Saturday Snapshots #173 - Top Ten Letter Songs

 

Amazing how just adding a picture of a cat to a post can increase your hits by 150%.

Anyway, this week's answers. And yes, they were all songs about letters...

A TOP TEN SONGS ABOUT LETTERS

10. This way up.

The Box Tops - The Letter

9. Heavenly celebrities.

Stars - Elevator Love Letter

8. Alien lands on loch.

ET lands on Moy.

Alison Moyet - Love Letters

7. You're so money, Benny.

"You're so money!" is a line made famous by Vince Vaughan.

Benny is, of course, Hill.

Vince Hill - Love Letters In The Sand

6. Remedy.

The Cure - A Letter To Elise

5. Perturbing scenes.

Anagram!

Bruce Springsteen - Letter To You

4. Imaginary rabbit, goes with Duncan.

The imaginary rabbit was Harvey.

PJ goes with Duncan.

PJ Harvey - The Letter

3. Used for playing this game in Central America, centuries ago. 

The earlier form of Saturday Snapshots used an Aztec Camera.

Aztec Camera - We Could Send Letters

2. A pal for Scooby Doo and Starsky & Hutch, sits on the dock.

Scooby's pal was Shaggy.

Starsky & Hutch hung out with Huggy,

Put them together with Otis, who sat on the dock...

Shuggie Otis - Strawberry Letter #23

1. Helicopter arms!

Another anagram, obviously.

More next week.  

 

Hot 100 #23

Some German rap today for you, courtesy of... erm... German rappers 23 (aka Bushido and Sido). Don't say I don't treat you.

23 - Mit 'Nem Lächeln

Following last week's unexpected (except by me) victory for Half Man Half Biscuit, The Swede played it safe this week...

So could it be two weeks running for HMHB? 

Half Man Half Biscuit - Tending The Wrong Grave For 23 Years

Charity Chic will not be happy with the first word in your sentence there, Swede.

Still, this'll cheer him up. Here comes George...

The Butthole Surfers - 22 going on 23

That's a rather disturbing song for you. 

Bet that won't stop you suggesting it again next week, George.

And Dwight Yoakam - Readin', Writing, Route 23

That's more like it.

Hang on, The Swede's back...

Prince Far I - Psalm 23

I was expecting that after last week.

Soothsayers - Crying on 23rd

New to me.

Underworld - Twenty Three Blue

Japanese bonus track. No stone unturned!

The Lightmen - Luke 23:32-49

I'm not quite sure how I missed my two previous opportunities to suggest that one. Better late than never.

You know it's rare when it's only on youtube once. All done, Swede?

Delayed inspiration...

John Cooper Clarke - 23rd

That was one from my list.

Quick reminder of the Lime Green Rule, for anyone who's not been paying attention...

Unless they're amazing suggestions, I'm going to stop allowing lyrical 24s (and so on) as we get nearer number one. Let's face it, there are way too many. So you'll have to be really persuasive if you want to sell me on a lyrical reference from now on. Sorry.

Because, look, here's George again.

Damn that lime green rule. It means whip Crack Away by Doris Day is excluded.

Exceptions can be made in exceptional circumstances, George.

Twenty-three miles we've covered today

Doris Day - The Deadwood Stage

Although, to be fair, you could have had that four weeks ago, before the Lime Green Rule was instituted.

Here's a man the sheriff watches

On his gun there's more than twenty-seven notches

Time for C, who's found another suggestion from my shortlist...

Blonde Redhead - 23

Any band with Japanese art students sounds good to me (but whatever happened to them, are they still going?)

Apparently so, unless their website's lying.

Here comes somebody else wanting to flout the Lime Green Rule. It's Lynchie...

Before the lime green restrictions, I'd have said Jesus, the Missing Years by John Prine was a serious contender.

John Prine is always a contender in this house, Lynchie.

Charley bought some popcorn, Billy bought a car

Someone almost bought the farm but they didn't go that far

Things shut down at midnight, at least 'round here they do

Cause we all reside down the block inside 23 Skidoo

I really must enforce that rule more stringently. What else do you have for me?

Patti Scialfa - 23rd Street Lullaby

Martin was late to the party this week...

FurryBootsCityBoy beat me to Patti Scialfa...

You snooze, you lose.

I'm going for a punctuation cheat:

The Wedding Present - 2,3, Go!

Well, it's always nice to see my students using commas.

Over to Jim in Dubai who was hoping not to give me any nightmares like he did last week...

My offerings this week.

Stephen Duffy - Twenty Three

That was on my list.

Hippo - Twenty Three

The internet tells me you're making that one up, Jim.

Ned's Atomic Dustbin - Twenty Three Hour Toothache

Not that one though. But no nightmares this week, so thank you.

Finally this week, it's Rigid Digit...

Shakira - 23

It's in the collection - no idea how it got there, but it aint bad ... I'm off to listen to some more. Never knowingly heard it.

Welcome to 50% of my record collection, RD. One of the reasons I do this blog is so I actually get to listen to some of the tracks I've never heard before.

OK, before we get to this week's debate, what else did my hard drive spew up?

Luna - 23 Minutes In Brussels

Redbone - 23rd And Mad

Republic of Loose - 23 Things I Don't Like 

Rufus Wainwright, Helena Bonham Carter, Martha Wainwright & Fiora Cutler - Unperfect Actor (Sonnet 23)

Teleman - 23 Floors Up

The Divine Comedy - 23rd of December

Carter USM - 23:59 End of the World

Death In Vegas - 23 Lies

Paul Westerberg - 23 Years Ago

Ryan Adams - Sweet Little Girl (23rd & 1st)

Which brings us to the debate. The Swede was the first to raise the issue...

Seriously though, is anything going to top 'Strawberry Letter 23' by Shuggie Otis this week?

Charity Chic seconded that... but then, Lynchie threw in the alternative.

I prefer The Brothers Johnson version of "Strawberry Letter 23" to Shuggie Otis, so there!

I must admit, I'm really kind of torn. I know Shuggie wrote it, and the original takes some beating... but I really am rather fond of the Brothers Johnson version myself, especially as it's the version I heard first. Have we to call it a tie?

(I know: chicken!)





Next week is Catch 22. We may never escape...