Snapshots #420: Square Number Songs

You can pretty much tell AI didn't come up with that image, can't you? What can I say, I'm an old-fashioned guy, and I wanted a picture of a square dude holding a camera. Unlike yesterday when I showed you one of the residents of Albert's Square holding a camera. 

All in aid of - with great thanks to our resident Maths teacher, George, for suggesting the theme and many of the tunes - songs about Square Numbers. Working our way from the square of 15... down to the square of 1.

15. The very latest in toy soldiers.

New Model Army - 225

14. Often killed in avalanches.

The Mountain Goats - Move (Chicago 196x)

That was the hardest one to find, despite the fact that I love the Mountain Goats.

13. Just saying, it follows Burt… but only so far.

JS is, apparently, interweb shorthand for Just Saying.

Burt Bach...arach (only so far).

J.S. Bach - Cantata 169

12. Post pride.

Wouldn't be a George post without a bit of The Fall, which usually follows pride.

Also, I wouldn't have thought of this one on my own - a gross being 144.

The Fall - Gross Chapel / British Grenadiers

11. De Niro is waiting for Howard’s End.

Howard's End was written by E.M. Forster. Robert De Niro has been waiting for that.

Robert Forster - 121

10. Humming, Thunder, Surfing. 

Hummingbirds, Thunderbirds, Surfin' Bird.

The Byrds - One Hundred Years From Now

9. Some were talking to Jesus and Mary, the rest were saved for the Brotherhood.

Jesus & Mary Chain sang about Some Candy Talking. The Brotherhood of Man were saving their kisses for you.

Candy & The Kisses – The 81

8. They’ll never be stale.

"Be stale" was an anagram.

The Beatles - When I'm Sixty-Four

7. When you hear the bing, the whiskey will be fermented, so grit your teeth till then.

Bing Crosby. Whiskey is fermented in Stills. Gnash your teeth.

Crosby, Stills & Nash - 49 Bye-Byes

6. Where pretty penguins live.

The Beautiful South - 36D

5. An O.J. Celeb.

Orange Juice was the band of Edwyn Collins. A celeb is a starr.

Edwin Starr - 25 Miles

4. Caroline is determined.

Caroline was Sweet. The is a determiner.

The Sweet - Six Teens 

Thank you, George. That's a belter.

3. Soviet strikers.

¡Forward, Russia! - Nine

2. Spill the milk wide.

"Milk wide" was an anagram.

Kim Wilde - Four Letter Word

1. Silence was golden when he was a child.

Pictured with his Mum and Dad (Chip Hawkes from The Tremeloes)...

Don't be square - join me again for more Snapshots next Saturday.

Hot 100 Countdown #81

Some very good suggestions this week, introducing me to all manner of songs I hadn't heard before...

Alyson suggested Joanna Newsom - '81.

Nice harp there, as always from Joanna.

C & The Swede came up with Miles Davis - 81.

I wish I could be hip enough to pretend to have loads of Miles Davis in my record collection. I'm not, but I do like a nice bit of trumpet.

The Swede also offered Gato Barbieri & Dollar Brand - '81st Street'.

The Swede is doing his best to get me into proper jazz... and to be fair, he's got more chance of that than getting me into Simple Minds, though it was inevitable that New Gold Dream (81-82-83-84) would crop up again this week.

Meanwhile, Rigid Digit - who's just about given up on trying to get me into Jim Kerr and his buddies - tried Marillion - White Feather, which contains the following lyric...

When I hit the streets back in '81
Found a heart in the gutter and a poet's crown
I felt barbed wire kisses and icicle tears
Where have I been for all these years?

Not in my collection either, but still more palatable than SM.

Much more my cup of tea (but sadly not yet in my collection) was Lynchie's suggestion: Candy & The Kisses - The 81. That would be a winner if I owned it.

Chris also came up with a suggestion I liked... but don't own... Roger Whittaker - New World In The Morning. Another lyrical 81... but that doesn't rule it out... as you'll see shortly.

I met a man who had a dream he'd had since he was twenty,
I met that man when he was 81

If all those weren't in my collection... what was? I was struggling a bit this week. The only titular 81 I could find was this...

The Fuzztones - Ward 81

It's not bad. Actually, it's MAD. But it didn't really feel like a winner. So I went lyrics diving myself... and this is what I came up with. One of my favourite from MCC... great Tom Petty nod in the chorus.

All the way down 81

I've got some friends in Nashville

Atlanta it's been way too long

By morning I'll make Asheville

...all of which takes us to the last of the 80s: number 80. Any suggestions?