Every so often a band or artist will come up with a song that is so unlike their normal style that in some cases you can't believe who it is:

Exhibit 1 - how could this late night jazz be the same band who did White Riot?

Exhibit 2 - a romantic and tender song that captures that excitement at the beginning of a love affair, from everyone's favourite bus-station drunk

got any other examples?

About 5 years ago, on a now defunct music board frequented by mostly twee indie fans, someone posted this as a topic. The thread eventually petered out at top moment 157.

Anyway, here's 5 to get you going

1. Rick Danko's hat
2. The expressions on Robbie and Rick's faces as they realise just how out of it Neil Young is
3. Robbie's increasingly desparate introduction for Dr John ("You all know the doctor?...Dr John?...Mac Rebbenack?...")
4. Garth Hudson's hair flying around
5. Michael McClure reading the Prologue to the Canterbury Tales (just for the sheer pointlessness of it)

Over to you!

(As a suggestion, YouTube links may not be a good idea since we'll probably end up posting the whole film, but in the wrong order)

Don't pretend you've not been watching it, even if you're hiding behind the "well, the GLW is into it" excuse.

So, will it be Harry from Word favourites McFly, with his professional partner Caroline Aherne (you look at Aliona's expressions and tell me she's not Denise Royle)

Or the vertically (and intellectually)challenged Chelsee and her Russian newbie partner.

Or the "Two Many Broken Hearts" hitmaker Jason Donovan, dancing with Joe Calzaghe's Mrs?

And even if you're not that fussed, you can count how many times Alesha "commends" one of the dancers, Tess does her "I have to ignore you, the director is talking in my ear" expression and the amazingly irritating James Jordan tries to interrupt whatever is going on

Some say that football today is full of overpaid mercenaries. Some suggest that my club, Manchester City, is the worst offender. But what City have in fact done is to distill all their best and worst traits over the last 30 years and put them all into one player. After all, when was the last time you saw a player score with his shoulder?

For those unfamiliar with his early work, check out this article:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2011/oct/28/mario-balotelli-mancheste...

Why always him? Well, who else could it be?

We've all had a right good go at the creationism/evolution/religion/atheism debate over the last couple of weeks. But one topic completely missed is the role that religion/belief in God has had in influencing popular music.

I mean could you really live in a world without this:

(Mavis Staples - In Christ there is no East or West)

Further examples to follow in comments.

And in the spirit of open debate, please feel to post your favourite songs inspired by scientific rationalism

According to Twitter at the moment, our favourite broadcaster is (or isn't) going to be a contestant on ITV's Dancing on Ice.

Whether it's true or not, I have heard that former OGWT presenter Mark Ellen is to appear on this year's "Strictly Come Dancing"

It has Amy Winehouse on the cover, Blondie on the CD, some very dodgy pictures of our editorial team proving that no-one looked good in the 80s, and a very easy to spot "99% true" (Am I the only person who always starts there - just like going to the sports pages in a newspaper).

As for the rest - well, it only arrived 15 minutes ago, I can't read that fast!!

I recently decided to clear out a few CDs using the Music Magpie website. To be honest, it's not great value (30p for a single CD, 72p for a double unless it happens to be particularly collectable), but what amazed me was that it refused to take 3 of mine - I assume on the grounds that they have no resale value whatsoever.

So step forward:
Travis, Lisa Stansfield and En Vogue. In the contemporary music world, you are completely worthless.

I was minding my own business driving the car yesterday afternoon with Gardener's Question Time on. They were in Dumfries and Galloway and Eric Robson seemed a bit baffled by the location, describing it as "south-west Scotland" .

Mild irritation (part of the deal when I'm listening to Eric Robson, but ...hey ... that's my bad) was simmering gently on the back burner, but it was manageable. Then one of the questioners asked about problems with Western Skunk Cabbage. Eric then immediately asked "Could you explain what that is?". He clearly knew nothing about Western Skunk Cabbage.

Now not everyone's an expert gardener. Not everyone can be expected to know all about every variety of plant that grows around the British Isles. But then not everyone is presenting a Radio 4 series providing gardening expertise and advice, and has been working in broadcasting for at least two decades on the basis that they're not "auto-cuties' or showbiz-creeps-on -the-make but genuinely know their onions (literally in this case). If a member of the public knows about, and wants to talk about, western skunk cabbage, so should Eric Robson. You'd think, at least, he'd be interested.

I bet Jo Whiley know all about Jimmy Webb. Small Faces too

Much as I love The Word, there is a very irritating phrase that has crept into the magazine in the last couple of issues: "go-to". I'm not sure if it's marketing speak, one of those strange American turn a verb into an adjective things or what, but it's an annoying and completely pointless phrase.

Example from the current issue:
"In the 80s, Godley and Creme were the go-to men for pop videos"
What is wrong with:
"In the 80s, Godley and Creme were the men to go to for pop videos"

If it's there to emphasise just how important/ubiquitous G&C were, then what's wrong with good old fashioned bold or italics?
"In the 80s, Godley and Creme were the men to go to for pop videos"

I'm looking forward to the day when "go-to" is "gone-from" the magazine!

Sad to hear of the death of another great singer: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-13329935.

Here he is in his prime:

Thanks to David's great review, I recently bought this fantastic compilation of originals covered by The Fall. I do have to take exception with one thing he said however - that he has no desire to hear The Fall's version of any of them. While Mr H is well known as a Fall-hater, some of the songs are so bad that I just had to hear MES covering them.

I've downloaded "I'm going to Spain" (he adds a pathos which the original really doesn't deserve) and am now on a mission to find "I'm a Mummy" and "Pinball Machine" - two truly terrible songs that surely must be improved by the Fall treatment.

Anyway, whether you love or hate the Fall, it is definitely a great album

Just caught that Rumer song about Aretha Franklin on the radio and it made me wonder if the Queen of Soul is the most name checked artist in popular music.

Apart from Rumer, straight off the top of my head there are Scritti Politti's "Pray Like Aretha Franklin" and Steely Dan's "Hey Nineteen"

Any others? Or anyone who gets more lyrical references?

RIP to a cricket legend, immortalised by the equally legendary Half Man Half Biscuit (which apparently he was bemused but very flattered by)
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/cricket/9433563.stm

Or "Electoral Change" as the BBC have apparently been instructed to refer to it ("Reform" is allegedly too "positive").

My view, for what its worth, is that the current system has to be reformed. Under it, the future direction of the country is determined by 150 or so "marginal" seats, as the other 500 rarely if ever change hands. And both Thatcher and Blair's "landslide" victories were achieved by getting around 1/3 of the popular vote.

Alternative Vote is, as Nick Clegg put it, a "miserable little compromise" but is still better than the current system.

We already have more proportional voting systems in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, and for European elections.

It also seems to me that those campaigning in favour of the status quo don't really have any arguments - the posters I've seen are of a soldier with the message "he needs better body armour not electoral change" (which is a short term economic argument for not doing something now, not a reasoned argument against the principle) and of Nick Clegg with the tag line that "he might get in again" (which is a bit like saying "Don't give to Comic Relief cos it means Davina McCall will appear on the telly again")

anyway, what do the Massive think?