Left of the Dial

[Tarzan]

If I'm hearing the words correctly, is PW being sexist in "Left of the Dial" when he sings, "Pretty girls keep growing up, playing make-up, wear a guitar?"

[markc]

ereynolds said:

If I'm hearing the words correctly, is PW being sexist in "Left of the Dial" when he sings, "Pretty girls keep growing up, playing make-up, wear a guitar?"

What's wrong with being sexy?

[Strange and Grandiose]

I hear "playing makeup and wearing guitar." It doesn't seem sexist to me. Just a play on words. An intentional spoonerism.

[Tarzan]

Nothing wrong with being sexy.

[scoOter]

i don't think there is a thing sexist about the line. i, too, simply think it is a play on words. in order for his lyrics to a song to be judged sexist, one would have to look at his lyrics as a whole. i think there have been enough evidence in his lyrics to rule out sexism.... i'm thinking the lyrics to "little mascara" & "androgynous" in particular.

also, and i could be completely off base (i have never held my stripes in the 'mats trivia army), isn't "lotd" about (at least in part - maybe THAT part) about the female bassist for the band let's active?

[thetwilitekid]

I read it as opposite. "Playing makeup" means just playing. While "wering guitar" means something more serious than just playing.

Make-up - measningless

guitar - the real deal

[Tarzan]

Yeah, I agree that PW has certainly shown a fondness (beyond sexual) and sensitivity for women as far as his understanding them. There's his quote that having older sisters gave him insight about how they'd complained about how their dates used to treat them. He paid attention. But then there's that Johnette Napolitano quote in an interview I read somewhere (I've got to start keeping up with these things, I know he said the Mats were middle class) where she rolls her eyes figuratively when PW sorta congratulated her on being the first woman to be on a Replacements record. I don't think PW is misogynistic. It's just that he likes to push boundaries, like with "C'mon Little Bitch" (Can't recall the actual title--C'mom, C'mom, C'mom?"-- and don't have a copy and don't want to look it up). While I know that tune is all about double or triple entendre, there's still that mystery about using the lyric "bitch." And PW did state (in the liner notes?) that he will never try to qualify or explain songs like that to appease someone's sense of political correctness or to keep from offending someone. Just like the Stones tune on Sticky Fingers. The lyrics don't idicate that Jagger is calling a woman a bitch but that chorus still creates a certain element of doubt or mystery or daring. Part of the rock 'n roll mystery. Referring to a woman as a "bitch" is as offensive as referring to an African American with a racial slur. But in rock 'n roll, all is usually forgiven despite the intent if one loves the artist enough. I'm sure lots of folks on the site love Johnny Thunders, me included. But listen to some of his bootlegs and it's amazing what he gets away with as far as the racial slurs Thunders tosses off. For those at the Memphis Folker show, some may recall a rather disturbing use of the word "bitch' directed at a loved one of PW's during "Born For Me." Maybe it was an act, who knows? Regardless, he never said it was a joke and that's part of the mystery. We forgive them anyway.

[FreeRider]

For the longest time, I used to think he was singing, "pretty girl keeps throwing up...."

;D

Yeah, I was at the Memphis show too and recall him talking about that phone call he got from that particular person. I dunno if that was just for show or if that's really what happened and how he really felt at that moment so he used the "bitch" word.
Just for show? Entertainment?

At those moments, I kinda cringe and I wonder if Paul gets a secret kick out of making his audience squirm uncomfortably. Like at the Pantages shows, where one night he recounted a story about one of his best friends who committed suicide and goes on to say that this song was buddy's favorite blues song....

[bigbak]

ereynolds said:

Can't recall the actual title--C'mom, C'mom, C'mom?

C'mon, C'mon, C'mon has got to be one of the most anti-misogynistic songs I've ever heard. It's obvious (to me, anyway) that PW abhors the behavior of the male character in the tune and the way he treats women.

Making a point by creating a character who uses words (or actions)that offend is a fairly time-honored tradition, and PW has proven himself to be quite adept at demonizing when he wants to. Hmmm...that could be a new thread Best Examples Of A Demonized Character In A PW Tune

The character in Folker springs to mind, and in Mannequin Shop

[smoothdoggy]

What exactly is "left of the dial"? The tape deck?

[grickle]

I believe C'mon... is a really anti-sexist song. He is referring to a man who thinks a women's place is in the house and then says he's gonna slap the taste right outta his mouth. I think he's refering to a sexist male.

[Smoo]

smoothdoggy said:

What exactly is "left of the dial"? The tape deck?

The radio dial, I believe

[mrblasty]

smoothdoggy said:

What exactly is "left of the dial"? The tape deck?

Back in the "old days", a car radio looked like this:



The lower frequencies, which are used by college radio stations, are on the left side of the dial, and the higher frequency(more powerful) stations, are to the right.
So, if you wanted to listen to "college rock", you tuned to the left side of the dial, where a band like Let's Active was more likely to be played.

*This history lesson brought to you by an old geezer, who fondly remembers the punch button radio.

Now, get offa my lawn! Damn kids*.

[Kathy]

mrblasty said:

smoothdoggy said:

What exactly is "left of the dial"? The tape deck?

Back in the "old days", a car radio looked like this:



The lower frequencies, which are used by college radio stations, are on the left side of the dial, and the higher frequency(more powerful) stations, are to the right.
So, if you wanted to listen to "college rock", you tuned to the left side of the dial, where a band like Let's Active was more likely to be played.

*This history lesson brought to you by an old geezer, who fondly remembers the punch button radio.

Now, get offa my lawn! Damn kids*.

Holy shit, it never even occured to me that youngsters wouldn't understand the phrase "Left Of The Dial" because radios don't have dials anymore....what a world, what a world....

[ndesimon]

Holy shit, it never even occured to me that youngsters wouldn't understand the phrase "Left Of The Dial" because radios don't have dials anymore....what a world, what a world....

<mutters to self> horrid little whipper-snappers...

[mdelirious]

thetwilitekid said:

I read it as opposite. "Playing makeup" means just playing. While "wering guitar" means something more serious than just playing.

Make-up - measningless

guitar - the real deal

I actually interpreted the "wearing guitar" line differently. I mean, beyond the simple play on words, the phrase suggests to me that the pretty girl (I hear just "girl," singular) was displaying the guitar but not putting it to use-- like she had the look of a rock musician but not necessarily the actual talent to play the instrument she was wearing. But I don't know if that interpretation would fit in with the song's lyrics as a whole.

Still, I don't think it's a misogynistic line. As I said, I hear "pretty girl," without the s, and so I've always thought he was referring to just one girl in particular rather than making some sort of commentary on the entire gender.

[mdelirious]

admin said:

Holy shit, it never even occured to me that youngsters wouldn't understand the phrase "Left Of The Dial" because radios don't have dials anymore....what a world, what a world....

Actually, there's a radio dial on my boom box, which I bought just two years ago. Granted, it was a really cheap boom box...

[thetwilitekid]

mdelirious said:

thetwilitekid said:

I read it as opposite. "Playing makeup" means just playing. While "wering guitar" means something more serious than just playing.

Make-up - measningless

guitar - the real deal

I actually interpreted the "wearing guitar" line differently. I mean, beyond the simple play on words, the phrase suggests to me that the pretty girl (I hear just "girl," singular) was displaying the guitar but not putting it to use-- like she had the look of a rock musician but not necessarily the actual talent to play the instrument she was wearing. But I don't know if that interpretation would fit in with the song's lyrics as a whole.

Still, I don't think it's a misogynistic line. As I said, I hear "pretty girl," without the s, and so I've always thought he was referring to just one girl in particular rather than making some sort of commentary on the entire gender.

yeah, I hear the singular girl.

To me the song is about a girl Paul likes in some band. But, to me the line suggests she does have talent. And she isn't getting the recognition she deserves, and her band can only be found left of the dial.

[Lee]

right. it feels to me like he is talking about a woman in some musical act who is being manipulated or exploited, and meanwhile is not allowed to use her talents, rather than being eye-candy/singer. sorta like the no doubt syndrome or the way he major-label system treated the muffs, or something. record labels/marketing people with misguided, cynical views of both the public and performers/artists...

token vs. exploitation, maybe? it feels like he's touching on the double-standard where (for example) there's no way, courtney love wrote the songs on the "live through this" lp, but marketers still try to place her in one of two boxes: a) angry, guitar-playing "female rock star," or b) the difficult girl who needs a svengali (kat bjelland, kurt, billy corgan, linda perry, etc...) to write her records with her. and then, once they move her from token into that second box, she becomes exploitable, because she is less of an artist.

maybe it's kinda off-topic, but i see the parallels.

[mdelirious]

thetwilitekid said:

mdelirious said:

I actually interpreted the "wearing guitar" line differently. I mean, beyond the simple play on words, the phrase suggests to me that the pretty girl (I hear just "girl," singular) was displaying the guitar but not putting it to use-- like she had the look of a rock musician but not necessarily the actual talent to play the instrument she was wearing. But I don't know if that interpretation would fit in with the song's lyrics as a whole.

Still, I don't think it's a misogynistic line. As I said, I hear "pretty girl," without the s, and so I've always thought he was referring to just one girl in particular rather than making some sort of commentary on the entire gender.

yeah, I hear the singular girl.

To me the song is about a girl Paul likes in some band. But, to me the line suggests she does have talent. And she isn't getting the recognition she deserves, and her band can only be found left of the dial.

See, I always thought it was about a girl in a band that Paul liked, too, which is why I wasn't sure calling her talentless would fit in in the context of the song. I like Lee's interpretation, though-- the one where she has the talent but isn't allowed to put it to use. Perhaps she's only "wearing" rather than playing the guitar not because she doesn't have the skill to play it (as I originally suggested) but because she doesn't have the permission/support (from the public or records companies or whatever) to?

And maybe the pretty girl is "playing makeup" because she's expected to be eye candy and, because her appearance is of lesser importance to her than her music, she's merely playacting (rather than truly fulfilling) the role of eye candy.

Or maybe I'm just looking into the phrase too much.