Stupefaction
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| "Stupefaction" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
![](#/media/File:"Stupefaction"_-_Graham_Parker_and_the_Rumour.jpg) | ||||
| Single by Graham Parker | ||||
| from the album The Up Escalator | ||||
| B-side | "Women In Charge" | |||
| Released | 25 April 1980 | |||
| Genre | Rock, new wave | |||
| Label | Stiff (UK & Europe) Arista (USA & Canada) | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Graham Parker | |||
| Producer(s) | Jimmy Iovine, Graham Parker | |||
| Graham Parker singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
"Stupefaction" is a song written by rock musician Graham Parker and performed by Graham Parker and the Rumour for their 1980 studio album The Up Escalator. Inspired by Parker's time spent in Los Angeles, the song features sardonic lyrics that were based on an observation by Parker and his manager in the city.
"Stupefaction" was released as the debut single from The Up Escalator, though it did not chart. It has since seen praise from critics and appeared on multiple compilation albums.
Parker described the song as "good fun, a good re-creation of a Stones song with more humor."[1] The song was inspired by, according to Parker, "spending a lot of time in Los Angeles."[2] He explained of the song's inspiration:
I'd spent time there and I was looking around at people, getting into the lifestyle. ... I remember the most extraordinary thing; me and my tour manager at the time were in a hired car, and my tour manager said to me, "Look at this guy next to us," so I looked and there was this guy driving a car, and his head was tilted back, and he was looking at the ceiling of the car, and it looked like he had broken neck! Everyone comes out of work in L.A., and you're driving along the freeway and you look at them, and they're all there with roach clips, getting stoned as they come out of work hitting the highways! It made me laugh, really, being there.[1]