Shuffleblog #53

The first five songs on shuffle on my ipod, first day back into the crushing inevitability of work following the Easter bank holiday season 2011:

Loudon Wainwright III - Fame and Wealth
Frank Turner - A Decent Cup Of Tea
Ox.Eagle.Lion.Man. - The Drowned and the Saved
Doctor Octoroc - Ryu The Red Nosed Ninja
The Mountain Goats - Song For Lonely Giants

Shuffleblog #52

The first five songs on shuffle on my ipod, Easter Sunday 2011:

Neko Case - If You Knew
Roddy Woomble - Under My Breath
James Kochalka Superstar - All The Boys Just Wanna Rock
The Beatles - Paperback Writer
The Shangri-Las - Right Now And Not Later

Arrested by Song #4: Hip Hop in Development

I was introduced to today's song, which I was reminded of recently by the helpful shuffle on my ipod, by my friend, bandmate and co-conspirator Alex Hawkins, who subtly put on the below video one lazy spring afternoon while we were failing to study. It's since become one of my all-time favourite hip-hop tracks, falling just short of knocking the Beastie Boys' 'Rhymin and Stealin' from the top spot. I'm no expert when it comes to hip-hop, but I enjoy older, more intelligent artists who leant towards social commentary (NWA, Public Enemy etc) than any recent chart-botherers. I do occasionally have bizzare cravings for Snoop and Dre which are easily satisfied and love a bit of crossover, but my tastes will always be dominated by whiny indie-rock. This track, however, is a summer anthem which is smooth, accessible and bright. Hip-hop can rarely be described as lovely but this is always the word which springs to mind. It is a relaxing song, and one whose lyrical content is beautiful and asks, in subtle, sweet exclamations, what happened to all the love, at least a decade before the bland chart-guff of the Black Eyed Peas asked the same question. Open some juice, put this song on and chill in the sun.

Shuffleblog #51

The first five songs on shuffle on my ipod, 18th April 2011:

Eisley - Memories
Hall & Oates - You Make My Dreams
Grizzly Bear - Ready, Able
R. Dean Taylor - There's A Ghost In My House
The Ramones - Ignorance Is Bliss

Shuffleblog #50

The first five songs on shuffle on my ipod, a sunny Sunday:

The Age of Rockets - An Ocean Away
Joe Hisaishi - Spring
Belle and Sebastian - Dear Catastrophe Waitress
The Weakerthans - Left and Leaving
Maoists of Aix - The Sanctity of the Italian American Family

Arrested by Song #3: Off the beaten Pavement

So after the horror of the previous 'Arrested by Song' post I'd like to prove I do listen to non-twee music occasionally. An example which has crept back into my earphones this week is 'Jenny and the Ess-Dog' by Stephen Malkmus, from his wonderful eponymous solo album. It's one of my favourite songs lyrically because it tells a beautiful and moving story, made all the more so by Malkmus' lazy drawl. His slacker vocals set the tone for the song, which describes life going by in a haze as a relationship, clearly doomed from the start, falls apart.

Musically it's a winner, with immediate entry vocals and a Beatles-esque opening which segues neatly into a few seconds of noise in the middle of the song before calming back down and concluding the story with the precision and talent of the finest of novelists or scriptwriters. Well done, Stephen. I salute you.

Arrested by Song #2: Guilty Pleasure Alert

A wise man once told me that there's no such thing as guilty pleasure songs, only jaded opinions. He was drunk, and lying to make me feel better about whichever crap band I was banging on about, but he had a point. If you enjoy a song then don't let anyone tell you you can't because it's uncool.

I'm not mentioning this because I'm in need of vindication, of course. I'm unabashed about my love for the band Hellogoodbye, and especially their new album, Would It Kill You?, which you should totally go buy. But the song which has arrested me this week is an early song of theirs, in fact the first song they (or their frontman Forrest) wrote. It's called 'Bonnie Taylor Shakedown [2k1]'.

It appears on their self-titled EP which I only came by recently and which was knocking around before their major label debut Zombies! Aliens! Vampires! Dinosaurs! and assault on the mainstream with their uber-poppy mid-to-late noughties hit 'Here (In Your Arms)'. Don't pretend you don't remember it. You do, and you love it. Stop lying.

Anyway, it's twee, it's high school, it's sickening teenage synthy twaddle and I love it. It's a damn catchy chorus which I can't stop humming to myself at work. I think it's because it tastefully borrows just a couple of lines lyrically from an old folk song and makes them into modern pop, which is always a winner. Check it out.

Shuffleblog #49

The first five songs on shuffle on my ipod, April 12th 2011:

Harry and the Potters - I am a Wizard
Animal Collective - Lion In A Coma
Conor Oberst - Milk Thistle
Stapleton - Grasshoppers
Death Cab for Cutie - Lowell, MA

Arrested by Song #1

I'd like to write occasionally about the moments when a song just grabs you, takes hold and refuses to let go. So this is my new occasional feature called 'Arrested by Song'.

Today I was possessed by 'The Meter Marks OK' by Loney, Dear (the intriguing stage name of sweet-voiced Scandinavian Emil Svanangen. I first encountered him in 2009 at End of the Road Festival in Dorset, a beautifully green and polite festival with a perfect amount of attendees. Not having heard of him, and amused by the regular confusion of the word 'Loney' for the word 'Lonely', my father and I stumbled toward the main stage in the mid-afternoon sun, hoping for a pleasant surprise at best. His set was low-key, subtle and charming and his onstage banter was handsomely bizarre (there was a lengthy reference to the festival reminding him of a 'child balloon party', whatever the chuff that is - can any Swedes help me out?). This song, towards the end of the set, was the highlight, although it has taken nearly two years for it to sink in.

The video below begins, as the performance I saw did, with him teaching the audience an airy, playful singalong which errs just on the wrong side of being difficult to remember if you haven't heard the song before. He got most of the audience humming along at least, include me and my dad, but it wasn't a loud, energetic howling along like the singalong of so many rock shows. It was a beautiful chorus of charm and contentment. I am slightly ashamed to say that I forgot his set quickly because I soon witnessed the insanity of Bob Log III on the same stage, but today rediscovered the beauty of the song.

I got the album, 'Loney, Noir' last night on a whim, having seen a video in the related videos on youtube which reminded me of that set way back when (well, 2009). I recalled there being a singalong with a sweet, fragile but confident voice but couldn't remember the melody. I enjoyed the album greatly from the off, and was just about to give up hope that I would find that moment on record when it suddenly kicked in, about 2/3 of the way through the track. I listened to it on the train on the way to work this morning a great number of times because I was sat outside Waterloo for nearly half an hour. I was enjoying the song so much I didn't even sigh in despair. Give it a listen and, if you like it, buy the album. It's one of the best Scandinavian albums of the last five years and has genuine beauty.

Shuffleblog #48

The first five songs on my ipod, some days after April Fool's day:

Gavin Osborn - Charlie's 18th Birthday
The Academy Is... - Down and Out
Luke Pickett - And Asleep I Am Your Everything
Seasick Steve - Shirley Lou
Belle & Sebastian - Don't Leave The Light On Baby

Shuffleblog #47

The first five songs on shuffle on my ipod, 29.3.2011.

Taylor Dayne - Tell It To My Heart
Kids In Glass Houses - Dance All Night
The Get Up Kids - Coming Clean (Live)
Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly. - Morning Light
All-Time Quarterback - Why I Cry

Shuffleblog #46

Shuffleblog returns, after a lengthy holiday in the recesses of my laptop. The first five songs on shuffle on my ipod, 28th March 2011:

The Pains of Being Pure at Heart - Higher Than The Stars
Pavement - Stereo
Kimya Dawson - Underground
The Hold Steady - Constructive Summer (SXSW Daytrotter session)
Tubelord - Arms Watches Fingers

Shuffleblog #45

The first five songs on shuffle on my ipod, the smallest of the small hours, St Patrick's Day 2011:

All-Time Quarterback - Plans Get Complex
Bruce Springsteen - I'm On Fire
Biffy Clyro - The Weapons Are Concealed
Jonathan Richman - Lonely Financial Zone
Suede - The Asphalt World

Film Review - Norwegian Wood

I was instantly captivated by the silence and oriental beauty of the trailer and posters for Norwegian Wood. Having studied Murakami's novel 'Kafka on the Shore' as an undergraduate attempting to write a dissertation about talking cats, every other novel by Murakami is somewhere towards the middle of my Aeneid-like 'to do' list; 'Norwegian Wood', however, has sat somewhere near the top for a number of years. I've since become a bit more obsessed with Kazuo Ishiguro, but if Haruki asks you, please deny all knowledge. Incidentally I couldn't find the UK poster but a google image search did throw up loads of cool ones I'd never seen, such as this little graphic-novel-cover-like gem:

So I was certain the film would be brilliant; all the previews had called it beautiful and the trailers gave me no reason to think otherwise. Once the film started I agreed with them, of course. The film is incrediby tastefully and artfully shot, with subtle but arresting images in the background of Japan's thorny transition from the sixties to the seventies. The backdrop provides a suitable climate of uncertainty and ennui (one of my favourite subjects in film and literature - get me) for a film which explores, in some depth, how we deal with relationships and the life events which unexpectedly inform their construction. The beauty is cut short a few minutes in by a slow, graphic (but bloodless) suicide scene which sets the tone for the rest of the film. From thereon it follows Watanabe, the best friend of dead teenager Kizuki, as he embarks on a disjointed affair with Kizuki's girlfriend, Naoko. They are apart for most of the film, while she attempts to deal with Kizuki's death, during which time Watanabe studies and meets another girl, Midori. The two interlinked plots combine intricately and effectively, leaving just enough room for speculation and for a feeling of great satisfaction when they tie themselves together in a bow at the film's conclusion.

Plot and beauty aside, though, Norwegian Wood is not an uplifting film. I love a depressing film or book as much as the next man in a check shirt with a bad haircut, but Norwegian Wood was just a little too much. Its silence, contrasted with surprisingly lengthy and graphic sex scenes and long periods of animated, soulful weeping got to me a little bit. I usually find myself philosophical at the end of such cathartic films but was left feeling empty and absent, which I think is largely due to the film's slow, Waiting-for-Godot pace. I would still, however, highly recommend it and believe it is worth a watch. I probably wouldn't, however, watch it again.

Incidentally I saw it at the HMV Curzon in Wimbeldon which was a surprisingly beautiful little arty cinema and only a pound or so more for the ticket than your average Odeon or Cineworld. If you're ever near South London I'd highly recommend it.

Shuffleblog #44

The first five songs on shuffle on my ipod, 15/03/2011:

Fireworks - You've Lost Your Charm
Gogol Bordello - Supertheory of Supereverything
Cap'n Jazz - Theme From '90210'
Bishop Allen - The Chinatown Bus
Franz Ferdinand - No You Girls

Shuffleblog #43

The first five songs on my ipod, Ash Wednesday (a.k.a. pancake boxing day) 2011:

Bat For Lashes - Daniel
Something Corporate - Drunk Girl
Duran Duran - Hungry Like The Wolf
The Matches - Clumsy Heart
Alexisonfire - No Transitory

Shuffleblog #42

The first five songs on shuffle on my ipod, Pancake Day 2011:

I Was A Cub Scout - The Hunter's Daughter
We Are Scientists - Lousy Reputation
Reel Big Fish - Beer
Harry and the Potters - Felix Felicis
Johnny Foreigner - Champagne Girls I Have Known

Shuffleblog #41

The first five songs on my ipod's shuffle, the seemingly very early morning of 7/3/2011:

Braid - First Day Back
Sufjan Stevens - Jingle Bells (Instrumental)
Field Mouse - Six Years
Joe Hisaishi - Vanity and Friendship
Goodbooks - The Curse of Saul

Shuffleblog #40

The first five songs on shuffle on my ipod, 3/3/2011:

Gavin Osborn - Boy From The Middle Class
Kevin Devine - Guys With Record Collections
Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly - D.A.N.C.E. (Justice cover)
Phoenix - If I Ever Feel Better
Marmaduke Duke - Je Suis Un Funky Homme

Shuffleblog #39

The first five songs on shuffle on my ipod, 1/3/2011 (let's hope Jonny gets 2/5):

Fountains of Wayne - The Valley of Malls
Weezer - In The Mall (I see a theme developing here, ipod...)
Joanna Newsom - Autumn
Eddie Vedder - The Wolf
The Pains of Being Pure at Heart - Higher Than The Stars

Is this an instance of subliminal but badly targeted and generalised advertising for shopping centres? Who knows.