Friday 10 November 2006

but you never call at all

Evening all. 37,134 39,103 40,181 41,379 words and counting.

I've just got long enough between chapters to swing by here and introduce this week's Guest Editor. Suffice it to say that he's the only person on the whole of the internet who has interested me enough to download 100% of their podcast output. Yes, I have both of them. They're aces!

Ladies and Gentleworms, without further ado, DJ Nite himself.....

Earworms of the Week - Guest Editor #48 - Del from Delrico Bandito

Oooh, another go! Well, I'm delighted to be asked back. Here's what's currently infecting my brain...

10. The Strokes - 'What Ever Happened'

I was brought back to this little firecracker by a trailer for Sofia Coppolla's Marie Antoinette. I've yet to see the movie, but this has remained lodged in my mind. The first track off The Strokes' underrated second album, the riff is absolutely wonderful. One of their best tracks. As a soundtrack to the angst of the privileged, it's hard to think of a more appropriate choice. (Ooh, you bitch!)

9. The Killers - 'When You Were Young (The Lindbergh Dub Mix)'

One of those remixes that dispenses with the vast majority of the song, keeps the chord sequence, and a few lines of the vocal, and just entrances you for 7 minutes. The original is great, but this is a perfect exercise in teasing out previously hidden depths of a song for the dance floor.

8. Carter USM - 'The Only Living Boy In New Cross'

USM stands for "Unstoppable Sex Machine'. Yeah, the rules were different in the early 90's. I rediscovered this on 12 inch in Camden's Music and Video exchange a few months back. For some reason it just won't leave my consciousness. It sounds remarkably dated, the indie-dance backing hasn't aged well, but it's so vibrant it's irresistible. The "all human life is here" lyrics sound almost quaint in 2006. I am the only living boy in Stroud Green.

7. My Chemical Romance - 'Teenagers'

Heehee. I love the album! I really do. Emo, punk, hardcore, whatever, I'll let the purists argue. All I know is that this is an anthem in the waiting. Come on now, sing along!

They said all teenagers scare
The living shit out of me
They could care less
As long as someone'll bleed
So darken your clothes
Or strike a violent pose
Maybe they'll leave you alone, but not me.

Damn right! The emokids are alright, you know. This is genius. Wonderful black humour coupled with a killer tune. Dismiss them at your peril, these guys really know what they're doing.

6. Dubstar - 'Stars'

Ah, a little bit of Britpop era nostalgia, why not? Except these guys were more about the Pet Shop Boys than the Beatles. No bad thing. Inspired by a youtube clip sent to me by a uni friend. Part of the Sheffield tradition of kitchen sink realism looking up to the sky, from the Human League, through Pulp to the Arctic Monkeys. I remember buying this on single and playing it to death. And here we are again...

5. The Pixies - 'La La Love You'

After watching their loudQUIETloud tour movie, I happily journeyed through this great band's back catalogue. I don't know why this sticks in my mind, but it does. The most unlikely seductive offering I can imagine! It's somehow sexy and romantic and silly without losing any of their trademark caustic edge. Just delicious.

4. Hot Chip - 'And I Was A Boy From School'

Hot Chip again? They've obviously discovered the 'Earworm' button on the mixing desk. I love this. Reminds me a bit of Underworld, which is a good place to start. But moving past the blissful bleeps, it's got a great hook, which refuses to let go, and vocals which prove that dance music needs more harmonies.

3. Crowded House - 'Distant Sun'

'Tell me all the things you would change, I don't pretend to know what you want...'

A real perennial favourite ever since I first heard it on a Now album tape millions of years ago. Takes me back to crackly Virgin AM under the covers. Underrated doesn't even begin to describe Neil Finn and his band.

2. McFly - 'Stargirl'

Yay! The obligatory pop embarrassment. Never been a big fan, to be honest, but equally never felt the urge to really stick the boot in on them. No harm in having our own Monkees, is there? This is cheeky and enthusiastic to the extreme. And the line about "falling in love with Uranus" deserves an Ivor Novello song writing award. And there's horns as well! Ace! More brass in pop! And one of them shagged Lindsay Lohan! Hahaha! Fair play, really. Great. "Oooh, oooh, oooh!"

1. The Feeling - 'I Love It When You Call'

So far in front, I was tempted to enter it 10 times and be done with it. I thought 'Fill My Little World' was a one off, and my dealings with The Feeling were well and truly done. But then this hits the Radio 1 playlist and BLAM, it...just... won't... get out... of... my... HEAD!

I'm singing it as I wake up, on the way to work, through my lunch hour, on the tube home, and in my sleep. There's bits nicked from every guilty pleasures band I can think of, but it's so hearteningly genuine and loveable, that by the time the twin guitar solo comes along, I'm dancing around playing air piano over the end.

He loves it when you call.

Oh woah!

Thanks for having me back. Luckily I checked back over my previous entry, otherwise Fleetwood Mac's 'Everywhere' could've appeared again, which would've been embarrassing for all concerned. Clearly an uber-earworm. Either that or I need to widen my playlist.

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Thanks Del. A great list (and McFly). Incidentally, anyone who thinks YouTube wasn't worth whatever Google paid for it a month or so ago obviously hasn't been looking at how all pervasive it has become. 'Top Of The Pops' on demand, with none of the songs you hate? Brilliant!! Earworm posts have certainly become a lot more interactive round these parts recently, anyway.

Next week: someone else.

[Previous Guest Editors: Flash, The Urban Fox, Lord Bargain, Retro-Boy, Statue John, Ben, OLS, Ka, Jenni, Aravis, Yoko, Bee, Charlie, Tom, Di, Spin, The Ultimate Olympian, Damo, Mike, RedOne, The NumNum, Leah, Le Moine Perdu, clm, Michael, Hyde, Adem, Alecya, bytheseashore, adamant, Earworms of the Year 2005, Delrico Bandito, Graham, Lithaborn, Phil, Mark II, Stef, Kaptain Kobold, bedshaped, I have ordinary addictions, TheCatGirlSpeaks, Lord B rides again, Tina, Charlie II, Cody Bones, Poll Star, Jenni II, Martin]

4 comments:

  1. Spooky. Last weekend I discovered a box of tapes - remember those? - under my bed and spent a delightful Saturday night with RH trawling my own musical archives. Amongst the great and the good were a selection of Carter tapes, some Dubstar and many Pixies albums. (And a lot more dubious stuff, I must hasten to add.) What a great list!

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  2. Dubstar? Now that takes me back...

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  3. Good earworms list Del.

    Tony, chill the fuck out, 41k words already and it's only the 11th?! At this rate you'll actually be able to edit it and re-write it within the deadline!

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  4. Thanks again to ST for letting me splodge a dollop of my brain onto his shiny blog. And thanks for your generous comments.

    Cat, I'm starting to think that music ebbs and flows through us all like a grand sea. Lyrics, notes, albums and artists washing up on the shore for us to trip over years down the line.

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