Trollheart

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I started out intending to run this in my journal, then thought maybe it would be better as an idea for an actual thread. It worked, for a very short while, then died, so I'm going back to my original idea. Probably most of you know what the concept of Room 101 is. Well, put simply, the term comes from George Orwell's dystopian science-fiction masterpiece "Nineteen eighty-four", where after all other attempts at interrogation has failed, the prisoner is taken to Room 101, where their worst fear awaits. Taking that idea to a lighter level, the TV chatshow/comedy "Room 101" allows invited guests to each expound upon something that annoys or irks them, and campaign to have it consigned to Room 101, where ostensibly it will never be seen again. This concept is of course utterly fallacious, as the items of course remain in the real world, but it's more an exercise in catharsis and of course, bloody good telly.

Trollheart's Room 101: Music Version is equally pointless, but here I intend to drone on at length about the music I dislike, whether it be singles or albums or even artistes, perhaps even concepts (live "unplugged"?) and kick them through the door and into Room 101. Anyone's free to disagree with me and comment, but as ever if I pick something/one you love don't take it to heart. It's all in fun and although I will be choosing things I really do not like, I'm not for a moment suggesting they have no value to others or that there is anything intrinsically wrong with them, just that I don't see any value in them, which will already have been explained.

So, a double-header for my first pick. They're both by the same artiste, and while I could yes have pushed Steve Miller himself into Room 101, I admit I know very little of his music and it's unfair to judge him on the basis of these two singles. But these two I do know, and abhor, so they're going in. Why are they going in? I'm glad you asked.

The imagery in "Abracadabra" is mixed, to say the least. For a song with a title with such obvious magical connotations, you would expect some sort of reference to magic. But no: Steve is more concerned with making a clever rhyme for the magical word, which to my mind he does not succeed at. Sure, "abracadabra" is not the easiest of words to rhyme, but "reach out and grab ya"? It's clever, but I think it's just a little too clever, thank you. Also, the song is supposed to put across the idea that this girl is weaving a spell on Steve with her beauty, sex appeal, whatever, so why doesn't he mention that once? Nothing about spells, got me in your power, working your magic. Yes, all these may seem cliched and that may be why he's staying away from them in the lyric, but for me, that being the case, nothing justifies the title. There's no anchor for abracadabra bar the rhyme. It's just a totally nonsensical song.

As for "The joker"? Yeah I know lots of people love it but I don't. I think the obvious use of the word pompatus is just there to make people think "what the hell is a pompatus"? and for no other reason, not to mention that everyone and his mother was then trying to sing the song putting in their own word when pompatus didn't make sense: the papoose of love? The porpoise of love? Give me strength! Turns out he made the bloody word up! And what is the point of the wolf-whistle after "Some people call me Maurice"? In the second verse he just runs out of ideas: "Don't you worry baby no no don't worry/ Cos I'm right here right here right here right here at home." Seriously, Steve? FOUR "right here"s? You couldn't fill up one line with more than that? I'm no songwriter but that just comes across to me as lazy.

Finally, both these songs were played so often on the radio when they came out that I became heartily sick of them and refused to listen to any more music by the guy, so without further ado, and with apologies to any Steve Miller fans... IN YA GO!

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Trollheart: Signature-free since April 2018