Another Day #16: Russian Superman Day

June 12th is a a national holiday in Russia, commemorating the end of the Soviet Union back in 1990. And if that just makes you think of the WONDERFULNESS done since by that VERY NICE MAN Vladimir Putin then, GOOD FOR YOU.

(This post has been edited to stop the bots reporting me. I don't want to end up in a Siberian Salt Mine, thank you very much. I've got in enough trouble for slagging off Trump all the time.)

Remember what Sting told us - the Russians love their children too!

The Beatles - Back In The USSR

Matt Monro - From Russia with Love

Boney M. - Rasputin

Manic Street Preachers - Revol 

Do you think that the Russians want war?

These are the sons and the daughters of parents who died in the last one

Do you think that they want to go through that again?

The destruction, the bloodshed, the suffering and pain

In the second world war, out of every three dead, one was Russian

If we try with all of our power

Can we not find a way to peacefully settle our difference?

Meanwhile, on the other side of the Cold War, it's a day to celebrate that strange visitor from another planet who became a symbol of truth, justice and the American Way. Except they don't say that anymore - in fact, about 15 years ago, Superman renounced his American citizenship and now represents "Truth, justice and a better tomorrow". Considering he's still an immigrant, it's a wonder the Tangerine Tosspot hasn't tried to have him deported. Or maybe he's worried the Man of Steel would move to Russia...?

The Flaming Lips - Waitin’ For A Superman (Is It Getting Heavy?)

Donovan - Sunshine Superman

Cinerama - Superman

The Ides of March - Superman

Laurie Anderson - O Superman

The Hesitations - Soul Superman

Snapshots Superman Songs Spillover (#1)

I saw the new Superman film.

I loved it.

But who cares what I think. Here are some more tunes!

When it came to compiling a post about Superman songs, there were hundreds to choose from, so a Spillover seemed inevitable. Starting with a couple which would have made this weekend's link far too obvious. From the sublime...

Laurie Anderson - O Superman

...to the ridiculous...

Black Lace - Superman

...or maybe that should have been the other way round?

Here's another one which would have been a giveaway... 

Donovan - Sunshine Superman

Not to be confused with this, a little later in the day...

Dio - Sunset Superman

And then there was this, not actually a song about Clark Kent... but another, real life Superman...

Johnny Wakelin - Black Superman (Muhammad Ali)

It's amazing how many songs there are with "Superman" as their sole title. We featured quite a few yesterday, but here's a load more...

Alison McCallum - Superman

Eminem - Superman

Dan Bern - Superman

The Ides Of March - Superman

Richard Caiton - Superman

Barton Carroll - Superman

Les Variations - Superman Superman

So good they said it twice!

Excelsior - Superman

Robyn Hitchcock - Superman

Scouting For Girls - Superman

Attempted Moustache - Superman

I wish I could have found a picture of Attempted Moustache - they would definitely have made it into Snapshots this weekend.

Lazlo Bane - Superman

That one was the theme tune to the sitcom Scrubs, if you remember that. 

If not, maybe you remember the time Babs wore a Superman shirt.

Barbra Streisand - Superman

And she's not the only Babs with a thing for the Man of Steel...

Raw Soul featuring Barbara Stant - Superman

One final offering today, from confirmed comic book fan David Gedge...

...but we're not done yet. There will be more Superman Songs later in the week.

Snapshots #368 - A Top Ten Mythical Creature Songs

I didn't really know what to call this week's Top Ten, and I only really settled on "Mythical Creatures" under protest... since clearly everyone knows Bigfoot isn't a myth. 

Apologies, all you sceptics, but I'm 100% Fox Mulder: I want to believe. The alternative is a much more boring world.

Anyway, here are ten songs about creatures I'm willing to be convinced are just as real as you or I...

10. Half a dozen English immigrants.

New Colony Six - Ballad Of The Wingbat Marmaduke (Elf Song)

OK, I'm not saying I believed in Wingbat Marmadukes... but Elves, why not?

9. Bony Beth.

Thin Lizzy - Banshee

8. Blackburn / Ely Riot.

Tony Blackburn and Joe Ely get involved in a White Riot.

Tony Joe White - Even Trolls Love Rock 'n' Roll

7. 15/3.

The 15th of March is the Ides...

Ides Of March - Ogre

6. Influential director and blinking bloke. 

An Auteur and a bloke known for his Rapid Eye Movement...

Luke Haines & Peter Buck - Last of the Legendary Bigfoot Hunters

5. Third Netflix Queen just might...

Three actresses played The Queen on Netflix, the third being Imelda Staunton. 

Imelda May - Little Pixie

4. Conservative Councillor. 

He was in a Conserve (Jam) and also a Council (Style).

Paul Weller - Mermaids

3. They'll give you the hump.

Camel - Sasquatch

2. Logic, Radiator, Guerilla.

Their first three albums were Fuzzy Logic, Radiator and Guerilla...

Super Furry Animals - Hometown Unicorn

...and I would have accepted...

Super Furry Animals - Chupacabras

1. Ya ba dibba dibba dibba dibba dibba dibba dum.

That's the chorus of If I Were A Richman, of course...

Again, two answers would have been acceptable. Firstly, this...

Jonathan Richman & The Modern Lovers - Rockin' Rockin' Leprechauns

And, more obviously, this...

Jonathan Richman & The Modern Lovers - Abominable Snowman In The Supermarket

Hard to believe, I know, but Saturday Snapshots will return next week...

Memory Mixtape #1 - Stranger Danger

I grew up in the 70s and 80s, two decades in which parents seemed to worry far less about their children's safety than we do nowadays. At 5 years old, I came very close to cutting open the radial artery on my wrist because I was playing outside by myself and fell on a broken bottle. I was taken to hospital with my arm wrapped in a tea towel, stitched up, and still have the scar to this day. Soon after that, I would regularly ride my bike to my mate Liam's house - a good two mile journey down lonely country lanes and dirt tracks - and then spend the day playing out with him in the fields and woods nearby while neither my parents nor his had the faintest clue to our whereabouts.

It's not that we weren't aware of "Stranger Danger" back in those days - this was the era of the Yorkshire Ripper, for Pete's sake, and we were regularly warned against all kinds of childhood threats by Public Safety films such as The Spirit of Dark Water and Charlie the cat. The former, voiced to chilling effect by Donald Pleasance, was scarier than any horror film of the time, while the latter also seemed weirdly creepy and unsettling... and inspired The Prodigy to do this, which always gives me the shivers.

The first school I went to was in an idyllic setting. A tiny village C of E - there were 11 of us in our year - it was situated next to an old church, surrounded by the same fields and woods I explored with Liam. After school, I would walk with other kids down a path through the fields which led to a little gate onto the main road where parents would wait so as not to get stuck in the crush of cars around the school itself. The village of Helme was not really designed for the school run.

My mum or sister would normally be the ones to collect me after school, but if my dad finished work early, he would come pick me up. It was on one of these occasions that we learned just how the times were changing when a local resident called the police and reported a strange man loitering near the school path. She gave the police his registration number and (as dad drove a company car), the police questioned the auctions where he worked (in Leeds) about why one of their employees was hanging around near a school many miles away, in work time.

Forty years later, my mum still laughs about the time my dad was questioned by the police as a "suspected paedophile".

This is an old song that I only discovered recently, but I've been listening to it a lot and it always reminds me of this story. It also reminds me of another related "stranger danger" tale which I'll tell next week.

The Ides of March were a band from Illinois who formed in 1964. They enjoyed considerable success with this song in the early 70s, which they failed to replicate. They took a break in 1973, reformed in 1990, and are still gigging today. The brass on this track reminds me of a classic 70s cop show theme tune.

Hey, well, I'm the friendly stranger in the black sedan

Oh won't you hop inside my car?

I got pictures, got candy, I'm a lovable man

I'd like to take you to the nearest star

Charlie says "do not get in this man's car".

Saturday Snapshots #98: The Answers

...my friend, are blowing in the wind...


10. When Caesar died, in a car.

Well done to C for cracking this obscurity.

Check your history books.

Great tune, but Charlie always warned me to stay away from men like these.

The Ides of March - Vehicle

9. Geordie says he can get down, but keeps his head up high.

Geordies get "doon", so Doon I can.

Val Doonican - Walk Tall

Yes, I know Faron Young did it too, but I grew up with Val's version... probably thanks to Uncle Tel.

Val Doonican is nothing to be embarrassed about, Alyson!

8. Our blogs are this. Our blogs are this. Our blogs are this. (+96)

The Soundtrack Of Our Lives - Instant Repeater '99

Nobody remembered this lot. Imagine if Oasis had been any good. A Beatles rip-off done right!

7. Bluebirds of prey hang around till it stops raining.

Jays are blue birds. Hawks are birds of prey.

Jayhawks - Waiting For The Sun

(Not Save It For A Rainy Day, that would be the opposite!)

6. Found in Rome, with Ivy. Put a sock in it, lady.

Well done and a warm welcome to new player Back From The Beach. Hope to see you round these parts again soon.

The Holly & The Ivy?

Long before Wendy James...

Holly & The Italians - Tell That Girl To Shut Up

5. A boy and his Great Pyrenees won't put down these bestsellers.

"Belle et Sébastien is a novel by Cécile Aubry about a six-year-old boy named Sébastien and his dog Belle, a Great Pyrenees, who live in a village in the French Alps close to the Italian border."

Belle & Sebastian - Wrapped Up In Books

4. Plastic pop lady leaves you surprised! (And often vacant.)

Remember Yazz & The Plastic Population? Oooh, that's a surprise.

Situations are often vacant.

Yazoo - Situation

3. Spanish wolf falls for canine surprise, along with all of us.

Lobo is the Spanish word for wolf.

Boo! That's a surprise.

Lobo - Me & You & A Dog Named Boo

Lobo is nothing to be embarrassed about, Lynchie! Check out some of his early albums. Class stuff.

2. Ewing boy goes by foot with sporting heroes. Meep meep!

J.R. Ewing is a walker, with his All Stars.

The Roadrunner went Meep Meep.

J.R. Walker & The All Stars - (I'm A) Roadrunner

1. Molly acts Rick... but neither of them can work out the answer.

"Molly acts Rick" is an anagram.



Don't get Tangled Up In Blue... Saturday Snapshots will be back next week for our 99th edition!