Getting on the Chain week 2

Getting on the Chain week 2

After a first week of failure, to get on the chain, and to even have come up with songs I thought were better than those chosen by R&M, it was time to focus.

To recap the challenge, as I have listened to Radcliffe & Maconie, on listen again for all the time they have been on 6 music, the overnight drunken answer machine is the only way I can interact with them, offering up my suggestion for the next link on the Chain overnight.

So I will choose my link, phone it in, and then will compare to the song selected (assuming its not mine) whoever has the best song gets a point, and I get to choose the best song.

The rules of the chain, great song, can't have been chosen before, any sort of link, don't have the same link as before....

Week 2 and funnily enough I didn't get on the chain, but this was how it ran, I missed the weekend link having too much fun, then:

Linking into 3617: Pink Floyd - Bike, now I couldn't do Bike, so had to do something on Pink Floyd, then I had a brain wave, Floyd on Food, Keith Floyd's excellent cookery show from the 70's gave me a link to any other acts on food, Food Records, and the mighty Blur.

Blur have been on the chain a lot, The Universal, There's no other way, Beetlebum, Park life, Music is my radar, Tender, Girls & Boys, Song 2, Coffee & Tv, Charmless Man, Tracy Jacks, For tomorrow, This is a low, No distance left to run, Out of time, Sweet song, Country house, Chemical World, To the end, She's so high, end of the century....

But not long lost single Pop Scene - boom, I know Maconie loves this tune and he's on his own this week,

But no, a guy called Gerald, Voodoo Ray won out, as Bike mentions Gerald. Good song, but I claim victory for a brilliant link today.

Next up, linking onto 3620 Black Grapes Kelly's Heroes:

Googling the film Kelly's Heroes, it stars Clint Eastwood, which was a song by Gorillaz (but it's already gone on the chain) as have most of the singles by Gorillaz, except 19-2000 which was my link.

They actually went with a Songs that have the same name as a film and New Order, Thieves Like Us.

Good New Order track, but not a classic in my mind, not as good as 19-2000, so I am on a roll, 2 nil for the week.

Then linking to 3623 Hot Butter - Pop Corn:

Couldn't have a Hot link, so it was PopCorn, and boom, what else do you have at a cinema with pop corn, often in a meal deal, Cola, and Cola Boys song Seven ways to Love. Janet Lee Grace singing on the number 8 single in 1991 teaming up with St Etienne.

What beat me - Junior Walker & the Allstars - Pucker up Buttercup

Fair play, that's as good as Cola Boy, so let's call it a score draw.

So for this week I win 2.5 to 0.5.

And running total new leader, I am winning 4:3

Getting on the Chain Week 1

RacMac in Hoxton Bonnets

Mark Radcliffe & Stuart Maconie have been constant companions of my listening to music for a long long time. I can remember organising to drive places at work to coincide with Mark and Lard in the afternoon, being accompanied for 6 months on the morning drive to Melton Mowbray when they briefly got the breakfast show, going late night on Radio 2 (sadly now shut down) joining forces with Maconie, moving earlier, bringing on Sir Nodwood of Holdershire, emotionally finishing on Radio 2 (I saved the last show on Radio 2 to listen to whilst running the London Marathon that year) and switching to 6 Music, with a mammoth 15 hours of Radio a week (not including Freak Zone, Music Club, Peoples Songs, Folk Shows). Who said you can have too much of a good thing.

So having a full time job, and not one that is a graphic designer in Brighton means that I have to use the listen again function, which coupled with Wiretap allows me to have Radmac whilst getting up and going into work, and on the way home. As a result, when they celebrated 2 years of shows I realised I had celebrated all of that with them, every show!

The Photo there is from this website, Link credit where its due

I have always wanted to get onto the chain, but as its live, I don't have much chance, except for the overnight drunken answering machine, so from this week onwards I am going to try, and see what they choose and decide from my perspective whether they were right or wrong to go with the other tune. Now this will be biased as I will be picking tunes I like, but lets see how we go.

Linking onto 3599 - Steel Pulse - Handsworth Revolution.

I put a lot of thought into this link, first I went with, Steel, and 'Saphire and Steel' the show with David McCallum and Joanna Lumley. Not knowing any Saphire songs, I could go with other precious stones, Diamonds and Pearls - Prince maybe, or Diamonds from Sierra Lione by Kanye West. Liked this link but no.

Then going from Pulse, you get Pulse Tone phones - so onto Tone Loc, sadly 'Funky Cold Medina' had gone, but 'Wild Thing' was available, but then, as I am a Brummie I decided to go with Birmingham locations, as Handsworth is in Brum, I thought Hollywood is also a Birmingham location, and I knew that Suede do a fantastic song 'This Hollywood Life' which had gone, as had the good Frankie Goes to Hollywood ones.

Elsewhere in Brum is Moseley, so I found my link, with Ocean Colour Scenes album Moseley Shoals and 'The River Boat Song'

Obviously I wasn't going to get in on my first attempt, and this is forever associated with TFI Fridays as its theme song. But I was beaten by

Jose Gonzalez and Heartbeats (from Pulse to Heartbeats)

 Which was used for the Sony Bravia, bouncing balls advert, and is a cracking song, so I admit defeat on this one, good choice Radmac. I am downloading this from I-Tunes as we speak.


So next chance, Linking to 3602: Doves M62 song

Prince - When Doves cry (Doves link) - gone
St Etienne - Like a Motorway (Motorways link) - gone
St Etienne - Avenue (types of road) - gone
Bangles - Going down to Liverpool (as the M62 goes to Liverpool! clever) - oo maybe
The Streets - (types of road again, plus another Brum band so lets try them), Dry your eyes - gone
Don't Mug Yourself - Available - done

Nope, went with Guillemots - Annie lets not wait,

Great song and a Brum Band - lets call it a draw then


Day 3:
Link 3605 Rufus Wainright - Little Sister

First choice for me, Art Brut - my little Brother

GREAT VIDEO, GREAT SONG

But funnily enough everyone went with Martha Wainright's Prosperpina

I am having that one, why, because its my game and I think Art Brut's song is better anyway!

Day 4: 3608 Patrick Wolf - The Magic Position

Away from the computer, I thought Patricks, well Patrick Duff is from Strangelove, so lets go with  Strangelove, Beautiful Alone.

This was a song I really loved, presumed it was a great single but as there is no video on Youtube, and everythings on Youtube, I guess it never was and so that was never going to win in my game, check it out though, great song.

They went with Peter Bjorn & John's Young Folks:

I love this song, so well done you win, 'can't believe it hadn't been on the chain before'



So I guess I must try harder, using a scoring system of 1 point for a win and 0.5 for a draw, RadMac are currently beating me 2.5 to 1.5. Which is galling given its my game and my rules, but will drive me on for next week, and anyway they have years of Radio experience to fall back on:

Radmac 2.5
Me 1.5