Hot 100 #65

What I like about this feature is that on a good week, you do all my work for me. Charity Chic even suggested this week's artist-related image - and a fine suggestion it is too. If you've never heard any Buck 65, I suggest you start with this.

There weren't many titular 65s out there... although I did discover a hitherto-unknown collaboration between Kurt Wagner & Josh Rouse called simply 65... which would have been a great fit if I'd discovered it in my own record collection, but I didn't. So I'm going to have to hunt that down now.

And then there was Dottie West - Route 65 to Nashville, which would have made a nice sequel to last week's post... had I owned it.

I was very tempted by Brian's suggestion of 65 Love Affair by Paul Davis... but sadly I don't even own a copy of that. I'll have to borrow Brian's limited edition gold vinyl copy sometime.

And finally - STOP THE PRESS! - a late entry from Deano in Australia (it takes a while for the pigeon to deliver his comments, and the poor bird has very tired wings)...

Louis Jordan - 65 Bars

Sadly I can't listen to that as I'm editing this on a computer with no sounds just moments before the post goes live... but it's Louis Jordan, so I'm sure it's ace, even though Dean tells us it's "quite different to the jump blues he was normally known for. Towards the latter end of his career he quite of genre hopped trying to latch onto the latest trends." I'll give it a spin when I get home tonight, I promise.

All of which left me only lyrical 65s to choose from this week. Luckily, you offered some fine examples...

Martin gave us one of the latter millennia listed in the lyrics of In The Year 2525 by Zager & Evans...

In the year 6565
Ain't gonna need no husband, won't need no wife.
You'll pick your sons, pick your daughters too
From the bottom of a long glass tube.

 

That could well happen long before 6565... some might argue we're already there.

Oh, and if you have a spare week, I highly recommend you go and have a go at Martin's pop crossword. But not until you've left a 64 suggestion for next week.

Martin also offered Metal Man by The Breeders...

I don't know how old I was
But it was a '65 pickup

The Swede then dug out his old Richard Hell & The Voidoids records and suggested... Liars Beware.

You were sixty-five when you wiggled out,

Your mind all twisted and your mom all shout, all shout, all shout

If you're 65 and your mum is still shouting at you, you need to ask yourself some serious questions.

Lynchie then came very close to winning this week's prize with two damned fine suggestions. Firstly, The Boston Rag by Steely Dan...

Back in nineteen sixty-five
I was singing this song
When Lonnie came alive

(I was rather tempted to buy a ticket to that new Steely Dan tour... even though it's only really Donald Fagen now... until I realised I'd have to take out a second mortgage to do so.)

And then Burning Down The House by Talking Heads...

Three hun-dred SIXTY FIVE de-grees
Burning down the house!

Finally, C resorted to the excellent tactic of "if all else fails, try Bowie" with 1984...

I'm looking for the treason that I knew in '65...

All great suggestions, but I have to give this week's prize to Rigid Digit for choosing my favourite song by (possibly - it's looking increasingly likely) my artist of the decade, someone who persuaded me (despite serious lack of funds) to buy my first gig ticket of the year last week...

So go ahead and love me while it's still a crime
And don't forget you could be laughing
65% more of the time
You could be laughing
63% more of the time
You could be laughing
25% more of the time

RD says, "I love the fact he goes into exponential regression at the end. Plus it gives me two more lyrical entries for future submissions."

And believe me, I love this song so much... it could well crop up again.

Next week: the $64,000 question will be... do I have to go Ringo? Or can I dodge that aging bullet? You may be able to help...