Dissect DJs - Neil Diamond - Sweet Caroline

Episode Date: November 13, 2023

Time to break down one of the all time cult classics in music history with Neil Diamond's 1969 hit single "Sweet Caroline". Why do we all hit the "Bah Bah Bah!" and "So Good! So Good So Good!"? When did that start? Do you get pulled into it every time? Or are you maybe sick of it? And what is the ultimate sing along song if not this? What movie comes to mind when you think of Neil Diamond? And is who is Caroline anyway and what makes her so good? So good! So Good! Castle and JAG dissect it all! Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

It's the Dysk DJ. What's going on, everybody? It's your boy, DJ MCJG, and we have a classic stees. What's up, man? You're going to cut it off right there, huh? Yeah, yeah. I'm not going to be able to fit in the Dysk DJ intro sound. Yeah, yeah, you have time there.

It was like six seconds. Come on, you got it. All right, because it is the DJs I like to spin. What? What? What? Throw it back and dissect it. Let's go, maybe.

And this is the legendary Neil Dejavexie. Diamond. Neal Diamond. Sweet Carolina, but we didn't have to say that. You already knew it. You knew it? Why? Why do you know this? It's got to be the most, like, famous, like, introductory. I mean, it's not, it's up there. It's top 10 of, like, just the baseline coming in. Are you like, oh, oh, we're about to bump, bum, bum. They're like, uh, oh, here comes. They're right, man. We got to sing along. This is a song we all must sing along to. Somehow we all know it. And we have to do it at every wedding, uh, for sure.

at the local bar karaoke baseball game a red socks baseball game is a guaranteed apparently you bet your balls it's Neil Diamond Neil Diamond

you bet your balls it's Neil Diamond That's the first thing I think Every time I hear it Neil Diamond It's a throwback to a classic S&L bit What's crazy about this song is I didn't know about it Before I started DJing Weddings And I didn't know about it until I went to weddings

and then I didn't know about it until you realize that when you play this, there's certain people. This doesn't happen in every group, but it has to be played in the correct group. There are certain times when this song reaches a whole different level of excitement for the crowd, and they are about to sing and scream along. Oh, people get hyped on this.

Man, I don't know how it happened, too, because it's such an even-keel song as you listen to it, you know? It's not really the kind of song that like screams. It's not like journey or living on a prayer or something. Or songs that are like rock songs that have like a crazy like, Hey, oh, we're halfway there. Ah, hey, not a bread. Like, this song is so just like hands, touching hands.

Like it's so like, reach it out. Somebody hooked this song up by like making, putting it on. I don't know who it does. It's sort of like today's social media stratosphere where like all of a sudden Kevin James is all over social media because somebody fucking put, I found a picture of him from back in 2002 and like made a meme about it. And they just decided like, no, we're going to put Kevin James on. Now he's going to be all over your timeline. Any like random thing can like once it gets like caught on. Like there's no telling how far that firehawk can fly, you know.

And this is the best example of that. This is the best example of that. It's crazy. Neil fucking Diamond. You bet your balls it's Neil Diamond. Guarantee the whole family's going to love it. And let's get started. This is our starting hearing this.

Can we play more than six seconds now? Let's hear it. We talk too much about it. Neil, speak to us. Where it began, I can't begin to knowing. But then I know it's growing strong. Wasn't the spring. And spring became the summer.

Who'd have believed you? come along. Real quick as we continue, before we continue, I got to get into the lyrics already at this point because... We should do that more often. I do not know, still to this day, as I've heard this song so many times, the hell is he talking about?

And I know I say that often when dissecting songs, because usually songs have a deeper... You say it have a deeper meaning, and therefore it's like, initially you're like, I don't know what it, but again, I'll repeat. I don't know what it's... I don't know what the hell he's talking about. Can we get into it?

We can get into it. Where it began. Let's find out. I can't begin to knowing. To know when. I have knowing here. Well, I never, like, thought about what the words are, but based on, I feel like mine is right. I know you always have to defend that whatever random lyrics you pull up are right.

I can't begin to know when it began. Makes way more sense than knowing. Where it began? I can't begin to know. win. Okay. But then I know it's growing strong. Was in the spring and spring became the summer. Good poetry. Who'd have believed you'd come along? So what is happening here, Cass? I mean like he's talking about the beginning of a relationship, probably, presumably

with Caroline. So he can't exactly pinpoint like where it began, but it was somewhere around when the spring turned into summer. You know, it was like a vague, like May to June and at some point in that at that region he was just like this caroline she's a little sweet noticing that she's sweet that's what i think i don't know it's pretty good man you're gonna dissecting because i didn't i still like even even after you said it dissect djia yeah man you just dissected that and made me understand

this is a beginning of a relationship he just met the girl and he's it was the beginning of okay it's amazing who'd have believed you'd come along yeah i mean I know it sounds simple. It was pretty simple. I got to just read them and listen to the words. That's all you got to do. And speak what they're saying.

Okay. Hands. Touching hands. Reaching out. Touching me. Touching you. Bo, blah. Your times never seem so good.

This is not saying. so good. So good. This is why I know what you were wanting me to do. You didn't do it. I specifically didn't for a reason. I wanted to prove a point. What the heck?

Every time you hear this song, it is blasted and amplified with everybody around you going. Ba-papa. So good. So good. And everybody like does the job. They all do the job. They all do the. the job for Neil. And I always kind of just thought that that was in the song. And I remember several

years ago, I was driving home late at night once and this song just came on. And I'd never heard it without the amplification of like a room of people. And that was my first time being like, it doesn't go bam, bum, bum, or so good, so good. It's just like a chill song from the 60s. It doesn't. It's nowhere in the lyrics. I don't know who did that for this song. Who put this song on to add all that like extracurricular activity. It really does have it. It adds a whole lot. Yeah, it adds a whole other level of this song that somehow everybody knows.

It is ingrained in everybody's head. And it never fucking happened. We did it as a society. I don't know when it started. Somebody looked that up. When did we start adding all this flare to Neil Diamonds? I did look that up. I did look at it up.

Actually, you did some pregame research? Yeah, yeah. In 1990, in the late night show, what happened was interesting no I made that up the only time I made that all the only research Justin does on this show is in his head as he's

making something up but you come into it so like sure and strong that I always go for it I'm always just like what which was it was it on Carson was it a Carson bit that like because I respect that and that that's the kind of pop culture foundation I was going to hit Jay Leno with it

Like, that was really. Now, it'd have been a Carson bit. Yeah. This song goes back to like 19. What year was it created? 1969. Neil has been dining off this one song for over 50 years coming up on 60. Solid 55 years now.

Just easily eaten. Just fucking, yeah. Like, I could always play. I trot this one song out there and everybody's going to like start waving their hands. You're telling me you don't know another Neil Diamond song. I don't. I told you one though. I told you one.

that you actually realized you knew one. Yeah, but that was like pregame talk. So why are you on airing me with that right now? No, because you remember it, and it's a good one. All right, play it. Whatever. You want to play it. Oh, yeah, dude.

That's a good old meal right there. And you got the... And you know why I know that song? Because it's from Anchorman. I know it as the song that's playing when he, like, first meets Veronica Corningstone. And he's like, by the beard of Zeus. He's like checking out her absolute breathtaking Heinie. Yeah, that was like my favorite movie for years.

Anchorman One? Yeah, it was in the introductory scene of Veronica Corningstone when he first spots her at the party. This song's playing in the background. I know that movie like front to back. I could tell you like what songs are playing. All the words, I don't know. That movie's legendary.

It's reached a point where like anybody discovering it now is probably like so familiar with the bits of it that it's not even going to hit. But back in 2004, Oh, me, that shit hit. Did you know what the song was written about? Yes. Some girl named Caroline that...

Did you know who Caroline was? Caroline Witherspoon from Idaho Hills. Negative. Graduation class of Excalibur University, 1964. Caroline Kennedy, the young daughter of the late president, John F. Kennedy.

Yeah, I didn't have that on my bingo card. I had no idea. Yeah. But then apparently that was actually made up. And then it was actually... Half of this podcast has just become us making shit up. Apparently, it was about his... He made a song for his wife, Marsha.

But Marsha didn't ring very well. So he changed it and said he needed a three-syllable name and then decided to go with Caroline. Caroline, three-syllable. I'm sure that played real... I'm sure that played... Marcia. I'm sure that played real fun with Marcia.

She was just totally cool with that. The Studio X-X wanted me to use Caroline. So we had to sell out, Neil. You couldn't find a way to make a jam about your wife, Marsha. There was something there. It is a hard name to rhyme with. I got to be honest. Sweet.

I mean, it works. Sweet, Marsha. I just workshopping a little bit. You're a singer. You're an artist, Neil. you could probably conjure something up. Probably wouldn't carry on like this, but it might have.

Aren't you the Neil? You're the Neil, man. Do something about it, Neil. Come on, Neil. Yeah, so then Marsha, I hope that he didn't have any, like, friends throughout life that was, like, named Caroline. He had to, like, explain that one off to Marsha.

Like, oh, no, she was just, you used to study together. Like, yeah, that just, oh, man, record execs. Getting in the way of a perfect loving marriage, I assume, I don't know. They're probably divorced now. I didn't Google search Neil Diamond and his background. It sounds like you did a little bit. So, I appreciate that.

Let's get back into it. Reach it out. Touching me. Touching you. There is a bump, bum, bum. It's a trumpet, like, section, a little isolation bit. And everybody just sings the trumpet bit. Yeah.

Okay, that one I'm fine with. It's the so good. I mean, I'm not even mad that it happened. Like, go ahead, add energy to a song if it gets people pumped. I've just gotten to a point. And this is why we actually chose to do this song. I recently just, like, put something out of, like, my Instagram store a few weeks ago. Because I was at a bar, and it comes on.

And it's just, like, automatically, like, people have to, like, start making the whole room about it. Which, okay, that works sometimes. And I've been in rooms where that was, like, really cool. But, like, sometimes it just feels so forced. Have you? Yeah. Have you? Wait, which question are you asking?

Have you to? Have you been in the room where it was really cool? And you were like, all right, this is really cool right now. I don't even know. Maybe at the beginning, like, that's the thing. It's like maybe the first time it caught on. This song goes off, man. I don't think I was ever, like, one of the people that were really excited about being like, so good, so good, you know.

I just remember thinking, dude, how is this song going off right now? Yeah, they kind of just does that. What is this track? And I just feel like it's just, I'm done with. at this point in terms of like every time it comes we all have to be like oh ha ha oh yeah get ready get ready we're all going to do it yeah we just have to like yeah what are we like not touch the touching hands yeah i don't know it's just once you you've you've been around it like a solid triple figure amount i'm just like i don't i don't need to get hyped on this song every time it plays

people will bring it out DJs will bring it out when they think they're like oh you know how this goes they need to like I need something that's gonna get the crowd's attention and get them like their energy up and make them all like make some noise

there's some remixes of this song that are pretty no way they may remix this song yeah well I have a remix that remix is like in what genre no it does like the queen like

do do do ch do do do ch so they just combine those two songs yeah they had that beat and then where I repeat can You know the Wee

You know, like play it? I don't know I don't have it You brought this up Without it ready to go Okay look at I literally look up Sweet Caroline remix

I don't have it in my system Well the good thing is That we spent valuable podcast time Talking about a remix That we don't have I will like Let me pivoted this though Here

Can't speak into knowing It's a point It's funny Because that song Simultaneously had both like more reason to give the song energy that this song usually does, but simultaneously, kind of infinitely more lame.

It did not feel like a cool song at all to me. It had a little bit of soccery and energy. Yeah, which I think they could have pulled the coolness out of it, but just like hearing it out of my headphones right now, I was just kind of like, I don't know, it doesn't make me want to party. I would probably prefer to hear like the regular version. But the energy seems more reason for why you would actually have everybody, like, get, like, up and start being like, bum, bum, bum, bum. And they said so good, so good, so good.

They actually said it. We know why they said that, though. Man. We know why they said that. When did that? Like, I want somebody. Somebody get in the comments. Hit us in the DMs.

Do you know the backstory? I could look it up. Let me see. When did Neil Diamond? Sweet. Yeah. You type's so slow. Bub.

All right. Let's see that. When did the so good start? That's what we're looking for. Oh, so good. Doesn't matter. You've already searched one of them. Sweet Caroline has been a crowd pleaser.

Don't give me the whole. No, I know. It's not you, but it's just like, yeah, I know. He's just a crowd pleader. Yeah, yeah. Could you just give me the cliff notes? Be like, oh, it was like a party in 1994. This guy, Jonathan, he just got everybody hyped up.

and he kept repeating so good, and he worked him in a little frenzy. And then it just caught on. No, that's just the Boston baseball team. Yeah, maybe that was it. You know what? I actually could buy that. I don't know when they started doing it in Boston.

But maybe they're the ones that put that on. That actually kind of tracks with as far as my knowledge of when people started doing the so good thing. So it probably became a thing that Fenway Park started doing. Yeah, they did it. Every other game at the eighth inning for the 19th. Yeah, yeah, they still do that, yeah. So.

All right. Neal Remember The Diamond Saving Silverman You ever see that movie? No Oh yeah

It's kind of like a random I think I have seen it It's a random comedy from like The early 2000s Where like you might have miss it But like it's got a little bit of like Cold Classic Dome Jack Blacks And it's Steve Zon

Yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah Yeah they're all super And Neil Diamond in that one Okay Like his girlfriend That's like sucks That they all hate like she does all these things to ruin his life and they're like yeah he made him torch is

neil diamond albums and jack black's like she torched neil check this out last night torches neil diamond albums she torched neal you're right the woman's a monster two three four all right let's get back to neal look at the night don't seem we fill it up with only two And when I heard runs off my shoulders, how can I heard one... Yes, Castle, break down those lyrics for us real quick. That's... I feel like this song goes on like a verse two. Well, he repeats itself after this.

This is the last time we have to go through lyrics, so I just want to figure out what you do. Oh, okay, which... He's very good at dissecting lyrics. I know, verse two? We're at verse two, yes. But now I look at the night, and it don't seem so lonely. We fill it up with only two.

And when I hurt, hurting runs off my shoulders. How can I hurt when holding you? All right. Let me dissect. Night, look at the night, and it don't seem so lonely. You fill it up. I kind of want you need to know what happened. Caroline.

Did she die? No, he's with her. There's two of them are together, and they fill up the night with just the two of them. With only two. And when I hurt, hurting runs off my shoulders when I can, how can I hurt when holding you? Yeah, yeah. He's not feeling. So he's just in love.

He's like dancing. If things feel right. When we're together and we're like doing like one of these in the moonlight, you know? So like this is almost like if Jasmine in Aladdin was named Caroline, he could have sang this song instead. No. While they were flying through the, with the magic carpet and stuff. No.

You know what I mean? Because of clouds and just, you know what I mean? The feeling. That was a whole new world. Totally different vibe. This song would never work there. If Jasmine was the name Caroline, though. You can't make sweet Jasmine work.

needed a three-verse syllable woman's name Justin. Marsha didn't work. You think Jasmine fucking plays? No, hell no. She got her own. She got the flying of magic carpet in the whole new world. She's good. She's over there.

Out in Agaraba. Flying through the world with Aladdin. Caroline, she needs... Prince Ali. She needs this warmth. No, it was Aladdin. It was just the front. It was the front.

Warm. Touching warm. Yeah, this just goes back to the whole. Rigeing out. Touching me. Wait, who? Okay, so she's reaching out. When I imagine that, I'm imagining

they're both like shoulder distance apart and just being like, just touching you. They're reaching out. Because if you're in a general, like, nice embrace, you don't really have to, like, reach out. It's just kind of like they're there. You know, but.

I always imagine that being a real subtle, like they're barely touching. Like the E.T. Yeah, yeah. Yeah. Or what was that painting, the 16th chapel? Where they're like, we don't have the middle ground. We're fucking stupid.

Yeah, let's close this one out. It's a good sweet clarinet. It's sweet. You got me, I got me. So good, so good. So good. You didn't do it. You didn't do it.

you're gonna get me you thought you had me i did i did i thought i hit you fully but i thought i was gonna you can't get this all right together everybody can not be had you're at home we're at the studio i want everybody singing along let's get it you don't do it more than three times don't too i blew it you really nailed that needle gravel at the end there yeah yeah that's pretty good okay wait let me see this so as a dj especially especially somebody like you got these weddings you have these times you kind of want to pick up the energy like let's get it going a little bit we got to dance for so you have these go-to songs that are like these are songs that are like get everybody involved make them like all like start singing together

and the whole like crowd just knows to do it okay so this i'd say is like right at the top like what are some other go-tos that always work for that this is where each crowd is different this is where each like ethnicity and age group. All right, well, like, let's pair some of them off. You know, you always got the classic shout. Otis, and some people like to do Isley Brothers, but for some reason everybody likes to do shout. You know we love shout.

So everybody likes that one. Whoop, there it is. Really? I did not see that one going. Whoop, there is. You know, we would like to repeat that. It's one of those. It's hard to get there, like, I don't know. You play like one verse and then you get to,

I guess it's fine for a one verse check. You don't need to do whoop there is more than once, But you're just saying, what does everybody sing along to? I remember that song had a moment in the 90s. That one was the most. Like, you want to get the crowd, like, all chanting something? You started whoop, there it is. And everybody would, everybody would start doing it, you know.

They'd be like. Am I, my man, Steve Boblin? That shit hits hard. That guy, that guy forever lives on. Tag team back again. I don't even know when they were there first. But, yeah. When they were there first, what I mean?

It said tag team back again. Oh, no, they were definitely there for the first time. That was their only. That's what I said. I was wondering when people say back again. I know. Yeah. It gives the facade that this has been going on and that, like, we should all know about you now.

Come on. I got one. What about, I got friends in low places. That's a good other one. That one always gets everybody singing for some reason. I'm not sure why people get excited about that. We already talked about living on a prayer, journey. Don't stop believing.

Don't stop believing. They'll hit you. Mm-hmm. those ones make more sense to me because they're like rock anthems i get so annoyed by them but at this point because but i understand most people are not at weddings every single weekend so they don't hear these things every single weekend but man then some of these songs get played out some of these get played out shut up and dance with me seems to be one of that shut up and dance wait what is that shut up and dance with me they were singing there for the last like there's like

two weddings i just just did that oh yeah that song they requested that i feel like people just know shut up and dance swimming part. That's it. What about Mr. Brightside has now come into that stature? That's one of those. Blink one and eight two. That's like one of those ones that they play. Any of those rock beats?

They literally have like football stadiums on like college Saturdays that will like sing like the whole, you know. And it's crazy how these college stadiums like literally will like have the biggest crowds in sports like on a weekly basis. We're fucking college football. They'll have like 110,000 people all say, like when you see when they all have a song that everybody like gets hyped to it's some of the most impressive crowd work in sports like one of the teams all like when they like at half time they all like play jump around and everybody

really jumping up and down and then uh somebody does mr bright side and like they're really turn the music off and like the whole like 100 000 people are all singing it together it's like an impressive like display of crowdery which is a word just checked it right it down don't aggregate me any of the word smith don't do it um Yeah, man That's not, I just made it up All right, so You know, it's one

Real quick, there was two Before I Let You Go by Mays Before I let you go You know that song? By who? Mays. M-A-S-M-A-G-M-A-G? I don't know what I'm talking about.

Yeah, Mays and Frankie Beverly. You never heard this song? I don't recognize it off but you're just grabbing it out. And the part that everybody sings is about right here. Nothing, nothing. Yeah, that's a good one.

You never heard that song? No, I can I can guess the genre that actually sings that all I knew is in the phone. They get down, we get down, we sing that, and then there's also... It has some good energy.

And then the other one is, the other one I said, Fall Out, boy, Sugar, we're going down. You ever heard this one? Oh, yeah. Sugar, we're going down, down in an earlier round.

Yeah. That one gets everybody, they get all in there. It does, yeah, yeah. So, it's on the, the all-time white people playlist for sure. right there with Mr. Brightside and his song. Sweet Caroline.

Yeah. So, speaking of Sweet Caroline, on the Slaps meter, out of five slaps, we'll be giving Miss Sweet Caroline two slabs and a snap. It's two in a round of that, right? Yeah, the only reason I like it is because I'm able to play it, and sometimes it makes the crowd go off, and so therefore it helps my DJing at events and makes me look like a great DJ because I knew to play it.

So that's why it gets that much. If not, I don't like the song. I would never play it. But because of its popularity, I'll give it another slap. Hey. Hey. Castle, what are you giving it, man? What are you giving this song?

Sweet Caroline, hit me. For the Neal. For the Neal. Bam, bum, bum. Wow. You bet your balls is Neil Diamond. It's two slaps. A bomb, bum, bum.

That does actually exist in the song. Trumpets did hook that up And people just amplify them So I'm not giving it a so good though I can go fuck itself And to Will Ferrell You bet your balls is Neil Diamond I'm gonna add the sound effect right here

You bet your balls is Neil Diamond Yeah no same thing Like I've had good time to this song I appreciate that it's there to uplift people People want I'm just saying like sometimes we don't need it Sometimes I'm like I'm good I don't think the party needs to all

revolve around it. It's kind of one of those things where like when it comes on people feel like we all got to be like guys, this song's playing. We have to shift everything that's happening. Get ready to bump, bum, bum. Yeah, let's make it a this song thing. And I'm just kind of like... We got a bump, bum, bum together. I don't really

want to, right now. I was kind of doing my thing over here. I'm in my corner. Now you've got to join. Now you've got to join this. No. I don't really want to make this a whole bump, bum, bomb moment. Because this song doesn't get me as hyped anymore. I remember for Flag Football when we used to go after for beers, They used to have us, whatever team sang this the loudest,

we'd get a free pitcher of beer. I used to sing my ass off for this. I would get some volume for that, probably. It would give it a little extra octave. Cool, man. It's a lot of bad contest idea, I guess. That's sweet Caroline. Brought to you by the Boston Red Sox who have been playing it since the 90s.

And Mr. Neal. I forgot about that. All right, I'm taking away a bompon out of my rating. Because of the Red Sox. Yeah. Yeah. And your fandom. Your fandom will do that.

Well, you know, it's a fan base where it's just like, I respect their history and their passion. Don't much care for them, though. Damn. You just alienated anybody from. I know. They probably listen to this episode just to be like, what's up with these guys?

Oh, they're talking about Neil. Guys think, you know what the fuck is up with Neil? I love it. Apparently. All right, it doesn't matter. I don't even hate baseball. of it. I wish I had to do a Boston accent right now and be able to join you.

I wish I was like, I had some funny, witty, comical commentary to do right there, and it would have been a great little bit. You know what's even funnier than doing a great little bit is when you talk about how if you had an idea, you could have made it funny. That's what I'm trying to emphasize. Sucks! Wicked strong this year!

A whole welland's coming out of the bullet. hole pinny's gonna smoke all them bastards out of here. No, I don't know. I don't want to do it either. Not an accent's guy. But you know what I am? I'm a slap sky and my next guy. Next.

Neil.