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September 19

Songs inspired by newspaper headlines

I've been asked to come up with a list of songs inspired by newspaper headlines or newspaper stories. I can only really think of "A Day in the Life"—can anyone think of any others? matt (talk) 12:00, 19 September 2012 (UTC)[reply]

There are loads. Here's a few to get the ball rolling: Gary Gilmore's Eyes, I Don't Like Mondays, News of the World and Bermuda Triangle Blues (Flight_45). I'm not sure if the last one is but it seems like it. --TrogWoolley (talk) 12:36, 19 September 2012 (UTC)[reply]

And going way back: The Titanic (song). Alansplodge (talk) 13:24, 19 September 2012 (UTC)[reply]

How about We Didn't Start the Fire, a song who's lyrics are pretty much just newspaper headlines? Livewireo (talk) 13:28, 19 September 2012 (UTC)[reply]

How about an entire album (22 songs) of newspaper headlines, Strange but True. CambridgeBayWeather (talk) 13:32, 19 September 2012 (UTC)[reply]

"Jeremy", by Pearl Jam was an amalgam of two teen suicide stories, one of which Eddie Vedder knew personally, and one of which was taken from a newspaper account. --Jayron32 17:11, 19 September 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Jeremy; Mean Mr. Mustard; Don't You Want Me; At Seventeen. - Ka renjc 17:13, 19 September 2012 (UTC)[reply]

I don't know if songs like The Titanic (song) really count, because those songs are based on the event itself rather than any particular headline or story. (There are many such songs; Wreck of the Old 97 and The Ballad of Casey Jones are other examples.) But The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald, which was based on a story in Newsweek, should count.

In what way was At Seventeen based on a headline or story? I thought it was based on Janis Ian's own experiences. ~~

See the article. (Surprised me too.) —Tamfang (talk) 19:11, 19 September 2012 (UTC)[reply]

I once saw a musical revue ("Cabaret Platypus Reveals All") based on Weekly World News stories; the only one that comes to mind now is "Killer Trees Assassinate Greedy Land Developer". —Tamfang (talk) 19:07, 19 September 2012 (UTC)[reply]

I'd like to see a song based on [1]. -- ♬ Jack of Oz ♬ ^{[your turn]} 19:25, 19 September 2012 (UTC)[reply]

These may be useful: [2], [3] --Michig (talk) 19:28, 19 September 2012 (UTC)[reply]

I've got a Norwegian one, based on a fictional, prototypical tabloid headline, which was quite popular in its time (1983, a time when "negro" was still considered a neutral word in Norwegian): "Naken greve jager neger med øks" (Naked count chases negro with an axe), here subtitled in French [4]. By Tramteateret (redlink?, oh well no:Tramteateret). --NorwegianBlue^talk 20:07, 19 September 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Tom's Diner is another. Adam Bishop (talk) 22:29, 19 September 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Brain Damage. Zoonoses (talk) 03:21, 20 September 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Bat Boy: The Musical is also based on a Weekly World News headline. AndrewWTaylor (talk) 09:31, 20 September 2012 (UTC)[reply]

"She's Leaving Home" Evanh2008 ^{(talk|contribs)} 10:51, 20 September 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Not a newspaper story directly but from an incident that made news: "Hey Man, Nice Shot" by Filter. Dismas|^(talk) 12:20, 20 September 2012 (UTC)[reply]

57 Channels (And Nothin' On) by Springsteen. (I'm surprised our article doesn't mention the incident that led to the song though.) --TammyMoet (talk) 18:11, 20 September 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Maybe a little (!!!) obscure, but the song "Riegal" by Pearls Before Swine was inspired by an article Tom Rapp read about the wartime sinking of the MS Rigel (he got the spelling wrong!). Great song. Ghmyrtle (talk) 20:30, 20 September 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Did anyone mentiion Smoke on the Water about the 1971 Montreaux fire, the Hurricane song about Rubin Carter, The Night Chicago Died, the song about Ma Barker, and Ra Ra Rasputin ? There was one I believe Rod Stewart sung about a gay man murdered for being homosexual, but I can't remember the title, in as sense also, Two Tribes ( go to War ) could be more about the news in general. Lynard Skynard's Sweet Home Alabama in response to comments made in the song Southern Man. Oh, the Possibilities ! Chris the Russian Christopher Lilly 03:43, 21 September 2012 (UTC)[reply]

The Rod Stewart song is the Killing of Georgie. --TammyMoet (talk) 10:08, 21 September 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Ohio (Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young song). StuRat (talk) 07:31, 21 September 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Woodstock (song) - Woodstock; The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald - SS Edmund Fitzgerald; American Pie (song) - The Day the Music Died...--Shirt58 (talk) 10:28, 21 September 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Are we limiting this pop/rock songs? Eroica was originally to be a paen to Napoleon. Shos Five, "a Soviet artist's creative response to justified criticism", was the fundamentally decent Shostakovich's only possible response to Stalinism. Pärt's 1977 "Cantus in Memoriam Benjamin Britten" was written shortly after Britten's death in 1976 whose passing would have been reported in newspapers. --Shirt58 (talk) 11:07, 21 September 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Yes, but were those specifically inspired by Newspaper Headlines? The OP doesn't appear to be looking for music inspired by true events, but specifically by something the songwriter read in a newspaper. I don't know that Eroica was inspired by a newspaper.--Jayron32 06:43, 22 September 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Point taken. I'm sure the The Times of Saturday 24 April 1812 didn't have a lift-out magazine which featured a readers poll rating the top five orchestral works about the Napoleonic Wars.--Shirt58 (talk) 12:22, 22 September 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Possibly a bit hard to believe, but the album title Weasels Ripped My Flesh is another example. 192.51.44.16 (talk) 05:30, 24 September 2012 (UTC)[reply]

MAX BYGRAVES

I HAVE A RECORD 20 ALL TIME FAVOURITES MAX BYGRAVES IT HAS A SONG HOW COULD PEOPLE TELL I WAS A COCKNEY JACK MEADOWS WROTEFOR HIM IN 1951 WHEN HE WENT TO AMERICA WITH JUDY GARLAND IT PROVED A BIG HIT WITH THE AMERICANS RECORDED AT PYE STUDIOS LONDON 1978 SLEEVE DESIGN S WAGSTAFFE I HAVE TRYED TO BUY A CD OF IT BUT NO LUCK THANK YOUFOR ANY HELP — Preceding unsigned comment added by 120.144.56.145 (talk) 13:52, 19 September 2012 (UTC)[reply]

inb4 "don't use all caps, it looks like you're shouting" Presumably you mean this one? I can find no trace of it being released on CD, sorry. --Viennese Waltz 14:15, 19 September 2012 (UTC)[reply]

I've had a good search through Google and the most recent recording seems to be an album called "Lingalongamax" from 1978 (it reached number 34 in the UK album chart), which is available as a vinyl LP[5] but doesn't appear to have made it onto a CD. I did find a forum which has this album available as a file to download, but I'm certain its not entirely legal. Alansplodge (talk) 20:04, 20 September 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Name of an obscure movie

I am trying to locate an obscure movie I watched around 12 to 15 years ago. I have very little memory of the plot, but I remember the following points:

1. The movie takes place on a remote deserted island inhabited only by a young female, who periodically receives food/supplies from a ship.

2. One day, she discovers a man lying on the shore unconscious, she takes him to her home and takes care of him. The man seems to have no recollection of the events and how he ended up on the island. It seems he has suffered from memory loss.

3. The rest of the movie revolves around their interactions as they have an affair. There is virtually no other characters in the movie.

4. I remember that the characters spoke in a non-American accent; possibly British or Irish.

Any idea what this movie might be? Thanks _{Hisham1987 (talk) 22:44, 19 September 2012 (UTC)}[reply]

L'enfant d'eau, perhaps. We don't have an article on it, but there's a brief plot summary here and a few clips here. --Viennese Waltz 23:25, 19 September 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Unfortunately, no. The movie I am looking for is in English. But the two movies do have the same mood. _{Hisham1987 (talk) 23:59, 19 September 2012 (UTC)}[reply]

We don't have an article on it, and it's not actually set on an island; but this sounds like Driftwood. Deor (talk) 00:13, 20 September 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Yes! Yes! This is it. You people are simply amazing. Thanks. _{Hisham1987 (talk) 00:23, 20 September 2012 (UTC)}[reply]

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