Snapshots #410: Songs Without Words In The Title

I thought about calling this collection: Songs With Nonsense titles. But some of them aren't strictly nonsense, they're just not words you'd find in the dictionary. (Watches all the pedants run to find their dictionaries.) Call them what you want, here are fifteen songs with no actual words in their titles...

15. Adrian - SOS! What a kerfuffle.

"Adrian - SOS" was an anagram.

Diana Ross - DoobeDood'nDoobe, DoobeDood'nDoobe, DoobeDood'nDoo

14. Come in, Spanish lads.

"Venga" means "come" in Spanish.

The Vengaboys - Shalala Lala

And if you recognised the Vengaboys from the photo, hang your head in shame. Until yesterday. I thought they were all boys!

13. Office David climbs Ronnie.

David Brent was in The Office. If he climbed Ronnie Wood, he'd be...

Brenton Wood - The Oogum Boogum Song

12. Like Beck, almost.

Beck's surname is Hansen.

Hanson - Mmmbop

Look - they grew up!

11. Sorry, Bono I... no, I can't complete that sentence.

"Sorry, Bono I" was an anagram. I have nothing to apologise to Bono for.

Roy Orbison - Ooby Dooby

I like his backing band in that video.

10. Senior officer required to take care of this boil.

A Major is a senior officer. You lance a boil, but only under medical supervision.

Major Lance - Um Um Um Um Um

9. Tony Stark: lepidopterist.

Tony Stark is Iron Man. A lepidopterist collects butterflies.

Iron Butterfly - In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida

Why couldn't they have just called it In The Garden Of Eden?

8. Asking for them is an insult to the chef.

Salt-N-Pepa - Shoop

7. Primal Scream headspinner.

Bobby Gillespie is in Primal Scream.

Dizzy Gillespie - Ooh Bop Sh’bam

6. High Street Chemist rebrands itself as discotheque.

Extra marks if you recognised these guys, with a song that shares a title with the one above... but not much else.

Boots For Dancing - Ooh Bop Sh'Bam

5. Raunchy paperbacks.

Black Lace - Agadoo

I had to get Black Lace in here one day. The fact that they appear on the same weekend as the Vengaboys... well, clearly I have no shame.

18 million youtube views can be wrong!

4. Sheeran's market stall.

Ed Sells!

The Edsels - Rama Lama Ding Dong

3. A can of beans or... some Nescafé and ice.

In the REM song The Sidewinder Sleeps Tonite, Michael Stipe sings, "A can of beans or black-eyed peas, some Nescafé and ice." But you knew that.

Black Eyed Peas - Dum Diddly

2. In the beginning, he had a kit.

In Genesis, he has a drum kit.

Phil Collins - Sussudio

Phil Collins revealed that "Sussudio" was just some nonsense he made up.

To which we replied, "So's the rest of your back catalogue, Phil!"

1. Bilinguals revolt when they hear his name.

"Bilinguals revolt" was an anagram.

Gilbert O'Sullivan - Ooh Wakka Doo Wakka Day

Ooga shaka ooga shaka ooga shaka back in here next Saturday for more shoobedebopbopbop.

Saturday Snapshots #410

Cracking Snapshots, Gromit!

Below are 15 celebrities of the popular music world.

Who are they, and how are their songs connected?

15. Adrian - SOS! What a kerfuffle.

14. Come in, Spanish lads.

13. Office David climbs Ronnie.

12. Like Beck, almost.

11. Sorry, Bono I... no, I can't complete that sentence.

10. Senior officer required to take care of this boil.

9. Tony Stark: lepidopterist.

8. Asking for them is an insult to the chef.

7. Primal Scream headspinner.

6. High Street Chemist rebrands itself as discotheque.

5. Raunchy paperbacks.

4. Sheeran's market stall.

3. A can of beans or... some Nescafé and ice.

2. In the beginning, he had a kit.

1. Bilinguals revolt when they hear his name.

If you ended up in the Wrong Trousers, you will find the Right ones here tomorrow morning...

Listening Post #37: This Year

Very tired.

So very, very tired.

End of the fifth week of the summer holidays and this has been the most exhausting one yet.

Wish I could just lie under that willow tree and watch the house martens swooping overhead for the next week. But that is not to be.

I take heart in the words of John Darnielle and his Mountain Goats...

I'm gonna make it through this year

If it kills me

Snapshots Spillover: More Coat Songs

Should have posted these on Monday, but other business took precedent. Some more songs that were left in the Snapshots cloakroom after last weekend...

Dan Bern - Hoody

Black - Her Coat And No Knickers

Gorky's Zygotic Mynci - When You Laugh at Your Own Garden in a Blazer 

Glenn Miller - Tuxedo Junction

David Bowie - Sell Me A Coat

Another Sunny Day - Anorak City

Cake - Short Skirt / Long Jacket

Luke Haines - Bomber Jacket

Luke Kelly - Raglan Road

Dolly Parton - Coat Of Many Colours

And yes, that's why Jason Donovan was the picture clue on Saturday...

Jason Donovan - Any Dream Will Do

See also...

Quicksilver Messenger Service - Joseph's Coat

Speaking of colourful coats (beyond the famous blue one)... do any of these take your fancy?

Philip Jeays - In My Long Grey Coat

Bob Dylan - Man In The Long Black Coat

A. Savage - My New Green Coat

Bubblegum Lemonade - Famous Blue Anorak 

Lloyd Arnold - Red Coat, Green Pants & Red Suede Shoes

New Model Army - White Coats

Red Hewitt &The Buccaneers - The Girl In The Teddy Bear Coat

And here are some to protect you from the elements...

E - My Old Raincoat

Josh Ritter - Rainslicker

Ariel Pink - Plastic Raincoats In The Pig Parade

The Sprites - Winter Coat

Benjamin Shaw - Goodbye, Kagoul World

Guy Clark - Like A Coat From The Cold

REM - Harborcoat

And before we go, a brief exchange between Eliza and Cat.

Eliza Gilkyson - Take Off Your Old Coat

Cat Power - The Coat Is Always On

That's her told. 

Finally then, a brief word from JOhn...

John Cooper Clarke - Gaberdine Angus

Not really a song, that last one, but maybe the man in the Gaberdine coat was a spy...

Celebrity Jukebox #54 (Redux): Terence Stamp

When I began the Celebrity Jukebox, it wasn't just for celebs who had passed away. Living legends were also featured. Nowadays though, it's just a place to celebrate those who have left us. Sadly, this means I now have to revisit this edition from 2022. Rest in peace, General...

“Kneel before Zod!”

For most of my generation, our first encounter with Terence Stamp was as the evil General Zod in Superman II. The Grauniad called him “the master of the brooding silence”, and he certainly sent shivers down my spine. Gene Hackman’s Lex Luthor was a pussycat in comparison.

I was surprised General Zod didn’t get referenced all over the place, but only Eminem (who’s the same age as me) was prepared to kneel before him.

Eminem – Rap God

Terence Stamp had been around for a couple of decades by the time he played that memorable supervillain, making his screen debut in the movie Billy Budd, an Oscar-nominated performance that obviously made some impact on a young Steven Patrick Morrissey…

Morrissey – Billy Budd

Morrissey also used an image of Stamp in The Collector as the cover of the third Smiths single, What Difference Does It Make? 

Stamp originally refused permission for the picture to be used, but relented in the end… possibly after he’d seen Morrissey’s alternative.

Pete Townshend from The Who has a younger brother called Simon who has occasionally play with big bro’s band, as well as ploughing his own lonely solo furrow. Here he is with a track called Highness, which begins thus…

I am what I am
I just happen to be related to the king

…before named dropping Bowie, Eddie Vedder and Rod Stewart, as well as… yes, you guessed it, Terence Stamp.

Simon Townshend – Highness

48 Cameras are described on their bandcamp page as “Collectif international à géométrie variable”, which means they come from all over the place, but mostly Belgium. This is from their 2006 release After All, Isn’t Tango The Dance of the Drunk Man? It sounds like an orchestra tuning up to me, but what do I know? It's probably art.

48 Cameras – Terence Stamp For A Time

The biggest Terence Stamp fan I could find in the pop world was Adam Ant. He namedrops Terry twice, mostly recently here…

Adam Ant – Punkyoungirl

Punky young girl needs a Terence Stamp
Perfect at swinging sixties vamp

And on this memorable b-side in which Stuart Goddard claims to be friends with everybody from Mister Pastry to Jim Morrison to Arthur Askey, and…

I’m a friend of Stevie Wonder
I’m a friend of Eric Fromm
I’m a friend of Bryan Ferry
I’m a friend of Terence Stamp

Adam & The Ants - Friends

Almost at the end now, and a reminder from Philadelphia’s Bill Ricchini…

Bill Ricchini – Julie Christie

You look just like Julie Christie
And I feel just like Terry Stamp

A reminder that Terry and Julie went together. They met at Waterloo Station, every Friday night...

Namesakes #151: The Soul Searchers

George is back, with the much-anticipated sequel to not only last week's post on The Searchers but also his previous Soul Seekers Namesakes... all this enables me to sit back on my deck chair and enjoy the summer. Thank you, George.

After the roaring success of the Soul Seekers edition of this series, it came as no surprise to be invited back to contribute another article, obviously to boost Rol’s flagging readership. I think it is highly likely that today will feature a plethora of soul and gospel groups, which is No Bad Thing, of course.

THE SOUL SEARCHERS #1

Our first group were label-mates of Bill Withers, and the leading member was Chuck Brown (and were sometimes known as Chuck Brown and the Soul Searchers, probably to distinguish them from the 209 other Soul Searchers groups). But the record cover says Soul Searchers, otherwise they would not feature here. I would classify their music as funk-soul.

The Soul Searchers - Think

THE SOUL SEARCHERS #2

Gospel now, from a Grammy-nominated Soul Searchers, who used the name of lead singer Troy Ramey in their title from the third album on. Hence a track from the first or second album (because I believe in sticking to the rules, Rol). 

Rules, schmoolz.

And for $9 plus your VAT, from Bandcamp this album could be yours...

The Soul Searchers - I'm On My Way to Heaven Anyhow

THE SOUL SEARCHERS #3

Bandcamp again, not for the NuMichiganSoulSeachers of course, but for this lot from Gig Harbor, Washington...

The Soul Searchers - Mellow Morning

They seem to have given up after this track. Not sure what genre this is, lo-fi indie? Plinky-hesitant-noodling indie? 

I'm not sure, but I'm impressed that they count among their members both Dylan Thomas and Geoffrey Hughes.

If Wade Washington was not so egotistical, his group would have been next...

What, you mean this dude?

THE SOUL SEARCHERS #4

Jake Wade & The Soul Searchers - Searching for Soul Part 1

Don't know how that got in here. The doorman must be slipping.

THE SOUL SEARCHERS #5

So now it’s a band who backed Richard Berry, but on this one I think it’s just the band (as the Louie Louie chappy’s name is not on the label).

The Soul Searchers - Get That Church

THE SOUL SEARCHERS #6

Some British soul searching next, from 1975. A founder member of a jazz rock combo* was a co-writer of this song……and if you want your own copy it will cost you at least £14.

(I think George is being deliberately obtuse here because of their links to Genesis.)

The Soul Searcher - Head Start

THE SOUL SEARCHERS #7

And now a truly belting southern soul track, probably from 1966 or ‘67...

The Soul Searchers - Christmas In Vietnam

I think I've told you before, George, about playing Christmas records in August. But I'll let that one pass as it is a belter. And because of these wonderfully cheesy spoken-word lyrics...

A lonely soldier laid dying in a foxhole in Vietnam

A friend of his walked over and kneeled down beside him

Did you know its Christmas back home

What we should do here today is have Christmas in Vietnam

Slowly they began to sing a song that goes something like this

Jingle, jingle bells, jingle, jungle bells

What do you know? It's Christmas in Vietnam!

Merry Christmas!

THE SOUL SEARCHERS #8

North Carolina’s answer to San Francisco’s Mamas and Papas now, and some cheesy Christian crooning...

The Soul Searchers - Pray, Pray, Pray

No 70s “UK gospel”, alas, and as for the remaining bands, I am unable to find any songs. So only 7 (well, 8) Souls to Search. Who will it be?

Thanks to Rol for posting this, and thanks for listening to the tracks.

And thank you, George, for another week off.

Cover Me Monday #18: Night Fever

In tribute to Martin's excellent series Cover Charge, which reach its impressive fiftieth edition late last week, I am reviving one of my old series... for one day only.

Here's an original tune by the peerless Gibb brothers, which I'm sure you're all familiar with...

And here's a cover which sounds nothing like the original, but does sound very much like a Jonathan Richman song. This is taken from JR's new album, Only Frozen Sky Anyway, which comes out to buy in October, but it's available digitally now. You know you want to...

Snapshots #409: Songs About Coats

Here are some songs about coats. I'm saving the gag till the end.

15. Naughty Ned's great-great-grandson?

Ned Kelly was a pretty naughty Australian. This guy hails from the same country, but I don't think they're related...

Paul Kelly - Winter Coat

14. _ _ _ ics from a Laureate.

The Laureate is Mr. Simon Armitage. He also writes the lyrics.

LYR - Great Coat

13. Merrythought & burnt offerings.

Merrythought is what they used to call a wishbone, in days gone by.

Wishbone Ash - Duffle Shuffle

(Only half a point for Coat of Arms.)

12. Rotate Hagar.

I was thinking of Sammy Hagar. And if you rotate him, you would be a...

Sammy Turner - Raincoat In The River

11. Found within Rebel Tony and DJ, oh no!

Rebel Tony and DJ, oh no!

Elton John - Leather Jackets

10. Chesney sighted in California.

I saw that bloody Chesney Hawkes in Los Angeles! 

I See Hawks In La - My Parka Saved Me

9. Tribal leaders in Western Ireland.

The Chieftains & James Galway - The Munster Cloak

Don't be telling me a cloak isn't a coat. Tell James Galway!

8. Where Martin Rossiter does his experiments.

Martin Rossiter is the lead singer of Gene.

Genelab - Anorak Lou

I'd forgotten that little gem from 1999, but it's great.

7. Morse identifies a suspect from the block. Elementary x2.

When Morse identifies a suspect, he's liable to shout, "Lewis!" Jenny came from the block. Holmes, on the other hand, needed Watson... times two. 

Did you crack that one, Sherlocks?

Jenny Lewis & The Watson Twins - Rabbit Fur Coat 

6. Did you know that Elvis, Jonathan and Nat were all closely related?

They were...

The King Brothers - A White Sport Coat (And A Pink Carnation)

5. Cousin... luck than good management.

My Perfect Cousin was Kevin... More by luck than good management.

Kevin Morby - A Coat Of Butterflies

4. Two retards is not an acceptable term. 

"Two retards" is an unfortunate anagram.

Rod Stewart - An Old Raincoat Won't Ever Let You Down

3. Closely guard Van on the pitch.

When they're taking a corner, make sure you mark Morrison!

Mark Morrison - Return Of The Mack

2. It's hard to perform when you each have three feet.

Yard Act - Trenchcoat Museum

1. Lopez advises caution. 

Jennifer warns!

Because the Leonard Cohen version would have been too obvious.

Jennifer Warnes - Famous Blue Raincoat

More Snapshots next Saturday? I'll get me coat.