I’m thinking of doing nothing but troll, music, and to-the-barricades posts til the election’s over. I can’t take the drama or the stupidity.
Here’s one: why do some names work better in songs than others? Is it just a rhyming thing or are some names more evocative? I think MaryAnne is the best name for songs, with So Long MaryAnne and More Than A Feeling. What say you, the invisible hand of the comment section?
Also too, open thread.
Xecky Gilchrist
Mary Ann is a fine name in songs. “The professor and…” comes to mind.
Villago Delenda Est
Hey Carrie Ann what’s your game now can anybody play?
HE Pennypacker, Wealthy Industrialist
Better than Suzie and variants thereof? I think not.
Violet
Lucille. As in, “You picked a fine time to leave me Lucille.”
And Jolene.
And Alison.
beltane
Yeah, I can’t recall any songs about Annemaries.
DougJ, Head of Infidelity
@HE Pennypacker, Wealthy Industrialist:
Good point.
cathyx
Allison.
Pappy G
Melanie Jane from Lonely by Tom Waits. ‘Melanie Jane/Won’t feel the pain…’
Buckeye Hamburger
Any songs worth a damn about Ginger? QED
cathyx
I like cathyx myself.
Doc Sportello
Marshall Crenshaw’s Mary Ann, Mary Ann
Also. Too.
Violet
The right name in songs is all about having the proper syllables and end syllable for rhyming purposes. Mary Anne fits very easily with a lot of words, so it’s a good one. So’s Suzie.
cathyx
How about Rooooxanne.
Violet
Roxanne by the Police has always been a favorite of mine.
Layla. Angie. Billie Jean.
DougJ, Head of Infidelity
@Violet:
You know how I feel about Sting.
trollhattan
@cathyx:
Yup, the name itself makes the song.
Also, too, George Tierney, Jr. of Greenville South Carolina would be a spiffy name in a song.
A mister Bogg has an updating, complete with a local news channel’s story about our girl, George. (Hey There, Georgie Girl)
http://tbogg.firedoglake.com/2012/05/23/look-what-you-guys-did/
Tom The First
Sylvilla and Priscilla make the best songs.
joes527
DougJ:
Sorry to hear you are checking out.
I love your writing because you’re one of the few bipartisan centrists on this site who realize that both sides do it, where “it” is pretty much any bad thing. You’re like Balloon Juice’s David Broder. Have you always been so fair and balanced or is it something you learn over time as a front pager?
Violet
Cecilia. Michelle.
trollhattan
@DougJ, Head of Infidelity:
Eddie Murphey’s a cappella version kinda resurrects its respectability.
Violet
@DougJ, Head of Infidelity:
Yeah, but that’s still a great song. Was Sting as pretentious before he was famous?
beltane
@joes527: Doug is able to remain so fair and balanced because he has an innate sense of Hayekian modesty. Others are forced to learn this the hard way by taking an Oakeshott up the Widener.
trollhattan
@Villago Delenda Est:
Didja know they actually wrote it about Marianne Faithful but changed the name…I guess not to piss off Keith.
Raenelle
Here’s some lyrics that seem apropos: I read the news today, oh boy. 4,000 holes in Blackburn Lancastershire. And though the holes were very small, they had to count them all. Now we know how many holes it takes to fill the Albert Hall.
For names, the Stones’ appearance on SNL reminded me of Ruby. I think there was a Dion song about her too.
DougJ, Head of Infidelity
@Violet:
I don’t think so. He’s a major league douche now.
Omnes Omnibus
@Doc Sportello: Yep.
Violet
@DougJ, Head of Infidelity:
Well, Roxanne was recorded before they were famous, so maybe you can forgive that one. Unless you just can’t overlook his douchiness.
middlewest
The internal vowel sounds of words are just as much, if not more important than the end rhyming syllables. See this video for an explanation. Mary-Ann has good vowel sounds throughout.
feebog
Lovely Rita, Meter Maid…
I have a friend who is a songwriter, mostly blues, and he rarely uses names at all. For instance, the “Dog Song” which starts out, “When I die pretty baby, I want to come back as your dog”. This works, as pretty baby is generic.
Omnes Omnibus
@Violet:
@DougJ, Head of Infidelity:
I know this has been posted before. By me. But it fits.
JC
Since this is an open thread, why is Wisconsin about to re-elect Rethug criminal Walker?
Can someone explain this to me?
Is this guy ANY – and I mean ANY – different from Romney? don’t they use the same playbook?
a. Guy lies about what he will do when elected, pulls a bait and switch.
b. Stirs up massive labor resistance.
c. Gives away state money to all of his corporate cronies.
d. Found out funded by Kock brothers.
e. After a year of controversy, Wisnconsin HAS LOST JOBS!! So he is ineffective as well.
f. All his best buddies are being indicted left and right, and he is possible a few months away from being outed as a criminal.
All this is up and known.
And yet – this guy is going to win – and the Dems, like the DNC, isn’t going to be helping Barrett.
Explain how this guy isn’t getting blown out??
cathyx
@JC: The majority of Wisconsin like what he’s doing.
jl
How about solve that P equals NP thingee, DougJ Fussy Headmaster of the Apocalypse?
Then they won’t be able to sneear at your for being a DFH egghead, they will be forced to fawn on you patronizingly, and good naturedly dismiss anything disagreeable you say.
Steeplejack
I used to keep track of my swimming laps by thinking of girls’ names in songs in alphabetic order. Fortunately, a mile only got me up to P (100m x 16), so I didn’t get to some of those problematic letters.
It also works to think of the names of any girls you ever had a crush on/relationship with/restraining order received from. Although that can get depressing.
I like swimming.
Steeplejack
@Violet:
Douchiness can often cast a retroactive pall over a career. Cf. Orson Scott Card.
JC
@cathyx: What does really mean though?
More of the “What’s the Matter With Kansas” going on?
The majority of voters don’t mind the lies?
The majority of voters don’t mind the fall in jobs?
The majority of voters just don’t care (so only the motivated conversatives go to the polls?)
The Romney policy of Ad Carpetbombing by Kocks, is moving the uninformed electorate?
JC
Oh – sorry for the misspelling – Koch brothers – my mistake…
Stuck in the Funhouse
I will try, but in a perfect world, I have the same question. But we don’t live in a perfect world. We live in representative republic, with the short answer for these things, that we are conditioned to folks serving out their full terms. And with recalls generally being done for infractions of law by such incumbents. The ordinary deception and tribalism that comes with this or that office holder, is normally filed under elections have consequences, and sometime they suck to the high heavens for your side of things.
I don’t oppose what WI is doing, as they followed the numbers to get this recall election. But I am not surprised in the least, that many will vote to let Walker continue his term, short of felonies committed, even though they don’t like what he’s done.
Omnes Omnibus
@JC:
@cathyx: A recall is fundamentally different than a election. There are a lot of people who are not happy with Walker and would not vote for him again, but are upset at the expense, among other things, of the recall elections.
FlipYrWhig
@JC: I wonder if a lot of people essentially think that a recall election isn’t “fair,” or, to put it another way, that they have to be badgered or cajoled into thinking it is fair.
Seems dumb, honestly, but that’s all I can come up with: “I don’t like the guy, but he won fair and square and deserves to finish out his term, after which I will vote for the other guy, but I don’t want it to be like this, because this is playing games, and the Republicans will just do it right back, and then it’ll never end.”
mai naem
And then there’s the song TBogg was named after – Jennifer – the Donovan one not the Tommy Tutone 8675039 one.
Violet
@Omnes Omnibus:
Yes, that’s excellent. Can’t believe it’s 13 years old. Yikes.
JC
@Omnes Omnibus: So you and Funhouse think it’s the recall political dynamics are different, than normal elections. With a smattering of ‘what’s the matter with Kansas”.
Well, if so, then things would correct in a normal election cycle. I guess we will see.
Villago Delenda Est
Jenny Jenny, who can I turn to?
__
You give me something I can hold on to
Omnes Omnibus
@FlipYrWhig: Add that in to the expense part that I mentioned above and you have a lot of it. Also too, what Stuck said. Fundamentally, you have to understand that it is not a regular election. There are other drivers here.
Hill Dweller
@JC: A recent poll had 4 in 10 union households supporting Walker. The guy is an avowed union buster, but they are still supporting him.
It’s tribalism and/or stupidity.
Omnes Omnibus
@JC: I live in the middle of it.
Maude
Peggy Sue. Get that in your head, it stays.
FlipYrWhig
@Stuck in the Funhouse: @Omnes Omnibus: Still, it’s galling, because when Republicans use recalls, filibusters, etc. that counts as hard-nosed politics, but when Democrats do it, it’s, like, cheating, or something. It goes down like that almost every time. Like when the Dems fled the state — inspiring to the liberal blogosphere, less so (I take it) to the general public.
FlipYrWhig
@Omnes Omnibus: Thx, your answer and mine crossed in the aether.
JC
@Hill Dweller: Well, THAT is depressing. “I will vote for the guy who screws me over. Because the other guy is liberal!”
Or, as flip/stuck/omnes say, those 4 in 10, think that somehow ‘changing horses midstream’ is wrong.
That seems somewhat of an after the fact rationalization for who you were going to vote for anyway, but what do I know.
JC
@Omnes Omnibus: Thanks for the answer then.
Your view is that, come regular election time, Walker will be thrown out on his rearend, by the same people who vote for him in the recall?
That doesn’t seem a stretch?
Quicksand
@mai naem:
We’re sorry; your call cannot be completed as dialed.
cathyx
@JC: The majority of voters believe the way he does about unions, jobs, and the way to fix the economy in Wisconsin.
To me, revoting for him in a recall election is more powerful than voting for him the first time.
Omnes Omnibus
@JC: Actually, I need to take a pass on that question. I didn’t mind answering some of the earlier questions because they were sort of structural, but, because of my job, I can’t get into those sorts of things. I can say that what one might find is that some people who have a problem with the recall for whatever reason will not vote in it, but may vote in a regular election. Does that make sense? Now I should bow out.
asiangrrlMN
I feel your pain, DougJ. I only started closely following politics in 2008 (was just a vote Dem-only without reading much) until then, and I’m burned out. And, really, what difference does it make if I follow/blog about politics or not? I will never vote Republican, and I know enough to tell people off when they get it wrong, anyway, so why do this to myself?
JC
@Omnes Omnibus: Fair enough.
Omnes Omnibus
@cathyx: I am not sure how much you know about Wisconsin. Just sayin’.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@FlipYrWhig:
And that’s why I am often tempted to just give up, but I can’t. The term isn’t political junkie for nothing. Watching Walker is like watching Connecticut ’06 all over again. The best lack all conviction, and the worst are full of passionate intensity.
@Hill Dweller: I wonder how many of those 4/10 are in the police and firefighters’ unions that Walker so cynically, so transparently and so successfully exempted from his assault.
burnspbesq
Ooh, my little pretty one, pretty one
When you gonna give me some time …?
Baud
@JC: @Omnes Omnibus:
If there is a silver lining to a possible Walker win, it’s that it may shake any complacency Democrats have about the November elections.
Hill Dweller
@Omnes Omnibus:
Forgive me, but they’re being myopic.
How much has Walker cost the state economically to date? How much will he cost the state going forward?
I bet the cost of the recall pales in comparison to the economic damage that clown will inflict on the state and the voters should he continue in office.
Comrade Mary
Oh, for God’s sake: JANE!
Sweet Jane
Jane Says
Lazy Line Painter Jane
Queen Jane Approximately
Mary Jane’s Last Dance
Mary Jane
Thoughts of Mary Jane
Jane, Stop This Crazy Thing
Sheesh. Even Maroon 5 could have answered this one. And these guys (I just Googled) found more.
FlipYrWhig
@JC: I can imagine some nonzero number of voters who would vote now to take a stand against the idea of a “do-over” recall election — perhaps because it would lead to a never-ending spiral of elections, recalls, elections, and recalls — but would vote for the Democrat in the next conventional election. I just have no idea how many people would be that way. Seems screwy to me. But think of Russ Feingold, Wisconsinite, not wanting to get rid of the filibuster because of his views on the importance of process.
Baud
@Jim, Foolish Literalist:
Too true.
Keith G
In other words, no change.
Villago Delenda Est
@Hill Dweller:
Answering those questions require critical thinking skills that most people simply do not have.
One of the objectives of the GOP is to make sure fewer and fewer people do, thus the attack on education at all levels.
pete
Lenny spells the name “Marianne.” The Who had one called “Mary Anne with the Shaky Hand.” Marianne Faithfull did sing “Mary Anne” in her folkie days.
And then we could move on to Marion.
Dee Loralei
Ahem, Loralei. That is all. And no, I don’t mean just the silly Styx song. There are others out there.
Omnes Omnibus
@Dee Loralei: The Pogues did a good one.
Villago Delenda Est
Brandy, you’re a fine girl…
Lady Madonna, children at your feet…
Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds…
Judy, Judy, Judy do you love me?
smintheus
Ahem. Lola.
Dee Loralei
@Omnes Omnibus: Thanks I like that one.
Villago Delenda Est
Who’s trippin’ down the streets of the city
Smilin’ at everybody she sees
Steeplejack
@Villago Delenda Est:
Judy in disguise–with glasses. (Amazing the full sound they get with that minimalist lineup.)
And, in the category of least likely girl’s name for a song: “Denise.” (Song starts at 0:20.)
kay
@JC:
I think a recall is really tough, because unions (and allies) in Wisconsin weren’t able to make it about “fairness” or “collective bargaining”, the major issues, because they weren’t overturning a law, they were recalling a (whole) person.
They had to make it about Walker, and that makes it partisan. Everyone digs in on their respective sides. It is probably a hard shift to completely switch sides.
Also, IMO, it is a good idea to keep a state election at the state level. I think it’s a mistake to take it national, because then people are voting on a whole set of opinions and issues, and then who knows what they’re voting on.
I don’t know that unions and allies could have done that in Wisconsin, kept it “local”, because it became national, and it will be interpreted as a national win (or loss) for the respective sides, but I think ordinary voters resent when their state becomes a proxy for the whole country. It has to be Wisconsin, Wisconsin, Wisconsin, for voters in the middle, because they’re not signing on to any national movement, Left or Right. They’re just voting for a governor.
On the national Party helping, I would just say that I know nothing about the Wisconsin state Party, but when the Ohio state party starts pointing fingers, it usually is less about “needing help” and more about preemptive blame-shifting, in case they lose. That’s just what they do in close races.
Steeplejack
@Villago Delenda Est:
Everyone knows it’s Windy.
Steeplejack
Gotta throw in a sentimental favorite: “My Maria.” “There were some blue and sorrowed times.”
Villago Delenda Est
@Violet:
Layla is one of the most intense songs there is. Clapton’s anguish can be heard in nearly every syllable.
Raven
Cream – Swlabr
Jefferson Airplane – Ballad of You & Me & Pooneil
Villago Delenda Est
@Steeplejack:
I’ve read that Judy In Disguise is a riff on Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds. A response, sort of. It certainly has psychedelic passages in it.
smintheus
I’ve got to mention that old classic, Sweet Lorraine.
Jim C
@Villago Delenda Est: I think you mean Julie Do Ya Love Me?
Maybe it’s me, but I always liked when Lou Reed would drop a “Jim” in his lyrics.
Raven
I remember you well in the Chelsea Hotel,
you were talking so brave and so sweet,
giving me head on the unmade bed,
while the limousines wait in the street.
Those were the reasons and that was New York,
we were running for the money and the flesh.
And that was called love for the workers in song
probably still is for those of them left.
cathyx
@Omnes Omnibus: Fair enough, I’m sure I don’t. But why bother with a recall at all then?
Corner Stone
My name’s DougJ, and I approve this message.
Raven
@smintheus: Country Joe?
She hides in an attic concealed on a shelf
surrounded by volumes of literature based on herself. . .
Omnes Omnibus
@cathyx: Yes, why bother doing something that might not work? The people who pushed the recall cared very deeply about it and thought it might succeed. The votes aren’t all in and counted yet. Jesus.
Steeplejack
@Villago Delenda Est:
Probably. But you can say that about practically every other song from the ’60s. The Association’s other song “Along Comes Mary” is a trove of trippy lyrics. “The gassed and flaccid kids are flung across the stars.” Whoa. Flaccid. You don’t see that a lot.
Omnes Omnibus
@Raven: Dad? That is, my dad is a huge Fish fan. I associate those albums and CSNY’s Four Way Street with Saturday mornings when I was a kid. Dad and I would watch cartoons and then when they ended he would put something like that on the turn table and we would sit on opposite end of the couch and read. Yeah, my childhood was a bit different.
ETA: Or we would go rock climbing, bike riding, or hiking.
Raven
@Omnes Omnibus: Yup, Barry Melton on axe, Chicken Hirsch on keys and Joe. They were so much more than Feel Like I’m Fixin and the Fuck Cheer.
Into my life on waves of electrical lights and sound she came
So much of their music is burned into what’s left of my brain.
Maria
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hNTgaKI2FFY
gbear
How did we get 90 comments in without a mention of Mary Anne With The Shakey Hands
What they done to a man, those shaaaaaaky hands.
Villago Delenda Est
@Jim C:
Yah, seems like I remembered the Atrios version from the time of Judy Miller’s “you can’t make me talk” period when she covering for treasonous criminal shitstain Scooter Libby.
piratedan
oldies brigade:
Maybelline – Chuck Berry
Sorry, Suzanne
Jennifer Eccles
CarrieAnne – The Hollies
Valeri – The Monkees
Sheila – Tommy Roe
Denise – Randy and the Rainbows
Susie Darlin – Robin Luke
smintheus
@Raven: Didn’t know that Country Joe song, actually.
Omnes Omnibus
@Raven: Excellent stuff. Christ, I haven’t heard this in about 40 years and I still know the words. Childhood memories burn deep.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@Villago Delenda Est: and just to tie it all together, Rachel Maddow’s opening segment is about Mitt Romney’s loud and public embrace of Dick Cheney. Iraq? Oh yeah, that happened, didn’t it? That was really too bad, but it just kinda happened. Long time ago. Who remembers how it happened. Oh well. What about Hillary Rosen and job creators? David Broder is dead, long live David Broder.
And thus I wanna follow DougJ to the land of blissful indifference. I am now an “independent voter”.
Jim C
@Villago Delenda Est: I thought you might have been recalling a George “Goober” Lindsey cover of the song, mixing in his killer Cary Grant impression.
Villago Delenda Est
Love grows where my Rosemary goes
piratedan
oh yeah, also too Eleanor – The Turtles and Help Me Rhonda – The Beach Boys
Raven
@smintheus: The CJ and the Fish Song is actually “Not So Sweet Martha Lorraine“.
Steeplejack
@gbear:
I’ve been holding myself back.
“Motorcycle Irene.”
Downpuppy
I think the Warren campaign should adopt Cherokee Boogie as their them song. Hey Ho Alinsky!
Raven
@Omnes Omnibus:
Wheel’s throwin water all over my ass
and Mr Jones won’t give me a ride. . .
eta
Your dad a Nam Vet?
Steeplejack
“Amie.”
Okay, I’ve got to nip this in the bud or I’ll be on the YouTubes all night. Somebody stop me before I link again!
Yutsano
@Steeplejack: Champers. Now. That should hold you off for a spell.
Raven
@Steeplejack: You know Vince Gill once was with them?
mainmati
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: Not realizing that they will be the next to be axed.
Steeplejack
@Raven:
Yep. Actually talked to him once, along with some other guy who was in the band way back when but dropped out of the business.
Steeplejack
@Yutsano:
No champers on hand, and I’m in for the evening. I must make do with the remainder of a bottle of Merlot.
ETA: How goes it with rehab and/or not killing/being killed by Mom?
Omnes Omnibus
@Raven: Nope. He was born in ’43, so his window was pretty small. Add in got married and had a kid young, plus school, and he was safe. He was involved in student organizing though. I found out that he has an FBI file during my investigation for a top secret clearance. Didn’t stop me from getting a clearance and it damn well shouldn’t have. The old man wasn’t doing anything other than patriotically expressing his disagreement with government policy.
Raven
@Steeplejack: Cool. What about the American Rhythm Aces?
Cris (without an H)
“Along Came Mary” by The Association was sublime (just ask Bernstein).
“Come On Maryanne” by the Four Seasons is shit.
Raven
@Omnes Omnibus: “The old man wasn’t doing anything other than patriotically expressing his disagreement with government policy.”
I can relate to that.
MikeJ
I knew a girl in college named Krisann who used to complain that there were no songs with her name. Finally one of the local bands did one,, but the only line I remember is is “Krisann demands a roll in the sand.”
smintheus
@Raven: Yeah, I was thinking of this Sweet Lorraine.
Omnes Omnibus
@Raven: Thought you might.
gbear
@Raven:
They were pretty amazing.
smintheus
@Cris (without an H): Then there’s “Mary, Mary” which is, uh, standard fare for The Monkees.
Omnes Omnibus
@smintheus: Mary’s Prayer by Meet Danny Wilson.
Raven
Did dj mean So long Marianne
Omnes Omnibus
Going out on a limb, there is Diamond.
Steeplejack
@Raven:
Good song.
Raven
@Omnes Omnibus: There is a Magnolia on that limb. And a couple on the tree in the yard.
Raven
@Steeplejack: Right up there with
Desperados Waitin on a Train
Steeplejack
@Cris (without an H):
But they did “Dawn,” which is pretty good. Not to mention “Sherry.”
Ben Cisco
Brought back memories of my childhood:
Early one Sunday morning
Breakfast was on the table
There was no time to eat
She said to me, “Boy, hurry to Sunday school”
Filled with her load of glory
We learned the Holy story
She’ll always have her dreams
Despite the things this troubled world can bring
Oh, Sadie
Don’t you know we love you
Sweet Sadie
Place no one above you
Omnes Omnibus
@Raven: I know it is by, not about, a Marianne, but this is brilliant.
Steeplejack
@Raven:
WTF?! Moderation? Trying again:
All that ’70s cowboy music makes me think of Marshall Tucker.
ETA: Blocked again. FYWP.
Steeplejack
Will some front-pager release me from moderation hell?
FYWP.
Steeplejack
Excellent acoustic version of “Jolene” by Dolly Parton.
Ben Cisco
Also too, this one:
Bill, I love you so, I always will
I look at you and see the passion eyes of May
Oh, but am I ever gonna see my wedding day
I was on your side Bill, when you were losin’
I’d never scheme or lie Bill, there’s been no foolin’
But kisses and love won’t carry me ’till you marry me Bill
Fun fact (and I didn’t know this till I looked up the video): This song was written by the late Laura Nyro, recently inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Yutsano
@Steeplejack: So far Mom and I are dong pretty much okay in the getting along department. But she just gained another invalid (my father has his artificial knee drained today and what came out was NOT knee fluid!) so that won’t help matters. Plus she’s pissed at my brothers, they were supposed to be keeping an eye on me when she had an appointment and they went AWOL.
The good news is my legs are coming back slowly. So hopefully by the end of the six weeks I’ll be close to normal. Then twelve weeks with the professional torturist. WHEE!!
Steeplejack
@Steeplejack:
Also, an excellent acoustic version of Dion’s “Abraham, Martin and John.”
This is bookmarked in my mind with “Jolene” because of the guitar arrangements.
Steeplejack
@Yutsano:
Carry on, then. Still beaming white light your way.
Steeplejack
@Raven:
Sent you a response, but it got blocked–twice. Marshall Tucker Band, “Fire on the Mountain.”
mai naem
There is also Come On Eileen by Dexys Midnight Runners(sp???), Annie’s Song by John Denver, Suzy Q, Wake Up Little Suzie, Peggy Sue, Long Tall Sally, Jessie, Christine, Sweet Caroline, Chelsea in the Morning(I think that’s the title), Sara(Fleetwood Mac), Fannie(Bee Gees), Lucy in the Sky. And I always thought Blondie’s song Denis was about Denise but whatevah.
Omnes Omnibus
@Yutsano: Did you eventually dance for the relatives as instructed?
Steeplejack
@mai naem:
Thanks for “Suzy Q.” I was thinking about Creedence and thinking they must have had a girl’s name somewhere, but I was blanking on it.
And then of course I remembered that they also had “Proud Mary.”
Svensker
Just Walk Away, Renee.
Brandy (You’re a Fine Girl)
Oooh oooh Mandy.
Ruby, Baby.
Ruby Tuesday.
Ruby Don’t Take Your Love To Town.
Runaround Sue.
Suzie Q.
Wake Up, Little Suzy.
Lonesome Suzy.
That’s My Little Suzy.
Suzanne (Takes you Down)
Omnes Omnibus
Sheena is a Punk Rocker – The Ramones
Julie’s in the Drug Squad – The Clash
Stuck in the Funhouse
Reflections of My Life
eemom
Hang On Sloopy
Svensker
@Yutsano:
I haven’t been around too much lately and didn’t know you’d had surgery. Eeek! Hope recovering goes well and you and your family don’t drive each other (too) nuts. And here’s hoping your dad’s knee gets better. Your mom certainly has her hands full!
Steeplejack
Semi-jazzy little outlier: Gordon Lightfoot, “Oh, Linda.”
And who can forget one of the original pillars of rock ’n’ roll: G-l-o-r-i-a! Went with the Shadows of Knight instead of Them because shut up, that’s why.
Will
“I think MaryAnne is the best name for songs, with So Long MaryAnne and More Than A Feeling.”
I think it’s that anytime Leonard Cohen puts a woman’s name in a song, it’s automatically one of the best names for songs. Hence “Suzanne”, “MaryAnne”, “Alexandra”, etc.
Steeplejack
@Omnes Omnibus:
“I Want Candy.” About a boy, according to Bow Wow Wow. But originally about a girl, according to the Strangeloves. Bonus: go-go dancers! Although the mohawked chica from Bow Wow Wow pretty much blows them away. Ah, it was a simpler, more natural time. We brushed our teeth with baking soda and wore an onion at the belt.
Tehanu
Sweet Little Sheila, know her when you see her…
Peggy Sue, Peggy Sue
Ba-ba-ba, ba-Barbara Ann
Oh, Donna, oh, Donna…
Pictures of Lily
Omnes Omnibus
@Steeplejack: Oh, Annabella Lwin! Yippee!
smintheus
Wish I had a decent recording of “Rosie” by The Animals.
suzanne
Considering that I was named after the Leonard Cohen track, I’m a bit biased.
But there’s also Weezer’s “Suzanne”, Lou Reed’s “I Love You, Suzanne”, And James Taylor also gives me a shout-out in “Fire and Rain”.
My older daughter is named Sarah, in part because of the Bob Dylan song.
Steeplejack
@smintheus:
Do you mean “Coco Rosie” by
theAnimals?kwAwk
My thoughts are that since the advent of the internet, blogging, cable news, and the advent of talk radio there hasn’t really been an election that has been allowed to not be close.
When either side gets too far ahead the talking heads start tearing down the guy in the lead until the challenger begins to catch up.
Steeplejack
@suzanne:
Not quite Sarah, but Sara: nice reggae version of “Sara Smile” by Big Mountain.
smintheus
@Steeplejack: No, the 60s group The Animals had a hard-charging bluesy song “Rosie” (adapted from “Inside Looking Out”). I don’t know if there was a commercial recording of it. I once had a recording of a great live version, but misplaced it long ago.
Steeplejack
@smintheus:
Hmm, I am an Animals aficionado and don’t remember that. I will check the archives. In the meantime, “Shake.”
Steeplejack
@Steeplejack:
I am old and out of it. Group is CocoRosie, song is “Animals.”
Although they do have a song that makes the case for “God” as a girl’s name.
hitchhiker
Katie!
She’s in Love with the Boy (Trisha Yearwood)
Maybe Katie (barenaked ladies)
trollhattan
Jeez, youse guys is hopeless–still at it hours later. For your consideration: “Caroline No”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wH_WCYAPrKs
Took me decades to realize what a freaking genius is Brian Wilson.
smintheus
@Steeplejack: Here’s a TV broadcast that opens with “Rosie”, though it’s abbreviated and quality is poor.
Steeplejack
@hitchhiker:
“Katy Lied,” Steely Dan.
ETA: “K-K-K-Katy.” When stuttering was a viable singing technique.
Steeplejack
@smintheus:
Interesting. Cloned from “Inside Looking Out” (or vice versa).
Xenos
Any English majors in the house? It is called a ‘cretic foot’, was used as a transitional pattern in certain types of lyrical poetry, and is very popular in advertising today. There is a real punchiness to the pattern, as is obvious.
And yes, I did have to double check wikipedia on that, because my college poetry classes were a long time ago…
feebog
Can’t believe no has brought up “help me Rhonda, help me get her out of my heart”
Steeplejack
@feebog:
Here ya go.
Nice live version here.
Mnemosyne
My 80s roots rearing their head again:
Charlotte Sometimes
Diamond Smiles (though the video doesn’t really fit the song)
suzanne
However, there may be no name better in a song, EVER, than Sharona.
Steeplejack
@Mnemosyne:
What bike did your husband end up getting?
The Very Reverend Battleaxe of Knowledge
@Tehanu:
I was 13 or 14 when that was out and I could never make out what it was saying—I thought, in line with all their songs about cars, that it was “Bob, Bob, Bob, Bob Bondurant”. Hey, maybe one of them went to his school!
Brother Shotgun of Sweet Reason
@eemom: Nobody’s mentioned Mustang Sally yet?
FlipYrWhig
The Monkees have “Valerie,” and Material Issue has “Valerie Loves Me.”
BobS
@The Very Reverend Battleaxe of Knowledge: Brian Wilson didn’t write Barbara Ann. It was written by Fred Fassert and originally recorded by his doo-wop group called The Regents.
BobS
@FlipYrWhig: Richard Thompson has a great song called “Valerie”.
Steeplejack
In the V-zone, Elvis Costello’s “Veronica.”
Cain
You can use the ‘brown’ in any song. Brown is what sometimes call my cat.
RadioOne
It’s really, really hard for me to decide on the best woman’s name in a pop song. But I’m a huge Brit-pop fan, so I’ll narrow it down to Carrie-Anne, Michelle, Veronica, Cathy(from “Wuthering Heights”)and Alison.
For men’s names, I’m going to have to go with…Bill? Yes, Bill, from Laura Nyro’s “Wedding Bell Blues.” (“Bill, I love you so, I always will” etc). I think Laura Nyro has always been under appreciated as a 60’s singer-songwriter. She’s maybe a notch behind Carole King, but she’s close.
Mnemosyne
@Steeplejack:
He got a cheapo Schwinn from Target when it was on sale last week. He’s pretty happy with it so far — he’s been getting up early to ride it 10 or 15 miles before work.
(He’s a much more dedicated exerciser than I am — I get BORED very quickly, so having a city bike that lets me run errands works better as a regular method of exercise than a fitness bike.)
Amir Khalid
@BobS:
Patti Scialfa has a Valerie song too.
And I also found this great video she did for Looking For Elvis, although the guy who gets into her pickup at the end resembles a quite different rock icon.
MrCheesyPuff
Mary Ann, Mary Ann
I thought you were my man.
SteveM
A (fake?) name that doesn’t work, though the song does: Fangela.
Anne Laurie
@Steeplejack: Thanks for the Shadows of Knight… for some reason I’d never been able to find a version of G-L-O-R-I-A on Youtube, so I had to settle for disturbing our evil rescue dog with this one.
Pathman
Here’s another one for ya. Why do almost all British singers sing in American English? Well?
BobS
@Amir Khalid:Patty Scialfa is an underrated talent. I think there’s a lot of folks who mistakenly think she’s just riding Mr. Scialfa’s musical coattails (like Paul & Linda), and he certainly exposed her to a larger (as in gigantic) audience, but the favor he did was for us as well as her.
Also, after commenting last night and turning off the computer, I realized I forgot about the first Valerie song I remember hearing, the doo-wop song that ended Burnt Weeny Sandwich by Frank Zappa & the Mothers of Invention.
Ed Drone
@middlewest:
You beat me to saying it:
It’s the vowels, man!
Ed
My Truth Hurts
Words with a lot of vowels are more musical. It’s very easy to turn “A” into “Aaaahh” or “O” into “Oooohh”, etc. That’s my take anyway.
Death Panel Truck
There’s a big dilemma about my big leg Emma, uh-huh, oh yeah…
@gbear: 92-24=68.