Today is, I'm presuming in the US, but maybe elsewhere too, "National Repeat Day".
I'll let them explain...
Ever had an experience that was so amazing, it’s worth doing twice? Or said something so brilliant that it simply bears repeating? Well, that’s exactly what this day is all about.
What?!?
National Repeat Day invites people to lean into the oddly satisfying side of doing something again on purpose. It can be as simple as replaying a favourite song or as ambitious as recreating an entire “best day ever” itinerary.
Was this written by AI? What exactly is "oddly satisfying" about doing something you like again? Why do I need a special day to play my favourite song again?
This post was inspired by a new song from Stephen Wilson Jr., an Americana artist I’ve only recently discovered. He’s worthy of further investigation if this sort of thing is your bag.
Anyway, the chorus informs us, “There ain't a
lot of boys named Gary these days”, a reminder of how birth names fall in and
out of fashion. (Amusingly, they’ve got the actor Gary Sinise to star in the
video… although it doesn’t end well for him.) This got me thinking about
the names of the kids Sam goes to school with… versus the ones I went to school
with.
I have a nephew called Gary. He’s about ten or twelve years
younger than me. But there are no Garys in Sam’s school. Neither is there a
Neil or a Sean, the names of my other nephews.
I started to think about the most common names of kids I
grew up with.
Sam doesn’t know any Richards. No Ricks or Rickys either.
And while he probably knows a few dicks… there are definitely no Dicks.
He also doesn’t go to school with anyone called Paul.
Steven? Stephen? Steve? Stevie? Not a one.
Andrew… he knows one Andy. There must have been a dozen in
my school.
Fantastic Negrito – A Boy Named Andrew
Most shocking of all though… Sam doesn’t know anyone called
David.
No Daves!?!
Everyone knows a Dave – surely?! Two of my best mates are
called Dave – and I only have three and a half friends.
No Darrens, no Phils, no Jasons, no Brians, and definitely no Kevins.
The Undertones - My Perfect Cousin
He does know a heck of a lot of Georges though… he told me
he could count 15, but he might have been exaggerating. Slightly.
Edwyn Collins - Gorgeous George
Other common boys’ names in Sam’s school?
Harry.
Arthur.
Albert.
Isaac.
Frank.
The Monochrome Set - He's Frank (Slight Return)
Eli.
Three Dog Night - Eli's Coming
Alfie.
(Sorry, Cilla's version goes right through me.)
The weird thing is, I didn’t go to school with a single one
of those. In fact, if you’d asked me when I was a kid, I would have told you
they were all old men names. Harry Bamforth was an old farmer who lived across
the fields from us. So was Arthur Lockwood. And Frank Shaw. Albert Tatlock and
Alf Roberts were old blokes on Coronation Street. Eli and Isaac were names I
only read about in Old Testament RE lessons.
I wonder if, in another 20 years’ time, the classrooms will be full of Garys, Darrens and Daves again? There probably won't be many Donalds... but I could be wrong.
A final word today from Nigel (no Nigels in Sam's school either)...
In case you're wondering - yes, there will be a follow-up to this post about girl's names.
Probably next week some time.
Track 8: The Lemonheads - Alison's Starting To Happen
Over at No
Badger Required, the esteemed gentleman known as SWC has been counting down
Rock’s Greatest artists beginning with the letter E. All his
blogging chums were asked to vote, and naturally a lot of my own choices fell
by the wayside (I didn’t expect the Eagles to make it into the Top 20, but I
was generally wounded by one voter's opinion that ELO were "the worst band in the world…
apart from Queen"). Still, such is the nature of democracy… which goes a long
way towards explaining why Donald Trump has been elected President of the USA
twice, while Bruce Springsteen hasn’t even been nominated. Whenever SWC asks
for my votes, I always feel unworthy of giving them, like I’m being invited to
play for the school football team only so that the jocks can have a good laugh
at my expense. But enough of my insecurities… what does all this have to do
with the Lemonheads?
Well, Mr. L-Head himself, Evan Dando, got enough votes to
make #12 on the list, though I doubt that was for his one solo album, Baby I’m
Bored, released in 2003… chances are it had far more to do with his band.
Sadly, his high ranking in the list arrived shortly after a sordid news report
revealed that Evan had been checked into a mental health hospital following
sexually inappropriate behaviour via video messaging. In light of that, SWC
took the decision to suspend any celebration of Mr. Dando’s work… and while I
understand that completely… for the benefit of this feature, art will
always be separate from artists. Which I’ll remind you all when the Manchester
Miserabilist makes an inevitable appearance at some point in the future.
Alison’s Starting To Happen was one of many stand-out tracks
on the Lemonheads’ breakthrough album, It’s A Shame About Ray, released in
1992. I played that CD till the paint wore off back in the day, and I’ll still
be playing it even if they never let Evan out of the nuthouse. (As someone who
works in the field of mental health, I feel qualified to use that term in
ironic fashion without any offence being intended.) If you’d asked me before
today, I’d have told you that Alison… was the lead single. Pff – shows what I
know. It was never released as a single. Well, it should have been.
Track 9: Lobo - Me & You & A Dog Named Boo
When evaluating these CDs, you must keep in mind that my aim was to engage a youngster. Although I’ve kept a spreadsheet (Alyson will be
proud) of the track-list of every CD I’ve created (to prevent repetition), it
doesn’t contain the date I brought them into the world. I’m guessing Sam would have
been about 8 or 9 when I made this one, so a song called Me & You
& A Dog Named Boo would surely appeal? I wonder if it coincided with us
getting our own dog, Bertie? Possibly not, CD87 probably came first.
Lobo’s real name was Roland Kent LaVoie and he started out
in a band called The Rumours, playing alongside Gram Parsons and Jim ‘Spiders
& Snakes’ Stafford. He also played in bands called US Male, The Uglies, and
the Other Guys… all of which I’ve added to my Namesakes to-do list. He enjoyed
a fair bit of success in the early 70s on both sides of the pond, and although
that faded as the 80s approached, he would later become inexplicably popular in
Asia, so I guess the bills were still paid.
Track 10: Dave Berry - Little Things
I’ve no idea why I included this one – it’s not really a
favourite, and pretty forgotten when it comes to 60s hits. It’s a jaunty enough
little number, raised above the average for me by the “You know…” refrain. But there are far better songs on CD 175, which I’m just putting the finishing
touches to. Maybe I’d heard it on the radio at the time or something.
Dave Berry came from Sheffield, and had a short run of hits
in the mid-60s, starting with a cover of Chuck Berry’s Memphis, Tennessee…
which was the only time that song ever made it into the UK charts. Frankly,
that’s scandalous because the Chuck Berry version should have been Number One
for a year.
Little Things was one of Dave’s three biggest hits – the other two being The Crying Game and Mama. They all reached #5. Bobby Goldsboro wrote and recorded the original Little Things, a Top 20 hit in the States the same year Dave took it into the UK Top Ten.
Dave was no relation to Chuck, Mike or Nick. Actually, his real name was David Holgate Grundy, but as far as I can tell he’s not related to Bill or Solomon either. Iffypedia tells me that whenever he appeared on TV, he attempted to perform with his face hidden, “to stay behind something and not come out" – his upturned collar and the microphone stand are mentioned as props used to achieve this unlikely end.
He also runs an antique shop. Or he did. He's 87 now, so hopefully taking it easy.
Track 11: The Kinks – Apeman
I don’t think the mix is particularly great on this CD –
after a solid run of 80s and 90s tunes, there’s a big chunk of older songs in
the middle. I normally prefer to jump between the eras a bit more… I wonder if
this particular CD was a little rushed, with not enough attention paid to
balance?
Anyway, you can’t go wrong with The Kinks, and Apeman is
bound to appeal to kids with its silly, singalong chorus. Like a lot of Ray
Davies’ more offbeat hits, it seems throwaway at first, but its message is more
profound than you expect… and just as relevant today as it was back then.
Apeman was the follow-up single to Lola in 1970, and it
appeared on the 8th Kinks album, Lola Versus Powerman and the
Moneygoround, Part One, which is surely in the upper echelon of album titles.
In 2018, the Daily Torygraph apparently judged it the second
greatest Kinks song, with one proviso: “Although the reggae-infused piano on
the track is still delicious more than 40 years later, the combination of Ray
Davies's faux-Caribbean accent and his 'apeman' references are not exactly
politically correct these days.” Any thoughts on that from the Cancel Culture
Club Committee?
Heidi Hi, campers!
Welcome back to this week's Snapshots –
songs about underwear! Ms. Klum is famous for walking about in her skivvies,
though she did agree to keep her kit on for propriety’s sake. It was either her
or Biggie Smalls…
15. Crazy, Hippy Lit.
Crazy Chick was a song by Charlotte Church. Hippychick by Soho. And Chick Lit by We Are Scientists.
The
Chicks - Tights On My Boat
14. Tanya Donnelly. (Donelly. Donnelly. Donnelly.)
Tanya Donnelly was the lead singer of Belly. (Belly. Belly. Belly.)
Echobelly
- Pantyhose and Roses
13. It’s not unusual to be a very patient man.
Tom
Waits - Pasties And A G-String
12. Chinese troops in a skirmish.
“Chinese troops” was an anagram.
Stereophonics
- More Life In A Tramp’s Vest
11. When it comes to not throwing stones, these guys are the rulers.
People in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones… but imagine
you lived in a Crystal Castle?
Crystal
Castles - Through The Hosiery
10. Sounds like a Yes Man to me.
His namesake is Jon Anderson from Yes.
John
Anderson - Do You Have a Garter Belt?
Think this was originally a Tony Joe White tune, but Tony
appears here regularly.
9. Show me to my seat.
8. Dado, shags Patti.
Da do Ron Ron… Sex with (Patti) Smith.
7. It takes a bright man to be captain of the England cricket team.
Sarah Brightman and Michael Vaughan.
Sarah
Vaughan – Shiny Stockings
6. Needs ironing out.
The
Kinks - Mick Avory's Underpants
Yeah, OK, it’s only an instrumental – but you find a song
with underpants in the title!
5. Most stories contain one - Add Me On Snapchat!
Most sTORIes. The Snapchat thing is an acronym that the
young people use. Apparently.
Tori
Amos - The Power of Orange Knickers
4. May, Kennedy and Wilson, like the cattle.
Three Bri/yans and Highland Cattle.
Bryan
Hyland - Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polka Dot Bikini
Just be glad I didn’t choose the Timmy Mallett version.
3. Brown, South and Jackson get in the ring.
Three Joes, boxing.
2. Frank takes a Scottish wife, in hashtags and angel eyes.
Frankenstein wanted a Bride, though he wasn’t fussed whether
she was a Mc.
In hASHtags and angeLEYes.
Ashley
McBryde, Caylee Hammack, Pillbox Patti - Brenda Put Your Bra On
And yes, Ashley has some help on that track… but how long do
you want my clues to get?
1. REM's 11th album gets a mixed response.
REM’s 11th was the LP UP. Anagram!
Pulp - Underwear
There are big schedule changes afoot at my favourite radio
station, BBC Radio Scotland. For years now, I’ve been listening to late night
shows from that station (and a couple from BBC Radio Ulster) to help me get to
sleep, and to keep my mind from racing when I wake up in the wee small hours.
Radio has always been a big part of my sleep routine, even as a child I slept
with the radio on and if I woke up in the night, it was reassuring to have a
friendly voice there playing interesting music to keep the night at bay.
These days I don’t listen to live radio, but through the
wonder of BBC Sounds, I always have a bank of shows to go to in the night.
Mickey Bradley and Ralph McLean on the Irish station; Iain Anderson, Natasha
Raskin-Sharp, Roddy Hart and Ricky Ross from Scotland. There’s nothing on Radio
2 or 6Music for me anymore. 2 is too mainstream, far too much chance of hearing
U2, Celine Dion and Simply Red. 6Music is too in love with dance music, or more
likely to play something too loud which will wake me up with a hammering heart.
And I can’t listen to commercial radio (what’s left of it) because of the ads
(irony, I know, because I spent a large part of my life writing those bloody
things).
Lucy
Spraggan – Don’t Play This On The Radio
Anyway, Radio Scotland has a new programme controller, and I
lived through enough of those in my time in radio to know that it’s rarely good
news. Most new programme controllers arrive in the job with a mantra of “If it
ain’t broke – fix it”, and so it is at Radio Scotland. Two of my favourite
shows are ending while a third is being shuffled to the weekend in order to
create a new regular late show that will appeal to the 45+ demographic… i.e.
it’ll sound just like Radio 2. I may be prejudging, but I expect we’ll hear a
lot more U2, Celine Dion and Simply Red.
Farewell then to veteran broadcaster Iain Anderson, who's been on Scottish radio since the days of the Ark, but has always been a
reliable place to go to hear the best singer-songerwritery material of the last
60 years. And an even sadder farewell to the wonderful Natasha Raskin-Sharp, a
presenter with a Peel-like commitment to shining light on artists that never
get played anywhere else on the radio. I’ve listened to both their shows for
over a decade now, I’ve welcomed them into my home, they’ve become warm,
stalwart, dependable friends, and I’ve valued the comfort they’ve given me in
the long dark nights of the soul… I fooled myself into thinking they’d always
be there.
There’s a
campaign running to save these shows, to get BBC Radio Scotland to reverse
it’s schedule changes (slated for the New Year), a campaign backed by a lot of
the independent Scottish musicians who have come to rely upon the shows for
airplay. I’ve signed the petition (currently at 15,000 signatures), but I don’t
hold out much hope. Because I’ve worked in radio, and I’ve seen too many good
presenters forced out over the years because the market testing showed audiences
didn’t want individual choice or musical eclecticism.
Public
Enemy - How To Kill A Radio Consultant
A week or so before the announcement, Iain Anderson played
my favourite song by Mark Germino, and took a moment to dwell upon its message.
I didn’t understand the significance at the time. I do now.
Drew Struzan might not have been a household name, certainly in comparison with Robert Redford and Diane Keaton, most recently featured here... but even if you don't recognise the name, I can guarantee you will know his work.
Struzan was surely the leading movie poster artist of his generation, and many of his designs are arguably even more famous than the films they promoted. In fact, Steven Spielberg once remarked (about his "favourite movie artist") that “I had to almost live up to the art that we later were going to ask Drew to create for the poster.” It could probably be argued that certain film-makers were unable to live up to that promise, and the best thing about some of those flicks was the poster promoting it.
Below is the one I had on my bedroom wall. Why the poster for the sequel, rather than the original movie? Because I wanted both Marty and the Doc done by Mr. Struzan, not just Michael J. Fox on his own.
Rest in peace, Drew. Your art will live forever.
Steely Dan - Everyone's Gone To The Movies
Wreckless Eric - Let's Got To The Pictures
Guided By Voices - Short On Posters
Andy Roberts - I've Seen The Movie
Echo & The Bunnymen - The Pictures On My Wall
“Kneel before Zod!”
For most of my generation, our first encounter with Terence
Stamp was as the evil General Zod in Superman II. The Grauniad called him “the
master of the brooding silence”, and he certainly sent shivers down my spine. Gene Hackman’s Lex Luthor was a pussycat in comparison.
I was surprised General Zod didn’t get referenced all over
the place, but only Eminem (who’s the same age as me) was prepared to kneel
before him.
Terence Stamp had been around for a couple of decades by the
time he played that memorable supervillain, making his screen debut in
the movie Billy Budd, an Oscar-nominated performance that obviously made some
impact on a young Steven Patrick Morrissey…
Morrissey also used an image of Stamp in The Collector as the cover of the third Smiths single, What Difference Does It Make?
Stamp originally refused permission for the picture to be used, but relented in the end… possibly after he’d seen Morrissey’s alternative.
Pete Townshend from The Who has a younger brother called Simon who has occasionally play with big bro’s band, as well as ploughing his own lonely solo furrow. Here he is with a track called Highness, which begins thus…
I am what I am
I just happen to be related to the king
…before named dropping Bowie, Eddie Vedder and Rod Stewart,
as well as… yes, you guessed it, Terence Stamp.
48 Cameras are described on their bandcamp page as “Collectif
international à géométrie variable”, which means they come from all over the
place, but mostly Belgium. This is from their 2006 release After All, Isn’t
Tango The Dance of the Drunk Man? It sounds like an orchestra tuning up to me, but what do I know? It's probably art.
48 Cameras – Terence Stamp For A Time
The biggest Terence Stamp fan I could find in the pop world was Adam Ant. He namedrops Terry twice, mostly recently here…
Punky young girl needs a Terence Stamp
Perfect at swinging sixties vamp
And on this memorable b-side in which Stuart Goddard claims
to be friends with everybody from Mister Pastry to Jim Morrison to Arthur
Askey, and…
I’m a friend of Stevie Wonder
I’m a friend of Eric Fromm
I’m a friend of Bryan Ferry
I’m a friend of Terence Stamp
Almost at the end now, and a reminder from Philadelphia’s Bill Ricchini…
Bill Ricchini – Julie Christie
You look just like Julie Christie
And I feel just like Terry Stamp
There's a new Superman film out this weekend... and although I haven't seen it yet, I can confidently predict it will be better than the last few, because Zack Snyder isn't involved. Maybe not quite up to Christopher Reeve's standards, but miracles don't happen that often.
Anyway, here are some Super Songs to celebrate...
15. UN diary reveals they're all a bunch of squares.
"UN diary" was an anagram.
Ian Dury and The Blockheads - Sueperman's Big Sister
14. Kafka in Rio.
Franz Kafka meets Rio Ferdinand.
13. Bond villain found by Ash.
Ash did a song called Goldfinger, after Auric...
12. Blue eyes gets a shiner.
Frank Sinatra was old blue eyes... a shiner turns them black.
11. Protective, instrumental, elementary.
A Johnny is protective, a guitar is an instrument, Watson was... my dear.
Johnny Guitar Watson - Superman Lover
10. Taking an E helped John Wayne and Prince Edward get really, really high.
XTC, under their alias...
Dukes Of Stratosphere - Braniac's Daughter
Sadly, I couldn't find any songs about Lex Luthor. So Braniac will have to do.
Although I would also have allowed...
XTC - That's Really Super, Supergirl
9. Close knit friends who won't let you join in.
You may be more familiar with this cover version...
8. Melatives?
What Mel Gibson calls his brothers...
The Gibson Brothers - Metropolis
7. Posh erections can be bewildering.
"Posh erections" was an anagram.
6. Alastair Campbell, Charlie Whelan.
They were both...
Spin Doctors - Jimmy Olsen's Blues
5. Hair straighteners required.
The Kinks - (Wish I Could Fly Like) Superman
4. Neighbours, but not immediate.
3. She enables pens to write her name.
"Enables pens" was an anagram...
Ann Peebles - He's My Superman
2. Most pop songs are about them.
1. Goes hand in hand with Bloody Cheek!
Tex Williams - The Night Miss Nancy Ann's Hotel for Single Girls Burned Down
Another one of Richard Herring's Emergency Questions to jump-start our Friday conversations...
What's the worst experience you've ever had in a hotel?
Unlike the Frequent Flyers and Another Holiday Already? types that read this blog, I don't spend a lot of time in hotel rooms. Louise isn't fond of hotels, so most of our family holidays are spent in rented cottages. Sam and I brave a Premier Inn once a year for our annual boy's getaway - he's a big fan of the All You Can Eat breakfast. Imagine his horrid during the post-covid year when we booked into a Travelodge that promised "breakfast included" to discover that it constituted a Kellogg's variety pack (random choice) and a carton of Kia Ora. Never again!
Northern Portrait - In An Empty Hotel
Is that the worst experience I've ever had in a hotel room then? Sam would certainly say so. And I'm not sure I can think of anything worse... no rats or cockroaches or views of the local rubbish dump. I'm sure you guys can help out with that though.
Conor Oberst - Empty Hotel By The Sea
Band Of Holy Joy - Empty Purse Found in Hotel Lobby
My only other vaguely relevant anecdote today is from a holiday with my sister and her family in my teenage years. This was either Jersey or Brittany... I can't remember which, but they were the only two holidays I went on with them. File this one under disconcerting...
The cottage must have had three bedrooms: one for my sister and her husband, one for their two kids (my eldest nephew is only four years younger than me) and one for me. I'd reached the age where it was no longer cool to go on holiday with my parents, but I wasn't old enough to go off on my own... and I never had mates who suggested a week in Ibiza (thank GOD).
Anyway, I woke up one morning to discover that my pillow was missing. When I looked, it was over the other side of the room... wedged under the door, as though trying to stop someone or something getting in. I hadn't done that myself (not consciously, at least) so I wondered then... and still wonder today... how that happened.
Elvis Presley - Heartbreak Hotel
Musicians spend more time in hotel rooms than just about any other profession, except travelling salesmen and Ernie. Most of the time, they're not trashing them and throwing the TV out into the swimming pool (that's just Ernie)... instead, they just sit around writing miserable songs about life on the road...
Jimmy Buffett - This Hotel Room
The Kinks - Sitting In My Hotel
Gordon Lightfoot - Hangdog Hotel Room
The most evocative of these doesn't mention the word hotel in its title, but it was the first track I thought of today. Anyone who's seen Lloyd Cole live in the last 25+ years will have heard him explain what a Spectra-Vision girl is...
Play resumes where it left off last night... who's coming into bat next?#
How about a great English band celebrating a great English sport?
And here's another pair of posh English lads with an interest in the game...
Pet Shop Boys - Can You Forgive Her?
Another Neil, Mr. Hannon of The Divine Comedy joined with Thomas Walsh of Pugwash to pool their musical expertise and love of cricket as The Duckworth Lewis Method. In case you're wondering, they're named after "a mathematical formulation designed to calculate the target score (number of runs needed to win) for the team batting second in a limited overs cricket match interrupted by weather or other circumstances".
I had a clue all set to go for these guys, involving Jack & Vera meeting an Oxford detective... until I realised that if anyone identified them, it'd give the game away immediately.
The Duckworth Lewis Method - Test Match Special
I'm not sure Tom Petty would have known one end of a cricket bat from the other, but he did write a great song about a batsman sent in at the end of the day...
Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers - The Nightwatchman
On Saturday morning, we had a picture of this fella at the top of the pages. No prizes for guessing why...
And here's a novelty record you may remember from 1985... Rory Bremner was responsible, with a nod to Paul Hardcastle.
The Commentators - N-N-Nineteen Not Out
Next, a cricketing band who appear more interested in football players. (I had to google Garry Thompson... not Geoffrey Boycott.)
Geoffrey Oi!Cott - Glory Glory Garry Thompson
However, BAD prefer their sportsmen all in white...
