My Top Ten: Manhattan Transfer

Showing posts with label Manhattan Transfer. Show all posts

Sunday, 12 May 2024

Snapshots #343: A Top Ten Songs With French Titles

French actress Catherine Deneuve welcomes you to ten songs with French titles. She will provide the translations, since I gave up French in the Third Year...

10. Lucky x 4.

She should be so lucky. Lucky, lucky, lucky.

Kylie Minogue - Je Ne Sais Pas Pourquoi

"I do not know why" Kylie was always so lucky.

9. Puppy Love for Shakespearean wife.

Donny Osmond sang Puppy Love. Shakespeare's wife was Anne Hathaway.

Donny Hathaway - Je Vous Aime

"I love you," Donny.

8. Big end.

That would be one Mega Death.

Megadeth - A Tout Le Monde

"To everybody", from Megadeth.

7. One quarter committed.

A quarter is 25%. If you're committed, you are sectioned.

Section 25 - Je Veux Ton Amour

"I want your love", but not your money, honey.

6. I'd like a picture of the Empire State Building on my T-shirt, please.

Can you do me a Manhattan transfer?

Manhattan Transfer - Chanson d'Amour

"Love Song..." a ratty tatty tat.

5. Mr. Rigby.

Amy Rigby is his better half.

Wreckless Eric - Reconnez Chérie

Did you "Recognise, honey...?"

4. Psychics look for the answer within.

Psychics...

Chic - Le Freak

Not much to translate there... "the freak".

3. Gav - accept Elmo, then we can undo this puzzle.

"Gav - accept Elmo" was an anagram...

Campag Velocet - Bon Chic Bon Genre

Google translate tells me that the translation of that whole phrase is "preppy"... or "good style, good gender", one word at a time.

2. Look at me, I'm on half a Hawaiian beach.

Look at me, I'm Sandra Dee, from ~~Wai~~kiki...

Kiki Dee - Amoureuse

Were you "in love" with Kiki?

1. Good looking bloke with hazel peepers.

He's a brown-eyed, handsome man... with very recognisable feet.

"That's life"... it goes to show, you never can tell.

Chuck Berry - C'est La Vie

Les instantanés seront de retour Samedi prochain...

Monday, 19 June 2023

Celebrity Jukebox #93: John Romita

The name John Romita won't mean much to most people reading this blog, but of all the celebrity deaths I've written about this year, his is the one that's hardest for me to process.

John Romita was the second regular artist to draw the original Amazing Spider-Man comic. He took over from Spidey's co-creator, Steve Ditko, in the late 60s, and set a template that defined the look of the character for over a quarter of a century. Although you probably don't know his name, you will have seen his art, since it was generally his work that was licensed for T-shirts, lunch-boxes, candy wrappers and anywhere else that Spidey showed up in the 70s and 80s. Although other art styles came in and out of fashion, Romita's Spider-Man seems timeless. His son, John Romita Jr. went on to follow in his father's footsteps with a looser, more contemporary style, but one that sticks pretty firmly to the template. He's still drawing the character today.

I don't often write about comics here, but as with the passing of Stan Lee a few years back, I wanted to mark the death of one of my heroes. The only lyrical mentions I found were rappers quoting his name as the co-creator of The Punisher. Big John did, however, draw the covers of two albums I used to own on vinyl, but haven't listened to in years: Spider-Man: Rock Reflections Of A Superhero by Hero (a made-up group that included Marty Nelson from Manhattan transfer and David Sanborn on sax) and The Amazing Spider-Man: From Beyond The Grave - A Rockomic by Ron Dante (formerly of The Archies) & The Webspinners. Neither are classics, but they meant a lot to me growing up.