Answer Me This! Podcast

In Episode 140, Karen in East Grinstead expressed her desire to compile a New York-themed megamix. Turns out she’s been pipped to the post by Chris from Cambridge:

Approximately a year ago, for reasons beyond my recall, I put together a playlist of songs (tenuously) about New York City. So imagine my surprise when I discovered that a fellow listener was doing precisely the same thing!!! Perhaps they would be interested in what I came up with…

The East River – Jeffrey Lewis
You Said Something – PJ Harvey
Survival Car – Fountains of Wayne
New York City Fuck Off – Matson Jones
Me & Julio down by the Schoolyard – Paul Simon
New York Times – Bobbi Humphrey
Old Soul Song – Bright Eyes
Union Square – Tom Waits
Take the A-Train – Duke Ellington
Just because I’m Irish – Jonathan Richman
Living for the City – Stevie Wonder
New York, I love you, but you’re bringing me down – LCD Soundsystem
Frank Mills – The Lemonheads
Across 110th St – Bobby Womack
NYC’s like a graveyard – Moldy Peaches
Fairytale of New York – Pogues
Summer in the City – Regina Spektor (I always assumed it was about NYC, but admittedly have no proof…)
Harlem Shuffle – Bob & Earl
Tennessee Blues – Steve Earle

That looks like it would fill up almost an entire C90, but if you feel Chris has failed to include a copper-bottomed NYC classic, admonish him in the comments.

Next week: we compile the ultimate playlist about Swindon! Who’s in?

Subscribe with iTunes • Listen to episodes • Question Archive • FAQ
Facebook • Twitter • Merch Superstore • YouTube Channel

** Click here for Episode 139 **

Thanks everyone for sending in your tales of muck-day, to fill Olly in on what he missed at his happy hippy school. This one from Alice tickled us particularly:

The best school prank I have heard of was at a friend’s sister’s school: they stole 4 sheep and labeled them 1,2,3 and 5 and set them loose in the school, causing mayhem as the teachers tried to find the elusive sheep no. 4!

“What a hoot!” we thought.

Until we ploughed further through our inbox, and found the very same story from nigh a dozen different sources! And we know they’re not all regaling us about the same sheep jape, as the different versions were geographically diverse, took place at various points over the past decade, and sometimes starred goats rather than sheep. Further lighting the gaslamp of suspicion was the fact that none were first-hand accounts, all being as indirect as Alice’s friend’s sister. So:

HAVE ANY OF YOU ACTUALLY DONE THIS PRANK?

REALLY?

We’ll believe you only if you provide supplementary evidence. As Luke has:

I attended Christ’s Hospital school in the 80s – you know the one, where Gene Simmonds did the Rock School shit for Channel 4 some years ago, with the daft uniforms and grandiose architecture.

Here are some photographs of the final day of the year and the japes that were performed by leavers. Always unsanctioned, rarely punished, they were an early introduction into anarchy lite.

The Waller Bus pushed by leavers into the main quad, where these events usually occurred overnight, thus affording the entire school a view of the efforts as we marched (yes, marched) into breakfast.

Toilet doors removed and stacked elegantly.

Bread crates.

See? That is how you get us to believe in your pranks. Love your work with the toilet doors, Luke.

Subscribe with iTunes • Listen to episodes • Question Archive • FAQ
Facebook • Twitter • Merch Superstore • YouTube Channel

** Click here for Episode 138 **

As a good example of a multinational listener, Brett, 18, from Caithness but born in America, is well-placed to comment upon last week’s consideration of the term ‘continental breakfast’:

I was always taught that it was named as such because it was what George Washington’s army ate during the American Revolution. This army was called the continental army, and its popularity spread from there – at first as a patriotic thing, then as just a standard name for a meal.

Not sure how true this is, but its makes a lot of sense when you think that a continental breakfast consists of mostly cold food – heating food would require a fire, meaning tinder etc (which wasn’t always available in the season of the war), and would also result in being spotted by the enemy.

The cold food sounds about right, but we’re having trouble imagining George Washington’s army eating defrosted croissants, stewed prunes and toffee-flavoured yoghurt in the field. Anyone else with a suggestion? Oh, hello there, Vasco:

In your last episode you were talking about breakfasts, and funny enough you compared a Portuguese with a Danish one. Funny because I’m Portuguese and my girlfriend is Danish.

I can tell you first hand that the breakfasts of both countries do overlap quite a lot, just like the majority of continental Europe.
Both are based on fresh bread or pastry (croissant) with butter, cold meats, cheese, accompanied by fresh juices, some milk or yoghurt with cereal, and lots of coffee. The only distinct difference is that Danes also like to have liver pâté on their bread.

Aaah. Two nations, so different in geography, culture and climate, united by breakfast. No wonder it’s the most important meal of the day.

Subscribe with iTunes • Listen to episodes • Question Archive • FAQ
Facebook • Twitter • Merch Superstore • YouTube Channel

** Click here for Episode 137 **

This is one of the sadder emails we’ve received at Answer Me This!:

Dear Helen,

Best of luck to you, Helen. I hope you are able to have everything as you like it.

Seems rather inappropriate to make our usual glib remarks at this juncture; but if any of the rest of you have similar melancholies vexing your pasts and you need to vent, please do so in the comments, and hopefully everyone will feel a bit lighter afterwards.

Subscribe with iTunes • Listen to episodes • Question Archive • FAQ
Facebook • Twitter • Merch Superstore • YouTube Channel