Ian Dury – Billericay Dickie
I am currently working away from home in Denmark all week, so when I am at home at weekends, I try and make the most of my time.
Last weekend we watched the Ian Dury biopic “Sex and Drugs and Rock and Roll”, which is excellent and I urge everyone to see it. Andy Serkis is uncanny as Dury, a truly incredible performance. There is so much great music in the film that it is hardly surprising that one of the tunes has lodged in my head on a virtually permanent basis and that tune is “Billericay Dickie”. It could have been almost anything though, his music is that infectious. – caroleb
Arcade Fire – Sprawl II (Mountains Beyond Mountains)
My favourite from their last album by far, a surprising use of synths from them, it builds nicely with a driving beat, brimming with optimism. Makes me want to “punch the clock” and drive to it. – ejaydee
Rosana – Si Tú No Estás
In 1996 the singer-songwriter Rosana burst onto the scene with her début album Lunas Rotas. It was a breath of fresh air in a genre, that here in Spain has traditionally been dominated by over-earnest “man-with-a-guitar-with-lots-to-preach-about-but-limited-musical-imagination” types. I absolutely loved the album and listened to it non-stop. She went on to release further albums but went down the sad, dusty, repetitive road that so many of her ilk seem destined to follow. But I still love this. A deceptively angry song pleading with her lover not to even think about leaving her. – makinavaja
Fred Neil -The Dolphins
The song for which the term flangently-planging was coined.
‘You know sometimes I think about Saturday’s child’.
Fred was the king of the couplet worm and this song is both allusive and elusive in its atmosphere of yearning melancholy. – tatankayotanka
Taj Mahal – Statesboro Blues
As they used to say, when this first album came out in 1968, “the walking anachronism – Harlem to Amhurst Massachusets and a BA; a twentyfive year old electric Lemon Jefferson! ” I had a hard time buying a blues guy with a name like that but I bit the bullet and I’ve been buying ever since. A great first album with Jesse Ed Davis and Ry Cooder doing the honors on gts. James Thomas on bass and Sanford Konikoff doing the drums. The song’s by Blind Willie McTell from 1928, Allman brothers did it also. – goneforeign
Gustav Temple and the Blades – Puddings and Pies
I was listening to the excellent “Sympathetic Sounds of Toe Rag” compilation (from 2003) this morning and not surprisingly this one stuck in my head. Mmmmm…..”jam roly-poly”……..love the guitar sound on this too. – japanther
Note: I’m (thankfully) very busy work-wise at the moment and Mondays and Tuesdays are absolute killers. I have decided to program Earworms to appear at 12.00 midday on Mondays. So now you know – RR drawbidge and Earworms will go up at the same time! Hope this is OK. (If anyone is about at the time and could post a link on RR, that would be cool!)
Thank you all for your submissions and please keep ‘em coming! Remember earworm@tincanland.com
Dury great – I went to technical college in Thanet – but never had anything to do with Janet – we’d sing this on the train Down – fantastic.
Arcade Fire channelling ABBA – love this… enjoyed the album too, back on form.
and jam roly-poly definitly hit the earworm spot (although the image of sheeps head and bacon might not be the best at Monday lunch time)
all good interesting listens…
Fred Neil wins by a mile, great song from an unappreciated guy who led the way in the 60′s and then fell below the radar. I love the instrumental backing on that song plus his voice and his lyrics, I love the whole song! Used to hear it a lot on LA radio in the 60-70′s and it might have been played back to back with Taj.
The Dury I know well, having bought the original LP (gatefold sleeve, S&D&R&R on as a bonus track) on release. “Lav-er-lee!”
Arcade Fire was a very pleasant surprise, as I haven’t been bitten by the bug to date.
Oh, and Mitch? Please don’t tell me what that New Boots And Panties LP would be worth now, I sold it to (only part-)fund the cost of a gig ticket before I even left school.
One of these days I will remember to open two separate windows for listening and commenting on the Earworms …
Rosana and Fred Neil both new to me, and both have voices that – on the evidence of one song – I could blissfully lose myself in.
The Taj Mahal is one of those ‘reminder note to self’ to listen to my one TM album more than I do.
And as for Puddings & Pies . . . a proper
out of five for that, PantherSan
Hey it worked!
Thanks everyone, a full rack of ‘Hits’ on me this week.
I’d been planning to submit that Arcade Fire track as an Earworm myself. I still don’t really get them though. I like the idea of them and I want to love them, but I’ve put in many hours trying to and, although I like a lot of their songs, I still don’t really see what it is that people think is so special about them. But enjoying this album more than the last, faintly preposterous one, and that song is a corker.
I know I’m missing out in my ignorance of Ian Dury. It will be rectified one of these days.
“Dolphins” I know from Tim Buckley and Billy Bragg. What a song.
I’ll play “Puddings and Pies” to the kids this evening, expecting funky-toddler dancing fits.
Seriously funky todddler dancing did indeed ensue, although explaining why the man was saying the names of puddings and pies was challenging.
Taj Mahal is great (as ever).
Didn’t Fred Neill write “Everybody’s Talking” for Midnight Cowboy?
Rosanna is new to me, as was Gustav Temple & The Blades – but good stuff, nonetheless.
Arcade Fire is a nice track, but Ian Dury! Anyone who liked Gene Vincent as much as he did is ok in my book. I remember playing his “Plaistow Patricia” when I was on my state funded holiday. The “Blue Coats” didn’t really appreciate it!
Hi
Good to see more comments this week! I had fun putting the list together and, GF, the Taj Mahal / Fred Neil (immense, btw – probably my fave this week!) back-to-back wasn’t accidental! Next week’s list is taking shape but new submissions could change it and would also be very welcome!
Glad some of you are liking Rosana.
And a big thank you to shane for posting the link on RR! There’s some pizza and beer waiting for you at Quique’s!
That Drury cut should have a warning label on it, it’s a pure earbug, I switched off after a few seconds ‘cos I didn’t want to live with it all week. Rosana was very soulful and sad, liked it, Mountains was new to me, liked that also.
FYI: When Fred Neil ‘fell below the radar’ he dropped out of music and set up a dolphin research center in Florida and led a movement against the governments use of dolphins for military purposes, they were being trained as ‘living torpedoes’ by the navy amongst other things.
Enjoyed the Arcade Fire a lot , it’s a keeper. Don’t know what to make of the Ian Dury. Rosana was totally lovely & I enjoyed it thoroughly. The Fred Neil is an old fav of mine since I heard in Key West way too many years ago. It’s A Beautiful Day did a terrific cover. Mitch not only did Fred Neil write Everybody’s Talkin’ He also wrote Candy Man (Roy Orbison) & The Other Side Of This Life done by many but none better than the Lovin’ Spoonful. Taj Majal is an old afv of mine also & always worth a listen. The Earworm of the week has got to be Puddings and Pies for me. Has that groovy swinging feel that’s totally irrestible to me.
Fintan
If you’re not over familiar with Ian Dury’s work, I guess you might have an idea of where to head…
another hitlist for me too – especially Ian Dury (will try to find a copy of that film too – it sounds great Carole) and Taj Mahal. Arcade was great too and yet again I need to try to listen to them a bit more.
Glad “Puddings and Pies” induced funky toddler dancing and would love to know how “spotted dick” translates across the Atlantic for Fintan28!!!
Panthersan – Funny you should ask. Helen Mirren was on the Daily Show last spring promoting a film called Love Ranch (about a local madam whose lover -Oscar Bonavana- ends up shot) & somehow Holiday pudding came up & she ( too her great glee I think) mentioned spotted dick to a general tee-hee from the audience & a bit lip from John Stewart. Had to Translate for a puzzled Mrs. Fintan
Just glanced at my post at that should have been Boanavena.
no – Bonavena – God I think I’m terminal!!
Thanks, all! Sorry, I’m another one who still doesn’t get Arcade Fire. Standouts for me – Statesboro Blues is always great, had never heard the Taj Mahal version before. Puddings and Pies was just ace. But the big standout for me was Rosana, i didn’t want it to end. Thanks again.
Dateline: Skiathos, Greece.
Am searching for the dolphins in the sea; or the porpoises in the polenta.
Not in a place where I can listen but look forward to catching up next weekend. Ouzos all round by the look of it. Yammas.
Arcade Fire surprised me – normally I give them a, well, not quite a wide berth, but a respectful distance. I’m glad that it wasn’t just me and that Saneshane spotted the Abba influence, too!
Another ‘where-have-I-heard-that-sound-before’ offering was the Fred Neil. The voice is so familiar, although I couldn’t name an album or song from where. Dolphins is lovely, though; bit of a grower rather than a grabber, but no fault with that.
Rosana is great; what an expressive voice! Clearly shows the joined-but-separate sadness and anger in the story. I can see how tempting it would be to repeat the formula ad nauseam, however.
Standout was definitely Gustav Temple and the Blades – that’s just ace! Never heard of ‘em before, but apparently Gustav = Gus Raucous = Cobras = a musical history trail that’s just begging to be Time-Teamed.
Ian Dury I love. Again a great musical history – legacy, even – of antiestablishment wordsmithery and naughty geezerishness. Check out his ‘Spasticus Autisticus’ – which was banned by the BBC in an early example of misguided political correctness – if you don’t know it….
Statesboro Blues is also a favourite. That line
Momma died and left me restless, Daddy died and left me wild,
I ain’t good looking, but I’m somebody’s angel child
is genius. I saw Taj Mahal at the Bishopstock Festival ten years ago; my mate wanted his autograph, so we queued up behind this bloke and his young son, who had a cheap acoustic guitar signed by all the artistes. When our time came, Taj picked up the kid’s little guitar and played a couple of tunes for us. Private concert, no less! What a star…
Great picks again, everybody. Maki’s on a roll.
Oddly enough, I remember seeing Ian Dury doing “Spasticus Autisticus” on the BBC. Can’t remember what programme, though.
Apparently, the BBC at least started with a timed ban, i.e. a watershed time after which the song could be aired. Because disabled people, who would, of course, be offended by the song, would of course all be in bed by 6 o’clock.
Sarcasm alert. Oops! Too late….
For those that aren’t familiar with the song, it was written as Dury’s comment on the 1981 Year Of The Disabled, which he thought was a load of patronising tosh.
WilliamsB: If you want a similar tale re. Taj read my piece about him at the Watts festival, a telling story, it’s about the 4th down. http://goneforeign.blogspot.com/
Great story GF – any chance of seeing some of the photos?
Great story! Are the pics posted somewhere? Just listening to Taj’s ‘Queen Bee’ from the Bishopstock 2000 sampler album; what a tremendous sound that is, with steel drums and flute and all.
I’ve been ignoring that site for quite a while, I did have the pictures up there but I’ll look for them and post ‘em here
Good list, all new to me.
It’s funny how whenever anybody talks about Arcade Fire, people respond with how THEY as listener have fared historically with the band, rather than the music itself. Or so it seems to me. The pains of being a hype band, I guess. Nice song, though.
and I love Statesboro Blues – but I think I prefer Blind Willie McTell. (in most things)
Another great mix.
Always loved Ian Dury. Street poet extrodinaire.
Gustav Temple and Taj Mahal are both new to me but I enjoyed both tracks immensely.
Giving the others, (esp Rosana), some more play time.
I love “Dolphins” and I think Fred Neil is so under-appreciated.
I first heard the song via Tim Buckley’s cover versions – the best is on his live album “Dream Letter”, recorded in the QEH in 1968.
Taj Mahal’s “Statesboro Blues” is another personal fave.