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about

Originally "Sand in My Face"


‘Sand In My Face’ is another song that takes its smug tongue-in-cheek look a bit too far for some but, again, the song is so cleverly constructed that 10cc are entitled to feel a bit smug about it. I actually prefer this song to ‘Johnny’, as this time around its spoof of beach movies and the nine-stone weakling wanting to ‘better’ himself features much funnier lines and a much more satisfyingly rich backing track. Lol’s eager narrator tells the story of Kevin’s nine stone weakling with nobbly knees leafing through the Charles Atlas Course for muscle building so common to the media back then. The joke is that we all know that those adverts are fake, that even in the days before photoshop they cut and pasted pictures or used models who looked only vaguely the same in ‘before’ and ‘after’ poses. The other joke is that somehow this works, the un-named narrator gets to beat the ‘surfboard Hercules’ Alex whose been taunting him and literally kicked sand in his face. Best line: ‘I saw Mr. France, he had a girl on each shoulder and I wanted his pants!’ For the most part this song is about nervous tension, with a throbbing opening bass riff that will be recycled by the band for their similar pastiche [35] ‘Silly Love’ the following year that really sets the scene for the poor narrator who wants the perfect body and is desperate to sound tough but can only make a strange sounding ‘boing’ noise (a favorite sound of Godley-Crème who also use the gismo for the first time on an album track here too). The use of the band chorus joining in every other line makes more sense here as well, with a slightly huskier than normal sounding Lol being asked a bunch of inane questions by the others which actually punctuate a series of clever lines. Godley’s falsetto then gives us a rebuttal, telling us that he’s lost his girlfriend and wants to get her back anyway he can – although, in true 70s style, ‘what convinced me is your money-back guarantee’. The result is a dumb song that’s rescued by a powerful; band performance that keeps the song on a knife-edge with lots of great touches, from the vocals to a quite brilliant bubbling bass from Graham and some great production techniques such as some snazzy backwards drums. You’d never want to hear this song too many times in a row – as I must confess I just have writing this review – as you’re likely to start going mad, but as s poof songs about body-building courses go this is one of the best! Incidentally, 10cc must go to the same body-building courses as The Who on their ‘Sell Out’ album, with the ‘dynamic tension’ promised in the song actually coming from a 1960s advert for guitar strings.

lyrics

I looked in the mirror
(What did you see looking at you?)
I saw a nine stone weakling
(What will you do?)
Dynamic Tension waiting for you?
Dynamic Tension make a man out of you
I opened my magazine
(What did you see?)
I saw Mr. France
(What did he have?)
A girl on each shoulder
(What else?)
And one in his pants
Dynamic Tension can do this for you
Dynamic Tension make a man out of
You you you you you
So our hero goes down to the beach
He's in real terrible shape
His chick's been seen with big Alex
That mother kicked sand in his face
Now let me tell you about Alex
He's got:
Hands like hams
Knees like trees
200 lbs
Of surfboard Hercules
Mr. Atlas won't you bring her on back to me
I lost my girl down by the beach
She's with Alex and she's out of reach
So please Mr. Atlas won't you bring her on back to me
I saw your body in an advert on T.V.
But what convinced me was your money back guarantee
Now I'm stronger than Alex
(Where is he now?)
He's left in disgrace
(Oh yeah?)
`Cos I took back my girlfriend
(Ha, ha, ha, ha)
And kicked sand in his face
(In his eyes, in his ears, in his nose)
Dynamic Tension waiting for you
Dynamic Tension make a man out of you
Dynamic Tension, Dynamic Tension
Dynamic Tension, Dynamic Tension

credits

from 10cc [Changed, Cleaned​-​Up Version], track released July 1, 1973
Written-By – Graham Gouldman, Kevin Godley, Lol Creme

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Tribute to 10cc image

Tribute to 10cc Stockport, UK

This is a musical tribute to 10cc, both originals and remakes. Here is the story about the original line-up from the original band: 10cc are an English rock band founded in Stockport, England, who achieved their greatest commercial success in the 1970s. The band initially consisted of four musicians – Graham Gouldman, Eric Stewart, Kevin Godley, and Lol Creme. ... more

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