Twice this weekend I've heard records that were huge chart hits, but came from the soundtracks of lesser known films. The first was this on Pick of the Pops on Saturday:

From that well remembered film "Fast Break" apparently. Second one is in the comments to avoid overloading the front page; anyone got any others to share?

Just heard "When You're in Love with a Beautiful Woman" by Dr Hook. Had never realised how rude the first line is!

Any others out there?

There's an interview with Giles Coren in this quarter's "Beer" magazine (CAMRA thingy) which is a good old read. It mentions that he and Sue Perkins have three new Supersizers episodes coming up in the near future - they are the 1960s (excellent) the Raj (should be fascinating) and, here's the odd one - the 1990s.

I thought back 15-20 years wondering if what I ate then was much different to what I eat now and couldn't really think of much that was. Maybe we've got better access to foods from nations we wouldn't have had in the 90s (Vietnamese for example) but it's going to be interesting to see what will be included. Gallons of Sunny Delight and Hooch perhaps, who knows?

"Are you watching the semis this weekend?"

"Only if I'm up."

Isn't language a wonderful thing?

Good to see one half of Sparks branching out...

Was stuck in bed poorly the other week with Radio 2 for company. Amongst all the good old stuff they seemed to be playing about 3 new records on rotation - that Lady Gaga one (bit like Pink, not too bad); that one by the Feeling about having some sort of party (which is awful, and a shame cos they've done some good stuff) and then this, which I thought was fabulous. I wondered if it was being ill that did it but heard it again this evening and it sounded great to well ears too:

Didn't realise she's only 15! That's some voice for someone so young.

Those new-fangled drinks vending machines you see in leisure centres and hospitals these days are a bit over-complicated, aren't they? Your bottle of Lucozade doesn't just drop into the tray with a satisfying clatter like it used to, it has to be grabbed by some mechanical arm which drops it onto a conveyor belt before delivering it, eventually, into a bottle shaped receptacle, more often than not protected by a rotating plastic door. No wonder they're often out of order.

Thing is, I can't help humming (or better still, "mouth-trumpeting") the below while I'm waiting for my drink to arrive. Any other examples of soundtracking mundane life events with appropriate music?

PS Skip forward to 30-odd seconds for the bit I actually hum.

PPS I've always loved the way the narrator says "one". "Wwwwwunnnnnnnnnnnnn....."

Can you see what he's done there?

Had a curry at this establishment over the weekend.

http://www.crownofindia.co.uk/

The quote under the restaurant name made me chuckle - a bit too appropriate for a curry house, perhaps.

Any other examples of such things?

I was driving behind a Mini on the way home the other night with the dealer name on the back window. It made me chuckle enought to want to share. The dealership was called Lloyd Colne.

That's all. Night!

I'm not a Man United fan, and my opinion of Wayne Rooney has dipped over the last year, but that is a bit special.

It was quite pleasing to see Wolves beat Manchester United the other day; not just because it's nice to see Mick McCarthy happy, but also because I find I can never really get engaged with a football season until every team has lost at least one league match.

I don't know why this is, but it has always bothered me since getting properly interested in football 20 odd years ago. The first time I noticed it was the year it took till nearly March for Arsenal to get a league defeat (from Chelsea, 2-1 at Stamford Bridge). Since then, I've hated the first few months of the season, actively waiting for all the zeroes to disappear from the "L" columns of league tables.

It's not that a team shouldn't be able to go a season undefeated - Arsenal's extraordinary 2003-4 season shows that, but you have to feel the pain of defeat to appreciate the pleasure of victory, don't you?

Or am I just barmy?

An email plopped into my inbox yesterday inviting me to apply for tickets to the following TV recording, or to take part should I be interested.

http://www.applausestore.com/applausestore-reserve-form.php?id=455&bid=4

I don't like to judge things before seeing them, but I get the feeling this may turn out to be a bit poor.

Had never heard this till the other day.

Merry Christmas everyone!