I’m Not Too Keen on Tuesdays Either

…especially when they come on the back of a very lazy Bank Holiday weekend.

So, something exceptionally bouncy is required this morning, and I reckon this, a record which for my money is one of the finest pop records released in the last – *checks Google* Blimey – six years, fits the bill perfectly:

Icona Pop – I Love It [featuring Charli XCX]

More soon.

Which Reminds Me…

Ever since I posted that Charlie Rich song on Sunday Morning, I’ve had this on my brain (yes, I know it’s a Prince parody, but since when did earworms have to make complete sense?), which has some of the funniest lyrics outside of a Half Man Half Biscuit record:

Flight of the Conchords – The Most Beautiful Girl (In the Room)

More soon.

Sunday Morning Coming Down

This morning, a song which needs no real introduction, because it’s great, a real Country-by-numbers “I done wrong and now I lost my lady” tune, which you all know already (don’t you???):

Charlie Rich – The Most Beautiful Girl

More soon.

Late Night Stargazing

A Comment on my Monday morning post from one of the When You Can’t Remember Anything/The Sound of Being OK  boys (I know not which, but hello to both SWC and Badger) sent me scuttling off to revisit an album I’d not listened to in a looooooonnnnnnnnnnngggggg time: Disgraceful by Dubstar.

Here’s the opening track and their debut single, from back in 1995, which, given it’s title, and how fine it is, I’m suprised I’ve never posted here before:

Dubstar – Stars

More soon.

Friday Freedom Song

Woo-hoo!

Work’s done for another week, and it’s a Bank Holiday Weekend!

Freedom!

Let’s rock!

Frank Black – Freedom Rock

More soon.

Literally Inspired

A little while ago a I wrote a post to mark the anniversary of the Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, where I mentioned a couple of bands who has been inspired by the great book.

And that got me thinking about occasins where musicians have been inspired by, or reference, literature.

(I say that post was “a little while ago”, it was back in March, so I’ve been thinking about this for a while…)

So here we go, by way of a multiple choice question:

Is Veruca Salt:

a) the name of a spoiled brat in Roald Dahl’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

b) the name of an American band who are permanently excused from swimming lessons and who sound (on today’s record, at least) remarkably like The Breeders

c) both of the above.

Veruca Salt – Seether

More soon.

S.S.O.S. (Stop Spoiling Our Songs)

Stop right there, Mr Ad Man!

You’ve gone too far this time.

Whose wretched idea was it to butcher an absolute stone cold classic to try and convince us into releasing our equity (whatever that means)?

And by “absolute stone cold classic” I mean this, of course:

Bernard Cribbins – Right Said Fred

I not just indignant about the appropriation of this wonderful record (and it isa wonderful record, and if you disagree, then you’re not allowed to carry on reading) to try us lure us into murky financial shenanigans, but because the use of it just makes no sense whatsoever, even if they have changed the words to fit the sales pitch.

Here’s why: pretty much everybody in the UK knows the original. It’s a song which many of us heard as kids on radio shows like Junior Choice with Ed “Stewpot” Stewart; it’s a song which is engrained into our very fibre, our very being. Changing the words does not make us forget all of that, it makes us think about the original Right Said Fred, or about our youths, or sometimes we even can’t stop ourselves from conjuring up an image of 90s novelty band and slap-head sanctuary Right Said Fred. So already, we’re not paying attention to what you’re saying.

When this advert comes on, I can guarantee you that in not one household does anyone lean in towards the television, thinking “Oooh, this sounds interesting, tell me more!”, or uttering “Oh, I like what they’ve done there. Hand me the phone, Margaret, I’m gonna get me some equiry released!”.

No, we’re thinking “What the fuck have you done to Right Said Fred and why are you doing it on my TV in the middle of Tipping Point?”

But that’s not all. The song Right Said Fred, as you will know, is about three delivery men attempting to deliver an undisclosed object to a property, having to gradually dismantle it to try and get it into the house, which they then manage to part-demolish, before finally giving up. All of this action is, of course, punctuated by numerous tea-breaks.

In other words, it’s a song about failure. And tea. And the working classes. But mostly failure. Why would you want people to see your advert and think of failure? Why, Mr Ad Man, why??

Ahem. Deep breaths.

Still, at least we all know what song we’re going to have pinging around in our heads all day now, eh?

I might see if I can help you with that in a bit. If you’re nice.

In other words: More soon.

I’m Not Too Keen on Mondays

Recently, when my brother asked me to help him when he moved into his new home and told me he had hired a Transit van for the task, I accepted on one condition: that it had a digital radio and that we could listen to BBC 6 Music as we drove.

I’d imagine that for most of you, like me, BBC 6 Music is your (music) radio station of choice. Certainly, recent figures indicate that so far in 2018, it’s the most listened to digital-only radio station, with an average weekly audience of 2.3 million.

It’s hard to believe that it’s not that long ago that the station was threatened with closure. (That’s especially hard to believe because, when fact-checking this post, I realise that it was actually eight years ago.)

This was on the back of a report by the BBC Trust, who, when charged with finding ways for the corporation to make savings, stated that only 1 in 5 UK residents were even aware of the station’s existence, and that the roster of presenters lacked credibility as music experts.

Frankly, the idea that the presenters are not credible music geeks is laughable; the week-day schedules include Lauren Laverne (a pop star, of sorts, in a previous life), Stuart Maconie (former music journalist with the NME, back when it was good, by which I mean when I used to read it), Mark Radcliffe (whose been around for ages, on Radios 1 and 2 previously, and who co-hosts the TV coverage of Glastonbury), Marc Riley (former member of The Fall – but who hasn’t been?), whilst elsewhere on their rota you can find former Fun Lovin’ Criminal Huey Morgan, 70s agit-pop star Tom Robinson, Mary Anne Hobbs (ex-music journalist at Sounds and NME), former Welsh-pop star Cerys Matthews, Don Letts (who made several of The Clash’s videos, and was in Big Audio Dynamite with Mick Jones), and Tom “Son of John Peel” Ravenscroft, to name just a few. Frankly, I can’t think of a radio station with a more credible rosta of DJs.

Anyway, I mention all of this now because the other week it was announced that, for the first time in…oooh, ages, the schedule is to be shaken up in 2019. I’ll not bore you with the details, you can read about it here if you really wnt to. Suffice it to say, it will soon be Lauren Laverne’s job to get me out of bed of a morning, instead of Shaun Keaveny’s.

When the station was threatened with closure what I now realise was all those years ago, one of those Facebook campaign things was launched to save it, and at the same time, to get one song – which, it was thought, epitomised 6 Music’s position as purveyors of a mix of quality ‘alternative’ and classic music – to number 6 in the UK charts.

It got to Number 56.

And it’s that song we’re going to this morning. As with many songs by this band, much loved by many in the blogging community, this never fails to put a huge dumb smile on my chops. Enjoy:

Half Man Half Biscuit – Joy Division Oven Gloves

More soon.

Sunday Morning Coming Down

A double-header for you all this morning. But first, an apology. I’m writing this very late on Saturday night/early on Sunday morning and having just finished it, I realise I’ve posted both of the songs featured today on the blog before, but not in the Sunday Morning section. Frankly, it’s too late/early for me to be bothered with thinking of something else to post. So, y’know: sorry ’bout that.

Anyhow: I’ve always loved it when someone releases a song in response to someone else’s song. They follow three basic rules:

1. The “Response” song should use very similar music and tune as in the original – just changed enough to avoid litigation – with the lyrics changed to form the “Response”;
2. The “Response” song will be nowhere near as good as the original, and will genuinely be viewed by most as a brazenly opportunistic attempt to cash-in on the original’s success;
3. The “Response” song will be performed by someone you’ve never heard of before, and will never hear of again.

In case you’re not quite sure what I’m banging on about, then perhaps the most famous example is when Michael Jackson released Billie Jean back in 1982. Billie Jean is, of course, about a woman who claims that the narrator is the father of her newborn son, conceived during a one night stand. The narrator insists that “the kid is not my son”. (I’m not going to post it here partly because it’s not a Country record, but mostly because it’s Billie Jean by Michael Jackson, one of the most famous records ever made, and frankly I can’t believe I just took the time to explain what the song’s about to you.)

Anyway, shortly after Billie Jean was released to worldwide acclaim and staggering record sales which saw it top the charts in pretty much every country that had one, a record called Superstar followed in its slipstream.

Released by Lydia Murdock, it was written and performed from Billie Jean’s point of view, the lyrics challenging Jackson as to the validity of his non-paternal status assertions. And just in case any casual listener to Superstar didn’t understand, it contains lyrics like “I’m Billie Jean, I’m mad as hell. I’m the woman with a story to tell.” (I’m not going to post it here partly because it’s not a Country record, but mostly because it’s bloody awful. And those of you who just thought “That doesn’t normally stop you” can go and stand on the naughty step.)

Pop history is littered with other examples, but these two are my favourite. The first tells of how a young woman leaves the singer – on this occasion, Hank Thompson – to have fun joining in the nightlife and all that entails:

Hank Thompson – The Wild Side of Life

…which inspired this, written from the woman’s point of view, shifting the blame for her infidelity back to the man, and also pointing out that for every unfaithful woman, there is a man who has led her astray:

Kitty Wells – It Wasn’t God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels

Hank 0 – Kitty 1, I think.

And before anyone says it, Kitty definitely disproves Rule 3.

More soon, maybe even something I haven’t posted before, you never know.

Late Night Stargazing

Let’s be honest, there’s only one person that I can possibly post a song by here tonight.

The problem has been deciding which of her wonderful, captivating records to choose.

I’ve plumped for this, a cover of Bob Lind’s 1966 hit, and the closing track on her Soul ’69 album which, whilst it doesn’t contain any of her big hits or more well-known cuts, is still, typically, an absolute belter:

Aretha Franklin – Elusive Butterfly

So long, and thank you, Aretha.

More soon.