Emergency Questions #5: Take My Advice

William S. Burroughs & Bill Laswell - Words of Advice for Young People 

Another query I stole from Richard Herring's book Emergency Questions, with the hope of hearing your answers...

What's the best advice you've ever received and ignored?

Sometimes I wonder about this. Chances are though, if you ignore some advice and end up regretting it, you'll probably edit your memories to forget you were ever given that advice in the first place. Well, that's how my memory works, anyway.

Colin Clary - I Only Give You Bad Advice Because I Love You

Tom Cochrane - Friendly Advice

William Pears - Sound Advice

My parents would have loved me to go to university after my A Levels, but I was determined I wanted to go work in radio for no money instead*. My parents never pushed me though... they let me make my own mistakes and find my way back. Possibly this came from my brother who left school to pursue an accountancy course, hated it, quit, got a milk round, saved up, bought himself a digger and went on to become a very successful builder. Maybe they thought I would follow a similar path. 

(*Literally: for the first couple of years, I did not get paid.)

Chicago - Bad Advice

Roy Acuff - Advice To Joe

Jefferson Airplane - Great Society: Free Advice

I didn't, but I did eventually end up going back to university while I was working nights at the radio station, thereby having my cake and eating it. Because as well as wanting to be a DJ, I also wanted to be a writer. Somebody probably should have given me some advice about that as well.

The Silver Jews - Advice To The Graduate

Freeze Frame - Seeking Professional Advice

The Knack - (The Man From The) Marriage Guidance And Advice Bureau (that's a Namesake Knack)

It might have been better had someone advised me to go away to university rather than staying in my hometown... socially, at least, it might have made more well-adjusted human being... but on the other hand, I did finish uni without any student debt, and there's not many people who can say that.

Tears For Fears - Advice For The Young At Heart

Tijuana Panthers - Advice

Robert Smith - Very Good Advice

Did anyone ever advice me not to start writing a blog? God, I bet you wish they had...   

What's the best advice you've ever received and ignored?

Celebrity Jukebox #137: Norm!

Cheers was the greatest sitcom ever written.

There, I've said it.

I was going to qualify that statement with an "In my opinion..." or an "arguably", but it's my blog, so why can't I state opinions as fact? Everybody else is doing it!

The heart of Cheers was Norm Peterson. In a bar where "everybody knows your name", he was the exemplar. Everyone knew Norm... 

And Norm had an answer for every question...

As one of only three characters to appear in all 275 episodes of Cheers, actor George Wendt is a legend. Appropriately, he and his character get name-dropped in a few songs, mostly by rappers, but there was only one tune I wanted to play in tribute today. Here's the original recording, by Gary Portnoy...

Rest in peace, Norm... and George. I hope there's a good bar to prop up in TV heaven.

Teacher Songs #4: Season of Mists...

The Korgis - Everybody's Gotta Learn Sometime

My first school teacher was Mrs. Kaye. She was a grand old dame, that's the only way to describe her. Posh, but lovely. Very theatrical. She wrote her own school plays, adapting Tom Sawyer, Charlie & The Chocolate Factory and The Lion, The Witch & The Wardrobe into scripts that could be performed by 8-10 year olds. I guess she saw some hidden talent in me as she cast me in major roles in the first two - Huckleberry Finn and Willy Wonka... though it was quite a come-down to only appear as Mr. Beaver in the latter. I've no idea what I'd done to deserve that.

The Rare Earth - Is Your Teacher Cool?

I've probably mentioned this before, but years later, when I decided I wanted to be a DJ and a couple of people at the radio station suggested that my Yorkshire accent was a little strong, I went back to Mrs. Kaye for elocution lessons. She'd retired by then, but was happy to get me to read Keats over and over, softening my vowels and slowing my inflection. I can't think about Mrs. Kaye without remembering those summer evenings in her conservatory, picturing ripe fruit, plump hazel shells and vines that round the thatch-eves run... the words from the poem somehow transforming her home into an idyllic country cottage, when it was probably anything but. 

Wide Boy Awake - Slang Teacher

Toyah - Elocution Lesson

Sleaford Mods - Elocution

Nat King Cole - The Rain In Spain

Namesakes #138: The Vibes

George is back, to give me a much needed week off, and today he's the scribe with the Vibes...

My previous contribution to this series, The Swans, led me to investigate bands called The Geese. Whatever the results of those searches were, I have not kept them. And from that, I leapt to today’s choice, but how I got there I just don’t know. And of course I will be sticking to the rules, so no deviations into such horrific territory such as The Vibez or The Vybes. Rules are rules.

(This clearly demonstrates the difference between Maths teachers and English teachers.)

THE VIBES #1

First up, a rock-and-roll single from 1958. 

Vocals are credited to Ronnie Franklin, who a few years later formed a soft-rock band that sold 120 billion records, although I know of no-one who bought any singles or albums by Bread (Ronnie Franklin seems to have been a stage name for David Gates).

(Further research reveals the band also featured Leon Russell and JJ Cale. But I can't find a picture of them anywhere.)

The Vibes - Pretty Baby

THE VIBES #2

So we’re off to a good start. Next, and unsurprisingly given the precedents in this series, a doo-wop band, who also went by the name of The Jayhawks and The Vibrations...

The Vibes - What's Her Name?

THE VIBES #3

Swiss rock next, and a track from a 2013 album “45 minutes to go”...

The Vibes - Scumbags Or Presidents

You can find a lot of their music on bandcamp.

THE VIBES #4

Sorry, I am unable to find any of the three songs made by the Nashville punks who went by the name of The Vibes.

Me neither.

THE VIBES #5

South African vibes next, funky South African vibes, no less.

The Vibes - Celebrate My Love

THE VIBES #6

More doo-wopping, from a band who might also have gone by the name of The Flames...

The Vibes - Tell Me I'm Your Love

THE VIBES #7

Thankfully I can not find the Happy Vibes track by The Vibes from an album called Jazz’ngo vol. 2.

Having read up on that, I think we're all relieved.

THE VIBES #8

A cheery little pop song from 1962 next...

The Vibes - A Killer Came To Town

THE VIBES #9

And from El Salvador, via The Netherlands, some noisy young vibes with a song about Ron’s eyes...

The Vibes - Ojos de Ron

THE VIBES #10

The penultimate Vibes are from Northern Ireland. Possibly the best reggae band from that country, and a song with a very commendable opening line, especially if your first class on a Monday is a disenchanted Year 8 collection of young rowdies (one of whom threatened to stab me in a McDonalds).

The Vibes - Workin'

THE VIBES #11

Saving the best ‘til last, and loud fast garage rock from 1985...

The Vibes - I'm In Pittsburgh (And It's Rainin')

And from the same 12 inch EP (The Inner Wardrobes of Your Mind)...

The Vibes - I Hear Noises

You will of course be familiar with those last two songs, they were much played by John Peel. (I’m In Pittsburgh and It’s Raining was no. 32 in the Festive 50 - a scandal.)

I’m trying to think of a “Rol-ism” to finish: Which band give you good vibes? 

While I'm inclined to agree that George saved the best till last, I'd be doing regular readers of this feature (i.e. Ernie and... erm, George) a disservice if I didn't tack a few more Vibes onto the end of his post... for completeness' sake.

THE VIBES #12

The earliest Vibes I could find - they formed in 1948, originally as The Vibrinaires before shortening that to The Vibes. I can only think that George missed them out because they came from Asbury Park, New Jersey.

The Vibes - Stop Torturing Me

THE VIBES #13

Ohio alt-rockers led by Nathan Corsi, from 2005...

The Vibes - Seventh Son

THE VIBES #14

Some smooth jazz sounds from Italy in 2011 (can't believe George missed these guys!).

The Vibes - Afternoon Without You

THE VIBES #15

And finally (again) some New Zealand rockers from 2020...

The Vibes - Funk Blaster

Thank you to George for his efforts as always. Although we'll miss his regular intense critical evaluations in the comments box this week. Feel free to step up if you have a spare couple of hours...

Snapshots #396: Songs With Rhyming Titles

Jack Black stacks a slack sack pack on his back, and has a pet yak in his shack, with a nick knack, paddy-whack for smack, crack and quack.

Here are some songs that rhyme... but not quite as much as that.

15. Rock on... Are you ready for him?

Rock on, Tommy... Cannon. Are you ready for Freddy?

Freddy Cannon - Tallahassee Lassie

14. I'm the same boy I used to be, just like a peanut farmer.

Jimmy Carter was the Peanut Farmer.

"I'm the same boy I used to be," is a lyric from Valerie by Steve Winwood, which was allegedly written about...

Valerie Carter - Wild Child

13. Just like the guy whose feet are too big for his bed...

Lyrics from "Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head"...

The Raindrops - Hanky Panky

12. Died in 1966?

Or is that just an urban legend?

Paul McCartney - Temporary Secretary

11. Rita Tushingham's kitchen sink.

Rita Tushingham was in the kitchen sink drama, A Taste Of Honey...

A Taste Of Honey - Boogie Oogie Oogie

10. Motivational presentation, not for Old Men. 

A motivational presentation could be a TED Talk. 

Ted Nugent--Wango Tango

9. Those McCartney Oiks will spoil everything.

"McCartney Oiks" was an anagram...

Arctic Monkeys - Fluorescent Adolescent

8. Hats off to Bell and Orbit.

Hats off to Larry. Bell and Orbit are both Williams.

Larry Williams - Bony Moronie

7. Useful for painting in Michigan.

Bay City is in Michigan. You use a roller for painting. 

I'm sure at least one of you recognised those legs...

Bay City Rollers - Money Honey 

6. Bluebell is lost in the middle, and don't call me...

Bluebell is lost in the middle. And don't call me Shirley!

Shirley Ellis - The Name Game

Rol!
Rol, Rol bo-bo-bol
Bo-na-na, fanna fo-fol!
Fee-fi-mo-mol!
Rol!

5. The stone at the heart of the flesh.

Peach Pit - Alrighty Aphrodite 

4. 'Cause, I gotta have... Benny.

"'Cause, I gotta have... Faith." And Benny Hill.

Faith Hill - This Kiss

3. Keeping up with The Joneses.

The Smiths - Still Ill 

Or you could have had...

The Smiths - Frankly, Mr Shankly

I didn't realise you wrote such bloody awful poetry.

2. A Snapshots essential!

Your snapshots won't be any good without Focus.

Focus - Hocus Pocus

1. Inverted woes.

That was an anagram!

Stevie Wonder - Master Blaster

Castaway Potshots returns next week...