TOTO "africa" classic or dud

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".

ugh i misread that as

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-cf1bnEb5Rs

^ A great song

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

― timellison, Thursday, August 9, 2018 4:47 PM (yesterday)

what

When I was little, I used to think the line "There's nothing that a hundred men or more could ever do" (which is a shitty line) was "There's nothing that a hundred men on Mars could ever do."

the lyrics of this song are real dopey and the twinkling synth figure is perfect imo. I'm a sticking-with-them-even-through-their-shittiest-records weezer fan and if I can avoid hearing this cover for the rest of my life I will

Keyboard Editor:
What else is going on in "Africa"?

David Paich:
The kalimba is all done with the GS1. It's six tracks of GS1 playing different rhythms. There's a high organ sound that's GS1, and I wrote the song on CS-80, so that plays the main part of the entire tune.

Looking it up:

The GS-1 was a non-programmable FM synth that came out a couple of years before the DX7. It had a magnetic strip reader for loading pre-programmed sounds. It came in big wooden case, and could be confused with a piano. It, along with the GS-2, introduced the FM bells, brass, and EPs that we take for granted today.

Although the GS-1 had a new sound, it was extremely expensive ($16,000 if I remember right), and didn't sell well.

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.

It's weird we're having this discussion. I mentally put Weezer in the same camp as Weird Al--you know, long running acts with a loyal fan base who can only achieve relevance through stunts, viral videos or wacky cameos/covers. I guess people are holding on to an idea of Weezer as a ROCK band.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6GRn_kZYFOA

the lyrics of this song are real dopey

I don't know, I guess I have a "Why not?" attitude to the mythologizing of the stars, the old man, the mountain, etc. And then when the song locks in with focus in the chorus, the lyrics lock in as well - he's gonna get there, he's gonna make it.

It's the clunky cadence and syntax of whole thing that gets me. I mean, what do I know, it's a huge hit that people still listen to and like, but it's so weird they couldn't just give those lyrics another pass rather than awkwardly try to squeeze them in. I think of wordy singers like Paul Simon or Elvis Costello, and they pull it off, and not to put them and Toto on the same tier, but some of the clunkiness in "Africa" just seems avoidable. It's like he had some sort of safari satori, wrote a poem, then found his experience so profound he refused to change a word.

the whole thing that is a bit suspect is not the song itself (which i actually think is good, maybe great in its production and performance), but the sort of arbitrary randomness of "let's elevate this chosen good thing to godhead status and let's just go crazy for it and theatrically enthusiastic" and it all comes off as kind of false. it's like the cover song version of "Bill Murray just crashed this wedding photo shoot and it gives us life" type shit. the quality of what's being elevated is separate from the showy enthusiasm.

omar, do you mean the original song, the weezerizing of it, or both?

xpost Like it or not, it's just peak cheese on so many levels: the words, the production, the performance. It's also peak smooth/yacht, and perhaps importantly, related to those things, peak '80s, in a way, and the cheesiness of the '80s (ironic or no) has imo translated really well down to subsequent generations. "Don't Stop Believing" is also cheesy, for example, but I don't necessarily identify it with the '80s the same way I do "Africa."

YMO I guess I mean everything in the present surrounding the newfound appreciation for the song, and I haven’t tracked it but it does seem to have started with this Weezer thing maybe? Like DSB it’s always been around and hugely popular but I guess its rediscovery and the present reaction to it.

YMP sorry

"Don't Stop Believing" is also cheesy, for example, but I don't necessarily identify it with the '80s the same way I do "Africa."

For me this is so true that my immediate reaction is "that's because it was released in the 70s" but nope, I checked, and it's '81. Still, there's no question in my mind that DSB is much closer in spirit to a big 70s Styx number than it is to "Africa" or "Safety Dance" or whatever we call 80s now.

the whole thing that is a bit suspect is not the song itself (which i actually think is good, maybe great in its production and performance), but the sort of arbitrary randomness of "let's elevate this chosen good thing to godhead status and let's just go crazy for it and theatrically enthusiastic" and it all comes off as kind of false. it's like the cover song version of "Bill Murray just crashed this wedding photo shoot and it gives us life" type shit. the quality of what's being elevated is separate from the showy enthusiasm.

quoted in full because this feels extremely otm and articulates feelings I was unable to

yes

otm

I haven’t tracked it but it does seem to have started with this Weezer thing maybe?

nah it's been going on for like a year before Weezer

At least. The Weezer cover was a response to the memeification and revived popularity, with a social media campaign clamouring for them to cover it.

I guess also there’s this sense of “now this song is cool bc this particular demographic is into it” which feels even more suspect, as if the millions of people who quite sincerely loved this song beforehand didn’t matter as much as the much smaller group who’s all “so much this” over the disingenuous revival. Like all “let’s play-act some eyes closed iPhones in the air emotion for this hilarious ‘80s ballad.”

I'm honestly not even sure how to gauge the level of sincerity vs disingenuosness wrt the revival or even its original popularity, nor whether its younger, newer fans even constitute a much smaller group than the first-time fans! I think someone (crut?) suggested that the popularity of tropical house might have something to do with it, which makes as much sense as anything.

Sorry, that again feels like assuming, possibly strawmanning. I don't think my happy reaction to seeing the Weezer cover was disingenuous and I haven't assumed that when I've seen a friend post about it on Facebook either.

xp

extremely otm, but also the year or so of "the resurgence of 'Africa' isn't because it's a meme it's because Toto are SERIOUS STUDIO MUSICIANS' arguments is now very hilarious in retrospect

(patient zero for this thing was surely rickrolling?)

tropical house as well as jack antonoff xp

though the other day I was thinking "I'll bet it's because of some stupid ref on Family Guy" & I googled it and yup there's a Family Guy scene where they play the whole song and use the words "Africa by Toto" specifically

"There's nothing that a hundred men or more could ever do" (which is a shitty line)

disagree, I think it is a great & very musical line

not everyone is going to react the same to this cover, but again what i said doesn't mean this song isn't good, the cover isn't good, that people don't actually like it, etc.

i guess for me it's more the specific elevation of this particular song to meme status over other candidates. idk.

(patient zero for this thing was surely rickrolling?)

I don't think rickrolling involved much actual appreciation for Rick Astley's music, though? (although he good-naturedly parlayed it to his advantage)

I'm thinking more along the lines of something like the use of Wilson Phillips' "Hold On" in Bridesmaids (2011) -- simultaneous activation of "cheesy nostalgia" and "good song / real emotion" factors -- though there are probably better examples.

(I mean there's probably many essays about the distinction btw. sincere & ironic appreciation of nostalgic pop culture becoming indistinct lately; maybe J0rdan P3terson has written something about it, lol)

Years ago, most likely in the mid to late '90s, a band I was in played with a fake '80s Teen Beat band called Romania. That night, they covered "Africa." I'm pretty sure it all starts there.

There's a metaphor in here somewhere:

At the time when Toto keyboardist David Paich and drummer Jeff Porcaro wrote the song, they’d never actually been to Africa. Porcaro, who died in 1992, described the lyrics thusly: “A white boy is trying to write a song on Africa, but since he's never been there, he can only tell what he's seen on TV or remembers in the past.” This isn’t supposed to be a song about the continent; it’s about an idea, or a borrowed nostalgia for somewhere you’ve never been.

Man, no kidding. Talk about an artistic theme repeating itself in the work's reception (...I mean, please, talk about it; it seems really interesting and I'd like to hear other examples of this)

why is this thread continuously at the top of the page

...as sure as kilimanjaro rises like olympus above the serengeti

Hah, NickB.

they’d never actually been to Africa

it's unseemly to boast, but: I FUCKING CALLED IT

But at least it's pretty clear they captured, you know, the *idea* of Africa.

Africa: It's Only a State of Mind

Wait -- didn't your quote just establish that the lyrics are ironic, and the song is actually ABOUT a clueless guy "trying" to capture the idea of Africa? Why are you ragging on the band about it; this seems brilliant(?)

Ha, I don't know! I actually thought he was describing themselves!

Certainly the lyrics offer no indication of any sort of meta-ness.

xp Well, I thought so, too -- but with a kind of ironic self-awareness. Hence: This isn’t supposed to be a song about the continent; it’s about an idea, or a borrowed nostalgia for somewhere you’ve never been. (Which I know isn't part of the Porcaro quote; it's the conclusion of whoever wrote the piece you're excerpting.)

If it's not meant to be ironic, then obv. it's not as interesting that the song is now being received with a similar "borrowed nostalgia for somewhere [the '80s] that [young listeners] have never been".