Malik24 and the Herding of Cats Quiz

Answer: Al Stewart

'Year of the Cat' was the name of Al Stewart's seventh album and the hit song that came from it. It was considered by some to be Stewart's signature song and was recorded at the Abbey Studios of Beatles fame. This song is known for its lengthy instrumental section, as well as its mysterious and inscrutable lyrics.

Answer: Squeeze

'Cool for Cats' was the second single released from the album of the same name. It was one of the few A-side singles to feature co-writer Chris Difford as the lead vocalist instead of Glen Tilbrook. It was fairly successful, reaching second on the UK Singles charts; three other tracks on the album also managed to place on these charts.

Answer: David Bowie

This 1981 recording was released in 1982 as a theme song for the American erotic horror 'Cat People' film. David Bowie was asked to write the lyrics and record the song by director Paul Shrader, since most of the rest of the soundtrack had already been scored. A milder, less atmospheric version of the song was re-recorded and released in Bowie's 'Let's Dance' album of 1983.

Answer: Janet Jackson

'Black Cat' was the sixth single on the 'Janet Jackson's Rhythm Nation 1814' album. It was written by Jackson and co-produced with Jellybean Johnson, who had notably also worked with R&B artist Cherrelle. It was a commercial success, reaching number one on the US Billboard Top 100 chart; it also achieved a Grammy nomination for Best Female Rock Vocal Performance.

Answer: Devo

'Pink Pussycat' was a less well-known song that was part of 'Duty Now for the Future' and which was eventually included in the 1990 album 'Devo's Greatest Misses', a home for alternative versions or more obscure tracks. The words 'pink pussycat' are interspersed between other - sometimes unsettling - lyric lines throughout the song.

The word 'stroft' used in the lyrics is a portmanteau of 'strong and soft'.

Answer: Poison

'Look What the Cat Dragged In' was the first album released by hair metal band Poison. It was also the name of one of the songs in the album, which depicted the morning after a rowdy night out on the town. Hedonistic themes like this were a running theme of the album, which was known for its four-panel cover with the four band members styled in androgynous 'glam'.

Answer: The Cure

'The Love Cats' was a stand-alone single which was the band's first top ten hit in the UK Singles charts. Although it was released as 'The Love Cats', it has been known as 'The Lovecats' in later compilations such as the 'Greatest Hits' 2001 album release.

The music video for the song was reportedly shot in a mansion that the band had pretended to be interested in buying, despite having no real intention of making the purchase.

Answer: Muddy Waters

'Tom Cat' was a 1968 release that anthropomorphically depicted the sense of 'chase' a man might have when displaying romantic interest in a woman. It was part of his fifth studio album, 'Electric Mud', designed to expand Muddy Waters' bluesy comfort zone into psychedelic rock. The album was polarising, and Waters himself suggested that the album wasn't really 'him' in his biography.

Answer: Baha Men

'Who Let the Dogs Out' was originally released by Douglas Anslem under the title 'Doggie' in 1998. It's known for its repetitive hook: "Who let the dogs out?
(Who, who, who, who)" and was a commercial success in Europe and Oceania. However, it was also divisive: 'Rolling Stone' magazine listed it as the third most annoying song in 2007.

Answer: Cyndi Lauper

'Like a Cat' was one of the songs in the 'A Night to Remember' album. It was one of three songs on the album that Lauper herself did not have a writing credit for. The lyrics describe the singer as being elusive and hard to pin down, much like a cat:

"Hey mister you can never own me
I only let you hold me like a cat
And mister you can never know me"