Monday, May 01, 2006
My Music List
I have been tagged by Mr Spence
Here are my seven songs...
(in no particular order)
Sitting on the Dock of the Bay - Otis Reading
It's just such a summer song! Chilled out, wasting tiiiiiime. It could be my motto for life! Plus it has that whistling outro. Genius!
Soul Sister, Brown Sugar - Sam And Dave
Brass to die for, harmonies that would make the Bee Gees blush. Gotta love a bit of classic soul! again, another summer song!
Let's Call The Whole Thing Off - Ella Fitz and Louis Armstrong
Fabulous lyrics, full of sly little plays on words and with fabulous rhyme scheme, which Gershwin doesn't mind deviating from for the craic...
" You like vanilla and I like vanella, You saspiralla, and I saspirella
Vanilla vanella, oh, chocolate strawberry! Let's call the whole thing off"
I love the combination of the voices here. The sweetness of Ella's voice coupled with the gruffness of Satchmo's is fabulous. So many people have done this song, but i think this is the benchmark... again it's another summer song!
Eumir Deodato - Also sprach Zarathustra
No music list would be complete without at least one completely obscure song, and this time it's the turn of Deodato's seminal hit. It takes the form of a jazz/funk fusion/classical crossover (one of the more neglected genres, I feel!) Seriously though, this song is awesome. He takes Richard Strass's classic (from 2001: A Space Oddysey) and lays a backbeat like you would not imagine, coupled with keyboards, bass and a funk guitar solo from God Himself (not God as in Eric Clapton [see below for details] but the other one.) *Paul stops now as he realises he is becoming a little blasphemous*
Layla (Unplugged) - Eric Clapton
I love how this is the same song as the Derek and the Dominoes mastery of electric wonderness, but yet done with a fairly spartan set up of just 2 acoustic guitars, a light drumkit and a piano full of soul, it becomes something so new. While the Dominoes version is a full blown rock anthem, the acoustic version has an entirely different vibe. It's slow and offbeat with, for the most part the piano doing most of the work until halfway through, slowhand pulls off a bluesy solo worthy of his nickname (not slowhand, his other nickname [see above for details]). The song has such soul you can't help but click your fingers.
U2 - Yahweh
One of the most overtly spiritual U2 songs from the How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb album, yet my favourite (not for that reason). It's a fabulous tune, yet typical U2: simple, yet with with The Edge's effects processor playing for Ireland. The Lyrics are just awesome...
"Take this soul, stranded in some skin and bones,
Take this soul and make it sing"
and
"Take this heart, take this heart, take this heart and make it break"
and
"Yahweh, Yahweh, always pain before a child is born
Yahweh, Yahweh, still i'm waiting for the dawn"
Yeah i know it's great. Such a good song to end an album on. Totally uplifting.
finally...
The Animaniacs - Wakko's Two Note Song
This is such a good tune. One of my favourite cartoon songs ever! The story goes that Wakko (the one with the bizarre liverpudlian accent) has an accordion and makes a song using two notes, but Professor Scratchansniff tells him it's not really a song. So the animanics proceed to turn the the tune into a song by putting backing music to it. The song travels through genres, from hard rock with wailing guitars to lounge via baroque, and ends with a big band finale. By the end professor is convinced and sings along. It's a song about reconcilliation, about brotherhood and ultimately about redemption.
There, done! if you don't like it tough, cos it's my blog.
I don't know who to tag, as I don't think anyone actually reads my blog... so I'll tag anyone who wants to do this! There's no elitist "chosen ones" on this blog thank you very much. This is for all, and all who came can gain salvation... I mean, can write a music list.
The rules: List seven songs you are into right
now. No matter what the genre, whether they have words, or even if they’re any
good, but they must be songs you’re really enjoying now. Post these instructions
in your blog along with your seven songs. Then tag other people to see what
they’re listening to.
Here are my seven songs...
(in no particular order)
Sitting on the Dock of the Bay - Otis Reading
It's just such a summer song! Chilled out, wasting tiiiiiime. It could be my motto for life! Plus it has that whistling outro. Genius!
Soul Sister, Brown Sugar - Sam And Dave
Brass to die for, harmonies that would make the Bee Gees blush. Gotta love a bit of classic soul! again, another summer song!
Let's Call The Whole Thing Off - Ella Fitz and Louis Armstrong
Fabulous lyrics, full of sly little plays on words and with fabulous rhyme scheme, which Gershwin doesn't mind deviating from for the craic...
" You like vanilla and I like vanella, You saspiralla, and I saspirella
Vanilla vanella, oh, chocolate strawberry! Let's call the whole thing off"
I love the combination of the voices here. The sweetness of Ella's voice coupled with the gruffness of Satchmo's is fabulous. So many people have done this song, but i think this is the benchmark... again it's another summer song!
Eumir Deodato - Also sprach Zarathustra
No music list would be complete without at least one completely obscure song, and this time it's the turn of Deodato's seminal hit. It takes the form of a jazz/funk fusion/classical crossover (one of the more neglected genres, I feel!) Seriously though, this song is awesome. He takes Richard Strass's classic (from 2001: A Space Oddysey) and lays a backbeat like you would not imagine, coupled with keyboards, bass and a funk guitar solo from God Himself (not God as in Eric Clapton [see below for details] but the other one.) *Paul stops now as he realises he is becoming a little blasphemous*
Layla (Unplugged) - Eric Clapton
I love how this is the same song as the Derek and the Dominoes mastery of electric wonderness, but yet done with a fairly spartan set up of just 2 acoustic guitars, a light drumkit and a piano full of soul, it becomes something so new. While the Dominoes version is a full blown rock anthem, the acoustic version has an entirely different vibe. It's slow and offbeat with, for the most part the piano doing most of the work until halfway through, slowhand pulls off a bluesy solo worthy of his nickname (not slowhand, his other nickname [see above for details]). The song has such soul you can't help but click your fingers.
U2 - Yahweh
One of the most overtly spiritual U2 songs from the How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb album, yet my favourite (not for that reason). It's a fabulous tune, yet typical U2: simple, yet with with The Edge's effects processor playing for Ireland. The Lyrics are just awesome...
"Take this soul, stranded in some skin and bones,
Take this soul and make it sing"
and
"Take this heart, take this heart, take this heart and make it break"
and
"Yahweh, Yahweh, always pain before a child is born
Yahweh, Yahweh, still i'm waiting for the dawn"
Yeah i know it's great. Such a good song to end an album on. Totally uplifting.
finally...
The Animaniacs - Wakko's Two Note Song
This is such a good tune. One of my favourite cartoon songs ever! The story goes that Wakko (the one with the bizarre liverpudlian accent) has an accordion and makes a song using two notes, but Professor Scratchansniff tells him it's not really a song. So the animanics proceed to turn the the tune into a song by putting backing music to it. The song travels through genres, from hard rock with wailing guitars to lounge via baroque, and ends with a big band finale. By the end professor is convinced and sings along. It's a song about reconcilliation, about brotherhood and ultimately about redemption.
There, done! if you don't like it tough, cos it's my blog.
I don't know who to tag, as I don't think anyone actually reads my blog... so I'll tag anyone who wants to do this! There's no elitist "chosen ones" on this blog thank you very much. This is for all, and all who came can gain salvation... I mean, can write a music list.
