Random Play is the new title for posts that don't fall into any other categories. For when I just hear a tune and think "I've got to write about that". Case in point...
This is the greatest pop video I have ever seen in my life.
How have I managed to live 47 years without seeing it before?
I've done three volumes of Stalker Songs so far...
...but this video trumps them all. Even Lionel Ritchie.
If you ever see this guy in your neighbourhood: get a restraining order.
The highlight is when Henry bumps into the gospel choir on the street corner and they take pity on him for his mad, stalkerish behaviour. That's a nice touch.
The thing is, although the "Woke" crowd would doubtlessly have a field day over this video today, this is basically the message behind 90% of successful pop hits. Henry's just a lot more blatant about it than most. And he looks a bit like Bob from Twin Peaks, which doesn't help.
Whatever happened to Henry Lee Summer? You may well ask.
The mugshot below gives us a clue...
I Wish I Had A Better Lawyer wasn't quite as big a follow-up hit.
At least the video has a happy ending. (Although none of the women featured in it were ever seen again. Make of that what you will.)
...instead, I'm over at The Vinyl Villain, introducing my Warren Zevon ICA. Thanks to JC for putting up with me. Check it out if you don't know Warren beyond the werewolves.
Here's one I had to leave out, for reasons I'll explain in the post...
I remember buying this single when I was 15 from a basement record store in town. I went out searching for it after hearing it on my favourite TV show. (It would later be featured on the soundtrack album, which I also bought.) Moonlighting, for those of you too young or deprived to recall, was a 4th-wall breaking detective romcom starring Bruce Willis as David Addison and Cybill Shepherd as Maddie Hayes.
Around this time, I was also somewhat obsessed with a Maddie of my own. She would often sit and chat with me on the school bus home. Although she seemed to use the longer version of her name with most other people, she never told me to stop when I called her Maddie. She was musical, like me, playing piano and violin. I played piano and tenor horn, though I was better at the brass than the keys. She was much better at the piano. Occasionally we'd meet in the music block and end up in a practice room where she'd show off on the piano and I would lust uncontrollably. In my head, I was David Addison and she was my Maddie Hayes. I'm not sure what the hell was going on in her head.
I clearly remember her telling me about how her legs were all downy because she hadn't shaved them that week. It was the most erotic thing anyone had ever said to me.
Around that time, I saw my own life as a soap opera. I think this came from the 4th-wall breaking in Moonlighting, and I often thought of day-to-day events as episodes with in-built cliffhangers. The end of term was like the end of a series. I clearly remember one end of term cliffhanger wherein Maddie and I got off the bus together and I was convinced I'd hinted at my feelings enough that she must have got the message... and surely on returning to school we would become an item. The following term was the greatest anti-climax ever.
Wracked with teenage insecurity, I couldn't ever ask a girl out directly, so the "does she / doesn't she?" nature of our friendship continued for the next few months until my mate Simon finally got sick of me whinging on about her and took it upon himself to ask her out for me. Except Maddie appeared to get the wrong end of the stick and thought he was actually asking for himself. Turns out she was interested in that... fair play to him: he wasn't. (I don't think I'd ever have forgiven him.) When he put her right... well, the alternative wasn't that appealing after all. I'll never quite understand why she spent as much time hanging round with me if that was the case, but such is teenage life.
Heartbreaking depression ensued and our friendship faded after that, but I carried the torch (among others) well into the 6th Form. This song always reminds me of her...
Maybe it's my mistake to show this love I feel inside
'Cause each day that passes by,
You got me never knowing if I'm coming or going
All that aside: when it comes to pop perfection, This Old Heart Of Mine (Is Weak For You) is right up there with Wichita Lineman.
Quick reminder of the Lime Green Rule, for anyone who's not been paying attention...
Unless they're amazing suggestions, I'm going to stop allowing lyrical 24s (and so on) as we get nearer number one. Let's face it, there are way too many. So you'll have to be really persuasive if you want to sell me on a lyrical reference from now on. Sorry.
Because, look, here's George again.
Damn that lime green rule. It means whip Crack Away by Doris Day is excluded.
Exceptions can be made in exceptional circumstances, George.
It's in the collection - no idea how it got there, but it aint bad ... I'm off to listen to some more. Never knowingly heard it.
Welcome to 50% of my record collection, RD. One of the reasons I do this blog is so I actually get to listen to some of the tracks I've never heard before.
OK, before we get to this week's debate, what else did my hard drive spew up?
Which brings us to the debate. The Swede was the first to raise the issue...
Seriously though, is anything going to top 'Strawberry Letter 23' by Shuggie Otis this week?
Charity Chic seconded that... but then, Lynchie threw in the alternative.
I prefer The Brothers Johnson version of "Strawberry Letter 23" to Shuggie Otis, so there!
I must admit, I'm really kind of torn. I know Shuggie wrote it, and the original takes some beating... but I really am rather fond of the Brothers Johnson version myself, especially as it's the version I heard first. Have we to call it a tie?
The best present I received this Christmas did not come from family or friends (note: the few friends I still possess do not trade Christmas presents with me, we understand that the sharing of gifts only leads to inevitable disappointment, so don't bother). It came instead from Simon & Julia Indelicate.
The crowd-funding campaign for their last album (the excellent Juniverbrechter, my favourite album of 2017) came with an option to choose your own song for Simon & Julia to cover. Being perpetually skint, I couldn't afford that option myself, but plenty of fans did, and the results were mailed out to us all on Christmas Eve.
27 tracks in total, and no rushed, half-arsed covers to be found here... Julia and Simon have taken their time with each of these, drawing on their full range of influences: from indie guitar pop to Betrolt Brecht, classic Country & Western to electro-pop, Jim Steinman to music hall. The choice of covers is equally eclectic, from Altered Images to Iron Maiden, George Strait to Carter USM, the Kinks to the Buffy musical episode soundtrack.
The album is a heap of fun, and not just for hardcore Indelicates fans like myself. Some of the covers are surprisingly faithful (their version of Little Baby Nothing by the Manics reminded me how much I loved the original) while others veer off on crazy tangents (their sleazy, double bass reading of EMF's Unbelievable is a hoot... and helped me hear the lyrics of that tune for the first time ever). Even the selections Simon & Julia weren't particularly fond of (Muse, The Libertines) are treated with surprising respect, and the collection also introduced me to at least one band I'd never heard of before, Young Galaxy: further investigation required.
The great thing is, because the whole album was recorded as a not-for-profit reward, the band are happy for me to share it with you. Here's Julia to explain...
We hope you enjoy these records. Obviously, we don’t own any of the copyrights so we can’t really upload them anywhere else – but do feel free to do whatever you want in terms of sharing them.
Also, if you enjoy these recordings, we’d love it if you could let us and the world know on your social media platform of choice.
Full track-listing below. It's hard for me to pick a favourite, but their version of Bring Your Daughter To The Slaughter has me grinning from ear to ear.
1. Introduction
2. Little Baby Nothing (Manic Street Preachers)
3. Red Right Hand (Nick Cave)
4. Youth Is Wasted On The Young (Young Galaxy)
5. England (Carter USM)
6. Amarillo By Morning (George Strait)
7. Girlfriend Is Better (Talking Heads)
8. A Book Of The Seven Seals (The Indelicates)
9. The Guns Of Brixton (The Clash)
10. Complexity (Sparkwood and 21)
11. Pinky Blue (Altered Images)
12. England Swings (Roger Miller)
13. Unbelievable (E.M.F.)
14. Tonight The Streets Are Ours (Richard Hawley)
15. Dead Man’s Gun (Ashtar Command – Red Dead Redemption soundtrack)
16. O Song (Augie March)
17. Climbing Up To The Moon (Eels)
18. Wichita Lineman (Glen Campbell)
19. Alcohol (The Kinks)
20. Up The Wolves (The Mountain Goats)
21. She Thinks His Name Was John (Reba McEntire)
22. Walk Through The Fire (The Buffy Soundtrack)
23. Bring Your Daughter To The Slaughter (Iron Maiden)
24. Time For Heroes (The Libertines)
25. Starlight (Muse)
+
26. Little Baby Nothing (live bonus track)
27. Amarillo By Morning (live bonus track)
If you like what you hear, you can find much more from The Indelicates at their website.
I blame Billy Joel for the fact that I can't ever think about Grace Kelly without also thinking about trouble in the Suez. Damn him. I'll never be part of High Society.
Anyway, before it gets to High Noon, here are this week's answers...
For years, I thought this was a song about a scoundrel leaving his wife and shamelessly copping off with his secretary. Then I listened a bit more closely and realised his missus was at it first. So I guess that serves her right.
A world without surprises would be very predictable.
It's pure coincidence that this track featured here on Thursday. I compiled this
edition of Saturday Snapshots weeks ago. I could have changed it, but I wanted to see if anyone was paying attention.
Don't worry, Saturday Snapshots will be back next week. No need to Dial M For Murder.
When they told me this quiz would make a Newman out of me, I had no idea they meant this.
You see, what we've got here is... failure to communicate. Some men you just can't reach. So you get what we had here last week, which is the way he wants it... well, he gets it. I don't like it any more than you men.
Ten titles and artists from the clues below, please. They've been too easy lately. This week's are not too easy.
(By the way, if you don't know where that speech comes from, it comes from here. Oops, I mean here.)
10. Invasion of the... couch potatoes.
9. Rhythm & Blues writes to problematic girl, mourning conjunction.
8. Weeping fox.
7. Ask Daniele for a more upbeat reaction to bad weather than Don & Phil had.
6. Dancer's dog mourned by Lee, Lynne and Luke Sky.
5. Bake-off final: mercy for Hergé.
4. Alloy writer romanticised by fortunate Queen killers.
3. On hold for conventional candy.
2. Romantic Shakespearean text found in smallest room.
1. The sound...of a brand-new world. Predictably.
The Sting is on. Show me the Colour of (your) Money, Hustlers. The answers will be revealed tomorrow morning.
Dipping my toe tentatively into Top Tens again, lest this blog get done under the Trade Descriptions Act. One of the main reasons I quit was because I always ended up with too many options for whatever topic I picked and I hated leaving anything out. So I'm just going to go with the first ten songs I think of and call this Volume 1 of Songs About Being In A Band. When I think of more, or you do, I might run a second post.
I always thought this was about his years as a member of the Drive By Truckers, but the interweb tells me he actually wrote about a band they went on tour with called Centro-Matic.
The downside of being in a band... and not doing as well as you'd hoped.
It's all my fault
Yes I'm to blame
Ain't got no money
Ain't got no fame
1. Art Brut - Formed A Band
Surely the most joyous expression of what it must be like to start your own band after dreaming about it for so long. I can never understand why Art Brut weren't bigger than The Beatles. (Please don't answer that.)
And yes, that is his singing voice. It's not irony, and it's not rock 'n' roll... he's just talking... to the kids.
I was cheered to read last week that a new study has found the age of peak misery is 47... which is exactly how old I am right now. Apparently monkeys also experience a similar winter of discontent at the same age... so my current unhappiness is genetic!
Well, that cheers me right up. It means that from now on, as D:Ream so memorably put it, Things Can Only Get Better. Perhaps those of you reading this who are older than me will back this up. I mean, you're presumably all enjoying your second wind now, are you? Skipping through the buttercup meadows of your second half-century with a smile on your face and a song in your heart. Do reassure me that it's true.
Meanwhile, I'll just sit here wallowing in the single pop lyric that most sums up my own life at the moment. Because, according to the experts, this too will pass...
We were listening to Sam CD #94 in the car for the first time on Saturday, and as soon as this tune came on, Sam said:
"This is the band that lives across the road from Auntie Mags."
Auntie Mags isn't an actual auntie, but a friend of Louise's, one of the special kind who gets awarded honorary auntie status. She lives in Sheffield, and true enough, her house is just across the road from a rather unprepossessing 4 bedroom detached property owned by Mr. Phil Oakey. He's had it for years, and we've no idea how often he actually lives there, or how many other houses he owns, but I guess it's his hometown base. In fact, the only information Auntie Mags (who also shares a local with Richard Hawley, "a very nice man") has to reveal about the Oakey residence is that "he always keeps his curtains closed". Well, he would, wouldn't he? He's only human... and I imagine many of his neighbours keep feeling fascination about just what he gets up to in there. I mean... is there still any love action?
I like Sam's idea that the whole band lives there though, Monkees style. They could do a pop band remake of Man About The House with Phil playing the Richard O'Sullivan role and Susan Sulley and Joanne Catherall replacing Paula Wilcox and Sally Thomsett. Maybe former members Martyn Ware and Ian Craig Marsh could be the annoying neighbours next door who can't resist the temptation to peep over the garden fence.
Ladies and gentlemen, I give you the excellent Fallover 24, with their superb tune, Pessimistic Man. What finer tune could there be to issue in another bumper edition of our countdown?
Bumper being the operative word, let's crack on with your suggestions and see if anyone guessed my "obvious" 24...
First out of the gates this week was Charity Chic, certain that he'd backed the odds on favourite...
I'll save everyone the bother this week as there can only be one winner.
It may please you all to know that they were the first three on my list. Which isn't in any order other the order I think of them or find them on my hard drive.
Jim in Dubai also reminded us of the Yachts' cover of 24 Hours From Tulsa, which featured on this blog just a few weeks back.
Martin then returned to point out that there are "shed load of different songs called "24 Hours", so take your pick from (amongst others)..."
Jim also suggested the band at the top of the page, and Twenty 4 Seven - I Can't Stand It which brings back the true horror of the charts in my teenage years. Thanks for that, Jim. I haven't slept for a week.
Now, last week, those of you who were paying attention will have notice a new rule which was imposed upon this quiz as we get nearer #1. A new rule which will henceforth be known as "The Lime Green Rule"...
Oh, one final thing. Unless they're amazing suggestions, I'm going to stop allowing lyrical 24s (and so on) as we get nearer number one. Let's face it, there are way too many. So you'll have to be really persuasive if you want to sell me on a lyrical reference from now on. Sorry.
First to fall foul of this rule was Lynchie (who did later realise his mistake) when he suggested...
'Cause for twenty-four years I've been living next door to Alice
The thing is, I really like this song. However, it has been forever tarnished in my mind by the band re-recording it with Roy Chubby Brown as (Who The Fuck Is) Alice? Which is right up there in my mind with Lindisfarne's Fog On The Tyne featuring Gazza. I'm not linking to either of those debacles though, no matter how much it upsets George, who appears to be a fan.
George did redeem himself with his next idea though...
Someone else who ignored the Lime Green rule was Rigid Digit, but fortunately both his real suggestions have featured previously back in week #36, so go find them there. In desperation he adds...
...or, how anything by Status Quo - lifted from 12 Gold Bars Vol I and Vol II
(2 lots of 12 are 24 - is that the sound of a barrel being scraped?)
Definitely. However, just to keep you and Jez happy...
Next up was Douglas, limiting his own suggestions this week...
Firstly, Lana Del Rey's song "24" is actually quite lovely in her fragile sad kind of way. I know there is a lot of feeling that she went off the rails after the stellar Born to Die album, with her quest for fame and newfound penchant for explicit lyrics, but this one is back to form, I think. Sounds a bit like she's auditioning for a Bond film end-credits theme.
That one wasn't. But at least it's from the Syd era.
And I know it breaks your No lyrics" rule but sure the "Twenty-twenty-twenty four hours to go...I wanna be sedated" lyric is so iconic and so close to being in the title that an exception could be made...?
That was also on the list. But not the winner, as Douglas himself guessed.
I feel these are getting less and less "obvious", though some are decent enough songs. But what is left? I think we are all going on strike if it turns out to be the awful Bruno Mars song I came across in my digging that I won't even mention by name...
I had no idea of the track Douglas was referring to, so I had to go investigate.
All of which leads us back to Nigel Blackwell, who's having a bit of trouble down at the 24 Hour Garage. (Presumably this was soon after visiting Argos to record this: Half Man Half Biscuit - £24.99 from Argos.)
Take it away, Nige... start doing what you can to wind up that guy behind the counter!
I’ll have ten Kit Kats and a motoring atlas
Ten Kit Kats and a motoring atlas
And a blues CD on the Hallmark label
– that’s sure to be good
Far fewer 23s to choose from, but the Lime Green Rule still applies. Let's see what you can come up with...
I spent quite a bit of time recently putting together a Warren Zevon ICA which will run over at The Vinyl Villain sometime soon. I explained why I felt the need to do this in the intro to that post, so I won't say anymore for the time being, although one song I mention but don't include is this, the best cover of a Prince single ever recorded. Notice how carefully chosen those words are. I didn't say "best cover of a Prince song" since I'm sure we can all name a song or two that Prince handed over to someone else to do a better job of... but covers of his hits are harder to love, mainly because tracks like Little Red Corvette, U Got The Look and Gett Off are so uniquely Prince, nobody else can touch them.
Here's the original of what is arguably his greatest pure pop song. (There's an extended intro on the video which doesn't add much, to be honest.)
It's a brave band that tries to cover that, so points for bravery must go to R.E.M.'s Mike Mills, Bill Berry and Peter Buck, leaving their usual frontman by the pool and roping in Warren Zevon to deliver a unique interpretation.
"You can't improve on perfection", as Charity Chic remarked, showing his admiration for the movie Chicken Run last week. True enough. But you can have a damn fine stab at it...
If you're feeling Wild At Heart this Saturday morning, it's probably because you're waiting for the National Treasure that is Saturday Snapshots. Work out the ten Face/Offs below to reveal title and artist of a top tune. They all certainly Kick Ass...
10. Poet stuck in the bog? Typical human being.
9. A couple, in three movements? Child's play!
8. Labelled middle-class? No worries.
7. Too much superglue.
6. Ode to a Phoenix, from a menacing anchorman.
5. Last dingo does Alan Partridge impression.
4. Second Goddess, electric smut.
3. I am the... opposite of Frank Black. You are... the only one in the race.
2. Creepy, kooky dad in police custody.
1. Jill and Sam's other halves enjoy sliced fruit in a tent.
Be quick with your answers. The easy ones will be Gone in 60 Seconds!
