Anyone familiar with the TV series "Mad Men" will instantly recognise what is being talked about in the following treatise by user 'daffystardust' on the "LebeauLeBlog" website (http://lebeauleblog.com/). I've never watched it, don't know a thing about it, but still find the snippet about Neil's song fascinating. I hope you do too:
"Matthew Weiner's musical choices this final half season of 'Mad Men' appear to admit that his characters are out of place in the 1970s. How else do you explain the fact that so many of the featured tunes were not actually released in that decade? Even the seeming leap into the beautiful mysterious future represented at last week's close by David Bowie's epic ballad 'Space Oddity' is undercut a little when you know that the song was released in July of '69.
"This week's episode opens with Merle Haggard's playful take on the culture wars of the time 'Okie From Muskogee', which certainly was appropriate considering the location of Don's part of the story this week, but like many others featured on 'Mad Men' this season, it was released in 1969. That's nothing compared to the episode's closing song, the gentle Buddy Holly oldie 'Everyday', which predates even the beginning of the series, perhaps symbolizing a life re-set to Don.
"All of this is perfectly good for the purposes of Weiner and company, but contrasts with the fact that two of their primary actors grew very '70s moustaches in the few months that separated the first and second halves of the show's last season. This penultimate episode took place in October of 1970, so I went to my trusty book of Billboard Top 40 hits and found that Neil Diamond's bright western-tinged boogie 'Cracklin' Rosie' was big that month, hitting No. 1 the week of the 10th.
"Now there's a song of the '70s! A cursory listen to the lyrics has made many think it is about a man's affection for a prostitute, calling her a 'store-bought woman', but the truth is just a little less seedy. As it turns out, 'Cracklin' Rosie' is Diamond's second most famous song about wine, with the idea for the song coming to him in a story about a Canadian tribe with more men than women, resulting in the leftover men singing to their wine.
"Another line from the song, 'hitchin' on a midnight train', sure might appeal to Don in his current situation as he plays out his own version of 'On The Road'. After all, when he was a boy on a farm hoboes did visit his family, modelling the possibility of an unencumbered life to him (and leaving behind a sign to others that his Father was not to be trusted).
"His own dream about finally being caught in his big lie by the police, and the demonstration that the supposed freedom of his car could turn into dependence leads Don to ditch the Caddy and grab a seat waiting for a bus. This is a character who hasn't really had a home for most of his life. Is his self-imposed hobo lifestyle the romantic notion he maybe takes it for or will it mark one too many attempts to run from himself?"
(For the record, I judge songs from 1969 as having a "bleedover" effect into 1970.) On a personal note, this song evokes firmly my time in college between 1970 and 1972. Academically, I learned absolutely nothing, but socially and in terms of broadened horizons, I embraced everything, and would have grown to be a lesser person for not having 'dropped out' during those two magical years. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cracklin%27_Rosie
@adrian4acn It is odd how many of those first albums we buy a children turn out to have lasting quality (mine was a T.Rex cheapo compilation) - in stark contrast to some of the faddish nonsense we purchase later.
13 Comments (since 11 Jul 2015)
leejohnson
Anyone familiar with the TV series "Mad Men" will instantly recognise what is being talked about in the following treatise by user 'daffystardust' on the "LebeauLeBlog" website (http://lebeauleblog.com/). I've never watched it, don't know a thing about it, but still find the snippet about Neil's song fascinating. I hope you do too:
leejohnson
"Matthew Weiner's musical choices this final half season of 'Mad Men' appear to admit that his characters are out of place in the 1970s. How else do you explain the fact that so many of the featured tunes were not actually released in that decade? Even the seeming leap into the beautiful mysterious future represented at last week's close by David Bowie's epic ballad 'Space Oddity' is undercut a little when you know that the song was released in July of '69.
leejohnson
"This week's episode opens with Merle Haggard's playful take on the culture wars of the time 'Okie From Muskogee', which certainly was appropriate considering the location of Don's part of the story this week, but like many others featured on 'Mad Men' this season, it was released in 1969. That's nothing compared to the episode's closing song, the gentle Buddy Holly oldie 'Everyday', which predates even the beginning of the series, perhaps symbolizing a life re-set to Don.
leejohnson
"All of this is perfectly good for the purposes of Weiner and company, but contrasts with the fact that two of their primary actors grew very '70s moustaches in the few months that separated the first and second halves of the show's last season. This penultimate episode took place in October of 1970, so I went to my trusty book of Billboard Top 40 hits and found that Neil Diamond's bright western-tinged boogie 'Cracklin' Rosie' was big that month, hitting No. 1 the week of the 10th.
leejohnson
"Now there's a song of the '70s! A cursory listen to the lyrics has made many think it is about a man's affection for a prostitute, calling her a 'store-bought woman', but the truth is just a little less seedy. As it turns out, 'Cracklin' Rosie' is Diamond's second most famous song about wine, with the idea for the song coming to him in a story about a Canadian tribe with more men than women, resulting in the leftover men singing to their wine.
leejohnson
"Another line from the song, 'hitchin' on a midnight train', sure might appeal to Don in his current situation as he plays out his own version of 'On The Road'. After all, when he was a boy on a farm hoboes did visit his family, modelling the possibility of an unencumbered life to him (and leaving behind a sign to others that his Father was not to be trusted).
leejohnson
"His own dream about finally being caught in his big lie by the police, and the demonstration that the supposed freedom of his car could turn into dependence leads Don to ditch the Caddy and grab a seat waiting for a bus. This is a character who hasn't really had a home for most of his life. Is his self-imposed hobo lifestyle the romantic notion he maybe takes it for or will it mark one too many attempts to run from himself?"
leejohnson
(For the record, I judge songs from 1969 as having a "bleedover" effect into 1970.) On a personal note, this song evokes firmly my time in college between 1970 and 1972. Academically, I learned absolutely nothing, but socially and in terms of broadened horizons, I embraced everything, and would have grown to be a lesser person for not having 'dropped out' during those two magical years. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cracklin%27_Rosie
adrian4acn
The second album I was bought as a child (6-7) after The Best of the Monkees' was a Neil Diamond best of.
ian38018
@adrian4acn It is odd how many of those first albums we buy a children turn out to have lasting quality (mine was a T.Rex cheapo compilation) - in stark contrast to some of the faddish nonsense we purchase later.
adrian4acn
This was on Dangerous Minds earlier. Neil Young playing on a Monkees track. Seems there are another 3. Sorry not Neil Diamond related but ......
adrian4acn
https://youtu.be/zfZifyxc9r0 The link...
capnhollis
Good stuff man, good stuff!