In a year which I am sure is noticeably lacking in great new music, I have to concede that the current number 1, Dance Wiv Me by Bow's favourite son Dizzee Rascal, is surely the equivalent of musical crack. I've been singing it for two days solid.
And I want to be your latex salesman.
Showing posts with label music. Show all posts
Showing posts with label music. Show all posts
Monday, 21 July 2008
Saturday, 22 March 2008
Macca
I listened to a broadcast by Paul McCartney last year. I'm not even going to START on the whole Heather Mills thing, but he mentioned this band, the Guillemots and so instantly I went out and bought the album. It was pretty good at the time and I really liked it.
Two or three weeks ago I put it on again and my GOD. It is so good now. Like wine, it seems to have come of age. I cannot stop listening to it. It is heartbreaking and gorgeous and I recommend it to everyone. They have a new album out too, I think, as a sort of bonus.
But love was not enough to hold my grip
Can't you just feel my fingers slip
Into those oceans in the sky where people swim
Oceans in the sky calling me in
Oceans in the sky I tell myself
Though I'm not kidding anybody else
They know I'm leaving
They know that I'm leaving this behind
So I'm leaving my best friend
Just for the hell of it
Just for the sake of it
But how much I loved you
I think we're alone now it isn't.
Two or three weeks ago I put it on again and my GOD. It is so good now. Like wine, it seems to have come of age. I cannot stop listening to it. It is heartbreaking and gorgeous and I recommend it to everyone. They have a new album out too, I think, as a sort of bonus.
But love was not enough to hold my grip
Can't you just feel my fingers slip
Into those oceans in the sky where people swim
Oceans in the sky calling me in
Oceans in the sky I tell myself
Though I'm not kidding anybody else
They know I'm leaving
They know that I'm leaving this behind
So I'm leaving my best friend
Just for the hell of it
Just for the sake of it
But how much I loved you
I think we're alone now it isn't.
Thursday, 20 March 2008
Band of the Noughties...
1960s - The Beatles
1970s - Abba
1980s - U2
1990s - Radiohead
2000s - ???
Suggestions on a postcard please.
1970s - Abba
1980s - U2
1990s - Radiohead
2000s - ???
Suggestions on a postcard please.
Sunday, 9 March 2008
Lend me some sugar! I am your neighbour!
Sometimes I wonder what my neighbours think of me when I sing along (very loudly) to various tunes. I do like a good singalong when I work, and sometimes this must be strange for those walking past my window.
Saturday, 2 February 2008
The wonder of London
London is amazing. Today I met Gloria Coates on the tube. She's a composer. I told her about the long tail and why it might help explain why she is selling so many downloads (I hope I'm right...).
She was off to Wapping and I advised her to get out at Tower Hill and catch a cab so that hopefully she could see Tower Bridge at night. I hope I was right about that too...Although not well-known (not to a peasant like me), due to the enjoyment of our discussion she easily makes my top 10 celebrity 'moments' whilst in London.
The full list is here, for your reading pleasure:
1. Meeting - and shaking hands with - Nelson Mandela outside the Cabinet War Rooms.
2. Doing a comedy scene about Bobby the dog with Harry Hill on Harry Hill's TV Burp
3. Jude Law winking at me - yes winking - when I left the Oxo Tower with a particularly attractive young lady. And yes, I smiled back.
4. Jogging past Gordon Ramsey nearly every Sunday whilst training for two London marathons.
5. Sharing a sofa with Vernon Kay (and, erm, Danny Baker) on GMTV
6. Studying psychology with Martin Sixsmith, who nearly brought down a Government.
7. Making Naomi Campbell laugh on a road outside Victoria Park. She clearly wanted me. I didn't fancy it.
8. Playing street cricket with the England bowler Ed Giddens outside Lords. Truly bizarre. We were all very pissed and used a stick and a crushed up can. At one point we all ran to get on a bus and Ed Giddens did too but no one knew why or where any of us was going.
9.Being in a meeting with Jack Straw. He asked me a question right at the outset of the meeting. I didn't really know what he meant and sort of stammered an answer which was totally inappropriate.
10. Meeting and chatting with Gloria Coates on the District line.
She was off to Wapping and I advised her to get out at Tower Hill and catch a cab so that hopefully she could see Tower Bridge at night. I hope I was right about that too...Although not well-known (not to a peasant like me), due to the enjoyment of our discussion she easily makes my top 10 celebrity 'moments' whilst in London.
The full list is here, for your reading pleasure:
1. Meeting - and shaking hands with - Nelson Mandela outside the Cabinet War Rooms.
2. Doing a comedy scene about Bobby the dog with Harry Hill on Harry Hill's TV Burp
3. Jude Law winking at me - yes winking - when I left the Oxo Tower with a particularly attractive young lady. And yes, I smiled back.
4. Jogging past Gordon Ramsey nearly every Sunday whilst training for two London marathons.
5. Sharing a sofa with Vernon Kay (and, erm, Danny Baker) on GMTV
6. Studying psychology with Martin Sixsmith, who nearly brought down a Government.
7. Making Naomi Campbell laugh on a road outside Victoria Park. She clearly wanted me. I didn't fancy it.
8. Playing street cricket with the England bowler Ed Giddens outside Lords. Truly bizarre. We were all very pissed and used a stick and a crushed up can. At one point we all ran to get on a bus and Ed Giddens did too but no one knew why or where any of us was going.
9.Being in a meeting with Jack Straw. He asked me a question right at the outset of the meeting. I didn't really know what he meant and sort of stammered an answer which was totally inappropriate.
10. Meeting and chatting with Gloria Coates on the District line.
Wednesday, 23 January 2008
Loss
I met my beautiful ex in the local pub after a gap of about a year. She's getting married.
Of course the news transports me back to the heat of the break up. The rising panic and sense of incomprehension. The tiredness. The lack of control.
Then the torture of loss sets in. Anniversaries, smells, running routes round the park, food, habits, old photos, shared jokes, shared friends, shared objects. The silence.
The feeling of sadness tonight is not even from events as such, but a kind of symbolic sadness. It's the formal passing of something; being told that it is now final, when it was final months ago. This must give a clue to the special agony of the families of missing people.
Although it still hurts, somehow I know it is natural.
In a way I am glad it hurts. I'm good at sadness. Even on the way home I was flicking through my ipod shuffle searching out the saddest songs. I settled on Always on my mind by Elvis.
I suppose at least I am living a life authentic enough to experience pain like this. At least I tried to love someone. At least I am processing these feelings, rather than trying to fight on without acknowledging them. At least I am a decent enough human being to wish her happiness. I managed to say through a cracked voice when we left that she deserved the best, and I'm glad I managed it because she does.
But I turned away back to my old life and she turned away to her new one, and that was hard. I sometimes have to fight the rising panic of feeling like everyone is making progress and I am going backwards.
I'm not sure what the future holds, but if I am happy with myself then I'm more likely to be happy with someone else. Not certain, more likely. All I can do is think about my best plan, and cling to it.
And for now the plan is to listen to Tom Mcrae.
Tonight I'll walk on water
tonight I'll walk through flame
and sing it to the corner
and still the blood in your veins
til something flickers in me
I feel the motion of light
and slip into the distance
and someone slips into my life
but it ain't you
it ain't you
Of course the news transports me back to the heat of the break up. The rising panic and sense of incomprehension. The tiredness. The lack of control.
Then the torture of loss sets in. Anniversaries, smells, running routes round the park, food, habits, old photos, shared jokes, shared friends, shared objects. The silence.
The feeling of sadness tonight is not even from events as such, but a kind of symbolic sadness. It's the formal passing of something; being told that it is now final, when it was final months ago. This must give a clue to the special agony of the families of missing people.
Although it still hurts, somehow I know it is natural.
In a way I am glad it hurts. I'm good at sadness. Even on the way home I was flicking through my ipod shuffle searching out the saddest songs. I settled on Always on my mind by Elvis.
I suppose at least I am living a life authentic enough to experience pain like this. At least I tried to love someone. At least I am processing these feelings, rather than trying to fight on without acknowledging them. At least I am a decent enough human being to wish her happiness. I managed to say through a cracked voice when we left that she deserved the best, and I'm glad I managed it because she does.
But I turned away back to my old life and she turned away to her new one, and that was hard. I sometimes have to fight the rising panic of feeling like everyone is making progress and I am going backwards.
I'm not sure what the future holds, but if I am happy with myself then I'm more likely to be happy with someone else. Not certain, more likely. All I can do is think about my best plan, and cling to it.
And for now the plan is to listen to Tom Mcrae.
Tonight I'll walk on water
tonight I'll walk through flame
and sing it to the corner
and still the blood in your veins
til something flickers in me
I feel the motion of light
and slip into the distance
and someone slips into my life
but it ain't you
it ain't you
Saturday, 19 January 2008
Friday, 21 December 2007
Fairytale of New York
Dan phone me briefly to ask me to comment on why Fairytale of New York (FoNY) is in fact the greatest Christmas song of all.
I don't believe that it's because the exquisite Kirsty MacColl is dead, though that is sad, or because we have to like the Irish, which I do.
No.
It's to do with contrasts, and our need for them. Humans are, by and large driven by the need for homeostasis; when we have a lot of something, we crave to balance this. I think this extends to emotions. We seek authenticity, not just happy thoughts.
FoNY is a song of contrasts, encapsulating this need for balance and authenticity on a number of levels. It's about love, but also love's close relationship to hate. Despite all that's said, I built my dreams around you. It's about the perfection of Christmas, but a flawed perfection - none of us experiences Christmas as perfect - indeed often the reverse. But isn't that the deal? And this is reflected by the bittersweet contrast between the voices (MacColl can sing, Macgowan can't).
It's also set in New York, the most Christmassy city on earth and itself a city of contrasts. It offers us snapshots of Christmas - the NYPD choir - which is how we remember Christmas; not whole, but in snippets and scenes. Oh, and its soaring, magnificent chorus is Macgowan at his very best, and Macgowan is a songwriting genius.
FoNY sees Christmas for what it really is. Imperfect. We are not simply having a wonderful Christmas time. But it also says that there is a majesty to Christmas that frames and magnifies the human experience. That is what makes FoNY that rarest of songs; authentic and honest.
When I listen to it properly, it makes me sad in the most happy way imaginable.
The same is not true of Dan's other choice All I want for Christmas is You.
I don't believe that it's because the exquisite Kirsty MacColl is dead, though that is sad, or because we have to like the Irish, which I do.
No.
It's to do with contrasts, and our need for them. Humans are, by and large driven by the need for homeostasis; when we have a lot of something, we crave to balance this. I think this extends to emotions. We seek authenticity, not just happy thoughts.
FoNY is a song of contrasts, encapsulating this need for balance and authenticity on a number of levels. It's about love, but also love's close relationship to hate. Despite all that's said, I built my dreams around you. It's about the perfection of Christmas, but a flawed perfection - none of us experiences Christmas as perfect - indeed often the reverse. But isn't that the deal? And this is reflected by the bittersweet contrast between the voices (MacColl can sing, Macgowan can't).
It's also set in New York, the most Christmassy city on earth and itself a city of contrasts. It offers us snapshots of Christmas - the NYPD choir - which is how we remember Christmas; not whole, but in snippets and scenes. Oh, and its soaring, magnificent chorus is Macgowan at his very best, and Macgowan is a songwriting genius.
FoNY sees Christmas for what it really is. Imperfect. We are not simply having a wonderful Christmas time. But it also says that there is a majesty to Christmas that frames and magnifies the human experience. That is what makes FoNY that rarest of songs; authentic and honest.
When I listen to it properly, it makes me sad in the most happy way imaginable.
The same is not true of Dan's other choice All I want for Christmas is You.
Sunday, 25 November 2007
The best new music
I know why you all come here. The insight. The amusing anecdotes. The sexual magnetism. But also I keep you all up to date with the best new music.
Well this isn't new, but it is music. I defy you not to sing along and be happy as i have been ALL DAY. In fact, like a drug pusher at the school gates, here's your first hit: I've included lyrics, below.
Well it's a big big city and it's always the same
Can never be too pretty tell me you your name
Is it out of line if I were so bold to say "Would you be mine"?
Because I may be a beggar and you maybe the queen
I know I maybe on a downer am still ready to dream
Now it's 3 o'clock time it takes for you to talk
So if you're lonely why'd you say your not lonely
Oh your a silly girl, I know I hurt it so
It's just like you to come
And go you know me no you don't even know me
Your so sweet to try, oh my, you caught my eye
A girl like you's just irresistible
Well it's a big big city and the lights are all out
But it's much as I can do you know to figure you out
And I must confess, my hearts in broken pieces
And my heads a mess
And it's 4 in the morning, and I'm walking along
Beside the ghost of every drinker here who has ever done wrong
And it's you, woo hoo
That's got me going crazy for the things you do
So if your crazy I don't care you amaze me
Oh your a stupid girl, oh me, oh my, you talk
I die, you smile, you laugh, I cry
And only, a girl like you could be lonely
And it's a crying shame, if you would think the same
A boy like me's just irresistible
So if your lonely, why'd you say you're not lonely
Oh your a silly girl, I know I hurt it so
It's just like you to come and go
And know me, no you don't even know me
Your so sweet to try oh my, you caught my eye
A girl like you's just irresistible
Well this isn't new, but it is music. I defy you not to sing along and be happy as i have been ALL DAY. In fact, like a drug pusher at the school gates, here's your first hit: I've included lyrics, below.
Well it's a big big city and it's always the same
Can never be too pretty tell me you your name
Is it out of line if I were so bold to say "Would you be mine"?
Because I may be a beggar and you maybe the queen
I know I maybe on a downer am still ready to dream
Now it's 3 o'clock time it takes for you to talk
So if you're lonely why'd you say your not lonely
Oh your a silly girl, I know I hurt it so
It's just like you to come
And go you know me no you don't even know me
Your so sweet to try, oh my, you caught my eye
A girl like you's just irresistible
Well it's a big big city and the lights are all out
But it's much as I can do you know to figure you out
And I must confess, my hearts in broken pieces
And my heads a mess
And it's 4 in the morning, and I'm walking along
Beside the ghost of every drinker here who has ever done wrong
And it's you, woo hoo
That's got me going crazy for the things you do
So if your crazy I don't care you amaze me
Oh your a stupid girl, oh me, oh my, you talk
I die, you smile, you laugh, I cry
And only, a girl like you could be lonely
And it's a crying shame, if you would think the same
A boy like me's just irresistible
So if your lonely, why'd you say you're not lonely
Oh your a silly girl, I know I hurt it so
It's just like you to come and go
And know me, no you don't even know me
Your so sweet to try oh my, you caught my eye
A girl like you's just irresistible
Monday, 12 November 2007
Saturday, 25 August 2007
Local Hero
I just bought Local Hero by Dire Straits for my little ipod. I hadn't heard it for years and years and was instantly transported back to dancing round a front room in Brisbane in 1991 when I was staying with friends. For some reason their little girl had it and loved it and kept playing it and insisting that everyone dance along. Now, I don't like disappointing little girls, or even big girls, so I did.
As an interesting aside, the next day the family all went out and locked me inside the house. There was no way for me to get out. So eventually I had to break out of the window, breaking the protective gauze from what I remember. A neighbour saw it and reported the whole thing to the Police. What a lark that was!
As an interesting aside, the next day the family all went out and locked me inside the house. There was no way for me to get out. So eventually I had to break out of the window, breaking the protective gauze from what I remember. A neighbour saw it and reported the whole thing to the Police. What a lark that was!
Thursday, 2 August 2007
4 songs...
What 4 songs shall I get next for my ipod?
Your recommendations please.
The first 4 suggestions songs will be bought, and I will also celebrate your recommendations by dressing in some of my famous lingerie as an erotic reward.
Your recommendations please.
The first 4 suggestions songs will be bought, and I will also celebrate your recommendations by dressing in some of my famous lingerie as an erotic reward.
Saturday, 14 July 2007
Happiness is...
Interesting comments about 'happy' songs. I know they're not 'traditional' happy songs, but I may as well have given in and had a top 5 of:
5. Don't worry be happy - Bobby McFerry
4. I wish I could fly - Keith Harris and Orville
3. Lovely Day - Bill Withers
2. Walking on sunshine - KC and the sunshine band
1. Happy talk - Captain Sensible
For me, I need to have happiness which acknowledges sadness in some way. I need something which surpasses a feeling of simple 'well-being' and tackles some of life's ups and downs, so that it doesn't become a sort of hedonic, sugary delusion.
That's why 'How to disappear completely' really is about happiness. But it is a transcendent sort of happiness, like seeing yourself from above, or being completely absorbed in a task other than yourself (flow). Try running to it. Or 'Everloving' by Moby.
Happiness is about finding meaning and purpose. Happy songs can be fine for a while, but they soon make me feel sick.
Mind you, I do like Dodgy....can I have 'In a Room' though??
5. Don't worry be happy - Bobby McFerry
4. I wish I could fly - Keith Harris and Orville
3. Lovely Day - Bill Withers
2. Walking on sunshine - KC and the sunshine band
1. Happy talk - Captain Sensible
For me, I need to have happiness which acknowledges sadness in some way. I need something which surpasses a feeling of simple 'well-being' and tackles some of life's ups and downs, so that it doesn't become a sort of hedonic, sugary delusion.
That's why 'How to disappear completely' really is about happiness. But it is a transcendent sort of happiness, like seeing yourself from above, or being completely absorbed in a task other than yourself (flow). Try running to it. Or 'Everloving' by Moby.
Happiness is about finding meaning and purpose. Happy songs can be fine for a while, but they soon make me feel sick.
Mind you, I do like Dodgy....can I have 'In a Room' though??
Wednesday, 11 July 2007
Happy Songs
I was challenged to counter my list of sad songs with a list of "happy or romantic" songs.
Whilst, clearly, the romantic list is beyond me (one step at a time Z!), here goes with my attempt at happy songs.
Again, definition is key. The song must be about happiness (which includes any of its variants e.g. joy, excitement, seeing a girl and going phwoar), but it must also invoke feelings of happiness in me. (It's always about me isn't it?) Both scored out of 10.
11. I wanna hold your hand - the Beatles (7 / 6)
10. I bet you look good on the dance floor - Arctic Monkeys (6 / 8)
9. Daydream believer - Monkees(6 / 8)
8. Teenage kicks - Buzzcocks (7 / 7)
7. Man on the moon - REM (7 / 8)
6. How to disappear completely - Radiohead (7 / 8)
5. You'll never walk alone - The Kop Choir (7 / 9)
4. The sick bed of Culchulainn - The Pogues (7 / 9)
3. If I ever leave this world alive - Flogging Molly (7 / 10)
2. Ain't got no (I got life) - Nina Simone(9 / 9)
1. Amazing Grace - Various (10 / 9)
What do you think of THAT then??
Whilst, clearly, the romantic list is beyond me (one step at a time Z!), here goes with my attempt at happy songs.
Again, definition is key. The song must be about happiness (which includes any of its variants e.g. joy, excitement, seeing a girl and going phwoar), but it must also invoke feelings of happiness in me. (It's always about me isn't it?) Both scored out of 10.
11. I wanna hold your hand - the Beatles (7 / 6)
10. I bet you look good on the dance floor - Arctic Monkeys (6 / 8)
9. Daydream believer - Monkees(6 / 8)
8. Teenage kicks - Buzzcocks (7 / 7)
7. Man on the moon - REM (7 / 8)
6. How to disappear completely - Radiohead (7 / 8)
5. You'll never walk alone - The Kop Choir (7 / 9)
4. The sick bed of Culchulainn - The Pogues (7 / 9)
3. If I ever leave this world alive - Flogging Molly (7 / 10)
2. Ain't got no (I got life) - Nina Simone(9 / 9)
1. Amazing Grace - Various (10 / 9)
What do you think of THAT then??
Tuesday, 19 June 2007
Two dirty little secrets
I love this - 'chavtronica' NME calls it.
And I'm watching 'What about Brian' again. I'M TIRED OK?
And I'm watching 'What about Brian' again. I'M TIRED OK?
Saturday, 9 June 2007
Saddest songs
Daniel has been speculating on the saddest moments in songs.
The following list compiled the 25 saddest songs in the whole wide world. However, this is a little suspect as it includes Everybody Hurts, whose central premise surely is one of hope?
I need songs without hope I'm afraid. As George Costanza once said it's the hope that kills me - hopelessness is my only hope.
So, my top 10 songs of sheer heartbreak and despair are as follows:
10. For no one - The Beatles (..and in her eyes you see nothing)
9. Dry your eyes - The Streets (Try and pull her close out of bare desperation)
8. Father and Son - Cat Stevems (I know, I have to go)
7. Hallelujah - Jeff Buckley (..it's a cold and broken hallelujah)
6. The River - Bruce Springsteen (I act like I don't remember, Mary acts like she don't care)
5. You're the one - Kate Bush (..there's just one problem...you're the only one I want)
4. Accidental Babies - Damien Rice (Is he dark enough? enough to see your light?)
3. Burn - Ray La Montagne (..and I will stand here, and burn in my skin)
2. No Surprises - Radiohead (a heart that's full up like a landfill..)
1. Hurt - Johnny Cash (I hurt myself today...)
The following list compiled the 25 saddest songs in the whole wide world. However, this is a little suspect as it includes Everybody Hurts, whose central premise surely is one of hope?
I need songs without hope I'm afraid. As George Costanza once said it's the hope that kills me - hopelessness is my only hope.
So, my top 10 songs of sheer heartbreak and despair are as follows:
10. For no one - The Beatles (..and in her eyes you see nothing)
9. Dry your eyes - The Streets (Try and pull her close out of bare desperation)
8. Father and Son - Cat Stevems (I know, I have to go)
7. Hallelujah - Jeff Buckley (..it's a cold and broken hallelujah)
6. The River - Bruce Springsteen (I act like I don't remember, Mary acts like she don't care)
5. You're the one - Kate Bush (..there's just one problem...you're the only one I want)
4. Accidental Babies - Damien Rice (Is he dark enough? enough to see your light?)
3. Burn - Ray La Montagne (..and I will stand here, and burn in my skin)
2. No Surprises - Radiohead (a heart that's full up like a landfill..)
1. Hurt - Johnny Cash (I hurt myself today...)
Tuesday, 15 May 2007
291 - 295
Arctic Monkeys - Fave Worst Nightmare
Ben Folds - Rockin the suburbs
Magic Numbers - Those the Brokes
and....
Giddyup!
Ben Folds - Rockin the suburbs
Magic Numbers - Those the Brokes
and....
Giddyup!
Tuesday, 8 May 2007
The 8th May
Enjoyable fun can be had by singing 'The 8th May' to the tune of 'The Ace of Spades' in a heavy metal style, a la Motorhead and their 1980 hit of that name.
Wednesday, 25 April 2007
Release Me
Look, I know this is off the Saab ad, but it is genuinely brilliant and I can't help having my finger on the pulse. I cant wait for the album to be 'released' in May. Do you see what I did there? Clever.
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