Let’s discuss any and all music here. Got a new artist who’s rocking your boat that you want to talk about? Post a video! Found out about that unearthed Coltrane album that has the jazz freak in you losing your mind? Lay it out for us! Have a theory about what your favorite band might do for their next album? Let’s hear it! Anything and everything music-related goes here.
This week’s discussion prompt comes courtesy of The Avocado’s very own Sløøøøøøøøøøøøøøøøøøøøøøøøøøøt:
What are your favorite examples of “audience participation” during a particular song or live performance?
Growing up in rural Nova Scotia during the late eighties/early nineties, whenever Billy Idol’s version of “Mony Mony” got played anywhere – be it a school dance, at karaoke, or even a wedding reception – between every single line in the verses a large number of people would yell out “HEY MOTHERFUCKER GET LAID GET FUCKED”. I never questioned this, or gave much thought as to why everyone did this – I was young, and it was fun and rebellious to swear! It wasn’t until I got to university and met people from other parts of Canada that I found out this wasn’t a universal thing.
Years later I got to thinking about this curious phenomenon, and after a bit of research stumbled upon this excellent article in which the author attempted to find the origin of the “hey motherfucker” chant, as well as documenting some regional variations. I don’t want to copy and paste the entire article here, but the biggest takeaway is that this thing spread across North America in a relatively short amount of time – and keep in mind that this was pre-Internet as well (I’m guessing it probably made its way to Nova Scotia via folks with friends or relatives in Southern Ontario or one of the Northeastern states where the “hey motherfucker” variation is also apparently prevalent).
Anyway, the article is a fascinating read and the chant is a great example of a pre-Internet meme. Idol is also well aware of the chant, and has long since encouraged it when performing the song live.
As always, any and all music-related posts are welcome. Have fun, and rock out with yr guac out!