Snapshots #321: A Top Fifteen Presidential Songs

While America prepares to re-elect the riot-inciting, bleach-advocating man baby (not that we can talk, considering they brought Cameron back), here are fifteen songs that mention a former POTUS in the title. But before we get to that... here's Poet Laureate Simon Armitage giving his verdict on the Trump regime...

15. Miller makes a Turkish Delight.

Frys make Turkish Delight, with Glenn Miller.

Glenn Frey - He Took Advantage (Blues For Ronald Reagan)

14. Heroic railroad engineer.

Casey Jones is that brave engineer, as Johnny tells us here.

Kacey Jones - Donald Trump's Hair

13. Berry knows the future.

Chuck is a prophet.

Chuck Prophet - Nixonland

(Chuck also did a song about Trump. Of course he did.)

12. Met Frankenstein with a monk.

Lou Costello met Frankenstein with Bud Abbott.

Elvis Costello - Eisenhower Blues

11. Charity begins a long time in the past.

Charity Chic, a long time ago.

Chicago - Harry Truman

10. Tasteless restaurant.

The Hooters - Washington's Day

9. Shaky Oh + Frozen Queen + Panama + Pasture + Trois.

Shaky sang Oh Julie. Anna was the Queen in Frozen. A panama is a hat. A pasture is a field. Trois is 3.

Juliana Hatfield Three - President Garfield

8. He's searching for Curtis and Brown.

He's an Ian Hunter!

Ian Hunter - Cleveland Rocks

7. Blockbuster movie, filled with stunts.

Sounds like an action spectacular to me...

Action Spectacular - Bill Clinton

6. Buffalo Bill is in charge of misplaced UFOs.

Buffalo Bill Cody is in command of lost planet airmen.

Commander Cody & His Lost Planet Airmen - Hot Rod Lincoln

5. Max, not top... 

Anagram!

Tom Paxton - Lyndon Johnson Told the Nation

I'll throw this one in too as it only has 6 views on youtube, but it deserves more...

Redhouse Gasoline - Lyndon Johnson's Best Intentions

4. Nancy's town.

Nancy Sinatra sang about Sugar Town.

Sugar - Hoover Dam

3. Inane Emma is really confused.

Inane Emma is an anagram of the divine...

Aimee Mann - You Could Have Been a Roosevelt

2. That time Johnny thought of replacing Stephen with number 15.

An Eagle joining the Smiths!?!

Fred Eaglesmith - Carter

1. Nuptials now!

The Wedding Present - Kennedy

Don't have too much apple pie for your Sunday dinner. Join us again next Saturday for more Snapshots.

Snapshots #198: A Top Ten Favourite Songs

Is it that time already? Time for the answers to yesterday's Snapshots. And as the link was Favourite Songs, above is an image from my favourite film as a teenager, Back To The Future.

Most of these are oldies. Well, they're oldies where I come from...

10. He is in debt to Mr. Simon.

He's owing Paul.

Owen Paul - My Favourite Waste Of Time

9. A Shaky Oh and a golfing saint.

Oh Julie + St. Andrews...

Julie Andrews - My Favourite Things

8. Matt Lucas on the drums.

Matt Lucas was George Dawes.

Dawes - All Your Favourite Bands

7. Sell-out cynic.

Anagram!

The Style Council - Our Favourite Shop

6. Arachnids get mixed up.

Unmix "arachnids get" and you get...

The Cardigans - My Favourite Game

5. Spare parts.

The Replacements - Favourite Thing

4. Early British cars.

Specifically these, the Armstrong Siddeley...

The Siddeleys - My Favourite Wet Wednesday Afternoon

3. Sounds like a gloating angel.

Cheryl Ladd was an Angel (for Charlie). Gloating is crowing.

Sheryl Crow - My Favourite Mistake

2. You're fired!

Says Sir Alan Sugar.

Sugar - Your Favourite Thing

1. Bob Century.

A bob is a type of haircut. A century = 100.

Get Back to Snapshots in the Future... next Saturday, to be precise. Great Scott!

Saturday Snapshots #131 - The Answers

This is the delightful Audrey Tautou, star of Amelie. Think up your own puns, I'm too tired.

Here are this week's answers...


10. Civil war soldiers refuse to sleep.

"The New Model Army of England was formed in 1645 by the Parliamentarians in the English Civil War." I'm ashamed to say I don't know much about history, but I read about these guys in one of Sam's books.

New Model Army - No Rest 

9. Ghost fishing.

Spirit - I Got A Line On You

8. Will a sweetener help you arrive at a different conclusion?

Sugar - If I Can't Change Your Mind

7. This clue is... on the dole.

A UB40 was a form you had to fill out when you signed on in the 80s.

This clue is One In Ten.

UB40 - One In Ten

6. Quartz snowflakes for James Dean.

Quartz and snowflakes are both crystals.

James Dean was a rebel (without a cause).

The Crystals - He's A Rebel

5. Party time for absolute nutters.

Mental As Anything - Live It Up

4. He will laugh, with Maddie, and Ray or Rod.

The name Isaac means "he will laugh".

Maddie Hayes was in Moonlighting. Well, I got that clue, anyway.

Rays and rods are both shafts.

Isaac Hayes - Theme From Shaft  

3. I'm gonna whup yer, then shoot that bloody elephant. Is that profound enough for you?

Whup yer = Tan yer (hide).

I'm then gonna do Nelly.

I know, that's pretty deep.

Tanya Donelly - Pretty Deep

2. Hire DJ in mix to drive through city.

"Hire DJ in mix" is an anagram.

Jimi Hendrix - Crosstown Traffic

1. Smashing angel.

The Angel Gabriel with a Sledgehammer...

Stay safe until next Saturday...

My Top Ten Hoover / Vacuum Cleaner Songs

Ten odes to the humble vacuum cleaner (and other Hoover-related thingamabobs). Unfortunately, I couldn't find any songs named after the Dyson. Sorry, Sir James.

Special mentions to Hoover, Hooverphonic, the extremely tantalising Jimmy The Hoover (lost classic!), Mindless Drug Hoover (swearily hilarious) and, of course, Freddie's greatest drag moment (above).  

Extra special mention to the Shake 'n' Vac ad. Because.

Sadly, I couldn't find The Yodelling Hoover by The Soft Boys anywhere on t'internet, but I'm sure it's great because it's Robyn Hitchcock.



10. The Candyskins - Mrs. Hoover

 Forgotten Britpop 15-minuters give it their all in this cheery ode to women in their underwear vacing up.

9. Glen Hansard - Broken Hearted Hoover Fixer Sucker Guy

A tiny lo fi delight from the soundtrack to busker's love story Once.

8. The Toy Dolls - Her With A Hoover

Despite only ever having one UK hit (a punked up version of Nellie The Elephant, very popular in 80s school discos), The Toy Dolls are, surprisingly, still in the go and still releasing records. This year's is called Olgacoustic, presumably because lead singer Michael "Olga" Algar is busking on it. Their previous record surely had the best title ever though: The Album After The Last One.

One more, two more
Fleas on the bedroom floor
No ones ever seen her, with a vacuum cleaner
Three more, four more
Mice unite at the kitchen door
It weren't no rotten rumour,
He could never move her,
And I never saw her with a hoover.

7.  Pere Ubu - Vacuum In My Head

One for the John Peel fans. David Thomas has a vacuum cleaner in his head and it's sucking up everything he knows.

6. Edwyn Collins & Bernard Butler - Can't Do That (The Hoover)

A laidback psychedelic groove that shows what happens when you spill Orange Juice on Suede.

5. Arctic Monkeys - I Wanna Be Yours

Alex Turner is a great lyricist, finding  grubby romance in the everyday mundanity of old man's pubs, pick 'n' mix bags and late night taxi journeys. But here, he bows down to a true master, reworking John Cooper Clarke's poem of the same name...

I wanna be your vacuum cleaner
Breathing in your dust I wanna be your Ford Cortina
I will never rust...

4. Sugar - Hoover Dam

Bob Mould goes all 'To Be Or Not To Be' on the edge of the Hoover Dam. No vacuum cleaners, but a damned fine tune, nevertheless.

3. 'Til Tuesday - Love In A Vacuum

Before going on to a superlative solo career, Aimee Mann was the lead singer of synth-heavy 80s new wave band 'Til Tuesday. This is one of their best,but it's not as timeless as her later work.

2. The Christians - Hooverville

A politically charged anthem from the mighty Christians... nothing to do with cleaning up your house, unless they're asking crooked politicians to do just that.

1. Elvis Costello - Hoover Factory

Elvis pays tribute to the distinctive Art Deco design of London's Hoover Building... now owned by Tesco.

I don't think I'll be compiling a Top Ten Tesco Songs anytime soon.

Five miles out of London on the Western Avenue
Must have been a wonder when it was brand new
Talkin' 'bout the splendour of the Hoover factory
I know that you'd agree if you had seen it too...

Which is your dustbuster?