On Fri, 13 Mar 2009 18:17:45 -0700, Paul Brandon wrote: >No real message -- just free associating. >I figured if there was a 'day', that might be the theme song.
>From the Wikipedia entry "Outside of a Small Circle of Friends": |"Outside of a Small Circle of Friends" is a song by Phil Ochs, |a U.S. protest singer from the 1960s. "Outside of a Small Circle |of Friends", which was originally released on Ochs' 1967 album |Pleasures of the Harbor, became one of Ochs' most popular songs.[1] | |Ochs was inspired to write "Outside of a Small Circle of Friends" |by the case of Kitty Genovese, who was stabbed to death outside |her home in Queens, New York, while dozens of her neighbors |ignored her cries for help.[2] ... | |The lyrics of "Outside of a Small Circle of Friends" condemn social |apathy by relating different situations that should demand action on |the part of the narrator, but in each case the narrator concludes that |"I'm sure it wouldn't interest anybody outside of a small circle of friends".[1] |The five scenarios include a woman who's being stabbed outside the |window, an automobile accident that has left a car hanging on a cliff, |the terrible living conditions in the city's ghetto, a magazine publisher |who's been fined for publishing pornography, and a friend who's |been arrested for smoking marijuana.[3] | |The song's arrangement provides a sharp contrast to its lyrics. For |ironic effect Ochs wanted an upbeat arrangement.[4] Producer Larry |Marks and pianist Lincoln Mayorga produced an arrangement that is |almost as memorable as the lyrics of the song. A decade after the song |was recorded, Marks said: ||The arrangement added to the irony of the whole song. Tacky piano ||played by Lincoln and a banjo and small rhythm section, nothing more. ||It's almost like a saloon song you shouldn't pay any attention to, and ||the lyric means practically everything in the world.[5] | |In 2001, an author remarked that the recording "pitted a disturbing lyric |about murder and social irresponsibility against a backing of insanely |cheerful banjo and a honky-tonk piano".[6] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Outside_of_a_Small_Circle_of_Friends -Mike Palij New York University [email protected] --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly ([email protected])
