Snapshots #452: Songs About Girl's Names Beginning With P

Patti Smith introduced our quiz yesterday. Polly Jean takes to the stage today.

Here are some more ladies whose name begins with P...

15. Seven Council Fires steal an idea from Bob Marley's band.

Seven Council Fires, or Oceti Šakówiŋ, refers to the Great Sioux Nation. Bob Marley had some Wailers - which is just what Banshees do.

Siouxsie And The Banshees - Dear Prudence

14. Champion... or Chumpion?

Wunderhorse - Poppy

13. What's with these homies dissin' my girl?

The opening line to Weezer's biggest hit...

Buddy Holly - Peggy Sue

12. What you might shout at a small Beatle.

Hey Paulette - I Really Do Love You, Penelope

11. A Pratt of the Toun.

Actor Chris Pratt goes to de Burgh.

Chris de Burgh - Patricia The Stripper

10. Not a lot of kids called this these days... he almost claims. 

You may recall a song we featured here a few weeks back about how there aren't many kids called Gary these days. It helps if you pay attention to the rest of this blog, not just the Snapshots.

Clail is almost a Claim.

Gary Clail & The On U-Sound System - Who Pays The Piper?

9. A way or an end... he's got a thing going on with the Mrs.

Howard's Way or Howard's End? Me and Mrs. Jones had a thing going on.

Howard Jones - Pearl In The Shell

8. PM's unruly airfares questioned.

"PM's unruly airfares" was an anagram.

Super Furry Animals - Hermann Loves Pauline

7. Could only eat half a cannibal.

Toto Coleo were known for eating Cannibals. These guys are half as good.

Toto - Pamela

6. Not named after Thomas, but some rocks off the coast of Cornwall.

It's Eddystone Lighthouse, if you want to be pedantic about it.

Edison Lighthouse - It's Up To You, Petula

5. Sounds like an appendage you don't want to stub - twice!

Men - try not to stub your cock-toe.

Cocteau Twins - Persephone 

...or you could have had...

Cocteau Twins - Pandora (for Cindy)

4. Piers is a Free Man.

Piers Morgan... or Morgan Freeman?

Morgan - Miss Parker

3. Good man makes a bullock of himself - let me die in your arms!

Len Goodman with his Ox.

"Let me die in your arms!" is a line from Annie's Song.

Annie Lennox - Precious

2. Ivan ran till he felt less confused.

"Ivan ran" was an anagram.

Nirvana - Polly

1. The Blair Rich Project. 

Lionel Blair gets Rich...ie.

Lionel Richie - Penny Lover

Incredibly, that is the first time Lionel Richie has ever appeared on Snapshots. I know - what's wrong with me!?

Hopefully you don't want Rid Of Me yet. If not, Snapshots will be back next week.

Fun Fact Friday #6: If I Had Words...

Here's another Friday brainteaser / time-waster for you, based on a quiz I compiled at work. It's about words from other languages... words we don't have a direct translation for in English, but we really ought to get one. Because each of these is an excellent word, and would be very useful.

Scott Fitzgerald & Yvonne Keeley - If I Had Words 

What do these words mean in English?

Let's start with one that I'm sure Walter will be familiar with...

1. What does the German word “Backpfeifengesicht” mean in English?

A) A face badly in need of a fist.

B) Looking backwards while walking forwards.

C) Snow that falls after Easter Sunday.

Super Furry Animals - The International Language of Screaming 

2. What does the Italian word “Slampadato” mean in English?

A) The orangey bronze glow that comes from being addicted to tanning salons.

B) The sound that’s made when you drop a sack of potatoes.

C) A car crash where nobody will accept responsibility.

Meat Loaf - You Took The Words Right Out Of My Mouth

3. What does the French phrase “Chanter en yaourt” mean in English?

A) Ordering yoghurt in a restaurant when it isn’t on the menu.

B) Racing to be first into a concert or gig, to get the best seat or place to stand.

C) Singing made-up words or sounds when you don’t know the lyrics to a song.

The Christians - Words

4. What does the Indonesian Word “Jayus” mean in English?

A) How you feel when the alarm goes off and you’ve been awake all night.

B) The happy feeling you get when you hear birds singing. 

C) A joke that is so unfunny or told so badly you just have to laugh.

Thin Lizzy - Don't Believe A Word

5. What does the Japanese phrase “Age-otori” mean in English?

A) Looking worse after a haircut.

B) Feeling really old when you enter a nightclub.

C) Missing the last bus and having to walk home in the rain. 

My Chemical Romance - Famous Last Words

6. What does the Finnish word “Hyppytyynytyydytys” mean in English?

A) Sleeping all through Sunday after a hectic Saturday night.

B) The pleasure derived from sitting or bouncing on a springy cushion.

C) Sneezing three times in a row.

Scritti Politti featuring Ranking Ann - The Word Girl

7. What does the Hawaiian word “Akihi” mean in English?

A) When you wake up in the morning and you’re not sure where you are.

B) When you go to another room, then can’t remember what you went there for.

C) When you ask someone for directions, walk away, then immediately forget what they said. 

Propaganda - Heaven Give Me Words

8. What does the Easter Island word “Tingo” mean in English?

A) The feeling you get when you suck on a lemon.

B) Borrowing items from a neighbour and not returning them, gradually stealing everything they own.

C) The smell that comes from someone who has fallen into a dung heap.

The Stylistics - Na Na Is The Saddest Word

9. What does the Tagalog word “Gigil” mean in English? (Tagalog is the national language of the Philippines.)

A) The feeling you get when you see something unbearably cute and want to squeeze it.

B) The feeling you get when you’ve climbed a huge mountain and immediately want to go back down.

C) The feeling you get when you want to do something quickly, but everything is going SLOW.

Cameo - Word Up

10. What does the Tulu word “Karelu” mean in English? (Tulu is one of 19,500 languages or dialects spoken in India.)

A) An insect whose bite is only cured by music.

B) A game in which you cover your eyes and have to guess who’s hit you.

C) The mark left on your skin from wearing something tight, such as jeans, socks, or a watch.

Teacher Songs #5: Punchline

There's an old joke which goes something like this...

I used to hate school. Every morning, my mum would try to wake me up and get me out of bed, and I'd weep and wail and gnash my teeth and sob, "but Mum, I don't want to go - all the kids are horrible to me! They call me names and spit in my lunch and knock me over in the corridor... it's awful!"

And my mum would sit on the edge of my bed and take my hand in hers, offering these gentle words of persuasion, "Look, we've talked about this before, son. You've got to go... you're the teacher!"

It's a cracker, as Frank Carson would say. And such a good joke that the Super Furry Animals turned it into a song...

Snapshots #368 - A Top Ten Mythical Creature Songs

I didn't really know what to call this week's Top Ten, and I only really settled on "Mythical Creatures" under protest... since clearly everyone knows Bigfoot isn't a myth. 

Apologies, all you sceptics, but I'm 100% Fox Mulder: I want to believe. The alternative is a much more boring world.

Anyway, here are ten songs about creatures I'm willing to be convinced are just as real as you or I...

10. Half a dozen English immigrants.

New Colony Six - Ballad Of The Wingbat Marmaduke (Elf Song)

OK, I'm not saying I believed in Wingbat Marmadukes... but Elves, why not?

9. Bony Beth.

Thin Lizzy - Banshee

8. Blackburn / Ely Riot.

Tony Blackburn and Joe Ely get involved in a White Riot.

Tony Joe White - Even Trolls Love Rock 'n' Roll

7. 15/3.

The 15th of March is the Ides...

Ides Of March - Ogre

6. Influential director and blinking bloke. 

An Auteur and a bloke known for his Rapid Eye Movement...

Luke Haines & Peter Buck - Last of the Legendary Bigfoot Hunters

5. Third Netflix Queen just might...

Three actresses played The Queen on Netflix, the third being Imelda Staunton. 

Imelda May - Little Pixie

4. Conservative Councillor. 

He was in a Conserve (Jam) and also a Council (Style).

Paul Weller - Mermaids

3. They'll give you the hump.

Camel - Sasquatch

2. Logic, Radiator, Guerilla.

Their first three albums were Fuzzy Logic, Radiator and Guerilla...

Super Furry Animals - Hometown Unicorn

...and I would have accepted...

Super Furry Animals - Chupacabras

1. Ya ba dibba dibba dibba dibba dibba dibba dum.

That's the chorus of If I Were A Richman, of course...

Again, two answers would have been acceptable. Firstly, this...

Jonathan Richman & The Modern Lovers - Rockin' Rockin' Leprechauns

And, more obviously, this...

Jonathan Richman & The Modern Lovers - Abominable Snowman In The Supermarket

Hard to believe, I know, but Saturday Snapshots will return next week...

Snapshots #322: A Top Ten Demon Songs

Hopefully you weren't possessed by the puzzle of yesterday's Snapshots. If you were, allow me to exorcise those demons...

10. Posh London hotel in Mick's Sugar.

Mick sang about Brown Sugar. The posh hotel is the Savoy.

Savoy Brown - Denim Demon

9. Dan dares to fight them.

Dan Dare fought the Mekon.

The Mekons - Calling All Demons

Or...

The Mekons - Demon Horns

8. Tearful Trout.

An Emotional Fish - That Demon Jive

7. Gets her gun, then puts it in a small enclosure affording privacy for one person at a time.

Annie gets her gun and takes it to a booth.

Annie Booth - Demons

6. The Black Hole, Jackie Brown, Breaking Bad.

Three films / TV shows that featured performances by the American actor Robert Forster. This is his namesake from the Go Betweens...

Robert Forster - Demon Days

5. American parade in black & white, with fluctuating weight bloke (not pictured).

The Macy's Parade goes Gray, with a slim fatboy.

Fatboy Slim featuring Macy Gray - Demons

4. Magnificent mammals.

Super Furry Animals - Demons

3. Poe's first musical group got smuggled aboard.

The band belonging to Edgar Allen Poe gets brought on board.

Edgar Broughton Band - Out, Demons, Out

A Top 40 hit (just!) in 1970.

2. Milk, butter, marzipan.

All can be made from Almonds.

Marc Almond - Demon Lover

1. Our Sat quiz: always here to turn you around.

"Our Sat quiz" was an anagram for...

Suzi Quatro - Daytona Demon

Be a demon and join me again next Saturday...

Snapshots #288: A Top Ten Weekend Songs

This gentleman is The Weeknd. I can't pretend to be familiar with his work, but I do know that the French don't have a word for him. Here are ten songs that have nothing to do with him...

10. Most of a Slayer meets Sky Saxon's mob.

Most of Buffy the Vampire Slayer would be Buff.

Sky Saxon was in The Seeds.

The Buffseeds - Who Stole The Weekend?

9. Shorter than the King of Pop.

The King of Pop was Michael Jackson. This is Mick Jackson, who coincidentally wrote Blame It On The Boogie which was then a big hit for his slightly longer namesake. 

Mick Jackson - Weekend 

8. Alias Gibson & Basinger.

Mel Gibson & Kim Basinger never made a movie together or this clue would have been a lot cleverer.

Mel & Kim - Showing Out (Get Fresh At the Weekend)

7. He'll never be an old guy.

He'll always be a new gent.

Ted Nugent - Weekend Warriors

6. They'll have you fuming.

The Vapors - Waiting For The Weekend

5. Great minds thought alike in the summer of '96.

In the summer of 1996, there were two big chart hits with (virtually) the same title...

Super Furry Animals - Something 4 The Weekend

The Divine Comedy - Something For The Weekend

4. It's less titchy when you shake it about a bit.

"It's less titchy" was an anagram. Shake it around a bit and you get...

The Stylistics - Funky Weekend

3. Hyacinth Bouquet's favourite band.

Flowered up - Weekender

2. Discontinued chocolate bars.

Sadly, they don't make Drifters anymore.

The Drifters - Another Lonely Weekend 

Or you could have had...

The Drifters - Don't Cry On The Weekend

1. Coolly, Del makes lots of noise.

Anagram + a right commotion...

Lloyd Cole & The Commotions - Lost Weekend

More of the same next weekend...