h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

These titles are so ridiculous that I would assume that they are a joke, except for the fact that I think I recognise one of them. (It was used on a Morecambe and Wise show, involving Vanessa Redgrave.)

Jo Whiney read some or all of them out on the radio the other day. Did she nick them off you or did you get them from that? Richard Digance on Countdown read out a few things that I've seen on this site, apparently written six weeks ago. As he read them out last week I assume the rich and famous are getting material from this site without mentioning it.

I only posted these having read the mention of the 'Top 40' in the Folk Singing forum, so nobody got them from me. They were sent to me nearly two years ago and were billed as being genuine, I have absolutely no idea whether they are or not.

Funny stuff. I think I'll send a copy to all my new Texan friends!

Now that's scary! I recognised a few of them, and the sad part is, I used to do a couple of them on stage!(And at least one I always wanted to learn!)

What can I say....I'm from Alabama.
(Really, there are one or two of those which are quite good songs!)

Really? It's good to have a bit of corroborating evidence that they're not all just made up.

What part of Alabama are you from? I ask in the hope that the answer's going to be Birmingham...

You must be from around here!.....Does Gardendale ring a bell?

Nah, in fact I've never even been to Alabama. It's just that I'm from Birmingham, England and have yet to come across anyone from Birmingham, Alabama. I have no idea what I'd do if I did.

Well, Gardendale is about as close as you can get, and not be there!(Which is what most of us try to do!) I live in a little "Bedroom Community" about five minutes from downtown Birmingham. Other than the name, from what I understand, There is not much similarity between your Birmingham and mine.......for your sake, I hope that's true!!!

A UK TV program saw the two presenters go round to Mark E.Smith's (ranting leader of ace Manchester band The Fall) house and check out his record collection.
He had a record which was recorded by some Nashville churn-'em out country band and the deal was you send them some words, they arrange them and record the song and then send you a disc back.
So now he has the only copy of "Blind Man's Penis" in the world!

Ahhh!!!!! What a scam! The "We'll Write It For You And Make You A Star" scam. I grew up 2 hours out of Nashville, and I swear everyone I knew was going to get rich playing music! (I WISH I could remember some of THOSE song titles!) Needless to say, most of them just wound up lighter in the wallet!

I'm not actually in Birmingham any more so what it's like doesn't really effect me too much, except for when I'm back there visiting friends and family. At one point in time it was the case that there wasn't too much to be said for the place. It has got a lot better over the last few years though. So what's wrong with "your" Birmigham?

Yeah, surely somewhere with a Bedroom Community can't be all bad.
http://www.carryonline.com/carry/audio/yakyak.wav

I once had a friend who laughed like Sid James, then he decided to become a teacher in Kuwait and was never heard of again.

I did mean to ask though, what IS a bedroom community? It sounds like an attractive lifestyle from where I'm sitting.

To me it sounds a bit like a 'dormitory town/village'. That's the way the British describe somewhere that's within commuting distance of a major town or city, i.e. the people work somewhere else and just go there to sleep. For example, Redditch (where I live) is a dormitory town for Birmingham.

Certainly sounds plausible.

Anyway, looks like we've got a bit of an "I'm from somewhere near some Birmingham" thread going. I'm not sure where that observation takes us, though likely as not it's just a dead-end.

Quite correct on the "Dormitory" comparison. Everyone who lives in Gardendale works in Birmingham......everyone who works here is from somewhere else. The entire population changes every eight hours!

Seems we,d all just move closer to our jobs.......but that would be too simple!

Oh, and Jonny.....There are no "dead end forums", just major "subject drift". Seems to be common here at h2g2. But to assist in correcting this, I'll see what I can find around here on Bad Song Titles. Heaven knows we're "eat up" with them in this part of the world!

Meanwhile I'll just go off on a huge tangent.
FS, you said you were 2 hours out of Nashville.
Now Jonny lives near Birmingham, UK and he'd probably tell you that the traffic gets so bad round there that 2 hours out of Birmingham is actually about 5 miles
Oh I know, I know. Bad Song Titles...hmmm...
"Seven Tears" (by The Goombay Dance Band) that's the title of a bad song.
Or have I lost the plot completely?

No, no WF....I said I GREW UP 2 hours out of Nashville. There is no traffic between Cullman(where I grew up) and there. It's all rural interstate.

Now, traffic here in B'ham, AL.?! On a good day in "rush hour", 2 hours is the length of the tailgate party you have with the car next to you! 'Ya ain't goin' nowheres, anyhow! Might as well party!
.
.
.Bad Country Song Titles...."Lonely Mound of Clay", "Take an Old Cold 'Tater and Wait", "Boil Them Cabbage Down"....How is that for starters? If I could get to my "suitcase", I'm sure I'd have more!

Erm, where to begin...

What I was saying with my "dead-end" comment was just that noting that we all (well, OK, 3 of us) seemed to have lived either in or close to (a) Birmingham wasn't likely to get us anywhere. I don't think I've seen many threads that stay on topic for long, the conversations tend to wander towards coffee and exploding yoghurt. Nothing wrong with that.

When I lived in Birmingham I never really noticed too much of a problem with the traffic, partly because I lived pretty close to the centre and worked further out and partly 'cos I just used the train. There is a claim that where the M5 and M6 motorways meet near Brum is the busiest road junction in the world. I find that hard to believe, but it can get fairly nasty around there. Especially on a Sunday when everyone decides to go on a family trip to Ikea.

As for bad song titles, how about "Save Your Love" by Rene and Renatta? Although I shouldn't think that managed to get out of England. Oh help, lots of 'em are coming back now. How about anything by Black Lace? Who did the Birdy Song? All this talk of songs aint so good, let's talk about crap furniture from Ikea instead.