TOTO "africa" classic or dud

xp it made it to #6 on modern rock. that's gotta count for something.

God, ever since this thread got revived it just won't get out of my head.

are you frightened of this thing that you've become?

I’m just not sure how Africa as a metaphor fits into the general lyrical theme of dedication and devotion to a relationship (““gonna take a lot to drag me away from you, etc)

seems more like the general lyrical theme is about some journey of self-discovery and spiritual revival and the relationship stuff is shoehorned in to make it sound like a love song

My half-baked reading: dude went to Africa to get away (probably from whatever relationship issues they were going through) and think things through. However, the transformative experience helped him realize that actually his woman is the real thing and nothing can come between them so now he's having her fly down to meet him on the 12:30 flight so they can take the time to experience Africa together (and do the things they never had?).

he knows he must do what's right. just as sure as...

only one way to finish out that simile

it's about DRUGS you MORONS

I feel the drugs entering my blood

My half-baked reading is the opposite of Sund4r's.

Africa's a metaphor. Drums, wild dogs, Kilimanjaro - all are just window-dressing escapist exoticism.

The speaker is a normal pudgy aging wite guy, possibly having a run-of-the-mill romantic escapade. Perhaps not even that. Maybe just wishing he was with a woman compelling enough to justify the song's emotional level.

The straining, strident vocal of the chorus, dramatically layered music (finger cymbals? Come ON) and the exotic imagery are Walter Mitty elements. To me.

I look at a picture of Toto and I just think that without musical talent these shlubs would be working at Radio Shack. That's part of why I see it this way.

^ otm

ye def otm

totally. The thing he's frightened of having becoming is a supervisor who has to tell his buddies to stop taking 45 minute smoke breaks.

It's about lovebugs

Paitch strikes me more as a pet store employee than an electronics geek

Either way.

"Keith, Brett, knock it off."

BIG DRUM FILL

"Seriously, c'mon, guys."

SYNTH FLUTE SOLO

I would totally have watched an 80s sitcom about a band of down on their luck '70s prog-poppers working at an electronics store at the mall

the echo of the drums is a haunting reminder of the life they could've had.

lol came to rep the shittyflute versh but josh did that two years ago (take on me is still peak shittyflute tho).

This song is about men on Mars, which the author believes to number at least 100

xp I first heard "Sweater Song" on a Top40/pop/MariahCarey station fwiw

I look at a picture of Toto and I just think that without musical talent these shlubs would be working at Radio Shack.

like Rosanna Arquette is gonna date some Radio Shack dude, come on

Steve Lukather had a porn career lined up

i love it when people say something like "without _______ these guys would be _______"

is this supposed to be an own?

without world-class musical ability, they would be working a regular job. yes! that's how it works.

without world-class basketball skills, LeBron James would be a 7th grade teacher.

without mediocre writing skills, I would be working at McDonald's.

what is the point of this analysis, exactly?

Context matters, alpine static. It was not supposed to be an own of the Toto guys. The record will show that I love that band and that tune inordinately, and have loved it since its release. Unironically.

What I said - and meant - was merely that my reading of the song "Africa" (a reading I arrived at independently) was somewhat informed by my perception of their personas. Do they look like suave/debonair international travelers inna James Bond stylee?

The Ice Pirates were explorers too you know

xpost fair enuff, Y.M. Puff

Toto's legacy expands when you add under their name all the big tunes those guys did together as studio musicians even if nothing just MJ's Thriller. They were like the AOR Wrecking Crew of their day.

All I wanna do when I wake up in the morning is compromise

I live in hell

TOTO ANSWERS WEEZER COVERS OF “AFRICA” AND “ROSANNA”

WITH A SMOKING RENDITION OF “HASH PIPE”

Lol!!!

They should have covered Teenage Dirtbag

not a weezer song

exactly

I smell a POLL of what songs 2018 Toto should cover. "Le Freak," "Dude Looks Like a Lady," "Head Luke a Hole," and Barbour's Adagio are my picks.

Make those old-ass marionettes DANCE, motherfuckers.

Gah, LIKE.

Tho maybe Head Luke a Hole is an obscure Star Wars filk that I am blissfully unaware of.

Head Luke a Hole-- unreleased 2 Live Crew industrial-rap project

lol I guess I missed that Weezer added "Teenage Dirtbag" to their set because so many people think it's their song

Head Lukather

So, this just happened. (Thanks, @Weezer.) pic.twitter.com/DIt5Sf25Vz

— Al Yankovic (@alyankovic) August 9, 2018

I can die happy now that the cultural confluence I craved for so long has occurred

2018 is wild

Rivers' "forever pass" with me is being severely tested

good reminder for me that even in the direst of circumstances i can't hate on weird al

As I think I've already said, I don't have any affection for Weezer's music or RC's persona. However.

If you're a professional musician, choosing to be a full-time crowd-pleasing machine is kinda… okay? Decent?

Like, I actually prefer that shtick to "here's a forty-seven minute free-jazz exploration from our soon-to-be-released new album." Or "I hate you and I'm not going to look at you or play what you want to hear because fuck you, that's why."

Weezer's audience wants this stuff, they paid for it, they go to a concert and they receive exactly what they wanted in exchange for the exorbitant sums of money they have shelled out. That sounds like pretty much an even exchange.

Who exactly is being harmed by it?

xp Al is pretty up-front as well. And though I don't love him, he's consistently delivered exactly what he set out to do, and exactly what people want from him.

I've always been "jealous" (in a way) of ppl who are fans of bands that do "fan-pleasing" things like constantly tour, issue a zillion official tour recordings, etc.

Life would be easy if I were a Steel Panther fan and lived proximate to a House of Blues location

some people want 47 minute free jazz exploration from the upcoming album

kinda started hating Rivers ever since I heard that story about him hanging out with a bunch of Japanese girls and booting out the ones who didn't want to suck him off