1 |
Die Chassidim Forren tsum Rebbin |
|
[Yiddish, unintelligible] |
Chasids visit the Rebbe |
| * | Got to Hurry | Yardbirds | [instrumental] | Great tune |
2 |
Under My Thumb |
Rolling Stones |
[title],Her eyes are just kept to herself/[title], well I, I can still look at someone else |
Yes, well, yes, um, well, it came up randomly |
3 |
Imperial Teen |
Imperial Teen |
If I only had another hand/I’d cut it off and start a band |
One of the I-hardly-ever-play-it-but-enjoy-having-it-come-up-randomly type |
4 |
It’s Saturday Night |
The Proclaimers |
I’m gonna scratch cars/with my keys again |
Not just a one-hit wonder, you know |
5 |
Cold Shoulder |
Squeeze |
My head was stuck in the cat flap on the door/Where I could see her walking on the kitchen floor |
A weak song on an OK album by a great band |
| * | Dos Freylekhe Shnayderl | Klezmer Conservatory Band | [Yiddish] | The Happy Tailor |
| * | Summit Ridge Drive | Cootie Williams | [instrumental] | Cootie is my favorite trumpeter |
| * | Echoes of Harlem | Roy Eldredge | [instrumental] | Roy is in my top five, or close to it |
6 |
Never Mind |
Heads |
I like to listen and I like to look/But if you can’t accommodate, I’m fine with a book |
Vocals and lyrics by Richard Hell |
7 |
Harlem Nocturne |
Cats & Jammers |
I hear it in dreams and somehow it seems/it makes me weep and I can’t sleep |
New lyrics for a song that never needed them |
8 |
Some of these Days |
Cab Calloway |
Oh, when I'm leaving, there's no doubt your heart'll be grieving/You're gonna miss your daddy, mama, [title] |
Actually, the best lyric goes something like ‘dib-dab-babbidy-bop-de-zap-de-zap’ |
9 |
My Husband was a Weatherman |
The Bobs |
He said ‘Hey, that’s OK/You’ll be back’ |
A classic, in its way |
10 |
A Bunch of the Blues/Keester Parade/TNT/Tiny’s Blues |
Mel Torme |
Every day, every week every month every year/every minute that you aren’t here/I’ll weep tear after tear after tear/and I won’t stop til you reappear |
The Mel-Tones. Terrible lyrics, great harmonies |
11 |
Meet James Ensor |
They Might Be Giants |
Before there were junk stores/Before there was junk/He lived with his mother and the torments of Christ |
Very few lyrics to choose from. |
| * | Just You, Just Me | Duke Ellington Orchestra | [Instrumental] | I could have given lyrics from the version with lyrics, but that would have been cheating |
12 |
Little Queenie |
Rolling Stones |
I gets the wiggles in my knees/When she looked at me and sweetly smiled |
The Wiggles! No, not the Wiggles. |
13 |
Dirty Old Town (Mapeye) |
David Byrne |
Remember the days of rent control/Grandpa remembers rock and roll |
I, too, want to live in a dirty old town. |
14 |
I Thought I Heard Buddy Bolden Say |
Dr. John |
I thought I heard Judge Fogarty say/thirty days in the parish, without no pay |
‘you’re rambunctious, obnoxious... I’m gonna put you out’ |
15 |
The 59th St. Bridge Song (Feelin’ Groovy) |
Simon & Garfinkel |
I've got no deeds to do, no promises to keep./I'm dappled and drowsy and ready to sleep |
Not the Jim’s Big Ego rap version... |
| * | Hop Head | Duke Ellington | [instrumental] | Love that Duke |
16 |
Tenderly |
Mel Torme |
The shore was kissed by sea and mist tenderly/I can't forget how two hearts met breathlessly |
Love the song, hate the lyrics |
17 |
Sacrificial Bonfire |
XTC |
Fire they cried/So evil must die |
I don’t think I ever knew the lyrics to this one |
18 |
From Head to Toe |
Elvis Costello |
I got two eyes that happened by ya/And when they saw you, they said they knew you were fine/I got two lips that long to kiss you/And when they speak, they say they wish you were mine |
Tap those toes! |
* |
Zig Zaggity Woop Woop Pt. 1 |
Big Bad Voodoo Daddy |
[instrumental, but title shouted repeatedly] |
Zig Zaggity Woop Woop! |
19 |
Naked in the Garden |
Gunnar Madsen |
Deep in the garden/There’s a little gnome/He holds a lantern to lead us on the way |
Off The Power of a Hat, a good but not great album |
20 |
Low Budget |
The Kinks |
At least my hair is all mine, my teeth are my own/But everything else is on permanent loan |
What did you say? I thought you said that. |
| * | Blackbird Special | Dirty Dozen | [instrumental] | For some reason the Dirty Dozen Brass Band lost half their name for this album. |
21 |
Wonderland at Last |
Dots Will Echo |
I have magic plastic toys/I can recreate the world |
Off Let Go of My Modem, You Weasel, of course |
22 |
Dear Sweet Filthy World |
Elvis Costello |
I'm out ... of luck/I'm not ... that strong/My hands ... your neck/I might ... have wrung |
The ellipses are pauses, not missing words |
23 |
I Get Wild: Wild Gravity |
Talking Heads |
Pleasantly out of proportion/It's hard to hold on to the ground |
Chose a lyric randomly, in keeping with the spirit of the thing |
24 |
The Birds will Still Be Singing |
Elvis Costello |
Eternity stinks, my darling. That's no joke/Don't waste your precious time pretending you're heartbroken |
He’s remarried now, anyway. |
25 |
Mean to Me |
Billie Holliday |
It must be great fun to be mean to me |
And, honestly, don’t you think it must have been? No? Ah, well, then no-one was having fun. |
,
-Vardibidian.