Thursday Thirteen #52: What's the Name of That Song?

Thirteen Songs Whose Titles Are Not In the Lyrics
Below are examples of 13 songs whose titles do not appear in the lyrics. When I originally came up with the idea for this T13, I was going to give the song titles, the artists, and sample lyrics. During lunch today I decided to make a game of it and therefore omitted the song titles. Without using the Internet to find the answers, how many of these songs can you identify? Unlike other trivia quizzes that I post, you can go ahead and put your answers in the comments section for this one. On Friday I will update this post to include the song titles for each song.

Here is the updated post with the titles in parentheses. Thanks to all who took part in this little trivia game.

1. The Band: Take a load off Fannie, take a load for free. (The Weight)

2. The Beatles: Christ you know it ain't easy. You know how hard it can be. (The Ballad of John and Yoko)

3. Chuck Berry: Up in the mornin' and out to school. The teacher is teachin' the golden rule. (School Day)

4. Mary J. Blige: Come on baby just party with me. Let loose and set your body free. Leave your situations at the door. So when you step inside jump on the floor. (Family Affair)

5. Bob Dylan: You've gotta lotta nerve to say you are my friend. When I was down you just stood there grinnin'. (Positively 4th Street)

6. 4 Non Blondes: And I say, hey hey hey hey. Hey hey hey. I said hey, what's going on? (What's Up?)













7. Green Day: Do you have the time. To listen to me whine. (Basket Case)

8. The Mamas and Papas: Broke, busted, disgusted. Agents can't be trusted. (Creeque Alley)















9. The Monkees: And the sun with a kiss, begins to dismiss. The memory of my life without you. (Good Clean Fun)
















10. Nelly feat. Kelly Rowland: No matter what I do, all I think about is you. Even when I'm with my boo, ya know I'm crazy over you. (Dilemma)













11. The Notorious B.I.G.: They heard about the Rolex's and the Lexus wit the Texas license plate outta state. They heard about the pounds you got down in Georgetown, now they heard you got half of Virginia locked down. (Warning)

















12. Wilson Pickett: Na na-na-na-na na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na na-na-na-na. (Land of 1000 Dances)
















13. Little Stevie Wonder: Just a little bit of sou-ou-ou-ou-oul. Yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah. Clap your hands just a little bit louder. Clap your hands just a little bit louder. (Fingertips-Pt. 2)
















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Special Time For This Week's Radio Show

Since I will be attending the 6th annual MEATA event in Plymouth this coming Friday afternoon/evening, I won't be doing my radio show at its regularly scheduled time of 7 pm EST. Instead, my show (The Retro Mix) will air later that night starting at midnight. For information about The Retro Mix and how you can listen online, click here.

Tuesday Tunes- Week 42

Tuesday Tunes - Week 42

This week is word associations (my answers are below). If you'd like to play, list the first song, artist, album, instrument or other musical thing that comes to mind when you see the words.


Cat: Cat Stevens













Fish: Fish Ain't Bitin' by Lamont Dozier
















Dog: Atomic Dog by George Clinton
















Comical: Rappin' Rodney by Rodney Dangerfield
















Pretentious: Bono
















Intelligent: John Lennon
















Park: Saturday In the Park by Chicago
















Make-up: Make-up by Vanity 6
















Box: The Box Tops















Toy: The Toys












If you'd like to participate, please visit the Music Memoirs site. Be sure to leave the link to your blog in the comments section so that others can check out your list.

Final Results of the Recent Heath Ledger Poll

In last week's poll, slightly over half of you felt that Heath Ledger would get an Oscar nomination (but not win) for his performance as The Joker in The Dark Knight. Had I voted, that's the way I would have gone as well. With all of the stories that came out in regards to the ratings of the most recent Oscar telecast (they were the lowest in history), an Academy Award nomination for Heath Ledger would definitely cause people to tune in to next year's ceremony who normally wouldn't. Having said that, since the Oscars are meant to be a joyous celebration, some voters might think that awarding Ledger may lend a bit of gloom to the proceedings.

Thirty-nine percent of you felt that Heath's performance WILL win. If that happens, it will be only the second time in Oscar history that an acting award is given posthumously. When Peter Finch won the Best Actor Oscar in 1977 for his role in Network, the proximity of this death to the ceremony may have played a role in his victory. He died on January 14th, the Oscar nominations were announced on February 10th, and the telecast was on March 29th. Then again, the Powers That Be may take the opportunity to not only honor Heath's performance as The Joker, but also make up for not awarding him the Oscar for Brokeback Mountain.

Just a fraction of you felt that he won't even receive an Oscar nomination. In the comments section, one person remarked, "Yeah, no, he's not my cup of tea." That's an honest answer, but it's not the kind that'll lead you to victory in your office's Oscar pool. Personal preference regarding actors and actresses aside, I can see how some might feel that Heath won't get nominated. Often, the Academy overlooks big budget summer blockbusters in favor of high-minded "cinema" such as Out of Africa and The English Patient. Maybe if the makers of those Hollywood blockbusters set them during the 19th century and had the performers all speak in British accents, they would fare better at the Oscars. Then again, that would be a classic Catch-22 because the movies probably wouldn't make as much money.

At any rate, I am looking forward to seeing how this all plays out when the Oscar nominations are announced on Thursday January 22nd, 2009 (date subject to change).

Here are the final results:

He'll get nominated, but won't win- 55%
He will win the Oscar- 39%
He won't even get nominated- 5%

Below is a scene from The Dark Knight where The Joker crashes a party looking for Harvey Dent.

The Retro Mix Playlist For 7/25/08

7 pm hour

You Get What You Give- New Radicals
Ain't Gonna Bump No More (With No Big Fat Woman)- Joe Tex
Lady Marmalade- Labelle
Move Away- Culture Club
Nuthin' But A "G" Thang- Dr. Dre feat. Snoop Doggy Dogg
Don't Think of Me- Dido
Word Up- Cameo

Double Retro segment's feat. artist: The Rolling Stones
Sad Day (released in 1966)
Harlem Shuffle (rel. in 1986)

Don't Let It Go To Your Head- Jean Carn
Love Or Let Me Be Lonely- The Friends of Distinction
Missing- Everything But the Girl
Nights (Feel Like Getting Down)- Billy Ocean

8 pm hour

Cult of Personality- Living Colour
Spin the Black Circle- Pearl Jam
Acid Queen- Tina Turner
Black Cow- Steely Dan
Maneater- Hall & Oates
Hang On To Your Love- Sade
Feels Good- Tony! Toni! Tone!
Love Isn't Easy (But It Sure Is Hard Enough)- ABBA
Can't Get Enough of Your Love Babe- Barry White
We Close Our Eyes- Go West
The Humpty Dance- Digital Underground
I Need Your Lovin'- Teena Marie
Misled- Kool & the Gang
Theme from Starsky & Hutch (Gotcha!)- Lalo Schifrin

The Retro Mix Video of the Week: Nuthin' But A "G" Thang

Old School Friday: Make Up Songs

For this week's Old School Friday meme, we are flipping over the record (metaphorically speaking) and spotlighting make up songs. This week's song is by The Ronettes, one of the greatest girl groups and arguably the epitome of Phil Spector's "Wall of Sound". The song I selected, 1964's (The Best Part of ) Breakin' Up, shamefully only made it to #39 on the Billboard Pop Singles chart. If the only Ronettes' tune that you know is Be My Baby, do yourself a favor and check out (The Best Part of ) Breakin' Up as well as some of their other songs. Unfortunately, I couldn't find a clip of them actually performing the song. Still, you can watch the black circle spin and listen to it in the player below.

This meme was developed by Marvalus View and Ms. Grapevine. The rules are simple:

1. Anyone can participate; any music genre

2. Old School is defined as music created before 1999

3. No offensive words allowed, please use edited radio version

4. Post a video of your favorite Old School song to take us back down memory lane

5. Add your name to the meme list so that others can check you out

6. Have fun & don't forget to leave comments for other participants

If you want to join in on the fun, click here.

Please Take A Moment To Vote In the Current Heath Ledger/Joker Poll... Thank You

Mamma Mia... Box Office Gold!

Due to the record breaking business of the latest Batman film, another box-office success story has been lost in the Hollywood Shuffle. This past weekend, the musical Mamma Mia! took in $27.8 million dollars to open at #2 behind The Dark Knight. Adapted from the hit stage musical of the same name and featuring songs from the ABBA catalogue, Mamma Mia! stars Meryl Streep, Amanda Seyfried, and Pierce Brosnan, and centers around a bride-to-be (Seyfried) trying to find her natural father. Streep plays the bride-to-be's mother and Brosnan is one of the three gents who may be her father.

The success of Mamma Mia! isn't a surprise to me. Not only is the stage version a hit and is still currently on Broadway, but ABBA is without question one of the most popular defunct groups today. Their music continues to sell well and they reportedly turned down an offer of one billion dollars to do a reunion tour a few years ago. Although I haven't seen Mamma Mia yet, I would like to; if not on the big screen, then once it hits DVD.

Feel free to answer any or all of the following questions in the comments section:

1. Have you seen Mamma Mia yet? If so, what did you think of it?
2. Are you an ABBA fan? What are some of your favorite songs by them?

Below is the trailer to Mamma Mia!

Thursday Thirteen # 51: Black & White Films Made After 1970

Thirteen Black & White Movies Made After 1970

Since the mid 60s, most films have been shot in color. Since then, due to either artistic reasons or budget constraints, directors have occasionally forgone tints and pastels in favor of the monochrome look. Below, in alphabetical order, are 13 movies that came out post-1970 that are shot primarily in glorious black and white.

Because several films fit this category, there are some that didn't make the list. Having said that, feel free to comment on not only the 13 movies below, but any other post-1970 black and white films that are not on the list.


1. Clerks- This 1994 film about two foul mouthed register jockeys is one that I've seen over 20 times. By the way, is that shoe polish I smell?
















2. Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid- This 1982 homage to film noir of the 1940s and 1950s is a treat for movie buffs. In addition to watching private eye Steve Martin weave his way through a maze of murder, part of the fun is trying to identify the movie clips from various 1940s and 1950s dramas that the film integrates into the plot.
















3. Ed Wood- It's ironic that a film about the man often called the worst director ever is such an outstanding piece of moviemaking. Along with Johnny Depp (who's superb in the title role), the movie also features solid supporting performances from Sarah Jessica Parker, Bill Murray, and Martin Landau (who won a Best Supp. Actor Oscar for his role as down on his luck horror legend Bela Lugosi). Parker is especially good in this and seems to have a sense of humor about her appearance. One of my favorite lines takes place near the beginning of the film. When her character, Ed Wood, and a few others read a scathing review of Ed's latest play, she wonders aloud, "Do I really have a face like a horse?"
















4. The Elephant Man- Loosely based on the life of Joseph Merrick (called John in the movie), this 1980 film stars John Hurt as the titular character.
















5. Good Night and Good Luck- Although I was a little disappointed, this 2005 film about legendary radio/TV journalist Edward R. Murrow's battles with with Senator Joseph McCarthy does an excellent job of evoking the look and feel of 1950s America.
















6. The Last Picture Show- Set in 1951 and centered around the lives of various residents of a sleepy Texas town, this 1971 movie features the film debut of Cybill Shepherd and features Oscar winning turns by Cloris Leachman and Ben Johnson.
















7. Lenny- Released in 1974, this biopic stars Dustin Hoffman as Lenny Bruce, the stand-up comic who was persecuted for most of his career for breaking obscenity laws in his stage act.
















8. Paper Moon- Starring the father/daughter duo of Ryan & Tatum O'Neal, this 1973 Depression era comedy tells the story of Moses Pray and Addie Loggins as they travel the Midwest conning newly widowed women with Moses' Bible scam. For her starmaking debut performance as Addie, Tatum O'Neal won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. One of my favorite scenes takes place near the beginning when Addie demands that Moses give her the $200 that she feels is hers. "I want my $200!" I wonder if the subplot in Better Off Dead involving the persistent paperboy (I want my two dollars!) was inspired by Paper Moon.
















9. Raging Bull*- This is without question, one of the best sports movies ever made. Starring Robert DeNiro in his Oscar-winning role as middleweight boxer Jake LaMotta, this 1980 film is not for the squeamish.
















10. Rumble Fish- Based on the S.E. Hinton novel, this 1983 film centers around the relationship between Motorcycle Boy (Mickey Rourke) and his younger brother Rusty James (Matt Dillon).
















11. She's Gotta Have It*- Made in 1986, director Spike Lee's feature film debut focuses on the love life of Nola Darling (Tracy Camilla Johns) as she juggles three men of very different backgrounds and temperaments. Highly influential, this movie ushered in a new era of black cinema.

















12. Under the Cherry Moon- If you were like me and went in expecting this 1986 movie to be at least remotely similar to Prince's film debut Purple Rain, this had to be a major letdown. However, the benefit of being 20-plus years older than when I first saw this movie may cause me to give it another look. Along with Prince, the movie also features Jerome Benton and Kristin Scott Thomas.
















13. Young Frankenstein- Because I was a big fan of the 1930s Universal horror movies as a kid, I thoroughly enjoyed this 1974 parody which starred Gene Wilder (as Fronkensteen, not Frankenstein), Marty Feldman (as eye-gor, not eegor), and Peter Boyle as Fronkensteen's Monster.
















*= brief parts in color


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The Golden Girls' Estelle Getty Dies At Age 84

I am sad to write that Emmy-winner Estelle Getty, best known for her role as Sophia Petrillo on The Golden Girls, died earlier this morning at the age of 84. According to one of her sons, Getty, who suffered from advanced dementia, died at about 5:30 a.m. at her Hollywood Boulevard home.

A classic example of perserverance paying off, Getty struggled in showbiz for over 40 years before landing the role of Sophia in 1985. As the sarcastic senior citizen, Getty kept us laughing with her hilarious putdowns of Dorothy, Blanche, and Rose and anyone else who crossed her path. When I first started watching The Golden Girls on Saturday nights during the mid 1980s, I often couldn't believe what was coming out of Sophia's mouth! For her work on The Golden Girls, Getty took home the Emmy in 1988 for Outstanding Supporting Actress In A Comedy. She also won a Golden Globe two years earlier for her portrayal of Sophia as well.

In addition to playing Sophia on not only The Golden Girls, but also The Golden Palace and Empty Nest, Getty did extensive stage work and appeared in such films as Tootsie, Mask, and Stop! or My Mom Will Shoot. Getty is survived by two sons, a brother, and a sister.

Below is a clip from The Golden Girls in which Sophia tells one of her famous "picture it" stories.

Final Results of the Recent Jennifer Hudson Album Cover Poll

In the recent poll, an overwhelming number of you feel that Jennifer Hudson's svelte look on her upcoming album cover is the result of Photoshop. However, some of you did add that when you saw Jennifer last, she did appear to have lost about 10 lbs. To the best of my knowledge, Jennifer hasn't made any statements addressing the album cover controversy. I also noticed that the section on her Wikipedia page discussing the cover has been taken down. Maybe this is Arista's (Jennifer Hudson's record company) way of hoping the story will go away. At any rate, her album is scheduled to be released on Sept. 30th of this year. Since she will more than likely be doing tons of TV appearances to promote it, the proof of Jennifer's actual size will be in the pudding (I hope it's my favorite, sugar-free chocolate).

Here are the final results:

Photoshop- 77%
Diet and hard work- 22%

Below is Jennifer's performance of And I'm Telling You I'm Not Going at Clive Davis' Grammy party.

The Retro Mix Playlist For 7/18/08

7 pm hour

Give It To Me Baby- Rick James
She- Green Day
Brass In Pocket (I'm Special)- The Pretenders
Fancy Lady- Billy Preston
Hot Child In the City- Nick Gilder
Jailbreak- Thin Lizzy
All I Wanna Do- Sheryl Crow

With or Without You segment's feat. artist: Philip Bailey
Reasons- Earth, Wind and Fire
Walking On the Chinese Wall (solo)

Cherish- Madonna
Tones of Home- Blind Melon
The Chain- Fleetwood Mac
Too Shy- Kajagoogoo

8 pm hour

In the Closet- Michael Jackson
Hourglass- Squeeze
Ain't We Funkin' Now- The Brothers Johnson
Stay (I Missed You)- Lisa Loeb and Nine Stories
Who Wears These Shoes?- Elton John
Love Rollercoaster- The Ohio Players
At Midnight (My Love Will Lift You Up)- Rufus feat. Chaka Khan

The Guilty Pleasure of the Week:
Tearin' Up My Heart- NSYNC

Sumthin' Sumthin'- Maxwell
If I Ever Lose This Heaven- AWB
Goodbye To You- Scandal
Life Begins At the Hop- XTC
Baby Got Back- Sir Mix-A-Lot

The Retro Mix video of the week: Stay (I Missed You)- Lisa Loeb and Nine Stories

The Mysterious Death of Bobby Fuller

July 18th marks the anniversary of the death of rock 'n' roller Bobby Fuller, who died under mysterious circumstances in 1966 at the age of 22. As the lead singer of The Bobby Fuller Four, he hit the Billboard charts twice in 1966. The group's first hit is one that remains a staple of oldies radio to this day, the top 10 classic "I Fought the Law". Their follow-up hit was the equally rocking "Love's Made A Fool of You" (which peaked at #26 during the spring of '66).

Bobby Fuller's brief career ended when he was found dead in a parked car near his L.A. home. At the time, police considered the death an apparent suicide. Although police later changed the cause of death to "Accident", many people (including me) believe Fuller was murdered. From the beginning, the investigation was mishandled. The crime scene was not secured and no fingerprints were obtained. A witness also had claimed seeing a police officer throw a can of gasoline found at the scene into the trash (Fuller was found with multiple wounds all over his body and covered in gasoline). This lead many to speculate that the perpetrators fled the scene before they could set the car on fire. According to an episode I saw in the 1990s of the series "E! Mysteries and Scandals", Fuller's death may have been tied to the local crime syndicate. In the weeks leading up to his death, it was reported that Fuller had been dating a young lady whose former boyfriend had mob ties.

Unfortunately, police have lost all the files on record about Fuller's death. Unless new evidence turns up, the death of Bobby Fuller will remain one of rock's infamous unsolved mysteries. If you'd like to read about some of the other theories as to what may have happened to Bobby Fuller, click here.

Below is a clip of the Bobby Fuller Four performing Love's Made A Fool of You on the NBC series Hullabaloo.

Old School Friday: Break Up Songs

While visiting the blog What Would Thembi Do late last month, I discovered a cool weekly internet meme called Old School Fridays. Created by Ms Grapevine and MarvalusOne, the rules are as follows:

1. Anyone can participate; any music genre

2. Old School is defined as music created before 1999 (you know, back when we were using dial-up to access the Internet)

3. No offensive words allowed, please use edited radio version

4. Post a video of your favorite Old School song to take us back down memory lane

5. Add your name to the meme list so that others can check you out

6. Have fun & don't forget to leave comments for other participants

If you want to join in on the fun, click here.

This week, the theme is "Break Up Songs". For my debut entry in the Old School Friday meme I bring you MJ's ode to Ryan's daughter (of course I mean Tatum O'Neal, not the 1970 Robert Mitchum film), "She's Out of My Life". Tito, where is my Kleenex?! Jermaine, if you don't stop teasing...

Please Take A Moment To Vote In the Current Jennifer Hudson Album Cover Poll... Thank You

The cover of former American Idol contestant/Academy Award winner Jennifer Hudson's upcoming album has generated a bit of controversy since it was unveiled on July 10th 2008. A "source" says that the body in the album photo is actually Jennifer's. However, there are many who think that Ms. Hudson is the victim of the worst body makeover since a freelance artist infamously referenced a 1979 photo of Ann-Margret when he did an illustration of Oprah Winfrey for the cover of a 1989 issue of TV Guide.

If the album cover is an accurate representation of Jennifer Hudson, props to her. However, if the photo is courtesy of Photoshop, that's really unfortunate. Not only would a Photoshop scam undermine what's really important (the quality of the music on Jennifer's album), but it also reinforces the body image stereotypes that women have dealt with for years.

Thursday Thirteen #51: Dealing With Dial Up, Pop Culture Style

13 Things That Can Be Done In the Amount of Time It Takes A Page To Load Using Dial-Up

The past few days have been spent moving into my new digs. Since I had been offline for most of Monday, one of the first things I did at my new place was to set up my computer. When I was unable to get online, I called my ISP. The rep I spoke to explained that even though my phone number hadn't changed, I was having problems because my DSL hadn't been installed at my new address. He went on to say that the installation could take up to 15 business days! Upon hearing this, I went all Hannah/Miley on him and replied, "Earthlink rep say what?!" As a consolation (like the Turtle Wax they used to give to game show losers in the 70s and 80s), the rep added that in the meantime I would be able to use the free dial-up service. I don't mind partying like it's 1999, but trying to surf the Internet as if it was 9 years ago is not all that fun.

Everyday Internet activities that we take for granted (for example, viewing You Tube clips and listening to streaming audio) are next to impossible when using dial-up... unless you enjoy watching video/listening to audio in 3 second intervals. Instead of going George Carlin and invoking the Seven Dirty Words, I decided to get creative with my temporary misfortune. Below (in no particular order) are 13 pop culture-related things that could be done in the amount of time it takes a page to load using Internet dial-up service. Admittedly, some of these things you wouldn't want to do, but you get the point.

By the way, did you ever expect to see references to Hannah Montana and George Carlin in the same post?

1. Cook at least two bags of microwave popcorn (separately of course)












2. Play sides 1 AND 2 of a James Brown multi-part 45.











3. Endure the seemingly endless barrage of commercials and trailers before getting to the actual movie.















4. Sit and watch as a contestant on WWTBAM ponders a question. Get your ass out of that hot seat and give somebody else a chance!












5. Watch the PTI segment Five Good Minutes















6. Go into Andy Warhol mode and relive Kajagoogoo's brief moment of fame.












7. Listen to Greer Garson's Academy Award acceptance speech (which at about 7 1/2 minutes, is the longest in Oscar history)
















8. Get to the center of a Tootsie Roll Pop without taking a bite













9. Listen to the song Five Minutes of Funk by Whodini.
















10. Watch a Three Stooges short subject film












11. Sit through the speech that Steven Seagal delivers at the end of the 1994 film On Deadly Ground.















12. Pour a bottle of Heinz 57 ketchup from the roof of a building, run down several flights of stairs, order a hot dog, and have the Heinz 57 ketchup land on the hot dog.














13 . Watch the full-length version of the video for Thriller by Michael Jackson... woo hoo!















Leave your link in comments so that others can visit you.


Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!


The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

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