TOTO "africa" classic or dud

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

xp More people want fan service. YMP is otm

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."

I'm not sure if either of these options are on the table for a band that writes songs in Microsoft Excel

No one,s harmed by the banality and good for whoever is enjoying the homage but it’s just not art. And I know it doesn’t have to be, but it’s pantomime, it’s kitsch, and it’s in opposition to the rockist perspective that I and a few others probably still hang on to.

niels and calstars - surely there are other artists who provide what you are looking for yes?

Ditto me.

In that respect it's really hard for me to fault the relationship of Weezer to a Weezerhead (or whatever they're called, don't tell me because I don't care)

god, weird al getting brought on stage for this. could it get any worse

I find the characterization of what they do as mere crowd pleasing to be condescending and the idea that it's not art to be absurd and not what I originally came to ILM for fourteen years ago.

nothing "mere" about crowd-pleasing! Speaking as an occasionally performing musician I think crowd-pleasing is really hard.

god, weird al getting brought on stage for this. could it get any worse

IMO, it's the only good thing they've ever done. Weird Al totally eclipses Weezer in terms of sheer star power and charisma.

Make those old-ass marionettes DANCE, motherfuckers.

― Pirate's booty call (Ye Mad Puffin)

well, sure, it killed Prince

weird al still one of my favorite live concert experiences

I find the characterization of what they do as mere crowd pleasing to be condescending and the idea that it's not art to be absurd and not what I originally came to ILM for fourteen years ago.

Let me ask, then, what the criticism of the song is because I'm not sure that's been established in this thread.

xp i hate weird al tho i understand few on ilm agree

I see a couple from YMP:

"The straining, strident vocal of the chorus, dramatically layered music (finger cymbals? Come ON)"

I really love the chorus. It's where they lock in to a dynamic chord sequence after the more amorphous harmonies in the verse shifting between the two key centers. My favorite part is the melisma on "rains," not in the lead vocal on top but in the harmony vocal just underneath. That's one of the big hooks of the song, I think, but you have to dig in to find what it really is.

Nothing wrong with crowd pleasing, I mean when I saw Andrew WK he played nearly all of I Get Wet and the crowd loved it. I agree that it’s a tough thing to do and for a band that I personally find shitty and boring I still think its cool that a rock band like Weezer can generate a response like that. They’re probably kicking themselves for not doing a sloggy power pop version of “Never Gonna Give You Up”

tim, I love the song unironically and have said as much a half-dozen times. At this point itt we're getting into the gentle teasing that longtime lovers do.

THAT SAID, in my estimation the new topic is whether Weezer's cover is an act of love or an act of pandering. And, further, whether a surprise Weird Al cameo is inspired genius, or an even more egregious act of pandering.

The consideration that it could be pandering would seem to be predicated on a negative view of the song, though.

Imagine if BACON flew out of his guitar lmao epic

I don't wish to argue this incessantly, tim, but I respectfully disagree.

The panderosity of the cover is predicated on the Weezerian forethought "I know they'll love THIS." Which is actually predicated on a positive view of the song.

also I misspoke; love and pandering are not exclusive. Embrace the power of Both.

Never liked this song as more than cheese, but ... whatevs. I had no idea this existed, though:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J8jr-p0lQZo

Are they just going to do a whole album of Toto covers? Hold The Line is really even better suited to Weezer than this and Africa.

My roommate in Buffalo years ago insisted on referring to that song as "Toe the Line" no matter how many times I tried to explain otherwise. His favourite Smiths song was "I Am Human".