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On Tom Jones...
Saturday, 12 June 2004 08:03No, not the book, the dude. You know, hip-swiveling, big-voiced, orange-faced Welsh dude?
Right, well it's not a secret that I don't like him much. I love Mark Lamarr's occasional impressions of him on Never Mind The Buzzcocks, and I didn't hate the cover of 'Burning Down the House' he did with the Cardigans (It was funky). But I don't like him. My favourite Lamarr Tom Joke:
When he first started out, people thought Tom Jones was American and black. Of course, now we know he's Welsh and orange.
I've always had a sneaking admiration for that big, booming voice, although I've never liked the music he's put it to (Delilah, for God's sake!). It's very worn now, and you can hear that he's spent 40 years bellowing. The fact he's twatting about nowadays in his black suits, orange face, thinning curly hair and weird goatee trying to do stuff like 'Black Betty' is to me a sign of an extremely addled bloke trying to be hip and down with the kidz. His version of Prince's 'Kiss' didn't entirely suck, but is very much of it's time.
But since my marathon Watch-Every-Bond-Film-Ever-Made-Including-The-Unofficial-Ones-And-The-Shitey-Moore-Ones, I've been listening to the Bond songs that caught my ear along the way. 'Under The Mango Tree' from Dr. No, 'Nobody Does It Better' by Carly Simon (A great song, FYI), 'A View To A Kill' by Duran Fucking Duran (only for the catchiness of it, man) and 'Thunderball' by Tom Jones.
Thunderball was one of my favourites of the 20(ish) movies I saw. Ditto The Spy Who Loved Me (with Carly's song). Perhaps the songs I like reflect the films I like best, I don't know. I do know that I didn't quite recognise Tom's voice when I watched the video. It was like 'Hmm, he sounds a bit like Tom Jones'.
Then I realised that I am of the generation that has grown up with only the Parody Tom Jones. The orange guy who used to have knickers thrown at him. He's always been something of a parody (have you not seen the pics of 60s/70s him in a fur coat and speedos by his pool at his mansion drinking champagne? *shudder*) but for my generation, the parody extends to the music, which we consider High Kitsch of the highest order.
Then after that, I realised that I really like 'Thunderball'. You know that horrible 'overdoing it' he seems to do now? It's hardly there in this one. Only the incredibly long sustained note at the end (which is rumoured to have caused him to faint) really says that this is a Tom Jones Record. And that last note? Fucking amazing, man. One day, I want to sing like that. It would be worth turning into a permatanned twat for that one moment of greatness.
Anyway, cos it's 7.41am and I'm not in bed yet:
( Film Meme Last Seen With Emony )
Right, well it's not a secret that I don't like him much. I love Mark Lamarr's occasional impressions of him on Never Mind The Buzzcocks, and I didn't hate the cover of 'Burning Down the House' he did with the Cardigans (It was funky). But I don't like him. My favourite Lamarr Tom Joke:
When he first started out, people thought Tom Jones was American and black. Of course, now we know he's Welsh and orange.
I've always had a sneaking admiration for that big, booming voice, although I've never liked the music he's put it to (Delilah, for God's sake!). It's very worn now, and you can hear that he's spent 40 years bellowing. The fact he's twatting about nowadays in his black suits, orange face, thinning curly hair and weird goatee trying to do stuff like 'Black Betty' is to me a sign of an extremely addled bloke trying to be hip and down with the kidz. His version of Prince's 'Kiss' didn't entirely suck, but is very much of it's time.
But since my marathon Watch-Every-Bond-Film-Ever-Made-Including-The-Unofficial-Ones-And-The-Shitey-Moore-Ones, I've been listening to the Bond songs that caught my ear along the way. 'Under The Mango Tree' from Dr. No, 'Nobody Does It Better' by Carly Simon (A great song, FYI), 'A View To A Kill' by Duran Fucking Duran (only for the catchiness of it, man) and 'Thunderball' by Tom Jones.
Thunderball was one of my favourites of the 20(ish) movies I saw. Ditto The Spy Who Loved Me (with Carly's song). Perhaps the songs I like reflect the films I like best, I don't know. I do know that I didn't quite recognise Tom's voice when I watched the video. It was like 'Hmm, he sounds a bit like Tom Jones'.
Then I realised that I am of the generation that has grown up with only the Parody Tom Jones. The orange guy who used to have knickers thrown at him. He's always been something of a parody (have you not seen the pics of 60s/70s him in a fur coat and speedos by his pool at his mansion drinking champagne? *shudder*) but for my generation, the parody extends to the music, which we consider High Kitsch of the highest order.
Then after that, I realised that I really like 'Thunderball'. You know that horrible 'overdoing it' he seems to do now? It's hardly there in this one. Only the incredibly long sustained note at the end (which is rumoured to have caused him to faint) really says that this is a Tom Jones Record. And that last note? Fucking amazing, man. One day, I want to sing like that. It would be worth turning into a permatanned twat for that one moment of greatness.
Anyway, cos it's 7.41am and I'm not in bed yet:
( Film Meme Last Seen With Emony )
