tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-76335436881497753222024-03-19T12:18:35.018+00:00My Top TenWe learned more from a 3 minute record than we ever learned in school.Rolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02103804480646939038noreply@blogger.comBlogger2628125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7633543688149775322.post-2482095659993786372024-03-19T08:00:00.256+00:002024-03-19T08:00:00.145+00:00Namesakes #77: Smile<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3IPmO-Q2hyphenhyphenEdrLaQdLahi9c-TOY49vmKxgZ-F74iCgBskYfiA78XaGEOZ8GVtErBdBzh-yK6E8Zc5-cj4RfkQWP0LDnxMO-pvlXOSoYiZirHeXqbio4Qj7GTisMW6ONM76-vmcXybUtp0EJAe4hzE9yIEfeDAJ47XhVbgGZP-WX_9ruo8YNjFAXsVXlx5/s259/Smile.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="224" data-original-width="259" height="224" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3IPmO-Q2hyphenhyphenEdrLaQdLahi9c-TOY49vmKxgZ-F74iCgBskYfiA78XaGEOZ8GVtErBdBzh-yK6E8Zc5-cj4RfkQWP0LDnxMO-pvlXOSoYiZirHeXqbio4Qj7GTisMW6ONM76-vmcXybUtp0EJAe4hzE9yIEfeDAJ47XhVbgGZP-WX_9ruo8YNjFAXsVXlx5/s1600/Smile.jpeg" width="259" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>Today's edition of Namesakes coincides with my 52nd birthday. I now have as many years as a pack has cards and a year has weeks. I'm celebrating by listening to a selection of songs by the B52s and Billy Joel's sixth album, 52nd Street. <div><br /></div><div>I'd hoped there might be more than one band called <a href="https://youtu.be/7hvibTktpuU?si=7tSPgndFwwB80Yao">The Birthday Party</a>... but it didn't appear there was. Nobody messes with Nick Cave. I did find a few bands called simply Birthday... but none of them were worthy of note. I know, I thought... as it's my birthday, I should really try to Smile. And so I began to look for bands called Smile...</div><div><br /></div><div>It was scary how many Smiles there were. </div><div><br /></div><div>Also, this edition of Namesakes is the first one in which I've had to call in outside help... the big guns... namely JC, <a href="https://thenewvinylvillain.com/">The Vinyl Villain</a>, and his army of devoted readers... to help me track down one of the bands. I'll explain why when I get to Number 14.</div><div><br /></div><div>DISCLAIMER #1: Due to the large number of bands on show today, I'm not posting videos. 30+ videos in one post would surely break this blog... if not the whole internet. Hyperlinks are on offer instead - just click the link to sample / enjoy / hate on each band as you go. Or choose the links you think may be of interest to you. Because... </div><div><br /></div><div>DISCLAIMER #2: Unless you're George, I don't expect you to wade through 30+ different bands called Smile just because <i>I </i>felt the need to. Some people actually go out, have a party or see friends on their birthday. This is how I chose to spend the day... still, remember what <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lxV1cX9owKE">Charlie Chaplin</a> said...</div><div><br /></div><div><div><b><span style="color: #2b00fe;">Smile though your heart is aching</span></b></div><div><b><span style="color: #2b00fe;">Smile even though it's breaking</span></b></div><div><b><span style="color: #2b00fe;">When there are clouds in the sky, you'll get by</span></b></div><div><b><span style="color: #2b00fe;">If you smile through your fear and sorrow</span></b></div><div><b><span style="color: #2b00fe;">Smile and maybe tomorrow</span></b></div><div><b><span style="color: #2b00fe;">You'll see the sun come shining through for you</span></b></div><p><br /></p><p><span><b><span style="color: #800180; font-size: medium;"><u>SMILE #1</u></span></b></span></p><p>Let's start in 1968 with a band whose lead singer gets top billing, though that's not enough to disqualify them, particularly when you consider all the other reasons to give them a listen:</p><p>1. They were from Leeds.</p><p>2. Denis Couldry was also a member of Felius Andromeda, aka The Unidentified Flower Objects (who released a single called <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ABjhYMA5xiM">Flower Power Fred</a> with Harry H. Corbett on lead vocals!)</p><p>3. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Juz4W9yEYA">Motorbikin'</a> Chris Spedding was also in the band.</p><p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=plbPAqOzLkc">Dennis Couldry & Smile - A Penny For The Wind</a></p><p><b><span style="color: #800180; font-size: medium;"><u>SMILE #2</u></span></b></p><p><b><span style="color: #800180; font-size: medium;"></span></b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #800180; font-size: medium;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6PDb1WmfqvKjYoLjXIq6qKH5zFFhUPHKFdOaRzxcCRWyPNAM9xnUwVsssLpd-OD3WZnJv0wo5K1jhb1RuC8VsPyWudzv3flyf7ENjGmpMM9orB8eNRe5WqvFquNzo3P-7uvjdykrB5T6gvbsAu02GettRdgMmflTuloji_K_D8Y_xyTXOvx8ljE_4a9-H/s300/Smile_band.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="179" data-original-width="300" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6PDb1WmfqvKjYoLjXIq6qKH5zFFhUPHKFdOaRzxcCRWyPNAM9xnUwVsssLpd-OD3WZnJv0wo5K1jhb1RuC8VsPyWudzv3flyf7ENjGmpMM9orB8eNRe5WqvFquNzo3P-7uvjdykrB5T6gvbsAu02GettRdgMmflTuloji_K_D8Y_xyTXOvx8ljE_4a9-H/s1600/Smile_band.jpg" width="300" /></a></span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #800180; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></b></div>Brian May... Roger Taylor... Tim Staffell. It feels like there's an important member missing from the band that would become Queen... and I don't mean John Deacon.<p></p><p>May and Staffell originally met at private school and formed a band called 1984, way back in 1965. When they headed off to college a couple of years later, they recruited Taylor and the rest was a prelude to history. Staffell left in 1970 to join folk-rockers Humpy Bong, while May and Taylor eventually met a young lad called Farrokh Bulsara. And then the rest is history.</p><p>Do your worst, Queen-haters... I won't mind. They were nothing without Freddie... although May's skill with a guitar is clearly evident on the track below...</p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XFJkTieu0Sk">Smile - Earth</a><br /><div><p><span style="color: #800180; font-size: medium;"><b><u>THE SMILE / SMYLE #3</u></b></span></p><p><span style="color: #800180; font-size: medium;"><b></b></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #800180; font-size: medium;"><b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkIzo3t0FdJlvMMTLM9KX3Ns9cBf5u5UL8Ri9F0FdToyuwEhofiOSPigInxEHzTLPgJhG0o9Sdv0gVYW5NwkgEbX-sARZ376wn0FLwTlbF5vvfeMIrBAFHhXqvAutDUGTaLGrA81CvwuDtF8im0H_dwjOIUgXRzAMjuiHYd6lNCxZMiprgg5Kq-zBUXziu/s225/smilec.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="180" data-original-width="225" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkIzo3t0FdJlvMMTLM9KX3Ns9cBf5u5UL8Ri9F0FdToyuwEhofiOSPigInxEHzTLPgJhG0o9Sdv0gVYW5NwkgEbX-sARZ376wn0FLwTlbF5vvfeMIrBAFHhXqvAutDUGTaLGrA81CvwuDtF8im0H_dwjOIUgXRzAMjuiHYd6lNCxZMiprgg5Kq-zBUXziu/s1600/smilec.jpg" width="225" /></a></b></span></div><p></p><p>Also from 1969, this lot were Canadian and originally known as The Smile, then they became just Smyle. As always, I picked the song title that most appealed to me...</p><p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e-M5Wfv92tE">The Smile [Smyle] - Be Somebody Else's Friend</a></p></div><div><span style="color: #800180; font-size: medium;"><b><u>SMILE #4</u></b></span></div><div><br /></div><div>Californian band from the early 70s with Chris Rae on guitar. Rae, not Rea. They appear to have released a few singles, but this b-side was the only thing on the tube of you...</div><div><br /><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BJK942QQAA4">Smile - Southbound</a></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="color: #800180; font-size: medium;"><u>SMILE #5</u></span></b></div><div><br /></div><div>New Orleans band from 1971, although they're stuck firmly in the 60s by the sound of it. Shortest song today - extra marks for that, surely?</div><div><br /><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CEQbmOqrzwE">Smile - I Wonder</a></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="color: #800180; font-size: medium;"><b><u>SMYLE #6</u></b></span></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyBWZD4CJr_3cV5wXQjLsZenJSGQUsmzK60_xaiituWewuMtfuGtf_rue4Xacv1wzGwEuqQca420zJIH-H-HNUs2ZnfjiNrAIDv6lG__hjPSfJobcKNLOEG3d5DLz5VZyTYIVkXleokEujbS7ox-DLJw1Sv0RZBGnQf2jBn5m4RwManN3A0ameNGNONmK0/s300/Smiley.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="160" data-original-width="300" height="160" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyBWZD4CJr_3cV5wXQjLsZenJSGQUsmzK60_xaiituWewuMtfuGtf_rue4Xacv1wzGwEuqQca420zJIH-H-HNUs2ZnfjiNrAIDv6lG__hjPSfJobcKNLOEG3d5DLz5VZyTYIVkXleokEujbS7ox-DLJw1Sv0RZBGnQf2jBn5m4RwManN3A0ameNGNONmK0/s1600/Smiley.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><br /><div>Holland, 1972, and another Smyle with a Y. For further information: "Band uit Voorburg en Den Haag met O.A. Zanger Bas Muys en gitarist Mark Boon." Isn't Dutch a wonderful language?</div><div><br /><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GNSgab2Rop8">Smyle - The Tandem</a></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="color: #800180; font-size: medium;"><b><u>SMILE #7</u></b></span></div><div><br /></div><div>Gentle Greek acoustic rock from 1973...</div><div><br /><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X8gyNAfqWcc">Smile - ΑΛΗΘΕΙΕΣ</a></div><div><br /></div><div>...it's all Greek to me.</div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="color: #800180; font-size: medium;"><u>SMILE #8</u></span></b></div><div><br /></div><div>And now we reach 1974, and a song written by Roger Greenaway, one of the men behind I'd Like to Teach the World to Sing (In Perfect Harmony). Quite pleased to find this on "Non Hit Radio" - where "Every Song Is A Non Hit". My former radio bosses would have a heart attack at the very thought.</div><div><br /><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AJWkbUUExA4">Smile - Let Me Be Your Shadow</a></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="color: #800180; font-size: medium;"><b><u>SMILE #9</u></b></span></div><div><br /></div><div>Next, a Danish rock band from the mid-70s who mixed covers with their own compositions. This is one of the latter, the b-side to their version of House of the Rising Sun. Previously known as The Sharons. Which is a far better name if you ask me.</div><div><br /><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QDJjoMQHDag">Smile - Every Heartbeat</a></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="color: #800180; font-size: medium;"><b><u>SMILE #10</u></b></span></div><div><br /></div><div>On Tojam Records in 1975, a frustratingly catch slice of "disco-country-funk"...</div><div><br /><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GZlu5CUvM4g">Smile - Mooses Saloon</a></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="color: #800180; font-size: medium;"><b><u>SMILE #11</u></b></span></div><div><br /></div><div>Those with no appreciation of the genre used to say that AOR stood for Any Old Rubbish. Being that I have quite a bit of Adult Oriented Rock in my record collection, I am unable to agree with that assessment. This lot though, from 1985... well... at least they're good at jumping.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhS4fE4VlmH8UkED05QWY60WCedUNLMoDjQ1YB13UdfuDBziABOJOzTHmyi2wsQ6rt3yFC5fsl6YlpP4lO0zGn-SxJtCYb-vWzPb3JKAllxZaGm47uZ2NqtLapa8fl6b2DhTCHGwYvaCV8ABM2h1gWgya7XbSyl_lziw8cQKBtiDdAy0U5U1YbwAH8rIGXg/s537/Smilex.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="426" data-original-width="537" height="254" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhS4fE4VlmH8UkED05QWY60WCedUNLMoDjQ1YB13UdfuDBziABOJOzTHmyi2wsQ6rt3yFC5fsl6YlpP4lO0zGn-SxJtCYb-vWzPb3JKAllxZaGm47uZ2NqtLapa8fl6b2DhTCHGwYvaCV8ABM2h1gWgya7XbSyl_lziw8cQKBtiDdAy0U5U1YbwAH8rIGXg/s320/Smilex.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZKaO4ehl0zs">Smile - Radio Act Of Love</a></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="color: #800180; font-size: medium;"><b><u>SMILE #12</u></b></span></div><div><br /></div><div>One year later. Not much better.</div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AEqTKXmvzrs">Smile - Growing Stronger Every Day</a></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="color: #800180; font-size: medium;"><b><u>SMILE #12A</u></b></span></div><div><br /></div><div>I couldn't find any audio for this 1989 German smile... but I thought I'd share their record sleeve, because a picture is surely worth a thousand musical notes... I'm pretty sure Timmy Mallet is in there somewhere.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhN6qLk2_eYfC-dXkBo-R_oH6UR2DFiIZ96sQ3BRV-GNgj5FcPy4tbQCjWuKlmp8K4EFEoEONNlyeqY5rh1KfrZRhYD9UbBkYGQnm9G3U-QHMsEZRhYFGCS8JIW2fMbBxAKFpCOgc4wj7WTK3DUOwpdcfYuCXb84UeNm8UKuFseTEdJQoeweR37HETDSZwj/s600/Smilea.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="600" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhN6qLk2_eYfC-dXkBo-R_oH6UR2DFiIZ96sQ3BRV-GNgj5FcPy4tbQCjWuKlmp8K4EFEoEONNlyeqY5rh1KfrZRhYD9UbBkYGQnm9G3U-QHMsEZRhYFGCS8JIW2fMbBxAKFpCOgc4wj7WTK3DUOwpdcfYuCXb84UeNm8UKuFseTEdJQoeweR37HETDSZwj/s320/Smilea.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div><span style="color: #800180; font-size: medium;"><b><u>SMILE #13</u></b></span></div><div><br /></div><div>Heavy Smile from the US who changed their name to Monsterland in 1990...</div><div><br /><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Hgy46aDQYg&t=103s">Smile - Monsterland</a></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="color: #800180; font-size: medium;"><b><u>SMILE #14</u></b></span></div><div><br /></div><div>And now we come to the one I needed help for.</div><div><br /></div><div>Scottish band Smile released one single in 1992, before going their own way. Iffypedia tells me the song "reached no. 20 in the Scottish charts", although the doyen of the Scottish music scene, JC, told me he'd never heard of a "Scottish chart". Likely it was put together by one of the local radio stations at the time. When I started out in radio, in the late 80s, we did a similar thing... although it usually involving ringing about three record shops in the area (one in Bradford, one in Halifax and one in Huddersfield) and then cobbling something together from their weekly sales. Not particularly scientific. </div><div><br /></div><div>Anyway, there was no audio evidence of this band to be found anywhere online, and I'd almost consigned them to the reject pile when I noticed that the band's lead singer was one <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f6UTEKAwGgI&list=RDEMmTxmDPkzp9ZUtENQBsoVEg&start_radio=1&rv=d_O5KeIJlRA">Dean Owens</a>, respected star of the Scottish Americana scene, and someone who's featured here before. That made me more keen to do a little extra work - so I reached out to JC, who himself drew a blank, but was kind enough to put out an appeal on The Vinyl Villain. Within a day, I'd had two separate responses offering to supply me with the audio I needed - one from our old friend <b>Jim in Dubai</b>, and one from another member of the Vinyl Villain Collective who prefers to remain anonymous.</div><div><br /></div><div>You might wonder if it was worth all that extra effort... but for me, it definitely was. Obvious is a great little pop song and it doesn't deserve to be completely erased from history. Big thanks to everyone who helped me hear it....</div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1I7mg6X7Kk5U-ejx56niftTbybw5SMXoX/view?usp=sharing">Smile - Obvious</a></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="color: #800180; font-size: medium;"><b><u>SMILE #15</u></b></span></div><div><br /></div><div>And now for one that probably wasn't worth the effort...</div><div><br /></div><div>You know how discogs lists bands with the same name by putting a number after each one? Well, these guys are listed as just Smile, presumably meaning they were the fast act to register themselves when discogs opened (or some rabid fan did the job for them). </div><div> </div><div>Also known as Braindead, Gabberhead, Happyheadz, Infernus, Ravers Religion Hardcore Force, Terrorizers, their music is described as "Dutch gabber / happy hardcore".</div><div><br /></div><div>I managed less than 30 seconds. Because it's my birthday, I thought about requesting that George listens all the way to the end. But I'm not that mean.</div><div><br /></div><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YT-trrSWlD8">Smile - A Good Time</a><br /><div><br /></div><div><span style="color: #800180; font-size: medium;"><b><u>SMILE #16</u></b></span></div><div><br /></div><div>Also from the mid-90s, but much more palatable to my aging earlobes is this Californian indie band with a penchant for crunchy guitars...</div><div><br /></div><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ptgGrFvSb6E">Smile - Staring At The Sun</a><br /><div><br /></div><div><span style="color: #800180; font-size: medium;"><b><u>SMILE #17</u></b></span></div><div><br /></div><div>Swedish band from 1993, with a song about being born in the 90s! Blimey, they start their pop careers young in the land of the Svea.</div><div><br /><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WtTnaihs85U">Smile - Welcome To This World (Born In The 90s)</a></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="color: #800180; font-size: medium;"><b><u>SMILE #18</u></b></span></div><div><br /></div><div>I actually quite like this one. It's from 1995, and if I'd heard it back then, I would have probably bought it. Or at least scrabbled around in the Chuck Out box to see if I could find it there with all the other Non-Hits.</div><div><br /><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HlzEBUDEo2c">Smile - Alternative Band</a></div><div><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-size: medium;"><b><u><br /></u></b></span></div><div><span style="color: #800180; font-size: medium;"><b><u>SMILE #19</u></b></span></div><div><br /></div><div>Also in 1995: The Japanese Oasis. Judging by their logo, at least...</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiU1vJQVOlmLxuv2QW3OEqEYPzlFI3NZrv-kDuMIERPNeN2vSk3HuUscxoCgTw8UV-M-qf2O7ZM4lUoQMDkxptULNvRq2MkpYevDNhhBtczS7oQqtEiI_Rh6QLrGVM_F7g2_ENS-KRIRqAf203_yZNXY2wrMdfffRlSDyDmeLgvK5tf02PF5nh3Xsp2K46G/s589/Smile.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="589" data-original-width="300" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiU1vJQVOlmLxuv2QW3OEqEYPzlFI3NZrv-kDuMIERPNeN2vSk3HuUscxoCgTw8UV-M-qf2O7ZM4lUoQMDkxptULNvRq2MkpYevDNhhBtczS7oQqtEiI_Rh6QLrGVM_F7g2_ENS-KRIRqAf203_yZNXY2wrMdfffRlSDyDmeLgvK5tf02PF5nh3Xsp2K46G/w102-h200/Smile.jpg" width="102" /></a></div><br /><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u0VISGjI2WA">Smile - 明日の行方</a><br /><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="color: #800180; font-size: medium;"><u>SMILE #20</u></span></b></div><div><br /></div><div>Another Japanese band from the late 90s. Beyond that, I can't really say...</div><div><br /><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p1fqu3OWR9o">Smile - Ibaranomichiotsukisusume</a></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="color: #800180; font-size: medium;"><b><u>SMILE #21</u></b></span></div><div><br /></div><div>Lithuanian boyband from 1999. They're no better than UK boybands of the same era.</div><div><br /><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HiwXrts_NqI">Smile - Svajonė</a></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="color: #800180; font-size: medium;"><b><u>SMILE #22</u></b></span></div><div><br /></div><div>From their logo, I figured this 21st Century Swedish duo wanted to be Yes...</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqpKM81vnem2K_mSNdTECU4Al_od1Mnp48r0nV1o1qaI38FCMUa292H6nKo32zmE8WZnIl_PBp-MhcwR0CTodM6qwetQMxOnqsqiPyhX2vfdA7CdnbgF83OP-IoxhEVRwIw_l3eeNAZF4QElOIOtw_RlvuXoUVIHLI9dy9QJag6uJk7BIBhHJWLrxUeDfm/s300/Smile.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="224" data-original-width="300" height="149" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqpKM81vnem2K_mSNdTECU4Al_od1Mnp48r0nV1o1qaI38FCMUa292H6nKo32zmE8WZnIl_PBp-MhcwR0CTodM6qwetQMxOnqsqiPyhX2vfdA7CdnbgF83OP-IoxhEVRwIw_l3eeNAZF4QElOIOtw_RlvuXoUVIHLI9dy9QJag6uJk7BIBhHJWLrxUeDfm/w200-h149/Smile.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><div><br /></div>No such luck... still, at least they've written a tune about an Antipodean Goddess...<div><br /><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hOjD0nZ6TPg">Smile - Kiley</a></div><div><div><br /></div><div><span style="color: #800180; font-size: medium;"><b><u>SMILE #23</u></b></span></div><div><br /></div><div>From 2003, featuring Mr. Ron Vail, who appears to have played with Peter Noone and Herman's Hermits at some point in his career. This is another one that actually made me Smile... if only for a second or two.</div><div><br /><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xQ6Y3nKE0VE">The Smile - National Seaboard</a></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="color: #800180; font-size: medium;"><b><u>SMILE #24</u></b></span></div><div><br /></div><div>Also known as Smile.dk, which suggests they're from Denmark, although they're actually from Sweden. Anyway, this is the worst kind of squeaky Euro-pop and it hurt my ears almost as much as the Gabberheads did. Still, you might like it...</div><div><br /></div><div>IF YOU'RE INSANE.</div><div><br /></div><div>(Only joking, insane people. You listen to whatever you like. Just keep it away from me.)</div><div><br /><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QzcvRDWgRIE">Smile - Butterfly</a></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="color: #800180; font-size: medium;"><b><u>SMILE #25</u></b></span></div><div><br /></div><div>A third Japanese Smile, these guys were part of the "Visual Kei" movement, a musical scene influenced by 70s glam rock...</div><div><br /><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H8LvBapzRq8">Smile - Darlin'</a></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="color: #800180; font-size: medium;"><u>SMILE #26</u></span></b></div><div><br /></div><div>The Spanish Smile, from the last decade or so. Not the worst thing you'll hear today, but that's very faint praise... you'd have to go a long way to beat the Gabberheadz.</div><div><br /><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q48NC39SNk8">Smile - Do As I Want</a></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="color: #800180; font-size: medium;"><u>SMILE #27</u></span></b></div><div><br /></div><div>Aussie Smile, also from the past decade. They might have heard the odd Pavement record when they were younger.</div><div><br /><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jzfTupGakvE">Smile - Born Again</a></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="color: #800180; font-size: medium;"><b><u>SMILE #28</u></b></span></div><div><br /></div><div>Italian Indie Smile who changed their name to The Wends in 2022. Presumably they also had to change the name of their website, <span style="white-space: normal;">thenameofthisbandissmile.com.</span></div><div><span style="white-space: normal;"><br /><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-uwFvDeOtsk">Smile - Half Faith, Half Struggle</a></span></div><div><br /></div></div><div><span style="color: #800180; font-size: medium;"><b><u>SMILE #29</u></b></span></div><div><br /></div><div>And an Austrian Smile, from just last year. By this stage in the game, I've listened to so many different Smiles, I've lost the ability to differentiate between them. The video's a bit odd though.</div><div><br /></div><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yOYg8oA2WWo">Smile - Protection</a><br /><div><br /></div><div><div><div><b><span style="color: #800180; font-size: medium;"><u>THE SMILE #30</u></span></b></div><div><br /></div><div>And finally...! </div><div><br /></div><div>You may have been expecting this one, as they've been making quite a noise for themselves over the past few weeks. Let's all salute the supreme irony of Thom Yorke using the word Smile, especially in a band name!</div><div><br /></div><div>This latest Radiohead spin-off band features Thom and Johnny and new drummer Tom Skinner. Iffypedia says critics describe them as <i>like</i> Radiohead, but "with more jazz, krautrock and progressive rock influences and a looser, wilder sound." You should try throwing a bit of Banarama in there, Thom.</div><div><br /></div><div>To help differentiate themselves from the dozens of other bands called Smile, Thom and co. added the definite article. (Perhaps because it's the only Smile Thom has ever had?) As Eminem put it, "All you other Slim Shadys are just imitating".</div><div><br /></div><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/IsqqjOxEuAg?si=Zlv5OgxN4myGix-l" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe></div><div><br /></div></div><div>There were dozens of bands called Smile listed on discogs, but I couldn't find any more music... and believe me, I did look! Most upset that I couldn't find the Swiss Smile from the 1970s with their misspelled hit, Leader Of Loosers, which sounds right up my streeet. (I doubted very much that JC, or any of his readers, would have been able to help me locate <i>that </i>one.)</div></div><div><br /></div><div>I know most of you stopped reading this about 29 videos ago, but I'll ask the question anyway... did any of the above Smiles make you smile? Or will you be frowning for the rest of the week?</div><div><br /></div><div>Hopefully I'll pick a band name with a more manageable number of contenders next week...</div><div><br /></div>Rolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02103804480646939038noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7633543688149775322.post-61820175736932893072024-03-18T08:00:00.000+00:002024-03-18T08:00:00.448+00:00One Track Mind #3: When You're In Love With A Beautiful Woman<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjz13jF2WbpSxXl6iqYGZiTwmRGVl4JWkefvTCekX1ypzOFI9yY9is-j1z8_GSdrgmU774HvYxZxtSkh9SaeDTdozYsqq7wBkk2aen_GTOX0l0Ewk5OkMEcwsT5LAUki7-jITKBkviM8bCSoMYEeL1dgydSdczGM6nHxGPOrj1YB5DAJCFtFAppcOFYQhtV/s226/Hook.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="226" data-original-width="223" height="226" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjz13jF2WbpSxXl6iqYGZiTwmRGVl4JWkefvTCekX1ypzOFI9yY9is-j1z8_GSdrgmU774HvYxZxtSkh9SaeDTdozYsqq7wBkk2aen_GTOX0l0Ewk5OkMEcwsT5LAUki7-jITKBkviM8bCSoMYEeL1dgydSdczGM6nHxGPOrj1YB5DAJCFtFAppcOFYQhtV/s1600/Hook.jpg" width="223" /></a></div><p></p><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">(Don't even start me on the unforgivable "Your" / "You're" confusion.)</span></div><div><br /></div><div>Can a bawdy joke spoil a great song?</div><div><br /></div><div>This is the question I ask myself whenever I hear Dr. Hook's biggest hit. Because it's a great song - if you like that sort of thing, obviously, and growing up with Radio 2, I grew to love it - but the hokey pun innuendo soon outlived its welcome.</div><div><br /></div><div>I was pretty certain I knew who wrote this song - but it turns out I was wrong. I was sure it must be another Shel Silverstein composition, given Shel wrote a number of Hook's hits, including their very best song...</div><div><br /></div><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/7LXpnNKNxJI?si=Ui1Xh6T0QJCH_yrU" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe><div><br /></div><div>Now that's a classic. Even if you don't care for Dr. Hook's particular brand of laid-back country pop, you have to at least appreciate the way Silverstein's desperate lyric is perfectly matched to Dennis Locorriere's plaintive vocals. I swear when he sings, "Please, Mrs. Avery," I feel his yearning right down to the tips of my toes. What a performance. </div><div><br /></div><div>And it turns out Sylvia's Mother is a true story too - Shel was in love with a woman called Sylvia Pandolfi, but she ran off with another man and ended up as a curator at the Museo de Arte Carrillo Gil in Mexico City. Shel tried desperately to rekindle that romance, but the only contact he had for Sylvia was her mum, and she wasn't having any of it. Nowadays, she'd probably report him as a stalker. I guess "Please, Mrs. Pandolfi" didn't quite scan, so Avery it was. And Mrs. Avery became such a famous figure, she even inspired a sequel song from The Men They Couldn't Hang...</div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lu9f6IJTLDw">The Men They Couldn't Hang - Mrs. Avery</a></div><div><br /></div><div>But I'm not here to write about Sylvia's Mother, am I? Let's get back to the song in question. The reason I figured When You're In Love With A Beautiful Woman was a Shel Silverstein composition is that Shel was known for being a funny guy. As well as being able to break our hearts with songs like Sylvia's Mother and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d0NxhFn0szc">The Ballad Of Lucy Jordan</a>, Shel wasn't afraid to write a song with a sense of humour. Like these...</div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Z1Ple-qYuU">Johnny Cash - A Boy Named Sue</a></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yv_fuejbELc">Bobby Bare - The Winner</a></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JE6yXyaxssQ">Loretta Lynn - Hey Loretta</a></div><div><br /></div><div>You've got to admire the nerve of a man who can rhyme Loretta with Irish Setter, and then get Loretta Lynn to sing it. Silverstein was also responsible for another witty Dr. Hook hit, although it's one I have mixed feelings about...</div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3WrJt7qwlWk">Dr. Hook - The Cover Of The Rolling Stone</a></div><div><br /></div><div>Now the problem with this tune is the way the Hooksters laugh at their own jokes (or at Silverstein's jokes, anyway) as they sing them. Ironically, ...Rolling Stone is one of their only songs to feature Dr. Hook himself, Ray Sawyer, on lead vocals. Maybe that's part of the problem. Much as I wish to argue in favour of humour in pop songs, I have a problem with people who laugh at their own jokes. Now I've no problem with people laughing in songs, otherwise I wouldn't love this...</div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ynkaGd_zGwE">Whitney Houston - I Wanna Dance With Somebody</a></div><div><br /></div><div>You hear Whitney giggling away (around 3'57" if you're in a rush) and you can tell she's genuinely having a good time. She's enjoying herself and having fun. The laughter is natural. Similarly, one of my favourite tracks by this up and coming pop hopeful...</div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tMhiHrL7rPE">Taylor Swift - Hey Stephen</a></div><div><br /></div><div>Hey Stephen is a great "why are you wasting your time with those vain cheerleaders when I'm right here?" song, made even better by the line...</div><div><br /></div><div><div><b><span style="color: #2b00fe;">All those other girls, well, they're beautiful</span></b></div><div><b><span style="color: #2b00fe;">But would they write a song for you? </span></b></div></div><div><br /></div><div>The little chuckle Taylor gives after delivering those lines (approx. 2'50", busy folk) is priceless. And again, it feels genuine. Not so the self-congratulatory laughter in The Cover Of The Rolling Stone. I wish they'd played that song a little straighter. Or got Locorriere to sing it.</div><div><br /></div><div>All of which brings us back to When You're In Love With A Beautiful Woman (<i>It's Hard</i>), which I'm still surprised to learn wasn't written by Shel... except, maybe not so surprised the more I think of it, because Shel was classier than that. Further warning bells sound when you discover the song was actually written by Even Stevens. No, no Evan. Even. </div><div><br /></div><div>Stevens - real first names Bruce Noel - is a man who appears to love a good pun. He's clearly got a sense of humour, as demonstrated below...</div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aBBWguBkb2w">Even Stevens - She's In A Toothpaste Commercial</a></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k9XWO_rBWto">Even Stevens & Sherry Grooms - The King Of Country Music Meets The Queen Of Rock & Roll</a></div><div><br /></div><div>...although, hang on, they were both written by Shel Silverstein too. Clearly Even Stevens' own songwriting was influenced by Shel... but I can't help but think Shel would have stopped short of the innuendo that upends When You're In Love With A Beautiful Woman, a sleazy 70s sexual allusion that's only "bettered" by this...</div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BQYS0QeaCbU">The Bellamy Brothers - If I Said You Had A Beautiful Body, Would You Hold It Against Me?</a></div><div><br /></div><div>That one was written by David Bellamy himself. Well, gwapple me gwapenuts!</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjD5plyuUDcyah1846Dl8TYi-sWKQdwYdFmpIspHMdwS4D1pJmOCbbE0B4MfOFYHCc_BptZxPvycJnGh6PdbPPXc8LOWrT0DdGIfkDXIgfYBxn6GkzrjMJkWGkkX6iS_tr0PnK-tL_s3IBbQFjqMlSMQvGVDWEQkhCsv3Znu2ExsT85sG3sv5Y2wZKgvMqd/s300/David%20Bellamy.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="168" data-original-width="300" height="168" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjD5plyuUDcyah1846Dl8TYi-sWKQdwYdFmpIspHMdwS4D1pJmOCbbE0B4MfOFYHCc_BptZxPvycJnGh6PdbPPXc8LOWrT0DdGIfkDXIgfYBxn6GkzrjMJkWGkkX6iS_tr0PnK-tL_s3IBbQFjqMlSMQvGVDWEQkhCsv3Znu2ExsT85sG3sv5Y2wZKgvMqd/s1600/David%20Bellamy.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><br /><div>Not that David Bellamy, obviously. I might look more kindly on it if it was. To be fair, at least innuendo is the whole point of If I Said You Had A Beautiful Body... there's not a better song trapped underneath, begging for your respect. It is what is is and seems quite happy that way. </div><div><br /></div><div>My contention then is that When You're In Love With A Beautiful Woman is a great song - especially the bridge, which is as heartfelt as anything Dennis Locorriere ever sang...</div><div><br /></div><div><div><b><span style="color: #2b00fe;">Maybe it's just an ego problem, problem is I've been fooled before</span></b></div><div><b><span style="color: #2b00fe;">By fair-weathered friends and faint-hearted lovers</span></b></div><div><b><span style="color: #2b00fe;">And every time it happens it just convinces me more</span></b></div></div><div><br /></div><div>That's the bit I love. The bit that keeps me coming back to listen to this track again and again, the bit that gets me past the embarrassment of the smutty innuendo. (I particularly struggle with the "You know it's hard, you know it gets so hard" call-back - yeah, we get it, Even. No need to belt us over the head with it!)</div><div><br /></div><div>Legend has it that Even Stevens followed Dr. Hook's manager into the studio bathroom to pitch this song. That says it all, really. If only he'd showed a little restraint... When You're In Love With A Beautiful Woman, It's Tough would have been much better, in my opinion. Or did this song only get to the top of the charts in the UK because of the lowest common denominator sales? If so, I hope Even Stevens sleeps soundly on his mattress stuffed with money, safe in the knowledge that he was one word away from writing a classic...</div><div><br /></div><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/bD0CSd6BM6w?si=FiaGOuM6rDKJQm8N" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>Rolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02103804480646939038noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7633543688149775322.post-14616272669461321912024-03-17T08:30:00.001+00:002024-03-17T08:30:00.140+00:00Snapshots #335: A Top Ten Automatic Songs<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiWP9OK9YMlrhWJ7MYCLr5FXaEAnlrZaBocuQuZEWaDLpOW8tli03Dx1kSF_HOlyOIhEAoe-LHxLfD9RJugL6PPfX_MH3wXsSVGkIsp_tsSw58l53a9Mx4lto-mOUcJZrD7D1Fc1C2_oWw6KcIEsKd2aukdIOCAk9hW2dv2f_t2Of36iSWN2qVjKFZy-96/s547/Automatic.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="547" data-original-width="489" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiWP9OK9YMlrhWJ7MYCLr5FXaEAnlrZaBocuQuZEWaDLpOW8tli03Dx1kSF_HOlyOIhEAoe-LHxLfD9RJugL6PPfX_MH3wXsSVGkIsp_tsSw58l53a9Mx4lto-mOUcJZrD7D1Fc1C2_oWw6KcIEsKd2aukdIOCAk9hW2dv2f_t2Of36iSWN2qVjKFZy-96/s320/Automatic.jpg" width="286" /></a></div><div><br /></div>Ten songs for Automatic camera lovers everywhere...<br /><p></p><p><br /></p><p>10. It's rude to do that, er, ladies.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBmZdJ6nI0J_OtdY7avbga0ydwNOWK8ryeFSQxRRYeoWyolyxivNw3EHR539n9FsvPuNQrkOsIf45kjXRnRmV0jZVaPOgQBuZEUD_NRB2UrZ_clce7tgFbM6xQpyxR9ht6p-TNTncQyHgcdTG_GUMlZm-v8kT8BTVqz5SmNr7dyWn2vAPkT7VkY7uVNLz5/s1600/10.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1043" data-original-width="1600" height="209" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBmZdJ6nI0J_OtdY7avbga0ydwNOWK8ryeFSQxRRYeoWyolyxivNw3EHR539n9FsvPuNQrkOsIf45kjXRnRmV0jZVaPOgQBuZEUD_NRB2UrZ_clce7tgFbM6xQpyxR9ht6p-TNTncQyHgcdTG_GUMlZm-v8kT8BTVqz5SmNr7dyWn2vAPkT7VkY7uVNLz5/s320/10.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><p>It's rude to point... er...</p><p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-qvTFnLwWOM">The Pointer Sisters - Automatic</a></p><p>9. Bruce Willis Is A Ghost! (Plus seven.)</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVRUQL09JWcB6SJQbfgjt30TIlD9e_LiVV50uqSMLSUI4FQveYj66j__bCzmRjnATR6hARLSy-ggemSUbgB0JP6qyBqG54AnQj4bhLXohWOCe8G57jAHt17yG_adWkZScA4goarg29YLRvmZghzDhtiGE6fNjwl1z9m0nyfSXVfgZwMwtuAu16qwPd4KYz/s640/9.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="640" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVRUQL09JWcB6SJQbfgjt30TIlD9e_LiVV50uqSMLSUI4FQveYj66j__bCzmRjnATR6hARLSy-ggemSUbgB0JP6qyBqG54AnQj4bhLXohWOCe8G57jAHt17yG_adWkZScA4goarg29YLRvmZghzDhtiGE6fNjwl1z9m0nyfSXVfgZwMwtuAu16qwPd4KYz/s320/9.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p>Spoilers!</p><p>Bruce Willis was a ghost in The Sixth Sense. Add 7 and you get...</p><p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uCgSZRgMZ3I">Thirteen Senses - Automatic </a></p><p>8. Leave! Do I have to tell you twice?</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguMzgaoXXLWx4cUTx8nJUR9YDykuNo7SpS2uM52yUuUcQNXR_SieBTMoJfvfv_U83har3yhY5xHYxIRftnvgB5-r5TKwB2HxuAIZ8sjCjpOkS3-F2h7iDCIigXNcq_Te72ZiOC91FxpUWYKrxJoygTsmg4p9vR9D1xVWoOtjnQmK5r6-Lp48CLKFQcWQEc/s932/8.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="535" data-original-width="932" height="184" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguMzgaoXXLWx4cUTx8nJUR9YDykuNo7SpS2uM52yUuUcQNXR_SieBTMoJfvfv_U83har3yhY5xHYxIRftnvgB5-r5TKwB2HxuAIZ8sjCjpOkS3-F2h7iDCIigXNcq_Te72ZiOC91FxpUWYKrxJoygTsmg4p9vR9D1xVWoOtjnQmK5r6-Lp48CLKFQcWQEc/s320/8.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p>Go! Go!</p><p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pPJ3HBMtR7Y">The Go Gos - Automatic</a></p><p>7. Cuban drums.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlyivVwZXoXH3cGcF8EwiNJ86K8IKnDp31KG5sHRis2HY6MA0Z-NKSnmodHnfS4Q9bqkxqKgBTfOEHLxa3VVReGEeDnfgOxHHH-rsigrLZrcGLCXOGo-KJaoaGpbVUYHeeaoPOnUCUwlxxiCHdVKzcVV_OgaFi_BELPWdTzZgtyWcxLGudhzE8U91QFAR5/s440/7.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="437" data-original-width="440" height="318" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlyivVwZXoXH3cGcF8EwiNJ86K8IKnDp31KG5sHRis2HY6MA0Z-NKSnmodHnfS4Q9bqkxqKgBTfOEHLxa3VVReGEeDnfgOxHHH-rsigrLZrcGLCXOGo-KJaoaGpbVUYHeeaoPOnUCUwlxxiCHdVKzcVV_OgaFi_BELPWdTzZgtyWcxLGudhzE8U91QFAR5/s320/7.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5dcEwnPWEjk">The Bongos - Automatic Doors</a></p><p>6. Bridal armament needs unhooking.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJe4gtNxKl9pACtDQhyt97WV0ciNEP7hNSX_n4qr_vN6epMLZcRd32z2WMOk8HdV_qpaiby9p5JWeIO-xWiEkFEYtp1nRq2YigpgS9P_L7RnapvyBu2Go3nOVbViSRCcrFdo0liRXLRBFyOVlukPrS2m8M64BOUJq_tBD4vXnxY8PQysG9LZwCTRwDTCHw/s252/6.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="252" data-original-width="200" height="252" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJe4gtNxKl9pACtDQhyt97WV0ciNEP7hNSX_n4qr_vN6epMLZcRd32z2WMOk8HdV_qpaiby9p5JWeIO-xWiEkFEYtp1nRq2YigpgS9P_L7RnapvyBu2Go3nOVbViSRCcrFdo0liRXLRBFyOVlukPrS2m8M64BOUJq_tBD4vXnxY8PQysG9LZwCTRwDTCHw/s1600/6.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><p>"Bridal armament" was an anagram...</p><p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ksWKOy665o">Miranda Lambert - Automatic</a></p><p>5. Suicidal star.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjx_afrjwFrLV4goudk-n-0HzsHunOmEhJ-l8PLCKlOq6g-C_B5p-ZhZuKAya3SHBBVPr3L1fegwftAKlSHewAseeUYHwLV_Ej3ppkpJHih577ZnLFLuJmkLWYkYoZAgjfsAZQy1Ud6-rstNOX2Y9EBVhB55xuIiAXY_x23qE9Uskz7Q067PGY6ADHcGSnI/s284/5.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="284" data-original-width="177" height="284" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjx_afrjwFrLV4goudk-n-0HzsHunOmEhJ-l8PLCKlOq6g-C_B5p-ZhZuKAya3SHBBVPr3L1fegwftAKlSHewAseeUYHwLV_Ej3ppkpJHih577ZnLFLuJmkLWYkYoZAgjfsAZQy1Ud6-rstNOX2Y9EBVhB55xuIiAXY_x23qE9Uskz7Q067PGY6ADHcGSnI/s1600/5.jpg" width="177" /></a></div><p>He was the main man in Suicide... and Vega is one of the brightest stars in the night sky.</p><p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nox3RRWXrbc">Alan Vega - Automatic Terror</a></p><p>4. Stevie plays solo, without Paul.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGBeQ7qR9gfYiraQVzcm26_WhIM8g28Eq-dwOuYCnnJaqRgORWDhuEf1ph95rlvshdbyuCx7Jfh3Dygqu_-s8wmHpebxUCnvPAWB5rPck4aZO9rWU65XpFPrej_qs9XKsYRah_t_wCktm9OQF_3JI3eCFCJIdWsQvoLzSXEew_NGdU6Bbl9WSQTkTRwb6F/s238/4.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="212" data-original-width="238" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGBeQ7qR9gfYiraQVzcm26_WhIM8g28Eq-dwOuYCnnJaqRgORWDhuEf1ph95rlvshdbyuCx7Jfh3Dygqu_-s8wmHpebxUCnvPAWB5rPck4aZO9rWU65XpFPrej_qs9XKsYRah_t_wCktm9OQF_3JI3eCFCJIdWsQvoLzSXEew_NGdU6Bbl9WSQTkTRwb6F/s1600/4.jpg" width="238" /></a></div><p>Stevie Wonder and Paul McCartney sang <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r4mlhcFKzXQ">Ebony & Ivory</a>, about black and white living together in harmony on the piano keyboard. If Stevie were on his own, it'd just be...</p><p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TWnP8FkwfQQ">The Black Keys - 10 A.M. Automatic</a></p><p>3. Sonja decked me for making a mess of this one.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQtt8_9yW2HCwuVMkC3zgh6gio6t3qPO43yRsPQVfnKbgHQ7tW1ZsW0wq9QsxMoZjTxAqpxhMQks2UkuR4C0rVFGKKr9YAStZiJyoQZzuHR8sKGm_iv_JUTRvjgWdCculDphKIewvzEErltt6V9hvvqLxbW7rqYKYSKajeg-3HzLNjk9yCRB-cjZZcZA4C/s568/3.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="568" data-original-width="400" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQtt8_9yW2HCwuVMkC3zgh6gio6t3qPO43yRsPQVfnKbgHQ7tW1ZsW0wq9QsxMoZjTxAqpxhMQks2UkuR4C0rVFGKKr9YAStZiJyoQZzuHR8sKGm_iv_JUTRvjgWdCculDphKIewvzEErltt6V9hvvqLxbW7rqYKYSKajeg-3HzLNjk9yCRB-cjZZcZA4C/s320/3.jpg" width="225" /></a></div><p>"Sonja decked" was an anagram...</p><p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fJ6FOkRO6wU">Dee D, Jackson - Automatic Lover</a></p><p>A hit in 1978, the same year as this...</p><p>2. Shakin' all over.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi20MJSc6wPCEtFXX6a6OgjatpwEJtg550eVbvx7rg9Y6XSM-9SH93B0vXr2M7uU-XdCv1cIlci8Ae1DulJfCVxIBQ0u_WESW_Ls4rsYwl-URJk0qpPbMSacQXzhVuPxtc-hTPnBkOd4cNF-oTux90kDLFHOtVnlv8gthcoARK8KQLHNJwUkd5_ddL2YhD7/s320/2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="180" data-original-width="320" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi20MJSc6wPCEtFXX6a6OgjatpwEJtg550eVbvx7rg9Y6XSM-9SH93B0vXr2M7uU-XdCv1cIlci8Ae1DulJfCVxIBQ0u_WESW_Ls4rsYwl-URJk0qpPbMSacQXzhVuPxtc-hTPnBkOd4cNF-oTux90kDLFHOtVnlv8gthcoARK8KQLHNJwUkd5_ddL2YhD7/s1600/2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_HWieMCKxt0">The Vibrators - Automatic Lover</a></p><p>1. Still the top, even after The Boss left.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZPum5oGYDE3jHb4OisIKNYA0cyHt-h9uKUT2YwDlMLFwg6dm-kypTe57Ha9exAYHS_IBsGYhe1ZRzNGqoMItjt1r0B_PKIPeow7XKX5jBpS06P8Zvk8R4nvBwHUi-iZ2OI_W1nw9ogG7tzIRBUBlBv5yZbG4gMPECaZssFsXqWbD8bWdi8R5uxjYqFDsd/s367/1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="198" data-original-width="367" height="173" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZPum5oGYDE3jHb4OisIKNYA0cyHt-h9uKUT2YwDlMLFwg6dm-kypTe57Ha9exAYHS_IBsGYhe1ZRzNGqoMItjt1r0B_PKIPeow7XKX5jBpS06P8Zvk8R4nvBwHUi-iZ2OI_W1nw9ogG7tzIRBUBlBv5yZbG4gMPECaZssFsXqWbD8bWdi8R5uxjYqFDsd/s320/1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div>In the Supremes, Diana Ross was the boss... until she left and Jean Terrell took her place in the top girl band of all time.<div><br /><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/591FQbomd6M?si=dRBUGSrGVCVczNN5" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe></div><div><br /></div><div>Manual transmission resumes next Saturday morning...</div><div><br /></div>Rolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02103804480646939038noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7633543688149775322.post-63823308003111270822024-03-16T08:30:00.002+00:002024-03-16T08:30:00.132+00:00Saturday Snapshots #335<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg42_kTKtAc5qtxO3obTszsFEgTQgN6MOb-zNh8cn9607DN5Hy_RwONn1PBz0hFATC-yFgyHQGxuhSsMjFtwJKcmXpJ98zeyi-hw9gA1yulD2V1sh3P9Ao0IYUH560n8eOUuAJ02p_KylUkn8-ZHCMoawU7BfXNIKH3z7-A6_wW22cZwuNjCOa1PB5f46Qo/s625/Carey%20Mulligan.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="625" data-original-width="500" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg42_kTKtAc5qtxO3obTszsFEgTQgN6MOb-zNh8cn9607DN5Hy_RwONn1PBz0hFATC-yFgyHQGxuhSsMjFtwJKcmXpJ98zeyi-hw9gA1yulD2V1sh3P9Ao0IYUH560n8eOUuAJ02p_KylUkn8-ZHCMoawU7BfXNIKH3z7-A6_wW22cZwuNjCOa1PB5f46Qo/s320/Carey%20Mulligan.jpeg" width="256" /></a></div><div><br /></div>Welcome, all you Promising Young Women and Hopeless Old Men to another edition of Saturday Snapshots. Identify the popular musicians below and connect their songs, please...<br /><p></p><p>(I'm worried this one will be too easy. Can you break the Snapshots record?)</p><p>10. It's rude to do that, er, ladies.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBmZdJ6nI0J_OtdY7avbga0ydwNOWK8ryeFSQxRRYeoWyolyxivNw3EHR539n9FsvPuNQrkOsIf45kjXRnRmV0jZVaPOgQBuZEUD_NRB2UrZ_clce7tgFbM6xQpyxR9ht6p-TNTncQyHgcdTG_GUMlZm-v8kT8BTVqz5SmNr7dyWn2vAPkT7VkY7uVNLz5/s1600/10.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1043" data-original-width="1600" height="209" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBmZdJ6nI0J_OtdY7avbga0ydwNOWK8ryeFSQxRRYeoWyolyxivNw3EHR539n9FsvPuNQrkOsIf45kjXRnRmV0jZVaPOgQBuZEUD_NRB2UrZ_clce7tgFbM6xQpyxR9ht6p-TNTncQyHgcdTG_GUMlZm-v8kT8BTVqz5SmNr7dyWn2vAPkT7VkY7uVNLz5/s320/10.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><p>9. Bruce Willis Is A Ghost! (Plus seven.)</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVRUQL09JWcB6SJQbfgjt30TIlD9e_LiVV50uqSMLSUI4FQveYj66j__bCzmRjnATR6hARLSy-ggemSUbgB0JP6qyBqG54AnQj4bhLXohWOCe8G57jAHt17yG_adWkZScA4goarg29YLRvmZghzDhtiGE6fNjwl1z9m0nyfSXVfgZwMwtuAu16qwPd4KYz/s640/9.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="640" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVRUQL09JWcB6SJQbfgjt30TIlD9e_LiVV50uqSMLSUI4FQveYj66j__bCzmRjnATR6hARLSy-ggemSUbgB0JP6qyBqG54AnQj4bhLXohWOCe8G57jAHt17yG_adWkZScA4goarg29YLRvmZghzDhtiGE6fNjwl1z9m0nyfSXVfgZwMwtuAu16qwPd4KYz/s320/9.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p>8. Leave! Do I have to tell you twice?</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguMzgaoXXLWx4cUTx8nJUR9YDykuNo7SpS2uM52yUuUcQNXR_SieBTMoJfvfv_U83har3yhY5xHYxIRftnvgB5-r5TKwB2HxuAIZ8sjCjpOkS3-F2h7iDCIigXNcq_Te72ZiOC91FxpUWYKrxJoygTsmg4p9vR9D1xVWoOtjnQmK5r6-Lp48CLKFQcWQEc/s932/8.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="535" data-original-width="932" height="184" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguMzgaoXXLWx4cUTx8nJUR9YDykuNo7SpS2uM52yUuUcQNXR_SieBTMoJfvfv_U83har3yhY5xHYxIRftnvgB5-r5TKwB2HxuAIZ8sjCjpOkS3-F2h7iDCIigXNcq_Te72ZiOC91FxpUWYKrxJoygTsmg4p9vR9D1xVWoOtjnQmK5r6-Lp48CLKFQcWQEc/s320/8.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p>7. Cuban drums.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlyivVwZXoXH3cGcF8EwiNJ86K8IKnDp31KG5sHRis2HY6MA0Z-NKSnmodHnfS4Q9bqkxqKgBTfOEHLxa3VVReGEeDnfgOxHHH-rsigrLZrcGLCXOGo-KJaoaGpbVUYHeeaoPOnUCUwlxxiCHdVKzcVV_OgaFi_BELPWdTzZgtyWcxLGudhzE8U91QFAR5/s440/7.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="437" data-original-width="440" height="318" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlyivVwZXoXH3cGcF8EwiNJ86K8IKnDp31KG5sHRis2HY6MA0Z-NKSnmodHnfS4Q9bqkxqKgBTfOEHLxa3VVReGEeDnfgOxHHH-rsigrLZrcGLCXOGo-KJaoaGpbVUYHeeaoPOnUCUwlxxiCHdVKzcVV_OgaFi_BELPWdTzZgtyWcxLGudhzE8U91QFAR5/s320/7.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p>6. Bridal armament needs unhooking.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJe4gtNxKl9pACtDQhyt97WV0ciNEP7hNSX_n4qr_vN6epMLZcRd32z2WMOk8HdV_qpaiby9p5JWeIO-xWiEkFEYtp1nRq2YigpgS9P_L7RnapvyBu2Go3nOVbViSRCcrFdo0liRXLRBFyOVlukPrS2m8M64BOUJq_tBD4vXnxY8PQysG9LZwCTRwDTCHw/s252/6.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="252" data-original-width="200" height="252" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJe4gtNxKl9pACtDQhyt97WV0ciNEP7hNSX_n4qr_vN6epMLZcRd32z2WMOk8HdV_qpaiby9p5JWeIO-xWiEkFEYtp1nRq2YigpgS9P_L7RnapvyBu2Go3nOVbViSRCcrFdo0liRXLRBFyOVlukPrS2m8M64BOUJq_tBD4vXnxY8PQysG9LZwCTRwDTCHw/s1600/6.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><p>5. Suicidal star.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjx_afrjwFrLV4goudk-n-0HzsHunOmEhJ-l8PLCKlOq6g-C_B5p-ZhZuKAya3SHBBVPr3L1fegwftAKlSHewAseeUYHwLV_Ej3ppkpJHih577ZnLFLuJmkLWYkYoZAgjfsAZQy1Ud6-rstNOX2Y9EBVhB55xuIiAXY_x23qE9Uskz7Q067PGY6ADHcGSnI/s284/5.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="284" data-original-width="177" height="284" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjx_afrjwFrLV4goudk-n-0HzsHunOmEhJ-l8PLCKlOq6g-C_B5p-ZhZuKAya3SHBBVPr3L1fegwftAKlSHewAseeUYHwLV_Ej3ppkpJHih577ZnLFLuJmkLWYkYoZAgjfsAZQy1Ud6-rstNOX2Y9EBVhB55xuIiAXY_x23qE9Uskz7Q067PGY6ADHcGSnI/s1600/5.jpg" width="177" /></a></div><p>4. Stevie plays solo, without Paul.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGBeQ7qR9gfYiraQVzcm26_WhIM8g28Eq-dwOuYCnnJaqRgORWDhuEf1ph95rlvshdbyuCx7Jfh3Dygqu_-s8wmHpebxUCnvPAWB5rPck4aZO9rWU65XpFPrej_qs9XKsYRah_t_wCktm9OQF_3JI3eCFCJIdWsQvoLzSXEew_NGdU6Bbl9WSQTkTRwb6F/s238/4.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="212" data-original-width="238" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGBeQ7qR9gfYiraQVzcm26_WhIM8g28Eq-dwOuYCnnJaqRgORWDhuEf1ph95rlvshdbyuCx7Jfh3Dygqu_-s8wmHpebxUCnvPAWB5rPck4aZO9rWU65XpFPrej_qs9XKsYRah_t_wCktm9OQF_3JI3eCFCJIdWsQvoLzSXEew_NGdU6Bbl9WSQTkTRwb6F/s1600/4.jpg" width="238" /></a></div><p>3. Sonja decked me for making a mess of this one.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQtt8_9yW2HCwuVMkC3zgh6gio6t3qPO43yRsPQVfnKbgHQ7tW1ZsW0wq9QsxMoZjTxAqpxhMQks2UkuR4C0rVFGKKr9YAStZiJyoQZzuHR8sKGm_iv_JUTRvjgWdCculDphKIewvzEErltt6V9hvvqLxbW7rqYKYSKajeg-3HzLNjk9yCRB-cjZZcZA4C/s568/3.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="568" data-original-width="400" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQtt8_9yW2HCwuVMkC3zgh6gio6t3qPO43yRsPQVfnKbgHQ7tW1ZsW0wq9QsxMoZjTxAqpxhMQks2UkuR4C0rVFGKKr9YAStZiJyoQZzuHR8sKGm_iv_JUTRvjgWdCculDphKIewvzEErltt6V9hvvqLxbW7rqYKYSKajeg-3HzLNjk9yCRB-cjZZcZA4C/s320/3.jpg" width="225" /></a></div><p>2. Shakin' all over.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi20MJSc6wPCEtFXX6a6OgjatpwEJtg550eVbvx7rg9Y6XSM-9SH93B0vXr2M7uU-XdCv1cIlci8Ae1DulJfCVxIBQ0u_WESW_Ls4rsYwl-URJk0qpPbMSacQXzhVuPxtc-hTPnBkOd4cNF-oTux90kDLFHOtVnlv8gthcoARK8KQLHNJwUkd5_ddL2YhD7/s320/2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="180" data-original-width="320" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi20MJSc6wPCEtFXX6a6OgjatpwEJtg550eVbvx7rg9Y6XSM-9SH93B0vXr2M7uU-XdCv1cIlci8Ae1DulJfCVxIBQ0u_WESW_Ls4rsYwl-URJk0qpPbMSacQXzhVuPxtc-hTPnBkOd4cNF-oTux90kDLFHOtVnlv8gthcoARK8KQLHNJwUkd5_ddL2YhD7/s1600/2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p>1. Still the top, even after The Boss left.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZPum5oGYDE3jHb4OisIKNYA0cyHt-h9uKUT2YwDlMLFwg6dm-kypTe57Ha9exAYHS_IBsGYhe1ZRzNGqoMItjt1r0B_PKIPeow7XKX5jBpS06P8Zvk8R4nvBwHUi-iZ2OI_W1nw9ogG7tzIRBUBlBv5yZbG4gMPECaZssFsXqWbD8bWdi8R5uxjYqFDsd/s367/1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="198" data-original-width="367" height="173" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZPum5oGYDE3jHb4OisIKNYA0cyHt-h9uKUT2YwDlMLFwg6dm-kypTe57Ha9exAYHS_IBsGYhe1ZRzNGqoMItjt1r0B_PKIPeow7XKX5jBpS06P8Zvk8R4nvBwHUi-iZ2OI_W1nw9ogG7tzIRBUBlBv5yZbG4gMPECaZssFsXqWbD8bWdi8R5uxjYqFDsd/s320/1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p>The answers will be published without any further assistance from me, tomorrow morning.</p><p><br /></p>Rolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02103804480646939038noreply@blogger.com20tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7633543688149775322.post-62586657319870655402024-03-15T08:00:00.002+00:002024-03-15T08:00:00.143+00:00The List #1<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgMClCvAhD9yLKq8DGnOitqH8fQS3ZP-6ujom27FTZbsbPt_39E6AK6-MZjsTOM5Kn3_Lzeuv8FYDiOJNbTcb5X_v15JjlpMi0wCStJHcf2BrHdcqgHGsWXdmPYPoAQJC7Sqoz_edXlPzEYT3d55kfIosd7ntE-KvSJypCCrx3VJT6opSl8wC7oVenoegJ/s4000/20240227_165025.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4000" data-original-width="3000" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgMClCvAhD9yLKq8DGnOitqH8fQS3ZP-6ujom27FTZbsbPt_39E6AK6-MZjsTOM5Kn3_Lzeuv8FYDiOJNbTcb5X_v15JjlpMi0wCStJHcf2BrHdcqgHGsWXdmPYPoAQJC7Sqoz_edXlPzEYT3d55kfIosd7ntE-KvSJypCCrx3VJT6opSl8wC7oVenoegJ/s320/20240227_165025.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><p>In 1992, INXS released their best album, Welcome To Wherever You Are. It contains the somewhat prescient song, Not Enough Time. When I hear this song in my head, it goes "Not enough time for all that I want to do" (although the actual lyrics are slightly different). Those lyrics pop into my head more and more frequently as the clock ticks ever onward... in a similar fashion to the way the lyrics to <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XqgFXL52FRw">We Have All The Time In The World</a> fill my mind whenever I'm in a rush to get somewhere and I find myself stuck behind a Louis. </p><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/jHL4H0G4oDQ?si=-LCLbGn7ets_7nsd" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe><p>I sometimes wonder if I like <i>too much</i> music. If I'd be better off if my tastes were more niche and not so varied. Because there really is NOT ENOUGH TIME to listen to everything I want to listen to. Every time I visit the tube of you, a new band pops up demanding my attention. On first listen, a lot of them sound intriguing... like this lot, who may well be of some interest to <a href="https://newamusements.blogspot.com/">Martin</a>...</p><p><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/LbPs_wUNCzM?si=ZfMID1odAZWID5NG" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe></p><p>Brigitte Calls Me Baby appear to be the latest in a long, long, long line of bands who want to sound like The Smiths. But how many of those ever made it big? Suede? Gene? (Not really.) The Killers? (As soon as they did, they stopped trying to sound like The Smiths.) </p><p>Lead singer Wes Leavins (with his enormous Morrissey quiff) claims to be more influenced by Sinatra, Orbison and Presley... ✔, ✔, ✔... but it's The Smiths I hear (and see) in the videos above and below... and that's why they're on the list.</p><p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=btD2fWF2qEw">Brigitte Calls Me Baby - Impressively Average</a></p><p>"The List." </p><p>Often, when I hear a song I like on another blog, I'll leave a comment saying "That's going on the list." Similarly, when I hear something interesting on the radio. Like this little beauty from Irish singer-songwriter Ultan Conlon...</p><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/j6I-nzdc978?si=9O8VF43lr_3gw9L5" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe><div><br /></div><div>I like the folky atmosphere on that, and the idea that if we don't keep the old songs alive (whether they be Raglan Road or Girls Just Wanna Have Fun), they'll fade from our collective consciousness. I used to enjoy listening to the late Desmond Carrington on Radio 2. He'd play a really diverse mix of music, some of it old and forgotten from the 30s, 40s or 50s, alongside more recent or well known choices. I heard things on his show I'd never heard before on the radio, and probably never will again. </div><div><br /></div><div>As Ultan puts it...</div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="color: #2b00fe;">Who's gonna play the old songs when all the old-timers are gone?</span></b></div><div><br /></div><div>Here's an old song I've been playing a lot lately...</div><div><br /><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/PBnkczLnqOQ?si=5qzOApk-wPibysxk" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe></div><div><br /></div><div><div>See? It's all too much, isn't it? Imagine if I <i>just</i> liked indie music, or rock, or old soul, or country and Americana... if I specialised in power pop or new wave or gentle, acoustic singer-songwritery stuff. Then I'd be able to focus. I'd be able to concentrate on one thing and enjoy it for what it is and not always be worrying about finding the next new thing... or the next old thing... in the hope it might hit me like a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zd9jeJk2UHQ">chaise longue</a> or gradually unveil its beauty over a half dozen listens like the best of Jason Isbell.</div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jU1jyMlv0g0">Jason Isbell - Cast Iron Skillet</a></div><div><br /></div><div>But I don't just like one thing. I like all kinds of different things, and being able to switch genres and keep it fresh is essential in my listening. But then I also like digging back into the archives too. Except when do I have the time? I mentioned at the top of the page that Welcome To Wherever You Are is the best album INXS ever made. And yet I'm making that assessment safe in the knowledge that I haven't listened to it all the way through in 30 years. But The List keeps growing, and it's growing from all sides. New things, old things that are new to me, old things that I know but I haven't listened to in ages... and on and on and on...</div><div><br /></div></div><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/jG9pOfi6kMs?si=JwRBfAEA1LhyZVt3" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe><div><br /></div><div>Take that lot, for instance. Life are from Hull. Let's not hold that against them, because on the evidence of the track above... they're excellent. Bear in mind that they released that two years ago and this is the first time I've come across them, but they already appear to have released three albums. What if they're all as good as that song? I ought to drop everything else this instance and devote the next three weeks to familiarising myself with their back catalogue... but I haven't got the time because I also have to check out these guys...</div><div><br /></div><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/xrxNLu8lk0Q?si=hZFmti9WWKw9MfAN" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe><div><br /></div><div>L.A. Edwards come from... erm, Los Angeles... although the LA doesn't stand for what you think - it's lead singer Luke Andrew's initials. They supported Lucinda Williams last weekend and as soon as I heard them, I knew I wanted to hear more. So they've gone on The List.</div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lg1vJHmvVqM">L.A. Edwards - Good Luck</a></div><div><br /></div><div>There's so much music out there waiting to be discovered, it's a truly daunting prospect. Because what if I never hear that one song that changes my life forever? It's out there somewhere, I know it is. That's why I have The List...</div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z6RqPGosZ-U">L7 - Shitlist</a></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JYWXUmYdGjo">Double Vision - List 99</a></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xvFQdVSWyfM">The Go-Gos - Girl Of 100 Lists</a></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-uDxF5q0V9s">Toby Keith - My List</a></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mDk7zyWbSQQ">Los Campesinos! - My Year In Lists</a></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ivBRKsFVCi0">The Boxmasters - Shit List</a></div><div><br /></div><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/JkZm06c1ju4?si=WSRfVKT83gMXFW0A" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe><div><br /></div><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/HoJPiR_TuH8?si=CExWsr2-iDTwn-hp" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>Rolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02103804480646939038noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7633543688149775322.post-75093292769755639312024-03-14T08:00:00.003+00:002024-03-14T08:00:00.343+00:00Celebrity Jukebox #125: Karl & Eric<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkRrxDvjii6W9o7gFTpqoRIe4NAnMZc-A7DwQTbhbgM0VvPWCvh2ySt0l35popektIct97LbE8BRHQEn-GC7DtrTIs6z8XJF1ZdWp-p4TmXgZDrxQM0BaN6mF5ZF8HQuoYK_9ls7iaxBGvMVofO46rG-JgC6Hznb7rNO4yFR57otyd9SbLVx0p360-y1wD/s2048/Karl.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1277" data-original-width="2048" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkRrxDvjii6W9o7gFTpqoRIe4NAnMZc-A7DwQTbhbgM0VvPWCvh2ySt0l35popektIct97LbE8BRHQEn-GC7DtrTIs6z8XJF1ZdWp-p4TmXgZDrxQM0BaN6mF5ZF8HQuoYK_9ls7iaxBGvMVofO46rG-JgC6Hznb7rNO4yFR57otyd9SbLVx0p360-y1wD/s320/Karl.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0tyLGi2LtlU">World Party - Is It Like Today?</a><br /><p></p><div>I've been breathing easy lately as the Grim Reaper appeared to have taken a bit of a holiday. Sadly, he's back, and in the space of 24 hours he took two big names from the world of music, and far too soon.</div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KFmqSRyM2M8">World Party - Beautiful Dream</a></div><div><br /></div><div>It was <a href="https://dubhed.blogspot.com/">Khayem</a> who alerted me yesterday morning to the sudden death of World Party's Karl Wallinger. What a shock. Like K, I got rather aggravated by various lazy headlines highlighting <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sBW8Vnp8BzU">The Whole Of The Moon</a> in his obituary... great song, obviously, but Wallinger neither wrote nor sang it, although he did play keyboards and sing backing vocals, and may have come up with the synth line, at Mike Scott's request to play something that sounded like Prince. My point is, Wallinger wrote far more songs on his own (including the Robbie Williams hit <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o3Ta6KTqu18">She's The One</a>), but none of them are as universally recognised as The Whole Of The Moon, so didn't q<span>uite </span>provide the story hook the headline writers were looking for. Still, I was surprised by how many of my non-muso friends posted tributes to Wallinger on the Book of Faces... he was obviously better known than the lazy journalists realise.</div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B2nCugGQZO0">World Party - Ship Of Fools</a></div><div><br /></div><div>Mike Scott called Wallinger "one of the finest musicians I've ever known", and our own <a href="http://www.johnmedd.com/">John Medd</a> called him "a songwriter's songwriter." 'Nuff said.</div><div><br /></div><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/udCaa-Ju3dk?si=OqSd2WlpYVyKqWIs" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVq8-jLWelJ8Gv1VZHD55c_zKSS97_43fHbqUbjOJhoN5WSSfN20_CHxFZFjnf_BkQu5WTn98MTH5dC2Yv384Wr1FfAdAjVK6XLZ6VnPlN9HEhEtTUeIht5wGMll0p65aOLBPKTael6DXtON4_CLyltwQ-UYFY-AJBtW-70kadFROvVfSXbkJbxEk_c98u/s976/Eric.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="549" data-original-width="976" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVq8-jLWelJ8Gv1VZHD55c_zKSS97_43fHbqUbjOJhoN5WSSfN20_CHxFZFjnf_BkQu5WTn98MTH5dC2Yv384Wr1FfAdAjVK6XLZ6VnPlN9HEhEtTUeIht5wGMll0p65aOLBPKTael6DXtON4_CLyltwQ-UYFY-AJBtW-70kadFROvVfSXbkJbxEk_c98u/s320/Eric.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div>While I expected an outpouring of love for Karl Wallinger, I wasn't surprised to see Eric Carmen's death go unnoticed by the blogosphere at large... though for me, it's just as big a loss.</div><div><br /></div><div>Carmen will primarily be remembered for his huge 80s power ballad All By Myself, later converted into a nice little earner for his retirement years by Canadian Megalodonna Celine Dion. I'm sure it's a song you all have an opinion on, and I doubt it's a favourable one in most cases, but I have to admit... long before it was adopted by <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t8iTZm8-mbA">Bridget Jones</a> and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ilIwu1NTxqs">Joey & Chandler in Friends</a> as a symbol of sad-sack loneliness, this is a song I used to sit and have a quiet, self-indulgent cry to in my teenage years. Please don't judge me.</div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iN9CjAfo5n0">Eric Carmen - All By Myself</a></div><div><br /></div><div>(Classical musos might me like to point out that the verse from All By Yourself is based on the second movement of <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NsqXCO0ADwM">Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 2 in C minor</a>, while the chorus... well, we'll get to that.)</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjHPmhHlnzGNMNcjLngyGQ5D_2xHDk2sr2_swL-ZTiSjG1NFQ8C5RRaXjj2Y6quDiRg6s0n0S8CQVeFuOdG5FjBWr3fGwfCQxp-0Xw-Qsc-7XPGMuD8ht5GyAhI74ueI421jxBnwrd-Sf06d1ZoqqK-ck26hKW5zDXTe_sc7wP4YEwa5F_-e6RSsPEB-oN/s300/Hungry.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="168" data-original-width="300" height="168" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjHPmhHlnzGNMNcjLngyGQ5D_2xHDk2sr2_swL-ZTiSjG1NFQ8C5RRaXjj2Y6quDiRg6s0n0S8CQVeFuOdG5FjBWr3fGwfCQxp-0Xw-Qsc-7XPGMuD8ht5GyAhI74ueI421jxBnwrd-Sf06d1ZoqqK-ck26hKW5zDXTe_sc7wP4YEwa5F_-e6RSsPEB-oN/s1600/Hungry.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><br /><div>Those of us who grew up in the 80s will also remember Carmen for his contribution to one of the biggest soundtracks of the era. Dirty Dancing might not be Citizen Kane, but if you were a teenager in 1987 (I was 15), it probably made quite an impression. Nobody puts Baby in the corner! </div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ssCL292DQA">Eric Carmen - Hungry Eyes</a></div><div><br /></div><div>However, neither of those tunes represents Eric Carmen's greatest achievement in popular music. That came many years earlier, when he was the lead singer of seminal* 70s power pop band, The Raspberries.</div><div><br /></div><div>(*With apologies to those of you who don't appreciate the over-use of this word in contemporary music criticism... but if you ask me, it's valid here.)</div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rtp8WSAzrGw">The Raspberries - Go All The Way</a></div><div><br /></div><div>Of the Raspberries distinctive sound, Carmen once said, "Pete Townshend coined the phrase [power pop] to define what the Who did. For some reason, it didn't stick to the Who, but it did stick to these groups that came out in the '70s that played kind of melodic songs with crunchy guitars and some wild drumming. It just kind of stuck to us like glue, and that was OK with us because the Who were among our highest role models. We absolutely loved the Who."</div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://youtu.be/H8aZvuCYdaE?si=OS-U-1lLzeTWVxUO">The Raspberries - I Wanna Be With You</a></div><div><br /></div><div>The Raspberries went on to influence the next generation of American hitmakers, including Springsteen, Tom Petty, Guns 'n Roses and Kiss... plus many of their own power pop successors, like The Posies, Fountains of Wayne, Weezer and Silver Sun. A bunch of my favourite artists right there... and they all owe a debt to Eric Carmen. Rest in peace, fella.</div><div><br /><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ARkj12Y6Uh4?si=S2tC5d0berrf-qSB" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe></div><div> </div><div>Oh, and the chorus to All By Myself? It was a reworking of this old Raspberries tune, written back in the glorious year of 1972.</div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FJZysLKjB1g">The Raspberries - Let's Pretend</a></div><div><br /></div>Rolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02103804480646939038noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7633543688149775322.post-56150026068234856582024-03-13T08:00:00.002+00:002024-03-13T10:36:10.050+00:00Self-Help For Cynics #26: To A Louse<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOXEIf3XlSGrDpdPlDT2TOkEogAci4DY0BnV-QkY1rnIKJ-zbjNb9xCT_J8qKyVTV8WHM1CgSG_bmRuJaW02aVigPPnnOHYM78mIyn0LOZyORZnG8MQtufLtSuKPNzi4QHiMy88QhB1MBPjGUrnjnU_fs35n72iXf0TQG3nBQHvVCFflBTxIJAPbu3n3Sw/s4000/20240210_190016.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3000" data-original-width="4000" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOXEIf3XlSGrDpdPlDT2TOkEogAci4DY0BnV-QkY1rnIKJ-zbjNb9xCT_J8qKyVTV8WHM1CgSG_bmRuJaW02aVigPPnnOHYM78mIyn0LOZyORZnG8MQtufLtSuKPNzi4QHiMy88QhB1MBPjGUrnjnU_fs35n72iXf0TQG3nBQHvVCFflBTxIJAPbu3n3Sw/s320/20240210_190016.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2H5uWRjFsGc"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Chumbawamba - Tubthumping</span></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><h4 style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #2b00fe;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Oh, would some
Power the gift give us<br /></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">To see ourselves
as others see us!<br /></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">It would from many
a blunder free us,<br /></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">And foolish
notion:<br /></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">What airs in dress
and gait would leave us,<br /></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">And even devotion!</b></span></h4>
<p class="MsoNormal">So ends one of Robert Burns' most famous poems (well, the English translation of it anyway, which I'm sure will horrify some of you), in which Burns writes about seeing a louse crawling on a woman’s bonnet in church. At first
he’s disgusted by the sight, though by the end of the poem he turns more
philosophical. If we could see ourselves through other people’s eyes, he argues,
we would lose all our pretensions and realise that no one person is better than
anybody else…</p><p class="MsoNormal"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dyesjCOIAe8">Bettie Serveert - Hell = Other People</a></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Nice idea, Rabbie, but many of us spend far too much time
worrying about how other people see us. Welcome to FOPO – Fear of Other People’s
Opinions. Here’s a for instance…<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Someone I know – we’ll call him Tiberius – finds it hard to
make small talk with colleagues or discuss his life outside work. He can handle
more formal discussions about work-related matters in a relaxed fashion, making
jokes when appropriate, and generally feels like his opinion and experience is
valued in those circumstances. But when everyone starts chatting about what
they did last night, what they’re doing at the weekend, what they’re watching
on TV or what music they like… he clams up. If someone raises a topic he has an
opinion on – say they mention a TV show he’s actually watched or a band he has
some knowledge of – he’s not afraid to chip in. What he <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">won’t </i>do is set the agenda.
He won’t mention a show nobody else has been talking about, and he certainly
won’t tell them he’s been out to see Craig Finn or Lucinda Williams over the
weekend. (In case you’re wondering, Tiberius goes to a lot of the same gigs I
do. We don’t go together because, to be honest, I find him rather tedious company.)<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gM4GRSJIkV4">Morrissey - People Are The Same Everywhere</a></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Why won’t Tiberius tell his colleagues about the great time
he had watching Craig or Lucinda? Why would he rather pretend he’s done nothing
at the weekend? Why won’t he ask them if anybody’s watching the final series of
Curb or if they saw Fargo Season 5 – the best one yet? Well, only Tiberius
would be able to answer those questions for sure. But here are a couple of
suggestions…<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aQ0SiBKIMxE">The Wonder Stuff - Let's Be Other People</a></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: large;">1. </span></b>Tiberius doesn’t feel that his own life would be of interest
to anybody else. (There’s a huge irony here in that Tiberius spends a great
deal of his time chronicling said life on a blog that very few people read – I’m
not linking to it, to spare you the agony. But he does that, he claims, purely
for his own mental health, and it’s a bonus if other people read it, though he
really can’t understand why they would.)<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wpbE8JkpxrY">Clifford T. Ward - Are You Really Interested?</a></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: large;">2. </span></b>Tiberius does not wish to be judged by his own interests
or opinions. If he tells people he watches Curb, they might think he’s a sociopathic
misanthropist like Larry David. And mentioning any kind of musical interest
outside the mainstream is a certain way of finding yourself stereotyped or
pigeon-holed, labelled and tagged. You like country music, Tiberius? Yee-haw!
You like ROCK? Do… I… need… to… talk… more… slowly… so… you… understand? You
like Taylor Swift too? Sad old man desperately trying to cling onto his youth
by appearing hip? Bruce Springsteen? I never liked Born In The USA… too
jingoistic for me. No, expressing any kind of musical preference just opens one up to stereotyping, prejudice and general all-purpose ignorance… and the last
thing Tiberius wants is to get into an argument defending his tastes… because
that would just make him look touchy.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><a href="https://youtu.be/BEOyaZl9kR0?si=TtLEELeCQZo9N66T">Bob Marley & The Wailers - Judge Not</a></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Why does Tiberius care what other people think? To answer
that question, I turned to our old friend Mr. Google, who directed me towards psychologist
Michael Gervais at The Harvard Business Review. Gervais has written a couple of
articles that jumped out at me, one called <a href="https://hbr.org/2019/05/how-to-stop-worrying-about-what-other-people-think-of-you">How
to Stop Worrying About What Other People Think of You</a> and one called <a href="https://hbr.org/2024/02/stop-basing-your-self-worth-on-other-peoples-opinions">Stop
Basing Your Self-Worth on Other People’s Opinions</a>. The first of those is a
bit too Inspirational for me – it concludes by suggesting we tackle self-esteem
issues by cultivating our own “personal philosophy” or mission statement… but
then, this is The Harvard Business Review, and Gervais’s clients do include “world
record holders, Olympians, internationally acclaimed artists and musicians,
MVPs from every major sport, and Fortune 100 CEOs”… so what do you expect? (Clearly he's overcome any of his own self-esteem issues a <i>long</i> time ago.) </p><p class="MsoNormal"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xzn9EnQ1P1A">Ian McNabb - Other People</a></p><p class="MsoNormal">Still, best
not to consult Dr. Gervais if you're a mediocre loser like Tiberius. His article did
however reiterate something we’ve discussed here before – how the monkey brain
fears being ostracized by the “tribe”.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36pt;"><b><span style="color: #800180;">Unfortunately, FOPO is part of
the human condition since we’re operating with an ancient brain. A craving for
social approval made our ancestors cautious and savvy; thousands of years ago,
if the responsibility for the failed hunt fell on your shoulders, your place in
the tribe could be threatened. The desire to fit in and the paralyzing fear of
being disliked undermine our ability to pursue the lives we want to create.</span></b><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NNdQs5N6XdY">Memphis Nomads - Don't Pass Your Judgement</a></p><p class="MsoNormal">The second article was more enlightening, particularly when
it discussed the core principles of self-worth, and how everybody judges
themselves by a different yardstick. For some, academic prowess trumps everything
else. For others, it’s physical appearance. It could be financial stability or sporting
ability or just being a nice, caring person… we all have an internal barometer
of success, and they’re all attuned to a slightly different wavelength. Which,
when you think about it, makes seeing ourselves through other people’s eyes a
bit of a non-starter. Someone with an athletically-attuned mindset might look
at Tiberius and think, you’re getting a bit flabby, mate, isn’t it time you hit
the gym? But if that doesn’t match Tiberius’s own metric… he'd rather people thought he was a good writer and a genuine human being... so what’s the point in
even trying to make a comparison? <o:p></o:p></p><h4 style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #2b00fe;">Other people's lives<br />Seem more interesting<br />'cause they ain't mine</span></h4>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=neUEg59XQew">Modest Mouse - Other People's Lives</a></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">Gervais gets to the crux of the matter when he discusses “externalising
your self-worth”, in other words, trying to conform to other people’s metrics.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36pt;"><b><span style="color: #800180;">Externalizing our self-worth,
when it works, can yield short-term benefits. We get emotionally and chemically
rewarded when we succeed. Our hypothalamus produces dopamine, often referred to
as the feel-good neurotransmitter. Our self-esteem gets lifted, leaving us
feeling safe, secure, and superior.<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36pt;"><b><span style="color: #800180;">But dependency on external validation
and social approval has a dark alter ego that reveals itself over time because
outsourcing our self-worth undermines the basic human needs of competence,
autonomy, and relatedness.</span></b><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Woah. There’s quite a lot to unpack there. I fear we may
have to return to Tiberius next week…<o:p></o:p></p><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/5Ho7UEoU7Mo?si=fQVzOJFkgaQj8aoK" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe></div><div><br /></div>Rolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02103804480646939038noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7633543688149775322.post-3100839089715734802024-03-12T08:00:00.000+00:002024-03-12T08:00:00.325+00:00Namesakes #76: The Audience<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBgIPi5aSiTYVeqEtpmKtosudf0Qh_qIQW16hSz_VuNrSNeEL87k_bQkTTa3flKJKTuRPTZq2WAHqUaeD4zUMgVLLcnG3owkmhvjVoBjH6Hj18mfrH1aBQxV1vOcEzlgi6qMD8t4cy86NLLlPuD-9-CE7Rhamwfs_bqqdAkajZrIYLgVmHS0yApGqkxJXg/s2902/Audience.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1514" data-original-width="2902" height="167" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBgIPi5aSiTYVeqEtpmKtosudf0Qh_qIQW16hSz_VuNrSNeEL87k_bQkTTa3flKJKTuRPTZq2WAHqUaeD4zUMgVLLcnG3owkmhvjVoBjH6Hj18mfrH1aBQxV1vOcEzlgi6qMD8t4cy86NLLlPuD-9-CE7Rhamwfs_bqqdAkajZrIYLgVmHS0yApGqkxJXg/s320/Audience.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><div>And you thought that the whole point of becoming a rock star was to get up on stage and feel the adulation of the crowd below you...?</div><div><br /></div><div>Not always, it seems.</div><div><br /></div><div>These guys would rather be in the audience!</div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-size: medium;"><u>AUDIENCE #1 </u></span></b></div><div><br /></div><div>We start with an Audience lacking the definite article, originating in that London back in 1969. They started out as a soul band called Lloyd Alexander Real Estate (no idea who Lloyd Alexander was - he certainly wasn't in the band) before getting a record deal and a residency at Ronnie Scott's nightclub as Audience. They drifted away from soul towards the pretensions of Art Rock, released four albums, and toured with Rod and the Faces, before it all fell apart at the end of '72. Vocalist Howard Werth was momentarily considered as a replacement for Jim Morrison in The Doors, while other band members went on to join Stackridge, The Nashville Teens and previous Namesakes, Hot Chocolate. </div><div><br /></div><div>Here they are at the height of their powers in 1971...</div><div><br /></div><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/NyrJ51FcV4E?si=7Z9UxvHf-YHdBtMw" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-size: medium;"><u>THE AUDIENCE #2</u></span></b></div><div><br /></div><div>British post-punkers, verging on goths if you ask me, from 1982. The only tracks listed on discogs were on compilations, so I was surprised to find some audio...</div><div><br /><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/nhDtm8k-vK8?si=11ZH7LPlQvopWvA8" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-size: medium;"><u>THEAUDIENCE #3</u></span></b></div><div><br /></div><div>The Audience for whom I have the most time arrived on the scene in 1996, differentiating themselves with a portmanteau name (or perhaps their space bar was broken). Lead singer Sophie Ellis Bextor was the daughter of former Blue Peter presenter Janet Green, and there were slight mumblings of nepotism from certain corners of the Britpop community. However, Theaudience were a far more interesting prospect than Menswear or The Ordinary Boys or any number of lesser Britpop lights, so stuff 'em all. </div><div><br /></div><div>Sophie went on to solo fame in the pop world, reinventing herself during lockdown with her Kitchen Disco performances. Her career got a further boost recently when her track <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hAx6mYeC6pY">Murder On The Dancefloor</a> was featured in the soundtrack of controversial movie Saltburn... and as a result, you'll have a hell of a job finding a decent priced copy of Theaudience's sole album from 1998 right now. They were going for 10p a copy 6 months ago... such is the fickle world of pop.</div><div><br /></div><div>Here's a song I knew I was going to love as soon as I saw the title...</div><div><br /><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/-s_WGwT5Tgg?si=JzK_2r9yiMmZ66LE" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe></div><div> </div><div><b><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-size: medium;"><u>THE AUDIENCE #4</u></span></b></div><div><br /></div><div>From Santa Cruz in 1997 came another The Audience - or Das Audience - though they'd soon change their name to Vue, like the cinema chain. The song titles on their sole album sound promising... Doctor Huh, Painless Dentistry and Love A Doorframe - but I think they may have set the bar too high.</div><div><br /><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/6p5x87us2tg?si=ns72EQxIWZMEaSXo" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-size: medium;"><u>AUDIENCE #5</u></span></b></div><div><br /></div><div>A Spanish Audience who got together in 2002 and may still be kicking around. Could be worthy of further investigation...</div><div><br /><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/QRA979sAgv0?si=Lust8P6ek_sqR4lQ" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-size: medium;"><b><u>THE AUDIENCE #6</u></b></span></div><div><br /></div><div>German indie types led by guitarist Sebastian Wild and singer Bernd Pflaum, active between 2005 and 2012.</div><div> </div><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/eucGPNv2qV8?si=TBzejSFSRXAjC29B" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-size: medium;"><u>THEE AUDIENCE #7</u></span></b></div><div><br /></div><div>New York power-poppers with an extra E from about a decade ago...</div><div><br /><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/cNpK043RI8U?si=Ksl1jdPwIdi-Nkvl" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-size: medium;"><u>THA AUDIENCE #8</u></span></b></div><div><br /></div><div>Finally, I want you to close your eyes and imagine you're in a particularly noisy video game arcade back in 2014...</div><div><br /></div><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/a9o8aBkroL0?si=pL_foedZTJtQcvbL" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe><div><br /></div><div>Which Audience is deserving of your applause... and which would you boot out into the street?</div><div><br /></div>Rolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02103804480646939038noreply@blogger.com20tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7633543688149775322.post-27275190621537761272024-03-11T08:00:00.000+00:002024-03-11T08:00:00.186+00:00Celebrity Jukebox #124: PF Sloan<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTtQfGhbrz1wJfDm1Sr0c-8EF34oERhEcQVVqViIIAfwNkpVgDqdEY8MxjrikPbbCUdH-bNtmSHLOSRyZnd6PJtLWoJQvVgxBcHjvCX5_ssCq7OeYZ9enqO9iUw44v_0mVHKDU6fyt7UTuBbjIWVV7WmT-1qRFcaRtpTgNxDG-pL0zYaOv0uY0EqlOu70R/s640/PF%20Sloan.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTtQfGhbrz1wJfDm1Sr0c-8EF34oERhEcQVVqViIIAfwNkpVgDqdEY8MxjrikPbbCUdH-bNtmSHLOSRyZnd6PJtLWoJQvVgxBcHjvCX5_ssCq7OeYZ9enqO9iUw44v_0mVHKDU6fyt7UTuBbjIWVV7WmT-1qRFcaRtpTgNxDG-pL0zYaOv0uY0EqlOu70R/s320/PF%20Sloan.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div><div>You may argue that I’m stretching the definition of “celebrity” today. Still, if you’re famous enough to have a song written about you, you’re a celebrity in my book. You might not be invited on Celebrity Big Brother or Celebrity Wife-Swap or Celebrity Dung Inspectors… whatever’s the latest big celebrity thing to clog up the TV schedules like a rancid fatberg in the sewerage tunnels... but then I've rarely heard of any of the "celebrities" they drag out for these shows anyway... and the ones I have heard of, I generally find objectionable.</div><div><br /></div><div>Better yet, today's "celebrity" hasn’t had a song written about him by any old Tom, Dick or Harry Styles. He had a song written about him by arguably the greatest songwriter in the history of truly great songwriters. But we’ll get to that…</div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ehiVW4VFElo">P.F. Sloan - Raised On Records</a></div><div><br /></div><div>Phil “Flip” Sloan was born in New York in 1945. When he was 13, his family moved to Hollywood and his dad bought him a guitar. Legend has it that he met Elvis in the music shop, and wangled his first ever guitar lesson from the King of Rock 'n' Roll. </div><div><br /></div><div>A year later, he wrote and released his first single…</div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IBe1paCkxlM">Flip Sloan - All I Want Is Loving</a></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5jSn9A-gKHQ">Flip Sloan - Little Girl In The Cabin</a></div><div><br /></div><div>Sloan soon got a job writing songs for Screen Gems, one of many record companies in the 60s employing teenagers to write songs for their own age group. That's where he met a soon-to-be frequent collaborator, Steve Barri, and together they penned their first minor hit...</div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PFBNsERjoZ8">Round Robin - Kick That Little Foot, Sally Ann</a></div><div><br /></div><div>This led to further success, writing hits for The Turtles, The Searchers and Herman’s Hermits, although Sloan's most known for a tune that became a big Vietnam protest anthem…</div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qfZVu0alU0I">Barry Maguire – Eve Of Destruction</a></div><div><br /></div><div>Even Bob Dylan liked that one.</div><div><br /></div><div>PF Sloan also wrote the theme tune to the US version of the Patrick McGoohan show, Danger Man, retitled Secret Agent on American TV. Originally recorded by <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RIsgWYVXIcA">Johnny Rivers</a>, many years later that song cropped up on the first LP I ever bought... </div><div> </div><div><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dcM-W2hRObA">Bruce Willis – Secret Agent Man</a></div><div><br /></div><div>Sloan also joined The Wrecking Crew as a session guitarist. While playing with that legendary ensemble, he came up with a particularly fine opening hook…</div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J4DmU_On6ag">The Mamas & The Papas – California Dreamin'</a></div><div><br /></div><div>(Here's Sloan himself, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cgiD-6izF3Q">talking about how that came about</a>.)</div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://youtu.be/Wrjv4emFn4o?si=CRfC8rFjjm7x-MTG">P.F. Sloan - Sins Of A Family</a></div><div><br /></div><div>Regardless of his success as a songwriter and musician, what Phil Sloan really wanted was to be a star in his own right. But that was not to be, and in the early 70s he abandoned the music industry altogether and spent many years as a recluse, fighting depression and mental illness. Although he enjoyed a brief comeback in the 21st Century, he sadly died of cancer in 2015. </div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MHgqIDKh6do">PF Sloan - Sailover</a></div><div><br /></div><div>Now rewind… to the mid-60s, and a lazy day when Sloan agreed to meet a budding junior songwriter and offer him some words of encouragement. When Sloan heard the songs that young man had to play, they brought him to tears. He thought every one of them could be a major hit...</div><div> </div><div><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UKkNlwpajNk">The 5th Dimension – Up, Up And Away</a></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sD-zTwi3_GU">Richard Harris – MacArthur Park</a></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MkDKT0ngkFs">Glen Campbell – By The Time I Get To Phoenix</a></div><div><br /><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Q8P_xTBpAcY?si=7xMVcpaR04iNNHe1" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe></div><div><br /></div><div>Jimmy Webb never forgot the support he'd received from PF Sloan early in his career. A few years later, he wrote a timeless tribute to his lost hero that goes something like this...</div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="color: #2b00fe;">Last time I saw P.F. Sloan</span></b></div><div><b><span style="color: #2b00fe;">He was summer burned and winter blown</span></b></div><div><b><span style="color: #2b00fe;">He turned the corner all alone</span></b></div><div><b><span style="color: #2b00fe;">But he continued singing</span></b></div><div><b><span style="color: #2b00fe;">Yeah now, listen to him singing</span></b></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6GN-tkslblQ">Jimmy Webb – P.F. Sloan</a></div><div><br /></div><div>Bruce Springsteen's manager, Jon Landau, called PF Sloan "a masterpiece [that] could not be improved upon". Even <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nHmPf1kQxbo">Billy Bragg</a> has something to say about it. The song was also recorded by <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4aqm56f-CGI">The Association</a>, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vMjlVc3eqS0">Unicorn</a> and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RPLPgWledeA">Jennifer Warnes</a>, among others, but the definitive version wouldn’t arrive for another 40 years. </div><div><br /></div><div>It doesn’t get any better than this…</div></div><div><br /></div><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/JCBxP7zk47U?si=P6L364UwCGKDKse6" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe><div><br /></div>Rolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02103804480646939038noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7633543688149775322.post-68005743490373261852024-03-10T08:30:00.000+00:002024-03-10T08:30:00.128+00:00Snapshots #334: A Top Ten Mr. Men Songs<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjV_UZNIC6IeuzlMrrxgvj43dO98HIiHIh9U6_asJmiML2FfB_1UllhkLgYilCOo4E9Dd7CI9BERo867WHFJxpBxaGXRZnxr2qEGV0-my3ZwSauSP8zdKB99fEKD_jdZNAdijewpVN0WRgwvIF9f3C-QXO-WL_5UQwxnLgcp9T-xlZixfWGxntNLNi-huJH/s888/Mr%20Men.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="499" data-original-width="888" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjV_UZNIC6IeuzlMrrxgvj43dO98HIiHIh9U6_asJmiML2FfB_1UllhkLgYilCOo4E9Dd7CI9BERo867WHFJxpBxaGXRZnxr2qEGV0-my3ZwSauSP8zdKB99fEKD_jdZNAdijewpVN0WRgwvIF9f3C-QXO-WL_5UQwxnLgcp9T-xlZixfWGxntNLNi-huJH/s320/Mr%20Men.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p>Mr. Happy, Mr. Tickle, Mr. Silly, Mr. Topsy-Turvy... when Roger Hargreaves created this Mr. Men, I think these might be some of the characters he rejected...</p><p><br /></p><p>10. Coldly, Leo gets disorientated.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq6c33ZxssO_ilszI1Dk2nQCfRp7blHadWXHZDcYe2Jo2OsztyJeJgUnoiLYzT76HhsZnm_VQNWpskvWA4dLdffZBkh3w73eZJDpvLE9PD_-PIXDtaeXXPl4n4iZERyqexaOK4C-FP4LpbxGSbu88cn2w_tx6Yswhz06RacznYEckOL_Em6jlM9r0Lls2N/s629/10.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="629" data-original-width="564" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq6c33ZxssO_ilszI1Dk2nQCfRp7blHadWXHZDcYe2Jo2OsztyJeJgUnoiLYzT76HhsZnm_VQNWpskvWA4dLdffZBkh3w73eZJDpvLE9PD_-PIXDtaeXXPl4n4iZERyqexaOK4C-FP4LpbxGSbu88cn2w_tx6Yswhz06RacznYEckOL_Em6jlM9r0Lls2N/s320/10.jpg" width="287" /></a></div><p>"Coldly, Leo" is an anagram.</p><p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tvDYa0dHe-E">Lloyd Cole - Mr. Malcontent</a></p><p>9. Marks' partner forms a band with Miles.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG79DCUILdKfAL2J1nfLfvVLI8fzvvqru_XDkXiW4bdMnt4iSuwyiwSX5Ac5e8LmvOQmUZy9Ss4v5CSAlLK-UzQsm2hR65sskh-JBFEumeZ9S1-pc5KIyyd6P_Yly9Qs3K2Kx44HT9xQYF0vMgBppfx3lirD_AyWNOYklPRlP0biq13PJ1b4sF-ldDfrDk/s1800/9.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG79DCUILdKfAL2J1nfLfvVLI8fzvvqru_XDkXiW4bdMnt4iSuwyiwSX5Ac5e8LmvOQmUZy9Ss4v5CSAlLK-UzQsm2hR65sskh-JBFEumeZ9S1-pc5KIyyd6P_Yly9Qs3K2Kx44HT9xQYF0vMgBppfx3lirD_AyWNOYklPRlP0biq13PJ1b4sF-ldDfrDk/s320/9.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p>Marks & Spencer meets Miles Davis...</p><p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=86oTDOPDyTU">The Spencer Davis Group - Mr. Second Class</a></p><p>8. Ernie's pal will meet you at the chapel.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizYjSPi-7_10Ml3_SzOs3rwbeq-enJ9LcoKH_sY1KlBgFuxh9ZUHGSHhDT7XhXFbasd5by2BjpMzxepGX58LwYImu6nB4wuJZKBqUmBItLvL-SiNtHhqJIck139F8FxzlWOSAU8pp8SsgnFBwvs3KB2aftuMd0mm6XxvJEo7wudWFIbrS1uUOjTTTfTBSW/s3200/8.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="3200" height="160" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizYjSPi-7_10Ml3_SzOs3rwbeq-enJ9LcoKH_sY1KlBgFuxh9ZUHGSHhDT7XhXFbasd5by2BjpMzxepGX58LwYImu6nB4wuJZKBqUmBItLvL-SiNtHhqJIck139F8FxzlWOSAU8pp8SsgnFBwvs3KB2aftuMd0mm6XxvJEo7wudWFIbrS1uUOjTTTfTBSW/s320/8.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><p>Ernie knocked around with Eric (not our Ernie... although, who knows?) in a Church.</p><p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rOuF3k_-asA">Eric Church - Mr. Misunderstood</a></p><p>7. Freeloader who raises the temperature.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQSasizE2pJjM0g3VK-FpmMhDJHlqwmMGCNIi1u_oGq4mWv-iwEt-FVQVWUvBHn158f2-uHuSUoOAMbdy-1-Rsch31zgpeAkRCS3qZu0aHx_L2aC7dmUZfytIGZYk9jT7s0Ap4gCaOavaGTeTUwHj7YYzYBAPv_1CzlwxORf_7iSH4lHjFls3chLP-Z1Ta/s853/7.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="853" data-original-width="735" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQSasizE2pJjM0g3VK-FpmMhDJHlqwmMGCNIi1u_oGq4mWv-iwEt-FVQVWUvBHn158f2-uHuSUoOAMbdy-1-Rsch31zgpeAkRCS3qZu0aHx_L2aC7dmUZfytIGZYk9jT7s0Ap4gCaOavaGTeTUwHj7YYzYBAPv_1CzlwxORf_7iSH4lHjFls3chLP-Z1Ta/s320/7.jpg" width="276" /></a></div><p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZZcuSBouhVA">Freddie Freeloader</a> - yes, it's Miles Davis Day here at My Top Ten - makes the Mercury rise...</p><p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v_Mb25ASCr8">Freddie Mercury - Mr. Bad Guy</a></p><p>6. I doubt he's sharper than a serpent's tooth...</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEh-SyPBh26Giyu57ACqb1_xAxMoW_TiUwjm_xPi9YTQIE4MaV4IIug7DtHxLMh9jz-jIDMjolr7sZzJdOegtHI4vCWqLne2iYkmJXm_KUJWJGUymFNrpb5RbOjVovpfWKkHUni3wpf5VqSoG3ceoliPKI3duUJ3TlnFN-DPrhT3vplFUxciZCI9zxjd5d/s278/6.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="181" data-original-width="278" height="181" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEh-SyPBh26Giyu57ACqb1_xAxMoW_TiUwjm_xPi9YTQIE4MaV4IIug7DtHxLMh9jz-jIDMjolr7sZzJdOegtHI4vCWqLne2iYkmJXm_KUJWJGUymFNrpb5RbOjVovpfWKkHUni3wpf5VqSoG3ceoliPKI3duUJ3TlnFN-DPrhT3vplFUxciZCI9zxjd5d/s1600/6.jpg" width="278" /></a></div><p>A doubting Thomas, and a quote from King Lear... hey, I'm an English teacher - sue me!</p><p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u6bs1PEVMYM">Thomas Leer - Mr. Nobody</a></p><p>5. Second rate Gremlins.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivyn3w8watvo10mj0WjpzarbjhjXiMepfAeKLDL3b7hzZ9XA0AVHOm2YtR9bGt8n_oCTgoDiLrm95REMBr_zSDzLfb2o7Gxseer2WifiI_gctntOKp5EWbXtvckloIgWrqP7fDbkD7TtP2HG91wBRAcah1jOOm3I8OC2juHw37hSV0xFi4AkpeOTMRSvMD/s781/5.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="749" data-original-width="781" height="307" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivyn3w8watvo10mj0WjpzarbjhjXiMepfAeKLDL3b7hzZ9XA0AVHOm2YtR9bGt8n_oCTgoDiLrm95REMBr_zSDzLfb2o7Gxseer2WifiI_gctntOKp5EWbXtvckloIgWrqP7fDbkD7TtP2HG91wBRAcah1jOOm3I8OC2juHw37hSV0xFi4AkpeOTMRSvMD/s320/5.png" width="320" /></a></div><p>After the success of Gremlins, everyone wanted a little scary monster movie. This was one of the unfortunate results...</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhd90JGa_ZgFKB1ftloN3sIgBnszHPui2sR8H5Jg2orsZTUUHLnqCAhyQxLRLOf7TooK-KgArf3FVMT_RW7-7SUrYepfyalWsHDwQLNRxdVlAvEa1V1Ru6EBGOP1M3CPPhTI7QVcA8k5Qv3rhiXC-h_rgPM8h8Sat9m2luC9ZSTI8K1EFjEswJQffY6gOi9/s259/Critters.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="259" data-original-width="194" height="259" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhd90JGa_ZgFKB1ftloN3sIgBnszHPui2sR8H5Jg2orsZTUUHLnqCAhyQxLRLOf7TooK-KgArf3FVMT_RW7-7SUrYepfyalWsHDwQLNRxdVlAvEa1V1Ru6EBGOP1M3CPPhTI7QVcA8k5Qv3rhiXC-h_rgPM8h8Sat9m2luC9ZSTI8K1EFjEswJQffY6gOi9/s1600/Critters.jpg" width="194" /></a></div><p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HV4Tq1ZJZzs">The Critters - Mr. Dieingly Sad</a></p><p>4. Swapping chainmail for denim.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi309d5wsd19vS-E1EayKir_1fS3Ya2J5eTpB6BFSryU-hr8k0IFE49nvivJ43UiEDpA0OG1SGOrEAwvI4M6iyJzc7_FRalByZlqdq85HJJ7NN57pOv_K_bmSYXP_pQls53jGzrCFI48cZHYooGVQkNFIQFPO-UCf6-_k9tFMNGi91pCsXYVZH0c_a7hyphenhyphen_7/s834/3.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="771" data-original-width="834" height="296" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi309d5wsd19vS-E1EayKir_1fS3Ya2J5eTpB6BFSryU-hr8k0IFE49nvivJ43UiEDpA0OG1SGOrEAwvI4M6iyJzc7_FRalByZlqdq85HJJ7NN57pOv_K_bmSYXP_pQls53jGzrCFI48cZHYooGVQkNFIQFPO-UCf6-_k9tFMNGi91pCsXYVZH0c_a7hyphenhyphen_7/s320/3.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p>A Knight in Jeans? I'd stick with the armour...</p><p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lPgOg4dg2ZM">Jean Knight - Mr. Big Stuff</a></p><p>3. Bass and treble? Seaweed and pebble?</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBhdIqoOW-qGWQ6FGqok0hyphenhyphenl0GMpAbMOXaXQ_LNA2oHY2Vc-53mk3-Ah0bqr6uAiHiPrM-bWe9ylDKLAmeyodAvc7OGV6fqpF51uRv9lIRjiClpl6tLhJdyspfkGzH2GZtC7wHyKy0yvVDucaE23PoK6o_woWgbQ9xxnxoHqpOsVz1Zb7Be9WteJg6X4Fl/s501/2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="501" data-original-width="500" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBhdIqoOW-qGWQ6FGqok0hyphenhyphenl0GMpAbMOXaXQ_LNA2oHY2Vc-53mk3-Ah0bqr6uAiHiPrM-bWe9ylDKLAmeyodAvc7OGV6fqpF51uRv9lIRjiClpl6tLhJdyspfkGzH2GZtC7wHyKy0yvVDucaE23PoK6o_woWgbQ9xxnxoHqpOsVz1Zb7Be9WteJg6X4Fl/s320/2.jpg" width="319" /></a></div><p>Could one of those be Cockney Rhyming Slang for Rebel?</p><p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jcpyX1jq_Dc">Cockney Rebel - Mr. Soft</a></p><p>At a push, I would also have allowed...</p><p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CfDuHluL3RU">Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel - Mr. Raffles</a></p><p>2. Rear appendage or fast bird?</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiINPHTQyLYjayjG3h4KjY5uUJpuZk7Xrhs9ZiS-P-zSsPaTyyyKsLfjFhgUAdYXaBYPp7ZyZeL-JcGYiuMrY0MsGPLmg3_JG_wjuTLrL6HMCxcoii2bpo2720OunlN49j4Qxlq9X6jCCF4UVfQcQLvTLnO-5JvUQXoJI7-riKYwycVjkJ_usZYbo4oTDG5/s480/2a.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="360" data-original-width="480" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiINPHTQyLYjayjG3h4KjY5uUJpuZk7Xrhs9ZiS-P-zSsPaTyyyKsLfjFhgUAdYXaBYPp7ZyZeL-JcGYiuMrY0MsGPLmg3_JG_wjuTLrL6HMCxcoii2bpo2720OunlN49j4Qxlq9X6jCCF4UVfQcQLvTLnO-5JvUQXoJI7-riKYwycVjkJ_usZYbo4oTDG5/s320/2a.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p>Tail... or swift?</p><p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rFjJs6ZjPe8">Taylor Swift - Mr. Perfectly Fine</a></p><p>(And if that looks like an Odd Song Out... it isn't!)</p><p>1. Tired dingos are easily befuddled.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtSug9mxtYUc6xsmWHO-EPJYnaOidSPUzgtsrZMVf9DMMWMmvqxUReigKwCF_CrLb7hnzJPqRCtizuZJfo6A0kb7zs1jFpaYASENCiy6IAshWNDnAlzZFOAvWyZ3eutwg_AKAfrYOz5jbEsvRxwnfj6GXRwkjyVCmdVcXAB_gh00fqTyAcapyWqYz2B8wL/s701/1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="701" data-original-width="564" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtSug9mxtYUc6xsmWHO-EPJYnaOidSPUzgtsrZMVf9DMMWMmvqxUReigKwCF_CrLb7hnzJPqRCtizuZJfo6A0kb7zs1jFpaYASENCiy6IAshWNDnAlzZFOAvWyZ3eutwg_AKAfrYOz5jbEsvRxwnfj6GXRwkjyVCmdVcXAB_gh00fqTyAcapyWqYz2B8wL/s320/1.jpg" width="257" /></a></div><p>"Tired dingos" was an anagram...</p><p><span style="color: #ffa400; font-size: medium;"><b>Otis Redding - Mr. Pitiful</b></span></p><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/4Q8jTEFoYJQ?si=LWI-ZpWH4Gd1wlyB" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe><div><br /></div><div>Mr. Loverman (Shabba!) says there will be more Snapshots next Saturday...</div><div><br /></div>Rolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02103804480646939038noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7633543688149775322.post-17945493611343594242024-03-09T08:30:00.002+00:002024-03-09T08:30:00.125+00:00Saturday Snapshots #334<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhZgA_ubwZ7wTzgVG82zdJj6kzkeIXPLVSxTzuq0NwRl5PKosr2n4ynwEhtjl9ZrFigoREo9VVq8ZKbIobGOwHG6JNfl7Dd20tODjmZLV99BPRukY-Ki5jLf9id8Os6IMO0YjZI1_yRaYCieLAP3LnlZwC5Saq0d1_R3439-vDq9gy8BROrL8KP8_D4WS4/s756/Mr%20T.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="756" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhZgA_ubwZ7wTzgVG82zdJj6kzkeIXPLVSxTzuq0NwRl5PKosr2n4ynwEhtjl9ZrFigoREo9VVq8ZKbIobGOwHG6JNfl7Dd20tODjmZLV99BPRukY-Ki5jLf9id8Os6IMO0YjZI1_yRaYCieLAP3LnlZwC5Saq0d1_R3439-vDq9gy8BROrL8KP8_D4WS4/s320/Mr%20T.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p>I pity the fool that misses this week's Snapshots... and I tell you one thing: I ain't gettin' on no plane with them!</p><p>Who are the ten musically-inclined homo sapiens pictured below... and what might link their songs?</p><p><br /></p><p>10. Coldly, Leo gets disorientated.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq6c33ZxssO_ilszI1Dk2nQCfRp7blHadWXHZDcYe2Jo2OsztyJeJgUnoiLYzT76HhsZnm_VQNWpskvWA4dLdffZBkh3w73eZJDpvLE9PD_-PIXDtaeXXPl4n4iZERyqexaOK4C-FP4LpbxGSbu88cn2w_tx6Yswhz06RacznYEckOL_Em6jlM9r0Lls2N/s629/10.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="629" data-original-width="564" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq6c33ZxssO_ilszI1Dk2nQCfRp7blHadWXHZDcYe2Jo2OsztyJeJgUnoiLYzT76HhsZnm_VQNWpskvWA4dLdffZBkh3w73eZJDpvLE9PD_-PIXDtaeXXPl4n4iZERyqexaOK4C-FP4LpbxGSbu88cn2w_tx6Yswhz06RacznYEckOL_Em6jlM9r0Lls2N/s320/10.jpg" width="287" /></a></div><p>9. Marks' partner forms a band with Miles.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG79DCUILdKfAL2J1nfLfvVLI8fzvvqru_XDkXiW4bdMnt4iSuwyiwSX5Ac5e8LmvOQmUZy9Ss4v5CSAlLK-UzQsm2hR65sskh-JBFEumeZ9S1-pc5KIyyd6P_Yly9Qs3K2Kx44HT9xQYF0vMgBppfx3lirD_AyWNOYklPRlP0biq13PJ1b4sF-ldDfrDk/s1800/9.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG79DCUILdKfAL2J1nfLfvVLI8fzvvqru_XDkXiW4bdMnt4iSuwyiwSX5Ac5e8LmvOQmUZy9Ss4v5CSAlLK-UzQsm2hR65sskh-JBFEumeZ9S1-pc5KIyyd6P_Yly9Qs3K2Kx44HT9xQYF0vMgBppfx3lirD_AyWNOYklPRlP0biq13PJ1b4sF-ldDfrDk/s320/9.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p>8. Ernie's pal will meet you at the chapel.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizYjSPi-7_10Ml3_SzOs3rwbeq-enJ9LcoKH_sY1KlBgFuxh9ZUHGSHhDT7XhXFbasd5by2BjpMzxepGX58LwYImu6nB4wuJZKBqUmBItLvL-SiNtHhqJIck139F8FxzlWOSAU8pp8SsgnFBwvs3KB2aftuMd0mm6XxvJEo7wudWFIbrS1uUOjTTTfTBSW/s3200/8.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="3200" height="160" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizYjSPi-7_10Ml3_SzOs3rwbeq-enJ9LcoKH_sY1KlBgFuxh9ZUHGSHhDT7XhXFbasd5by2BjpMzxepGX58LwYImu6nB4wuJZKBqUmBItLvL-SiNtHhqJIck139F8FxzlWOSAU8pp8SsgnFBwvs3KB2aftuMd0mm6XxvJEo7wudWFIbrS1uUOjTTTfTBSW/s320/8.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><p>7. Freeloader who raises the temperature.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQSasizE2pJjM0g3VK-FpmMhDJHlqwmMGCNIi1u_oGq4mWv-iwEt-FVQVWUvBHn158f2-uHuSUoOAMbdy-1-Rsch31zgpeAkRCS3qZu0aHx_L2aC7dmUZfytIGZYk9jT7s0Ap4gCaOavaGTeTUwHj7YYzYBAPv_1CzlwxORf_7iSH4lHjFls3chLP-Z1Ta/s853/7.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="853" data-original-width="735" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQSasizE2pJjM0g3VK-FpmMhDJHlqwmMGCNIi1u_oGq4mWv-iwEt-FVQVWUvBHn158f2-uHuSUoOAMbdy-1-Rsch31zgpeAkRCS3qZu0aHx_L2aC7dmUZfytIGZYk9jT7s0Ap4gCaOavaGTeTUwHj7YYzYBAPv_1CzlwxORf_7iSH4lHjFls3chLP-Z1Ta/s320/7.jpg" width="276" /></a></div><p>6. I doubt he's sharper than a serpent's tooth...</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEh-SyPBh26Giyu57ACqb1_xAxMoW_TiUwjm_xPi9YTQIE4MaV4IIug7DtHxLMh9jz-jIDMjolr7sZzJdOegtHI4vCWqLne2iYkmJXm_KUJWJGUymFNrpb5RbOjVovpfWKkHUni3wpf5VqSoG3ceoliPKI3duUJ3TlnFN-DPrhT3vplFUxciZCI9zxjd5d/s278/6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="181" data-original-width="278" height="181" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEh-SyPBh26Giyu57ACqb1_xAxMoW_TiUwjm_xPi9YTQIE4MaV4IIug7DtHxLMh9jz-jIDMjolr7sZzJdOegtHI4vCWqLne2iYkmJXm_KUJWJGUymFNrpb5RbOjVovpfWKkHUni3wpf5VqSoG3ceoliPKI3duUJ3TlnFN-DPrhT3vplFUxciZCI9zxjd5d/s1600/6.jpg" width="278" /></a></div><p>5. Second rate Gremlins.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivyn3w8watvo10mj0WjpzarbjhjXiMepfAeKLDL3b7hzZ9XA0AVHOm2YtR9bGt8n_oCTgoDiLrm95REMBr_zSDzLfb2o7Gxseer2WifiI_gctntOKp5EWbXtvckloIgWrqP7fDbkD7TtP2HG91wBRAcah1jOOm3I8OC2juHw37hSV0xFi4AkpeOTMRSvMD/s781/5.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="749" data-original-width="781" height="307" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivyn3w8watvo10mj0WjpzarbjhjXiMepfAeKLDL3b7hzZ9XA0AVHOm2YtR9bGt8n_oCTgoDiLrm95REMBr_zSDzLfb2o7Gxseer2WifiI_gctntOKp5EWbXtvckloIgWrqP7fDbkD7TtP2HG91wBRAcah1jOOm3I8OC2juHw37hSV0xFi4AkpeOTMRSvMD/s320/5.png" width="320" /></a></div><p>4. Swapping chainmail for denim.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi309d5wsd19vS-E1EayKir_1fS3Ya2J5eTpB6BFSryU-hr8k0IFE49nvivJ43UiEDpA0OG1SGOrEAwvI4M6iyJzc7_FRalByZlqdq85HJJ7NN57pOv_K_bmSYXP_pQls53jGzrCFI48cZHYooGVQkNFIQFPO-UCf6-_k9tFMNGi91pCsXYVZH0c_a7hyphenhyphen_7/s834/3.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="771" data-original-width="834" height="296" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi309d5wsd19vS-E1EayKir_1fS3Ya2J5eTpB6BFSryU-hr8k0IFE49nvivJ43UiEDpA0OG1SGOrEAwvI4M6iyJzc7_FRalByZlqdq85HJJ7NN57pOv_K_bmSYXP_pQls53jGzrCFI48cZHYooGVQkNFIQFPO-UCf6-_k9tFMNGi91pCsXYVZH0c_a7hyphenhyphen_7/s320/3.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p>3. Bass and treble? Seaweed and pebble?</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBhdIqoOW-qGWQ6FGqok0hyphenhyphenl0GMpAbMOXaXQ_LNA2oHY2Vc-53mk3-Ah0bqr6uAiHiPrM-bWe9ylDKLAmeyodAvc7OGV6fqpF51uRv9lIRjiClpl6tLhJdyspfkGzH2GZtC7wHyKy0yvVDucaE23PoK6o_woWgbQ9xxnxoHqpOsVz1Zb7Be9WteJg6X4Fl/s501/2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="501" data-original-width="500" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBhdIqoOW-qGWQ6FGqok0hyphenhyphenl0GMpAbMOXaXQ_LNA2oHY2Vc-53mk3-Ah0bqr6uAiHiPrM-bWe9ylDKLAmeyodAvc7OGV6fqpF51uRv9lIRjiClpl6tLhJdyspfkGzH2GZtC7wHyKy0yvVDucaE23PoK6o_woWgbQ9xxnxoHqpOsVz1Zb7Be9WteJg6X4Fl/s320/2.jpg" width="319" /></a></div><p>2. Rear appendage or fast bird?</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiINPHTQyLYjayjG3h4KjY5uUJpuZk7Xrhs9ZiS-P-zSsPaTyyyKsLfjFhgUAdYXaBYPp7ZyZeL-JcGYiuMrY0MsGPLmg3_JG_wjuTLrL6HMCxcoii2bpo2720OunlN49j4Qxlq9X6jCCF4UVfQcQLvTLnO-5JvUQXoJI7-riKYwycVjkJ_usZYbo4oTDG5/s480/2a.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="360" data-original-width="480" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiINPHTQyLYjayjG3h4KjY5uUJpuZk7Xrhs9ZiS-P-zSsPaTyyyKsLfjFhgUAdYXaBYPp7ZyZeL-JcGYiuMrY0MsGPLmg3_JG_wjuTLrL6HMCxcoii2bpo2720OunlN49j4Qxlq9X6jCCF4UVfQcQLvTLnO-5JvUQXoJI7-riKYwycVjkJ_usZYbo4oTDG5/s320/2a.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p>1. Tired dingos are easily befuddled.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtSug9mxtYUc6xsmWHO-EPJYnaOidSPUzgtsrZMVf9DMMWMmvqxUReigKwCF_CrLb7hnzJPqRCtizuZJfo6A0kb7zs1jFpaYASENCiy6IAshWNDnAlzZFOAvWyZ3eutwg_AKAfrYOz5jbEsvRxwnfj6GXRwkjyVCmdVcXAB_gh00fqTyAcapyWqYz2B8wL/s701/1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="701" data-original-width="564" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtSug9mxtYUc6xsmWHO-EPJYnaOidSPUzgtsrZMVf9DMMWMmvqxUReigKwCF_CrLb7hnzJPqRCtizuZJfo6A0kb7zs1jFpaYASENCiy6IAshWNDnAlzZFOAvWyZ3eutwg_AKAfrYOz5jbEsvRxwnfj6GXRwkjyVCmdVcXAB_gh00fqTyAcapyWqYz2B8wL/s320/1.jpg" width="257" /></a></div><p>Don't get a Bad Attitude if I tell you the answers won't be here till tomorrow morning.</p><p><br /></p>Rolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02103804480646939038noreply@blogger.com20tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7633543688149775322.post-6870294534872852024-03-08T08:00:00.001+00:002024-03-08T08:00:00.129+00:00Coffee Break #2: Cheers!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhI4EzEGmu3fS7g2b-FjJv8ml15sRyUw4Ee9tOjRyzLQB2DTrJzsWL-Z-GceWXseQY3JYz3d0ea-FzWgMZyrXMuRYTf6X2CEXWMWBhIGkXiTeP_Gm82Vvk8i6M3aHEaHX6mGqsgvgh7tQFmVO1xgEhDVmXEpkRIqOjQZGeJzpn648POSvgBV54T3CBieS9z/s1151/Coffee.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1151" data-original-width="760" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhI4EzEGmu3fS7g2b-FjJv8ml15sRyUw4Ee9tOjRyzLQB2DTrJzsWL-Z-GceWXseQY3JYz3d0ea-FzWgMZyrXMuRYTf6X2CEXWMWBhIGkXiTeP_Gm82Vvk8i6M3aHEaHX6mGqsgvgh7tQFmVO1xgEhDVmXEpkRIqOjQZGeJzpn648POSvgBV54T3CBieS9z/s320/Coffee.jpg" width="211" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div>Welcome back to my coffee shop. Grab a table, what can I get you...?</div><div><br /></div><div>Oh, hang on, I think <a href="http://www.johnmedd.com/">John</a> asked for a song about drinking coffee in bed. I'm sure he must mean this one...</div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yIXrYN6pYHk">Savage Garden - Two Beds And A Coffee Machine</a></div><div><br /></div><div>But just to broaden John's horizons a little, I thought I'd offer this one instead...</div><div><br /></div><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/0x2mV9JktrE?si=nYHneBkUtIsUGQTM" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe><div><br /></div><div>Squeeze appear to have stumbled into a Robert Palmer video there. Isn't it glorious? I'm also impressed that the subtitles tell me that "jazzy music plays" before the singing starts. I'm sure that'll make Messrs Tifford and Dilbrook's day. </div><div><br /></div><div>And if that wasn't enough for you, here's a couple of alternative takes on that song...</div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E4uy-2RTdXw">Daryl Hall and Glenn Tilbrook - Black Coffee In Bed</a></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lwERMjmmpwc">Chris Difford - Black Coffee In Bed</a></div><div> </div><div>And: a dilemma for <a href="https://newamusements.blogspot.com/">Martin</a>, given his aversion to the cup of joy and his fondness for a certain Bangly lady...</div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QJSeCF9DGmI">Susanna Hoffs - Black Coffee In Bed</a></div><div><br /></div><div>Would you kick her out of bed for that, Martin? Or try to persuade her to switch to an alternative beverage...?</div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KdFwBZPL5Kg">Frank Turner - A Decent Cup Of Tea</a></div><div><br /></div><div>I'll leave you to ponder on that one. Meanwhile... What are we going to chat about today? </div><div><br /></div><div>How about cheering?</div><div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EpLV7KlmjBM">Barrett Strong - Stand Up And Cheer For The Preacher</a></div></div><div><br /></div><div>Why do I have such a problem with cheering?</div><div><br /></div><div>One of the reasons I can't watch shows like Strictly or the X-Factor or any kind of talent-based performance TV is that I can't bear all the cheering. It sets my nerves on edge even when I hear it from the other room (which is where I'm usually consigned to when Louise and/or Sam is watching such fluffle). Particularly when I hear a cheering audience on a TV show, it all sounds so false. I picture some guy stood at the side of the stage holding up a "Cheer Now!" sign because the cheering never sounds sincere or spontaneous... it sounds like a performance in its own right.</div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pa0egka11eg">Bananarama - Cheers Then</a></div><div><br /></div><div>It's the same thing at gigs. I've got no problem with applause - I'll stand up and clap with the best of them. But I never feel the urge to cheer... and I'd certainly never entertain the bastard son of the cheer: the whoop. But this does make me wonder... am I not enjoying the gig as much as the people who have to vocalise it in such fashion? Are their uncontrollable outbursts a sign that they're engaging with this experience on a much deeper level than I am? Is there something wrong with me?</div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OhwmLLSPAig">Orange Juice - Three Cheers For Our Side</a></div><div><br /></div><div>And don't even start me on wolf whistles...!</div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LLjou9usK38">Jack Butler - An Old Wolf Whistle</a></div><div><br /></div><div>We'll close with an appropriate tune from Titus Andronicus, which I'd like to point out, despite its title, is NOT a cover version of this...</div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JhVRzh4_j50">Gary Portnoy - Theme From Cheers (Where Everybody Knows Your Name)</a></div><div><br /></div><div>...although that is up there as one of my all-time favourite theme tunes, from one of my all-time favourite TV shows. It makes me feel warm inside whenever I hear it. But this, while also being very good, has nothing to do with that...</div><div><br /></div><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/pEprEn0ruD8?si=MaNQ4kf5PbdXtPlq" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>Rolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02103804480646939038noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7633543688149775322.post-18072557794233290972024-03-07T08:00:00.010+00:002024-03-07T08:00:00.135+00:00One Track Mind #2: The Warmest Room<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZJEnOaN5IooI4ND9OAgSfeMHK2m7MKHr4voRwMmCK63p58MHwG1iIowOHfQE8cra3q8j2NbNz1kbX3RrTVBnmiLYkC5aMim04DQpKSjMO8PKJ7-4ablM7GGZr-5_N3a3XbFX3o_B_8eIbFE8TJSNQiNjUOn34Nd4VsL4oHqtvdMsSH4jHIVVXS0VBbGCF/s600/Taxman.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="600" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZJEnOaN5IooI4ND9OAgSfeMHK2m7MKHr4voRwMmCK63p58MHwG1iIowOHfQE8cra3q8j2NbNz1kbX3RrTVBnmiLYkC5aMim04DQpKSjMO8PKJ7-4ablM7GGZr-5_N3a3XbFX3o_B_8eIbFE8TJSNQiNjUOn34Nd4VsL4oHqtvdMsSH4jHIVVXS0VBbGCF/s320/Taxman.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p>What's the best song Billy Bragg ever wrote?</p><p>I'd be prepared to hear arguments in support of <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tqKRABbHZt0">A New England</a>, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x_vK6OWwmbQ">Waiting For The Great Leap Forwards</a>, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PhmCKkRae7o">Levi Stubbs' Tears</a>, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bl0cXwSa6VY">St Swithin's Day</a>, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T6LBYAI2fUw">Upfield</a>, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xsZJ-utwKOA">Accident Waiting To Happen</a> or even Handyman Blues. At one time or another, I reckon each of those has been my favourite... and there's a bunch more I could add to the list if I thought a little longer.</p><p><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/2YmHtISRcz0?si=M7mlm7E0OJ5_3VWO" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe></p><p>The Warmest Room wouldn't leap immediately to my mind, but it came up on a compilation the other day and stopped me in my tracks. And thinking back, it's not the only time that's happened.</p><p>When did I first get into Billy Bragg? I'd love to tell you I caught that first, mushroom biryani-stoked John Peel radio play of <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hscr4VvsoiY">The Milkman of Human Kindness</a> (at the wrong speed, naturally)... but clearly I wasn't cool enough to be listening to Peel back in '83. I was still a Radio 2 man back then anyway. And I was far more familiar with Kirsty's version of <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vnzpg5GgQCo">A New England</a> (although Billy always says that's his favourite anyway). It's possible then that I didn't pay much attention to Billy until he had first Number One in 1988. I do remember watching him sing <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZHFxCj3wqaQ">She's Leaving Home</a> on TOTP with Cara Tivey... and thinking, hey, that's much better than the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QHyjXEuyqX4">A-side</a> that actually propelled this single to the top of the charts. It was probably at this point that I bought my first Billy Bragg album, which I'm pretty sure was a vinyl copy of Worker's Playtime. </p><p>Soon after I acquired the CD re-issue of Billy's self-proclaimed "Difficult Third Album", <b>Talking with the Taxman About Poetry </b>and discovered The Warmest Room. It's tucked away at the end Side 2, long after the Johnny Marr-fuelled glory of <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5DEhvFx8Wfw">Greetings To The New Brunette</a> and the devastating gut-punch of Levi Stubbs... but in its own way, it's just as wonderful.</p><p>Whenever I've seen Billy live, he's keen to state that there are two types of Billy Bragg fan - the ones who come to him for the politics, and the ones who prefer the humanity of his relationship stories. I'm firmly in the latter camp - while I agree with many (if not all) of his political opinions, and can appreciate how heartfelt they are when he puts them to song, I'd much rather listen to his tales of woe. Of course, the politics do creeps into those songs too, as Billy confesses in The Warmest Room...</p><h4 style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #2b00fe;">Though you cannot be blamed<br />But I've become inflamed<br />With thoughts of lust and thoughts of power<br />Thoughts of love and thoughts of Chairman Mao</span></h4><p>...but maybe it's more the politics of love and war in this instance. Whatever - The Warmest Room is a love story, and it even starts with a hint of sex to grab our attention...</p><h4 style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="color: #2b00fe;">A rainy afternoon<br /></span></b><b><span style="color: #2b00fe;">Spent in the warmest room<br /></span></b><b><span style="color: #2b00fe;">She lay before me and said<br /></span></b><b><span style="color: #2b00fe;">Yes, it's true that I have seen some naked men</span></b></h4><p>To me, that opening reeks of unrequited lust. A flirtatious young woman toying with a love-struck young dupe who probably doesn't have the nerve to make a move... </p><p>The best songs are malleable - we bend them to fit our own experiences.</p><h4 style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #2b00fe;">As she made for the door<br />Leaving me on the floor<br />I wish I'd done biology<br />For an urge within me wanted to do it then</span></h4><p>I particularly like that line, because it suggests a sexually inexperienced young guy, well out of his depth in this "relationship". There's also a big difference between the way she provocatively "lays before" him in the previous verse, and then leaves him "on the floor" here. You can immediately tell who holds all the power.</p><p>Then comes the chorus, where all that desperate yearning becomes crystallised...</p><h4 style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #2b00fe;">And here she comes again<br />And I'm sitting on my hands<br />And she sings to me that siren song<br />Here she comes again and I'm biting my lip<br />But it won't be long</span></h4><p>She's a Siren - and yet he's sitting on his hands, unable to make any kind of move, biting his lip with nerves... and kidding himself he has some kind of chance. Been there, got the T-shirt.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVcuiRDVNt47o_9tmSh74q_hzjRMUyKlrc3Dfh3MtEXDSOR8xCzMwU6-l99xXS073iID8jehT9FWm7acFEqD_m7PRF5ncTWp5ebQdvi-n9VGGH8B2WyMbSw07KKyuFy7eYwhEqYJX-jmqmoUK4ZTG7YvmP4jzm3G9e_a1LZuG7lqxhOyFXjWQmXAn0IE7a/s706/Siren.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="706" data-original-width="363" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVcuiRDVNt47o_9tmSh74q_hzjRMUyKlrc3Dfh3MtEXDSOR8xCzMwU6-l99xXS073iID8jehT9FWm7acFEqD_m7PRF5ncTWp5ebQdvi-n9VGGH8B2WyMbSw07KKyuFy7eYwhEqYJX-jmqmoUK4ZTG7YvmP4jzm3G9e_a1LZuG7lqxhOyFXjWQmXAn0IE7a/s320/Siren.jpg" width="165" /></a></div><div><br /></div>What do Sirens do? They lure men to their doom... although in this case, the Siren might well be using her feminine wiles to lure Billy into supporting her own personal political ideologies. Not that he'd need such pretty persuasion nowadays... but whenever I listen to this song, I do wonder if that's how he first became interested in such things.<div><br /></div><div>And then, to lighten the mood, a little comedic interlude...</div><div><br /></div><div><div><b><span style="color: #2b00fe;">As Brother Barry said,</span></b></div><div><b><span style="color: #2b00fe;">As he married Marion,</span></b></div><div><b><span style="color: #2b00fe;">"The wife has three great attributes:</span></b></div><div><b><span style="color: #2b00fe;">Intelligence, a Swiss army knife and charm."</span></b></div><div><br /></div><div>What I love about this joke, from an English teacher's point of view, is that it utilises the Rule of Three... in a most unusual fashion. That trusted comedic trope <i>usually</i> works thus...</div><div><br /></div><div>Item 1 - introduce the topic...</div><div><br /></div><div>Item 2 - establish what looks like a pattern...</div><div><br /></div><div>Item 3 - surprise us or confound our expectations to create a humorous reaction.</div><div><br /></div><div>For example...</div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="color: #800180;">Have you ever woken up next to someone and you can't remember what their name is, how you met, or why they're dead?</span></b></div><div><br /></div><div>By the regulations of comedy then, this lyric should go...</div><div><br /></div><div><div><b><span style="color: #2b00fe;">"The wife has three great attributes:</span></b></div><div><b><span style="color: #2b00fe;">Intelligence, charm and a Swiss Army Knife."</span></b></div></div><div><p>That's how the joke would normally work. But there are competing masters to be satisfied here, and the songwriter's need to scan trumps the comedian's need for a laugh. And yet... it works. Better than the alternative, I'd argue, but maybe that's down to familiarity - after all these years, I can't imagine the line any other way.</p><p>And then it's time to mix the pop with the politics again...</p><h4 style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #2b00fe;">And she did speak her mind<br />And told them all that she believed<br />The only way to disarm is to disarm</span></h4><p>The repetition of "disarm" allows for multiple interpretations. The one to do with stopping warfare ("let's make love not war" was always a dodgy chat up line) but also "to remove hostility, suspicion, etc. by being charming: a disarming smile." But who's disarming who in this tale? Is it possible the Siren feels threatened by Billy's advances? Is he actually what we might call a stalker or a sex pest nowadays? That's not an interpretation I favour, but as I said... songs are malleable.</p><p>Then we get to the crux of the matter: the insinuation of seduction as indoctrination, and the idea that Billy's Marxist ideology was originally stirred by post-adolescent hormones. Of course, he wouldn't be the first young man to engage with a political theory in order to get his end away, and does it really matter how we arrive at our individual belief system as long as it's the right one for us?</p><p>However, before Billy becomes completely inflamed with thoughts of lust and thoughts of power, we first have to contend with his own resistance efforts...</p><h4 style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #2b00fe;">I know people whose idea of fun<br />Is throwing stones in the river in the afternoon sun<br />Oh, let me be as free as them...</span></h4><p>For me, these are among the best lines Billy's ever written. They're simple, yet they speak volumes. Putting aside everything else this song is about, here's a straightforward plea to live in the moment, to not (as Wendell Berry puts it in <a href="https://www.scottishpoetrylibrary.org.uk/poem/peace-wild-things-0/">The Peace Of Wild Things</a>) "tax [our] lives with forethought of grief". Don't we all want to be as free as them? Sadly, it's clear our narrator fears that won't be possible once his Siren returns...</p><p><b><span style="color: #2b00fe;">Don't let her pass this way again!</span></b></p><p>It's like his brain is screaming out in a rare lucid moment, knowing full well the fug of lust will soon descend and he'll be lost again.</p><p>All of which leads us to the denouement, and the only lines I don't have a clear interpretation of...</p><h4 style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #2b00fe;">We have such little time<br />At your place or mine<br />I can't wait till we take our blood tests<br />Oh baby, let's take our blood tests now</span></h4><p>The first two - fine: it's romantic desperation mixed with an ever more desperate chat up line. But the blood tests? I've seen those interpreted as a response to the AIDS crisis in the 80s, and maybe that's partly it... but I also wonder if it's not just another excuse to string the hapless, lovesick fool along with. This Siren's got no intention of letting Billy have his way... but boy, does she enjoy the attention! When those blood tests <i>do </i>come back, you can bet there'll be some other reason to delay the evitable...</p></div></div><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/KACiGzpUi7Y?si=WoYvdPMC-JczBvxP" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe><div><br /></div>Rolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02103804480646939038noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7633543688149775322.post-320040672431403842024-03-06T08:00:00.001+00:002024-03-06T08:00:00.356+00:00Self Help For Cynics #25: Marvin<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-FIFIuLZWXDlY5SWowx44aWgjrFPgHd6VpqBychpqjU7n2ZSpTPs4lTnOT9POnp9lbUDMLPQs8968yLLe0tuxOXZd0JPtMivmcGLKSelml6DmvzUNTLKXK5_3iSJ2UnrWNY2OPR5GJ_VKXQzRQjUlcsSH9nLzwvAKdC_mD1JkntDu7rIlOKMJQQNMtvnQ/s788/Marvin.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="788" data-original-width="600" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-FIFIuLZWXDlY5SWowx44aWgjrFPgHd6VpqBychpqjU7n2ZSpTPs4lTnOT9POnp9lbUDMLPQs8968yLLe0tuxOXZd0JPtMivmcGLKSelml6DmvzUNTLKXK5_3iSJ2UnrWNY2OPR5GJ_VKXQzRQjUlcsSH9nLzwvAKdC_mD1JkntDu7rIlOKMJQQNMtvnQ/s320/Marvin.jpeg" width="244" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_nW2lQ4dNxY">The Beaches - What Doesn't Kill You Makes You Paranoid</a></div><div><br /></div><div>Back when I worked in radio advertising, we spent a huge part of our day playing competitive <a href="https://cardgames.io/hearts/">Hearts</a> on the office computers. It's a four player game so we rotated who was playing - sometimes the sales team would join us too, but there was always enough people for a game, multiple games, throughout the day. Everyone who played had a nickname. There was Stretch and Stig, Hammer and Rabbit, Herbie and Smudge... and Marvin. </div><div><br /></div><div>Guess who was Marvin?</div><div><br /></div><div><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/z0yBf1JKTw8?si=dC_Tzb11vRIKEuAR" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe></div><div><br /></div><div>Life... don't talk to me about life!</div><div><br /></div><div>(Marvin made a single once. It was a double B side. Nobody liked it much, but then, they wouldn't, would they?)</div><div><br /></div><div><div><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=23xeJkkbMqI">Marvin The Paranoid Android - Reasons To Be Miserable</a></div></div><div><br /></div><div>Anyway, last week, you may recall, we established that I am paranoid, just like Marvin. Hopefully it's just common or garden paranoia, not one of the fancy kinds that needs specialist treatment, but frankly I've lived with it all my life, and I'm getting a wee bit sick of it. So is there anything I can do?</div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ZPsJWw-A98">The National - Afraid Of Everyone</a></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.mind.org.uk/information-support/types-of-mental-health-problems/paranoia/helping-yourself/">Mind</a>, as always, has some useful advice to offer...</div><div><br /></div><div><span style="color: #274e13; font-size: medium;"><b><u>1. Keep A Diary</u></b></span></div><div><br /></div><div>Well, I do that, don't I? It's this blog. People ask why I spend so long writing these posts... well, there's your answer. And it does help. Particularly the Self Help For Cynics series. Since I started that, I have been able to understand and cope with the things going on in my head much better than I was doing before.</div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g4frs0_kZOg">The Fall - Paranoia Man in Cheap Shit Room</a></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="color: #274e13; font-size: medium;"><u>2. Question & Challenge Paranoid Thoughts</u></span></b></div><div><br /></div><div><div>Once again, we're back to arguing with the voice in our head. We've talked about this a number of times previously, particularly in the post on <a href="https://histopten.blogspot.com/2023/10/self-help-for-cynics-9-defusion.html">Defusion</a>. As soon as we start questioning negative thoughts, it allows us to see them for what they are: just thoughts. Which are really just neurons sparking and chemicals washing around in our noggins. They're not real.</div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7OvW8Z7kiws">King Crimson - 21st Century Schizoid Man</a></div><div><br /></div><div>Here's a sampling of the questions Mind suggests we consider...</div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="color: #800180;">Would other people think my suspicions are realistic?</span></b></div><div><b><span style="color: #800180;"><br /></span></b></div><div><b><span style="color: #800180;">Have I talked to other people about my worries?</span></b></div><div><b><span style="color: #800180;"><br /></span></b></div><div><b><span style="color: #800180;">Is it possible I have exaggerated the threat?</span></b></div><div><b><span style="color: #800180;"><br /></span></b></div><div><b><span style="color: #800180;">Is there any evidence for my suspicions that can't be questioned?</span></b></div><div><b><span style="color: #800180;"><br /></span></b></div><div><b><span style="color: #800180;">Are my worries based on events that could be viewed in different ways?</span></b></div><div><b><span style="color: #800180;"><br /></span></b></div><div><b><span style="color: #800180;">Are my worries based on my feelings rather than definite evidence?</span></b></div><div><b><span style="color: #800180;"><br /></span></b></div><div><b><span style="color: #800180;">Is it likely that I would be singled out above everyone else?</span></b></div><div><b><span style="color: #800180;"><br /></span></b></div><div><b><span style="color: #800180;">Is there any evidence against my beliefs?</span></b></div><div><b><span style="color: #800180;"><br /></span></b></div><div><b><span style="color: #800180;">Do I still feel suspicious even though other people have reassured me that there is no reason to be?</span></b></div></div><div><br /></div><div>It might feel like you're interrogating yourself if you run through all those... but then, what is an interrogation if not a gradual chipping away at an individual version of events in order to establish the truth?</div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9VdYIGM1FJ0">The Murlocs - Paranoid Joy</a></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="color: #274e13; font-size: medium;"><b><u>3. Look For Support Around You</u></b></span></div><div><br /></div><div>Once again, isn't this why we blog? Well, it's another of the reasons I'm sat here doing this on a Sunday night. However, there is a part of me - the PARANOID part - that worries these posts might be interpreted as the work of a crass attention-seeker. I suppose when you write a blog, you are an attention-seeker, because you want people to read it... and comment occasionally. But whenever I receive a kind or supportive comment as a result of writing a post like this, it does make me feel guilty. </div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p87jsDgjulQ">The Dolly Rocker Movement - Enjoy A Paranoia</a></div><div><br /></div><div>I mean, really Rol, you can't win, can you? People are trying to make you feel better - and they actually make you feel worse! Well, maybe not worse. I do appreciate the positive affirmation... it means a lot. But there's still that intrusive voice saying, "What a cry baby! Are you really so weak an insecure that you need to beg people to say nice things to you? Emotionally blackmail them into doing so? You oughta be ashamed of yourself...!"</div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bv8TIzX7eRw">Waterparks - You’d Be Paranoid Too (If Everyone Was Out To Get You)</a></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="color: #274e13; font-size: medium;"><b><u>4. Learn To Relax</u></b></span></div><div><br /></div><div>The two things that help me relax more than anything else?</div><div><br /></div><div>Writing and listening to music.</div><div><br /></div><div>Hey presto! </div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-4pjrmH967c">The Avett Brothers - Paranoia In B Flat Major</a></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="color: #274e13; font-size: medium;"><b><u>5. Look After Yourself</u></b></span></div><div><br /></div><div>i) Try to get enough sleep.</div><div><br /></div><div>I do better than a lot of people in this regard. But there's no such thing as "enough sleep" when you have a job, a child and a house...</div><div><br /></div><div>ii) Think about your diet.</div><div><br /></div><div>Not as much as some people do, but I've cut down on sugar and I'm eating more nuts, fruit and beetroot...</div><div><br /></div><div>iii) Try to keep active.</div><div><br /></div><div>Not as much as I'd like to, but I'm getting out walking two or three times a week at the moment... and I've taken to running up the stairs at work, to get my heart rate elevated.</div><div><br /></div><div>iv) Spend time in nature.</div><div><br /></div><div>See above.</div><div><br /></div><div>v) Try doing something creative.</div><div><br /></div><div>This is creative, isn't it? At a stretch...</div><div><br /></div><div><span style="color: #2b00fe;"><b>I may be paranoid, </b></span><div><span style="color: #2b00fe;"><b>But not an android</b></span></div></div><div><br /></div><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/DExBeFCx3mQ?si=fdk4svvZeuCBdC1r" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe><div><br /></div>Rolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02103804480646939038noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7633543688149775322.post-75530997847750325412024-03-05T08:00:00.001+00:002024-03-05T08:00:00.137+00:00Namesakes #75: The Wallflowers<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8t18o6k3dAtmFXyXTKOemsKOy4V7oN37hGcG-LPtzydtj9hCUlCBZD0XNEXaK9FoKukQnnyA0is4GJ-1rSV3BWvCruy5A3HTNIQ_EcS6gQRrv6SeSOKd0YPc_m9z95wYmQk2KkwWxKC1bHjhftZDkkghyphenhyphenegfQx3SIxQdXj6Fxfm9cUsFcA8Z8gGgUbVPy/s425/Wallflowers.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="319" data-original-width="425" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8t18o6k3dAtmFXyXTKOemsKOy4V7oN37hGcG-LPtzydtj9hCUlCBZD0XNEXaK9FoKukQnnyA0is4GJ-1rSV3BWvCruy5A3HTNIQ_EcS6gQRrv6SeSOKd0YPc_m9z95wYmQk2KkwWxKC1bHjhftZDkkghyphenhyphenegfQx3SIxQdXj6Fxfm9cUsFcA8Z8gGgUbVPy/s320/Wallflowers.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><div>What is a Wallflower? Well, it's either the kind of pretty little plant pictured above, or it's "a person who has no one to dance with or who feels shy, awkward, or excluded at a party." Welcome to my teenage years! (To be fair, I over-compensated by becoming the class joker... I even went along to one school fancy dress disco dressed as Jack Nicholson's Joker... in full face paint, which played hell with my acne. Fortunately, no photos survive.)</div><div><br /></div><div>When it comes to Wallflowers, Etta James put it best...</div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q7honluCR_Y">Etta James - The Wallflower (Dance With Me Henry)</a></div><div><br /></div><div>Anyway, here are a bunch of Wallflowers...</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-size: medium;"><b><u>THE WALLFLOWERS #1</u></b></span></div><div><br /></div><div>We'll start with some German Wallflowers, woah-woahing along to Little Jürgen, back in 1965...</div><div><br /><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/_HBQVX5IY74?si=MS71_iSxdHJoz4FL" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-size: medium;"><u>THE WALLFLOWERS #2</u></span></b></div><div><br /></div><div>Peter Brickley's band The Telephone Boxes supported The Smiths on their first tour in 1983. When they broke up, Brickley formed The Wallflowers, self-releasing "one of the great lost C86 tunes", Blushing Girl, Nervous Smile. A couple more singles followed, but the band took too much time over the album and everything fell apart. Brickley went on to become a movie extra, notable for spending "four months, six days a week, as a Celt in the film Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves" yet never actually making it onto the screen. </div><div><br /><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/QqmND_7wP3k?si=5V02zi6msw64jIzC" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-size: medium;"><u>THE WALLFLOWERS #3</u></span></b></div><div><br /></div><div>Around the same time that Mr. Brickley was looking for blushing girls with nervous smiles in Slough, over on the other side of the pond, another group of Wallflowers were being discovered... by Snickers, of all people. That must have been some Marathon effort!</div><div><br /></div><div>I can't find music info on the Snickers New Music Challenge, or about these particular Wallflowers... other than what they reveal on the clip below.</div><div><br /><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/T0AMNBten4A?si=ytwjul-RLNVzKnGr" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-size: medium;"><u>THE WALLFLOWERS #4</u></span></b></div><div><br /></div><div>It must be tough being Bob Dylan's son. I mean, not so much if you want to be a butcher, a baker or a candlestick maker (is that still a job?)... but if you want to be a singer? Boy, that's one big shadow to haul your way out from underneath.</div><div><br /></div><div>I reckon Jakob Dylan has done pretty well at carving his own musical identity, distinct from dad - he's certainly done a better job than Sean or Julian Lennon or any of Hank Williams' descendants. Forming a band, rather than initially going solo using the Dylan name as branding, was the key to his success. These Wallflowers got together in 1989, and although the line-up's ever-changing (the only constant being Jakob himself), they're still going strong, having produced one of my favourite albums of 2021 (and their first in 9 years), Exit Wounds.</div><div> </div><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/5qSAMtomFvk?si=GE8V-5YqTkg0Y1ra" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-size: medium;"><u>THE WALLFLOWERS #5</u></span></b></div><div><br /></div><div>Canadian Wallflowers who started out in the late 80s as the Edsels, changing their name, presumably, to avoid confusion with the 60s doo-wop group of the same name. After one album as The Wallflowers, they heard what Jakob Dylan was up to and changed their name again to The Barstool Prophets. </div><div><br /></div><div>Here's one of the songs they initially released as Wallflowers, and then again as Barstool Prophets...</div><div><br /><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/gmFOZ6-IAAc?si=RWE3B2mLIAO67s1h" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe></div><div> </div><div><b><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-size: medium;"><u>THE WALLFLOWERS #6</u></span></b></div><div><br /></div><div>The late 80s were clearly a big time for being a Wallflower. Here we see the Australian variety, found in Sydney in 1989...</div><div><br /></div><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/o0VPtddbgZ8?si=xGvI0JWQm5yqmlYM" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe><div><br /></div><div>There were quite a few other Wallflowers listed on discogs - including the Austrian Wallflowers who released a song called Sandwichman in 1969 - but sadly I couldn't find any more audio evidence. Quite a few bands just called Wallflower too... it's obviously a name that's cherished by introverted musicians. </div><div><br /></div><div>Which Wallflowers would you ask to dance? And which ones call for the weedkiller?</div><div><br /></div>Rolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02103804480646939038noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7633543688149775322.post-46447196279824078832024-03-04T08:00:00.003+00:002024-03-04T08:00:00.235+00:00Live: Lucinda<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwAjPcUMvcA5o_IMjg_pu5eSraAGRBy3jFPNkOvjDzh600FaXBt2bJFiNJdcV0eUHqbWC3cvOhL7R3UkEyqpXWfU17IbLp7zjy7XRI7npWNBUErc-UyLCP3jILQobkg6KvQWscDbyAfws_X4EYB-SmCpCW46z_vq_02vXjbUwl1VaMVn8jFgg4-Vpfnxow/s1800/Lucinda.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwAjPcUMvcA5o_IMjg_pu5eSraAGRBy3jFPNkOvjDzh600FaXBt2bJFiNJdcV0eUHqbWC3cvOhL7R3UkEyqpXWfU17IbLp7zjy7XRI7npWNBUErc-UyLCP3jILQobkg6KvQWscDbyAfws_X4EYB-SmCpCW46z_vq_02vXjbUwl1VaMVn8jFgg4-Vpfnxow/s320/Lucinda.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><div><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7tUzhodl_rw">Lucinda Williams - Car Wheels On A Gravel Road </a></div><div><br /></div><div>Three years ago, Americana Queen Lucinda Williams suffered a severe stroke which affected the left side of her body and put in her hospital for five weeks. Although she's made a good recovery, she still had to be helped onto the stage at the Holmfirth Picturedrome on Saturday night... although once she started singing, it was clear that her voice had not been affected in the slightest.</div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FGxAof9sSH0">Lucinda Williams - Lake Charles</a></div><div><br /></div><div>I've seen quite a few famous acts at my local venue over the years (just a five minute drive from home!), including Billy Bragg, Justin Currie, The Wedding Present, Richard Hawley, Ash, Half Man Half Biscuit and even Hayseed Dixie... but I never thought I'd see Lucinda Williams visit Summer Wine country. Artists of her calibre (particularly those from across the pond) usually only play the big cities - London, Birmingham, Dublin were the other dates on this tour... she didn't even play Scotland... so why the hell she came to Holmfirth is anybody's guess. Maybe she's a fan of Compo.</div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-C7AE3My-Sw">Lucinda Williams - Stolen Moments</a></div><div><br /></div><div>At 71, Lucinda appears to have bounced back incredibly well from the stroke - in the last year alone, she's published a memoir and released one of the best albums of her career, Stories From A Rock 'n' Roll Heart. She stormed through the highlights from that record on Saturday night, along with a choice selection of earlier hits, including four songs from her most famous album, Car Wheels On A Gravel Road. Nearly two hours of outstanding music, with a full band and no breaks... I don't think I could have managed that, and I'm 20 years younger and in arguably better health. She certainly does have a Rock N Roll Heart...</div><div><br /></div><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/m1DWrfzKm3U?si=EvNTJcjMscwzZFE0" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>Rolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02103804480646939038noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7633543688149775322.post-51027301278503572942024-03-03T08:30:00.001+00:002024-03-03T08:30:00.125+00:00Snapshots #333: A Top Ten Nut Songs<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhv3HrA48rM3hepH-M4dgDQUsw8JWfOVUuh9lbEqWwsAQf2Rwd6Qc-W_hmRQxtnR2O-0pxZHLP0ubSqGzDAEmgjQL2cXg2ssP5Tec-Sc3brW_i_z4bNXxeOQBZnMl_klYX5cbyl4piDiBfYPdmlzEK2Y7K_BHqGKlsnf2VBgK4Am1cWls60fUV87wsxk98O/s827/Squirrel.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="827" height="193" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhv3HrA48rM3hepH-M4dgDQUsw8JWfOVUuh9lbEqWwsAQf2Rwd6Qc-W_hmRQxtnR2O-0pxZHLP0ubSqGzDAEmgjQL2cXg2ssP5Tec-Sc3brW_i_z4bNXxeOQBZnMl_klYX5cbyl4piDiBfYPdmlzEK2Y7K_BHqGKlsnf2VBgK4Am1cWls60fUV87wsxk98O/s320/Squirrel.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div>As Johnny Cash memorably put it - <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IJR9fthqPAs">Everybody Loves A Nut</a>!</div><div><br /></div><div>Some years ago now, C asked me if I fancied having a go at a Top Ten songs about different types of nuts. We got there in the end...</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>10. Trust Ethel with your jumble.<div><br /><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgi3TSDDEKlZYQBWDju8A8BLw4Vghzea87zIJjP-pz3spLeZmNZuBpUWesfUqqL-yyaCkwpCmiqOe9hTYcSgnn-UJG2ooWYGaLWyAXWP1iKNa6VaOBnaE5pWyktZyqvDCc7ILSpthpKIXPQK85Gm_Chyg8zcvncoyipmy5HeWoa9S5FAvnMSYqdeHclpGSO/s630/10.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="630" height="203" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgi3TSDDEKlZYQBWDju8A8BLw4Vghzea87zIJjP-pz3spLeZmNZuBpUWesfUqqL-yyaCkwpCmiqOe9hTYcSgnn-UJG2ooWYGaLWyAXWP1iKNa6VaOBnaE5pWyktZyqvDCc7ILSpthpKIXPQK85Gm_Chyg8zcvncoyipmy5HeWoa9S5FAvnMSYqdeHclpGSO/s320/10.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><div>"Trust Ethel", unjumbled, becomes...</div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ywjLgq6iwrY">The Turtles - I'm Chief Kamanawanalea (We're The Royal Macadamia Nuts)</a></div><div><br /></div><div>9. Brown, Gate, Earring... and Callahan.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgX3s60IYc_mnMPQAtuXMALqts8wp8apnmsJSxpPYijz36of6DxvY1baBITTaczPC0wvUirLLgeJlWQ9rglmD5_FgBRjyuUgrA3PDzUyhX7b9MdulQwzNl6ztoIsjheNhdsZXfmQmWr2mI1ELI8yW2qhK4sF3-r1sKlBXq8Cvo6-yXtMOT3LNgmYuYvjW16/s689/9.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="479" data-original-width="689" height="222" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgX3s60IYc_mnMPQAtuXMALqts8wp8apnmsJSxpPYijz36of6DxvY1baBITTaczPC0wvUirLLgeJlWQ9rglmD5_FgBRjyuUgrA3PDzUyhX7b9MdulQwzNl6ztoIsjheNhdsZXfmQmWr2mI1ELI8yW2qhK4sF3-r1sKlBXq8Cvo6-yXtMOT3LNgmYuYvjW16/s320/9.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div>Golden Brown, Golden Gate, Golden Earring... and Bill Callahan's band, which was called Smog. A different Smog to these guys...</div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LTuFksCMWhM">Golden Smog - Pecan Pie</a></div><div><br /></div><div>8. Burnt offerings... though they paid Gary Lineker to be a fan.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_GZdQkyEMlH35mdvJZU4KpZkcKb4MURwU4TGQEIBpwySyX-sDJwkWU7G280jYNtaU_dYAKr642zSNM_9w-bD1ljsXAQQzxs6qmVfkSXBC3ZEDgHOTVN8Uym3fVoIIiKIlH0UPm7J6gJ59ynj8JHPHhX4zAkhUuJ9UNu_tVWOJLeq5XTqILuBeRGmg2M8A/s600/8.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="421" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_GZdQkyEMlH35mdvJZU4KpZkcKb4MURwU4TGQEIBpwySyX-sDJwkWU7G280jYNtaU_dYAKr642zSNM_9w-bD1ljsXAQQzxs6qmVfkSXBC3ZEDgHOTVN8Uym3fVoIIiKIlH0UPm7J6gJ59ynj8JHPHhX4zAkhUuJ9UNu_tVWOJLeq5XTqILuBeRGmg2M8A/s320/8.jpg" width="225" /></a></div><br /><div>If they're burnt, they're Crispy... but Gary was paid by the Company to promote them.</div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ke29RWJFU88">Crispy And Company - Brazil</a></div><div><br /></div><div>A UK Top 30 hit in 1975, if anyone remembers it.</div><div><br /></div><div>7. As big as two thirds of the Earth.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQyE3eb0lTA9BeD4WMBJgXO-HfXEGDxkwk2_1-y8Sfp29SzA_SeEMcig-WgWNP0q5ffeLhUFlT1M3QbAYEH7qCImHWtgXHSukPu4MuUbzBcd-XAZKT0LHQee85oXBPRiUlr7i_aJNcXtwNqyc9k1NVPIbn581Bhv4gsKcsaqJxniDo1giGidCNLmcn3l11/s2048/7.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQyE3eb0lTA9BeD4WMBJgXO-HfXEGDxkwk2_1-y8Sfp29SzA_SeEMcig-WgWNP0q5ffeLhUFlT1M3QbAYEH7qCImHWtgXHSukPu4MuUbzBcd-XAZKT0LHQee85oXBPRiUlr7i_aJNcXtwNqyc9k1NVPIbn581Bhv4gsKcsaqJxniDo1giGidCNLmcn3l11/s320/7.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div>The earth is 70% (so, more than 2/3rds, in case any Maths teachers are reading) ocean.</div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7a7FnQiA7is">Oceansize - Pine</a></div><div><br /></div><div>6. Simon changes his name at Midday.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3fX4Vt6uN1yTDOq_rDBtXaL3OYCJIroCYwjOcyxWnFWeQaElFNL-uVYYoB3OziQCP3Ixwy8NKGRt5FIpOUUitrvfzSWCmo78SpEr2074qOryNAS8DCdG6ahRVMoBSMnWENbI3fcnu_LNSQN_j_rCiTxBbbDUb6Zt1rwsJkb-NGuq1kgPzDjuUe4xXCNc2/s1054/6.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1054" data-original-width="767" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3fX4Vt6uN1yTDOq_rDBtXaL3OYCJIroCYwjOcyxWnFWeQaElFNL-uVYYoB3OziQCP3Ixwy8NKGRt5FIpOUUitrvfzSWCmo78SpEr2074qOryNAS8DCdG6ahRVMoBSMnWENbI3fcnu_LNSQN_j_rCiTxBbbDUb6Zt1rwsJkb-NGuq1kgPzDjuUe4xXCNc2/s320/6.jpg" width="233" /></a></div><br /><div>In the Bible, Simon changed his name to Peter. Not sure if it was at 12 noon or not.</div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=znRrvbwpejc">Peter Noone - Walnut Whirl</a></div><div><br /></div><div>5. Short Simpson meets Buffy's Alyson.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4BnUkpH-ngAqK9x03i6YxC23HAG_fG9djD9nLtVMsrqNXUohggHa7igsrcZeozAYTal0iK-mE_QmqCNc2h_CaBmbE8kHfPjSD9R5IoFOtkQRPelyD37uBrLGIAsc99S2YNb0uv1jCnMJeqadgUMBajeXfOxbkKyyKOnjqibGcS6LcJHxgtE90yWtWC27z/s1200/5a.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="1200" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4BnUkpH-ngAqK9x03i6YxC23HAG_fG9djD9nLtVMsrqNXUohggHa7igsrcZeozAYTal0iK-mE_QmqCNc2h_CaBmbE8kHfPjSD9R5IoFOtkQRPelyD37uBrLGIAsc99S2YNb0uv1jCnMJeqadgUMBajeXfOxbkKyyKOnjqibGcS6LcJHxgtE90yWtWC27z/s320/5a.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div>Lisa was a short Simpson. Alyson Hannigan played Willow in Buffy The Vampire Slayer (as I'm sure our own Alyson could tell you).</div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mADPapF_Gu8">Lisa Hannigan - Pistachio</a></div><div><br /></div><div>4. Morrissey is very good at worrying. </div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYZ-iUzKJUcotpwnhnHQuDUtvu1LFMEhyZ6g-YBu1F2MQLpb9LFav_LwEqCe767Qkuy1tS_2K8X5DdUYA3O8FnaGcthDQdEwfchjG7APuqcC0qSFcfLhi-LqB8Vp5XGZU8VuGM3sXdZ6RxbE4zvIibaP6KtDuP-YrHl2qrbaWYftf1NImxVOQgO430bkCe/s720/5.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="409" data-original-width="720" height="182" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYZ-iUzKJUcotpwnhnHQuDUtvu1LFMEhyZ6g-YBu1F2MQLpb9LFav_LwEqCe767Qkuy1tS_2K8X5DdUYA3O8FnaGcthDQdEwfchjG7APuqcC0qSFcfLhi-LqB8Vp5XGZU8VuGM3sXdZ6RxbE4zvIibaP6KtDuP-YrHl2qrbaWYftf1NImxVOQgO430bkCe/s320/5.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div>Stephen frets very well.</div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lPyYTP3bxjw">Stephen Fretwell - Almond</a></div><div><br /></div><div>3. Harrison plus Caine.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsepY-AjC8ppf4bYvULCmEIZtJhdKlDtbPHfVbGGXhVzP-JbCY3ybzLPLReEOmmFKQ78A-gBa1PqX9rKLJ8YIRwzkA50xwLpSn72WNVCF4LSjCdJmmZfc7unejsg_XZAYqJ_tk22ne1SHKVVUrUaDRSo4qVk6sP0oy2khTZ4jo3hqKuvjV-kpIeMVDOZxF/s563/4.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="542" data-original-width="563" height="308" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsepY-AjC8ppf4bYvULCmEIZtJhdKlDtbPHfVbGGXhVzP-JbCY3ybzLPLReEOmmFKQ78A-gBa1PqX9rKLJ8YIRwzkA50xwLpSn72WNVCF4LSjCdJmmZfc7unejsg_XZAYqJ_tk22ne1SHKVVUrUaDRSo4qVk6sP0oy2khTZ4jo3hqKuvjV-kpIeMVDOZxF/s320/4.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div>George Harrison plus Michael Caine =</div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kA9NNq_6N-w">George Michael - Monkey</a></div><div><br /></div><div>(Technically speaking, the monkey nut, aka the peanut, is not actually a nut. It's a legume. But I couldn't find any decent Cashew songs, so it sneaked it, just pushing out Harry Nilsson's <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TsSuueEGQSM">Coconut</a>, which is a fruit.)</div><div><br /></div><div>2. Rung to warn us of an Iron Lady approaching...</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoVSPhLU9w3LfQmMeUHe_r_tXskrUvwV7dkA3VjBCqswgUKlOlFlOUjjZ41zLBXSW78MCscExiFogprGEKb79AS2ZkDV7WmkonUE1Ya8prxd-txrEp3GZnzskSe1DuAOV_35aFwbIVFjLsvaWZk3Ab4dGVV31t5MsQ0nyqOCb5JyL8cTm4tatJZHnTkdU-/s259/3.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="175" data-original-width="259" height="175" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoVSPhLU9w3LfQmMeUHe_r_tXskrUvwV7dkA3VjBCqswgUKlOlFlOUjjZ41zLBXSW78MCscExiFogprGEKb79AS2ZkDV7WmkonUE1Ya8prxd-txrEp3GZnzskSe1DuAOV_35aFwbIVFjLsvaWZk3Ab4dGVV31t5MsQ0nyqOCb5JyL8cTm4tatJZHnTkdU-/s1600/3.jpg" width="259" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div>That would be the sound of the Maggie Bell.</div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A0sy0D9EhYQ">Maggie Bell - Hazell</a></div><div><br /></div><div>(And yes, hazelnuts only have one L. But this Hazell was a TV detective, for whom Maggie sang the theme tune. And it's a cracking tune, so it was shoe-horned in.) </div><div><br /></div><div>1. Tyts.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgghE912jJllMvbTAYU8M5CdPmEQ4TuCaM9D0EoD9IvOHznnF9shLIZeFG4OpDwLP8NcoH81BhHI0OwVCOkRfZvOrBqFoJnQh1cF9v9_KCaqOw-LYqvX3pJMjPGKyVorw2Ofo5Top3YZF50YkC8ANckUV93dzZjAKLRu3tibv644txeiUlqUx6KD4iMv7aF/s640/1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="438" data-original-width="640" height="219" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgghE912jJllMvbTAYU8M5CdPmEQ4TuCaM9D0EoD9IvOHznnF9shLIZeFG4OpDwLP8NcoH81BhHI0OwVCOkRfZvOrBqFoJnQh1cF9v9_KCaqOw-LYqvX3pJMjPGKyVorw2Ofo5Top3YZF50YkC8ANckUV93dzZjAKLRu3tibv644txeiUlqUx6KD4iMv7aF/s320/1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div>Tits would be birds. What else were you thinking of...?</div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="color: #ffa400; font-size: medium;">The Byrds - Chestnut Mare</span></b></div><div><br /><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/_SdiSjpOdyU?si=aq--m25oqLONQYzB" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe></div><div> </div></div></div></div><div>Snapshots will be back next Saturday. You'd be nuts to miss it!</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>Rolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02103804480646939038noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7633543688149775322.post-22839265216656747752024-03-02T08:30:00.001+00:002024-03-02T08:30:00.130+00:00Saturday Snapshots #333<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoslLraUYUOOGAnztNzny-8zr5MJV9zZ-VjPYFEspFQAGzkMDTju8AzZvVcpPGfeVtHEH-4hrYiHIAhnlyZruN-xYXnwVmz7XV4xvXOACr39_Z__nHLL9R2P7a1Q-NRHKf7lxh5fr3Xqi-3Gc7lkI5FVqdtbd7zTFtUo8H93zqtRL2ya0GY2C65F5hEkc7/s750/Chris%20Pine.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="750" data-original-width="500" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoslLraUYUOOGAnztNzny-8zr5MJV9zZ-VjPYFEspFQAGzkMDTju8AzZvVcpPGfeVtHEH-4hrYiHIAhnlyZruN-xYXnwVmz7XV4xvXOACr39_Z__nHLL9R2P7a1Q-NRHKf7lxh5fr3Xqi-3Gc7lkI5FVqdtbd7zTFtUo8H93zqtRL2ya0GY2C65F5hEkc7/s320/Chris%20Pine.jpg" width="213" /></a></div><p>Chris Pine did a relatively good Captain Kirk impersonation in those modern Star Trek movies... but he'll never be Shatner. I do a relatively goof impersonation of a music blogger, but... </p><p>Here's ten songs by ten people that are linked in some strange way. Warp Factor 10, Scotty!</p><div><br /></div>10. Trust Ethel with your jumble.<div><br /><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgi3TSDDEKlZYQBWDju8A8BLw4Vghzea87zIJjP-pz3spLeZmNZuBpUWesfUqqL-yyaCkwpCmiqOe9hTYcSgnn-UJG2ooWYGaLWyAXWP1iKNa6VaOBnaE5pWyktZyqvDCc7ILSpthpKIXPQK85Gm_Chyg8zcvncoyipmy5HeWoa9S5FAvnMSYqdeHclpGSO/s630/10.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="630" height="203" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgi3TSDDEKlZYQBWDju8A8BLw4Vghzea87zIJjP-pz3spLeZmNZuBpUWesfUqqL-yyaCkwpCmiqOe9hTYcSgnn-UJG2ooWYGaLWyAXWP1iKNa6VaOBnaE5pWyktZyqvDCc7ILSpthpKIXPQK85Gm_Chyg8zcvncoyipmy5HeWoa9S5FAvnMSYqdeHclpGSO/s320/10.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><div>9. Brown, Gate, Earring... and Callahan.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgX3s60IYc_mnMPQAtuXMALqts8wp8apnmsJSxpPYijz36of6DxvY1baBITTaczPC0wvUirLLgeJlWQ9rglmD5_FgBRjyuUgrA3PDzUyhX7b9MdulQwzNl6ztoIsjheNhdsZXfmQmWr2mI1ELI8yW2qhK4sF3-r1sKlBXq8Cvo6-yXtMOT3LNgmYuYvjW16/s689/9.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="479" data-original-width="689" height="222" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgX3s60IYc_mnMPQAtuXMALqts8wp8apnmsJSxpPYijz36of6DxvY1baBITTaczPC0wvUirLLgeJlWQ9rglmD5_FgBRjyuUgrA3PDzUyhX7b9MdulQwzNl6ztoIsjheNhdsZXfmQmWr2mI1ELI8yW2qhK4sF3-r1sKlBXq8Cvo6-yXtMOT3LNgmYuYvjW16/s320/9.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div>8. Burnt offerings... though they paid Gary Lineker to be a fan.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_GZdQkyEMlH35mdvJZU4KpZkcKb4MURwU4TGQEIBpwySyX-sDJwkWU7G280jYNtaU_dYAKr642zSNM_9w-bD1ljsXAQQzxs6qmVfkSXBC3ZEDgHOTVN8Uym3fVoIIiKIlH0UPm7J6gJ59ynj8JHPHhX4zAkhUuJ9UNu_tVWOJLeq5XTqILuBeRGmg2M8A/s600/8.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="421" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_GZdQkyEMlH35mdvJZU4KpZkcKb4MURwU4TGQEIBpwySyX-sDJwkWU7G280jYNtaU_dYAKr642zSNM_9w-bD1ljsXAQQzxs6qmVfkSXBC3ZEDgHOTVN8Uym3fVoIIiKIlH0UPm7J6gJ59ynj8JHPHhX4zAkhUuJ9UNu_tVWOJLeq5XTqILuBeRGmg2M8A/s320/8.jpg" width="225" /></a></div><br /><div>7. As big as two thirds of the Earth.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQyE3eb0lTA9BeD4WMBJgXO-HfXEGDxkwk2_1-y8Sfp29SzA_SeEMcig-WgWNP0q5ffeLhUFlT1M3QbAYEH7qCImHWtgXHSukPu4MuUbzBcd-XAZKT0LHQee85oXBPRiUlr7i_aJNcXtwNqyc9k1NVPIbn581Bhv4gsKcsaqJxniDo1giGidCNLmcn3l11/s2048/7.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQyE3eb0lTA9BeD4WMBJgXO-HfXEGDxkwk2_1-y8Sfp29SzA_SeEMcig-WgWNP0q5ffeLhUFlT1M3QbAYEH7qCImHWtgXHSukPu4MuUbzBcd-XAZKT0LHQee85oXBPRiUlr7i_aJNcXtwNqyc9k1NVPIbn581Bhv4gsKcsaqJxniDo1giGidCNLmcn3l11/s320/7.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div>6. Simon changes his name at Midday.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3fX4Vt6uN1yTDOq_rDBtXaL3OYCJIroCYwjOcyxWnFWeQaElFNL-uVYYoB3OziQCP3Ixwy8NKGRt5FIpOUUitrvfzSWCmo78SpEr2074qOryNAS8DCdG6ahRVMoBSMnWENbI3fcnu_LNSQN_j_rCiTxBbbDUb6Zt1rwsJkb-NGuq1kgPzDjuUe4xXCNc2/s1054/6.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1054" data-original-width="767" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3fX4Vt6uN1yTDOq_rDBtXaL3OYCJIroCYwjOcyxWnFWeQaElFNL-uVYYoB3OziQCP3Ixwy8NKGRt5FIpOUUitrvfzSWCmo78SpEr2074qOryNAS8DCdG6ahRVMoBSMnWENbI3fcnu_LNSQN_j_rCiTxBbbDUb6Zt1rwsJkb-NGuq1kgPzDjuUe4xXCNc2/s320/6.jpg" width="233" /></a></div><br /><div>5. Short Simpson meets Buffy's Alyson.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4BnUkpH-ngAqK9x03i6YxC23HAG_fG9djD9nLtVMsrqNXUohggHa7igsrcZeozAYTal0iK-mE_QmqCNc2h_CaBmbE8kHfPjSD9R5IoFOtkQRPelyD37uBrLGIAsc99S2YNb0uv1jCnMJeqadgUMBajeXfOxbkKyyKOnjqibGcS6LcJHxgtE90yWtWC27z/s1200/5a.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="1200" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4BnUkpH-ngAqK9x03i6YxC23HAG_fG9djD9nLtVMsrqNXUohggHa7igsrcZeozAYTal0iK-mE_QmqCNc2h_CaBmbE8kHfPjSD9R5IoFOtkQRPelyD37uBrLGIAsc99S2YNb0uv1jCnMJeqadgUMBajeXfOxbkKyyKOnjqibGcS6LcJHxgtE90yWtWC27z/s320/5a.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div>4. Morrissey is very good at worrying. </div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYZ-iUzKJUcotpwnhnHQuDUtvu1LFMEhyZ6g-YBu1F2MQLpb9LFav_LwEqCe767Qkuy1tS_2K8X5DdUYA3O8FnaGcthDQdEwfchjG7APuqcC0qSFcfLhi-LqB8Vp5XGZU8VuGM3sXdZ6RxbE4zvIibaP6KtDuP-YrHl2qrbaWYftf1NImxVOQgO430bkCe/s720/5.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="409" data-original-width="720" height="182" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYZ-iUzKJUcotpwnhnHQuDUtvu1LFMEhyZ6g-YBu1F2MQLpb9LFav_LwEqCe767Qkuy1tS_2K8X5DdUYA3O8FnaGcthDQdEwfchjG7APuqcC0qSFcfLhi-LqB8Vp5XGZU8VuGM3sXdZ6RxbE4zvIibaP6KtDuP-YrHl2qrbaWYftf1NImxVOQgO430bkCe/s320/5.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div>3. Harrison plus Caine.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsepY-AjC8ppf4bYvULCmEIZtJhdKlDtbPHfVbGGXhVzP-JbCY3ybzLPLReEOmmFKQ78A-gBa1PqX9rKLJ8YIRwzkA50xwLpSn72WNVCF4LSjCdJmmZfc7unejsg_XZAYqJ_tk22ne1SHKVVUrUaDRSo4qVk6sP0oy2khTZ4jo3hqKuvjV-kpIeMVDOZxF/s563/4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="542" data-original-width="563" height="308" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsepY-AjC8ppf4bYvULCmEIZtJhdKlDtbPHfVbGGXhVzP-JbCY3ybzLPLReEOmmFKQ78A-gBa1PqX9rKLJ8YIRwzkA50xwLpSn72WNVCF4LSjCdJmmZfc7unejsg_XZAYqJ_tk22ne1SHKVVUrUaDRSo4qVk6sP0oy2khTZ4jo3hqKuvjV-kpIeMVDOZxF/s320/4.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div>2. Rung to warn us of an Iron Lady approaching...</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoVSPhLU9w3LfQmMeUHe_r_tXskrUvwV7dkA3VjBCqswgUKlOlFlOUjjZ41zLBXSW78MCscExiFogprGEKb79AS2ZkDV7WmkonUE1Ya8prxd-txrEp3GZnzskSe1DuAOV_35aFwbIVFjLsvaWZk3Ab4dGVV31t5MsQ0nyqOCb5JyL8cTm4tatJZHnTkdU-/s259/3.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="175" data-original-width="259" height="175" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoVSPhLU9w3LfQmMeUHe_r_tXskrUvwV7dkA3VjBCqswgUKlOlFlOUjjZ41zLBXSW78MCscExiFogprGEKb79AS2ZkDV7WmkonUE1Ya8prxd-txrEp3GZnzskSe1DuAOV_35aFwbIVFjLsvaWZk3Ab4dGVV31t5MsQ0nyqOCb5JyL8cTm4tatJZHnTkdU-/s1600/3.jpg" width="259" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div>1. Tyts.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgghE912jJllMvbTAYU8M5CdPmEQ4TuCaM9D0EoD9IvOHznnF9shLIZeFG4OpDwLP8NcoH81BhHI0OwVCOkRfZvOrBqFoJnQh1cF9v9_KCaqOw-LYqvX3pJMjPGKyVorw2Ofo5Top3YZF50YkC8ANckUV93dzZjAKLRu3tibv644txeiUlqUx6KD4iMv7aF/s640/1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="438" data-original-width="640" height="219" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgghE912jJllMvbTAYU8M5CdPmEQ4TuCaM9D0EoD9IvOHznnF9shLIZeFG4OpDwLP8NcoH81BhHI0OwVCOkRfZvOrBqFoJnQh1cF9v9_KCaqOw-LYqvX3pJMjPGKyVorw2Ofo5Top3YZF50YkC8ANckUV93dzZjAKLRu3tibv644txeiUlqUx6KD4iMv7aF/s320/1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div>I'm Pining to know if you'll get them all right. Check your answers tomorrow morning...</div><div><br /></div><div><br /><div><br /></div></div></div></div>Rolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02103804480646939038noreply@blogger.com34tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7633543688149775322.post-34469670260750574762024-03-01T08:00:00.001+00:002024-03-01T08:00:00.148+00:00Mid-Life Crisis Songs #108: Hello Goodbye<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgr-ZBK9E2vu5CRdl0Yx5GSzCFLVZ9aeeQjIU1cmYW6KWV7YOKVGoDLxy8c1kvhVbRfcet1x1xpWAyv1EBQUJFurP2BJN5I0wbG8zP9rDyr1TuYpPqPlcMxflIYAzJFY_n7kGXM7khKTpe2Vbf4WAUvLUY8F6Kipol4rGReCCD5lXJDEGtuqzDOFjCi9LNJ/s4000/20240218_143144.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4000" data-original-width="3000" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgr-ZBK9E2vu5CRdl0Yx5GSzCFLVZ9aeeQjIU1cmYW6KWV7YOKVGoDLxy8c1kvhVbRfcet1x1xpWAyv1EBQUJFurP2BJN5I0wbG8zP9rDyr1TuYpPqPlcMxflIYAzJFY_n7kGXM7khKTpe2Vbf4WAUvLUY8F6Kipol4rGReCCD5lXJDEGtuqzDOFjCi9LNJ/s320/20240218_143144.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br /><div>A couple of weekends back, Louise and I went to see Stewart Lee at the West Yorkshire Playhouse. He's long been my favourite comedian - Louise isn't quite as big a fan, but she did admit he was "quite good" this time.</div><div><br /></div><div>As usual, his routines are meticulously crafted, self-aware, and full of meta-commentary on the art of stand up comedy itself... though they appear random and ramshackle, like Lee himself. The climax of this show was a long bit in which Lee pretended to go through an average week, making "Hello and goodbye" small-talk to a colleagues in a workplace environment. I'm not going to try and replicate it, but it was full of clichéd conversation such as...</div><div><br /></div><div>"Morning... yes... good weekend? Do anything nice? No, not really... took the dog out."</div><div><br /></div><div>"Seeya! Have a good evening... doing anything nice tonight? Oh, lovely. Well, enjoy!" </div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K73oYa7VkPU">Julia Jacklin - Small Talk</a></div><div><br /></div><div>I found this painfully funny. Painful and funny. The dull repetition of banalities seemed a metaphor for our treadmill existences... well, you can probably see why I approved. </div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RQoVHqveQ98">Nine Inch Nails - Every Day Is Exactly The Same</a></div><div><br /></div><div>The show's being filmed for Netflix, I think. I won't recommend it, because comedy is even more subjective than music, but it did make me laugh. A lot. And then cry myself to sleep that night...</div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y9KgEs3Zksg">Soft Cell - Say Hello, Wave Goodbye</a></div><div><br /></div><div>There are many songs which include both Hello and Goodbye in the title. Beyond the obvious one by <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rblYSKz_VnI">That Scouse Band</a>. Gilbert O'Sullivan wrote one too, although it's about him trying to seduce a lady and her telling him to do one. Like a lot of Gilbert's songs, it sounds vaguely creepy nowadays. </div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CIcWBcxnhzk">Gilbert O Sullivan - Hello, It's Goodbye</a></div><div><br /></div><div>Here's another one of those, though it fits perfectly with our Mid-Life Crisis theme, as it's about an older man worrying he can't keep up with a younger woman. Which we dismissed <a href="https://histopten.blogspot.com/2024/02/mid-life-crisis-songs-107-middle-age.html">last time</a> as a non-starter. There are some great lines in it though, regarding the passing of time... and all its sickening crimes...</div><div><br /></div><div><div><b><span style="color: #2b00fe;">And I'm not getting any younger</span></b></div><div><b><span style="color: #2b00fe;">Gone are those days when school reports were all I feared</span></b></div><div><b><span style="color: #2b00fe;">Now for the first time in my life</span></b></div><div><b><span style="color: #2b00fe;">I'm seeing something I don't like</span></b></div><div><b><span style="color: #2b00fe;">And am powerless to prevent from happening</span></b></div><div><b><span style="color: #2b00fe;">One day you'll find out for yourself just what I mean</span></b></div></div><div><br /></div><div><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/McJC_FXQwLc?si=f2iBgVQRbIk1Bbnv" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe></div><div><br /></div><div>The irony is, I'm sure that when I retire, I'll miss those casual day-to-day exchanges that Stewart Lee mocked. Because I largely like the people I work with. And always have, thinking back, in every job I've had. Not management, obviously. I have had some good bosses, but they were mostly line managers. The bigger bosses were largely tossers - both in radio and Further Education. Only in my current job can I look all the way up to the head teacher and find people I generally respect and get along with.</div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fz2DYjt14vc">Moxy Früvous - I Love My Boss</a></div><div><br /></div><div>Of course, there's always a few people in every workforce who are complete tools. There's only one particularly big eejit in my current setting... you all know the type, the sort of person who as soon as you see them in the corridor, the first word that pops into your head is "knob", or your own equivalent of choice. (Side note: I just blew up Google by asking for a synonym of synonym.) Interestingly, all my immediate colleagues find this one individual just as loathsome as I do... which makes me wonder, what must it be like to go through life either:</div><div><br /></div><div>a) blissfully unaware that everyone you work with thinks you're an arsehole?</div><div><br /></div><div>or</div><div><br /></div><div>b) aware, but completely happy with it?</div><br /><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/zZh7d44fDwk?si=PVpZ5e4s1PsvFY2A" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe><div><br /></div>Rolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02103804480646939038noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7633543688149775322.post-83452766409391062142024-02-29T08:00:00.000+00:002024-02-29T08:00:00.247+00:00Title Fight #8: Greg! The Stop Sign!!!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrMLmc6lVW53onoyJiA7xF02t4TSLOUvlisP_rqigWb8taF8nJQ8BYKVB7T9c0ODUqOFruHlR0cRoVbG5CTbAQQBgxfl78HZ7tsy90o7mDCGkjmJDM48NXUWAlI9oWCpjHy-rIeRnVfVn6dEAYotWxnxfp5dcbixwRXrUa6f9crLQi9PilurYAnu7bXSeU/s500/Bowie%20Boxing.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="500" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrMLmc6lVW53onoyJiA7xF02t4TSLOUvlisP_rqigWb8taF8nJQ8BYKVB7T9c0ODUqOFruHlR0cRoVbG5CTbAQQBgxfl78HZ7tsy90o7mDCGkjmJDM48NXUWAlI9oWCpjHy-rIeRnVfVn6dEAYotWxnxfp5dcbixwRXrUa6f9crLQi9PilurYAnu7bXSeU/s320/Bowie%20Boxing.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div>More eye-catching song titles and ear-catching tunes today, starting with the gentleman above, who certainly knew a thing or two about writing an intriguing title. Any of these would do...</div><div><br /></div><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u3MX-rUtS6M">David Bowie - The Man Who Sold The World</a><br /><p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uOpO7SGLdtM">David Bowie - Unwashed and Somewhat Slightly Dazed</a></p><p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BAR-vuYXZB4">David Bowie - Chant of the Ever Circling Skeletal Family</a></p><p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Nwmwy21rAY">David Bowie - Always Crashing in the Same Car</a></p><p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LT3cERVRoQo">David Bowie - I'm Afraid of Americans</a></p><p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HkMn_n5KzCc">David Bowie - Scary Monsters (And Super Creeps)</a></p><p>However, I'd argue that his best title is the one below... but maybe that's because I can't separate it in my head from the full album title.</p><p><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/D8R_u3Yfwcs?si=lqaSAvn_1ppcWYd-" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe></p><p>Perhaps I've not got anything else that can compete with the Dame at full power... but I'm going to give it my best shot. Starting with this little beauty...</p><p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=benCkVQQzkU">Firmament & The Elements - The Festival of Frothy Muggament</a></p><p>The driving force behind Firmament & The Elements was Bruce Woolley, one of the three men responsible for Video Killed The Radio Star (another great title). Trevor Horn and Geoff Downes released that song as <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HRXeBKys-Sw">The Buggles</a>, while Bruce released his own version (with Thomas Dolby in keyboards). History is written by the victors.</p><p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1HLwljnmzR8">Bruce Woolley & The Camera Club - Video Killed The Radio Star</a></p><p>The 1970s were a terribly sexist time, weren't they? I mean, this was the decade that brought us such enlightened thinking as...</p><p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hXPLtVfv9xE">The Monks - Nice Legs, Shame About the Face</a></p><p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C0oeZAOSL8I">Neil Young - A Man Needs a Maid</a></p><p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P-o1OBhCUlM">Joe Tex - Ain't Gonna Bump No More (With No Big Fat Woman)</a></p><p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f1YpKgx5e48">Sailor - Girls, Girls, Girls</a></p><p>Thank heavens then for Andy Arthurs of bands like La Bouche, Tonight and The Rock Along Combo. He's clearly what they used to call a "new man". Although I'm not sure what he's doing in that raincoat...</p><p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pwOPV_qOeKM">A Raincoat - I Love You For Your Mind (Not Your Body) </a></p><p>I used to work with a guy called Duncan Brown. He was an amateur weather man. As soon as he saw one snowflake in the sky, he'd start packing his bag and heading for the door. "I don't want to get stuck in that!" </p><p>His namesake, with an added E, was a prominent figure in the English folk rock scene in the 70s. Sadly this Duncan died from cancer at only 46, but he left behind some great tunes, and one song title in particular that sticks in my mind...</p><p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=21nZcb5NuFE">Duncan Browne - Send Me The Bill For Your Friendship</a></p><p>I've had a few "friends" like that over the years...</p><p>This week's big discovery is from 1995, and the closest thing I can compare it to is Chumbawamba at their best. Although Chumbawamba take themselves seriously from time to time.</p><p>TISM (short for This Is Serious Mum) are a bunch of Australian alt-rock lunatics who wear balaclavas and a variety of outrageous costumes on stage and generally take the piss, with added nihilism. Band members include Humphrey B. Flaubert, Jock Cheese and Eugene de la Hot Croix Bun. TISM played their first gig in 1983 and broke up immediately afterwards. Every live performance since has been a reunion gig. </p><p>All this will enrage those people of you believe there's no place for fun in popular music, but you're generally unhappy about everything anyway. Perhaps you'd be interested to learn that some pretentious goon in the Grauniad called Greg! The Stop Sign!! "a metaphor for our collective mortality". Or perhaps not...</p><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/5KSRrqTVuOU?si=5DAygZlkdyk0MCAn" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>Rolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02103804480646939038noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7633543688149775322.post-61552110763530355492024-02-28T08:00:00.003+00:002024-02-28T08:00:00.234+00:00Self-Help For Cynics #24: Paranoid<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2Id5Q0I5LoHKKFKF7rTaOvrXP1sD-_1rxCmLyk6obEJfNWf2N_DBpSKe6NsK3GpMwdUexo8FI1U7gZDr4n0o84ki4em0cqFXu4J5-dVs_N3djXVJ-OA4RuyJr3ofrKYTMfED9-XTz0kpU1S42g4_A7yVAvhJrALiwiCylkBmU5HSXu54OyVxzDw6_qq42/s4000/20240218_142358.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4000" data-original-width="3000" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2Id5Q0I5LoHKKFKF7rTaOvrXP1sD-_1rxCmLyk6obEJfNWf2N_DBpSKe6NsK3GpMwdUexo8FI1U7gZDr4n0o84ki4em0cqFXu4J5-dVs_N3djXVJ-OA4RuyJr3ofrKYTMfED9-XTz0kpU1S42g4_A7yVAvhJrALiwiCylkBmU5HSXu54OyVxzDw6_qq42/s320/20240218_142358.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="color: #2b00fe;">Finished with my woman 'cause</span></b></div><div><b><span style="color: #2b00fe;">She couldn't help me with my mind</span></b></div><div><b><span style="color: #2b00fe;">People think I'm insane because</span></b></div><div><b><span style="color: #2b00fe;">I am frowning all the time</span></b></div><div><b><span style="color: #2b00fe;"><br /></span></b></div><div><b><span style="color: #2b00fe;">All day long I think of things</span></b></div><div><b><span style="color: #2b00fe;">But nothing seems to satisfy</span></b></div><div><b><span style="color: #2b00fe;">Think I'll lose my mind</span></b></div><div><b><span style="color: #2b00fe;">If I don't find something to pacify</span></b></div><div><b><span style="color: #2b00fe;"><br /></span></b></div><div><b><span style="color: #2b00fe;">Can you help me</span></b></div><div><b><span style="color: #2b00fe;">Occupy my brain?</span></b></div><p></p><div><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0qanF-91aJo">Black Sabbath - Paranoid</a></div><div><br /></div><div>A year or so back, I began to feel victimised by another prominent member of the blogging community. Not someone whose name you will ever see in the comments box on this site, but someone who is well-regarded by certain other bloggers, and who occasionally comments on a select number of the blogs I read. I began to notice that whenever I wrote a comment on one of those blogs, expressing approval of a certain artist or song, this particular individual would soon after leave their own comment, not so much rubbishing my opinion, but making it quite clear that they disagreed and that they saw no value at all in the music I liked. After a while, I attempted to deflect this with humour, leaving jokey follow-up comments about how much our tastes differed or faux apologies for inflicting my own noxious opinions on him, but my olive branch of banter was met with a wall of silence. </div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QtUb2VSwFNc">The Cleaners From Venus - Amateur Paranoiac</a></div><div><br /></div><div>This is when my paranoid brain kicked into over-drive. Did this blogger really have it in for me? Were my opinions so distasteful that the very sight of my name in a comment box drove him into a rage? If he felt this way, how many other blog readers might I be offending with my awful taste in music? The least I could do was comment less on the blogs he read, so as not to upset him any further. Beyond that, I seriously considered quitting blogging altogether, or at least making my blog private and just writing it for myself... though I knew I'd miss the community and the chance to chat away in other people's comment boxes. </div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.mind.org.uk/information-support/types-of-mental-health-problems/paranoia/about-paranoia/#:~:text=Paranoia%20is%20thinking%20and%20feeling,be%20scared%20and%20worried%20about.">Mind</a> tells us...</div><div><br /></div><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="color: #800180;">Paranoia is thinking and feeling like you are being threatened in some way, even if there is no evidence, or very little evidence, that you are. </span></b></div></blockquote><div><br /></div><div>Even more tellingly, they add...</div><div><br /></div><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="color: #800180;">Paranoid thoughts could also be exaggerated suspicions. For example, someone made a nasty comment about you once, and you believe that they are directing a hate campaign against you.</span></b></div></blockquote><div><br /></div><div>Ouch. That's right on the money, isn't it? </div><div><br /></div><div><div><b><span style="color: #2b00fe;">Paranoia, paranoia</span></b></div><div><b><span style="color: #2b00fe;">Everybody's coming to get me</span></b></div><div><b><span style="color: #2b00fe;">Just say you never met me</span></b></div><div><b><span style="color: #2b00fe;">I'm running underground with the moles, digging holes</span></b></div><div><b><span style="color: #2b00fe;">Hear the voices in my head</span></b></div><div><b><span style="color: #2b00fe;">I swear to God it sounds like they're snoring</span></b></div><div><b><span style="color: #2b00fe;">But if you're bored, then you're boring</span></b></div><div><b><span style="color: #2b00fe;">The agony and the irony, they're killing me</span></b></div></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HcMYpvPBlrA">Harvey Danger - Flagpole Sitta</a></div><div><br /></div><div>Apparently up to a third of the population experience paranoid thoughts at one time or another. Paranoia isn't an actual mental health diagnosis - not unless you respond to your paranoia in an excessive way. Clearly it's linked to <a href="https://histopten.blogspot.com/2023/09/self-help-for-cynics-4-respect-yourself.html">low self-esteem</a> and <a href="https://histopten.blogspot.com/2023/09/self-help-for-cynics-3-intrusive.html">intrusive thoughts</a>, both of which we've looked at here before. So it should come as no surprise that "amygdala dysfunction" is one of the key suspects in causing paranoid thoughts.</div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TM1dyTxs9dQ">The Kinks - Destroyer</a></div><div><br /></div><div>(On a side note, whenever I start a sentence with "So...", I worry that I'll anger <a href="https://charitychicmusic.blogspot.com/">Charity Chic</a>, since it sticks in my mind that he doesn't approve of said practice. God, writing a blog when you're a delusional fruitcake is an absolute minefield!)</div><div><br /></div><div><div><b><span style="color: #2b00fe;">Sometimes I give myself the creeps</span></b></div><div><b><span style="color: #2b00fe;">Sometimes my mind plays tricks on me</span></b></div><div><b><span style="color: #2b00fe;">It all keeps adding up</span></b></div><div><b><span style="color: #2b00fe;">I think I'm cracking up</span></b></div><div><b><span style="color: #2b00fe;">Am I just paranoid</span></b></div><div><b><span style="color: #2b00fe;">Or am I just stoned?</span></b></div></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NUTGr5t3MoY">Green Day - Basket Case</a></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.mind.org.uk/information-support/types-of-mental-health-problems/paranoia/about-paranoia/#WhatCountsAsAParanoidThought">Mind</a> tries to reassure me that what I have is mild or non-clinical paranoia, not one of the more serious forms: paranoid personality disorder, delusional disorder and paranoid schizophrenia. But really, what if they're wrong? Am I paranoid to think I might have a more serious version of paranoia?</div><div><br /></div><div><div><b><span style="color: #2b00fe;">I got some so-called friends</span></b></div><div><b><span style="color: #2b00fe;">They'll smile right to my face</span></b></div><div><b><span style="color: #2b00fe;">But, when my back is turned</span></b></div><div><b><span style="color: #2b00fe;">They'd like to stick to me</span></b></div><div><b><span style="color: #2b00fe;">Yes, they would</span></b></div></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0_hPQcNtJcw">Paul Simon - Paranoia Blues</a></div><div><br /></div><div>An <a href="https://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/health/conditionsandtreatments/paranoia#what-is-paranoia">Australian Better Health</a> website lists the following as possible symptoms of paranoia. I'm going to try a little tick box exercise to work out just how paranoid I might be. Feel free to copy the table and play along yourself...</div><div><br /></div><div><table border="1" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="MsoTableGrid" style="border-collapse: collapse; border: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-padding-alt: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-yfti-tbllook: 1184;">
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<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 20pt;">Generally, a person who is paranoid may:</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;"><o:p> </o:p></p>
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<td style="border-left: none; border: 1pt solid windowtext; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 96.65pt;" valign="top" width="129">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><o:p> </o:p></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 1;">
<td style="border-top: none; border: 1pt solid windowtext; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 354.15pt;" valign="top" width="472">
<p class="MsoListParagraph" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -18pt;"></p><ul><li><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]-->be easily offended</li></ul><!--[if !supportLists]--><o:p></o:p><p></p>
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<td style="border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left: none; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 96.65pt;" valign="top" width="129">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span face=""Segoe UI Emoji",sans-serif" style="color: #6aa84f; font-size: x-large; mso-bidi-font-family: "Segoe UI Emoji";">✔</span><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
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<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 2;">
<td style="border-top: none; border: 1pt solid windowtext; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 354.15pt;" valign="top" width="472">
<p class="MsoListParagraph" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -18pt;"></p><ul><li><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]-->find it difficult to trust others</li></ul><!--[if !supportLists]--><o:p></o:p><p></p>
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<td style="border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left: none; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 96.65pt;" valign="top" width="129">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span face=""Segoe UI Emoji",sans-serif" style="color: #6aa84f; font-size: x-large; mso-bidi-font-family: "Segoe UI Emoji";">✔</span><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
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<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 3;">
<td style="border-top: none; border: 1pt solid windowtext; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 354.15pt;" valign="top" width="472">
<p class="MsoListParagraph" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -18pt;"></p><ul><li><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]-->not cope with any type of criticism</li></ul><!--[if !supportLists]--><o:p></o:p><p></p>
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<td style="border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left: none; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 96.65pt;" valign="top" width="129">
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: center;">What are you saying?<span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 4;">
<td style="border-top: none; border: 1pt solid windowtext; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 354.15pt;" valign="top" width="472">
<p class="MsoListParagraph" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -18pt;"></p><ul><li><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]-->assign harmful meanings to other people’s
remarks</li></ul><!--[if !supportLists]--><o:p></o:p><p></p>
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<td style="border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left: none; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 96.65pt;" valign="top" width="129">
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: center;">What are you saying?<span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 5;">
<td style="border-top: none; border: 1pt solid windowtext; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 354.15pt;" valign="top" width="472">
<p class="MsoListParagraph" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -18pt;"></p><ul><li><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]-->be always on the defensive</li></ul><!--[if !supportLists]--><o:p></o:p><p></p>
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<td style="border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left: none; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 96.65pt;" valign="top" width="129">
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: center;">What are you saying?<span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 6;">
<td style="border-top: none; border: 1pt solid windowtext; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 354.15pt;" valign="top" width="472">
<p class="MsoListParagraph" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -18pt;"></p><ul><li><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]-->be hostile, aggressive and argumentative</li></ul><!--[if !supportLists]--><o:p></o:p><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><o:p> </o:p></p>
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<td style="border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left: none; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 96.65pt;" valign="top" width="129">
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: center;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">WHAT ARE YOU SAYING!?!<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 7;">
<td style="border-top: none; border: 1pt solid windowtext; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 354.15pt;" valign="top" width="472">
<p class="MsoListParagraph" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -18pt;"></p><ul><li><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]-->not be able to compromise</li></ul><!--[if !supportLists]--><o:p></o:p><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><o:p> </o:p></p>
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<td style="border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left: none; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 96.65pt;" valign="top" width="129">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="color: #cc0000;"><span face=""Segoe UI Emoji", sans-serif" style="background: white; font-size: x-large;">✖</span> </span><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 9pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">(Everything I do is a compromise.)</span><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
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<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 8;">
<td style="border-top: none; border: 1pt solid windowtext; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 354.15pt;" valign="top" width="472">
<p class="MsoListParagraph" style="line-height: normal; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-indent: -18pt;"></p><ul><li><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]-->assume that people are talking ill of them
behind their back</li></ul><!--[if !supportLists]--><p></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left: none; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 96.65pt;" valign="top" width="129">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span face=""Segoe UI Emoji",sans-serif" style="color: #6aa84f; font-size: x-large; mso-bidi-font-family: "Segoe UI Emoji";">✔✔✔</span><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 9;">
<td style="border-top: none; border: 1pt solid windowtext; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 354.15pt;" valign="top" width="472">
<p class="MsoListParagraph" style="line-height: normal; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-indent: -18pt;"></p><ul><li><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]-->be overly suspicious – for example, think that
other people are lying or scheming to cheat them</li></ul><!--[if !supportLists]--><o:p></o:p><p></p>
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<td style="border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left: none; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 96.65pt;" valign="top" width="129">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span face=""Segoe UI Emoji",sans-serif" style="color: #6aa84f; font-size: x-large; mso-bidi-font-family: "Segoe UI Emoji";">✔</span><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
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<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 10;">
<td style="border-top: none; border: 1pt solid windowtext; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 354.15pt;" valign="top" width="472">
<p class="MsoListParagraph" style="line-height: normal; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-indent: -18pt;"></p><ul><li><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]-->not be able to confide in anyone</li></ul><!--[if !supportLists]--><o:p></o:p><p></p>
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<td style="border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left: none; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 96.65pt;" valign="top" width="129">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 9pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Well, there’s you guys…</span><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
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<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 11;">
<td style="border-top: none; border: 1pt solid windowtext; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 354.15pt;" valign="top" width="472">
<p class="MsoListParagraph" style="line-height: normal; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-indent: -18pt;"></p><ul><li><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]-->find relationships difficult</li></ul><!--[if !supportLists]--><p></p>
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<td style="border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left: none; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 96.65pt;" valign="top" width="129">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span face=""Segoe UI Emoji",sans-serif" style="color: #6aa84f; font-size: x-large; mso-bidi-font-family: "Segoe UI Emoji";">✔</span><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
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<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 12;">
<td style="border-top: none; border: 1pt solid windowtext; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 354.15pt;" valign="top" width="472">
<p class="MsoListParagraph" style="line-height: normal; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-indent: -18pt;"></p><ul><li><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]-->consider the world to be a place of constant
threat</li></ul><!--[if !supportLists]--><p></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left: none; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 96.65pt;" valign="top" width="129">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 9pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Isn’t it?</span><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
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<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 13;">
<td style="border-top: none; border: 1pt solid windowtext; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 354.15pt;" valign="top" width="472">
<p class="MsoListParagraph" style="line-height: normal; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-indent: -18pt;"></p><ul><li><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]-->feel persecuted by the world at large</li></ul><!--[if !supportLists]--><p></p>
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<td style="border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left: none; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 96.65pt;" valign="top" width="129">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 9pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">I’m not that important.</span><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 14; mso-yfti-lastrow: yes;">
<td style="border-top: none; border: 1pt solid windowtext; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 354.15pt;" valign="top" width="472">
<p class="MsoListParagraph" style="line-height: normal; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-indent: -18pt;"></p><ul><li><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]-->believe in unfounded ‘conspiracy theories’</li></ul><!--[if !supportLists]--><p></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left: none; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 96.65pt;" valign="top" width="129">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 9pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">No, I only believe in the true
ones.</span><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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</tbody></table><br /></div><div>Not looking good, is it?</div><div><br /></div><div>Clearly I need to do some more work on this... next week.</div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ypr18UmxOas">Garbage - I Think I'm Paranoid</a></div><div><br /></div><div>In conclusion for today though, I haven't had any recent follow-up comments from my blogging bully, even after I started commenting again on the blogs he frequents. Maybe he's got bored with persecuting me... or he's too busy at the moment... or he's had a change of heart and suddenly realised that Barry Manilow is actually great. Who knows? </div><div><br /></div><div>I am also prepared to entertain the notion that he never actually had it in for me in the first place, that it was all in my imagination, and that all the negative comments he left as a follow up to my positive ones were purely coincidental. It could just be all in my mind...</div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6epzmRZk6UU">The Art of Noise with Max Headroom - Paranoimia</a></div><div><br /></div><div>On the other hand, you know what they say: Just because you're paranoid doesn't mean they're not all out to get you.</div><div><br /></div><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Oz2qlByal1g?si=lnIDFvzlS2Jdnf6I" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>Rolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02103804480646939038noreply@blogger.com21tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7633543688149775322.post-4966283453860687762024-02-27T08:00:00.002+00:002024-02-27T08:00:00.132+00:00Namesakes #74: Sting<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRBhzoqU-fwkXDet6S7T9sg3jrjHjXIP7-cYaL6MVdlqNqlUXcvoacJ9MWfGesaQI320efZL3AFr2PFX9ivj7Ottg_CLVsPSKK_6imkl2Ak1czEQWDCTxAinwPlEjUN_qBr_1YWj41Kl5jeViNI65D1ZGsSVeCpZ6MkaBT4hI95u4Cu-vEybcFXkyuPls9/s1336/bee-sting-2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="1336" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRBhzoqU-fwkXDet6S7T9sg3jrjHjXIP7-cYaL6MVdlqNqlUXcvoacJ9MWfGesaQI320efZL3AFr2PFX9ivj7Ottg_CLVsPSKK_6imkl2Ak1czEQWDCTxAinwPlEjUN_qBr_1YWj41Kl5jeViNI65D1ZGsSVeCpZ6MkaBT4hI95u4Cu-vEybcFXkyuPls9/s320/bee-sting-2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p>Here it is. The one you've all been waiting for! </p><p>What is it about Sting that makes us love to take the piss out of him? Is it his lyrics? (Who else could rhyme cough with Nabakov? Or ask us, with a serious face, if the Russians love their children too?) Is it the fact that he claims his name was derived from the jazzy yellow and black pullover he used to wear? Is it because he was one of those teachers who thought all the girls fancied him? Is it all the great work (he tells us) he does for charidee? Is the tantric sex? Or is because he's such great mates with Bono? Whatever the reason, Sting has been a figure of ridicule for as long as I can remember. But let's face it, he's one of a kind. </p><p>Isn't he? </p><p><b><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-size: medium;"><u>STING #1</u></span></b></p><p><span style="white-space: normal;">Guitarist Dave Howman and drummer Gavin Dare were the main songwriting team behind London glam-wannabes Sting in the mid-70s. Howman later went on to write music for Monty Python, One Foot In The Grave and the TV adaptation of The Wind In The Willows, as well as forming Melody Maker's 1983 "Band Of The Year", The Boyfriends.</span></p><p><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/3ekKElDvsYI?si=vUyONN_s6uUq6dUa" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe></p><p><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-size: medium;"><b><u>STING #2</u></b></span></p><p>Hey ladies! Don't you ever wonder how Sting does it in the shower? Well, here's your answer from 1978 and the The Disco Corporation of America!</p><p><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ONsGaIKdIRk?si=NQo-UTpSqpGD7W0x" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe></p><p><b><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-size: medium;"><u>STING #3</u></span></b></p><p>Next, some Aussie proggers, also from 1978, with a lyric I'm sure Mr. Sumner would be extremely jealous of...</p><h4 style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="color: #2b00fe;">Hey, Mr. Blind Man,<br /></span></b><b><span style="color: #2b00fe;">Tell me what you see<br /></span></b><b><span style="color: #2b00fe;">Can you picture flowers?<br /></span></b><b><span style="color: #2b00fe;">Can you look out to the sea?</span></b></h4><p><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/fuPP33JON-w?si=LzrW4Tl1oFLy9dB9" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe></p><p><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-size: medium;"><b><u>STING #4</u></b></span></p><p>And now... the main attraction. Unlike Bono, I don't hate Sting. I even think some of the stuff he did with the Rozzers is excellent - particular <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MX6MvV8cbh8">So Lonely</a> and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nH0vjLwMyc4">Can't Stand Losing You</a>, before too much of the cod-Reggae influence crept in. </p><p>Solo though... I can't say he's written many songs that have leapt out of the radio at me. I had a look down his singles chart history and there was a lot of aural wallpaper. In fact, the only solo track I really like is his debut single (probably because he didn't write it), from the soundtrack of the movie version of Dennis Potter's controversial play Brimstone & Treacle, in which Sting "acts". </p><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/qJ8ahL8LsEQ?si=qsAz06WmJO8Bobnx" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe><div><br /></div><div>Which Sting spreads a little happiness for you... and which Sting has you reaching for the calamine lotion?</div><div> </div><div><br /></div>Rolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02103804480646939038noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7633543688149775322.post-70780459530030098642024-02-26T08:00:00.002+00:002024-02-26T08:00:00.152+00:00Live: Craig Finn<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoaFz-LjEFlQHZ-mVGlaclfb8UpF_MnMA7kraf-uP0yutXnbUKepMHfHe3msy6FWHFtQKpZKYyKqbBQR6L1O2iqQu-jgso5-V_YQutHTC5wgjihuwnQkTvFv9u3P3dr1QyzuNZ40hd_R1iGY5pyrlL9XB2uA2zNQqbdGUOSw3D12FMYcMA_KOnfNwi9nCL/s678/Craig.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="452" data-original-width="678" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoaFz-LjEFlQHZ-mVGlaclfb8UpF_MnMA7kraf-uP0yutXnbUKepMHfHe3msy6FWHFtQKpZKYyKqbBQR6L1O2iqQu-jgso5-V_YQutHTC5wgjihuwnQkTvFv9u3P3dr1QyzuNZ40hd_R1iGY5pyrlL9XB2uA2zNQqbdGUOSw3D12FMYcMA_KOnfNwi9nCL/s320/Craig.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><div>On Friday after finishing work, I drove into Leeds to see Craig Finn at a new venue called The Wardrobe. I went on my own because Ben was on holiday - otherwise he'd have been there like a shot, because Finn and his band The Hold Steady are one of the few musical artists we're in 100% agreement on. </div><div><br /></div><div>As I finish work at 3.30 on Friday, I wasted an hour or so driving round charity shops on the outskirts of Leeds until the evening parking rate kicked in. Came away empty handed - city-adjacent charity shops rarely have anything interesting to offer. I had a couple of hours to kill in Leeds, so spent as long as I could reading my book over decaf and a toasted sandwich in Cafe Nero, then loitered until the venue opened at 7.30. I was one of the first to arrive, but the lighting wasn't good enough to read my book in there, so I found a good spot and hung around like a spare part till the support came on a 8.15.</div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PC4249OqUZU">Scott Lavene - Broke</a></div><div><br /></div><div>Scott Lavene has appeared on this blog previously, and I think <a href="http://www.johnmedd.com/">John Medd</a> might also be a fan. He's an artist who appears to have heard Billy Bragg's version of <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iHrFkSeLukA">Walk Away, Renee</a> and decided to build an entire act based upon it. </div><div><br /></div><div>Lavene walks that controversial tightrope between troubadour and stand up, but the audience warmed to him quickly and his closing tune might even have brought a tear to the less-cynical eyes... though Scott was quick to point out that the emotional hook, “I chose amphetamines over you”, was available on T-shirts at the merch stand.</div><div> </div><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/N8sAq7EFm4U?si=Gbu149JRuA-ML8wb" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe><div><br /></div><div>And then came the main event, all the way from New York City (originally Minneapolis).</div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AgQn6hpYF2A">Craig Finn - Messing With The Settings</a></div><div><br /></div><div>Why are The Hold Steady one of my favourite post-20th Century bands?</div><div><br /></div><div>The simple answer to that is the same one I'd give for most of my favourite artists. Craig Finn is a great songwriter. Even better, he's a great storyteller. So whether his band is influenced by Hüsker Dü or the Replacements, Cheap Trick or the Minutemen, Finn's lyrics follow a line from Dylan to Zevon to Springsteen. That's a great combination when they're all together...</div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TX_-bA1DHXE">The Hold Steady - Sequestered In Memphis</a></div><div><br /></div><div>...but I've grown to love Finn's solo work even more. This latest series of shows was billed as "Songs & Stories", just Finn and his guitar (a $30 acoustic that, he tells us, was given to him by a bandmate... although when he wanted to take it on tour, he had to get it fitted with a $500 pickup). </div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6gut1L2L6Ik">Craig Finn - Newmeyer's Roof</a></div><div><br /></div><div>Anyway, we got a lot of stories behind the songs on Friday night, including the revelation that the one above dates back to 2001, before Craig started his band, when he was just a New York City office worker. On September 11th, when the first plane went into the Twin Towers, his boss invited him to cut work for the morning, go up on the roof of his apartment, and watch the devastation as it unfolded. They ended up guiltily drinking beer... perhaps not the most appropriate thing to do while so many people were dying... but it says a lot about the utter unreality of that day. (Finn goes on to confess that the fall-out of 9/11 was years of drug and alcohol addiction, before he finally got himself straight.)</div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pQzHI9hJS70">Craig Finn - The Amarillo Kid</a></div><div><br /></div><div>The highlight of the show, ironically given what I said above, was the sole Hold Steady song, Magazines. It was the story Craig told to set it up and give it context that made it so special. He explained he'd written the song the morning after being dumped by the love of his life... which might explain why "it's not a very nice song. A great song - but not very nice." After writing it though, he got a phone call from the woman in question, saying maybe she'd been a little hasty... maybe they should talk... </div><div><br /></div><div>They're still together today.</div><div> </div><div>I wonder how she feels about the song now?</div><div><br /></div><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/l3-wTt5OQw0?si=Y1uXRtttU734OVQY" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>Rolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02103804480646939038noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7633543688149775322.post-30250685899885989682024-02-25T08:30:00.001+00:002024-02-25T08:30:00.239+00:00Snapshots #332: A Top Ten Batman Songs<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCFwrEy_gZo5_ntdqV58YooP0lMJ6SMEe7qyjYneZ75ikW_PUY2IiJYEDgQq5BfbPy35AOQyMHEZ_En33awVxLRJNH4408qJxVN07uPjS3c0FEHd3Aot8Qpp0eoq-1omRcrc5w6mQ66BMxKogTqaHkEpclYut86NIyzVyWXQxkyJ5FpA6GN4g7OlRRQ2vM/s705/Batman.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="705" data-original-width="500" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCFwrEy_gZo5_ntdqV58YooP0lMJ6SMEe7qyjYneZ75ikW_PUY2IiJYEDgQq5BfbPy35AOQyMHEZ_En33awVxLRJNH4408qJxVN07uPjS3c0FEHd3Aot8Qpp0eoq-1omRcrc5w6mQ66BMxKogTqaHkEpclYut86NIyzVyWXQxkyJ5FpA6GN4g7OlRRQ2vM/s320/Batman.jpg" width="227" /></a></div><div><br /></div>Holy Snapshots, Batman! Even the Riddler couldn't have solved these clues as fast as you guys did!<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><p><br /></p><p>10. I think it's fair to say the clue is in the picture...</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiY2VXVr7syp0r5H8vz_uhPr8-NMqctzJTnayT1yyX-WSGtrsm3hzJuUFk8POxsUZotQ875R_r2ZsPfY4y-igTi4vkGNm6Wo7z66KW3fZoSOeSAY-1KNhd3egDcHs3ziiownXvukvlxwV2oatjVoAB-jV9g_nBGPUz9hIYS764yeiHE67Wk9h5W4IfcNSvE/s300/10.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="238" data-original-width="300" height="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiY2VXVr7syp0r5H8vz_uhPr8-NMqctzJTnayT1yyX-WSGtrsm3hzJuUFk8POxsUZotQ875R_r2ZsPfY4y-igTi4vkGNm6Wo7z66KW3fZoSOeSAY-1KNhd3egDcHs3ziiownXvukvlxwV2oatjVoAB-jV9g_nBGPUz9hIYS764yeiHE67Wk9h5W4IfcNSvE/s1600/10.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H6emlxQHWYo">The Shapes - I Saw Batman In The Launderette</a></p><p>9. Grey, harbor, elephant... and small Scottish farms.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNxcVtzVSmzuyRFBZoGfHvPbHPdFN6ZCWWIfDfmhgYU6Nq0_bWFS2qhK12nkYyAAuJFCBxug5cEa9VdfRyh28VHeWCYFo1oZIUdqGPeR26oggkT3H9uCsUTVOZHgnEYrFI5-RyTcKqJuYjYi8pDZ8m4q6MEcrC5gUwtpS5ixAfqX86IiLpAqMHjzArf8bw/s554/9.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="554" data-original-width="554" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNxcVtzVSmzuyRFBZoGfHvPbHPdFN6ZCWWIfDfmhgYU6Nq0_bWFS2qhK12nkYyAAuJFCBxug5cEa9VdfRyh28VHeWCYFo1oZIUdqGPeR26oggkT3H9uCsUTVOZHgnEYrFI5-RyTcKqJuYjYi8pDZ8m4q6MEcrC5gUwtpS5ixAfqX86IiLpAqMHjzArf8bw/s320/9.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8q8vouEDRWE">Seals & Crofts - Robin</a></p><p>8. What a <span style="font-size: x-large;">boar!</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-YHKZ1ekeKsX-PcM2uNit5gmDLznUi9VboCedqEz6DzagGvDZFphCIWC-xeZ7N0shyphenhypheneu7mK3tXntlZqoA9ZTedlQmO0M3I51OX3smt4gtq6skv028ObpUjrGmaFA3_A_sTRoCN-pWy-eaz3PgelX-82dmSnZqPUTUJC5sgUG24UBRMbuyjY2YJs6KUisV/s639/8.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="456" data-original-width="639" height="228" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-YHKZ1ekeKsX-PcM2uNit5gmDLznUi9VboCedqEz6DzagGvDZFphCIWC-xeZ7N0shyphenhypheneu7mK3tXntlZqoA9ZTedlQmO0M3I51OX3smt4gtq6skv028ObpUjrGmaFA3_A_sTRoCN-pWy-eaz3PgelX-82dmSnZqPUTUJC5sgUG24UBRMbuyjY2YJs6KUisV/s320/8.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pDISnlnDtS4">Big Pig - Boy Wonder</a></p><p>7. Not too hot, but in good company.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj15pa5QR2UORJ4Jc4lFNVaZSzHHzp_7nVzKiqPADCgWGSmrqX9M1MyU6wvtItAdg7gfXtyAS3SEUYgY1bjdjA8-Xx0038uDcoC-UvJyW2JVIdE-ZlKBB0qnfhAzeXelL4wZ_ryGtRRPXnEwheo0JJzO9STNqD82ow8-5qjyO3Gs45fzbLmOPzOITw54tzW/s510/7.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="288" data-original-width="510" height="181" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj15pa5QR2UORJ4Jc4lFNVaZSzHHzp_7nVzKiqPADCgWGSmrqX9M1MyU6wvtItAdg7gfXtyAS3SEUYgY1bjdjA8-Xx0038uDcoC-UvJyW2JVIdE-ZlKBB0qnfhAzeXelL4wZ_ryGtRRPXnEwheo0JJzO9STNqD82ow8-5qjyO3Gs45fzbLmOPzOITw54tzW/s320/7.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HHbq0nLuU8M">Kool & The Gang - The Penguin</a></p><p>6. Where you'll find a blot.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZFDNG_erdwep7EOuXAcwEBAlM8M3zam_jBPTUeklG8ffhcfFOIGXlXk7VMjBcrAA6KF_mdhTNPXtdUEnwwO4kf9IeczQ5sVzE3I-5gO-umgdKe3XisIofSEJQo_BcFR1WwPY5tOFVPPxQCz0irB0VzgaKbp9jG2pJBqpnAFTvhAsUv87IaQGjda7PpVZP/s554/6.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="554" data-original-width="554" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZFDNG_erdwep7EOuXAcwEBAlM8M3zam_jBPTUeklG8ffhcfFOIGXlXk7VMjBcrAA6KF_mdhTNPXtdUEnwwO4kf9IeczQ5sVzE3I-5gO-umgdKe3XisIofSEJQo_BcFR1WwPY5tOFVPPxQCz0irB0VzgaKbp9jG2pJBqpnAFTvhAsUv87IaQGjda7PpVZP/s320/6.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p>On the landscape, of course!</p><p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VYNxKx9ZFWI">Landscape - Gotham City</a></p><p>5. Giant killing Robert, sounds like a kettle.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3n7IEx6C9kNhbno8f2Bau7qKxij564tQeO-7CqhQpyPxNsbfyPmKnjbwgwMUuYsXNYcxJzXq9Dq9w67N6U4n9nupL4cOoSxOAYIXW38KEyEk5-upG3VdNgFoB9JMl6ASyP742_lDYkrd8aG3dR7lDgYimH8XTN-d5MqpbOmH0MFueuD3y98KuTRq8o0Sl/s640/5.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3n7IEx6C9kNhbno8f2Bau7qKxij564tQeO-7CqhQpyPxNsbfyPmKnjbwgwMUuYsXNYcxJzXq9Dq9w67N6U4n9nupL4cOoSxOAYIXW38KEyEk5-upG3VdNgFoB9JMl6ASyP742_lDYkrd8aG3dR7lDgYimH8XTN-d5MqpbOmH0MFueuD3y98KuTRq8o0Sl/s320/5.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p>Jack & The Giant Killer, Robert Smith and a whistling kettle...</p><p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HPqmGEB8sxk">Whistling Jack Smith - I Was Kaiser Bill's Batman</a></p><p>4. Get thee to a nunnery!</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRaM8OMMAXnyDFbSoARjqqlVVQzrgNlG0f-Ze_0MfFSdmYrTxmUVkL7Sar_7VhO8wO9xkccYMsNG7ImZvzINZJfkTUMta44hBWi-o-OZw3IvHvQrnS3vaG2GlB-A8j98bi2xsi70oNL4_aOqaJNmlgcnPoopUXkqdkvcIBevCIkDYXT9qudLgthRswpdM1/s892/4.jpg.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="598" data-original-width="892" height="215" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRaM8OMMAXnyDFbSoARjqqlVVQzrgNlG0f-Ze_0MfFSdmYrTxmUVkL7Sar_7VhO8wO9xkccYMsNG7ImZvzINZJfkTUMta44hBWi-o-OZw3IvHvQrnS3vaG2GlB-A8j98bi2xsi70oNL4_aOqaJNmlgcnPoopUXkqdkvcIBevCIkDYXT9qudLgthRswpdM1/s320/4.jpg.png" width="320" /></a></div><p>So said Hamlet, advising Ophelia to become a sister... or so Will wrote.</p><p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YjnZEXhO7GU">Shakespears Sister - Catwoman</a></p><p>3. The Mild Albert Seven are a very confused group.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIl2hFscPipiKcLdIIxkAsfYGIwL-BQ6m-Z9TUEDEbmWr0kpG9q-Je7EF8TSp1Nx3l0oCnIsbtp_yrJ0VyxKnDrMxfC9f9dtyc1X1cBj-Doi-GXupjKr2lK3g4rDPRYcIuyPV40VoimEAd-rAVeN-NHcY_QWrvOcmjO6dw8Nh6MJvx53FBaZRResD9UM6a/s719/3.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="719" data-original-width="554" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIl2hFscPipiKcLdIIxkAsfYGIwL-BQ6m-Z9TUEDEbmWr0kpG9q-Je7EF8TSp1Nx3l0oCnIsbtp_yrJ0VyxKnDrMxfC9f9dtyc1X1cBj-Doi-GXupjKr2lK3g4rDPRYcIuyPV40VoimEAd-rAVeN-NHcY_QWrvOcmjO6dw8Nh6MJvx53FBaZRResD9UM6a/s320/3.jpg" width="247" /></a></div><p>"Mild Albert Seven" was an anagram...</p><p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q3mfENm6VJc">Steve Miller Band - The Joker</a></p><p>2. Found amid poetic enjambment.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEjhFzj5ucIMwlun-H4QJjirIxVmOORqK_oBfT-r9BSo63_Fe_31k_jLYf09vG6WfBhN3pwDLitScg00W-h72zPVmzKlZybP0VaV9yqLeS2x5bR5wK3BCO5NtH9Mgt_Nc6MC6aUWcX9jemB_kJpgsKYbuv7rjTGyXGgcYaclqCZQGcIg2emyyzBcrG6MWz/s578/2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="578" data-original-width="480" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEjhFzj5ucIMwlun-H4QJjirIxVmOORqK_oBfT-r9BSo63_Fe_31k_jLYf09vG6WfBhN3pwDLitScg00W-h72zPVmzKlZybP0VaV9yqLeS2x5bR5wK3BCO5NtH9Mgt_Nc6MC6aUWcX9jemB_kJpgsKYbuv7rjTGyXGgcYaclqCZQGcIg2emyyzBcrG6MWz/s320/2.jpg" width="266" /></a></div><p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PWeL704YTMw">The Jam - Batman Theme</a></p><p>1. Pincer movement.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRrkzeek9T1Vr7lzbEXCB_SWiZ2Qr39nPx9nYmfAlwwBsEXapAndnBvyxj_B1g4x1roaIUEc9Q53kVkP6nH1V6lA3ixG9fJZIV9NN5srCkyiwA9dPOtqT1J6X5oheUjee0NMku7FUmlVceLRVOaZRVflC5d2LgTMlfPJCYPMmV8x2HzRU7y93ZpZmgInB8/s564/1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="564" data-original-width="564" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRrkzeek9T1Vr7lzbEXCB_SWiZ2Qr39nPx9nYmfAlwwBsEXapAndnBvyxj_B1g4x1roaIUEc9Q53kVkP6nH1V6lA3ixG9fJZIV9NN5srCkyiwA9dPOtqT1J6X5oheUjee0NMku7FUmlVceLRVOaZRVflC5d2LgTMlfPJCYPMmV8x2HzRU7y93ZpZmgInB8/s320/1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p>Move "pincer" around a little bit and you get lil' baby Prince...</p><p>Prince - Batdance</p><p><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ulOLYnOthIw?si=auHBBk7wA-1l9qnU" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe></p><p>Snapshots returns next Saturday - same Bat-time, same Bat-channel!</p></div><p><br /></p>Rolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02103804480646939038noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7633543688149775322.post-18851917845995245412024-02-24T08:30:00.001+00:002024-02-24T08:30:00.125+00:00Saturday Snapshots #332<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVOqPIzhNCLgSXKIF37XLWGDbE2TCHhi33Eek2EbkR7zn9lGiTbqxbUCNlZLgAwOP2Y3WF6ye2qMizTW8Jhcpy3NdieNAlFNHQIRajFt5Ff1PtIenwDpd-SEFyiky41MlU5Ipt5ia6_JgR9-ci47t5KaIKF7KtnP7K2qwR3PixWCDf59l7dh4Q75BT7is2/s749/RPatz.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="749" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVOqPIzhNCLgSXKIF37XLWGDbE2TCHhi33Eek2EbkR7zn9lGiTbqxbUCNlZLgAwOP2Y3WF6ye2qMizTW8Jhcpy3NdieNAlFNHQIRajFt5Ff1PtIenwDpd-SEFyiky41MlU5Ipt5ia6_JgR9-ci47t5KaIKF7KtnP7K2qwR3PixWCDf59l7dh4Q75BT7is2/s320/RPatz.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div>As we all grow one day closer to our Twilight years, here's a sobering thought... Robert Pattinson, the snot-nosed Emo vampire in the terminally dull Twilight films is now 37. There's no hope for the rest of us!<div><br /></div><div>Still, we'll always have Snapshots to sharpen on increasingly elderly brains. Identify the ten pop peeps below, then tell me how their songs might be connected, please...<br /><p><br /></p><p>10. I think it's fair to say the clue is in the picture...</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiY2VXVr7syp0r5H8vz_uhPr8-NMqctzJTnayT1yyX-WSGtrsm3hzJuUFk8POxsUZotQ875R_r2ZsPfY4y-igTi4vkGNm6Wo7z66KW3fZoSOeSAY-1KNhd3egDcHs3ziiownXvukvlxwV2oatjVoAB-jV9g_nBGPUz9hIYS764yeiHE67Wk9h5W4IfcNSvE/s300/10.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="238" data-original-width="300" height="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiY2VXVr7syp0r5H8vz_uhPr8-NMqctzJTnayT1yyX-WSGtrsm3hzJuUFk8POxsUZotQ875R_r2ZsPfY4y-igTi4vkGNm6Wo7z66KW3fZoSOeSAY-1KNhd3egDcHs3ziiownXvukvlxwV2oatjVoAB-jV9g_nBGPUz9hIYS764yeiHE67Wk9h5W4IfcNSvE/s1600/10.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><p>9. Grey, harbor, elephant... and small Scottish farms.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNxcVtzVSmzuyRFBZoGfHvPbHPdFN6ZCWWIfDfmhgYU6Nq0_bWFS2qhK12nkYyAAuJFCBxug5cEa9VdfRyh28VHeWCYFo1oZIUdqGPeR26oggkT3H9uCsUTVOZHgnEYrFI5-RyTcKqJuYjYi8pDZ8m4q6MEcrC5gUwtpS5ixAfqX86IiLpAqMHjzArf8bw/s554/9.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="554" data-original-width="554" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNxcVtzVSmzuyRFBZoGfHvPbHPdFN6ZCWWIfDfmhgYU6Nq0_bWFS2qhK12nkYyAAuJFCBxug5cEa9VdfRyh28VHeWCYFo1oZIUdqGPeR26oggkT3H9uCsUTVOZHgnEYrFI5-RyTcKqJuYjYi8pDZ8m4q6MEcrC5gUwtpS5ixAfqX86IiLpAqMHjzArf8bw/s320/9.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p>8. What a <span style="font-size: x-large;">boar!</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-YHKZ1ekeKsX-PcM2uNit5gmDLznUi9VboCedqEz6DzagGvDZFphCIWC-xeZ7N0shyphenhypheneu7mK3tXntlZqoA9ZTedlQmO0M3I51OX3smt4gtq6skv028ObpUjrGmaFA3_A_sTRoCN-pWy-eaz3PgelX-82dmSnZqPUTUJC5sgUG24UBRMbuyjY2YJs6KUisV/s639/8.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="456" data-original-width="639" height="228" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-YHKZ1ekeKsX-PcM2uNit5gmDLznUi9VboCedqEz6DzagGvDZFphCIWC-xeZ7N0shyphenhypheneu7mK3tXntlZqoA9ZTedlQmO0M3I51OX3smt4gtq6skv028ObpUjrGmaFA3_A_sTRoCN-pWy-eaz3PgelX-82dmSnZqPUTUJC5sgUG24UBRMbuyjY2YJs6KUisV/s320/8.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p>7. Not too hot, but in good company.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj15pa5QR2UORJ4Jc4lFNVaZSzHHzp_7nVzKiqPADCgWGSmrqX9M1MyU6wvtItAdg7gfXtyAS3SEUYgY1bjdjA8-Xx0038uDcoC-UvJyW2JVIdE-ZlKBB0qnfhAzeXelL4wZ_ryGtRRPXnEwheo0JJzO9STNqD82ow8-5qjyO3Gs45fzbLmOPzOITw54tzW/s510/7.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="288" data-original-width="510" height="181" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj15pa5QR2UORJ4Jc4lFNVaZSzHHzp_7nVzKiqPADCgWGSmrqX9M1MyU6wvtItAdg7gfXtyAS3SEUYgY1bjdjA8-Xx0038uDcoC-UvJyW2JVIdE-ZlKBB0qnfhAzeXelL4wZ_ryGtRRPXnEwheo0JJzO9STNqD82ow8-5qjyO3Gs45fzbLmOPzOITw54tzW/s320/7.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p>6. Where you'll find a blot.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZFDNG_erdwep7EOuXAcwEBAlM8M3zam_jBPTUeklG8ffhcfFOIGXlXk7VMjBcrAA6KF_mdhTNPXtdUEnwwO4kf9IeczQ5sVzE3I-5gO-umgdKe3XisIofSEJQo_BcFR1WwPY5tOFVPPxQCz0irB0VzgaKbp9jG2pJBqpnAFTvhAsUv87IaQGjda7PpVZP/s554/6.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="554" data-original-width="554" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZFDNG_erdwep7EOuXAcwEBAlM8M3zam_jBPTUeklG8ffhcfFOIGXlXk7VMjBcrAA6KF_mdhTNPXtdUEnwwO4kf9IeczQ5sVzE3I-5gO-umgdKe3XisIofSEJQo_BcFR1WwPY5tOFVPPxQCz0irB0VzgaKbp9jG2pJBqpnAFTvhAsUv87IaQGjda7PpVZP/s320/6.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p>5. Giant killing Robert, sounds like a kettle.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3n7IEx6C9kNhbno8f2Bau7qKxij564tQeO-7CqhQpyPxNsbfyPmKnjbwgwMUuYsXNYcxJzXq9Dq9w67N6U4n9nupL4cOoSxOAYIXW38KEyEk5-upG3VdNgFoB9JMl6ASyP742_lDYkrd8aG3dR7lDgYimH8XTN-d5MqpbOmH0MFueuD3y98KuTRq8o0Sl/s640/5.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3n7IEx6C9kNhbno8f2Bau7qKxij564tQeO-7CqhQpyPxNsbfyPmKnjbwgwMUuYsXNYcxJzXq9Dq9w67N6U4n9nupL4cOoSxOAYIXW38KEyEk5-upG3VdNgFoB9JMl6ASyP742_lDYkrd8aG3dR7lDgYimH8XTN-d5MqpbOmH0MFueuD3y98KuTRq8o0Sl/s320/5.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p>4. Get thee to a nunnery!</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRaM8OMMAXnyDFbSoARjqqlVVQzrgNlG0f-Ze_0MfFSdmYrTxmUVkL7Sar_7VhO8wO9xkccYMsNG7ImZvzINZJfkTUMta44hBWi-o-OZw3IvHvQrnS3vaG2GlB-A8j98bi2xsi70oNL4_aOqaJNmlgcnPoopUXkqdkvcIBevCIkDYXT9qudLgthRswpdM1/s892/4.jpg.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="598" data-original-width="892" height="215" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRaM8OMMAXnyDFbSoARjqqlVVQzrgNlG0f-Ze_0MfFSdmYrTxmUVkL7Sar_7VhO8wO9xkccYMsNG7ImZvzINZJfkTUMta44hBWi-o-OZw3IvHvQrnS3vaG2GlB-A8j98bi2xsi70oNL4_aOqaJNmlgcnPoopUXkqdkvcIBevCIkDYXT9qudLgthRswpdM1/s320/4.jpg.png" width="320" /></a></div><p>3. The Mild Albert Seven are a very confused group.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIl2hFscPipiKcLdIIxkAsfYGIwL-BQ6m-Z9TUEDEbmWr0kpG9q-Je7EF8TSp1Nx3l0oCnIsbtp_yrJ0VyxKnDrMxfC9f9dtyc1X1cBj-Doi-GXupjKr2lK3g4rDPRYcIuyPV40VoimEAd-rAVeN-NHcY_QWrvOcmjO6dw8Nh6MJvx53FBaZRResD9UM6a/s719/3.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="719" data-original-width="554" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIl2hFscPipiKcLdIIxkAsfYGIwL-BQ6m-Z9TUEDEbmWr0kpG9q-Je7EF8TSp1Nx3l0oCnIsbtp_yrJ0VyxKnDrMxfC9f9dtyc1X1cBj-Doi-GXupjKr2lK3g4rDPRYcIuyPV40VoimEAd-rAVeN-NHcY_QWrvOcmjO6dw8Nh6MJvx53FBaZRResD9UM6a/s320/3.jpg" width="247" /></a></div><p>2. Found amid poetic enjambment.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEjhFzj5ucIMwlun-H4QJjirIxVmOORqK_oBfT-r9BSo63_Fe_31k_jLYf09vG6WfBhN3pwDLitScg00W-h72zPVmzKlZybP0VaV9yqLeS2x5bR5wK3BCO5NtH9Mgt_Nc6MC6aUWcX9jemB_kJpgsKYbuv7rjTGyXGgcYaclqCZQGcIg2emyyzBcrG6MWz/s578/2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="578" data-original-width="480" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEjhFzj5ucIMwlun-H4QJjirIxVmOORqK_oBfT-r9BSo63_Fe_31k_jLYf09vG6WfBhN3pwDLitScg00W-h72zPVmzKlZybP0VaV9yqLeS2x5bR5wK3BCO5NtH9Mgt_Nc6MC6aUWcX9jemB_kJpgsKYbuv7rjTGyXGgcYaclqCZQGcIg2emyyzBcrG6MWz/s320/2.jpg" width="266" /></a></div><p>1. Pincer movement.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRrkzeek9T1Vr7lzbEXCB_SWiZ2Qr39nPx9nYmfAlwwBsEXapAndnBvyxj_B1g4x1roaIUEc9Q53kVkP6nH1V6lA3ixG9fJZIV9NN5srCkyiwA9dPOtqT1J6X5oheUjee0NMku7FUmlVceLRVOaZRVflC5d2LgTMlfPJCYPMmV8x2HzRU7y93ZpZmgInB8/s564/1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="564" data-original-width="564" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRrkzeek9T1Vr7lzbEXCB_SWiZ2Qr39nPx9nYmfAlwwBsEXapAndnBvyxj_B1g4x1roaIUEc9Q53kVkP6nH1V6lA3ixG9fJZIV9NN5srCkyiwA9dPOtqT1J6X5oheUjee0NMku7FUmlVceLRVOaZRVflC5d2LgTMlfPJCYPMmV8x2HzRU7y93ZpZmgInB8/s320/1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p>Answers tomorrow!</p><p><br /></p></div>Rolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02103804480646939038noreply@blogger.com24