And now you wonder but you can't look away….

Earworms of the Week

“Forever Autumn” – Justin Hayward

I’ve never actually seen or listened to “The War of the Worlds”, if you can imagine that. I was dimly aware of the song, but if I’m completely honest, was basically introduced to it when it was part of the Spring season at choir. I actually prefer the choral version to Hayward’s too. Sorry if that makes me seem like an ignoramus, but there you go.

“Vienna” – Ultravox

Pretentious, but also strangely catchy. An inevitable earworm, probably. I’ve probably done well to hold it off until now, to be honest. Quite how the Viennese manage to function with this existing, I can’t imagine. There are probably whole radio stations that broadcast nothing else, and others that broadcast nothing but this and “Rock Me Amadeushttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bMuDtfxAIKk” by Falco. There’s no other music that Vienna is famous for, right?

“Woman” – Wolfmother
“Get Free” – The Vines

It was Wolfmother that popped up on my iPod this week, but for some reason (probably because they’re both Australian bands) this song is paired in my head with “Get Free” by the Vines. The latter is comfortably the better song, I think… but it’s hard to ignore the simple pleasures of that incredibly dumb riff. Well-chosen for Guitar Hero, that one. I remember that a young Viennese boy of my acquaintance who had grown up with a family steeped in classical music, was particularly taken with this and with “Strutter” by Kiss. My work there was done.

Theme to “Knight Rider”

They’re turning one of the wine gardens near our Viennese friends into a Californian themed restaurant called “Melrose”. It won’t be finished for a few more months yet, but it’s already looking distinctly promising because there’s always a black Trans-Am parked right outside made up to be exactly like KITT from Knight Rider, right down to the red light on the front, the crappy 70s buttons on the console and that absurd steering wheel. Given we all thought that car (KARR?) was the bees knees back in the day, it actually looks surprisingly rubbish. I’m hoping they can book Hasslehoff for the grand opening and have him drive around in the car with this theme tune pumping out at full volume. Who wouldn’t want to eat at the place after that? Apparently, in the German version, KITT didn’t have a ridiculously camp voice. Well, I think that’s their loss. I don’t think the programme would be quite the same if the voice of the car had been done by someone like Orson Welles, Richard Burton or Morgan Freeman. Do you?

“Bullet in the Head” – Rage Against the Machine

Most righteously angry band ever? Discuss.

“Painkiller” – Turin Brakes

I read an interview the other day where someone (and I not-terribly-helpfully can’t remember who it was) talked about how they were friends with one of the guys from Turin Brakes… cue this earworm, almost immediately. This is a great song, sounding as fresh today as it did when I first heard it in 2002. I prefer their first album, mind. Are they still a going concern? [googles]. Why, yes they are and have apparently released several albums since I tuned out in, erm… about 2003. I perhaps could have worked harder to keep up with them, eh? Apparently, according to the Daily Mail in 2014, they’re back with their sixth studio album and their biggest tour in 10 years (they played the Rescue Rooms in November)! They recorded a version of the Red Hot Chili Peppers’ “Breaking the Girl” for Dermot O’Leary’s Radio 2 show… proving again that I’m old and in a demographic I never imagined I would join. That was careless of me.

“Orpheus” – Ash

Worth it for the rush of the first fifteen seconds of the song, if for nothing else. “Meltdown” is a perfectly respectable album, but it’s hard to escape from the impression that the album peaks with the opening track. I sort of keep meaning to download the album Ash did where they released a single every week for a year. For such a strong singles band, that has to be worth a listen, right?

“After the Goldrush” / “Harvest Moon” – Neil Young

Given that I haven’t actually listened to any Neil Young for a while, he seems to be very much on my mind, with an entry last week and two this week. “After the Goldrush” is just a beautiful record and is always welcome to play on the internal jukebox (particularly if it’s replacing the Knight Rider theme). The version of “Harvest Moon” that I’m earworming is very specifically the one from the MTV Unplugged album, where Neil has a guy playing the broom in the background. That always struck me as marvellous. I reckon even I might be able to play the broom.

“You Should Consider Having Sex With a Bearded Man” – The Beards

One of my friends started growing a beard for Decembeard and has extended the project, with the blessings of his wife, to extend to a whole year to raise money for Bowel Cancer research, in memory of his father. It’s a worthy cause, and is increasingly becoming an excellent beard too, with some very distinguished grey streaks. Hipsters might be worried about the fact that we have apparently reached peak beard, but those of us in the know understand that fashion is temporary and class is permanent. Right-thinking ladies understand the power of the beard, too……..

Have a good weekend, y’all. Running, sleeping and rugby for me again this week. Good times.