Song 14 - that nobody expects me to love

I'm sure this half-month worth of a reasonably wide variety of songs has killed any "expectations" behind my song choices. So much for any rep I imagined I had.

But I do like this song, and I believe I'm in the minority here.



Elvis impersonators, shiny lights, hilarious lyrics (Oh bol-e bol-e why did-e you ditch me), a spunky bride (you go, girl!), in an altogether unexpected musical break in one of the pivotal moments of Dev-D, a very fresh retelling of the classic Devdas.

Song 13 - that is a guilty pleasure

It takes a brave person to agree with Mum without being ordered to do. Especially if Mum belongs to the 70s and has questionable tastes.



I think I used the love affair between Mum and the Swedish quartet to develop what I hoped would be biting sarcasm to hold me in good stead in my growing years.

I got pretty good at the eye roll and the eye roll while simultaneously saying Lay-ame.

But I couldn't for one moment effectively hide the evident song in my heart (hyperbole alert) when ABBA came on.

Even that ridiculous Pierce Brosnan - Meryl Streep film had me all confused. Did I like it?

I've learnt to make excuses for any ABBA love, one of the best ones being that I'm not the only one. (Heard the one about how ABBA were one big Swedish mind-control exercise?)

With the benefit of hindsight, we can say that ABBA were so simplistic with their tunes - catchy, we say - so flashy with their persona, that their songs have survived better than others.

This survival has only been aided by that their songs, rife with double meaning (unintentionally I believe), to be appropriated by LGBT community who, (I wish I could find the link for this essay) saw a measure of equality in these songs and have been keeping them alive, so to speak.

So bonus: the "gayest song ever"

Song 10 - that makes me fall asleep

This one.

I have two CDs of this artist, which I have been trying to get rid of for years but they just find their way back. Like a Monkey's Paw one just can't get away from. Grammy-shmammy.

But why devote a whole post to a boring song, you ask.

(Well, I ask, but the question remains.)

A lot of this 30 Days of Music stuff is rather rubbish. Like the attempting to finish-this-in-30-days-actually bit and the glorifying of songs that in my very personal opinion are not worth remembering or sharing.

So here it is - the song that makes me feel so calm, so secure and so pleased, that I could fall asleep simply because I feel so comfortable with myself and the people around me, and dream some very nice dreams.

Go on then, say awww, I know you want to.

Day 9: a song I can dance to

Alternate title: Why I love Lady Gaga



I haven't stepped onto a dance floor in the last two years without having this song playing.

It's a great song to make up awkward dance steps for as you go along. (Those are the best kind, no?) And I have nothing but the fondest of memories of friends in different states of sobriety doing so.

But there's so much more to this song, and indeed to Lady Gaga as a contemporary artist.

I'm a huge fan of Gaga, and I have nothing but respect for her as an artist, because I think she's one of the few mainstream artist doing it smart and doing it right.


Most importantly, Lady Gaga's songs, are perfect examples of music - I'd call it an art form - that has made way for shared experiences and has inspired further creativity.

Many of those who've contributed to her over one billion views on YouTube and put two of her songs in the top 10 iTunes downloads until February 2010 - and these are only two of the innumerable music outlets today - have gone on to do creative things (amazing/ odd/ funny) on their own.

Like these guys:



Or this really cool video+cover by The Morning Pages



Or any of these ones for that matter. Make up videos, karaoke, credible covers, tributes to friends, just a bit of fun - but all about people creating shared experiences with the song.

Loads of people seem to love dancing to Gaga. Just like I did with my friends.

I also think that her sexually ambiguous and arty videos which tell weirdly fascinating stories, stripped down+over the top live performances and of course, her Madonna 2.0 bras, make her an extremely talented, passionate and astute artist, perfectly suited for multiple media platforms.

But that's for another day, another argument.

30 days of music - Day 8: a song I know all the words to

Oh I give up on Day 7, which must be day 17 by now.

Day 8 however, brings back memories of a diary I kept for song lyrics. (No need to go looking, I burnt it once I stopped getting high on scented markers.)

There were four songs in there, which remain the songs I know all the words to. The ignominy of naming said songs would be too much, and hence, I decline to do so except under duress.

What is, however, in both our interests, is this alternate for Day 8. A song I'd LIKE to know all the words to. 


Chart music, unfortunately, is not one to experiment with lyrics. Conventional ideas and subjects - love, loss, sex, hot girls, partying, giving-peace-a-chance - and worse, conventional treatments and metaphors are only expected.

Then occasionally, you have a Tom Lehrer or Jonathan Coulton turn up to talk about real stuff:

• In one word he told me secret of success in mathematics - PLAGIARIZE / Let no one else's work evade your eyes/ Remember why the good Lord made your eyes - Lobachevsky
• Hey Tom, it's Bob from the office down the hall...Things have been okay for me, except that I'm a zombie now...I don't want to nitpick Tom, but is this really your plan/ Spend your whole life locked in a mall - re: your brains

Yes, those are real songs, and brilliantly smart ones at that. 

Because a great song is entertaining - and that's not something you can do simply with "virtuosic playing" or "being loud".

That's not my idea - Ben Walker says it best in a post from last year  - and he should know - he writes some of the best words I've heard put to tune. 

Song I'd like to know the words to: Ben Walker's Putting Your Hand in the Blender Again. It's song #3 but the whole album is awesomeness. 

30 days of music - Day 6: a song that reminds me of somewhere

I was looking forward to this.



I was heading back home after an awesome Snow Patrol concert at the magnificent 02.

The Jubilee Line traversed the city, emptying itself of its late-evening passengers on platforms waiting for a long day to end.

I made the 45-minute journey from East London to West, sat by myself, amidst the crumpled free-sheets. And all that time, this was the refrain in my head.

Urgent, energetic, enthusiastic.

I think I fell in love, proper-like, then. London became my city.

And I fell in love with myself all over again. It was about time too.

30 days of music - Day 5: a song that reminds me of someone

It was crazy for a few days. I was humming this song, D was humming this song, this dude Jude was playing in the city, D was sitting in a concert a couple of seats away from music-boy Jude, the radio was playing Hey Jude way too often, Media Player pulled out Jude on shuffle at the precise moment D popped up online, at least twice, it was FREAKY, it was official - Paul Was Dead and he was haunting us, well not 'us' but D, because she was born on the VERY SAME DAY as the song released, but about a couple of decades later.

Spooky.

Love ya D.

Also, I am not fully sure where that fabulous flowchart is from, but it seems to go back to that link there.

30 days of music - Day 4: a song that makes me sad

Can I skip this one?

(Groan)

Okay, let's be done with this.

This one. Because.

30 days of music - Day 3: a song that makes me happy

A song about an evil genius in love.

What's not to love?

If a smart musically inclined bloke made a half-pony half-monkey monster to please me and ruined a pony making a gift for me, I'd be willing to put aside rather strong ideals of animal activism and be happy.



Jonathan Coulton is pure genius.

He makes me happy because his music is nothing like what I've grown up being told 'music' is.

With light tunes and pleasant vocals that let the hilarious songwriter in him take centre stage, JoCo is automatically refreshing and a high dose of good, clean, happy.

It also helps that he's an incredibly smart and sensible artist, because of the way he distributes his music. It's Free to take (often enough), to mess up, remix, enact, sing to your sock doll, to do what you please with it. Including making videos for the song like the one here.

The happiest music has to be the most accessible.

If Skullcrusher Mountain didn't put you in a good mood, try JoCo's full-of-awesome version of the frankly demeaning Baby Got Back. It's the fourth song on that link.

30 days of music - Day 2: my least favourite song

(I think I missed a day. Wonderful start, yes.)

Least favourite song. Hmm.

I could choose 87% of the Top 40 (any country really, based on radio plays and requests and probably iTunes downloads) because they're all just a depressing reflection of the lack of imagination or talent in the 'music industry' today....

Or, I could condemn a whole genre that's lame, immature, disrespectful or offensive, or a combination of those. But someone already did that and there're too many to choose....

I agree with the Internets when they ask if Black Eyed Peas have written the worst song ever (yes) and if Nickelback is the worst band ever (the answer is one click and an amused smile away) ....

But these aren't my 'least favourite' songs. They're songs I detest.

My least favourite song is *drumroll*

Staying Alive by the Bee Gees.

As a pop culture enthusiast (yea, I just called myself that) and a believer in the value of seemingly temporary fads to fashion our societal choices, I'd hate to criticise the song.

I'm sure the lyrics and the vocals by the brothers Gibb resonated with the youth and the creatures of canine auditory capacities in 1977 as the album went on to shatter records.

And plunging necklines and tight-white-pants a la J. Travolta were outrageously sexy to the disco kids.

But that is no excuse for an incredibly popular and culturally significant song to be Annoying As Hell and making one want to seriously consider using a butter knife as an aid to the homicide of all creatures that would consider staying alive after this song.

This song is my least favourite for the continued falsetto, extreme shininess, and high levels of annoying.

30 days of music - Day 1: my favourite song

There's this internet meme going around that I thought would be fun to be part of. Y'know, one song posted everyday for 30 days, to fit a description. Pretty simple stuff really.

Why would I do that, you ask?

Well:

1. Because I like music and I like arranging music into lists more
2. Because I really need to make more of an effort into completing my writing and posting on my blog everyday. (3 posts all year. Disgraceful.)
3. It's a great opportunity to explore all that music, and music sharing options, don't-ya-think.

And yes, I have a fondness for Cheese. Don't laugh, don't judge.

Oh and yea, do share with me your songs. It'll be fun.

Day 01: my favourite song




My first genuine music craze, the first and only poster to go up on my walls.

I have about five different versions of this song in my collection, each one making my heart melt in a very shameless, breathless, lovesick, girly, oh-I-wish-it-were-me kind of way to hear JBJ sing those words.

Plus it's a pretty good tune. So there.

Here's the rest of what's coming up this month for anyone who'd like to think about it as well. You know you want to.

Day 02: your least favourite song
Day 03: a song that makes you happy
Day 04: a song that makes you sad
Day 05: a song that reminds you of someone
Day 06: a song that reminds you of somewhere
Day 07: a song that reminds you of a certain event
Day 08: a song you know all the words to
Day 09: a song you can dance to
Day 10: a song that makes you fall asleep
Day 11: a song from your favourite band
Day 12: a song from a band you hate
Day 13: a song that is a guilty pleasure
Day 14: a song that no one would expect you to love
Day 15: a song that describes you
Day 18: a song that you used to love but now hate
Day 19: a song from your favourite album
Day 20: a song you listen to when you're angry
Day 21: a song you listen to when you're happy
Day 22: a song you listen to when you're sad
Day 23; a song that you want to play at your wedding
Day 24: a song you want played at your funeral
Day 25: a song that makes you laugh
Day 26: a song that you can play on an instrument
Day 27: a song that you wish you could play
Day 28; a song that makes you feel guilty
Day 29: a song from my childhood
Day 30: your favourite song this time last year