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25 lines Aug 31

This meme has appeared all over teh internets in the last few months, including on Mike’s blog, Gordon’s blog, Lisa’s blog and Rob’s blog (and Rob’s just put a new round of 25 up).

Here’s how it works: I’ve set my iTunes to shuffle and written down the opening lines of the first 25 tracks to come up, excluding songs where the title is in the opening line and limiting entries to one per artist (and removing one which has already appeared in Lisa’s daily opening lines). All you have to do is pop into the comments* and tell me the name of the song and who recorded it. Not all of these songs are singles – some are album tracks, some are B-sides, and some are pretty obscure.

Oh, and you shouldn’t judge my music taste solely from these 25… Here we go then.

1. “Although my lover lives in a place that I can’t live” Come On Home by Franz Ferdinand identified by Mark

2. “I pick up the phone, I’m dialing your number while I pray you’re at home, at home and alone” A Thing About You by Roxette (artist identified by Neil)

3. “No-one wrote a song for me, just instrumental, not too long” Hit Parade by The Beautiful South

4. “And maybe we’re just kids who’ve grown, and maybe not” The Chemistry Between Us by Suede identified by phil

5. “From the mountain tops down to the sunny street, a different drummer’s playing a different kind of beat” Oblivion by Aztec Camera identified by Cat

6. “Please don’t stop me from drinking, oh it’s my only joy” Sick, Sober and Sorry by Gene identified by Adam

7. “I stand in the distance, I view from afar” Confide in Me by Kylie Minogue identified by David

8. “These mist-covered mountains are a home now for me” Brothers in Arms by Dire Straits identified by Alan

9. “I don’t know when to go out, I don’t know when to stay in” The Final Arrears by Mull Historical Society identified by inspector34

10. “Is it wrong to want to live on your own?” Sheila Take A Bow by The Smiths identified by Cat

11. “I can’t see why you’re not satisfied with what you’ve got, it might not seem like much to you, to me it seems a lot” Kylie and Jason by Midget

12. “Twitching, turning, itching, burning, finding my space, finding my place” Don’t Stand Me Down by The Bluetones

13. “I’ve been around and around but I’ve got nowhere to go now” Lenny by Supergrass identified by Antonia

14. “I’m hearing images, I’m seeing songs no poet has ever painted, voices call out to me straight to my heart, so strange but we’re so well-acquainted” I Let The Music Speak by ABBA (artist identified by Neil)

15. “Hello! Hello! My name’s Terry and I’m a law-abider” The Irony Of It All by The Streets identified by SwissToni

16. “On a morning from a Bogart movie in a country where they turn back time” Year of the Cat by Al Stewart identified by kat

17. “We’re on our own we don’t need anyone, we live deep down, deep down underground, it helps us” Statuesque by Elcka

18. “It was pretty bright upon the rainbow bridge tonight, I could see into your window even though you’re far away” Wrapped Up In Books by Belle & Sebastian identified by Neil (artist) and phil (track)

19. “First time, I did it for the hell of it” Something 4 The Weekend by Super Furry Animals identified by inspector34

20. “You smelled an Eldorado pussycat, and it was a bright grey day” Imposters (Mixed Up) by David Devant & His Spirit Wife (artist identified by Sarah)

21. “Well I went to a movie with a girl last night” Dressed Like A Cow by The Coral identified by Neil

22. “In my mind there’s a face, on my lips there’s a name” From New York To LAby Patsy Gallant identified by Tina

23. “Her hair is hollow gold” Bette Davis Eyes by Kim Carnes identified by Alan

24. “They say that you’re a runaround lover, though you say it isn’t so” The Night Has A Thousand Eyes by Bobby Vee identified by DanW

25. “I hear the ticking of the clock, I’m lying here, the room’s pitch dark” Alone by Heart identified by Biscit

Any takers?

(*Don’t worry if your comment gets eaten by the spam filter – I check through and restore legit comments manually several times a day.)

20 Responses

  1. 1
    Biscit 

    25 is Heart – Alone.

    9 – Is it Modern Love by David Bowie

  2. 2
    Will 

    25 is correct. 9 isn’t, I’m afraid, although it’s a very similar lyric.

  3. 3
    DanW 

    24. The Night Has A Thousand Eyes by Bobby Vee

  4. 4
    adam 

    6, gene, sick sober and sorry

  5. 5
    Alan 

    Number 8 is Brothers in Arms by Dire Straits and 23 is Bette Davis Eyes by Kim Carnes.

    Oh my God, why did I have to know those two????

  6. 6
    Will 

    Well done, that’s four more, chaps.

  7. 7
    Cat 

    Hello, couldn’t resist joining in – number 5 is Oblivion by Aztec Camera and 10 is Sheila Take a Bow by the Smiths.

  8. 8
    Mark Valladares 

    1. Franz Ferdinand – ‘Come on Home’

    I may be older but I’m at least artificially hip…

  9. 9
    Will 

    Two to Cat and one to Mark. Eight down, seventeen to go!

  10. 10
    Antonia 

    13 is Supergrass – Lenny

  11. 11
    SwissToni\ 

    15 – “the irony of it all” by the Streets

    Hello by the way.

    ST

  12. 12
    SwissToni 

    (sorry – fluffed my URL entry)

    I’m going to steal this, by the way.

    ST

  13. 13
    phil 

    4 is “The Chemistry Between Us” by Suede.

  14. Not only am I LATE to this but I can’t get any that haven’t already gone… Grr…!

  15. 9, The Final Arrears by Mull Historical Society
    19, Something for the Weekend by Super Furry Animals

  16. 16
    Will 

    Very good – all correct (although that’s a 4 in the SFA track, Mr 34). Past the halfway point – 13 down, 12 to go.

  17. 17
    kat 

    16 : year of the cat, al stewart

  18. 18
    David 

    7 is Confide in Me by Kylie, and I am deeply ashamed at all the people who read your blog that they didn’t know that already!

  1. […] 10 of the 25 opening lyrics remain in my 25 lines quiz. Here are some clues (most info sourced from Wikipedia) as some of them are pretty obscure. 11, 17 and 20 are possibly too hard, but 14 and 18 in particular are gettable. […]

  2. […] I’ve posted the remaining answers to the opening lines quiz meme. I’ve impressed at quite how many were got, and not surprised that a not very successful Roxette single, a Bluetones B-side, a David Devant remix and tracks by the very obscure Midget and Elcka went unidentified. I am a little surprised that no-one recognised Hit Parade from the Beautiful South album Painting It Red. […]