[Music] Knowledge you've acquired through songs or band names.

[marlowe]

From the Deep Purple song "Smoke on the Water" I learnt about the fire which burned down the Montreaux Casino in Switzerland in 1971.

I also learned that the fire was started by some stupid with a flare gun.

Another thing I learned from the song was that Frank Zappa and the Mother's of Invention were playing there when the fire broke out.

From a geography perspective I learnt that Montreaux is on the Lake Geneva shoreline, a fact I would probably still be completely ignorant of had I not heard that song.....

 

[Is it PotG?]

I am now fully aware that if you go down to the woods today, you're sure of a big surprise.

 

[maffew]

Thanks to The Jam I learned how to spell Apocalypse.

Thanks to you I have learned to spell Apocalypse now

 

[Comrade Sam]

Wreckless Eric taught me the entire story of 1960s record producer Joe Meek

 

[Comrade Sam]

Billy Bragg introduced me to the Diggers and Gerard Winstanly.

 

[METALMICKY]

I am now fully aware that if you go down to the woods today, you're sure of a big surprise.

Now if only Timothy Treadwell had taken notice of that!

 

[marlowe]

I have just learned this right now - from reading your post

Thats a testament to the educational power of the fusion of song and football forums....
And if you read my reply (post #21) you'll learn even more about it.

 

[Reagulls]

listening to the lyrics " Click, click, click, click, click, click himself under" I did some googling about the "Kevin Carter" track by the Manic Street Preachers. it was sad reading.

 

[Barnet Seagull]

There's so many but I'll give you two.
The Manic Street Preachers opened my eyes to a lot of stuff, consumerism, philosophy, politics, equality, really just loads of stuff as a 15 year old.
Luke Haines similarly on Art and culture.

 

[HalfaSeatOn]

Sandinista by The Clash. Latin American politics and realities of US foreign policy

 

[marlowe]

The band name Joy Division made me aware of the brothels set up in the nazi concentration camps where the female prisoners were forced into prostitution and sexual slavery...

German camp brothels in World War II - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

 

[Pogue Mahone]

I remember learning about this massive miscarriage of justice from the first song on UB40’s first LP.

Who Is Gary Tyler? - The Inspiration for 1980 UB40 Song 'Tyler' Remains Imprisoned For A Crime He Didn't Commit

The story of what happened to Gary Tyler nearly 37 years ago remains an ongoing American tragedy of epic proportions and a perversion of th...

marcoonthebass.blogspot.com

 

[stewart12]

So what do you make of the lyrics? I always assumed it was about a man and a woman trying to understand each other.

Wonder if they're thinking of Cloudbursting?

 

[AIT76]

The band name Joy Division made me aware of the brothels set up in the nazi concentration camps where the female prisoners were forced into prostitution and sexual slavery...

German camp brothels in World War II - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

Ian Curtis and Bernard Sumner were interested in WW2 history and both had read 'House Of Dolls' where they saw the name.

The lyrics to Warsaw mention '31G' and '350125', which was the pow number assigned to Rudolf Hess upon his capture.

 

[Happy Exile]

Quite a few UK rappers use references that I have to look up. A genre it's easy to dismiss but is full of articulate, smart people with enviable language and wordplay skills.

I went down a rabbit hole learning about Christian Rosenkreuz, Rudolf Steiner, Paracelsus and German renaissance philosophy after listening to a Chester P song.

Jehst had me reading up about Charles Bukowski.

There've been many other examples too.

 

[Grassman]

Thanks to you I have learned to spell Apocalypse now

But can you pronounce it? I had a work colleague once who came in one day and said: “Anyone see that great film last night? Apocalypse Now?” We all laughed as he had managed to pronounce it: ‘ App Ho Calip Cee’!
indeed that’s what I call it to this day.

 

[Herr Tubthumper]

Good thread this, I'm listening to Bob Dylan's Desire album.....a great long player.

 

[AIT76]

Spandau Ballet was the name given to the jerky death throes of the prisoners that were hung at Spandau Jail.

 

[dolphins]

10cc.

 

[Is it PotG?]

Curiosity did indeed Kill the Cat.