we might be laughing a bit too loud....

Earworms of the Week

"Something" - The Beatles
"New York, New York" - Frank Sinatra

Whilst not their very best work, "Something" is a pretty reasonable Beatles record.  I've always had something of a soft spot for it, anyway.  It's maybe a touch OTT, but I quite like the sentiments that George Harrison is trying to express here.  Expressing love in song is a bit like trying to catch lightning in a bottle, not that this stops everyone from trying, of course.  As well as featuring a guitar solo by Eric Clapton, it's a song that has the distinction of being about the only Beatles record that Frank Sinatra liked... well, liked enough to cover it anyway.  Second most covered Beatles song after "Yesterday", apparently.  Speaking of Sinatra, an artist that I don't particularly care for, we booked a trip to the Big Apple in March, so this song obviously sprang to mind.  Watch out Marissa, watch out Jane... we're coming for you guys.

"Chiquitita" - Abba

I may perhaps be the only person in the world who doesn't like Abba, but I was unfortunate enough to have this song lodge itself into my head for a distressingly long period of time.  Ten minutes would be distressing enough, but this was in my head for WEEKS. 

All together now, "chicken tikka you and I alone...."

"The Resistance" - Muse

Bonkers and playing at the gym when I went for a swim.  As they're usually playing something like Robbie Williams or some impenetrable dance shite, this was definitely something of an improvement.  It sounds a bit like "The Phantom of the Opera", doesn't it?  Or is that just me?

"Shake Your Blood" - Probot feat. Lemmy

They say that rock is dead (well, some people do....), but I think we all know that Lemmy is going to live forever, don't we?  I stopped at work today to peer over someone's shoulder to see what they were listening to on their iPod as they tapped at their computer.  It was an all star line-up of artists on Road Runner Records, Roadrunner United: not something I'd ever heard before.  "It's a bit loud" said the guy listening to the album, when he saw me looking... probably thinking that I wouldn't approve.  Needless to say, I did approve, and we soon bonded over a brief discussion about Probot in general and this song in particular.

"Lost and Found" - Steve Mason

As I mentioned the other week, Mason was the voice of the Beta Band and this is a song off his excellent debut album, "Boys Outside".  Inevitably, there are traces of the Beta Band in the whole album, but this is the song that reminds me the most of Mason's former band, with that sort of trancey-feel to the beat and the hypnotic tone to Mason's voice.  I listened to the album again the other day, and it really is fantastic.  Do go listen.

"The Intense Humming of Evil" - Manic Street Preachers

Somewhat inevitable inclusion, this one, given that I've used the lyrics as headers for posts twice already this week.  Peak-era Manics.  They've done lots and lots of interesting work, but nothing better than "The Holy Bible" if you ask me.  Not exactly a party-album, mind.  Not any party you'd really want to attend, anyway.

"Central Reservation" - Beth Orton

Running down a central reservation in last night's red dress,
And I can still smell you on my fingers and taste you on my breath;

I can't think of a dirtier, sexier lyric.  Can you?

"Summer Well" / "Lights" - Interpol

From Interpol's most recent album.  It's not as immediate or as chorus-laden as some of their earlier work, but it's really been growing on me over the last few months.  There's something wistful, almost elegiac about these records.  I like them.  Not cheerful, obviously.... but we are talking about records I like.  My music taste doesn't exactly make me mr. chuckles, am I?

"Only the Good Die Young" - Billy Joel

...well, I do like this record, and this is pretty cheerful, so perhaps it's not all doom and gloom in my record collection.  Although I'm not a big fan of the programme, I found myself watching Glee the other day.  C. loves it, you see.  It was a God special.  I rolled my eyes, naturally, but the first song they did was a version of this song.  Puck's version wasn't quite as good as Billy Joel's, I grant you.... but it wasn't bad.  It's such a good song, it might just be indestructible.  The rest of the songs weren't anywhere near as good, sadly, even the inevitable "Losing my Religion", but has there ever been a more unlikely place to hear an exposition on Bertrand Russell's "Celestial Teapot" argument than an episode of Glee?  Sweet grilled Baby Cheesus.  As Eddie Izzard said, if there's a Jesus, whatever happened to Asus, Beesus, Ceesus, Deesus, Eesus and Effsus?

Have a good weekend, y'all.