la la-la la, warm it up...

---
Earworms of the Week

10. "Talk Tonight" - Oasis

Look. I'm not a big fan of Oasis, but for some reason I've heard this song twice this week, and on both occasions I found myself singing along. I'm not proud of it, but there you go.... the rules say it's in your head, it's on the list.

I don't make the rules.

Oh, wait. Yes I do....

9. "Marblehead Johnson" - The Bluetones

This is in my head for the rather obvious reason that I saw them live on Wednesday night. Just as it did the last time I saw them, this is the song that sticks in my head. I seem to remember that the video for this song featured the band as fat people, and always seemed slightly at odds with the downbeat lyrical content. Is that right, or did I dream it? Oh, yes... it is right!

8. "Tranquilizer" - Geneva

As recommended by Lord Bargain over on the "Songs to Learn and Sing" feature on Sweeping the Nation. I was only vaguely aware of this lot at the time, but this song seems to have stood up pretty well. I'm pretty sure the lyricist is an advocate of the old "cut and paste" routine where you write down random snippets of lyrics, put them all in a hat and then write a song out of the bits that you pull out.

"Until it all seemed pointless we lifted up the mattress
from underneath the window seat
'is this what checkmate means?' she said
lighting up again, 'yes I like the stalemate'"

anyone?

7. "Fat Children" - Jarvis

A song about having your mobile phone stolen by fat kids. It could only be Jarvis Cocker. The world's definitely a better place with him in it.

6. "Rosé" - The Feeling

I've read that this song can be interpreted as a hymn to sexual confusion.

"The white to your left
The red to your right
Are all that I'd seen
Til I realised the love that I seek
Lies right in-between"

Hmmm. Could be, right?

On the other hand, this being a song by The Feeling, I think it is entirely possible that this song is simply about the wine.

"'Cos your as good as the rest
And you're much better dressed
I think pink is my colour
I wont drink from no other
Never!"

Or is it?

Whatever. It's catchy.

5. "Junk Shop Clothes" - The Auteurs

I've said it before, but I absolutely adore "New Wave". I think it's one of the best albums in my collection, and every single time I put it on is a delight. "Showgirl" is probably my favourite song, but when I played the album on my iPod the other day, this is the one that lodged itself in my head. I love the way that the music conjures up for me an image of lazily slouching around thrift shops on a rainy afternoon. It's leisurely and it's gorgeous.

Worth inclusion just for this lyric.

"Lenny Bruce never walked
In a dead man’s shoes
Even for one night"

4. "Patience" - Take That

It's not exactly as high-octane as some of their classics, but it's so simple and so pleasant that I caught myself lustily singing along to it in the car the second time I heard it.... so I'd best have it on the list, eh?

It's not "Back For Good", but frankly what is?

3. "Crazy In Love" - Beyonce Knowles

Ah. What follows is something of an R'n'B triptych. All three songs came into my head at various points in the last week as a result of my ultimately unsuccessful prosecution of the genre over on The Art of Noise.

I knew the second that I sat down to write my case that I was on a hiding to nothing. Not only did I have a - now I came to think about it - rather limited knowledge of the genre I was supposed to be attacking, but the whole idea of judging music as a genre is a bit silly and smothering.

I tried to be careful and limit the damage by excluding as much as I reasonably could and by making it clear I knew I was on a fool's errand... but I still managed to get someone excited. Dear oh dear.

Del is right though - this is an absolutely killer record.

2. "Ebony & Ivory" - Paul McCartney & Stevie Wonder

You might be wondering how this one popped into my head during a discussion on R'n'B. Well, no sooner had our old friend Damo quoted Ben Folds as saying "There is good in nearly everyone" than **BANG** there it was, in my head.

"We All Know That People Are The Same Where Ever We Go
There Is Good And Bad In Ev'ryone,
We Learn To Live, We Learn To Give
Each Other What We Need To Survive
Together Alive...."

Mmm. Wise words.

1. "Milkshake" - Kelis

....ah. I think this is a great song and a fantastic video. That's it.

Her milkshake brings all the boys to the yard, you know. She could teach you, but she'd have to charge.

Do you know what? She's not talking about Frijj, is she?

Who said R'n'B was all bad? Let me at 'em! Let me at 'em!