Friday, August 14, 2026

La Fin de La Semaine Essay Question: Special "Yes, I Actually Am the Son of a Veterinarian" Edition

Okay kids, as some of you may know, I had a weird freak accident (a fall in my kitchen, no less) two weeks ago, and as a result I've been in excruciating back pain ever since. So today's business is, necessarily, gonna be something essentially tossed off and not up to my usual standard of excellence. (And if truth be told, I've probably done a variant of it sometime in the blog's dim dark past.)

Hey -- how do you say "cut me some slack, Jack!" in Yiddish? 😎

Anyway, by way of introduction, let me note that yesterday marked the 4th anniversary of the arrival of our beloved pussycat Mickey -- a rescue from the Bronx, thus named after Mr. Mantle -- at our digs in Forest Hills.

He's a real sweeteart, and you'll note that he's also polydactyl, i.e. he has six toes on each paw. Pretty cool, no?

In any case, that leads us inevitably and inexorably to the subject at hand. To wit:

...and your favorite (or least favorite) post-Elvis pop/rock/soul/folk record/song referencing animals either in the lyrics, title, or name of the artist/band is????

Discuss.

In case you're wondering, my nominee is this.

The song itself is sort of a guilty pleasure; it's a tad dated, obviously, but I think I just kinda dig the idea that these guys might possibly have named themselves after the hilarious absurdist play by Ionesco.

Alrighty then -- what would YOUR choices be?

And have a great weekend, everybody! And hope that the Heroin Jr. pills my pain specialist just prescribed for me make my weekend a little more bearable than I'm used to of late.

30 comments:

  1. Living With The Animals (song and album title) by Mother Earth 1968. It's not the best song on the record. That would be Down So Low, Tracey Nelson's original version.

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  2. I got some side eye last time you did this for Bruce Springsteen's Kitty's Back and Sly and the Family Stone Thank Ya Fa Lettin Me Be Mice Elf Again, so instead let's go with Horses by Patti Smith, Now I Want to Be Your Dog by the Stooges, Cool For Cats by Squeeze, and for bands with animals in the title Sopwith Camel, or maybe just The Animals.

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    Replies
    1. The Animals. Mais certainement. 😎

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  3. Get the crying towels out - Shannon by Henry Gross about the death of a beloved dog.
    rs

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  4. Bobby Whitlock's "Thorn Tree in the Garden", while on the Layla album, is surely about a woman, he told me that the song's inspiration was about losing a dog that was his favorite pet.

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  5. How could I not pick

    Phenomenal Cat - The Kinks

    Captain Al

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  6. FEEL BETTER!!!!

    Captain Al

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  7. Diamond Dogs - David Bowie
    Martha My Dear - The Beatles
    White Bird - It's a Beautiful Day
    The Lion Sleeps Tonight - The Tokens
    Animal Zoo - Spirit
    King Kong - The Kinks

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  8. Take your meds & STAY STILL! Feel better!

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  9. "Marie Provost" - Nick Lowe ................Yikes!

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    Replies
    1. That hungry little dachshund!

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  10. Animal Farm - The Kinks
    I'm a Hog for You, Baby - Screaming Lord Sutch / Dr. Feelgood

    Bands named for animals... Best: Hinds. Worst: Geese
    I recall that Guy Stevens named Procol Harum after his cat.
    Thankfully, you didn't name yours 'Spot.'

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  11. Dave Leonatti8/14/2026 11:31 AM

    I'll chime in. Rest up and get well SS. My entries:
    The Groundhogs
    Government Mule

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  12. "If Dogs Run Free" - Bob Dylan
    "Brontosaurus" - The Move
    "Walking The Dog" - Rufus Thomas
    "May The Bird Of Paradise Fly Up Your Nose" - Little Jimmy Dickens
    "Shake, Rattle, and Roll" - Big Joe Turner ..."I'm like a one-eyed cat"
    "Snakes On Everything" and "Dixie Chicken" - Little Feat
    "Wart Hog" - Ramones
    "Do The Mouse" - Soupy Sales

    I hope you get much better very soon!

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  13. "White Rabbit" - Jefferson Airplane.
    (At first I thought you were going to ask for polydactyl musicians. I was going to go with Hound Dog Taylor).
    Hope you feel better soon, Steve. Back pain is the worst!

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  14. Walking My Cat Named Dog - Norma Tanega

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    Replies
    1. Tiger - Fabian
      Mack the Knife - Bobby Darin (Oh, the shark bites …)
      Little Red Riding Hood - Sam the Sham & the Pharaohs
      Surfin’ Bird - The Trashmen
      Barracuda - Heart
      What’s New Pussycat? - Tom Jones

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  15. Jack Clement wrote a song wonderfully recorded by Johnny Cash: Dirty Old Egg-Sucking Dog

    - Paul in DK

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  16. Also Fantastic Cat are a fine band with two very good and one decent (the latest) album.

    - Paul in DK

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  17. Album Cover - Neil Young leaning against tree, standing next to his dog Winnipeg.
    Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere.

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  18. "There is a young cowboy who lives on the range, his horse and his cattle are his only companions..." Sweet Baby James

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  19. Cowtown by They Might Be Giants about aquatic bovines..Also, their album Apollo 18 has a picture of a giant squid on it.
    Porcupine by Sparks
    The Welsh band Budgie
    rs

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  20. Alley Oop by the Hollywood Argylls (sp?)
    Surfin' Shark by Daryl (sp?) Rhodes and the Hahavishnu Orchestra

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  21. i think of a couple of songs by todd rundgren - golden goose, in which the animal is not literal but metaphorical, and flappie, a story about an actual pet rabbit and what happened to it and as a consequence of that

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  22. Alley Oop was a caveman.

    Captain Al

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  23. Love that Rhinoceros album, some killer tracks. Too bad they didn’t make it.
    The James Gang cover of Bluebird is great.

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