Russell Davies

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.

Day 10 - Song That Makes You Fall Asleep - Sailing By

I'm with James, it's really talking that helps me sleep. But the combination of Sailing By and the shipping forecast is perfect; the time, the ritual, the associations, those in peril on the sea.

Which reminds me, I used my new found coding skills and made a new version of Permanent Bedtime. It obviously won't work on your computer, in your browser, at your internet. It certainly won't work on your phone. But, anyway.

Day 9 - A Song That You Can Dance To - Six Days

There was a time when I was the only person in our school who could dance like Paul Rutherford. Possibly because I was the only person who wanted to. (Young people - he's the one at the side who mostly does dancing)

Back then there were only three types of dancing:

1. Spreading - the heavy metal kids did that in the appropriate gap at the school disco.

2. Some sort of New Romantic / Depeche Mode moody stepping. Pointing one toe forward and then the other and glancing occasionally from behind your fringe.

3. Generalised TOTP audience clapping and swaying.

And then The Frankies showed up on Top of the Pops and Paul Rutherford showed all us provinces kids something new. It's weird to think of it now. It was a time before Hi-NRG had captured the world. We didn't really know what to do. I practised in front of the mirror for hours.

Now, I'm old and my knees have gone, so all I can do is that standing and nodding with your arms folded that they do when they're waiting for a street race to start in the Fast & Furious films. But Arthur likes that too, so we can bond over 2 Chainz or DJ Shadow.

Ride or die, remember.

Day 8 - Song You Know All The Words To - On Reaching The Wensum

No YouTube to link to. Disappointing. But here are the words that are the words that I know all of. There aren't many, but try telling me that this isn't just the best lyric you've ever read, but the best bit of English poetry. Just try telling me.

"I wanna fly my biplane / Low over Swaffham"

Anyway. The second half of the 20th century is densely packed in here. Red Dwarf is all my arse.

On Reaching The Wensum

They came from the conference facility
Where they’d largely ignored jugs of water

I wanna fly my biplane
Low over Swaffham
I wanna wave at astonished rustics
I’m gonna plead profitless chicanery

And it’s all my arse
It’s all my arse
It’s all my arse
Red Dwarf is all my arse

They never show so therefore
Aliens are boring
Wide berth Akabusi at Cemaes Bay
Lest he get hysterical

And it’s all my arse
It’s all my arse
It’s all my arse
New Deal is all my arse

Can you smell my presence in the laundry of your catwalk girlfriend?
Or does it hang in the air at the Restart interview?

Day 7 - Song That Reminds You Of A Certain Event - Love Train

We got married on New Year's Eve. In a scout hut on the Wirral. (Anne insists it's not actually a scout hut, but it felt like one.) It was snowing, all our friends were there and I did the DJing so I didn't have to talk to anyone.

Midnight rolled around and I didn't want to play Auld Lang Syne so I played this instead. It's much better. Best night of my life. 

Day 6 - Song That Reminds You Of Somewhere - Also Sprach Zarathustra

Also Sprach Zarathustra reminds me of Anglesey. Because we went here:

and I made this:

Flickr, being flickr right now, this might not work, so, if you want to, go here.

Day 5 - Song That Reminds You Of Someone - Heard Through A Wall

Anything really from the first Del Amitri album reminds me of my friend from college, Peter. He was firmly in the long-coats-and-gloomy Joy Division school, I was in the tank-tops-and-poppy Haircut 100 camp. But we seemed to agree about this odd, heart-felt, outsidery first Del Amitri album. Nothing like the rockster songs they'd go on to do. Being a Del Amitri fan after their Melody Maker cover didn't make them stars was like being in a secret club. ALmost the best thing about them was the fan club - you got postcards from the band, little badges, they came and slept on your floor - all the things bands do now because internet, they did then because they'd failed to become The Smiths or Lloyd Cole. The modesty was part of the appeal. You got the sense they weren't cool enough for Postcard, too earnest. Jangly too early.

Peter's drawings looked a bit like the album covers, I remember. He got very ill in our final year, which partly, oddly, helped me get an actual degree. He died not long after. 25 years ago? Something like that. These songs remind me of him.