Thing a Week 43 – Under the Pines
Not many people know this, but when Leonard Nimoy did the Bigfoot episode of “In Search Of…” he and the creature hooked up one night and had this crazy fling. These kinds of things never end well, but Bigfoot in particular is a bit of a cad anyway (being mostly wild animal). As you might imagine, Leonard Nimoy came out of the experience somewhat worse for wear.
I’m almost sure that I have stolen this melody from somewhere, or maybe parts of it from lots of places, it sounds very familiar to me. And the bassline – hello? Blue Bayou? At first this was just a “bigfoot broke my heart” song, but I wasn’t getting a lot of traction. It wasn’t until I realized that it was Leonard Nimoy talking that it came together for me. There are just a couple of subtle references to Spock in there, and bigfoot’s name is never mentioned, so if you’re haven’t read this explanation you are either confused, or blissfully unaware that it’s about Bigfoot and Leonard Nimoy. Godspeed.
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Comments
Mattie says
This is utterly fantastic. Brilliant lyrics, brilliant tune and brilliant voice. ^_^ Not that your voice isn't always awesome, but you do sound really good on this track.
I just love this song. Well done and keep it up!
Len says
That...was...AWESOME!
(readies pencils and pens for a great VTAW)
Thanks for a great song!
Glenn says
Fascinating.
Incidentally, when I agreed yesterday to loan out my camera, I said: "You know, this means I'll see Bigfoot tomorrow." Thank you for helping make me at least partly right. I kind of thought when I saw "In search of..." that this would be about giant squid, but that's just because that's what I have in my LJ.
I just listened to "Creepy Doll" for the first time at home -- funny, I never noticed the heart-like thumping behind it when I listened on headphones.
Matt Mobley says
Ah hah! So that's where Len's "non-cute" Nimoy looking code monkey came from.
Dave says
I think the song you may be thinking of is Blue Chair by "the great Elvis Costello." There's also some Margaritaville in there, but you probably don't want to hear that.
M_pony says
I'm getting a heavy Eagles vibe from this song. Maybe it's the "Tequila Sunrise" bassline, maybe it's the Rhodes-ish electric piano sound.
and I keep telling myself that you said "Suet" and not "Sewage".. Sewage doesn't rhyme.
Deej says
Great song! Makes me think of the Patterson-Gimlin Bigfoot footage, for some reason -- of course, the first place I saw that footage was on In Search Of.
Dave says
The bassline is also really common in a lot of Lieber-Stoller songs. It has a name that I can't recall. Its origins are Caribbean - either Cuban or Puerto Rican - and they heard it when they used to vacation there and worked it into the stuff they were writing.
Javier says
I knew it was about Bigfoot!
I didn't catch the Nimoy part until reading this, but now the "hosting the episode" and "shooting Atlantis" makes sense.
Thank you for another great song!
John says
I think there's a big "Innocent Man" vibe in this one, with more of a Jimmy Buffett drum groove. I was pretty sure the Billy Joel thing was intentional, too, since the lyrics "only a fantasy" are almost the title of another Billy Joel tune. But then again, the bassline is a pretty common I-IV-V deal, anyway--not really stolen.
This is quickly becoming my favorite JoCo song!
Scott Mercer says
The background vocals are very 10cc ish, or maybe it's reminding me of the Raspberries/Eric Carmen.
Speaking of Buffett comparsions, I actually thought this could use a marimba (steel drum?) track, which I started singing over the top of the verse melody...sounds like you put a dash of that in there at the end of the chorus?
So I guess sussed out the Leiber/Stoller Caribbean bass line without knowing it.
Brie says
I'm coming really late to the party with this one, but what the hell.
WHAT A GREAT SONG.
I love how you can write about squids, Bigfoot, seahorses, etc. and make it applicable to human emotions. It's not everyday I can identify with a song about a self-loathing squid or one about a one-night stand with Bigfoot.
Yay, JoCo!
Andrew T. "The Clinger" Coleman says
I was listening to this song with a wtf mentality. It still doesn't make sense... :/... ;P