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I was in high school when this came out so I can recite this song word-for-word because in 1999, it was all over MTV, the radio, and most importantly, on Napste

I was in high school when this came out so I can recite this song word-for-word because in 1999, it was all over MTV, the radio, and most importantly, on Napster. I remember the original 1997 edit (even though I first heard it in 1999), because that was the version I downloaded off of Napster as a 15 year old. Even back then, there were all sorts of weird attributions to it (I think that my Napster copy had a Kurt Vonnegut credits, though the author was Baz Luhrmann in the meta data) and conspiracies about it. But I remember learning fairly early that it was some newspaper column. The other part of this is that the 7:10 version has the “Everybody’s Free” sample from Luhrmann’s “Romeo + Juliet” — which like every other 13 year old girl in 1997, was a soundtrack I knew backwards/forwards/upside down/verbatim. Like the people on the podcast, this has remained a weird earworm that I can just recall instantly in weird places. What a weird but great song. And as I am now in my late 30s, the advice is good!

sircastor 4y ago
I was also inundated with this song late in highschool. It was one of the songs that made it from whatever illicit file-sharing system into my personal library as "Baz Luhrman - Everybody's Free (to wear sunscreen)." I also remember the discovery process of learning that he didn't write the words. Learning that he didn't speak the text either. Learning that it was speech given to a graduating class. And learning that it wasn't a speech to a graduating class, but a column written. We still have a library full of mislabeled music like that. I'm in my early 40s, "Be kind to your knees, you'll miss them when they're gone" comes to mind not infrequently.
NonNefarious 4y ago
The misattribution to Vonnegut was indeed pervasive, and stupid. You have to be a maladjusted no-lifer to get your jollies from "pranks" like that.
- tomrod 4y ago
  I mean, you just described 99.99999% of the population, especially those that participate in a discussion of a 25 year old pop song on a technical community board, or more broadly, teenagers. More jollies and harmless pranks, I say! But on a serious note, I reflect a lot on that song and empathize with being kinds to knees (I broke mine at 18 and decades later still feel it).
  - NonNefarious 4y ago
    99.99999% of the population takes a work and deprives its author of credit by attributing it to someone else? Bullfuckingshit. Don't make excuses for assholes.
    - tomrod 4y ago
      You stole that last comment. ;-)
FascistDonut 4y ago
I was in highschool when I first heard it too - class of 2000. I loved the song and Kurt Vonnegut. I have even played it for some friends within the last year. I had absolutely no idea about the true origin until today.
nonameiguess 4y ago
Ha, amusing to see a fan of this song. I'm class of '99 and definitely remember that this song exists now that I see this thread, but had forgotten up until today and do not remember a single word. Still love Romeo+Juliet, though, and make my wife watch Quindon Tarver (RIP) singing When Doves Cry on YouTube every few months when I think about him.
kelnos 4y ago
I remember first hearing it in college, a few years after it came out. It was around the time I'd first heard of Baz Luhrmann for other reasons (Strictly Ballroom, Romeo + Juliet, and Moulin Rouge, all of which I loved at the time), so I feel like he was in the collective consciousness of my social circles, and that increased its popularity. I remember not finding out the true origins of the prose until quite a few years later. I hadn't known about the sampling from "Everybody's Free" from R+J! Always something new to learn. Listening to it again today... the parts about getting to know your parents before they're gone for good (mine have both passed since I first heard the song), and being kind to your knees (I'm still recovering from a knee injury from back in January), really resonated with me. One major thing I am pleased about is that I have managed to hold on to those "precious few" close friends over the years; my life would be very different without them.

sircastor 4y ago

I was also inundated with this song late in highschool. It was one of the songs that made it from whatever illicit file-sharing system into my personal library as "Baz Luhrman - Everybody's Free (to wear sunscreen)." I also remember the discovery process of learning that he didn't write the words. Learning that he didn't speak the text either. Learning that it was speech given to a graduating class. And learning that it wasn't a speech to a graduating class, but a column written. We still have a library full of mislabeled music like that. I'm in my early 40s, "Be kind to your knees, you'll miss them when they're gone" comes to mind not infrequently.

NonNefarious 4y ago

The misattribution to Vonnegut was indeed pervasive, and stupid. You have to be a maladjusted no-lifer to get your jollies from "pranks" like that.

tomrod 4y ago
I mean, you just described 99.99999% of the population, especially those that participate in a discussion of a 25 year old pop song on a technical community board, or more broadly, teenagers. More jollies and harmless pranks, I say! But on a serious note, I reflect a lot on that song and empathize with being kinds to knees (I broke mine at 18 and decades later still feel it).
- NonNefarious 4y ago
  99.99999% of the population takes a work and deprives its author of credit by attributing it to someone else? Bullfuckingshit. Don't make excuses for assholes.
  - tomrod 4y ago
    You stole that last comment. ;-)

FascistDonut 4y ago

I was in highschool when I first heard it too - class of 2000. I loved the song and Kurt Vonnegut. I have even played it for some friends within the last year. I had absolutely no idea about the true origin until today.

nonameiguess 4y ago

Ha, amusing to see a fan of this song. I'm class of '99 and definitely remember that this song exists now that I see this thread, but had forgotten up until today and do not remember a single word. Still love Romeo+Juliet, though, and make my wife watch Quindon Tarver (RIP) singing When Doves Cry on YouTube every few months when I think about him.

kelnos 4y ago

I remember first hearing it in college, a few years after it came out. It was around the time I'd first heard of Baz Luhrmann for other reasons (Strictly Ballroom, Romeo + Juliet, and Moulin Rouge, all of which I loved at the time), so I feel like he was in the collective consciousness of my social circles, and that increased its popularity. I remember not finding out the true origins of the prose until quite a few years later. I hadn't known about the sampling from "Everybody's Free" from R+J! Always something new to learn. Listening to it again today... the parts about getting to know your parents before they're gone for good (mine have both passed since I first heard the song), and being kind to your knees (I'm still recovering from a knee injury from back in January), really resonated with me. One major thing I am pleased about is that I have managed to hold on to those "precious few" close friends over the years; my life would be very different without them.