Word(s) that only ever appeared in one (hit) song, ever.

Dean Friedman's "Ariel" has "vertical hold" - and, a long shot, "Jewish."

"faculty" in Bowie's 'Blue Jean'

"trepidation" in pet shop boys - being boring

"congruent" in Eve 6's "Leech." Not a great song by any stretch, but came on my ipod this morning.

"finagling" in "Chug-a-Lug"

"chancellor" and probably a few other things in "Triumph"

Sheryl Crow discussion elsewhere suggests "vending machine," "intellectualism," "brochure," and "nicotine" in "Every Day Is A Winding Road."

"Communist" on "Soak Up The Sun" has to have appeared elsewhere. "Crummy," maybe?

"If It Makes You Happy" has some good proper names (Geronimo, Benny Goodman) and "mosquito" which is probably in a bunch of things I can't place right this second (not to mention "Red Mosquito" by Pearl Jam, which wasn't a commercial single but barely cracked the Modern Rock top 40 anyway).

"A Change Will Do You Good" had "Falstaff," "bottom-feeder," "cement shoes" and "jack off."

Also - "poultry" on "Long Tall Glasses"?

(nothing to do with Sheryl Crow)

'Sodomy' in "What's My Age Again?"

got halfway through typing "it's in 'Disarm'" before I caught myself.

"mosquito" which is probably in a bunch of things I can't place right this second

Smells Like Teen Spirit?

(slaps forehead, squashes mosquito)

This wasn't a big hit, but...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oOe5ie_cZa0

"2011" in Chromeo's Jealous, which is currently a modest hit in Canada.

there's also loco mosquito by iggy, a jonathan richman song about them, and I think a Stan Ridgway solo track

"Alabaster?" (Wrapped Around Your Finger)

In a few things - discussed upthread. And wow, that Ike & Tina b-side is something.

Oh yeah, written by Tina's sister about Ike!

In honor of the current poll:

'Braille' in "Subterranean Homesick Blues"
'Mathematicians' in "Tangled Up In Blue"

[Sheryl Crow's] "A Change Will Do You Good" had "Falstaff," "bottom-feeder," "cement shoes" and "jack off."

― Doctor Casino, Friday, May 30, 2014 2:02 PM (1 hour ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

also while there are a few hit songs with generic microwave ovens in them, only "A Change Will Do You Good" has a RADARANGE™

tentatively going to suggest 'ciggies' in Looking for Linda by Hue And Cry

also possibly 'errand' and 'intercity'?

Also - "poultry" on "Long Tall Glasses"?

― Doctor Casino, Friday, 30 May 2014 18:06 (6 days ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

I thought this was 'poetry'..?

"carbon and monoxide"

Hall and Oates--She's Gone

"I am a man of the road, a hobo by name / I don't seek entertainment, just poultry and game." He just showed up for the food, but if dancing's what's required, well, then...

"An intercity disco..." is in We Like To Party by the Vengaboys but since you mention Hue & Cry, can I propose "pseudo-satisfaction" from Labour Of Love?

Well, that's two words, but 'pseudo' hmmmmmm

pseudonym in "babooshka"

On "This Beat Goes On/Switchin' To Glide": "zoomy," maybe "mobilize" and "hoot."

― Doctor Casino, Monday, February 10, 2014 1:26 PM Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

oops - there's a "hoot-owl" in "Wildfire."

anyone besides the Soft Boys ever sing about Anglepoise lamps?

Aw man, I just heard "She's Gone" and came to post "monoxide," but kornrulez beat me 5 days ago.

"Septuagenarians" in Deadeye Dick's "New Age Girl"

Pretzels: Those hazy crazy days of summer, Nat King Cole

Cashews: Let me take you there, Betty Boo

"newsroom" in "Dirty Laundry"?

In "Creque Alley": "mugwumps," "Swarthmore."

"Radiohead" — Katy Perry, 'The One That Got Away'

There was a talking heads song called Radio Head, it's where they took the name from. Was a single and got to #52 in UK charts.

I am not unaware. But even if you consider "Radio Head" a hit, it still doesn't include the word* "Radiohead"

*proper noun, but that counts, yeah? e.g. "Radarrange" mentioned upthread

Close enough for jazz

In "Creque Alley": "mugwumps," "Swarthmore."

"mugwump jism" appears in Bomb the Bass's "Bug Powder Dust"

The Roots namedrop Radiohead (and Paranoid Android) in "Don't See Us", I guess that wasn't a hit though? But Avril Lavigne's Here's to Never Growing Up also mentiones Radiohead by name, and that one made it to the #20 on the US charts, and #14 on the UK charts.

woah, I was totally (blissfully) ignorant of that Avril Lavigne song until now... weird that she & KP both mention "Radiohead" within the first two lines of the song. who is this kind of thing supposed to appeal to, anyway??

Which Vaccuous Pop Irritant's "Influences" list is this?

Kind of a difference between "namedropping" & "prominently using in lyrics" though

Like, I sorta get the work that "Radiohead" is doing in the Katy Perry song—the 'sophisticated' dude, maybe a year or two of college under his belt, seducing the teenage girl with his weird music &/or drugs—but Avril's seems like it almost *has to be* personal & sincere, because I can't read any meaning into it whatsoever.

Should clarify: the reference in the Avril song is something about 'singing along to Radiohead at the top of our lungs' (loose paraphrase). The song is called "Here's To Never Growing Up" & seems to imply that Avril spent/spends a lot of her days doing just that.

Unfurled ("Doctor My Eyes").

If you discount Neil Diamond's "America"

There you go--never knew that. Maybe "libido" in "Bust a Move"?

"A mosquito/My libido"--from "Smells Like Teen Spirit"