Tony Bennett had a pretty good innings, didn't he? Over 70 years as a recording artist, working with everyone from Frank Sinatra to Lady Gaga, he always maintained his cool. Look at this performance from just a year ago... 95 and still delivering the goods. Wow.
The Jukebox obviously has lots of tributes to pay. Let's start with a track from an album called Did I Shave My Legs For This?
Beyond the hearts and flowers stuff though, we find a more intriguing reference...
And when I'm next in line I'm in it to win it Playin' the lotto dreamy eyed like I was Tony Bennett When I lose consolation rolls up in a minute Toothless meth head offerin', mad clinic
Although I was rather disappointed that the title below was actually a "featuring Tony" credit rather than a song about how Doc finds the old smoothy a bit objectionable...
And I was most disappointed to not be able to find this anywhere online...
The Untanned Hide Of A Young Cow - Tony Bennett
Our final lyrical reference comes in a song about another, slightly less famous, Tony, former Arsenal player and self-confessed alcoholic, Tony Adams. Joe Strummer's song is about finding a way out of addiction, and it's probably not the best tribute to Mr. Bennett out there... but it was my favourite tune today...
Certain stars just appear effortlessly cool. Harry Belafonte was one of them. Actor, singer and close friend and confidant of Martin Luther King, Harry was a legend.
Let's see how he's remembered in the jukebox, starting with Tony Bennett, making up his own lyrics to a classic...
And if I never had a cent
I'd be rich as Harry Belafonte
With Barry Goldwater at my feet
On the sunny side of the street
Goldwater was a conservative Republican whom, I imagine, Harry had little time for.
Quite a lot of rappers name-drop Harry, understandably given his prominent civil rights activism over the years. Here's Black Thought from The Roots with Danger Mouse...
Ayo, don't even worry 'bout it, my legendary stylin'
Meanwhile, Aussie rockers The Church place Harry in very fine company...
Brian Wilson and William Tell We welcome you Harry Belafonte and Alexander Bell We welcome you Archangel Gabriel and Richard Hell We welcome And Tom Miller
Today belong to Joe Strummer though, who mentions Harry in not one, but two, of his tunes. Let's face it, if Joe Strummer namedrops you twice, you must be a legend.
Somebody's got to draw a line somewhere, And it might as well be Harry Belafonte
Alyson nailed this week's band image. Who else but the Electric Six. Any excuse to play one of my favourite videos... with Jack White on guest vocals...
Next came C, who remarked that reading (last week's post) makes it sound/feel like we were all in the same room having a good old real-life conversation (remember those?) - and I love it.
You mean we can't do that anymore, C? Oh wait, no, you're right. That sort of thing is only allowed for senior government advisers, isn't it? Silly me.
Oh, and here's C's suggestion for this week, and a fine one it is too...
Swiss Adam was the first to remark that there were "Not so many sixes..." (in comparison to last week's epic), but you won't hear me complaining. Here are his suggestions...
Didn't we have that ten posts again? I'm not sure it counts this time.
There seems to be something called Six Pack by our old chum Sting and his fellow Policemen but that certainly won't be your pick if last week's comments were anything to go by.
I've actually nothing against Sting when he's fighting alongside the Boys in Blue. It's just once all the tantric wibbly wobbly stuff creeps in that he loses me.
The Police - Six Pack
Sadly though, this appears not to be a song but a box set of early Police singles. The best ones.
Wish we'd reached this number next week, as it would have coincided with one with all the sixes in the calendar - Just think, wouldn't it be something to have been born 60 years ago in 1960 on a date with all the sixes! Something devilish about that.
So if I save this post till Saturday, it can go out on the 6th of the 6th? Are you happy to sacrifice Saturday Snapshots just for that, Alyson?
No, I didn't think so.
Shortly after this, Lynchie and George got into a debate about Dundee and moustaches which didn't involve any sixes, but was quite amusing. Then George returned with this...
The Gracious Losers - Six Degrees of Separation
Sadly, I couldn't find that anywhere on t'internet, George. But here's another song from them to make up for that...
I will gladly take any further Lee Hazlewood suggestions you want to make, CC, as they're always excellent.
Oh look, The Swede's finally up! And he's remembered which way round I like my artists & titles this week. So let's crack on with his list, since he's no lightweight like Swiss Adam and Jim...
That, on the other hand, was even worse than could have been expected from a band called Dr Mix & the Remix. It sounded like someone had left a tape recorder running in David Lynch's bathroom.
Brian, who almost beat The Swede to the game this week, was very impressed with a couple of earlier selections.
Jim in Dubai had a couple of favorites this week with Tender Trap and, especially, Split Enz. My vote goes with one of the Swede's picks... Tom Waits. I love that era around Swordfishtrombones and Rain Dogs. Here are a couple of more:
I think that did appear on the #9 post, Walter... just before I introduced the Tom Robinson Rule.
From Germany to Canada for our final contribution this week, as usual it's Douglas McLaren...
I will stick to one offering. Not likely a contender for the winning spot (as it is nearly nine minutes and an instrumental), but I like the song, and the group deserves an award for the most evocative titles:
You see, if you're going to do an "intro waiting for a song", at least put your money where your mouth is and make it a nine minute intro waiting for a song!
OK, time for my scrapings. By the way, nobody guessed my winning tune this week. I had Martin down for it, but I suspect he might have been out on his bike. Shame, it would have been an easy win for him.
(No, that does not contravene the Tom Robinson Rule.)
OK, so that brings us to the end of this week's post, and for the first time in ages, nobody has guessed my record of the week. I even went around to Martin's house and shouted through his window to have a go (on Sunday night to boot!), and all I got back was this...
Struggling. Was going to pitch Mansun and Sneaker Pimps, and they've both gone already. What am I missing? Am I going to be kicking myself?
I don't know. Maybe.
Here's a clue...
No?
What's in the box?
It's only the sequel to Se7en...
...courtesy of Evan Dando and chums.
Only 5 left, folks. Who's going to take the fifth?
Many thanks to Jim in Dubai for suggesting this week's opening image and reminding us all of 90s Italo House band The 49ers... though, to be honest, I could have done without the reminder.
Far more interesting was Jim's second band-related suggestion, 49 Americans with the track Should Be More Ideal...
True enough, Alan... but at least it's not Italo House.
As for the 49ers... call me an old fogey, but I far preferred Douglas McClaren's latest, Canadian-themed suggested...
This week's winner though was correctly identified by The Swede. Proof, if further proof were needed, that Joe Walsh was far more interesting than the Eagles gave him credit for. Remember: this man ran for President against Ronald Reagan (even though he was too young at the time to have been elected).
I have an obvious cool answer and an obvious slightly-less-cool answer for 48... but I'm sure we'll find some others too. Over to you.
It seems nobody will mourn the NME, and all those whose careers were ravaged in its pages will have the last laugh at what it became - a free supermarket ad-sheet they couldn't even give away. Two album reviews a week and they still had the nerve to call it the New Musical Express! Yes, it had its moments, and yes, it brought fame to bands that might otherwise never have crawled out of their parents' basements, but it also wallowed in the pathetic press culture of "build 'em up then knock 'em down" and groomed journalistic egos that were bigger than many rock stars'. As a magazine, it should have been put out of its misery years ago - long before far more worthy music papers breathed their last.
Its legacy? It'll always live on in these fine songs...
Julie Burchill and Tony Parsons, during their tenure at the NME, wrote a rather vicious little book about the music industry which Pete took offence to...
Not Moz's finest hour... but then, neither was his various run-ins with the NME. Yes, they had it in for him... yet they also knew they wouldn't have kept going as long as they did without him. The greatest abusive relationship in the history of pop music?
Here's a tip, Morrissey... if you stick your hand into a crocodile's mouth and it bites off your finger, how about not sticking your hand back in there over and over again and getting upset when the same thing keeps happening to you?
In which Robert Smith takes umbrage at Paul Morley's review of Three Imaginary Boys and rips into him in a BBC session... while quoting much of the very review that caused him so much ire.
But I haven’t told the others, ‘cos they’d mess around and burp,
And tell the truth and laugh at me for drinking a classic red bottled by a medal-winning estate on the banks of the Garonne...
In which Nigel Blackwell plays the part of a pretentious arsehole musician getting interviewed by the NME...
So then Ben, it seems every track on the EP involves death, drunkenness, desperate poverty, diabolical dealings, incest, murder and abandonment. Does this reflect your current state of mind?
Eddie Argos wrote my favourite song about the NME...
Haven't read the NME in so long
Don't know what genre we belong
Popular culture, no longer applies to me
How much do you feel that last line? I'm thinking of making that the strapline for this blog too.
Yes, that was my favourite NME song. But this had to be Number One... 1. Sex Pistols - Anarchy In The UK
How many ways to get what you want
I use the best, I use the rest
I use the N.M.E.
I use anarchy!
Or did the NME use them? Symbiosis defined.
Apologies if there were any typos in this post... I threw it together rather quickly before it fell out of fashion. And I'm sure I'll have missed loads of songs as a result... your suggestions welcome.
