Good afternoon friends!
I hope you’ve all had a lovely November week. I’ve enjoyed the sunshine - and not enjoyed the rain. Bah.
A good turn out this week! The most correctly identified song was “Zombie” by The Cranberries, with “Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps)” by David Bowie causing the most confusion.
Your leaderboard this week:
🥇 on 12/12: Megan and The Chamberlains, The Bögan Crüe, and Team BSA
🥈 on 11/12: Team Impoverished, Siobhan M, All the worlds a song, and Legislation Lovers
🥉 on 10/12: DC Lyfers
Have a lovely weekend! It’s my birthday next week, which means: The Hardest Quiz will be emerging on Monday. Mwa ha ha, etc.
Kirsti.
1960s: “Puff, The Magic Dragon”, Peter, Paul and Mary
Little Jackie Paper
Loved that rascal Puff
And brought him strings and sealing wax
And other fancy stuff
Hint: Pop-folk song is by a folk trio with biblical names (two men, and one woman). After the song's initial success, speculation arose—as early as a 1964 article in Newsweek—that the song contained veiled references to smoking marijuana. Title not contained in lyrics quoted.
1980s: “Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps)”, David Bowie
She had an horror of rooms, she was tired, you can't hide beat
When I looked in her eyes, they were blue but nobody home
Well, she could've been a killer if she didn't walk the way she do
And she do
She opened strange doors that we'd never close again
Hint: This song is the title track from the Thin White Duke’s 14th studio album that included the songs “Ashes to Ashes” and “Fashion”. Title not contained in lyrics quoted.
1990s (US): “Enter Sandman”, Metallica
We're off to never-never land
Something's wrong, shut the light, heavy thoughts tonight
And they aren't of Snow White
Dreams of war, dreams of liars, dreams of dragons' fire
And of things that will bite, yeah
Sleep with one eye open
Gripping your pillow tight
Hint: This 1991 mega-hit from an American heavy metal band that your quizmistress SWEARS in the early 2000s (they never released any further albums, nope, never). This song - simple, highly guitar driven and based around one riff - is a departure from the band’s previous more musically complex works. Other songs from this band you may know are “Master of Puppets”, “One”, or “Nothing Else Matters”. Title not contained in lyrics quoted.
1990s (Ireland): “Zombie”, The Cranberries
But you see, it's not me, it's not my family
In your head, in your head, they are fightin'
With their tanks and their bombs and their bombs and their guns
In your head, in your head, they are cryin'
Hint: This alternative rock group from Limerick, Ireland rose to international fame in the 1990s with their debut album, Everybody Else Is Doing It, So Why Can't We?, which became a commercial success. This song’s title (not in the lyrics quoted) is the link to this week’s theme, and it’s honestly their most famous song. Other songs of theirs that you may know are “Linger”, “Salvation” or “When You’re Gone”. The name of the band is that of a fruit that grows in bogs.
2010s (musical): “Sexy”, Mean Girls
I can be a sexy pirate
Or a sexy ballet dancer
I can be a sexy doctor
And cure some sexy cancer
Hint: This song comes from the musical adaption of a Hollywood movie that includes such infamous lines as “On Wednesdays, we wear pink”, “Get in loser, we’re going shopping”, “I’m a cool Mom”, and “Four for you Glen Coco! You go Glen Coco!”. It’s sung by a particularly dimwitted character who at the end declares herself a “sexy mouse…duh”. The name of the musical is the same as the movie, and the title of this song is an adjective used in the lyrics quoted.
2020s: “You Make Me Feel Like It’s Halloween”, Muse
I'm shackled, there is no way out
I can't escape
When you turn out the lights
You make me feel like it's Halloween
Hint: This song from an English three-piece rock band is my new favourite Halloween song - I’ve been listening to it on repeat for about 2 weeks now. This band, named for the inspirational goddess of literature, science and the arts, has appeared twice in the Lyrics Quiz this year with their songs “Uprising” and “Starlight”. Other songs of theirs you may know are “Black Holes and Revelations”, “Supermassive Black Hole”, and “Psycho”.
