One Liners & Couplets, Rhan Pump Quiz

Answer: Napalm Death - "You Suffer"

Right off the bat: "You Suffer" is precisely 1.316 seconds long. The lyrics above are the complete lyrics of the song. It was released as a giveaway single in the UK in 1989 as a split single with "Mega-Armageddon Death Pt. 3" by Electro Hippies on the b side (another song that lasts one second). It was recorded for their first album entitled "Scum", which was released in the UK in 1987. Napalm Death are the kings of the Grind-core genre and this song is perhaps the most legendary song of that genre ever released. Mainly due to British DJ God John Peel's reaction after first playing it on his radio show. He played the song and was very confused that the song ended right after he put the needle on the record. He thought something had gone wrong and played it some more until he realized that this was the entire song! And via John's reaction Napalm Death instantly garnered a degree of infamy.

Unless somewhere in this world there is a teeny tiny Top Forty for ants or something (in which case this might have well been the number one record of all time) the single did not chart anywhere ever.

In 2005, 'Scum' was voted the 50th best British album of all time by Kerrang magazine! Me personally? I LOVE Napalm Death. I saw them a few months back (finally, for the first time) and was is loud heaven - this is one band that does not ever disappoint if you are into that sort of music..

Answer: Blur - "The Charmless Man"

Forget "Song #2". You can even forget "Tender" (NO! Quel Scandale!) Blur's "The Charmless Man" is the very best single they ever released. It is one of my top five all time favorite songs and has been ever since the very first time I heard it back in the nineties. It was released as a single at the very end of April in 1996 as the fourth and final single from their "The Great Escape" album and it charted at number 5 in the UK singles chart (It was never released as a single in the USA, because this country has precious little good taste).

Btw: the above lyrics are as they appear online. Everywhere (if you look them up). I beg to differ. I am all but certain they should be: "Na-na na-na na-na na na naaah, na-na na-na na-na na na naaah". At least that is how many "na's" are on every single version of this wonderfully delightful song that I have ever heard. Hey Internet: J'ACCUSE!

Answer: My Chemical Romance - "Na Na Na"

My Chemical Romance... I have never heard one note of theirs. I plan on keeping it that way. But the Godz... *Swoon*. Oi do I love the Godz. And doing two quizzes that for whatever reason lean heavily on the Na Na gives me a wonderful opportunity to mention The Godz TWICE in one quiz. That's a win/win for ME.

However using a song by My Chemical Romance on this site requires me to give you some info about the correct answer. "Na Na Na" so let's see...:

It was released in September of 2010 as the first single taken from their fourth and final album 'Danger Days: The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys'. You know what is a much better album title than 'Danger Days: The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys'? That'd be 'Contact High With The Godz' (Which happens to be the name of their 1966 debut LP on the ESP Disk label). Let's see if I can manage to cram as many unrelated references to The Godz into this summery as I possibly can, yes? The song "Na Na Na" by MCR actually reached number one on the UK singles charts. The Godz, on the other hand, never had a single number one anything anywhere at any time. Life is very unfair and fickle in that regard. The names of the band member of MCR are Gerard Way, Frank Iero, Mikey Way, Ray Toro, Bob Bryar and Matt Pelissier. The names of the band members of the Godz are/were: Jay Dillon, Jim McCarthy, Larry Kessler and Paul Thornton. My Chemical Romance released 4 full length albums during their existence. The Godz released 5 full length albums during theirs. Now THAT is one sign of a winner. MCR were signed to the Reprise label. A genuinely great label. Prior to around 1975. The Godz were signed to the legendary label ESP Disk, a label that issued virtually nothing but winners in it's time. If MCR and the Godz got into a sandbox fight I bet MCR would try to sissy slap their way out of it while The Godz would kick some serious New Jersey pretty boy butt! Face it: not matter how you slice that sausage The Godz come out on top. And that is ALL you will ever really need to know about My Chemical Romance.

Answer: James Brown - "Night Train"

Some highlights of Night Train's convoluted history:

The song's opening riff was first recorded in 1940 by a small group led by Johnny Hodges under the title "That's the Blues, Old Man".

It was first recorded as a 12 bar blues by Jimmy Forest in 1951.

The song has had several different lyrics over the years.

James Brown recorded his version of the song in 1961 using his own set of lyrics. It first appeared on his 1961 LP release 'James Brown Presents His Band and Five Other Great Artists'. It was eventually released as a single in March of 1962 and it went to number thirty five on the pop charts and number five on the R&B charts. He can be seen performing it live in the 1964 motion picture concert film 'The T.A.M.I. Show'. On their 1975 album 'Hustle With Speed' James' backing band the J.B.'s incorporated the main saxophone line of "Night Train" in their instrumental single "All Aboard The Soul Funky Train".

Answer: David Bowie - "Red Sails"

Speaking purely for myself I cannot think of a single greater loss to music in my lifetime than David Bowie. And Lodger is EASILY one of my most very favorite David Bowie albums. It was released in May of 1979. It was considered to be the final part of his fabled 'Berlin Trilogy' series of albums (the other two of which were 'Low' and 'Heroes').

The track "Red Sails closed out side one on the original vinyl issue. It was not one of the tracks chosen for either an a side or b side release as a single (yet oddly enough not only was the strange "Yassassin" chosen as one of the a sides but the track about spousal abuse entitled "Repetition" was the chosen b side on THREE of the four singles released off of that record!).

In the Los Angeles area "Red Sails" received quite a bit of airplay on the radio station KROQ, making it one of the four most well known tracks off of the record to Los Angelenos (The other three being "DJ", "Look Back In Anger" and "Boys Keep Swinging").

The album did not do as well as expected reaching a mere twenty in the US charts (vs a number four in the UK charts). 'Lodger' is the one David Bowie albums that need's some serious re-evaluation.

Answer: Gene Krupa And His Orchestra - "Let Me Off Downtown"

Anita O'Day (born Anita Belle Colton; October 18, 1919 - November 23, 2006) changed her surname from Colton to O'Day, pig Latin for "dough," slang for money. Eugene Bertram "Gene" Krupa (January 15, 1909 - October 16, 1973), having no swineage in his name, chose to leave his alone. Together, however, they scored a big hit with "Let Me Off Downtown which featured a vocal duet with Anita and Roy Eldridge which was released in June of 1941.

Anita was desperate to get out of her home and she did so by entering various singing and dancing contests in hopes of being noticed. She got her first of many breaks when Down Beat editor Carl Cons hired her to work at his new club 'The Off-Beat' in 1938. It was here where she was noticed by Gene Krupa, who promised her that he would hire her if his vocalist at the time, Irene Daye, ever left his band. And, true to his word, he called Anita to join his band in early 1941. Over time they recorded 34 sides together. Of these it was "Let Me Off Uptown", a novelty duet with Roy Eldridge, that became her first big hit.

Answer: Checkmates, Ltd. - "Black Pearl"

I ADORED this song as a kid and had completely forgotten about it for many decades. Then a suggestion of hers helped me rediscover it. Now anybody that knows me knows I have ALWAYS had a special dislike for all things 'Phil Spector'. However here is that rare exception to the rule: this song is actually written by Phil Spector, Toni Wine, and Irwin Levine. You actually justified your existence for a change. Oh yeah. Phil also produced this track. Released in April of 1969 this song went to number thirteen on the US pop charts and to number thirty one on the down under charts in Australia. Which, if you consider that we are on one side of the world and they are on the other and you look at the number of the respective chart placements, is kind of interesting. Well to ME it is interesting.

One of the truly GREAT late sixties soul ballads.

Answer: Oliver - "Good Morning Starshine"

How many of you, in around 1969, had to suffer through endless covers of tracks from the 'Hippie Rock Musical' (now see? right there they lost me) known around the world as 'Hair'? Now picture this timid ten and eleven year old world traveler: I not only had to suffer it in the USA, I ALSO had to indulge it silently when I went to Germany in BOTH the summers of 1969 and 1970. EVERY DAMN COUNTRY in Europe had an "original cast" album of their version of Hair.

In their languages. Ok granted: in retrospect maybe there were some great future rock stars appearing in the casts (Personally I am thinking Alex Harvey).

But who on earth knew who those people were back when this brouhaha was going on? So.... in the USA you had, among others, the Cowsills, the Fifth Dimension and this little treat from Oliver. Easily the single most asinine song on the Hair soundtrack. Done in a way that truly grates on the ear after first listen. YOU try singing that chorus on the playground in 3rd or 4th grade and see if somebody does not beat the tar out of you. Go ahead. I dare you.

Hell: I DOUBLE DOG DARE YOU!

Answer: The Godz - "The Wiffenpoof Song"

Oh come on! There is no way any reasonably observant taker of this series of quizzes did not see this one coming! What can I possibly say about one of my favorite bands that has not already been said? They may or may not have been musical incompetents.

The Godz musicians were guitarist Jim McCarthy, bassist Larry Kessler, autoharpist Jay Dillon, and drummer Paul Thornton They all met while working at the New York location of Sam Goody's Musical Instrument store at the same time. As per Jim McCarthy they were all gathered in Larry's living room to smoke a joint when they noticed there were a bunch of percussion instruments scattered around the apartment. Out of sheer frustration they all grabbed an instrument and started making a racket with them, expressing their musical frustration.

After which Larry suggested that they should audition for Bernard Stollman's ESP Disk label (The rest of the band thought he was insane when he suggested this). Whereupon the good ole Bernster actually signed them, Bernie being a man of exquisite taste after all. Over the next 9 years the band recorded and released 5 albums. Without the Godz bands like The Shaggs and Half Japanese (amongst many others) probably never would have existed. You have not truly heard "everything there is to hear" until you have copped an aural of the Godz.

Answer: Captain Beefheart & The Magic Band - "Lick My Decals Off Baby"

This is as good an indulgence of mine with which to close off this series as any. I discovered the song via an ad for a three LP sampler album entitled 'Looney Tunes And Merrie Melodies' which was advertised on an inner sleeve of a record I would have purchased in late 1970 - don't ask me which album had this inner sleeve in it as I do not remember.

It was only three dollars and it started a decade long habit of me buying every sampler advertised on Warner Brothers and Reprise Records inner sleeves. I liked what I heard when I listened to the record.

But I absolutely flipped over this track when I heard it the first time. It was a major (musically speaking) life changing moment for me. The next year after we moved to Germany I got Captain Beefheart's 'Trout Mask Replica' album for Christmas.

The odd part about this was (and I did not make the connection until years later): when I was a kid in the sixties and we moved to Woodland Hills and lived there from 1968 until 1971 I would ride my bike around the neighborhood on weekends in 1968/1969 and I often passed by a road called Ensenada where I could hear a band playing at the end of the (very short) street. And I would walk my bike up towards the sound and sit on the curb listening to the band for a few hours at a time. I also saw them briefly at the Hollywood Teen Fair in whatever year "Valley Of The Dolls" was in the movie theaters.

It was not until a bit later that I figured out that the band I biked over there to listen to and had seen at the Teen Fair was Captain Beefheart and his Magic Band. Too bad I never had the guts to knock on the door and see if I could have maybe been allowed to listen to the band in their rehearsal room. Ah well: at least I learned that when life throws opportunities at you it behooves you to grab them pronto. There's that at least :-/ .