Russell Davies

Day 20 - Song You Listen To When You're Angry - 747 (Strangers In The Night)

I'm not sure I pick music to listen to when I'm angry. But, should I never need to be flailing and cross I'd pick Saxon's immortal 747 (Strangers In The Night) - the best ever heavy metal song about a potential (or narrowly averted, it's not clear) plane disaster.

Day 19 - Song From Your Favourite Album - Absurd

1995. I was 'Head of Interactive Marketing' at Leo Burnett. That meant I was head of me and a smart chap called Phil. Back then the future was BT's interactive television trial in Southampton and we made a video to suggest the future might be more internety than that.

Phil had this piece of music he wanted to put on it - Innercity Life by Goldie - he was younger than me. I'd never heard anything like it before, it was utterly enthralling and strange and beautiful.

It was the last time I was excited about a new musical sound.  But then, a year later, I buggered off to Portland, Oregon where the closest thing they had to a new musical sound was The Grateful Dead at Autzen Stadium. This double CD was how I took the future with me. I listened to it all the time. I could have picked any track on it. Let's go with this:

Day 18 - Song That You Wish You Heard On The Radio - Dettwork South East

I guess I'd just like to live in a world where they'd play this on the Today programme to introduce a feature on, say, crossrail.

Day 17 - Song That You Often Hear On The Radio

I don't actually hear this on the radio. I don't really listen to music radio. But every time the continuity announcer on Radio 4 says "it's 5pm and it's time for PM" I hear this in my head. Not in the world, but in my head. Just as every time I hear the pips I hear a little flute tune they used to play on Today.

Courtesy of Random Radio Jottings.

Day 16 - Song That You Used To Love But Now Hate - Don't Kill The Whale

Thinking back, I probably never actually loved this. But I really wanted to.

I was 12, I was trying to be into music - specifically progressive rock, because I was clever and in the school ochestra. It was really hard to hear things before you bought them, they weren't on the radio, you had to have a friend with an older brother or sister who would tape things for you, I didn't. I didn't have much money for music. The shop around the back of the arcade sold records that were like the good records you saw in Woolworths but for cheaper. They were, I realise now, remaindered. I bought some good things there, on the strength of the covers - Into Battle With The Art of Noise, I remember, because it had clever writing on it. This album was there, Tormato, this was by Yes, one of those bands.

It was very hard to like, but I tried very hard. Don't Kill The Whale was the closest to being accessible. It had something like a tune and lyrics I think I understood. I listened to it a lot.

Listening now I feel so sorry for 12-year-old me. Trying to learn to drum playing along to this, bashing two paperbacks with drum sticks. Only War Is Stupid would overtake it for combining good sense and stupidity in such a maddening way. The music is awful, that endless guitar solo! and the sound is so flat and awakward it gets mentioned in the wikipedia entry. 

Day 15 - Song That Describes You - I Can't Go For That

We had this conversation at work today:

Q: Who would it be easiest to replace with a robot?

A: Russell

Q: What would it need to do?

A: Just say three things - "Make it shorter", "Do I have to do that now?", "No"

And I wondered what the soundtrack in that robot's head would be. The answer, I think, is I Can't Go For That (No Can Do) by Hall & Oates. I think it sums me up pretty well - midtempo, unthreatening and, ultimately, negative.

Day 14 - Song That No One Would Expect You To Love - The Land Beyond

Does this surprise you? Probably not. I really couldn't think of anything you wouldn't expect.

It surprises me that I like this though, earnest young men with guitars doing soundtracks for black and white archive is not normally up my cup of tea. It's good though. Stirring. On the right side of restrained. Drifting and melodic. Well done young men!

(Thank you Matt)

Day 13 - Song That Is A Guilty Pleasure - Whiffenpoof

There's not much I'd be ashamed to admit to liking, but this might qualify.

It's one of the weird ticks of the West Wing - the surprisingly frequent outbursts of the dreadfully desicated sounds of close-harmony privilege. Yale songs, camp songs, it keeps popping up. Perhaps that's why the jackal is such a jolt when you hear it.

Anyway, for all the weirdly dead inanity, and the I'm-singing-musical-theatre-grins, and those limply hanging arms, I quite like it. The sound of it, really, looking at it, in this instance, doesn't make it better. I love acapella, voices that close. The Ink Spots, though, they're the ones.   

Day 12 - Song From A Band You Hate - Alison

I can't abide Elvis Costello. Actually, as a person he might be alright. He hides it well if he is, but he might be. His public persona though, and his reputation and his fans, all wind me right up. That being said he's written three good songs; Oliver's Army, Shipbuilding and Alison.

I'm convinced he nicked Oliver's Army off ABBA who would have done it much better, he almost ruined tRobert Wyatt's version of Shipbuilding with his own duff effort which only leaves Alison. Which I'll admit is very good.

Splendidly, this cover by Emmina almost does for Alison what the Pet Shop Boys did for The Streets Have No Name. Awesome.

15 Alison (Disco)

 

Day 11 - Song From Your Favourite Band - Paninaro

Once it would have been ABC, but actually that's just about a favourite album. It could have been The Beatles, but that would be like saying Brazil are your favourite football team. And I like, especially, that they're not really a band.

Once, many years ago, before West End Girls, when I was in a band, our management showed us a video of PSB doing a record company audition / PA on a stage somewhere and pointing out how hopeless they were live. The inference being "you're much better than this lot, you can play your instruments" - I knew then that they were my favourite band.

And this song is so splendidly them. A brush of pop culture, Chris being Northern and obscure, minimum viable chorus, big drums, clattering synths.

The original paninaro, discovered through the pages of The Face and i-D were a big fashion influence on us at college, a big part of trying not to look like students. I spent all my grant money on Chipie and Chevignon. It became a newspaper club strategy and now it's a slightly odd project.