A Mark In Time
Mark Knopfler Discussion => Mark Knopfler Discussion Forum => Topic started by: Lis on June 21, 2014, 03:19:06 AM
-
Hi... how are you? ;D
Yup, I know this is not a universal favorite ;) but this song just makes me happy. MK parodies the nouveau-rich superficial and materialistic host with his biting humor, and I am more than a little curious about the back-story for My Parties. I often thought that MK wrote My Parties specifically in disgust of music industry executives. I have no substantiation, and I could be completely off-base, but I just wonder. This song seems like a good opportunity to "stick it to them" with the last of the DS albums.
Thought I'd bring this up, especially after I read Lestroid's recent comment on the 2014 MK RECORDING DIARY thread:
"For what it's worth, I am quite certain that MK will never discuss in public any dispute with a record company. But a couple of the songs on Privateering seem to give some insight into his thoughts. The lyrics to "Don't forget your hat" sound a lot like the expression from the American south "Don't let the door hit you on the way out" which is said when you are glad to be rid of someone you don't like. The rest of the lyrics support that thought. That sentiment could apply to a record company executive with whom you are having a dispute."
I would love to hear what you have to say about My Parties... :P
-
Well I like it lots! The only one I'm not so keen about on the OES album is TTH but I love the whole album to be honest. I hadn't actually listened to MP for quite a while until fairly recently but I had OES album on my CD player and gave it another listen and thought it was pretty good. Some nice licks from Mark on it and good playing by Chris on the sax on the play-out.
The lyrics are pretty amusing but there is one verse where they kind of drop a bit below par I think. The one that starts: "Boy, this punch is a trip - it's o.k. in my book," however I'm prepared to forgive this tiny lack of judgement! However the chorus is very catchy and the rest of the lyrics are good.
I've always thought it to be about a company that organises parties for people calling themselves "My Parties." I've never really thought about it though because it's a lighthearted number and never really looked into it. It was really the line in the chorus that gave me the thought: "It's casual entertaining - we aim to please...At my parties." Also a knock at all the useless products we all buy and wasted expense in the consumer world.
PS: This is probably substantially more "off-base" than the above post! ;)
-
and "My Parties" is a cross between Randy Newman and Rodney Dangerfield-a singing tour of a rich moron's house: "Step inside my home/That's a brass toilet tissue holder with its own telephone/That's a musical doorbell-it don't ring, I ain't kiddin'/it plays `America the Beautiful' and `Tie a Yellow Ribbon.' "
Knopfler has decided to drop "My Parties" from the album because he thinks the joke will get old after a couple of listens. This is appalling to the others, who consider "My Parties" a great track. The final decision's not open and shut; for this album, Knopfler has for the first time shared record production with Illsley, Fletcher and Clark.
Quoted from an article about Dire Straits in Q-Magazin, Oct 1991. Here (http://www.odabasi.net/dsint1.htm (http://www.odabasi.net/dsint1.htm)) you can read the full article, which is very interesting (I've read it hundred years ago, but couldn't remember it anymore)
-
Hi, all. I always laugh at the irony in this song. I have suspected it was inspired by Mark's time in Hollywood when he worked on film scripts. The Princess Bride came out just a few years before On Every Street, and I know he worked with Reiner, so thought maybe there was a connection. I'm sure he met his share of people just like he wrote about during that time, and it probably struck a chord. It may also have been about Warner, too, but I thought the unreal world of Hollywood seemed a better bet. That seems to me to be the only place you might find someone with "a brass toilet tissue holder with its own telephone" or a doorbell that plays Tie a Yellow Ribbon! :lol
-
I am pretty sure I read somewhere many years ago that MK mentioned in an interview that he was inspired for My Parties by one of those catalogues lying out in planes about all sorts of articles for casual entertainment in a millionaire-like style. I am sure those two words were mentioned in that interview which I probably found somewhere on Thomas Molin's page. More I don't know.
LE
-
MK was right. Should have been a bside. Joke did indeed get old very quickly.
-
I never understood why so many people disliked My Parties. I always found it a great song, sarcastic lyrics and great guitar melody!
-
I never understood why so many people disliked My Parties. I always found it a great song, sarcastic lyrics and great guitar melody!
I agree. Ticket to Heaven is the weak link on that album IMO.
-
He should have ditched My Parties and added Millionaire Blues and Kingdom Come instead. And, of course, recorded I Think I Love You Too Much while he was at it.
But Millionarie Blues is a similar song to MP, just better musically.
-
ain't running outta nothing, in my deep-fareezzzzeee....
love that.
-
Always loved that song. Another good thing about My Parties is that it is followed by Planet of New Orleans. ;)
LE
-
Very nice song indeed! Also, I think that lyrics are timeless. I think that it is irony picture of some posh people arranging their parties with those classic lines like "Ah, here comes the dip - you may kiss the cook" and great: "Now don't talk to me about the polar bear, don't talk to me about the ozone layer, ain't much of anything these days, even the air, they're running out of rhinos - what do I care?"
-
I always thought that the lyrics to Early Bird were very similar to My Parties with Simon Cowell showing off his fancy estate to a guest. I figured that was why it didn't make the album. That and the fact that it is likely to become dated
-
Thanks yontwocrows for the article, a nice read that I was not aware of. :wave
...I have suspected it was inspired by Mark's time in Hollywood when he worked on film scripts. The Princess Bride came out just a few years before On Every Street, and I know he worked with Reiner, so thought maybe there was a connection. I'm sure he met his share of people just like he wrote about during that time, and it probably struck a chord. It may also have been about Warner, too, but I thought the unreal world of Hollywood seemed a better bet. That seems to me to be the only place you might find someone with "a brass toilet tissue holder with its own telephone" or a doorbell that plays Tie a Yellow Ribbon! :lol
Hahaha! Superlinda, I completely agree... the host sounds very 'West Coast' in general, and the expressions Mark uses are expressions I remember hearing, including dmg's not-so-favorite: "Boy, this punch is a trip - it's o.k. in my book". Weak, perhaps... but very typical for the time (sorry, folks... California offers a lot of silly, forgettable expressions to the English language...).
And yet, I can still visualize Mark actually being chatted up by his host at one of these parties. And Mark, just trying to absorb all the ridiculousness (kind of like his observations on Money For Nothing)...
Well, nonetheless, I am quite glad it made it on OES. I love the song -- the lyrics, catchy melody, the personae Mark is able to invoke, the perfect use of the sax - and even the "Weeeee" of the party favor at the end. And like LE, I am also happy that PONO follows it :D
Thanks all for the input... I found myself pondering this song, and it's great to get additional insight!! :wave
-
I never understood why so many people disliked My Parties. I always found it a great song, sarcastic lyrics and great guitar melody!
I love the song from the first listening. :)
-
I love that whole album, and MP is no exception :) ! Musically I think it's great, and the lyrics are witty and sarcastic. The last verse keeps it from not getting dated IMO, as some people still seem to proud themselves about not caring about the effects of our lifestyles on the environment.
-
I thought it was a lazy and weak song - symptomatic of the album as a whole. MK does the reportage song (playing a persona) very well in some cases (MFN, BIA, Sailing to Philidelphia etc) but in this case it was clumsy and contrived.
The whole album felt like a contractual obligation - like it had been thrown together in a week in order to make some money. This was the worst track on the album.
-
Nope.
LE
-
I thought it was a lazy and weak song - symptomatic of the album as a whole. MK does the reportage song (playing a persona) very well in some cases (MFN, BIA, Sailing to Philidelphia etc) but in this case it was clumsy and contrived.
The whole album felt like a contractual obligation - like it had been thrown together in a week in order to make some money. This was the worst track on the album.
1000% agree
OES is my least fav DS album, and My Parties sounds cheesy to me
Dire Straits should have ended his career with BIA imho
-
On the whole, I like OES as an album, but I disliked My Parties from the very beginning and it has always been a skipper for me, along with Ticket to Heaven. It's a bit like those comedy songs which become rather tedious after a time - once is OK, twice is boring, more than that it's a big yawn!
-
Musically it sounds like elevator music, and the lyrics are over the top - too over the top.
At five and a half minutes, it's a pretty long joke.
-
I'm having a dinner party tonight - do you think I should put this song on the playlist on my iPod?
Can't wait 'till he gets to the line "you may kiss the cook!" :-*
-
Not my fave one but I can't say I dislike. Well I would say a nice filler.
-
I would have preferred "I Think I Love You Too Much" to be on the album instead of MP a thousand times more!
-
I would have preferred "I Think I Love You Too Much" to be on the album instead of MP a thousand times more!
There's room for both. I like MP but Ticket to Heaven is surely a weaker song? ::)
-
I would have preferred "I Think I Love You Too Much" to be on the album instead of MP a thousand times more!
There's room for both. Ticket to Heaven is surely worse. ::)
The worst for me is MP, very closely followed by Ticket to Heaven, but room should certainly have been made for ITILYTM.
-
I would have preferred "I Think I Love You Too Much" to be on the album instead of MP a thousand times more!
There's room for both. Ticket to Heaven is surely worse. ::)
The worst for me is MP, very closely followed by Ticket to Heaven, but room should certainly have been made for ITILYTM.
I love the lyrics and sentiment behind Ticket To Heaven but the music is awful.
-
Interesting to see how different we feel about this album :) .
I personally think the entire album is fantastic (better than BiA), I mean, the title track alone might be one of the best things MK has ever written IMHO. Ticket to heaven used to be a skipper for me too, but I've come to like it recently. Mainly because I think his singing on that song is perfect.
-
Ticket to Heaven has been one of my faves since 1991. :)
-
The only thing I can say, this song is congenial to me due to its anti-pathos and, probably, also because I hate a phony glitz too.
-
Ticket to Heaven always reminds me of the character Professor Joe from the James Bond film Licence to Kill! ;D
As a album though, I think it's great and probably agree that I enjoy it more than BIA too. Tracks like PONO, Y&YF, FTB, CE, and the title track and all brilliant. Then things like WICTY, IH and so on are very good too!
I like that it has a little bit of country rock in places because that's something Mark does really well I think. Chet's influence there maybe.
-
Well, while maybe not most interesting piece, musical-wise, the lyrics are to die for at times:
Let's hear it for the dolphin
Let's hear it for the trees
Ain't runnin' out of nothin' in my deep freeze
Still relevant today. Maybe even more than in '91.
-
and "My Parties" is a cross between Randy Newman and Rodney Dangerfield-a singing tour of a rich moron's house: "Step inside my home/That's a brass toilet tissue holder with its own telephone/That's a musical doorbell-it don't ring, I ain't kiddin'/it plays `America the Beautiful' and `Tie a Yellow Ribbon.' "
Knopfler has decided to drop "My Parties" from the album because he thinks the joke will get old after a couple of listens. This is appalling to the others, who consider "My Parties" a great track. The final decision's not open and shut; for this album, Knopfler has for the first time shared record production with Illsley, Fletcher and Clark.
Quoted from an article about Dire Straits in Q-Magazin, Oct 1991. Here (http://www.odabasi.net/dsint1.htm (http://www.odabasi.net/dsint1.htm)) you can read the full article, which is very interesting (I've read it hundred years ago, but couldn't remember it anymore)
MK was right, the joke got old quickly :)
-
I suspect it might have been a decent live song to throw in now and then. Room for some licks and small solos here and there.
I'd be surprised if it wasn't rehearsed for the tour. But it's not my fav on the album, too low key and the outro is just too long.
-
Not my favorite either, musically it's too fad. But is has that certain Knopfler underplayed sarcasm to it, which I've always adored.
Just listened to the title track again, and it's a downright brilliant song.
As a whole I think the album is a bit underrated, as it's stylistically the most varied DS album.
-
I like ticket to heaven if only for the strings arrangements, which don't feature on any other DS song. They sound lush.
My Parties is awful. Really bad.
Some great tunes on the rest of the album, a lot of growers. OES itself is a great song. It's sad and kind of embodies the general feeling for me of DS in that era.
-
Including My Parties while leaving Millionaire Blues and Kingdom Come off the album... ::)
MP and MB are very similar thematically, but the latter is bluesier and has an edge to it. No doubt, many fans would have preferred it. Frankly, MP sounds like elevator music.
-
My Parties is a great song, perfectly placed before Planet of New Orleans, great sounding recording with great lyrics, the most cynical from the cynical ones from the cynical MK era. I like it a lot. So, there you have it. ;D
LE
-
always loved it, full stop :-)
-
My Parties, minor song to me but I don't skip it.
The only one I use to skip on the album is Heavy Fuel.