If you're wondering why there was a photo of Stevie Wonder holding a camera available on the web of lies, apparently it comes from an old Saturday Night Live sketch in the 80s. Stevie was presumably a very good sport.
As to why it was featured here, well...
13-month-old baby, broke the looking glass Seven years of bad luck, the good thing is in your past When you believe in things that you don't understand Then you suffer Superstition ain't the way
Here are fifteen songs about good and bad luck superstitions...
This is Father Francis Browne, Irish priest and photographer, famous for his photos of the Titanic on its maiden voyage... though lucky for him, he only sailed from Southampton to Queenstown in Ireland, before getting off to go develop his film.
Father Browne is going to lead us in the Lord's Prayer this Sunday morning. Please bow your heads...
Last week, you had a choice between ten different Spinners. The
group from Detroit were always going to come out on top, but it was heartening
to see some of the other guys pick up honourable mentions, even the funky knitwear
guys from Saturday night TV.
This week, the choice is much simpler. Which mediaeval torture device do you prefer?
IRON MAIDEN #1
“The Original Iron Maiden” were a bluesy hard rock band
formed in the late 60s. Hailing from the rock 'n' roll capital of Essex,
Basildon, prominent members included guitarist Trev Thoms and singer Steve
Drewett. This Iron Maiden seemed to change their name a lot, having previously
been known as Growth, Stevenson’s Blues Department, and – most memorably of all
– Bum. Why they decided to change their name from Bum to Iron Maiden, I can not
fathom. There’s just no helping some people.
IRON MAIDEN #2
Song-writing bassist Steve Harris formed the second Iron
Maiden on Christmas Day, 1975. Just after the Queen’s Speech. He originally
called the band Ash Mountain, but nobody liked that, so they went with
Iron Maiden instead. Iconic vocalist and obvious nutter Bruce Dickinson wouldn’t
join until 1981, by which point the band had burned through more members than
the fire at the Crossroads Motel, including future Cutting Crew member Tony
Moore and Barry “Thunderstick” Purkis. This Iron Maiden have sold more than 130
million records and smashed into the UK Top Ten on 16 different occasions,
despite being rarely played on the radio. I find them amusing in (very) small
doses, especially their 1991 Number One Smash Bring Your Daughter To The
Slaughter. I was co-presenting a weekly chart rundown on local radio at the
time. We didn’t want to do a weekly chart run down, but according to our
station manager, “that’s what people want on a Saturday morning”. Our ratings
went down as soon as we started doing it, but I digress. The point is, he
nearly had an embolism when this got to Number One. “But, boss, we can’t do a chart
countdown without playing the Number One… that would be crazy!” Heh. Heh. Heh.
(If that's too much for you, can I recommend you listen to the Indelicates cover version which is included on their very amusing covers album from a couple of years back. Download it free here.)
You might consider both today's bands to be mediaeval torture devices…
but if you had to pick one?
Number 13 in this series might seem unlucky, unless we go with someone who resolutely refuses to be a number, because he is a free man!
Despite a movie career that includes Ice Station Zebra, Braveheart and Scanners (the one with the exploding heads, kids) Patrick McGoohan will always be better remembered for his TV roles, first as Danger Man, and then as The Prisoner. Despite the fact that the former ran for 86 episodes and the latter only 17, it's Number 6 who became an icon, not John Drake from Danger Man (although some people believe they're one and the same, and that The Prisoner was a continuation of the earlier show... although McGoohan himself has poured cold water on this idea). Let's not go any deeper into all that, otherwise we could be here all day.
The influence of The Prisoner was fell across all genres of popular music, from heavy metal...
If this is published
it must mean that no-one else wants to write for Rol. So the poor bloke has
three choices: (1) accept more drivel from me, (2) not post anything leaving Thursday
blank (just as Len Shackleton did in the chapter of his autobiography devoted
to football directors’ knowledge of football), or (3) write something himself.
I am titling this My
Top Ten “Mary Magdalene” Songs. My partner informed me that my belief about
Mary Magdalene is incorrect, so I am rather scurrilously repeating, well,
implying, a falsehood. Anyway, maybe after this Top Ten you will be able work
out what they all have in common.
First, from the only
album I’ve ever had autographed by a member of the band. Actually, that’s not
true, the one I got signed, I then swapped with my friend Euan. He wanted that
signature. He was more into his Metal For Muthas thing than I was, I think I
just got caught up in the hysteria in I&N’s record shop in Dundee and
bought the album. I’ve just pulled the album out, next to Iron Butterfly,
and it’s signed by the author (Dave Murray) of the song
Some songs have a very
off-putting title. For me the title suggests some sort of crappy nursery rhyme
song. Well, once I got beyond the (idiotic) title, I discovered a great soul
song, when sung by O. C. Smith.
It’s also a country
song, in the hands of, amongst others Sanford Clark.
I bought this single in Woolies in Broughty Ferry, after a visit to the
dentist (whose surgery was literally across the road). About 27 years later I
bought the album, which I’ve played no more than 5 times, I suspect three
times, and the third was due to this article.
And from an album
that easily meets that fine category of Second Is Better Than First. I got it
for £1. And that was £1 better spent than on the atrocious Pictures At An
Exhibition. It was a great song in 1979 and it still sounds great
(I had no idea what this song was actually about. - Rol.)
And where would a Top
Ten list be without The Tull. Every collection should have one of their albums.
From a concept album about the distinction between religion and god. They just
don’t make records like this anymore. Well, they do, Big Big Train (fronted by
a lovely bloke, ex-colleague of mine) are into prog. concept albums in a big
big way.
Best ‘til last. It’s
the only song of The Quo’s I like. And I really like this. In some places I
believe it’s illegal to not play this loudly.
The allegedly hardest
boy in my year group in secondary school was a big Quo fan. So he
scratched the band name on a desk. Well, he actually scratched Status Que.
We (i.e. my group of friends) were too scared of him to take the piss to
his face.
And here’s Mary
Magdalene in action!
(That's the second time George has inflicted Jesus Christ, Superstar on us. I blame Charity Chic for this.)
Songs that came close
were two offerings by Elton John. When he was good, namely Island Girl and
Sweet Painted Ladies. I also considered Trick Of The Light by The Who, which
came very close to replacing Morrissey. And NO! Nothing by The Police, it’s a
terrible song.
(When George asked me about doing this Top Ten, I encourage him to take the piss out of Sting more than that, Then again, Sting does a good enough job of that himself, I guess. And these guys do an even better job... right down to the cod-reggae.)
Thanks to Rol for
posting this. I suppose you all know what the theme was, but I did not want to
use any risque words for those of you doing what you should be doing, i.e. reading
this at work. And now I’m feeling slightly foolish as song number 6 blows that
out of the water.
I'd like to thank George for another excellent contribution to Guest Post Thursday. I actually thought I'd done a Top Ten Prostitute Songs at some point in the past, but it must have been one of those I never got round to finishing. George did an excellent job on what could be our last Guest Post Thursday...
Welcome back. You know the drill. Songs with 22 in it. Remember that the Lime Green Rule now applies. Titles only, no more lyrical mentions. Unless I really, really like them.
Martin was first up this week, with a right old list...
No, you should have stopped before you got to Sting. As should Shaggy.
Hang on, though, here's Rigid Digit to second your suggestion - with added info...
...the second song of the "Charlotte Saga" (Charlotte The Harlot / 22 Acacia Avenue / Hooks In You / From Here To Eternity). The first two are Charlotte songs, the last two are a bit tenuous but still considered part of the ongoing story.
Fair enough. If we're going metal this week... here's my contribution.
But the real pick of the lot would be my Can-Con contribution ("Canadian Content", for those outside my home country, a term coined decades ago by government regulators of our airwaves to protect our ears from over-Americanization). How about the obscure and experimental b-side by Martha and the Muffins called "22 in Cincinnati"? Very moody, that one.
That's just weird. Is that a purring cat in the middle? (Amazingly Jim in Dubai seconded that rather obscure choice.) Still, we like weird here. That's why we keep The Swede around. Here he is with this week's even weirder selections...
'Room Twenty Two', a dubwise selection from the marvellous 'Black Market Meets Mired & Wise Owl in the Twilight Zone'.
Oh, and if we're getting lax about the Lime Green Rule now, what about the iconic opening lines of Billy Bragg's "A New England". A Classic, that one, though I suspect Billy's a bit older than 22 now.
It's worth pointing out that Billy Bragg is the easy way round most rules and regulations, lime green or otherwise.
The irony, of course, is that as of last week, we do have a new England (and Scotland, Wales & Northern Ireland). Sadly, not the one Billy wanted though.
Of course, if we're playing that, we also have to play this...
Welcome, Fresh Princes (and Princesses), it's time to Boom Boom, Shake the Room Big Willie Style (did I mention my first name is William?).
Alternatively, you can get the answers to Saturday Snapshots straight from the Men In Black. Be careful though: they won't let you remember...
Hot competition just after 8.30 yesterday morning, though I think Lynchie clinched the win with his superior knowledge of Iron Maiden songs. Thank you all for playing, as always.
Despite not being a dance music fan, I always loved this one. George claimed to have identified the song (although he didn't name it) and also claimed to have never heard it. Which made me wonder if he spent the whole of 1997 underground.
2. Vegas wrap overhead.
Burritos come in wraps. If they're overhead, they might be flying.
