Visual artists Fernanda Viégas and Martin Wattenberg analyzed over 10,000 songs to find out which parts of the human body were mentioned the most and broke down the resulting data by genre. The result: An interactive graphic work called "Listen" that correlates musical genres with the body parts they mention the most, as part of their ongoing Fleshmap project.
As for the genre that talks about body parts the most, hip hop takes the honors with more references than any other genre. Meanwhile, gospel refers to the body the least.
I really like this, definitely worth clicking through. Here's heavy metal, as hip hop might have disturbed readers of this family blog: Hat tip MR.
My daddy left home when I was three And he didn't leave much to ma and me Just this old guitar and an empty bottle of booze. Now, I don't blame him cause he run and hid But the meanest thing that he ever did Was before he left, he went and named me "Sue."
Well, he must o' thought that is quite a joke And it got a lot of laughs from a' lots of folk, It seems I had to fight my whole life through. Some gal would giggle and I'd get red And some guy'd laugh and I'd bust his head, I tell ya, life ain't easy for a boy named "Sue."
Well, I grew up quick and I grew up mean, My fist got hard and my wits got keen, I'd roam from town to town to hide my shame. But I made a vow to the moon and stars That I'd search the honky-tonks and bars And kill that man who gave me that awful name.
Well, it was Gatlinburg in mid-July And I just hit town and my throat was dry, I thought I'd stop and have myself a brew. At an old saloon on a street of mud, There at a table, dealing stud, Sat the dirty, mangy dog that named me "Sue."
Well, I knew that snake was my own sweet dad From a worn-out picture that my mother'd had, And I knew that scar on his cheek and his evil eye. He was big and bent and gray and old, And I looked at him and my blood ran cold And I said: "My name is 'Sue!' How do you do! Now your gonna die!!"
Well, I hit him hard right between the eyes And he went down, but to my surprise, He come up with a knife and cut off a piece of my ear. But I busted a chair right across his teeth And we crashed through the wall and into the street Kicking and a' gouging in the mud and the blood and the beer.
I tell ya, I've fought tougher men But I really can't remember when, He kicked like a mule and he bit like a crocodile. I heard him laugh and then I heard him cuss, He went for his gun and I pulled mine first, He stood there lookin' at me and I saw him smile.
And he said: "Son, this world is rough And if a man's gonna make it, he's gotta be tough And I knew I wouldn't be there to help ya along. So I give ya that name and I said goodbye I knew you'd have to get tough or die And it's the name that helped to make you strong."
He said: "Now you just fought one hell of a fight And I know you hate me, and you got the right To kill me now, and I wouldn't blame you if you do. But ya ought to thank me, before I die, For the gravel in ya guts and the spit in ya eye Cause I'm the son-of-a-bitch that named you "Sue.'"
I got all choked up and I threw down my gun And I called him my pa, and he called me his son, And I came away with a different point of view. And I think about him, now and then, Every time I try and every time I win, And if I ever have a son, I think I'm gonna name him Bill or George! Anything but Sue! I still hate that name!
Good stuff I've been listening to the last few days:
Little Red Riding Hood, by The Meteors - from the album Mutant Monkey and the Surfers from Zorch.
Heartbeats, by Jose Gonzalez. A beautiful cover, the original by the Knife is fantastic too.
Irish Tour, by Rory Gallagher. One of my favourite albums ever, check out A Million Miles Away.
Imaginations from the Other Side, by Blind Guardian. I can't find a good-enough quality version of the best song in the album, but here is a particularly powerful if amateurish version by a random guitarist playing over the song. If you have an ear for this sound, more here.
Ridin, by Chamillionaire. The song isn't what I'd call amazing, but it reminds me of the scene of AJ's suicide attempt in the Sopranos. A powerful piece, far and away the best scene across all 6-ish Sopranos series.
The last of my three favourite albums of all time features in many people's list of worst albums of all time: Metallica's Load. Courtesy of youtube, Until it Sleeps:
My apologies to loyal readers for the appaling lack of content this week - too busy. Regular rantings on economics to resume soon.
The second album (as I said before, in chronological order) in my list of greatest albums is Dream Theater's 1995 EP 'A Change of Seasons'. Unfortunately, I could only locate a four-part video with the full 23 minutes of the title track on youtube, so here is the first six minutes followed by links to the rest:
In this economist's humble opinion, Dream Theater is the most super of super-groups in the history of rock, and arguably the best band ever to walk the planet. Here's the official website, and what Wikipedia has to say about them.
And check this guy out - simply excellent, never seen anyone more deserving of a real drumkit.
A reader asks me to list my favourite music albums of all time. There are three that stand above the rest, and I will post on all of them over the next week in chronological order. Here's the first one, Jethro Tull's Thick as a Brick, from the band's '78 Madison Sq Garden performance:
This should have made the Friday Special, but with Memorial Day weekend in the US and the Spring bank holiday in the UK I thought it shouldn't wait for another week.
Earth album is one of the best websites I've come across recently. It brings together Google Earth and Flickr, 'allowing you to explore some of the most stunning photos in the world'.
And another interesting incarnation: Earth album youtube edition with music videos from across the globe.
An occasionally tactless economist opines on economics, politics and everything else. Email me Disclaimer: This blog reflects my personal views and is in no way representative of those of my employer or my mum. To make sure no misunderstanding arises and their lives stay stress-free, I will remain anonymous.
Hat tip MR.
