Which means that posting by moi will likely be sporadic for a few days (and the damage to my liver incalcuable).
But in the meantime, here's a fun project to tide us all over:
BEST POST-ELVIS POP/ROCK SONG WITH THE WORD "MAN" OR "WOMAN" IN THE TITLE!!!!!!
You guys rarely play by the rules, so let me simply say anyway that songs with the titular words "boy" or "girl" are clearly inelegible (with the exception of the number four entry below, for obvious reasons).
Okay, here's my totally top of my head Top Six:
6. Smashing Pumpkins -- Enter Sandman
Yes, I needed an excuse to work Billy Corgin into the list for like the fifteenth time. But I have it on good authority that Smashing Pumpkins did in fact cover this, even if there's no video evidence. You can Google if you don't believe me.
5. Deep Purple -- Woman From Tokyo
Were these guys the worst dressed major band of all time or what?
4. Urge Overkill -- Girl You'll Be a Woman Soon
From the Pulp Fiction soundtrack, obviously. These guys took a load of shit back in the day for not being sufficiently ironic when covering Neil Diamond. You know what? It's a great song...unironically.
3. Black Sabbath -- Iron Man
This clip is better than the Robert Downey movie. I'm not kiddingabout this!!!
2. Gene Pitney -- The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance
I prefer the John Otway version, but this will do in a pinch.
And the bestest ever song with man or woman in the title, it's not even close so don't bug me already, is obviously --
1. Peter and Gordon -- Woman
At the height of Beatlemania Paul McCartney gave this to P&G under a pseudonym, the idea being to see if it would be a hit even if nobody knew it was written by a Beatle. Sure enough, it was, although if memory serves the secret didn't stay secret for long.
Awright then -- what would your choices be?
[Shameless Blogwhore: My parallel Cinema Listomania is now up over at Box Office. As always, if you could see your way to going over there and leaving a comment, an angel gets its wings.]
The necessary talent behind every rock and roll band -- I'm speaking of course of the Under Assistant West Coast Promo Man.
ReplyDeleteYardbirds: "I'm a Man"
ReplyDeleteSpencer Davis Group: "I'm a Man"
Hollies: "Long Cool Woman in a Black Dress"
Beatles: "Nowhere Man" and "She's a Woman"
Dylan/Byrds: "Mr. Tambourine Man"
Bowie: "Man Who Sold the World"
James Taylor did a pretty decent cover of 'Liberty Valance.
ReplyDeleteJohn Otway! There's a new name from my benighted past. Here's a letter I wrote to him last year:
ReplyDeleteDear John,
My name is Peter Spencer and over one strange weekend in New York City I was your roadie - not a very good one, I'm afraid. It was 198...1 maybe? You played two nights at a dance club on the West Side whose name I have forgotten and then the next night at the Bottom Line opening for Squeeze. Your band was a trio. You played guitar and violin and were very hard on the equipment. You guys stayed at the Iroquois Hotel on 44th Street and I slept on the floor because I was a starving singer-songwriter with no place else to sleep. I think I had made it a condition of my employment that I got to crash at the hotel. How I got the job I don't remember, but I was let go before the Bottom Line gig because (I think) I was big and clumsy and when I ran out on the stage to rescue whatever equipment you were abusing at the moment I tended to knock things over and make it all worse. You jumped on me once and wrestled me to the ground while singing "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance." After the shows (and sometimes in the afternoons) you and I would go to the same cheap restaurant near the hotel and you would always eat the same thing, fried chicken.
Anyway, I discovered your Myspace page tonight and I wanted to say that I think "Poetry and Jazz" is a great, beautiful song and I'm glad you're still working.
Dylan - Just Like a Woman (best of them all)
also Rainy Day Women #12 and 35, although the song itself doesn't reference the title
Byrds - Drugstore Truck-Driving Man
Stones - Monkey Man
Ever notice how you always ask for "the best" song in a given category and most posters give you ever single one they can think of?
I always wanted to hear Springsteen cover "Girl You'll Be a Woman Soon", actually.
ReplyDeleteUnironically. He's got the perfect voice.
'Rock and Roll Woman',,Stephen Stills and whatever band he was with at the time,,late 60's Buffalo Springfield?
ReplyDelete'Black Magic Woman' by Carlos Santana
ReplyDelete'When I grow up to be a man' the Beach Boys
ReplyDeleteSecret Agent Man - The Ventures/ DEVO
ReplyDeleteStarman - David Bowie
I'm the Man - Joe Jackson
Attack of the 50 ft woman - The Tubes
Miracle Man - Elvis Costello & Attractions
Young Man Blues - The Who
Man Who Sailed Around His Soul - XTC
I Wanna Be Your Man - The Beatles
The Last Honest Man - Stan Ridgeway
Ju Ju Man - Brinsley Schwarz
The Man I Used to Be - Jellyfish
Ice Cream man - Modern Lovers
20th Century man - The Kinks
Man with a Girl proof Heart - The Records
She's a Girl I'm a man - Lloyd Cole
Peter Spencer:
ReplyDeleteWhat a great story.
BTW -- ever hear Otway's big English hit -- "Beware of the Flowers 'Cause You Know They're Gonna Get You (Yeah!)"?
My additions:
ReplyDeleteGarbage Man, 4 Aces
Telephone Man, Mary Wilson
For more entendres than the rest of the lists combined
Robyn Hitchcock was always prodigious in this area, what with:
ReplyDelete"The Man Who Invented Himself"
"The Man With the Lightbulb Head"
"Antwoman"
"The Man with the Woman's Shadow"
And lest we forget:
"Boogie On Reggae Woman"
"Long Cool Woman"
"Clean Up Woman"
I think there are just too many of these to make any rational argument about one being the best...
Uh-Street Fighting Man-the Stones. Can't believe nobody grab it yet.
ReplyDeleteJohn Lennon (twice) - "Woman" and "Woman is the N****r of the World"
ReplyDeleteGram Parsons - "Do Right Woman"
"Man Out of Time" -Elvis Costello
ReplyDelete"A Man in Need" - Richard & Linda
Thompson
(And just for you, Steve) - "Media Man" - Flash & The Pan
"Parachute Woman" - Stones
No love for Aretha and "Natural Woman?"
- bill buckner
Elvis Costello - Monkey to Man
ReplyDeleteMike Viola - My Monkey Made A Man Out Of Me (this song is a master's class in how to make a great powerpop song)
Merle Haggard - Workin' Man Blues (yeah, yeah, it's not rock. Still a great song and should be covered by some rock band.)
Which album is that Mike Viola song on? I think I need to hear it....
ReplyDeleteAmerican Woman. Still angry after all these years! This would be in my top five, the guitar is great, the song still rocks, and Burton Cummings could sure sing.
ReplyDelete60 Minute Man was done by a lot of people, it was the first bawdy song I ever heard.
Man Of The World by a lot of people, I think Peter Green was great doing it and maybe even wrote it.
Old Man and A Man Needs A Maid by Neil.
21st Century Schizoid Man by King Crimson. The recording has a guitar sound that reminds me of breaking glass. Brilliant!
And Lucky Man by ELP. I am not a huge fan, but that song is great.
Trey
Steve:
ReplyDeleteIt's on 2002's Play With Your Head.
You can hear it on Mike's website, in the discography -- he's got the entire song there. www.mikeviola.com
The guy's a genius. This album (I'm old enough to say album) and the next one, the autobiographical Hold On, Mike have several gems on them.
You'll love it.
-Dave a/k/a Bag OHammers
Dave:
ReplyDeleteI absolutely adore "You Belong to Me Now," so I'll definitely check it out.
thanks!!!1
TAXMAN - BEATLES
ReplyDeleteAMERICAN WOMAN - GUESS WHO
SON OF A PREACHER MAN - DUSTY SPRINGFIELD
BABY YOUR A RICH MAN- BEATLES
R.E.M. -"Hollow Man"
ReplyDeleteTMBG -"Particle Man"
Man Smart, Woman Smarter - Robert Palmer
ReplyDeleteWoman Love - Gene Vincent
Woman To Woman - Shirley Brown
A Man Needs A Woman - James Carr
Wanted Man - Johnny Cash
Scissor Man - XTC
Half A Boy And Half A Man - Nick Lowe
"When a Man Loves a Woman"-- Percy Sledge.
ReplyDeleteI was a little surprised to see no Bruce Springsteen songs on this list until I checked his catalog and saw no qualifying songs until the Tunnel of Love album. So, to get the Boss in there, "Cautious Man" and "Walk Like A Man", two songs that appear back-to-back on that album. My personal choice, however, is "Woman!Man!" from the latest CD by Gomez, How We Operate.
ReplyDelete"Holy Man" by Diane Kolby (no one will know that one, but still...)
ReplyDelete"Your Woman" by White Town
"Rocket Man" by Elton John
"Spaceman" by Nilsson
And a hearty second for "Woman from Tokyo"
Peter & Gordon's "Woman" is one of my all-time favorite songs, and I'm still rather amazed at the power of it, so thanks for that.
ReplyDeleteOn the other hand, I'm utterly shocked at the absence of Spencer Davis Group's "I'm A Man". Holy Moses, son, how could you forget Winwood? He's only spectacular.