Snapshots #422: Songs About Arts & Crafts Supplies

A top notch - and very tricky - edition of Snapshots this weekend. Many thanks to C from Sun Dried Sparrows for her hard work. C, of course, is an artist (as is Ron Wood and today's header image, multi-disciplinary artist Yayoi Kusama). Perhaps that was the best clue to this week's link... 

15. Viv Daisyland is confused.

 

Viv Daisyland is an anagram of David Sylvian.

David Sylvian: The Ink In The Well

14. Destination Saturday?

If you were to go to David Bowie’s Drive In Saturday, you would be At The Drive In.

At The Drive In: One Armed Scissor

13. Not ewe twos!

 

Not ewe = ram, not twos = ones, put them together and you get the Ramones.

The Ramones: Now I Wanna Sniff Some Glue

Extra kudos to C for finding a picture of the Ramones where they don't immediately look like the Ramones. From past experience, I know that's a tough one!

12.  A rabbit follows an Ant.

 

Harvey the rabbit (from the film) comes after Ant (McPartlin) who was P J in P J & Duncan / Byker Grove.

P J Harvey: White Chalk

Ditto Polly Jean, actually.

11. Little and fluffy.

 

The Orb sang about little fluffy clouds

Clouds: Watercolour Days

10. A distant Pet Shop Boy.

 

Chris Lowe is a Pet Shop Boy, if he’s distant he’s far, put them together for Chris FARlowe.

Chris Farlowe: Yesterday’s Paper

9. Picasso’s identical friends.

 

Jean Cocteau was a friend of Picasso and twins can be identical.

Cocteau Twins: Wax and Wane

8. Orion and Gogmagog, perhaps.

 

Orion is from Greek mythology and Gogmagog is from English folklore - they might be giants!

They Might Be Giants: Pencil Rain 

7. Gilded French software program.

 

Gold fr app….

Goldfrapp: Clay

6. Manacled in the Queen of Hearts’ garden.

 

Alice in Wonderland in chains…

Alice In Chains: Scalpel

5.  Pot it or be in it.

 

You can pot the pink, or be in the pink.

Pink: Glitter In The Air

4.  A power station for Walter.

 

‘Kraftwerk’ means power station in Walter’s native tongue!

Kraftwerk: The Model

Well, you learn something new every day!

3. Sandi and the disgraced Duke add email.

 

Sandi THOM and the disgraced Duke of YORK add E….

Thom Yorke: The Eraser

2. Reorganise!  Win a kinder cow!

 

Reorganise ‘win a kinder cow’ to spell Dionne Warwick (anagram).

Dionne Warwick: Paper Mache

1. Ruddy regal frippery!

Robert Fripp was in King (regal) Crimson (ruddy)

King Crimson: Frame by Frame

More Snapshots next Saturday - but nothing quite as inspired, I'm afraid to say.

Celebrity Jukebox #28: Bill Bixby

Following on from Friday's Lou Ferrigno post, here's his other half...

"Mr. McGee... don't make me angry. You wouldn't like me when I'm angry."

With all due respect to Lou, the true star of The Incredible Hulk TV show wasn't the big green guy with the muscles... it was his quieter, calmer alter ego, Dr. David Banner. Bill Bixby did the quiet man role masterfully, bottling up his rage until he just couldn't hold it in any more... and then, the pupils went wide. More than that though, he cut a truly tragic figure as a itinerant loner, doomed never to settle down. That was always the final shot of the show, Banner taking that long walk out of town, the emotion turned up to eleven with the help of Joe Hammell's heart-wrenching Lonely Man Theme.

The Incredible Hulk was actually Bill Bixby's fourth major TV role. He'd previously starred in the sitcoms My Favourite Martian and The Courtship of Eddie's Father, followed by the lead role as a crime-fighting conjurer in The Magician. But it was David Banner (changed from the comic book Bruce Banner as the producer didn't like alliterative names) that guaranteed his immortality. Nobody could make a walk out of town seem quite so devastating.   

The fact that, at any second, Billy Bixby could go total Hulk on yo' ass endears him greatly to the rap community. As with Lou Ferrigno, he gets name-dropped by everyone from Ice Cube, Lil Wayne and P Diddy to De La Soul and Public Enemy. 

And then there's this...

Red Pillar - Bill Bixby

Not to mention this dude...

Bill Bixby - WTF Happened?

And this one...

David Banner - Mightgetcha

You get the picture. (Yes, we see.)

Meanwhile, David Banner's famous catch-phrase also crops up all over the place, most notably here...

Thom Yorke - YouWouldn'tLikeMeWhenI'mAngry

And considering Prince's boss was called Mr. McGee in the track below, I'm betting the Purple One could well have turned Green... if he hadn't been a bit too leisurely.

Prince - Raspberry Beret

However, right back at the beginning of this post (in the late 1970s), I proclaimed Bill Bixby the winner over his large green alter ego. And the reason for that is the tune below, a far better Bill Bixby song than any I could find that mentioned Lou Ferrigno. 

Bill Bixby died of prostate cancer in the early 90s, but he lives on in my record collection thanks to another Bill, Mr. Callahan of Smog, a man who clearly appreciates the power of a slow stroll of out of town.

You know I used to share a tailor

With David Bruce Banner

That's the Hulk

Traveling jackets and traveling bags

Future rags

And shoes good for walking highways

But never quite far enough away

To see how good and easy it could be

If I just got angry

But I never got angry

Maybe I should have

I could have cleared some things away

In those old Bill Bixby days

My Top Ten Rabbit Songs

Ten Easter bunnies...

Special  mention to Frightened Rabbit, Echo & The Bunnymen, White Rabbits... and all the other White Rabbits already featured as part of my Top Ten Alice In Wonderland Songs.


10. Paul Westerberg - Mr. Rabbit

There's only one Paul Westerberg. Accept no Replacements.

9. Adam Ant -  Who's a Goofy Bunny?

From the new album, Adam Ant is the BlueBlack Hussar in Marrying the Gunners Daughter... apparently it's Adam's tribute to Malcolm McLaren.

8. Ray Moore - O, My Father Had A Rabbit

One of my first DJ heroes: the late Ray Moore. They don't make 'em like this anymore... 

7. Seth Lakeman - The White Hare

As I said above, if you're looking for White Rabbits, click the Alice In Wonderland link. Here's a white hare instead. Don't give me any grief about hares not being rabbits.

6. Sparks - Pulling Rabbits Out of a Hat

All they get is polite applause. There's no pleasing some people.

5. Unkle featuring Thom Yorke - Rabbit In Your Headlights

I'm a rabbit in your headlights
Christian suburbanite
Washed down the toilet
Money to burn
Fat bloody fingers are sucking your soul away...

 And you think you have problems getting to sleep at night. Imagine living in Thom Yorke's head.

4. Chas & Dave - Rabbit

Not the first time this has made it's way into one of my Top Tens... doubt it'll be the last.

Now, I don't mind having a chat...
But you have to keep giving it that.

My local Sainsbury's still doesn't sell rabbit.

3. Florence & The Machine - Rabbit Heart (Raise It Up)

Yes, the kookiness is starting to grate and she's yet to record anything else quite as exciting as Kiss With A Fist... but when I read that "551 people disliked this video beacuse (sic) they saw her waring (sic) earring (sic) that looks (sic) like "illuminati" sign", I was impressed. Particularly that the youtube commenter knew how to spell Illuminati.

2. The Magnetic Fields - Let's Pretend We're Bunny Rabbits

Stephin Merritt at his most playful, from the mighty 69 (Love Songs).

1. Jenny Lewis & The Watson Twins - Rabbit Fur Coat

 Just fantastic storytelling...

I was of poor folk
But my mother had a rabbit fur coat
And a girl of less character pushed her down the L.A. River
Hand over that rabbit fur coat
She put a knife to her throat
Hand over that rabbit fur coat
When my ma refused, the girl kicked dirt on her blouse
Stay away from my mansion house

 Listen to the song to hear the rest of the story.



What's up, doc?

My Top Ten Cocktail Songs

Fancy a drink?

Even when I was a drinking man, I was never really a cocktail fan. That Tom Cruise film was enough to put me off for life.

Special mention, of course, goes to Bucks Fizz, one of the first pop bands ever to catch my eye. Obviously the bit when the skirts came off did it for me. I was at a very impressionable age.


10. Frightened Rabbit - (Old) Old Fashioned

No Sex On The Beach or Screaming Orgasms for these guys.

9. Drugstore featuring Thom Yorke - El Presidente

Drugstore do their best to cheer Thom Yorke up with a few cocktails. It doesn't work. He still goes off and kills the president.

8. The Bluetones - Mudslide

Featuring Matt Lucas and David Walliams in the video. Presumably they were paid in vodka, Kahlua and Baileys.

7. Feist - Brandy Alexander

He's my Brandy Alexander
Always gets me into trouble
But that's another matter
Brandy Alexander

If you need further clarification of what this song's about...

Brandy Alexander
Goes down easy

6. Alannah Myles - Black Velvet

Was she most famous for this song.... or those leather chaps?

5. PJ Harvey - Kamikaze

PJ Harvey... Wallbanger?

4. The Crimea - White Russian Galaxy

The Dude's favourite beverage.

3. Jimmy Buffett - Margaritaville

Or, if you prefer, Marguerita Time by THE QUO.

One of them is spelling it wrong.

2. The Eagles - Tequila Sunrise

Perfect for a hot sunny afternoon... if you can remember what those are.

1. Rupert Holmes - Escape (The Pina Colada Song)

Come on... it had to be! I mean, if you like Pina Coladas and getting caught in the rain... if you're not into health food... if you have half a brain...

Not sure about the making love at midnight bit. I'm usually asleep by then. Obviously getting old.



If music be the drink of love... which tuneful tipple take your fancy?