(Lemons Are Yellow member Paul Kaufman describes the secret sauce behind the song.)
Back in the day, Tower Market atop Mount Davidson in San Francisco was the place for the band Lemons Are Yellow to stock up on snacks. This medium-sized grocery had an inexplicably large “British Foods” section, where you could stock up on Devonshire cream; HP sauce; and a mix for making your own dessert known as “Spotted Dick,” a baked pudding containing dried currants (hence the spots). Of course, the packaging called out to us, and soon we were at the Fleminger kitchen, baking up a batch.
Combining this mid-afternoon treat with my love of English ’60s music, the lyric, “The band had Spotted Dick for tea” was a natural result. From there, we did what Lemons usually do — Dave, Kristin and I each chipped in to build an homage to our legendary days as San Diego kids. Much of the song describes events you had to be there for, but just play along with us living out our fantasy of actually being a Brit-pop outfit, accents and all. I always thought this would be good as part of the soundtrack to the “Absolutely Fabulous” series.
David Fleminger (guitar, vocals); Kristin Martin (bass guitar, vocals); Paul Kaufman (guitar, vocals); Ed Meares (drums).
(N.b.: Che Underground: The Blog does not condone the use of illicit substances, except to propel a good lyric. The views expressed in “Spotted Dick” are humorous and reflect neither Che Underground’s zero-tolerance house policy nor any verified use of this delightful pudding for hallucinogenic purposes. Please keep your comments theoretical.)
Listen to it now!
— Paul Kaufman
More Lemons Are Yellow MP3s:
HA! I love Tower Mkt (now part of the Mollie Stone chain). Go there at least once a week. Cheapest Maker’s Mark in SF.
Who else remembers that great passage in “Gravity’s Rainbow” where the American protagonist is trying to be polite to his British hosts by eating a series of awful candies?
Each sweet he bites into — trying to erase the last flavor — reveals a new horror! He’s crying, choking, puckering … The book is very dense in places, but that part just made me howl!!
Spotted dick sounds tasty
🙂
i was at “world market” today and saw a can of that… i can’t say it with a straight face.
i think i am a 12 year old boy, really.
hehe
Fray Bento’s Steak and Kid Pie with Puff Pastry Top.
Used to be a fave, I could get at CALA on Haight and Steiner, or the Tower Foods on Portola. No longer, I’m afraid.
Got the kids treacle and devonshire cream during the holidays. They always like the cream on Mollie’s incredible scones. MMMmmmmm! butter, in TWO different forms, at ONE time!
Oh. A treat you won’t find outside the UK? How about Eel Pie? I’m a fan -- but haven’t been to the kind of place you find this, since I became a Dad. Last trip through London in the summer we fed the kids mediocre Lasagna at a ‘French’ cafe near Drury Lane, staffed with young Poles…
That’s the way, these days.
Lasagna stuffed with young Poles? I rather prefer my Poles pickled.
hey jeremiah, any chance you could get mollie to email me her scone recipe? i am dying to make them for henry. not that crap you find at starbucks and every wannabe bakery of english tasties, but the real deal. the currants, the butter… mmmm…
>>Marmite is lovely, even if it is a salty yeast paste
Oh! I thought it was a large, ground-dwelling squirrel. No wonder I got all these lacerations spreading it on toast!
I feel so much better knowing someone else has made the same mistake. The FDA should require warning labels on all those delicious looking little marmots.
Speaking of which, I’m planning to perform the Noise 292 set at Che Games in a pair of Cornish pasties and a clapshot. The visual effect should more than compensate for any false notes I hit!
Matthew, aren’t you a Jersey Boy now? I may not make the Che games. But I would drive to Atlantic City in a heartbeat to see that. Hell, I would take a grimy train to Elizabeth and distribute show tickets to fellow passengers. Also, “Marmot stuffed with young Poles” could be a break-out hit for you.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VBLlrzzN83k
derail…I guess I thought this be appropriate in terms of transgressive gastronomic performance art
ps she is vegan. I want her to perform on stage with Noise at the Casbah with her whips 🙂
ps she is vegan. I want her to perform on stage with Noise at the Casbah with her whips 🙂
Dave Vicious, You’re So Delicious…but Not So Thick as Thy Spotted Dick!
*Lemons Are Yellow rocked thios song, and I especially appreciated Flem’s affected British accent! Tea for me, please!
Matthew: Not only do I catch your drift, I’m pretty sure we met over lingonberries when I was purchasing a dresser. Mhm.
>>Matthew: Not only do I catch your drift, I’m pretty sure we met over lingonberries when I was purchasing a dresser. Mhm.
Robin: One time I went to IKEA in Elizabeth, I saw this one guy putting his Alsvik in this other guy’s Stolmen! Some people might call that sort of thing “performance art” — personally, I just wanted to scrub out their Bravads with Plastis!
Matthew, at some point you have to accept that we are all no more than animals. No need to judge. We have Alsviks and Mumsigs for a reason. Some of us put them in furukskogs. Some of us prefer kramsfors. But all of us, all of us, Matthew are animals. That’s not a dirty thing. Just natural. Try to be at peace with it. Even if your trollsta tends toward klippan.
>>Even if your trollsta tends toward klippan.
Is it that obvious? 🙁
Oh, sweetie, I am so sorry! I didn’t mean to out you. I was only giving a hypothetical example. Your trollsta is probably more malm than you think.
I don’t usually leave my domain , but…. is IKEA a language now????
OK, back to the story of how Lou and I met on a small, obscure, little known thread.
bruce
byorsk ikor! danska fyuorssen. klippan. klippan.
every time i am there i hear the muppet chef in my head. just saying.
Last time I was at Legoland in Carlsbad, I got 86’d for possession of a LÖMSK and a couple of BARNSLIGS.
WTF? I thought the Danes were a little more permissive!
Corrupt security. Both of those items have been legal in California since 2004. Sorry, Matt, you were robbed. That is so wrong. None of us is free when a law-abiding adult citizen can’t enjoy lomsk and barnsligs at an amusement park.
From NPR: “The Secret World of IKEA Speak”:
“IKEA doesn’t just pick cute Scandinavian words for its products. There’s actually a method to the madness. Bathroom fixtures are named after Scandinavian bodies of water. Bedding is named with words associated with sleep, comfort and cuddling. A popular rug is called “Ludde,” which can mean fuzzy. Linguist Nanna Ericsson cracks the code.” Here’s a link to the audio: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=18137374
>>A popular rug is called “Ludde,” which can mean fuzzy.
Ray: Funny … That’s what they yell when I skinny-dip the fjords.
Newspeak? “A Clockwork Orange” goloss? I thought this was the food channel.
This is the most ridiculous thing I’ve read all day:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/wales/8243648.stm
The best part about the name change is that it was mandated in a Welsh town named Mold.
Ha ha…thanks for the laugh RAY.
That is almost as ridiculous as children not being allowed to watch a presidential address TO children!!
This page has had three comments in about an hour, proving once and for all that Che Undergrounders would rather talk about dick than music.
LOL…Isn’t rock and Roll all about dick anyway??
Well played, Bruce.