Yes, I could have chosen the logo of Twenty One Pilots to illustrate this post, but I don't think they ever recorded a song as good as this. Feel free to disabuse me of that notion should you wish. Jim In Dubai also suggested another 12 group...
Jim's Twenty One - Throwaway Friend
...which I don't think is his own bad, but it's pretty good regardless.
Welcome to the 80th post in this series (look, I did the Maths, you work it out)... which means The Key To The Door: Number 21.
Let's start with Martin, who appears to be struggling somewhat this week...
Erm. 21. Feels like there should be loads.
Well, I found a fair few.
So Solid Crew - 21 Seconds
That... wasn't one of them.
Alanis Morrissette - 21 Things I Want In A Lover
Neither was that. Although it's a step up from So Solid Crew.
Sigue Sigue Sputnik - 21st Century Boy which is probably the first time they've rubbed up against Alanis...
Blimey, you really are scraping the barrel this week.
The Who - 1921
That's more like it.
ELO - 21st Century Man
That's not bad either. Not a winner though.
While we're in the 21st Century, we might as well get these out of the way too...
The Soundtrack of Our Lives - 21st Century Rip Off
Mike Peters - 21st Century
Laptop - 21st Century World
Toto - 21st Century Blues
Frank Hamilton - 21C
Glenn Frey - Love In The 21st Century
Frank Turner - 21st Century Survival Blues
Jamie Cullum (yes, Jamie Cullum, deal with) - 21st Century Kid
Midland - 21st Century Honky Tonk American Band
Jim in Dubai offered Luke Haines - 21st Century Man
C tried King Crimson - 21st Century Schizoid Man
The Swede had T.Rex - 21st Century Stance and The Membranes - 21st Century Man, but curiously not The Mebranes - The 21st Century Is Killing Me.
And Rigid Digit supplied Green Day - 21st Century Breakdown, which hails from the same album as Green Day - 21 Guns. Not their best, no, but no their worst either.
Finally, Douglas offered...
Bad Religion - 21st Century (Digital Boy)
But... well, let's face it: the 21st Century is pretty horrible, so I think we'll skip all those, fine songs though they may be.
Back to The Swede...
Luxuria - Lady 21
Bon Iver - 21 Moonwater
Juana Molina - Wed 21
Sounds like John Shuttleworth on the keyboards there, Swede.
Snailhouse - Twenty One Years
Personally though, The Swede concludes, I'd like to suggest Twenty One by The Apartments. What a truly wonderful band they are.
That is very nice, I have to admit it. Doesn't exist in my own record collection (yet), which is the one stipulation to be a winner on this series. But I definitely have to investigate it further.
Where's Lynchie? Putting all his eggs in one basket this week, it seems...
Well, it's obvious the winner is Twenty-One by The Eagles.
I was very tempted, I'll admit it.
Here comes Brian, who's backing The Swede's final suggestion, but also throws in this...
The Flaming Lips - One More Robot / Sympathy 3000-21
...which I'm glad he did, because somehow the trawl through my own 21s missed that. Here's a few more of those, if you're at all interested...
Jim Bob - Coach A Seat 21
Dave Gahan - 21 Days
Frank Black - 21 Reasons
The Charlatans - Come In, Number 21
Ash - Death Trip 21
Blink 182 - 21 Days
The Divine Comedy - 21st of May
Jeff Rosenstock - June 21st
And finally, Douglas had a couple more suggestions...
The Cranberries - 21
(Which owes quite a debt to Cyndi Lauper's Time After Time, if you ask me.)
Chuck Berry - 21 Blues
These lead us quite nicely into the subsection "Songs about being age 21", to which I can add...
The Paddingtons - 21
Jack White - Freedom At 21
Wilko Johnson & Roger Daltrey - Turned 21
The Shirelles - Twenty-One
The Lonesome Pine Fiddlers - Twenty One Years
And... of course... this, which was our opening suggestion this week, from Charity Chic, who almost begged...
The Adverts - No Time to Be 21, please, Rol.
C seconded that too, and, well... why not?
Life's short, don't make a mess of it
To the ends of the earth, you'll look for a sense in it
No chances, no plans
I'll smash the windows of my box
I'll be a madman
It's no time to be 21
To be anyone
To be honest, even though I'm not particularly enjoying 47... I don't think I'd fancy being 21 again. Would you?
And so we finally reach the Top 20. On your marks... get set...
Go!
