I've left out the obvious ones like Mad World, I'm Going Slightly Mad, Patsy Cline and Aerosmith. Here are a few more tunes that almost made the cut this weekend, starting with some Pop Punk from 1999...
Finally for today, a lady whose work "blends elements of gothic rock, doom metal, and folk." This one though wouldn't sound out of place on a David Lynch soundtrack...
We finished watching the second series of Stephen Merchant’s The
Outlaws last week. I didn’t really like the direction the plot took this
season, but the cast was still strong, Merchant’s writing is still funny (if a
little BBC-preachy at times) and Christopher Walken is in it. Playing
Christopher Walken. Except he’s in the last place you’d expect to find
Christopher Walken.
Although he made his name in a diverse set of roles, from
The Deer Hunter to The Dead Zone, in recent years Christopher Walken has pretty
much played it safe and been Christopher Walken in just about everything.
Charming, witty, twinkly-eyed… but with a layer of sinister malevolence that
says if you cross him… boom! And often, though he doesn’t play the starring
role, he has the most memorable scene in the movie. Take his face-off with
Dennis Hopper in True
Romance or the Gold Watch monologue from Pulp Fiction. They never grow old.
When it comes to popping up in pop songs though… Walken is all over the place. Most memorably in a certain Norman Cook video.
Back in the 80s, there was a Ryan O’Neal film written by Norman Mailer called
Tough Guys Don’t Dance. Mailer obviously never met Walken.
Beyond dancing - what about lyrical cameos?
Well, Wilco have a song called Walken… though from the
lyrics, it does seem to be more about walking.
I'm walkin' all by myself Well, I was talkin' to myself About you; what am I gonna do?
If I seriously believed that was about Christopher Walken, I
might also suggest that Chaucer was predicting the rise of the great actor back in The
Canterbury Tales…
A mayde, and love huntynge and venerye, And for to walken in the wodes wilde, And noght to ben a wyf, and be with childe.
More specific references can be found in the following…
And a gold cap tooth is always misunderstood Christopher Walken's in a terrible mood And I broke some hearts I met along the way But my heart's broken every brand new day
From their 2017 comeback album, Damage & Joy, which I clearly need to spend more time with.
Stayed up late that night, texting away and talking Steaming my suit in the bathroom I'm gonna look sharp tomorrow, Like Christopher Walken in True Romance
Mark Kozelek will probably turn up in this feature a lot, because his rambling talky monologue "songs" drop references like this all the time. But I'm a Mark Kozelek fan, so I'm always happy to feature him here.
I see you're living in the basement in the summertime Your hat's on way too tight I see your middle name is Jason And I know it isn't Christopher Walken So why didn't you get a haircut?
Being an English teacher, I never really know what to make of Math Rock. Other than it clearly needs an 's'.
Ah, where, where was my mind when Mother said? Avoid navel-contemplating Floppy-haired actors originally from Baltimore Who excel at mime, still play Stratego And have issues with their mom Sure at first they're very charming, their attention is disarming But give attention in return and, dear, they'll drop you like a bomb Yes, do avoid REO Speedwagon-loving Christopher Walken-imitating thespians originally from Baltimore Who can't piss unless their shrink says it's okay Why let them break your heart, dear? Put your head on and be smart, dear Put some bug spray on and make them go away
I can't tell you anything about this other than I love it.
Velvet Presley lives in a hole No one can stop those neighbours talking Velvet Presley, rock and roll Thinking he looks like Christopher Walken Listen and he'll tell you of the time when he was leaving ‘Cos you never really had it that tough
I imagine Governor's Island is Shutter Island I imagine Christopher Walken as a dancer named Ryan It just don't seem right!
I think the reason I like this feature is that it throws up a lot of songs that are lyrically intriguing, tell stories, and are full of tiny novelistic details... which are my favourite types of songs, regardless of genre.
Ponies and clowns will be walking around Naked people having sex all over the ground Britney Spears is making out with Christopher Walken In the back yard Iron Maiden is rocking!
Regardless of genre!!! (Also, I think these guys are taking the piss. At least, I hope they are.)
And we talk about girls, what brothers don't talk about
girls And in his best Christopher Walken, He says "Go out and get 'em", guess who's the
protagonist?
I'm pretty sure I went to school with a kid called Jason Falkner. He wasn't the lead singer of Jellyfish though.
However, by far the best Christopher Walken songs I came
across during my research are the ones below. Both are deserving of a Gold Watch.
Firstly, Aussie wunderkind Courtney Barnett…
You say "Christopher", I say "Walken" You love, I love Christopher Walken I guess at least we have got one thing in common
And secondly, old favourites of this blog, with one of their
very best (much-covered) tunes…
I used to know you when we were young You were in all my dreams We sat together in Period One Fridays at 8:15
Now I see your face in the strangest places Movies and magazines I saw you talking to Christopher Walken On my TV screen
But I will wait for you As long as I need to And if you ever get back to Hackensack I'll be here for you
I just read that in the early 70s, Charles Bronson was the world's Number One Box Office Star. I find that incredible to believe... but not as incredible as you guys not solving the Snapshots.
Here are this week's candy-coloured solutions...
10. Hoarse or Wonder Horse?
Hoarse would be gruff. Champion The Wonder Horse was a Super Furry Animal. As is a Candylion.
After completing my Top Ten tribute to the work of Phil Spector on Tuesday evening, I couldn't help but feel like there was something missing. Yes, I'd covered the very best of Spector's own musical output... but what of his legacy? If it hadn't been for his influence, chances are we wouldn't ever have heard any of the songs below... at least not in the way we know and love them.
(As to the photo above, Bruce probably regrets that now almost as much as the ill-advised Ben Affleck goatee.)
Prior to the sessions that produced this, Ring Ring, and other Spector-esque Abba classics, engineer Michael B. Tretow read Richard Williams' book Out of His Head: The Sound of Phil Spector. After that, he layered on the overdubs, and Abba's sound changed forever.
Roy Wood made no secret of the fact that he was aiming to recreate the Wall of Sound on songs like this one and I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday. The kitchen sink was full utilised.
From the opening echo-drenched drumbeats, stolen directly from Be My Baby, there's little doubt that the Mary Chain had been listening to a lot of Phil Spector.
Producers Johnny Franz and Ivor Raymonde set out their stall as the British equivalents to Phil Spector, and this is probably the song that came closest to emulating the Wall of Sound sound. Ironically, it was released in 1966, the same year Spector became demoralised with the music industry following the weaker-than-expected chart performance of his masterpiece, River Deep, Mountain High.
Produced by George 'Shadow' Morton, who aimed to take Spector's sense of melodrama to the next level... and arguably succeeded on tracks such as this and Past, Present & Future. Morton wore a cape in the studio, but - as far as I know - never pulled a gun on anyone.
As much as Jim Steinman stole from Bruce Springsteen, he stole far more from Phil Spector. If Spector created the Wall of Sound, Steinman built another three walls and then a roof on top. Many see this as excess, but it's that very excess that appeals to me in Steinman's work. He might get more respect if he had a little more restraint... but he's all right in my book.
Back in the 90s, record company bosses tried to get Spector to work with Steinman... to produce, of all people, Celine Dion. Spector refused, saying he had no desire to work with, "amateurs, students, and bad clones of yours truly."
Steinman, in typically Steinman-esque fashion, replied, "I'm thrilled to be insulted by Phil Spector. He's my God, my idol. To be insulted by Phil Spector is a big honour. If he spits on me, I consider myself purified."
I'm sure George will have something to say about me placing this at #2, or for choosing it ahead of anything from Pet Sounds, which Brian Wilson described as an "interpretation" of Phil Spector's Wall of Sound production technique. I will freely admit that I consider God Only Knows to be a better song than Good Vibrations (and maybe even my #1)... but God Only Knows doesn't sound as Spectorish to me as this does.
Brian Wilson created Good Vibrations with the aim of portraying his "whole life performance in one track", telling himself, "This is going to be better than You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling". Spector pulled the song apart, saying there was way too much "tape manipulation" and too many edits for it to be a "beautiful" record.
1. Bruce Springsteen - Born To Run
Well, I'm nothing if not predictable, am I?
Producer Mike Appel explains how Bruce came to him before the recording of Born To Run and said, "I’m trying to meld my lyrics with more Phil Spector-type songs and I’d like to use his production values", which Appel then helped him develop.
“Phil’s greatest lesson," Bruce later said, "was that sound, sound, sound is its own language.”
36 comments and counting from last week, as I begin to type this up. To be fair though, most of them were from George, who doesn't even like this series. Here's his first suggestion...
John Lennon had a really truly awful single in the mid 70s called Number nine dream. Don't include that in your list.
I've got to say, I'm with George on that though: that is bloody awful. Don't watch the video either, unless you want to catch Yoko Ono in leather hotpants. I'm sorry, but I'm siding with Paul on this one.
At least the REM version doesn't have Yoko in it. Or her hotpants.
Whenever I heard the name Meat Puppets, I expect them to be some kind of industrial metal / goth band... not a million miles from Nine Inch Nails. I never fail to be amazed by how they actually sound.
Now much as I like the idea of torturing George, I'm afraid I have to agree with him again on this. Which makes twice in the same week. I am now officially worried for my mental health.
And the perfect lyrical opener for next weeks column... says Rigid Digit.
Trust me, I listened to the opening lyrics... and I couldn't make head or tail of them.
Welcome back, my friends
To the show that never ends
We're so glad you could attend
Come inside! Come inside
Really? Is that what he was singing? Why can't he enunciate? He was so much nicer when he was singing about Father Christmas.
Speaking of properly enunciating: back to The Swede's list...
I think this was The Swede's last suggestion this week. I don't think I missed any out...
The Studio One Band - Nine Pence
Can't find that last one anywhere on t'internet, but I'm sure it's a belter. It's got to be better than John Lennon and ELP anyway. Eh, George? Go on, old pal, it's you and me against the world this week. What else have you got for me?
Of course it does... just listen to that intro too! Blimey. Makes me want to do high kicks. I've got half a mind to let you take over this feature, George.
Yes, Revolution 9 is a perfect example of why the Beatles had to split up. Weird, really, since the same title (minus the 9) produced one of my all time favourite Beatles songs.
Wow, Rol, your Hot 100s are getting longer and longer, says C. I suspect this trend is set to continue for a few more weeks...
What doesn't kill you just makes you stronger, C. As we're all supposed to be discovering at the moment. I'll go with 'Nine Plan Failed' by Adam & The Ants from his arty Dirk Wears White Sox days.
That's a good one! says Lynchie. And it is too. I've been listening to quite a bit of Dave Alvin lately - his voice is a great comfort. But I didn't know that one, so thank you.
Marie (can't link to you this week, Marie, your blog has disappeared again) sided with George on the Nine Pound Hammer, also suggesting this version...
This post reminds me of one of the most epic of epic Chain posts over at Jez's place.
One of my inspirations.
Talking of The Chain he used to have a Worst Record of the Week award so I'm going to nominate song Nine Million Bicycles by Katie Melua. She has a sweet voice and looks stunning but those Mike Batt lyrics drove me mad and I wrote about them over at my place.
Alyson then goes on to explain in detail her issue with this song, but she forbids me from reposting it here (even though it might have helped me beat Jez's record for longest blog post ever). You can read her cutting analysis here though.
Then Lynchie joined in with his own analysis of the Beijing bikes issue:
Fair point about those alleged 9 million bicycles in Beijing, Alyson. As you suggest - it was closer to 9 and a half million back in 2005 when the Katie Melua song was released. But, bicycle use in Beijing has dropped from about 60 percent in 1986 to 17 percent in 2010. At the same time, car use has grown 15 percent a year for the last ten years. (Note - these statistics come from a study of cycling in Beijing conducted by Jinhua Zhao, an urban planning professor at the University of British Columbia. You can find more about the De-Bikification of Beijing here.
I have to admit, I quite like that song though, despite all your objections. My biggest problem is with the video - she's going to ruin that lovely jacket. What a shame.
I bet George is a big Katie Melua fan too. Speaking of George, here's one final suggestion from my new co-writer this week...
With all the suggestions above, I hesitate to add to your sifting burden frivolously. But I have always tried to inject a small Canadian element to your rundown, and though Bryan Adams has been listed already, I feel Canada deserves a more fair and balanced representation than just that one...song. So my musings have turned up a short 1 minute exuberant little ditty I hope you will accept, "Song Nein", by Gunnarola. Its lyrics, though nonsensical, are certainly no moreso than "Song 2" by Blur, which surely must feature prominently in a few weeks time. My favourite lyric is the line "Ich habe Sauerkraut in meinen Lederhosen!" And before you look at the Teutonic spelling in the title and cry "Nyet!", I suggest he certainly intends at least a pun on the Nummer Neun, as indeed it comes in its due and proper sequence following numbers einz and zwei all the way through to seven and eight. For those interested, Gunnarola is a young Youtube artist from London (not of course in England, wherein the Queen lives, but London, Ontario, a gritty industrial town a couple hours west of where I live). He reached his pinnacle of popularity in 2009 with his song "Canadian, Please", which elicited 5 million views for its saucy lyrics extolling the virtues of life in Canada.
I think it's fair to say Mike Nesmith has a more respectable post-Monkees career than either Lennon or McCartney, post-Beatles. Ooh, little bit of controversy there.
That's rather lovely too. But I had to hold off on spending any more money for the moment.
I'm going to miss this series.
Well, that makes one of us, Brian. I do have an idea for what'll replace it though. Hopefully something that doesn't offer up quite so many potential songs every week...
And finally this week, it's over to Jim in Dubai...
Not much left this week but here's what i can add.
Y'know what, Jim? When you suggested that, I shuddered slightly. Then I listened to it again and... bloody hell, you're right. I'd forgotten what a fine pop song that was.
However, I have to hand it to The Swede again this week, for being the first to suggest what he called "surely a massive contender". Because, yes, it was.
Even before The Temptations start singing, this was the winner...
I didn't discover that Jerry Reed wrote Guitar Man until recently. Before I became a fan of his back catalogue, I only really knew Reed from his role as Cledus "Snowman" Snow in Smokey & The Bandit (for which he also wrote and sung the theme tune, East Bound & Down). As well as being an actor, Reed was a successful singer and guitarist, but he arguably found the most mainstream success as a songwriter, scoring hits for Elvis and Johnny Cash, among others. Let's face it, once Elvis has had hits with a couple of your tunes. life probably becomes a lot easier.
However, my favourite track on that compilation was the Jesus & Mary Chain doing Guitar Man. An unusual choice for the band in question, since it's such an upbeat song with a real pop tune... unlike most of their own material. They make it typically JAMC though - lots of feedback! - and while I'm not saying it's better than Elvis or Jerry... it's definitely a contender.
French metal band 6:33 welcome us all to #33 in our Hot 100 countdown. I understand their cover of Silver Lady by David Soul is especially worth seeking out.
33 (and a third) is the number of revolutions per minute made by a long-player / vinyl album. Young people will probably need to consult iffypedia about this, unless they're a hipster, in which case they probably know more about it than I do.
Since I think it's fair to say that hipsters do not read this blog, what do all you old non-hipsters recommend?
The Swede kicked us off this week with a veritable plethora. (Well, a "ple4a", anyway.)
C popped up next with an offering that Charity Chic swiftly declared "the winner!" If only he was compiling these posts. (He's welcome to take over now that he's finished the already much-missed Double Letter Saturday feature. Save me the extra work as we get nearer to #1. Hint hint.)
How about when Grace Jones sounds a lot like Dusty Springfield in I've Done It Again from Nightclubbing?
I was there when Jenny Lind first sang First to feel the cold Alaskan white man First to take a trip on LSD First to vote for Roosevelt back in '33
Next up was Rigid Digit with three solid suggestions...
At the age of 33 and a third, the time that Christ spent on earth, I decided to cut all ties with showbiz. As the awards piled up in the bath, well I started to laugh At all those who died in the name of light entertainment.
That came very close to winning this week, for obvious reasons.
Then came Deano, who explained this week's selection thus...
Before he became outlaw country music's
resident eccentric that would do anything for a publicity stunt, his
debut album was actually some really good blues material, including this
song about a fragile prisoner that has just received some bad news.
Finally came Douglas, who decided to try playing the Canadian card again this week.
For
starters, I wish there were recordings available of any of Gordon
Lightfoot's renditions of "The 33rd of August" which he apparently
undertook in studio in 1969 as an attempt to put together a final
contractually obligated album of covers for UA, which sadly was aborted
and the decision was made to deliver with a live album instead. The
recordings are out there somewhere... anyway, for the record I prefer
the original Mickey Newbury version of this song to others out there.
(See above.)
But
for Canadian content, I am left suggesting Stars' song Personal, which
is a very sad short story of a song told back and forth through
his-and-hers personal columns responses which ends with the heartache of
being stood up. It starts thus:
28 and bored, grieving over loss, sorry to be heavy
But heavy is the cost, heavy is the cost...
Now that might not have won this week, but only because it's not yet in my collection and the winner must always exist in my own library. That said, it's a bloody good tune, so thanks for introducing it to me, Douglas... and it will come in very well on the Top Ten Lonely Hearts Column Songs I've been trying to compile for months now. (Note to everybody: I need another three good ones.)
Speaking of songs from my own library, here's what it threw up this week (along with many of the ones above)...
All of which brings us to this week's winner, which was a real toss-up with Luke Haines, but in the end Frank edged it with an equally biting open line that sums up the state of the world at the moment... and offers good advice for anyone who ever thinks of interviewing He Who Has Fallen From Grace again...
"Stop asking musicians what they think" He said softly as he poured himself a second drink And outside, the world slipped over the brink
We all thought we had nothing to lose That we could trust in crossed fingers and horseshoes That everything would work out, no matter what we choose
The first time it was a tragedy The second time is a farce Outside it's 1933 so I'm hitting the bar
Don't go mistaking your house burning down for the dawn!
And they called it Puppy Love... but I guess they'll never know the appeal of Saturday Snapshots, will they?
Some "tough ones" (they were all easy to me!) and a few Saturday morning lie-ins split the marks this week. Two points each to Alyson, C and Rigid Digit. 1 point each to Charity Chic, Walter and Chris. As I type this, #9 remains unanswered.
Hopefully you weren't Too Young to know all of these...
Another interesting charity shop find, the 2013 debut album from Manchester girl group PINS: what the Jesus & Mary Chain might have sounded like if Phil Spector had put them together... "First things first, let's get rid of those lanky Scottish blokes..."
(See, I can do short posts if I try really hard. And after October's #1, I figured you all needed a break.)
Still no time to write new Top Tens and my backlog is dwindling. When I post My Top Ten Pigeon Songs (the one I always hold in reserve), you'll know the barrel has been well and truly scraped.
Meanwhile, here's ten top tunes that live beneath the surface.
Even though it isn't strictly Britpop (trip-hop?!?), this reminds me of that era when I worked in a radio station record library, got loads of free CDs, and went to many free gigs. 18 years ago... yes, I'm still feeling my age.
Kimya's head is about to explode and kill everyone in close proximity. Great lyrics.
So I tattoo instructions on my ass That say "don't ever put this body in a casket Burn it and put the ashes in a basket And throw them in the Puget Sound I don't ever want to be under ground" Oh no, oh no
What begins as a terrifying vision of a future world driven underground after destroying its home on the surface... becomes something entirely different, in a dark, sightless world where everyone is suddenly equal.
A great song about feeling like you don't belong to any of the cool scenes.
Who's got the looks? Who's got the brains? Who's got everything? I've got this pain in my heart That's all Hey you, with the long and lonely face There's gotta be something else...
You don't need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows...
1. The Jam - Going Underground
Some people might say my life is in a rut...
Well, what else could it have been?
The Jam's first Number One single has an interesting story behind it. Originally, Going Underground was meant to be the b-side, but a cock up at the factory meant it became a double a-side with Dreams of Children. DJs got to choose which track they played on the radio (ah, those were the days!) and Going Underground won out. It entered the chart in the top spot, something that happens all the time these days but was pretty rare in 1980. Putting that into further context, the Number One before it was Together We Are Beautiful by Fern Kinney... and it was followed by The Detroit Spinners: Working My Way Back To You.
Of course, this isn't the Jam's only undergound-related song... and I'd argue that Down In The Tube Station At Midnight is even better. But I'm saving that for another chart.
God, Weller looks young in this video!
You choose your leaders and place your trust As their lies put you down and their promises rust You'll see kidney machines replaced by rockets and guns And the public wants what the public gets But I don't get what this society wants
Following on from my Fairground Top Tens, Adrian requested "a Ronan Keating-free Rollercoaster Top Ten" over on Facebook. Well, I'm always happy to oblige... though I have a curious love/hate relationship with Ronan's biggest hit as it was written by former New Radicals man Gregg Alexander, and if he'd bothered to record it himself I can't help thinking I'd have liked it a lot more.
So strap yourself in... and get ready for the ride of your life!
10. Sleeper - Rollercoaster
From the final Sleeper album, the one so few people bought, I can't find this song anywhere online. A shame, because it's a cute little indie pop song which Louise & co. always excelled at.
Thanks to Deano for pointing me in the direction of these mental Aussies. If the band name alone doesn't get them points, the video throws in the kitchen sink.
Sadly, I can only find a 30 second clip of this wonderful song online, but that's still enough to fall in love with....
I had a friend who treated love Like a luxury development On the other side of town And one day his girl got up And left and slammed the door And his fine walls came falling down
But don't be blue, he built a fairground there For you and I to ride
One of Adrian's biggest problems with that Ronan Keating song was the creakingly obvious metaphor of life being a rollercoaster. Here, Mr. Duffy has a similar go, calling love a rollercoaster... yet it's much, much sweeter. Conclusive proof that there are no bad metaphors, just metaphors used badly.
Or something.
1. The Ohio Players - Love Rollercoaster
There's a gruesome urban legend that the background scream around about the 2 1/2 minute mark in this song actually came from a woman being murdered in the studio during the recording. (Was it the engineer's girlfriend?) It's utter bogwash, of course, but you could believe just about anything when it comes to The Ohio Players. Those guys were mental.
Covered more recently by the Red Hot Chilli Peppers... but that wasn't a patch on the original.
As requested, ten rollercoaster songs and not a Ronan in sight. Any other scream-worthy suggestions?
