wonder how they have the power to shine, shine, shine...

Earworms of the Week

"Cats in the Cradle" - Ugly Kid Joe

I can’t even begin to think of the last time I even thought about this song, never mind actually heard it. I would hazard a guess at some point in the early 1990s. Never really been a fan of the band, and I can’t even remember all that much about the song itself…. And yet here it is. That’s the beauty of an earworm.  Watching the video now, it's kinda sad.  In an obvious way, but still.

"A Groovy Kind of Love" - Phil Collins

I wish I could say that this popped into my head after reading the interview Collins did with the Guardian this week… but the sad truth is that I haven’t even got around to reading that yet. I can only conclude that this song is here either because it’s a song of such staggering grandeur that I just can’t keep it out of my head, or because any old random shit just gets stuck on play. It’s the former, of course.  Is he really back with his ex-wife who took him for all that money? Is that the one he dumped by fax? I supposed I’d better read that interview, eh?

Whatever else he's done, we'll always have this though.  Just look at it.  LOOK AT IT!

"Let's Do It (Let's Fall in Love)" - Cole Porter

When you have this one stuck in your head, you have to have that superbly over-enunciated British accent too. It’s the only way, and nothing else will quite do.  Try and ignore the casual racism, though.

"I Can't Help Falling in Love With You" - Elvis Presley

Because The King.

"Because the Night" - Patti Smith

Because the night?

(this is the one that Bruce Springsteen wrote, right? It was great to see Patti Smith at Glastonbury last year, and to see that she remains defiant in spite of her age. When I saw Springsteen perform on the same stage a few years earlier…. Not so much. I think I might actually have sat down in my camping chair and nodded off as he plodded his way through what was apparently a crowd-pleasing set)

Actually, this song was brought to mind my an article on running at night. I like running at night, and at this time of year can often be found pounding the pavements after dark, sometimes armed with a headtorch for those tricker sections. It’s hard to argue with this remark by a Guardian commentator called Zeeke though: "I feel like Batman running at night". Maybe I should get a cape?

Damn good song, this.  It's the way she sings it.  Love is a banquet on which we feed....

"Ruby" - Kaiser Chiefs

An utterly shit song that has brought with it a disturbing mental image of talentless irritant, Ricky Wilson. Unfortunately, it’s also a weapons grade earworm and can be very, very hard to shift. I’m considering explosives at this point.

"Bellbottoms" - John Spencer Blues Explosion

YAY-AH!

"Cry Me a River" - Justin Timberlake

Again, where do these come from? The most memorable thing about this song is probably that video which not-so-subtlely makes reference to Timberlake’s recently ended relationship with Britney Spears… and I haven’t even watched that for more than a decade.

"Skyfall" - Adele

How did Sam Smith become the first James Bond theme to make it to UK number one when this belter – not to mention many of the others – came first and did it all so much better? Go figure. This is going to kick it in our medley at choir this season.

"Blackbelt" - John Grant

What a pleasure it was to watch Grant performing at the Sheffield Octagon last night. I’ll write up a proper review of the gig when I get a minute, but suffice it to say that it was a wonderful experience. He didn’t actually play this one, but this is the one that’s been in my head spontaneously for most of the week. A colleague asked me how the gig was this morning, and followed it up by asking me to describe what John Grant’s music was like. I found that surprisingly hard to do. When I think of him, I most often think about his startlingly personal lyrics… but that doesn’t help someone with what he sounds like. He sounds like lots of things, all of them with a beautifully resonant bass voice. I was idly wondering if there was anything here I could audition at choir… with this lyrical content? Not so much.

"Baby I Love your Way" - Peter Frampton

This one is down to one of the guys in my team. His default earworm is “Kiss From A Rose” by Seal, but this week he’s been really working on his Peter Frampton. He’s in his twenties, for goodness sake. Is this cheese really that toxically pervasive that it’s jumping generations?

And on that thought, I’m off to contemplate the oppressing volume of running mileage in front of me this weekend!