By Loud Atlas
Five years ago this month I plucked up the courage to nominate William Orbit's Adagio for Strings for the eclectic New-Meets-Old week, having lurked for several years on and off. It wasn't picked for the lists (there's always next time), but what good fun it is interacting with like-minded music lovers. So here I am, Tuesday morning, thumbing a column together in the hope that a group of people I've never met find a modicum of joy in what they read and listen to. You, me, we're all unexpected additions to our little lives, and I wanted to thank you for it. To the music!
Disney and anthropomorphism have gone hand-in-hand for a long time. Our opening number shows four Beatles-inspired vultures befriending a young orphan Mowgli in The Jungle Book (1967). Usually unpleasant creatures, the birds in this song show a sensitive and caring side - after all, That's What Friends Are For - not to mention a gloriously harmonic side. The singers' names? Sure. It's a bit of a list: (deep breath):
• J. Pat O'Malley – voiced Buzzie
• Lord Tim Hudson – voiced Dizzy
• Digby Wolfe – voiced Ziggy
• Chad Stuart – voiced Flaps
• Bruce Reitherman – voiced Mowgli
• George Sanders – voiced Shere Khan (Bill Lee sang his part)
Making friends anywhere can be tricky, especially if you're a foreigner in a strange land - in this case, hip-hopping from France to the US. A Tribe Called Quest created the Luck of Lucien as a tribute to fellow artist Lucien Revolucion and his struggles in America as a young man. The outsider is gently made fun of in a playful way, which helps create a bridge.
On the subject of different nationalities mingling, Chico and The Man was the theme from a TV series of the same name. Chico and old cynical (and somewhat prejudiced) Ed strike up an unlikely friendship across the divide. José Feliciano sings this upbeat theme tune for the show, which helped pave the way for a better understanding of Latino characters on TV.
The Ballad of Curtis Loew tells the story of a street musician neglected by society, his greatness living in the shadows. Lynyrd Skynyrd show the perspective of a young lad who idolises the 60-year-old guitarist. The pair develop a friendship, the boy cashing in drink bottles to hear Curtis play. They both need each other in their own special way.
A couple of animal tracks next.
It's funny what a few thousand years of domestication can do. Like many a pet owner can attest: cats are the silent friend, honourable but with a slightly mischievous streak. Loudon Wainwright III sings of the benefits in Me and My Friend The Cat. An unlikely bond to our prehistoric brethren at least. If they could see us now...!
This Grateful Dead song is probably metaphor-heavy with a lot of allegorical meaning submerged. But on the surface, the friendship between a Monkey and the Engineer is an unwise and unusual combination. The driver leaves the monkey in charge and...it all turns out fine - an underestimated monkey!
The narrator's chance encounter with a homeless man in a prison cell is the setup for Mr. Bojangles. This is a song about a man making connections through his love of dance. It's been covered the world over, this time by Nina Simone who brings an expressive beauty to the tale. Mr B' even had an old dog, another layer of friendship to the song. He grieves now, 20 years on. Heartbreaking stuff!
An unexpected sound next, one of those Know-The-Tune-But-Not-The-Name moments. Man Friday is a breezily orchestrated and adventurous sixties instrumental by Syd Dale. The song shares its name with the character from the 1719 novel Robinson Crusoe who serves the title character as a dependable right-hand man (having been rescued from cannibals by Crusoe - a most unexpected encounter!).
Serafina (a wild child) and Sadie (coat-wearing sensible one) embark on a friendship which soon develops into something a little more out there. The title character is one of those girls your mother warned you about - chaotic and destructive. Is Sadie tempted by the escape Serafina represents? Bambara are the surf-punk rockers thrashing this one out.
The Old versus the New is the clash in Me and the Major. The military man represents a rigid worldview but the young narrator is a joyful progressive type. Belle & Sebastian set the encounter on a train, a place to get stuck together where the quirky friendship develops. Their values are generations apart but the interactions spark each other off.
Ah, the 1930s, a different time. Those were the days: knowing your postman, milkman, neighbours and, er, estate agent. In My Very Good Friend The Milkman, Fats Waller gets romance advice from his new unlikely friends around the community. Nowadays, who has a chance to stop and chat with the local Amazon driver?
A couple of childhood-themed tunes to end this list.
Get your tissues ready. When I was a kid Puff The Magic Dragon sounded like it had come through the mists of time, a mythical tale as old as the planet itself. It's a tender tale of innocence and experience, but darn it, Jackie, why did you have to grow up? A dragon and a boy are the unlikeliest of friends, as told by Peter, Paul and Mary.
Is the new unexpected girl in the house, a foster sister, a stepsister, or an imaginary friend? Who knows, perhaps Steven Wilson does. The two girls experience a transformation within themselves, but the perfection is bittersweet and sadly short-lived. This sums up friendships for me: they appear out of the blue, they come, they go, they're magical, they're fragile at times, complicated in others, but overall, they help make a Perfect Life.
Animal and Other Unusual Friendships A-List Playlist:
J. Pat O'Malley, Lord Tim Hudson, Digby Wolfe, Chad Stuart, Bruce Reitherman, Bill Lee - That's What Friends Are For (happyclapper)
A Tribe Called Quest - Luck of Lucien (pejepeine)
José Feliciano - Chico and the Man (pejepeine)
Lynyrd Skynyrd - The Ballad of Curtis Loew (tincanman2010)
Loudon Wainwright III - Me and My Friend the Cat (BanazirGalbasi)
Grateful Dead - Monkey and the Engineer (Chris7572)
Nina Simone - Mr. Bojangles (Naguchi)
Syd Dale - Man Friday (SongBarLandlord)
Bambara - Serafina (vanwolf2)
Belle & Sebastian - Me and the Major (happyclapper)
Fats Waller - My Very Good Friend The Milkman (Nicko)
Peter, Paul and Mary - Puff The Magic Dragon (Suzi)
Steven Wilson - Perfect Life (bluepeter)
Bizarre Bosom Buddies B-List Playlist:
The Police - Roxanne (Naguchi)
Yusuf / Cat Stevens - I Love My Dog (Naguchi)
Crosby, Stills & Nash - Wooden Ships (BanazirGalbasi)
Tenor Saw - Lone Ranger and Tonto (Uncleben)
John Martyn and Beverley Martyn - John the Baptist (ShivSidecar)
Martin Simpson - Angel Hill (Suzi)
The Alan Price Set - Simon Smith and His Amazing Dancing Bear (Uncleben)
David Bowie - The Laughing Gnome (severin)
Turin Brakes - Future Boy (happyclapper)
João Gilberto - O Pato (Nicko)
Buddy Guy - Mary Had A Little Lamb (Nicko)
Family - My Friend The Sun (severin)
Randy Newman - You've Got A Friend In Me (SongBarLandlord)
Guru's Wildcard Picks:
John Powell - Test Drive
A dragon (Toothless) and boy (Hiccup) are the unlikely duo here, this is a cue from How To Train Your Dragon (2010). They experience their first exhilarating flight together, at a time when Hiccup and his Viking clan have animosity towards the dragons.
Colton Ryan and Ben Platt - Sincerely, Me
The crux of Dear Evan Hansen is the anxiety-induced lie Evan (Platt) tells the grieving family of Connor Murphy (Ryan). They were never friends before his death but now he has to make them believe they were. Cue amusing fabrication of their relationship, an unexpected and unlikely friendship which never happened. This version is from the 2021 film, which gives a better visual idea of who's who (although the original Broadway cast version is better on the ear).
The Alan Price Set - Simon Smith and His Amazing Dancing Bear
These playlists were inspired by readers' song nominations in response to last week's topic: A special shared space: songs about unusual or unexpected friendships. The next topic will launch on Thursday after 1pm UK time.
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