Kylie Minogue featured in Saturday's quiz with the obvious selection of Kylie's Got A Crush On Us by BMX Bandits. I've probably confessed before to the fact that I bought Kylie's debut single back in 1988 even though I knew it wasn't very good. I was 16, Neighbours was on the TV every night when I got home from school, and Kylie was cool... even despite the insipid Stock Aitken Waterman production. I still think she's cool now - and should be praised for her longevity (Christmas Number One last year!).
Anyway, BMX Bandits wasn't my only choice for songs honouring Ms. Minogue. I could also have gone with this...
Another female pop diva whose records I obsessed over as a teen was Whitney. I'd still rate her second album as a pure pop classic. Then again, I've always been pretty insecure about voicing such things...
Janet Jackson, meanwhile, may be tainted by her brother's reputation... and that "shocking" incident at the Superbowl which got her cancelled for a time, while Justin Timberlake's reputation only soared. Sexist hypocrisy?
But it's back to the pop stars of our youth to close... and here's another lady who's it always been OK to admit to liking. My cool points remain intact.
Time for Bertie the dog to pick another of his favourite music Berts... or Burts in the case of this week's star.
I'm sure I can't tell you anything about Burt Bacharach that you don't already know, although I can confirm that he's NOT related to one of my favourite actors of recent years, Ebon Moss-Bacharach of The Bear (soon to play The Thing in the new Fantastic Four movie).
I think we'll just let the music speak for itself today...
The majority of those were written with lyricist Hal David, of course. But he's not a Bertie. Or even a Burty.
If I was forced at gunpoint to choose a favourite recording of a Bacharach composition, it would be this one, which I bought as a 7" single in 1990. I was convinced it made Number One, but clearly I needed to buy a couple more copies, because it was held off the top spot by Timmy Mallet. Oh, the inDignity*!
*I'm particularly proud of that pun. Little things please little minds.
Next week... "For the money, for the glory, and for the fun. Mostly for the money."
Here are some more songs about struggling through 'til payday... starting with the obvious one, clocking in at less than 90 seconds... Album #1, Side #1, Track #1...
I honestly thought this was going to be one of those retro posts of the "Do you remember Tizer?" variety. I mean, I haven't drunk fizzy pop for a long time, so I guess I'm out of the loop, but surely they don't still make Tizer?!?
Turns out they do. And according to iffypedia, all attempts to make it slightly healthier, less sickeningly sweet and artificial, have been failures. In 2007, they tried to add real fruit juice and remove all the fake flavourings, colourings and sweeteners, but the relaunch bombed and they went back to the original. A similar attempt to launch Diet Tizer fell on deaf tastebuds, despite the bus shelter adverts that used a funhouse mirror to make you look thinner. Just when I thought the advertising industry had sunk as low as it's possible to go...
That said, I did approve of the earlier 80s slogan: "You Can Tell It's Tizer When Your Eyes Are Shut". Yeah, because it's bloody awful.
Anyway, despite all this, there are a bunch of great tunes that mentioned "Tizer the Appetizer"... so let's crack on with them shall we? And who better to launch our celebration of this Great British pop than Steven Patrick himself...
I know a lot of people didn't appreciate Morrissey's stand-up routine when Kill Uncle was released in 1991, but looking back, those were the glory days when he still had a sense of humour.
Next, a rather obscure little number from Mr. MacManus, taken from the soundtrack of a 1983 British comedy movie of the same name. Long time since I've heard this...
The last thing I remember I was talking to some fellas
Then she said she'd have a word for me with her good-looking mate
And handed me a pint-pot filled with Advocate and Tizer
And I woke in the flowerbeds of fear and fertilizer
Apparently, Grace were a "neo-progressive rock band" from the mid 90s. I have no memory of them, and Discogs was no help in sifting them out from hundreds of other Graces, but here they are anyway...
And that would have been the winner, were it not for the irresistible combination of David Gedge and comedian Sean Hughes on this wonderful Cinerama tune...
I don't remember when we first met. She was just always there, small and meek, a sly curl about her lips that drew me in. We spent the Summer days in an orange tent in the garden, feeling dizzy in the heat, drinking warm Tizer. Then one day a rush of flying ants flushed us out, blinking into the sunlight, swarming around us as we ran. We tried to lose ourselves in the woods, shutting our eyes and bumping into trees, smelling the wild garlic underfoot. But she always knew the way. Maybe she cheated, but I just thought she was smarter than me.
Spencer Tracy’s middle name was Bonaventure. I think we can
stop there, can’t we?
No?
He was born in 1900, and appeared in 75 films between
1930 and 1967, the year of his death. He was also the first person to win a
Best Actor Oscar two consecutive years running. The only other actor to do
that… we won’t mention, because he brings me out in hives. Let’s just say he’s
no Spencer Tracy.
Like Cary Grant, Spencer Tracy enjoys international renown,
even today. So let’s start our brief journey through his musical mentions in
Sweden.
Bo Sundström is the lead singer of Swedish pop-jazz band Bo
Kaspers Orkester. Today, he’s left the Orkester at home…
Jag kommer aldrig bli kär
Jag kommer aldrig bli kär
Jag kommer aldrig bli kär
Som Spencer Tracy
I initially thought this might translate as “I will never be
a man like Spencer Tracy”, but it seems “I will never fall in love like Spencer
Tracy” seems more likely. Either way, Bo’s probably right.
Es gibt kein Bett in der ganzen Stadt
Dass Lee Marvin nicht gemietet hat
Verloren in der Wüste und der Arzt ist krank,
Genau wie Spencer Tracey in die Stadt in Angst
My universal translator may be on the fritz here (see what I
did there?), but this seems to suggest there’s not a bed in town that Lee
Marvin hasn’t rented, that he’s lost in the desert and the doctor is ill, and
as a result Spencer Tracy comes to town in fear. Make of that what you will.
No translator needed for The Good Rats, as they hail from
Long Island. They have featured on this blog a number of times before, as I’m
particularly fond of their song Advertisement In The Voice.
This comes from the same album, Ratcity In Blue…
Tough guys
Always been my kind of man
Doin' the things that I can't
Tough guys
Let's not ignore
The greatest of all
Ladies and gentlemen
Spencer Tracy!
From Long Island to Long Fin Killie, a band I’ve never heard of before. Apparently they’re Scottish and came along at the height of my
musical heyday in the late 90s, so I’m surprised I never stumbled across them after all these years down the mines.
Thinks storms are lovely weather She says, "What day is it John?" "What day is it?" And they begin To think of them as one person Really the girl and Spencer Tracy Cheekbones you could cut La la la la la la la la la la la
Carlos Perón was a founding member of Yello. He quit to
pursue a solo career just before Dieter Meier and Boris Blank hit the big time.
Harold M. Agnew’s elbows
Make a pair of wings for his head
On top of which his hands fold in a clasp
He looks like Spencer Tracy now…
That last line might be familiar to you, as it’s also the
title of my favourite Spencer Tracy song, from Deacon Blue’s debut album,
Raintown. That's what I'll leave you with today. Thank you for your kind attention.
It was hardly the toughest link to work out, but how often does Saturday Snapshots fall on New Year's Day? Here are the Auld Lang Answers...
10. Often mistaken for space aliens.
I was watching a documentary recently where the US government claimed that when people saw UFOs, they were actually seeing U2 spy planes. Which aren't shaped like flying saucers at all. Far more likely they're seeing Bono's halo...
Earlier this week I was leafing through Sam's notebook (largely full of made up football scores) when I saw he'd scribbled a name on the inside front cover...
Not because he's been watching Blue Velvet, Easy Rider or the Sicilian scene from True Romance recently. No, because he's become quite a fan of a song I've featured here previously, Dennis Hopper by The Waterboys.
I continue in my mission to teach Sam as many out-of-date pop culture references as I possibly can.
All of which has nothing to do with this week's Snapshots, which featured ten songs written by Burt Bacharach and Hal David. No, I couldn't find a photo of either of those gentlemen holding a camera...
10. Jerry's neighbour, associated with Walrus home.
On Seinfeld, Jerry's neighbour was Kramer...
John Lennon lived in (and was sadly killed outside) The Dakota Building.
