Snapshots #409: Songs About Coats

Here are some songs about coats. I'm saving the gag till the end.

15. Naughty Ned's great-great-grandson?

Ned Kelly was a pretty naughty Australian. This guy hails from the same country, but I don't think they're related...

Paul Kelly - Winter Coat

14. _ _ _ ics from a Laureate.

The Laureate is Mr. Simon Armitage. He also writes the lyrics.

LYR - Great Coat

13. Merrythought & burnt offerings.

Merrythought is what they used to call a wishbone, in days gone by.

Wishbone Ash - Duffle Shuffle

(Only half a point for Coat of Arms.)

12. Rotate Hagar.

I was thinking of Sammy Hagar. And if you rotate him, you would be a...

Sammy Turner - Raincoat In The River

11. Found within Rebel Tony and DJ, oh no!

Rebel Tony and DJ, oh no!

Elton John - Leather Jackets

10. Chesney sighted in California.

I saw that bloody Chesney Hawkes in Los Angeles! 

I See Hawks In La - My Parka Saved Me

9. Tribal leaders in Western Ireland.

The Chieftains & James Galway - The Munster Cloak

Don't be telling me a cloak isn't a coat. Tell James Galway!

8. Where Martin Rossiter does his experiments.

Martin Rossiter is the lead singer of Gene.

Genelab - Anorak Lou

I'd forgotten that little gem from 1999, but it's great.

7. Morse identifies a suspect from the block. Elementary x2.

When Morse identifies a suspect, he's liable to shout, "Lewis!" Jenny came from the block. Holmes, on the other hand, needed Watson... times two. 

Did you crack that one, Sherlocks?

Jenny Lewis & The Watson Twins - Rabbit Fur Coat 

6. Did you know that Elvis, Jonathan and Nat were all closely related?

They were...

The King Brothers - A White Sport Coat (And A Pink Carnation)

5. Cousin... luck than good management.

My Perfect Cousin was Kevin... More by luck than good management.

Kevin Morby - A Coat Of Butterflies

4. Two retards is not an acceptable term. 

"Two retards" is an unfortunate anagram.

Rod Stewart - An Old Raincoat Won't Ever Let You Down

3. Closely guard Van on the pitch.

When they're taking a corner, make sure you mark Morrison!

Mark Morrison - Return Of The Mack

2. It's hard to perform when you each have three feet.

Yard Act - Trenchcoat Museum

1. Lopez advises caution. 

Jennifer warns!

Because the Leonard Cohen version would have been too obvious.

Jennifer Warnes - Famous Blue Raincoat

More Snapshots next Saturday? I'll get me coat.

Cover Me Monday #4: P.F. Sloan

This weekend's Saturday Snapshots featured the Jimmy Webb song P.F. Sloan, a tribute to the man who wrote Barry McGuire's Eve of Destruction, as well as many other songs for artists as varied as the Mamas & Papas, Herman's Hermits, The Turtles and Johnny Rivers.

Like many successful songwriters of his era, Sloan wanted to be a solo star in his own right. However, the success of Eve of Destruction, health problems, and a conflict with his record company forced Sloan out of the music scene in the early 70s for many years, leading Jimmy Webb to pen his heartfelt tribute about "seeking P.F. Sloan", another unsung hero of the cut-throat world of pop.

Most of you will know that I hold Jimmy Webb in very high regard, and not just because he composed the greatest song ever written. I've seen Webb live and he's an excellent performer, warm and witty raconteur and genuinely decent bloke. But I also know he'd be the first to admit that his songs often sound better when performed by others. Curiously though - despite how damned catchy that chorus is - P.F. Sloan was never recorded by Glen Campbell or any of Webb's other more famous collaborators.

Dig deep and you can find versions by The Association, Unicorn (me neither) and Jennifer Warnes, but up until a few years ago Webb's own recording went unchallenged. (Webb also re-recorded the song a few years back as a duet with Jackson Browne, but I still prefer the original.)

This, though... this trumps them all. Ironically, Rumer is another artist who claims to have suffered greatly at the hands of the music industry; the pressure of her debut album led her to being diagnosed both bipolar and PTSD. She has the voice of an an angel though, and is considered by many to be the closest thing we've got these days to Karen Carpenter...



While researching this post, I discovered a couple more nice videos.

Firstly, here's Jimmy and Rumer duetting the song in 2013... with Jimmy explaining more about the genesis of the tune.

Secondly, one year later, here's Rumer performing the song live with P.F. Sloan himself. Sadly, Sloan would die of cancer within 18 months of this recording, but I like to think his immortality is guaranteed, thanks not least to Barry McGuire, Jimmy Webb and Rumer.

Saturday Snapshots #19: The Answers

Yes, that's Kylie. Deal with it.


By the way, I'm only going to explain the clues from now on if they're really obscure...


10. Home for mad spirits. Where's the brakes!?!

Soul Asylum - Runaway Train

First point to Charity Chic.

9. Smaller than a superstar collie, sighing at trucks.

Lassie was a superstar collie. A smaller Lassie would be Alessi.

Alessi - Oh, Lori

I knew Alyson would get this one. George was miffed!

8. Kinda like this blog... hardly a firecracker!

This blog is kinda like My Life Story. It's hardly a firecracker, is it?

My Life Story - You Don't Sparkle

As I compile these results, nobody has got this. I fully expect Martin to swoop in at the last minute and nab it.

UPDATE: Just before I was about to turn off the computer and go to bed (hey, listen, 9.30 is all I can manage on a Saturday night), my prediction came true. I knew I could count on you, Martin!

7. Beware of this (unabbreviated) spinning lady... she's coming for New York!

A Spinning Jenny, unabbreviated, would be Jennifer.

Beware is a warning.

Jennifer Warnes - First We Take Manhattan 

Another point for CC.

6. Mental illness? Climb a mountain in the Med.

Cyprus Hill? Don't you know I'm loco?

Cypress Hill - Insane In The Brain

From Jennifer Warnes to Cypress Hill - CC gets much respect this week!

5. Art makes Hazlewood a prisoner for drinking sugary pop from Korea.

Art = Arthur.

Putting Hazlewood in prison would make him a Con-Lee.

Seoul is the capital of South Korea.

Do you like good music?

Arthur Conley - Sweet Soul Music

And another one for the Charity-meister! He obviously had three Shredded Wheat on Saturday morning.

4. Steve & Charlie chew it over.

Steve Strange.

Charlie Rich.

Cud - Rich & Strange

Yes, kids, this is what 1992 looked like.

1/2 a point to George, 1/2 a point to Rigid Digit.

3. Created to adore... and smooch.

Kiss (without their make-up!) - I Was Made For Loving You

C stole this one out from under Alyson.

2. Good for staying up and larging it on Saturday & Sunday.

Ahem. If you don't know what an Arab Strap is, you're probably better off not googling it.

Arab Strap - The First Big Weekend

General agreement that this must be The Alexander Brothers with Nobody's Child... a song I'd never heard before, but I can see why you might think I'd like it. Having watched the video, I reckon there's a distinct possibility Aiden & Malcolm posed for that photo with said brothers in mind.

It took my extra "Think Belle & Sebastian" clue to direct RD to the correct answer.

1. What Bond got LOADS.

Sometimes the clues just write themselves.

George took a couple of shots, but nailed his target in the end.




Congratulations to this week's undisputed champion: Charity Chic. Thanks, as always, for playing along.

Back next Saturday with ten more badly disguised "classics" from the depths of my music library...