“Music is enough for a lifetime, but a lifetime is not enough for music”
Sergei Rachmaninov
Krzysztof Komeda – Knife in the Water
Komeda trained as a doctor (and adopted a pseudonym because the authorities regarded jazz as suspect). In the 1960s, he produced a string of brilliant albums, helping to establish a ‘European’ jazz aesthetic, and also wrote the music for a series of Roman Polanski films. This, his debut, features the Swede Bernt Rosengren on saxophone.
Abahachi
Michelle Shocked – If Love Was A Train
This one has lodged itself over the last couple of days. No idea why because I haven’t played the album in ages. I had to give it a spin to see if I could lose the ’worm; it hasn’t worked yet. Michelle Shocked is someone who made a couple of good albums and then sort of just faded away. “Short Sharp Shocked” is her best though, in my opinion.
Carole
Buddy Miller – Dang Me
Genre-hopping guitarist Marc Ribot and old singing buddy Marc Anthony Thompson (aka The Chocolate Genius) help roots impressario Buddy Miller and his latest ensemble, The Majestic Silver Strings, unearth the dark side of Roger Miller’s jaunty Dang Me. Who paid attention to the lyrics before? Me neither.
tincanman
Gillian Welch – Forty One Dollars & Change
This is an earworm for my iPod at the moment – it’s come up three times in a week. As a way of expressing what’s left after a relationship ends it can’t be beat. So that’s all it was worth? Move on, girl, that’s what I say.
tfd
John Fogerty – Somewhere Listening (For My Name)
First thing John Fogerty did in 1973 after CCR split was make a bluegrass album on which he did everything; all the instruments, vocals, production… even the five band members in the cover pic are all him! This is an old gospel song. The vocal is magic, for my money, both lush in the ‘choir’ (all JF, remember) and raw in the lead. Me, I love a bit of gospel; it’s no surprise that so many soul singers started there.
Williamsbach
Dexy’s Midnight Runners – The Waltz
Amy was saying recently how “Come on Eileen” had turned her off Dexy’s. Fair enough, but… here’s a slow-burning fave of mine to attempt to redress the balance. Money-back guarantee if the agnostics haven’t been converted by the time Kevin howls, “There’s no beauty any more…”
bishbosh
Please send submissions to earworm@tincanland.com. Keep ‘em coming, people – stocks are fast depleting…
What a great selection, and you have really put them together well Bish! I think maybe this is my favorite earworms till now!
I think my favorite was the Dexy’s Midnight runners as I do not know this band and I really liked this song and the mix of influences they have is really interesting.
Actually I think the this earworms is like a journey. Starting with Jazz, then changing the pace to a strong beat blues track, then slowing the pace and loosening the rhythm with Buddy Miller. Then the country vibe with Gillian Welch which moves nicely into gospel with John Fogerty then there to finish is Dexy’s Midnight Runners which says a polite hello to everything that came before, with some brass reminding us of the Jazz from the beginning, and the country being acknowledged by the Hawaiian guitar (I did hear that I think so?) and violin and mandolin(?)
Also I think you can understand the this as a musical journey from Europe to USA and back again, really great songs and thought provoking selection! Well done everyone and thanks Bish for a great selection!
You rock!
Sakura, you’re wasted in that job of yours!
Isn’t she?! I would love to say that all of what Sakura chan says re the musical journey is what I intended, but if I’m honest, I mainly just went: “Yeah, that sounds good after that. And then that one. And then, etc…”
bish, I think that’s what’s required of the earworm guru. Leave the rest of us to make the fancy connections.
Dexy’s was the stand-out for me. All I know of them is “Geno” (which is immense) and “Eileen” (which, actually, I like), so I’m quite ready to be converted.
Gillian Welch is one of those who I’d happily listen to singing the phonebook. This song was more interesting than the phonebook.
Others didn’t really grab me first time through, sorry.
A very interesting set.
In order:
Krzysztof Komeda. Very nice “late night listening” music. Obviously extremely talented.
Michelle Shocked. I’ve always like what I’ve heard by her and this bops along nicely.
Buddy Miller. Interesting variation on a theme.
Gillian Welch. Always good value for money. Nice.
John Fogerty. I’m assuming this was his Blue Ridge Rangers period. I have 2 45s under that moniker. Big fan of JF.
Dexy’s. Sorry Bish, please donate my refund to a charity of your choice.
Stand-outs for me, Michelle, Gillian and John Fogerty, but I did like the others (except, maybe, Kevin Rowland)
This earworms is a first for me, the first one where I knew of all of the bands and liked them all unreservedly, well done all and nicely assembled by Bish. And I got the same vibe as others when reading Sakura’s review, beautifully and thoughtfully written and presumably by someone to whom English is a second language, well done.
The big surprise for me was Aba’s ‘Knife’, I remember it well from the film and it brought back all those images from 40 odd years ago. Beautiful.
Shocked, I remember well from the 80′s, she had a strong intro here on the west coast, liked her, unique sound. I loved Tinny’s choice, great backing and beautiful use of the bass drum, that’s how a bass drum should sound, never thought of Roger Miller like that.
Gillian Welch brings back all those memories of the folk era, loved that period and loved her song.
And Fogerty, what a great cut and it somehow reflects why Creedence broke up, all that talent in one bloke.
Dexy’s was the surprise hit for me, that slow start might have put me off but I stayed with it and it built to a great song, loved it, I’ve been converted.
Krzysztof Komeda: I haven’t seen the film but the music conjures up an atmosphere so beautifully, I feel like I have.
Michelle Shocked: works very well. I particularly like the rhythm changes.
Buddy Miller: a much more appropriate musical setting for those words than the original but I would have liked something less repetitive. A good idea, well performed, nonetheless.
Gillian Welch: again, very nicely done.
John Fogerty: impressive achievement but, to me, not totally convincing. Are we in a pub or a church?
Dexy’s: seeing KR prancing around on TOTP generally made me want to punch the screen but his annoying garbled whine is kept largely under control here. And the dynamics are managed very effectively. Almost made me an agnostic….
Thanks to bish and the contributors.
Well, yes, I liked the whole set, with one exception and that was Dexy’s. I really don’t like his voice at all but I was quite enjoying the song right up until the coda which didn’t really do anything or go anywhere musically and to top it off he went into that annoying “too-ra-ra” fake Oirish nonsense at the end.
Don’t say that to Kevin whatever you do. He’s more Irish than Barach O’bamagh.
I liked all of them! Great list, bishbosh. But most of all (apart from Gillian of course, whom I love and adore – and Dave too of course) I liked the Buddy Miller (who knew?) and the John Fogerty. Singing gospel! Wonderful!
(I like Come On Eileen too, barbryn.)
Bish-
I cheated and listened to the Dexy’s first. I wold have felt bad if i didn’t like it, but i thought that it was lovely. Along with Chirs, i’ll say i’m an agnostic now too. Maybe i’ll pay more attention when you and Wyngate post Dexy’s noms on the mothership now.
I still absolutely loathe Come On Eileen.
Aw bless you, Amy. And I felt a bit bad pressuring you into trying to like it! But glad it worked. Agnostic is good enough for me. And I can appreciate that they’re an acquired taste (especially where “… Eileen” is involved!).
I think wyngate is right that Come On Eileen got played to death. My appreciation of it is also coloured by the brilliant parody of the Rowland Oirish phase produced by the Radio Active crowd…
The thing is, i come to Dexy’s with no other baggage except for Come On Eileen (this is from living in the US as opposed to the UK). I don’t know anything about the singer, and i’ve never seen him on TV or MTV, and haven’t heard any other songs by them on the radio. So the only hurdle i really have to get past is that song. (Which i hate! That will not change, i hear the opening bars and stop it by any means necessary.) I liked Geno just fine, and i still love this one after a second listen.
Krzysztof Komeda – sorry, did nothing for me except drive me mad trying to think where I’ve heard this (or something apeing this) on a film/TV soundtrack. But I’m hoping Abahachi will forgive my dismissal of this when he sees the inspirational central role he’s inadvertently played in this week’s ‘Spill Challenge, coming to a monitor near you in the morning.
The Michelle Shocked I know of old, but can’t remember the last time I chose to listen to any MS, so thanks to Carole for posting that.
The Buddy Miller, Gillian Welch and John Fogerty were all new songs to me; all scored points, but no knockout blows, if you’ll pardon the boxing analogy. Buddy Miller was closest, fwiw, and the true ‘solo’ nature of the John Fogerty song was impressive.
Dexy’s – I’m afraid I’m another one who normally finds Kevin Rowland a nostril irritant. This one got a much better DsD reaction than usual, but in the end, I concur with Carole & Chris. Rein in the Rowlandisms on the vocal, draft in BJ Cole and Spooner Oldham to play on a re-recording, and I reckon you’d have a song I’d love to death.
What was it tinny was accusing bishbosh of last week? Oh yeah . . .
Yup, I think that about covers it!
@ Carole – If Love Was A Train has been bugging me for the last half an hour. I don’t listen to Michelle these days, but the song sounded so recently familiar . . . eventually, I’ve pinned it down: Jumpin’ The Gunn’s Tired Of Tryin’ has been added to the Earworm ‘Box folder. (I’ll take it out again tomorrow)
Downloaded – you can delete now and I will have a listen
Thanks.
The 8min+ blues-fest that is Shades Of Blue ( a DsD all-time Top 100 song) is still in my public folder in the ‘Box.
Wonder if I can find the Spill thread it’s attached to . . .
http://readersrecommend.blogspot.com/2009/10/solo-its-off-radar-and-disappeared.html
The Waltz is a great track, seems to have had some limited success in getting people here to reassess Dexys. I still think Come On Eileen was a great song that just got played to death.
Well, I liked just about all of these, which is happening a lot with regard to Earworms. From bottom to top in subjective terms (which don’t mean a good GD, rwhen you think about it):
Dexy’s Sorry, Bish; along with others here, I really have a problem with KR’s voice. I like his enthusiasm and emotion, the song itself is strong, and it’s rare for me to dislike a song just because of a shaky vocal. Somehow, though, this ‘un ends up just the wrong side of the line for me. Maybe it’s just overexposure to the big hits. I know you’re busy, but how about a Dexy’s ‘Spillpost, going through their development? I’d be interested to try some other stuff of your recommendation to see.
Krzysztof Komeda Nice, in a gentle kind of a way. I was just thinking ‘This sounds like film music’ when I read Aba’s blurb. I was then just settling in for a long listen when it finished! Too soon, really.
Gillian Welch Altogether lovely, though I’m not finding it quite as humalong as some of the others. Not a criticism either way, just an observation.
Buddy Miles Wow! What an odd outing that was…. Serious sounding, lots of atmospheric tremolo then:
‘Roses are red, violets are purple,
Sugar is sweet, so’s maple syruple’
Love it. Right on the intersect boundary between my steady & easy tastes and TCM’s more catholic challenges. Does ya good to get a push now and again.
But this week’s champion has to be Michelle Shocked, being cheerfully, even gleefully rude. Modern day hokum with chuckles to show that she knows. Abso fabso; must raid Littlebrobach’s collection for more. Thanks Carole!
Great job again, Bish; keep up the good work.
Buddy Miles? Who he? I mean Buddy Miller of course….
thoroughly enjoyed these, loved the Krzysztof Komeda, but it ended far too soon!
Buddy Miller was the other standout, great lyrics!
A lovely selection, all told.
The Komeda is not my usual fare (it’s missing words) but it’s very pleasant indeed. I am not in the slightest surprised that it’s a soundtrack piece. A good soundtrack piece.
The Shocked is splendid. I very much like Michelle Shocked when she first burst upon the scene but never quite got around to acquiring any albums. Thanks for the reminder – most enjoyable!
The Miller is indeed quite odd, but I liked it. The cad! There seems to be some actual remorse in there for the character’s careless actions. Maybe.
Gillian Welch is another artist I’m aware of, like what I’ve heard, but have scarcely scratched the surface of. I have one of her earlier albums. This track is very nice. Thoughtful.
I liked the Fogerty, too, but somehow it didn’t worm its way in very convincingly.
As for Dexy’s – well, I like “…Eileen”. And “Geno”. I have no beef with Dexys at all, but this one didn’t strike me as being all that special. Perhaps I just didn’t pay enough attention to it. I shall have to listen again.
There’s a new Gillian Welch album coming out in June, hooray.
http://www.gillianwelch.com/
I could’ve done a better picture of her than that. But I like the owl.
Another top set! Buddy Miller the stand out for me but all good.
Keep up the good work everyone.
Thanks Bish!
Like the Earguru before him, Bish will say he just plays what people send in. But that’s disingenious. When I did the first set it was just a rough concept and deffo was a case of play what gets sent in (and go begging when the larder was bare).
Maki and now Bish signal what they want and people are responding in their submissions. Earworms have matured from a white wine to a red.
A point: We need to give Bish permission to include his own. In my stead I frequently had to throw in one of own to make up numbers. Later on it became apparent my own musical tastes were so far superior to your own that I added one one my own de rigeur. Do we want a Bish song every week? Every second week? Never?
& a pout: You’ve all missed the point about that Dang Me. The unearthed talent here isn’t Buddy Miller, it’s The Chocolate Genius.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chocolate_Genius,_Inc.
Bish should feel free to include his own as and when he likes, in my opinion. The thing is for the list to play well. I didn’t include that many of my own because it was often hard to see where they would fit in.
Also, I have found that my relationship with the ‘Spill has often been more about discovering (and, boy, my time as earguru was tops for that) than about being able to offer new or interesting stuff for others to hear. I appreciate, as I’m sure Bish does too, your generous reading of our contribution to the evolution of this feature but it really is a collective effort. Obviously the more stuff you have in the can the easier it is to “craft” the lists.
What I most appreciated during my tenure was that I was allowed to get on with it – and occasionally not get it quite right! – without any of the “where’s that song I sent you” type of pressure that would have made it a chore rather than a pleasure. From what I sense so far, I think Bish is likely to be equally fortunate on that front.
Without wishing to completely demystify the process, so far I have been aiming for lists that: a) play well; and b) include a variety of contributors (myself included) who, ideally, have not featured in any too-recent lists. Only time will tell if I continue to benefit from enough contributions to allow this policy to persist. At three weeks in, it’s clearly very early days!
Thanks for the permission to up my own contributions though, guys. Ideally, I would hope not to have to – my favourite thing about this feature has always been its collaborative nature; too much musical input from me might mar that. So, as maki and I (will) keep saying, please keep sending the tunes in, folks! The more in the pot, the more likely I am to be able to put together a varied (but perhaps semi-cohesive) list.
Oh, and nobody at all has yet asked me where their track is. The forbearance of the ‘Spillers is most laudable! I think that, maki and tin, you have both proven to us that our earworms will wriggle their way out eventually…
Oh dear, Maki – I’m afraid I did once ask you where my song had got to. But it was meant in a friendly spirit, not to complain or nag.
Did you Tfd? I didn’t take it that way!
A nudge is not the same as a full blown e-mail rant and there were only a couple of those, both, predictably from the same person. I won’t say who ’cause it doesn’t matter.
Tfd
“I didn’t take it that way” means I didn’t take it badly, of course. What’s not to like about a friendly nudge from a “nice lady”, eh?
OH! You bad man. Only one person is allowed to call me that as you very well know.
Very late to this feast, I just want to say that I love that Buddy Miller version of the Roger Miller tune.
Of the others, I like Gillian Welch the most.
Can’t take to Kevin Rowlands I’m afraid. I saw him once when he was in the Killjoys, third on the bill.
Came on before Nico who was supporting The Adverts.
What a weird night that was. Nico had a bottle thrown at her by a skinhead.