Saturday Snapshots #113 - The Answers

Whoopi! It's this week's answers...


10. Almost like a lone cuckoo, above its nest, on a rack, surrounded by water, screaming.

OK, McMurphy was the character Jack Nicholson played in One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest... so this guy almost sounds like him.

An island is surrounded by water. If it were on a rack, it would be a long island. The screams would be the sound it made as I stretched it to make this clue work.

Honestly, the effort I go into some weeks.

James McMurtry - Long Island Sound

9. Bunch of evil bastards and feckless idiots, carrying a torch.

This, on the other hand, should require no further explanation.

Parliament - Flashlight

8. A small amount of fuel for Henry's car: pucker up, zombie Bruce.

A litre in the Ford?

"Kiss me, Dead Lee!"

Lita Ford - Kiss Me, Deadly

When I watch that, I am forever 16.

7. See wild animals in the waves and obliterate them.

Safari in the surf?

Surfaris - Wipe Out!

6. You should take one on de canal... drums after dark.

What else are you going to take on de canal but de barge!?

DeBarge - Rhythm of the Night

There's something wonderfully innocent about that.

5. A make believe clock for short bosses.

Short bosses would be MGMT.

MGMT - Time To Pretend

4. Ask a Loser if he wants a cuppa... you'll be surprised by how many sugars he wants.

"Brew, Beck?"

"You take five!?"

Dave Brubeck - Take Five

Nice.

3. "They're all out to get me!"

     Rubbish!

Garbage - I Think I'm Paranoid

2. Vowel-free gym teacher in the Yellowhammer state.

Their gym teacher was Leonard Skinner. He didn't like long hair or loud music.

No, really. This is the guy who gave them their name...

"Turn it up!"

Lynyrd Skynyrd - Sweet Home Alabama

1. Artist not with Brand T gives up seat.

Rembrandt without Brand T = Rem.

Stand the drummer at the front then it's harder to identify the band. (Except... those eyebrows...)

Simple existentialism in a 3 minute pop song...

If you want a Ghost of a chance of getting the answers before anyone else next week - get in on the act early, sister!

Saturday Snapshots #10 - The Answers

Almost a complete sweep this week, guys... just one title you couldn't figure. (We obviously missed Martin!)



10. Dancing with a young Tom Hanks; goes well with French cream... and arsenic!

Dancing is bopping.

A young Tom Hanks appeared in the film Big.

French cream might be Chantilly.

Arsenic & Old Lace.

Like Alyson, who guessed this one from the clues, I had no idea The Big Bopper looked like this until quite recently.

Helllloo baby!

The Big Bopper - Chantilly Lace

9. Pidgin Creole, getting better with Barrett.

Pidgin & creole are types of "Broken English".

If you're getting better, you might be Coming On.

Barrett Strong wrote some of the greatest Motown songs ever.

Broken English - Coming On Strong

Well done to Alyson again, even though she didn't know the song at all. More on these guys shortly in the second edition of Gone Too Soon.

8. Pygmalion on acid, queen of the exploding stars.

Pygmalion = My Fair Lady

Acid is measured by pH.

The queen is Elizabeth.

Exploding stars go supernova.

Liz Phair - Supernova

Chris & The Swede pieced this one together.

(That was the most tasteful picture of Liz Phair I couldn't find on the internet. She's not exactly shy.)

7. Paradise gets down: it'll all be over soon.

Paradise island is just off Nassau in the Bahamas.

Get down and get funky!

It'll all be over soon...

The Beginning of the End - Funky Nassau

Top work from a tipsy C & late Lynchie.

6. The Great Bear Detective & The Case of the Finnish Goth Pronoun.

Rupert Bear + Sherlock Holmes...

HIM is a goth rock band from Helsinki. (They do a pretty cool version of Neil Diamond's Solitary Man.)

Alyson had a good week this week, but I knew this pic would pose her no problems.

Rupert Holmes - Him

5. Put the needle on the record, Mary!

The Virgin Mary is the Madonna.

(Was she ever so young and innocent?)

Well done, Chris.

Madonna - Get Into The Groove

4. Unicycle thieves get stck.

Unicycle thieves would steal just one wheel.

stck needs a U in the middle to become stuck.

Stealer's Wheel - Stuck In The Middle With You

More points for Alyson! She's got to be this week's winner.

3.  Generic pressure.

Shortest clue ever, snapped up by Charity Chic.

A generic band would be called The Band.

Pressure is weight.

The Band - The Weight

Take a load off, Annie.

2. Baby goats wear a short-sleeved shirt while visiting the studio of the lion.

Baby goats are kids.

MGM + a T-shirt

MGMT - Kids

Top work, Chris.

1. Freddie and a short vicar watch a film without Batman.

Freddie Mercury + a short Reverend = Mercury Rev

Well done, Swede.

Perhaps the title clue was a bit too tricky though.

There's a Batman film called The Dark Knight Rises. If Batman is the knight and we lose him...




Apologies for not visiting all your blogs this week. Hope to catch up soon!

My Top Ten Pretend Songs

Let's pretend there's actually someone reading this blog. What's your favourite pretend song?  

(N.B. No "Pretender" songs allowed (no matter how great)... they'll get a separate list. I'm nothing if not thorough / anal.)


10. The Tindersticks - Let's Pretend

Lush.

9. The Bens - Just Pretend

When Ben Folds, Ben Kweller and Ben Lee teamed up... what else where they going to call themselves?

8. Elvis Presley - Just Pretend

There'll never be anyone quite like Elvis...

7. Eels - I'm Going To Stop Pretending That I Didn't Break Your Heart

Classic Christmas Eve heartbreak. Not a Christmas song though, I promise.

6. Magnetic Fields - Let's Pretend We're Bunny Rabbits

How's that for a chat up line? Cheeky old Stephin Merritt.

5. Terrorvision - Pretend Best Friend

Ah yes, Bradford's finest. Always good to hear some Terrorvision again.

4. Cinerama - Let's Pretend

Having been dumped by (another) girlfriend, David Gedge sends her her stuff back in a box...

So here are your things
Starting with a pair of earrings
And I just bet
This is your Corrs cassette

Or is he just pretending he's not a closet Corrs fan himself?

3. MGMT - Time To Pretend

MGMT imagine being rock stars in a song inspired by their recently deceased preying mantis. You can't make it up, can you? Hilarious lyrics and the video is like some kind of Dali-esque nightmare.

We'll choke on our own vomit and the will be the end
We were fated to pretend

Neil Hannon and The Divine Comedy did a cool cover of this one too.

2. L7 - Pretend We're Dead

Famously the song that caused lead singer Donita Sparks to take her pants off while performing live on The Word back in 1992. Very exciting when I was 20. And it was a feminist statement, so it was OK for me to rewind the video...

1. R.E.M. - World Leader Pretend

Weird how the Top 3 bands are all abbreviations. (Let's pretend that's an interesting observation.)

From Orange, the album where R.E.M. were on the verge of world domination themselves. Seems so long ago now, doesn't it?





Let's pretend you're going to leave a comment...

My Top Ten Reflection Songs

Sometimes these Top Tens are a challenge... but worth the effort if you stick with them.



10. Marilyn Manson - No Reflection


I'm not the world's biggest Marilyn Manson fan, but I like the fact that his real name is Brian... and he's made a career out of our #3 artist's old socks.

9. The Selecter - Red Reflections

Pauline Black thinks that if loneliness were a colour, it'd be all white... so why is she seeing red reflections in her mirror tonight?

8. MGMT - Future Reflections

No idea.

Still, pretty groovy.

7. Donovan - Summer Day Reflection

Sick of this long, cold winter? Close your eyes and listen to this.(This is an indication of how long ago I wrote this particular post. Still, no one reads these bits so I'm not going to change it now.)

6. Spider-Man - Rock Reflections of a Super-Hero

OK, it's not actually by Spider-Man. Most of this record was recorded by a little known US rock band called Crack The Sky. The LP was released by Marvel (and Lifesong Records) back in 1975, a full rock opera narrated by Stan 'The Man' Lee himself (natch).

So it predates the woeful Turn Off The Dark musical by a good 30 years... and better yet, Bono and The Edge had absolutely nothing to do with it. 

5. Half Man Half Biscuit - Reflections In A Flat

A love story told through a rhyme scheme that doesn't quite work. Another slice of HMHB genius.

Oh darling sugar honey
When it was nice and sunny
And when I had some money
We would go and see Echo And The Bunny
…men

4. Bobby Womack featuring Lana Del Rey - Dayglo Reflection

From last year's all-conquering album that bestowed upon its creator the title of "coolest man" alive... until the next one comes along. Nice collaboration, anyway.

3. Sisters of Mercy - Lucretia, My Reflection

The older I get, the more hilarious I find Andrew Eldritch.

2. Diana Ross & The Supremes - Reflections

It was a close call for Number One and you'll probably say I chose the wrong one. Whatever, they're both damn fine records.

1. The Marmalade - Reflections Of My Life

Another classic 60s hit that still sounds fresh - and when the harmony vocal comes in repeating, "all my crying" and "all my sorrow", the hairs on the back of my neck always stand up. The Marmalade (the 'The' is apparently optional) are still touring today... I doubt they would have been if they'd stuck with their original name, "The Gaylords".

I have a very special fondness for Kevin Rowland's heartbreakingly camp showtune version too. Though perhaps not the outfit he wore on the album cover. 




Which one is staring a back at you from your pop mirror?