 18:16 (sixteen years ago) link
(btw J0hn, which song of yours should I jokingly refer to as a pastiche of "Sloop John B" in order to generate maximum ire?)
― HI DERE, Tuesday, 22 April 2008 18:20 (sixteen years ago) link
Afternoon delight Cocktails and moonlit nights That dreamy look in your eye Give me a tropical contact high
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ this is def. the best part
― artdamages, Tuesday, 22 April 2008 18:23 (sixteen years ago) link
Well, yes, Sir McCartney and I did discuss this a few weeks ago...
I think you're under the impression that I think "God Only Knows" is more popular than "Kokomo." I never said that. But I've NEVER heard any get all moony about "Kokomo" even if they prefer it to "God Only Knows" (cue J0hn's god-like piece on Warwick). In fact, if pressed, I'd wager that THAt is one of the reasons why J0hn loves it so. And thus, the fascination factor enters.
And come on, dude. It's not like we're talking about Capt. Beefheart and Stereolab here. It's the freakin Beach Boys. You honestly think one needs to be an indie snob to adore "God Only Knows?"
― Kevin John Bozelka, Tuesday, 22 April 2008 18:24 (sixteen years ago) link
Off the florida keys Theres a place called kokomo
I'd actually feel stupid about this if it didn't say volumes about pop music (and this song in particular).
― Kevin John Bozelka, Tuesday, 22 April 2008 18:25 (sixteen years ago) link
Sandals Cay (formerly called Kokomo Island) is part of the privately owned Sandals Royal Caribbean all-inclusive resort in Montego Bay, Jamaica. It became famous as the inspiration for the song "Kokomo," written by John Phillips, Mike Love, Terry Melcher, and Scott McKenzie, and performed by The Beach Boys. It is a very small island (about an acre), and according to the Sandals Royal Caribbean website, the only amenities on the island are a Thai restaurant, a swimming pool, a jacuzzi, a bar, and a secluded beach. The island caters to couples on tropical getaways.
― mh, Tuesday, 22 April 2008 18:28 (sixteen years ago) link
i think i like "Still Cruisin'" better ... but "Kokomo" is pretty tight. I've never seen "Cocktail". Is "Kokomo" a credits-rolling song or is it used for a montage. Seems like a sweet montage. I can imagine it now. Anyway, "Kokomo." I'm listening to Charlie Parker right now, but in my brain, it's pure "Kokomo." The song has POWERS.
― tylerw, Tuesday, 22 April 2008 18:28 (sixteen years ago) link
Also, Aretha's "First Snow in Kokomo."
― Kevin John Bozelka, Tuesday, 22 April 2008 18:29 (sixteen years ago) link
So there you go, Kokomo is an island smaller than my parents front yard in a Sandals resort
xp to self
― mh, Tuesday, 22 April 2008 18:29 (sixteen years ago) link
sloop john d.
― s1ocki, Tuesday, 22 April 2008 18:39 (sixteen years ago) link
I had always thought this was just about the worst song ever (and I am a huge Beach Boys fan) until I had the occasion to re-evaluate it when heard the Adam Green/Ben Kweller version and realized that there is actually a heartfelt song in there. (I do recommend that version).
The chorus is unforgivable but the melody is pure "Big Sur" Mike Love bliss. Some of the verses even scan OK.
Also, I hadn't realized that there was some actual private (?) island called Kokomo that might really be sublime enough to warrant a similar tribute (i.e. to that of "Big Sur"). Taken in that spirit, I can swallow it a whole lot easier.
I had previoulsy thought "Kokomo" was about the god-awful town in Indiana and therefore never understood the song any better than I could understand why Kokomo Arnold was first on about the place, other than it was his "sweet home". (First occurrence of reppin your endz?!)
Good, not great, song. Crappiest production ever, completely rubbish record. I would modestly endeavor to defend the song, as I think I have done, but not the "hit".
I quite prefer it to "Cheeseburger In Paradise" (unless you can track down the Xiu Xiu cover).
― Saxby D. Elder, Tuesday, 22 April 2008 18:44 (sixteen years ago) link
"Woke Up (and k)New (How Bad the Beach Boys Sucked)"
― J0hn D., Tuesday, 22 April 2008 20:21 (sixteen years ago) link
hahaha
― HI DERE, Tuesday, 22 April 2008 20:22 (sixteen years ago) link
chall-ops are responsible for this. watch out for the yellow helicopters.
― omar little, Tuesday, 22 April 2008 20:23 (sixteen years ago) link
"officer smith here. we need to get CSI out here. we've got several bodies in the sand. make it quick. they've got tropical drinks melting in their hands. yep. way down in kokomo. ok. over."
― andrew m., Tuesday, 22 April 2008 21:45 (sixteen years ago) link
No one ever asked Beach Boys fan Nancy Reagan if she prefers "Kokomo" to "God Only Knows."
― Alfred, Lord Sotosyn, Tuesday, 22 April 2008 21:55 (sixteen years ago) link