Tuli Kupferberg's Parasongs
Dave Marsh writes:
I just heard from Tuli (Fugs, general East Village intellectual zany, maybe the missing link between the Yippies and the beatniks if you don't count Ed Sanders). Anyway, he is redoing a songbook of his, Listen to the Mockingbird, which has been through many small press editions. He now wants to solicit contributions from others.
What he wants are "parasongs," which he defines thus: "a song using new and original lyrics set to an older (generally a popular) melody. Martin Luther set many of his religious hymns to the popular songs of that period. His reasoning: 'Why should the devil have the best of tunes?' And in our time the Wobblies repaid the compliment by resetting many old hymns to new
radical Labor anthems!"
(This marks Luther as a candidate for prosecution by the present-day music industry of course. )
If you know of any parasongs, or feel compelled to write one of your own, send them to Tuli here:
Tuli Kupferberg
Vanity Press
160 6th Ave
New York, NY 1001
And we'd love to hear about them here, too!
I just heard from Tuli (Fugs, general East Village intellectual zany, maybe the missing link between the Yippies and the beatniks if you don't count Ed Sanders). Anyway, he is redoing a songbook of his, Listen to the Mockingbird, which has been through many small press editions. He now wants to solicit contributions from others.
What he wants are "parasongs," which he defines thus: "a song using new and original lyrics set to an older (generally a popular) melody. Martin Luther set many of his religious hymns to the popular songs of that period. His reasoning: 'Why should the devil have the best of tunes?' And in our time the Wobblies repaid the compliment by resetting many old hymns to new
radical Labor anthems!"
(This marks Luther as a candidate for prosecution by the present-day music industry of course. )
If you know of any parasongs, or feel compelled to write one of your own, send them to Tuli here:
Tuli Kupferberg
Vanity Press
160 6th Ave
New York, NY 1001
And we'd love to hear about them here, too!
posted by Eric Schumacher-Rasmussen at 1:47 PM
2 Comments:
OK...this is not a parasong...it is me yelping out New Amphetamine Shriek because it is so timely...and a nice way to commemorate the 40th anniversary of me first hearing about The Fugs and the 39th anniversary of me finally finding one of their LPs in a store so I could buy one. [The Fugs-second album, Randhurst Shopping Center, Mt. Prospect, IL.]
Please do not sue me!
parasong?
A well I bless my soul
Whats wrong with me?
Im itching like a man on a fuzzy tree
My friends say Im actin wild as a punk Im strung out
Im all fucked up
Mm mm oh, oh, yeah, yeah!
My hands are shaky and my knees are weak
I cant seem to stand on my own two feet
Who do you blame when you have such luck?
your strung out
your all fucked up
Mm mm oh, oh, yeah, yeah!
Please dont ask me whats on my mind
Im a little bit loaded, but Im feelin fine
When I take the shot I love best
My heart beats so it scares me to death!
She gave me some whiff and a half gram shot
the rush was like a volcano pop
i ooze it in i never miss a drop
I feel so good im never gonna stop
i dig dope
Im all fucked up
Mm mm oh, oh, yeah, yeah!
My tongue get tied when I try to speak
My insides shake like a leaf on a tree
Theres only one cure for this body of mine
Thats a big ol fix make me so fine!
uh huh huh huh yea yea
high tuli,
i found this website cus i was looking 4 a way to contact you for a piece of info... i heard u talkin on u tube about how abstract expressioism was a goverment conspiracy
scam to roll ovr social realism and infect the public mind with meaninglessness.
i would v. much like to find out more about that .where it cometh from eyc. i belive u said u had proof or could point in the right direction to begin research. it sounds like a lovely subject to dig into and expose ... so, like if u can be of ay help please let me know..'hope this reaches u.. many thanks in advance.... best regards,
dean@ibiza-mail.com
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