Roky Erickson's 13th Floor Elevators were an obvious choice to illustrate this week's edition of the Hot 100, though I could have also gone with short-lived indie also-rans Thirteen Senses.
(And for completeness' sake, the albums 13 by Teenage Fanclub & 13 by Blur were also suggested.)
Before we dive into the unluckiest edition of this feature to date... which is worrying, because none of us need any more bad luck at the moment... I just wanted to put a call out to our old pal Douglas McLaren in Canada. Not heard from you in a few weeks, Douglas, so I do hope you're OK. I'm presuming you're not still on the picket line given what's going on in the world right now, but I hope you're staying safe and well.
The same sentiment goes out to all regular readers and contributors of this feature. Let's hope we all make it through to Number One, and that things are starting to get back to normal by the time we get there...
Let's kick off with
C this week, who treats us to
some excellent '60s fuzz beat in the form of Swedish band The Renegades' song 'Thirteen Women'. If you check out the youtube video of the band larking about in a factory full of women it's nicely daft, and the length of the singer's hair at the time must have been outrageous!
The Renegades - Thirteen Women
The weird thing is, I'd never heard of that song until
C suggested it. But then, a couple of nights later, I heard this on the radio, from a few years earlier...
Ann Margret - Thirteen Men
The same song, with a gender swap. Further research was required, and
Lynchie pointed us back to both the Ann Margret version and the year 1954 when the tune was originally recorded by...
Bill Haley & His Comets - Thirteen Women
Song facts says:
"This is a bizarre song which attempts to make light of the spectre of nuclear destruction. It appears to have been written in the wake of the explosion of the first hydrogen bomb, at Bikini Atoll on March 1, 1954, less than 10 years after the twin horrors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki."
Beat that, everyone!
Y'know, that could very well have been the winner, were I actually in my record collection (it will be soon) and were there not one other suggestion that trumps it this week. But we'll get to that shortly.
Lynchie had one other suggestion this week, and it was a fine one too...
Johnny Cash - Number Thirteen
Written by Heavy Metal Glenn Danzig of all people.
OK, what did
Martin have for us this week?
Ash - 13th Floor
Elvis Costello - 13 Steps Lead Down
A worthy contender, seconded by
Brian and
Rigid Digit.
Garbage - 13 x Forever
Big Country - Broken Hearts (Thirteen Valleys)
Jim &
Brian both seconded that.
Arctic Monkeys - 2013
J.J. Cale - Thirteen Days
Jerry Lee Lewis - Thirteen At The Table
Swiss Adam was up next, starting with a very popular suggestion...
Big Audio Dynamite - V Thirteen
Essential Mick Jones, one of his best.
Along with a couple from his late, lamented favourite...
Andrew Weatherall - Thirteenth Night
Timothy J. Fairplay - Thirteenth Night (remix of the above)
And while we're on a Weatherall kick, I might as well throw this in...
Primal Scream - 2013 (Andrew Weatherall remix)
Swiss Adam also offered this unabashed masterpiece...
Dexy's Midnight Runners - Kevin Rowland's 13th Time
Good old Kevin.
The Swede's so busy in his supermarket, he only had one for us this week... stay safe, Swede.
Colter Wall - Thirteen Silver Dollars
Along came
Rigid Digit...
The Damned had an EP called Friday The 13th - no song with that title though.
But they did do this:
The Damned - 13th Floor Vendetta
After that, things got pretty
LOUD...
Megadeth - Thirteen
Anthrax - 13
(Although, to be fair, that one is only 51 seconds.)
Black Flag - Room 13
Pixies - No 13 Baby
(Must resist the temptation to suggest U2 - 13 (There Is A Light). Oops)
Yes, you must. And you needn't think I'm linking to that either.
Late entry (slow brain)...
The Wonder Stuff - No For The 13th Time
Charity Chic, meanwhile, returned to a popular monthly feature that recently concluded on his own blog...
Julie London - The 13th Month
Apart from Big Country, Jim in Dubai only had one other suggestion this week...
The Lurkers - Just Thirteen
(A very creepy combination of artist name and song title if you ask me.)
Brian, meanwhile, agreed with a number of the suggestions above, but also threw in a couple more of his own...
I'll toss out On the Thirteenth Day by the Monochrome Set from the nearly perfect album Eligible Bachelors.
The Monochrome Set - On The Thirteenth Day
The comical July 13th 1985 by John Wesley Harding deserves a shout as well.
John Wesley Harding - July 13th 1985
Definitely worth a listen, that one.
All of which brings us to this week's leftovers from my own collection, starting with the gentleman who won last week. Imagine if Chuck Berry came from Essex...
Billy Bragg - A13 Trunk Road To The Sea
Redbone - Chant: 13th Hour
The Cure - The 13th
Half Man Half Biscuit - 13 Eurogoths Floating In The Dead Sea
Ian Brown - Longsight M13
Ooberman - 13
Wish I was still 13...
Forgotten how good that was!
Public Enemy - Bedlam 13:13
The Ataris - Song #13
The Scaremongers - 13 Men
That's the current Poet Laureate, Simon Armitage, with his ode to our local rugby team, The Huddersfield Giants.
There’s thirteen men standing in my way,
Thirteen men on the field of play,
There’s nothing but grass between me and them,
Nothing but grass and me and thirteen men,
And all I want is on the other side.
Thirteen men who wanna kick my hide.
I’ve got eighty minutes on red alert,
I won’t lie to you, THIS IS GONNA HURT
The Tears - Apollo 13
Thea Gilmore - Apparition #13
Jesse Malin feat. Lucinda Williams - Room 13
Ben Kweller - Thirteen
The Delgados - Thirteen Gilding Principles
All those out of the way, it's fair to say Charity Chic nailed this week's winner from the get-go...
Only one song required for next week, Rol.
You know what to do.
As a matter of fact, I did.
For the avoidance of doubt...
Big Star - Thirteen
No contest.
Couldn't agree more...
Let's leave those troubled teenage years behind next week and begin the return to innocence, starting with a good solid dozen...
Your 12 suggestions will be greatly appreciated...
