National Lampoon - Deteriorata

[@SlapthePissouttayew]

I want this played over and over at my funeral.

[@toughenupfluffy7294]

Which one?

[@jtdavis62]

This and "Squelch the Weasel" by Ween

[@SlapthePissouttayew]

@Adcox Robert You have no right to be here.

[@jo-annfat-bricks2471]

My Funeral Song... Montell Jordan -"This is How We Do It"

[@nbuehster]

I think it should be a commencement speech for a graduation

[@haroldfridkis3536]

This record actually made the Billboard Hot 100. It peaked at #91 the week of November 4,1972.

[@underthebluetakemein.]

You have too much free time ....

[@biggtrux]

@@underthebluetakemein. And your smoothbrainedpower is on full display.

[@timothycarrington9884]

“Give up.” A message we shall send to our enemies.

[@helmuttdvm]

National Lampoon, Firesign Theater, and Monty Python gave us many laughs - always appreciated!

[@vonnscottbair]

Good Evening: This song gets even better when you've already had a few...

[@tullcat]

My favorite song from the old Dr. Demento days.

[@tombolo4120]

Yes, mine was 'I'm looking over my dead dog Rover' fwiw 😄

[@floydffrogfloydffrog7453]

Michael O'Donoghue was a driving force behind The National Lampoon Radio Hour. Each half hour episode was packed with amazing sketches delivered with surprisingly high production values by the many talented people working for Natlamp at the time. He was brilliant and extremely hard to work with but gave the show a feel that set it apart from anything before or since. There are several well known individuals that made The National Lampoon what it was at its height but I've always felt that O'Donoghue's part in it all is grossly underappreciated.

[@skovner]

One of the more intelligent writers on SNL back when it was funny.

[@TheBabashee]

As truthful today as it was in 1972. Some listeners today might not understand “fold, spindle, or mutilate”!

[@willong1000]

You're right!

[@jenniferfelan694]

The woman singing the lead vocals on the choruses and playing the piano is Melissa Manchester. This is long before she came out with "Midnight Blue".

[@loop66]

nice tidbit o' trivia! I did not know that. thx!

[@jenniferfelan694]

loop66 You are so welcome

[@jenniferfelan694]

***** She was a singer-songwriter from the 1970's who got her start singing with Bette Midler's backup vocal group The Harlettes long before she became a huge success with the song "Midnight Blue". Her most popular song was "Don't Cry Out Loud" and the theme from "Ice Castles", "Through The Eyes Of Love".

[@Spameggssausage]

too bad none of those songs is as much fun to listen to as this

[@petercelle1796]

Cool to know.

[@mrwashy2259]

When I was a youth and this was first released, I decided to make it the philosophy of my life. Never looked back and I'm happier and healthier than most of the serious people I grew up with. In fact, I've outlived most of them.

[@toughenupfluffy7294]

Man, aren't YOU something? (JK, Bro. I'm just jealous that you could make this into your life's philosophy. And I'm on a KZbin posting roll.) :0)

[@mrwashy2259]

@@rgm2020 LOL No sense digging up people for that 🤣

[@SlapthePissouttayew]

Yeah, I gave up years ago. AND I surrendered the things of youth, birds, clear air, tuna, Taiwan.

[@mrwashy2259]

@@SlapthePissouttayew Fall not in love, for it may stick to your face.

[@chrisirregardless]

I, too, try to fold, spindle, and mutil@te as much as possible.

[@lawrenceharrington3180]

What funny about this song... Is that it is still relevant today...

[@cascade5682]

Funny that you say.

[@HowardKranz]

I love Desiderata, and I also love this. That's the kind of person I am.

[@nilsniemeier5345]

"Surrender the things of youth: birds, clean air, tuna, Taiwan" hits a little more strongly considering the current situation in the South China Sea....

[@barnun4ju285]

Still one of the funniest and twisted songs... timeless

[@edwardolander4361]

I just heard the original version on the radio and had to listen to this version

[@horrorationeilsen7332]

Big future in comp. maint....they sure got that 1 right!!!

[@rmar67]

"Rest assured that a walk through the ocean of most souls would scarcely get your feet wet." Ain't that the truth.

[@harrystewart7498]

Make that "most souls" instead of "most people's" :-)

[@rmar67]

@@harrystewart7498 Oops. Fixed

[@Hillers62]

At 1:33 ...This is prophetic...Today, computer maintenance technicians earn thousands of dollars a year...

[@waynejackson3162]

Rest in Peace, P.J. O'Rouurke, former writer for National Lampoon, November, 1947-February 15, 2022 (he may, or may not have wrote this skit, but it resembles his style.)

[@waynejackson3162]

@@toughenupfluffy7294 Yes, I know you might not understand, but I have read everything that P.J. O'Rourke, has written, especially doing his time, when he wrote for National Lampoon, and I respected him in life, and death.

[@DanaTheInsane]

Holy shit! I didn’t even know he died…

[@earthlingjohn]

@@DanaTheInsane Fewer still knew he ever existed

[@willong1000]

@@earthlingjohn Seems appropriate given the lyrics of "Deteriorata" methinks.

[@GlamRockCowboy]

Narrated by the late actor Norman Rose. I can't help thinking that it must have been difficult for him to record this piece without bursting out laughing. If he didn't laugh while he was making the recording, he surely must have done so afterwards!

[@jillheise4392]

With Melissa Manchester doing the backup singing-that she was able to keep a straight face is also amazing.

[@toughenupfluffy7294]

Norman was the voice of Juan Valdez: "For thee coffee trees of Hoo-Wan Bal-dezz, it was thee best climate in dee WURRLD."

[@fromthesidelines]

Promoting Colombian coffee.

[@jackrose7272]

I'm sure he laughed before recording it, and after. His voice is compressed in this post and presents as higher than his actual voice which was lower. He was my Dad. Miss him like mad.

[@blue5d09]

Thank you for posting this apolitical version of this timeless classic. A hundred thumbs up!

[@SlapthePissouttayew]

Seconded late, but 100% agree!

[@josephinecarcia4576]

This song came from National Lampoon's "Radio Dinner"...great send up of the original Desiderata...

[@347walnut]

In the early 70s, I heard this on Dr. Demento. I had to go out and buy the National Lampoon record; I still have the LP, which is a classic.

[@scotpens]

Dr. Demento (real name Barry Hansen) is still alive at age 81.

[@grandpalizardhogge9501]

Loved this song and the Good Dr. D. Funny how I can find this song but not the chart hit it lampooned. Think it was called "Desiriata" or something like that.

[@shawneaton4029]

Remember National Lampoons Radio Hour on Friday nights & Doctor Demento on Sundays ...ahhh, the early/mid seventies...

[@minespatch]

"And reflect that whatever fortune may be your lot, It could only be worse in Milwaukee." Ooooooooooof, man, with today's news, that strangely is prophetic.

[@DIOTD2008]

Thank you for posting this. We need not more than the visual of the 45 and the actual song.

[@tombolo4120]

Right?

[@hermestrismegistus6421]

LOL! Brilliant satire! Thank you for sharing this gem

[@garyeasy7436]

Thank you. Damn I hate that visual pollution. I remember when we created pictures inside our own heads, rather than simply swallowing whatever tripe we are force fed. I blame MTV and commercial TV in general. Deteriorata, indeed!

[@loop66]

Yes!!

[@jondoe8889]

MTV ruined the music of its era. Or tried to. And music videos, too. Any clever idiot with a camera and a computer suddenly thought they were a genius. Look at how poorly those videos have aged! Where were the professionals??? Oh - they didn't need them. 'We're so hip, we can make them ourselves!' I watched Stacy's Mom last week. Excellent video (and song), that will always work. ('Stacy' is now 26 and a professional artist. Paint, clay, drawing. And like Alicia Silverstone, who hates to be referred to as 'the Aerosmith girl', even tho she made that video equally good - 'Stacy' never likes it mentioned).

[@thehenroach3]

With all it's hopes, dreams, promises, and urban renewal, the world continues to deteriorate! Give up! lol

[@emmanuelakpabio9100]

Now I know why people worship trump

[@Neville60001]

@@jondoe8889, MTV and music video _didn't_ 'ruin' a fucking thing-people like you want to be trapped in the past, and expect that shows like _Midnight Special, Rock Concert, Soul Train, Old Grey Whistle Test, In Concert, The Blue Jean Network_ , etc would stay on TV forever. Well, guess what, you whiny snowflake/creampuff/buttercup, things change, rockers and other popular artists wanted a different way to express themselves and promote their songs, and so the music video (which _wasn't_ new; the concept dates back to the musical short films of the '20's, '30's, and '40's and was a part of the Scoptitone concept of the '50's and '60's and was also used as the 'promotional film' for a few '60's artists/groups ) came into being, and is still here you've had ample time to get to know it and accept it, why complain about it now like some old crankypants out of a nursing home?

[@scottburton9701]

Fabulous parody of the well known "Desiderata" which had been a top ten hit for talk show host Les Crane a year earlier.

[@thrashmetaljay666]

I didn’t know this was a parody until I heard the original on an episode of Mr In Between.

[@l.salisbury1253]

Just heard Les Crane's original for the first time ever...!

[@btruj2507]

"Ask for Ken" 🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@jackofwits]

I believe Paul Shaffer produced all the music on Radio Dinner including the John Lennon song “Magical Misery Tour (Genius is Pain), and “Pull the Tregros” by Joan Baez. I believe all the songs sung by women are sung by Melissa Manchester, who also plays Yoko Ono on the John Lennon song .

[@davidshanen4113]

No, this pre-dates Paul Shaffer's acquaintance with C. Guest. I once asked Tony Hendra.a lot of questions about this album, including how to get all the words to Magical Misery Tour, many of which were hard to make out because of his weird enunciation. This was about 25 years ago. (He said they were hoping to make it available in this new medium called the Internet. They did.)

[@mturynP]

I recalk that the Joan Baez parody was sung by someone else, an artist who claimed to have lost business because people thought her normal voice was a Baez imitation.

[@jlcapaz]

One of the best NOTES section i will ever read. Thank you for your service!!!

[@loop66]

Thank you, sir.

[@toughenupfluffy7294]

Melissa Manchester!

[@bbarlingsinging287]

My parents bought me a comedy album with this song on it in the late 70s. I didn’t know it was a parody. I loved it. Later in life I found out about the poem and the song, my god National Lampoon’s did a great job. Yeah, it is dated now, calling people lemons and turkeys. But some of those lines still crack me up when I hear them. …take comfort knowing that your dog is getting enough cheese. F’Yah. Two wrongs never make a right, but that the three, do. Cosmic Muffin, reminds me of the Flying Spaghetti Monster. Give Up.

[@TheBabashee]

I heard this before I ever heard the recording it parodies. It’s way better, and more truthful!

[@thecinema4pylon808]

Most people are still jive turkeys...

[@jackbeast33]

glad i found this version, the videos out there were completely distracting.

[@LydellFisk]

It's now 2021. Has Milwaukee DEMANDED an apology, per instructions in our current script?

[@mmmk1616]

I liked one of the videos out there, but this is much better, no contest. Thanks for posting :)

[@milanalexich2116]

RIP Tony Hendra.

[@HMinot]

The voice of Norman Rose.

[@dougdillnerph.d.4684]

Damn fine advice.

[@jmjones7897]

Truth

[@LakeviewGreg]

Ask for Ken!

[@ColonelMarcellus]

What was on Side B ???

[@NotAnAngryLesbian]

I died in a sailing accident in 2013. I suffered a NDE. This song is exactly correct.

[@imaginosdesdinova1130]

Your Reaper must have found you worthy of a second chance when they reviewed your cinematic record.

[@jmjones7897]

Truest and most comforting verse in tbe history of received world wisdom You are a Fluke of the Universe You have no right to be here

[@majinjones4565]

I would love to hear John DeLancie read this as Q.

[@DanaTheInsane]

I’d listen.

[@mglsite]

Much truer than the original

[@johnroberts2620]

For years i thought the narrator was ben cartwright.😄😄😄

[@SlapthePissouttayew]

lol--nice!

[@benstonhill3597]

Thank You William Cooper

[@MrsOliva]

Музыка эта звучанием своим хорошо подойдёт для нового фильма Дэвида Линча.

[@weswolever7477]

This and the fuck that meditation help get me through the day

[@bbarlingsinging287]

fuck the meditation? What is that?

[@weswolever7477]

@@bbarlingsinging287 Look up “fuck that, an honest mediation ” by Jason Headly

[@nbuehster]

Every time I listen to this, I think it would be the most awkward commencement speech for a graduation. Also, was this what inspired Queen's hit, Bohemian Rhapsody?

[@snapfinger1]

Remember the Pueblo. Rotate your tires.

[@ChicagoAstronomer]

Yay...in 2021...y dog is finally gettin' enough cheese......!

[@ColonelMarcellus]

So what about Flash Bazbo, Space Explorer?

[@weswolever7477]

MarcellusTheGreen And lord overshoulder boulderholder’s band of suicide suppositories?

[@aemelnick]

Is this at the right speed? It sounds sped up.

[@fromthesidelines]

Yes. The timing is supposed to be 4:25.

[@ronaldpetrin5823]

the original I have was said to be posted on st pauls church in 1692. it is a timeless piece of advice. then listen to spoof. it is even funnier after reading the original prose. not sure if im repeating what was commented on. FYI lol.

[@loop66]

it's true... funnier when you hear/see the orig. My step-mom had a decoupage plaque (so popular in the '70's) on the wall of the bathroom of the orig. poem. I'd read it all the time.... then I heard this version, and I'd laugh and laugh...

[@antoniod]

Turned out it was written in the 30s, not 1692!

[@petercelle1796]

Thank you for that. I will look that up. Again, cool.

[@scotpens]

@@antoniod The original "Desiderata" was actually written in the 1920s by one Max Ehrmann.

[@bbarlingsinging287]

@@antoniod I thought the 1920s.

[@biggtrux]

Remember the Pueblo.

[@PEARTIAN]

Is that frank dreben?

[@37Dionysos]

Hire people with hooks.

[@skovner]

But if you need help, don't bother calling the FBI

[@skovner]

I know my dogs aren't getting enough cheese, and the Chinese want us to let go of Taiwan. Still timeless

[@richardnotman787]

Hilarious!

[@raymccrea]

This is a take-off of the Les Crane reading of "Desiderata". I remember hearing both of these in the 70's, and love them both. kzbin.info/www/bejne/aKqxe5SBe56mjqM

[@OxBigly2010]

I always thought this was Leslie Neilson

[@webbsweb53]

Melissa Manchester's first album

[@raymarsh4620]

I can understand why I have never heard this song before. It is really nasty.

[@MrStephenRGilman]

Is that Ken Nordine?

[@loop66]

Sounds a little like him but.... (wiki) "Voiceover talent Norman Rose read the "poem"... and Melissa Manchester sang the chorus section of the song. Christopher Guest wrote the music."

[@fromthesidelines]

NORMAN ROSE.

[@briandas1]

Thank you for the lack of video, that said your fucking profanity steps on your message

[@loop66]

Unlike the kids today, I only use profanity when deemed absolutely necessary. I felt my comments warranted expletives. There are those that find cussing to be a crutch and overused, or maybe they have delicate ears and the words hurt them. I disagree and think cussing has its place.

[@napoleonsolo5929]

Fuck that shit.

[@spikespa5208]

@@loop66 When used rarely, for effect. Otherwise, it's just lack of imagination.

[@zeddtheguru2882]

I hear you brah, thanks for uploading this. I, too, just wanted to hear this piece again without all of the oh-so-clever (A HAHAHA) "satire".

[@UncleFeztersFlowers]

Abso-fucking-lutely. THANK YOU.

[@nbuehster]

Hey!! Don't diss the city I was born in!!!☹

[@rjcrjc4853]

.

[@musicalcomedyvault]

Me: BRO Pass The Aux My Friends: Ok but don't put on any trash music Me:

[@brianfrost2695]

The opening is a straight up rip off of Getting In Tune by The Who.

[@flipflopsguy8868]

7 Millennials took this Record, PERSONALLY. I never forgot you Ken ! ☺

[@Ken-cc5hr]

50 years since I heard this song. Contemplating life the words "the universe is laughing behind your back" came to mind and I had to listen to it again. This song should be played every time Joe Biden deplanes.

[@apollion888]

I was too young to get the "Remember the Pueblo" line and now almost no one remembers it. It was the lie that got the U.S. into the Vietnam War. [edit - no it wasn't, see replies] Great novelty song, one of the best.

[@dennislodermeier1741]

you're thinking of the "Gulf of Tonkin Incident" from 08/02/1964. The "Pueblo Incident" involved North Korea capturing a US Navy spy boat on 01/23/1968

[@apollion888]

@@dennislodermeier1741 thanks dude :-)

[@jona.874]

@@dennislodermeier1741 The US had "been in Vietnam" since before 1960... it was just that our "Military Advisory Group" (which were supposed to not get in combat but which did on a regular basis) was expanded to a full openly-admitted military presence after Tonkin.

[@jmjones7897]

@@dennislodermeier1741 yessir + thank you. Also that no troops till 64-65 thing was total bullshit. Father in Law was Lt Jr Grade/ Third Officer on USS Pueblo FC 'Skip' Schumacher. Good Man. My Old Man/ Pops was in IndoC under Kennedy; trained + fought w/ Montagnards+ run teams RF/ PF Never said shit about it till I come back home for permission to enlist as a Minor/ only son. "Dumbass. You Volunteered. Why do you think I told you NEVER VOLUNTEER...." 78 yrs old now + he's still carrying around metal from 'advising' Silly Lil 45 is straight up Truth

[@jmjones7897]

@@jona.874 Thank you brother. Old Man was one of those guys 61-64. Basically what became( latter days) 18 Series/UW Weapons Sgt Shit show from the git- go according to Pops the one + only time I ever asked. No reason to doubt him; No disrespect intended

[@genki2genki]

Definitely a Woody Allen influence. Therefore, a Groucho influence .