Snapshots #324: A Top Ten Reindeer Songs

Happy Christmas Eve!

Here are some Reindeer Songs...

10. Truck that took the late James Broad's indie power-pop band to gigs.

The late James Broad was the lead singer of the excellent Silver Sun, responsible for the loudest gig I ever attended. These guys though are the...

Silversun Pickups - Dots and Dashes (Enough Already)

And that's as close as I could get to a song about Dasher.

9. If we have a White Christmas, these ladies will have no problem getting around.

Sister Sledge - He's The Greatest Dancer

8. Go ahead, punk, make my day by giving me something that is helpful or beneficial.

Clint Eastwood said "Go ahead, punk..." Something that is helpful or beneficial is a boon.

The Clint Boon Experience - Comet Theme No. 1

7. Someone's sneaking round the corner. Could it be Mack...?

The Knife - Christmas Reindeer

6. Befuddled by Fat Hell.

"Fat Hell" is an anagram. That's Brix Smith fronting, not Mark E. As she does on this tune...

The Fall - Vixen 

5. A body of representatives.

The Delegation - Dance, Prance, Boogie

And that's as close as I could get to Prancer.

4. Award winning lady meets man of ash.

She won an Emmy. He's in Ash.

Emmy The Great & Tim Wheeler - Jesus The Reindeer

3. He made OK cameos.

Anagram!

Sam Cooke - Cupid

2. Hard to make out who it is.

Badly Drawn Boy - Donna & Blitzen

1. All these guys (and plenty more).

Clockwise from top right...

The Temptations - Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer

Chris Isaak - Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer

The Supremes - Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer

Don't forget to leave a carrot out for the reindeer tonight.

Saturday Snapshots #99: The Answers

Turns out there are quite a lot of pictures on the internet featuring Debbie Harry holding a camera. Others have featured here before, but I can't believe it's taken me 99 weeks to find this one.

I think it was a draw this week between Alyson and Lynchie. I'm sure Lynchie will tell me if that's not the case. Thank you for playing, as always.


10. Dustbin wagon brings the fire extinguisher - with an arrogant chat-up line.

There used to be a kid at our school who was particularly scruffy, so everybody called him "Dennis" because that's what it said in the front of the dustbin wagons.

Water, man, that's what puts out fires.

Dennis Waterman - I Could Be So Good For You

I never tire of watching this video. Especially the bit when he uses his charms on the policewoman. Ah, different times.

Oh, by the way. He may have sung the theme tune, but he didn't write it.

9. Wild stallions on Ms. Sod.

Too easy.

The Osmonds - Crazy Horses

8. Anarchist hippy dream of Greasy Yorke.

Sandy was the heroine of Grease.

Thom is a son of Yorke.

Sandi Thom - I Wish I Was A Punk Rocker (With Flowers In My Hair)

"I was born too late into a world that doesn't care..."

This song might not sound very cool to you, but the lyrics are more relevant than ever.

7. Neckline that goes well with socks. What new parents say to nursery.

V-neck, bobby socks.

Bobby Vee - Take Good Care Of My Baby

The vocal performance here is astonishing.

6. Beautiful chick.

Babybird - You're Gorgeous

5. Take a sad song and make it better - past time for tara.

The lyrics are from Hey Jude, written about this chap, apparently.

Julian Lennon - Too Late For Goodbyes

4. Cheers barman in our own country.

Woody was the barman in Cheers, obviously.

Woody Guthrie - This Land Is Your Land

3. Like 4; like Sinatra too (almost).

#4. Woody Guthrie, was a folksinger.

Sinatra was, of course, Frank.

That was a tough one. Congrats to Back From The Beach. I couldn't even find it on youtube, so I had to upload it myself.

Phranc - Folksinger

2. Downhill nun meets Fred Astaire.

Sister Sledge - He's The Greatest Dancer

1. Pop Sr. appalled by fly-tipping in the woods.

Still sends shivers down my spine, this song.



Next week: Saturday Snapshots #100. In case you couldn't work that out for yourself.

March #5: Frankie & Joni

5. Sister Sledge - Frankie

As I said earlier, my memory's not what it used to be. A lot of songs, they don't remind me of a specific incident in my life, but they do remind me of a feeling. Frankie by Sister Sledge reminds me of the summer of '85, when I'd just become a teenager. It was the perfect pop hit: sunshiny, doo-wop flavoured, finger-clicking, synchronised dancing joy. It was about young love in the summertime and here was I, a teenager at last, desperate to experience a little of that myself.

Of course, that didn't happen. There is the grey reality of most people's teenage years, most aptly summed up by Smiths songs, Heart's Alone and Jilted John (if you're lucky!)... and there is the Hollywood version we all aspire to. Frankie was part of the soundtrack to my Hollywood adolescence. You'd have loved that. I was played by Matthew Broderick, or maybe Michael J. Fox. And the summers went on forever...




Rest in peace, Joni Sledge. Thanks for the unreliable memories.

My Top Ten Frank Songs

Planning a Top Ten Frankenstein songs for Halloween, I was amazed to see how many great records there were about people called Frank. In fact, I could easily have filled a Top 20. The Monster will have to wait...


10. The Give It Ups - Let's Be Frank

A cool little indie pop song of the sort you didn't think they made anymore. Download it free and legal from the bandcamp link above.

(In case you're wondering, The Give It Ups narrowly beat The Monochrome Set onto this chart. It was an extremely close call.)

9. Longpigs - The Frank Sonata

It's a shame that the Longpigs are mostly remembered these days as "the band Richard Hawley played guitar in". They deserve far more recognition. Although god knows what's going on in this rather X-rated promo...

8. Cake - Frank Sinatra

You can't go wrong with a nice slice of Cake... in tribute to the greatest Frank ever?

And while we're on that subject...

7. Suzanne Vega - Frank & Ava

It's not enough to be in love.

6. Morrissey - Our Frank

In which it appears Morrissey has cut himself while shaving his eyebrows. These things happen.

Oh give us a drink
And make it quick
Or else I'm gonna be sick all over
Your frankly vulgar red pullover

See also Frankly, Mr. Shankly, of course.

5. Sister Sledge - Frankie

Few records take me back to 1985 like this one.

Do you remember me?

4. Simon & Garfunkel - So Long, Frank Lloyd Wright

Thanks to the kind person who posted this on youtube, I've just discovered the "true" (?) story behind this song. Apparently it was Paul Simon's farewell to Art Garfunkel (himself an architecture major at university).

So long, Frank Lloyd Wright
All of the night we've harmonised till dawn
I've never laughed so long

3. The Lemonheads - Frank Mills

Another Brooklyn resident, this Frank was in consideration for that Top Ten too. A cover, it turns out, of a song from the musical Hair.

He has golden chains on his leather jacket,
and on the back, are written the names Mary and Mom and Hell's Angels.
I would gratefully appreciate it if you see him,
tell him
I am in the park with my girlfriend,
and please tell him Angela and I
don't want the two dollars back, just him.

2. Bruce Springsteen - Highway Patrolman

In any other Top Ten, Bruce's tragic tale of two brothers on opposite sides of the law (one of whom is called Frank) would have been number one. See also Frankie.

1. Tom Waits - Frank's Wild Years

My favourite Tom Waits "song". If you've never heard it before, please take 1 minute 48 seconds to discover why Tom Waits is one of the best storytellers in the music industry...




Let's be Frank... what's your favourite Frank song?