In part I think there's an element of the women (fashion models, or prostitutes, or?) being quickly discarded as 'yesterday's'. The lyrics "she's last year's model / They call her Natasha when she looks like Elsie" I think refer to Elsie the cow, the symbol for Borden milk, which is or was the biggest milk brand in the US--in other words, Natasha is so last-year, she looks like a cow (too fat).
Could it be that the men in white coats are at an institution dealing with eating disorders (reportedly common in fashion models) on an in-patient basis? Be anexoric or be discarded like Natasha! But don't let anyone SEE your disorder (finger down your throat privately, please).
Could the he, at sixty-six, be a photographer (like EC on the cover) or a fashion designer? Is EC saying such men use models like prostitutes?
I agree about the models/Chelsea girls connection. I've always thought that the song was about the manufactured "superstars" of the art scene, the self and other deception, and the pretentiousness of the "scene". To me, "call her Natasha when she looks like Elsie" always meant taking an ordinary girl (Elsie is a pretty common old-fashioned rural English name) and trying to "reinvent her" as an exotic model (Natasha). TO me, this song has always been a warning about getting involved in and an indictment of the "art scene."
I agree about the models/Chelsea girls connection. I've always thought that the song was about the manufactured "superstars" of the art scene, the self and other deception, and the pretentiousness of the "scene". To me, "call her Natasha when she looks like Elsie" always meant taking an ordinary girl (Elsie is a pretty common old-fashioned rural English name) and trying to "reinvent her" as an exotic model (Natasha). TO me, this song has always been a warning about getting involved in and an indictment of the "art scene."
I agree with the Elsie the Cow of Borden Milk reference. Could Natasha be Nastassja Kinski whose career as a model/actress was well underway when this song was written in 1978?
I agree with the Elsie the Cow of Borden Milk reference. Could Natasha be Nastassja Kinski whose career as a model/actress was well underway when this song was written in 1978?
In part I think there's an element of the women (fashion models, or prostitutes, or?) being quickly discarded as 'yesterday's'. The lyrics "she's last year's model / They call her Natasha when she looks like Elsie" I think refer to Elsie the cow, the symbol for Borden milk, which is or was the biggest milk brand in the US--in other words, Natasha is so last-year, she looks like a cow (too fat).
Could it be that the men in white coats are at an institution dealing with eating disorders (reportedly common in fashion models) on an in-patient basis? Be anexoric or be discarded like Natasha! But don't let anyone SEE your disorder (finger down your throat privately, please).
Could the he, at sixty-six, be a photographer (like EC on the cover) or a fashion designer? Is EC saying such men use models like prostitutes?
I agree about the models/Chelsea girls connection. I've always thought that the song was about the manufactured "superstars" of the art scene, the self and other deception, and the pretentiousness of the "scene". To me, "call her Natasha when she looks like Elsie" always meant taking an ordinary girl (Elsie is a pretty common old-fashioned rural English name) and trying to "reinvent her" as an exotic model (Natasha). TO me, this song has always been a warning about getting involved in and an indictment of the "art scene."
I agree about the models/Chelsea girls connection. I've always thought that the song was about the manufactured "superstars" of the art scene, the self and other deception, and the pretentiousness of the "scene". To me, "call her Natasha when she looks like Elsie" always meant taking an ordinary girl (Elsie is a pretty common old-fashioned rural English name) and trying to "reinvent her" as an exotic model (Natasha). TO me, this song has always been a warning about getting involved in and an indictment of the "art scene."
I agree with the Elsie the Cow of Borden Milk reference. Could Natasha be Nastassja Kinski whose career as a model/actress was well underway when this song was written in 1978?
I agree with the Elsie the Cow of Borden Milk reference. Could Natasha be Nastassja Kinski whose career as a model/actress was well underway when this song was written in 1978?