Sequel Songs #10: 10th & 11th Avenue

Craig Finn is one of the most literary songwriters out there. His songs, both with band The Hold Steady, and on his increasingly superior solo output, are like classic short stories... so it's unsurprising that he names Raymond Carver and Jack Kerouac as primary influences.

His writing is often compared to the storytelling style of Bruce Springsteen, particularly Born To Run era Springsteen. Songs like Meeting Across The River and Jungleland feel like templates for Craig Finn's entire career. 

The most direct admission of Finn's Springsteen influence comes in a song from his first band, Lifter Puller. As is often the case with first bands, Lifter Puller were a lot more rough and ready than The Hold Steady, and you certainly wouldn't have predicted their lead singer to go on and create solo work as thoughtful and mellow as Finn's latest album, Always Been. But it's Lifter Puller who did the full-on Springsteen sequel. Here's the original...

Tear drops on the city, Bad Scooter searching for his groove

Seem like the whole world walking pretty and you can't find the room to move

Well, everybody better move over, that's all

'Cause I'm running on the bad side and I got my back to the wall

Tenth Avenue freeze-out

And here's the sequel...

Virginia slept with the sketchy chick

She was sick, they still clicked

Rhode Island slide with the skinny guy

Pawtucket pawnshops and Newport Lights

Made amends with your dealer friends

The truth is in the camera lens

So don't come home

With a stick in your nose

I hired a detective

He's got a tiny camera

It's not as catchy, but catchiness wasn't really the point of Lifter Puller. 

Here's one other song to cement the connection...

Neverending Top Ten #6.9: Magazine Star

Big In Japan - Match Of The Day

Sam had his picture printed in Match of the Day magazine last week. It's the third photo he's sent them for inclusion on their Reader's Page, and this is the first time he's been successful. 

Brian Copsey & The Commotions - Send Me Your Picture

Despite trying so hard to get in there, he felt a little strange when he saw his own face staring out at him from the magazine, an odd kind of embarrassment which isn't like him. There's often a disconnect between how we imagine something will be and the reality of it actually happening.

Parva - Put Me On The Cover Of Your Magazine

To help him feel not quite so weird, I told him about all the letters I wrote to Marvel and DC comics back when I was kid. I was a regular feature of the letters pages in the late 80s and early 90s, and I made quite a few friends as a result. Back then, they'd print your full home address along with your letter, so regular letterhacks would often write to each other as well as to the comics themselves. Nobody thought there was anything strange or worrying about this, and I'm still in touch with quite a few of the comic fans I met through letter writing. Back in the pre-internet days, this was the only way to talk to people who shared your interests, and it was through writing those letters that I became a part of the larger comics community,  

Heart - Magazine

The phone rang one night when I was about 16 or 17 and my mum told me that there was a man called Malcolm on the line. "He said he wants to talk to you about comics." I still remember standing there (the phone was still on the wall back then) talking to a man I'd never met before whose name I was only familiar with because he was in even more letters pages than I was. He'd got my number through directory enquiries and he wanted to know if I was interested in joining his APA. I had no idea what an APA was. But I'll talk about that more tomorrow...

HAIM - Man From The Magazine

The thing is, all these other comic fans I wrote to - and in some cases ended up meeting in person - were real, genuine people who shared my love of the medium. None of my school or university friends were into comics, so the only way to connect with other fans was through writing letters. In the internet age, that seems pretty archaic... but also pretty dangerous. Back then though, nobody worried about aging predators using the letters pages to groom young victims, and there weren't any letters page trolls ready to tear you apart for liking different comics than they did. I'm glad MOTD magazine only printed Sam's first name and no address - if there'd been a possibility of them printing more, I probably wouldn't have let him send that picture in at all. Old man shakes his fist at the sky...

Live: Craig Finn

On Friday after finishing work, I drove into Leeds to see Craig Finn at a new venue called The Wardrobe. I went on my own because Ben was on holiday - otherwise he'd have been there like a shot, because Finn and his band The Hold Steady are one of the few musical artists we're in 100% agreement on. 

As I finish work at 3.30 on Friday, I wasted an hour or so driving round charity shops on the outskirts of Leeds until the evening parking rate kicked in. Came away empty handed - city-adjacent charity shops rarely have anything interesting to offer. I had a couple of hours to kill in Leeds, so spent as long as I could reading my book over decaf and a toasted sandwich in Cafe Nero, then loitered until the venue opened at 7.30. I was one of the first to arrive, but the lighting wasn't good enough to read my book in there, so I found a good spot and hung around like a spare part till the support came on a 8.15.

Scott Lavene - Broke

Scott Lavene has appeared on this blog previously, and I think John Medd might also be a fan. He's an artist who appears to have heard Billy Bragg's version of Walk Away, Renee and decided to build an entire act based upon it. 

Lavene walks that controversial tightrope between troubadour and stand up, but the audience warmed to him quickly and his closing tune might even have brought a tear to the less-cynical eyes... though Scott was quick to point out that the emotional hook, “I chose amphetamines over you”, was available on T-shirts at the merch stand.

 

And then came the main event, all the way from New York City (originally Minneapolis).

Craig Finn - Messing With The Settings

Why are The Hold Steady one of my favourite post-20th Century bands?

The simple answer to that is the same one I'd give for most of my favourite artists. Craig Finn is a great songwriter. Even better, he's a great storyteller. So whether his band is influenced by Hüsker Dü or the Replacements, Cheap Trick or the Minutemen, Finn's lyrics follow a line from Dylan to Zevon to Springsteen. That's a great combination when they're all together...

The Hold Steady - Sequestered In Memphis

...but I've grown to love Finn's solo work even more. This latest series of shows was billed as "Songs & Stories", just Finn and his guitar (a $30 acoustic that, he tells us, was given to him by a bandmate... although when he wanted to take it on tour, he had to get it fitted with a $500 pickup).  

Craig Finn - Newmeyer's Roof

Anyway, we got a lot of stories behind the songs on Friday night, including the revelation that the one above dates back to 2001, before Craig started his band, when he was just a New York City office worker. On September 11th, when the first plane went into the Twin Towers, his boss invited him to cut work for the morning, go up on the roof of his apartment, and watch the devastation as it unfolded. They ended up guiltily drinking beer... perhaps not the most appropriate thing to do while so many people were dying... but it says a lot about the utter unreality of that day. (Finn goes on to confess that the fall-out of 9/11 was years of drug and alcohol addiction, before he finally got himself straight.)

Craig Finn - The Amarillo Kid

The highlight of the show, ironically given what I said above, was the sole Hold Steady song, Magazines. It was the story Craig told to set it up and give it context that made it so special. He explained he'd written the song the morning after being dumped by the love of his life... which might explain why "it's not a very nice song. A great song - but not very nice." After writing it though, he got a phone call from the woman in question, saying maybe she'd been a little hasty... maybe they should talk... 

They're still together today.

 

I wonder how she feels about the song now?

2023: New Music From Old Faithfuls

There are certain artists whose work I will buy sight unseen. Or do I mean "hear unheard"? They've got a new record out? I must have it now. I know there will be enough in there to tick the boxes on my musical appreciation scale whether the cognoscenti or the reviewers or the zeitgeist agrees with me or not. Of course, they won't all be winners (I point you towards Bruce's soul covers album of last year), but I still want them on the shelf.

Here are the Must Have records I bought Hear Unheard this year...

Lloyd Cole - On Pain

I wrote about Lloyd's new album after seeing him play live for the umpteenth time at the end of October. I don't have much to add to that review. It is still on rotation and most of the songs have wormed their way into my good graces, but I'd still prefer it if he got over this 80s electronica phase and went back to making nice safe guitar music. Lyrically though, he's still got it. As the album's opening lines ably demonstrate...

I can't be trusted with your money
Look what I did
Every time that you gave it to me
I can't be trusted with your secrets
Look what I did
Every time that you gave them to me

Lloyd Cole - On Pain

The Handsome Family - Hollow

Brett and Rennie Sparks returned with their first album of Gothic Americana in seven years. It's not as immediate as their earlier stuff - age brings a kind of contemplative wisdom to their songwriting, I guess - but it rewards the effort if you're willing to give it time. 

The Handsome Family - Skunks

The Hold Steady - The Price Of Progress

Another band I've been following faithfully since the early noughties is Craig Finn's The Hold Steady. Finn has a pretty steady work ethic at the moment, alternating Hold Steady releases with his solo albums... although I have to confess, I'm starting to prefer the latter. The Price Of Progress is the band's ninth album, and it's a good listen, but not quite as good as A Legacy of Rentals, last year's Top 3 offering from Finn on his own.

The Hold Steady - Sideways Skull

Lukas Nelson & The Promise Of The Real - Sticks & Stones

One artist who's only entered my Reliable Purchase list over the last couple of years is Willie's boy, Lukas Nelson. He's incredibly prolific - this is his 8th album in 13 years - and pretty much sticks to a formula of hard luck, heartbroken country with much time spent drowning his sorrows in booze, but if you like that kind of thing, he rarely puts a foot wrong.

Lukas Nelson & The Promise Of The Real - Wrong House

Juliana Hatfield - Juliana Hatfield Sings ELO

A late entry, but one I've no doubt I'll be listening to well into the New Year. Following on from her excellent Olivia Newton John covers record of 2018, Juliana picks another top 70s/80s artist to reinvent. (We'll skip over her Police covers record, for reasons to do with the manufacturing of silk purses from bovine ears.) Actually, "reinvent" is probably taking it a bit far, as these are pretty faithful to the originals, but she doesn't choose the obvious tracks (apart from Don't Bring Me Down) and the result is the best kind of aural comfort food.

Juliana Hatfield - From The End Of The World

Hamish Hawk - Angel Numbers

It takes quite an effort to become an Old Faithful after only one album, but Hamish Hawk went to the top of the class following his 2021 LP Heavy Elevator. I've been salivating with expectation for the follow-up, and it may well be that I set my expectations too high (something I'll discuss again in this year's Top Ten). Angel Numbers is a great album despite my unrealistic hopes of stadium-conquering crossover glory... but there's still time, Hamish.

Wherе's my limelight?
If I'm to nurse the fеver I carry inside
I'll starve, I will not stifle my appetite

It's nigh-on high time
I can barely make out the mountain no-one taught me to climb
And frightened allies take swipes at my sides

Celebrity Jukebox #103: Robbie Robertson

The news came through late last night that the great Robbie Robertson has left us to do the last waltz his old pal Levon Helm in that great Band in the sky. On hearing of his death, most people (who know anything about anything) will have thought of this...

Me though... being a child of a very specific time... thought instead of one of the first two dozen 7 inch singles I bought with my own money. It still gives me the shivers...

Three and a half decades later, that's one of Sam's favourite songs too.

The jukebox has only one tribute song to play today, but it comes from one of my favourite bands. Lead singer Craig Finn admits, "I was (and still am) obsessed about the Last Waltz and the Band in general."

She said my name's Robbie Robertson but people call me Robo

I blew red white and blue right into a tissue

I came right over the counter just to kiss you

Take a load off, Robbie.

Celebrity Jukebox #79: Mary Tyler Moore

My knowledge of Mary Tyler Moore is somewhat second-hand as I was just too young to have watched her groundbreaking sitcoms, though I do remember watching spin-offs such as Rhoda and Lou Grant with my mum. Mary's reputation as a feminist icon appears well-deserved though: as one of the most successful female stars in American TV, the joint head of the production company that gave us everything from Newhart to Hill Street Blues, a prominent campaigner for social rights... and the woman who put Dick Van Dyke in his place long before Julie Andrews.... MTM is clearly a legend.

Her jukebox legacy is pretty legendary too, starting with Prince...

Skip the Remy and let me have some Mary Tyler Moore of that new power soul

Comin' from the Midwest passin' every test with a fuzz tone remote control

Prince - Mr. Happy 

Then the artist formerly known as Tin Tin...

Like Mary Tyler-Moore

She stares across the yawning tide

Out of love and terrified

Stephen Duffy - Sunday Supplement

This blog's only claim to fame is that, many years ago, the lead singer of Bowling For Soup once left a comment here. This is BFS's version of the Mary Tyler Moore theme tune... which REM have also played live, but I can't find their version anywhere on the interweb.

Bowling For Soup - The Mary Tyler Moore Theme

Next, we find Ian Hunter hoopling his across the channel...

Well I'm an All American Alien Boy

Look out Mary Tyler Moore

Ian Hunter - All American Alien Boy

The Hold Steady are firm favourites here at Top Ten Towers, and they've got a new album out this week. Here's one from their 2005 classic Separation Sunday...

I was half dead then I got born again

I got lost in all the lights but it was okay in the end

And when we hit the Twin Cities, I didn't know that much about it

I knew Mary Tyler Moore and I knew Profane Existence

The Hold Steady - Stevie Nix

In a similar sonic vein, here's a lost classic from an album I was very much into back in 1999, Ed Hamell's song about a sleazy Private Eye...

So I ditch these guys quick, I take a cab to the address

And the housemaid gives up the photos with very little stress

But as I round the corner something dawns on me

I recognize from these photos, this old actor from TV

And he's having sex with children, now this would close the door

On future shots on Bay Watch and Mary fuckin' Tyler Moore

So I visit this old actor, firmly explain my situation

And he gives me 90 G's to show his appreciation

Hamell On Trial - Choochtown

OK, how about a couple of songs that mention MTM in their title? Starting with a 90s Christian alt-rock band from Texas...

Lloyd - Mary Tyler Moore

Then some 80s Aussie indie from Whangarei...

Able Tasmans - Mary Tyler Moore

And now, from the "Never Heard Of 'Em But Still Not Bad" file, here's a San Francisco band "that plays original indie rock music with hints of progressive"...

I've got a face for radio 

And a voice that's meant only 

To sing drunken karaoke 

Singing ooh-ee-oo 

I look just like Buddy Holly 

And you're Mary Tyler Moore 

Everywhere Now - Sounds

Hey! Wait a second. I recognise that lyric! And that's not the only place I've found it referenced...

Need a tall girl, '70s Jane Fonda

Or Mary Tyler Moore, Iran, no war

I look just like Buddy Holly, no I don't, "Oh, Boy!"

Smörgåsbord - The Damn Loudness 

Yes, I guess the true proof of a legendary hit single comes when other bands start referencing your song in their own tunes. There was only ever going to be one winner today... but the question is, did Mary ever meet Buddy in real life?

And the answer is... no, though she was apparently a fan. MTM began appearing in The Dick Van Dyke Show shortly after Buddy's death in 1961, and when she got her own show, Sonny Curtis from the Crickets was given the job of writing and performing the theme tune we discussed earlier.

So that answers that. The only question remaining... What's with these homies, dissing my girl?

Celebrity Jukebox #15: Bernard Cribbins

"National Treasure" Bernard Cribbins left us earlier this week, aged 93. He deserves a place in the Celebrity Jukebox Hall of Fame.

From Jackanory to The Wombles, Bernard Cribbins was the voice of my childhood. Over the years, I've watched him save the world alongside Doctor Who, stand up to Basil Fawlty, and work with everyone from Alfred Hitchcock to Mark 'n' Lard. And let's not forget his contributions to the world of popular music, most notably this...

...which was obviously a favourite of Mick Jones & co.

Big Audio Dynamite - Mick's a Hippie Burning

And, of course, this... which gave its name to a popular beat combo who were far too sexy for their shirts.

You'll also find the influence of Right Said Fred popping up in the most unexpected places. Like here...

I've been trying to get people to call me Freddy Knuckles

People keep calling me Right Said Fred

The Hold Steady - Knuckles

And here...

He is in my head his chair's on bread

He is Right Said Fred and Brice Beckham at the same time

Kimya Dawson - Great Crap

Now, admittedly, both those tracks are probably referencing the Deeply Dippy guys... but without Bernard, they wouldn't have been there to reference, would they?

But what of an actually lyrical mention? I had to dig that hole in the ground pretty deep, but I did eventually find one... and it's really quite lovely. A fitting tribute for a truly special celebrity.

Just a normal day

I hadn't made any plans

I was enjoying a walk in the sunshine when I saw a lovely old man

Who just happened to be Bernard Cribbins

And he beamed at me so wide

Then he gave me an ice cream that was sweeter than his smile

And it also contained the unspoken knowledge of the ancient ones

My Top Twenty-One of 2021: #13

Sad farewells to Mike Nesmith and Steve Bronski last week... December always robs us of a few more heroes, doesn't it?

Here's two classics...

 

But marking these sad departures can't stop the year end countdown train, which today pulls into Station #13, and some old favourites here at Top Ten Towers...

#13 The Hold Steady - Open Door Policy

While I miss the more literary and considered aspect of Craig Finn's solo output, the reformed Hold Steady have yet to put a foot wrong. Time away has obviously recharged their batteries and this is the second strong LP they've produced since patching themselves back together.

Still an acquired taste (like most of the bands on this countdown, I guess), Open Door Policy managed to rock as loud as their earlier efforts whilst continuing to allow Finn to tell his spiky tales of confused and disenfranchised Midwest losers. As always with Finn's lyrics, the devil is in the details...

St. Catherine's was a nightmare

You know they took away my headphones

Sure they let you keep your handset

But the courtyard is a dead zone

And the nurse that they assigned me had Eruption as her ring tone

Blasting out through built in speakers like it's bug spray

Buzzing like a hornet halfway blown

Snapshots #214: A Top Ten Books of the Bible Songs

Songs named after books of the Bible seemed like a good idea when I came up with it... but it was a lot harder to find ten of the buggers!

Well done if you identified these...

10. One option for your melted cheese toastie.

Hot Tuna - Genesis

9. Paradise Lost? Correct.

Milton wrote Paradise Lost.

Milton Wright - Job

If you've never heard that one before, it's definitely worth a click.

8. Mary's bloke was special.

Joseph was Special K!

Josef K - Revelation

And I quote from the Book of Half Man Half Biscuit...

If you’re going to quote from the Book of Revelation, 

Don’t keep calling it the Book of Revelations; 

There’s no “s”, it’s the Book of Revelation, 

as revealed to St John the Divine

7. Don't let it move around too much.

The Hold Steady - Esther 

6. Dental? Yes!

Amagram!

Steely Dan - Kings

5. Scroogey & The Banshees.

Marley was the partner of Scrooge. Banshees wail.

Bob Marley & The Wailers - Exodus

4. Prisons are getting too cushy these days.

Soft Cell - Numbers

3. Disney princess meets political runner.

Belle (from Beauty & The Beast) meets Sebastian Coe.

Belle & Sebastian - Act(s) of the Apostle(s)

2. Andy Trollop.

Anagram!

Dolly Parton - Jeremiah

1. PC Ben with Little Willie.

Ben Elton introduced Political Correctness to comedy. Little Willie John didn't.

Let us all pray the link will be easier next week.

Conversations With Ben #9: Two Birthdays

Friday...

Rol: Here's what Louise got me for my birthday.

Ben: Great card. Mrs. Ben's always really great at birthday stuff so yesterday I asked her what would be my worst nightmare birthdays and she answered, "dinner with your family or a surprise party".

She was right.

I can't think of anything worse than a surprise party.

I like being able to leave a party.

To be the subject of a party would be horrible.

That's why Louise & I never got married.

Did you get anything nice?

Hold Steady CD. Coffee. David Gedge book.

Open Door Policy?

Good coffee?

"How I did the Wedding Present"?

Yeah x3.

One of the first bands I was in played a full set of Wedding Present covers once.

I imagine they all sounded pretty much the same.

No way. Jose.

And I think ODP is best Hold Steady album since Stay Positive.

I've only listened to it a couple of times online, but lyrically it has a bit more depth, like his solo stuff.

I can't remember which review but one said that it was only a matter of time before the solo stuff married with THS and it did it in the best way. They're never going to write another Boys and Girls but it's still great.

Expecting bands to live up to previous glories is always a recipe for disappointment.

And the lowest point will always be Finn's first solo album.

Yeah, that was a bit dull. The next two were great though.

His solo albums since that first one have been phenomenal.

Whilst Boys and Girls might be objectively the best, Separation Sunday is my choice.

Chips Ahoy!

Best song is and will always be Killer Parties.

Sequestered for me.

He's got a great way of doing that song live.

Does he stand on his head?

No, just runs around doing the airquotes.

Great live band to tick off when it's safe to do so.

I saw them in a tent at a festival many years ago.

Did you come down from Boulder. Maybe eat some mushrooms?

When have you ever known me to Chill Out?

When they flooded you with saline?

Does salt help you chill? I thought it raised your blood pressure.

Maybe that's what they needed. Maybe they flatlined. I don't know. I have no medical experience.

On Sunday, Ben received the above e-card... Click to open the link. 

Thank you. The only way that could have been better is if you swapped out Bolton for lovely Sally Phillips.

Why Sally Phillips? Random.

Because Sally Phillips is the only celebrity I have ever had a crush on. And it grows each and every day.

I hated Michael Bolton when I was younger. I used to quote Denis Leary whenever his name was mentioned. 

(Leary did a routine in the 90s which culminated in the line "Bring me Michael Bolton's head on a stick". The internet has no reference to this though. Maybe I imagined it.) 

It warms the cockles of my heart to see what his career has come to... and yet, I have a grudging respect for him doing that, as it shows he doesn't take himself too seriously.

When I was 12-15 I'd only listen to music that was recommended by Kerrang! And some of the heavier indie on MTV 2. But I had a copy of Leave Right Now by Will Young. And still think it's a great tune to this day. Now I don't have time to hate on people when they're good at what they do. Bolton knows what he is and I dig that he's comfortable with that.

I pretty much just hate Bono and the Gallaghers these days. Everyone else can just carry on with whatever they're doing and I'm happy.

I don't even think U2 like Bono. Adam Clayton writes stuff then fucks off whilst Bono records it.

I also strongly dislike (though not as much as Bono) The Hedge. Purely based on his name.

As much as I hate U2's music, I have a lot of respect for the Edge as a musician. He is very innovative and you can only understand just how good he is when you try to use delay. He's got a mastery over it.

Delay is what we used to use to stop people swearing on the radio. Presumably the Hedge uses it to stop people calling Bono a #@$* all the time.

There's four knobs on a delay pedal: ping (in milliseconds), volume, repeats, and decay. It repeats the notes and you alter how it deals with the input. Quite hard to get properly if using more than a simple scratch delay (think rockabilly).

There's 5 knobs on it if the Hedge is using it.

Some do have more options.

Trying to work out if you missed the joke on purpose.

Well, the Empress pedal has a fair few more...

I got my favourite album on vinyl for my birthday.

Curtis, 1970.

Ah yes, the Tony Curtis solo album. A classic. Not as good as Richard Harris.

Hilarious.

Don't diss McArthur Park.

How apt.

He's everything Marvin Gaye wishes he was and everything that reporters claimed What's Going On was.

That's a very muso verdict. I think there's room for both, though Marvin did his best work as a straight pop star rather than when he was trying to be a serious artist.

One of the things I love about Prince is that he exclusively used Boss pedals.

Are you back on this again?

They're a set of solid, well built ones but each one is only at the £100 price point. He was just an excellent musician.

Later that afternoon, Ben received another delivery...

This you?

No, that's Bruce Springsteen. I can understand your confusion.

You know what I mean.

It's less a birthday present than a thank you for helping cling to the tattered remains of my sanity over the last 12 months.

That said, I appreciate there's a certain arrogance or vanity in sending someone a gift you like yourself, and it's a practice full of pitfalls, so I won't be upset if you don't like it.

However, there's a certain amount of vicarious pleasure attached , since I don't have a record player or any vinyl anymore.

Thus ends the sincerity. I'll go back to taking the piss now.

Thank you. I genuinely appreciate it. it's a thoughtful gift and I get the gesture.

Now for my taking the piss response. Wow. Project much?

If it makes you feel any better, you've been a help this year too.

I've actually got a gift for you lying around until the next physical time we were going to catch up. Let me know your new address and I'll send it over.

If it's The Dream of the Blue Turtles, you can keep it.

Shit.

Hot 100 #18

Only one song by one band named after the number 18 in my record collection... but it's not a bad one at all.

The Eighteenth Day of May - Casey Jones

Welcome back to the Hot 100 as we come of age - backwards - with only 17 more weeks to go before I get to have a lie down. As has become customary in recent weeks, there's a ton of songs to get through... so let's get cracking.

Let's start with Martin...

18... I imagine there must be a bucketful. Can't think of too many off the top of my head though, so will just have to go with:

The Stray Cats - 18 Miles to Memphis 

Art Brut - 18,000 Lira  

So no, I don't expect to be winning again next week...

I dunno - that second one was in serious contention.

Next up is Lynchie...

Kathy Mattea has a decent country song called: "Eighteen Wheels And A Dozen Roses"...

Kathy Mattea - Eighteen Wheels And A Dozen Roses

Like that.

Speaking of 18 wheels, Rigid Digit offered this beauty...

Alabama - Roll On (Eighteen Wheeler)

RD also threw these into the ring...

Everyone needs a bit of hair metal once in a while:

Skid Row - 18 And Life

That's like a Silvikrin commercial.

How about electronica?

Moby -18

A bit of headbanging stuff?

Megadeth - Hangar 18

Pardon?

Over to Jim in Dubai next...

This week I am leading with: 

The Associates - 18 Carat Love Affair 

Brian seconded that. And then added a couple more of his own...

Bubblegum Splash - 18:10 to Yeovil Junction 

You do know my affection for anything on the Subway Organization label.

Yes, indeed, and while we're doing time of day songs...

Bloc Party - Waiting For The 7:18

Brian's other suggestion was one from my own shortlist...

Grandaddy - A.M. 180

Jason Lytle's first great song but nowhere near his last.

Love that how that cheesy intro cuts into the guitars.

Back to Jim, who also offered...

The Cygnet Ring - 18 Daze

I do like that.

18 Wheeler - Stay

Look - Jim found another 18 band!

Assuming... 

Momus - London 1888 

...doesn't qualify but certainly worth a mention.

Funnily enough, I did say 19th Century songs would be allowed Jim, because I had a few of my own...

Frank Black - 1826

The Pine Hill Haints - Spirit of 1812

Sparks - It Ain't 1918

The Handsome Family - Emily Shore - 1819 - 1839

Television - 1880 Or So

That is where The National got their entire at from!

Nick Nicely - Hill Fields (1892)

And that's where Damon Albarn got his from.

One more date - a day rather than a year though.

The Deep Dark Woods - 18th of December

Great video.

Alyson made it through my defences to drop these two...

Bobby Darin - Eighteen Yellow Roses 

Bryan Adams - 18 Til I Die

OK, before we get to this week's head to head, here's a few more from my hard-drive of horror...

5 Seconds Of Summer - 18

Nils Lofgren - 60 Is The New 18

Think that probably featured in week 60. Here's another one from Nils, from back when he was closer to 18...

Grin - 18-faced Lover

Client - Diary of an 18 Year Old Boy

Reverend & The Makers - 18-30

Theaudience - Now That You Are 18

Roy Orbison - Almost Eighteen

Consider that an uncomfortable taster of the next couple of weeks.

And finally, a top track from last year's long-awaited reunion album...

The Hold Steady - Star 18

All of which leaves us with two choices for this week.

In the red corner, here's Charity Chic...

I'm eighteen with a bullet

Got my finger on the trigger, 

I'm gonna pull it

And Lynchie...

Fascinating facts about Pete Wingfield (I bought "18 With A Bullet" in 1975 - fantastically fun lyrics):

He produced Searching for the Young Soul Rebels the first album by Dexys Midnight Runners - and also produced The Proclaimers "Sunshine on Leith".

He's played keyboards for Van Morrison, The Everly Brothers, The Housemartins and many more.

Sadly however, he did play piano for The Alan Parsons Project, but nobody's perfect.


In the blue corner, here's... erm... Lynchie...

...and then there's the great Alice Cooper song: "I'm Eighteen".

And C...

I definitely second FBCB's suggestion of Alice Cooper's 'I'm Eighteen'.
A few years ago Mr SDS did his best Alice Cooper impression at a fancy dress party (it was so hot his eyeliner ran and the great thing was that it didn't matter...) Somewhere out there now there's a priceless photo of Alice, Slash and Ozzy together in a scout hut in Essex.



And this week's winner...?

Well, it's obvious really, isn't it?

Well done, Lynchie.

Next week - 17. Off the top of my head, there can be only one winner. You may seek to persuade me otherwise...

2019 Contenders: Craig's Purple Patch

A week or so ago, Craig Finn announced the imminent release of a new album by his old band, The Hold Steady. This comes hot on the heels of his fourth solo album, I Need A New War, which is already shaping up to be one of my albums of the year.

Much as I love The Hold Steady, I'm starting to think Craig Finn's solo albums are getting even better. His storytelling is definitely hitting a purple patch - miniature Raymond Carver-esque vignettes in every song. Plus he's experimenting with what music critics might call "sonic diversity" - that is, throwing in a few different instruments and varying the genre at times.

Here's a terrific live performance of one of the stand-out tracks...

My Top Ten 2018 Songs That Wouldn't Fit Into Any of the Other 2018 Top Tens I Did

A final ten songs which wouldn't fit / I didn't have room for in either My Top Ten Country / Americana Songs, My Top Ten Scottish Songs, My Top Ten Trump Songs or My Top Ten Indie/Alt Guitar Songs from 2018...


10. Jonathan Wilson - There's A Light

Laurel Canyon producer who's worked with Conor Oberst, Father John Misty, Bonnie 'Prince' Billie, Roy Harper, Dawes and Glen Campbell... among others... also makes a decent racket on his own.

9. The Hold Steady - Eureka

The Hold Steady got back together at the end of last year but have been pretty slow in releasing new material. Still, I'm a huge fan and every track is to be treasured. Hoping for much more in 2019.

8. Charlie Dore - A Dog Out Looking For His Day

Remember when Sting did that song from the perspective of a dog? No? Consider yourself lucky.

Anyway, here's the concept done right by the lady who brought us Pilot of the Airwaves way back in the 70s. Yep, she's still going strong.

7. David Byrne - A Dog's Mind

And here's another dog song, from David Byrne's best record in a while. Wish I'd got to catch him live.

6. Mark Kozelek - My Love For You Is Undying

Mark Kozelek probably released another twenty albums this year that I haven't yet heard... he's probably released another one while I was typing this sentence... but his eponymous solo album produced more glorious autobiographical ramblings that you'll either dig or want to bury. The word "art" is much misused in the contemporary music industry, but I would argue that Kozelek is the closest thing we have to a true artist working in the field today, putting himself 100% into his music, warts and all, and making a truly individual noise that will touch and speak to only a tiny minority... I consider myself fortunate to "get him" where millions won't.

5. Luke Haines - Subbuteo Lads

And then we have Britain's answer to Mark Kozelek, another "artist" whose work becomes more eccentric and individual with every release. His latest album, I Sometimes Dream Of Glue, is a collection of songs about Airfix, Hornby, sex and Subbuteo that ploughs deeper into the unique 70s/80s nostalgia groove that has become his stock-in-trade. Although Subbuteo Lads isn't the best song musically on the album, it does have the best opening line.

4. Tom Odell ft. Alice Merton - Half As Good As You

From two artists who've swam about as far from the mainstream as it's possible to get... I give you the best pure pop song of the year, from an artist following very well in the footsteps of Elton John & Billy Joel (he's even supported Billy and covered Piano Man for Children In Need). This particular track starts out as a straightforward piano duet then morphs into and 80s power ballad - wait till the drums hammer in around the 2 minute mark and we're suddenly into Diana Ross / Lionel Ritchie or Roberta Flack / Peabo Bryson territory.

My Top Ten: proud to have been irking the musos since 21012.

3. Bruce Springsteen - Growin' Up (Live On Broadway)

I only got the album for Christmas and haven't watched the Netflix performance yet... but if this is anything to go by, I'll have a lot more to say about this record soon.

2. The Fugitives - No Words

A tribute to Leonard Cohen from his fellow Canadians. Powerful stuff.

1. Okkervil River - Famous Tracheotomies

Will Sheff's parents tried for a long time to have a child, with miscarriages and more making it a very traumatic time for them. After Will was finally born, he became very ill as a young boy. The operation that saved his life involved fitting him with a tracheotomy tube which he then had for a long period throughout his childhood.

This song is about Sheff's gratitude for that little tube that allowed him to still be here today... and many other famous names whose lives have been saved by tracheotomies, including Dylan Thomas, Mary Wells, Gary Coleman (Arnold from Diff'rent Strokes) and Ray Davies, who wrote Waterloo Sunset in memory of the time he himself had been recovering from such an operation.

Saturday Snapshots #49 - The Answers

It's Oh So Quiet on a Sunday morning while we're all waiting for the answers to Saturday Snapshots.

Apparently yesterday's featured some tough ones... well, they all seemed easy enough to me. (But then, they come from my record collection.)

Very close match between Lynchie & Charity Chic, both getting three full correct answers, though Lynchie also gets a quarter point for #7, making him the winner. Martin mopped up the last two, but George deserves extra credit for #5.

10. The Boss finds religion with well stirred rice.

Well stirred RICE would make ERIC.

Religion happens in a church.

The Boss is...

Eric Church - Springsteen

9. Philosopher loses his mill, but not to a girl called May or June.

John Stewart Mill was the philosopher.

After May & June, the lady would be called July.

John Stewart - July, You're A Woman

8. Alpha stretched to link.

Elastic stretches the letter A.

A link is a connection. Rigid Digit got there in the end!

Elastica - Connection

7. Her name isn't Rio but she may still dance on the sand. Whatever the Falklands' capital wants... a burglar dittoes.

Ipanema is a beach in Rio.

The capital of the Falklands is Stanley.

Whatever XXX wants, XXX gets.

A burglar dittoes is an anagram.

Astrud Gilberto & Stan Getz - The Girl From Ipanema

6. T-Rex strolls past Hamlet's favourite contradiction.

T-Rex was a dinosaur.

A stroll is a walk.

Hamlet wondered whether "To be or not to be", which in the past tense would be Was or not Was.

Was (Not Was) - Walk The Dinosaur

5. Hang on tight to frozen camping.

The Hold Steady - Chillout Tent

4. My 14th horror - but not always.

February 14th is Valentine's Day.

Horror is often bloody.

Not always = sometimes.

My Bloody Valentine - Sometimes

3. Stop me if you've heard this one before... Corn, King or Philippine Pit Viper?

Corn, King and Philippine Pit Viper are all - according to an extensive google search - white snakes.

Stop me if you've heard this one before... here I go again!

Cheese tasted so good in the 80s...

Whitesnake - Here I Go Again

2. Barmaid says Cheers! to Dolby after her first spelling lesson.

The barmaid in Cheers! was Carla.

Thomas Dolby.

"Baby" would seem an appropriate word to start your spelling lessons with.

Carla Thomas - B-A-B-Y

1. Reverse double bottom to a school on a French hill.

Look how short those beards are!

Reverse bottom for Top.

The bottom letter of the alphabet is Z.

A school on a hill would be Grange Hill.

In French, that might be...



Possibly Maybe more Saturday Snapshots next week... well, no we'll definitely have something extra special next week for our fiftieth anniversary edition. Don't miss it!