This is Sam's last day at Junior School. Over the past few weeks, since finishing his SATs, he's been taking part in sporting tournaments, excelling in the school play, and visiting the High School for a transition day. This time last year, the idea of moving up to the big school was starting to fill him with some trepidation, but recently we've seen that change... like he's ready for it now, like he's outgrown his Junior School and has begun to see it as too small for him, too young.
Of course, he's 11 going on 16, so it's becoming increasingly difficult to know how he really feels about anything. He doesn't wear his heart on his sleeve anymore, like little kids do. He's starting to keep his thoughts and emotions inside, and you need a crowbar to get them out.
How do I feel about all this? The predictable blend of joy and melancholy. My little boy is growing up, becoming more independent, moving on in his life... and I want to celebrate that with him. But I also want him to stay little forever. For all the obvious reasons.
I'm reminded of the poem Walking Away by Cecil Day Lewis (yes, Daniel's dad). And, as always at times like this, I'm reminded of Brad Paisley's best song...
Superman used to represent "Truth, Justice, and the American Way"... but many are questioning whether that's still relevant, and the press have put that point to the new movie's director, James Gunn, a man who has clashed with Donald Trump in the past.
“I mean, Superman is the story of America,” Gunn says. “An immigrant that came from other places and populated the country, but for me it is mostly a story that says basic human kindness is a value and is something we have lost.”
Superman has also been called a "strange visitor from another planet", that planet being, of course, Krypton. I couldn't find any songs named after Kal El's home planet, but there were quite a few that mention its most famous (and deadly) mineral...
No: where he's from doesn't matter. At his best, Superman is an example to us all. To be better people. I'm not even a big Superman fan - I much prefer Spidey or Bats. But when he's done right, I still appreciate the moral to his story.
We closed Monday's collection of Superman songs with a track by Cinerama. Comic book fan David Gedge also used the name of the most bizarre Superman foe as the title of his other band's second album: Bizarro by The Wedding Present. Sadly, he never wrote a song about Bizarro... but these guys did...
Klark Kent was an alias for Stewart Copeland of The Police, recording a song that Sting didn't want for the day job. John says, "Stewart Copeland’s debut album Klark Kent was a belter."
Clark Kent works for a newspaper called The Daily Planet. On Saturday we featured a song by the title by Arthur Lee & Love. Here's another one...
Weird coincidence department: all the bands I could find who wrote a song about Lois Lane (along with Sunday's Franz Ferdinand) began with the letter F.
But Lois wasn't Clark's first love though. That title would go to...
And he even had a fling with a mermaid once. Her name? Lori Lemaris. Can you spot a pattern here?
Not everybody with the initials LL loves Superman though. Let's not forget his arch enemy, Lex Luthor, a man who's jealousy of Superman might yet be explained that nobody has ever written a decent pop song in his honour...
That was the best I could come up with, with the wrong spelling... and he's not even a doctor! No wonder he's such a bitter, twisted sociopath...
Luthor isn't Superman's only foe. We mentioned Bizarro earlier, and Braniac earlier in the week. Then there's the Kryptonian supervillain memorably played by Terence Stamp in Superman 2, General Zod...
George might object to this one from 196? as they're only Gary's backing band... but I'm guessing when he listens to the actual tune, it'll be this week's winner. Who can resist a song called "Squidgy Bod"?
American garage band from the 60s found on an old acetate with no label. The people who profiteered by shoving it on a compilation made up the name Wombats to have something to call them. Who knows what they were really called? (Maybe Ernie does.)
Took me a while to track down some audio for these guys, but I'm sure you'll agree that my persistence paid off. Chicago Wombats from 1996... brothers Kevin and Kegham Giragosian still play music today, as 60s tribute act The Neverly Brothers.
Liverpudlian indie band formed during the Landfill Era (2003) yet still kicking around today, presumably delivering nostalgia to the Millennials. Most famous for their bouncy song about Joy Division (which I'm sure all true Joy Division fans hate), though I tend to be more fond of their slightly misanthropic later work...
But who cares what I think. Here are some more tunes!
When it came to compiling a post about Superman songs, there were hundreds to choose from, so a Spillover seemed inevitable. Starting with a couple which would have made this weekend's link far too obvious. From the sublime...
