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

Put your music player of choice on shuffle and post the first lines of the first 25 tracks to come up.

Guess the title and artist.

1) Life is so boring, it's really got me snoring
2) I have to stop saying "To be honest, it's not a real defeat"
3) Lonely in this white room, there are pads everywhere
4) Too low to find my way, too high to wonder why
5) A language of love slips from my lover's tongue
6) Come up to meet you, tell you I'm sorry
7) Catch me as I fall, say you're here and it's all over now
8) Don't hold yourself like that, cus you'll hurt your knees
9) Stay for life, for life, all you discover
10) Anger can make you old, oh yes it can
11) Welcome to the jungle, we got fun and games
12) I want you to know, I'm happy for you, I wish nothing but the best for you both
13) Sweet dreams are made of these, who had a mind to disagree?
14) Oh, had I a golden thread and a needle so fine
15) I'm, I'm so in love with you, whatever you want to do is alright with me
16) Mott the Hoople and the game of life, yeah yeah yeah yeah
17) I haven't ever really found a place that I call home
18) Don't kid yourself and don't fool yourself
19) When I first met you baby, you were just sweet sixteen
20) When I was a child, running in the night (not the original artist, the cover version)
21) The light is breaking through the window
22) All you kids get out the back door, I never seen her this mad before
23) You'll remember me when the west wing moves among the fields of barley (again, not the original artist)
24) I walked across an empty land, I knew the pathway like the back of my hand
25) Women of a certain age (I think this might have been done by several artists )

Some of these are very easy, some very difficult. Two artists/groups have two entries each. Enjoy.

11) Welcome to the Jungle - Guns 'N' Roses
13) Sweet Dreams (Are Made of These) - Marilyn Manson
18) Blackout - Muse

11) Yes.
13) Right song, wrong artist. I forgot it had been covered.
18) Yes. I thought you'd get that one!

Of the rest:

13. Eurythmics 'Sweet Dreams'
16. REM 'Man on the Moon'
19. I know it's an old blues song, and it's called 'Sweet Sixteen'. John Lee Hooker? If not BB? Someone of that era, how many guesses do I get?
23. Sting - 'Fields of Gold'
24. Keane 'Somewhere Only We Know'

17) Dido - life for rent
25) Tina Turner - I don't wanna loose you

12) Alanis Morrissette, You Oughta Know

Will have another lurk to see if any more ring any bells (other than the ones people have already got...)

I mean look, not lurk *sigh* my brain hasn't caught me up yet .

Spot on, you lot! It's BB King, Skanky, and it's not the Sting version of Fields of Gold, it's the Eva Cassidy version.

Well, I said BB. Forget the fact that I mentioned JLH first

So you did. Any more guesses or do you want the answers?

6) is, I think, The Scientist by Coldplay.

I'm really bad at recognising first lines, but there's part of me that doesn't want to admit defeat just yet .

Bingo. I'll give you till Saturday, how's that?

5) is Eurhythmics, Who's That Girl? (that one's been bugging me!)

Results time:

1) The Air Near My Fingers - The White Stripes
2) Tell Me Ten Words - Idlewild
3) 69 Tea - Seether
4) Lebanese Blond - Thievery Corporation
5) Who's That Girl - Eurythmics
6) The Scientist - Coldplay
7) Whisper - Evanescence
8) Volcano - Damien Rice
9) Pain On Pain - Feeder
10) Anger - Marvin Gaye
11) Welcome To The Jungle - Guns N' Roses
12) You Oughta Know - Alanis Morisette
13) Sweet Dreams - Eurythmics
14) Oh, Had I A Golden Thread - Eva Cassidy
15) Let's Stay Together - Al Jarreau
16) Man On The Moon - REM
17) Life For Rent - Dido
18) Blackout - Muse
19) Sweet Sixteen - BB King
20) Hounds of Love - The Futureheads
21) Cut - Graham Colton Band
22) Mother of God - Patty Griffin
23) Fields of Gold - Eva Cassidy (Sting cover)
24) Somewhere Only We Know - Keane
25) I Don't Wanna Lose You - Tina Turner

I'm really surprised no-one got Let's Stay Together.

If you've never heard Patty Griffin, I can't recommend her highly enough. www.myspace.com/pattygriffin

I'll have to check Patty Griffin out.

I'm a bit miffed that I missed the Evanescence one and the White Stripes one, but it's amazing how hard it is to pinpoint the song when the lyrics are isolated from the tune!

I know, it's very difficult, isn't it? Let me know what you think of Patty.

She's got a lovely voice - and it's great to hear something that bit different and individual, rather than moulded to a particular market .