I can keep rhythm with no metronome, no metronome....

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Earworms of the Week

Is it just me, or has this week seemed like an especially long one? What with winter drawing in, a series of big announcements at work, a disappointing gig and a resurfacing of the WT's (or at least my awareness of them), all in all, it's been a bit rubbish. Still, the weekend is here, the smoked pancetta is melting into the vegetables in the oven, the thick, liquoricey Chilean Syrah is open and I've even managed to have a productive day working at home. Imagine that.

So what's been buzzing around my head this week? Well, thanks to an iPhone application that has enabled me to handily keep a track of them, we're going to know more or less exactly, as I've been tracking them the moment they first popped up. Technically I think the application is for "To Do" lists, but it's surely much better used to this end? Thanks to @Snowgoon for the recommendation.

Anyway. The list.

> "God Gave Rock and Roll To You" - Kiss

Purely and simply because I was thinking about Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey the other day, and when I think of that film, this song is never far behind. Kiss are ludicrous at the best of times, but you've got to love the talky bit at the end of this song, haven't you?

"I know life sometimes can get tough!
And I know life sometimes can be a drag!
But people, we have been given a gift,
We have been given a road
And that road's name is... rock and roll!"

Brilliant. And he means it too.

> "Livin' The Vida Loca" - Ricky Martin

Ricky Martin? Ricky Martin is here?

> "Strawberry Swing" - Coldplay

This seems to be used as an example of a Coldplay song that doesn't sound like Coldplay. Well, I suppose so, a bit, but there's really no mistaking them, is there? I like Coldplay, as you know, and I'm very much looking forward to seeing them again next month. I listened to "Viva la Vida" the other day, actually, and I like it. Perhaps not as much as I've liked some of their stuff in the past, but perhaps I've grown up a little bit. It's good though. I think "Viva La Vida" (the song) is as good as anything they've done in the past.

> "Graffiti" - Maximo Park

Sparked, obviously, by that great piece of graffiti I saw the other day. You've got to love a song with a regional accent though, eh?

> "Wichita Lineman" - Glen Campbell

I'm not sure where this came from, although I see that Glen Campbell has a new album coming out, is playing Nottingham later in the year and is on Later.... tonight, so perhaps it's not surprising that this crept into my subconscious. It's brilliant, of course. Written by Jimmy Webb (Campbell isn't a songwriter, and I believe his new album is all covers too, perhaps not quite in the Johnny Cash mould, but featuring a cover of "Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)" by Green Day). It beautifully describes longing for an absent love, I think.

"And I need you more than want you.
And I want you for all time"

Brilliant song.

> "Touch Too Much" - AC/DC

I've been listening to a lot of AC/DC this week. Reading some of the coverage of their forthcoming album encouraged me to check out some of their old, Bon Scott-era stuff, and a quick visit to Fopp saw me pick up "Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap", "Powerage" and "Highway to Hell" at bargain prices... an especially good result as it turns out they won't allow any of their stuff to be downloaded (legally) as they consider themselves an album band and don't want people picking off the singles. What - EVAH. Anyway, I profess myself to be very satisfied, and I've been listening to the albums at work. You can't beat a bit of primeval rock to beat away the office blues, eh? Their lyrics aren't exactly the most sophisticated, but that sparse guitar chopping out those riffs is just iconic. Did you know that "Back in Black" is the second best selling album of all time, after "Thriller", having sold 42m copies? Did you know that AC/DC have sold more than 200m albums worldwide? That's more than U2.... it seems that a little primeval rock and the same song repeated in almost endless variations can get you quite a long way....

> "She Wants to Move" - N.E.R.D.

This popped up on the radio when I was in the shower the other day. It's absurdly catchy, isn't it? I fear it may be impossible to listen to this without shaking your tush... and that's no doubt planted an uncomfortable image of me getting out of the shower, for which I can only apologise....

> "Handlebars" - Flobots

The first time I heard this song, I really didn't think very much of it. It seemed pleasing enough, but, on first listen, appeared to be nonsense. When I heard it again this week, it sank into my head enough for me to look it up on google to see who it was by, and then from there on to YouTube to have another listen and a look at the video. Oh goodness. This song is actually quite hard hitting, isn't it?

To quote wikipedia:

"[the song] is about the idea that we have so much incredible potential as human beings to be destructive or to be creative," Flobots' MC Jonny 5 (a.k.a. Jamie Laurie) told MTV. "And it's tragic to me that the appetite for military innovation is endless, but when it comes to taking on a project like ending world hunger, it's seen as outlandish. It's not treated with the same seriousness."

The video is great too, featuring an animation of two friends on their bikes who reach a fork in the road, with a signpost pointing at a corporate type symbol one way, and a dove the other way. The friends part, and the video tells a sad story that ends in violence and death.

Interesting song.

Bloody catchy too.

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and that's it.

Have a good weekend y'all, and STAY CLASSY.