Six Degrees of Cat Stevens

[peacock]

You may have heard of the game "Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon"

If not, look here: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Six_Degrees_of_Kevin_Bacon

Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon is a trivia game based on the concept of the small world phenomenon and rests on the assumption that any individual can be linked through his or her film roles to actor Kevin Bacon within six steps. The name of the game is a paraphrase of the "six degrees of separation" concept. In 2007, Bacon started a charitable organization named SixDegrees.org.

I have found it amusing to play a similar game: Six Degrees of Cat Stevens.

Example: I was having an online conversation with someone in which we lamented growing older - good ol' days, you know. And one of these folks said: Someone once said, "these are the good old days."

So I chimed in: "Why, in fact, it was Carly Simon who said that, in a song she'd written about you-know-who."

Example: Friend of mine sent me a cute video called Simon's Cat on Youtube. This one is called Cat-Man-Do. Check it out here, really, it's adorable: www.youtube.com/watch?v=w0ffwDYo00Q

So I said: Gosh, that reminds me of the song Katmandu. No, not the Bob Seger one. The one by that other guy.

Final Example: I'm a fan of the show Glee. On my Facebook feed just now, I saw a teaser video starring Gwyneth Paltrow singing on the show. Really good!

Connection: Gwyneth is married to Chris Martin, singer in Coldplay, who was in a recent plagiarism controversy over his song Viva La Vida stealing a tune from Foreigner Suite.

The connections, they are everywhere! Try it, it's fun. And the bonus is, you can drive people on other non-Cat discussion boards, and anyone who isn't particularly a Cat/Yusuf fan, CRAZY. LOL!

[suncatcher]

Funny video! If I think of or come across an "example" I'll post it....

[peritura]

The connections, they are everywhere! Try it, it's fun. And the bonus is, you can drive people on other non-Cat discussion boards, and anyone who isn't particularly a Cat/Yusuf fan, CRAZY. LOL!


I love this sentiment! Particularly as I drive my family crazy with the same kind of thing-there always seems to be a line from aCat/Yusuf song that's appropriate to quote in most of life's situations.
Or James Blunt was on a comedy show here last week and he is a fan...
Listening to James Morrison and Nelly Furtado and he is a fan.... so it goes on.

[peacock]

This morning, I got an invitation to a bonfire party.

Which started me thinking, where does the word "bonfire" come from, anyway? Probably "good" fire (bon) as opposed to a bad fire, right? One would think.

But aha, I've got the Oxford English Dictionary on my Kindle. I love that! And oh no, a "bonfire" comes from the middle-ages propensity for burning heretics. "Bone" fire. Ouch! Something to think about while partying tonight.

And of course, there's the obligatory Cat Stevens connection: www.youtube.com/watch?v=F52vgcXf2Gs

[peacock]

I promise, these are all real things that happened to me, not things I contrived just to show off my considerable mental Cat Stevens database.

I'm sure someone else can add to this soon. I challenge you, make that connection today.

[suncatcher]

I'm not sure if this counts, but yesterday, when Katmandu announced his "15 minutes of fame," I responded with, "Thanks for the heads-up, Kat. Have fun!"

I had almost changed "Kat" back to to "Katmandu" because I wondered if it was okay to call a guy "Kat," since I know a woman whose nickname is Kat, and I was thinking, "Maybe it's only a woman's name."

But then I thought, "Hey, Cat Stevens is definitely a guy, and I think most of his fans still think of him as "Cat" (though they do make a mental shift from "Cat Stevens" to "Yusuf" before they speak or write). So, why not use "Kat" for Katmandu? No reason not to. So I did!

~Sun~

[downunder72]

I think this is going to be a fun thread. I used to find myself thinking on these lines many times, but I thought how silly, and childish I was to think this way. Must fine tune my radars. Haven't been using them lately, a bit sluggish, hope they're still working.

[Sir Lorry Load]

This is a brilliant thread, Peacock!

Hmmm... "Six Degrees of Cat Stevens"... Let's see...

What I can say is that I have experienced this phenomenon on countless occasions down through the years... I just wish that I had kept a list!

Okay, here's a couple that quickly come to mind:

Although Cat Stevens/Yusuf Islam became my enduring choice as my favorite recording artist of all time from the moment I initially heard his voice in 1971, my pre-teen choice as 'first love' in music was the Motown recording group "The Four Tops".

Well, wouldn't you know that I discovered only fairly recently that Cat's original producer back in his Deram Records days, Mike Hurst, also worked on a project with the Tops back in 1979. Mike produced a cover version of "For Your Love" with the group, which was released exclusively in the U.K. as a '45' that year.

My second 'Cat/Six Degrees' moment occurred only a few weeks ago: I was reading the autobiography of Eric Clapton and, of course, there were several mentions of one Paul Samwell-Smith, who teamed with Eric in the group "The Yardbirds" before going on to further fame as the producer of Cat's classic Island/A&M albums.

Oh, and I clearly recall a small blurb in a newspaper celebrity column back in the late 70's that noted that Cat had recently been spotted in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, with his hair cut very short, and wearing an Eric Clapton t-shirt.

It's funny how certain things stick in your mind... ;D

I love this thread, Peacock... Thank you!

-Bud

[peacock]

It'd be kind of cool to find an example of two artists wearing each others' shirts, wouldn't it? LOL

Sort of related - my daughter put a magnet on our fridge, don't know where she got it, but it says "I ♥ My Dog." Makes me grin every time I see it, and I really wanna start singing that song . . .

[Sir Lorry Load]

Nov 18, 2010 14:20:33 GMT -5 peacock said:

It'd be kind of cool to find an example of two artists wearing each others' shirts, wouldn't it? LOL

Sort of related - my daughter put a magnet on our fridge, don't know where she got it, but it says "I ♥ My Dog." Makes me grin every time I see it, and I really wanna start singing that song . . .

The "I Love My Dog" magnet on your fridge reminded me of a cute, and rather amazing, story, Peacock.

In relating it, I hope that I am not going too far afield of the "Six Degrees of Cat Stevens" topic, but it kind of relates, too...

My cousin Carol recently posted a photo of her pet cat, named "Moonshadow", on her Facebook page and, not knowing her taste in music, I asked her if she had named her kitty after Yusuf's classic song.

Exactly as cousin Carol related it, here was the reply:

One day she set off for the shopping mall, having no intention or idea, none whatsoever, that she would return home with a new cat. Shopping with her niece, they came upon the mall's pet shop, and spotted "Moonshadow". With a bit of urging (make that: begging!) from her niece, she purchased her new pet.

"Moonshadow" had already been given that name by a member of the pet store staff prior to my cousin purchasing her.

Now, here's the amazing part: Getting into Carol's car to return home, her niece switched on the radio. And guess what song came on?

The very first song?

Yes! As you have no doubt guessed, it was none other than "Moonshadow"! ;D

Carol swears that every bit of this story is true, and I certainly have no reason to doubt her.

Talk about 'kismet'... Wow!

And maybe, just maybe, more than a pinch of 'six degrees' magic was at work, too!

-Bud

P.S. -- It turns out that Carol always has enjoyed Yusuf's music.

[peacock]

That's a great story, Bud! Eerie!

Things like that happen to me all the time. Maybe not quite that dramatic though.

I have something to add today.

Look here, someone stole my idea: www.emusic.com/features/hub/six_degrees_cat_stevens/index.html

Just kidding, it appears to be a regular feature. I think this page might be new, though. I'm going to have to check out some of those other artists listed.

[suncatcher]

That is so totally cool, Peacock! What an amazing coincidence about the Six Degrees of Cat Stevens. And what they wrote about Cat Stevens is really terrific.

And Bud, thanks for the actually, totally believable story. I, too, have experienced countless times when a song (not always Cat Stevens) will play at an opportune moment and give me goosebumps because it does indeed feel like "kismet". I have goosebumps just thinking about it!

~Sun~

[Deleted]

Nov 19, 2010 14:12:11 GMT -5 suncatcher said:

And Bud, thanks for the actually, totally believable story. I, too, have experienced countless times when a song (not always Cat Stevens) will play at an opportune moment and give me goosebumps because it does indeed feel like "kismet". I have goosebumps just thinking about it!
~Sun~

This has happened to me countless times too. I may have told this story before to some of you but I don't remember telling it on this board. The most memorable time something like that happened to me, I was on my way to see "Deep End" at a revival theatre in Montreal (in the mid-80s). I was very excited to finally have a chance to see this film. I took the bus and the subway to get there. There was a long corridor I had to walk to exit the subway station. Before entering this corridor, I heard some music and realized there was a street musician singing some song I didn't know on guitar.

As I was approaching this guy, all of a sudden he stopped whatever song he was singing, stopped in the middle! He glanced at me and started singing "Father And Son"!! I actually stood there for a couple of minutes quite stunned. Started walking again towards the exit, not believing what just happenned. I regret to this day not having talk to this guy. This was really the peak of a series of "meaningful coincidences" directed at me at that time.

Sorry if this is straying away from the main subject. Just had to share this.

[suncatcher]

Terrific story, Glaucus. I felt nervous when you mentioned the long corridor in the subway station, but when you heard the guitar playing, I knew it was safe. And how the guy stopped in the middle - just so hard to explain. I, too, wish that you'd asked him why he looked at you and starting playing "Father & Son."

But then again, maybe it's best to be left with the wondering...

[Sir Lorry Load]

Many thanks to you, Peacock and Sun, for your kind reaction to my cousin Carol's "Moonshadow saga".

And, to Glaucus: I thoroughly enjoyed reading your account of that mysterious street troubadour serenading you with "Father & Son".

That was so remarkable in such an amazingly wonderful way!

-Bud

[peritura]

I went to church on Sunday and there printed on the newsletter was a reflection on music as an 'aural prayer' and how it can transport you into an awareness of the godly presence in a very immediate way.
I thought of the struggle it has been for Yusuf to come to the same conclusion.