the resolution of all the fruitless searches...

Evening all. One of the joys of getting guests to do the earworm slot is that reading and listening to their choices is like a breath of fresh air into this miserable, guitar-music infested blog. The contrast this week is particularly stark as instead of the damp, cold, grey and rain influenced selections we get from Europe at this time of year, we're getting some choices from that wide brown land down under [cue earworm]. More specifically, all the way from sunny Brisbane.

Ladies and Gentleworms, without further ado, it is my great pleasure to present for your earworming pleasure......

Earworms of the Week - Guest Editor #78 - Briskate

Thanks ST for allowing me to guest earworm on your blog. In order to do this honestly and not just make it up at the end of the week, I’ve been keeping a draft post in my inbox and added the song each day that was going around in my head. And then I added another couple at the end which were more songs of the week than songs of the day :)

1. Saturday – Automobile by The Fumes

I went to the Brisbane Blues Festival on Saturday and I played this song to Tash and Chris (my fellow festivalers) when we were having lunch before the festival started. There wasn’t much of a break between bands, but I was still humming this as I left. Also, I can really recommend this song – it’s dirty, dirty blues of the best kind and is available for download on their myspace page for free.

2. Sunday – Songbird by Fleetwood Mac

I watched a show on ABC2 on Sunday morning on the making of the Rumours album and it got me all nostalgic and listening to this album, and Songbird stuck in my head for the rest of the day – just the one line “and the songbirds are singing like they know the score”.

3. Monday - Do you really want to hurt me? by Culture Club

Problems with the printer got this song (and my resounding answer of YES!) stuck in my head.

4. Tuesday – Tenterfield Saddler by Peter Allen

Many, many moons ago, I won an original lyric sheet by Tim Freedman (or “a scrappy bit of paper in a really nice frame” as my Mum called it) by guessing that he would perform this song for some Australian event (I can’t remember which). It’s still up on the wall in its really nice frame – in my spare bedroom which my flatmate Megan is currently occupying. For some reason, this has meant that I think about it more, so I’ve been earworming the song that got it for me. Also, whatever you may think of Peter Allen, this is a beautiful song: “There's no where for George and his library or the son with his gun, To belong except in this song”.

5. Wednesday – Nowhere with You by The Joel Plaskett Emergency

A song which always lifts my spirits. I love pretty much everything Joel Plaskett does, but I particularly love this song. I used to have the CD on my CD alarm clock so that I was woken up each morning with the words “Hey good looking”.  Anyway, this morning one of my work colleagues was talking to one of her kids on the phone and mentioned “turn that smile upside down”, which made me think of this song. Three hours later, I was still humming it. Which isn’t necessarily a bad thing: I’d go nowhere with Joel any day! :p

6. Thursday - Break My Stride by Ace Of Base [I can't find this on YouTube so the original -brilliant- version by Matthew Wilder here]

“last night I had the strangest dream…” and last night I did have the strangest dream! I didn’t sail away to China on a little row boat to find ya, but it was about a boat. Or more precisely about a painting of a boat. And the weirdest thing is that this isn’t the first time I’ve had this dream – I had almost the exact same dream last week! I ended up drawing a bit of a sketch to remind me of the picture in my dream and I’ve been sketching portions of the dream painting ever since. How weird is that? And of course, every time I think “last night I had the strangest dream”, I end up earworming this song – why I can’t earworm the less embarrassing Simon and Garfunkel song I don’t know. :)

7. Friday – Evolve or Decay by FourPlay String Quartet [I can't find this either, so here's them doing "Sabotage"]

I got into this band through their covers of songs like the Beastie Boys’ Sabotage and Metallica’s Enter Sandman – and it’s probably their covers that they’re still most well known for. And out of their originals, it’s probably Trust that’s my favourite. But this is the song that’s been going through my head today whenever I talk about going to see FourPlay tomorrow night. It is such a beautiful song and Lara has an amazing voice that just pierces your soul: “I hold no judgement in my heart, But I'm not safe in your arms”. I’m sighing and smiling just thinking of it.

Songs that stuck all week:

8. A Sunday Smile by Beirut

I’m going to see this band next week so their CD has been on high rotation on my MP3 player lately. This song seems to be the one which has stuck in my head – probably because it was the only one I knew before I bought the CD. Somehow this song just reminds me of a rollicking sea ditty though, despite the fact that there’s no mention of the sea or boats and it’s really quite a sad song: “A Sunday smile you wore it for a while, A Sunday mile we paused and sang.”

9. In Your Eyes by Peter Gabriel

I’ve been addicted to this song since I first saw the movie 'Say Anything'. I just think it’s the most beautiful song – full of longing and a sense of belonging to another person: “when I want to run away, I drive off in my car, but whichever way I go, I come back to the place you are”. And then I did one of those applications on Facebook, and apparently, this is my sex song :) Go figure. Anyway, as a result, I’ve been earworming it almost continuously and any mention of “in your eyes” (the name of a book, a medical condition… *g*) brings me back to it again. There’s also a really beautiful version of it with an elderly (compared to the music video) Peter Gabriel performing this song with Youssou N’Dour [watch that here].

10. Voodoo Child by Rogue Traders

My flatmate is just a bit addicted to the Australian “So you think you can dance” which has Natalie Brassingthwaite as the host. She was asking where they had got the host from and, since she’s been in Japan and England for the last 3 years, was none the wiser when I said that she’s the lead singer for Rogue Traders. So I tried singing this song to her. I don’t think it helped, but it did make me earworm the song for the rest of the week! Especially the bit that was on the promo for the last episode of the last season of Dr Who to air over here: “Here come the drums, here come the drums”.

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Oh Christ! It was all going so well until that last one came in and instantly took up residence inside my head. Argggh! Still, it's a bit hard to complain about having a weapons grade earworm in a list of earworms, eh? Thanks for playing, Kate... another interesting list and quite a mix. I love having other people doing this slot. It's so much more interesting to hear someone else's taste in music for a change. If it was down to me this week, the list would be full of Manic Street Preachers, the new We Are Scientists single, a bit of Billy Ocean (Get Out of My Dreams, Get into my Car, if you're interested) and now Rogue Traders. It's got to be better we had Kate than that rubbish, eh?

Mind you, having said that.... you've got me next week. Well, it is my birthday and all. Get ready for the usual nonsense, although all attempts to influence my choices - by fair means or foul - are most welcome.

Thanks for playing Kate! Have a good weekend y'all!

Coming up: me (7/3 - my birthday!), Craig Cliff (14/3), fiery little sod (21/3), Cody Bones (28/3), the lovely J (4/4), then you? Drop me an email and it could be you up here with your name in lights. Or something.

Have a good weekend, y'all.

[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, Del II, The Eye in the Sky, RussL, Lizzy's Hoax, Ben II, Earworms of the Year 2006, Sarah, Flash II, Erika, Hen, Pynchon, Troubled Diva, Graham II, Cat II, Statue John II, Sweeping the Nation, Aravis II, Olympian II, C, Planet-Me, Mike, Michael II, Eye in the Sky II, Charlie III, The Great Grape Ape, asta, Ben III, Earworms of the Year 2007, Cat III, JamieS & Wombat, Pynchon II]