Earworms 13 May 2024

Everyone’s juggling and everyone’s acting, with smiles of grease paint three feet wide. Everyone’s caught on a carousel pony, and one time around is a lifetime ride…

Good evening, and welcome to your selection of songs about circuses, and associated things.

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 songs about cities and towns, and worms should reach me by close of play on Sunday 19 May.

Many thanks to all contributors, keep calm, and carry on with the show!

Os Mutantes – Panis et Circenses – UncleBen: Bread and circuses, Juvenal’s phrase to sum up the main interests of the Roman public. The ancient equivalent of McDonald’s and Eurovision, I guess.

Peggy Lee – Is That All There Is ? – Fintan28: Clowns & elephants, dancing bears and a beautiful lady. Is that all there is to the circus? Nothing for it but to keep on dancing!

Mary Coughlan – Parade of Clowns – severin: Not circus clowns but wot the hell. It sounds like something from a Brecht/Weill musical. I think, from memory, that it refers to an annual parade held in Amsterdam, including the red light district, but I am happy to be contradicted if anyone knows better.

Leroy Carr & Scrapper Blackwell – Carried Water for the Elephant – tincanman: Leroy of Midnight Hour fame and his long-time sidekick sound thin and dated, but danged if I didn’t get caught up in the tale and forgot all that.

Mr. Fox – Elvira Madigan – DebbyM: From one of the first LPs I ever owned as a kid, A Stereo Introduction To The Exciting Sound of Transatlantic.

Bruce Cockburn – Wondering Where The Lions Are – tincanman: Supposedly a metaphor for the Cold War but I wonder if, like me, his parents took him to the circus and he cried all the way home because there were no lio….ok, no. Cold War it is.

Mandy Miller – Nellie The Elephant – severin: Much though I enjoy the Toy Dolls single, this is the version for me.

The Merry-Go-Round – Clown’s No Good – Fintan28: What to do with an unhappy clown. A ride with the Merry-Go-Round could do no harm.

Will Hoge – Oh Mr. Barnum – tincanman: Will grew up listening to his father’s extensive record collection and has toured with a few dozen varied acts. No surprise then that he often sounds like someone else (like Costello and Browne here). But don’t write him off for it.

Leon Russell – Tight Rope – Fintan28: Love’s a Circus and the spotlight is on you even if you’re not ready. But he’s doing his best stuff hoping she’ll gaze his way,

Olivia Chaney – Circus of Desire – severin: Title track of her new(ish) album; the second to be produced by Thomas Bartlett. The circus being metaphorical of course.

Richard and Linda Thompson – The Great Valerio – Suzi: The song portrays the tightrope walker as an allegory of life, love and hero-worship. This version was recorded live at the BBC’s John Peel Sessions.

Main playlist, blurbs above:

YouTube playlist, blurbs below:

Dave Nachmanoff – Say Goodbye to the Elephants – Mari Booker: This is one of my favourite Dave Nachmanoff songs. (The link in the title is the one that Mari sent me, and has the lyrics. It differs from the YouTube version in the playlist – Ed.).

Bruce Springsteen with The Seeger Sessions – The Daring Young Man On The Flying Trapeze – Suzi: Bruce’s version of a musical hall song from 1867 which was inspired by Jules Léotard, who invented the garment of the same name.

Emerson, Lake & Palmer – Karn Evil 9 – LongTallSilly: With a line like “The greatest show in Heaven, Hell or Earth” it has to be a circus surely. Brilliant however you cut it!

Striknien DC – Circus – wyngatecarpenter: First recording released on vinyl by Deko of Paranoid Visions ’90s band. The music scene is the circus in question.

Mau Maus – Same Circus Different Clowns – wyngatecarpenter: Written while Bojo was PM but true to the title it still applies.

Eugene McGuinness – Moscow State Circus – shoegazer: Away from the PC where the mp3s live, so here’s one for the YouTube list

Emeli Sandé – Clown – AliM: Says Emeli: “It’s about how I felt when I was trying to get signed, I was going for all these meetings and people were looking at me like ‘What do we do with you’? It’s about not allowing yourself to be judged by others or to be taken for an idiot.”

Earworms 6 May 2024

Where’s that confounded bridge?

Good evening and welcome to your selection of songs about bridges of one sort or another.

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 the circus, or anything closely connected with it, and worms should reach me by close of play on Sunday 12 May.

Many thanks to all contributors, hope you’ve had a good Bank Holiday if you’re in the UK. Keep calm, and carry on!

Fairport Convention – Bridge Over the River Ash – severin and Suzi: severin: It’s a “trad – arranged band” tune but I don’t know much more about it than that. There is a River Ash in Surrey and one in Hertfordshire. Many others too, I shouldn’t wonder. Suzi: Dave Swarbrick and his fiddle with a lively instrumental from the Angel Delight album.

Bruce Springsteen – Erie Canal – DebbyM: I absolutely love the Seeger Sessions. Low bridge, everybody down!

Replacements – Skyway – tincanman: Skyways are elevated covered walkways between buildings, a prominent feature downtown in wintery Minneapolis where Paul Westerberg grew up.

The Pogues – Misty Morning, Albert Bridge – Suzi: Separated from his beloved, he dreams of meeting her on London’s Albert Bridge, where one day they’ll be reunited.

Karat – Über Sieben Brücken Musst du Gehen – DebbyM: One of the biggest hits in the history of German pop music, this song has been covered by just about everyone. This is the original version by Karat, an East German (DDR) band.

Pink Floyd – Burning Bridges – severin: From the Obscured By Clouds album, i.e. the Soundtrack from the Barbet Schroeder film, La Vallee. The music in this one was composed by Richard Wright. Roger Waters’ lyric sounds like it’s about leaving a marriage; breaking a gold ring and all that.

Mike Curb Congregation – Burning Bridges – shoegazer: From Kelly’s Heroes.

Antonio Aguilar – El Puente Roto – Fintan28: “The Broken Bridge” They fell in love upon the bridge. Now she’s there with another. Que lastima! And what’s Cinco de Mayo without Mariachi?

Cure – Subway Song – severin: A song with a jump scare. Plenty of films use this “lone person (usually a woman) in subway feeling anxious” trope.

Wax – Bridge To Your Heart – DebbyM: As soon as I read this week’s theme, I got this earworm stuck in my head.

Lucinda Williams – 2 Kool 2B 4gotten – Fintan28: Featuring the Lake Charles Bridge upon which Lucinda tells her lover where to get off.

Esperanza Spalding – Ponta De Areia – Fintan28: Milton Nascimento song lamenting the passing of the link between Bahia & Minas. In the interest of “progress” the Brazilian Junta did away with the railway linking the 2 states so people without cars would be encouraged to drive, Esperanza does a lovely job here.

Sleater-Kinney – Jumpers – tincanman: The distance between the Golden Gate Bridge and the blue sea below gives you four seconds to hope your last hope and fear your last fear.

Main Playlist, blurbs above:

YouTube playlist, blurbs below:

Red Hot Chilli Peppers – Under the Bridge – LongTallSilly: I haven’t listened to the Red Hot Chilli Peppers for a while. Brought back memories of Welsh beaches as I’d picked up the CD on the way out (I’d not packed any CDs in the car!) So listened to it a lot when not on the water.

Jesse Colin Young – Ridgetop – AliM: First heard this song today, how serendipitous is that? JCY was a founding member of the Youngbloods. The song amused me because it made me think of LTS; also Americans can not pronounce ‘squirrel’. And he mentions the Golden Gate Bridge.

Simon and Garfunkel – 59th Bridge Street Song (Feelin’ Groovy) – MaggieB: The weather’s good and it’s a bank holiday: Groovy !

Robin Trower – Bridge of Sighs – AliM: Why so unforgiving and why so cold? Been a long time crossing Bridge of Sighs / Cold wind blows… From the eponymous album (1974).

Earworms 29 April 2024

Antonio appears in ‘The Merchant of Venice’ and other plays, although I can find no reference to the ice cream cart.

Good evening, and welcome to your dramatic choice of music referencing the sonnets and characters from Shakespeare. “If music be the food of love, play on!” (Twelfth Night).

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 bridges – viaducts, aqueducts, flyovers, links, spans, musical bridges, reparations. Even the one over troubled water, if you can’t think of anything else. Worms should reach me by close of play on Sunday 5 May.

Many thanks to all contributors – “Love all, trust a few, do wrong to none”. (All’s Well That Ends Well).

Hossam Ramzy – Cleopatra – glassarfemptee: The late Egyptian musician Hossam Ramzy was the original “Sultan of Swing”, wiki tells me. Here he is rocking the casbah.

Vanessa Williams – Sister Moon – severin: Vanessa sings Sting who briefly (mis) quotes Sonnet no 130 “My Mistress’s eyes are nothing like the sun”. But Shakespeare’s sonnet is not the romantic item that this song turns out to be. You wouldn’t thank a lover who sung or recited the original words to you.

The Duke Ellington Orchestra – Such Sweet Thunder – Fintan28: The Duke and Billy Strayhorn channelled their mutual fondness for the Bard into a whole album in 1957. This is the title track and references Hippolyta in A Midsummer’s Night Dream. “I never heard / So musical a discord, such sweet thunder.” Yeah. William could swing.

Lou Reed – Romeo Had Juliette – shoegazer: A west-side story.

Milk’n Blues featuring Zé Rodrigo – Mercy – DebbyM: Brazilian cover band discovered on YouTube. From The Merchant of Venice: ‘The quality of mercy is not strained…’

Loudon Wainwright III – Prince Hal’s Dirge (Live) – severin: Like my previous LW3 contribution this is the live version from a live album recorded for radio broadcast. I used to have much better renditions of both songs on a cassette tape recorded from a John Peel session but can’t find it now and couldn’t send it in anyway. Prince Hal appears in Henry IV parts one and two.

Grateful Dead – Althea – Chris7572: This literary mash-up from Robert Hunter references Ophelia directly and quotes phrases from the play but the protagonist definitely has the tortured, lost soul of Hamlet.

Dire Straits – Romeo And Juliet – Fintan28: I love everything about this song. The guitar is exquisite, The timing impeccable. And its sense of the theatrical sublime. But mostly I love Juliet calling out “Hey, la, my boyfriend’s back”. Lovely.

Michael and the Messengers – Romeo and Juliet – glassarfemptee: Sixties band Michael and the Messengers sing “Our love’s gonna be written down in history, just like Romeo and Juliet”.

Cream – Tales of Brave Ulysses – DebbyM: Ulysses is part of the Grecian camp in Troilus & Cressida (I looked it up!) Disraeli Gears is one of my favourite albums ever and I don’t know why I haven’t listened to it lately.

Original Broadway Cast of Hair – What A Piece Of Work Is Man – Fintan28: Employing Hamlet in the Anti Vietnam War movement was an easy stretch.

Nico – Julius Caesar (Memento Hodie) – severin: “Kind and calm, Julius lies, for Octavian to prevail”. I’m sure he didn’t choose to lay down his life out of kindness to the next guy in line, but I suppose the bit about being calm was accurate at that point.

Cécile McLorin Salvant – Ghost Song – DebbyM: I’ll take any excuse to listen to this singer. There are plenty of ghosts in Shakespeare (Julius Caesar, Macbeth, Hamlet, Midsummer Night’s Dream, Cymbeline, Richard III, shall I stop there?), so here we go. I was lucky enough to attend a recent Cécile McLorin Salvant concert, where she was performing a sort of jazz opera called Ogresse and it was hauntingly beautiful (see what I did there?)

Bella Hardy – Sleeping Beauty – Suzi: The reference comes right at the end of the song, quoting a famous line spoken by Lady Macbeth.

Natalie Merchant – Ophelia – DebbyM: Any excuse to shoehorn Natalie Merchant in!

Barclay James Harvest – Lady Macbeth – glassarfemptee: “Something wicked this way comes”, sing Barclay James Harvest on this track from ‘Welcome To The Show’ (1990).

Maurissa Tancharoen & Jed Whedon – Sigh No More – DebbyM: From the original soundtrack of Much Ado About Nothing, Joss Whedon’s keeping things in the family (this is his brother and sister-in-law).

The Sonnets & Cara Dillon – Shall I Compare Thee To A Summer’s Day? – tincanman: In about 2012 Northern Ireland folkie Cara Dillon gathered some friends to put Shakespeare’s Sonnets to music, with a twist. The arrangements are modern but are played solely on period instruments borrowed from museums and private collections.

Main playlist, blurbs above:

YouTube playlist, blurbs below:

Babes In Toyland – Fair Is Foul & Foul Is Fair – MaggieB: By the pricking of my thumbs, something wicked this way comes.🧙🧙🧙🧹

Queen – Fat Bottomed Girls – LongTallSilly: I couldn’t ignore Bottom, a great comic character who stumbles about the Dream.

Van Morrison – For Mr Thomas – LongTallSilly: And Sir John Falstaff makes an appearance here. No doubt the worse for drink!

Elbow – The Bones of You – LongTallSilly: Great track by Elbow, who of course appears in Measure for Measure!

Pink Floyd – Astronomy Domine – LongTallSilly: Obviously what brought the subject to mind. A Midsummer Night’s Dream is one of my favourite plays.

Lindisfarne – Lady Eleanor – AliM: Eleanor, the Duchess of Gloucester in Henry VI part 2, ends up being banished for consulting a witch about the future. Seems a bit harsh in the days of crystals and Mystic Meg.

Roy Harper – Francesca – AliM: Francisca is a nun in Measure for Measure – well, it’s close enough for me.

Katzenjammer – Lady Grey – AliM: In Henry VI part 3, Lady Grey marries Edward after the death of her husband, and later becomes Queen. But of course it’s not that straightforward. (Pinched from severin).

Joni Mitchell – Michael from Mountains – AliM: Sir Michael is a rebel in Henry IV part 1.

Jethro Tull – Moths – AliM: Moth is a fairy of Titania’s court, in A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

Dave Evans – Lady Portia – AliM: Portia is a powerful heiress in The Merchant of Venice. She also dresses up as a (male) lawyer and wins her case against Shylock which is where “The quality of mercy is not strained…” comes in, as mentioned by DebbyM. Lady Portia is also the name of Dave Evans’ cat.

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Earworms 22 April 2024

Good evening, and welcome to your selection of songs that remind you of something, someone, or somewhere. A wide topic, perhaps, but one that demonstrates how evocative music can be.

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 songs referencing Shakespearean characters, sonnets or plays, as suggested by LongTallSilly. To make it easier, here is a link to an A-Z list of Shakespearean characters; first names will do. Worms should reach me by close of play on Sunday 28 April.

Many thanks to all contributors – keep calm, and carry on!

Hot Butter – Popcorn – glassarfemptee: My first foray to Europe was with my wife to be, when we stayed in a mosquito ridden campsite in Amsterdam. We took the bus to get there as we were penurious students. This infectious track kept coming up on the bus radio: sorry to inflict it on you.

The In-Crowd – Mango Walk – UncleBen: The song that makes me think of my daughter. We have our own special dance for it. My son leaves the room if he hears it come on.

Illinois Speed Press – Hard Luck Story – glassarfemptee: I spent almost a year in the States in ’68, and had an amazing time travelling the length and breadth by Greyhound, in search of music. I saw a zillion bands, but one memory that stands out was a sunny afternoon in Orange County listening to the short-lived Illinois Speed Press.

John Farnham – You’re The Voice – severin: This song reminds me of sitting in a Taverna on the Greek island of Kefalonia in the evening sunshine eating dolmades and drinking Robola wine (probably) while a Greek language version of it played on the local radio station. I knew that I knew the song but I didn’t ask anyone what it was at the time. When I got home my repeated requests to identify the song that went “Whoa a oh a oooh” resulted in little more than blank looks and increasing irritation. I’m still not sure who recorded the Greek version.

Murray Head – Say It Ain’t So Joe – DebbyM: Immediately transports me back to France, 1983. I worked on a campsite in the Vendée, where Nick from Luton ran the bar, was general handyman and listened to this song on his portable cassette recorder All. The. Time.

Nitty Gritty Dirt Band – Falling Down Slow – Fintan28: The something – in this case snow. Big fluffy flakes that take their time meandering to the ground. Helps to have a fire and a window to look out of. Apologies for the pops.

Jeffrey Martin – There Is A Treasure – tincanman: This is from last year’s rather quite good Thank God We Left The Garden. John Prine died three years earlier. Or did he?

John Sebastian – She’s A Lady – Fintan28: The someone – John Sebastian had a talent for getting away with sappy sentiment. Not played often but the same green eyes revisit each occasion.

Lou Reed – Goodnight Ladies – severin: When you were younger, did you ever go out with someone who you still sometimes think about wistfully, decades later? Even though you have had many other relationships since and they are probably happily married and living many miles away? Or is that just me? Well anyway, she loved this song and would ask for it to be played at parties.

The Kinks – Waterloo Sunset – Suzi: So, it’s 1967, I’m in London, up there on a day trip from Portsmouth, I’ve been shopping at Biba, and I love this song. So naturally I go and stand somewhere where I can look across the river to see Waterloo Station.  Didn’t see Terry and Julie, to my knowledge, although who knows. 

Queen – Keep Yourself Alive – tincanman: We’re all more learned now, but we never outgrow what we heard when we first clicked with music. Early teens me heard this when records were still mostly mono. Crossing guitars and drums between sides was, thesaurus.dot.com tells me, precipitousness.

All Saints – Black Coffee – UncleBen: The song that makes me think of my son. When he was very little, he would go to sleep on my shoulder while I jogged up and down very gently to this song, which – despite its title – turned out to have highly soporific qualities.

Mr. Acker Bilt – Stranger On The Shore – Mr. Acker Bilt – Fintan28: The somewhere – Laughton’s Hot Springs. Sadly it’s been closed for years but there was a time when it was the finest spot to be. Olympic diving platform. Huge naturally heated pool. Sundaes made from Chism ice cream at poolside. And a pretty decent sound system. A gawky 13 year old could be lost in things his future might hold as he gazed on a couple in swimsuits dancing to this. Takes me back instantly.

Main playlist, blurbs above:

YouTube Playlist, blurbs below:

Nirvana – Smells Like Teen Spirit – LongTallSilly: In the ’90s we used to play this just before arriving at whatever rock face we were climbing that day. It started us in the right frame of mind for some epic routes, especially in Snowdonia on the slate!

Jimi Hendrix – Are You Experienced – MaggieB: The first time I heard the album was on holiday in Angelsey, so in my mind Yns Mon is forever associated with Jimi’s music.

Ray Parker Jr. – Ghostbusters Theme Song – Suzi: A bit random, perhaps, but hearing this always takes me back to Javea in Spain, and a fiesta. Loads of firecrackers going off, to earsplitting effect, this song being played, and everybody dancing and singing along. I watched the film again on TV recently, very silly, and don’t think it has stood the test of time, but the song’s still irresistible and fun.

King Crimson – Book of Saturday – AliM: Reminds me of my teenage self, lying in bed and listening to Radio Caroline late at night. They used to play this track followed by “Exiles”, the next one on the album (Larks Tongues in Aspic). I can’t find a video of the two together, but “Exiles” is coming up next.

King Crimson – Exiles – AliM: See above. Reader, I bought the album, and never looked back.

Earworms 15 April 2024

In memory of Derek Underwood – Many a reference to balls. I think this is my favourite Roy Harper song – LongTallSilly

Good evening, and welcome to your selection of songs about round things. Yes, I’ve finally got a round tuit (collective sigh…)

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 songs that remind you of something, somewhere or someone. Anecdotes welcome. I think DebbyM suggested this topic but I may have embroidered it, anyway, suggestions for topics are always welcome. Worms should reach me by close of play on Sunday 21 April.

Many thanks to all contributors – keep calm and carry on!

Ellison – Cars, Thieves and Carousels – DebbyM: A recently-formed duo from Norway who charmed me at the Reeperbahn Festival last September.

Joni Mitchell – The Circle Game – Suzi: One of her most beautiful songs. ‘The seasons they go round and round…we’re captive on the carousel of time.’

Pentangle – Will The Circle Be Unbroken – DebbyM and Severin: Debby: Yes, there are a zillion versions of this song, but this is my favourite. It was the first track (if my memory serves me well) on a Transatlantic sampler which was one of the first ever LPs I owned as a kid and kickstarted my lifelong love affair with a certain type of music. Severin: Folk/Jazz with a hint of blues. For years I hummed the theme song of Take Three Girls with no idea who it was by. A 1970s BBC “In Concert” programme, where they also played this song, set me right.

Eilen Jewell – Silver Wheels and Wings – glassarfemptee: From Eilen Jewell’s latest album ‘Get behind the wheel’. She’s now touring, and coming to Europe this summer, but not to the bit that flounced off leaving a trail of hurdles for musicians on tour.

The String-A-Longs – Wheels – Fintan28: Yeah this basically light fluff and only the title ties it to the topic. Still it’s earworminess can’t be denied. Somehow it popped into my head and I was a goofy 11 year old again. In true earworm tradition I now pass it on.

Yes – Roundabout – tincanman: Used to play air keyboards to this in high school. Still might be known to.

Les Fleur de Lys – Circles – glassarfemptee: A sixties nugget from Southampton’s Les Fleur De Lys.

Everything But The Girl – Mirrorball – glassarfemptee: EBTG are back in the saddle with the album ‘Fuse’. Here’s an oldie.

Lady Nade – Car Wheels On A Gravel Road – Severin: Nade covers Lucinda Williams. I like both versions.

Gillian Welch & Dave Rawlings – Red Clay Halo – tincanman: Halos are round. We know that because Beyonce told us they are they are they are.

Bellowhead – Fakenham Fair – Suzi: ‘So swing around, the merry-go-round/ Give the wheel of fortune a whirl.’ Bellowhead’s music conjures up the fairground’s carousel so vividly that you almost feel that you’re there.

Little Feat – Spanish Moon – Fintan28: OK, So it’s probably a dive bar but somehow it got it’s name from that skyward round orb right. Just love this groove so in it goes.

Israel Vibration – Ball of Fire – Uncleben: The Israel Vibration song was my first thought.

Janis Joplin – Ball And Chain (live) – Severin: One of her best songs, and there are quite a few. They put this extended live version on her Greatest Hits album.

Deep Purple – Fireball – Uncleben: I also remembered one of my favourite Deep Purple songs from my teenage years – which begins with the sound of an air conditioner unit that the band originally claimed was a type of synthesizer.

M.Byrd – Morning Sun – DebbyM: Full transparency: TheBoyWonder plays with this band.

Joe Pug – The Sharpest Crown – tincanman: We’ll assume it was a round crown. Joe was a ‘next Dylan’ who seems not to have wanted that crown.

Jerry Jeff Walker – Wheel – Fintan28: Life is a wheel, isn’t it. Goes round and round only to come back to where it started. I can only describe Jerry Jeff as being joyously melancholy on this one. It’s a favourite & if I’ve posted it before … well it’s worth another round.

Main playlist, blurbs above:

YouTube Playlist, blurbs below:

Pink Floyd – Echoes – LongTallSilly: “No one flies around the sun” is my excuse for this great Floyd song, plus a curiosity as to whether you could fit a 23 minute song in? (Length is not important – Ed.)

Pink Floyd – Have a Cigar – MaggieB: Records are round , this one is about making records, and the music industry at the time, which so disgusted Floyd (Roger Waters in particular).

Mitski – Circle – AliM: I have been listening to Toffeeboy’s playlist this week and I rather like this song from Mitski.

Ruth Etting – Button Up Your Overcoat – AliM: Buttons are usually round. Though not exclusively. Anyway, it’s good advice. Wear your flannel underwear when you climb a tree.

Beethoven – Rage Over A Lost Penny – MaggieB: I’ve just remembered this. 😄

Frank Zappa – The Adventures of Greggery Peccary – LongTallSilly: Ah Greggery, what a wonderful wild swine, though I think I want to be a henchman! “they decide to park their / Steaming vehicles in a circular / Pseudo-wagon train formation… And have a love-in! / Under the influence of a fantastic / Amount of trendy chemical amusement / Aid, they proceed to perform lewd / Acts, rip each other off for small / Personal possessions, and dance / With depraved abandon in the vicinity / Of a six-foot pile of /transistor radios / Each one tuned to a different station…” Why invent the calendar? Zappa at his most philosoftical?

Earworms 8 April 2024

Good evening, and welcome to your selection of songs about anything to do with Blue. And a warm welcome back to Magicman, who has popped in 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 why you’ve chosen it. Next week’s theme will be round things. Coins, buttons, records, plates, planets, wheels, marbles, tennis balls, like a circle in a spiral, like a wheel within a wheel… or something. Anything round will do. Worms should reach me by close of play on Sunday 14 April.

Many thanks to all contributors – keep calm and carry on!

Half Man Half Biscuit – Blue Badge Abuser – severin: People in the UK with certain disabilities affecting mobility can apply for a Blue Badge which entitles you to various rights, including using reserved parking spaces. The narrator here is a rotten cheat.

Blue Lu Barker – Trombone Man Blues – tincanman: Ali asked for safe-for-work ‘blue’ songs, and that’s exactly how Louisa Barker got her nickname. I’ll never listen to trombone music with a straight face again.

Dorothy Moore – Misty Blue – severin: Just a beautiful classic song with an astonishing singer.

Alela Diane – Age Old Blue – Suzi: ‘The sea beneath the cliff/ Is the blue in my mother’s eyes/ That came from the blue in her mother’s eyes/ Thrown on down the line.’ Her family had ‘worked the field/ On borrowed land above the ocean.’ That’s where she feels that she belongs, rather than on those ‘higher hills…where water is captive to the well.’

I Am Kloot – Deep Blue Sea – DebbyM: An early Festive ‘Spill choice, this is one of my all-time goosebumps songs. Also, Little’Un can sing along to it!

Grateful Dead – Stella Blue – Chris7572: In this 1973 concert the band takes a minute to adjust after Truckin’ but then they contrive to deliver a version of gossamer delicacy that floats in air. There’s nothing you can hold for very long…

Wynton Marsalis Septet – Joe Cool’s Blues – Fintan28: One of the great ways to shirk off the blues is to dance. And the Snoopy Dance can’t miss as Wynton & friends share.

Artie Shaw – Pastel Blue – Suzi: Discovered Artie via RR. I have a few recordings of his with ‘blue’ in the title – Blue Skies, Rhapsody in Blue, My Blue Heaven. Maybe this one is a little less familiar? Not sure, but it really shows off his amazing skill on the clarinet.

Chubby Carrier & The Bayou Swamp Band – Blue Runner – tincanman: What is a runner and does it come in any other colours? Who cares – it’s zydeco time.

Carl Perkins – Boppin’ The Blues – Fintan28: If you’re feeling the need for miracles just Bop them blues. Even Grandpa’s got the feeling. “Oh, the old boy done got rhythm and blues / And he threw them crutches down / Grandma he ain’t triflin’ / Well, the old boy’s rhythm bound”.

Randy Newman – Miami – Magicman: Here’s Randy Newman winging Miami. He has a way with words, and is slyly funny or just outright funny very often, “best dope in the world – and it’s free !”

Bright Eyes – True Blue – shoegazer: Quite a few blue items in this one.

The Murder Capital – Green and Blue – glassarfemptee: Irish band The Murder Capital give you two colours for the price of one. From their dark 2019 album ‘When I have fears’.

Patricia Kaas – Mademoiselle Chante Le Blues – DebbyM: A huge hit from the late ’80s.

Madeleine Peyroux – Blue Alert – severin: Like a red alert. Except that it’s the warning signs you get about an emotionally shattering love affair.

Little Walter – Blues With A Feeling – Fintan28: Nothing as glorious as a fine blues harp and Little Walter has it going on.

Alli Neumann – Blue – DebbyM: Some contemporary German pop music for you.

Bohren and Der Club of Gore – Patchouli Blue – glassarfemptee: I have tickets to a Bohren gig later in the year. Here’s the title track from their last album. 

Jeffrey Martin – Sad Blue Eyes – tincanman: Few write about sorrow with such elegance.

Lana Del Rey – Blue Jeans – glassarfemptee: There are lots of ‘blue jeans’ songs, but this one from Lana Del Rey is too good to miss. 

Main Playlist, blurbs above:

YouTube Playlist, blurbs below:

George Gershwin – Rhapsody in Blue – MaggieB: Simply because I like it 🙂

Edith Piaf and Charles Aznavour – Plus Bleu Que Le Bleu De Tes Yeux – Suzi: Aznavour, who wrote the song, duets with Piaf’s ghost (apparently!) Both no longer with us now. Très charmante!

The Rolling Stones – I Got The Blues – MaggieB: I’ve not got the blues right now but will have if this wind keeps on blowing the way it has for the last three days.

Chickn – Shifting Time Blues / Akhedia – AliM: From their brilliant 2016 album, “Chickn”. “I met her underwater / In the deepest secret sea / She took me for a ride / She had something to hide / It’s the shifting time blues…” OK, not the most exciting lyrics, but the band are from Greece, writing in English. I certainly couldn’t write a song in Greek. Probably not in English, either.

End of the Week Quiz 2 April 2024

Greetings all. I’m a bit stumped for original questions this week. But that never stopped me.

1. What and why would you like to be named, if you weren’t named whatever you’re named now? Do you see yourself as a Florence? A Lawrence? A Mike? A Moira? Or are you happy as you are?
2. Superstitions. Do you have any? Or are they just a load of baloney?
3. Potatoes, or pasta?
4. Aged P, or Aged Parent, was a brilliantly observed and comic character in Charles Dickens’ ‘Great Expectations’. Do you have any favourite memorable characters from books, films, or comics?
5. What is your idea of a perfect day?

Have fun, I will probably think of some much better questions tomorrow.

Earworms 1 April 2024

And how do I catch the waking edge? The edge of a dream about someone…

Good evening, and welcome to your selection of songs about sleep and dreaming.

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 blue(s)– the colour, the emotion, the butterfly, blue remembered hills, music, rowing clubs or anything slightly dodgy or erotic which is publishable. Worms should reach me by close of play of Sunday 7 April.

Hope you’ve enjoyed the Easter break, if you had one. Keep calm and carry on!

Billie Eilish – Bury A Friend – tincanman: Where do we go when we sleep, Billie asks, and Issa López had the same question listening to the song over and over while she wrote the eerie True Detective Season 4. I’ll say no more.

Clock DVA – 4 Hours – shoegazer: Adi having a bit of a nightmare.

Tangerine Dream – The Big Sleep In Search of Hades – severin: Band and song title on topic. An instrumental of course but it does conjure up a dream like landscape.

Hannes Wader – Dat Du Min Leevsten Büst – DebbyM: The granddaddy of German folk singing in Plattdütsch (Come over and knock on my door when my father and my mother are asleep).

Olivia Chaney – Bogeyman – severin: “Why is the bad dream back under my bed? I’m afraid of the dark in childhood sweat”. I know the feeling. Two songs, two weeks in a row from the same new album. You want to buy it now, don’t you?

The Decemberists – Sleepless – glassarfemptee: Toffeeboy has been reminding us recently of the genius of The Decemberists as we await their new album. Here’s a cracker from the ‘Dark is the Night’ charity album.

The Cranberries – Dreams – Fintan28: If I could somehow arrange to dance to this as I pass on that would be a dream. I just revel in this. Absolutely captures the illusory, otherworldly state love can conjure. Love it.

Allison Russell – Snake Life – tincanman: From last year’s The Returner, an album about finding ways to become whole after trauma (she was sexually assaulted by her stepdad). She used to dream to escape, she writes; now she wields words to weave a world where every child is safe and loved.

k d lang – A Sleep With No Dreaming – glassarfemptee: Alt-country singer k d lang is now “semi retired’. This is from 2011’s ‘Sing it Loud’.

Kathy Heideman – Sleep A Million Years – glassarfemptee: Kathy Heideman only released one album, in 1976 (it’s been re-released since). Here’s her carpe diem song.

Jaques Brel – La Ville S’Endormait – Suzi: Gorgeously atmospheric accompaniment to Brel’s song. ‘The city fell asleep, I forget the name.’ 

Mary Coughlan – Sleep On It – severin: From her House of Ill Repute album. Where the songs about beds aren’t generally about sleeping.

The Beatles – I’m Only Sleeping – Suzi: Waking up but really just wanting to go back to sleep.

Peter Blegvad – Bee Dream – Uncleben: No idea what this is about, but I rather identify with the sentiment in the opening lines: “Each of us has in our soul a portion of eagle, a portion of mole – one soars in the sunlight, one snores in a hole”.

Roy Orbison – Dream Baby ( How Long Must I Dream) Live – Fintan28: The Black & White Roy Orbison Special was a dream collection of Music Industry stars gathered to revel, sing, play with and in general have a damn fine time with Roy Orbison & that marvellous voice. No one had more fun than Bruce Springsteen. When Roy & the assemblage whisper the refrain almost to a stop his joyous shout brings everyone winging back to the business at hand. Dreams!

The Everly Brothers – All I Have To Do Is Dream – Fintan28: 66 years on and the moment I hear that first shimmering, reverb laden chord The Brothers stop me in my tracks and I pause to breathe this in. To me it’s just a perfect pop song.

The Decemberists – Here I Dreamt I Was an Architect – Uncleben: My favourite Decemberists song, and apparently one of Colin Meloy’s too.

Blondie – Dreaming – Suzi: Dreaming is free….another lovely one from Blondie.

Main playlist, blurbs above:

YouTube Playlist, blurbs below:

Peter Green’s Fleetwood Mac – The Green Manalishi – LongTallSilly: A proper dream from the proper Fleetwood Mac, complete with Peter Green!

Fleetwood Mac – Dreams – LongTallSilly: Still confused as to why they think “thunder only happens when it’s raining” but a decent song from the fluffier version of Fleetwood Mac.

Van Halen – Dreams – MaggieB: This one was suggested by my daughter. Good choice kid.

The Mamas and The Papas – Dream a Little Dream of Me – AliM: There are many wonderful versions of this song, and I picked this one.

Kate Bush – And Dream of Sheep – AliM: I’m not a huge fan of Kate Bush, but I do like sheep, and this is so evocative of craving the safety and oblivion of sleep with the warmth and intoxicating scent of peaceful animals. Or perhaps it’s just me.

End of the Week Quiz – by Suzi

I couldn’t think what picture to use, so this is my grandson’s artwork from quite a few years back!  Here are my questions:

1. If you had to pick a favourite musical instrument to listen to, what would it be, and who would be playing it?
2. Who is the instrumental virtuoso you like and admire the most – the same person as in question 1, or someone else?
3. Have you ever had a dream, or experienced a fleeting mental vision, which later seemed to have been prophetic?
4. If forced to choose, would you rather live in a mansion or on a narrowboat (no other choices available)?
5. With which fictional character(s), if any, have you at any time identified, or seen as a rôle model?

Earworms 25 March 2024

Clap your hands now…

Good evening, and welcome to your selection of songs about hands and feet.

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 sleep and dreaming / dreams. As inspired by Wyngate’s EOTWQ last week.

Worms should reach me by close of play on Sunday 31 March (if you’re not too busy eating Easter eggs).

Many thanks to all contributors – keep calm, and carry on!

James Holden – Trust Your Feet – Uncleben: From probably my favourite album of 2023, Imagine There Is a High Dimensional Space of All Possibilities, which is good advice when listening to his music.

Dean McPhee – Fatima’s Hand – glassarfemptee: Yorkshire guitarist Dean McPhee produces immaculate instrumentals. This is from the album of the same name.

Susi Hyldgaard – Regard Je Tends Le Main Vers Toi – DebbyM: My ‘A’-lister!

The Shins – Pink Bullets – Fintan28: Love can take a shell “just bony hands. As cold as a winter pole” and restore it to life. As well, the embers in it’s memory sustain even when it’s gone.

Bob Dylan and The Band – Forever Young – severin: May your hands always be busy, may your feet always be swift.

The Duck & The Bear – Hand Jive – tincanman: A Muscle Shoals oddity with an uncredited Duane Allman on slide guitar. Found this on the Anthology albums (Vol 1 & 2), a worthy collection.

Shriekback – Hand On My Heart – shoegazer: Will also work for this week’s Songbar.

Harlem River Drive – Idle Hands – Uncleben: About the finest brass and percussion arrangement committed to record that I know, courtesy of Eddie Palmieri.

Ella Fitzgerald – Clap Yo’ Hands (with Nelson Riddle) – severin: From her George and Ira Gershwin songbook collection.

The Reverend Peyton’s Big Damn Band – Clap Your Hands – DebbyM: A Festive ‘Spill choice from many moons ago.

Chicken Shack – Webbed Feet – glassarfemptee: You don’t hear much Chicken Shack these days, so here’s a reminder of excellent sixties British blues.

Califone – Slow Right Hand – Fintan28: Haven’t a clue what they’re on about but it’s a nice sound they make.

Bill Withers – Grandma’s Hands – glassarfemptee and MaggieB: ghe: Bill Withers had a hit with this in 1971. It probably resonates with many of us. MaggieB: Love, love love this song🙂. You can watch the video here. (BBC In Concert, May 1974).

Aaron Neville – Warm Your Heart – Fintan28: “Come close to me, hold my hand / And warm your heart” Nice.

Alanis Morrissette – Hand in my Pocket – Suzi: Has to be this wonderful song!

Berge – Kinder (Sind so kleine Hände) – DebbyM: A very pleasant cover version of one of the biggest hits to ever have been written in the DDR.

Olivia Chaney – Mirror Mirror – severin: Walk beside me hand in hand, don’t be afraid to tread this ground. This is from her new album, Circus of Desire which I commend to the house.

Main playlist, blurbs above:

YouTube playlist, blurbs below:

Etta Scollo – Ora – DebbyM: I’m hoping to see her at the end of April!

Kirsty MacColl – In These Shoes? – MaggieB: Doesn’t specifically mention feet, but where else do you wear shoes?

Fats Waller – Your Feet’s Too Big – Suzi: Always makes me smile.

Reef – Place Your Hands – AliM: This is an old video, but we saw them play it last year and it’s still a great song.

Earworms 18 March 2024

It’s all too much…

Good evening, and welcome to your selection of songs about futility. In case you were beginning to get interested, LongTallSilly found this quote: “Writing about music is like dancing about architecture”, which is loosely attributed to Martin Mull. Whoever he is. Not sure if I can be bovvered to look him up. “Life! Don’t talk to me about life!”

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 hands and feet. Worms should reach me by close of play on Sunday 24 March.

Many thanks to all contributors – keep calm, and carry on!

Trail of Dead – Wasted State of Mind – shoegazer: Trail Of Dead caught in a stasis.

Matchbox Twenty – Rest Stop – tincanman: I’ve stopped dating people for saying something stupid. Harsh, sure. But if you know it’s doomed, why wait?

The Cars – Drive – Fintan28: Standing on the outside and watching another’s descent is a true exercise in futility.  Especially if you were once inside that circle with a chance to make the difference.

Tracy Chapman – Broken – Suzi: You may wish for a picture-perfect life, but it’s not going to happen. One of her most beautiful songs.

Rachel Sermanni – What Can I Do? – DebbyM: I’ve loved this girl’s music ever since Blimpy introduced her to us!

Dusty Springfield – I Just Don’t Know What To Do With Myself – severin: Parties, movies. Nothing helps. Covered by Elvis Costello and by the White Stripes but this version is still the best.

Bill Morrissey – You’ll Never Get to Heaven – UncleBen: “You’ll never get to heaven if you don’t stop talking, and it’s just a waste of time when there’s no one there.” Quite a number of his songs would qualify for this topic. As would Steven Patrick Morrissey’s, come to think of it.

Mexrissey – Cada Dia es Domingo (Everyday Is Like Sunday) – severin: Morrissey’s lament for run down, neglected seaside towns where nothing seems to happen any more. I wouldn’t pay to see him sing it any more but this lot were stupendously good on both occasions I saw them. “On your face, face face…”

Jaques Brel – Madeleine – Suzi: The hopeful but deluded protagonist of this song waits for Madeleine every week with a bunch of lilacs. She’s not going to turn up, is she?

Carl Perkins – Honey Don’t – Fintan28: “Tell the truth now is love real?” That’s the crux of it and Carl can’t get a true answer.

Grateful Dead – Tennessee Jed – Chris7572: Everything – including his dog – is telling him to go back where he claims he wants to be but it’s all in vain. Garica’s solo in this one is beautifully off-kilter.

Leonard Cohen – Waiting For The Miracle – Suzi: A futile wait for something that’s just not going to happen.

Aretha Franklin – Ain’t No Way – Fintan28: I love me some Aretha.  She can’t do wrong in my book and this just might be her best.  Aretha’s voice, her brilliant piano work and sister Carolyn’s devastating lyrics all work to make this a gem. Cissy Houston’s background trill is the icing. “Ain’t no way for me to love you if you won’t let me”. Futility distilled.

Ezra Furman – Train Comes Through – tincanman: Ezra does a great job of conveying the futility of resisting … um, whatever it is he’s singing about.

The Sound – All Fall Down – severin: Maybe more about apathy than futility but let it pass. “There’s words on the page still, but where’s all the rage gone?”

Main playlist, blurbs above:

YouTube playlist, blurbs below:

Amended YouTube playlist including Matching Mole

Subhumans – Waste of Breath – wyngatecarpenter: Ironically the subject has prompted me to contribute for the first time in weeks: “It’s the story of your life / And the end of it’s your death / And every word that’s in between / Is just a waste of breath”. Needs more cowbell!

Status Quo – Gerdundula – AliM: Not yer typical Quo. Here they muse on the futility of looking for love.

Frank Zappa – The Blue Light – LongTallSilly: I think it’s futile trying to pin down Zappa lyrics, but it sounds to me about futility in modern life!

Pink Floyd – Time – LongTallSilly: This is one of my favourite Floyd tracks lyrically. So many references to the futility of our existence. “And you run, and you run to catch up with the sun but it’s sinking / Racing around to come up behind you again / The sun is the same in a relative way but you’re older / Shorter of breath and one day closer to death”.

Queen – Bohemian Rhapsody – LongTallSilly: Nothing really matters…

Alan Hull – United States of Mind – AliM: “I’ll let it thunder, let it whistle / Let it blow like hell, I’m not really bothered / And my state of mind has finally been discovered.”

Peter Lind Hayes ‘ Life Gets Teejus, Don’t It’ – MaggieB: Even better with all the scratches and crackles. Suitable subject today; Leicester City just lost the FA cup quarter final😒 I am in the company of two disgruntled grandsons- teejus, ain’t it?…

Neil Young – The Needle and the Damage Done – AliM: But every junkie’s like a settin’ sun.

Disturbed – The Sound of Silence – LongTallSilly: Total futility for me!

Matching Mole – Signed Curtain – Chris7572: My contribution to 2011’s RR Futility playlist was Robert Wyatt’s desperately sad almost-song that holds its punch until the very last line.

Earworms 11 March 2024

Good evening, and welcome to your selection of songs about photography and photographs.

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 songs about futility, as suggested by Fintan. Worms should reach me by close of play on Sunday 17 March.

Many thanks to all contributors – keep calm, and carry on!

Jean Michel Jarre – Souvenir of China – glassarfemptee: I love the way the sound of an SLR shutter/mirror is used in this track. Not that you hear this in the age of the smartphone and the digital camera. From 1982’s ‘The Concerts in China’, the first by a Western artist after the Cultural Revolution.

Yola – Like a Photograph – severin: Yola in fine voice on her second album. “Hold me close just like a photograph”.

Elbow – Scattered Black and Whites – tincanman: There’s this quiet eloquence to Guy Garvey at his best.

Blondie – Picture This – DebbyM, MaggieB and Suzi: Debby: Nothing like a bit of Blondie energy to start the week! Maggie: Debbie, still touring and recording as you can see HERE. Suzi: Yes, I know I’ve sent this in before, but it’s a favourite Blondie. Debbie wants a photo of her beloved, ‘a total portrait with no omissions.’

The Pretenders – Back On The Chain Gang – Fintan28: A found picture sets off a round of reflection and a pretty damn fine tune.

The Kinks – People Take Pictures of Each Other – Suzi: A perceptive song from their wonderful Village Green Preservation Society album.

The Basement Wall – Picture On Page 10 – Fintan28: The Basement Wall may have done the ’60s cover as well as anyone. This small piece of Modish pop never betrays their Louisiana origins. It’s so fun.

Nina Hagen – Du hast den Farbfilm vergessen – DebbyM: Yes, I roll this out whenever we’re in the vicinity of this topic, but it’s just wonderful. Possibly the biggest pop hit ever in the history of the DDR, Frau Merkel had this played by a military band at her standing-down ceremony (I’m not sending you that version).

Good Shoes – The Photos On My Wall – severin: Photo reference is mainly in the title and the first line and I’ve probably sent it in before but my word they were a good band. And from Morden. What more could you want?

Steely Dan – Peg – glassarfemptee: Steely Dan had a top twenty hit with this song about starlet fever. From ‘Aja’, 1978.

Guy Clarke – My Favourite Picture of You – tincanman: According to legend Guy and his buddy Townes Van Zandt pissed away an afternoon drinking whiskey and Guy’s wife was rather displeased.

Megan Nash & the Best of Intentions – Artifact – DebbyM: I fell in love with Megan Nash when they were touring Europe as support for another Canadian band. This song is from their heart-breaking album ‘Soft Focus Futures’, after their marriage broke down.

Richard Thompson – Cold Kisses – Suzi: She’s gone out for five minutes, so he takes the opportunity to look through some photographs that she’s hidden away in the back of a drawer. They show her with various old boyfriends – does he measure up?

Patsy Cline – She’s Got You – severin: A photograph is among the things she still has to remember him by. It is all too sad.

Main playlist, blurbs above:

YouTube playlist, blurbs below:

Peter Gabriel – Family Snapshot – DebbyM: From Wikipedia: ‘The song was inspired by An Assassin’s Diary, published in 1973 and written by Arthur Bremer, who, on May 15, 1972, attempted to assassinate George Wallace, a Democratic Party politician who supported racial segregation.’

Rush – The Camera Eye – LongTallSilly: A  track from Moving Pictures, not as famous as ‘Tom Sawyer’, but still ten minutes not wasted!

David Bowie – Andy Warhol – LongTallSilly: Is this photography or painting? I maintain the silver screen is a reference to film, therefore it fits the brief, but whatever I think the whole of Hunky Dory is great so any excuse!!

Tommy Steele – Flash Bang Wallop – LongTallSilly: Takes me back to childhood every time! Funny how these things stick, I’ll be going on about small monochrome males of the bovine persuasion next!

Spoon – I Turn My Camera On – shoegazer: Away from the PC, but here’s some Spoon.

alt-J – Taro – AliM: A fascinating and moving story behind this song, you can read about it HERE.

10cc – I’m Not In Love – LongTallSilly: The Original Soundtrack was a great album from which I could draw many film references, but I went for ‘I’m Not In Love’. The denial of: “I keep your picture / Upon the wall /
It hides a nasty stain that’s lying there…” twangs the heart still.

Earworms 4 March 2024

Good evening, and welcome to your selection of songs about chance and happenstance.

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 photography / photographs, anything closely related, as suggested by glassarfemptee. Worms should reach me by close of play on Sunday 10 March.

Many thanks to all contributors – keep calm, and carry on!

Father John Misty – I Went to the Store One Day – severin: “For love to find us of all people, I never thought it’d be so simple.”

The Decemberists – The Bagman’s Gambit – glassarfemptee: A mysterious spy thriller from The Decemberists. He gives his Russian lover microfilm, but she’s arrested for killing a cop. Then ten years later, by chance, he sees her in a passing car.

Silver Jews – Random Rules – Uncleben: “With its sombre yet poetic lyrics and melancholic melodies, “Random Rules” has captured the hearts of many listeners, sparking discussions about its meaning and significance. In this essay, we will delve into the depths of this powerful song, exploring its themes, analyzing its lyrics, and uncovering the emotions it evokes.” (Sadly, the AI grinds to a halt shortly after this, claiming that the lyrics of the song consist of the single word “In”.)

Show of Hands – The Bet – Suzi: A strange story of happenstance and comeuppance, referencing another of their songs, The Galway Farmer.

Billy Woods & Kenny Segal – Speak Gently (w Self Jupiter) – tincanman: When money is tight you don’t waste it on mail forwarding, so the daily mail is always a mixed bag of surprises real and imagined to keep you (and future tenants) entertained.

Poems for Jamiro – Look At The Stars – DebbyM: Coincidence happens when the stars collide, so I offer you debbym perennial favourites Poem for Jamiro with ‘Look at the stars’. This acoustic version with string quartet was recorded live in a church. Enjoy!

Gabby Young and Other Animals – Male Version of Me – severin: “I can’t believe that I was in the right place at the right time… and I never taught you but you happen to be perfect for me.”

Tianna Esperanza – Lewis – tincanman: Whatever you think you’re going into Harlem’s African National Memorial Bookstore for, you’re probably going to leave with something else. From her crazy good debut last year, Terror.

The Divine Comedy – The Certainty of Chance – glassarfemptee: If you’ve lived through the troubles in Northern Ireland, it’s perhaps understandable to believe in chance. Divine Comedy is mainly Neil Hannan, and here’s a 1998 track from ‘Fin de siecle’.

Jake Thackray – The Blacksmith and the Toffee Maker – Suzi: A blacksmith harbours a secret passion for a lonely spinster who makes a living from selling home-made toffee. She would really like a man in her life – and coincidence brings them together.

Main playlist, blurbs above:

YouTube playlist, blurbs below:

Ramones – Questioningly – severin: Meeting an old lover by chance. And wishing you hadn’t.

Dolly Parton – Olive Branch – MaggieB: From the living legend herself.

Angel Olsen – Chance – AliM: “All that space in between where we stand / Could be our chance…”

Patsy Cline – Turn The Cards Slowly – Fintan28: Storms have left us without power and fried my tablet but here’s something to toss in. Patsy is letting him know she’s on to him and he’s running out of chances.

Pat Metheney – The Roots of Coincidence – AliM: A bit of jazz fusion for you. Or whatever you like to call it.

Earworms 26 February 2024

Good evening, and welcome to your songs about food and feasting. And many thanks for all the birthday wishes. Time for a feast and rejoicing!

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 chance, coincidence and happenstance, or anything closely related.

Worms should reach me by close of play on Sunday 3 March. Many thanks to all contributors. Keep calm and carry on!

The Congos – Feast of the Passover – Uncleben and severin: A couple of months early, I know. And I don’t think smoking large bags of herb strictly counts as Passover feasting. But it’s an exquisite Lee Perry production. severin: I’m cheating slightly as the title is a reference to the feast of the Passover. Which does involve some traditional food and drink but isn’t mainly about it.

Misty in Roots – Food, Clothes and Shelter – shoegazer: Roots Reggae from Middlesex.

Ry Cooder – One Meat Ball – DebbyM: Haven’t listened to this in forever.

X Ray Spex – Junk Food Junkie (Live) – severin: Recorded live at the Roxy it says. Without an audience from the sound of it. Poly wasn’t keen on fast food and/or burgers.

Robert Earl Keen Jr – Barbeque – Fintan28: Robert Earl does a fine job of elaborating a life time’s pursuit of his favourite food to feast upon.

Let’s Eat Grandma – Eat Shiitake Mushrooms – severin: And why not? In a lovely stir fry. Possibly.

Natalie Merchant – The Feast of Saint Valentine – DebbyM: Bit of a shoehorn, but this so very nearly made my Festive ‘Spill and I could listen to it over and over again.

Jonathan Byrd – White Oak Wood – Suzi: As well as its many other uses, slow-burning white oak is perfect for a hog roast, according to Jonathan. His 300lb piggy, properly cooked in a metal drum, will feed the whole neighbourhood.

Bill Monroe & Doc Watson – Have A Feast Here Tonight – Fintan28: When you’re living off the land a feast is where you find it. A hare raising tale of a coney well served.

Carolina Chocolate Drops – Cornbread And Butterbeans – tincanman: This is Rhiannon Giddens’ first band. She has a few Grammys, a couple of Pultizers, a MacArthur Fellowship, and an honorary doctorate or two to her name and people listening to her play banjo on Beyoncé’s new country album are going: ‘who dat?’

Katzenjammer – Cherry Pie – Suzi: Great-grandma’s recipe for cherry pie is just irresistible.

Preston Love w/ Shuggie Otis – Chili Mac – Fintan28: And a tribute to the poor man’s feast. Chili don’t cost much to make. Add some pasta and it goes a long way. Great groove.

Joe Henry – Salt And Sugar – tincanman: The more I listen to Joe Henry the more I think he’s an overlooked genius. This is from The Gospel According To Water, an album he wrote in 2019 after a near-fatal health scare. It’s pretty deep.

Jake Thackray – My Roly Poly Girl – Suzi: She used to cook all kinds of delicious food for him, but now she’s left him. He thinks someone has stolen her away – it had better not be you…!

Main playlist, blurbs above:

YouTube playlist, blurbs below:

Mississippi John Hurt – Short’nin’ Bread – MaggieB: A song I’ve known since I was knee high, and I’ve just discovered how to make the stuff. Here’s the recipe!

The Lancashire Hotpots – Chippy Tea – LongTallSilly: The hotpots have it right, it is a working man’s right to have a chippy tea on a Friday night! 🤣

Foo Fighters – The Feast and The Famine – AliM: Nothing to do with food, really, but a good excuse to rock out.

Pink Floyd – Alan’s Psychedelic Breakfast – LongTallSilly: A fine feast from Floyd!

Lau and Karine Polwart – Midnight Feast – AliM: I love Lau. And Karine Polwart isn’t bad, either.

Stanley Holloway – Yorkshire Pudding – LongTallSilly: Alright, I admit it’s not a song, but it’s a good tale!

Earworms 19 February 2024

Good evening, and welcome to your songs about spectacles, of various sorts, from the sublime to the end of your nose. I always fancied a pair of these: “Joo Janta 200 Super-Chromatic Peril Sensitive Sunglasses have been specially designed to help people develop a relaxed attitude to danger. At the first hint of trouble, they turn totally black and thus prevent you from seeing anything that might alarm you.” (Douglas Adams, The Restaurant at the End of the Universe). As worn by Zaphod Beeblebrox.

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 feasting and food (I apologise if you are observing Lent), and worms should reach me by close of play on Sunday 25 February. The theme was suggested in part by glassarfemptee, to whom many thanks.

Many thanks to all contributors – keep calm and carry on!

Les Hyper Gaelles – Lunettes – DebbyM: French punk from Germany!

Anthony Reynolds – Girls With Glasses – glassarfemptee: Welsh musician Anthony Reynolds released this on a 2008 EP. “Nothing surpasses/girls with glasses”.

Sticks McGhee – One Monkey Don’t Stop No Show – Fintan28: Some worldly advice for anyone choosing to be the centre of attention. It don’t play a lotta places and the show moves on even after you’re gone.

The Lovin’ Spoonful – 4 Eyes – glassarfemptee: From the lovely album “Hums of the Lovin’ Spoonful”, way back in ’66. And they are still doing reunion gigs.

The Decemberists – The Infanta – shoegazer: Time for a big parade.

Nilsson – You’re Breakin’ My Heart – tincanman: The one and only Harry Nilsson tells a girlfriend to fuck off because she broke his heart. And his glasses.

Millie Jackson – Rose Coloured Glasses – severin: Millie goes country. Well, she did in 1981. And some people, apparently didn’t like it. Sounds fine to me.

Pohlmann – Captain mit Sonnenbrille – DebbyM: Pohlmann is a singer-songwriter, frequently on tour and selling out gigs in smaller venues. His Captain is on a never-ending journey and protects himself by wearing sunglasses in the dark.

Betty Wright – Keep Love New – severin: One of two “rose coloured glasses” contributions from me. From her excellent 4U2NJOY album.

Bobby Bland – I Pity The Fool – Fintan28: The crowd is looking on as he gets crushed. All He can do is pity the next guy.

Willie Tee – Teasin’ You – Fintan28: It’s a party and this guy thinks he’s got it made. What he doesn’t know? He’s putting on a show for everyone and the ending ain’t gonna be to his liking. Willie knows though.

Tommy Handley and Ronald Frankeau – In the Quartermaster’s Store – severin: “My eyes are dim, I cannot see. I have not brought my specs with me.” We always used to sing this on coach trips but with the names of our fellow travellers substituted for the victuals. (My dad used to sing this – Ed.)

Jake Thackray – Isabel Makes Love Upon National Monuments – Suzi: I think it’s safe to say that Isabel has definitely made a spectacle of herself.

Main playlist, blurbs above:

YouTube playlist, blurbs below:

The 99ers – Buddy Holly Glasses – MaggieB: A song that mentions everyone’s glasses-wearing rock n roller.

ZZ Top – Cheap Sunglasses – LongTallSilly: Cutting out the light certainly helps. These spectacles are ready after you make a spectacle of yourself the night before!

Jethro Tull – The Story of the Hare Who Lost His Spectacles – AliM: From ‘A Passion Play’ (1973). Very strange.

Earworms 12 February 2024

Good evening, and welcome to your selection of songs about Mardi Gras, Carnivals and Festivals.

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 spectacles, whether on your nose or making a spectacle of yourself, interpret as you will. Thanks to glassarfemptee for suggesting the topic. Worms should reach me by close of play on Sunday 18 February.

Many thanks to all contributors – keep calm and carry on!

A Certain Ratio – Si Fermir O Grido – shoegazer: More Latin carnival than Mardi Gras.

Jon Batiste – Boy Hood (w PJ Morton & Trombone Shorty) – tincanman: Jon Batiste is a spectacular young music creator and entertainer. An artist first, he collaborates with anyone willing to blaze new trails in jazz, funk, R&B, soul, hip hop, and ‘ethnic’ urban music. He spent his boyhood in NOLA.

Superblue – Bacchanal Time – Glassarfemptee: Monday 12th February is J’Ouvert (opening day) for the Trinidad carnival, ending with Las’ Lap on Tuesday evening. Soca Monarch Superblue invites you to “Jump up” at the Bacchanal. Watch out for the moko jumbies.

The Jamaicans – Ba Ba Boom – severin: Festival song. I first heard this song when the British reggae band Black Slate covered it live at a RAR organised gig back in 1978.

The Iguanas – El Orangutan – Fintan28: An orangutan couple walk into a bar… Not the first line of a joke. No it’s the premise of this song by New Orleans Latino band The Iguanas. I’m guessing it’s based on an amorous couple they saw stumbling into Mona Juana’s. Or something they imagined doing that. There was definitely a banana .

Siouxsie and the Banshees – She’s a Carnival – severin: And possibly a Mardi Gras too.

Mumbo Gumbo – Walkers Cay – Fintan28: Mumbo Gumbo are a Sacramento based band that I’ve been dancing to for 30 years or more. Every street dance in Reno has seen them at least once. They’ve performed at Mardi Gras multiple times but sadly I haven’t been. Yet!

Dr John – Goin’ Back To New Orleans – DebbyM: I think of Mardi Gras, I think of New Orleans; I think of New Orleans, I think of Dr John.

Wild Magnolias – (Somebody Got) Soul Soul Soul – tincanman: There are almost 40 semi-secret Mardis Gras Indian ‘tribes’ in New Orleans. Mostly African-American, they parade in Indian fancy dress and belt out joyful soul and funk. It’s a confusing tie up which came about because so many Indians sheltered escaping slaves. Quite a fascinating rabbit hole: http://tinyurl.com/2xr2rqvv. I also recommend Cha Wa, The Wild Tchoupitoulas, and The Meters. MaggieB: This is interesting too: Iko Iko original meaning and lyrics.

Professor Longhair – Big Chief – Fintan28: Rhumba base piano Blues? In New Orleans music is a good Creole so sure. Louisiana native Professor Longhair walks his piano right into Basin Street with this one. If it sounds familiar Lily Allen stole or sampled or borrowed or whatever the kids do this lick on Knock ’em Out. The Big Chief is the guy who sets the parade route for the Mardi Gras “Tribes”.

Professor Longhair – Mardi Gras in New Orleans – glassarfemptee: The late Professor Longhair was a stalwart of the New Orleans Mardi Gras.

Erland and the Carnival – My Name is Carnival – glassarfemptee: Straight outta Orkney, here’s Erland and the Carnival (now defunct). This from their eponymous first album…

The Seekers – The Carnival Is Over – severin: An old Russian tune and lyric by Tom Springfield, written after attending Carnival in Rio. Mentions Italian Comedia dell’arte characters for added internationalism.

Main playlist, blurbs above:

YouTube playlist, blurbs below. You can add songs here: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLqxz-zGCy09pj6uRaf0ZRX4DiLP0Y3Ub-&si=lNWUXlb6u0D2BHCj

Paul Simon – Take Me To The Mardi Gras – Suzi: We don’t have the equivalent of the Mardi Gras in the UK – we just make pancakes, which are larger and thinner than the American variety, and are usually eaten with lemon. In some parts of the country there are pancake races, the competitors each holding a frying pan with a pancake in it which they must toss as they run without letting it fall to the ground. This is as exciting as it gets here, however the pancakes are very tasty.

Santana – Carnaval – AliM: One from my youth.

Spyro Gyra – Carnaval – AliM: One from my youth.

Fats Domino – Mardi Gras in New Orleans – AliM: No, I’m not that old. But I do have an annoying habit of whistling.

Half Man Half Biscuit – If I Had Possession over Pancake Day – LongTallSilly: Great song for shrove Tuesday!

Earworms 5 February 2024

Matraca Berg, Gretchen Peters, Suzy Bogguss – Wine, Women & Song – tincanman: Wine, Women & Song was how these three Nashville friends branded their informal, casual tours across the UK. Nice harmonies.

Good evening, and welcome to your selection of songs about wine, women and song.

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 Mardi Gras, or anything associated with it, as suggested by glassarfemptee. Worms should reach me by close of play on Sunday 11 February.

Many thanks to all contributors – keep calm, and carry on!

Loggins and Messina – Vahevela – Fintan28: Sailor sneaks ashore to sing with the local girls & tipple a bit. Sounds fine.

Fairground Attraction – Watching the Party – severin: Someone’s not joining in the festivities and frivolities, whatever they may be. Bit of a shoehorn this one but I love their first album beyond reason.

Elton John – Elderberry Wine – Suzi: I’ve made elderberry wine in the past; it’s quite potent, but needs time to mature. Here’s an early rocker from Elton, about a wife who did the same, till she left him, and now he can’t get it together at all.

Whitesnake – Wine, Women an’ Song – glassarfemptee and LongTallSilly: ghe: A DsD fave, Whitesnake want to rock and roll all over you. LTS: Can’t pass up a chance to listen to some Whitesnake. Coverdale/ Gillan one of the great debates of my youth. Tend to favour Gillan but Coverdale has his moments, though not PC! “Give me a rock an’ roll band / With a mean an’ dirty blues guitar, / Take me to a dance hall palace / With a twenty four hour bar / Then you better lock up your daughter, your sister too…”

Margaret Glaspy – Irish Goodbye – tincanman: Not sure if this is an actual thing, but Margaret says it is. When she goes out with a group of friends and decides it’s time to leave, she leaves. No words needed; she’s just not there anymore. From last year’s Echo the Diamond.

Joan Armatrading – Water With the Wine – severin: Wine, woman plus younger man, singing optional. Very loosely based on a real incident which in reality got no further than Joan being amused by the boy’s over-confident flirting.

Offenbach – Poison rouge (Chanson sur le vin et les femmes) – DebbyM: Mid-80s Canadian Franco-rock.

Josh Rouse – Lemon Tree – Fintan28: Stolen kisses under a lemon tree and the beat of a new song in the bargain. Perhaps the wine is implied but I’ve no doubt it’s part of the magic.

Jimmy Buffett – Nautical Wheelers – Fintan28: ” a little pleasin’ & teasin'” along with “the occasional bottle of wine”? Sounds a good evening. Come on and dance with me.

Andrew Bird – So Much Wine – glassarfemptee: Wine women and song doesn’t always work out well. Here’s Andrew Bird’s experience…

At Swim Two Birds – Wine Destroys the Memory – shoegazer: Roger Quigley who died too early in 2020.

Lal Waterson – Red Wine and Promises – Suzi: A song from a woman who admits that she has had far too much cheap red wine. Does she care? No.

Boris Vian – Je bois – DebbyM: Drinking to forget his wife’s ‘friends’.

Loretta Lynn – Wine, Women and Song – glassarfemptee: The late Loretta Lynn sings a warning. I’m not a huge fan of country, but Loretta was very kind and helpful to many aspiring singers. She gave Mary Gauthier a guitar to encourage her.

Loudon Wainwright III – Wine With Dinner (Live) – severin: “Sometimes when I drink too much, I cannot get it up” That’s the wine and the one (possibly) disappointed woman. I think he was still married to Kate at the time. And there are lots of people singing. Rather too enthusiastically, if you ask me.

Main Playlist, blurbs above:

YouTube playlist, blurbs below, and link here: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLqxz-zGCy09pP_aKoiD-1-m_h_fXL1TGG&si=CywhlrxBYHrn5a2V

Ralph McTell – Nettle Wine – AliM: From his first (1972?) album which I still know verbatim. A charming and whimsical song: ‘Taking wood to build a fire / Could you really get much higher / than standing in the
doorway with a glass of nettle wine? / My lady beside me, the mountain behind me / Before me the sea and the red skyline.’

Guns n’Roses – Nightrain – MaggieB: Nightrain is very cheap wine that GnR used to drink when they were poor and recording Appetite for Destruction. At some shows in 1987, Axl Rose would give drinking tips from the stage. When introducing this song, he would sometimes say something like: “In these liquor stores that the winos hit up, right beside Thunderbird, you’ll find the Nightrain. That’ll f–k up you twice as bad as Thunderbird and it’s a lot cheaper.”

Black Sabbath – Paranoid – LongTallSilly: I’m sure wine would have staved off the problems.

Ringo Starr – Wine, Woman and Loud Happy Songs – LongTallSilly: Just a shame the women ran off and drank all the wine! Trains wouldn’t do that.

Twin Atlantic – Yes I Was Drunk – AliM: ‘Nothing could stop me leaving, / The impulse runs through my blood / And I hope you live for your freedom, / I hope you enjoy the lust…’ OK, it’s implicit, but wine, women and song can go wrong.

Ian Drury – Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick -LongTallSilly: Well there’s a woman and a vineyard, it’s a song. Works for me plus I just enjoy hearing it! 😘

Ian Drury – Sex and Drugs and Rock and Roll – LongTallSilly: Intrinsically the same, although more gender fluid🤔

Verdi – Brindisi – La Traviata – MaggieB and Suzi: Maggie: And another one, Cheers! Suzi: ‘Yield to the voice of temptation!’ Well, I couldn’t resist this… (Get a room – Ed.)

End of the Week Quiz

I thought I would try and resurrect an old favourite, although I suggest we all take a turn rather than me doing it every week, because I will run out of ideas. Or upset somebody.

If anyone thinks this is a good idea and wants to do the next one, but doesn’t know how to post on WordPress, I am happy to help, and you can email me for destructions on adempster73@gmail.com.

Right, here we go. Nothing sophisticated, just a bit of a laugh and if there is a question you feel is too personal, or strikes the wrong note, don’t answer it. Short answers are absolutely fine.

1. What is the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given?
2. What is in your cutlery drawer? (a) Is it organised into knives, forks, spoons; (b) disorganised but you know where the corkscrew is; (c) full of plastic baby spoons with bunnies on, (d) set up to display Aunt Elspeth’s best fish knives? Or (e) ‘What’s a cutlery drawer?’
3. Where would you like to live, if money and mobility were no obstacle?
4. Pets. Yes or no. Why and/or what.
5. What stupid little thing really winds you up? (You can refer to the cutlery drawer or the pet, if you wish).
6. Would you like to swing on a star? Carry moonbeams home in a jar?

That’s all folks! Have fun with it and volunteer for another one. Or not.

Earworms 29 January 2024

Good evening, and welcome to your selection of songs about Angels and Demons.

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 wine, women and song, as suggested by LongTallSilly. Or wine, persons and song, if you prefer. Worms should reach me by close of play on Sunday 4 February.

Many thanks to all contributors. Keep calm, and carry on!

Bohren & der Club of Gore – On Demon Wings – glassarfemptee: Abahachi recommended this doom jazz outfit years ago, and I’m still enthralled. Here’s ‘On Demon Wings’.

Rasputina – Transylvanian Concubine – DebbyM: Qualifies thanks to the lyrics ‘Satan has been sighted’, but mainly because it’s on my Buffy the Vampire Slayer CD and wherever Buffy is, there be demons.

Katzenjammer – Demon Kitty Rag – severin and Suzi: severin: An old favourite from their first album. They have a devil song too, of course, but I’ve probably sent it in a few times already. Suzi: The incomparable Katzenjammer with a song about getting your own back.

Eurythmics – There Must Be An Angel – Suzi: Just a reminder of how good this ’80s band really were.

Delgados – I Fought The Angels – Shoegazer: Reformed in ’22 after a 17 year gap, but no new stuff yet. This one is from ’04.

Nanci Griffith – Nobody’s Angel – Fintan28: Can you pass from angel status so easily? In another country and feeling so out of one’s skin that pen in your hand is a stranger. How to figure it?

Sidsel Endresen – Angel – severin: I only got to hear about Sidsel because Olivia Chaney covered one of her songs a few years ago. I’m very glad she did as I now love her music.

Metropole Orkest – Ca va le diable – DebbyM: Entertainingly theatrical cover of Jacques Brel’s ‘Le diable (Ca va)’ by a Dutch jazz orchestra.

Grateful Dead – Victim Or The Crime – Chris7572: The lyric – about personal demons – was written by US TV actor, Gerrit Graham, and the apparent allusion to Garcia as a junkie caused much consternation amongst band members and Deadheads alike (although Jerry himself said “I don’t give a fuck, sing what you want”). Weir took inspiration from Bartok for the music and I find the whole thing rather magnificent. Garcia’s guitar lines are definitely demonic.

David Bromberg – Demon in Disguise – Fintan28: David is letting out his inner self and ya shoulda figured it out by now. Poetry & flowers can’t cover it.

Richard Thompson – Demons In Her Dancing Shoes – Suzi: From the Dream Attic album, RT, his guitar, and a girl who has bedroom eyes as well as those demon-infested shoes!

Bonnie Raitt – Angel from Montgomery – DebbyM and tincanman: DebbyM: One of my favourite songs ever. If Bonnie R. outlives me I’ll get her to sing this at my funeral. Actually, someone else will have to get her… tincanman: Anyone lucky enough to have seen Bonnie, as I finally did this winter, will know she loves it so. Those even luckier will have seen her perform it with the guy who wrote it, her dear friend John Prine.

Willie Nelson – Angel Flying Too Close To The Ground – Fintan28: From the underrated film Honeysuckle Rose, I always thought this a gem. You can patch an angel’s wings knowing she’s bound to fly away. What else could you do?

Otis Gibbs – Sometimes Angels – tincanman: For the compassion of Sometimes angels lose wings, end up strung out and high.

John Martyn – I’d Rather Be The Devil – severin: From his classic Solid Air album which I think was the first of his that I bought. After hearing him play May You Never on either Whistle Test or BBC In Concert.

Prefab Sprout – Michael – toffeeboy: The song is ‘narrated’ by Lucifer and refers to the Archangel Michael.

Placebo – Centrefolds – toffeeboy: He’s been waiting far too long: Come on Balthazar / I refuse to let you die… Be mine.

Bohren & der Club of Gore – Dead End Angels – glassarfemptee: Bohren & der Club of Gore’s 2000 album Sunset Mission had both demons and angels – this is the angel track. You’d never guess they started out in punk bands.

Main playlist, blurbs above:

YouTube playlist, blurbs below – here’s the link, if you want to add any more: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLqxz-zGCy09owXgL2Yq2sL6OwtbBpLcB7&si=cGmrd55f9QY35y-e

Bruce Springsteen – Devils and Dust – MaggieB: Love this song.

The Charlie Daniels Band – The Devil Went Down To Georgia – LongTallSilly: For some obscure reason I love this track. The devil is the top demon so for me it works this week.

Sam Fender – Angel in Lothian – AliM: I wish an angel fell somewhere in Lothian / She could’ve fixed all the problems that I cannot fix / But one day I might have kids myself / And hope that I don’t – them up myself…

Imagine Dragons – Demons – AliM: One of those songs that you’ll probably recognise as soon as you hear it, although you didn’t know that’s what it was.

New Music from January Sixteen

January Sixteen are a 4-piece band from Glasgow, Linlithgow and East Kilbride. The guys have all been in bands in the past and three of them were in a band together about fifteen years ago. I liked this new track so much, I asked if they would tell me about themselves so that I could share it on The ‘Spill.

Most of them had stopped making music for about ten years, until 2022 when the singer, Dave Sloey, started writing new songs after making it a New Year’s resolution. He then asked the drummer Alan Duncan if he’d like to have a jam and see if any of the songs would work. Dave took a leap of faith after that first rehearsal and booked time in a recording studio for November 2022, and over the next few months Brian McNulty and Alan Wiseman came along to some rehearsals.

The four worked on a batch of new songs and picked two for the recording session, one of which, Rats, was the band’s first release in January 2023. Rats received a great response from bloggers and got a number of radio plays on Jim Gellatly’s show and BBC Radio Gaelic. Reviews have compared the band to The Pixies, early Foo Fighters and Nirvana, The Stone Roses and James (probably why I like them – Ed.). The band acknowledge all of those influences and others from U2 to My Bloody Valentine, The Beatles to The Clash, The Velvet Underground to The Jesus and Mary Chain.

Over the last year they’ve continued to write and record, putting out eight tracks including an EP, and they played their debut show to launch the EP in August 2023. The band agreed at the start that no style or genre would be off limits, that they wouldn’t limit themselves, and everyone is encouraged to bring songs and ideas to the table. Most songs now are joint written by Dave and Brian with both Alan’s contributing too.

Check out their debut EP on Bandcamp!

Earworms 22 January

Pat Fulgoni from Huddersfield, vocalist, blues, rock, jazz, drum and bass, soul, keyboards, trumpet…

Good evening, and welcome to your selection of songs from local bands / acts that you might see in a pub near you. As severin says, I suppose a “local band” for most people would be one that is from your home town (or even village) but when you live in a large city it’s not so simple. And when the city is Greater London it’s definitely a question of how local is local? Well, pub, bar, local festival, village hall, library, Devon – near enough is good enough.

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 demons and angels, you can interpret this to include devils and saints, or whatever you can justify as a shoehorn. Worms should reach me by close of play on Sunday 28 January.

I haven’t heard from shoegazer this week, which is unusual. No pressure, but hope you’re OK shoey!

Many thanks to all contributors – keep calm, and carry on!

Monako – I Forget – DebbyM: Hamburg band with Canadian singer. When I got my first Covid jab – at the end of a very long queue on a very long Saturday where patience was getting thinner by the minute – the friendly young man charged with setting up my next appointment read my name, looked up and asked me if I have a son who sings. Turned out he was the drummer in this band. How to become my favourite of all the indie bands on offer? Love my children and I’ll sign up for your mailing list ASAP! P.S. This song was on the shortlist for my Festive ‘Spill.

Big Joanie – Fall Asleep – severin: They were formed in Brixton, South London and they still play mostly smaller venues. Although they have released two albums and they played at Grace Jones’ Meltdown Festival in 2022, I first heard of them from a free gig they played at Brixton Library a few years ago. I hope that’s close enough to the remit to count!

Gallops! – Miami Spider – Suzi: Another band local to me, this time of the experimental rock and electronica kind. Instrumental.

Bobby Lee – Hevvy Friendz – AliM: Billed as ‘psych-folk’, Bobby Lee is from Sheffield, and we saw him last year at a local bar. This instrumental is from his CD ‘Shakedown in Slabtown’.

LA ILA – Nymph’s Web – DebbyM: La Ila is half of Poems for Jamiro, who often deliver songs for my earworms. She also plays hot swing and klezmer in another band, but this is her first solo project. I think these songs are just beautiful (there are only four, currently available on bandcamp). I’m going to see her on Wednesday, where she’ll be playing with Analogue Swing, then presenting some new songs of her own. I am really excited!

The Gathering – Heal the Last Stand – Suzi: A cheerful, singalong song from a band local to me. ‘Keep singing, keep hearing, keep moving, keep dancing.’

Robbie McIntosh Band – Emotional Bends – severin: Rob is from south west London, went to the same school as me and, despite having been a Pretender and a member of Paul McCartney’s touring band is still available to see (this February) playing a solo gig at the Sound Lounge in Sutton.

Scout Mountain – She’s Not By My Side – tincanman: Bandleader and banjoist Bill Smith wrote this about his dog. His semi-pro bluegrass band is a local institution that sells out the Legion so fast you pretty much have to know somebody to get a ticket. (Luckily, in a close-knit town of 14,000 someone always knows someone).

Tom Klose – Divine (Mayes cover) – DebbyM: Tom Klose is a very popular singer-songwriter round these parts, does lots of weddings and sofa concerts and puts a ton of free stuff (mainly covers) online. This is his cover of one of TheBoyWonder’s songs from a couple of years ago.

WordPress playlist, blurbs above:

YouTube playlist, blurbs below, and the link if you want to add songs: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLqxz-zGCy09oOXz4zjRoQRzha73PmkXVj&si=wGHZ6-mXPit3DzD8

The Humanitarians – Look Within – Suzi: This is a bit of a cheat, as the band isn’t immediately local to me, and I’ve never seen them, although I visit Devon quite often. They’re based in Torbay, and are a favourite of a friend of mine who lives there.

Heavy Salad – Psilocyberman – LongTallSilly: Seen many times in the pub, and the garden next door. Played South by South West in Texas as well.

Run Out The Guns – Drunken Sailor – LongTallSilly: Another local band, although they do say they’re from the USA (Uther Side of Ashton, local joke!!) P.S. The Bank Top Tavern is a pub in Oldham.

Dog Shark Blues Band – Purple Haze – LongTallSilly: Saw these guys at various pubs around Kirklees. We must have shared a record collection in our youth, except they can reproduce the music beautifully.

The John Angus Blues Band – Would I Lie To You – LongTallSilly: Another local(ish) band who we saw in Oldham this week. Luckily Andy is a better drummer than sailor otherwise he’d have been upside down under his kit!

Kyla Brox- Beautiful Day – AliM: We’ve seen Kyla Brox and Dan Blomeley at the village hall in nearby Brockholes, as part of last year’s Holmfirth Arts Festival. Here she is at The Vale in Mossley, which is fairly local and where we’ve seen Heavy Salad. She is the daughter of blues legend Victor Brox.

Terri Shaltiel – I’m Still In Love With You – AliM: Great blues singer from Leeds, we’ve seen her perform at The Railway in Marsden where they used to feature blues on Sundays. The video doesn’t do her justice, but her CD ‘Sweet Thing’ does, if you can get hold of it.

Druce and Jones – Own Sweet Time – AliM: Emily D and Steve J live and play locally. Emily teaches music therapy, is a multi-instrumentalist and writes and performs her own material, as well as covers. Steve builds guitars. They play at a local bar in Huddersfield, but are open to other gigs too, when they have time. Very accomplished.

Holly Macve – 1995 – AliM: Holly is Emily’s daughter, I have mentioned her many times on The ‘Spill and shared her single ‘Suburban House’ (with Lana Del Rey) on the Festive ‘Spill. This is her latest single, ‘1995’. And when she’s not doing SXSW or gigging in the States, I’ve seen her play locally several times.

Paddy Steer – Unorthodox Paradox – AliM: Last seen at The Vale, in Mossley. Interesting. Mancunian. There is an entertaining interview with him HERE.

Kasabian – Underdog – MaggieB: A couple of my neighbour’s kids went to school with some of these young men. We’re seven miles or so from Leicester but could still hear snatches of this concert. I saw them live when they played at the party for Leicester City winning the EPL, that was a happy day 😀😀

Jools Holland and Friends – ABC of Boogie-Woogie – glassarfemptee: Boogie-woogie king Ben Waters has played with the Stones, Dr John and many others. He and his band are regulars in pubs and clubs near me. Here he is with the ABC of boogie-woogie – Axel Zwingenberger, Ben Waters and Charle Watts.

7 Seconds – Young Until I Die – Fintan28: Formed in 1980, 7 Seconds was probably the most successful of Reno’s Hardcore Punk scene bands. They still perform some with two original members and last toured in 2022. Saw them at a local venue around 1982. We were there to see a friend’s band who were trying on their New Wave personas. A very mixed crowd that got along somehow.

The Atomiks – Hypochondria – Fintan28: If you like Rockabilly Surf guitar sounds (hand raised) The Atomiks are a Reno band that’s been around for 30 years or so and are still playing local venues. 60 years of this sound hasn’t grown old for me.

Had To – Out of Magic – Fintan28: Haven’t seen these guys but my niece (great niece, ouch) assures me they’re fun and can be seen locally.

Earworms 15 January 2024

Good evening, and welcome to your selection of songs about months of the year.

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 Songs from Local Bands (or similar) – who might we catch playing a pub/open-air/block party near you? As suggested by DebbyM, whose birthday is coming up this week. Worms should reach me by close of play on Sunday 21 January.

Many thanks to all contributors. Keep calm and carry on!

Martin Carthy – The January Man – Suzi: All the months of the year are in this song, written and first recorded in 1970 by Dave Goulder. I’m torn between this version and Bert Jansch’s, but Carthy’s voice, uncluttered by any instrumental accompaniment, is just mesmerising.

Marcin Wasilewski Trio – January – glassarfemptee: Abahachi introduced us to the wonders of the Marcin Wasilewski Trio. Touring a new album now.

Philip Henry and Hannah Martin – January – Suzi: Hannah sings a cappella about the month that ‘looks both ways.’

Unthanks – The Month of January – severin: There’s something about folk/traditional songs and the months/seasons of the year. I also have a June Tabor version of this song and an Unthanks song for several other months. This version is from the most recent Unthanks album Sorrows Away.

Complete Mountain Almanac – February – shoegazer: The Dessner brothers (The National) with their sister, and Rebekka Karijord from Norway.

Simon and Garfunkel – April Come She Will – Fintan28: Other than that Sedaka song it’s hard to come up with a song that mentions so many months. Fully half the year is featured chronicling a love affair from first bloom to its crumble to ash. Six months? With all apologies to Mr. Simon I can recall periods of my youth when it only took 6 days (or less).

Airborne Toxic Event – April is the Cruellest Month – tincanman: This is your three-month weather report from Mikel Jollett, who has his heart broken in novel ways in most of his song. This time he thought she was April to him but she was more March rains in October.

Beach Bunny – April – severin: One of my Festive ‘Spill picks back in 2020. Still sounds good to me.

Prince – Sometimes it Snows in April – tincanman: Shoehorn warning: This haunting finale to the soundtrack of his poorly received gigolo movie, Under the Cherry Moon, is not the prancing Prince we expect, but it does draw me in.

Bellowhead – One May Morning Early – Suzi: A song also known as The Birds In The Spring, which is what it’s all about, unless there’s some folky double-entendre going on here, which is just possible.

Oysterband – Hal-An-Tow – Suzi: A song sung on the morning of Flora Day in Helston, Cornwall, welcoming in the month of May and celebrating the beginning of Summer. Mock battles are staged between the forces of Good and Evil, as represented by young people dressed as the characters mentioned in the song.

Steeleye Span – Rosebud in June – Suzi: June is probably the month when most sheep-shearing gets done in the UK, after which the lads and lasses will celebrate with singing and dancing on the green grass, according to this lovely bit of a cappella.

Jillian Edwards – July and June – glassarfemptee: A ‘twofer” from Jillian Edwards, off her debut album.

Megan Nash – Another Silent Night – DebbyM: Wishing it were July.

Low – July – tincanman: Alan Sparhawk and Mimi Parker take slowcore to new highs. Or lows.
They’ll be ready by July. Or August. Maybe September… definitely by December.

Broken Bells – October – Fintan28: Other than a mention of Autumn we’ll have to take at face value this is about a certain October. No matter. It’s a fine tune.

Bert Jansch – October Song – Suzi: ‘The birds fly out behind the sun / And with them I’ll be leaving.’ Lovely.

Brian Eno and Harold Budd – Late October – severin: Instrumental from their 1984 album, “The Pearl” .

Mazzy Star – Flowers In December – Fintan28: I just love the images in this. That it mentions a month is just an added bonus.

Zaz – La Pluie – DebbyM: A rainy afternoon in December.

Main playlist, blurbs above:

YouTube playlist, blurbs below: (you can add to it, here: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLqxz-zGCy09owi96AamB4ij5IDyBl540K&si=0wchHvIE-EQN7ktx )

Christy Moore – January Man – MaggieB: I think I’ve posted this before, but it’s worth repeating?

Journey – Winds of March – AliM: There seems to be a lack of over-blown rock songs this week, so I thought I’d oblige.

P J Harvey – A Child’s Question, August – AliM: From her 2023 album, I Inside The Old Year Dying.

James Melton – September in the Rain (1937) – AliM: My mum had this, as sheet music. Same as the picture in the accompanying video. I’m afraid I never did it justice on the recorder, but I do remember it, so I must have been able to approximate the melody, at least.

Steve’n’Seagulls – November Rain – AliM: I’m guessing one over-blown rock song from me is enough, so here’s a gentle cover of the Guns’n’Roses classic. And that’s all the months covered.

Earworms 8 January 2024

Happy 2024! Lovely to see so many posts on the ‘Spill over Christmas and New Year. Thanks everyone! And welcome back to Earworms and your selection of songs about something you wish for. I must say, it’s very laid-back 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 why you’ve chosen it. Next week’s theme will be months of the year.

Worms should reach me by close of play on Sunday 14 January. Many thanks to all contributors.

Laura Mvula – Green Garden – severin: As opposed to a back yard with a small strip of garden containing very shallow soil and not a lot of sunshine. The rose bush is nice every June though. And I have all the bay leaves I can eat.

Scott Matthew – The Wish – shoegazer: From Queensland.

Gene Clark – Gypsy Rider – tincanman: I’m between bikes at the moment, so a motorcycle and a rambling road trip are high on my wish list. Doubt it would make me as poetic as the ex-Byrd though.

The Cyrkle – I Wish You Could Be Here – Fintan28: Lovely winter song from the pens of Paul Simon and Bruce Woodley (he of the Seekers). The Seekers recorded this a couple weeks before the Cyrkle but it was the December ’66 single from the Cyrkle that made it into my collection. Didn’t even know the Seekers version till much later. The bass line in this always makes the room warmer somehow. Just a fantastic little winter tale.

Lady Nade – Peace and Calm – severin: Not quite as worthy and selfless as wishing for world peace. Although I do, he added hastily. Peace and calm are important though. Plus by now everyone knows how much I like Lady Nade’s voice.

Jeffrey Martin – There Is A Treasure – tincanman: Portland singer-songwriter sounding Prine-like on last year’s Thank God We Left The Garden, a bit of a sleeper LP he recorded in his shed. This one’s about wishing so hard for things that you forget what you have.

Pearl Bailey – Solid Gold Cadillac – Fintan28: What does the woman who has everything wish for? Pearlie May has an answer along with a small, extra wish.

Sly and the Family Stone – Dance to the Music – severin: Please note. I mean wishing for the ability rather than the opportunity. No sense of balance, rhythm or spatial awareness does limit things a bit. I used to wish this on the (very rare) occasions I went to a club or (less rarely) a party. Now it’s more while I’m watching Strictly. Plus ça change,

Etta James – A Sunday Kind Of Love – Fintan28: Oh Miss Etta. She knows what to ask for. Can’t seem to find it nowhere. A wish she deserves to have filled with that voice. Still she pleads & pleads & pleads. So good!

Main playlist, blurbs above:

YouTube Playlist, blurbs below (or add to it, here: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLqxz-zGCy09onDZfvzHwZZuAfmrsOPh0k&si=fTWt_DWFaTXzdOxw)

Paul Rodgers and Queen – Wishing Well – MaggieB: What better wish than Love in a peaceful world? Happy New Year all 🙂

John Lennon – Imagine – LongTallSilly: Always thought this is a reasonable wish list!

Meute – Peace – DebbyM: I expect we’ll all be wishing for this. I’m going for the techno marching band version.

Susan O’Neill – Hear Us All – DebbyM: My wish is for everyone to be seen and heard by the mainstream, regardless of their social status/gender/disability/you name it. (I’m working on it where I can).

David Zincke – Money for Nothing – DebbyM: I enjoy my job (most of the time) but there are times I fancy the idea of having just enough money to get by (which would be REALLY different to now, ha!) and spending my days doing whatever whenever I like. This is a 2-guitar cover version from a French TV show.

Kate Rusby – Here We Come a-Wassailing – Suzi: ‘Love and joy come to you.’ Wishing everyone a happy New Year!

Pete Seeger – Oh Had I A Golden Thread – Suzi: Strangely I have two versions of this, including Eva Cassidy’s, but I prefer this one by the man who wrote it. Recorded in 1969, a pared-down version of the 1960 original.

Tom Paxton – Peace Will Come – AliM: From the eponymous album (1972, I think), anyway, it was the year I saw him at Bristol Colston Hall. “Peace Will Come, And Let It Begin With Me”.

Father John Misty – I’m Writing A Novel – AliM: I always wished to write a novel, but the older I get, the more apathetic I get and the more convinced I am that it would be a pretentious thing to do. This song sums it up very amusingly.

Happy New Earworms

Thanks to everyone for all the music over Christmas and New Year, hope you’re all well and still enjoying the playlists.

As I have spent all day in A&E with my mother-out-law (she’s fine, I’m gaga) and I forgot the Worms yesterday, I have decided to postpone Earworms till next week (Monday 8 January). So still time to send some if you feel inclined.

Apologies and see you soon! 🎶🎶🎶🎶

Earworms 11 December 2023

I was frightened of a thousand hats bouncing off the answers

Good evening, and welcome to your splendid selection of songs about hats and headgear.

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. I will have a two week break to make way for shoey’s wonderful Festive ‘Spill, and Christmas, and will resume normal service on 2 January 2024.

The theme for the new year is is ‘something you wish for‘ – it could be world peace and understanding, or pickled eggs, a Ferrari, cheese and onion crisps, revenge, snow, sunshine, fairy wings, a functioning laptop, a pineapple… the possibilities are many.

Worms should reach me by close of play on Sunday 1 January 2024. Merry Christmas and a Happy New year to you all! 🎄🎄✨✨🎈🎁

June Tabor and Oysterband – That Was My Veil – Suzi: Cover of a song by P J Harvey and John Parish.

Get Well Soon – If This Hat Is Missing I Have Gone Hunting – shoegazer: Get Well Soon AKA Konstantin Gropper from Germany.

Faithless – Baseball Cap – glassarfemptee: From Faithless’ first album, about inner city violence. ‘Scuffling in the street is no way to die’, but sadly it’s the fate for all too many.

Lyle Lovett – Don’t Touch My Hat – Fintan 28: There are places where trespass takes on odd connotations. As native son Lyle knows, Texas is one such place. Hell, there are just limitations to what a man has to put up with, right?

Randy Newman – Big Hat, No Cattle – severin: One of the many self-deprecating songs from his Bad Love album. Also the second song I got listed for Readers Recommend back in the Lynskey era.

Staff Sgt Barry Sadler – Ballad of the Green Berets – tincanman: Raised in a brothel, teenage troublemaker, nearly lost his life several times, murdered another songwriter, went bankrupt, wrote 20+ airport thrillers, kidnapped from a hospital… his story is better than his famous song!

Kate Rusby – The White Cockade – Suzi: A cockade was a bunch or rosette of ribbons worn on a soldier’s hat to identify him to his comrades. There are various versions, a Blue Cockade and even a Green Cockade, but this is probably the original. The song begins with the soldier’s story of how he was persuaded to enlist, then his heartbroken sweetheart takes up the narrative.

Eric Bibb – Panama Hat – glassarfemptee: A lovely laid back paean to a Panama hat from Eric Bibb’s 2000 ‘Roadworks’. They are made in Peru, not Panama, but you knew that. 

Procol Harum – Homburg – severin: The follow up to Whiter Shade of Pale. John Peel always insisted that he preferred this of the two.

Judith Durham – Mona Lisas and Mad Hatters – severin: Judith D sings an Elton John/Bernie Taupin song and makes a pretty good fist of it too. I actually heard this before the original and think of it as the definitive version.

Jimmy Buffett – They Don’t Dance Like Carmen No More – Fintan 28: An homage to Carmen Miranda & her glorious headdress ” with bananas & mangoes all piled to the sky”. Definitely another time.

Main playlist, blurbs above:

YouTube playlist, blurbs below – and here’s the link if you want to add to it: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLqxz-zGCy09oH9KDCgGq1j1jEKVj94Rx4&si=mfmL-hHRUbyRXjRq

Grateful Dead – Stagger Lee – Chris7572: Hunter’s version of the old story concentrates, uniquely it seems, on an imagined(?) revenge mission by Billy DeLyon’s widow. But the whole story springs from a lethal hat episode…

The Steam Pig – Hats and Flags – wyngatecarpenter: Obscure Irish punk from the ’90s with a fast, furious and quite upbeat song about public executions.

Etta James – You Can Leave Your Hat On – DebbyM: The funk version!

Mona Haydar – Hijabi (Wrap My Hijab) – DebbyM: This was apparently a ‘viral phenomenon’ a couple of years ago.

America – Hat Trick – AliM: From the eponymous album (1973). I was on a nostalgia-fest the other day and started to listen to America, a band I grew up with. Unfairly cast as a poor man’s Crosby, Stills and Nash, they had some excellent songs and beautiful harmonies.

Led Zeppelin – Hats off to (Roy) Harper – AliM: Had to nominate this, as LTS didn’t.

Nick Cope – I’ve Lost My Bobble Hat – DebbyM: Little’un’s contribution. You can’t be expected to wear just any old hat. It has to be The One.