Hey, Radio, You’re Playing Our Song Too Much!

“It’s a song that people notice,” says John S. Hall, the singer and writer for the New York-based band King Missile. That’s a bit like saying that Michael Jackson is a guy that people chat about.

The song under discussion is King Missile’s “Detachable Penis,” a droll recitation about a missing member set to a deliberate beat and guitar hook, backed by a deadpan chorus singing the title phrase. The song has taken alternative-rock radio by storm, helping the band’s new album, “Happy Hour,” gain a stranglehold on the No. 1 position on the college airplay charts.

And now the author has an unusual request--stop already!

“The problem is that after a while people start to hate the song,” Hall says. “I guess that’s true of any pop song, but it’s particularly true of spoken-word material and stuff that has jokes in it.

“I kind of wish it wouldn’t get played to death as if it were an ordinary kind of song. I think it makes its impact after a couple of listenings and after that I would think it wears thin.

“If they wear out this song, people are just gonna be completely turned off to the band. And they certainly are wearing out the song. Deejays rightfully are getting quite sick of it. On the other hand, that dies down and then six months later it’s a classic.”

That process isn’t a new experience for King Missile. In 1990, its song “Jesus Was Way Cool” caused a similar buzz, helping boost the group from the independent ranks toward a major-label deal with Atlantic Records.

Hall’s initial forum as a performer was poetry readings around New York. He gradually incorporated musicians into the act, and went on to record three albums as King Missile in the late ‘80s for the independent label Shimmy Disc.

The lineup eventually solidified as a real working band: Hall, guitarist Dave Rick, bassist-keyboardist Chris Xefos and drummer Roger Murdock. The group plays the Whisky on Tuesday and the Casbah in San Diego on Wednesday.

Hall, who continues to perform as a poet (he recently appeared on a bill in New York with Allen Ginsberg and Gregory Corso to observe the birthday of Beat Generation legend Neal Cassady), says that he initially wrote “Detachable Penis” as “a goof,” but he insists that there are deeper levels.

“I mean, some males maybe respond to it because they like the idea of being detached from their sexuality, and not responsible for it. Other males might like the idea because, like you’re 16 or 17 and you’re completely ruled by your hormones and at times you just don’t want to be. And so the idea of being able to turn it on and off is an appealing idea.

“I’ve read in the newspaper that it’s about castration anxiety, but I don’t think people understand the desire some males have to--I don’t want to say castration desire exactly. It’s not something I want . But one talks about fantasies a lot of times that aren’t fully thought out. And some males want to be female.

“There’s also just the word penis , which is a funny word, like cheesecake .”

Hall’s opus hasn’t generated anything close to the controversy that flew around such censorship targets as 2 Live Crew a few years ago, but Hall says that some stations restrict its airings to late-night hours.

“They think that kids shouldn’t be hearing the word penis on the radio. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with the word penis . It’s not a derogatory term. And I think that for young kids, the song demystifies sexuality. I think it’s the mystification of sex that causes all this ignorance and wrong information that leads to bigger problems, confusion about sex and making mistakes that can be fatal.”