I got my first real six-string...

As any fule kno, the guitar is the world's finest instrument when it comes to rockin' and, indeed, rollin'. No surprise then that songsmiths in need of inspiration look down at their Martin/Gibson/Fender and think: "Hey! I'll slip in a few lines about this here guitar!". And so another list is born.

Here is the playlist on Spotify

Some highlights:

Summer of '69 - Bryan Adams. I got my first real six-string/ Bought it from the five-and-dime/ Played it till my fingers bled/ It was the summer of '69.

Guitar Man - several different songs of the same name by Elvis, Bread, and J. J. Cale

Thunder Road - Bruce Springsteen. Well I got this guitar and I learned how to make it talk.

This Old Guitar - Neil Young

Sound of the Suburbs - The Members. Johnny's upstairs in his bedroom sitting in the dark/ Annoying the neighbours with his punk rock electric guitar.

The Wood and the Wire - Fairport Convention. In a high-street window it winked and beckoned/ Turned his head in a single second/ First month's wage, heart's desire/ Under the spell of the wood and wire.

Thanks to the taxi drivers and radio stations of Kaliningrad for inspiration. Good to know that Bon Jovi are still rocking Russia.

Many rivers to cross

Songs about rivers. Only real rivers, named in the song title. Only one entry per river.

Anna Liffey - The Dubliners

Banks of the Bann - various

Blackwaterside - Oysterband and others. There are lots of River Blackwaters.

The Blue Danube - Johann Strauss II - not a song, so disqualified.

Clyde Water - Dave Swarbrick & Martin Carthy

Cuyahoga - R.E.M.

The Miller of the Dee - Isaac Bickerstaffe

River of Jordan - Peter Paul & Mary

Kern River - Emmylou Harris and/or Merle Haggard

L.A. River - Rancid

Moon River - Henry Mancini. Controversial. The song was not written about a particular river, but after it became successful, an inlet near lyricist Johnny Mercer's hometown of Savannah, Georgia was renamed "Moon River". So now there is a river for the song to be about.

My Lagan Love - Sinead O'Connor

Ferry 'cross the Mersey - Gerry and the Pacemakers

Banks of the Nile - Sandy Denny

Ohio River Boat Song - Bonnie Prince Billy

Ohoopee River Bottomland - Larry Jon Wilson

Orinoco Flow - Enya

Red River Valley - Slim Whitman

Rio Grande - Brian Wilson

Rio Grande - traditional sea shanty. Yes I know but it's about a different Rio Grande (the one in Brazil)

Broad Majestic Shannon - The Pogues

Oh Shenandoah - just about everybody.

Go little Swale - Jake Thackray

Swanee - George Gershwin (but not "Old Folks at Home" by Stephen Foster as river not in title)

Dear River Thames - Richard Digance

Both Sides of the Tweed - Mary Black

Fog on the Tyne - Lindisfarne

Song of the Volga boatmen - Red Army Choir etc

Five a day - bands named after fruit & veg

• Apple
  
• The Electric Banana Band
  
• The Black-Eyed Peas
  
• Kid Creole and the Coconuts
  
• The Cranberries
  
• Black Grape
  
• The Huckleberries
  
• Orange Juice
  
• Red Hot Chilli Peppers
  
• Smashing Pumpkins
  
• Prefab Sprout
  
• Strawberry Switchblade
  
• The Cucumbers
  
• Zucchini
  

Heavenly Bodies

Pythagoras believed that the planets orbited in proportions that created harmony, and called this the music of the spheres. In honour of Pythagoras, then, here is a
Spotify playlist of songs related to planets, stars, comets, moons, and other heavenly bodies.
Sample tunes:

• That Lucky Old Sun - Sam and Dave
  
• Mercury Blues - Wishbone Ash
  
• Venus in Furs - Velvet Underground
  
• Planet Earth - Duran Duran
  
• Teenagers from Mars - The Misfits
  
• Uranus - Sacred Weird Little Guys
  
• etc. etc.
  

Please feel free to add to the spotify list, but I don't think we need any more moon songs unless they're really, really good.

Burn, baby, burn! Inappropriate Funeral Songs

Funerals could be a lot less miserable if they were accompanied by some downright unsuitable music. Imagine a cremation where, when the coffin slides away on the conveyor belt, you hear the unmistakable bass intro to Disco Inferno. I think that would lighten the atmosphere a bit.

I've collected some suggestions on this
Spotify playlist. Feel free to add some more.

Four Legs Good

Four Legs Good is the name of a Spotify playlist created by my mate Greg. You'll soon get the jist.


http://open.spotify.com/user/gregfinch/playlist/2e8zzrAPW9D4xqGQV3wEv5

You will need to download the Spotify software before you can listen in.

Future listmungous lists may well become Spotify playlists.

Ars Gratia Artis

Amo, Amas, Amat... Takes me back. Jumpers for goalposts. Floral gums. Latin lessons at Keswick School - Assurgit Skidda stabilis, mons nunquam non mutabilis... In honour of the Roman tongue, here's a list of bands named entirely in Latin.

• Arcanae Legioniis - Italian Black Metal band.
• Augustana
  
• Carpe Diem - several bands called this.
  
• De Profundis - Hungarian Melodic Black Metal band.
• Deus Ex Machina, an Italian prog rock outfit. Who can forget their album "Non est ars quae ad effectum casus venit"? Wise words.
  
• Focus
  
• In Extremis - the "all-out rock band", not to be confused with...
  
• In Extremo - the German Folk Metal band
  
• Ipso Facto
  
• Mea Culpa. All that leaping into the drum kit's gonna hurt.
  
• Procol Harum. Attempted a Latin name, but got it wrong. Disqualified.
  
• Saliva - it's Latin for saliva
  
• Status Quo
  
• Tyrannosaurus Rex - which means "King of the Tyrant Lizards", also a good name for a band
  

Birds

A list of pop songs featuring our feathered friends. No generic "bird" songs, please (sorry Lynyrd Skynyrd).

• Albatross - Fleetwood Mac
  
• Bird of Paradise - Snowy White
  
• Blackbird - The Beatles, Sarah McLachlan
  
• Mexican Blackbird - ZZ Top
  
• Blue Jay Way - The Beatles
  
• Buzzards and Crows - Dirty Pretty Things
  
• El Condor Pasa - Simon & Garfunkel
  
• Dodo - Genesis
  
• Eagle - ABBA
  
• Swan Swan H(ummingbird) - R.E.M. Listed as Swan Swan H on the album.
  
• Nightingale - Julie Cruise (YouTube)
  
• Being For The Benefit Of Mr Kite - The Beatles
  
• Night Owl - Gerry Rafferty
  
• Parakeet - R.E.M.
  
• Peacock Suit - Paul Weller
  
• Pelican - The Maccabees
• Rockin' Robin - The Jackson 5
  
• Little Red Rooster - Rolling Stones
  
• Seagull - Bad Company
  
• Little Sparrow - Dolly Parton
  
• No Tit - The Queers. The Ramones would have been proud.
  
• Ride A White Swan - T. Rex
  

We could do bands as well:

• Sheryl Crow
  
• Counting Crows
  
• Doves
  
• The Eagles
  
• Guillemots
  
• Gil Scott-Heron
  
• The Housemartins
  
• The Partridge Family
  
• Edith Piaf - which apparently is colloquial French for "sparrow"
  
• Lieutenant Pigeon
  
• Rooster
  
• A Flock of Seagulls
  

Round, Round, Get A Round, I'll Get A Round (In)

Alcoholic beverages, in the titles of songs. Only one example of each needed, but special dispensation will be given for good duplicates.

• Agua Di Beber - Tom Jobim, or anyone else for that matter. It means water to drink, and is therefore disqualified on the grounds of not being alcoholic.
• Milk & Alcohol - Dr Feelgood
• Black Label Blues - Gamble Rogers. About Jack Daniel's, rather than Johnnie Walker's (YouTube)
• Bluebird Wine - Emmylou Harris (YouTube)
• Brandy - The O'Jays
• Brandy Alexdander - Feist
• Champagne Supernova - Oasis
• Chardonnay - Cerys Matthews
• I Am A Cider Drinker - The Wurzels
• Gin And Juice - Snoop Dogg
• Two Pints Of Lager And A Packet Of Crisps, Please - Splodgeness Abounds
• Lilac Wine - Jeff Buckley, Elkie Brooks, Katie Melua
• Have Some Madeira, M'Dear - Flanders & Swann
• Margaritaville - Jimmy Buffet
• Moonshine Sally - Mud
• Escape (The Pina Colada Song) - Rupert Holmes
• Jug of Punch - The Dubliners and many other folkies
• Red Red Wine - UB40
• Sherry - The Four Seasons
• Special Brew - Bad Manners
• Tequila - Café Quijano
• Tequila Sunrise - The Eagles. Tequila, orange juice, and grenadine.
• Whiskey In The Jar - Thin Lizzy. Irish, of course.
• One Whisky, One Bourbon, One Beer - George Thorogood & The Destroyers. Please drink responsibly.
• Whisky & Green Tea - Supergrass. Sounds like a disgusting cocktail
• Zombie - The Cranberries. Rum, apricot brandy, pineapple, lime, strangely no cranberries.

and afterwards, Black Coffee In Bed - Squeeze

Instant Carma

A list of song titles that include the names of cars. I'm being kind here, so they can be make or model, and I'll even allow songs that aren't really about the car, but happen to use a car-related word, such as, er, Thunderbird by Seasick Steve.

• Beetlebum - Blur. Here is a VW Beetle:
  
  
• Bluebird - 10CC. Here is the Nissan Bluebird:
  
  
• From A Buick 6 - Bob Dylan
  
  
• Cadillac Ranch - Bruce Springsteen. Even Burt Reynolds in the black Trans-Am / All gonna meet at the Cadillac Ranch.
  
  
• Pink Cadillac - Natalie Cole
  
  
• Bitchin' Camaro - The Dead Milkmen
  
• Cavaliers - Blue Aeroplanes
  
• Chevrolet - ZZ Top
  
• Red Cortina - The Saw Doctors
  
  
• Little Red Corvette - Prince. Here is the Chevrolet Corvette:
  
  
• Little Deuce Coupe - The Beach Boys. A Deuce Coupe is a 1932 Ford Model B Coupe (deuce being for the year), apparently. We live and learn.
  
  
• Escort Crash On Marston Street - Heavenly
  
• Fiesta - The Pogues. I used to have a Ford Fiesta 1.6 GL a bit like this one:
  
  
• Help Me, (R)Honda - The Beach Boys. Ouch.
  
• We're Going to Ibiza - Vengaboys. That's the Seat Ibiza. Wince.
  
• Mercedes Benz - Janis Joplin
  
• MGB GT - Richard Thompson
  
• Mustang Sally - Wilson Pickett. Here is the Ford Mustang:
  
  
• Roadrunner - Jonathan Richman & The Modern Lovers. Here is the Plymouth Road Runner:
  
  
• Wild Rover: The Dubliners.
  
• Antique 32 Studebaker Dictator Coupe - Ronnie and the Daytonas
  
  
• Sunny Afternoon - The Kinks. The Nissan Sunny. It gets worse.
  
  
• Terraplane Blues - Robert Johnson. Here is a Hudson Terraplane:
  
  
• Thunderbird - Seasick Steve
  
• (I'm Stuck In A Pagoda With) Tricia Toyota - The Dickies
  Trans Am - Neil Young
  
• From A Vauxhall Velox - Billy Bragg.