Track of the week 21/8/16
Forget to do a track of the week last week, so a double bonus this week!
The first, a new track from ABC. I heard it on the radio a few times and thought it was an oldie from ABC, but its a new release. I do like it.
Bonus track of the week 21/8/16
Billy Joel’s Piano Man – you need to listen to the lyrics of this song and enjoy the story along with the music.
Major Tom – Peter Schilling
Track of the week 7/8/16
This track was used as the opening theme tune of Deutchsland 83 which I watched and enjoyed at the start of the year. A drama series following a young soldier from East Germany sent to spy in the West in the early eighties – a great piece of TV.
I’ve been re-watching Breaking Bad (another – even better- bit of TV) and there was a snippet of this track in it: Hank showed Walt & Walt Junior a dvd with Gale Boetticher (the chemist assigned to help Walt in the mega lab, who Jesse shot) singing this song and it firmly planted an ear worm in my head, hence it makes it’s appearance as this week’s track of the week.
You can see the whole of Gale’s karaoke version here:
Safety Net – Shop Assistants
Track of the week 31/7/16
The Shop Assistants – I used to love their album that I had on cassette: jangly guitars and high energy female vocals.
Could have picked a number of tracks of that album to make this week’s selection, but this one just happened to pop up in my stream and so it makes the grade this week.
A Little Respect – Wheatus
Track of the week 24/7/16
Most covers are not as good as the original – although I don’t think that is strictly true. The version you first hear tends to be the version you prefer.
But not in this case. I always liked Erasure, but that was a fairly lukewarm like – not bad, but not brilliant. Always happy to hear their tunes on the radio, but none of their tracks have made it on to my iPod: my indicator of true brilliance!
But I heard Wheatus’ cover of Respect as I was driving back from the tip and I was blown away. Love it.
Enjoy.
Let her go – Strawberry Switchblade
Track of the week 17/7/16
Always somewhat of a one hit wonder – “Since Yesterday” being that hit – I was pleasantly surprised to discover this track by Strawberry Switchblade.
Apparently, this was a much bigger hit in Japan than “yesterday.”
Not sure which I now prefer – not that it matters, I’ll just listen to both!
Lets Get Small – Trouble Funk
Track of the week 10/7/16
Whilst at the “British Summer Time” Festival (basically, Take That in Hyde Park) I was reminded over the power of a serious sound system in a field and remembered being blown away by hearing Trouble Funk at Glastonbury in 1987. It was a Sunday afternoon and I’d never heard anything like it before.
To get the full effect, they need to be loud and live, but this week’s track of the week is a 29 year trip down memory lane.
Glittering Prize – Simple Minds
Track of the week 3/7/16
The summer holidays – my very own glittering prize.
When I used to drive to and from work, I would always play this on my way home from school in the last few days of the school year. The long summer holiday hoved into view and you could catch a glimpse of the shimmering, glittering prize that is eight weeks off, eight weeks to do your own thing, eight weeks to be your own man.
Like a Glittering Prize
I saw up on a clear day
First taking hearts
Then our last breath away
And now the hols are once again upon us, that glittering prize is firmly in my grasp.
Good Morning Britain – Aztec Camera
Track of the week 26/6/16
In the week of Brexit, I felt that this was an appropriate track of the week.
A great track about Britain’s (England’s really) shameful past, but still a song of hope, of what might still be.
The past is steeped in shame,
But tomorrow’s fair game,
For a life that’s fit for living
Good morning Britain.
I have been surprised as to how worried the Brexit vote has left me. I am now fearful that our economy will tank and that times will be tough.
That my children will now no longer be able to so easily go and live and work in the wide European continent saddens me. We have taken a backwards step, an attempt to close our doors in an ever more international and global world.
Hopefully, when I look back and revisit this post in weeks, months, years to come, I will wonder what all the fuss is about, and just enjoy this great track.
But in this green and pleasant land,
Where I make my home, I make my stand
Make it cool just to be a man,
A uniform’s a traitor.
Love is international
And if you stand or if you fall,
Just let them know you gave your all,
Worry about it later.
It’s Coming Home – David Baddiel, Frank Skinner, The Lightning Seeds
Track of the week 12/6/16
With the start of Euro 2016, there could only be one choice for track of the week. The best football song ever written, and don’t just listen, watch the video as well.
And it could have started so well. England played Russia last night and were clearly the better side. One could even go as far as to say England played well, but they just couldn’t score. Eventually Eric Dier scored from a 70th (ish) minute free kick and it looked like England would hold on to secure a valuable – and deserved – win. But in injury time a poorly cleared corner was lumped back into the box and a Russian giant leapt over a little full back (Danny Rose, who had had a good game) to snatch an equaliser and break English hearts.
… England’s gonna throw it away, gonna blow it away
Wales on Thursday, not quite a must win match, but really, we must win it.
And the whole tournament has been marred by shocking scenes of fan violence in Marseilles between Russian, English and French “fans”. We thought those days were behind us.
MmmBop – Hanson
Track of the week 5/6/16
Heard this in the car (on the way back from the tip!) and I’ve been playing it ever since.
A great, feel good happy song, perfect now that the days are starting to warm up.