'Disk Frisk' Entries More Bizarre Than Questions

If Tom Aronson or myself had ever expected this kind of response to last week's record quiz, we would have both packed up all our Strawberry Alarm Clock records and headed to Guadaloupe. In a word, the response was amazing. Over forty people rationalized themselves into thinking that it would be good for their soul to take an hour or so off in the middle of exams to do this inane amalgamation of tune teasers.

Well, gang, your efforts have not gone by the boards. You thought the quiz was strange? Well, take a look at some of your answers! Tom and I were on the verge of calling McLeans Hospital and asking if they made house calls.

But before I publicly embarrass all you guys n' gals in print, it's time first to declare the co-winners of the Sports Cube Disk Frisk Treasure Chest of Prizes. They are Ed "Don't Bug Me, I've Got My Radio On" Minar of Quincy House and Wendy Anne "Put Number G-18 on, Mac" King of Cambridge. Both over-grown teenagers scored an astonishing 94 correct answers out of 105. As a result, Aronson and I are currently trying to get this Top 40 match made in heaven together.

But they knew way too much--it was boring correcting their papers. Feel sorry for us? Well, you shouldn't, because most of the answers we received were weird enough to challenge a Ray Stevens number. Let's check some of them out (the names have remained the same to nail the innocent).

In Miscellaneous Part I the entry from Mather 438 came up with a rather caustic response to the question about the hits by The Buckinghams, charging "Name a Buckingham, I dare you--I double dare you." Meanwhile, grad student Robert Landsman insisted that the everyday housewife gave up "pills" for me. Pretty big sacrifice.

Laura Esserman (you'll be hearing that name a lot) began her quest for the weirdest entry in the "And when I Die..." section, filling out the "Leader of the Pack" question with "I'll never forget you, THE INDIGESTION STAYS ON MY MIND!"

In the same section freshman Tim Hanke revealed the kind of U.S. History they're teaching in high schools nowadays. Tim didn't seem to recall that Abraham Lincoln, Martin Luther King, and John and Bobby. Kennedy had all been assassinated, the only quiz contestant that could make that infamous claim.

Geography was not without a couple of gems. Pat Mendoza and Sue Goodkin insisted that not only were the Bee Gees going to "Massachusetts" to "do the things they gotta do," but were specific in naming "Pine Manor" as their destination. Patricia Nolan wasn't as close. She missed by about 7000 miles when she said Grand Funk encountered chiquitas in Iran instead of Omaha.

Everyone got briefly serious for the second Miscellaneous section, but then we were off to the races again with some classics in the "Eyes Have It" part.

Once again, PhD.-to-be Landsman came through. Ironic, isn't it, that a scholar about to earn his doctorate would call Jackson Browne's hit "Mister, My Eyes"?

However, that placed second to Esserman's bizarre poetic license, giving the Grass Roots' "eye" single as "Midnight Confessions," and the B.J. Thomas "eye" smash as "R-eyendrops Keep Fallin' On My Head."

Time out for a little digestion. We got over 40 entries for this quiz, people handing in answer sheets up until 1 a.m. Monday morning. Every class in the university was represented, from finance capital to the lowliest of the lumpen. A grand total of about 4000 answers, both straight-forward and way the hell off the track. But as I sit here now, NOBODY, but nobody could compare with the answers that were turned in by Esserman, so I might as well just give you her choicest brainstorms before the fellas in the white nehru jackets pack her away for posterity.

Her three songs in the Leslie Gore "Judy" trilogy: "Needles and Pins," "Whips," and "Chains."

Her flip side of Manfred Mann's "The Mighty Quinn": "The Pathetic Pygmy."

Her record label for Tommy Roe: "Caviar."

Her Jan and Dean remake of "Catch a Wave": "Lemmings to the Sea."

As you can see, this woman has quite a few toys to clear out of her attic. Either that, or she should audition for "Saturday Night," where she could replace other Harvard alums like Al Franken and Jim Downey, who don't seem to be able to write more than one good show a month.

'LegBitesRoar'

Probably the most diverse single answer we received was to the question about "Little Douce Coupe." You were all so close, some of you were even correct. The right answer ("Till the Lake pipes roar") often came out "Till the late night roar," "Till the leg pipes roar," "Till my leg bites roar," "Till my leg roars," and "Till her daddy takes the T-Bird away" (huh?)

And finally, for all of you out there who were sooooooooooo sure that Jaime Renato sang back up for the Beach Boys, I've got some pretty shattering news for you. Jaime Renato is a friend of Tom Aronson, and although extremely flattered that she would be thought of as a back-up for Brian Wilson and Co., still insists on singing with a band in the small night clubs of Albany, New York.

Until next year, when the oldies are one year older and Laura Esserman has graduated, stay cool, and see if you can think of something else during exam period besides the lyrics to the first verse of Brian Hyland's "The Joker is Wild."