Snapshots #388: Songs About Roads, Streets, Avenues etc.

This is Mike Skinner. Mike's looking rather sad because he's lost his camera. Still, he seemed like the ideal person to introduce today's answers... twelve songs about Streets... whatever we might call them.

Oh, and in case you were wondering why Clint Eastwood appeared here yesterday... well, he was The Man With No Name. And I'm sure you all remember what Bono told us? 

12. Three merry old souls.

A rock n roll standard, originally recorded by... 

The King Cole Trio - Route 66

11. Clint was always talking to them.

Clint talked to the Trees.

Trees - Road

10. Furious & Cannon look for their other halves.

Fast & Furious + Cannon & Ball...

Fastball - The Way

9. Don't look at that streaker! He's not Abel.

Ray Stevens advised "Don't look, Ethel!" Abel's brother was Cain.

Ethel Cain - Thoroughfare

8. May the Lord make his face to shine upon you, and be gracious to you.

That's a blessing, that is.

The Blessing - Highway 5

7. Pottery, embroidery, macrame.

Three examples of craftwork.

Kraftwerk - Autobahn

(All 23 minutes of it, just for George.)

6. Confused prats retested.

"Prats retested" was an anagram.

Peter Sarstedt - Boulevard 

5. He say yes!

"He say yes!"

The Man from Delmonte - Drive Drive Drive

4. Fancy playing badminton, Osborn? Mixed doubles?

"Badminton, Osborn" was a mixed up anagram of...

Tom Robinson Band - 2-4-6-8 Motorway

3. Mariah Carey loves to break the rules... but she causes twice the commotion!

MC is a rebel, but gets in double the trouble.

Rebel MC & Double Trouble - Street Tuff

2. Hercules, Colorado, Stag.

Three types of beetle.

The Beatles - Penny Lane

Other roads were available, including long and winding ones... but the Beatles were here for the lane today.

1. Dawn rises over the Yellow River.

Tony Orlando was in Dawn. Christie sang Yellow River.

Tony Christie - Avenues and Alleyways

The road leads back to Snapshots next Saturday...

Saturday Snapshots #93 - The Answers

All American Girl Carrie Underwood welcomes us to this week's answers - she's determined to stop Rol, Before He Cheats. Although she doesn't even know his Last Name.

(Look, I'm moving house in a week. Give me a break if the puns aren't up to standard. Also there is no suggestion here that I cheat when putting this quiz together. How would I even do that? Why would I even do that?)

Summer holidays are upon us, so I expect absentees over the next few weeks. Well done to Alyson for taking this week's early bird prize... and leaving some for others to crack!


10. Bodyline, perhaps? That's (how) to do it!

Bodyline was a cricketing scandal involving fast bowling.

Mr. Punch always said, "that's The Way to do it".

Fastball - The Way

Nobody remember this one?

9. Bogie in Florida meets Jeeves's pal... and Magnum's.

Bogie went to Florida in the movie Key Largo. (Great flick.)

Jeeves's pal was Bertie Wooster.

Magnum's pal was Higgins.

Bertie Higgins - Key Largo

Video of the week. If, like me, you have no shame.

8. Das Kapital? Winded.

What is the capital city of Germany?

Oof!

Berlin - Take My Breath Away

7. Led Zep's mutt races to Camptown to find Armstrong Avenue.

Led Zeppelin's drummer was John "Bonzo" Bonham.

A mutt is a dog.

Campdown Races sing this song, doo dah, doo dah...

Neil Armstrong was a spaceman, on an Avenue he'd be urban.

Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band - Urban

Yes, that was my token "50th Years Since The Moon Landing" clue, Lynchie. If I'd been cleverer, I'd have done the whole ten that way.

6. Black & white is dead... staring hideous amour in the face.

Living Colour - Love Rears Its Ugly Head

5. Size doesn't matter, not when you're running a temperature.

Little Willie John - Fever

4. Iv no job! Have to rely on our dad!

Anagram.

Our dad = Our Father. Which is a prayer. See? (If in doubt, try to work out if the most obvious song will fit the clue.)

Bon Jovi - Livin' On A Prayer

3. Sailors' caps and disposable beakers found at the wedding venue.

American Sailors' caps and disposable beakers were both known as Dixie Cups.

Dixie Cups - Chapel Of Love 

2. Not a toaster, more an immersive visual experience... you crazy fool!

Toasters used to be cliched Wedding Presents. This isn't a toaster though, it's David Gedge's other band... "an immersive visual experience".

Cinerama - Maniac

1. A big hug if you take care putting the stickers on.

Get Out Of This Town! At least until next Saturday morning when it all starts again...

Radio Songs #33: My Top Ten Radio Dial Songs

It could be argued that the opening of Rush's Spirit Of Radio features a guitar that sounds like a radio being retuned... but I'm saving that Canadian classic for a future edition of Radio Songs. In the meantime, here are ten songs that actually begin with the sound of a radio dial being retuned. Some have featured here before, but not for that reason.

With the advent of digital radio, tuning round the dial is becoming a thing of the past in the same way that tuning in your TV channels has. Kids these days don't know what they're missing...


10. ELO - Mr. Blue Sky

Still one of the greatest pop songs ever recorded (I know I say that a lot - but there are lots of them): I'm only putting it at #10 because it's featured here many times before.

Mr. Blue Sky has something of an identity crisis though. It begins with a radio dial tuning into a weather forecast... but ends with a request to "please turn me over", which suggests it knew it was just a record all along.

See also Mr. Radio.

9. Falco - Vienna Calling

Because he wasn't just about rocking Amadeus.

8. Skee-Lo - I Wish

If you're tuning in your ghetto blaster, here's the prefect tune.

7. Fastball - The Way

Slacker anthem - for the days when even retuning the radio is an effort!

6. Gruff Rhys - Shark Ridden Waters 

Hotwiring your car on the beach causes the radio to retune, apparently.

5. Flaming Lips - Turn It On

If you ever get bored in the launderette, try retuning your radio.

4. Eels - Mr. E's Beautiful Blues

If you're looking for an Eels song on the radio, you couldn't do better than this sunshiny pop gem.

Goddamn right, it's a beautiful day!

3. The Carpenters - Calling Occupants of Interplanetary Craft

Space aliens, it seems, tune around the dial until they can find a request show...

2. The Ramones - Rock & Roll Radio

Whereas Joey and the gang tune around the dial until they find a radio station that plays it like they used to...

This is rock 'n' roll radio - come on, let's rock 'n' roll with the Ramones!

1. Dexys Midnight Runners - Burn It Down

Originally released under the title Dance Stance, this was Dexys' first 7" single. It was re-recorded and rechristened Burn It Down as the opening track to their 1980 debut album Searching For The Young Soul Rebels.

The record begins with 50 seconds of the band tuning around the radio dial, hearing snippets of Deep Purple, the Sex Pistols and the Specials amid the shipping forecasts and brass bands, before Rowland turns off the radio and shouts to Big Jim Paterson, "For god's sake, burn it down!"

The rest is history...



Any great retuning tunes in your collection?