Lexie's Chain: The Hundred and Fifty Fourth Chain

Hello pals! Welcome to week 154 of #lexieschain. The Final Chain! Wooooofhoooo!! Who will be da Chain Champ 2013? Well I will tell you after I has dun me calculatins which probly dus be tomorroeee!! Is a close fing and I wants to fanx you all so much for pawticipatin.

I dedicatin this year's Lexie's Chain to our dear pal Tucker who  I hope is safe and warm an not missin his lovely mum Joyce too much. We miss them boaf very much.

 Now, .... on wiv da final chainy! Last week da winner was Skye wiv Blood, Sweat and Tears an Sometimes in Winter. Let's see wot we got this week:

@maggietkat
Well done Skye! Blood Sweat and Tears was an iconic bluesy rock band in the 60's. ne of their hits was "And when I die" written by Lauro Nyro. One of my favorite songs was also released in 1968 written and sung by Laura is "Stoned Soul Picnic". Please enjoy! 

 

@diamondbertie
Last weeks winner was @skye613 who chose Sweat Blood and Tears with Sometimes in Winter, so keeping the winter theme my choice is Troika from Lieutenant Kije by Prokofiev, I always think of dashing through the snow warmly wrapped.

@smcheetham
So final chain of the year hope everyone had a good Christmas with lots of time to listen to music. I have to confess I am very ignorant about Blood sweat and Tears so had to look them up. one thing that struck me was that the list of band members was incredibly long over the years. I also discovered that they are named after a Johnny cash album from the early 60s so that took us to a rich musical vein. I have chosen a song that featured in Johnny Cash's later years and is also unusually a cover. So the link is Johnny Cash and it's him covering Hurts the Trent Reznor song Hurts. Not very festive I am afraid. Happy new Year to all the chain gang.

@claptonterrier
Hello to you Miss Lexie…I can’t believe its the final chain of the year….how quickly its gone…anyway, last week our friend Skye won with Sometimes in Winter by Blood Sweat and Tears….its winter of course now and this morning we are looking out at the frosty lawn and thinking about our link…even the terriers are happier inside in their beds….its a chilly day and so we have been thinking about the song Chill Factor by the Pretenders….the terriers are pretending that they are working hard, but no blood, sweat or tears are being used up in barking at stuff from their needs by the radiators!..

@freddie_bt
"Sometimes in Winter" is a luvly melancholic song dealin wiv da loss of love, accentuated by n compared to da cold n isolation of winter or so it seems to us. It made us fink of a gawjuss song fwom da Tea Street Band, a bwilliant independent band fwom Liverpool. If U2 collided wiv da Happy Mondays dis wud surely be da sound. "Summer Dreaming" reflects on da passin of summer, da emptiness of winter n has ambiguous references to someone who's lost, or left or mebbe wuz never dere in da first place. 

@bunnersandharvs
Well dun to dat Skyw fur such a good linky as ever. Mum did grow up listening to Blood Sweat and Tears and luved dem and dis gots her thinking bowt udder bands wot she listened tooo so da songy we going wid is by Chicago Transit Authority's 'Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is?' Why? Cos in winter we neva knows wot time it is.... Dis is da long vershun of da songy and we hopes you enjoys it as much as Mum did. 

@djladylexie
Ma linky dus be Bob Marley & The Wailers and Buffalo Soldier! What the … I hear you say. Well let me tell you! I never eard of dem before so I checked em out on da interwebnet. We didn't realise we knew a lot of their songs already! Al Kooper was the man who brought the original line up of BST togeva but soon moved on to an amazin career. Not only did he perform wiv world famous music stars such as Jim Hendrix, Cream, BB King and the Rollng Stones but was also producing music for many children TV shows includin The Banana Splits. Bear wiv me on dis! We getting there.

Ralph Covert, also a children's music composer recorded a cover of The Tra La La Song (Banana Splits feem toon) on his album At The Bottom of the Sea. It is rumoured that Bob Marley comments on the striking (though not exact) similarity between the song's chorus and the bridge of Bob and the Wailers song Buffalo Soldier so dat ma linky!

So, da winner of da final chain of 2013 ....... as chosen by Skye ......... dus be ....... Harvey (@bunnerandharvs). Yay!! Well done ma pal! well done!

Ere wot Skye said bowty it:

What a fantastic way to end the year of #Lexieschain. Seven great links some I knew some I didn't but do now. Dis is the hardest part of the chainy. Each brilliant link touched me from the picnic to the trio of horses. But one link made me smile and that is the way to end the year ... With a smile on our faces & our paws a tapping. My choice this week is link # 6 Does Anybody really know what time it is? BOL well done. #3 was a very close second. And a huge thanks to Lexie & her Mom for all the hard work each week. I look so forward to another great year of Lexieschain & all ma pals! Well done all! 

So dat's it for dis year.  Here's to 2014!! So 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) 5th January 2014 (gets 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 Fifty Third Chain

Hello pals! Welcome to week 153 of #lexieschain. The Penultimate Chain! Wooooohoooo!! Who will be da Chain Champ 2013? Last week da winner was Freddie wiv Lindisfarne and Winter Song.   Oh an a appy Crisp Mouse to yous all! Let's see wot we got this week:

@maggietkat
Well done Freddie! An artist who was involved in politcal activism in the 80's was Steven van Zandt. He formed a group with about 49 musicians called Artists United Against Apartheid who produced "sun city", a song about an infamous resort in South America. Little Steven is known for many endeavors, but the one I would like to highlight is writing and producing a song that brought Darlene Love back to the charts, "All Alone at Christmas" featured in the Home Alone 2 movie. This number also features The E Street Band and The Miami Horns. Happy Christmas to all!

@skye613

Another great win by Freddie! Super link pal. As I usually do I have been researching ma poor brain out. Then I was reminded of a song from Blood Sweat & Tears. I think I played this LP until it fell apart but haven't listened to it in ages. The desolation of winter still resonates. " Sometimes In Winter " A very Merry Christmas to all my Chainy pals! I so enjoy doing this with all of you! 

@diamondbertie
Last weeks winner was Winter Song by Alan Hull. My choice is Fairy Tale of New York by The Pogues & Kirsty MacColl this is keeping the winter theme and if you disregard the words the rhythm and theme is so like the old Wassail songs, I defy anyone to hear it and not smile.

@wonderwinger
Well done Freddie on last weeks win, a very interesting link. Alan Hull was one if the founding members of Lindisfarne, a band who I will always associate with the tune "Fog on the Tyne". Fog on the Tyne was covered by Paul Gascoigne after the 1990 World Cup hysteria seemed to briefly turn the Uk Gazza crazy. Before the World Cup that year, the England team song was berated for not having any real football stars in the video despite it featuring Gazza and John Barnes. The song & my linky was of course World in Motion by New Order.

@claptonterrier
Hi Miss Lexie……last week mr Freddie was the winner with Alan Hull’s song…..and as you know it was performed live from the City Hall in Newcastle….and that is the bit we have focused on for our link this week…Newcastle is a large city in the north of England (for our non-UK players) and that has given us an excuse to pick our very favourite Bob Dylan song of all time….so this week my link is Girl From the North Country by Bob Dylan (with Johnny Cash)…its a beautiful song and very obviously recorded in one take as the vocals slide about all over each other as the two singers try to stay together….but that is the bit we like best….never be allowed to put it out today of course….curse you Simon Cowell!! *shakes tiny fist*.

@smcheetham
Morning all. Clever Freddie won again last week he has had a great year on the chain. I have taken the word winter from Winter Song as my link as after all it is winter and we been having some wild weather. my choice is Winter Trees by The Staves who are sisters from Watford near my house. This is a lovely wintery song which came out last year and got quite a lot of airplay on 6 Music. Enjoy and a very happy and safe Christmas to all the chain gang it's been such fun swapping music with you all.

@bunnersandharvs
Well dun to you Freddie fur da win last week. It was a supa linky and a rilly good songy too! So we knows da songy is about thinking about others but we says to do dat you need to learn to love and if you has love den evathing and anything can be done. So da songy we going wid dis week is a Krissmassy songy by CeeLo Green. He did sing wid The Muppets. Da songy is called 'All I Need Is Love'. Get dem paws tapping...

@djladylexie
Nice one Freddie. We's big fans of Lindisfarne. Our linky dus be frew Rod Clements and compassion. Rod Clements formed Lindisfarne with Alan Hull and also worked wiv Ralph McTell. One verse in particlear stands out for us in this song 'do you spare a thought for the homeless tramp who wishes he was dead'. Christmas-time is the time of year we shod fink of uvvas less fortunate who do not have the warmf of a home to call their own. So, our linky dus be Streets of London, which Rod Clements played bass on, a wonderfully emotional song highlightin the plight of the homeless, elderly and forgotten members of society, something that is even more poignant at this time of year. The message is a simple one, showing compassion.

An da winner ....... as chosen by ........ Freddie dus be .....................Skye!! Yay well done pal.  That mean you be choosin next the final chain ob da year ma pal.

Ere wot Freddie said bowty it: It's so ard to choose, do I pick fave song or fave linky. Dis week is speshully difficult, World in Motion dat rare fing a gweat sport song, Dad adores Kirsty MacColl, n we likes Dylan n Cash but dere were 2 dat stood out, Blood, Sweat and Tears which we'd never heard n luvd n Ralph McTell beautiful song n impawtant message. After much thawt I av picked linky 2 "Sometimes in Winter". Well done all n av a very Merry Christmas n fanks fer da chainy fun.

Speshul fanks to Lexie n er Mum fer all deir ard work each week.

Luv fwom Freddie

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) 29th December 2013 (gets 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 Fifty Second Chain

Hello pals! Welcome to week 152 of #lexieschain. Last week da winner was Clapton Terrier wiv Sigourney Weaver and Bertie wiv  Cry Freedom.  Let's see wot we dun gotted this week:

@maggietkat No 1

For Bertie's excellent song about Mandela who preached the story of loving your fellow man, I think of the penultimate Burt Bacharach number "What the World needs Now is Love". I also think about Martin Luther King, another great black leader who stood up for desegregation. I think about his assasination along with 3 other leaders in the US, and recall the song "Abraham, Martin, and John". In 1971 when the Vietnam War was winding down, Tom Clay, a California DJ, put together this video mixing the two songs along with news clips from that period. I hope you enjoy this video.

@maggietkat No 2
That Clapton just keeps winning! His link "Sigourney Weaver" was brilliant. I got thinking about aliens, and realized Mom just had a birthday that puts her over the hill. Here in the States, you turn into an alien when you reach a certain age, no respect. So, my take on this is Little Feat's "Old Folks' Boogie" where you can become an alien without space travel. All you have to do is just get old. 

@smcheetham
Hope this is in time rush Rush. The song Sigourney Weaver makes mention of aliens and aliens live on other planets or so we are led to believe. that took me to that 70s classic Another Girl Another Planet by The Only Ones those were the days my friends. Have good weeks everyone.

@freddie_bt
Cry Freedom a very unsettling film. Of the many interviewed about Mandela after his death the most profound and interesting was his friend Denis Goldberg the only white defendant at the Rivonia trial, he served 22 years in prison and while he's proud of what has been achieved since Mandela's release he has grave concerns about the disparity in prospects, unemployment and wealth that still remains between black and white and the growing activism that this is creating. These isues all seemed to get overlooked this week amongst the photo oportunities, pompous oratory and freeloading that characterise politicians at work, Mandela was an exception to this rule, it made us think of this message about sparing a thought for those less fortunate or who are discriminated against which Alan Hull offered in his beautiful seasonal Winter Song.

@skye613
So this week we have 2 winners! Well done Clapton & Bertie. Congrats. I chose to go with Clapton's link . Not quite sure why cause I don't watch those kinda movies. Scary! But I'm sure everyone has seen the exploding alien clip. That brought to mind this little ditty from The Postal Service. Cause this is my kind of SyFy & more exploding body parts

@bunnersandharvs
Well dun to Clapton & Bertie on winnin da #lexieschain last week. Now where does a paw go wid two songs from you paws, you say? Well, dis paw says der is only one way to go and dat is wid a Chrissymoos songy about being together and playing together on a sleigh ride.....you gots it! My choicy is Sleigh Ride by da RONETTES. Der int nothing more fun dan going fur a sleigh ride with yooohooo! Happy and Merry Christmas to all our sweet and wondurful pals.

@djladylexie
I not know which one to do chainy for so I do boaf!

Bertie's linky: I'm stickin wiv the struggle for freedom an justice an a movie that shows more of the suffering of thousands of people for so many centuries. The movie does be Amista which is about a mutiny aboard a slave ship travelling to America in 1939 and the court-room drama that ensues around the freem an who led the mutiny. I dus choose a song from the movie soundtrack wot dus be Dry Your Tears, Afrika. Tears have flowed again today as the world says goodbye to Nelson Mandela.

Clapton's linky: Beth Orton and John Grant sing the song Sigourney Weaver togeva at Latitude 2013. Dis awesome music festival takes place at Southwold in Suffolk, an area very dear to our hearts. The first Latitude Festival was held in July 2006 and the headline act was Snow Patrol. One of the favourite Snow Patrol songs is Set Fire to the Third Bar, which also features Martha Wainwright, a folk singer of some note, not unlike Beth Orton.

An da winner ... as chosen by ... Bertie and Clapton dus be ..................... Freddie! Yay well done pal.  That mean you be choosin next week ma pal.

Ere wot they said: Link 3 is the winner Miss Lexie. A beautiful song….and typist likes it for sentimental reasons of course as he was there in the audience that night as a callow 18 year old with his school mates.

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) 22nd December 2013 (gets 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 Fifty First Chain

Hello pals! Welcome to week 151 of #lexieschain. Last week da winner was Stella wiv Lana del Rey and Video Games. Nice one Stella! Very good indeedy. Let's see wot we gots then. Oh, I fort I menshun two fings 1) we continue to end of year for this chainy so the last one will be 29th December .. who will be the champ!!! You will av to wait an see. And 2) Sometimes I can't get your videos to work properly in Blogger so have to put in a substitute. Rest assured that the judge sees the correct video. Fanx pals!


@djladylexie
Lovely song, great artist. Great linky! Well lets av fink.The lyrics contain the line heaven is a place on earth. Hmmm who else dun somfink like dat ws Belinda Carlisle wiv Heaven is a Place on Earth! But wait, that not me linky! Belinda Carlise shot to fame in the band The GoGos, the first all-female band to write their owns songs and played their own instruments — paw err …. I mean …. girl power!! So, I am gowin for a bit more girl power dis week wiv The GoGo's and We Got the Beat!










@maggietkat
What a great choice for the chain! I had never heard Lana del Rey and I am now a fan. Lana released a number titled "Body Electric" which is a reference to Walt Whitman's poem "I Sing the Body Electric". My favorite jazz fusion group Weather Report released an album titled "I Sing the Body Electric". I recalled that Joni Mitchell had used 2 of the personnel from Weather Report during her jazz period, Wayne Shorter, saxophonist, and Jaco Pastorius, fretless bass. My choice is "Why Do Fools Fall in Love" from Joni's "Shadows and Light" album for which Jaco was personnel. I feel that this song is appropriate since it talks bout fated loved much as Lana's number did. Enjoy!




@skye613
Love Lana Del Rey! Great pick Stella. Rocked & racked my brain all week. But lana takes me to The Great Gatsby release this year which included Jack White's " Love is Blindness" . We all get blinded by things and then stumble but not the " Pinball Wizard " How do you think he does it?





@wonderwinger
I hear that the latest #lexieschain winner is the very clever Stella giving us Video Games from Lana del Ray. On researching sweet Lana I discovered that she grew up in Lake Placid, New York and I thought to myself I wonder who else was born there? Only Melvil Dewey, that's right the great man who invented the Dewey Decimal Classification system.

Aha, I thought this is an ideal opportunity to throw in a song about libraries. Reading being an activity just like video games that can help relieve the boredom of wet playtimes.

Turns out that most songs about libraries seem to be about love and lust between the stacks, although Frank Zappa did pen a lovely ditty about Library cards. However, my linky shall be this tune by Belle and Sebastian - Wrapped up in Books.

@freddie_bt
Lana del Rey is fwom NY n her parents worked fer Grey a Madison/Fifth Ave ad agency, so our linky is "Walking Down Madison" written n played by Jonny Marr sung by Kirsty MacColl, its timely too as 18th December is da anniversary of her death in 2000. Dad loved seein her, she wuz wonderful n last saw her in Feb 2000 at Ian Dury's final concert. He's still angry bout her death n sadly her family never will get justice.

@claptonterrier
Hi Miss Lexie….last week the winning song was Video Games by Lana Del Rey. Someone round here is old enough to remember playing Space Invaders at the local pub for hours on end and worrying about alien invasion. There is also a famous series of films about Aliens…..they star Sigourney Weaver so we have chosen a song today called “Sigourney Weaver” by John Grant….its a beautiful song…we can only find this live version on YouTube but I do recommend searching out the original and getting the album …
.

@terenceterrier
da winnin linky woz Lana Del Ray wiv “Video Games”. Mum comes from a generayshun when yoo had to get ya paws on da game not wotch on a screen so our linky be “Pinball Wizard” . I gives yoo da live vershun from da stage show “Tommy” wiv Elton John and The Who.





@bunnersandharvs
Well dun to you dear Stella fur your eggcellent selkshun last week by Lana Del Ray's songy Video Games. Now we has been challenged dis week wid what sort of linky to go wid but we decided to choose a songy we neva hurd of by The Foundations called Born To Live And Born To Die. Why? Cos Lana did singy a songy called Born to Die and we thort dat it might be nice to have something about living mixed in. Hee hee so dat is our linky.

@diamondbertie
Last weeks winner chosen by @smcheetham was the song by Lana Del Rey, Video Games, a lovely choice my choice is the theme music of the film Cry Freedom, this is a tribute to Nelson Mandela, a remarkable man with a remarkable life who managed to lead a whole nation away from a terrible civil war, that is his legacy and long may it last.





An da winner ... as chosen by ... Stella dus be ..................... but wait we has two winners. The winners dus be 1) Clapton Terrier and 2) Diamond Bertie! Yay well done pals. Now rules say you as to decide togeva by conflabbin over da emails. Okies? Yay!


Ere wot stella said:

What a great week on Lexie's chain and how difficult it is to decide between these great suggestions.  Also two people went to the  same song through very different routes. Should I choose on the basis of the song or the link that was what was running though my mind. It was so tricky that after checking with Lexie that it would be ok there are two winners this week as I could not choose between them. 

The two choices are 

Linky number 6 John Grant - the song is brilliant and the whole album Queen of Denmark that this comes from is quite extraordinary.  

Linky number 9 as it seemed a really good thing to pay tribute to Nelson Mandela given the events of the week. Stella dun a photo wot I forgot to send to mum at work so I put it on laters!

 

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) 15th December 2013 (gets 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!