Thanks for last week's recommendations on the theme of songs with questions in the title.
New week, new question. Where would songwriters be without having "phone" to rhyme with "alone" and "on my own"? Up the swanee, that's where. And who could forget Mel C's deathless couplet on the subject of homelessness? "I'd be lost without my phone, / but you don't even have a home." Indeed.
This week's topic, songs about telecommunications,* may sound unwieldy, but pop is teeming with references to telephones, not to mention mobiles, letters, emails, pagers, text messages, CB radio and even, once or twice, telegrams. Any method of long-distance communication fits the bill this week, from Blondie's Hanging On The Telephone to Johnny Cash's Tear Stained Letter. And Readers recommend loves cheesy sound effects so any song with an actual phone ringing on it will be especially welcome. But I draw the line at customised ringtones - they are the devil's work.
* There are different definitions of telecommunications. For this column's purposes, it means all long distance, person-to-person communication, so letters count and TV and radio don't. Yes, I know it's arbitrary but it's my column. What are you going to do?
Deadline, as ever, is Monday 6pm.
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