far away, the ship is taking me far away...

I know this is usually the bit where I do Earworms of the Week, but today I thought I'd go wild and do something a bit different.

Mandy's laid down the gauntlet, and I'm picking it up..... (and yes, I know that it's ridiculous to even attempt to answer some of these questions. Just take it as read that I realise that, and then I won't have to say it after every question).

Before you start thinking you might like to have a go at this yourself, please let me caution you that it is really very long and actually extremely difficult.

You have been warned.

What's a great late night song?

Hm. I generally like to listen to something a touch mellower in the evening. I'll say "River Man" by Nick Drake. We listened to this as we drove to the hot springs at Saturnia when we were in Italy. It was some time after midnight, and it was the absolutely perfect choice.

Name 5-10 wistful/bittersweet songs:

Oh, for heaven's sake. In no particular order:

1. "Make It Easy on Yourself" - The Walker Brothers
2. "Wichita Lineman" - Glen Campbell
3. "Caroline No" - The Beach Boys
4. "The Scientist" / "Fix You" - Coldplay (either will do fine)
5. "Hallelujah" - Jeff Buckley

The 4 Best Songs Ever Written:

1. "There Is A Light That Never Goes Out" - The Smiths
2. "Back in Black" - AC/DC
3. "In the Ghetto" - Elvis Presley
4. "Hurt" - Johnny Cash (but only the JC version)

I know I said you should take it as read, but that's a HORRIBLE question to ask someone, isn't it?

3 Current Favorite Songs:

1. "Starlight" - Muse
2. "Chicago" - Sufjan Stevens
3. "All Sparks" - Editors

Classic Early Evening Drinking Music:

Erm. Could be anything really. I'll say "I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor" by Arctic Monkeys. That's proper psych-up music. Gets me in a good mood everytime. Billy Joel's pretty good too, but in a more chilled out, sing-a-long-y way.

3 All Time Faves That Never Get Old To You:

albums or songs? I'll go with albums, I think.

1. "Appetite for Destruction" - Guns N'Roses
2. "The Essential Billy Joel" - Billy Joel
3. "Hatful of Hollow" - The Smiths

Song You Want To (or did) Play At Your Wedding:

Hm. "Seven Nation Army" by the White Stripes, "I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor" by the Arctic Monkeys. Something like that.

"Hey Ya!" - Outkast

or perhaps,

"Too Drunk to Fuck" - Dead Kennedy's.

4 Records You Really Dug from 2005:

Um. This is hard. I can barely remember last week, never mind last year.

"I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor" (again) - Arctic Monkeys
"Apply Some Pressure" - Maximo Park
"Hope There's Somone" - Antony & the Johnsons
"Hounds of Love" - The Futureheads

Favorite Records From This Year So Far:

"Supermassive Blackhole" - Muse
"It's a Hit" - We Are Scientists
"Sewn" - The Feeling
"Sheila" - Jamie T
"Crazy" - Gnarls Barkley

Good Angry Songs:

"Fucking Hostile" - Pantera, every time.

One of Your Favorite Lyrics:

"The Devil came and took me from bar to street to bookie" ("Up the Junction" - Squeeze)

5 Cover Songs Arguably Better Than the Original:

"Hallelujah" - Jeff Buckley
"Hurt" - Johnny Cash
"One" - Johnny Cash
"If You Go Away" - Dusty Springfield (covering Jacques Brel's "Ne Me Quitte Pas")
"All Along the Watchtower" - Jimi Hendrix

Great Dance Song You Maybe Never Realized Was a Great Dance Song Back in the Day:

Hm. No idea. I didn't like dance music much back in the day, and I don't much like it now.

Good Albums To Workout To:

Rock music in general, but anything by the Foo Fighters or Queens of the Stoneage in particular. It makes me run faster, you see (although I never get any further away from it).

Good Album to Clean The House To:

Do what? I'm reminded of the great line that never was in "Rocks" by Primal Scream (a song that I loathe, by the way):

Hoovers keep a hooverin'

Good Dining Music:

"Rejoicing in the Hands" - Devendra Banhart
"Way To Blue" - Nick Drake

it's that whole acoustic vibe.

either that or some Burt Bacharach.

Good Album To Have Sex To:

Even if it's a bad album, at least you're still having sex, right? I had great sex listening to "Parklife" once, but I'm not sure if that's what the question is asking.

Barry White, obviously. Or Chef.

A Good Album To Put You In the Mood (that is NOT Sade, Marvin Gaye or Barry White):

I don't need an album to put me in the mood. Certainly not Prince, anyway.

Good Album To Sleep To:

Sigur Ros are quite soothing. "Tak" perhaps.

5 Good Rock Songs That You Can Dance To:

"Seven Nation Army" - White Stripes
"I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor" - Arctic Monkeys

um. And others. If you call pogo-ing dancing, then most things really.

Song That Is Too Damn Sad:

"If You Could Read My Mind" - Johnny Cash. God, I'm welling up just thinking about it.

Great Love Song:

"God Only Knows" - The Beach Boys

An Album Full of Tenderness:

Um. This question is making me realise how miserable most of my record collection is.

Song To An Ex That Isn't Meanspirited:

Where's the fun in that? I'd say "Long May You Run" by Neil Young, but that was about a car, so I'm sure it doesn't count.

Song To An Ex That Is Kinda Meanspirited:

"You're So Vain" - Carly Simon

Song to Listen to While in The Country Looking at Stars:

Something floaty and un-obtrusive. Pink Floyd perhaps. Or maybe something ethereal and feminine. Joni Mitchell, Tori Amos or Beth Orton perhaps.

Song to lose your Mind to:

The one I used to do it most often too was by Deep Purple actually. It just got funnier and funnier, and is perfect for air keyboard solos.

...or do you not mean that kind of losing your mind?

Probably "The Wall" then. Or anything by Muse.

Song To Cry In Your Pillow to:

"I Just Don't Know What To Do With Myself" - Dusty Springfield

Songs That Make You Feel Amped and Inspired:

I'm not really sure that I know what this means. I used to listen to "From Out of Nowhere" by Faith No More before I went off to sit any GCSE exams. Will that do?

Great Semi-Obscure B-side:

"Gravity" - Coldplay.

Song That Makes You Miss Your Mum:

Genuinely nothing. My mum doesn't really listen to much music.

That's Baby Makin' Music (No, Really):

What? Who wants that?

Criminally Underrated Band That Didn't Get Attention and Then Broke Up:

I'll vote Gene.

Best Fuck You I Am a Teenager in Pain Song:

By this, I assume we're talking about Marilyn Manson, Linkin Park and that kind of stuff? I hate this whole genre, frankly. "Sugar, We're Going Down" by Fallout Boy is pretty catchy though, if that counts.

I do like "Teenage Dirtbag" by Wheatus too, although that's not quite the same thing, is it?

Feel No Shame: Great Current Pop Songs:

The Sugababes are great.

Album No One Would Expect You To Love:

Um. I'm probably entirely predictable. How about "Quelqu'un m'a Dit" by Carla Bruni? An album by a former supermodel sung entirely in French. It's aces.

Album No One Would Expect You To Dislike:

There are a few Morrissey albums I'm not very keen on. "Maladjusted", "Kill Uncle" and perhaps most surprisingly of all, "Ringleader of the Tormentors".

Album No One Would Expect You To Really Know:

That's a stupid question. I have the last offering by Gnu Cnu. They're brilliant but little known. They should be massive.

Emo Album You Actually Like:

I'm not familiar enough with the genre to say.

Good, But Overrated Cause Of Indie Revisionism:

Jeff Buckley. "Grace" is a good album, but you'd think it was the best thing ever recorded if you listened to some people (after his death). Same applies to most things by Nirvana too, although that's not really indie revisionism.

I should probably also add that there is no way that The Smiths could ever have been as good as their reputation would suggest. They were a brilliant band and are one of my favourite acts in the world ever, but their reputation seems to be getting bigger and bigger every year. Please God never let them reform and disappoint us all.

5 Desert Island Discs off the top of your head (30 sec clock):

albums?

"Hatful of Hollow" - The Smiths
"A Rush Of Blood To The Head" - Coldplay
"OK Computer" - Radiohead
"Final Straw" - Snow Patrol
"2ManyDJs" - Soulwax

3 Contemporary Artists That Were Your Faves 10 Years Ago:

1996? Pulp, Manic Street Preachers, Blur

Music That Makes You Feel Sophisticated:

Anything in French.

Or freestyle jazz, obviously.

mmmmm. Nice.

Fave Electronic Record You Own:

nobody listens to techno, it's over.

Fave Hip-Hop Record You Own:

Probably "It Takes a Nation of Millions...." - Public Enemy.

Hip-Hop Song You Know All the Lyrics Too:

Does "Hey Ya!" count? Otherwise, nothing.

Random Album You Loved In High School But Are Afraid To Admit It:

"Open Up and Say...... Ah" - Poison. The second CD I ever bought.

Album You May Have Listened To More In Highschool than Any Other Album:

"Appetite For Destruction" - Guns N'Roses, closely followed by "Blood Sugar Sex Magik" - Red Hot Chili Peppers.

If You Could Enter A Wrestling Ring to a Song It Would Be:

"Enter Sandman" - Metallica. Right up to the "BOH!" bit.

('exit light, enter Swiss....')

Album To Clear A Room With:

"Decade of Agression" - Slayer. I once played "Dead Skin Mask" on the radio and dedicated it to "all you lovers out there". Oh, how we laughed, etc.

Phew.

If you decide to take this on, good luck.