Music Meme

[the_rck]

I haven't done a meme in a while, so I thought I would while I'm mulling over my Yuletide fic

Here are the first lines of twenty songs (random/shuffle on my Rheotaxis writing playlist, removing duplicate artists, removing instrumentals, removing songs not in English, removing ones where the first line gives the title). Comment with the artist/song for the ones you know.

Google is cheating (at least, if you post it afterward, not if you're just curious).

1) We are very slightly changed from the semi apes who ranged India's prehistoric clay

2) I'm a gonna get on the old turnpike and I'm gonna ride

3) How can you be so cold with my arms to hold you?

4)The careful textbooks measure-- let all who build beware--

5) What a dream I had, pressed in organdy

6) You have to learn to pace yourself

7) Here I stand, head in hand, turn my face to the wall

8) They unfolded your lives, one by one

9) Heart in my mouth, pulse in my head

10) City girls just seem to find out early

11) Here I stand alone again, reaching out across the room

12) I lived my life in shadow, never the sun on my face

13) You catch 'em on the fly, and you leave 'em high and dry

14) Sometimes, I remember the old days when the world was filled with sorrow

15) The Mississippi delta was shining like a national guitar

16) The young man sat above the town in the glow of the setting sun

17) Some people ain't no damned good

18) Well, we signed on in Charlevoix

19) Because they told me I can't behold ye

20) I paid my dues, time after time

Comments

[loligo]

Oh yay, finally a lyrics meme where I actually know some!

5) For Emily, Wherever I May Find Her -- S & G
15) Graceland -- Paul Simon
20) We Are The Champions -- Queen

Plus I feel like I ought to know 10 and 19.

[the_rck]

All correct.

10, you well may know, judging by other places where our musical knowledge seems to intersect. I don't know about 19-- It's a little more specialized knowledge. I wouldn't expect anyone to name the artist for it because it's from a musical (and that's a big hint if you know musicals).

[loligo]

AHA! That hint helped a lot, but I still couldn't quite bring it into consciousness, so I finally googled. I used to love that song, but I never had a cast recording or anything, and I haven't thought about it in years, since I drifted away from the theater scene.

[the_rck]

I worked doing set construction and makeup for a civic theater production of that play. The music stuck with me. I can't say that the recording I have is a great one, but it's not bad, especially given that I didn't spend much money on it.

[kyrielle]

I believe #6 is Billy Joel, "Pressure".

#10 is "Lying Eyes" but I can't remember who by.

...I'm not recognizing the rest.

[the_rck]

Correct and correct.

Some of these are fairly obscure. One's by a duo local to me. I think there's one person on my FL who might get that one because she's also a fan (assuming she sees this).

[anderyn.livejournal.com]

That was right. Hee.

I'm shocked at how many I did recognize, including the filk. I didn't know we has so many favorites in common. With these memes, I usually don't recognize many songs, if any.

[the_rck]

I usually don't recognize anything when these memes come around, so I know what you mean.

My answers....

[anderyn.livejournal.com]

4 is Hymn to Breaking Strain, words by Kipling. Probably the version by Julia Ecklar on "Space Heros and other fools", though I have others.
12 is Amber Benson/Tara's love song to Willow in "once more with feeling".
16 may be Solisbury Hill by Peter Gabriel. Edit: but now that I'm trying to "hear" it, I think not. I think it's another filk, but I can't place it.
20 is by Queen. We are the Champions.
18. Mustard's Retreat, The Great Lakes Fishing Trade. (Is it cheating if I went to the right song in iTunes first off to confirm the title?)

Re: My answers....

[the_rck]

4, 12, 18 and 20 are correct. I don't think it's cheating to go to the song in iTunes. You had to know what you were looking for.

16 is not correct. I'll be very surprised if anyone gets that one (you were probably the most likely to, and I'm not sure you've ever heard it). I think you'd like the song. If ever you visit, I'll play it for you. It runs about nine minutes.

Re: My answers....

[anderyn.livejournal.com]

Oh, I know it. I adore it. I am soooo stupid. I should have known it right off.

16 is the Borderlands, from Caswell/Carnahan's lovely album of the same name. I have that on CD, on LP, and on cassette. I've loved it for many many years. Do you have other Carnahan albums? I have most of them.

Re: My answers....

[the_rck]

Bingo! I'm glad to know someone else loves that song.

Re: My answers....

[evalerie.livejournal.com]

I got curious and found a clip from it on Amazon -- though it cuts off abruptly in the middle of a good part. In case any of your other readers are interested to hear it too, the clip is here:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000QPD80I

Re: My answers....

[the_rck]

Oh, and I only have Borderlands and the other album they combined with it for the CD (I forget what it's called). Back when I first discovered them, I was living in East Quad and got the LP out of the dorm library. I picked up the CD later, as soon as I found out it existed.

Re: My answers....

[anderyn.livejournal.com]

New Leaves on an Old Tree is the other one.

But while Chris Caswell is mostly a session musician these days, Danny Carnahan had several albums either solo or with his then-wife, Robin Petrie. I have, I think, all of them. I can burn a CD for you if you desire. (Or, rather, two or three, depends on if you can do MP3 Cds or not.)

I love love love Carnahan's voice and he does interesting things with the old songs. And new songs too.

Re: My answers....

[evalerie.livejournal.com]

Funny, I was just thinking about Benzinger Library the other day. I don't think I'd thought of it in 20 years.

[merriehaskell.livejournal.com]

6 is Simon and Garfunkel, and I could sing the whole thing for you but have absolutely no idea what it's called. So that doesn't count.

[the_rck]

Are you sure you mean 6? 6 is not Simon and Garfunkel, but one of the ones next to it is.

The playlist loves Simon and Garfunkel. I had to disqualify about four other songs for being duplicate artists.

[merriehaskell.livejournal.com]

Oh, right. 5. :)

[anderyn.livejournal.com]

I am now googling the ones I didn't recognize, and have to wonder if 1 was done by Michael Longcor or Leslie Fish, since I know they both did songs by that particular lyricist. I don't recall ever hearing that one, either.

Never heard 2, though I know the artist. Not my favorite singer, though.

Hmmm. I've also never heard 3, though I like the singer/group.

I know 5, amazingly enough, but never really realized that was the first line.

And 7, which makes me really cranky. I ought to have known that one. Really silly not to.

I did not know 8, and it sounds very interesting.

I know 9. I have a copy of 9. I just needed to see the title, and I can hear the whole fricking song. Sigh.

Do not know 11. I have heard of the artist, but never heard anything by them.

13 does not show up on a google search.

Don't know 14. I do know one of the artists listed, but haven't heard it.

Know the artist for 15, but not that song.

I know 17.

19. Well. I should have known it, but I didn't.

So we definitely have an overlap on songs we both enjoy. Interesting.

[evalerie.livejournal.com]

This is the type of thing that I'm good at, but my score is zero! I think I might have gotten #6, but I had scrolled down to the comments and seen the answer to that one before I looked at the posting, so that doesn't count.