Monthly Archives: September 2016

The Nickel Quiz

The Nickel Quiz #15: Nom Nom Nom Nom Nom

The Nickel QuizIn this week’s Nickel Quiz, we’re doing a little grocery shopping because, well, ya gotta eat. Each song title in this week’s quiz contains a food of some sort. The year that the song was released is listed after each lyric as an extra clue.

As usual, scoring is on the honor system (no Googling):

  • Correct Artist: 1 point
  • Correct Song Title: 1 point
  • Maximum Score: 10 points
  1. I know you know what I’m sayin’. Can’t stand still while the music is playin’. (1966)
  2. The wind in the willow played Love’s sweet melody (1956)
  3. No-one I think is in my tree / I mean it must be high or low (1967)
  4. Thought it was a good solution hanging with the raisin girls (1994)
  5. A quartet practiced in the park and we sang dirges in the dark (1971)

[Difficulty: ♫♫♫  /  Yummy Yummy Yummy]

Answers to The Nickel Quiz #14: Song Songs:

  1. “The Logical Song” (originally by Supertramp)
  2. “Immigrant Song” (originally by Led Zeppelin)
  3. “Your Song” (originally by Elton John)
  4. “The Lottery Song” (originally by Harry Nilsson)
  5. “The Breakup Song (They Don’t Write ‘Em)” (originally by The Greg Kihn Band)
Lyric of the Week

Lyric of the Week: The Luckiest (Ben Folds)

Lyric of the WeekSunday before last marked the fifteen year anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. To a lesser degree, it also marked the fifteen year anniversary of the release of one of my favorite albums, Ben Folds’ Rockin’ The Suburbs.

Enjoy The Luckiest by Ben Folds (from 2001’s Rockin’ The Suburbs).

I don’t get many things right the first time
In fact, I am told that a lot
Now I know all the wrong turns
The stumbles and falls brought me here

And where was I before the day
That I first saw your lovely face?
Now I see it every day

And I know
That I am
I am
I am
The luckiest

What if I’d been born 50 years before you
In a house on the street where you live?
Maybe I’d be outside as you passed on your bike
Would I know?

And in a wide sea of eyes
I see one pair that I recognize

And I know
That I am
I am
I am
The luckiest

I love you more than I have ever found a way to say to you

Next door there’s an old man who lived to his 90s
And one day passed away in his sleep
And his wife, she stayed for a couple of days
And passed away

I’m sorry, I know that’s
A strange way to tell you
That I know we belong

That I know
That I am
I am
I am
The luckiest

If you have a favorite song that features entertaining lyrics which you’d like to see featured as a Lyric of the Week, drop me a line in the comments (or email me at ed@suitcasefullofdimes.com) and tell me what you find special about the song.

The Nickel Quiz

The Nickel Quiz #14: Song Songs

The Nickel QuizIn this week’s Nickel Quiz, there should be no doubt that these are songs. Because “song” is in the title of each song. The year that the song was released is listed after each lyric as an extra clue.

As usual, scoring is on the honor system (no Googling):

  • Correct Artist: 1 point
  • Correct Song Title: 1 point
  • Maximum Score: 10 points
  1. Now watch what you say or they’ll be calling you a radical (1979)
  2. How soft your fields so green can whisper tales of gore of how we calmed the tides of war (1970)
  3. I sat on the roof and kicked off the moss (1970)
  4. We could make a record, sell a lot of copies. We could play Las Vegas and be very happy (1972)
  5. Then the band slowed the tempo and the music took me down. It was the same old song, with a melancholy sound. (1981)

[Difficulty: ♫♫♫  /  I bet you think this quiz is about you]

Answers to The Nickel Quiz #13: Luck:

  1. “Born Under a Bad Sign” (originally by Albert King)
  2. “Luck Be a Lady” (originally by Frank Sinatra)
  3. “With a Little Luck” (originally by Wings)
  4. “Bad Luck Streak in Dancing School” (originally by Warren Zevon)
  5. “Some Guys Have All the Luck” (originally by Robert Palmer)
Lyric of the Week

Lyric of the Week: Better Than Nothing (Jennifer Trynin)

Lyric of the WeekI discovered the music of Jennifer Trynin after Aimee Mann did some backing vocals on one of her songs, “Snow.” “Better Than Nothing” got a lot of airplay on MTV’s “120 Minutes” and was her one big hit, but you should do yourself a favor and check out the rest of her catalog.

Enjoy Better Than Nothing by Jennifer Trynin (from 1994’s Cockamamie).

Maybe we could talk in the shower
I’ll bet we’d be gone in an hour
Maybe we could leave all this behind
Or we could just stay home

Maybe we could pool all our money
Maybe head out west to the country
It’d be just like here but we’d be there
Or we could just stay home

It’s better than nothing
It’s better than nothing
I’m feeling good, I’m feeling good
I’m feeling good for now
Good, I’m feeling good, I’m feeling good
I’m feeling good for now
But I know that by tomorrow I’ll probably come around

Maybe we could stay out all night
Two shots of whiskey and have a good fight
Finally figure out who’s really right
I think I’ll just stay home

For now, things don’t seem so bad
I don’t wanna know if I will sink or swim my way to shore

If you have a favorite song that features entertaining lyrics which you’d like to see featured as a Lyric of the Week, drop me a line in the comments (or email me at ed@suitcasefullofdimes.com) and tell me what you find special about the song.

The Nickel Quiz

The Nickel Quiz #13: Luck

The Nickel QuizThis week’s Nickel Quiz is all about chances and luck. The year that the song was released is listed after each lyric as an extra clue.

As usual, scoring is on the honor system (no Googling):

  • Correct Artist: 1 point
  • Correct Song Title: 1 point
  • Maximum Score: 10 points
  1. If it wasn’t for bad luck, you know, I wouldn’t have no luck at all (1967)
  2. A lady doesn’t wander all over the room and blow on some other guy’s dice (1965)
  3. The willow turns his back on inclement weather (1978)
  4. I’ve been acting like a fool, Pauline, I’ll swear I’ll change (1980)
  5. I get to hear you talk, see you walk, take me in your arms and let your luck begin to run (1982)

[Difficulty: ♫♫♫♫  /  Good luck, friend, you’re on your own]

Answers to The Nickel Quiz #12: At the Zoo:

  1. “I Am The Walrus” (originally by The Beatles)
  2. “Muskrat Love” (originally Willis Alan Ramsey’s “Muskrat Candlelight”; renamed and popularized by America)
  3. “Barracuda” (originally by Heart)
  4. “Fly Like An Eagle” (originally by The Steve Miller Band)
  5. “War Pigs” (originally by Black Sabbath)
Lyric of the Week

Lyric of the Week: Skylines and Turnstiles (My Chemical Romance)

Lyric of the WeekI was at home this morning, fifteen years ago, having recently been laid off from work, watching NBC’s Today. Katie Couric broke away to show that a commercial jet had flown into the World Trade Center. Shortly after that, America watched as a second plane flew into the opposite tower.

Gerard Way (of My Chemical Romance) was on his way to work when he saw this happen and it inspired him to write “Skylines and Turnstiles,” the first song written by the band.

Enjoy Skylines and Turnstiles by My Chemical Romance (from 2002’s I Brought You My Bullets, You Brought Me Your Love).

You’re not in this alone
Let me break this awkward silence
Let me go!
Go on record,
Be the first to say I’m sorry
Hear me out
And if you take me down,
Would you lay me out?
And if the world needs something better,
Let’s give them one more reason now

We walk in single file
We light our rails and punch our time
Ride escalators colder than a cell

This broken city sky
Like butane on my skin
Stolen from my eyes
Hello angel, tell me
Where are you?
Tell me, where we go from here
This broken city sky
Like butane on my skin
Stolen from my eyes
Hello angel, tell me
Where are you?
Tell me where we go from here
Tell me we go from…

And in this moment we can’t close the lids
On burning eyes
Our memories blanket us with friends we know
Like fallout vapor
Steel corpses stretch out towards an ending sun
Scorched and black
It reaches in and tears your flesh apart
As ice cold hands rip into your heart

That’s if you’ve still got one that’s left
Inside that cave you call a chest
And after seeing what we saw
Can we still reclaim our innocence?
And if the world needs something better
Let’s give them one more reason now

This broken city sky
Like butane on my skin
And stolen from my eyes
Hello angel, tell me
Where are you?
Tell me, where we go from here
This broken city sky
Like butane on my skin
Stolen from my eyes
Hello angel, tell me
Where are you?
Tell me where we go from here
Tell me where we go from here

If you have a favorite song that features entertaining lyrics which you’d like to see featured as a Lyric of the Week, drop me a line in the comments (or email me at ed@suitcasefullofdimes.com) and tell me what you find special about the song.

The Nickel Quiz

The Nickel Quiz #12: At the Zoo

The Nickel QuizWe’re taking you kids on a field trip this week to the zoo. The titles of each of these five songs in this week’s Nickel Quiz will contain the name of an animal. I’ve also added the year the song was released as an extra clue.

As usual, scoring is on the honor system (no Googling):

  • Correct Artist: 1 point
  • Correct Song Title: 1 point
  • Maximum Score: 10 points
  1. You get a tan from standing in the English rain. (1967)
  2. Nibbling on bacon, chewing on cheese. (1972)
  3. And if the real thing don’t do the trick, you better make up something quick. (1977)
  4. Feed the babies who don’t have enough to eat. Shoe the children with no shoes on their feet. (1976)
  5. Now, in darkness, world stops turning, ashes where their bodies burning. (1970)

[Difficulty: ♫♫  /  Not too difficult]

Answers to The Nickel Quiz #11: About a Girl:

  1. “Alison” (originally by Elvis Costello)
  2. “Rhiannon” (originally by Fleetwood Mac)
  3. “Roxanne” (originally by The Police)
  4. “Amie” (originally by Pure Prairie League)
  5. “Michelle” (originally by The Beatles)
Lyric of the Week

Lyric of the Week: Sittin’ Pretty (Brendan Benson)

Lyric of the WeekThere are so few great pop songs about abduction. This week’s lyric is one of those pop-perfect songs that are actually pretty twisted when you really start listening to the words being sung. Brendan Benson co-wrote the song with Jason Falkner (of The Grays and Jellyfish), another of my favorite artists.

Enjoy Sittin’ Pretty by Brendan Benson.

If I point my gun at you
Are you gonna see it my way?
And if I tell you what to do
I think we can make it work this way

And if you run from me, I’ll know
I’ll find you and God help you
She just waits for me at home
I’m going down, I’m taking you

My baby’s tied to a chair
Don’t she look pretty, just sittin’ there?

And if she wants some air, she tells me
(I can’t breathe!)
And if she wants some love, I’ll kiss her
And when I’m close, you know, she can smell me
And when I’m gone, I’ll surely miss her

My baby’s tied to a chair
Don’t she look pretty, just sittin’ there?

If you have a favorite song that features entertaining lyrics which you’d like to see featured as a Lyric of the Week, drop me a line in the comments (or email me at ed@suitcasefullofdimes.com) and tell me what you find special about the song.