Every motive escalate. Automotive incinerate.

Earworms of the Week

Look, it’s been a hell of a week and I need a drink…. So I hope you won’t mind if I keep this a little shorter than is my wont. Yeah, yeah…. I know I’m a gas bag. Laugh it up already.

“Blue Suede Shoes” – Elvis

Well, it’s hard to argue when this one drops into your consciousness, eh?

“Hash Pipe” – Weezer
“Island in the Sun” – Weezer

GJ gave me a listen to the Jay-Z / Weezer mash up album at work this week. It sounded pretty good, but it left me with an itch to listen to Weezer without the interference of the Jigger Man. So I did. I reckon “Pinkerton” is probably my favourite of their albums, but the green album is pretty good too. That Rivers Cuomo knows his way around a tune, eh? Hip hip
(Love the Island in the Sun video, btw)

Theme from Star Trek - Maynard Ferguson

The original sweaty jazz trumpet. Awesome flute solo too. Mmm. Jazz. Nice.

“Hunting High and Low” – a-ha

Windswept and scandinavian. I listened to both “Scoundrel Days” and “Hunting High and Low” during the course of an unsually productive day in the office writing up tedious documentation. Both brilliant albums and both still sounding fantastic today too. They’ve barely dated. Apparently good music for writing boring documents. I’m sure that’s the kind of tribute they love.

“Where I End and You Begin” – Radiohead

I saw an NME poll this week showing the popularity of all of Radiohead’s albums. “OK, Computer” was top, obviously, although it seems that I’m in a minority in not really thinking all that much of “In Rainbows”. I would have voted for “OK, Computer” too – it’s a brilliant album – but my next choice would be “The Bends”, and then quite possibly “Hail to the Thief”. Of all of their more recent material, this is my favourite… mostly because it includes this song, which is just magnificent and IMO amongst their finest work. “King of Limbs”? Meh.  Another fantastic video, btw.

“Brick House” – Commodores

Because you can’t argue with a bit of Lionel, can you?

“The Power of Love” – Huey Lewis and the News

I haven’t even been watching “Back to the Future”, FFS.

“You And Me Against the World” – Space

I’ve been singing this all day today, and I think it’s all because I heard it playing on the radio when I was in the barbers last Saturday morning. How does that work then? Has it been lying dormant for the best part of a week, only to strike me when I’m unawares? Space were a weird band, weren’t they? Popular at the tail end of the Britpop era, but they wrote all these quirky little songs. They’re no Blur, for sure… but neither are they a Toploader. Another legacy to be proud of then.

“Never Let Her Slip Away” – Undercover

As played at LB’s birthday party last weekend. GJ has been doing his damndest to get me to earworm “Baker Street” over the last couple of weeks. I fear that this may be as close as he gets…. This week anyway. There’s always room for a song with that kind of saxophone solo, even if it wasn’t played by Bob Holness. “Never Let Her Slip Away” is one of those records where people seem to have a latent memory of the lyrics. We both did, anyway. Not a terrible record, as it happens.

“The Milkman of Human Kindness” – Billy Bragg

I wore my milkman t-shirt to the the curry house this week to celebrate a friend’s birthday. The restaurant in question has a tuk-tuk stuck on the wall outside, and someone commented that I had chosen a very appropriate t-shirt for the occasion. I had to point out that it was a milk float, not a tuk-tuk. I’m not sure Mumbai’s traffic would be quite as chaotic if they used milk-floats, would it?
I love this record. He will leave an extra pint.

“It’s the End of the World As We Know It (and I feel fine)” – R.E.M.

31 years and a legacy to be proud of. One of the best and most interesting bands ever. This song has been in my head all damn week, and I’ve been driving everyone mad by singing the same bit over and over again. Mostly because I don’t really know all of the lyrics all that well. All together now, “That's great, it starts with an earthquake, dum de dum de dum de dum and Lenny Bruce is not afraid….”

Repeat.

Occasionally throw in a “Leonard Bernstein!” just to keep'em on their toes.

Great song.  Not even their best work, either.

Right? Right.

Right. That’s it. Have a good weekend y’all. I’m off to Gotham. I keep saying that. I haven’t touched the game for a week. I imagine the city has gone to the dogs in my absence. Tsk.

Laters.