Given that it is Bastille Day today I thought I would post something gallic. To be honest I am surprised I haven’t posted these guys already.
They were the soundtrack to the year I spent in California culminating in seeing them play live at the greek theater in Berkeley. It was one of the most fun evenings I have ever spent.
I was torn whether to post this or High Life, but in the I went for this beacuse of the video. It is one of my favourite of all time, if not my favourite. Very high praise indeed. It is crazy but somehow I can’t take my eyes off it.
Around the world, around the would, around the world…
Was surfing around Youtube aimlessly and stumbled upon this a couple of days ago. It was the right song at the right time. It is breezy and hypnotic, a breath of fresh summer air. There is quite a fitting video here too.
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Stiff little fingers – Alternative Ulster
This seems like the right track to post today. It is sort of strange to be in London, where it is just a regular day with no one batting an eyelid. No parades, lambeg drums or bowler hats. I am not sure I miss it too much.
This is one of the few punk songs that ever spoke to me. It has a killer opening few bars. While times have changes significantly since it was released in 1979 the song’s message still rings true today.
An old friend returned home from a 2 year African odyssey today (welcome home Sammy) so I wanted to post something with a world music vibe in his honour. This is released on Sofrito Records – “home of the tropical discotheque.” A pretty good claim to fame.
Said buddy and I have also been having a transcontinental email conversation about our shared appreciation of Seamus Heaney. Particularly how his poetry reminds us of home, heartening us from places far and not so far from there. See below a favourite from his latest collection that conjures an image of home for me as vividly as anything i have ever read.
The Baler
All day the clunk of a baler
Ongoing, cardiac-dull,
So taken for granted
It was evening before I came to
To what I was hearing
And missing: summer’s richest hours
As they had been to begin with,
Fork-lifted, sweated-through
And nearly rewarded enough
By the giddied-up race of a tractor
At the end of the day
Last-lapping a hayfield.
But what I also remembered
As woodpigeons sued at the edge
Of thirty gleaned acres
And I stood inhaling the cool
In a dusk eldorado
Of mighty cylindrical bales
Was Derek Hill’s saying,
The last time he sat at our table,
He could bear no longer to watch
The sun going down
And asking please to be put
With his back to the window.
This is a very interesting cover of a Them (Van Morrison’s first band) song. I came across while looking at a list of the 50 greatest cover versions. I don’t know if I like it better than the original (probably not) but it is cool to hear it reimagined and taken from Van Morrison’s innocent and pure early-60’s Belfast to Patti Smith’s vital, edgy and trailblazing mid-70’s NYC:
Van:
Patti:
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Lauryn Hill – Ex-Factor
This is another song that I have been meaning to post for ages. It might have lost a little of it’s lustre over time but this, and the album it’s taken from – The miseduction of Lauryn Hill blew me away when I first heard it. It is insane that she hasn’t yet released a proper follow up, what is now, unbelievably, 13 years later (that makes me feel old).
The song is apparently about Wycliff, her old bandmate from the fugees who is supposed to be the father of her child. It is heartfelt and moving and still sounds great after all this time…
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Bibio – Lover’s Carvings
I was searching for some inspiration today (it comes and goes) on youtube and stumbled across this. I nearly bailed on it after it’s meandering opening 90 seconds. But then, suddenly, it takes off and is transformed. From that point on it’s a fresh, summery anthem; light and airy, it makes me think of carefree days when the sun is shining.
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Supergrass – Alright
I spent the afternoon at a work BBQ. It was a very quaint affair, reminding me of similar such afternoons from my formative years. It even rained which made it even more authentic!
This put me in nostalgic mood and as such I wanted to post something memorable from said teenage years and this came to mind. I owned I should coco on cassette! Can I get any more authentic than that? This particular track is full of youthful vigour and has the perfect video to match.
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Jackie Wilson – Reet Petite
I was at a 50’s themed Coney Island party on Saturday night. It was typically East London – Bizarre and Kitschy. It featured a hot dog eating contest, a drag act wearing a horses head covering the Rolling Stones (wild horses of course) amoungst other oddities.
What it also featured was some great music, so I thought I would post a 50’s favourite. Jackie Wilson is a hero, and this is one of his best. It has an innocence which is typical of the era but is also animated and full of energy making impossible to resist.
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Junior Boys – Parallel Lines
I found a note I had left myself about this track on my phone tonight. Unfortunately, I have no idea when or where I left the note. Normally, when I first hear a song is a very important factor in deciding my feelings towards it. I guess this proves it’s not a deal breaker if the song comes to me fully-formed so to speak.
Some research into Junior Boys tells me they are a Canadian synth-pop duo – but don’t hold that against them.
I like the measured, hushed tone of this song. It is very soothing and not a little hypnotic. An added bonus here is the eclectic video, which adds a lot.
