OK then, how about favourite songs that incorporate the word goof?

baby has the cdclub really come to this.....by "the metabeats 2 blogsite "(soon to be up and running)
what a sad topic baby.....by "I need new friends and fast"
baby baby what up?....by "clearly we are not drinking enough" (produced by -this can easily be fixed)
baby lets go to a patio soon...by "all my friends are totally f*%$ed"

Hey boys, back from Australia.  Loved the baby post.  Nothing like a little 3-in-the-morning-strolling-back-and-forth inspiration.    The one that immediately comes to mind for me is this early power pop classic.    Derek, nice job on the Silly Baby posts, which admittedly the term baby does inspire.   (I always did like Wave Babies - like, seriously, I did - so thanks for bringing it back to life).   Cry Baby Cry is a great song, much unheralded in the Beatles canon, so good job there.   Some other goodies:

Baby You're a Rich Man - Fab 4

Baby's in Black - ditto

Baby Britain - Elliot

Baby Driver - S & G

Summer Babe - Pavement

Baby Boomerang - T Rex

And from the "only Brian likes this music" category:  You Baby, by the Turtles, and Still in love with you Baby, by the Beau Brummels.

Finally, a pretty cool late 60's cover (you can name that song in how many beats....?) from a band called Smith, which charted highly at the time, though I wonder if most of y'all have heard this version.   Cool period variety show video, hideous dubbing only adding to the charm.

 

  

I scanned my collection looking for titles with "Baby", and oddly Bob Dylan seems to lead the pack, having contributed:
Baby Let Me Follow You Down
It’s All Over Now Baby Blue
Baby I’m in the Mood for You and
I’ll Be Your Baby Tonight

There are far too many others to mention, but some of my favorites would be:

My Baby Don’t Tolerate by Lyle Lovett
Maybe Baby by Buddy Holly
Baby Talk by Richard Thompson
Baby You’re a Rich Man by the Beatles
Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)as done by U2
For Baby by John Denver


Mike "Baby" Gaines

I find it hard to take seriously most songs with the word "baby" in it although Kyle, you have provided some nice choices. I'm going to take a different tack and select those baby songs that make me laugh or smile sheepishly. Not that there's anything wrong with that. Most of these songs have stuck in my head over the years sometimes to my chagrin. The haircuts in many of these videos are quite outstanding.

A #1 hit when I was a kid in Scotland. Blame the English not good celtic folk.

The Rubettes - Sugar Baby Love

Really listen to the lyrics on this classic.

Paul Anka - Having My Baby

OK this one has the word "babe" but I figure all variations are fair game.

Styx - Babe

Another classic from the great white north.

Honeymoon Suite - Wave Babies

And is there a more apt name for a band. They should have added white to remove any lingering doubt.

Bread - Baby, I'm a Want You

If I had to settle on a winner in this competition for the best song ever with the word baby it would have to be the Human League's Dont' You Want Me Baby. A bit of a cheat I know but without the word baby it fails completely. Throw in honey or sweetheart and it just doesn't work.

And if you want a truly silly baby song it doesn't get much better than TenPole Tudor's "Throwing My Baby Out with the Bathwater"

btw...your mention of 'Baby Ran', Mike, prompted me to download a few songs from 54.40 i haven't heard in awhile. I met a hot girl named Veronica at one of their concerts at the Ontario Place forum (rotating stage and lawn seats = mingling opportunities for teens) when i was 17...not much came of it...she lived on the other side of town, not figuratively but literally....the west end of toronto can be a far away place when you're carless and leaving in an eastern suburb...but a good memory nonetheless.

Don't know of any other legal downloading alternatives, other than perhaps puretracks.com, which is not any cheaper than itunes. Think your choice right now is an honest $10 an album or a dishonest smaller price.

Also, here are my current favee songs with Baby in the title:

Cry Baby Cry - The Beatles
You Just Haven't Earned it Yet Baby - The Smiths
Don't Leave the Light on Baby - Belle & Sebastian
Baby Love - Diana Ross & The Supremes
Everybody Loves My Baby - Fats Waller
Combat Baby - Metric
Little Fat Baby - Sparklehorse

I am quite loving emusic these days but I am findimng about 10% of the stuff i want is not on emusic as the artist is too mainstream (ie death cab).... I hear itunes has changed to a 3 tier price system with cheaper 69 cents per song for less notable acts and pricier $1.30 for big acts.... Is there any other alternative to gettign good prices on acts that are bigger then emusic? Legally i mean....

Congratulations Kyle! I'll have to give some thought to that challenge - "Baby Ran" by 54-40 comes to mind. Are we to expect a whole series of such themes in the years to come? From titles with the word "toddler" to songs about teenagers?


Mike

With my newborn son now home from the hospital, I have a whole litany of excuses for not posting, updating the blog. So, no time for big discussion-generating topics from me right now but still no excuse to let this space go stale for the next 18 years.

Two items:

One, for those fans of Morrissey/The Smiths, a recent article in Slate that explores what's compelling about the man.

Two, a request for a list of your top 5 or 10 songs with the word baby in the title. Again, not thought-provoking but topical.

For what it's worth, I think worst baby-titled song could be this:

:)

It's all related. Not every dream is noble...

Good point, Mike. It's not just that Nickelback is terrible. It's that, according to every headline in last Monday's paper, they are the best band in nation, Canada's 'Group of the Year'.

Perhaps there are bands who are even less deserving of this title but I'd be hard pressed to name one quickly. To me, they're like Yellow Tail , really over the top, syruppy, completely unpalatable, and yet inexplicably high-selling.

And btw....what's the deal with all this, 'hold onto your dreams, never give up, swear to god' schmaltz from a band with not one but two creepy songs about getting a blow job?

I think they missed, "I'm crying in the rain so you can't see my tears".

To my mind, the question isn't whether Nickelback is the worst rock band in the world. There are too many bad bands out there to even contemplate such a designation. The question is whether they have the biggest gap between their level of acclaim and success and their deserved level of acclaim and success. I think they have that sewn up for Canada (Loverboy's continued presence on classic rock notwithstanding). But the whole world? This needs more thought.


Mike

I'm pretty sure those lyrics were appropriated in their entirety from poem submitted by a 17-year old classmate for my grade 12 yearbook. It was good, but I preferred her other writings, which covered topics ranging from the sudden death of a pet rabbit, the heartbreak surrounding an unrequited crush, and her parents' divorcing when she was 9. Gotta be worse bands though Nickelback gives them a run for their money. Will think on it.

I don't quite know how the radio in my rental car yesterday came to be set to Jack-FM but before I could adjust the radio dial The Beatles "Come Together" started up and I was quite happy to listen for the duration of the song.

What followed quickly on it's heels however was an entirely different matter. From the new (old, new who can tell the difference) Nickelback album they played "If Today Was Your Last Day". Please take the time to read the lyrics, without the annoying distraction of Kroeger's voice. If you can find one cliche they've left untouched let me know and I'll forward you a prize. This year's Junos best band in Canada are quite possibly the worst band of all-time.

Any other nominees for that title?