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Penpals

Artist: Sloan

Released: 1994

Lyrical relic: Penpals [more specifically, written fan mail]

Although this song by Canadian rock band Sloan is entitled “Penpals”, the word does not appear in the lyrics. So TECHNICALLY, it’s not a lyrical relic.

The Oxford Dictionary defines a pen pal as “a person with whom one becomes friendly by exchanging letters, especially someone in a foreign country whom one has never met.”

The lyrics are all swiped from actual fan mail written to Nirvana, their grungier labelmates on Geffen Records. How Sloan came into possession of these letters from all over the world is not quite clear. But singer/writer Chris Murphy managed to piece them together, in all their broken English, into a smart and catchy jigsaw puzzle of a song.

This single was featured on the album Twice Removed, released in August 1994, less than six months after the death of Kurt Cobain.

The Internet was still in its infancy back in 1994 (when the screech of dial-up was music to our ears), so putting pen to paper was still the standard way of reaching out to a celebrity. However, the chances of getting a personal response back was slim to nil.

Still, writing fan mail was once an incredibly popular practice. Kurt Cobain and company probably could not compete with the likes of Mickey Mouse. This fictional mouse made it into the Guinness Book of World Records for reportedly receiving 800,000 fan letters in 1933.

With social media becoming the main way to reach out to celebrities, your chances of a receiving a response from your idol of choice has probably improved, as it demands way less effort on their behalf.

If you’re a Sloan fan, you probably have an even greater chance of getting a response. Included in the comments for the “Penpals” YouTube video posted below is this one:

“I wrote these guys in the 90s and they wrote me back. Sent me a bunch of cool shit in the mail. Great songs, excellent guitar tones.”

So I tip my hat to Sloan. They apparently do have respect for the act of fanmailing.

Sources:

https://www.blogto.com/music/2012/11/sloans_jay_ferguson_talks_re-issue_of_twice_removed/

https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/69997-most-hollywood-fan-mail

37 Comments

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  13. binance

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  14. Can you be more specific about the content of your article? After reading it, I still have some doubts. Hope you can help me.

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  17. binance

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  18. binance

    I don’t think the title of your article matches the content lol. Just kidding, mainly because I had some doubts after reading the article.

  19. I don’t think the title of your article matches the content lol. Just kidding, mainly because I had some doubts after reading the article.

  20. Thank you for your sharing. I am worried that I lack creative ideas. It is your article that makes me full of hope. Thank you. But, I have a question, can you help me?

  21. Thanks for sharing. I read many of your blog posts, cool, your blog is very good.

  22. I don’t think the title of your article matches the content lol. Just kidding, mainly because I had some doubts after reading the article.

  23. Can you be more specific about the content of your article? After reading it, I still have some doubts. Hope you can help me.

  24. Thank you for your sharing. I am worried that I lack creative ideas. It is your article that makes me full of hope. Thank you. But, I have a question, can you help me?

  25. Can you be more specific about the content of your article? After reading it, I still have some doubts. Hope you can help me.

  26. Can you be more specific about the content of your article? After reading it, I still have some doubts. Hope you can help me.

  27. Thanks for sharing. I read many of your blog posts, cool, your blog is very good.

  28. Thank you for your sharing. I am worried that I lack creative ideas. It is your article that makes me full of hope. Thank you. But, I have a question, can you help me?

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  33. Can you be more specific about the content of your article? After reading it, I still have some doubts. Hope you can help me.

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  35. Your article helped me a lot, is there any more related content? Thanks!

  36. I don’t think the title of your article matches the content lol. Just kidding, mainly because I had some doubts after reading the article.

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