Slither down the greasy pipe

Somehow a week went by without me posting. I'd like to say that it was because I was working on a cure for cancer or socializing at the Venice Biennale or rescuing kittens from burning houses, but in truth I was just lazy. Summer inertia, we call it.

Weather continues hot and sultry, very unpleasantly sticky; I hope for rain every day and am continually disappointed.

Time for work. More later, perhaps.

Oh, I nearly forgot. The title is a mini-music quiz. A gold star and bragging rights to the first person to name the artist and song. (Which reminds me that I haven't done one of these since Alan died.)

Still alive

Just a brief post to allay the dire suspicions of those who harbour such things.

Two snippets related to my last post. Reading in the "New Yorker" from December 26, 2005 (it's a long story) I find this quote from Philip Pullman, author of the trilogy "His dark materials:"

Although I call myself an atheist, I am a Church of England atheist, and a 1662 Book of Common Prayer atheist, because that's the tradition I was brought up in and I cannot escape those early influences.

In a reply to one of this week's Posted Secrets, an e-mail commenter said

Whenever I go into a church building, I apologize to God for not believing in Him.

Exactly.

In other news Darren Broadfoot lists 44 fascinating and little-known facts about William Shakespeare.

In other, other news here's an amusing little art-history quiz: Famous or not?. Give it a try. I shall post my score in a day or two, to avoid intimidating you all. (Apologies to whomever I am borrowing this from, I can't remember else I would have credited you. Honestly.)

In otherest news Last but not least, here's a new favourite blog that I haven't mentioned before: the story of Charlie, an orphaned coyote pup being raised by "me and a tomcat in a one-room log cabin in Wyoming."

Because it's been than kind of day

Courtesy of Pacian, the Nerd Test. My score, to inspire or amuse you:





Go ahead, take the test. You know you want to. (Pacian and Zhoen have already taken it and so are excused, everyone else: start clicking.)

Return of son of Twenty-five: the clues

Well done, my dears, only seven songs remain unguessed. A an encourager, here are the remaining artists:

David Bowie
Elton John
Guns'n'Roses
Led Zeppelin
Peter Gabriel
Pink Floyd
Philip Glass

Answers here or on the original post as you prefer.

Return of Son of Twenty-Five

The competition has now closed, thanks for playing.

Yet another music quiz, to keep you busy until I can get back online.

For new players: the object is to name the band/singer and the song of which these are the first lines. The rules are simple: Googling the lyrics when you haven't a clue is cheating, that should be obvious. Googling the title of a song when you can't remember the name of the band, or the name of the album when you can't remember the title of the song, is OK; however if by doing so you discover that you were wrong, then honour would require that you not submit the answer that you found.

Off you go:

1. Cold wind blowing over your private parts
The Tragically Hip, "Lionized" - S'toon

2. Drive! Drive! My baby drove up in a [title]
The Clash, "Brand new Cadillac" - S'toon

3. Hearts are worn in these dark ages
Sarah McLaughlan, "World on fire" - S'toon

4. Here comes Johnny Yen again, with the liquour and drugs and the flesh machine.
Iggy Pop, "Lust for life" - Alan

5. High, higher than the sun, you shoot me from a gun
U2, "Elevation" - Sis

6. (spoken) I am not frightened of dying.
Pink Floyd, "The great gig in the sky"
Hang your heads in shame that nobody got this one! I shall have to post it as a Friday Favourite for your musical edification.

7. I could feel at the time there was no way of knowing
Roxy Music, "More than this" - Anxious

8. I, I'm so in love with you
Frankie goes to Hollywood, "Power of love" - Lioness
Al Green, "Let's stay together"

9. I'm wheels, I'm moving wheels, I'm a 1952 Studebaker coupe
Adrian Belew, "Neal and Jack and me" - rb

10. If I was beautiful, if I had the time
Moby, "Signs of love" - Pacian

11. Oh, it's so funny to be seeing you after so long, girl
Elvis Costello, "Alison" - Alan

12. Now, when I was just a little boy, standin' to my Daddy's knee,
Creedence Clearwater Revival, "Born on the Bayou" - Alan

13. Please allow me to introduce myself
Rolling Stones, "Sympathy for the devil" - Alan

14. Take me out tonight, where there's music and there's people who are young and alive.
The Smiths, "There is a light that never goes out" - Alan

15. The lights are on but you're not home
Robert Palmer, "Addicted to love" - Anxious

16. The wine's all drunk and so am I.
Peter Gabriel, "Waiting for the big one"

17. There's no hold, the moving has come through
David Bowie, "Night flite"

18. This is the day of the expanding man
Steely Dan, "Deacon blues" - Peggy

19. Through the windows of a rented limousine, I saw your pretty blue eyes.
Led Zeppelin, "Sick again"

20. We'll be fighting in the streets with our children at our feet
The Who, "Won't get fooled again" - Alan

21. (spoken) What we've got here is: failure to communicate.
Guns'n'Roses, "Civil war"

22. When I think of those East End lights, muggy nights
Elton John, "Someone saved my life tonight"

23. When the day is long and the night, the night is yours alone
REM, "Everybody hurts" - Anxious

24. (spoken) Will it get some wind for the sailboat?
Philip Glass, "Knee play 1" from the opera "Einstein on the Beach"

25. You say that we've got nothing in common
Deep Blue Something, "Breakfast at Tiffany's" - S'toon


And since this is a musical post, here is tomorrow's Friday Favourite: a hot'n'bouncy number from a little-known great CD. This will be the last Friday Favourite for a while, for reasons that should be obvious.

That's all for now my dears, the next post (God and terrorists willing) will be from Spain. Until then, be kind to yourselves and each other.

Why did you throw the Jack of Hearts away?

this week's flowers
Originally uploaded by udge.

Flowers for the weekend; the smell is intoxicating.

The meaning and source of this post's title is a (very simple) weekend challenge; I'll give you one clue.

Great song lyrics

[The polls have now closed, and I must say that you've done very well, dear Internets. Only five songs went unguessed, and of those Joe in Vegas was close to one and Kirstin to another. Thanks for playing!]

Not unlike the First Lines music quiz in principle, just that the quoted lyrics aren't the first line of the song. These are lines that make me smile or catch my breath. There are some repeats, because clever words don't grow on trees.

We've done this before, you know the rules. Off we go:

1. All we have to do now, is to take these lies and make them true somehow.
    George Michael, Freedom '90 - Anxious

2. ... and high above the wedding guests he hung the ashes of her lovely wedding dress.
    Leonard Cohen, Joan of Arc - Rigmor

3. (But not a real green dress, that's cruel.)
    Bare Naked Ladies, If I had a million dollars - Rigmor

4. ... 'cause you can never really tell when somebody wants something you want too.
    David Bowie, Stay from "Station to station"

5. God say, "You can do what you want Abe, but the next time you see me comin' you better run."
    Bob Dylan, Highway 61 revisited - Alan

6. He said, "How come I don't love my woman?" then he took aim and died.
    Prince, Papa from "Come"

7. Hey man, you've got a real bum's eye for clothes.
    The Tragically Hip, Looking for a place to happen - Lib

8. I once was lost, but now am found; was blind, but now I see.
    John Newton, Amazing grace - Alan

9. I searched the seven seas and I looked under the carpet.
    Nick Cave, Get ready for love - Kirstin

10. I was running at the speed of life through morning's thoughts and fantasies.
    David Bowie, The secret life of Arabia - Rigmor

11. I'd rather have ham in my sandwich than cheese, but complaining wouldn't do any good.
    Elton John, Roy Rogers from "Goodbye yellow brick road"

12. I'm sitting in a cafe in Paradise, naked as a razor and as loaded as the dice.
    Be-Bop Deluxe, Sleep that burns from "Sunburst finish"

13. I've got thirteen channels of shit on the TV to choose from.
    Pink Floyd, Nobody home - Kirstin

14. If you're gonna play the game, boy, ya gotta learn to play it right.
    Kenny Rogers, The gambler - Kirstin

15. Immortal and life-size ... I'll keep you 'til death sighs.
    Roxy Music, In every dreamhome a heartache - Alan

16. In my dreams I was drowning my sorrows, but my sorrows they learned to swim.
    U2, Until the end of the world - Noorster

17. Now I'm sitting here alone and sleepless, and wondering where you are.
    Bruce Cockburn, Coldest night of the year - Antonia

18. O great creator of being, grant us one more hour to perform our art & perfect our lives.
     Jim Morrison aka The Doors, An American Prayer - Antonia

19. Now the wintertime is coming, the windows are filled with frost.
    Bob Dylan, It takes a lot to laugh, it takes a train to cry - Alan

20. The guns shot about our heads, and we kissed as though nothing could fall.
    David Bowie, Heroes - Alan

21. There's so much shit in Texas, you're bound to step in some.
     Johnny Winter, Dallas - Joe in Vegas

22. They have sweated beneath the same sun, looked up in wonder at the same moon...
    Neil Diamond, Done too soon

23. They rioted in the streets of Montreal when they benched Rocket Richard.
    Jane Siberry, Hockey - Esben

24. Tire tracks all across your back, I can see you've had your fun.
    Jimi Hendrix, Crosstown traffic - Kirstin

25. We're going to have to hold ourselves a peace talk in some neutral cafe.
    Joni Mitchell, Blue motel room - Antonia

This was originally an "emergency post," one of several that I made up in case I ran short of real material for NaBloPoMo. As it happens, they weren't needed (my standards of blogworthiness are presumably lower than I thought they were). The best of them will be appearing this month.

Son of Twenty-Five (the second music quiz)

[Updated on Sept. 16] I've added the rest of the first stanza to the as yet unguessed songs.

Because it was so much fun last time, and to bridge the gap until I can get back online, here is a re-run of the famous 25 first lines quiz. It's slightly different in content than last time, I chose favourite songs from my collection rather than letting my iPod make a random selection. There is a significant omission (in terms of the balance of my tastes): the blues is missing. The vast majority of blues songs have no real title, they're known by the first line of the lyrics which of course ruins them for this quiz.

Your challenge, dear readers, is to identify the title and artist. Post your answers (or guesses) in the comments, and I'll mark the lines as people correctly identify them. I'll give you one hint to start off with: there is a significant amount of overlap between this set and the previous quiz, because much of my collection is wordless or in languages other than English (a goodly amount is in languages that I don't even speak: Latin, Wolof, Mandinka, Sonrhaï).

The rules are simple: Googling the lyrics when you haven't a clue is cheating, that should be obvious. Googling the title of a song when you can't remember the name of the band, or the name of the album when you can't remember the title of the song, is OK; however if by doing so you find out that you were wrong, then honour would require that you not submit it.

Off you go:

1. (spoken) After I jumped it occurred to me: life is perfect
    (sung) You take a stranger by the hand
    A man who doesn't understand
    His wildest dreams
    U2, "Never let me go" - Noorster

2. Come, come and dry your eyes
    before the morning sun arrives
    Kiss, everybody is a star
    no matter who or what they are
    Jesus and Mary Chain, "Till it shines"

3. (spoken) Do you know the warm progress under the stars?
    Do you know we exist?
    Have you forgotten the keys to the kingdom?
    Have you been born yet & are you alive?
    Jim Morrison, "An American prayer"

4. Every time I start loving you
    oh you make me so satisfied
    and every time I call your name
    oh I feel it so deep inside
    James 'Blood' Ulmer, "I can tell"

5. I hold this letter in my hand
    a plea, a petition, a kind of prayer
    I hope it goes as I have planned
    losing her again is more than I can stand
    Nick Cave, "Love letter"

6. If they dropped the bomb, would you love me then?
    If I was wrong, would it be okay?
    Well I can see the holes in everyone
    Matthew Good Band, "Change of season"

7. If you see me walking down the street
    (written by) Burt Bacharach, "Walk on by" - CarpeDM

8. It brings a tear into my eyes
    when I begin to realize
    oh I cry so hard, lord, since you've been gone
    look like I'm gonna (title)
    Johnny Winter, "Drown in my own tears"

9. It was a pretty big year for fashion
    Don Henley, "In the garden of Allah" - Kirsten

10. It's been seven hours and fifteen days
    (written by) Prince, "Nothing compares 2 U" - CarpeDM

11. Mama, take this badge off of me
    Bob Dylan, "Knockin' on heaven's door" - Dale

12. Readying to bury your father and your mother
    REM, "Sweetness follows" - Anxious

13. Saw your friend working in this hotel
    Neil Young, "Truth to tell" - Kirsten

14. She wakes up early every morning
    Hollies, "too young to be married" - Antonia
    Crystal Waters, "Gypsy woman" aka "Homeless"

15. Sun's up, mm-hm, looks okay
    the world survives into another day
    and I'm thinking about eternity
    some kind of ecstasy got a hold on me
    Bruce Cockburn, "Wondering where the lions are"

16. Sweet as Mary out of sheer love
    runs the water
    clean and beautiful
    leaves it standing on a Sunday
    here's the ritual
    Golden Palominos, "Pure"

17. There is lambswool under my naked feet
    the wool is soft and warm, gives off some kind of heat.
    A salamander scurries into flame to be destroyed,
    imaginary creatures are trapped at birth on celluloid.
    Genesis, "Carpet crawlers"

18. Union Station, tombstone high
    No more tears, this fountain dry
    Nameless faces, just headlines
    We don't ride that train no more
    Daniel Lanois, "Death of a train"

19. Well I wanna know, man is Elvis alive?
    yeah I gotta know, man, is Elvis alive?
    I gotta cut through all this tabloid jive
    Mojo Nixon, "(619) 239 K-I-N-G"

20. Well, it's time to begin as the summer sets in
    It's the scene that you set for new lovers
    You play your part painting it a new heart
    But each gate will open another
    Feist, "Gatekeeper"

21. Whatever happened to Leon Trosky?
    The Stranglers, "No more heroes" - Alan

22. When your spine is cracking and your hands, they shake
    Rolling Stones, "Ventilator blues" - Alan

23. Yeah, I take my baby down to the street
    and I buy him a soda-pop
    He's so sweet
    Sonic Youth, "Washing machine"

24. You know who I am, he said
    The speaker was an angel
    he coughed and shook his crumpled wings
    closed his eyes and moved his lips.
    "It's time we should be going."
    David Bowie, "Look back in anger" - Ill man

25. You look so good to me
    here in this old saloon
    way back in west Berlin
    a bottle of white wine
    Iggy Pop, "Fall in love with me"

Poetry and history

So there I was, laying in bed reading happily away, when I was suddenly brought bolt upright with a cry of "Oh my God" on my lips. I had just read, in a strange context and strangely transformed, words that were well known to me, known and loved and often thought about for a quarter-century now:

A cold comming they had of it, at this time of yeare: Just the worst time of year to take a iourney, and specially a long iourney, in. The waies deep, the weather sharp, the daies short, ... the very dead of winter.

For two points, my dears: Who said that, and when?

If you answered "T.S.Eliot in 1927" then you get one point for having paid attention in class earlier. But you would be wrong: Eliot was quoting (with a certain amount of poetic license) from a far earlier source. (It was new to me, too.)

The correct answer is: Lancelot Andrewes, Bishop of Winchester, at a sermon before King James at Christmas 1622. Andrewes was one of the Translators (as they were known), the committee of churchmen and literati who produced the Bible as most of us read it.

This is just one minor amazement among many to be found in the book God's Secretaries: The Making of the King James Bible by Adam Nicholson, which I am currently reading. I encourage anyone who is even vaguely interested in the history of the Bible to read this, it's fascinating. A marvellous and strange story, full of interesting characters, grippingly narrated. I have constantly been referring to the Bible to read the passages under discussion.

If there is a hero of this history, then it is Lancelot Andrewes. Nicholson makes a plausible case for his having written most of the opening books of the Bible (and I have no intention of spoiling the story by saying any more about that, go read the book yourself).

Dix points sur dix. Highly recommended.