★★★★☆

 

Dada’s Puzzle cd has a couple of tunes that seem to have permanently welded themselves to my brain. Dizz Knee Land is one of those tracks.

We all have songs which will pop into our head for seemingly no reason. During my junior college days a friend said it was always the last song you heard before getting out of your car. Others theorize it is because radio stations are paid to play the same four songs a billion times in order to aid marketing campaigns. There actually seemed to be a bit of truth to this during the late 80s when every “hit” song also seemed to be featured in a beer commercial.

Those theories would tend to explain the songs we physically cannot hide from unless we use some Internet radio site and take the time to pick each and every tune on the playlist paying money so they don’t “help us out” by adding “suggested” (i.e. paid to push) tunes. It does not, however, account for those deep track which never got air play. It also doesn’t account for really ancient songs no station has played in years.

Sometimes it is the legend behind the song which makes it stick with us. Just this morning I pulled out the Puzzle CD from Dada. It’s from an era when Chicagoland had Q101 “the New Rock Alternative.” That was a golden era of completely new sounds. The song from that time which was running through my head was Dizz Knee Land. Yes, no matter how old you are when that song or “Dim” comes on you have the urge to crank the volume to damage-the-speakers level. If you are ever in one of those the-world-set-out-to-screw-you-and-was-successful moods cranking “Dim” beyond the point of sanity can really make you feel better.

Over the years a legend has developed around Dizz Knee Land. It might even be true. The timing is certainly correct. Even if it is not true I choose to believe it, therefore, will share it with you.

Many decades ago there was an American Olympic Gymnast who had just won her event. Some television crew stuff a camera and microphone in her face and asked the question “You just won a medal at the Olympics, what are you going to do now?” Bright eyed and full of adrenaline rush she shouted over the crowd “I’m going to Disneyland!”

Back there and back then the American Olympic committee took the “amateur” thing to extremes. Sadly some marketing group picked up on the clip and started using it. There was talk this early teen girl would be stripped of her medal simply because her parents promised to take her to Disneyland after the Olympics.

In true Rock & Roll rebellion fashion Dada created the song Dizz Knee Land.

I just ran away from home Now I’m going to dizz knee land I just crashed my car again Now I’m going to dizz knee land I just robbed a grocery store I’m going to dizz knee land I just flipped off President George I’m going to dizz knee land (2) I just tossed a fifth of gin Now I’m going to dizz knee land I just got cuffed again I’m going to dizz knee land yeah Shot my gun into the night I’m going to dizz knee land I just saw a good man die I’m going to dizz knee land Come on…I’m going to dizz knee land Kicked my *** out of school Rolled me out into the streets Hitched a ride on a monkey’s back Headed west into the black I’m going to dizz knee land

Thus is the legend. Google searching could not bring up the story of the gymnast. I suspect the Olympic committee and Disney did everything they could to purge that story from the Internet. But it crops up from time to time.

One has to wonder if even Michael Phelps knows this story. Why? Because of this quote:

“Since I was a kid, I’ve dreamed of winning the gold medal and shouting, ‘I’m going to Disney World!’ “

For more comments on music check out this post.