Lexie's Chain: The Hundred and Eleventh Chain

Hello pals! Welcome to week 111 of #lexieschain. Last week the winner wos me aka @djladylexie wiv Dr Beat, Gloria Estefan and Miami Sound Machine. So lets see wot we got dis week. 

@rettetkaninchen
Back to the 80ies! Wooohhooo! Another not soooo good dancer is Sandra. She did a cover of Dr. Beat where she, well, erm, moves a bit funny. But Sandra is a great singer and one of her biggest hits and a fantastic song is "Maria Magdalena". 

@maggietkat
Last week's winner was Dr. Beat by Gloria Estefan and the Miami Sound Machine. As I watched the video, I was struck by the crowd dancing scenes. There were many great dancing scenes in the 1980's like Thriller, Wang Chung, the Kinks, and who could forget Men without Hats. However, Sweet Home Chicago blues are always on my mind. My choice this week, featuring my favorite of all crowd dancing scenes, is "Shake a Tail Feather" as sung by Ray Charles and the Blues Brothers in 1980.

@skye613
Woo Hoo! Well done Lexie! So the winning link was " Dr. Beat" by Miami Sound Machine. This was the 1st international single released in English by the band in 1984. Roger Fisher , founding member of Heart, played on this song & the album Eyes of Innocence. Heart , which was started as The Army in 1967, was formed by Roger Fisher, his brother & Steve Fossen. Ann Wilson joined in 1970 & Nancy in 1974. Roger, Ann & Nancy were heavily influenced by Led Zeppelin founded by Jimmy Page from The New Yardbirds. Both Fisher & Page utilized a theremin, an early electronic instrument, controlled by antennas. 

In 1980 Led Zeppelin broke up & Roger Fisher was voted out of Heart.My link suggestion for this week is Heart performing " Stairway To Heaven" at the Kennedy Center Honors to honor Led Zeppelin.

@bvfeyj
Lexie did gib us Gloria Estefan and da Miami Sound Machine wif Dr. Beat. Turns out dat Gloria Estefan did also record a Spanish language album which got me finking who else did Spanish language albums (Linda Ronstadt, Julio Iglesias, Christina Aguilera, etc.) Roundabout way me did work back to a pioneer in Latin and Chicano rock music who is considered by many to be da first Latino to enter mainstream rock music. Eben though his career lasted less than a year he hab influenced many artists who followed. Ironically, although he was Mexican/American and his biggest hit was sung in Spanish, he did not speak the language, learning the lyrics phonetically for the recording ob “La Bamba”. 

@diamondbertie
Thinking of Gloria Estafan, So I googled her and I see she was cast to play Connie Francis who was famous for Whose Sorry Now. That is my choice.

@patchdacat
“Dr Beat” and Miami Sound Machine was the winning linky last week put up by Lexie. The second single by them was “Bad Boy”. A video was made of this featuring Gloria Estefan with the cast of the musical “Cats”. So my linky this week comes from that show & I choose the beautiful song “Memory” sung by Elaine Paige as Grizabella in which she appeals to the Jellicle Tribe of cats to be the one to be allowed to travel to the Heaviside Layer and be reborn to a new Jellicle Life.

@smcheetham

Hi Lexie chain time again. Last week you won (hurrah) with Dr Beat I think it was. That led me to one of my fave bands from the old two tone era back in the late seventies early eighties. One of my fave two tone bands were The Beat. One of their best songs was Mirror in the Bathroom. So my link based on the word Beat is Mirror in the Bathroom by The Beat.

@wonderwinger
Congrats to Lexie on winning with Dr Beat and the Miami Sound Machine. Miami Sound Machine were fronted by Gloria Estefan. Our Gloria was born in Havana, Cuba so I thought I'd find a Cuban linky. The Buena Vista Social Club was a member's club in Havana where Cuban musicians & artists would play, dance and gamble together. It was closed after the Cuban Revolution but a young Cuban musician: Juan de Marcos González discovered many of the musicians that played there were still alive and formed a musical collective with them named after the club. My choice & their most famous song is entitled "Chan Chan".

@claptonterrier
we saw that last week you chose Dr Beat by Miami Sound Machine…well, in these times of great austerity we think that Dr Beat would be very glad to see a patient or two….so I am here for a consultation….Doctor..its my eyes!

@rosieterrier
Well done to Lexie n her eighties beats last week (removes ghetto blaster from shoulder). My chain is short this week. I choose Toots and the Maytails(;-) 'Funky Kingston'. This is because it is the theme tune for Miami Ink which links to Miami Sound Machine, see! Also I dus be looking into getting a tattoo of my mum in my right ear and maybe Ami James will do it for me! Bol! *snaps paws*.

@bunnersandharvs
Well dun to dat grooyvy paw wot be Lexie who won da chainy wid Gloria Estefan & Miam Sound Machine's Dr Beat! We has decided to continue on wif da Doctor linky cawse hoomans seems ta always needs a doctor...so hows about Dr. Dre - I Need a Doctor. By da way, he sings da songy wif Eminem, Skylar Grey so der dus be norty words in it. 

@millie_t_dog
My song is Doctor! Doctor! by Thompson Twins. Why? Because it also features the word doctor in the title; it was a hit from 1984 the same year as Dr Beat and it's a song from humum's youth. Simples!

And ............. da winner dis week .... as chosen by dad ......................... dus be ................ @maggietkat wiv Shake A Tail Feva! Yay!! Well done ma pal. It has been a while since we seen you!

Now is time to get your finkin caps on an send me (find out how on da guidelines page fing) the next link in the chain. Da winner dis week dus be pickin da winner next week and dat means you Maggie!!

It's over to you! Email me: lexie at toxicpenguin dot com or DM me on twitter (@dogstoyevsky) wiv your link suggestion followin on from dis one! You has until noon (GMT) Sunday 10 March 2013 (gots to get it to me by 2pm UK time if poss). Oh sometimes I dus accidentally delete em! Heehee. So good idea to type DO NOT DELETE in the title!  

Lexie's Chain dus be inspired by da pawsome Radcliffe & Maconie Show wot you can has a listen to on dere website. Follow me @dogstoyevsky or #lexieschain on Twitter to join da fun. Remember anyfink goes! Rock, classical, opera, ballads, punk, reggae - is up to you! Fanx for playin!

Lexie's Chain: Annual Awards 2012

Well pals, a bit late but better late than neva as they dus say. We are in year 3 of Lexie's Chain and is all to play for so far. I realised I hadn't posted about the winners of 2012 so fort I best correct that!

It was annuva great year #lexieschain. I can't fank you all enuff for playin and makin it so much fun!

As usualy, we had a few mishaps along the way, mainly, deletin entries coz I dus be stoopid  accidentally. 

It was a sad time for us on the chain too as we lost very dear pals - Bunners, Marley an Lennox. They will always live on in our hearts.

So who was da champs of 2012! Well, let me tell ya:

Third Place 

@patchdacat - #wlf member and almost solely representin the felines. Patch entered the chain an amazin 41 times and winnin 7 chains! Well done ma pal for your third place.

Second Place 

@kelsoterrier - enterin 30 times and winning 8 chains, kelso shows great 'agility' (do you see what I did there?) at the chain game! Well done K, second year running!

Da Winner!!! 

The Chain Champ of 2012 (which I know you already know wot wiv it bein March!)  .. wiv a fantastic 38 entries and 9 wins! Please pals, put your paws (an hands and err wings and uvva limbs) togeva for our pal:

Briar (@wonderwinger)

Two final awards from Lexie:

This posthumous award was given to a dear dear pal in recognition of how awesome they was at playin the chainy and how dear they were to all our hearts. We gived this to our dearest pal Marley - @marleyterrier - we miss you more than you will ever know!

This award goes to the sweetest terrier I as ad the pleasure of knowin an who has come up wiv some awesome chainies and plays the game wiv such a great spirit, mainly coz she has a big lovely heart - @rosieterrier - DJ's favourite player of 2012!

Well that's it! Sorry it is late. At least I finally got round to it eh? So, who wil be the Chain Champ of 2013? Will it be YOU! Follow #lexieschain on twitter to play along or follow me @dogstoyevsky! Bye for now.

Lexie's Chain: The Hundred and Tenth Chain

Hello pals! Welcome to week 110 of #lexieschain. Last week the winner wos @kelsoterrier wiv Live and Let Die from Guns 'n' Roses. So lets see wot we got dis week. 

@skye613

Well done @Kelsoterrier! " Live & Let Die" immediately brings to mind Mr. Bond, James Bond who celebrated a 50th anniversary in 2012. As did The Beach Boys, The Dubliners, El Gran Combo, The Chieftains & The Rolling Stones. My linky suggestion for this week is "Rocky Road To Dublin" The Chieftains & The Rolling Stones.

@rettetkaninchen
Skyfall from Adele. "Live and let die" got covered by Guns n Roses. Originally it was written and performed by Paul MaCartney and the Wings for a James Bond movie. It is one of the successful themes. Another very successful Bond theme is Adele's "Skyfall". That's my suggestion for this week.

@chillibrambles
Last week @kelsoterrier got him brain in a fuzz wiv Guns & Roses, Live an Let Die, an finkin wevver fings is good or bad. We been readin some bad newses dis week, an want a linky bowt good fings for cheerin up. Gun & Roses was from California which we fink be good cos it has lots of beaches. Every fur loves da beach. Da Beach Boys came from California too an dey got beach in der name, which be good too. Here dey sing bowt Good Vibrations so dat does be our linky for dis week.

@smcheetham

Morning Lexie the chain goes from strength to strength every week. last weeks winner was Guns and Roses. I have taken the Roses part of this as the start for my thoughts this week. So thinking about Roses I have gone to one of my favourite songs which is Good Year for the Roses by Elvis Costello which is a very sad song but with fantastic lyrics. Good luck all fellow chainees.

@diamondbertie
Here is my entry for the Chain. Last weeks winner was Guns N Roses - Live and Let Die.
This got me thinking of the James Bond movie of the same name it had Roger Moore playing James Bond, he also was the original Saint. So here is my choice for this week

Louis Armstrong singing When The Saints Go Marching In.

@djladylexie
Live and Let Die – James Bond meets Solitaire. Solitaire was the love intrest for Jimbo in the movie, played by Jane Seymour. She was also know for bein Dr Quinn, Medicine Woman wot is abowt a woman wot is a physician in da wild wild west days.

Wot you probly didn't know wos that she was in dancing with the stars reality tv show wot as famous people dancing to moosic for the entertainment of the viewers. Well, she came sixth which ain't too bad but she obviously didn't av a good rhythm wot wiv bein a doctor. Maybe she should hav got Gloria Estefan and the Miami Sound Machine to page Dr Beat for her! Hahaaaa so how about that for linky! Dr Beat, Miami Sound Machine.

@terenceterrier

The winning linky woz “Live and Let Die” by Guns and Roses. Dis songy woz the title track from the James Bond film of the same name. In this film Roger Moore woz 007. Roger Moore woz also the voice of a cat called Lazenby in da film “Cats and Dogs:The Revenge of Kitty Galore” which parodies many of the James Bond films & characters. The first song on the film soundtrack is “Get the Party Started” by Dame Shirley Bassey which I choose as my linky this week. Big Shirl also sang the title song from the Bond movie “ Goldfinger” so she links to da Bond theme of last week’s linky.

@patchdacat
I pride meself on being an observant anipal & I could not help noticing that several members of Gun N Roses seemed to be missing various items of their clothing in this video. Missing kecks no less at the start *puts paws over eyes* Not a pretty sight. I can only assume they were hoping to get talent spotted for the new stage version of “The Full Monty”. I therefore chooses the song “You Can Keep Your Hat On” by Tom Jones as my linky this week as the song comes from that show.

@bvfeyj
Me fink we hab enough ob dese guns n deaf n stuff fur now. All dis killing me softly wif guns n roses living & letting die and all da confusion an stuff. Enough ob dat! Well, Guns N’ Roses was inducted into Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2012, but annuver band was inducted dat same year and dey most famuss song gib us da roses wifout da guns! Dis be da Small Faces wif Itchycoo Park. 

@millie_t_dog
Last week's winner was Kelso with Live & Let Die by Guns n' Roses. For my linky this week I give you I Have Nothing by Whitney Houston. So how do we all get there I hear you cry?

Well, as we all know this was a cover of the Paul McCartney and Wings song which written for the James Bond film of the same name. The B-side of that 1973 single was a song called I Live Around, featuring the vocals not of Paul McCartney but Denny Laine.

Some years earlier, Denny Laine was an original member of The Moody Blues and was similarly lead vocalist on their first hit Go Now. This song reached number 1 in the UK charts in January 1965 and was itself a cover of a song written by Larry Banks (and others) and sung by his ex-wife Bessie Banks. The backing singers on the Banks' version included one Cissy Houston, the mother of Whitney Houston. Before going the way of so many others through drink and drugs, Whitney had a fantastic voice and whilst her acting skills were a bit more ropey she did star in the film The Bodyguard and was responsible for most of the soundtrack, including the song I Have Nothing

So there we have it via films and cover versions from Live & Let Die to I Have Nothing.

As a final factoid, both songs were nominated but did not win Grammy Awards - Best Hard Rock Performance for Live & Let Die in 1993 and Best Song Written Specifically for a Motion Picture or for Television for I Have Nothing in 1994.

@rosieterrier
Well done Kelso on last week's winning linky. My choice this week continues the rock theme with Michael Jacksons' 'Give In To Me'. Slash the guitarist from Guns n' Roses did feature on this......and.... His real name is Saul. Saul Bass was the graphic designer who designed many of the James Bond posters and title sequences. Also Saul is my mum's favourite boys name although what that has to do with the chainy, I don't know!

@bunnersandharvs
So well dun to dat Kelso fur winning da linky Live and Let Die by dem Guns & Roses. He is a cleva paw and his seleckshun gots dese paws thinking. So dis wot we came up wif.... We know dat Paul McCartney did write da song Live & Let Die so we said hrmm, wot else did he write and who else did he write songs fur and wid, and guess wot? He wrote songs wif Elvis Costello. And der is an album called 'All This Useless Beauty'. Now furst of all, Paul McCartney did write sum songys on dat album but we also thort we would say how can beauty eva be useless much like how can you kill softly or how culd you eve put a gun wid rose sooooo we is going with da songy by Elvis Costello - All This Useless Beauty. Hit it Elvis.....

@wonderwinger

The handsome Kelso gained an excellent win last week with Guns n Roses. I shall be sticking with the rose theme and selecting The Stone Roses. My song choice shall be Waterfall as the original lead guitarist for Guns n Roses was called Slash & waterfalls come from slashes in mountains. And finally both bands were signed to Geffen Records.
Waterfall.

So............. da winner dis week .... as chosen by @kelsoterrier  ......................... dus be ................ oh dear ............. guess who?! Yep ... moi! So that means only one fing .. dad has the job of choosin again. Oh dear, he dussnt like dussin it. Guess you will have to come up wiv some incentives heehee.

Ere wot Kelso said:

I choose number 6. Was gonna choose 11 but I googled Saul Bass & not convinced he had anything to do with James Bond, so apologies if he did, but tuff ;-)

Now is time to get your finkin caps on an send me (find out how on da guidelines page fing) the next link in the chain. Da winner dis week dus be pickin da winner next week and dat means you the dad!!

It's over to you! Email me: lexie at toxicpenguin dot com or DM me on twitter (@dogstoyevsky) wiv your link suggestion followin on from dis one! You has until noon (GMT) Sunday 3 March 2013 (gots to get it to me by 2pm UK time if poss). Oh sometimes I dus accidentally delete em! Heehee. So good idea to type DO NOT DELETE in the title!  

Lexie's Chain dus be inspired by da pawsome Radcliffe & Maconie Show wot you can has a listen to on dere website. Follow me @dogstoyevsky or #lexieschain on Twitter to join da fun. Remember anyfink goes! Rock, classical, opera, ballads, punk, reggae - is up to you! Fanx for playin!

Lexie's Chain: The Hundred and Ninth Chain

Hello pals! Welcome to week 109 of #lexieschain. Last week the winner wos @skye613 wiv Killing Me Softly by Roberta Flack. So lets see wot we got dis week. 

@claptonterrier
Last week's winner was Killing Me Softly….we know that songs about killing people are called murder ballads and Mr Nick Cave did an album called Murder Ballads a few years ago. We looked at a very long list of people who played on that record and we noticed that one of them was Shane McGowan from the Pogues….so our link this week in honour of our impending departure from the UK is "Leaving Liverpool" by the Pogues, a song all about travelling overseas in search of fresh adventures.

@patchdacat
Last week’s winning linky was by Roberta Flack & she sung “Killing You Softly”. There have been lots of cover versions. The Fugee was one group who recorded this. They also did a cover version of a Bob Marley song “No women no cry” . But let’s have the master himself I say so I gives you Bob Marley singing it live.

@terenceterrier
Righty Ho. Last week Skye won wiv “Killing Me Softly by Roberta Flack. My linky this week is “Empty Chair” by Don McLean because this song inspired Lori Lieberman to write the poem upon which the song "Killing Me Softly" is based.

@smcheetham

Another great week on the chain last week it just seems to get better and better. The winning suggestion was Killing me Softly by Roberta Flack. Roberta sang a lot of Bert Bacharach songs in her career so that opened up a lot of options. My fave song by him is I Just Don't Know What to do with Myself. There are many great versions of that song By Dusty Springfield, Elvis Costello to name a couple but the one I would suggest is by the White Stripes so this week my suggestion is I Just Dont Know What to do with Myself by The White Stripes. Good luck everyone.

@djladylexie
Killing Me Softly was covered by The Fugees. Fugees is short for The Refugees. A refugee is someone who has been forced to leave their country to escape war, persecushun or other disaster. Some refugees do evenshully get to go home again but it can be a long hard journey and they needs to have faith it will appen. So, I chooses Blind Faith – Can't Find My Way Home for all those refugees who are waiting to return to their homelands.

@chillibrambles
We be inspired to do our first Lexie's chain, by da winnin tune of last week, wot was Killin Me Softly. Dat song was inspired by a Don McLean song called Empty Chairs. mum know dis cos Don McLean was da first concert Mum went to. (Although she not tell anyone at skool, cos it not cool in 1984.) Wiv dis bein our first week, to get idea of wot anipals do for da chain, we readed da last few weeks but couldn't find any empty chairs. Most weeks seem to have lots of bums on seats an da chain seem popular, altho we did go froo it fast like lightning. So da song we choose is Chain Lightning by Don McLean. We ave ad a look at video an find him not move like lightning, an we not fink it very cool in 2013 neiver, but it is our linky for da week.

@millie_t_dog
This is my first ever attempt at the chain, so I'm hoping I has got things right and the judge is feeling kind :-). So the winner last week was the lovely Killing Me Softly With His Song by Roberta Flack. I do love this song, although not when mauled about by a certain Mr Hugh Grant in the film About a Boy. Anyways, I'm sure you all know that the song was written by Norman Gimbel and composed by Charles Fox; two very clever peoples. In 1954 Norman Gimbel wrote the English lyrics to a Spanish song written and recorded by Pablo Beltrán Ruiz called "?Quién será?". He then rather cleverly got an actor dude and member of the famous Rat Pack to record that English version. So for my linky I gives you Sway as sung by Mr Dean Martin. 

@diamondbertie
Last weeks winner chosen by @skye613 was the lovely Roberta Flack singing Killing Me Softly, much head scratching I kept thinking of another multi talented singer/actress Eartha Kitt, I have selected C'est si bon. a beautiful romantic song.

@kelsoterrier
Last week's winning song was Killing me Softly by Roberta Flack. I don't know how you would kill someone softly and these words seem to conflict with each other. And I don't think anyone should be killing anyone else no matter how softly. I think we should all live and let live. However, talking of conflicting words this made me think of a band called Guns n' Roses and a song they sang called Live and Let Die. So many conflicts, Guns bad, Roses good, Living good, Dying bad. So apologies for causing such conflict but my link this week is Live & Let Die by Guns n' Roses.

@bvfeyj (Tucker)
Congrats to @Skye613 on first win! One ob many to come me fink. We did see dat Roberta Flack did teach English & music in Washington DC. One ob da places she did teach was Browne Junior High School. Me noticed dat it Browne wif an e da same as Jackson Browne. Ms. Roberta Flack and Jackson Browne boaf play da piano. Boaf ob dem hab great hits, lots ob awards, and boaf hab done songs for films and TV, and dey is active in various charitable and humanitarian causes. Me linky is: Love Needs a Heart by Jackson Browne.

@rosieterrier
Roberta Flack, what a good choice and lovely linky. She sang 'I Who Have Nothing' that of course was also sung by Shirley Bassey. My succinct link dus be the duet version of 'Big Spender' by Dame Shirley Bassey and Dame Edna Everage. Two glorious Dames :-).

@bunnersandharvs
First we dus want to say a veerree well dun to @skye613 fur a supa linky last week. So we been thinking about Berta Flack and her songys and did you know her songs was almost always about relashunships and love? Well dey sure is, so we thort we would go wid a simple linky all about love! Why? Well, cause well it wus Valentine's Day last week and der's nothing better dan LOVE so da linky we going wid dus be 'LOVE' - by Nat 'King' Cole. Taps paws, sits back and thinks of pals wot we love. hee hee

@wonderwinger (Briar)

The song "Killing me softly" always makes me think of the off-key version sung by Nicholas Hault in the film About a Boy. The song doesn't appear on the soundtrack sadly as all the songs are sung by Badly Drawn Boy. Badly Drawn Boy's best work came on the previous album The Hour of the Bewilderbeest. My favourite song on this album is Pissing into the Wind which just might be what you'd do if someone was trying to kill you softly.

So............. da winner dis week .... as chosen by @skye613  ......................... dus be ................ @kelsoterrier wiv .......... Live & Let Die, Guns 'n' Roses!. Yay! Well done Kelos!

Skye an Dee did say: 

So many brilliant linky suggestions! First I say " Well Done " to all. This is very hard choice.  Caused much head hurting thoughts but the one link that made me sit up & really think is link # 9. Conflicted is how I feel! So my pick for the winning linky this week is Live & Let Die by Guns n' Roses. 

Now is time to get your finkin caps on an send me (find out how on da guidelines page fing) the next link in the chain. Da winner dis week dus be pickin da winner next week and dat means you Kelso!

It's over to you! Email me: lexie at toxicpenguin dot com or DM me on twitter (@dogstoyevsky) wiv your link suggestion followin on from dis one! You has until noon (GMT) Sunday 24 February 2013 (gots to get it to me by 2pm UK time if poss). Oh sometimes I dus accidentally delete em! Heehee. So good idea to type DO NOT DELETE in the title!  

Lexie's Chain dus be inspired by da pawsome Radcliffe & Maconie Show wot you can has a listen to on dere website. Follow me @dogstoyevsky or #lexieschain on Twitter to join da fun. Remember anyfink goes! Rock, classical, opera, ballads, punk, reggae - is up to you! Fanx for playin!