Fråga Inte Vem Klockan Ringer. Det Ringer För Dig.
By Mitch Berg
Mark Steyn on the twisted history, fractured English pop vernacular, and cheesy-yet-glorious music of ABBA.
5 Responses to “Fråga Inte Vem Klockan Ringer. Det Ringer För Dig.”
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August 2nd, 2018 at 9:43 am
Fun piece — Steyn is always a good read. Elvis Costello was quite forthright about his admiration for ABBA; he admitted he stole things from them all the time. Listen to the intro to Costello’s song “Oliver’s Army” and you’ll hear the same piano riff you get on “Dancing Queen.”
August 2nd, 2018 at 1:17 pm
Agree about Steyn. The pejorative “cheesy” put me off for a second, but on second thought, darn it if “cheesy-but-glorious” isn’t a really good description.
FWIW, Danish isn’t Swedish, but I think you’re missing a “för” just after the “inte”.
August 2nd, 2018 at 1:21 pm
… dang it, but Danish is close to Swedish and I think it would need a “for” in Danish, “spørg ikke for hvem klokken ringer, den ringer for dig”.
August 2nd, 2018 at 1:45 pm
Mark Steyn is a hoot, love him! I get a bang out or it whenever he’s a guest on a Fox News program. Hugely witty.
August 3rd, 2018 at 10:16 am
In 1977, my parents made the unwise decision to take out a 2nd mortgage on the house and spend the extra money on toys. One of the toys my dad bought was a nice new Pioneer receiver and cassette deck, and 2 monstrous Transcend Research (now out of business) speakers. The cabinets were about 3.5-4′ tall and had 2 12″ woofers. (Mom got a top of the line sewing machine.)
One of ABBA’s songs on their Greatest Hits collection was “The Way Old Friends Do”. After the first verse, they are joined by an orchestra and an incredible bass note accompaniment. I’m sure it’s electronic but it sounds just like a 32′ pedal stop on a pipe organ. Those speakers with their 12″ woofers and the 185 watts per channel coming out of the receiver, caused the entire house to vibrate. It was truly something to behold.
Tonight, I’m going to check out what my measly Yamaha receiver with 115 watts and $80 subwoofer can do with this song. I grew up listening to that album and Super Trouper over and over. Love ABBA.