Greetings, fellow Townspeople!
As many of you know, I’ve been out of the country for the last few weeks, enjoying my, uh, well — my honeymoon!
Yes, I finally found a woman foolish enough to hitch her wagon to my sputtering star, and a happier man I could not be. She’s great, and I thank you in advance for all your kind thoughts and congratulations.
Anyhow: the missus and I actually spent our honeymoon in old blighty, traveling through the United Kingdom, from the Southwest to the far north — and in the course of the journey, I couldn’t help but get a few Olde Englande-related tunes running through my head. Your job is to READ MY MIND, and tell me what you think was on my mental soundtrack during our journey.
Here are the places and things we visited where a specific song got stuck in my head. Can you guess what songs they were?
- While riding the train through the English countryside
- Changing trains in Slough
- Seeing the train platform sign for Swindon
- Waterloo station
- Piccadilly Circus
- Driving around the traffic fixtures the English use instead of stoplights
- London, broadly
I warn you: some of these are less obvious than you might think. In fact, I was kind of surprised by the un-obviousness of my mental soundtrack as we made our way through the country.
Lastly, however, a real stumper: in Glasgow, we visited a great museum which, in the interest of keeping this challenging, I won’t name. Upon exiting, I looked across the green and saw the following building. Out came the camera, in a photographic move of exceptional rock nerdiness. Can you identify this building, and tell us why I felt it was worth capturing on film?
I look forward to your responses.
HVB
The great Glasgow rock pictographic mystery!
I’m not well versed in the Kinks or XTC catalogs so I’ll leave most of these to the more anglophile townsfolks, but I’d be sorely disappointed if you didn’t think of Handbag and the Gladrags when in Slough.
1. Have you never been mellow. – Olivia Newton John
2. Taking care of business – BTO
3. One Week – barenaked ladies
4. Mmmm Bop – Hanson
5. Devil Woman – Cliff Richard.
6. English Roundabout. No, Warm Leatherette.
7. By the time I get to Phoenix
Besides that, I’d say “Train running low on soul coal,” “last of good old fashioned steam trains,” “waterloo sunset” and anything by the Kinks.
This is going to be ridonculous so –
1. While riding the train through the English countryside
Last of the Steam-Powered Trains – Kinks
2. Changing trains in Slough
The Beatles version of Slow Down.
3. Seeing the train platform sign for Swindon
5:15 by the Who
4. Waterloo station
Waterloo Sunset is too obvious, and perhaps it was noon. I do not suspect ABBA. Probably not E. Costello’s Poor Napoleon who met his fate there. Hmm, I’ll say Down In The Tube Station At Midnight by the Jam.
5. Piccadilly Circus
It’s a Long Way to Tipperary? Or to tip anyone?
6. Driving around the traffic fixtures the English use instead of stoplights
Why would you ever be thinking of Roundabout by Yes?
7. London, broadly
Towers of London – XTC
Does the picture have something to do with the movie Gregory’s Girl?
1. I Am The Walrus-Beatles
2. Handbags & Gladrags-Cat Stevens
3. You Should Be Dancin-BeeGees
4. Waterloo Sunset-Kinks
5. Blue Moon-Sam Cooke
6. Stop Draggin My Heart Around-Tom Petty Stevie Nicks
7. London Calling-The Clash
Two right so far! Following are a few clues for the remainder:
1. Last of the Steam Powered Trains – Kinks
2. From a song about class warfare, off of the fourth album by this very English band
3. This song features an awful squealing solo by Dweezil Zappa
4. This is actually the same song as #3!
5. Mod will be pleased with this one.
6. English Roundabout – XTC
7. Toot, toot, toot, toot
Mystery Pic: “I’ve been waiting for this chawnce!”
Congratulations to you! Two alternatives to responses already given:
Slough – Eton Rifles by the Jam
Piccadilly – Life on the Road by the Kinks
Being a music obsessive adds a bit of enjoyment to places like Clapham Junction (Squeeze), Shaftsbury Ave (Dire Straits) and Solsbury Hill (Peter Gabriel).
Townsman k. is CORRECT on the Slough ID! New list follows:
1. Train through English countryside: Last of the Steam Powered Trains – Kinks
2. Slough: Eton Rifles, Jam
3. Swindon: This song features an awful squealing solo by Dweezil Zappa
4. Waterloo station: This is actually the same song as #3!
5. Piccadilly Circus: Mod will be pleased with this one.
6. Traffic: English Roundabout – XTC
7. London: Toot, toot, toot, toot
Mystery Pic: “I’ve been waiting for this chawnce!”
3. Swindon… So a Swindon song that doesn’t involve XTC??? My Zappa knowledge is pitiful when it comes to Pere Zappa let alone the work of his sons…
5. Piccadilly Circus: Mod will be pleased with this one…”Piccadilly,” off Squeeze’s one great album?
Re: “Piccadilly” — no, Mr. Mod! There’s a line from a very good song for which I KNOW you have strong feelings, that mentions Piccadilly to great comic effect.
I’m going to hand out another clue for “Swindon” and “Waterloo”:
Can’t go back
(to Swindon)
Can’t go back
(to Waterloo)
Spinal Tap!
Not for nothin’, but yer wife shoulda slapped you if you hummed that song.
“Leaving Philly for Piccadilly” English Envy by Nixon’s Head!
That must be it! chickenfrank is the man!
Everyone he knows calls him Leicester Square. That song kicks ass.
Mockcarr and cdm are CORRECT for 50 points each! The current list is:
1. Train through English countryside: Last of the Steam Powered Trains – Kinks
2. Slough: Eton Rifles, Jam
3. Swindon: “Diva Fever,” Spinal Tap
4. Waterloo station: “Diva Fever,” Spinal Tap
5. Piccadilly Circus: “English Envy,” Nixon’s Head
6. Traffic: English Roundabout – XTC
7. London: Toot, toot, toot, toot
Mystery Pic: “I’ve been waiting for this chawnce!”
Additional clues for #7 and the mystery pic:
7. The cringe-worthy lyric for this song — and the cloying melody that carries it — is yet another reason to avoid all late-70s/early-80s output from its author.
Mystery pic: One of the worst-sounding live albums from the 60s was recorded here.
I actually kind of like the song (lyrics aside) for what it is, but I refuse to believe none of the HVB Holy Trinity appears on this list, and so it’s up to me to guess:
#7: Last Train To London, ELO
Also, the pictured building is Glasgow’s Kelvin Hall, where The Kinks Live/The Live Kinks was recorded in 1967.
DINGDINGDING!
Alexmagic is CORRECT in his Kelvin Hall guess! Jolly good show, eh wot?
However, track #7 remains to be identified. One more clue follows:
The song in question is the title song of the album from whence it comes, and the subject matter of the song is illustrated on the cover of the album, in black and white photo.
Is there a song on London town called London town?
#7 – London Town by Wings
I was tipped off by our recent discussion of Sir Paul…
DINGDINGDING! I am going to reward cdm and LMKR both 25 points for correctly identifying “London Town” as the song that popped into my head while tubing my way through the city. What a shitty song to have stuck in your noggin!
Walking down the pavement on a sunny afternoon,
I was accosted by a razzer
Wearing a pink balloon about his foot.
Toot, toot, toot, toot.
Silver rain was falling down
Upon the dirty ground of
London Town.
Yeesh.
Thanks a lot for posting those “London Town” lyrics. I couldn’t really remember how the song went, but I thought I remembered liking it enough. Now, seeing the lyrics…ugh!