Alive On Departure, but…
April 11th, 2008
This week, with thousands of American Airlines passengers inconvenienced by FAA mandated inspections of possibly defective wiring, it’s important to keep in mind how important airplane safety is, and how relatively common crashes once were…
This song was a huge cult hit in the first months of 1971, the same time that Alice Cooper’s “I’m Eighteen” from Love It To Death was on the charts. Alice was tongue-in-cheek enough that I could tell his macabre bent was all in fun, but D.O.A really gave me the creeps. It still does! I probably first heard it on WKBW, out of Buffalo, NY.
6 Comments Add your own
1. jeaniebeanie | April 12th, 2008 at 9:28 am
Holy coinky-dink, Twinster! I HAVE that on 45! Recently, Molly and I spent a long afternoon playing all my old platters on my fabulous Numark. When we got to “D.O.A,” I said it was probably the most shocking, horrific song that actually made it to the airwaves during my generation. She didn’t make it past the second verse! “Turn it off, Mom, turn it off!”
I pointed out to her that in the late 50s and early 60s there was a plethora of more tasteful “death chic” songs like “Tell Laura I Love Her,” and “Strange Things Happen in this World.” And the eerily prescient “Dead Man’s Curve!” by Jan and Dean!
Oh, my comment on the airlines: I think they are really hurting because of the fuel prices, and covering it up with these “mock inspections.” On the other hand, corners have been cut to the extreme. I STILL remember the minor riot that Liz and I experience on a Southwest flight to Phoenix when they announced “no snacks.” Things got a bit rowdy, and the pilot had to be consulted. Within five minutes, the flight attendants were handing out free snack boxes and drinks!
2. jeaniebeanie | April 12th, 2008 at 6:40 pm
Oh, yeah, how ’bout that little ditty called “Don’t Fear the Reaper?” It’s pretty obvious the subject was a double suicide, but did that stop the stations from playing it?
3. Cactus Lizzie | April 12th, 2008 at 8:12 pm
I understand the point you are trying to make, Doug, but I don’t understand the point of the song. In fact, I never even heard it before…and I would have remembered a song like THIS! It’s not funny. It’s not an anti-war song about violence and killing. It’s just plain morbid! So…I may be dense, or too “square,” but I just don’t “get” it.
As far as air travel goes, a lady I know who travels all the time professionally was telling me that you can’t even count on non-stop flights not being delayed for hours these days. I also heard on CNBC TV that newer technology will be allowing passengers to use their cell phones throughout the flights, before too very long. So now we can have the joy of listening to people’s private conversations to their friends and business colleagues going on all around us, making for much noisier flights, I suspect. Air travel has become like flyilng buses.
After my last miserable flight back from the East coast February 29th, I began looking at Amtrack’s roomettes (tiny private compartments, which convert to 2 bunk beds at night). Depending on the Amtrack route and the distance you’re going, some of the prices are surprisingly attractive.
Most of the time these days, flying gobbles up the lion’s share of your whole first vacation day, anyway. I wouldn’t mind sitting down in a wide seat with some leg room in a roomette, sleeping, and arriving at my destination refreshed. Then on the way home, I often feel like “I need a vacation from my vacation,” because I’m so tired. Likewise, I wouldn’t mind relaxing on a train to recuperate at the end of my trip.
If I were flying, I’d have to rent a car anyway to get around, so that detail remains the same. And since the price of gas was predicted to go up to $4.00 a gallon by Memorial Day…Driving long distances is both expensive AND very tiring. Plus hotel costs enroute. Someday we might just hop on Amtrack from Tucson to San Antonio for a sightseeing visit.
4. DOuG pRATt | April 12th, 2008 at 11:14 pm
After all these years, D.O.A. by Bloodrock still elicits a strong reaction. Any connection that comes to mind between a current event and something else is a good excuse for me to do a blog post. Free association is also what keeps political cartoonists going. The other thing was, I liked coming up with a title that was “AOD, but… DOA.” Such wordplay is great fun for me.
D.O.A. was supposedly popular with troops on patrol in Vietnam, who knew they could be maimed or die at any second. I’m almost surprised the song wasn’t used in “Apocalypse Now.”
Yes, it’s shamelessly morbid. Along with Alice Cooper and Black Sabbath, Bloodrock was early heavy metal with a decidedly dark side that shamelessly targeted teenage boys. You won’t be surprised, I bet, to learn that Bloodrock was discovered by Grand Funk Railroad’s producer.
According to pop musicologist D.F. Rogers, D.O.A. was particularly big in Arizona and California. It received limited airplay elsewhere. My first recollection was that I must have heard it on Boston radio. but now I think WKBW was probably my only source.
Jean, I clearly recall playing your copy of the single. You bought a lot of singles, I think, starting in the first half of 1971. I’m glad you still have it, but I certainly understand how it could freak out Molly. When I was fifteen, however, I really thought it was cool. The song is genuinely weird and scary. But now what stands out the most is the obvious splice at 2:59.
Cactus Lizzie, when we saw you in Arizona, our plane tickets had a fuel surcharge of $25. I imagine these fees are only going to get worse, as oil costs continue to go up.
5. jeaniebeanie | April 13th, 2008 at 8:02 am
Our trip to Florida in a rented Town and Country was SO successful that Tom is seriously looking into buying one, or something like it! No air fares, no long lines, no being slave to the whims of the airlines. He wouldn’t even let me drive! It actually got nearly 30 mpg, too. We’re already talking about a drive to PHOENIX!
Doug, I had a feeling D.O.A. was being played in certain circles. It most certainly not mainstream. It’s shock value was tremendous. I tried mentioning to one of my friends at school, and just drew a blank stare. Why the heck did I buy it? I guess cause I figured it would someday be a rare oddity.
6. jeaniebeanie | April 13th, 2008 at 10:59 am
I did buy a lot of singles in early 1971, as I had plenty of money from babysitting. I was in big demand from half the kids I worked with in the afternoon teacher aide program. The parents loved me!
I usually wrote the name of the A side song and date of purchase on every 45, which I usually purchased at the music store in West Acton. “D.O.A” was bought on March 15, 1971. The B side is “Children’s Heritage, written by somebody totally different. I often bought stuff that you liked just because I trusted your taste in music. I may not have initially liked the song, but would later would grow to enjoy it immensely. Case in point: “Apeman,” by the Kinks, purchased on 12/16/71! Hey, what’s on the B side: “Rats?!?!” Now that’s a classic Charlie Brown saying!
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