Oh, shut up already
It’s funny how you can be very happily married to somebody and still have significant behavioral differences that ought to drive you ape-shit crazy.
My wife, for example, is perfectly happy to sit and stare out the car window for hours at a time — whereas I require a fairly steady stream of conversational blather to stay happy (and awake). In order to bridge the gap between our preferences, and give us something to talk about, I frequently insist that we play a stupid game as I drive. Many of these, you probably know: “20 Questions,” “Ghost,” a non-Rock version of perennial RTH favorite “Last Man Standing.” But I am the proud inventor of another, lesser known, particularly idiotic game, somewhat awkwardly entitled “Guess What Song I Have In My Head for 20 Dollars.” It’s this game that I bring to RTH today, under the slightly cooler brand “Read My Mind.”
Here’s how the game works when my wife and I are on hour 6 of a 9-hour drive:
HVB: Hey, Catherine, guess what song I have in my head!
C: Sigh. Do I have to?
HVB: Come on, guess. I’ll give you 20 dollars if you guess without a clue!
C: How on Earth am I supposed to know what song you have in your head?!
HVB: That’s why it’s worth 20 bucks! If you don’t get it on the first guess, I give you a clue, and the prize money gets cut in half. You guess again. If you guess right, you get 10 dollars. You guess wrong, you get another clue, and the prize money gets cut in half, to five dollars. And so on.
C: Groan. Seriously?
HVB: Come onnnnnn… I gotta keep my eyes open. Come on, guess!
C: Okay, “Love to Love You Baby.”
HVB: (affecting best Alex Trebek impersonation, much to Catherine’s irritation) Oh, no, I’m soh-ryyyyy. For 10 dollars… this song was popular in the 1970s.
C: Uh… “Torn Between Two Lovers.”
HVB: Good guess, but NO. For five bucks: this song was an unexpected foray into disco music by a major rock artist.
C: Hmm… Oh, “Some Girls” by the Rolling Stones!
HVB: (barely concealing scorn) I think you mean “Miss You,” but (cheering up) wrong again! For $2.50 — this band starred in their own TV movie.
C: Oh, come on! How am I supposed to know? I don’t obsess over that stuff like you do!
HVB: Guess, come on!
C: I don’t know, the Partridge Family.
HVB: Now you’re not even trying.
C: Honey, I don’t know!
HVB: You give up?
C: (rolling her eyes) Yes, I give up.
HVB: (gleefully) It’s “I Was Made for Loving You” by KISS!
C: That’s nice dear.
Now, in fairness to my ever-tolerant wife, she frequently sticks it out until the very end of the game, when the “prize” goes down to 12 and a half cents or something, and the clues get ridiculously easy. I reckon you guys will be a bit more eager, and a lot more rock trivia-savvy. But the prize remains the same! I promise to mail you however much money you win by being the first to guess the song inside my head. Each clue will halve the prize money — so be smart with your guesses. One guess per Townsman, per clue round.
Are you ready? For 20 dollars — and no clue, in this first round — can you guess what song is inside my head?
I look forward to your responses.
HVB
It’s “I Need A Chick” by Devo. Oh wait…that’s the one inside *my* head right now.
“Puttin’ on the Ritz” by Taco. If that isn’t inside your head, it’ll end up stuck in someone else’s.
you bastard….
Something tells me I’m into Something Good
Get in line. I had a co-worker hate me for months because I put Glenn Campbell’s “Rhinestone Cowboy” irretrievably into her brain.
Emerald by Thin Lizzy
Ha! Way ahead of you on that one. It’s on my kids’ iPod playlist so I’ve heard it hundreds of times in the past few years (and I’m still a-okay with it).
Ok, now you’ve done it – I accept your challenge…
“Bruder bought a coconut, he bought it for a dime,
His sister had anudder one she paid it for de lime.
She put de lime in de coconut, she drank ’em bot’ up
She put de lime in de coconut, she drank ’em bot’ up…”
Like water off a duck’s back….
“Rock and Roll Damnation” by AC/DC.
TB
That is a FANTASTIC guess, but unfortunately very wrong.
I’ll let others chime in with their 20 dollar guesses, then offer up my first clue.
Marquee Moon by Television
I like the speed at which these guesses are coming in. As you’ve no doubt figured out, guessing speed plays a critical role in the multi-player version of this game. If your guess comes in after I’ve posted a clue you didn’t need, I cannot pay you the larger prize award to which you’d otherwise be entitled. Keep those guess coming, fast n’ bulbous!
What is “Brand New Key” by Melanie?
Bee Gees, “In My Own Time.”
When Big Joan Sets Up
Hey, I was going for the 20 bucks – I knew it had to be good!
“This Is It” Kenny Loggins
Neil Young Harvest Moon
Jefferson Starship – “We Built This City”. Oh wait, they were just Starship by this point – Paul Kantner had yanked “Jefferson” from them.
HA! Another excellent guess. But, no. Your first clue’s coming up soon!
What the… ? What’s weird is that that song really *was* stuck in my head for a couple of weeks recently. But… no. You’ll have to wait for your first clue.
The DeFranco Family’s “Heartbeat (It’s a Love Beat),” that is, assuming you were hearing the song in my head this morning.
“Moonlight Feels Right” by Starbuck
That HAS to be it! The Rock Psychic is never wrong. Send the man his $20!
Blondie – “One Way or Another”.
Escape Club – “Wild Wild West”
If you had meant Kool Moe Dee’s track of the same name, you would’ve won the “best wrong answer” prize, but… anyway, no.
Ay-yi-YI! Now *that* is a good guess!
Wrong.
FIRST CLUE: THE FIRST CORRECT ANSWER WINS A CASH PRIZE OF TEN AMERICAN DOLLARS
This song was initially released in 1971.
I look forward to your responses. What song do I have in my head?
“One Bad Apple” by the Osmonds.
Draggin’ The Line – Tommy James
Full disclosure: I’ve sung that horrid Escape Club song live on stage during 1989. A shameful chapter in my past.
Bob Dylan, Watching the River Flow
Led Zeppelin – “Black Dog”
Hamilton, Frank & Joe’s “Don’t Pull Your Love Out”
Well, it was obvious. Just that my timing was a little off.
Probably “Signs” by 5 Man Electrical Band.
Paul McCartney – “Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey”
Full disclosure: I got the KMDee 12″ remix of “WWWest” “Break OUT…befo’ ya git bum-rushed!”
aloha
LD
Janis “Cry Baby”
That was the other song I was considering guessing in this round!
Don McLean “American Pie”
Sister Anne by the MC5
She’s A Lady by Tom Jones
Awesome
Time to bust out some cold, uncompromising logic.
ZZ Top’s first album was released in ‘71 but that’s a red herring.
“I Never Promised You a Rose Garden” was released in ‘70 so that can’t be it.
That narrows it down to “Gypsies Tramps and Thieves” by Cher or “Rainy Days and Mondays Always Get Me Down” by the Carpenters.
I’m guessing the Carpenters.
Please make sure the prize is in small, unmarked bills.
Hampton Grease Band “Hey Old Lady/Bert’s Song?”
If that’s not the right answer, it should be.
Delaney & Bonnie – Never-ending Song of Love
“How Do You Do”?
Ok, dude–where’s my money?
[puts on pince-nez] But that song is from 1972.
Treat Her Like a Lady – Cornelius Brothers and Sister Rose
“The sign says you gotta have a membership card to get inside [ugh!]”
Exactly. We have a winner. I want me cash.
If we did a thread on Songs You Intially Liked as a Kid Only to Severely Regret a Few Years Later I would suspect that “Signs” would resonate for many of us.
misterioso, I would love to be able to hand over your ten American dollars, but — too bad for you — this is incorrect. Look for another clue soon.
LOVE that song, but… no.
You know how much I love that track, mockcarr, but… uh-uh. Nope.
Good one! Wrong, though.
Let’s try the bloody obvious, “Maggie May”
Very true, but that a capella “membership card” line was a great AM radio hook.
I realized after my guess that there was an even more obvious one to make, but I hope I’m wrong.
See also: Brownsville Station, “Smokin’ in the Boys’ Room.” A coincidence that both songs were later covered by sucky 80s quasi-metal bands? I think not.
Bee Gees, “How Can You Mend a Broken Heart.” Two fives, please, or a five and five ones, ok?
CLUE NUMBER TWO — A CORRECT GUESS WINS YOU A FIN, A FIVE SPOT, AN HONEST ABE… FIVE AMERICAN DOLLARS
There are two officially recorded and released versions of this song.
I have to take myself out of the running due to inadvertently coming across the answer while poking around on the internet.
“Surf’s Up” by The Beach Boys
Brownsville Station kicked ass, and Smokin’ in the Boys room is everything that’s right with Rock N’ Roll.
Well, now I’m pretty sure it wasn’t the obvious one I was thinking of, so, I’ll guess It Don’t Come Easy by Ringo. That was on the live Bangladesh album too, right?
You did? I wonder how.
Great rock-nerd, momma’s basement guess, Oats. Nope.
Sheesh! You guys are SO wrong!
Still better than If You Could Read My Mind, which would have been pretty friggin obvious.
Maggie May — Rod Stewart?
Just My Imagination by Temptations.
I just emailed my explanation. Let me know if I’m wrong because I’d love to jump back in for a shot at the dough.
“Without You” by Nilsson and Badfinger.
Okay, I’ve been cleared to participate again.
I Hear You Knocking
Took the words out of my mouth.
Is this the first time anyone’s ever played the Know-It-All Cop-Out card? Come on, cdm, win the money already!
I noticed that, not one, but two versions of Chirpy Chirpy Cheep Cheep were released in 1971. I’d never heard of the song before it was mentioned here a few weeks ago. But when I e-mailed it to HVB, he told me that he LOVES that song (although he said he would publicly deny it if I outed him), but I was incorrect.
“Pure and Easy” Because we love The Who.
TB
Great guess!
Wrong.
CLUE NUMBER THREE — THE PRIZE MONEY DROPS BY 50% TO $2.50
The modest AOR “hit” version of this song was a live recording.
“Chirpy Chirpy Cheep Cheep” was the song that caused me to stop listening to Top 40 AM. I remember driving to the beach in Dad’s Fairlane wagon one summer day. When “Chirpy” came on the AM-only radio, I hit the button for another station. Much to my annoyance, the song was playing there too. Hit the button again. “Chirpy” once more on the third station. I turned the radio off and it was pretty much FM only after that.
Hm, tricky – I’d say “Conquistador” by Procol Harum but that was 1972.
“Get Ready” by Rare Earth
I thought of that one, but it was released in 1970.
Too early for Riding the Storm Out.
Proud Mary by Ike and Tina?
I think it was more than a “modest” hit too.
Right. It was #4 for the year according to Cashbox.
http://www.cashboxmagazine.com/archives/70s_files/1970YESP.html
Interesting, but the hit version by Ike & Tina was studio, not live.
I would say “Layla”, even though I know that it originally came out in 1970.
“Statesboro Blues” – Allman Brothers
Studio, too.
I appreciate all the nerdy self-fact-checking. Of course, as you all know, you are all WRONG.
Clues so far:
1. The song initially came out in 1971
2. There are two separate, officially recorded and released versions of this song.
3. The modest, AOR “hit” version was a live recording.
Keep up the good work, and keep guessing — there’s $2.50 in it for you. Don’t make me drop the prize purse to a measly $1.25!
“Do You Feel Like We Do?”
I Just Want To Celebrate by Rare Earth
Maybe I’m Amazed!
Shoot, the original is from 1970. I think the Frampton choice wins.
If only “My Ding A Ling” had been released in ’71…
TB
That is an AWESOMELY nerdy guess, showing great command of rock trivia. But no.
If only!
How about “Reason to Believe” by Rod Stewart?
CLUE NUMBER 4 — CORRECT GUESSES NOW ENTITLED TO MASSIVE $1.25 PRIZE
This song is an instrumental.
Edgar Winter’s “Frankenstein”?
“Outta Space?”
Come on, dudes! The modest AOR hit version was a *live* version! Don’t give up on us, baby! I know you know this one!
To reiterate the clues thus far: this instrumental — one of two versions recorded — was originally released in 1971, and achieved its greatest AOR success as a live recording.
The Theme From Shaft?
What is “Hocus Pocus” by Focus?
Damn, that’s what I was thinking.
Both Shaft and Hocus Pocus have vocals
“In Memory of Elizabeth Reed” by the Allman Brothers.
This is driving me frigging nuts
Yeah, but Hocus Pocus has no lyrics, it’s just yodeling…it’s generally listed as an instrumental…in places where these things are generally listed.
“One of These Days” by Pink Floyd?
Hocus Pocus wasn’t released as a single until 1973 anyway.
J. Geils Band, “Whammer Jammer.” I can break a $20 if necessary.
It’s not Frampton – “Do You Feel Like We Do” was released in 1973.
Studio.
I like your odds with this one.
That’s gotta be it. That song’s verging on Holy Trinity status for HVB. Next thing you know he and mockcarr will be high-fiving over that hat-wearing, moustachioed bass player.
DINGDINGDINGDINGDINGDING!
Well played, Misterioso! Hit me up at monkeygrippe(at)gmail(dot)com with your mailing address if you really want your $1.25. If you prefer to “let it ride,” we’ll throw it back in the hopper and tack it on to the prize package for the next clever dick who manages to… read my mind!
Perhaps the greatest interpretation of this song can be seen from 1:49 onwards in this clip:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OirxGemgc4M&feature=related
Watch… if you dare!
He didn’t specify that it had to be a single.
I was thinking maybe the Live at Pompeii (or whateverthefuck it’s called…I don’t listen to this crap) track may have gotten more AOR play…it was a fair guess.
What can I say: growing up in New England in the 70s, this song was practically the regional anthem.
How many videos did you have to scroll through to find THAT?
I think I should donate this to the Rock Town Hall Endowment Fund, which will help insure the permanent establishment of this august institution, for our children, and our children’s children.
You mean the great, Danny “Dr. Funk” Klein?
But Live at Pompeii wasn’t released until late ’72.
But Focus got no airplay in the US during 1971, and the album “Hocus Pocus” came from (Focus II) wasn’t even released in the US until late 1972 when it was issued as Moving Waves.
Uh-oh. According to Wiki, the live version of “Whammer Jammer” was released on Full House in September 1972, and AllMusic also gives 1972. The studio version was released in October 1971. I’m not denying the $1.25 for misterioso but there’s been some insufficient fact-checking here.
Tony: first you cop to a youthful affection for (shudder) “Lucretia McEvil” by (shudder) BST, then you try to cast a shadow of doubt over my triumph? Have you no shame, sir? HVB never said both versions came out in 1971; just that it was originally released in ’71. No date was set for the live version.
Please. Now try this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5WwB4bLwbWE
OK, I stand corrected, but it still seemed a little ambiguous. As for “Lucretia”, as a sax-playing 15-year-old kid playing underage in bars, I had a mercifully-brief thing for jazz-rock – good or bad.
I won’t stand for any Townsperson judging another Townsperson for the depths of his or her misguided puppy love – not in this particular thread, that is. Feel free to beat up on your fellow Townspeeps, myself included, in all the other threads! This thread is for healing. Don’t be shy about stepping forward with your own shameful young crush, misterioso.
Whoops! My apologies: you DID take shots at tonyola in another thread, not in the no-shot zone of our latest opportunity for healing. Carry on! (Can you believe that teenage tonyola?!?!)
Hey, playing in bars was a very broadening and educational experience. It also had the side benefit of worrying my parents.
OK, now, this one wasn’t fair. I’ve never even heard of this song, and my local college radio used to play live J. Geils stuff all the time. (Though I admit, listening to it, it sounds somewhat famililar. But is that just because I’ve heard so many boogie-blues instrumentals that it’s just the style that sounds familiar?)
Too popular for hipper-than-thou college radio, perhaps? I don’t know. For good or for ill, the song is in my DNA, like Boston’s “More than a Feeling” or the whole freakin’ first Cars lp–which, I realize, were popular outside of New England but for those growing up within the reach of WBCN, WCOZ (‘kick-ass rock ‘n’ roll”), and WGIR (Rock 101)–they were as much an inescapable fact of life in my youth as a Red Sox collapse or a Bruins bench-clearing brawl.
Interesting you mention the Cars and Boston in the same breath, because as I have mentioned before, their debut albums are THE two most classc-rock-radio-friendly albums ever made, with 7/9 of THE CARS and 6/8 of BOSTON being regular plays even to this day. The only album that can compare is LED ZEPPELIN IV, from which I’ve heard (though some of them not very often–not as regularly as the songs from the two albums listed above) 7 of 8 songs on classic rock radio (still haven’t heard “Four Sticks.”) I grew up in New England, by the way, but too far west for Boston radio (the radio station that the locals listened to was WAAF from Worcester, which I mostly hated. They pulled the most cowardly act in the history of classic rock radio, when they were playing songs from a Rolling Stone article that polled critics and picked the best albums in rock history, and they played a song from each album, but skipped straight from #3 to #1, not even mentioning #2, never mind playing a song from it. #2 was NEVER MIND THE BOLLOCKS.) The two Geils songs that were endlessly played on college radio where I lived were the live “Must Of Got Lost” with the ridiculous opening monologue and the title track from SANCTUARY.
You can slam me or wham me on your finally right “that’s got to be it” realization if you must, but I don’t think I really know any J.Geils songs besides that crappy Centerfold thingie from much much later on. I will leave my armpits protected during this, thank you.
Really? Not even “Love Stinks” or “Give It To Me” or “I Must Have Got Lost”?
I know Love Stinks, but I wouldn’t have remembered it was J Geils.
“Whammer Jammer” played while my iPod was shuffling last night–just to mock my futility I’m sure.
I’ve heard all of IV and all of “Who’s Next” on classic rock radio. Yes, even “Love Ain’t for Keeping.” Once. A Chicago station
aloha
LD
Yes, but the other version WAS first released in ’71. Why are you shoving the pince nez up my ass about this stuff? The guess was wrong, anyway…but it DID fall within the parameters set by HVB.
None of what you’re pointing out matters in relation to the question and clues put forth…He didn’t say the song was on his mind back in 1971, fer fuck’s sake!
Interesting about AAF. It was a little out of range for me most of the time, but when I did hear it I thought it was pretty bad. Rumours is pretty high ranking in the classic-rock-friendly lp department, too.