Listening Post #32: Random Algo-Recommendations

In the process of compiling Namesakes and Saturday Snapshots, I go on youtube quite a lot looking at music videos. Whenever I go on there, the algorithm tries to recommend other things it thinks I will like.

Things like this...

Clearly I'm going to be interested in a song called The Jamie Oliver Petrol Station, for any number of reasons. The jury's still out on CMAT, I want to like her material more than I do, but I'm always impressed by her lyrics... even though the whole point of this song is waiting for her to get to the point.

And then there's this...

I can pretty much guarantee that 95% of people reading this blog would run a mile from the video above, but I loved it. I mean, come on... Dolly Crue? Credit to all involved. And it's a charity single too, so you can't knock it.

And finally... this has got to be the best thing Jack White has done in years. And I'd just about written him off too...

Great performance from John C. Reilly in the video too...

Snapshots #401: Go Away Songs!

Here are a bunch of songs telling you all to go away. Charming!

15. Dirty movies that leave you in a bit of a huff.

The Moody Blues - Go Now

14. Ragtag pirates.

Mötley Crüe - Don't Go Away Mad (Just Go Away) 

13. Glasvegas social worker can't tell the truth.

Glasvegas sang about a social worker called Geraldine.

The Geraldine Fibbers - Get Thee Gone

12. Larry Flynt's legacy.

Hustler - Get Out Of Me 'Ouse

They don't write 'em like that any more.

11. They were extremely unpleasant.

The Gruesomes - Buzz Off

10. Jones was a minor.

Tom (Jones) / minor = petty.

Tom Petty - Don't Come Around Here No More

9. Flip a coin, en français.

And you would be a Franc turner.

Frank Turner - Do One

8. Wild cattle in Homer's patch.

Buffalo Springfield - Leave

7. Men's loo on TV.

The Telegents - Get Out

6. Unhealthy take-away pizza.

Fats Domino - You Can Pack Your Suitcase 

5. Call The Doctor - Mr. T really smelled!

(Doctor) Who! B.A. Stank.

Hoobastank - Disappear

4. Did Celia smack John? Surely some mix-up!

Celia smack John was an anagram. Nothing else.

Michael Jackson - Beat It 

Or...

Michael Jackson - Leave Me Alone

3. He's gonna light up the sky... with cold fire. 

"Gonna light up the sky like a (blue) flame... FAME!"

Georgie Fame & The Blue Flames - Get Away

2. A flick knife with the 23rd letter. 

The 23rd letter wasn't W... it was a reference to Strawberry Letter 23.

Strawberry Switchblade - Go Away

1. It's a shame about Chuck.

It's a shame about... Ray.

Ray Charles - Hit The Road, Jack

If you need any more, here's a load...

Paul Simon - 50 Ways to Leave Your Lover

But despite all that, I don't want any of you to go away. Because Snapshots will be back next Saturday...

Namesakes #128: Dr. Feelgood

Dr. Feelgood is one of those names I'd never have even considered for this feature, had I not heard Undertones drummer Mickey Bradley play a track by a certain Dr. Feelgood ("not that one") a couple of weeks back on his excellent BBC Radio Ulster show (available not on the Sounds app). And once Mickey had pushed me down that particular rabbit hole...

DR. FEELGOOD #1

American pianist Willie Lee Perryman was the first blues musician to make an impact on the US pop charts. He recorded under the name Piano Red in the 30s and 40s (while maintaining a day job in upholstery), but it wasn't until 1950 that he had his first chart hits, "Rockin' with Red" and "Red's Boogie". In 1961, he recorded the song "Dr. Feel-Good" and changed the name of his act to Dr. Feelgood and the Interns. The b-side, Mr. Moonlight, was later covered by The Beatles.

Dr. Feelgood & The Interns - Dr. Feel-Good

DR. FEELGOOD #2

The quintessential* Essex pub rock band who made the big time. They formed in 1971, comprising Wilko Johnson, Lee Brilleaux, John B. Sparks and John Martin. "Still active today with none of the original members." Imagine if that was true of the Beatles.

Dr. Feelgood - Roxette

(*I've never used the word "quintessential" on this blog before. It might not be 100% appropriate in the sentence above, but I'm past caring.)

DOCTOR FEELGOOD #3

Also in 1971, these US jazz-rockers exploded onto the scene with Dick Winters on saxophone and a track about bogies and the fluff you find between your toes. The full album is available on the tube of you, if you're so inclined.

Doctor Feelgood - Nasal Greens And Toe Jam

DR. FEELGOOD #4

Robert "Dr. Feelgood" Potts released a clutch of tasty soul singles in the early 80s and appears to have had a bluesy revival 20 years later. 

Robert "Dr. Feelgood" Potts - Under Your Spell

DR. FEELGOOD #5

"Original Down South hip hop music that reintroduces its audience to the kind of rap that put the dirty south on the map -- its like taking a trip in time with your favorite mind altering narcotic." This one from 2015.

Thug C AKA Dr. Feelgood - Let Me Ball

Only five for you today, but that's still four more than I'd have expected until recently. Special mention should go to this song from Nikki Sixx, Tommy Lee, Mick Mars and Vince Neil: the title track of their 1989 album... if only because it's the first Dr. Feelgood that pops up when you enter those words into google.. 

Mötley Crüe - Dr. Feelgood

But which of this week's acts make you Feel Good... and which leave you feeling baaaaaad?

Not That One Friday #4: I Will Survive

I forgot all about this feature last week. Probably a sign that I have too many series on the go. Or that the old memory cells are dying off a little quicker now that I'm rapidly approaching the big 5-0.

We had Ofsted in this week. At The Bad Place, that would have been like the Four Horsemen riding in... but at the new place, it was all very calm and civilized.

In the end, the inspector who was supposed to be coming to see us tested positive for Covid, so our side of the service never even got a visit. Somebody high up in a fancy office somewhere lamented the fact that we must all be terribly disappointed...

Gloria Gaynor's glorious empowerment anthem is a peerless disco classic. (Could I get any more superlatives into that sentence?) There are some mighty fine covers of it too, including Cake and REM (although Michael appears to only know half of the lyrics). Gloria is none too fond of them herself though.

Art Brut's entirely different song of the same name really doesn't bear comparison. And Art Brut are such an acquired taste, I hesitate to even mention it. But I love Eddie Argos, so I can forgive him anything... and you can't copyright a title, even if it's iconic.

I'm young and nothing can harm me

I've sold all my records to pay for a party

I'm still drunk, but that's alright

I've been staying out every night

You're always welcome to crash on my floor

There's no key or lock for the door

I'm ignoring my grown-up problems as

I've got no idea how to solve them

 

If you don't care for that, you could always try the completely unrelated I Will Survive by Mötley Crüe. Horses for courses...

Saturday Snapshots #152: The Answers

If your Basic Instinct on a Sunday is to check the answers to Saturday Snapshots, then let no Stone go unturned (or, erm, uncrossed). Here they are...



10. Pestered tarts refuse to reveal their location.

"Pestered tarts" is an unfortunate anagram for Peter Sarstedt.

With your carefully designed topless swimsuit

You get an even suntan on your back... and on your legs

Peter Sarstedt - Where Do You Got To, My Lovely?

9. Vincent is on the ball... hoping they believe our kung fu lie.

Vincent Van... er Goey... with Zoe Ball? Yeah, that was a bit of a stretch.

Zoey Van Goey - You Told The Drunks I Knew Karate

8. Dressing gown's child worn by son of King.

A robe's son...?

Stephen King's son is called Joe Hill.

Paul Robeson - Joe Hill

What a voice.

7. A White Russian is prescribed to make you better.

A White Russian, as any Lebowski fan will know, is a mixture of milk and alcohol.

Doctors may prescribe one to make you feel good.

Dr. Feelgood - Milk & Alcohol

6. Scummy bunch pay tribute to the ones above.

Mötley Crüe - Dr. Feelgood

(See what I did there?)

5. Berkley square singer reaches Peake... then returns to the womb.

A nightingale sang in Berkley Square, obviously. Alongside Maxine Peak.

Maxine Nightingale - Right Back Where We Started From

4. Released after providing sustenance for Clangers.

The Clangers were fed by The Soup Dragon.

The Soup Dragons - I'm Free

3. I don't answer to Roland, Stinging T.

Roland is not my name. (It's Rolston, if you must know.)

Stinging T is an anagram.

The Ting Tings - That's Not My Name

2. A right lowdown uni 3. Breaststroke ditty.

"A right lowdown uni" is an anagram. 3 = III.

Loudon Wainwright III - The Swimming Song

1. Nut does Walker.

Marc Almond sings a Scott Walker song. And does a top job of it.



You may Totally Recall that Saturday Snapshots will be back next week.

Hot 100 #28

Younger Younger 28's were a fine choice to illustrate this week's post. Imagine The Human League Meets Pulp Meets Shampoo. Thanks to Jim in Dubai for recalling them and suggesting their excellent b-side Karaoke Queen (linking to another blog for that one as I couldn't find it on youtube). I was always fond of We're Going Out as well. They should have been massive.

What about the 28 songs though?

Well, Jim's other suggestion was this...

Forever 28 by Stephen Malkmaus & The Jicks

That's what I call Pavement art.

As usual, Martin had a few fine suggestions...

"I'm On E by Blondie has the line:

I used to have a car of my own, 28 or 58.

I've a feeling you may have suggested that 30 posts ago too.

Meanwhile, last week we had Lloyd Cole fretting over getting ready to turn 30. Martin also reminded us of this, which could well pop up again in 5 posts' time...

Lloyd Cole & The Commotions - Grace

Once you were an angel

Jesse, honey, is it hard to take

Does it feel so bad to be 28?

He continues... "Reelin' and Rockin' by Chuck Berry has loads of times in, including...

Well, I looked at my watch, it was 10:28, 

I gotta get my kicks before it gets too late

"And my personal favourite (even if it is atypical), from the pen of Ray Davies, Low Budget by The Kinks, which has this:

Even my trousers are giving me pain,

They were reduced in a sale so I shouldn't complain.

They squeeze me so tight so I can't take no more,

They're size 28 but I take 34."

Do you know what? I'm not sure I've ever heard that before. And if you hadn't told me it was the Kinks, I might have thought it was AC/DC. It's great though!

The Swede found slim pickings in his own record collection this week. His only offering was a bit of a surprise too...

"'Never Be the Same Again' by Puressence features the lines '...you're feeling lots of pain again, December 28 again, your famous boxing day again...' December 28th? Boxing Day? What's that all about? Great song though."

Puressence!?! Blimey. It's been a while.

My immediate reaction to this was...

And then, along came Lynchie...

Bob Dylan - I Shall Be Free No. 10

I was shadow-boxing earlier in the day

I figured I was ready for Cassius Clay

I said "Fee, fie, fo, fum, Cassius Clay, here I come

26, 27, 28, 29, I'm gonna make your face look just like mine"

Talkin' blues. I love talkin' blues.

Now before we go any further, here's a really uncool suggestion from my own hard-drive...

Styx - A.D. 1928

I put that there just so nobody would think twice about Rigid Digit's first offering this week...

Mötley Crüe - Bad Boy Boogie

We're innocent in every way

Like apple pie and Chevrolet

Sweeter pies with different shapes

38-28-38

"Other than that," he adds, "I need to invoke the "50 Words For Snow" card again...

28: Robbers Veil

Yes, you can always rely on Kate Bush for redemption.

Meanwhile, Alyson was in an existential mood this week...

"Alicia Keys has a song called 28 Thousand Days which is apparently the average lifespan so we should pack as much in as we can. Scarily I've had nearly 22,000 days already so I'd better get a wiggle on."

Don't worry, Alyson, you don't look a day over 21,999.

Finally, here's C...

"'22 Grand Job' by the Rakes, love that song and it's pure energy, and before it comes up again in 6 weeks' time for obvious reasons it could get a little preview here for the line

But he's only 28, no more 22

Shorter post than usual this week because Douglas was on holiday. Let's scrape the bottom of my barrel before we get onto the serious contenders...

The Divine Comedy - The 28th of May

Little Jackie - 28 Butts

The Boomtown Rats - Nothing Happened Today

Tomorrow's Wednesday

Today was Tuesday

And this is the date

March 28th

Art Brut - DC Comics & Chocolate Milkshake

DC comics and chocolate milkshake

Some things will always be great

DC comics and chocolate milkshake

Even though I'm 28

DC comics and chocolate milkshake

I guess I'm just developing late

DC comics and chocolate milkshake

I never got over that amazing taste

Nice try, Eddie, but I was always a Marvel boy myself.

The Velvet Underground - Velvet Nursery Rhyme

Which is really just a live "meet the band" thing from the Velvets 1993 reunion - 28 years later.

OK. This week's runner-up then.

The Gaslight Anthem - Meet Me By The River's Edge

See, I've been here for 28 years

Poundin' sweat beneath these wheels

We tattooed lines beneath our skin

No surrender, my Bobby Jean

The one where they wear their Bruce influence on their sleeves. I felt sure that would be the winner...

Until C came up with this one. Genius! Well done, C.

I'm in love with modern moonlight, 

1.28 when it's dark outside

27? I think I know what Martin will choose. What about the rest of you?

My Top Ten Misunderstood Songs

I often feel misunderstood. I reckon this blog is very misunderstood. We try our best, but it's so easy to sow the seeds of misunderstanding wherever we go. This week - ten songs that feel the same.

Special mention to 60s psych-rockers The Misunderstood.



10. Pink - Missundaztood

It all goes back to Madonna. If Lady Gaga is David Lynch Madonna, then Pink Alecia Beth Moore is Riot Grrrl Madonna. To be honest, this isn't one of P!nk's best - it's pretty average pop-filler material, although it was the title track of her second album. It does sum up her character quite well... but she'd record far better pop songs as time went by.  

9. The Grapes of Wrath - Misunderstanding

Forgotten (by me, at least) Canadian alt-rockers of the late 80s, this was their debut single from 1985.

8. Mötley Crüe - Misunderstood

Yes! It's been far too long since I managed to find room for a decent slice of poodle rock on this blog. It's always good to piss off the musos (then again, maybe that's why I have so few readers... do they misunderstand me?)

This is pretty sedate and serious compared to the Crüe's usual excesses, perhaps because it comes from the era when regular lead singer Vince Neal had buggered off to go and play with race cars. His (as it turned out, temporary) replacement was John Corabi, a man who obviously took things a little more seriously. Or maybe the record company were just trying to reposition the band to capitalise on the success of Guns 'n' Roses at the time. I don't claim to be a poodle rock expert, but I don't mind a little mosh now and again.

7. Electric Soft Parade - Misunderstanding

2007 single from this extermely under-appreciated indie band ("psych pop", according to iffypedia) made of up Brighton brothers Alex & Thomas White. Sunshiny guitar music that's always worth a spin.

6. Wilco - Misunderstood

Here's an interesting one, as Jeff Tweedy takes on the perspective of a disgruntled fan, still bitter over the break-up of Tweedy's previous band, Uncle Tupelo. According to what I read on t'internet, anyway. It's all a bit vague to me, just what Jeff is whinging about. Good song though.

5. Gene Clark - Some Misunderstanding

Before Roger McGuinn took over (with a little help from Bob Dylan), Gene Clark was the lead singer and songwriter of The Byrds. Later, he released a number of unsuccessful solo albums which would become far more influential and critically acclaimed after his death. Clark always claimed the album this song comes from, 1974's No Other, was his masterpiece. Forty years later, the likes of Fleet Foxes and Grizzly Bear would surely agree. 

4. The Contours - A Little Misunderstanding

Great lost Motown nugget, co-written by Stevie Wonder (he also plays drums). The Contours are more well-known for their earlier smash Do You Love Me? (which, if you're my age, you'll probably have encountered first on the soundtrack to Dirty Dancing). The lead vocal is performed by Levi Stubbs' brother Joe, having replaced original singer Billy Gordon. He only lasted one song though before Dennis Edwards of the Temptations took over. Although Joe Stubbs' doesn't quite have his brother's pipes, I still think this sounds like prime Motown - it could well have been a Four Tops song.

3. Eric Church - Mr. Misunderstood

I kind of cocked up my Best Albums of 2015 countdown by including Eric Church's The Outsiders, which it later turned out had been released the year before. This, however, is the title track from the album Eric actually did release last year (he's a prolific bugger)... and damn, if it isn't even better.

Mr. Misunderstood starts out as a song about not being into the same music as your mates... something I presume most of the regular readers of this blog have experienced at one point or other in their lives.

Now, your buddies get their rocks off on Top 40 radio
But you love your daddy's vinyl, old-time rock and roll
Elvis Costello, Ray Wylie Hubbard, and think Jeff Tweedy is one bad mother
Mr. Misunderstood, Mr. Misunderstood

 (And now I have to go out and find me some Ray Wylie Hubbard.)

Typically for an Eric Church record, though, it then goes on to tell a much bigger story (which is probably why I like Church so much - he does love words, and he ain't afraid to use them). 

2. Richard Thompson - I Misunderstood

I saw Richard Thompson play live a few years back and I was mesmerised: he may well be the greatest guitar player I've ever seen up-close. But it wasn't the fretwork that originally made me fall for him, it was the dark yet heartfelt lyrics, of which this is prime example. Here he misreads a polite brush-off as an encouraging come-on... and by god, if we haven't all been there.

She was laughing as she brushed my cheek
"Why don't you call me, angel, maybe next week
Promise now, cross your heart and hope to die".

But I misunderstood, but I misunderstood, but I misunderstood
I thought she was saying good luck, she was saying good bye...

If the synthy 90s mix from the video doesn't quite push your buttons, try the rawer live version from a few years back. Shivers.

1. Elvis Costello - Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood

Originally recorded by Nina Simone in 1964 (and you've got to go some to beat her version), then perhaps most memorably by The Animals a few years later. The disco version recorded by Santa Esmerelda & Leroy Gomez that Quentin Tarantino appropriated for one of the Kill Bill soundtracks is also pretty cool (as you'll see above, they win top prize in the record cover contest). Most recently recorded by Lana Del Rey, a contemporary artist I used to have a lot of time for (the Chris Isaak Madonna?)... until she revealed herself to be a one-trick pony.

So why does Elvis Costello's 1986 cover from King of America take the crown for me? It's the voice. And the conviction. I believe every word he sings. Plus, I was a teenage Elvis Costello fan, and the records of your youth stay with you to your grave...

Baby, do you understand me now?

Sometimes I feel a little mad.

But don't you know that no one alive can always be an angel?

When things go wrong, I seem to be bad.

But I'm just a soul whose intentions are good:

Oh Lord! Please don't let me be misunderstood...

Which is your most misunderstood record? No prizes for saying 'Born In The USA' or 'The One I Love' by REM... that's an entirely different Top Ten.