friday random 10

Last week? Just two. This week? How many?

1. “Radio Sweetheart” by Elvis Costello
   I can hardly wait around until the weekend comes to town
2. “I Don’t Like Mondays” by the Boomtown Rats, guessed by Kim
   And nobody’s gonna go to school today
3. “Sunny Afternoon” by Tom Jones (orig. the Kinks), guessed by Kim
   Well give me two good reasons why I oughta stay
4. “Way Over Yonder in the Minor Key” by Billy Bragg & Wilco, guessed by Kim
   It stung lots worse than a hive of bees
5. “What Do You Want From Me” by Pink Floyd
   If I don’t promise you the answers would you go
6. “Paper Forest (in the Afterglow of Rapture)” by Emmy the Great
   So that the record does obscure the thing the record used to be
7. “The Wind Cries Mary” by Cassandra Wilson (orig. Jimi Hendrix), guessed by Kim
   You can hear happiness staggering on down the street
8. “E.T.I. (Extra Terrestrial Intelligence)” by Blue Öyster Cult, guessed by Clayton
   Three men in black said, “Don’t report this”
9. “I Belong to the Band” by Mavis Staples
   Walk around Heaven and spread the news
10. “Dark Eyes” by Calexico & Iron & Wine (orig. Bob Dylan)
    They tell me to be discreet for all intended purposes

Good luck!

Last week…well, kind of a poor showing, really. Will this week, the first of the new year, be any better?

1. “(What’s So Funny ’bout) Peace, Love, and Understanding” by Elvis Costello
   My spirit gets so downhearted sometimes
2. “The Only Time” by Ben & Whit
   And I love when you whistle at birds
3. “Don’t Get Me Wrong” by the Pretenders, guessed by Kim
   I’m thinking about the fireworks that go off when you smile
4. “Frenzy” by Screamin’ Jay Hawkins
   Dig this crazy mood I’m in
5. “Signed, Sealed, Delivered, I’m Yours” by Stevie Wonder
   When I touched them they did nothing, girl
6. “Thirteen” by Big Star
   Won’t you let me walk you home from school
7. “The Weary Kind” by Ryan Bingham, guessed by Kim
   You rolled them sevens with nothing to lose
8. “A Million Ways” by OK Go
   A list of standard-issue regrets
9. “Something for Nothing” by Loudon Wainwright III
   And those Metallica guys are all getting too fat
10. “I’m Going Home” by Arlo Guthrie
    Leaves turn gold and then they fall

Good luck!

Last week. This week:

1. “All Night” by Sam Phillips
   You came up behind me, grabbed my wrists in the dark
2. “Give the People What They Want” by the Kinks
   When Oswald shot Kennedy, he was insane
3. “Get it While You Can” by Janis Joplin
   You’re taking a gamble against some sorrow
4. “I Will Follow” by Katie Herzig
   Eating peaches in an apple tree
5. “Welcome to the Working Week” by Elvis Costello
   Now that your picture’s in the paper being rhythmically admired
6. “Riverwide” by Sheryl Crow
   And the earth underneath turns to sand
7. “Evil Woman” by Electric Light Orchestra, guessed by Clayton
   You destroyed all the virtues that the Lord gave you
8. “Rise to Me” by the Decemberists
   Hey, Henry, can you hear me
9. “In My Head” by the Ballet
   With just a song and half a hit of Ecstasy
10. “The Goddess of Macramé” by Christine Fellows
    I gave you poetry, this olive tree

It’s like a thing. Good luck!

Last week went like this. This week goes like:

1. “Stay Hungry” by Talking Heads
   Ooh girl, you can initiate an impulse of love
2. “She’s Long Gone” by the Black Keys
   She was made to pour you away
3. “Someone Keeps Moving My Chair” by They Might Be Giants, guessed by Betty
   Something unpleasant has spilled on his brain
4. “Donna the Prima Donna” by Dion & the Belmonts
   Then she tried to make a fool out of me
5. “The Worst” by the Rolling Stones
   You shouldn’t stick with me
6. “Sneaky Feelings” by Elvis Costello
   I’d like to get right through the way I feel for you
7. “Share a Little Joke” by Jefferson Airplane
   Sounded like he’d make a halo
8. “You Were Always on My Mind” by Elvis Presley, guessed by Betty
   I just never took the time
9. “In the Crates on the Moon” by the Mountain Goats
   And the shark’s gonna come
10. “Post-War” by M. Ward
    Put a dollar into the machine and you’ll remember when

Good luck!

Last time, this time… (Your side, my side…)

1. “Village Green Preservation Society” by the Kinks, guessed by Kim
   We are the Sherlock Holmes English-speaking vernacular
2. “Movin’ Out” by Billy Joel, guessed by Clayton
   Who needs a house out in Hackensack?
3. “Song for the Asking” by Simon & Garfunkel
   Thinking it over, I’ve been sad
4. “Walk on Down” by Aerosmith
   You wonder why you got holes in your shoes
5. “Good Lovin'” by the Olypmics (also the Rascals), guessed by Clayton
   I asked my family doctor what I had
6. “Helpless” by Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young
   There is a town in north Ontario
7. “Heart of Gold” by Tori Amos (orig. Neil Young), guessed by Clayton
   I’ve been in my mind, it’s such a fine line
8. “Annie’s Song” by John Denver, guessed by Clayton
   You fill up my senses, like a night in the forest
9. “The Curse” by Josh Ritter
   Then he talks of the Nile and the girls in bullrushes
10. “Breaking Down” by Jeremy Messersmith
    I’ve got a girl that’s drying her eyes with a haiku

Can you guess who sang these lyrics? Go on, give it a shot. It’s like, whadyacallit, a game. Good luck!