4/29 Lyrical Pursuit Lyric

I wanted to use the song Hocus Pocus this morning but I couldn't figure out how to post lyrics of yodeling. So instead lets go with this gem.

(See rules/intro here.)

I ain't no psychiatrist, I ain't no doctor with degree

It don't take too much high IQ's to see what you're doing to me

Cheaters will be shunned by the community

Clue #1: She is the Queen of Soul

Spork comes in and grabs 4 points. It is Aretha Franklin, "Think"

April totals: Stephen 22, Nic 12, Spork 8, Brian 5, Victor 5,

Late breaking update: Nic grabs the 5 point bonus by knowing that SWLABR stands for She Walks Like A Bearded Rainbow. Like I said, I want to know what they were smoking and where I can I get some.

4/27 Lyrical Pursuit Lyric

This is a great one from a classic album. You look at the lyrics from most of the songs and wonder just what they were smoking at the time.

(See rules/intro here.)

So many fantastic colours, I feel in a wonderland

Many fantastic colours, makes me feel so good

Cheaters will have a bad trip.

Clue #1: British power trio

1/2 way there, the band is Cream
Clue #2: The song name is an acronym
Clue #3: It was on side 2 of their second album - Disraeli Gears. Here is the entire first verse to help you out

Coming to me in the morning
Leaving me at night
Coming to me in the morning
Leaving me alone

Clue #4: Here are all the lyrics. Any guesses?

Coming to me in the morning, leaving me at night.
Coming to me in the morning, leaving me alone.
You've got that rainbow feel,
But the rainbow has a beard. Running to me a-cryin', when he throws you out.
Running to me a-cryin', on your own again.
You've got that pure feel,
Such good responses,
But the picture has a mustache.

You're comin' to me with that soulful look on your face.
Coming lookin' like you've never ever done one wrong thing.

You're comin' to me with that soulful look on your face.
You're comin' lookin' like you've never ever done one wrong thing.

So many fantastic colours, I feel in a wonderland.
Many fantastic colours, makes me feel so good.
You've got that pure feel,
Such good responses,
Got that rainbow feel,
But the rainbow has a beard.

Nic goes to the audio tape and snags 1 point for knowing that it is Cream performing SWLABR.

April totals: Stephen 22, Brian 5, Nic 7, Victor 5, Spork 4

5 extra points for the first one who knows what SWLABR stands for.

4/24 Lyrical Pursuit Lyric

Ah Friday, the end of another week. But we have to get through the back of the box before we can escape. This one still sets my teeth on edge whenever I hear it on the radio.

(See rules/intro here.)

Some boys take a beautiful girl

And hide her away from the rest of the world

Cheating is bad

Winner: Stephen - Girls Just Want to Have Fun by Cindy Lauper

I know that some of you were upset that I didn't rerun last week's classic but there are a lot more Fridays left so be prepared.

April totals: Stephen 22, Brian 5, Nic 6, Victor 5, Spork 4

4/22 Lyrical Pursuit Lyric

A little working music for your Wednesday

(See rules/intro here.)

I keep my nose on the grindstone, I work hard every day

might get a little tired on the weekend, after I draw my pay

but I'll go back workin

Cheaters will be escorted out of the building

Clue #1: He is on your fighting side
We have the artist - it is Merle Haggard
Clue #2: It has been covered by Diamond Rio. Bob Dylan, Willie Nelson & The Alarm also have songs with the same name.
Clue #3: This song was targeted to his core group of fans
Clue #4: Man you guys are reallying me work on this one

No winner today: It was Merle Haggard - Working man blues

Skeleton Dance

April 18th would have been my grandmother's 8th anniversary of being diagnosed with multiple myeloma. She came up 3 days shy.

On Easter Sunday, I was working on dinner things when Mom appeared and said we were leaving for Tennessee the next morning. Within half an hour, she had decided we were leaving immediately. Dinner prep was abandoned and packing began. I drove my mother the whole way (she doesn't see so well at night, and freeway driving stresses her out when in unfamiliar territory). Dad couldn't get off work for the week because his foreman (the guy below him who could take over for him) was on vacation.

We spent the night in Illinois, and made it to the hospital in Lebanon, TN well before noon Monday. Two days were spent visiting Grandma as much as we could during visiting hours. She was in isolation in ICU, and we had to put on facemasks, gloves, and those gown/robe things when we went in to see her. She was obviously not great, but I thought her mental faculties were pretty good. She'd make her witty little remarks like always about the conversation, but sometimes a few moments beyond when they would have been most appropriate. This made my mom and her sister think she was confused, but I felt like she was just sort of tired. It was lag-time.

Over Monday and Tuesday, I spent a lot of time with my mother and aunt, and in the course of their conversations, some skeletons came dancing out of the family closet. I won't get into specifics, but I will say that it made a difficult time even more horrible. Learning things you didn't want to know about people who are gone is never awesome, but it makes it worse when it alters the way you think about people who are still around. It explains a lot of behaviors in that side of the family, anyway.

At 2:30 a.m. Wednesday, the hospital called. Grandma had taken a bad turn and we needed to get there asap. My mom, aunt, cousins, and I rushed to the hospital, but Grandma was already gone. She had a strong faith in God and Jesus, and believed in heaven. It was only recently, however, that she seemed ready to go there. She was revived by the EMTs before she got to the hospital, and she always wanted to be kept alive by any medical means, but this time when the doctors and everyone talked to her about CPR and ventilators and her wishes about the end, she said (in her very Grandma Jean reproachful tone of voice), "You know, I was on my way to heaven before, and I was happy, but then you brought me back."

I don't believe in heaven, but I truly hope I am wrong and that Grandma Jean is there now, happy.

And now for something that doesn't make me sad, and the probable inspiration for the post title...

4/20 Lyrical Pursuit Lyric

Ok, lets change things up a little bit after the horror of last Friday's selection. This is a theme song so I will accept just the name of the show in lieu of an artist.

(See rules/intro here.)

Surfing tidal waves

Creating nano bots

Or looking frankenstine's brain

Cheaters will be sent to the front office

Stephen knows his Disney channel. It is the theme song from Phineas and Ferb.

April totals: Stephen 17, Brian 5, Nic 6, Victor 5, Spork 4

The bonus is still out there. Anyone else watch this show?

Correspondence and Authors

I was offline for a week (not that anyone could tell any difference from when I am online for a week) and had 1000+ emails in my spam folder. I am caught up on emails now, so if you did not get a response, you will need to resend your mail, plzkthxbai.

Also, I am wondering who we consider "Great American Authors"...I'll start with an easy one. Mark Twain. Name some others. Go.

4/17 Lyrical Pursuit Lyric

Ah, finally Friday. We have make it past tax and depending on what state you live in you might even be past tax freedom day. But you still have to get past the back of the box day.

(See rules/intro here.)

I can see it, face is glowin'

What a lovely way of sayin' what you're thinkin' of me

I can see in your eyes, I'm happy you know it

And remember Big Brother is watching to see if you cheat

Isn't anyone brave enough to want to claim this one? I'll embed it as background music if no one speaks up soon.

Clue #1: Here are some more lyrics to help you out

The need inside you, I see it showin'


whoa, the seed inside ya, baby, do you feel it growin'?


Are you happy you know it? That you're...

Spork makes a comeback and grabs 4 points by being brave enough to answer this one.
It's Paul Anka, - "You're Having My Baby"
Hopefully Nic and Victor will be able to overcome the trauma to return next week.
April totals: Stephen 12, Brian 5, Nic 6, Victor 5, Spork 4

4/15 Lyrical Pursuit Lyric

(See rules/intro here.)

It's Tax day. I have a 2 today for all of you. #1: Is a what'd he say??

Hay down our motor mount and snowin, we was travelin further

All the pipes were blazin and the screamin wheels

And #2: should be quite easy

And my advice to

Those who die

Cheaters will be audited for the next 5 years.

Victor knows that the second one is Taxman by The Beatles.

No guesses on the first?
Clue #1: He is from Detroit
Clue #2: You would use this to kill a werewolf
Clue #3: He is singing about a city in Colorado
Clue #4: One of his songs was a big hit for chevy when used in a commercial

Nic pulls it out at the last minute. It is Bob Seger & the Silver Bullet Band - Get Out of Denver

April totals: Stephen 12, Brian 5, Nic 6, Victor 5

4/13 Lyrical Pursuit Lyric

Is a Monday the 13th worse than a Friday the 13th?

(See rules/intro here.)

Other arms reach out to me

Other eyes smile tenderly

Still in peaceful dreams I see

I am looking for the original artist on this one.

Cheaters will have to do the YMCA dance with the Yankee's ground crew during the 7th inning stretch.

Nic Wins: Ray Charles, Georgia on my Mind

April totals: Stephen 12, Brian 5, Nic 5

4/10 Lyrical Pursuit Lyric

Here is another gem from the mid 70s. Yes it's the Back of the Box.

(See rules/intro here.)

You can always find me

At the Whole Earth Vitamin Bar

Just sucking on my plain white yogurt

Cheaters will be sent to the Gulf of Aden on a Panamanian flagged freighter

We are 1/2 way there, the song is Junk food Junkie. I figured that Nic would have been all over this one.
Clue #1: Released by Warner Bros. Records in 1976 it made it has high as #9 on the charts
Clue #2: None of his follow-up songs made it on the charts. Among them were: "The Bumper Sticker Song," "We Been Malled," and "Turn
on the TV."
Clue #3: It's not Jim Croce

I am guessing that it is a waste of time to continue here. That and the fact that I really can't come up with a lot of clues for just the artist.

The artist is Larry Groce

April totals: Stephen 12, Brian 5

Ask Pete: Lyrical pursuit edition

Victor asks "What the hell is a jug band?"

The quick answer is a band employing a jug player. Jug, singular, sorry Shank.

The longer answer is that a jug band is used to refer to groupss that also incorporate home-made instruments. Other terms are called skiffle bands, spasm bands or juke bands. They were quite popular in the 50s and early 60s. The Beatles first started out as a skiffle band.

From Wikipedia we get the rest
The eponymous jug sound is made by taking a jug (usually made of glass or stoneware) and buzzing the lips into its mouth from about an inch away. As with brass instruments, changes in pitch are controlled by altering lip tension, and an accomplished jug player could have a two octave range. The stovepipe (usually a section of tin pipe, 3" or 4" in diameter) is played in much the same manner, with the pipe rather than the jug being the resonating chamber. There is some similarity to the didgeridoo, but there is no contact between the stovepipe and the player's lips. Some jug and stovepipe players utilize throat vocalization along with lip buzzing, as with the didgeridoo.

The swooping sounds of the jug fill a musical role halfway between the trombone and sousaphone or tuba in Dixieland bands, playing mid- and lower-range harmonies in rhythm.

4/8 Lyrical Pursuit Lyric

Ok, who is on the bus this morning?

(See rules/intro here.)

Majordomo Billy Bojangles.

Sit down and have a drink with me

Cheaters will be forced to read the entire federal budget

I figured this one would be easy but I guess not.
Clue #1: They began as The Warlocks, a group formed in early 1964 from the remnants of a Palo Alto jug band called Mother McCree's Uptown Jug Champions
Clue #2: In the early 70s they pioneered the use of the "wall of sound"

Winner:Stephen grabs 2 more points
Alabama Getaway by The Grateful Dead

April totals: Stephen 12, Brian 5

4/6 Lyrical Pursuit Lyric

Late start today so let us get right to it

(See rules/intro here.)

You gotta roll, roll, roll,

You gotta thrill my soul, alright.

No cheating

Winner: Brian gets the Roadhouse blues, by the Doors

April totals: Stephen 10, Brian 5

*Flyover Country--UPDATED with deets

Suck it, Hollywood.

UPDATE: Some people seem to expect the Iowa State Legislature or Governor Culver to step in and void the Iowa State Supreme Court's unanimous (!) decision to allow gay marriage.

It doesn't work that way.

Because marriage is a state issue rather than a federal issue, there is no appeal process beyond the State Supreme Court.

The only way for the gay marriage ruling to be "overturned" is through Constitutional Amendment. In Iowa, this requires the approval of two consecutive State Legislative sessions and ultimately general vote by the people of Iowa. Legislative sessions last two years in Iowa, and this is year one of the current session. The next general vote where it would be possible to vote on an Amendment is 2012.

Until then, Iowa is the third state to allow gay marriage. I for one think that is terrific. The pure joy that erupted following the decision made me more determined to do my part to keep equality alive and well in Iowa.

4/3 Lyrical Pursuit Lyric

It's Friday again and that means it's time for the back of the box. Y'all are going to hate me for this one because it is one of those that will stick in your head all day long.

(See rules/intro here.)

Still in the dress she used to wear, faded feathers in her hair

She sits there so refined, and drinks herself half-blind

If you cheat baby Jesus will cry

Looks like Shephan has been reading over my shoulder again. He wins by knowing it is Copacabana by Barry Manilow

April totals: Stephen 10

4/1 Lyrical Pursuit Lyric

I'm feeling a little funky this morning

(See rules/intro here.)

Ba-by

I'll meet you

Same place, same time

cheaters will not be invited to this years Christmas party.

Winner: Stephen strikes early.
Get Down Tonight - KC and The Sunshine Band

April totals: Stephen 5