Snapshots #342: A Top Twelve Star Wars Songs

Yesterday was May 4th - Star Wars Day. (Because: May The 4th Be With You. Don't blame me. I didn't come up with that.) Did you need The Force to crack these clues...?

12. Flaming satellite. 

Named after a Russian street gang, the "sigue sigue" meaning "burn burn"...

Sigue Sigue Sputnik - Albinoni vs. Star Wars, Pt. 1 & 2

11. Sadomasochism for the Original Gangsters.

S&M for the OGs...

Smog - I Am Star Wars!

10. Armenian butcher.

Their name means "butcher" in Armenian, apparently...

Kasabian - Empire

9. Odd LA back-up. 

Odd is Weird, LA backwards is AL...

Weird Al Yankovic - Yoda

(Sung to the tune of Lola, naturally.)

8. Twice as bright.

Neon Neon - I Told Her On Alderaan

Alderaan was Princess Leia's home planet... but you knew that.

Neon Neon features Gruff Rhys of the Super Furry Animals.

7. Greasy lady found in Falkirk.

The lady in Grease is Sandy. Denny is a town in Falkirk. Han was Solo.

Sandy Denny - Solo

6. Home security camera rotates more than half way. 

I've got Blink security cameras on Top Ten Towers, in case you were thinking of coming round to steal my CD collection. If you rotate something through half a turn, that's 180 degrees. Just over that would be...

Blink 182 - A New Hope

5. Don't mess.

Don't Mess With Jim!

Jim Croce - A Long Time Ago

...in a galaxy far, far away.

4. Female warrior and bright star. 

Bellatrix is both of the above.

Bellatrix - Jedi Wannabe

3. What Johnny used for small payments.

Johnny raids the Petty Cash.

Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers - Rebels

2. On yer bike, Nicole Kidman!

Nicole Kidman's second film role, way back in 1983, was in the movie BMX Bandits.

BMX Bandits - Star Wars

1. The genuine article.

The Real Thing - Can You Feel The Force?

Snapshots will be back next Saturday. Do. Or do not. There is no try.

One Track Mind #1: U Got The Look

Most posts on this blog lately feature a load of different, spuriously-linked songs, and gone are the days when I'd write about any one song in detail. But I've been reading Jeff Tweedy's new book, World Within A Song, and I like the way each chapter focuses on just one track. Often he goes off on a ramble and the chapter ends up having very little to do with the track in question, but it still makes for a fascinating read.

So I thought I'd try something similar. A series in which I focus on one song per post (although inevitably, as below, I might end up mentioning others). I'm not sure I'll have anything remotely interesting to say, and I'm certainly no Jeff Tweedy, but I like to set myself little challenges to stop life getting too dull.

I'm starting at complete random with U Got The Look. It was the first Prince single I bought. Although it wasn't just Prince, was it? It was Sheena Easton too. And at that time, I was possibly more familiar with her than I was with Prince himself. I grew up on Radio 2, Tel and Ray Moore in the morning, Diddy David Hamilton and the mighty John Dunn after school. Back in 1980, when Sheena Easton released her debut single off the back of her appearance in Esther Rantzen's Big Time, Radio 2 was the only station I listened to. 

Sheena Easton - 9 To 5

Despite her Lanarkshire lass, Esther Rantzen & Radio 2 beginnings, Sheena ended up being a much bigger star on the other side of the pond. After her Bond theme, she pretty much gave up on the UK (or maybe we gave up on her), whereas in the States she had 15 Billboard Top 40 hits, seven of which made the Top 10. Over there, she's one of the best-selling British female vocalists of the 80s, and because she jumped effortlessly between genres, she is the only artist to have a Top 5 hit on each of Billboard's primary singles charts: the rechristened-to-avoid-Dolly-confusion "Morning Train (Nine to Five)" (Pop and Adult Contemporary), "We've Got Tonight" with Kenny Rogers (Country and Adult Contemporary) and "Sugar Walls" (R&B and Dance).

Sheena Easton - Sugar Walls

That last one was written specially for her by Prince, but it caused quite a stir when moral rights campaigner Tipper Gore (the American Mary Whitehouse) named and shamed it on her Filthy Fifteen - a list of songs so indecent that I had to go and make a playlist out of them immediately. I'm not suggesting Tipper did the same. She probably used a C60. 

But we're not here to talk about Sheena, we're here to talk about U Got The Look. Back when Prince died, 8 years ago now, I cobbled together a list of my Top Ten Prince Songs, and put this at Number 3. I'm not sure I'd stand by that list now - Raspberry Beret would be much higher, for a start. And where was Little Red Corvette? Take Me With You? Kiss!?! 

An impossible task. But my point is, I don't think U Got The Look is really up there with the very best Prince had to offer. To use a football analogy (has it come to this?), it's in the Championship, not the Premier League. But it gets extra points from me because it was my first, and we always remember our first, don't we, Prince? (It's hard to write about Prince without every other sentence becoming an innuendo. They just bounce off the tongue...)

Here's what I wrote back in 2016...

I was 15, and I thought Prince must surely be the king of chat-up lines...

Your face is jamming

Your body's heck-a-slamming

If love is good

Let's get to ramming

And they played that on the radio, and nobody batted an eyelid. Because it was Prince.

You know, listening back now, I think this is Prince's answer to Paradise By The Dashboard Light. (Maybe it's just the baseball metaphors.) The only difference being that Prince, unlike Meat 'n' Jim, didn't have to promise the earth to get his end away. Because he was Prince.

Meat Loaf - Paradise By The Dashboard Light

I'm not sure I recognise the comments about chat up lines above... they're obviously mine, but I must have been in a particularly bullish mood when I wrote them. The truth is, at the age of 15 I was terrified at the very idea of chatting anyone up, and I certainly wouldn't have used a line like that. But I think the point I was trying to make - very clumsily - is that Prince represented a kind of hyper-masculine sexuality without ever appearing macho or chauvinistic. I can't think of any other male rock star who's walked that tightrope so carefully. I'm not sure 'Men with a capital M' wanted to be him, but women definitely wanted to be with him. 

Actually, there's a much better chat up line in U Got The Look than the one I mentioned above...

You got the look (you got the look)
You must'a took (you must'a took)
A whole hour just to make up your face, baby 

Closin' time, ugly lights, everybody's inspected (Everybody's inspected)
But you are a natural beauty unaffected (Unaffected)
Did I say an hour?
My face is red, I stand corrected (I stand corrected)

That's the bit in which Prince realises his chat up line could actually be taken as an insult, and then corrects himself. What a great piece of writing.

Despite the fact that Prince portrayed himself as sexually voracious in his lyrics, he did so with his tongue firmly in his cheek. There's a sense of humour to all these songs that more macho songwriters do not possess. Also, I'm not entirely sure that it wasn't all an act - when the hell did he get time to chat up, seduce and perform in the bedroom? The guy was a complete workaholic. Perhaps the truth is closer to how Bill Callahan imagined it...

Prince alone in the studio

It's two a.m. and all the girls are gone

The girls thought they were going to be able

To have sex with him

They wore their special underwear

Once the tracks were laid down

Prince's back turned around

Raspberry headphones on his head

On his ears

Prince alone in the studio

It's three a.m.

Prince hasn't eaten in eighteen hours

Dinner's burned on the stove

But Prince, he doesn't even know

Prince alone in the studio

It's four a.m.

And he finally gets that guitar track right

And it's better than anything any girl could ever give him

Because prince is alone

Prince is alone

Oh Prince, you are so alone

And when it's all complete

He feels like a hunter on the street

And when it's all complete

He feels like a hunter on the street

Smog - Prince Alone In The Studio

Actually, if you watch the video, that becomes even more likely... because the whole song is just a dream. It starts with Prince falling asleep in his dressing room, and ends with him waking up, looking sad, confused and alone. 

I didn't know any of this when I was 15. All I knew was that Prince was cooler than any rock star I'd ever seen in my life. Three and a half decades later, that's still the case. 

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 #19

This week proved to be most problematic. Normally, I just put a number into the Search Title box on my music player and it gives me a clear list of all songs with that number in the title. When I did that for 19 though, I got thousands of songs - including all the year songs from the 20th Century, from 1901 to 1999, plus any Live recordings that featured a date (Live 1987) or similarly dated remixes (1996 remix). As such, finding songs that featured the number nineteen in the title became an impossible task. I kinda gave up and went by ones I could remember off the top of my head and your suggestions. Luckily, there were some crackers among those.

Bandwise, it proved similarly tricky. The 1975, 1990s and 1910 Fruitgum Company were all disqualified for having their 19 in the wrong place, and the only caveat I allowed for a dated 19 was that I would allow the year 1919. Fortunately, there was a postpunk band from Bradford with just that name...

1919 - Cry Wolf

(Not the a-ha song, in case you were wondering.)

Points also to The Swede for finding a song that referenced that particular year...

John Cale - Paris 1919

That's a belter too.

While The Swede's here... what else does he have for us this week?

Ronnie Hawkins & The Hawks - Nineteen Years Old

Can - Nineteen Century Man

I had money on you suggesting that last one, Swede.

Speaking of songs about being 19 years old, here's another one from Lynchie...

Muddy Waters - She's Nineteen Years Old

Probably not acceptable these days.

And, of course, there's this contrasting pair which featured here a few months back...

Joe Jackson - Nineteen Forever

The Courteeners - Not Nineteen Forever

Thanks to Rigid Digit, Brian and Martin for suggesting those two; the latter was in serious contention for this week's top spot.

Martin also suggested this...

Tom Waits - 2:19

...and something else, which we'll return to a little later.

Before we get onto the really obvious suggestions, here's a few less obvious ones.

Charity Chic offered...

Dave Schramm - Number Nineteen

(Link courtesy of JC, from a recent Schramms ICA over at The Vinyl Villain.)

Jim In Dubai suggested...

A dreadful song and a brilliant song this week, will let you figure out which is which :-)

The Commentators - N-N-Nineteen Not Out

(I think this may have been Rory Bremner if my memory serves me right)

I'm guessing that was your dreadful suggestion. Although it's not quite as bad as Snooker Loopy.

Christmas Island - Nineteen

That's much better.

Finally, here's John Medd, who offers...

Girl -19

Sadly, John, I couldn't find that anywhere on the internet, since putting the words "girl" and "19" into
a search engine led me nowhere. The only info I have is what you gave me...

I used to love this when I was, er, 19. It was their riposte to Alice Cooper's 18. Speaking of which...

Hold your horses, John, we'll get to next week soon enough.

OK, still before we get to the obvious choices, here's the few leftovers I managed to scrape from my hard-drive before the exercise became too futile...

Zolar X - Jet Star 19

Piano Magic - Me At 19

Eagles of Death Metal - I Got A Feeling (Just Nineteen)

(Which is almost as bad as Muddy Waters - although they have far less excuse.)

Smog - Nineteen

Finally then, the obvious ones, starting with Charity Chic, who presumed he was on for a hat-trick this week...

The Rolling Stones - 19th Nervous Breakdown

And then, there was this, which Lynchie thought HAD to be this week's winner...

Steely Dan - Hey, Nineteen

(I also had a version of that by The Atlanta Rhythm Section.)

Both were fine tunes, although the one I considered most obvious was this one, as nodded to by Alyson, Martin and Lynchie...

Paul Hardcastle - Nineteen

To be honest, all three of those were in contention this week... along with the above-mentioned belter by The Courteeners... but it's Martin who takes the prize this week for recalling one of my favourite minor hits from the post-Britpop era, although lyrically it owes a debt to 70s singer songwriters such as Rupert Holmes... and a splash of Scott Walker to boot.



Next week we become adults at last... or do we? Your 18 suggestions are welcomed... and yes, I will allow the 18th Century to get a look in, as I'm hoping there are far fewer songs with dates in from that century than this one... and not many 18th century remixes or live recordings either.

2019 Contenders: The Smog Lifts

I'm having a hard time finding anything positive to write about of late, which is adding to my blogging drought. Still, here's an excellent aid to the 3am woes, the latest album from Smog's Bill Callahan: a genuine spirit lifter. Not only has he written a song about the 1970s Incredible Hulk TV show*, but he also excels at the pithy lyrical couplet. Here's one example which will hopefully lift your spirits slightly too.

Angela
Angela
Like motel curtains, 

We never really met...

(It's worth pointing out... before anyone else does... that Bill isn't the first person to write a song called The Ballad of The Hulk. Here's Jerry Jeff Walker's very different, but equally enthralling, song with the same title.)

Hot 100 #37

Back after exam-related delays, we turn to Number 37 on our countdown, illustrated by an album cover that will throw the fear of god into many of our resident musos, but I couldn't find any decent bands with 37 in their names, so sorry about that. Here's the title track from the above album, along with a choice selection of the lyrics... which may well have me agreeing with the musos for once.

Train - California 37

It's all good 'cos I'm happy as a flea

On a mountain of dogs, you see

Sting would be jealous.

Onto your suggestions for #37, and Martin set the ball rolling this week...

How about We Do What We're Told (Milgram's 37) from So by Peter Gabriel?

Or, very different, 37 by DEVO, lamenting someone's enviably low IQ?

Perhaps 37 Push-Ups by Smog? I can only find this ropey live cover version, but you get the idea...

Lyrically, Femme Fatale by The Velvet Underground has the line You're put down in her book, you're number 37, have a look.

And, er, Volvo Cowgirl by Sheryl Crow has a line along the lines of 37 million's what Larry Parker got me...

Nearly forgot 37 Hours by Kristin Hersh.

That's enough, isn't it? More than I thought.

Can't complain about any of those, Martin. Peter Gabriel & Smog were both in consideration here.

(Rigid Digit seconded a couple of those.)

Lynchie was up next...

Ricky Nelson - Ain't Nothin' But Love

When you kiss her goodnight 37 times
That ain't nothin' but love

It might also be a bit annoying, Ricky... especially if she just wants to get in the house and watch Celebrity Love Island. Have some consideration, sir.

Jim in Dubai was next to arrive, with two very strong contenders from my own record collection...

The Beautiful South - Straight in at 37

Well, Simon le Bon stayed round my house before
And he was sick on the plants and he was sick on the floor
And he wouldn't go home until he'd sung his song
With a backing harmony from Paul Young

Grandaddy - Aisle Seat 37 D

Finally, in what proved to be rather a tough week, Alyson offered...

Tim McGraw - Number 37405

...to which I may as well respond with...

Squeeze - 853-5937

A couple more that were thrown up by my own hard-drive...

Car Seat Headrest - 1937 State Park

Jonny Cola & The A-Grades - Hideaway 37

However, I think we're all in agreement over what this week's winning song should be... even if there's some debate over which version is best. Lynchie recommended the Dr. Hook original while Charity Chic and Alyson preferred the Marianne Faithful cover. Alyson was correct in spotting that the track in question has already featured on this blog as one of my old Mid-Life Crisis Songs.

Here's both versions so you can decide amongst yourselves...



Three dozen next week. Suggestions, please!

Saturday Snapshots #11 - The Answers

And we're back with answers...


10. Turner & The Equalisers: not too popular on the wireless.

(Insert "nice buns" gag if you so wish.)

Kathleen Turner + Edward (Equaliser) Woodward = Kathleen Edwards (she gave up music... hopefully not forever... to open a coffee shop).

Kathleen Edwards - One More Song The Radio Won't Like

9. Catch these guys for a little drink with the king of the gods.

Jupiter was the king of the gods.

A little drink is a drop.

What can you catch?

Train - Drops Of Jupiter

(Yes, I know Train are really uncool. When has that ever stopped me? And doesn't the lead singer look like the California version of David Gedge?)

8. Age brings about angina for these visionary majors.

Visionary = eyes

Majors = Lee

One of the greatest songs ever recorded. With the best drum intro. Well done to Lynchie for remembering the brackets.

The Isley Brothers - This Old Heart Of Mine (Is Weak For You)

Deduct 10 points from your score if you're thinking about the Rod Stewart version.

7. Every X-Factor contestant wants to be one - most are unlucky.

Every X-Factor contestant wants to be a Big Star.

13 is very unlucky.

Well done, Swede.

Big Star - Thirteen

6. Ginger's fella takes over the world, gets dazzled by Bruce's torch.

Ginger's fella was Fred. 

A fella is also a man.

The world is planet Earth.

Bruce wrote the song. His version is better, obviously.

Another point for Lynchie.

Manfred Mann's Earth Band - Blinded by the Light 

 

5. Redknapp for Division One, people!

Division One is a League (even I know that, and I know nothing about football).

People are human (well, some of them).

This is the Redknapp (formerly Nurding) I was referring to...

(You've no idea how long it took me to find a picture of her where she wasn't just in her underwear. About as long as it took me to find a picture of The Human League where Phil Oakey wasn't instantly recognisable.)

Joint effort from Lynchie & Alyson.

The Human League - Louise

4. Often found in California and Victorian London: antiquated lizards.

California and Victorian London both had problems with Smog.

Lizards are cold-blooded.

Antiquated refers to the old times.

The Swede & Charity Chic tag-teamed this one.

Smog - Cold-Blooded Old Times

3. The desperate enemy of ladies hits ice. Not as short as you think!

Desperate Dan

Enemy = Foe

Lady = Girl (or Gel)

Ice = Berg

Not as short as you think?

Lynchie really didn't want to admit to knowing this one,,, but he couldn't resist nudging C towards the answer.

Don't blame me if listening to this song sends you into a diabetic coma. However, it reminds me of an extremely foolish, if not entirely regretted, dalliance when I was young and very, very stupid...

Dan Fogelberg - Longer

2. Tom's hairpiece prefers to walk home.

Tom Courtenay's hairpiece would be his Barnett.

Too easy a pic if you know the artist, but I'm a sucker for stars holding cameras.

Well done, Swede and Chris.

Courtney Barnett - Pedestrian At Best

1. Gizmo's dad plays cards with Kalamazoo.

Hoyt Axton was the dad in Gremlins.

The cat was called Kalamazoo.

If that cat could take, what a tale he'd tell...

I think we can all agree, Lynchie is this week's winner. Though he does get up very early on a Saturday...

Back next week, breakdown permitting.

My Top Ten Songs About Prince

It's been a year since he died and I still haven't quite come to terms with it. I accepted Bowie's death, I knew Leonard wasn't long for this world. George was a shock, but not entirely. Prince though...

Of all the artists we lost last year, Prince was the one I felt the hardest. For about a month after his death, I listened to little else but his back catalogue on repeat. He was one of the biggest superstars of my life. Many of the others had been recording long before I was born, but Prince started making music in my lifetime, created some of the most amazing records I ever heard... and then was taken far too soon. I wanted to honour that again, but since I've already compiled My Top Ten Prince Songs, here's the next best thing...


10. The Bloodhound Gang - The Bad Touch

This one again. Sorry about that.

It's just, they're (dreaming) of doing "the kind of stuff only Prince would sing about"...

9. Jesus Jones - Right Here Right Now

It did seem in the early 90s like the world might well be changing for the better. When Jesus Jones wrote this, they proclaimed Bob Dylan's dream was coming true...

I saw the decade in, when it seemed 
The world could change at the blink of an eye
And if anything
Then there's your Sign o' the Times

So... did the world wake up from history?

Did it heck as like.

8. Goldie Lookin' Chain - Guns Don't Kill People, Rappers Do

Witty Welsh rap. What's not to love?

Guns don't kill people rappers do,
From Bristol Zoo to B&Q,
I want to rap, I want to rhyme
Heard it in a song now I'm into gun crime,
Its a sign of the times like Prince changin his name,
Gotta have a shooter to be in the rap game,
Like Michael Ryan about to snap,
Guns don't kill people its just rap!

7. Missy Elliott - Work It

This is probably the first time I've featured Missy Elliott here, but I am a fan in small doses. I particularly like this one: always impressed by her ability to rap backwards. Wonder how she does that live?

You know Missy feel supa dupa
Prince couldn't get me change my name, papa
Kunta Kinte a slave again, no sir
Picture black sayin', "Oh, yessa, massa"

6. Beck - Debra

Beck's whole Midnite Vultures album was a huge departure from his earlier work and wears its Prince influence proudly. A lot of artists have been influenced by Prince musically, but this song also shows huge lyrical influence. It could be the b-side to Raspberry Beret. Speaking of which...

5. Clint Boon Experience - Not Enough Purple, Too Much Grey

I'll just slip this one in here and leave you to decide whether it's about Prince or not. It certainly sums up the post-Prince world to me.

4. Hot Chip - Down With Prince

I'm not always the biggest Hot Chip fan, but how can I resist when they channel the purple one?

3. Eminem - Without Me

Eminem, the self-proclaimed "worst thing since Elvis Presley", rarely has a positive word to say about any other artist (except, maybe, Dr. Dre). But while he cheerfully puts the boot into NSYNCH, Limp Bizkit and Moby in this track, he really can't bring himself to say anything bad about Prince, using him instead as a comparison for how long Marshall Mathers spent writing songs before he got his break.

2. Smog - Prince, Alone In The Studio

Bill Callahan's epic captures better than anything what made Prince a superstar. He was a perfectionist. He lived for his music, more than just about any other artist we've had in popular music. Not all of that music was perfect, but it was his life. More than food, more than sex, more than anything else... music was what mattered to him.

1. Prince - My Name Is Prince

And he is funky.

Of course, the irony of this song was: very soon after, he stopped calling himself Prince and changed his name to an unpronounceable symbol just to piss Warner Brothers off. We all had to call him TAFKAP for the next eight years. But he was always Prince in our hearts.



Goodnight sweet Prince. I Wish You Heaven.

My Top Ten Peach Songs

What could be more wholesome than a nice juicy peach? Unless you're a songwriter...

(Special mention to Peaches, Peaches & Herb and The Moldy Peaches.)

Be warned: not all the peaches in this list will be fruit of the prunus persica tree. Some peaches may have an alternative meaning... remember Nicolas Cage's first time in Wild At Heart? 


10. Smog - Peach Pit

Speaking of which, Bill Callahan does a pretty good job of soundtracking that scene in one minute twenty three seconds of sleaze right here.

9. Beck - Peaches & Cream

There was a time when Beck wanted to be Prince. Here he is making garbagemen scream. My favourite lyric from this song...

You look good in that sweater

And that aluminum crutch
I'm gonna let you down easy
I've got a delicate touch 

Give him a break - aluminium wouldn't have scanned.

8. Rufus Wainwright - Peach Trees

Rufus proves that peaches don't have to be synonymous with rumpy-pumpy: they can also symbolise true love...

7. Merle Haggard - Peach Picking Time Down In Georgia

Merle (extra points for having a first name like Merle) Haggard (extra points for having a surname like Haggard) takes a tour of the southern United States at harvest time... with added self-pity.

When it's peach-picking time in Georgia
Apple-picking time in Tennessee
Cotton-picking time in Mississippi
Everybody picks on me!

6. Handsome Family - Fallen Peaches

Finally got round to watching the first series of True Detective over Christmas. Very happy to see T. Bone Burnett chose a Handsome Family song as the show's theme tune. Experts at the fine art of murder balladry, this one would fit in very well on that show too...

Ahead of me ran Jackson
Who took a bullet to the chest
And beneath the swaying peaches
Jackson slowly bled to death

5. Eels - Peach Blossom

A very sexy song - and video - without any innuendo whatsoever. E really is just opening the window to smell the peach blossom.

4. The Front Bottoms - Peach

With a band called The Front Bottoms, you're probably expecting pure filth from this track. But this is pretty much a love song... albeit one that goes a little vampiric halfway through.

3. The Stranglers - Peaches

In which Hugh Cornwell pops down his local beach to perv it up. Banned by the BBC in the same summer as The Sex Pistols were getting up all our safety-pinned noses with God Save The Queen, it's been claimed that the innuendo of Peaches was a savage critique of macho mores. Which is kind of like having your peach-melba and eating it.

2. Prince - Peach

At least with Prince you don't have to wonder if there's any innuendo going on... the purple one doesn't believe in innuendo. As ever, he's about as subtle as a giraffe.

Her hotpants can't hide her cheeks...

And yet, because it's so very, very funky, we let him get away with it.

1. Presidents of the United States of America - Peaches

The great thing about the Presidents' Peach song is that there's no metaphor here at all (I don't think): this is purely a song about peaches. Except the President of the Presidents, lead singer Chris Ballew, seems a little unclear about where peaches actually come from (i.e. someone puts them in that can, Chris). Worth watching the whole video as the band inexplicably get attacked by ninjas about two-thirds of the way through. When has that ever happened in a Coldplay video?





Which one is your peach cobbler?