How can you sum up a life? Perhaps in music:
Month: November 2023
Earworms 27 November 2023
Good evening, and welcome to your selection of songs loosely based on Thanksgiving, or giving thanks, in what ever way is meaningful to you.
If you have an Earworm you’d like to share, please send an .mp3, .m4a or a link to adempster73@gmail.com, together with a few words about why you’ve chosen it. Next week’s theme, as suggested by LongTallSilly, is telephones and/or telephone numbers. You don’t have to worry about having the latest Mobile phone, any old phone will do.
Worms should reach me by close of play on Sunday 3 December. Many thanks to all contributors – keep calm, and carry on!
Cabaret Voltaire – Thank You America – shoegazer: Cabs can even make a thank-you sinister.
Stromae – Merci – DebbyM: Incroyable!
Sly & The Family Stone -Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin) – Fintan28: Getting back to who you are is worth being thankful for. A whole lotta funk to be thankful for to.
Junior Ainsworth – Thanks and Praise – severin: 1977 Lee Perry production. The thanks are given to Jah, of course.
Die Ärzte – Danke für jeden guten Morgen – DebbyM: German punks take on the modern Protestant hymn book.
Sam & Dave – I Thank You – Fintan28: She’s got him “doing new things too” and man is he thankful. But is it Sam or is it Dave. Put your hands together now!
Rebsie Fairholm – Leafblower – tincanman: Just throwing this in because it’s fall and everyone is out with their $%#@% leafblowers. They’re noisy, they pollute, leaves enrich the soil, and supposedly cash-strapped cities are paying workers to do it. Grrrr.
The Beatles – Thank You Girl – Fintan28: I’m always thankful for happy sing-along earworms to dance through my day with. John & Paul really hit the mark on this one.
George Harrison – Thanks for the Pepperoni – Suzi: Delightful instrumental, in which George’s guitar is joined by those of Eric Clapton and Dave Mason, with Carl Radle on bass guitar, Bobby Whitlock on piano and Jim Gordon on drums.
Show of Hands – Thanks – Suzi: The folk/roots group from Devon with an affectionate song which could be about any get-together of family and/or friends, and is perfectly suitable for Thanksgiving.
Fairport Convention – Now Be Thankful – severin: The lyric by Richard Thompson and Dave Swarbrick is less literal than the tune suggests. Originally released as a single in 1970.
DM Smith – Thanksgiving Moon – glassarfemptee: A track from DM Stith’s 2009 debut album ‘Heavy Ghost’.
Ben Bullington – Thanksgiving 1985 – tincanman: Ben was a small-town country doctor who took to writing songs as a hobby. And died from cancer before the country and folk luminaries heard him and started to make him a star.
Van Morrison – Country Fair – tincanman: From Veedon Fleece, Van’s best – IMHO – album.
Grouper – Thanksgiving – glassarfemptee: Liz Harris (Grouper) had this enigmatic Thanksgiving song on her 2018 album ‘Grid of Points’.
Sinead O’Connor – Thank You For Hearing Me – severin: And for various other things. The song becomes a bit bleaker towards the end. Sinead sounding fragile on the closing track from 1994’s Universal Mother album.
YouTube playlist, blurbs below:
Page and Plant – Thank You – MaggieB: Thanks for the chance to share this 🙂 and happy thanksgiving to anyone of the American persuasion.
Alanis Morisette – Thank You – AliM: I wish I’d discovered Alanis Morisette much earlier than I did.
Dido – Thank You – AliM: So good, it was sampled by Eminem.
Z Z Top – I Thank You – AliM: Cover of the Sam and Dave song (see Fintan28, above).
Earworms 20 November 2023
Good evening, and welcome to your selection of songs about Light, to cheer us all in these dark days. I’m having an interesting time trying to make some sort of coherent playlist this week…
If you have an Earworm you’d like to share, please send an.mp3, .m4a or a link to adempster73@gmail.com, together with a few words about whey you’ve chosen it. Next week’s theme will be Thanksgiving – either things associated with the annual festival in the USA, or just giving thanks, generally.
Earworms should reach me by close of play on Sunday 26 November. Many thanks to all contributors – keep calm and carry on!
Prince Far-I – Light of Fire – Uncleben: The mighty Far-I in one of his biblical moods, as God (or Jah in this context) uses a light of fire to guide Moses and the Israelites out of the fields of Zion, parting the Red Sea and splitting open the occasional rock along the way.
Earth, Wind & Fire – Shining Star – tincanman: This came out when I was 15, igniting a lifelong love of funk. I heard the live Gratitude version first and wondered why at the end they started singing “Janis Joplin you can see, what your life can truly be”, but they weren’t.
Parliament – Flashlight – Fintan28: Everybody’s got a little light under the sun. Really like that view. Just shinin’ on the funk.
Shriekback – Black Light Trap – shoegazer: Here’s some Shrieks.
T Rex – Light of Love (Dr Smith Remix) – severin: I loved the album of T Rex remixes but I think it divided the fandom?
Max Raabe – Super Trouper – DebbyM: Bit of German culture, innit?
Luna – Neon Lights – glassarfemptee: It should be up in neon lights, that Luna have resumed recording and touring, thankfully.
Gary Clark Jr. – Bright Lights – tincanman: I never need much of an excuse to throw up a fuzzy Gary Clark wig out. Or any excuse, to be honest.
Talvin Singh – Light – Suzi: Indian influenced instrumental, just perfect for Diwali.
Michael Kiwanuka – Light – severin: Another one from his 2019 Kiwanuka album. Shine your light over me.
Teenage Fanclub – I Left A Light On – glassarfemptee: The superb new Teenage Fanclub album has three songs about light, here’s one of them.
Richard & Linda Thompson – I Want To See The Bright Lights Tonight – DebbyM: I think at least 3 of us will be sending this one in. I want to see the bright lights, too.
Oysterband – Bright Morning Star – Suzi: John Jones leads the singing in this lovely version of the Appalachian folk spiritual. ‘Day is a-breaking in my soul.’
Taj Mahal – Blue Light Boogie – Fintan28: A low, slow, blue light and there’s lots going on. Watch your feet.
Lana del Rey ft. Father John Misty – Let The Light In – glassarfemptee: On her recent album, Lana del Rey asks you to let the light in.
Philine Sonny – Same Light – DebbyM: On the list because TheBoyWonder plays in her touring band.
Elin Manahan Thomas – Eternal Source of Light Divine/ Ode for the Birthday of Queen Anne – George Frederic Handel, composer – Suzi: A bit more impressive than Happy Birthday to You, but then that’s what being royal gets you!
Main playlist, blurbs above:
YouTube Playlist, blurbs below:
The Rolling Stones – Shine A Light – With Bonnie Rait – MaggieB: Always worth seeing Bonnie Rait 💡💡
Grateful Dead – Turn On Your Lovelight- Chris7572: Lights are good. Lovelights are better. So turn it on…….and leave it on!
Pentangle – Light Flight – AliM: From 1969. Also the theme to the BBC serial ‘Take Three Girls’. I used to have the single but I swapped it for ‘America’ by Simon and Garfunkel. Or was it the other way around?
Bob Marley – Turn Your Lights Down Low – AliM: From Exodus (1977).
Gothart – Polorum Regina – AliM: Czech band. Morning star, take away our sins.
Earworms 13 November 2023
Good evening, and welcome to your selection of songs about sweets and candy and all things sugary.
If you have an Earworm you’d like to share, please send an .mp3, .m4a or a link to adempster73@gmail.com, together with a few words about why you’ve chosen it. Next week’s theme will be Light, in honour of Diwali and to cheer us in these dark Autumnal evenings.
Worms should reach me by close of play on Sunday 19 November. Many thanks to all contributors – keep calm, and carry on!
Coldcut – Chocolate Box – glassarfemptee: Janis Alexander guests on the Coldcut album “Philosophy” from thirty years ago! This Chocolate Box is delectable.
Mike Stevens – Watermelon Pie – tincanman: Watermelon pie is a cool, sweet, refreshing summer treat. I’ve never tried it but it was tasty enough to inspire harmonica maestro Mike Stevens.
Harry McClintock – Big Rock Candy Mountain – severin: As featured in O Brother Where Art Thou? Plenty of other food and drink treats also featured.
Jake Thackray – The Blacksmith and the Toffee Maker – Suzi: A lonely spinster makes a meagre living from selling home-made toffee, unaware that she’s the object of the local blacksmith’s passion. Then fate brings them together.
Serge Gainsbourg – Les Sucettes – DebbyM: A huge hit for France Gall, whose tender innocence (supposedly) led her to believe it was actually about Annie sucking on lollipops.
Jaques Brel – Les Bonbons – Suzi: Candy isn’t as perishable as flowers are, so it’s useful to have a box of sweeties handy if you want to impress the ladies – especially if you’re liable to switch your attention from one young woman to another!
Andrew Bird – Candy Shop – glassarfemptee: Nice bit of Django from Andrew Bird, as he rocks that candy shop.
Soccer Mommy – Death By Chocolate – glassarfemptee: Soccer Mommy is a new fave of mine (thanks, Toffeeboy – see what I did there). Here she seeks everyone’s favourite means of suicide.
Paolo Nutini – Candy – Suzi: A sweet, sad song. Not sure that it’s actually about confectionary, as such. 😉
Tony Joe White – Ice Cream Man – tincanman: The ‘Swamp Fox’ is best known as a songwriter (Polk Salad Annie, Rainy Night In Georgia) but I love his laconic swamp bluesy sound. (This is not the John Brim song covered by Tom Waits, Van Halen, and others).
Ella Fitzgerald – Savoy Truffle – severin: I recently got Ella’s version of this Beatles song A listed for the Song Bar topic of Teeth. But it fits this theme just as well.
Lynsey de Paul – Sugar Me – DebbyM: Early ’70s radio pop.
Lyrics Born – Chocolate Cake – tincanman: He’s got a sweet tooth and he loves chocolate cake. And macaroons. And rice crispy squares. Infectious tune!
Let’s Eat Grandma – Chocolate Sludge Cake – severin: I’m sure cakes don’t really count but it’s got chocolate in it and they want to make one. And I want to eat one. Cake not Grandma.
The Chordettes – Lollipop – DebbyM: Classic!
Main playlist, blurbs above:
YouTube playlist, blurbs below:
Xtina Aguilera – Candyman – DebbyM: I must confess to never having had much time for the Xtinas and Britneys, but I like the energy here.
Tchaikovsky – Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy from The Nutcracker (The Royal Ballet) – MaggieB.
George Formby – With My Little Bit Of Blackpool Rock – Suzi: No innuendo going on here, honestly. The video comprises a selection of postcards from the early 20th century.
Dave Nachmanoff – Candy Shower – Mari B: Excellent American musician, who has worked with Al Stewart on a regular basis.
Hawkwind – Uncle Sam’s on Mars – LongTallSilly: Mars is one of my favourite chocolate bars. Hawkwind always a favourite especially when they’re taking the mickey out of capitalism.
Black Sabbath – Sweet Leaf – LongTallSilly: I’m sure it must be sugar beet that they’re singing about! 🤔
Bow Wow Wow – I Want Candy – AliM: A little bit of cheeriness from the ’80s.
Neil Young – Sugar Mountain – AliM: Not really about sweets but wistfulness, from Neil Young.
Trude Herr – Ich Will Keine Schokolade – DebbyM: Sex wins over chocolate in this 1960 German hit.
The Archies – Sugar Sugar – Suzi: She’s his candy girl. Love the cute Hanna Barbera cartoon video.
Earworms 6 November 2023
Good evening and welcome to your selection of songs about mind, body and/or spirit.
If you have an Earworm you’d like to share, please send an .mp3, .m4a or a link to adempster73@gmail.com, together with a few words about why you’ve chosen it. Next week’s theme will be sweets / candy. Any sort of sweet. Whatever you can shoehorn in.
Worms should reach me by close of play on Sunday 12 November. Many thanks to all contributors, keep calm and carry on!
Bhundu Boys – Shabhini – severin: Well the first part soothes my mind and, although it’s not what you might call a dance track, the second part makes my body move. I’m an awkward and uncoordinated dancer so it’s mainly foot tapping and head nodding but that counts as a Pasodoble in my world.
Poems for Jamiro – Break My Bones – DebbyM: Local band I like.
Leonard Cohen – Suzanne – Suzi: Minds touch bodies in Len’s classic song.
Death Cab For Cutie – Soul Meets Body – shoegazer: Around for over 25 years now.
King Curtis – Soul Serenade – Fintan28: Closest I ever got to an instrumental A-Lister was with this song. Sustenance for your soul, mind & body.
Jayli Wolf – Would You Die – tincanman: Move me (in the feels): Young Canadian singer-songwriter has that boy genius thing going. Works for them, works for her.
Olivia Chaney – House On a Hill – severin: If I have a soul then this touches it. She has released an EP of French songs and one new song of her own recently but no date for the album yet.
Calogero et Coeur de Pirate – Les Moulins De Mon Coeur – DebbyM: The Michel Legrand classic.
Patsy Cline – Got A Lot Of Rhythm In My Soul – Fintan28: Patsy has a lot of rhythm and she’s of a mind to move her body to it. Or I just wanted to listen to some Patsy Cline. Works for me.
Moby – Bodyrock – Suzi: Rock, y’all/ Non-stop, y’all/ To the beat, y’all/ The bodyrock, y’all…Today is/ We rock the body, rock the body, come on…! I think you get the picture. Don’t think you’ll be able to keep still with this one.
Nice As Fuck – Higher – tincanman: Move me (in the gym): Jenny Lewis’s power pop chicks record from a few years ago. Seems like she can pull off pretty much anything she wants.
Main playlist, blurbs above:
YouTube playlist, blurbs below:
Pink Floyd – Brain Damage – LongTallSilly: “There’s someone in my head, but it’s not me!” One of my favourite Pink Floyd lines of all time. I have it on a t-shirt for when I train people around therapeutic parenting, always prompts a laugh.
Kate Rusby – Lullabies – AliM: This soothes my mind, it also used to send YoungMunday to sleep, so win, win.
Tom Robinson – Power in the Darkness – AliM: This inspires me, so I suppose it moves my soul, or whatever passes for it.
Chemical Brothers – Block Rockin’ Beats – AliM: Can’t keep my body still when I hear this.
The 'Spill 