Tracks That Reference Hi-Fi

[The Grand Wazoo]

Ooh-Ooh there's more!

The Clash - 'What's My Name'

Dad got pissed so I got clocked
Couldn't hear the Tannoy so he lost the lot
Offers Mum a bribe through the letter box

Del Amitri - 'Nothing Ever Happens'

Nothing ever happens, nothing happens at all
The needle returns to the start of the song
And we all sing along like before
And we'll all be lonely tonight and lonely tomorrow

Robert Johnson had it cracked though, way back in 1936

'Phonograph Blues'

Beatrice got a phonograph, and it won't say a lonesome word
Beatrice got a phonograph, and it won't say a lonesome word
What evil have I done, what evil has the poor girl heard
Beatrice, I love my phonograph, but you broke my windin' chain
Beatrice, I love my phonograph, but you have broke my windin' chain
And you taken my lovin', and you give it to your other man
And we played it on the sofa, and we played it side the wall
And we played it on the sofa, and we played it side the wall
But boys, my needles have got rusty, and it will not play at all
Beatrice, I love my phonograph mmm, babe and I'm bound to lose my mind
Beatrice, I love my phonograph, and I'm 'bout to lose my mind
Why'n't you bring your clothes back home, baby, and try me one more time
Now my phonograph, mmm, babe, it won't say a lonesome word
My little phonograph, and it won't say a lonesome word
What evil I have done, what evil have the poor girl heard
Now Beatrice, won't you bring your clothes back home
Now Beatrice, won't you bring your clothes back home
I wanna wind your little phonograph, just to hear your little motor moan

[Ali Tait]

"Mechanical Means" by Tantra Remixed.

Opening line -

" This sound is not brought to you via mechanical means, instead, it originates as a stream of electrons in a vacuum tube"

Quite apt if you're using a glass amp.

[The Grand Wazoo]

Have we made a complete system yet?
Not quite - we need some cabling:

Athlete - 'Wires'

You got wires, going in
You got wires, coming out....

[Alex_UK]

I see what you did there!

[electric beach]

Georgie Fame - Vinyl

The lyrics are too good, hear for yourself. It's a tribute to Georgie's local record shop, Ray's, when it closed despite his public support.

[DSJR]

Blue Nile -

The wires are down
The wires are down
Nothing works here any more...

10CC - "The Worst band In The World"

Here we are together on your HiFi
A little piece of plastic with a hole - Woah!
FADE ME
Fade me
Fade me

[Macca]

'Turn that jungle music down/ just until we're out of town'

Steely Dan - 'Babylon Sisters'

And jungle music hadn't even been invented in 1979 showing just how far ahead of the curve the Dan were.

'Put another dime in the jukebox, baby'

Joan Jett and the Blackhearts.

[DSJR]

What was that Flanders & Swann song about the HiFi enthusiast ("Push-pull input output........ What are you left with? FLUTTER ON YOUR BOTTOM!). Can't remember the rest of it.


Got it -

Flanders: This is a song of reproduction.

Both: I had a little gramophone,
I'd wind it round and round.
And with a sharpish needle,
It made a cheerful sound.

And then they amplified it,
It was much louder then.
And used sharpened fibre needles,
To make it soft again.

Today for reproduction,
I'm as eager as can be.
Count me among the faithful fans,
Of high fidelity.

High fidelity,
Hi-Fi's the thing for me.
With an LP disk and an FM set,
And a corner reflex cabinet.

High frequency range,
Complete with auto-change.
Flanders: All the highest notes neither sharp nor flat,
Swann: The ear can't hear as high as that.
Flanders: Still, I ought to please any passing bat,
Swann: With my high fidelity.

Flanders: Who made this circuit up for you, anyway? Bought it in a shop? Oooh, what a horrible shoddy job they fobbed you off with with.
Surprised they let you have it in this room anyway, the acoustics are all wrong. If you raise the ceiling four feet... put the fireplace from that wall to that wall... you'll still only get the stereophonic effect if you sit in the bottom of that cupboard.
I see... I see you've got your negative feedback coupled in with your push-pull-input-output. Take that across through your redded pickup to your tweeter, if you're modding more than eight, you're going to get wow on your top. Try to bring that down through your pre-amp rumble filter to your woofer, what'll you get? Flutter on your bottom!

Both: High fidelity,
Flanders: FFRR for me.
Both: I've an opera here that you shan't escape,
On miles and miles of recording tape.

High decimal gain,
Is easy to obtain.
Flanders: With the tone control at a single touch,
Swann: Bel canto sounds like double Dutch.
Both: But I never did care for music much,
It's the high fidelity!


Flanders: This is perhaps a good moment to explain that we don't normally have these things standing around here, but tonight they are recording this - stereophonically, in fact - for posterity. So wherever you're sitting now, that's where you'll be on the record.
Sit up nice and straight. Any of you feel like rolling in the aisles or being carried out helpless with mirth, this is a jolly good night to do it! Do you want to say hello to posterity?
Swann: Hello!
Flanders: Hello, Posterity! If we sort of move around a bit, they'll use it for demonstration purposes.

[The Grand Wazoo]

It was called 'A Song of Reproduction'

[Macca]

'Hi -Fidelity'

The Kids from Fame. I don't recall the lyrics except that they said 'Hi Fidelity' a lot.