Snapshots #458: Songs From Hell

And I heard, as it were, the noise of thunder

One of the four beasts saying,

'Come and see.' and I saw, and behold a white horse...

Johnny Cash - The Man Comes Around

And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts

And I looked, and behold a pale horse

And his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him...

Hopefully none of you are going to Hell any time soon, but if you are... at least they'll have a decent playlist...

15. S/laughter.

The Killing Joke - Pandemonium

14. Cher airs her grievances.

"Cher airs" was an anagram.

Chris Rea - The Road To Hell (Part 2)

13. Hyper, cuff and chain... make him wary (almost).

Hyperlink, cufflink, chainlink. Wary becomes Wray.

Link Wray - Fire & Brimstone

12. Ginger was not a Northerner.

Geri Halliwell was Ginger Spice

Jeri Southern - Fire Down Below

11. They just keep coming around.

Orbital - Satan

10. Have you misplaced the camera, Mike?

"Camera, Mike" was an anagram.

Maria McKee - This Property Is Condemned

9. Be good in St. Julian's country.

Johnny B. Goode meets goes to Cope-Land.

Johnny Copeland - Sufferin' City

8. Strange faces.

Steve Strange's faces...

Visage - Damned Don't Cry

7. Not Fats Domino.

I think I might have used this clue in reverse at some point...

Chubby Checker - Limbo Rock

6. Royalty................................................................................ and me with a capital, in the Middle East.

Prince is Far from I (the pronoun with a capital letter).

Prince Far I and the Arabs - Out Of The Abyss

5. No longer on the sidewalk.

He used to be in Pavement, now he's just...

Stephen Malkmus & the Jicks - Houston Hades

4. Did they have Reds under their Beds?

McCarthy - In Purgatory

3. Politicians on the funicular. 

A funicular is a type of tram, with added MPs.

The Trammps - Disco Inferno

2. What a bunch of cows!

The Herd - From The Underworld

1. Ben's gal is confused, obviously.

"Ben's gal" was an anagram.

The Bangles - Eternal Flame

Bonus track today from HMHB...

Because "Hell is other people". Not the people playing this quiz though, so hopefully I'll see you all back here next Saturday...

Saturday Snapshots #141: The Answers

Was there one overall winner of yesterday's Saturday Snapshots, or is it the case that a few of you Drew?

It's getting harder and harder to pun myself into these answers...

10. Have I Got Newsman gets his coat... but could do with a car.

Paul Merton in a Parka. (Apologies to non-British viewers who won't have got that reference.)

The Merton Parkas - You Need Wheels

9. Corderoy for smaller sibling.

Corderoy (sic) is an anagram.

Ry Cooder - Little Sister

8. You've gotta see her use a Scottish door opener to get a good look at the afterlife.

Maria, you've got to see her, sang Blondie.

A Scottish door opener would be a Mc-Key.

Maria McKee - Show Me Heaven

For years I thought she sang "And make me breakfast" rather than "And leave me breathless".

Like Ron Swanson, I'd always rather have a good breakfast.

7. Multiple RIPs for Croce & King.

Jim Croce & Carole King...

The Jim Carroll Band - People Who Died

6. Lancashire goat audibly exhales over Ora prior to resurrection.

A Lancashire goat would be Billy from Preston.

Sigh, Rita.

Billy Preston & Syreeta - With You I'm Born Again

Forgotten how good that was.

5. Hairdresser of the century stays for the duration of Saturday Snapshots.

Former member of Haircut 100, Nick Heyward. Have I mentioned how I've met him? Have I? And what a nice man he was? Really?

Nick Heyward - Over The Weekend

Should've been a Number One. How could it fail with that video?

Oh, I would also have accepted...

Nick Heyward - On Sunday

4. Citizen Bronte splashes raw graffiti all over.

Citizen Kane meets Emily Bronte with the French "raw art" movement that finds beauty in graffiti.

Art Brut - Emily Kane 

3. This isn't the end, doofus... it's the bottom squeeze man!

The Squeeze man would be Chris Difford.

The bottom would be your rear.

Chris Rea - Fool (If You Think It's Over)

2. Frog joy, then... where it all kicks off.

"Frog joy, then" was an anagram.

It all kicks off in the centre of a playing field.

John Fogerty - Centrefield

1. Informal invitation to paradise.

Paradise is nirvana.

The informal invitation?



(Barry)more Saturday Snapshots next week...

Talky Songs #3: Somewhere Down The Crazy River

Another hot, summery talky song today... as the weather continues to defy expectations.


3. Robbie Robertson - Somewhere Down The Crazy River


Robbie Robertson's only solo hit was released in 1987 and I loved it so much I bought the 7". I was somewhat disappointed, on later buying the album, to find that the rest of the tracks weren't in the same vein. Indeed, this appears to be one of the only times Robertson has used his rich, gravelly voice in this way... rather than just doing that more straightforward "singing" stuff he was already famous for with The Band.


The rambling story features Robertson reminiscing about long summer nights spent in his hometown of Arkansas with fellow Band member Levon Helm. Apparently they used to go "fishing with dynamite"... and I'm not sure that's a metaphor. The video, directed by Martin Scorcese, features Robbie getting particularly smoochie towards the end with a young Maria McKee. Legend has it not much acting took place here.


For me, this song is as evocative of long summer nights as it is one of my childhood heroes: Huckleberry Finn. I have a special affection for Huck since playing him in a junior school play and the idea of Huck and Jim sailing down the Mississippi to freedom is extremely romantic. This song can't help but remind me of Moon River and the "Huckleberry Friend"... although the actual river is only a small part of the lyrics. But it's also a very sexy song in its own right too, dripping with the promise of hot summer nights and verging on innuendo in places. No wonder Robbie and Maria got a bit carried away in the video... although, to be frank, she can do a lot better for herself: he's old enough to be her dad!

Take a picture of this

The fields are empty, abandoned '59 Chevy

Laying in the back seat listening to Little Willie John

Yea, that's when time stood still

You know, I think I'm gonna go down to Madam X

And let her read my mind

She said, "That Voodoo stuff don't do nothing for me."

I always loved that last line above too, the tongue-twisting nature of it, emphasised by Robertson's laconic delivery. This is a great track to "talk along to", if you can approximate a half-decent southern accent. Which I can't. Not that that ever stopped me.