Thursday, June 17, 2010

An Early, and Somewhat Eccentrically British, Clue to the New Direction

From 1984, and Stiff Records -- the World's Most Flexible Label -- please enjoy the unhinged stylings of howling weirdo John Otway and his rendition of the venerable and melodramatic country weeper classic "Green, Green Grass of Home."




Heh heh. I love that picture sleeve; in case you haven't noticed, that's Otway's head pasted (rather crudely, in those pre-Photo Shop days) over actual album cover boy Tom Jones.

In any case, as a always, a coveted PowerPop No-Prize will be awarded the first reader who gleans the clip's relevance to the theme of tomorrow's Weekend Listomania.

22 comments:

J. Loslo said...

Um, covers of country songs?

Overly histrionic covers of country songs?

Radical reinterpretations of songs, country or otherwise?

John Fowler said...

Songs about/referring to plants?

Color (eg, green) songs?

Anonymous said...

Songs sending up the lame!

ROTP(lumber)

steve simels said...

Right. Songs sending up the lame. There's a long list.
:-)

pete said...

Over one strange weekend in New York City I was Otway's roadie - not a very good one, I'm afraid. It was 198...1 maybe? He 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. The band was a trio. He played guitar and violin and was very hard on the equipment. The 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 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 Otway was abusing at the moment I tended to knock things over and make it all worse. He 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) he and I would go to the same cheap restaurant near the hotel and he would always eat the same thing, fried chicken. My favorite tune of his is "Beware of the Flowers 'Cause I'm Sure They're Gonna Get You, Yeah."

Libby Spencer said...

Songs about marijuana.

steve simels said...

Noope. But that was a good guess,now thatI think of it.
:-)

Anonymous said...

Songs originated by Porter Wagner? (or, Bobby Bare?)

Songs about being about to be executed? (eg, Merle Haggard, "take me back home") . . . or, about home and dying?

Songs about dreaming?

Punk versions of extremely non-punk songs? (J Loslo already kind of said that)

Albums where one group/artist crosses out another groups'/artist's name/s and insert their own(ie, The Weasels?)

-AP

Edward said...

Songs sung from the point of view of a dead person?

Songs about funerals?

Songs sung in no known key?

steve simels said...

Okay -- time for a hint.

It's something in the song title.

cyndicat said...

Songs about grass?

TL said...

Songs about home?

steve simels said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Wendy said...

Songs with repeated words?

Sal Nunziato said...

Colors! C-C-C-Colors!

Songs with colors in the title.

steve simels said...

No, but the color is the clue.

geor3ge said...

Songs referencing spring/summer/seasonable weather?

Anonymous said...

songs about the environment.

ROTP(lumber)

steve simels said...

Uh....nope.
:-)

MBowen said...

Songs with Jewish surnames in the title?

Elroy said...

Alliterative titles?

Anonymous said...

Songs with Jewish surnames in the title?

If there is one critic/blogger/pop-ethno-historian who can come up with a Listomania on that theme, it's you Steve.

- AP