I've seen things you people wouldn't believe. Attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion. I watched C-beams glitter in the dark near the Tannhäuser Gate. But I've never seen anything like you guys working together to crack the answers on Saturday Snapshots.
As our songs today all relate to The Netherlands, I called up one of their famous sons, the late Rutger Hauer, to help us hitch a ride to the answers...
10. Where Impartial Ernie stays, next door to 5.
Ernie was a Milkman. If he was impartial, he'd be neutral. #5 is a hotel.
(And yes, I know New Amsterdam was the original name for New York... so nowhere near The Netherlands. But I'm presuming it was named by Dutch settlers.)
Nether mind if you didn't get them all. There will be another chance next Saturday.
Reams will have been written over the past 48 hours about the importance of Scott Walker and his contribution to popular music. From my own perspective, Scott produced 4 peerless solo albums in the late 60s, often featuring what I consider to be the definitive versions of songs by Jacques Brel, but also a strong mix of his own compositions. These four albums played a strong part in the musical landscape of my 20s when my tastes began widening beyond the mainstream. Before that, he produced a run of classic hit singles with the Walker Brothers (not forgetting their 70s revival). After that, he went a bit weird. I tried with albums Tilt and The Drift, but ultimately found them hard going... a bit too experimental. I kept meaning to go back and give them another try, and maybe one day I will.
However, later in his career, when Walker was much in demand as a producer, he brought a glorious orchestral glow to one of my favourite albums of the noughties: We Love Life, the final album by Pulp. I reckon Jarvis owes a lot more than just that to Scott though.
Scott Walker was a classy gent, a unique vocalist, a reclusive figure of mystery and wonder. He could have been a much bigger pop star, but chose a different road. He'll live longer in our memories because of that.
Here are ten of my favourite Scott Walker performances...
Look up melancholy in the dictionary... and wait for the flourish of the string section just before the two minute mark. Classical composition tricks in a "pop" song... and lyrics that redefine heartbreak.
If I understood French, I may appreciate Brel's original versions more. I can listen to them and enjoy them, but the translated lyrics brings these tunes to life for me. That said, I still think Scott's performance and production heightens the drama and comedy of even the Brel originals. Walker + Brel = wow.
A complete kitchen sink melodrama in under 4 minutes - performed with the conviction of an operatic aria. This was one of Scott's earliest compositions... and Jarvis was taking notes.
When he chose to write the tunes himself, Noel Scott Engel could give as good as Brel... or any of the other classic songwriters he chose to interpret. Lyrics such as these would only work with Scott Walker's utter conviction of delivery...
His bloated belching figure stomps He may crash through the ceiling soon The window sees trees cry from cold And claw the moon
Brel rewritten by Rod McKuen. Recorded by Frank Sinatra, Shirley Bassey, Dusty Springfield, Tom Jones... but none of them know heartbreak like Scott does.
This could have been my Number One. Jacques Brel's finest - and funniest - composition given its definitive reading. Yes, the Marc Almond version is great, but I'm sure even Marc would agree that Scott had it nailed.
And if one day I should become A singer with a Spanish bum Who sings for women of great virtue I'd sing to them with a guitar I borrowed from a coffee bar Well, what you don't know doesn't hurt you
