Another Day #1: Nothing Day

Teachers love their Awareness Days' Calendar. Black History Month. World Environment Day. International Literacy Day. There’s always something to build a lesson on if you go searching.

Along the way, I’ve come across some truly ridiculous awareness days… and so… you can guess the rest.

What better day to start than January 16^th? 

It's National Nothing Day!

National Nothing Day is an "un-event" created in 1972 by newspaper columnist Harold Pullman Coffin and observed in the United States annually on January 16 since 1973.

Its aim is “to provide Americans with one National Day when they can just sit without celebrating, observing or honouring anything”.

We need this day in the UK too!

Here are some sweets nothings to help us celebrate….

Sinéad O'Connor - Nothing Compares 2 U

Diana Ross & The Supremes - Nothing But Heartaches

A - Nothing

Lee Hazlewood & Lula - Nothing

Dire Straits - Money For Nothing

I Want My MTV… but not anymore, I guess. 

The Specials - Do Nothing

John Cooper Clarke - Nothing

Manic Street Preachers featuring Traci Lords – Little Baby Nothing

Gilbert O'Sullivan - Nothing Rhymed

Roddy Hart - Nothing Is Broken

Metallica - Nothing Else Matters

John Grant - All That School For Nothing

Gwen Guthrie - Ain't Nothing Goin' On But The Rent

The Donnas - Nothing to Do

Echo & The Bunnymen - Nothing Lasts Forever

The Decemberists - Everything I Try To Do, Nothing Seems To Turn Out Right

Bachman-Turner Overdrive - You Ain't Seen Nothing Yet

Let’s rock!

Namesakes #124: The Supremes

Clearly this is one of those Namesakes where there can be no debate as to the supreme Supremes... but still, it's fun to take a listen to the also-rans.

THE SUPREMES #1

We kick off with some Ohio doo-woppers, formed in 1954. 

The Supremes - Glow

THE SUPREMES #2

Next, we have a "7" piece vocal harmony group from Massachusetts circa 1955. I say "7" because... and I'm not a Maths teacher, so don't take my word on this... but there are 8 of them in the photo above. Lead singer Ralph Murphy got his Uncle Lee to sing the bass part on the song below... so maybe he's the 8th member.

They called themselves the Supremes because they used to hang out in front of the local Supreme Cleaners. 

The Supremes - Could This Be You?

THE SUPREMES #3

Still in 1955, here's some New York Supremes with lead vocals by Ruth McFadden. They're on Old Town Records, hence why the tube of you calls them "The Old Town Supremes".

Make sure you listen to the words of this song.

The Supremes - Darling, Listen to the Words of This Song

THE SUPREMES #4

Starting life as the Skarlettones in 1959, these guys (also from Ohio, though whether they frequented the same dry cleaning shop is open to question) changed their name to The Supremes in 1960 for the track below. Soon after they recruited a female singer, Ruby Nash, and found success as Ruby & The Romantics.

The Supremes - Fidgety

THE SUPREMES #5

There are two reasons it's taken me so long to feature The Supremes on Namesakes. 

Firstly, I was torn on whether to only count their post Diana Ross discography as true Supremes records... in which case, they'd still beat all other contenders hands down. 

Secondly, how can you compare any other band in the history of music to the Supremes, purveyors of the finest pop ever put to vinyl? The Beatles? You really want to tell me the Beatles were better than the Supremes? The Beach Boys? Maybe if Brian hadn't done so many drugs (or maybe if he'd done more). Abba? The Bee Gees? U2? Maroon 5?

I rest my case.

Originally known as The Primettes when they formed in 1959, they became The Supremes in 1961, and only gave Diana top billing from '67 - 70, after which she left to go solo. 

Here they are with Diana...

The Supremes - Stop! In The Name Of Love

And without...

The Supremes - Automatically Sunshine

Unquestionably SUPREME.

THE SUPREMES #6

More vocal harmonies from late 50s New Yoik.

The Supremes - Just Yell

THE SUPREMES #7

Anthony Mitchell began his jazz journey in the 1950s as one of the Teen Kings, playing alongside future jazz giants Lonnie Smith and Grover Washington Jr. In the early 60s, Anthony formed a new band called Little Anthony & The Supremes... but this proved a bad choice on two fronts as both Little Anthony & The Imperials and the band formerly known as The Primettes became much more famous. You can kind of see why he called his next band The Emanons ("No name" backwards), though he eventually settled on Little Anthony & the Modern Detergents, "a reference to the unverified claim that the band 'cleaned up the town'". (More cleaners!)

Anthony is pictured above in his later years, but here are his Supremes in 1958, performing alongside Sun Ra...

The Supremes with Sun Ra & His Rays of Jazz - Everybody Mambo

THE SUPREMES #8

Next, one of those recordings where you wonder how they managed to get them all in the studio. There are some Supremes in here somewhere, but mostly I'm featuring this because of the ridiculous pun-name of the main act...

Murray Cohen & The Cohencidentals with The Supremes & The Biscaynes - Twistin' Boogie

THE SUPREMES #9

1964 surf dude instrumental from Canada, with a Mexican feel. They'll both be getting taxed soon.

Arty & The Supremes - Hombre

THE SUPREMES #10

And some reggae from 1969 featuring Winston Shand, "The Supreme Ruler Of Sound" and his Supremes...

Winston Shand & The Supremes - I Gave You My Love

THE SUPREMES #11

Live from Dingwalls in 1979, here's Billy Karloff (no relation to Boris) and his Supremes. Billy would soon ditch his Supremes to pursue a solo career, free of the threat of litigation.

Some obsessive youtuber (or possibly Billy himself) has transcribed all the lyrics...

I can't sleep dry
I can't zip me fly
I'm waiting in anticipation
Won't you let me take you out?

There's a piece of you
I don't really like
Its behind your left tit
Just to the right
But the rest of you
It drives me mad
If I could take you out
I would be glad

Or maybe that's taken directly from one of Shakespeare's unpublished manuscripts.

Billy Karloff & The Supremes - Picture Of You

THE SUPREMES #12

Italian disco mix from 1987, by which time the name Supremes should, surely, have been untouchable.

The Supremes - Tribute To Boney M

I'm going to end it there because of triskaidekaphobia, but I did also stumble across Belgium dude mucking about on his Moog in 2023. Bad spelling gets you nowhere.

The Supreems - Us 2Gether

I can't believe I need to ask this... but which Supreme is your Winner, Winner, Chicken Dinner? And which ones need to go back to the cleaners?

Title Fight #9: Jam After School

Welcome back to my appreciation of song titles that leap off the record sleeve and demand to be listened to. The songs themselves might not always live up to the hype, but they're usually worthy of at least a little consideration.

Diana Ross is clearly one very tough cookie - and not someone I'd get in a boxing ring with, since she has a history of taking few prisoners. Whatever personality flaws she may or may not possess, there's no denying the power of her musical legacy. The Supremes, for me at least, were supreme... and her solo years are full of gems too, with a little sifting. Title-wise, this is probably my favourite song she's performed on. It makes you wonder why a certain Manchester Miserablist never thought to cover it...

Diana Ross & The Supremes - Misery Makes Its Home In My Heart

Another seemingly indestructible woman from the world of pop is Skin from Skunk Anansie. She always looks like the type to knock you down as soon as look at you... though she also possesses a welcome self-awareness, as demonstrated below... 

Skunk Anansie - It Takes Blood And Guts To Be This Cool But I'm Still Just A Cliché

Makes you wonder if Skin was channeling the late Poly Styrene...

X-Ray Spex - I Am A Cliché

When it came to self-awareness, Poly was definitely ahead of the pack...

X-Ray Spex - I Am A Poseur 

...though you can take that self-deprecation shtick a little too far, Poly...

X-Ray Spex - I Can't Do Anything

Especially when, if we're talking about song titles, you go down in history as having written one of the absolute greats...

Resilience and determination are also on display from our next lady. Barbara Brown hailed from Memphis in the early 60s, signing a deal with Stax that really was a family affair - sisters Roberta, Betty and Maurice (?) were on backing vocals, while brothers Walter and Richard contributed to the songwriting. 

Barbara & The Browns - If I Can't Run To You, I'll Crawl 

Still in the southern States, but a few decades later, we find a lady called Keri Leigh, presumably helping clean the floor so that Barbara can crawl on it. I couldn't find much about Keri on the web of lies, but this track came from a collection I've been dipping into lately called The Last Soul Company: Malaco - A 30 Year Restrospective.

Keri Leigh - Here's Your Mop, Mr. Johnson

Back up to date - almost, because this is from Dry Cleaning's debut EP of 2019, though it's recently been remastered and made all sparkly. I hope you enjoy the wonderful stream-of-consciousness wordplay and deadpan vocals of Florence Cleopatra Shaw as much as I do. 

Imaginary hot romance with Daniel Day Lewis
Welcome to the county of Hampshire
Jam after school

Dry Cleaning - Jam After School

Here's another southern diva, a lady who's mostly known around these parts for warning you not to mess with her toot toot. Scratch below the surface, and Ms. LaSalle (real name: Ora Denise Allen) had an enviable career as a smooth soul chanteuse, songwriter, producer and record company boss. Here's a great little number from her back catalogue, and a title that raises all kinds of questions...

Denise LaSalle - Your Husband Is Cheating On Us

And finally, we have the return of a band who haven't made music together in 35 years. Back in the late 80s, they released one classic album, then started working on a second... which never really happened. A jumbled collection of b-sides and out-takes appeared in its place, and that was all she wrote. Lead singer Eddi Reader went off to a solo career, while guitarist Mark Nevin co-wrote Morrissey's most underappreciated album, Kill Uncle, and a bunch of other stuff he kept to himself. They finally appear to have patched up their differences though, and the result sounds as though they've never been away. Great title too...

 

The List #1

In 1992, INXS released their best album, Welcome To Wherever You Are. It contains the somewhat prescient song, Not Enough Time. When I hear this song in my head, it goes "Not enough time for all that I want to do" (although the actual lyrics are slightly different). Those lyrics pop into my head more and more frequently as the clock ticks ever onward... in a similar fashion to the way the lyrics to We Have All The Time In The World fill my mind whenever I'm in a rush to get somewhere and I find myself stuck behind a Louis. 

I sometimes wonder if I like too much music. If I'd be better off if my tastes were more niche and not so varied. Because there really is NOT ENOUGH TIME to listen to everything I want to listen to. Every time I visit the tube of you, a new band pops up demanding my attention. On first listen, a lot of them sound intriguing... like this lot, who may well be of some interest to Martin...

Brigitte Calls Me Baby appear to be the latest in a long, long, long line of bands who want to sound like The Smiths. But how many of those ever made it big? Suede? Gene? (Not really.) The Killers? (As soon as they did, they stopped trying to sound like The Smiths.) 

Lead singer Wes Leavins (with his enormous Morrissey quiff) claims to be more influenced by Sinatra, Orbison and Presley... ✔, ✔, ✔... but it's The Smiths I hear (and see) in the videos above and below... and that's why they're on the list.

Brigitte Calls Me Baby - Impressively Average

"The List." 

Often, when I hear a song I like on another blog, I'll leave a comment saying "That's going on the list." Similarly, when I hear something interesting on the radio. Like this little beauty from Irish singer-songwriter Ultan Conlon...

I like the folky atmosphere on that, and the idea that if we don't keep the old songs alive (whether they be Raglan Road or Girls Just Wanna Have Fun), they'll fade from our collective consciousness. I used to enjoy listening to the late Desmond Carrington on Radio 2. He'd play a really diverse mix of music, some of it old and forgotten from the 30s, 40s or 50s, alongside more recent or well known choices. I heard things on his show I'd never heard before on the radio, and probably never will again. 

As Ultan puts it...

Who's gonna play the old songs when all the old-timers are gone?

Here's an old song I've been playing a lot lately...

See? It's all too much, isn't it? Imagine if I just liked indie music, or rock, or old soul, or country and Americana... if I specialised in power pop or new wave or gentle, acoustic singer-songwritery stuff. Then I'd be able to focus. I'd be able to concentrate on one thing and enjoy it for what it is and not always be worrying about finding the next new thing... or the next old thing... in the hope it might hit me like a chaise longue or gradually unveil its beauty over a half dozen listens like the best of Jason Isbell.

Jason Isbell - Cast Iron Skillet

But I don't just like one thing. I like all kinds of different things, and being able to switch genres and keep it fresh is essential in my listening. But then I also like digging back into the archives too. Except when do I have the time? I mentioned at the top of the page that Welcome To Wherever You Are is the best album INXS ever made. And yet I'm making that assessment safe in the knowledge that I haven't listened to it all the way through in 30 years. But The List keeps growing, and it's growing from all sides. New things, old things that are new to me, old things that I know but I haven't listened to in ages... and on and on and on...

Take that lot, for instance. Life are from Hull. Let's not hold that against them, because on the evidence of the track above... they're excellent. Bear in mind that they released that two years ago and this is the first time I've come across them, but they already appear to have released three albums. What if they're all as good as that song? I ought to drop everything else this instance and devote the next three weeks to familiarising myself with their back catalogue... but I haven't got the time because I also have to check out these guys...

L.A. Edwards come from... erm, Los Angeles... although the LA doesn't stand for what you think - it's lead singer Luke Andrew's initials. They supported Lucinda Williams last weekend and as soon as I heard them, I knew I wanted to hear more. So they've gone on The List.

L.A. Edwards - Good Luck

There's so much music out there waiting to be discovered, it's a truly daunting prospect. Because what if I never hear that one song that changes my life forever? It's out there somewhere, I know it is. That's why I have The List...

L7 - Shitlist

Double Vision - List 99

The Go-Gos - Girl Of 100 Lists

Toby Keith - My List

Los Campesinos! - My Year In Lists

The Boxmasters - Shit List

Snapshots #324: A Top Ten Reindeer Songs

Happy Christmas Eve!

Here are some Reindeer Songs...

10. Truck that took the late James Broad's indie power-pop band to gigs.

The late James Broad was the lead singer of the excellent Silver Sun, responsible for the loudest gig I ever attended. These guys though are the...

Silversun Pickups - Dots and Dashes (Enough Already)

And that's as close as I could get to a song about Dasher.

9. If we have a White Christmas, these ladies will have no problem getting around.

Sister Sledge - He's The Greatest Dancer

8. Go ahead, punk, make my day by giving me something that is helpful or beneficial.

Clint Eastwood said "Go ahead, punk..." Something that is helpful or beneficial is a boon.

The Clint Boon Experience - Comet Theme No. 1

7. Someone's sneaking round the corner. Could it be Mack...?

The Knife - Christmas Reindeer

6. Befuddled by Fat Hell.

"Fat Hell" is an anagram. That's Brix Smith fronting, not Mark E. As she does on this tune...

The Fall - Vixen 

5. A body of representatives.

The Delegation - Dance, Prance, Boogie

And that's as close as I could get to Prancer.

4. Award winning lady meets man of ash.

She won an Emmy. He's in Ash.

Emmy The Great & Tim Wheeler - Jesus The Reindeer

3. He made OK cameos.

Anagram!

Sam Cooke - Cupid

2. Hard to make out who it is.

Badly Drawn Boy - Donna & Blitzen

1. All these guys (and plenty more).

Clockwise from top right...

The Temptations - Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer

Chris Isaak - Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer

The Supremes - Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer

Don't forget to leave a carrot out for the reindeer tonight.

Snapshots #260: A Top Ten Shame Songs

This is Michael Fassbender, who once appeared in the movie Shame, in which he was addicted to sex. How preposterous is that? Now if he was addicted to Saturday Snapshots, that I could understand...

10. Obsessive-compulsive detectives.

I used to love Monk, the TV show starring Tony Shalhoub as an OCD detective.

The Monks - Nice Legs, Shame About The Face

Probably won't hear that on the radio these days.

9. Billie Jean is not a bubbly Brideshead Revisitor.

Evelyn Waugh wrote Brideshead Revisited.

Bubbly is Champagne.

Billie Jean King.

Evelyn "Champagne" King - Shame

8. Not fit for the major leagues.

"The Mendoza Line is baseball jargon for a sub-.200 batting average, the supposed minimum threshold for competence at the Major League level." As I'm sure all you baseball fans will know.

The Mendoza Line - The Triple Bill Of Shame

7. Roland takes more tea.

Roland Rat takes another T.

Ratt - Shame, Shame, Shame

6. Spencer, Geller, tastes like chicken.

Lady Diana Spencer gets with Ross Geller (from Friends, duh) and some Chicken Supreme.

Diana Ross & The Supremes - I'm Livin' In Shame

That is so good, it sends a shiver down my spine.

5. Derbyshire cigarettes.

The Chesterfields - Shame About The Rain

4. Like O, in a forest.

Like The Big O, this is another Roy... Wood.

Roy Wood - Oh What A Shame

As I type out these answers on Thursday evening, I'm predicting John will get that one about 3 seconds after 8.30 on Saturday morning.

3. Yarn twisters, not Liverpudlian. 

Not The Spinners from Liverpool, but their namesakes...

The Detroit Spinners - It's A Shame

(I still have nightmares about the awful Monie Love version of that.)

2. Some like it hot above their shoulders.

Jack Lemmon was in Some Like It Hot, keeping his head held high.

The Lemonheads - It's A Shame About Ray

Always reminds me of good times, that one...

1. Otis fandom.

Anagram!

Fats Domino - Ain't That A Shame

It'll be a shame if you can't come back for more Snapshots next Saturday...

Celebrity Jukebox #21: Lamont Dozier

The Celebrity Jukebox was never intended to solely focus on actors. The dictionary says of celebrities, "a famous person, especially in entertainment or sport", and while we're unlikely to focus on many sports stars, "entertainment" covers a pretty wide spectrum.

The day after we lost Olivia, we lost Lamont Dozier. It's been one of those weeks.

This blog has been known to dip its toes in the deep pool of hyperbole from time to time, but it's no exaggeration to say that Lamont Dozier (along with brothers Brian and Eddie Holland Jr.) was responsible for some of the greatest pop songs ever recorded. Evidence?

Diana Ross & The Supremes - Baby Love

Diana Ross & The Supremes - Stop! In The Name Of Love

Diana Ross & The Supremes - You Keep Me Hangin' On

I mean, we could stop right there and I'd have already proved my point. But then there's...

Martha Reeves & The Vandellas - Nowhere To Run

The Four Tops - Reach Out, I'll Be There

And my personal favourite...

And it goes much further than that, with Dozier contributing to some huge hits from the 70s and 80s too. I'm sure you've read about them over the last day or so. He also had a moderately successful recording career of his own on the side. 

But let's be honest... how many classic songs are written about songwriters? Does Lamont Dozier really deserve a place on the Celebrity Jukebox unless his name has popped up in someone else's tune?

I'm sure you can see where I'm heading with this...

Norman Whitfield and Barrett Strong

Are here to make everything right that's wrong

Holland and Holland and Lamont Dozier too

Are here to make it all okay with you

Not only did Lamont Dozier write some of the greatest pop songs ever recorded... he also inspired one of them.

Richard Dean

We didn't only lose Ronnie Spector last week. R. Dean Taylor also passed away, although I wouldn't have known that if someone hadn't mentioned it on facebook, it wasn't widely reported.

Canadian singer-songwriter Richard Dean Taylor is only known for a handful of hits, most notably Indiana Wants Me and There's A Ghost In My House, memorably covered by The Fall. (In that video, Mark E. Smith looks like that kid in the 6th Form that you really wanted to smack in the face, but you knew he'd get his mates to beat you up if you did.)   

When Holland / Dozier / Holland left Motown, Taylor joined Frank Wilson, Pam Sawyer and Deke Richards to form "The Clan", a group of writers in charge of coming up with hits for the big guns such as Diana Ross & The Supremes. As such, he co-wrote two of my favourite Supremes songs, Love Child and I'm Livin' In Shame.

A pretty fine legacy, all told, though there's more to be enjoyed than just the hits. Here's one of his lesser-known tunes...

Saturday Snapshots #145 - The Answers

Here's a Bombshell - the answers to yesterday's Snapshots. Hopefully it wasn't too much a Longshot for you...



10. Protect with pads. Tra la la.

Footballers protect their shins with pads.

The Shins - Simple Song

9.  Stop mucking about - this is relevant!

Relevant = germane.

Jermaine Jackson - Let's Get Serious

8. Fast forest apple elephant.

Fast = fleet. Forest = wood. Elephant = tusk.

Too easy.

Fleetwood Mac - Tusk

Doesn't really sound like anything else Fleetwood Mac ever did... or anyone else, for that matter. I love that there was a time when tracks like this were hits. And why the hell is it called Tusk?

No, don't tell me, it'll only spoil it.

7. Norse computer brand offers contradictory directions.

The computer I use to compile this feature every week is a Dell. Vikings were Norse men.

The Del Vikings - Come Go With Me

Come? Go? Make up your mind.

6. Tongue twisting rain chatter.

Red Lorry Yellow Lorry - Talk About The Weather

5. Out of focus, but can be plugged in anywhere.

A universal adapter can be plugged in anywhere.

Blur - The Universal

Second greatest Blur song ever.

4. Drumming medic alienates frog.

I honestly forgot who this was between compiling the competition and coming to do the answer's post. It took me ages to pick apart than anagram. I don't know how you guys do it so quickly each week.

Gloria Estefan - Dr. Beat

Considering the serious artist Gloria became, it's worth watching this video to see how wacky she was in her earlier days.

3. Phone company gets philosophical.

Talk Talk - Life's What You Make It

2. Where Warren considered afterlife activities, Bob just wanted the exit... by air, presumably.

Warren Zevon was looking for Things To Do In Denver When You're Dead.

Bob Seger just wanted to Get Out Of Denver.

We all know the tragic irony of Leaving On A Jet Plane.

John Denver - Leaving On A Jet Plane

I never get tired of hearing that.

1. Forced romance by highest ranking attractions.

"I'm gonna make you love me!"

"Restraining order, please."

Highest ranking is supreme, attractions are temptations.

This is audio perfection... although it's interesting that Eddie Kendricks has a higher voice than Diana Ross.



The Monster returns next Saturday. Until then, keep driving Fury Road...

Saturday Snapshots #67 - The Answers

And they called it Puppy Love... but I guess they'll never know the appeal of Saturday Snapshots, will they?

Some "tough ones" (they were all easy to me!) and a few Saturday morning lie-ins split the marks this week. Two points each to Alyson, C and Rigid Digit. 1 point each to Charity Chic, Walter and Chris. As I type this, #9 remains unanswered.

Hopefully you weren't Too Young to know all of these...


10. Telstar klaxons.

The Hooters - Satellite

9. Short 19th century queen of Arabia with a blackout on her mind.

19th Century Queen = Victoria. Shortened to Vicki.

Lawrence of Arabia.

Blackout is when the lights go out.

Georgia On My Mind.

Vicki Lawrence - The Night The Lights Went Out In Georgia

8. Action Man stares at his favourite pie... decides to leave it for this evening.

When I was 10, having a bog-standard Action Man wasn't enough. You had to have the Eagle Eye Action Man.

Cherry pie... save it for tonight.

Eagle Eye Cherry - Save Tonight

7. Henry's southern brother made a car that was too heavy for the road.

Tennessee Ernie Ford - 16 Tons

6. Ike & Eddie lose their other halves to a romantic ouroboros.

Ike & Tina / Charles & Eddie.

A ouroboros is a snake that eats its own tail.

Tina Charles - I Love To Love

5. Silence in Swiss convention.

I thought only Martin would get this one. Well done, C.

Geneva - No One Speaks

4. Ted needs these guys to help him stay loyal... crack on!

Devo + Ted keeps you loyal.

Devo - Whip It

3. Godlike beings shine a red light on Courtney.

Supreme beings.

Red light = stop.

Courtney Love.

Diana Ross & The Supremes - Stop! In The Name Of Love

Surely one of the most exciting intros to any song ever?

2. Religious bondage duo enjoy the shower.

The Jesus & Mary Chain - Happy When It Rains

1. Mobile undertakers at the terminus.

Clue of the week. Sometimes they write themselves.

The video for this was recorded after the Big O's passing. They handle that very well.

No need to wait until the Twelfth of Never - Saturday Snapshots will be back next week...