this is : my web log

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AC Marias : 'Give Me'
Correctly identified by : No winner, this week
No winners this week I'm afraid, despite what I thought was quite a good clue in that it was produced by Bruce Gilbert from Wire (and that the song title was identifiable)...anyway - it is the very catchy 'Give Me' by 'AC Marias', from their very fetching 1989 album 'One of Our Girls Has Gone Missing'...and also released on the excellent 1991 Mute compliation 'International'. An intriguing sound IMHO - I like very much indeed OK, well...AC Marias on the web here : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AC_Marias ...an interesting article about this album here : http://www.artistdirect.com/nad/store/artist/album/0,,126385,00.html ...the ever interesting Discogs entry here : http://www.discogs.com/artist/A.C.+Marias ...and this album available on Amazon UK here : http://www.amazon.co.uk/One-Our-Girls-Gone-Missing/dp/B0000071WX ...and Amazon US here : http://www.amazon.com/One-Our-Girls-C-Marias/dp/B0000071WX Well worth the money, I think Oh - and the excellent Mute compilation available here : http://www.amazon.com/International-Compilation-Mute-Depeche-Mode/dp/B000UBG6IE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1212828309&sr=1-1 - that's well worth having, as well

Al Green : 'Take Me To The River'
Correctly identified by : Phantom2
P2 correctly identified the mystery song : as 'Take me to the River' by the fantabu-glorious singer supreme Al Green. This song, released on my birthday - October 2nd - in 1974, on the album 'Al Green Explores Your Mind' - is probably best known as the version by Talking Heads, although has also been recorded by many others, including Annie Lennox, Dave Matthews Band, Grateful Dead and Bryan Ferry. Al's version is the best by far, by many, many miles, for my money. He was THE Soul Man. No point in me telling you much more about Al - it's all here : http://www.algreenmusic.com/ ...here : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al_Green ..and here : http://www.rockhall.com/inductee/al-green . If you've got bandwidth comin' out the catflap, here's Al singing it on YouTube : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Tgm7v284JI - Bloody marvellous

Amon Tobin : 'Sordid'
Correctly identified by : Baby_2U
This was quite difficult, without very pertinent clues, and yet Linda persevered & so, the mystery song is revealed to be 'Sordid' from the 1998 album 'Permutation' by young Amon Tobin. That was well done, Linda - a bloody hard song to get Amon employs a very interesting style including a lot of jazz rhythm samples, an effect which, in reasonably small doses, is extremely effective. I imagine that this technique coupled with his special 7.1 surround sound indoor PA system is absolutely awesome in his live shows.....those are BIG beats... OK - Amon Tobin on the web here : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amon_Tobin ...and here : http://www.amontobin.com/field/ (that's quite interesting...) and the ever interesting entry in Discogs : http://www.discogs.com/artist/Amon+Tobin The album Permutation on Amazon here : http://www.amazon.com/Permutation-Amon-Tobin/dp/B000007OS2

Back To The Planet : 'Crossed Lines'
Correctly identified by : Baby_2U
The very determined Linda persevered with this, another quite hard song and finally identified it as 'Crossed Lines' from the 1993 album 'Mind + Soul Collaborators' by Back To The Planet Very well done Linda And so - the band, the song : BTTP was very much associated with the almost invisible underground society of squatters & travellers that exist in UK and in South London in particular (which is worthy of a blog entry all it's own). The band was formed in Peckham and released their first album when based in Hither Green (where I also lived in a flat, for a while at that time, and doing much of my drinking here). It was good fun, generally and the Beer was fantastic. Big Fan Anyway - The band split in 1995, although performed a reunion gig in 2006 at the Red Star bar in Camberwell. I have (well, had) a special interest in this band : I played guitar with them once at a (bloody amazing) party in Lewisham SE London There was a fire-eater on the roof and everything! It was a great party - better than being in a U2 video I thought I sounded just like Jimi Hendrix - but, I was totally off my face, so I could just as well have sounded like The Singing Postman, for all I know It was good for me, anyway OK - the band on the web here : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Back_To_The_Planet ...and here ...This album on Amazon UK here ...as you can see, quite expensive, so probably collectible (it is quite a good album)
**As an incidental to this, friends at the time (lest they be forgot) : Screeming Custard who were excellent fun . I've still got one of their badges in my memento drawer

Bentley Rhythm Ace : 'Bentley's Gonna Sort You Out'
Correctly identified by : theoddbod
Another excellent job, Mart Don't miss Mart's excellent stories, when you visit his home pages Anyway - he correctly identified this as 'Bentley's Gonna Sort You Out' by from the 1997 eponymously named album by Bentley Rhythm Ace. Note that although the album was released in Oct '97, this song wasn't released as a single until '98. BRA have an interesting history, related here : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bentley_Rhythm_Ace ...and here : http://www.scaruffi.com/vol6/bentley.html ...the album available on Amazon here : http://www.amazon.com/Bentley-Rhythm-Ace/dp/B000003RZD ...from $0.38 - yes folks - you can get this piece of wizardry from 38 cents, plus postage. Why wouldn't you??

Black Grape : 'Kelly's Heroes'
Correctly identified by : Rose-Marie
Rose-Marie wins again. Good Job See my side-bars for links to Rose's excellent home pages She correctly identified 'Kelly's Heroes' from the 1995 album 'It's Great When You're Straight, Yeah' by the now defunct Black Grape. This was the first of 2 albums and pretty successful, if memory serves. BG's front man Shaun Ryder, ex of the Happy Mondays is definitely a bit of a character, no stranger to exotic medications and is not afraid to be who he is, IMHO. Great one-time album, then - BG on the web here : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Grape ...and here : http://www.prideofmanchester.com/music/blackgrape.htm ...Shaun Ryder here : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shaun_Ryder ..and here : http://www.contactmusic.com/new/artist.nsf/artistnames/shaun%20ryder ..Black Grape CDs on Amazon here : http://www.amazon.com/Black-Grape/artist/B000AQ1QEI

Blue Mercedes : 'Run For Your Love(Pop Art Mix)'
Correctly identified by : No winner, this week
But - it was really hard, one of those tracks that you kinda just had to have been there to recognise, I guess . Well, the mystery song was 'Run for your Love (Pop Art Mix)' from the album 'Rich and Famous' by Blue Mercedes', released 1988. Blue Mercedes had a few dance hits, nothing major, this album is in my collection because, well - as I said, you had to have been there, that week in time, really - it reminds me of a very specific moment, with old friends I no longer see - in, as you can probably guess, 1988. Gooooood times, good times . The rest of the album is acceptable if you're in the mood (which I rarely am, but what the hey, right??). I got it because of this track -and the expression 'Big Brush Strokes' still forms an occasional part of my vocabulary . However, if you do like 80s dance-pop, this might be the collectors CD for you . Blue Mercedes on the web here : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_Mercedes ....a nice litle review on Amazon UK here : http://www.amazon.co.uk/Rich-Famous-Blue-Mercedes/dp/B000091O1A/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1205481893&sr=1-1 ...and you can also get it on Amazon.com quite cheap, if you want Plenty of snippets about them out there on the web, if you look

Blur : 'Badhead'
Correctly identified by : Rose-Marie
The excellent Rose-Marie, shakin' it like a polaroid picture has yet again scored the winning shot. She got this in one, despite fierce competition from theoddbod (himself a previous winner). See my side-bars for links to Rose's excellent home pages Anyway - the mystery song is 'Badhead' from the 1994 album 'Parklife' by Blur. I like Blur (always infinitely preferred them to Oasis) and I particularly like this album, which for me is one of those milestone records by which one recalls stages of one's Life. (I'm assumimg that music works like this for other people too....) This album came out in the year that I accepted voluntary redundancy in UK, prior to emigrating to NZ (which we did in '95). But I digress. Using Phil Daniels to narrate the title song 'Parklife' was an absolute stroke of genius. So, Blur on the web here : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blur_(band) ...they seem to have their own website (www.blur.co.uk) which didn't work at all as expected when I tried it, so - being somewhat suspicious by nature, I haven't included a link to it here (just 'in case'). This album here : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parklife ...and for sale on Amazon here : http://www.amazon.com/Parklife-Blur/dp/B000002TQB Bucketloads of YouTube-y & fansite-y etc. stuff out there about this band

Buffalo Tom : 'Mineral'
Correctly identified by : Rapunzel
Cruisin' in the fast lane, Rap correctly identified the mystery song as 'Mineral' by Buffalo Tom, from the 1992 album 'Let Me Come Over. A good CD, not a great CD, but it does give us this song which I like so much, it's nearly been my random Song Of The Week a couple of times. It does appear on one of the Escape Pods (can't remember which one, though) So - Buffalo Tom on the web here : http://www.buffalotom.com/ ...and here : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buffalo_Tom . This particular album here : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Let_Me_Come_Over . 6 out of 10 on my Musicometer

Channel Light Vessel : 'Loose Connections'
Correctly identified by : No winner, this week
It was a hard one. The mystery song is the rather haunting 'Loose Connections' from the 1996 album 'Excellent Spirits' by the wonderfully named Channel Light Vessel. The latest of 3 albums (so far) by CLV, it has some spookily attractive and quite entertaining moments - although on the whole, tending towards the dull, rather than the exciting end of the avant-garde\electronica spectrum. Nice to have if you find it 2nd hand somewhere though 4 out of 10 on my Musicometer. I can't find much of substance on the web about CLV, although the band has some pretty influential musicians in it's line-up. Some info here : http://www.mystrands.com/artist/18030/biography ...and I think a few YouTube-y items out there

Chumbawamba : 'Amnesia'
Correctly identified by : Rapunzel
Well - the lovely Rapunzel scores again, only an hour or so after I posted - cool - correctly identifying the mystery song 'Amnesia' from the 1997 album 'Tubthumper' by Chumbawamba. Labelled as Anarcho-punk I love labels, don't you (and quite enjoy making them up, too). Anyhoo - the big single from this album was of course 'Tubthumping'...most people visiting this blog will probably know that one . So - this is a good album - although having said that, a lot of the socio-political content will possibly be less than meaningful to non-UK residents (that is IMHO, and again - would be overjoyed to be proved wrong). Plenty about Chumbawamba on the web, so I wrap up now and point you here and here. The always interesting Discogs entry here and the featured album for sale on Amazon here

Coldcut : 'My Telephone'
Correctly identified by : attilasoul
The very talented and popular Tilla got the mystery song in double-quick time Well done Please check out Tilla's very entertaining home pages...Tilla really knows what makes a blog interesting...and you must check out her terrific photos So - the song Tilla nailed is 'My Telephone' from the 1989 album 'What's That Noise?' by Coldcut. Really, IMHO, despite the fact that on the whole, this is quite an entertaining album, there's only one other song apart from the quiz song that makes this CD worth hanging on to, and that's 'People Hold On' which was a bit of a hit and features vocals from the very talented Lisa Stansfield Having said that, I really like these 2 songs, so on the shelf it stays Coldcut on the web here : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coldcut ...here : http://www.coldcut.net/coldcut/ ...and this is interesting : http://www.ninjatune.net/ninja/artist.php?id=3 Plenty about the Coldcut boys and the excellent Lisa Stansfield out there This album for sale on Amazon here : http://www.amazon.com/Whats-That-Noise-Coldcut/dp/B00008G118

Courtney Love : 'Mono'
Correctly identified by : Rose-Marie
Well - no time wasted there - the excellent Rose-Marie scores yet again, correctly identifying the song 'Mono' from Courtney Love's ironically titled 2004 album 'America's Sweetheart'. Thank you Rose, and well done (I'm going to have to count up & see how many times Rose has won this thing - she must be in the running for the Music Guru Of The Year award, I would have thought ) Anyway - poor Courtney, Queen of the red carpet catastrophe. Putting all the showbiz and personal-life faux-pas & controversy aside, Courtney Love is a loud, pained and terrifically talented artiste - she sings often of burning bright and burning out - and yet I fear is fated to burn bright and remain alight longer than she hoped. Anyhoo - plenty about CL on the web here and here and indeed here. The album here and for sale on Amazon here. It's a good rock album and if you like 'Mono' you'll like the rest of it

Creation : 'Making Time'
Correctly identified by :theoddbod
Mart, by dint of pure research, has identified this as 'Making Time' by 'Creation' (or 'The Creation' as they were also known). If you like(d) the earlier Who music, you'll probably like Creation. Well done Make sure you read Mart's excellent stories when you visit his home pages OK - Creation on the web here : http://www.makingtime.co.uk/creation.html ..and here : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Creation_(band) ...and their CDs on Amazon here : http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=wbnavss?url=index%3Dmusic&field-keywords=creation&Go.x=0&Go.y=0

Dandy Warhols : 'Be In'
Correctly identified by : Rose-Marie
Rose has again unlocked the mystery...it is the song 'Be-In' by The Dandy Warhols, from their exciting and popular 2nd album 'The Dandy Warhols Come Down', released 1997. An excellent show - thanks Rose I did say at the start of this particular quiz that I thought the drums were a give-away. Check out this song Cool as Kim Deal from the same album. Same drum kit, same sound - I thought it was a real good comparison, clue-wise . Might just be me, though...Anyhoo - Dandyism abounds out there on the web, so I don't need to waste space with too many links. Dandys here : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Dandy_Warhols ...and here : http://www.dandywarhols.com/index.php ..loadsa MySpace & YouTube-y stuff out there This album for sale on Amazon right here : http://www.amazon.com/Dandy-Warhols-Come-Down/dp/B000002U2S

Dangerman : 'It'll Come Back'
Correctly identified by : Rose-Marie
- Rose gets the answer right again Well done Rose - Excellent work indeed. Anyhoo - the mystery song is 'It'll Come Back' from the eponymously titled album by the groovy NY duo Dangerman. Released in 1999, there was at least one single from it which got some airplay even here in New Zealand...and in fact, here it is : DangerMan : 'Let's make a Deal'. What do you think?? I like it. Anyway - a good album and what you get here with these two is reasonably representative of the album as a whole - IMHO it has an interesting & infectously boppy Latino-flavoured style which you don't often get. Dangerman on da web here : http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/dangerman/articles/story/5928781/dangerman_make_a_deal ...and here ... http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/dangerman/albums/album/151568/review/5945181/dangerman ...and you can listen to the track samples & get the album for $0.01 (plus, what-$9.00 US postage?) - here on Amazon : http://www.amazon.com/Dangerman/dp/B00000ICNG ....that's way cheaper than your local record store (even if they stock it, which you know they don't). A bargain in anybody's language

Danielle Dax : 'Tomorrow Never Knows'
Correctly identified by : No winner, this week
Well, again I have to announce no winners The mystery song is 'Tomorrow Never Knows' by the very interesting Danielle Dax, from the 1990 album 'Blast the Human Flower'. This is a great and beautiful Lennon\McCartney song that has yet, I feel, to be given the definitive treatment. This is an interesting version & could have been a contender, given a more ballsy production (& performance). Someone, somewhere out there must be able to do this song justice. An interesting album too, which disappoints mostly in the weakness of the execution...she's got a good voice and all that, but the arrangements and production just don't do her (or the songs) justice. Having said that, I'm interested enough in Danielle to seek out more of her albums (at some stage)...so it's a fair 4+ out of 10 on my musicometer. Some interesting info about the album here : http://www.hrmusic.com/reviews/ddbthrev.html ...and more about Danielle here : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Danielle_Dax ...and this is of interest : http://www.vargol.demon.co.uk/Dax/dax.html

Dukes Of Stratosfear : 'What In The World'
Correctly identified by : Rapunzel
Rapunzel, totally unfazed by the apparent difficulty of this song, popped it seemingly without a second thought. I really didn't think anyone would get this one It is of course 'What In The World' by The Dukes Of Stratosfear, from their 1987 compilation album 'Chips from the Chocolate Fireball' Now that's what I'm talking about, people. I'm impressed OK - the band, the song : 'Dukes Of Stratosfear' was the alt.id of XTC (hence my only real multi-level clue..."It's NOT XTC") - but despite the quality of the music, this entity wasn't successful. I love XTC of course, and might find a place for them in a Song Of The Week, before too long. There's plenty of reviews of this album on the web, like here : http://chalkhills.org/articles/Chips.html ...and here : http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/record_review/17170-chips-from-the-chocolate-fireball ...but surprisingly little about the actual band (probably because they're actually a different band ). So, pretty much everything you wanted to know about XTC\Dukes Of Stratosfear here : http://www.xtcidearecords.co.uk/ A large number of YouTube-y things about both bands out there and 'Chips' on Amazon here : http://www.amazon.com/Chips-Chocolate-Fireball-XTC/dp/B00005AV1R

Eels : 'Bus Stop Boxer'
Correctly identified by : Rapunzel
Well Raise High The Roofbeams, Chillun - the Quiz - again, she is won The ferociously sharp Rapunzel gets another right answer. Excellent - this is what I want So - the mystery song is indeed 'Bus Stop Boxer' by the excellent Eels, from the powerfully good 2001 album 'Souljacker'. Eels here : http://www.eelstheband.com/ ...and here : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eels_(band) ...Souljacker the album here : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Souljacker

Fortran 5 : 'Time To Dream'
Correctly identified by : Rapunzel
Correctly identified by the lovely Rapunzel as 'Time To Dream' from the 1993 album 'Bad Head Park' by Fortran 5. well, striking like a pissed-off Cobra, Rap knocks this one off without batting an eyelash. Make no mistake, Rapunzel is pretty formidable at this game, which is a very good thing OK - I got this album for a fiver at a second-hand stall in Greenwich market, London. Worth every penny, if only for the delight of hearing Derek Nimmo intone the vocals to 'Layla' over an otherwise straight instrumental backing Brilliant. Despite the comedy, this is a good album, prividing you know what to expect from Fortran 5 - which is interesting bits of vocal recording, looped seemingly endlessly over the sounds of massed synth arpeggios and helicopters flying past ('Choppers'), a rather delicious exercise involving a cricket commentary put to tinkling background synthery ('Heavy Clouds Building') and occasional surprisingly sweet little numbers like 'Time To Dream'. I like it, anyway OK - Fortran 5 on the web here and here....this album for sale an Amazon here. $1.43 plus postage - it's definitely worth it - even if only for Derek Nimmo and the quiz song Oh yes - nearly forgot - that haunting little harmonica riff is from the theme tune to the 1969 movie Midnight Cowboy, which is a bit of a classic

Frazier Chorus : 'Wide Awake'
Correctly identified by : No winner, this week
Well - no one got this, the first Music Quiz song ever It is, of course - 'Wide Awake' by the excellent Frazier Chorus, from the equally excellent 1996 album 'Wide Awake'. Probably FC's best album - a charming, if downbeat, collection of cool & dreamy pop songs (albeit with quite a bite to some of the lyrics). I might at some stage include a couple in my 'Song of the Week' blog, and\or one of the Escape Pods. About as much as you'll find out about the elusive Frazier Chorus on the internet here : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frazier_Chorus ... an interesting comment here : http://www.angryrobot.net/archives/2006/04/destroy.html and a little bit more here : http://www.mmguide.musicmatch.com/artist/artist.cgi?ARTISTID=341608&TMPL=LONG#bio ...I first discovered FC when I saw their first CD titled 'Sue' in London's Virgin Megastore. At the time, I had (well, still have) a very good friend of the same name and so obviously it caught my eye. It has a song on it which was a minor UK hit called 'Dream Kitchen' sometime in the late 80s - which I liked quite a lot - and so it joined the collection. I've also got the subsequent (double) album 'Ray' which, although quite good, isn't star material (apart from one absolutely marvellous song)...but, you know what it's like when you start collecting! I'm still looking for the final release by FC, called 'Monkey Spunk', which I'll locate in due course:) 'Wide Awake' is available on Amazon here as I write, with quite a nice little customer review

Garbage : 'Push It'
Correctly identified by : Rose-Marie
No surprise really that it's the excellent Roise-Marie correctly identifying the mystery song as 'Push It' by 'Garbage' from their very good 1998 album 'Version 2.0'. I almost made a mistake introducing this particular quiz song, allowing that the mystery band was from UK They are of course from Madison, Wisconsin and it's only the superb singer Shirley Manson who's from UK (Scotland). So - extra credit to Rose for noticing that faux pas and pointing it out in good humour. Thanks Rose, a read-back would have saved me that embarrassment So - Garbage on the web here : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garbage_(band) ...and here : http://www.garbage.com/home.php ...and the album 'version 2.0' on Amazon here : http://www.amazon.com/Version-2-0-Garbage/dp/B000006NZV/ref=pd_bxgy_m_text_b ...there's a plethora of YouTube-y and other stuff out there about this outfit Another band to file under the heading of Bloody Good Music.

Gay Dad : 'My Son Mystic'
Correctly identified by : No winner, this week
another No Win situation presents itself . The mystery song this week is 'My Son Mystic' by the now defunct UK band 'Gay Dad', from their very good 1999 debut album 'Leisure Noise' ...they had a measure of success around the turn of the Century, with their first 3 singles all coming from this, the first of two albums. There IMHO are 4 or 5 damn good songs on this album - and can you honestly ask more of an album than that? How often have you enthusiastically forked out for a CD and found that the song you like is the only one you like on the entire recording? Anyway - Gay Dad are no more, but here they are on the web : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gay_Dad ...more here : http://www.popmatters.com/music/reviews/g/gaydad-leisure

Gorillaz : '19/2000 (Soulchild remix)'
Correctly identified by : Rose-Marie
Again with the identifying Well done and thank you, Rose It is of course '19/2000 (Soulchild remix) from the eponymous album by Gorillaz. Not too hard, this one, but a great song and I felt like including it here (and of course, you never know - songs I think are easy sometimes don't seem quite as easy IRL). So : Gorillaz here : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gorillaz ...and here : http://www.gorillaz.com/noflash.html The song here : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/19-2000 ...and the album on Amazon here : http://www.amazon.com/Gorillaz/dp/B00005LMBK (although for some reason, the album on offer at Amazon doesn't seem to have this track on it, which my copy of the album does. Weird - but hey ho ) As always - if you like the music, please buy it, don't steal it. Thank you very much

Groove Armada : 'Remember'
Correctly identified by : Rose-Marie
Hurrah The excellent Rose-Marie correctly identifies the quite delightful song 'Remember' from Groove Armada's very good 2002 album 'Lovebox'. Furthermore, I threw down the gauntlet and offered extra kudos for identification of the sampled female vocals - a gauntlet Rose picked up and threw nonchalantly right back at me with the simple text : Sandy Denny. So - kudos with a cherry on top to you Rose Good work - thank you I could wax lyrical about Sandy Denny for hours here - but no need, she's going to appear in my song of the week blog shortly - so I'll wait until then. OK - Groove Armada are an excessively talented pair of likely lads from UK (as you will read in that Wikipedia link...) and, boy, have they made some good stuff. (That wasn't a question, btw). I might include something else by them at a later date. Incidentally - these boys have excellent taste, they also feature Richie Havens on the excellent & poignant song 'Hands Of Time' (by which I mean, he sings it all, for real, no samples). Wonderful stuff. I like RH, too OK - well, there's so much stuff out there about this lot, that really I only feel the need to point you here and here. The excellent album 'Lovebox' on Amazon here. From only $1.25 plus postage - this is a serious bargain, I'm telling you (have you checked out the price of new CDs lately???) Another one to file under bloody good music

Groundhogs : 'Split 2'
Correctly identified by : Phantom2
After much hard work & research, P2 correctly identified the mystery song as 'Split 2', from the 1971 album 'Split' by The Groundhogs. A really hard song to get - well done P2 Please check out P2's pages - an extremely interesting dude. So - The Groundhogs were stalwarts of the UK blues rock scene in the 60s & early 70s, and they still seem to be around in a couple of guises, although they actually split in 2004. Groundhogs on the web here : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Groundhogs ...and Tony McPhee's Groundhog website here (very interesting indeed, btw) : http://www.thegroundhogs.co.uk/ During the progress of the quiz, I found out that The Groundhogs took their name from a song on this John Lee Hooker album : http://www.angelfire.com/mn/coasters/hook/house.htm ...which makes sense, because when you read about the history of the band, they toured with & backed John Lee Hooker (and Champion Jack Dupree) in UK in the 60s. From a blues\rock perspective, these guys have amazing Kudos! The album Split on Amazon here : http://www.amazon.com/Split-Groundhogs/dp/B00009L1OD - worth checking out, IMHO

Hanson : 'Rain'
Correctly identified by : Rose-Marie
Three cheers for Rose-Marie - the very first Flamingo Rinse Music Guru Of The Week Music Fans (and everyone else) - you really should check out Rose-Marie's excellent pages here : http://my.opera.com/rose-marie/info/ ...and I heartily recommend her 'Song of the Day' blog, which starts here : here ....Rose discontinued her massively popular SOTD a while ago, but the RoseMarieSongOfTheDay fan club just keeps on growing We know you're busy Rose - but if you ever consider resurrecting this blog - the cheers will resound across Continents OK - this is what Rose correctly named :'Rain', taken from the 1973 album 'Now Hear This' by the band 'Hanson'. Pretty rare on vinyl these days, but I believe has (this year) been re-released on CD. I got this album, as I've acquired quite a few others, at a record fair in central London, in about 1992. It was a steal for a fiver This track is pretty representative of what you get on the rest of the album, which gets quite Hendrix-y in parts - it's really quite good. If you come across the CD (and you like this track) - then you should probably fork out the money and buy it. Junior Hanson has had a remarkable career - detailed here : http://www.geocities.com/SunsetStrip/Diner/2674/marvin_junior_a.htm more here : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Junior_Marvin ...and in fact, here is the album on CD : http://www.amazon.com/Now-Hear-This-Hanson/dp/B000RMIYJA/ref=pd_bbs_sr_3/105-0286957-9299675?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1195022560&sr=1-3

Heaven 17 : 'Penthouse and Pavement'
Correctly identified by : Rose-Marie
I have the large...huge...stupendous pleasure of welcoming the excellent Rose-Marie back onto the pitch. She batted a blinder and this week's quiz soared right out of the ball park (just as I was beginning to think it wasn't going to fly). So, Rose identified 'Penthouse and Pavement' from the 1981 album of the same name by Heaven 17 Rose is very cool - don't forget to check out her blog, if you haven't done so already Heaven 17 made some damn good records IMHO...here they are on the web : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heaven_17 ...and here : http://www.thomas-overbeck.de/Heaven17/indexf.htm ..the ever interesting Discogs entry http://www.discogs.com/artist/Heaven+17 ..and this album (with bonus tracks) on Amazon here : http://www.amazon.com/Penthouse-Pavement-Heaven-17/dp/B000FL7AU2 Pick it up for just $5.20 plus postage A bargain!!

Holly Beth Vincent : 'Honalu'
Correctly identified by : No winner, this week
It is with much regret that I declare no winner for last week's quiz:down: It was a reasonably hard one, so I can't say I'm overly surprised. The mystery song is 'Honalu' by the amazing Holly Beth Vincent, from the really good 1982 album 'Holly & the Italians'. Info about HBV here : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holly_and_the_Italians ...I see that the album was re-released in 2002 and here it is on Amazon (none currently on sale unfortunately, but track samples & reviews available) : http://www.amazon.com/Holly-Italians-Beth-Vincent/dp/B00005Y2DO ...Oh I'll be watching that space (and elsewhere), ready to snap up a copy of this CD when I find it, don't you worry

Hybrid : 'If I Survive'
Correctly identified by : Rapunzel
Well - the lovely Rapunzel scores again quick smart, correctly identifying the song 'If I Survive' from Hybrid's 1999 debut album 'Wide Angle'. Thank you Rapunzel, and well done Well - Hybrid are actually Producers, rather than an actual band (if you Google 'Hybrid', you'll get a metal band, along with various vehicles and other definitions of the word ) I like this song in particular, and the rest of the album Wide Angle although having said that, it's not all like this track. But - if you're into this kind of stuff (umm...'breakbeat trance'???), you'll like this album, and the sister album 'Wider Angle' which is this one plus a 2nd, Live CD. Given the choice, I'd go straight for 'Wider Angle' - I haven't got it, but it's supposed to be great OK - cut to the chase : Hybrid on the web here and here and the featured album here. 'Wide Angle' for sale on Amazon here : http://www.amazon.com/Wide-Angle-Hybrid/dp/B00004XSML ..although - personally, I go for 'Wider Angle' here : http://www.amazon.com/Wider-Angle-Special-Edition/dp/B000S98R6C/ref=ntt_mus_ep_dpt/104-1928830-7823128 Great stuff

Incredible String Band : 'Job's Tears'
Correctly identified by : Rapunzel
Well - the lovely Rapunzel scores yet again - Blimey - correctly identifying the exquisite song 'Job's Tears' from The Incredible String Band's beautiful, eccentric (and...what, prog folk?...) 1968 album 'Wee Tam'. Thank you Rapunzel, and again very well done OK - Rapunzel asked me where I dug this up - the fact is that I've had the LP for a long time and when I moved to NZ I didn't bring my Hi Fi stuff (deck, amp etc) with me, expecting to be able to replace the components easily enough when I had somewhere to live and all that. Sadly not so. The excellent hi-fi I left at home (sold piecemeal, actually < sob > ) is in fact irreplacable here (I suppose I could spend 6 or 7 thousand dollars for the equivalent - but frankly I'd sooner spend the money on Mrs and young Rinse, if it was available So, I had to get the CD. And there you have it, in a nutshell So - ISB here and here and (this is good)...here. The featured album on Amazon here. You'll note that it is a double - the thing is, there were 2 separate albums, brother & sister so to speak - 'Wee Tam' and 'The Big Huge'. I've only got Wee Tam, but am considering buying the double, combined recording. Lovely
** Subsequent to my posting this entry, purely by chance I came across this very interesting entry on the web, about the ISB

INXS : 'Don't Lose Your Head'
Correctly identified bY : Baby_2U
Linda is on a roll & in the groove She popped this song without batting an eyelid She identified 'Don't Lose Your Head' by Australian band INXS, from their 1997 album 'Elegantly Wasted' (although I've actually got this on 'Shine Like It Does : The Anthology (1979-1997)' - which is actually quite good, although I'm not a huge fan of INXS as such. I think this song in particular is a corker, however OK - more stuff on the web about INXS than you could reasonably be expected to shake a very pointy stick at, so I'll content myself with directing you to the anthology on Amazon here and the ill-fated Michael Hutchence here

Jane's Addiction : 'Then She Did...'
Correctly identified by : No winner, this week
A no win situation. This isn't by an obscure band nor from an obscure album as such, but as a song is totally overshadowed by The Big Hit that was from this album. So - the mystery song : 'Then She Did...' by the partially infamous Jane's Addiction, from the 1990 album 'Ritual De Lo Habitual'. The big hit from this album was of course 'Been Caught Stealing', probably played to death in every Beadbunny shop and PC Game outlet in Malls from Timbuctoo to Timbuctwelve and back. If you ignore that song (not that I don't like it, but it does kinda take over,if you know what I mean, especially after you've heard if for the 20 millionth time ) - this album has some really good stuff on it, well worth buying. So, there we have it Jane's Addiction on the web here : http://www.janesaddiction.com/ ...and here : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jane's_Addiction ...more here : http://janesaddiction.org/ This album here : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ritual_de_lo_Habitual ...and for sale on Amazon here : http://www.amazon.com/Ritual-lo-Habitual-Janes-Addiction/dp/B000002LIX Absolute avalanches of websites & YouTube-y stuff about this band out there

Jesse Colin Young : 'Four In The Morning'
Correctly identified by : Rose-Marie
The excellent Rose-Marie wins again She identified 'Four in the Morning', from the debut 1964 album 'Soul of a City Boy' by Jesse Colin Young. I know Rose isn't keen on this kind of music (so thanks again for participating, Rose) - but I think this is a fantastic album, probably in my top 10 favourites, when the chips are down and the Fat Lady has sung. I used to have the original 1964 Vinyl (what a prize that was) and foolishly lent it to - wait for it - Father Ian, a Catholic Priest (I had a reasonably interesting circle of friends in London) and guess what: He stole it Never trust 'em Although to give him his due, he never tried to convert me from whatever I am to Catholicism. Anyhoo - it took me a long time to find it on CD, but I eventually tracked it down So - Jesse Colin Young on the web here : http://www.jessecolinyoung.com/ ...and here : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesse_Colin_Young ...the album 'Soul of a City Boy' here : http://musiconthefringe.blogspot.com/2006/12/jesse-colin-young-soul-of-city-boy.html ...and available on Amazon here : http://www.amazon.com/Soul-City-Jesse-Colin-Young/dp/B000002QZI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1204269303&sr=1-1 ...as you can see by the prices, even fairly hard to get on CD. I was gutted to lose the Vinyl copy. So it goes

Joan Jett and the Blackhearts : 'Crimson and Clover'
Correctly identified by : Baby_2U
Yet again, Linda has trumped the quizmaster and identified the mystery tune as 'Crimson and Clover by Joan Jett and the Blackhearts from their 1981 album 'I Love Rock N' Roll'. I like this version and - let's be frank - I've always liked Joan Jett So : JJ on the web here : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joan_Jett]here and here : http://www.joanjett.com (...takes a while to load). There's whole bunch of stuff out there about JJ - the consumate rock n' roll chick This song here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crimson_and_Clover and JJ's album for sale on Amazon here : http://www.amazon.com/I-Love-Rock-N-Roll/dp/B0006IIOYK $7.49 plus postage. now that's what I'm talkin about

John Otway : 'You Ain't Seen Nothing Yet'
Correctly identified by : attilasoul
Well, Tilla saw her chance, took it and indentified this song, despite the fact that due to problems at MyOpera, it wouldn't play for most of the week. Excellent work Tilla Special mention to the lovely Rapunzel (herself a previous winner several times over) who got mighty close (but, no Cigar). Good on ya Tilla and Rap & thanks for continuing to participate despite not actually being able to hear the song So - Tilla correctly identified this as 'You Ain't Seen Nothing Yet' by the very droll and hugely talented John Otway, with guest German speaker Attila The Stockbroker - from his (very hard to get, mail order only - at least when I got my copy anyway) 1992 album 'Under The Covers and Over The Top'. I'm very, very fond of John Otway, always have been. I've got Otway\Wild Willy Barret albums on tape - if I can transfer them to CD\MP3, I'll post one or two up here, they're gems OK - JO's shop here : http://www.johnotway.com/disc.html ...he on the web here : http://www.johnotway.com/ ....and here : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Otway ...Attila The Stockbroker here : http://www.attilathestockbroker.com/ ..and here : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Attila_the_Stockbroker Great stuff

Julian Cope : 'Kolly Kibber's Birthday'
Correctly identified by : Rose-Marie
the excellent Rose-Marie wins again. Good job, Rose - super stuff. THAT'S what I'm talking about The mystery song is 'Kolly Kibber's Birthday' by one of my favourite artists, Julian Cope - from the excellent 1983 album 'World Shut Your Mouth. Interestingly, Rose mentioned that the song 'World Shut Your Mouth' was her introduction to Julian Cope. And that song isn't on this album, but rather on the outstanding 1987 album 'Saint Julian'. Hey - take a trip down memory lane, Rose - you've earned it 'World Shut Your Mouth' by Julian Cope There's info & links for JC in my Random Song Of The Week blog (where he was featured, early on)...and he's not only a musician, but also a highly respected writer..his website merchandise here : http://www.headheritage.co.uk/merchandiser/books_and_merchandise/ ...and check this out : http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=wbnavss?url=index%3Dstripbooks%3Arelevance-above&field-keywords=julian+cope&Go.x=0&Go.y=0 ..I badly want a hardcover copy of 'The Modern Antiquarian' and there's some bloody interesting stuff he's published, here. That Japrock thing looks almost essential

Nice : 'The Thoughts Of Emerlist Davjack'
Correctly identified by : No winner, this week
Sad (and somewhat surprised) to announce no winner this week The song is 'The Thoughts of Emerlist Davjack', from 1967 (some say 1968) and the album of the same name by The Nice. I don't have that album, but may investigate it and other albums by this band - I culled this track from a 'Best Of' CD which is actually quite entertaining - although, as with many recordings from the 60s IMHO, the sound quality & recording techniques that were attainable in those days don't transfer particularly well to the precise quality of the CD playback. What I mean is, the song is great but hasn't got the depth of sound quality that we're used to, 40 years on. Never mind, I can live with that:) Info on this album here : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Thoughts_of_Emerlist_Davjack ....the rather interesting story of The Nice here : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Nice ...and good reviews of their music here : http://starling.rinet.ru/music/nice.htm ...and here : http://www.warr.org/nice.html

Nina Hagen : 'African Reggae'
Correctly identified by : attilasoul
The charming and very knowledgable Tilla has scored again. Thanks and well done So - 'African Reggae', from the 1979 (in UK) album 'Unbehagen' by one of my favourites, Nina Hagen. I've previously featured Nina in one of my Random Song Of The Week entries, so browse there for Nina on the web (there are some really good links there too, if you're interested). This album for sale on Amazon here : http://www.amazon.com/Unbehagen-Nina-Hagen-Band/dp/B0000264TI ...but - personally, I'd go for this double album - a really good deal : http://www.amazon.com/Nina-Hagen-Band-Unbehagen/dp/B0000264YD ...because 'Nina Hagen Band' is a bloody good record (trust me) and it's very hard to get. Might be ordering this double myself (& selling off plain old 'Unbehagen'...)

Paladin : 'Good Lord'
Correctly identified by : Phantom2
Another bullseye from my good friend Mr.Phantom2 as 'Good Lord' from the 1972 album 'Charge' by Paladin.Excellent job Mr.2, excellent Paladin only released 2 albums (the first in 1971, eponymously titled) - both good, but on balance, I prefer Charge because I think the songs are more together and the band seem to have found a nice cohesive style. However, they broke up before any other albums were made, some of the band members going on to have an effect in the 70s, 80s and into the 90s. Originally, I picked a vinyl copy of this album up at a record fair in London because of the cover art, which is one of those amazing Roger Dean creations...if you aren't familiar with the works of Roger Dean (and Patrick Woodroffe, another tremendously influential artist) then I suggest you check these out : Patrick Woodroffe here and here....Roger Dean here and here. Very effective in their day, were these guys But I digress - back to the band in hand - IMHO Paladin were part of what, in retrospect, I think may have been a kind of 'new wave'...post 'Psychedelia' and yet pre- the massive stadium Prog Rock giants (including the likes of Genesis and Yes) and those other stadium rock bands like Foreigner, Boston and suchlike. I guess I might pin this 'new wave' to between maybe 1969 and 1973 (in UK anyway)...starting I suppose with the early Led Zep and including bands like Paladin, Snafu, Keef Hartley Band, Colliseum, Groundhogs - even the early Deep Purple and Jethro Tull, maybe Black Sabbath too - before those that were going to be giants got up to speed and motored off into the distance. There's a whole bunch of largely forgotten one, two or three album bands from that general period who's music will stand up to scrutiny and come out with honours even today. And believe me, brothers and sisters, I'm going to have a go at lighting some of this stuff up again through the medium of this blog, give me time to search it out I also recall as a young fresh faced & innocent but burningly musical boy, seeing some of the then relatively new 'foreign' bands at gigs in & around London, names that were cult then, legendary now - Can and Kraan come to mind as I write.......< rubs hands with glee >. Cool So - once more cutting to the chase...Paladin on the web here and one of the former band members web presence here (very interesting, that). I've got both of Paladin's albums together on a double CD, with bonus tracks - alternate versions, instrumentals etc. and it appears to still be available here and both individual albums on Amazon here Good luck with that

Photos : 'Sex Object'
Correctly identified by : No winner this week
Never mind, it was quite hard, despite a couple of pretty good clues. The quiz song 'Sex Object' is from the excellent and highly desirable 1980 eponymously titled album by The Photos. Very hard to find out much on the web about The Photos, although Wikipedia has this and I found that the Guitarist - Steve Eagles - is still up & at 'em in UK bands by following leads to here. And this is quite interesting - furthermore, for some photos of The Photos(!) go here.
Needless to say, I think this is a pretty good album, recently released on CD from www.cherryred.co.uk/ (not a link as such, it tries to run quicktime which I don't use & thus crashes Opera for me, very annoying - but nonetheless a very good place for finding re-released obscure albums). Cherry Red also have just released The Photos long lost 2nd album 'Crystal Tips and Mighty Mice', which I may get Having said that, I got my Photos CD from Amazon, where it's still available here. Incidentally, the CD release includes a nice booklet with a good little potted history, interviews & some nice contemporary pics. If you like the quiz song, you'll like the album. 7 out of 10 on the musicometer

Ralph Stanley : 'Man Of Constant Sorrow'
Correctly identified by : No winner, this week
we got mighty close with this one, but no published Cigar - the winner prefers to remain anonymous. That's OK. I'm sure you'll be familiar with this song....after the excellent movie 'O Brother, Where Art Thou'. The song is (of course) 'Man of Constant Sorrow', performed in this instance by good ol' Ralph Stanley. This particular recording was made in 1971 and currently appears on 'The Very best of Ralph Stanley' CD. Aaah, the wonders of 'Best Of' CDs.....often, that IS what you get. There's so much on the Internet about Ralph, and indeed about this particular song....here : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ralph_Stanley ...and here : http://drralphstanley.com/index.shtml ...about the song here : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Man_of_Constant_Sorrow

Regurgitator : 'Freshmint'
Correctly identified by : No winner, this week
Again, with regret I declare a No Win situation The mystery song is 'Freshmint' by the very talented Australian band Regurgitator, from the 1999 album '...Art'. Deliciously derivative song - I can recognise 4 or 5 different 'bits-of-songs', not the easiest of which to get was the "..ohwe, ohwe..." vocals, most noticeable on the fade-out. Last heard that on, I think, 'Video killed the Radio Star' by The Buggles. Anyhoo - a pretty good CD for those (of us) who enjoy clever, often amusing and self-mocking electro-pop. Waaay sophisticated and choc full o pop hooks. Regurgitator here : http://www.regurgitator.net/regOS.swf (a bit slow, flash based, but quite entertaining) ...more here : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Regurgitator There is a slight link with one of my other blog songs...Regurgitator singer\guitarist Quan Yeomans used to be the partner of Janet English, singer\bass guitarist of Australian band Spiderbait (see my 'Random Song of the Week' blog).

Roachford : 'Find Me Another Love'
Correctly identified by : theoddbod
Good on Mart...he successfully identified this as 'Find Me Another Love' from the 1988 album 'Roachford' by, as you may have surmised, Roachford Nice one Mart - I thought that this song was deceptively hard Anyhoo - I've got a couple of albums by this band (and an EP with a great song called 'Innocent Eyes') - which, if you like this kind of stuff (what..Rock & B??, urban soul rock??, probably playing on the same pitch as Seal, anyway)...would be well worth seeking out So - Roachford on the web here : http://www.roachford.co.uk/ ...here : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrew_Roachford ...and another ultimate discography on the ever fascinating Discogs : http://www.discogs.com/artist/Roachford This album for sale on Amazon here : http://www.amazon.com/Roachford/dp/B000008K1P .. I mean - 48 cents plus postage! Damn.

Robyn Hitchcock & The Egyptians : 'Airscape'
Correctly identified by : Rapunzel
Well - the lovely Rapunzel scores again, very well done indeed, Rap This means you're one of 2 contenders for the fabled Flamingo*Rinse*Music*Guru*Of*The*Year award (no fighting, you two...) Anyhoo - Rapunzel correctly identified the beautiful song 'Airscape' from the 1986 (re-released 1995) album 'Element Of Light' by Robyn Hitchcock and The Egyptians. Not a massively well known album, but it is very, very good - one of those that you listen to half-a-dozen times before you actually notice how intelligent, amusing and\or heart-throbbingly beautiful some of the lyrics are Lucky Cynthia - what a song to have dedicated to you. This live version of 'Airscape' (studio version also on the same album) is particularly good, I think - although the studio version is great as well, it's produced, know what I mean?? The featured version is everything I want in live music - it's not perfect, but it's a great song, played honestly & without frills and takes the odd risk - I mean....that heroic high vocal note at the end - a waver or bum note there would have screwed the entire performance - but the vocalist went for it anyway. Brilliant. It sends shivers up & down my spine. OK then - I've featured RH in my blogs previously - so there's good info about him there - I'll content myself with pointing you to the album on Wickipedia here, and intersting and informative bunch of reviews & comments here and the featured album on Amazon here. Probably my favourite Artist

Well, funnily enough snack lovers - this is as big as a single post can get. So..if you're enjoying this, please proceed to the post entitled 'The Quiz Archive part two' for the continuation of our musical exploration