Hello friends!
Apologies to the SEVERAL people whose work emails decided the hints email was “profane”. Remember all of the emails are published on substack, so you can always go straight to the substack website to read the Forbidden Words.
Wow, you really knew your songs from this year! Shout out especially to those who had to reach out to additional people to get all the answers.
Everyone who sent in their answers this week knew Taylor Swift’s “Anti-Hero” and Lizzo’s “About Damn Time”, with OneRepublic’s “I Ain’t Worried” causing the most confusion.
The leaderboard this week was pretty amazing, with the lowest score being 9.5…:
🥇 on 12/12: Team BSA, Ashleigh F, R&E team, Bex K, All the worlds a song, Team Impoverished, Vercisca, Megan and The Chamberlains, The Bögan Crüe, Siobhan M, DC Lyfers, and Kirsty MacD
🥈 on 11/12: Chelsea S
🥉 + 🥄 on 9.5/12: Legislation Lovers
I hope you all have a lovely weekend, and I’ll be back on Monday with a Merry theme that was requested last year…
Kirsti.
A: “The Will of the People”, Muse
Free your sons and unlock your daughters
We'll throw the baby out with the bathwater
With every second, our anger increases
We're gonna smash your nation to pieces
(The will of the people, the will of the people)
Hint: This glam rock song is the title track from this English rock band’s ninth studio album. Their name is a four letter word for the inspirational goddesses of literature, science, and the arts in Ancient Greece. Other songs you may know of theirs include “Starlight”, “Supermassive Black Hole”, “Uprising”, “Plug in Baby”, and “You Make Me Feel Like It’s Halloween”. Title in lyrics quoted.
B: “Anti-hero”, Taylor Swift
It's me, hi
I'm the problem, it's me
Hint: I love this song so much. Tickets for this artist’s latest tour, Eras, went on sale in the US recently and completely crashed the ticketing system, leading to her fans starting to lobby the US Department of Justice and their attorneys general to break up the Ticketmaster/Live Nation monolopy and strengthen antitrust laws. Look at what you made them do… (please read this Associated Press article about TayTay fans and their anger, it features so many of her lyrics and made me laugh: https://apnews.com/article/entertainment-business-taylor-swift-cca0dec2b454d564fa52383101725bdc)
Title not in lyrics quoted.
C: “It’s About Damn Time”, Lizzo
Turn up the music, turn down the lights
I got a feelin' I'm gon' be alright
Okay (Okay), alright
It's about damn time
Hint: This musician upset a lot of conversatives earlier this year when she got the opportunity to play a crystal flute gifted to President Madison by the French in 1813. The Truth Hurts, and she is 100% that b***h: a classically trained flutist who has won three Grammy Awards, and she is ready 2 Be Loved. Title in lyrics quoted.
D: “Music for a Sushi Restaurant”, Harry Styles
Music for a sushi restaurant
Music for whatever you want
Scuba-duba-dubub-boo (Oh)
Hint: The story behind this song is pretty cute: this British artist (who definitely spat on Chris Pine at the Venice Film Festival this year, not that Chris Pine deserved it) was in a sushi restaurant in Los Angeles when one of his songs came on from a past album (perhaps “Watermelon Sugar”? “Sign of the Times”?) and he thought, “this is weird music for a sushi restaurant…”. Inspiration comes from weird places sometimes folks. Title in lyrics quoted.
E: “Break My Soul”, Beyoncé
You won't break my soul
I'm tellin' everybody
Everybody
Everybody
Everybody
Now, I just fell in love
And I just quit my job
Hint: New music from Queen B herself. Previous songs of hers include “If I Were a Boy”, “Halo”, and “Single Ladies”. Title in lyrics quoted.
F: “I Ain’t Worried”, OneRepublic
But I ain't worried 'bout it right now (Right now)
Keeping dreams alive, 1999, heroes
I ain't worried 'bout it right now (Right now)
Swimmin' in the floods, dancing on the clouds below
Hint: This. Damn. Song. There was one day I swear it followed me around the shops and drove me nuts - and since I have no intention of watching Top Gun: Maverick, the movie it was written for, it just annoyed me even more. This American pop rock band achieved its first commercial success on Myspace, which I find hilarious for some reason. Other songs of theirs that you might know are “Apologise”, “Stop and Stare”, and “Counting Stars”. Title in lyrics quoted.
