Speaker 1: This is David Byrne and this is Skyle Hoffman from
a film by podcast, and you are.
Speaker 2: Listening to the Surely You Can't Be Serious Podcast. Hello everybody,
and welcome back to the Surely you Can't Be Serious
Podcast Special Edition five Minutes of Fire. We are here
talking about the lyrics of We Didn't Start the Fire
by Billy Joel. We're covering only five minutes at a time,
which is about to link for the song, so it
works out kind of nicely. So please join us as
we dive into some new lyrics today.
Speaker 1: All right, guys, so here are the topics that we're
going to be covering today.
Speaker 2: Kennedy, Chubby Checker, Psycho.
Speaker 1: Belgians in the congo. Okay, tell me about Kennedy. Who's
this guy?
Speaker 3: Okay?
Speaker 2: His name was John, people call him Jack Okay. Kennedy
was born to a prominent family in Brookline, Massachusetts. He
graduated from Harvard Uni University in nineteen forty joined the
US Naval Reserve the following year. During World War II,
his survival following the sinking of PT. Oneh nine and
his rescue of his fellow sailors made him a war
hero earned him the Navy and Marine Corps Medal, but
left him with serious lifelong injuries. He was briefly a journalist,
and then he was elected to the US House of
Representatives from nineteen forty seven to nineteen fifty three. After that,
he was elected to the US Senate and served as
the junior Senator from Massachusetts from nineteen fifty three to
nineteen sixty. While he was in the Senate, he published
his book called Profiles in Courage, which won a Pulitzer Prize,
and then in nineteen sixty he ran for president. This
was the first time in US history that the debates
between presidential candidates were televised. Kennedy was young, handsome, and
well groomed. The what all believed to be heir apparent,
Richard Nixon, who had been the vice president under Dwight Diahower,
was unshaven and didn't do anything to make himself look better.
And it's not the most good looking guy to begin with,
and it was probably that that turned the tide for Kennedy.
He was ultimately elected president in nineteen sixty and lived
happily ever after.
Speaker 1: I have a feeling we'll get to the rest of
the story here in a verse or two.
Speaker 2: I feel so yes, all right, Chubby check Okay.
Speaker 1: Chubby Checker was born Ernest Evans in nineteen forty one
in Spring Gully, South Carolina, but he actually grew up
in Philadelphia. Sang on a street corner quartet. He entertained
his classmates by imitating other performers like Jerry Lee, Lewis, Elvis,
and Fats Domino. I kind of feel like this is
an early version of weird ow. He recorded a novelty
song as a music school teacher with an unruly class
of musical performers. The song allowed him to imitate Elvis,
The Coasters, Cozy Cole, and your favorite the Chipbunks. Based
on the success of the class, he signed a record deal,
and then in nineteen sixty he introduced the song The Twist,
Come On Maybe. The song hit number one in nineteen
sixty and then again in nineteen sixty one. It became
a signature song. The Twist also hit number sixteen again
in nineteen eighty eight with a version with The Fat Boys.
Speaker 2: I remember that very well, and.
Speaker 1: He's been doing other stuff. Other songs include The Fly Dance,
The Mess Around, Pony Time. He actually hit number one
in two thousand and eight with a Billboard Dance chart
song called Knock Down the Walls. Okay, do tell me
about Psycho.
Speaker 2: He Okay, guys, if you want to hear the full
story on Psycho, you need to go check out the
episode that we did with the thirty something movie Guys,
where we covered Psycho. Silence of the Lambs and m
Psycho was a thriller movie directed by famed Alfred Hitchcock
used his TV film crew to film this movie because
the studios weren't interested in doing it. The book had
just come out a little bit before and was based
somewhat on the life of ed Geen, notorious murderer. It
involves Janetlee, who steals some money from work, leaves town,
gets a room at the Bates Motel. Shy man named
Norman Bates runs the hotel and ultimately gently is murdered.
The most memorable scene is when the character is stabbed
death while taking a shower. By the end, you realize
that the murderer is mister Norman Bates himself dressed up
as his own mother, and he is the Psycho. All right,
tell me about Belgians and the congo.
Speaker 1: Okay, this is really hard to keep this tight. There's
so much going on in this one.
Speaker 2: Yeah, okay.
Speaker 1: The Belgian Congo is a country that had diamonds and uranium.
So in nineteen fifty nine, rioting broke out because they
wanted independence from Belgium. So on July fourteenth, nineteen sixty
in Africa, the Belgian Congo received its independence in what
we'd later be called Zaire. It became known as the
Republic of the Congo. But they really had no plan
for its independence. So when Belgium turned it over to
the Congolese people, the Belgians didn't really leave and they
stayed in charge of the army. Well, guess what. All
the African officers rejected that idea and there was a
mutiny against their white officer superiors. It devolved into mass chaos.
The UN actually had to get involved. They send in
you in troops. You had factions breaking off in different
areas fighting each other. It was mass chaos. Luckily the
US was there to put in a dictator by the CIA.
Terrible situation.
Speaker 2: I really feel like Stuart Copeland's dad is involved somehow
in this thing.
Speaker 4: He might be right.
Speaker 2: One hundred thousand deaths and absolute Bloodbath. Okay, guys, that
does it for today's episode. Join us next time for
five minutes of fire.
Speaker 4: Hey, check it out. There's a brand new podcast on
the way exploring the discographies of the Beatles and the
Beach Boys.
Speaker 3: It's called Apples and Oranges and Lodges. On February seventh, we.
Speaker 4: Will be matching albums against each other in a one
v one format, discussing every single track and then giving
our verdict on which album is better.
Speaker 3: Sounds versus Revolve, Sergeant Pepper versus Smile.
Speaker 4: Wouldn't it be nice if most people knew how well
the Beach Boys actually held up against the Fab Four.
Speaker 3: Both bands inspired each other to keep pushing the boundaries
of what was possible in pop music here, there, and everywhere, and.
Speaker 4: What we got were some of the greatest albums of
all time.
Speaker 3: Awesommer Long versus A Hard Day's Night, Rivers So versus
the Beach Boys Today.
Speaker 4: So let's come together for some fun, fun fun and
help me Ronda get this podcast off the ground, and
we'll sure appreciate you being around on February seventh, wherever
you find your podcast
Speaker 3: That's Apples and Argies February seven,