Sweet Music To My Ears - #5 and #4

#5 Under The Moon Of Love – Showaddywaddy

Original Release Year – 1976 (me not quite 1)

How the hell a band like Showaddywaddy ended up on my radar, lord only knows. Needless to say I don’t remember the original release, but I can tell you is that it was the first gig I ever saw: Showaddywaddy at the Civic Hall in Wolverhampton. I’ll hazard a guess that I was about 5 or 6 at the time and all I can remember is having my hands over my ears a lot, and not liking the stroboscope one bit. Aside from the multi-coloured suits and the big shades, I was drawn to the fact that there were two drummers, one of whom is called Romeo (father of an Olympic high jumper by the way)

But this wasn’t a fad, I still have a greatest hits CD in my collection, and I still enjoy the occasional boogie along. God it’s sad, but it’s such a good tune, it’d be a shame to allow it to disappear. It’s OK to like a song with a saxophone solo – isn’t it?

#4 – Radiation Vibe – Fountains Of Wayne

Original Release Year – 1996 (me aged 20)

Now if you're still with me, despite the hip-hop, the prog rock and, ahem, the teddy boys, we begin to hit the dizzy heights.

Depending on the kind of music you like, Fountains Of Wayne are either in the epicentre, or off the radar. They epitomise the way that great American writers take Great British influences, and they are probably best known for the single “Stacy’s Mom”. But my association with them goes back to the beginning. I was at university when I first heard “Radiation Vibe”. I’m pretty sure it would have been courtesy of Steve Lamacq or whoever was running the Evening Session in those days, and I was just hooked on the perfection of the song, the great lyrics, “I went to Pittsburgh, and joined a pro team, talk about a bad dream, I broke a knee”.

By good fortune, they were playing The Varsity in Wolverhampton (capacity 200), and I’ve never been to a more up close and personal gig in my life. I left there that night, completely hooked, and went to my local independent music store the next day to seek out the eponymous album. By more good fortune, they had just one copy, and the lady was most distressed that she would have to hand it over to a member of the public. It’s been a favourite ever since.

I Say... Thank You For The Music #8 - #7 - #6

#8 Basket Case – Green Day

Original Release Year – 1994 (me aged 18)

For starters I can’t believe this track is 15 years old. This was back in the day when Green Day still passed (to a degree) as a punk act, and this was their breakthrough track. I came across thanks to its major airplay on MTV, which in those days played music and was presented by Davina McCall and Cat Deeley. The video, set in a lunatic asylum was bright, brash and loud. Like the song in fact, which is a perfect 3 minutes long.

The Pachabel’s Canon chord sequence is always a winner for me, but this took it to a whole new level, and it peaked for me when I saw the band live at the Wulfrun Hall in Wolverhampton. Aside from the awesome tunes, I couldn’t believe how many songs they got through that night (I’d never been to a “punk” gig, where some songs are only a minute and a half long), and I came away blown away by the whole experience. I’m so pleased I saw them then, and not now.



#7 Concrete Schoolyard – Jurassic 5

Original Release Year – 1998 (me aged 22)

Well, if you know me, you can see I’m clearly a west coast hip-hop fan. My middle name is B-Boy. Sort of. I can take or leave most rap and hip-hop tunes, particularly the gangsta stuff produced by 2Pac and B.I.G, but Jurassic 5 blew through like fresh air for me in the late 90s. “Original beats with real life MC’s”.

There is a beautiful synergy between the 4 MC’s (my favourite the basso profundo of Chali 2na), and at the time it reminded me a lot of “A Tribe Called Quest”. The background riff (taken from an old Ike Turner track) is pure summer, and the vibe is “feel the beats, hear the words, hum the tune”, something I think hip-hop should make more of. This single from 1998 inspired me to buy not just one, but three albums from this now defunct outfit.



#6 If I had $1,000,000 – Barenaked Ladies

Original Release Year – 1993 (me aged 18)

I am so pleased I discovered Barenaked Ladies when I did, and this is the song that did the trick. Thanks to a guy on my corridor at University called Sam Smith, who would play this song as part of his acoustic routines in the bar, I learnt this song pretty quickly. Being the creation of an oddball Canadian band, its lyrics are surreal, ludicrous and infectious; “If I had a million dollars, we wouldn’t have to walk to the store, if I had a million dollars, we’d take a limousine cos it costs more”.

Aside from some of the silliest lyrics in memory, it is a song that is easy to learn and play, and is a song that my brother and I played at our sister’s wedding. The live versions are never the same twice, as halfway through the vocalists will go off covering goodness knows what.

Music Makes The People Come Together... Yeah. - In at Number Nine:

#9 All You Good Good People – Embrace

Original Release Year – 1997 (me aged 21)

The Golden Era. The Student Years. Back when tuition was free, beer was cheap and Things Could Only Get Better™.
There was a period where BritPop was where it was at, which began for me at school in 1993, when I started buying Select Magazine. This was on the frontline of BritPop, with the famous front cover of Suede’s Brett Anderson next to the line “Yanks Go Home!” Back then I didn’t think much of Suede, but I did like the compilation tapes and CDs, and the fold out posters. Eventually the whole genre was polarised between those who liked Oasis, and those who liked Blur. I went to school and university in the Midlands, so it was OK for me to like both.

Mercifully I began to shun the cheesy pop and dive deeper into “indie”. Club Shine at the Student Union, renamed “Club Shite” by friends, was a weekly release, a chance to mosh with friends to One To Another by The Charlatans (I have a friend called Jen that I haven’t seen in ten years who will always be my spiderwoman).
In amongst all this appeared Embrace, who claimed to be better than Oasis, a crafty move at antagonising the Gallagher brothers. The McNamara brothers were hardly likely to set the world alight, but I remember hearing this wall of sound for the first time and being blown away. The very idea of having a full-blown orchestra on a debut album seemed bonkers to me.

All You Good Good People originally came out on vinyl, 500 copies that were snapped up instantly, and was so significant to the band that it was re-released, then remixed for the album, then re-recorded at Abbey Road. From the opening timpani roll to the epic climax, I couldn’t get enough of this track, and even now the pulse gets going when I hear it.

Dial M For Music - The Top Ten

#10 The Sound Of Muzak - Porcupine Tree

Original Release Year – 2002 (me aged 27)

The top ten opens with an album track from a slightly obscure Prog Rock band, but stick with me on this. This is track (and band) that I am thankful to my brother for introducing me to. I’ll leave you to do your own research, but this is just one epic from the early 2000s era that I am most fond of.

That the song is based in a 7/8 tempo is testament to the strength of the tune and the lyrics “Music of rebellion makes you wanna rage, but it’s made by millionaires who are nearly twice your age”. There is everything in there – amazing drums, glorious harmonies and a kick-ass guitar solo.

Here for your convenience is a live recording. I love how Colin Edwin on bass is just so pleased to be there, and how the crowd really are there to listen!

If you approve of the choice, I encourage you to seek out In Absentia.

M is For Music

So here’s the thing. It’s one thing to have a full selection of your favourite songs in mind. But just because they are your favourite, does that mean you always listen to them?

I have a plug in on iTunes called Last.Fm, which tracks every song I play and collates that on a website, where I can see which songs I listen to most. Looking on there now, there are two lists that are interesting: the most popular artists and the most popular songs.

Most popular song: Elliot’s Song – J A Marczak.

Blood runs thicker than water, it’s true. Whilst I take no credit for my brother becoming the artist he has become, I take great pride in all the music he creates, and this data proves it. In the last 12 months I’ve listened to the track more than 20 times, and that’s just the plays that have been picked up. It’s a wonderfully evocative song, completely self-produced, with one of the best guitar solos I’ve ever heard. And you can hear it here.

Most Popular Artist - Athlete.

Sometimes the system gets it wrong. Athlete are not my favourite band, probably not even my second favourite, but every so often the statistics get skewed. Like the time we went on holiday to Canada, and my daughter would only go to bed if I put “Tourist” on repeat at bed time.

So there you have it. In fact 6 Athlete tracks feature in my top ten most played. For such a music fan as myself, it’s a comfort that much of the music that I enjoy so much is yet to reach the mainstream. Top of the list is “Can’t Stand The Rain” by The Rescues. This is a track I came across on thesixtyone, and have been hooked on ever since. A band that produces what my brother would describe as “Scrubs Music”, this California foursome appear to have everything in their locker, apart from a CD that I can actually buy. But you can find their music here.

Music Made Me

I am reaching 34, which I’m reliably informed is my mid-30s.

I sense an attack of the “Hornbys” coming on. And rather than a sudden passion for miniature railway resurfacing like some cross between a garden shed nerd and a Top Gear presenter, it’s more a need to work out where life is taking me, where it all went right, and where it all went wrong. And it will involve lists at some point.

I am a strong believer that music is integral to people’s lives and personalities. You don’t need to be musical to enjoy music. Truth be told, I always wanted to be a recording artist, but my singing voice holds no great distinction. I come from a musical family, but perhaps I lack the application to take it seriously. What got me thinking this way, and eventually writing, was a combination of two publications by Nick Hornby, that great stalwart of mid-life crisis lad-lit. “31 Songs” is a record of, well, 31 songs that have shaped his life thus far, whilst “High Fidelity” followed a man through all his ex-girlfriends, interrupted by mix-tapes and Top 5 lists.

“What is your favourite song of all time?”

You hear a song on the radio and you say “oh, this is one of my all time favourite songs”.

Is it possible to have a favourite song? Or is that just something you say when you hear a song from your youth, which you remember liking, and it brings back happy memories?

I have a favourite song of all time. In fact, I have a favourite top ten of all time. The top three hasn’t changed in almost 20 years. I wrote it down once as a point of reference, and I came across it recently, surprised to learn that the order really hadn’t changed.

The digital age has made if far easier to track my listening habits. I listen to a lot of music both online and on my MP3 player. Sites like last.fm have a vast library of online music. They record your listening habits and make suggestions accordingly, while MP3 players will store information about how many times I listen to a song.

So is there any relationship between my favourite songs and what I actually listen to? In what way have those songs created the world-weary beast that stares back from the mirror every morning?

Over the next few days, I shall tell you, (for I’m sure someone reads this) about my All Time Top Ten. You can then listen to the tracks yourself, as I’m sure I’ll be able to find them on YouTube somewhere. Definitely no Celine Dion in there, though you’d be surprised how much Mariah Carey and Dina Carroll is in my back catalogue.

The Why Factor?

I'm so glad I don't watch X Factor.

Aside from the fact I'm not keen on karaoke competitions, or programmes where we have to vote, I find the whole crowd-baiting thing a bit grating.

But I hate not knowing what's going on. I like to be slightly informed, without investing the time in the actual show. I've discovered that the best way to watch X Factor is on Twitter and Facebook.

With such valuable insight as "WTF??!!!" (Gadget Show's Ortis Deley), "The REAL scandal is - how did Jamie not end up in the bottom two?" (Heat's Boyd Hilton) and "I suspect there will be a lot of people who've gone far with little talent up in arms about Jedward who've er gone far with little talent" (Starsailor's James Walsh), I don't need to watch the show, or even read the Sun the day after.

And this is just the celebrity tweetage. On Facebook, friends are saying similar things. One "is amused that the public is outraged that they were given the chance to decide. not exactly embracing democracy are they?", another said "I never thought those silly twins could possibly win me £300. LOL". Political commentary meets Bet365.com.

Frankly, any programme on ITV immediately incurs an air of cynicism. In fact I can't remember the last thing I watched on ITV that wasn't football. I am baffled though by how seriously people take this show.The prize appears to be the chance to spend a year recording Westlife covers, a year pretending to be a serious artist, followed by either a touring production of Joseph, Eurovision, or Dancing on Ice. Unless you are extremely lucky, anyway.

But a testament to the seriousness was presented to me on "Inside Out", presented from Reading recently. As part of a piece with camp financial advisor Alvin Hall, a lady is belting out "The sun will come out tomorrow" with her kids. Turns out she was in X Factor last year but missed out after Boot Camp (? seems a bit harsh, they are only singers after all, and she didn't look the build for assault courses and canoeing on oil drums), but had clearly seen the cameras on Broad Street and seen an opportunity to try again. These people just can't let go. Seems being on X Factor is the ambition for everyone, regardless of talent.

So while these folks participate and vote in numbers far greater than any politician could dream of, my family quietly ignores the inane goings on.

Not least because, thanks to the internet, my friends are watching X factor so that I don't have to.