Snapshots #455: Self-Improvement Songs

Yesterday it was Sting, today it's Gwyneth: two celebrities who love to bang on about personal development and self-improvement, yada yada yada.

Here are some songs that instruct us how to become better people...

15. What Zoolander plays in the pub.

Derek Zoolander likes to play dominos.

Derek & The Dominoes - Tell The Truth

14. Scottish Bob meets Arnold's brother.

Whutcha talkin' about, Robert the Bruce?

Bruce Willis - Respect Yourself

13. It appears they need tying up.

Loose Ends - Don't Be A Fool

12. Japanese plod collective.

Tokyo Police Club - Be Good

11. The Pogues' favourite cars.

The Fiestas - Think Smart

10. Long DJ meets Ragtime King.

Janice Long meets Scott Joplin.

Janis Joplin - Try (Just a Little Bit Harder)

9. Petrified Peter.

Frightened Rabbit - Be Less Rude

8. Dolls.

Pussycat - Smile

7. Often heard to crow, "your hair is beautiful"... but only when he's with his mates. 

"Your hair is beautiful," is from Atomic. Roosters crow. This guy was the guitarist with Atomic Rooster, but he also had a solo hit with the tune below...

John Du Cann - Don't Be A Dummy

6. What made Bret Anderson snap? 

The Suede Crocodiles - Paint Yourself A Rainbow

5. Clearly sir Toby was confused.

"Clearly sir Toby" was an anagram.

Bay City Rollers - Give A Little Love

4. Backwards German remake of English composer Ralph.

Ralph Vaughan Williams, backwards, with DE in the middle...

William DeVaughn - Be Thankful For What You Got

3. Jefferson, Jackson, Johnson...

They were all...

Presidents of the United States of America - Love Everybody

2. The fashion of an estranged prince.

Prince Harry Styles!

Harry Styles - Treat People With Kindness

Whatever you might think of Harry Styles, that's a great pop song.

1. Warning: in a Fury, he could break a man's arm.

Billy Fury gets in a fight with a swan.

Hopefully, you now know how to live a better life, just like Sting and Gwyneth.

More nonsense next Saturday.

Saturday Snapshots #44 - The Answers

Thank you for showing your True Colours again this week with your excellent answers to Saturday Snapshots. Time after time, you just keep getting them right! Thank you.

This week's winner was (as is often the case) first to get out of bed on Saturday morning, and this week that was FurryBootsCityBoy. Question, FBCB - is that an alias for Lynchie? The reason I ask is because you (re-)appeared round these parts about the same time Lynchie disappeared and you seem to answer lots of questions from the same eras Lynchie specialised in. My detective's nose senses a link... but I may be completely wrong.

Anyway, answers...


10. A phoney Cooke makes tough mutton for Egyptian royalty.

If Sam Cooke was a phoney, he'd be Sam The Sham.

Egyptian royalty were the pharaohs.

Tough mutton? A woolly bully!

Sam The Sham & The Pharaohs - Woolly Bully

9. Bimbo Joe Pesci.

A bimbo is an airhead.

Don't tell Joe Pesci that he's a funny guy.

Airhead - Funny How

Well done to Chris for solving the week's toughest twosome, this and number #2.

8. A chronic deed... or an alternative.

"A chronic deed" is an anagram. Alyson worked that out, though FBCB recognised the photo.

An alternative is something else.

Eddie Cochran - Somethin Else

7. Legally poor doll, again and again.

A Sindy doll who was legally poor might be a Law-per. Alyson, being a girl who just wants to have fun herself, had no problem solving that.

Cyndi Lauper - Time After Time

6. Could this be William's last song? Assistance offered.

A last swan for Billy would be his Swan song.

Billy Swan - I Can Help

5. What could I wear at the funeral without you? It's such a huge dilemma!

I might wear a mourning jacket at a funeral, without u that would be...

My Morning Jacket - Big Decisions

Well done to C for puzzling that one out.

4. Solitary love.

Heart - Alone

Another one for C, though I understand how Alyson thought Ann & Nancy look like First Aid Kit here. Way before the shaggy 80s dos they were more famous for.

3. Riches... and better weather for coffee drinkers.

The Fortunes - Storm In A Teacup

2. Storytelling levellers.

Storytellers are raconteurs.

Levellers might make things steady.

The bloke on the far right is Jack White. The one next to him is Brendan Benson.

Well done again, Chris.

The Raconteurs - Steady As She Goes

1. Not Jason, at Halloween.

Not Jason Donovan, obviously. The one that clinched FBCB's victory this week.

Girls (and boys) who wanna have fun should come back next Saturday for more of the same.