He was Batman, a good enough Batman, in a not-that-great Batman movie.
He even played the voice of KITT the car in a Knight Rider remake.
*In Oliver Stone's The Doors, Val did an excellent Jim Morrison impression, in looks, speech and song...
(**In Tony Scott's film of Quentin Tarantino's True Romance.)
Val Kilmer had a huge screen presence when I was growing up. His star has dwindled and he's been fighting throat cancer in recent years (reluctant to engage with medical procedures due to his religious beliefs), but his death, at only 65, still comes as a shock.
On hearing of his passing, I immediately remembered Father John Misty name-dropping him in this story of faded Hollywood glamour from his 2022 LP Chloë and the Next 20th Century.
Val Kilmer had a wall length Mirror just over there Well, I'm sure he's someone else now But he was Batman when he lived here
Next up: Lee Majors. Not that one! This Lee Majors was a rapper in Da Bush Babees, but he also teamed up with Green for this little ditty from Scritti...
I swear I bring the Heat to tracks like Val Kilmer
Hundreds of rappers namedrop Val in their lyrics, probably because of his tough guy / take no shit image, but rap will never be my specialist subject, so I'll close today with our old friends Bowling For Soup... even if they do think Val "sucked as Batman". You can't please all the people all the time.
Last week, we talked about hating people, and I came to the conclusion that I didn't really hate people, but actually it's "all just an act to paper over insecurity, a tragic lack of self-confidence and a Grand Canyon of loneliness in perpetual conflict with an innate desire to be on my own".
Just as I thought I'd talked myself out of misanthropy, C replied...
You're in good company Rol, I think nearly all the best people I know are people-haters, which doesn't really make a lot of sense and yet somehow it does!
And then I remembered the postcard at the top of this page, which Louise bought me some time ago; it's pinned on the wall next to my desk. You may find it interesting to note that Louise ordered two copies. There's also one pinned up on the wall next to her desk. Make of that what you will...
I can't understand What makes a man Hate another man Help me understand
Not that MC. Here's MC Flux, psychologist, neuroscientist and science communicator from the University of Colorado, as quoted in the Grauniad. He says annoyance is “moderately negative, and moderate arousal... it’s basically a flag, saying: ‘Something is wrong, and I should probably do something about it.’”
Now, I'm tiptoeing around this subject because I don't want to get onto anger until I've read sweary Dr. Faith's next book on my reading list, Unfuck Your Anger. And clearly anger is the next step on from annoyance. However, it should come as no surprise that our old friend the amygdala is the main culprit responsible for such emotions. Healthline says,
Anger starts with the amygdala stimulating the hypothalamus, much like in the fear response. In addition, parts of the prefrontal cortex may also play a role in anger.
Frustration, such as facing roadblocks while trying to achieve a goal, can also trigger the anger response.
Now we know what's going on in our brain... but we've still not answered the big question: why are people so annoying? Or should that be: why do I find people so annoying? Are they the same question... or two very different questions?
That Guardian article I mentioned earlier highlights four key answers to the first question: "uncouth habits, inconsiderate acts, intrusive behaviors and norm violations". I think a lot of these come down to what I'd label a lack of empathy, emotional awareness... or just plain arrogance. And once we get onto the subject of arrogance, I need another post. Or ten.
Meanwhile, therapist Julia Kristina has an uncomfortable answer to the second question...
Those unfavourable qualities, habits, or tendencies of someone else we react negatively to are really just our own shortcomings that we have turned our back on and refuse to own up to.
They always clap on the wrong beat They're wearin' loafers on their feet Greedy awful people!
Ouch. I think I'm going to have to come back to that one as well. But just in case anyone here thinks of me as an annoying person, I consulted Indeed for some tips on how to eliminate my own annoying behaviour...
Be an active listener
This is actually really easy if you don't have much to say for yourself.
Louise does sometimes get embarrassed when we're out in public (not often, to be honest) as she claims I speak louder than I need to. I don't think I do, but then I am partially deaf...
Many annoying people don’t even realize they’re being annoying in the first place. Annoying people might violate various social norms, be incompatible with others, try too hard to make others laugh, or even take a phone call while in a quiet library.
Did you know that you could even be the “irritating person” because you’re too positive?
Oh, yes. I knew this.
This type of positivity is known as toxic positivity—and it’s a real thing.
You don't need to tell me twice. There's a post in that as well.
George is back, to save me having to think of anything to write today. Careful though, he's feeling a little touchy...
A couple of weeks ago, the nice chappie at 27leggies introduced us to the music of Howdy Glenn via a cover of a Willie Nelson song “Touch Me”. If my memory serves me well, in the comments he then boasted of being a personal friend of Samantha Fox, much to Rol’s delight (who had reminded us of Ms Fox’s song of the same name). Which got me thinking of songs about touching (titter ye not, please), and also wondering why a blog called My Top Ten has had absolutely no Top Ten lists of songs about anything for many many months, if not years. Too much mucking about with photo thingies and artistes with the same name.
(To be fair, the photo thingies are usually Top Tens, George, but I take your point.)
So, instead of me carping on about how awful are many of the tunes by the plethora of Coast-to-Coasts or Sleepers. I thought I had to carpe the diem and create my own Top Ten “touching” songs. And it should go without saying that AC/DC are not and never would be anywhere this Top Ten (or indeed the Top Ten of anything).
First up, the almost deep, almost mellifluous (on this track) voice of Jim Morrison:
Mr Morrison was not the only singer wanting to be fondled. Heeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeere’s Porter Wagoner with a touching tale. As a bonus, you have the lyrics here, and what a joy they are.
George Jones could have made a great cover of that song. (I’ve just discovered that he has, but Porter’s version is better.)
Lots of country artistes are into their touching. And doing their own versions of Willie Nelson songs. This is Buck Owens’ version of the song that inspired(??) this article:
And almost inevitably, here’s The Fall, where Mark E Smith expresses, amongst other things, his inner Portuguese self by singing about public urination:
1. The Soul Stirrers - Touch The Hem Of His Garment
So, no New Order, no Blondie. Or Diana Ross (a snippet of which I often warble to my partner). But, it would be churlish not to include this: Ms Fox performing for a very appreciative group of middle aged Norwegians in 2010...
(My partner was in the same room as I typed all this up. Only ONE song did she sing along to.)
Thank you, as always, George. Your guest posts offer a brief reprieve from the torrent of nonsense that usually fills this space. You're always welcome here... as is anyone else who has nothing better to do with their time.
A Top Ten Frog songs to enjoy before we all croak. I'm glad to see you all Kermit yourself to answering these...
10. Samuel L. Jackson promises to leave before Bonnie gets home.
What, you never saw Pulp Fiction?
Jimmie: No, no, no, no, no, don't you ****ing realize, man, that if Bonnie comes home and finds a dead body in her house, I'm gonna get divorced? All right? No marriage counseling, no trial separation, I'm going to get ****ing divorced, okay? And I don't want to get ****ing divorced! Now man, you know, ****, I wanna help you, but I don't want to lose my wife doing it, all right?
Jules: Jimmie, Jimmie, she ain't gonna leave you--
Jimmie: Don't ****ing "Jimmie" me, Jules, okay?! Don't ****ing "Jimmie" me! There's nothing that you're gonna say that's gonna make me forget that I love my wife, is there?! Now look, you know, she comes home from work in about an hour and a half. Graveyard shift at the hospital. You gotta make some phone calls? You gotta call some people? Well, then do it! And then get the **** out of my house before she gets here!
Jules: Hey, that's Kool and the Gang. We don't wanna **** your shit up. All we wanna do is call my people and get them to bring us in, that's all.
Yes. That's Ian McShane. And Grace Jones. Together on track three of the Slave To The Rhythm album. Although, to be fair, Ian does most of the work, reading extracts from the biography of Jean-Paul Goude, the French artist who designed Jones's album sleeves and directed her videos.
Yesterday, I gave you a photo of Kurt Russell, aka Snake Plissken in Escape From New York.
Today, I give you a photo of Sylvester Stallone, aka Lieutenant Marion Cobretti from the movie Cobra. Sadly, I couldn't find a picture of Cobra holding a camera, so you get Rambo holding a camera instead. Taking a shot at a Monarch, by the look of it. Rambo is terrified of butterflies, you know.
Anyway, here are ten songs about different types of snakes. Aficionados of 80s action movies get extra clues!
10. Devotees of 104.
104 is 10 to the power 4. Or 10,000. Devotees are maniacs.
For the last ten years, I've walked along this road every morning on my way into work. This morning was the final time.
"Why aren't you more happy?" said Louise as I was heading out today. "You've been waiting for this so long... I'd have thought you'd be jumping up and down!"
The last couple of weeks though, after I returned from my Covid Holiday, have felt really surreal. Most of my old tasks and responsibilities had been taken over by my replacement, and I've felt a bit like a ghost, walking around a building I used to live in, watching everyone else going quietly mad, but from a great distance because none of it affected me anymore. I feel bad for the people who are still here, watching them suffer every new insult that's thrown at them, knowing it'll only get worse in the coming months. But I don't feel the euphoria I expected. Perhaps because this place has trampled over my emotions so much in the past few years that they're flat and lifeless.
"What doesn't kill you just makes you stronger." I'm sorry, but I'm calling bullshit on that.
When I left my radio job ten years ago, through redundancy, I shed quite a few tears. For all the friends I'd made there, for all the good times. Yes, there were bad times too, and yes, that redundancy came at the right time, having seen what's happened to the radio industry since. But I still miss that place for what it was while I was there, and I consider my fortunate to have worked there.
It's not all bad memories here either. I can't condemn the place like that. There have been good times, there have certainly been good people (although a lot of them moved on); in years to come I might look back in a more positive light. But I feel no tears as I prepare to depart today.
The relief will come, I'm sure. But if you ask me right now how I feel about leaving at last, the answer is: nothing. I feel nothing.
My antipathy towards U2 is well documented so you may be surprised to find them at the top of the page this week. But really, there weren't a whole lot of strong contenders... and I did want to give U2 some credit to make up for years of taking the mick. There was a point sometime in 1988/9 where I thought they may be OK. Not earlier - I still think The Joshua Tree is one of the most overrated albums ever recorded... but Rattle & Hum... that, I didn't mind. So here, for the record, is my favourite U2 song. It's not a long list...
Truly the late 80s / early 90s were a dire time for chart music. I was in my late teens at the time and the tracks above largely forced me to venture outside the charts for the first time in my musical history.
No other song will touch that, if only for the sheer majesty of Pearl's vocal (and Carl's ability to use only one side of his mouth whilst singing).
Initially, I couldn't find that anywhere on the internet, but George was kind enough to send me a link so you can enjoy it in all its glory.
That was the first thing to spring to my mind too, C. Though I still have nightmares about the awful Rod Stewart / Tina Turner version. The Sonny & Cher version (as suggested by Martin) is quite fun though.
I don't suppose anyone will mention that song about little boys by a certain person...although it was covered by Splodgenessabounds.
I loved that song when I was young. It breaks my heart that we can't listen to it anymore without awful connotations.
Martin was the first to observe that I have my work cut out for me this week.
As for "two", there are going to be loads, aren't there? Don't envy you collating them.
I'll let you into a secret... last week was training / CPD week at work. I attended all the training sessions online. But I also... multi-tasked. Which is why there was no pause in transmission this week.
So here are some. No doubt I'll forget something again this week, my mind is getting soft.
I think that goes for all of us after the past few months.
Yes, I know that's a 97... and we did feature it way back in 1984 when we were doing that week of the Hot 100 on Ceefax, before the interweb. But it's based on the two songs above, so I'll break loads of rules and throw it in.
Time for Douglas, who made the journey from Canada in record time this week...
Oh my, I somehow got here before The Swede published a list a clothyard long! I just have to get a few early suggestions in, then perhaps come back later after some real thought. For starters, since I (indirectly) promoted The Lucksmiths last week, here are two solid suggestions from the Australian artists of winsome wordplay:
Then of course there is the master of meticulous songcraft himself, the creative genius behind The Blue Nile (who births an album roughly every fifteen years):
Makes one want to smile and cry at the same time. And perhaps me especially after I discovered that the vinyl copy of the album from which it comes (2012's "Mid Air") which I purchased on release date for under $30 is now going on Discogs for something in the mid $300's. A better investment than real estate. And speaking of which, there is:
And for my usual Canadian offering, you could do worse than save some room for Montreal's beloved and finest indie rock band (no, don't worry, not Arcade Fire):
I'm allowing those last two, but I didn't want to open the can of worms that was "second songs" or we really would have been here all week.
On to Alyson, who was missing in action last week but returns full force this week...
So, so many 2 suggestions. I am struggling to come up with anything better than Party Fears Two so agree with that one and here's a little extract from when I wrote about that song after my trip to Dundee.
'It’s certainly a strange title for a song and tricky to understand the lyrics other than that a party is involved. Billy did explain the origin however, 'My wee brother was at a party watching two girls who wanted to come in. They were smashing windows and attempting to kick the door in with their stiletto heels, which he admired, so he christened them the Party Fears Two and I pinched the title from him.''
That's a great explanation. I love that song, especially the opening line.
Sadly, Alyson's other suggestions all fall foul of the the Tom Robinson Rule.
I figured there would be a load more 2am song, but it seems only Iron Maiden are hard enough to stay up that late. Anyone else who stays up that late appears to not be happy about it...
It's at this point that I have to give Rigid Digit a special award this week, for nabbing most of my top contenders in a very short space of time. Any of these could have been this week's winner. In fact, I had them listed together in almost the same order you presented them, RD...
I added the second Joe Jackson tune myself and seriously considered giving them joint winner status in the same way I had three winners last week. Sadly, a more obvious choice presented itself. But any other week...
Over to Jim in Dubai...
I fully endorse Swiss Adams choice of Party Fears 2, still sounds great and would be a worthy winner.
Now at this point in proceedings, I was feeling pretty smug about being way ahead of the game and well on track for a timely post with no overtime required.
Hi folks. Sorry I'm late. I culled this list of appropriate tunes from my hard-drives a couple of weeks back and have attempted to take out anything already suggested - apologies for any I've duplicated...
OK, time to pull an all-nighter!
At least The Swede started with two he knew would be on my list...
Let it be known, that in line with me keeping my sanity, I am going to heretofore limit The Swede to only 600 suggestions per week.
And after all that, I doubt very much that anyone will want to read my shortlist... although I think there's a couple at the top of my list that will a few of you kicking yourselves...
This week's winner was first suggested by John Medd, then seconded by Martin. It wasn't my first thought, but once it was out there, I couldn't think of anything any more appropriate.
Sam has taken to singing this song thus...
Woohoo! Abbamebaddawawa!
Woohoo! Dabbaweewawameme!
I've told him what the actual words are and he sings them once or twice, then goes back to the nonsense. Actually, I think the nonsense words are even more appropriate, since pure pop should be nonsense... and this is a contender for the purest indie pop song ever written.
Pleased ta meetcha!
Only one more to go. And there can be only one winner... but what will it be?
