Defend the Indefensible: "Bad to the Bone"

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OK, there's this thread already. But specifically "Bad to the Bone" - which they play on the radio every day for all the people out there who love to hear it. 'splain me the appeal of obnoxo-dude growling about how bad he is whilst proving it by playing the badass Slide! Guitar!

― Tim Ellison (Tim Ellison), Thursday, 22 September 2005 21:00 (twenty years ago)

BLUES HAMMER!

― PappaWheelie B.C., Thursday, 22 September 2005 21:02 (twenty years ago)

got me on this one.

― The Good Dr. Bill (The Good Dr. Bill), Thursday, 22 September 2005 21:06 (twenty years ago)

I don't like it.

― k/l (Ken L), Thursday, 22 September 2005 21:12 (twenty years ago)

nothing wrong with george thorogood. certainly better than of montreal or swa or some other ellisonesque craptastic stuff.

― hstencil (hstencil), Thursday, 22 September 2005 21:13 (twenty years ago)

whoa, pardner.

― Tim Ellison (Tim Ellison), Thursday, 22 September 2005 21:15 (twenty years ago)

do you hate zz top too, tim?

― hstencil (hstencil), Thursday, 22 September 2005 21:17 (twenty years ago)

NO I DO NOT

― Tim Ellison (Tim Ellison), Thursday, 22 September 2005 21:18 (twenty years ago)

i can't defend it.

― the happy smile patrol (Jody Beth Rosen), Thursday, 22 September 2005 21:21 (twenty years ago)

c'mon jody - have you no love for problem child? are we foresaking john ritter already?

― j blount (papa la bas), Thursday, 22 September 2005 21:23 (twenty years ago)

If you had said "One Bourbon, One Scotch, And One Beer" or something from the Delaware-in-the-band-name days, you might have had a fighting chance.

― k/l (Ken L), Thursday, 22 September 2005 21:24 (twenty years ago)

absolutely indefensible.

― el sabor de gene (yournullfame), Thursday, 22 September 2005 21:27 (twenty years ago)

The one thing I can say in its defense is that it sounds like they were half-kidding when they got started on it. Like it played well in the live show, especially in smaller places -- everyone's just drunk and like "haha, awesome, he's being bad, let's air guitar" -- and then things kinda snowballed from there. The moral we can take from this and subsequent crap-comedy movie trailers is that for a significant portion of the American public, that kinda "haha he's being bad" level is actually their normal approach to music.*

* This might not be entirely true, because if it were, Ween's "L.M.L.Y.P." would be a smash hit.

― nabisco (nabisco), Thursday, 22 September 2005 21:31 (twenty years ago)

Terminator 2: Arnold walking out of the redneck bar with the guy's clothes, boots, and motorcycle while this song is being played = CLASSIC!

― Mr. Snrub (Mr. Snrub), Thursday, 22 September 2005 21:32 (twenty years ago)

TS: Arnold posing to "Bad to the Bone" vs Arnold posing to "You Could Be Mine"

― Jordan (Jordan), Thursday, 22 September 2005 21:35 (twenty years ago)

c'mon jody - have you no love for problem child? are we foresaking john ritter already?

haha you're the one that talked smack about three's company on the other thread!

― the happy smile patrol (Jody Beth Rosen), Thursday, 22 September 2005 21:36 (twenty years ago)

It's g-g-g-g-g-good.

― There, I Defended It, Thursday, 22 September 2005 21:46 (twenty years ago)

i guess i shouldn't be surprised a bunch of natalie merchant fans would hate on 'bttb', you've chosen your god already.

10,000 maniacs = meg ryan
bttb = problem child

― j blount (papa la bas), Thursday, 22 September 2005 21:50 (twenty years ago)

in the video he kept his pool cue in a quitar case!

― gonzz, Thursday, 22 September 2005 21:52 (twenty years ago)

plus nevermind that WICKED VICIOUS GUITAR - NEVERMIND THAT! how can you hate how thorogood's vocal percolates just shy of a stutter during the verses - shades of randy bachman. this song shoots hard loads.

― j blount (papa la bas), Thursday, 22 September 2005 21:52 (twenty years ago)

many years ago down the jersey shore some older dudes were gonna go to a bar to see George but the gig got cancelled because he got in some fight or something and put his hand through a glass window. And Bo Diddley's in the video. Other then that, I got nothing.

― Dan Selzer (Dan Selzer), Thursday, 22 September 2005 21:55 (twenty years ago)

I've always thought Thorogood was a secret guitar playing influence of steve albini's...there's this weird chukka chukka break on the extended long vers. of One Scotch, One Bourbon that reminds me of Shellac..

But yeah, whover said it's better than Clapton or boring blues dudes is OTM....Thorogood's got a classic ugly "mug"...I think the word "mug" was invented to describe his face, it's the muggiest face I've ever seen.

― M@tt He1geson (Matt Helgeson), Thursday, 22 September 2005 21:56 (twenty years ago)

Bo don't know...

― gonzz, Thursday, 22 September 2005 21:58 (twenty years ago)

Here are the soundtracks containing "bad to the bone"
1. "Early Edition" (1996)
- "Bad to the Bone"
2. "Lone Gunmen, The" (2001)
- "Bad to the Bone"
3. "Married... with Children" (1987)
- "Bad To The Bone"
- "Bad To The Bone"
4. 3000 Miles to Graceland (2001)
- "Bad to the Bone"
5. Christine (1983)
- "Bad To The Bone"
6. DTV 'Doggone' Valentine (1987) (TV)
- "Bad To The Bone"
7. Joe Dirt (2001)
- "Bad To The Bone"
8. Major Payne (1995)
- "Bad to the Bone"
9. Parent Trap, The (1998)
- "Bad To The Bone"
10. Problem Child (1990)
- "BAD TO THE BONE"
11. Problem Child 2 (1991)
- "BAD TO THE BONE"
12. Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)
- "BAD TO THE BONE"

That has GOT to be an incomplete list (courtesy of imdb.com).

― Pleasant Plains /// (Pleasant Plains ///), Thursday, 22 September 2005 22:06 (twenty years ago)

problem child AND problem child 2!!

― the happy smile patrol (Jody Beth Rosen), Thursday, 22 September 2005 22:10 (twenty years ago)

I am not going to convince anybody that this song was any good, but I always did like the video where Thorogood somehow beats Bo Diddley at the pool table.

― Rev. Hoodoo (Rev. Hoodoo), Thursday, 22 September 2005 23:19 (twenty years ago)

Well it'd be pretty sad if he lost in his own goddamned video about how goddamned bad to the bone he is!

― Hurting (Hurting), Friday, 23 September 2005 00:11 (twenty years ago)

do y'all hate "i'm a man" too?!?

― hstencil (hstencil), Friday, 23 September 2005 00:16 (twenty years ago)

No, there's a lot of humor and fun and style in Bo Diddley.

― Tim Ellison (Tim Ellison), Friday, 23 September 2005 00:20 (twenty years ago)

ok, i fucking like this song. ...its sorta sexy for all the wrong (right) reasons.

― Susan Douglas (Susan Douglas), Friday, 23 September 2005 00:25 (twenty years ago)

"to the bone"

― Hurting (Hurting), Friday, 23 September 2005 00:26 (twenty years ago)

No, there's a lot of humor and fun and style in Bo Diddley.
-- Tim Ellison (thefriendlyfriendlybubbl...), September 23rd, 2005. (Tim Ellison)

THERE IS IN GEORGE THOROGOOD TOO! WHY DO YOU THINK IT GETS USED IN MOVIES?? CUZ ITS FUN!!!!!

When I was a kid I liked the stuttering...me and my cousin got his older bro's tape and kept listening to it...."bu bu bu baaayd".....that was fun!

― M@tt He1geson (Matt Helgeson), Friday, 23 September 2005 01:37 (twenty years ago)

There is only one good thing about this song, which is that it's covered brilliantly by Z-Rock Hawaii.

― billstevejim (billstevejim), Friday, 23 September 2005 02:03 (twenty years ago)

'splain me the appeal of obnoxo-dude growling about how bad he is whilst proving it by playing the badass Slide! Guitar!
-- Tim Ellison

You just answered your own question, Tim! "badass Slide! Guitar!" needs no defending. Loud guitar riffs doubled by noisy tenor sax - making them even heavier - is always a good thing. (ie. King Crimson, The Sonics, Von Lmo and even Prince in "Temptation"). Plus the arrangement's fairly interesting, with the guitar laying out entirely during the verses then re-emerging for the chorus. Lyrics are stupid and singing ain't much ("His only virtue as a vocalist is his complete lack of embarrassment" wrote Xgau!). But I think his stuttering is truly impressive - dunno about the rest of you, but I certainly can't move MY lips that quickly. (Shut up.)

Oh, and I love the pregnant pause at the very top of the song.

― Myonga Von Bontee (Myonga Von Bontee), Friday, 23 September 2005 04:30 (twenty years ago)

I think Thorogood is an awesome guitarist...raw and mean.

― M@tt He1geson (Matt Helgeson), Friday, 23 September 2005 04:37 (twenty years ago)

Ever go to a AA ball game? And sit there watching these guys, most of them kids, knowing that not many of them will ever make AAA, much less the Show? Like the guy batting 7th, hitting .242 with three homers. And he's an OK ballplayer, was probably a star in high school, but he's just not really good enough to move up, so he comes and does this for a few years before he gets his girlfriend pregnant and has to go get some technical degree so he can work in computer parts shop or fix air conditioners or something. But when he goes up to bat, they play his little theme for a few seconds over the P.A., and it's "Bad to the Bone." And every time he hears it, later on, in a movie or a truck commercial or whatever, he remembers what it felt like to step up to the plate. It makes him a little sad, but not too much because he's doing OK (air conditioner repairmen can do all right). But he can tell his kids, "That's the song they played when I went up to bat." And the kids think the song is corny, and they think their dad is corny too, but still, he's their dad and he looks pretty cool in the old photos in his uniform with the name of some podunk Midwestern city on it that they always have to ask him was it in Iowa or Indiana. And so every time the kids hear that song later, that's what they'll think of, how he looked in those photos. So George Thorogood is AA rock'n'roll. That's OK. The beer's watery, but it's cheap, and you can always get good seats.

― gypsy mothra (gypsy mothra), Friday, 23 September 2005 06:26 (twenty years ago)

Bravo!

― Myonga Von Bontee (Myonga Von Bontee), Friday, 23 September 2005 07:26 (twenty years ago)

That's beautiful. I would excelsior it, but there isn't a AA excelsior thread.

― k/l (Ken L), Friday, 23 September 2005 10:58 (twenty years ago)

Except for one thing: I hate sports and the people who play them, care about them or care about the people who play them.

― Boo, Friday, 23 September 2005 11:11 (twenty years ago)

Mothra, you have just distilled George Thorogood down to his essence. Fabulous.

And his slide guitar is AWESOME.

And anyone who hasn't should totally check out Hound Dog Taylor - "Give Me Back My Wig" is a CLASSIC.

― Big Loud Mountain Ape (Big Loud Mountain Ape), Friday, 23 September 2005 12:22 (twenty years ago)

I hate sports and the people who play them, care about them or care about the people who play them.

Your badness, it would appear, doesn't run bone-deep.

― brianiac (briania), Friday, 23 September 2005 12:29 (twenty years ago)

Gypsy Mothra weaves a fabulous and poignant tale; kudos. But the song's still in my 20 or so least favorites of all time (a level of personal hell usually reserved for Lynyrd Skynyrd and Jimmy Buffett and Stephen Bishop and Jennifer Warnes songs).

― Joseph McCombs (Joseph McCombs), Friday, 23 September 2005 12:31 (twenty years ago)

Joe, you're a killjoy, you probably don't like Bob Seger's "Old Time Rock and Roll" either ;)

― k/l (Ken L), Friday, 23 September 2005 12:48 (twenty years ago)

Come to think if it, I don't like that song either.

― k/l (Ken L), Friday, 23 September 2005 12:49 (twenty years ago)

kenny = self-pwned!

― The Obligatory Sourpuss (Begs2Differ), Friday, 23 September 2005 12:54 (twenty years ago)

( = pwn goal? )

― k/l (Ken L), Friday, 23 September 2005 12:58 (twenty years ago)

"Bad to the bone" (+ the remix) by Kool G. Rap & D.J Polo > the other "bad to the bone".

― Ellis, Friday, 23 September 2005 13:01 (twenty years ago)

(a level of personal hell usually reserved for Lynyrd Skynyrd and Jimmy Buffett and Stephen Bishop and Jennifer Warnes songs).

Lynyrd Skynyrd?? C'mon, that's harsh.
And yes, Hound Dog Taylor pwns everything everywhere.

― Will (will), Friday, 23 September 2005 13:36 (twenty years ago)

"Gimme Three Steps," Joseph.

― k/l (Ken L), Friday, 23 September 2005 13:39 (twenty years ago)

CAM NEELY

― Lupton Pitman (Chris V), Friday, 23 September 2005 13:40 (twenty years ago)

The first verse paints a vivid picture with very few words:

On the day I was born the nurses all gathered 'round
They gazed in wide wonder at the joy they had found
The head nurse spoke up, she said “Leave this one alone.”
She could tell right away that I was bad to the bone

You can just see the group of women in white standing in awe around the basinet, then the "head nurse," the one who has seen it all, breaks the reverie with a stern command. This is cinema.

― Mark (MarkR), Friday, 23 September 2005 13:55 (twenty years ago)

Cinema maybe, but also pure corny ersatz recycled Muddy/mojo-mythology. But if you consider the song a self-conscious genre exercise (which I kinda do)(not that George necessarily INTENDED it as such, understand), then that's a GOOD thing, and its ersatzness is a non-issue.

And, yeah, Hound Dog Taylor (1st LP esp.) was better. But I'll always be a sucker for that growly sax/axe sound.

― Myonga Von Bontee (Myonga Von Bontee), Friday, 23 September 2005 15:17 (twenty years ago)

this song is great. you people are nuts.

― strng hlkngtn (dubplatestyle), Friday, 23 September 2005 15:22 (twenty years ago)

when i was little i thought it was some really old, mungy piece of rock history. it's probably more like a cookie of rock history that got dropped behind the couch and collected a lot of fuzz.

― strng hlkngtn (dubplatestyle), Friday, 23 September 2005 15:23 (twenty years ago)

"should i eat it? i dunno...i am drunk after all."

― strng hlkngtn (dubplatestyle), Friday, 23 September 2005 15:26 (twenty years ago)

haha....

ILM In Calling Obvious Fun Song Un-Fun Shockah!

"I mean...Bad to the Bone, sure...I guess it's fun....It's not "New Paul McCartney Solo Album Fun", but it's okay"

― M@tt He1geson (Matt Helgeson), Friday, 23 September 2005 15:36 (twenty years ago)

F-f-f-f-f-f-f-un!

― Huk-L (Huk-L), Friday, 23 September 2005 15:40 (twenty years ago)

yeah art is never fun, matt. writing a really bad rock song about how you're bad to the bone = fun times.

― Tim Ellison (Tim Ellison), Friday, 23 September 2005 15:41 (twenty years ago)

i love it when ILM gets angry over fun.

― Susan Douglas (Susan Douglas), Friday, 23 September 2005 16:08 (twenty years ago)

Line me up in the "classic" camp, not least for inspiring a memorable brief in The Onion:

http://www.theonion.com/content/node/32462

― brianiac (briania), Friday, 23 September 2005 16:14 (twenty years ago)

xpost

I'm not mad! I'm bad! (to the bone!)

― M@tt He1geson (Matt Helgeson), Friday, 23 September 2005 16:39 (twenty years ago)

A-a-a-a-a-a-art!

― Huk-L (Huk-L), Friday, 23 September 2005 16:43 (twenty years ago)

I wonder if George is ever tempted to start clucking like a hen, like "B-b-b-b-buk-b'KOK!" I would be.

― gypsy mothra (gypsy mothra), Friday, 23 September 2005 16:52 (twenty years ago)

see i think that song could easily accomodate something like that!

― Susan Douglas (Susan Douglas), Friday, 23 September 2005 17:43 (twenty years ago)

A-a-a-a-a-a-art!
"Never in the history of art!"

― k/l (Ken L), Friday, 23 September 2005 17:45 (twenty years ago)

I wonder if George is ever tempted to start clucking like a hen, like "B-b-b-b-buk-b'KOK!" I would be.
Or stuttering like Porky Pig:
"I'm B-b-b-b-b-ad to the B-b-b-b
I'm B-b-b-b-b-ad to the B-b-b-b
I'm B-b-b-b-b - I'm tough!"

― k/l (Ken L), Friday, 23 September 2005 17:47 (twenty years ago)

I originally tried Foghorn Leghorn but it wasn't coming out right.
I said, I said, I said, I'm bad.
I said, I said, I said, I'm bad.

― k/l (Ken L), Friday, 23 September 2005 18:00 (twenty years ago)

Gypsy Mothra's story implies that the song is "rural" rock and roll ... you wouldn't find anybody cruising around downtown NYC or T.O. listening to it, because that would look ridiculous. But once you drive two hours out of the city, you suddenly find folks drinking beer in their driveway and banging on their truck with a wrench while this song blares from a cheap radio.

― MindInRewind (Barry Bruner), Monday, 26 September 2005 19:18 (twenty years ago)

The relevancy of Gypsy Mothra's vivid prose-poem is enhanced by the interesting fact that Thorogood himself was once a semi-pro ballplayer:

"In the late '70s George loved working out, cigars, pro wrestling, and especially baseball. It was during this period that Thorogood created and played on a semi-pro league team in Delaware. He was the second baseman and was chosen rookie of the year in the league. Soon after this achievement The Destroyers forced him to quit playing the sport."

- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Thorogood

― o. nate (onate), Monday, 26 September 2005 19:41 (twenty years ago)

A more worthy thread:

Defend the Indefensible: "The Kids in the Video for 'Bad to the Bone'"

― Joe (Joe), Tuesday, 27 September 2005 00:09 (twenty years ago)

three years pass...

I think Christine is the sole example of this song being used in a movie where it's not ironic, clueless or cloying.

― Whiney G. Weingarten, Friday, 10 April 2009 15:20 (seventeen years ago)

And Problem Child 2.

― billstevejim, Friday, 10 April 2009 15:23 (seventeen years ago)

My man Bo D. shoots a mean game of pool, and certainly knows his way around a parallelogram as well.

― Imaginary Dead Baseball Players Live in My Cornfield (Pillbox), Friday, 10 April 2009 15:29 (seventeen years ago)

this song shoots hard loads.

― WARS OF ARMAGEDDON (Karaoke Version) (Sparkle Motion), Friday, 10 April 2009 22:30 (seventeen years ago)

:-\

― ☪, Friday, 10 April 2009 22:59 (seventeen years ago)

Didn't this get a Grammy for Most Strained Male Vocal that year?

And you know what? I can't defend it, but fuckitanyway, I like it despite myself. (I grew up in one of those AA towns, though useless at sports, looking tough, and earning enough money to b-b-b-buy a car bad enough to blast a song like this out the windows of.)

― staggerlee, Saturday, 11 April 2009 01:03 (seventeen years ago)

I heard it coming out of a clock radio recently and realized it could have been something arty like The Scientists or the Beasts of Bourbon with its fake blues and noisy guitar and sax (I think there is sax). It's one of those thin line kind of things.

― james k polk, Saturday, 11 April 2009 07:03 (seventeen years ago)

something arty like the Beasts of Bourbon

loooooooooooooooooooooll

― Bostin' Legal (sic), Saturday, 11 April 2009 12:21 (seventeen years ago)

gypsy mothra's baseball post should be engraved on a gold tablet and shot into space

― I'm the head soul brother in the US. Where to now? (bernard snowy), Saturday, 11 April 2009 14:42 (seventeen years ago)

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