sup up your beer and collect your fags, There's a row going on down near Slough....

Earworms of the Week

Guest edited by..... Ali a.k.a. Fiery Little Sod

It's been a while since we had any guest curators in this slot, hasn't it?  I don't know: what's the world coming to when a personal weblog is all me, me, me?  Tsk. Well, variety is the spice of life and earworms are, after all, something that everyone can share... even if only via some hideous cross-infection of some noxious weapons grade tune from off of the telly.

None of that noxious stuff here tonight.... even that last one sparks some very fond memories.... It's pretty much quality all the way.  I've come to expect nothing less from this particular gentleman.

Anyway, without further ado, it's over to Ali.....

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So here we are again. My good friend has graciously allowed me to have another crack at this earworms trick, presuambly on the premise that if I keep getting a chance I might get it right eventually. Probably not this week though...

Video Games - Lana del Rey
So she's ovehyped, overlipped and over here. She's not using her real name and comes from moneyed upstate New York, so not exactly fought her way from the streets. Right, now that's all out the way. This is a belter of tune, well-written, clever lyrics and is a welcome earworm anytime. She is actually pretty damn good. End of story.

Dock of the Bay - Otis Redding
Memories of San Francisco and (more disturbingly) Top Gun. Epitome of smooth. Tells a story. Gives all you could ask for of a song and it is a reminder that running away to somewhere better is a two-edged sword.

Hammer to Fall / Good Old-Fashioned Lover Boy - Queen
Love 'em or hate 'em, they are quite hard to ignore. 70s long hair melodies to 80s stadium rock they crossed a lot of boundaries. Can't believe it's 20 years since Freddie Mercury's death (which means I am getting properly old) and having passed them over for very different music the occasional blast of something like this does me a lot of good. Have to say the love song is good but not one of their best, however Hammer to Fall, although dated is still a fine tune and one to make me play a bit of air guitar if given the opportunity (and no-one is looking)

Eton Rifles - The Jam
Proper band, with some proper tunes. Class war, old-school tie, railing against the establishment, all that good stuff . It took me some time to grasp the message behind this and just thought it was a great song, but surely with the return of cuts, recession and even Thatcher (on screen at least), it is about time for this kind of music to make a comeback. It does have some fairly hard-hitting lyrics - "I'd prefer the plague - to the Eton Rifles" - and was a marker to Mr Welller's social commentary and ongoing references to little bits of Englishness that has sustained his remarkable career.

LA Woman - The Doors
Mr Mojo Risin' got me to work one particularly tough day this week. Good throaty, shouty, long tune to lift me away from the drudgery of a cold commute at stupid o'clock in the morning. Definitely more accessible than An American Prayer anyway, and still somehow almost sounds fresh now. Fantastic bassline, and as you might expect some killer keyboards which may (or not) have inspired some others to use them too

which brings me to...

No More Heroes - The Stranglers
More political grown-up punk, namechecks for Russian revolutionaries and fictional Spanish squires, a general 'up yours' to the state of the system and wishing upon us the heroes (or lack of) that we deserve. Also one of the best middle eights of any tune I know,

Your Time Will Come - Amy MacDonald
For the number of times I play this album when I am driving round the country it may as well be stuck in the CD player. She has a lovely voice, and obviously thinks a great deal about the songs she writes. Saw her by chance at Glasto just when she getting famous and having seen her since I am pleased to say she got better and more confident. Very much the antidote to cheap plastic pop and it is quite helpful to have someone lilting this in your ear whilst heading home in the sheeting rain

So soon your time will come
Get out while you're still young
May all your dreams come true
So happy for you

The Blower's Daughter - Damien Rice
Well conceived, well constructed and well performed. Failed to see him ten years ago when I had tickets and was required elsewhere at short notice. Still my biggest live miss I reckon. This song hurts just enough to make you not listen to it too often, which therefore provides greater pleasure when you do.

Rock Me Amadeus - Falco
I'll get me coat

[ST's note: the link above is to the version we all remember, but check out the original single version too: very Paul Hardcastle.... we danced to this at our wedding in Vienna, and I can confirm that all Austrians of a certain age know every single word]

Enjoy your weekends people and I'll no doubt be back (though after that last effort, who knows)
Hasta luego

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Nice work Ali: a good thoughtful selection.  Welcome around here anytime.  For that matter, if anyone else fancies a(nother) crack at this slot, then drop me a line and we'll see what we can do.

Have a good weekend, y'all.