Carl

In the August issue of Men's Journal, Songfacts is listed as one of the 100 Best Websites For Guys. It's the issue with Lance Armstrong on the cover - turn to page 78, and there we are, right next to a lovely girl holding a large fish: Songfacts.com: Trivia, rumors, legends, and correct lyrics of rock songs. A must if you like to bore people in bars. This is a proud moment for Songfacts - Men's Journal is a great magazine with articles dealing with health, travel, and of course, photos of lovely women holding fish. When you're done reading about Songfacts, be sure to check out the 10 Sexiest Olympians Of All Time, complete with a rendering of the Olympic rings that the IOC cannot be happy about.

You can now contribute questions to Lyrical Pursuit. This is a lot of fun for those of you who can think of a better lyric to a song: Lyrical Pursuit additions

When we start a new forum, we rarely know how you guys will respond to it. I imagined "Creative Writing" as place where we could offer eloquent commentary on music, entertainment, just about anything. It's not easy to get published, so we decided to offer an outlet. There are a lot of excellent writers on these boards, and they write in many different styles. Be it a poem, a song, a short essay or a screenplay, as long as it's creative and some thought went into it, it belongs.

We cleaned up the comments on "Yesterday" and "Get Back." I think this will help raise the level of quality on future comments for those songs. Thanks Martin.

Martin, you're absolutely right when you say we should not have personal attacks or worthless statements like "this sucks" in the comments. We try to weed those out, but they sometimes slip by. We'll look for the Yoko comment and try to get rid of it. (Yoko is a distant second to Courtney Love when it comes to rock wife hatred, BTW) I think the comments are a great place for interpretations, opinions, and interesting tidbits about songs that we cannot verify. I hope you'll agree that a lot of the comments are interesting reading, even if you don't agree with them. A note on how we police the comments - With songs by groups like The Beatles, there is lots of room for interpretation, and that's what we hope for. On songs by someone like Avril Lavigne, we allow more leeway - we might let someone post "I H8 this song" for "Sk8er Boi" because we think it's funny. We would like to hear about it if there is some clearly inappropriate stuff in the comments.

I've never thought of thought of this stuff before. Let's give it a go. What is your favorite word? Bacon What is your least favorite word? Obviously What turns you on? Funk What turns you off? Foul odors and harsh noises What is the sound or noise that you love? A good bass line with some funky drums What sound or noise do you hate? Whining What is your favorite curse word? Rat Farts What profession other than yours would you like to attempt? Race Car Driver What profession would you not like to participate in? Telemarketer If Heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the Pearly Gates? Good job, now you can go back as a race car driver.

In Jethro Tull's "Cross-Eyed Mary," there's a part near the end that sounds like a CD getting stuck. It really bothers me. I'm glad other people feel the pain of the high note The Edge likes to hit on guitar. For me, it ruins some otherwise perfectly good U2 songs, especially "With Or Without You." It also sends dogs into a panic. As much as I love The Beatles, "Hey Jude" is at least 2 minutes too long.

We recently spoke with Alex Call, who wrote the song that became the most famous phone number in the United States. He's a really nice guy and a real interesting story. He was lead singer and rhythm guitarist in the band Clover, which came this close (holds 2 fingers about an inch apart) to hitting it big - they had Mutt Lange producing, a band full of great musicians (including Huey Lewis), a gig backing up Elvis Costello on his first album, and Nick Lowe as a mentor. We had an interesting discussion about song titles that enter the collective conscious, like how all of the sudden there were 5 songs called "Hero." That's what happened with "Power Of Love." He wrote a song with that title, told Huey about it, and the rest is Songhistory. Now, it seems 867-5309 is making a comeback. No longer an incredible annoyance, the number is now coveted because it is quirky and easy to remember. Cingular Wireless makes this point in a new commercial where Jenny gets to keep her phone number. This after a guy with the Manhattan exchange tried to sell it on Ebay. For a good read, check out the Songfacts on these: 867-5309 Power Of Love Little Too Late

I have yet to meet anyone, including radio professionals, who likes Clear Channel. So now that we all agree that it is a vile company that we would be much better off without, what can we do about it? We have some very smart people on these boards, so I'd like to hear your ideas. I can tell you that going after advertisers is an effective way to punish radio stations. If a few people in a market write a letter to a Clear Channel sponsor explaining why they will not buy their product, it might be enough to make them pull their advertising. Maybe we could draft a letter for this purpose, along with some letterhead and the name of an organization.

I know very little about setting up a chat room, but I'm willing to learn. If there's a reasonably simple way to do it, I don't see any harm. If you guys know anything about how these work, please post some ideas.

I agree with Bazooka that The Stones are really good at intros. My favorite of theirs is probably "Undercover Of The Night." Some other great ones: The Pretenders - "Middle Of The Road" My favorite drum intro. A skilled drummer can play it with chopsticks on a table at a Chinese restaurant. I know because I've asked skilled drummers to play it with chopsticks on tables at Chinese restaurants. Fiona Apple - "Fast As You Can" Try it, you'll like it. Bruce Springsteen - "Born To Run" It lets you know he's coming, and you better either hop on or get out of the way.

I think Blessed Union Of Souls went the way of Soul Asylum, Sour 4 Real and Soul II Soul, not to mention the Soul System, who had a minor hit with a cover of Bill Wither's "Lovely Day." Sara and I saw the Chicago/Earth, Wind And Fire show last night under the stars. Very impressive. I'm a huge EW&F guy, and it was great to see they can still bring some funk. Chicago has a lot of great songs, so it was worth sitting through wussirific stuff like "Hard To Say I'm Sorry" in order to hear those horns. Both bands were able to go the whole show playing nothing but hits. Chicago was at their best on early classics like "Saturday In The Park" and "Color My World." EW&F were a little thin on songs like "Fantasy," but brought the noise on "Let's Groove" and "Boogie Wonderland." The last part of the show was a frenzy of horns and high-harmonies, with both bands on stage for "Shining Star," "Sing A Song," and "25 Or 6 To 4."

Sounds like I need to check out Johnny Otis. I'm a huge fan of '70s R&B, especially the uptempo stuff. My favorites are The Spinners, LTD, Bill Withers and Earth, Wind & Fire. Once we get into the '80s, I really like Jodeci and Mint Condition. The R&B I hear on the radio these days doesn't do it for me. It seems whiny and contrived.

"Let's Get Retarded" is usually sanitized to "Let's Get It Started," as people around here are very sensitive about how the mentally-challenged are referred. The song was used in promos for the NBA playoffs - it's much more marketable in its edited form. BEP has a great sound, they're fun. I love that Fergie was on the show "Kids Incorporated." Anyone born after 1977 will have no memory of this delightfully cheesy show, but it was great, and had a theme song that wouldn't leave your head.

When Parachutes came out, Coldplay got a little following over here, with "Yellow" getting some airplay. They were real popular among musicians. After Rush Of Blood To The Head, "Clocks" got a lot of airplay and they really took off. They have a sound that is different from most of the stuff on the radio, and it went over very well once people got used to them. In summary, they have cracked The States.

I like the rock analogies. When I think of Techno, I think of groups like New Order and Depeche Mode. They have real talent and really craft their songs. Check out "Bizarre Love Triange" and "Personal Jesus." They're both really beautiful songs that were successfully covered in stripped-down versions (Frente and Johnny Cash, respectively). "Days Go By" by Dirty Vegas is another excellent Techno song. The repetitive stuff is really awful. It's kind of like Paris Hilton - fun for a little while, but more annoying the longer it goes on.

If you won, you can still take the quiz, but you cannot win for 6 months. If you do get the high score, we will still post your name so you can experience the pride that can only come from winning the Mighty Songfacts Trivia Quiz.

2 people win clean and comfortable Songfacts T-shirts for their efforts. The winners are: Rob from Cambridge, England Anna from New Ulm, MN Here are the answers: What popular song by The Who (which was not a hit in the UK) has a title that is not mentioned in the lyrics? - Baba O'Riley It's also known as "Teenage Wasteland." What artist was the most played on British radio over the last 20 years? - George Michael. Elton John was #2. What song mentions sunflower seeds, carrot juice, and zucchini? - "Cheeseburger In Paradise" by Jimmy Buffett What Beatles song contains a lot of French lyrics? - "Michelle" What popular band's original lead singer killed himself before they hit it big? - No Doubt Their original lead singer was John Spence, who killed himself in 1987. - Joy Division Their lead singer killed himself shortly before their most successful album was released. The other members then formed New Order and had massive success in the UK. We didn't accept AC/DC because they were already doing well when Bon Scott died, and he wasn't trying to kill himself. Same thing with Chicago and Terry Kath. What band has a member named "Leroi"? - The Dave Matthews Band Leroi Moore is a multi-instrumentalist in the band. What popular band's lead singer is married to an Oscar-winning actress? - Coldplay Chris Martin married Gwenyth Paltrow. Chris Robinson of The Black Crowes is married to Kate Hudson, but she didn't win the Oscar for Almost Famous. What famous album has garden gnomes on the cover? - All Things Must Pass by George Harrison What group had a #1 U.S. Hot 100 hit in the '80s with the name of a ferocious animal in the title? - Survivor - "Eye Of The Tiger" Who was the last Swedish group to have a Top-40 hit in either the U.S. or UK? - Abba "Waterloo" (re-issue) hit #20 in the UK in May, 2004. Thanks to everyone who took the quiz, and be sure to take the new one here.

A 1976 hit for Al Stewart. The lyrics seem to be inspired by the movie Casablanca. I'm hoping to learn something from this one, so chime in if you know anything about the following: What is the Year Of The Cat? I think it's Vietnamese astrology. How are the lyrics related to the movie? I know there's some Bogart fans out there. What's the deal with Al Stewart? I've met British people who rank him with David Bowie, but Americans are more likely to think he's a truck driver.

Peter Gabriel's "Solsbury Hill" should be on that tape. It's a great song for a fresh start.

After the last update, there's a little over 3,500 songs in the database, with about 335 for Artistfacts. When we first went online, I think we had about 250, but at the time, it was mostly a few DJs using the site for show prep. I've thought about keeping a counter, but since we update the database every week or so, I was worried that it would look like the site was being neglected. In fact, I'm going to neglect the site for a few hours right now so I can play some golf.

The Theremin in "Good Vibrations" was definitely inspired, and to the best of my knowledge has not been used in any other famous songs. I'm sure lots of people tried and probably drove themselves nuts in the process. Here are 3 of my favorites with unusual instruments: "You Can Call Me Al" by Paul Simon - Check out the pennywhistle solo. "Bodhran" by The Young Dubliners - Irish music at its finest. The fiddles are amazing. "Dream" by Forest Through The Trees - This one's a little obscure, but it has a great Sitar open. Honorable mention - "And We Danced" by The Hooters, who named themselves after their nickname for their Melodicas. The delightfully tacky yet tastefully refined resturaunt chain came later.

Amy and Sara go for a walk to find some kindling - The guys think it's to cook Paul's steaks, but they really want to heat up their Gardenburgers. Bobo has scribbled a few lyrics about sharks and Nostradamous in his notepad, and runs them by Scott, who's down with the shark idea but thinks they should leave ancient prophets to Spinal Tap. They come up with a chorus - "My beluga don't cry It's a hammerhead lullaby You can be my chum If I can be your savior" Amy and Sara return with a stray dog they found along the way. It's a scraggly little mutt they've named Stanley. Jayson breaks out his guitar and comes up with a riff for the shark song. Denmark and Diggs add some British flavour to the lyrics and try to explain to Scott that they take no responsibility for The Spice Girls. Mike and Ken have a great idea, at least it sounds great after a few of those Cuervo Margaritas - a Johnny Depp costume party. Carl insists on being Pirate Johnny, which is basically Keith Richards, but allows him to say "Aaarrgh." Mike wants to know if he can be Richard Greco, since they're sort of the same person. Cyberdemon will only play if he can be Edward Scissorhands. The song is coming along, but they're starting to rethink the beluga line.

Last night, I was in the bleachers at Fenway Park when I found out. Brother Ray played "America The Beautiful" on opening day at Fenway in 2003, so they played the tape of that performance. I'm sure a lot will be written about his vesatility and skill, but what I will remember is how everytime I hear his version of "America The Beutiful" or "What'd I Say" or just about anything else he played, it makes me feel great.

Play nice guys. This is an interesting one for me, since I've never been able to wrap my head around The Beach Boys. For a minute, let's go back to the basics to make sure I've got this right: Brian Wilson started using drugs around 1965, created Pet Sounds, which is considered one of the most innovative and brilliant albums of all time, and went to work on Smile, which was going to be his masterpiece. The drugs took their toll and he became quite deranged, yet the genius was still there. The other Beach Boys toured while he worked on the album with his buddy, Van Dyke Parks, the only guy he would collaborate with at the time. Smile went unfinished, with some songs ending up on the album Smiley Smile (including "Good Vibrations"?). About a year ago, Wilson decided to finally finish the album. He and some troops went through the old tapes and completed the album. He played Smile on a recent tour of England, where people seem to care a lot more about it, and also put vinegar on their fries instead of ketchup. Some people think it is a heartbreaking work of staggering genius, while others think it's mush. Am I close? Also, is the completed album available? I haven't used many Graemlins lately, so here we go