Soundscape #59: I Swear Upon My Life
October 26th, 2007I’m pretty sure that when I die, there will be plenty of references to my potty mouth in my epitaph. I swear like a sailor and in several languages and dialects too. My friend once commented that I would probably make sailors blush with the profanities that come out of my mouth on a regular basis. Walk into a pillar, “fuck”. Drop something on the floor, “scheiße”. Print out the wrong file, “bloody hell”. And that’s just the tame bits. Sometimes I worry for the time when I’m so angry that no profanity would adequately express it.
The other day, my boss wanted to bet that I wouldn’t last a day without uttering a swear word and I said, “bring it on.” So I spent the entire day biting my lips and tongue and keeping very very quiet just so that I wouldn’t accidentally let one rip. It was so difficult (I won, by the way… but just)! I got to thinking why it’s such a big deal. Isn’t it like a freedom of speech deal? Apparently, the word “fuck” has disputed origins but the earliest dates all the way back to 1278 from a name John le Fucker (good lord! Imagine your name is le Fucker). The word has been banned from print from the 19C and authors like Norman Mailer (The Naked and The Dead) had to substitute the word (fug for fuck) in their works.
I think it’s ridiculous that people can be offended by a single word. Whatever happened to the “sticks and stones may break my bones” mantra? It’s.just.a.fucking.word. I’m inclined to think that it’s people’s minds that are dirty, not the words.
Playlist:
1. (0:00) The Ladybug Transistor - Words Hang In The Air (Argyle Heir)
2. (2:13) Headphones - Shit Talker (Undertow)
3. (5:38) Stars - What I’m Trying To Say (Set Yourself On Fire)
4. (8:56) Pixies - Nimrod’s Son (Wave Of Mutilation)
5. (11:14) Pavement - In The Mouth A Desert (Slanted And Enchanted)
6. (15:03) The Arcade Fire - Black Wave - Bad Vibrations (Neon Bible)
7. (19:03) Badly Drawn Boy - Pissing In The Wind (The Hour Of Bewilderbeast)
8. (23:22) Beirut - The Penalty (The Flying Club Cup)
9. (25:45) Magnolia Electric Co - Talk To Me Devil, Again (Fading Trails)
10. (29:15) Godspeed You! Black Emperor - Motherfucker=Redeemer (Part Two) (Yanqui U.X.O)
October 26th, 2007 at 1:15 pm
You may be interested in “F**k - A Documentary”
Some of my favorite swearers are featured: Kevin Smith, Hunter S. Thompson and Bill Maher.
http://www.amazon.com/F-K-Documentary-Pat-Boone/dp/B000KB488Y