Hot 100 #22

The 22-20s! Remember them? Say yes, and I promise not to use them again in two weeks' time.

This is what they sounded like.

Welcome back. You know the drill. Songs with 22 in it. Remember that the Lime Green Rule now applies. Titles only, no more lyrical mentions. Unless I really, really like them.

Martin was first up this week, with a right old list...

Paul Weller - 22 Dreams

The Moody Blues - 220,000 Days

Sting and Shaggy - 22nd Street (if nothing else, it'll irk the muso's, right?)

Martin! And I thought  I had no shame!

How the mighty have fallen. What was Shaggy thinking?

The Flaming Lips - When Yer 22

That was on my list.

Golden Smog - 5-22-02 

That should have been.

Ariane Moffatt - 22h22 (double whammy!)

New to me. I'm presuming she's not related to Adrian Moffat?

Iron Maiden - 22 Acacia Avenue  (I'd better stop there)

No, you should have stopped before you got to Sting. As should Shaggy.

Hang on, though, here's Rigid Digit to second your suggestion - with added info...

...the second song of the "Charlotte Saga" (Charlotte The Harlot / 22 Acacia Avenue / Hooks In You / From Here To Eternity).
The first two are Charlotte songs, the last two are a bit tenuous but still considered part of the ongoing story.

Fair enough. If we're going metal this week... here's my contribution.

Queensrÿche - Waiting For 22

Martin, meanwhile, had one more point to make:

And more songs called Catch-22 than you can shake a stick at.

You'd think so, wouldn't you? Although I could only find two. This one...

Pink - Catch 22

And this one from Douglas...

Erasure would be my go-to for one of the plethora of "Catch 22" songs. I left the Erasure train long before 2000's "Loveboat" album.

Erasure - Catch 22

While we're with Douglas, what else did he have to offer?

Norah Jones - She's 22  Sad, if you listen to the lyrics.

She's twenty two

And she's loving you

And you'll never know how it makes me blue

Does it make you happy?

But the real pick of the lot would be my Can-Con contribution ("Canadian Content", for those outside my home country, a term coined decades ago by government regulators of our airwaves to protect our ears from over-Americanization). How about the obscure and experimental b-side by Martha and the Muffins called "22 in Cincinnati"? Very moody, that one.

Martha & The Muffins - 22 in Cincinatti

That's just weird. Is that a purring cat in the middle? (Amazingly Jim in Dubai seconded that rather obscure choice.) Still, we like weird here. That's why we keep The Swede around. Here he is with this week's even weirder selections...

'Room Twenty Two', a dubwise selection from the marvellous 'Black Market Meets Mired & Wise Owl in​ the Twilight Zone'.

Black Market Meets Mired & Wise Owl in​.​.​. THE TWILIGHT ZONE - Room 22

Thank you, Swede. I never thought I'd hear The Twilight Zone theme tune gone reggae. Anything else?

The Album Leaf - Twentytwo Fourteen a quite lovely instrumental.

Cheers, as always, Swede.

Oh, hang on. Douglas isn't done yet.

Oh, and if we're getting lax about the Lime Green Rule now, what about the iconic opening lines of Billy Bragg's "A New England". A Classic, that one, though I suspect Billy's a bit older than 22 now.

It's worth pointing out that Billy Bragg is the easy way round most rules and regulations, lime green or otherwise.

Billy Bragg - A New England

I was twenty one years when I wrote this song

I'm twenty two now, but I won't be for long

People ask when will you grow up to be a man

But all the girls I loved at school

Are already pushing prams

The irony, of course, is that as of last week, we do have a new England (and Scotland, Wales & Northern Ireland). Sadly, not the one Billy wanted though.

Of course, if we're playing that, we also have to play this...

Kirsty MacColl - A New England

And this, the place Billy stole those lines from...

Simon & Garfunkel - The Leaves That Are Green

I was twenty-one years when I wrote this song

I'm twenty-two now but I won't be for long

Time hurries on

And the leaves that are green

Turn to brown

OK, we've got all those out of the way now. Fine tunes each one, but we won't be revisiting them next week. Just in case you were tempted.

Lynchie's up next, with a track that's probably the inspiration for the band at the top of the page.

Skip James - 22 20 Blues He plays piano instead of guitar on this track.

Oh, but he's not done there. Still looking to irk the ref (Charity Chic) by flouting the Lime Green Rule...

If it wasn't for the lime green rule, I'd have gone for the awesome... 

Neil Young - Powderfinger

Daddy's gone, my brother's out hunting in the mountains

Big John's been drinking since the river took Emmy Lou

So the powers that be left me here to do all the thinking

And I just turned twenty-two

I was wondering what to do

And the closer they got,

The more those feelings grew...

Don't worry, Neil. As has already been pointed out above, you won't be 22 for long.

Back to Rigid Digit, who has another suggestion from my own shortlist...

Lily Allen - 22

When she was 22 the future looked bright

But she's nearly 30 now and she's out every night

I see that look in her face, she's got that look in her eye

She's thinking how did I get here and wondering why

It's sad but it's true how society says her life is already over

There's nothing to do and there's nothing to say

'Til the man of her dreams comes along

Picks her up and puts her over his shoulder

It seems so unlikely in this day and age

She's got an alright job but it's not a career

Whenever she thinks about it, it brings her to tears

'Cause all she wants is a boyfriend, she gets one night stands

She's thinking how did I get here, I'm doing all that I can

And while we're in that area, I'm surprised nobody suggested this...

Taylor Swift - 22

She may have gone a bit mental in recent years, but she can definitely crack out a fine pop song from time to time.

Almost at the end of your suggestions, and it's a welcome return from Swiss Adam...

Moon Duo - Stumbling 22nd Street

...which turns out to be a fine old racket. Thanks for that, SA.

OK, let's scrape the barrel of my hard drive...

Travis - 1922

Styx - 22 Years

That's better than you think it will be.

Kelis - 22nd Century

Babes In Toyland - 22

Night Beds - 22

The Divine Comedy - 22nd of February

Monkey Swallows The Universe - 22

Much missed, Monkey Swallows The Universe.

Roy Orbison - 22 Days

BMX Bandits - 4 Minutes 22

(Which is actually 2 minutes 23, just to be awkward.)

All of which leaves of with just two final suggestions. The first comes from C, who's been biding her time, waiting to suggest this one...

The Rakes - 22 Grand Job

I wonder what an entry-level job in London pays 15 years later?

The Rakes almost clinched it too. Until Jim in Dubai played his trump card... and knocked all the other fish out of the water.

The Man from Delmonte - Drive Drive Drive (22 And Still in Love With You)

Well, I never liked your politics

Never read your books

Our only common interests were...

Your looks

What can I say to that, other than the rather obvious... YES! What a great tune.



Next week, just like Benjamin Button, we slip back from 22 to 21. Key to the door, anyone?