As far as I can make out, it’s a euphemism for flipping the middle finger… “when the bird is a word; b-b-b-b-bird is a word”—it was an indirect and rather comical way of saying “fuck off” to the establishment without directly saying fuck off. I think it was an inside joke that “the squares” and the “suits” or “the parents” didn’t get… and evidently, some still don’t get. That fast-paced, up-beat jaunty sound deflects the subversiveness of the song.
No “spiritual significance” at all, unless one counts its legacy to the “spirit” of rock and roll and punk music.
I can’t be sure but it seems to hint at either the ethereal nature of broken dreams or the absence of existential angst in Argentinean disc jockeys.
Hellow from Kansas City. They got some crazy little women here.
Actually, Surfin’ Bird represents a watershed transitional form between the Kerouac/Ginsberg Beat Generation’s rejection of post WWII materialism and the emergent Southern Californian beach nihilism. It gives expression to the revelatory nothingness of linguistic repetition. I’m surprised that you didn’t catch this.
Sometimes, this forum gets so heavy. It’s nice to take a little break and watch and listen to videos of goofy songs. Hi Bruce and Sander. Thanks for the diversion. In the first video, of the old vinyl ‘45 of ‘Surfin’ Bird’ I got such a blast of nostalgia, because when I was little we had that exact record player. I remeber the smell of it. It smelled like slightly overheated electronic components. I don’t think those things had very good ventilation. And I remember the scratchy sound like amplified sandpaper that came on just before you heard the music.
As for the spiritual connotations, or even cultural significance of ‘Surfin’ Bird’ ... well, you got me there. I can say with the authority of primary experience that it’s a good song to shake your ass to—and that can be spiritual, I guess…
As for Jaan Pannechaan Ho (Sp.?) Wow! The choreography! The masks! The exultant ass-shaking! Practically a religious experience! I think the band Outkast may have got their inspiration for ‘Hey-Yaa’ (Shake it like a polaroid picture…) from this piece. Also, no matter how hard Austin Powers tried, he could not equal this level of camp.
It just goes to show that there is as much variety in entertainment as there is in religion. There are usually fewer fatalities with dancing, though.
Sometimes, this forum gets so heavy. It’s nice to take a little break and watch and listen to videos of goofy songs. Hi Bruce and Sander. Thanks for the diversion. In the first video, of the old vinyl ‘45 of ‘Surfin’ Bird’ I got such a blast of nostalgia, because when I was little we had that exact record player. I remeber the smell of it. It smelled like slightly overheated electronic components. I don’t think those things had very good ventilation. And I remember the scratchy sound like amplified sandpaper that came on just before you heard the music.
As for the spiritual connotations, or even cultural significance of ‘Surfin’ Bird’ ... well, you got me there. I can say with the authority of primary experience that it’s a good song to shake your ass to—and that can be spiritual, I guess…
As for Jaan Pannechaan Ho (Sp.?) Wow! The choreography! The masks! The exultant ass-shaking! Practically a religious experience! I think the band Outkast may have got their inspiration for ‘Hey-Yaa’ (Shake it like a polaroid picture…) from this piece. Also, no matter how hard Austin Powers tried, he could not equal this level of camp.
It just goes to show that there is as much variety in entertainment as there is in religion. There are usually fewer fatalities with dancing, though.
So good to see you posting again, she-who-barks-magnificently.
I don’t know, infidel. Although my mind and my words wander freely over the internet, my “pants” as it were, belong to the mightiest hunter in the village, to whom I have been married… hold on, let me count… ‘86…‘06… coming up on 22 years now. So, alas for Sander, my pants are not available. I expect that a man of his intelligence and sincerity shouldn’t have too much trouble finding eligible pants to slip into. Although… on this forum… it just doesn’t seem like a cruisin’ for chicks kind of place. But it does offer its entertainments.
And thank you, Sander. It’s nice to back. In all honesty, this forum gets a little beyond me sometimes. I’m still nursing the headache that I got reading through all that panpsychism shi.. uh, stuff. (I think Salt Creek has it pretty well taken care of…
Didn’t intend for it to make any indirect or direct implications about you and your pants…which I’m sure you look lovely in… oh shee-yit, I’m diggin’ a hole… maybe it’s time to nix the “be like a bonobo” sig…
Same goes for you EDR; if you want an answer to your opening question, the supernatural may be highly unlikely, since our universe is being discovered to be a vast, empty wasteland of suboptimal design, and it’s a fluke that there are any planets capable of supporting intelligent life—not to mention that our universe is expanding at an increased rate of acceleration—our entire universe will eventually die a heat death in the distant future. Our big, empty, mortal universe is out of synch with every religious cosmology I have heard of, but is that enough to prove there is no designer, to the people who want to believe in one?
Thank you for the additional info on oxytocin… I love to learn and that really perked me after the earlier agruments.
The honest response from me on the above quote is this:
I’m not looking to change anyones mind in any way. To prove any god’s existence in many ways is a sort of ‘futile’ effort. But that’s the beauty of Theological/Philosophical reasoning. It’s a lateral thinking prosses based on one’s own expiriences and beliefs. Faith in gods and religion is a very good thing when not taken to the extremes. This is a problem which many on all sides seem to point out, for various reasons and in various contexts. I’m afraid it’s a war that may never end.
Whether gods exist is not really what I’m trying to get to. It’s when things get taken out of the context which they were written that bugs me. It can be said that the rising of the sun is personal proof of any god. I actually like this perspective, it’s honest and shows an admiration for the world we live in. A man by the name of Carl Segan actually said many such things in the context of ‘the beauty and complexity of the scientific universe’. This man was an athiest, but he had a respect and love of all things in the universe, equal to that of any christian, cotholic, muslum, ect… But he never took anything out of context, he never accused religous people of being wrong in thier beliefs, and he only presented proven facts. If it wasn’t proven he put it in the context of “scientists believe” or “we think”. Taking scientific facts out of context is soiling the reputations of men and women like this. People that work hard and long to find the truth in the world we live. That’s wrong in my opinion.
Salt Creek—If you’re willing to send me a large bottle of Tylenol, I’m willing to jump back into that thread… ‘til then, I’m perfectly content discussing ‘Surfin’ Bird’ and cruisin’ for atheist beefcake… (just kidding, guys…)
Infidel—I’m not offended by the remark you made. Apologies accepted. And I did, at one time, make a most enticing figure in my pants… but I’m a little older now, and after four kids… well… now my pants have elastic stretchy waists if you know what I mean. My ass is no longer beautiful, and my hair is getting grey… but my heart is full of love.
And although I cannot invite any of you charming forum studs into my pants, I do welcome you into my heart. I know that seems like a corny and ridiculous thing to say, but I mean it. I like you guys.
Although… on this forum… it just doesn’t seem like a cruisin’ for chicks kind of place. But it does offer its entertainments. 
