Monday 16 May 2011

Linked Distractions

Something of a variation on the now well-worn first line music quiz format.  This time I've scoured my music collection for pairs of songs with identical names (give or take the odd "The" or punctuation mark).  I've found thirty three of them already, from A-J, and their first lines are given below (they're a bit shorter than normal, to make up for the song title link).

So, for each of the thirty-three pairs, you get one point for naming the song, and one point each for either of the two artists who provided the lyrics.  There is a final bonus point (to bring the potential score up to 100) for anyone who can identify any of the three song titles here for which I have a third version, along with the artist behind them.

Right, then.  To battle!

1.  Hallelujah (Chuck) 
     "I've heard there was a secret chord." Leonard Cohen (Chuck)
     "I've been a desperate man." Ryan Adams
2.  Captain (Dan Edmunds)
     "This is my ideas for captain." Idlewild
     "Angels fall to the floor."  Biffy Clyro (Dan Edmunds) 
3.  Catapult (Jamie)
    "All of a sudden she disappears." Counting Crows (Jamie)
     "Oooh, we were little boys." R.E.M. (Jamie)
4.  Bad Habit
     "Hey man, you know I'm really OK."  The Offspring
     "Biting keeps your words at bay." The Dresden Dolls
5.  Boxer/The Boxer (Dan Edmunds)
     "You got your pride and your prose." The Gaslight Anthem
      (Dan Edmunds)    
     "I am just a poor boy." Simon & Garfunkel (Dan Edmunds)
6.  Compliments (Ste)
     "We sit and we sigh." Bloc Party (Ste)
     "I'm fixing a drink in the morning." Band of Horses
7.  Give It Away (Chuck)
     "No more you choose to sue for peace." James (Jamie)
     "What I've got, you've gotta give it to your momma." Red Hot
     Chili Peppers (Chuck)
8.   Anthem
     "No man, no madness." "Chess"
     "The birds they sang at the break of day." Leonard Cohen
9.   Be Gone
      "Be gone, be gone."  British Sea Power
      "It's getting hard to stay up." Brand New
10. Good Time (Jamie)
      "Roller coasters, holy roller." Leroy
      "The gentleman caller in the blue suede shoes." Counting
       Crows (Jamie)
11. Jack-Ass/Jackass (Jamie)
      "I've been drifting along in the same stale shoes." Beck
      (Jamie)
      "To know you is to hate you." Green Day
12. Bodies
      "Cast the pearls aside."
      "She was a girl from Birmingham."
13. Avalanche
      "The avalanche we strode towards." Hundred Reasons
      "I found your photograph in a cardboard box." Ryan Adams
14.  Closing Time (Ste)
       "Oh, we're drinking and we're dancing." Leonard Cohen (Ste)
       "Closing time, open all the doors and let you out into the
        world." Semisonic (Ste)
15.  Burn
       "There's a lightning storm, each and every night." Alkaline Trio
       "I thought about leaving but I couldn't even get out of bed."
       Matchbox 20
16.  Desire
       "Lover, I'm on the streets." U2
       "Northern star, am I frightened?" Zwan
17.  City Hall (Dan Edmunds)
       "All you people up there." Tenacious D (Dan Edmunds)
       "I'll meet you outside the city halls." Idlewild
18. Closer (Chuck)
      "Every day I get a little closer dear." Jimmy Eat World
      "Stranded in this spooky town."  Kings of Leon (Chuck)
19. Beautiful
      "What if you were not just for show?" Barenaked Ladies
      "She laid in bed all night watching the morning change." Belle &
       Sebastian
20.  Have It All
      "You're my size, I need to try you on." Foo Fighters
      "Some days I feel like crying." Jeremy Kay
21. Bubbles (Ste)
      "Take an axe to your past." James (Jamie)
      "Well how's your view of things today?" Biffy Clyro (Ste)
22.  Boy
       "Oh, I am, I'm tired out." Reuben
       "There was a time when everything you cared about was
       free." Hundred Reasons
23.  Cold Water (Jill)
       "Cold, cold water." Damien Rice (Jill)
       "I feel faint, what have I just heard?" Reindeer Section
24.  Fine 
      "It's gonna rain like this for days." Alkaline Trio
      "I'm a boomerang in the outback." James
25. Gone/Gone! (Jamie)
     "I thought I'd write, I thought I'd let you know." Ben Folds
     (Jamie)
      "Oh you know how it is, wake up feeling blue." The Cure
26.  Bed
      "My little darling, it's a crying shame." Semisonic
      "My head is lead." Brand New
27.  Better Days
       "Well my soul checked out." Bruce Springsteen
       "It's a bad night, and I don't wanna think." Anthony da Costa &
       Abbie Gardner
28. Crawl (Chuck)
      "You fall, my pride." Kings of Leon (Chuck)
      "Waking up I'm zeroed in on medicine." Alkaline Trio (Chuck)
29. Feel
      "What you want, what you got, little luck in a crawlspace."
       Matchbox 20
      "Here it comes again, like the first time again." Stereophonics
30. Everybody Knows (Jamie)
      "Everybody knows that the dice are loaded." Leonard Cohen
      "When you took me in your arms I knew I'd revive." James
      (Jamie)
31. California (Jamie)
      "Driven through the canyon I was." Semisonic
      "Going out to California." Josh Ritter (Jamie)
32. Disintegration
      "I've spent my last nights strung up." Jimmy Eat World
      "Oh, I miss the kind of treachery." The Cure  
33. El Capitan
      "Ooh, la la la la la la la." OPM
      "By the harbour, I harbour the strangest memories." Idlewild

I also have a song called "Anthem" by Blink-182, a song called "Desire" by Ryan Adams, and a song called "Beautiful" by the Smashing Pumpkins.

19 comments:

Chuck said...

1. Hallellujah - Jeff Buckley

Chuck said...

7. Give It Away - Red Hot Chilli Peppers

Chuck said...

18. Closer - Kings of Leon

SpaceSquid said...

Jeff Buckley? Kiddo, you digust me ;)

Though the other two are quite correct.

SpaceSquid said...

Or even "disgust". Damn my fast typing!

Chuck said...

28. Crawl - Kings of Leon and Alkaline Trio

Chuck said...

*sigh* Leonard Cohen, then?

Dan Edmunds said...

1. Hallelujah - Go With Rufus Wainwright (Shrek soundtrack), and Leonard Cohen (as you have dismissed Jeff Buckley)
2. The Captain - Biffy Clyro, don't know the second
5. The Boxer - Gaslight Anthem and Paul Simon / Simon and Garfunkle
7. Already got the Chilli's - don't know the other
17. City Hall - Tenacious D, don't know the other

SpaceSquid said...

Isn't Wainwright's "Hallelujah" the same song? In any case, that's not the answer. Otherwise, full marks to both of you. An excellent start :)

(Though Chuck has missed the one song I was certain she would get)

Jamie said...

3. Catapult - Counting Crows
Catapult - R.E.M.
7. Give it Away - James
10. Good Time - Counting Crows
11. Jack-Ass - Beck
25. Gone - Ben Folds
30. Everybody Knows - James
31. California - Josh Ritter

SpaceSquid said...

All correct, bringing you to 32 points overall.

Anonymous said...

21 - Biffy Clyro - Bubbles
Ste

Jamie said...

Oh! In which case:

21. Bubbles - James

as well...

SpaceSquid said...

Correct!

Anonymous said...

21. Think I have this one, if I'm right you have to wait about two minutes for the first lyrics.

Could well be the rather beautiful Compliments by Bloc Party.

Ste

Anonymous said...

...and by 21, obviously I mean 6.

Ste

SpaceSquid said...

Indeed it is.

Dan Edmunds said...

In respect of 18) I believe Joshua Radin did a song called Closer and you are likely to own it. No idea on the first line though, so don't know if this is the one listed or if the Radin version is the third version

SpaceSquid said...

Good idea, but I fear the only Radin song I own is "Winter".