Wednesday, 13 August 2014

Up Against the Wall with a Blindfold.


I’m only posting this because it speaks volumes for changing times. If it were to be written and recorded today, no doubt it would be called Message on a Mobile, and the lyrics would be amended to read ‘Sending out an SMS.’ (The American version would have to be re-titled Message on a Cellphone, which is entirely lacking in alliterative bite and demonstrates just how inferior American culture is.)

*Only kidding*

And we don’t generally call it an SMS in Britain, preferring the more vocally economical ‘text.’ Which is further proof, if any were needed… The only person I ever heard call it an SMS over here was a woman from the Czech Republic, which is almost as bad as being American.

*ONLY KIDDING*

In actual fact, I can think of five Americans I really like, which is two more than the number of Brits I really like. No kid! And I liked the woman from the Czech Republic a lot.

What I don’t understand about this song, however, is why Sting felt the need to sing the verses in mock Jamaican. Maybe it’s because he’s a Geordie and gets easily confused. (They don’t wear coats in the winter, you know; they consider coats to be an insult to the clan.) He was probably trying to do Glaswegian.

*ONLY KIDDING*

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