Larocque and Roll

First line meme April 10, 2006

A few weeks back, Tiny Little Librarian borrowed a music meme from someone, and now I’m borrowing it from her.

Here’s the deal: I’ve posted the first line from the first twenty* songs that came up on my iPod. Your job is to guess the name of the song and the artist without** looking it up.

This should be fun, not only because I can’t remember where half of them come from.***

1. Rat-tailed Jimmy is a second-hand hood, he deals out in Hollywood
[Motley Crue - Dr. Feelgood]
2. Ya lookin’ just a little too hard at me, standin’ just a little too close to me
[J. Lo - Get Right]
3. Now here you go again, you say you want your freedom [Mom got the artist - Fleetwood Mac - but what's the title?] [And John gets the title - Dreams!]
4. Blind leading blind, tryin’ to keep yourself alive
[Sloan - All Used Up]
5. Yellow walls are lined with portraits, and I got my new red fetching leather jacket
[Rufus Wainwright - Poses]
6. So if you’re lonely, you know I’m here waiting for you [J. nailed it! Franz Ferdinand's Take Me Out]
7. Been beat up and battered ’round [Sarah got it! The song is Handle With Care, and I accept either The Traveling Wilburys or Jenny Lewis, since it's the Lewis version I have.]
8. He will then be reborn from 1970’s porn
[Rufus Wainwright - Gay Messiah]
9. Hey what’s that in the alley with a knife in her hand
[One of the ones I couldn't remember, so I ended up having to look it up; Jarvis Church - Run For Your Life]
10. No one looked, I walked by - just an invitation would have been just fine
[Stevie Nicks - Stand Back]
11. It’s cold outside and the paint’s peeling off of my walls
[Another look-up; Gary Neuman - Are Friends Electric?]
12. He was in the habit of taking things for granted; granted there wasn’t much for him to take
[Hot Hot Heat - You Owe Me An IOU; Kellie Ann is right - it's a pretty brilliant line!]
13. I see you on the streets and you walk on by
[Madonna - Open Your Heart]
14. It’s neverending, as far as I know
[The Trews - Not Ready To Go. Which is basically my theme song.]
15. In the year of my decline sucking freezies in the rain
[The Stars - Reunion]
16. We went out one night, everything went right
[Macy Gray - Why Didn't You Call Me]
17. The Mississippi Delta was shining like a national guitar [Yay Mom! Paul Simon's Graceland]
18. Oh what a shame that your pockets did bleed on St. Valentine’s [J. got the artist correct - it's Rufus, but which one?] [And, she comes back with a title - April Fool's]
19. Punctured bicycle on a hillside desolate, will nature make a man of me yet? [And D. gets it correct - The Smiths' This Charming Man]
20. I was working part time in a 5 & Dime
[Prince - Raspberry Berret]

(Here’s the hint I gave Julie last week: there are three Rufus Wainwright songs on the list. If that makes anything easier.)

* Okay, it was more like the first 120, since I kept running up against obscure stuff only a few people might know.
** ‘Cause that would be cheating!
*** What? I made the list last weekend and left myself minimal hints. But don’t worry - I’ll figure it out eventually.