After all these years of myth-making, the TV show, the family, the self-mockery and the colossal caricature (not to mention biting the head off that bat), I readily accept that there are two types of people who know much more about Ozzy than I ever will: the dedicated heavy rock fans (I dabble, but I'm not a connoisseur) and those who know very little about music at all... but just enjoyed the Show. (And by that, I don't just mean The Osbornes.)
I'll let you in on a little secret through... whenever I come across an old Ozzy track I've not heard before, like the one above, I dig it. Because I've always had a soft spot for metal that isn't too metal. Really, it's just pop music with louder guitars.
If nothing else, Ozzy was a Show. And beyond that, he was the very best kind of rock star: one who never took himself too seriously... or at all seriously. That's the way he came across to me, anyway.
As is customary in this feature, I went looking for songs that might mention the dearly departed. And only then did I realise just how far Ozzy's influence stretches... and how much bigger he was in the States than in his home country. As you'd expect, some of these songs are quite loud...
And while I'm pretty sure this reggae hit from the 70s wasn't about The Prince of Darkness... it would be nice to imagine he might have been an influence.
When it came to choosing my favourite Ozzy tribute song though, there was no contest. Especially as the lead singer of this band once left a comment on my blog. Here's B4S with a song about the passing of time, and all its sickening crimes...
Film critic Pauline Kael said of Cary Grant that "men wanted to be him
and women dreamed of dating him". The actor’s typically self-deprecating response
to this was, "Everyone wants to be Cary Grant—even I want to be Cary
Grant". It seems Cary Grant was a screen persona that Archibald Leach
became increasingly comfortable playing in real life as the years went by... with
a sly wink and an arched eyebrow.
Lyrical references to Mr. Grant broadly fall into four
categories then.
My baby’s kind of fond of Cary Grant
I tried to act like him, but I just can’t
And I don’t need my name on some marquee
But that’s the kind of man I wanna be
All day, all night, Cary Grant
That’s all I hear from my wife, is Cary Grant
What can he do that I can’t?
Big deal, big star, Cary Grant
Allan Sherman seems to have come back from Camp Granada rather
obsessed with Cary Grant. He mentions him in three or four other songs too. Go
find them yourselves though, I’ve done enough for you this week.
Elle se serre tout contre moi
Je me crois au cinema
Je me prends pour Cary Grant
Et puis on eteint la lampe
Which roughly translates as…
She hugs me tight
I believe myself in the cinema
I take myself for Cary Grant
And then we turn off the lamp
Finally in this category, we have Ray Davies, so enamoured
of Cary that he’s going to use him to create an artificial man.
Tell it to the people all across the land
We’re going to build an artificial man
With the physique of a Tarzan
And the profile of Cary Grant
Superior beings being totally made by hand
Throw out imperfection
Mould you section by section
Gonna make you the ultimate creation
When we go walking along the river
Watch the old men fishing the sunny side of the pier
It’s like a movie and you’re my leading man
The way you woo me, just like Cary Grant
Your talk you learned from great actors
The classics, the best
Your fancy yourself Humphrey Bogart or Cary Grant
Can I hear you? Yes, I can
But you’re not making any sense
I fell in love with the girl on the screen
Just me and Kate
For two hours tonight
We’ll orbit the earth like a satellite
I’m Cary Grant
She’s Sophia Loren
A dozen roses on the table
Wither in a week or two at most
From Cary Grant to Clark Gable
Every rose gives up the ghost
And here’s another lockdown song, from a singer who should
not be confused with the Free and Bad Company bloke, because he had a ‘d’ in
his name. Anyway, this Paul learned a lot during the pandemic...
Did you know that Cary Grant never won an Oscar?
And Paul McCartney wrote “The Fool On The Hill” alone?
I seen people playing poker, making million dollar bets
I’ve seen rednecks raising tigers just for pets
It’s a fact that Cary Grant never won an Oscar for any one
film, only receiving an honorary award after he’d retired from acting in the
late 60s. Which, frankly, is a scandal. As to The Fool On The Hill, I'll let Alyson tell you more about that.
Today a new sun rises
Look in the mirror, there’s no surprises
Things ain’t what they used to be
Cary Grant’s on LSD
Doctors began treating Cary Grant with LSD in the late 50s
in an effort to “make him feel better about himself and rid of all of his inner
turmoil stemming from his childhood and his failed relationships”. And you
think you’ve got it bad. In later years, he world remark, “taking LSD was an
utterly foolish thing to do, but I was a self-opinionated boor, hiding all
kinds of layers and defences, hypocrisy and vanity.” In my head, I can hear him
saying that.
Punk from the other side of the pond now, though they sound like The Pogues...
“A penny for your thoughts,” he says
As he swiftly slips from bed to bed
And the thoughtful ones are charmed by him
And the sexy ones turned on by him
And he’s knighted by Casanova’s kin
And his ladies would never turn on him
‘Cause he’s the Cary Grant of the party kings
And the playboy of your wildest dreams
Followed that with a great band name – Highly Suspect. This
song has an opening line deserving of the Misanthropes’ Hall of Fame, but it
settles down after that…
There's a Cary Grant obituary looking just like me
An eight track tape that taught me we all got to be free
Birthdays cards and get well cards and playing cards, no joker
Books on Greek Philosophy and how to win at Poker
An urn that holds the ashes of my guinea pig, Alfredo
A classic meatball sandwich topped with sweet heirloom tomato
And a penultimate word from our favourite Star Wars fanboy “Geek Rock”
band Nerf Herder…
Celebrities, they come and go
One day you’re Cary Grant
And the next you’re Scott Baio
Note so self: got to do a Scott Baio entry here very soon.
However, I think my favourite tune today comes from a band
I’d rather forgotten about. Luna were the brainchild of former Galaxie 500
frontman Dean Wareham. Rolling Stone called them “the best band you’ve never
heard of”…
And at the weekly meeting of anonymous cads
You shuffle your feet and whistle out loud
Listen to what they’re saying – what a load of crap!
You ain’t no Cary Grant
But then again, who is?
There are loads of song that mention other singers (solo artists) in their titles. I'm sure we'll have a Snapshots or two that will connect some of them in the future. But I had a devil of a time finding songs that mention other bands in the title. Well done if you worked out the connections, although hopefully the extra photos helped... and a late night / early morning guest appearance from Brian to get the ball rolling.
There are some cultural icons who will never / can never / should never die. For my generation, and the one before it (and many of those who followed), they are our living legends.
I already posted one Top Ten today, but I guess that's lost to history now. There are some I have to write - and post - immediately. It's only logical.
RIP Leonard Nimoy. Live long and prosper in our memories. I have been, and always shall be, your friend.
Let's start with the man himself, and possibly his most infamous musical moment. Derided in some quarters but still more watchable (shorter, at least) than any of the Peter Jackson movies. It's not the best song he ever recorded - he does a really nice version of Ruby, Don't Take Your Love To Town that's almost up to Kenny Rogers' standards - but the video is out of this world.
It seems only fair that having heard from the great man himself, we also hear from this guy. I'm of the opinion that Shatner has recorded a great many fine records (don't worry, I'm on tablets), but this seemed most appropriate today...
Live life like you're gonna die... Because you're gonna!
If you try to knock me, you'll get mocked
I'll stir fry you in my wok
Your knees'll start shaking and your fingers pop
Like a pinch on the neck of Mr. Spock
Well, it had to be, didn't it? In the end, it was the only logical choice.
When I was young, it seemed that life was so wonderful, A miracle, Oh it was beautiful, magical.
And all the birds in the trees, Well they'd be singing so happily,
Joyfully, playfully watching me.
But then they send me away to teach me how to be sensible,
Logical, responsible, practical.
And they showed me a world where I could be so dependable,
Clinical, intellectual, cynical.
Those were my Spock songs. Which is the logical choice for you?
