Friday, April 22, 2022

Weekend Listomania: Florida Governor Ron DeSantis Says "Math is SOOOOO Gay!" Edition

Well, it's Friday and you know what that means. Yes, my Asian multiplication table Tsarina Fah Lo Suee and I are heading off to beautiful (and not at all heterosexually challenged) Key West, where we'll be buying up bootleg copies of trigonometry textbooks so that we can sell them later to trans kids in schoolyards in downtown Palm Beach.

But in the meantime, and ripped from the headlines, here's an obviously pertinent fun little project for all of us:

Best or Worst Post-Elvis Pop, Rock or Soul Songs Referencing Arabic Numerals in Their Titles or Lyrics

And my totally top of my head Top Ten (heh) are:

10. The Byrds -- 100 Years From Now

My favorite song on Sweetheart of the Rodeo, and possibly my favorite song written by Gram Parsons period.

9. Wilson Pickett -- 99&1/2 Won't Do

This guy had soul. I think we can all agree on that.

8. The Beatles -- Eight Days a Week

Have I mentioned that I'm a huge fan of the Procol Harum cover of this?

7. Love -- Seven and Seven Is

Proto-LA punk rock, and it was one of the great thrills of my life that I got to see the latter day version of the band covering it live some time (90s) at a NYC reunion show.

6. The Lovin' Spoonful -- Six O'Clock

You know, the older I get the more I think these guys were the best NYC band ever.

5. The Vogues -- Five O'Clock World

A bunch of greasers from Pittsburgh, of all places, and a glorious slice of Brill Building pop despite their home town.

4. The Youngbloods -- Four in the Morning

A late night blues classic from one of the all time great folk-rock albums. God bless Jesse Colin Young.

3. Jefferson Airplane -- Triad

A great song, musically, and really icky when it's sung by its composer David Crosby. So thank the Flying Spaghetti Monster that this version is sung by Grace Slick.

2. The Beatles -- Two of Us

Say no more (I can say no more).

And the number one song featuring what might be a Roman Numeral in its soubriquet is -- A TIE!!!

1. Harry Nilsson -- One

...and...

U2 -- One

I think you can guess which of the two songs is my favorite.

Alrighty -- what would YOUR choices be?

Have a great weekend, everybody!!!

18 comments:

  1. GetAwayGoober4/22/2022 6:59 AM

    Original lineup of Love was a great band. Too bad that Arthur Lee didn't want to tour.
    Another "number" is Stones' 2000 Light Years from Home... best song on TSMR.

    ReplyDelete
  2. In no particular order:

    Feist - 1234
    Otis Redding and Carla Thomas - It Takes Two
    David Bowie (or Marti Jones) - Five Years
    Grant Hart (or Marshall Crenshaw or Robert Forster) - 2541
    The Who - 5:15
    The Who - I'm One
    The Who - A Quick One
    The Byrds - 8 Miles High
    Tommy Tutone - 867-5309/Jenny
    Toots and The Maytals - 54-46 Was My Number

    Aimee Mann's version of Nilsson's One is worthy, too.

    - Paul in DK

    ReplyDelete
  3. You could do a whole set of songs of Dylan with numbers in the title, but I will leave that as an exercise for the reader.

    So free associating before I leave for work:

    Prince 1999
    The Marvelettes Beachwood 45789
    Elvis Costello 13 Steps Lead Down
    Rolling Stones (and everyone else) Route 66
    Rolling Stones 19th Nervous Breakdown
    Tom Waits 16 Shells from a Thirty Ought Six
    Tom Waits (or the Eagles) Ol' 55
    Randy Newman Dayton Ohio 1903



    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. In the year 2525 - zaeger
      and evans
      3 little birds - Marley

      Delete
  4. I know that this is not a band that comes up often on this here blog, but may I suggest Chicago and "25 or 6 to 4"?

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  5. I prefer the Gram Parsons vocal-only version of the Byrds song. Pleasantly surprised that the original versions with Gram's vocals (The Christian Life is another example) were included in the boxed set instead of the SOTR versions.

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  6. 1910 Fruitgum Company: 1 2 3 Red Light
    Wire: 12XU
    Mott the Hoople: One of the Boys
    Roky Erikson: Two-Headed Dog
    Pink Floyd: Free Four
    John Lennon: #9 Dream
    David Bowie: TVC15
    T. Rex: 20th Century Boy
    The Kinks: 20th Century Man
    Happy Mondays: 24 Hour Party People
    Patti Smith Group: 25th Floor
    Chuck Berry: 30 Days
    Humble Pie: 30 Days in the Hole
    Suzi Quatro: 48 Crash
    B-52s: 52 Girls
    ? and the Mysterians: 96 Tears
    The Stooges: 1969
    Prince: 1999
    ELO: 10538 Overture

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  7. 12"30 Young Girl's are coming to the Canyon - Mama's and Papas

    ReplyDelete
  8. One after 909 The Beatles
    8:05 Moby Grape
    Six and Seven Books Toots & the Maytals
    Seventh Son Johnny Rivers

    ReplyDelete
  9. Beatles - When I'm 64
    Dylan - 115th Dream
    Springsteen - 10th Avenue Freeze Out
    The Fugs - Nothing (zero was invented in Mesopotamia, so sue me)
    Beatles - I Saw Her Standing There
    Janis Ian - At Seventeen
    The Dead - Casey Jones
    Yardbirds - I Ain't Got You
    The Band - The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down
    KInks - Well Respected Man



    ReplyDelete
  10. GetAwayGoober4/23/2022 2:51 PM

    Since you brought up David Crosby (being Melissa Etheridge's icon of IQ)... didn't he write "Almost Wiped My Ass"? To quote Grace "Was that wrong? Was it cruel? Was it stupid? Was it sarcastic? Did it work?"

    ReplyDelete
  11. ...and of course, The Proclaimers: I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles).

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  12. This list is dead to me without Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings' "100 Days, 100 Nights."

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  13. Just about anything from XTC and Fountains of Wayne.

    ReplyDelete