Teasing the Korean Posted May 16, 2020 Report Share Posted May 16, 2020 (edited) Please help TTK compile a list of pulpish, noirish, world-weary, ennui-laden standards and substandards. Musically, these tunes are likely to be downtempo, bluesy, and/or minor key. Lyrically, they likely involve alcohol, coffee, or cigarettes; lost love; late nights; and general feelings of being a loser and feeling isolated within an urban environment. Most of the best examples will likely date from the 1940s or 50s, perhaps extending a decade into either direction. The best examples may include occasional pulpish slang or Cain-esque, Chandler-esque language. If you can imagine music playing at an urban 1940s lunch counter at 4 am while a tough-talking waitress named Doris serves you bacon and eggs with black coffee, you are on the right track. Here are some examples off the top of my head: Black Coffee No One Ever Tells You Cry Me a River Lonelyville Detour Ahead Blues in the Night One For My Baby Angel Eyes Everything Happens to Me All the Sad Young Men It's not an exact science, and there will be tunes that offer more of this than others, but hopefully you get the idea. Thanks in advance, pal. Edited May 17, 2020 by Teasing the Korean Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GA Russell Posted May 16, 2020 Report Share Posted May 16, 2020 What a great idea! Give me some time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jazztrain Posted May 16, 2020 Report Share Posted May 16, 2020 I'll Never Be the Same (although it's original title was "Little Buttercup") Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
medjuck Posted May 16, 2020 Report Share Posted May 16, 2020 (edited) Spring Can Really Hang You Up the Most, The Man that Got Away, & I Cover the Waterfront. Edited May 16, 2020 by medjuck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teasing the Korean Posted May 16, 2020 Author Report Share Posted May 16, 2020 (edited) 33 minutes ago, medjuck said: Spring Can Really Hang You Up the Most That is especially good! From the same show as "All the Sad Young Men." The entire "This Time of Year" album by June Christy, now that I think about it, is kind of a holiday version of the aesthetic I'm seeking. "Deep in a Dream" is a good one, as the entire lyric is centered around a burning cigarette. "It Never Entered My Mind" - "...and order orange juice for one..." "Lush Life." Edited May 16, 2020 by Teasing the Korean Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teasing the Korean Posted May 16, 2020 Author Report Share Posted May 16, 2020 "I can't Get Started." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillF Posted May 16, 2020 Report Share Posted May 16, 2020 "Ill Wind" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sgcim Posted May 16, 2020 Report Share Posted May 16, 2020 (edited) "You Don't Know What Love Is" "The Gentle Rain" "A Day in the Life of a Fool" (The Brazilian writers could be downright morbid) "How Insensitive"(The Brazilian writers could be downright morbid, so imagine you're in a Brazilian cafe listening to those last three) We'll Be Together Again "God Bless the Child" "Stormy Weather" (When I was working at the trumpet player Mel Davis' club, he told me the one song I should never play is Stormy Weather!) Lonely Town (Even Bernstein had the blues, even though he couldn't even follow the twelve bar form when he tried to play a blues at a club once!) Some tunes don't even need lyrics to evoke that feeling, like Jim Hall's "All Across the City" and ON's Stolen Moments:" "Any Place I Hang my Hat is Home" Edited May 16, 2020 by sgcim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teasing the Korean Posted May 16, 2020 Author Report Share Posted May 16, 2020 (edited) Is "Lonely Town" the one that starts "It's a lonely old town?" "Lonely Town" and "You Don't Know What Love Is" are great suggestions! Edited May 16, 2020 by Teasing the Korean Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sgcim Posted May 16, 2020 Report Share Posted May 16, 2020 (edited) Buddy, Can you spare a Dime?" Edited May 16, 2020 by sgcim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teasing the Korean Posted May 16, 2020 Author Report Share Posted May 16, 2020 9 minutes ago, BillF said: "Ill Wind" Good one! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Friedman Posted May 16, 2020 Report Share Posted May 16, 2020 Willow Weep For Me For All We Know Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sgcim Posted May 16, 2020 Report Share Posted May 16, 2020 "Gimme Some" from the show "Golden Boy" sung by Sammy Davis Jr. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teasing the Korean Posted May 16, 2020 Author Report Share Posted May 16, 2020 5 minutes ago, sgcim said: "Gimme Some" from the show "Golden Boy" sung by Sammy Davis Jr. Don't know this! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Friedman Posted May 16, 2020 Report Share Posted May 16, 2020 Mean To Me I Should Care Misterioso Round Midnight Stormy Weather Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sgcim Posted May 16, 2020 Report Share Posted May 16, 2020 8 minutes ago, Teasing the Korean said: Don't know this! Here are some of the lyrics: "Pretty women, blue eyed or brown, How they drive you crazy, how they bring you down. Then they're all fat and happy, and you're a worn out bum. Gim-me some Gim-me some! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teasing the Korean Posted May 16, 2020 Author Report Share Posted May 16, 2020 3 minutes ago, sgcim said: Here are some of the lyrics: "Pretty women, blue eyed or brown, How they drive you crazy, how they bring you down. Then they're all fat and happy, and you're a worn out bum. Gim-me some Gim-me some! Oscar Brown, Jr. must have some songs that fit the genre I'm seeking! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teasing the Korean Posted May 16, 2020 Author Report Share Posted May 16, 2020 I feel like "Midnight Sun" somehow fits this category, but it doesn't meet all my criteria. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GA Russell Posted May 16, 2020 Report Share Posted May 16, 2020 I Wanna Be Around Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teasing the Korean Posted May 16, 2020 Author Report Share Posted May 16, 2020 (edited) "Guess I'll Hang My Tears Out to Dry." Lots of stuff Frank does on his heartbreak albums are possibilities, but some of those don't really fit. Also, some substandards that Frank may never have recorded. Edited May 16, 2020 by Teasing the Korean Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teasing the Korean Posted May 16, 2020 Author Report Share Posted May 16, 2020 "You Go to My Head" comes close, for alcohol content. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom in RI Posted May 16, 2020 Report Share Posted May 16, 2020 Idle Moments. Also, no standards, but check out Mark Zubek’s Horse with a Broken Leg. A lot of noirish sounding cuts there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matthew Posted May 16, 2020 Report Share Posted May 16, 2020 Why Was I Born Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
medjuck Posted May 16, 2020 Report Share Posted May 16, 2020 (edited) Don't Smoke in Bed, Smoke Rings, Don't Get Around Much Anymore, In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning and probably everything else on that record. Edited May 16, 2020 by medjuck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teasing the Korean Posted May 16, 2020 Author Report Share Posted May 16, 2020 When the World was Young - more the verses than the chorus. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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