Snapshots #449: Gangster Songs

If you woke up this morning with a horse's head in the bed next to you... here's why.

15. Where Bond gets his suits.

James Taylor - Machine Gun Kelly

14. Yellowhammer, Yellowhammer, Yellowhammer.

Alabama is the Yellowhammer State, X3.

Alabama 3 - Woke Up This Morning

Theme tune to The Sopranos.

13. Burn receipts to prevent nasty entanglements.

"Burn receipts" was an anagram.

Prince Buster - Al Capone

12. They'll blast you to bits.

The Smithereens - Gotti

11. Audio Nerds take him in.

Audio Nerds take him in.

Dion - King Of The New York Streets

10. Not a Robin, a Kitten, a Fox or a Scimitar.

All models of Reliant motors. Including the Reliant Rialto...

Rialto - Untouchable

9. Alias "beyond the ordinary".

The Special AKA - Gangsters

8. Used for finding your way around a dark tent, prior to the year zero.

BC Camplight - I Want To Be In The Mafia

7. Hoover, Nail, Justice... it overwhelms them to be on the inside.

Three Jimmys and overwHELMS.

Jimmy Helms - Gonna Make You An Offer You Can't Refuse

6. Bloody liquid gives you twinges.

Plasma + Tics.

The Plasmatics - Concrete Shoes

5. Visualize Toothless and Puff.

Imagine Dragons - Top Of The World

Top of the world, ma!

4. How the mix-up happened.

Mix-up 'How the' to get...

The Who - The Punk And The Godfather 

3. He was summer burned and winter blown.

Lyrics from Jimmy Webb's song about...

PF Sloan - Sins Of The Family

2. Have you lost a coat, Tina?

"A coat, Tina" was an anagram.

Catatonia - I Am The Mob

1. Tablecloths at parties.

Paper Lace - The Night Chicago Died

I'll be making you another offer you can't refuse next Saturday morning...

Listening Post #39: Born To Cry

Dion - Runaround Sue

I was a big fan of Dion DiMucci as a teenager after hearing Runaround Sue used in an episode of Moonlighting. Soon after that, I discovered his 80s output, including the excellent 1989 album Yo Frankie and it's big single...

Dion - Written On The Subway Wall

A little later, I fell for the allure of perhaps his greatest record, the Phil Spector-produced Born To Be With You... although Dion had such a hell of a time working on that record that he later disowned it. The curse of Phil.

Dion - Born To Be With You

I've even checked in with Dion's 21st Century recordings, including collaborations with some of his biggest fans...

Dion with Patti Scialfa and Bruce Springsteen - Angel In The Alleyways

Dion is 86 now. He's been releasing music for almost 7 decades. I've been listening to his songs for 4 decades. And yet, I only heard this one for the first time a couple of weeks back.

It's a belter.

Snapshots #291 - A Top 25 King Songs

In lieu of pledging allegiance to our new King, which I'm not about to do because I'M NOT A 17TH CENTURY KNIGHT, here are 25 songs in his "honour"...

25. Slip severely and jumble.

"Slip severely" is an anagram.

Elvis Presley - King Creole

24. Trendy appliance.

Fad Gadget - King of the Flies

23. Stare at the text closely.

Stare at the teXT Closely.

XTC - King For A Day

22. Musk without Nitrogen.

Take the N from Elon...

ELO - Rock n Roll Is King

Now that's a king I will pledge allegiance too!

21. This is what happens when you go out in the cold without a proper top on, ladies.

The Nipple Erectors - King of the Bop

Shane MacGowan's first band!

20. They say it all started in Wuhan...

China Crisis - King In A Catholic Style

19. They were probably mild-mannered.

Remember Penry, the mild-mannered janitor...?

The Janitors - Good To Be The King

18. A peach from the same town as John's angel.

John Prine sang of an Angel From Montgomery. Peach Melba.

Melba Montgomery - King of Kings

17. Derek Dick's having a wobble.

Derek Dick is Fish. Jelly wobbles.

Jellyfish - The King Is Half Undressed

16. Their leader crashed his bike.

Look out, look out, look out!

The Pack - King of Kings

15. What will you find inside Bob's adequate box?

Bob'S ADEquate box.

Sade - Your Love Is King

14. Eureka! Reno is where you'll find the solution.

EureKA REN O

Karen O - King

13. Hi-didly-ho, Glenn & Roger!

"Hi-didly-ho," is what Ned Flanders might say to Glenn & Roger Miller.

Ned Miller - From A Jack To A King

12. Brendan, all a muddle.

"Brendan" is an anagram.

Dan Bern - King of the World

11. Candy, Denver, Legend.

The Three Johns - King Car

10. Maybe she's caught a chill.

She looks a bit shivery to me.

Shivaree - Cannibal King

9. Michael Holliday had something similar.

Michael Holliday sang about the Story Of My Life.

My Life Story - The King Of Kissingdom

8. A big hit out of Radio Nowhere.

RaDIO Nowhere

Dion - King of the New York Streets

7. Tips for colouring.

Felt Tips are good for colouring.

Felt - Dismantled King is Off the Throne

6.  Anagram? Shh!

Graham Nash - I Used To Be A King

5. Sounds like Jack's aircrafts.

Jack White has quite a few planes by now, I'd imagine...

White Plains - When You Are A King

4. Thinly plot a mix up.

"Thinly plot" is an anagram.

Phil Lynott - King's Call

3. Where the Green Giant's son lives.

The Green Giant's son was called Sprout. He was like the Scrappy Doo of sweetcorn adverts.

I understand he lived in a prefab.

Prefab Sprout - The King of Rock n Roll

2. Something that gets passed down in the family.

Genes are hereditary.

Gene - We Could Be Kings

1. He tolls to conquer.

Ask not for whom the bell tolls, it tolls for William the Conqueror...

William Bell - A Tribute To A King

Just ten Snapshots for you next Saturday morning. I do like to get out of the house occasionally.

Snapshots #241: A Top Ten Wandering Songs

Yesterday Henry, today Bridget. (Jane has featured here before.) Two Fondas, because they rhyme with Wander. And because I couldn't find a picture of either Wanda Jackson or Elizabeth Olsen holding a camera. 

Anyway, here are ten great songs to wander to...

10. Sounds like nobility is only down the road in the local municipality.

The Earl is just in town.

Justin Townes Earl - Wanderin'

(Don't even start me on the Queen making Doncaster a city but not Huddersfield. Don't even start me.)

9. Et tu, dosh?

U2, Cash?

Johnny Cash & U2 - The Wanderer

8. Shroud + Cane.

A pall and a birch.

Paul Burch - Wander

7. Shorn in Syria.

Anagram!

Harry Nilsson - As I Wander Lonely

6. What snails use to play golf.

Slow Club - Wanderer Wandering

5. Jamaican hat trick.

The Kingston Trio - The Wanderer 

4. Pink planet.

If you like your steak pink...

The Rare Earth - Born To Wander

3. Almost makes me want to Call Saul...

Jimmy McGill, aka Saul Goodman, in the best show on TV at the moment, is played by Bob Odenkirk. Which almost sounds like...

The Obernkirchen Children's Choir - The Happy Wanderer

Don't laugh. That was in the UK charts for SIX months back in 1954.

2. Sounds like half a Eurovision winner.

Celine Dion won Eurovision for Switzerland in 1988... even though she's Canadian. 

Dion - The Wanderer

1. Jeans make him paranoid.

Lee Jeans make him a Paranoid Android... like Marvin.

Lee Marvin - Wandrin' Star

Do I know where hell is? Hell is in hello. Heaven is goodbye for ever, it's time for me to go...

...but I'll be back here next Saturday, because I've never seen a Snapshot that didn't look better looking back.