Saturday Snapshots #125 - The Answers

Yesterday, I forgot to set the time stamp on the post, hence its late arrival. It also proved the most difficult set of Snapshots to date, so sorry about that. But they can't all be easy!

Anyway, here's this week's answers to give you a real Buzz...



10. Can the third sequel ever be the best? Uncanny!

Classics IV - Spooky

What do you mean you don't remember Classics IV?

9. Loin zip, you dig?

"Loin zip" is an anagram.

To dig, you can use a JCB.

Nizlopi - JCB Song

8. Sounds like Mrs. McC moved in with a Trotter. Also sounds like a Minder.

Mrs. McCartney was Linda.

The Trotter would be Del Boy.

If they moved in together, maybe they could have one of those really naff house names which is half the husband's name and half the wife's.

The Minder would be Waterman. (Any excuse to link to that video.)

Linda Lyndell - What A Man

7. Set fire to your nemesis.

Lit - My Own Worst Enemy

I couldn't think of any extra clues for that one.

6. She keeps my toothbrush in her apartment and she never complains about being lonely. #2.

Obscure lyrics ahoy!

Lydia "keeps my toothbrush in her apartment and she never complains" is the opening line of Lydia by Dean Friedman. Shut up, it's my quiz.

If she were lonely, she might be loveless.

#2 this week is... hang, on we'll get to that in a second.

Lydia Loveless - Steve Earle

5. M'okay. At the moment. Bowl of roses.

The most famous thing I could find about Pasadena was that it is the home of the Rose Bowl Stadium.

The Pasadenas - I'm Doing Fine Now

Great Four Tops homage.

4. Climb every goddam lady.

Climb Every Mountain.

I've not seen The Sound of Music since I was a kid, but in my memory, Julie Andrews sings this. Not so. Watching the scene again now, it's filmed in a really disturbing way that almost reminds me of The Exorcist.

The Goddam Lady would be Mississippi Goddam.

Mountain - Mississippi Queen

I was very impressed that Charity Chic got this. I'd never have pegged him for a Mountain fan.

3. Bryan lied about the year, all the young ones protested.

The year Bryan sang about was The Summer of '69, yet as has been previously discussed here, he would only have been ten years old then, so probably not old enough to form his first band. Certainly not old enough to be in a band where one of the other members quits to get married. Not really old enough to spend his evenings down at the drive-in either, for that matter. Although, as has also been previously discussed here, Bryan claims the '69 in the title doesn't refer to a year at all, but some other arcane practice of which I know not. Anyway, The Summer of '69 is a sham.

No wonder the kids were up in arms.

Sham '69 - If The Kids Are United

2. Like a duke, on a highway of vipers.

An earl is kind of like a duke... at least, the Duke of Earl was.

A highway of vipers would be... look, do I have to do all the work here?

Steve Earle - Copperhead Road

Remember when Steve Earle used to look like a redneck Axl Rose?

1. I tell him no, JC... French prisoner released.

"I tell him no, JC" was the best anagram I could come up with.



Giant steps are what you take while you're waiting for the return of Saturday Snapshots.

I'll try to make them a bit easier next week.

My Top Ten Roadworks Songs

These days, there are roadworks everywhere. It sometimes feels like some evil despot has traced a map of my journey to work and strategically placed mobile traffic lights at key places along every possible route. And why do they have to dig a hole and then leave it for a week, doing nothing in the meantime, before filling it in again? Why, oh why, oh why... Grumpy Old Man is moaning again.

Anyway, when I sat down to do a Top Ten songs about roadworks, I expected it to be a bit easier than it turned out to be. I may have missed some obvious ones... you'll tell me if I have, I'm sure.

Special mention to Men At Work...


10. Ether - Roadworks

The only song I can find with roadworks in the title - a forgotten speedbump on the rocky road of Britpop.

9. Bruce Hornsby - The Changes

I do like a good ivory-tickler, and Bruce is one of the best. With added smooth jazz here too!

The owner says he thinks we need some work
"Got a place for you, we got some roadwork -
Laying asphalt on the interstate."
Nobody cares, and why should they?

8. Nizlopi - JCB Song

You know when you get stuck behind a JCB on your way to work and you're cursing it? Remember - it might be Nizlopi's dad driving it.

7. Cosmo Jarvis - Road Closed

Another day, another road closure.

It seems Cosmo has closed the road on his music career lately, preferring to concentrate on acting. I hope he returns to the tunes soon.

6. Randy Newman - Potholes

God bless the potholes down on memory lane... Randy at his witty best.

5. Tom Waits - In The Neighbourhood

It appears Tom feels a similar frustration to the one I vented at the top of this post...

And there's always construction work bothering you
In the neighbourhood

And the jackhammer's diggin' up the sidewalks again
In the neighbourhood

But Tom Waits for NO roadworks!

4. Billy Bragg - From A Vauxhall Velux

Best use of the word "contraflow" in a pop song ever?

Mark E. Smith fans may choose to disagree.

3. The Beatles - A Day In The Life

You think your road is bad? Just be glad you don't live in Blackburn, Lancashire.

2. Bruce Springsteen - Working On The Highway

Take pity on the men who have to dig up our roads, particularly the ones who have no choice in the matter...

I work for the county out on 95
All day I hold a red flag and watch the traffic pass me by
In my head I keep a picture of a pretty little miss
Someday, mister, I'm gonna lead a better life than this

1. Sam Cooke - Chain Gang

Speaking of the guys working on the chain gang... here's the greatest song ever devoted to digging up roads.

All day long they work so hard
Till the sun is goin' down
Working on the highways and byways
And wearing, wearing a frown
You hear them moanin' their lives away
Then you hear somebody sa-ay

That's the sound of the men working on the chain gang

Although I could also have gone with...

The Pretenders - Back On The Chain Gang

The Raveonettes - Chain Gang Of Love

Johnny Cash - I'm Free From The Chain Gang Now


Which song hold you up on your way to work?

My Top Ten Father & Son Songs... That Don't Mention Fathers or Sons In The Title

Still too busy to write new Top Tens... but fortunately, I stashed a few away in reserve before our new arrival.

Having a son has made me think a lot about being a father, and about my own father and everything he's done for me. These ten songs put those emotions into words I could never write...

(There are lots of father / son records that do mention the F or S word in the title. We'll get back to those.)


10. Dan Fogelberg - Leader of the Band

Big member of the Dan Fogelberg Appreciation Society right here.

My life has been a poor attempt
To imitate the man
I'm just a living legacy
To the leader of the band.

9. Paul McCartney - Put It There

Those of you who know about the love/hate relationship I have with Sir Thumbsaloft might be surprised to find this one here, yet I always found it to be one his most affecting solo records, based on some wacky old Liverpudlian expression his dad used to come out with.

8. Brad Paisley - He Didn't Have To Be

Brad's first American Number One tells the story of a boy's respect for his stepfather, hoping that when he himself becomes a father, he can be "at least half the dad he didn't have to be". I always presumed this was autobiographical, but iffypedia tells me it's actually about one of Paisley's friends and his son.

7. Mike & The Mechanics - The Living Years

Mike & The Mechanics were an appealing prospect in that they were basically latter-day Genesis minus Phil Collins, with added Paul Carrack. Which is a win-win situation in anybody's book. This is their biggest hit, a heartstring tugger about a son who regrets his fractious relationship with his father once the old man has passed.

6. Nizlopi - JCB Song

Something of a novelty hit, this relies heavily on 80s pop culture references (Zoids, Transformers, BA Baracus and Toberlone) to catch the attention of blokes of a certain age... i.e. me. And although not all our dads will have driven a JCB, many of us can remember a time when we thought our Dad was Bruce Lee...

5. David Gates & Bread - Everything I Own

Yes, I used to think this was just another song about a man pining for a woman too. Puts a whole new slant on it when you realise it's about a son missing his late father...

I would give everything I own
Give up my life, my heart, my home
I would give everything I own
Just to have you back again

4. Bruce Springsteen - Walk Like A Man

Bruce has written a number of songs about his father and my immediate thought for this list was My Hometown in which he rides around town on his dad's lap (no car seats in them days!). But this one gets me in the back of the throat from the opening line...

I remember how rough your hand felt in mine
On my wedding day...

3. Billy Bragg - Tank Park Salute 

A young boy confronts his own mortality... and that of his father.

I accepted the commiserations
Of all your friends and your relations
But there's some things I still don't understand

You were so tall
How could you fall?

And if you think that's a tearjerker... try this:

2. Shirley Lee - The Reservoir

I've written about this song many times before, I'm sure I'll write about it again. Shirley's heartfelt tribute to his late father: it never fails to reduce me to tears. If you can spare the time to listen to it, I challenge you to reach the end without filling up. All the way to the end. Don't say I didn't warn you.

1. Harry Chapin - Cat's In The Cradle

"Frankly," says Harry Chapin in his live introduction, "this song scares me to death."

It's certainly a lesson to busy fathers everywhere... 




Which song reminds you of your father?