Thanks to Charlie Horse 47 and Killdumpster for their sponsorship of this post, via the magic of Patreon.
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Once more, the people of the world gather by the Celestial Water-Cooler to discuss who-can-know-what because it's one of those Tuesdays on which Sheffield's 38th greatest blog flings the microphone at the public and allows the first person who comments to decide the topic du jour.
But what could it be?
Could it be sport, art, films, books, cooks, nooks, rocks, music, mucous, fairy tales, fairy lights, Fairy Liquid, fairy cakes, Eccles cakes, myth, moths, maths, magic, tragedy, comedy, murder, mystery, mayhem, May Day, Christmas Day, sofas, sodas, sausages, eggs, whisky, broth, Bath, Garth Marenghi, Garth Brooks, Garth Crooks, Bruno Brookes, Bruno Mars, Mars Bars, wine bars, flip-flops, flim-flam, flapjacks, see-saws, flowers, flours, bread bins, bin bags, body bags, doggy bags, bean bags, cola, pancakes, pizzas, baking soda, sci-fi, Wi-Fi, Hi-Fi, horror, honour, sewage, saunas, suet, Silurians, Sontarans, sins, suns, sans or sandcastles?
Yes, it could.
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40 comments:
Just a small question...
I recently re-discovered THOMAS DOLBY's "Golden Age of Wireless" in my stack of vinyl. I went Obsessive over it playing it like 10 times over the past weekend.
What's the last song/album you were compulsive about? How did you play it: vinyl, youtube, spotify...?
Cheers All!
An old song from "The Band" in a new "Internet" Version, where people from all over the world playing instruments and singing vocals where integrated. Its a YouTube Video:
The Weight | Featuring Ringo Starr and Robbie Robertson | Playing For Change | Song Around The World
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ph1GU1qQ1zQ
I revisit this every couple of weeks and then listen for it a couple of times over and over again.
Also quite recently I discovered the really cool 60s band "The Zombies" with a previously unknown song for me: "Time Of The Season". Ultra Cool!! I can listen to this 10 times in a row!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qzpPy9hJYA8
Henry Mancini's "Peter Gunn" Soundtrack. Found an original mastered version on cd at a flea market a while back. I just keep going back and playing it, probably every week. Sometimes twice in a day. It's absolutely fantastic; incredibly cool jazzy compositions. I highly recommend it. Even though my wife may be tiring of it...
Red, When I made my near annual pilgrimage to France over the last 30 years, I had a good friend who was obsessed with the theme to Peter Gunn. He had every vinyl version of it known to mankind I believe. And he said that the Henry Mancini version was his favorite as well! Tonight I shall search the eBay for this album!
A song I've been listening to a lot recently is ABBA's 'Like An Angel Passing Through My Room' from their 1981 album 'The Visitors'. This must be one of the most poignant, moving songs ever written with its' lyrics suggesting someone at the end of life looking back one last time (or that's how I like to interpret it anyway). I've known about the original ABBA version for decades but thanks to YouTube I've recently discovered other versions, including one by Madonna!
Charlie- first off, I share your love for Mr. Dolby. Really love those first two albums, admittedly I haven't heard any others. Should correct this situation. After all, "She Blinded Me With Science " is my personal theme song!
Regarding Henry Mancini- kudos to your Gunn- loving pal! I too have numerous versions- ELP did a cool version. But like your friend, Mancini's version is my favorite. And on the soundtrack album- it's so good, the "Peter Gunn Theme" could be the weakest cut. And that's saying something. It really is that good! So good, I also snagged a vinyl copy. If we are fortunate enough to meet up for a Chicago visit soon, I'll bring the disc...
Chim-
The Zombies RULE.
Unfortunately my opinion of the Band isn't the same. I was never a fan of the folky-era of 60's hippy music. Especially the Grateful Dead or most bands related to them.
I set up sound & light equipment for a local Dead-esque band called Sandoz. They even released a few albums on Relic Records, but they were lawyers & doctors, and wouldn't commit to touring. They opened up a show in Pittsburgh for Rick Danko & Richard Manuel, from The Band. I worked that show.
About a week or 2 later Richard Manuel committed suicide. Funny thing is, Sandoz opened shows for other musical legends that committed suicide weeks later. Paul Butterfield & Roy Buchanan.
Anytime they'd get booked for a music festival I'd say, "What old rocker are you guys gonna kill of NOW?" They hated that.
Charles & Redartz-
On that subject:
Did you know that the scientist (he really was one) that was in Thomas Dolby's music video killed himself because people constantly coming up to him screaming "SCIENCE!!! drove him mad?
My dad had the Peter Gunn soundtrack on LP. I think about him when I watch the reruns. It was one of my father's favorite shows, but its like a new show to me 'cause I didn't care for detective/cop shows when I was young. Same with Mannix. So great to see those classic cars.
If I never hear The Bands' "The Weight" ever again, ANY version, I'd be the happiest man alive.
The band I previously said I worked with, Sandoz, played it every show. It is also a mainstay on every classic rock station in my area. If there is live music in any bar where I live, it will be played. Karaoke bar? At least 6 times, and all awful. Same with open stage when folks march in with acoustic guitars. Even big-hair local metal bands I worked with covered it. Arrrgh!
One of my pals was infatuated with a 15yr old female "blues prodigy", Shannon Curfman. She was signed to Arista records, and did TONS of talk/morning shows to promote herself. He taped every appearance.
He asked me to compile all her performances on one VHS, and make copies to send out to the "fan club". He was my buddy, and I had the equipment, so I said I'd do it.
It was AGONY+++!!! That little broad did "The Weight" on every tv show she was on!!!! Gee, I wonder why her music career didn't blossom. I was either that, or heroin.
I'd rather listen to the Throbbing Gristle box set than hear that song ever again.
Colin-
It's too bad that ABBA gets typecast as a "disco era" band. While most of their hits were dance oriented, they had a bunch of good songs. Hell, even I he'd a couple of their 45's back in the day, then later owned their anthology on CD.
I suppose George Harrison’s ‘What Is Life’ is the closest thing to a song that I’ve ‘obsessed’ over in recent years. I’d probably heard that song 20 or 30 times before in my lifetime, without paying any particular attention to it, but then a few years ago, I was listening to a ‘Best of George Harrison’ cd, that track came on and it was like an epiphany. How is it even possible that I’d never realized how utterly brilliant this song was? I must have heard it 100 times since then. What happens is, I put in the cd, cue up that track, listen to it, then listen to it again, and again, four or five times in a row. I’m still not tired of it. It’s the rare 70s pop song that doesn’t evoke ANY memories of hearing it in its original time period. So nostalgia has nothing to do with my love and admiration for it. It’s now easily my fave ‘Post Beatles’ song by any of the Fab Four.
b.t.
The 24 hours of Throbbing Gristle box set, Killdumpster - is that the one you mean?
Who wouldn't want to listen to that? One year Resonance FM in London played all of it on air through the whole of Xmas Day. Which was nice.
Sadly it was originally released on 24 cassettes then reissued years later as a box of cds, so you can't get it on vinyl ):
I've been enjoying - trigger warning: jazz alert! - a recent lp of end of the 60s recordings by the late, great London-based Indian guitarist Amancio d'Silva, frequently replaying the amazing track 'A Street in Bombay' -
www.youtube.com/watch?v=3cGNxvhBGqU
On the nostalgia front, my old records by short-lived dawn of the 80s outfit New Age Steppers have been getting quite a bit of regular turntable action recently, particularly their cover of 'Fade Away' (its reggae... as if it were played by Can).
www.youtube.com/watch?v=7fFTswtpNv0
-sean
Killdumpster:
I might not despise ‘The Weight’ as much as you do but I certainly never EVER get the urge to hear it again. (Don’t anyone tell Steve but ‘Layla’ is another one of those Classic Rock songs I’ve heard so many frickin times, I simply don’t NEED to hear it again — every single note of it is permanently etched into my memory cells, including that piano part at the end that goes on and on and on and on….)
Chim:
I’m almost envious of you, just now discovering the dreamy awesomeness of ‘Time of the Season’. I’ve heard it myself several kajillion times, and it’s still groovy as hell. I’m gonna take a chance and suggest a few other songs from that era that you might also dig: ‘I Had Too Much To Dream’ by The Electric Prunes , ‘Spooky’ by Classics IV, and ‘Heart Full of Soul’ by The Yardbirds.
b.t.
I rather over played the downtempo version of Downtown by Anya Taylor-Joy from The Last Night in Soho soundtrack, recently, but have now returned to early 80's Two-tone. Spotify for me, which makes it easy to listen to the various singles that pop up on the 40 and 50 year retrospectives featured by Steve.
The video of Downtown is on you tube and worth a watch for fans of the lovely Ms Taylor-Joy. She was Magik in The New Mutants to keep with the comics theme.
DW
Recently I saw the new movie "Licorice Pizza". It featured a Paul McCartney Wing song "Let Me Roll it". Very mesmerising, I listen to it quite often. It does not sound like Paul at all.
Fun fact, the base beat has a simliar feeling like the Zombies song ‘Time of the Season’.
Chim and b.t.- Ah, you've mentioned some of my favorites! Especially love the Electric Prunes and Yardbirds. If I might add to your recommendations, b.t.:
"Journey to the Center of the Mind " by the Amboy Dukes
"Over Under Sideways Down" by the Yardbirds
"Season of the Witch" by Donovan
Now pardon me while I hunt down a Lava Lamp...
On the widespread opposition to "The Weight", as an excuse, I have to say that I live and have grown up in Germany and neither "The Band", nor "The Zombies" made it into our Radiostations or Charts. I only faintly knew that the movie "The Last Waltz" was about a concert of Bob Dylan with this band. But that's it... :)
Question to you all here:
Will a 50-year old person in your country still know the band "The Zombies"? The internet says, that they even didn't made it into the UK charts and had only billboard top positions in USA and Canada.
Thanks for all the inspirations!
Thank good we have YouTube and I could check out all mentioned songs :))
Chim, over the years 'Time of the Season' - or at least part of it (a few bars of the rhythm, with that gasp) - was often used on tv documentary soundtracks as a signifier for 'the sixties'.
I guess it has a distinctive period sound, but not being a hit made it cheaper to use than 'Whiter Shade of Pale' or something by the Beatles...?
Anyway, fwiw growing up I was vaguely familiar with 'Time...' long before I ever heard the whole thing, or even knew who the Zombies were.
-sean
CHIM -
Sean answered you on "Time of the Season" but I would add we see it pop up occasionally in commercials as well.
Under 50's / born in the 1970s... it's hard to tell. If they were listening to so-called "classic rock" stations in their teens, they may have heard it.
I would say in general, the later they were born after 1970, the more likely not to have heard it.
The Zombies were not the Beatles (i.e., they were not a band with a huge bank of hits), so their parents were likely not playing it at home or in the car. Also, the whole new wave / grunge rock genres started in the 80s and 90s, pushing the 60s/ 70s sound aside.
But the keyboard work in "Time of the Season" is really enjoyable.
Charlie would be remiss if he did not throw a Beatles song out!
Charlie bought Revolver on remastered vinyl. He has been burning out the grooves to "For No One."
A lovely french horn...
If one reads Geoff Emerick's book (Beatles sound engineer starting on Revolver) he says that supposedly the french horn player was sweating blood b/c no one had hit those high notes before on a french horn and the pressure was on.
I think Lennon's interview in in Dec 1979 he says "For No One" was his favorite song by Paul.
Folks, because of your posts, today I listened the whole day to your music :)
Chim, Sean and Charlie:
I think ‘Time of the Season’ was a bigger hit here in the States than in their native UK. Fun (but kinda sad) fact: the song reached #3 on the ‘Billboard Top 100’ several months AFTER the band had broken up because of a years-long streak of bad luck on the pop charts. Whether or not Yanks in the 50-year-old age bracket would know the song, I’d say they’d probably recognize the song itself, but they might not actually be able to name the band. Like Sean said, that drum/bass/gasp section is pretty iconic.
b.t.
Chim! Where are you located in Germany? (I lived in SHA for 4 years, lol.)
FYI - we occasionally delve into German 80s new wave like Modern Talking, Opus, Sandra, et al! :)
ANd if you dig French stuff, Sean is the man with the plan!!!
I think it's interesting Sean and B.T. go for the drum /bass / gasp aspect of "Time of the Season" and I go for the keyboards.
Ah well... variety is the spice of life!
@Charlie
I grew up in West-Berlin behind the wall. Now I live in the former eastern part of the city.
I recently picked up a Walker Brothers compilation CD in a charity shop and have gone beserk for Scott Walker’s renditions of ‘No Regrets’ and ‘We’re All Alone’. Non-stop.
Last year I was mental about ‘This Whole World’ by The Beach Boys.
@Sean
Based on your comment, I just bought Amancio d'Silva's 'A Street in Bombay' at Amazon (I still have no streaming subscription). Is he playing a sitar or a guitar on that track? Most of the time I would say a guitar, but then some parts really sound like a sitar.
There is a bit of sitar in there Chim, but its played by someone else. Good to hear that someone liked it.
Matthew, I only heard 'We're All Alone' for the first time fairly recently - its kind of amazing that the next thing the Walkers put out was 'Nite Flights'.
Although I suppose thats nothing compared to Scott Walker's later solo stuff. Like 'Clara'...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=y2Ary4MnvdA
He definitely had a way with a tune.
-sean
Hi, good topic. I'm an album guy and because my job is 90% AutoCAD work, I tend to listen to a bit of music during the day, so I can understand getting hooked on an album. It happens to me quite a bit. A few months ago I was replaying Wings "Red Rose Speedway", after that was ELO's "Eldorado" followed by The Move's "Message From The Country", now I'm onto Kansas "Point of Know Return". I like the gems that you can find on a solid record, great songs that you like more that the ones picked for singles.
Chim, if you like "Time of the Season" you might want to check out "Odessey and Oracle", the album it came from
Charlie, can never forget the Beatles, they are what made me an album lover, no skipping around on any of their releases.
Oh, yeah, I pretty much stream the music mostly, but I have a CD player in the car and still have my record player
Heh, I knew mentioning Throbbing Gristle would get a response from you, Oh my brother. I gotta get a Throbbing Gristle t-shirt.
LAYLA is another song I could do without, but not on par with THE WEIGHT. Then again, I really am not much of an Eric Clapton fan.
Once a co-worker and I were discussing the blues, as we each received promo copies of the Robert Johnson box set, on our smoke break. We were talking about Lightning Hopkins, Muddy Waters, BB King, Howling Wolf, etc. The younger kid that was there interrupted, " Don't forget Eric Clapton & Stevie Ray Vaughn!"
We just shot a stare at him, then blasted him out-of-waters. "We're talking about REAL blues! Not about white guys that learned about the Blues by these LEGENDS!! We're talking about guys who made their own guitars outta cigar boxes, playing them on the back porch in the swamp with 'gators snapping at their toes!!!"
I was a little kid when TIME OF THE SEASON came out. Always happy when it played on the radio.
Other one-hit bands that have highly listenable greatest hits collections are Shocking Blue, the Standells, and of course, Mungo Jerry.
FlameKeeper-
The punk band I was in during the early 80's had a song called BOSTON, JOURNEY, KANSAS, STYX.
IT was about putting on a free show at a stadium featuring those bands, then blowing it up with a neutron bomb.
I only just picked up ‘Nite Flights’ and it’s a weird one.
Like a full-on late-70s art rock EP for the first four amazing SW tracks, then the rest (despite the tantalising song titles) is stuck in mid-70s FM radioland.
SEAN - Indis indeed listed to the link for “A street in Bombay.” Most enjoyable! I was at work at the time so it actually complemented the situation and ill listen again today!
Kill dumpster – for what it’s worth I heard me some hard-core blues last Saturday night in Chicago at the “House of blues. “Joanna Connor. Just check her out on YouTube. Enough said.
Anyone else noticed that Resartz slipped in a recommendation featuring Ted Nugent? Dig it!
Charlie- yep; not a Nugent fan but that song is great!
Read, no argument here! That Nugent is firing up a storm in that song! Excellent recommendation I listen to that one as well at work yesterday a few times, lol
I’d be happy if I never hear “Fortunate Son” by Creedence Clearwater Revival again, a great band and song but it’s never off the TV or Movies in films, documentary’s etc. Another song I could live without is “Wonderful Tonight” by Eric Clapton (although I still love “Layla” )
The last few song I have obsessed over have mostly been from the distant past and were reintroduced to me by chance encounters/purchases:
“Let’s work together” by Canned Heat – I played this for weeks on a loop after hearing this on the Radio while driving home one wet and windy night.
Canned Heat Let's Work Together ft TotP Audience Feb 1970 HQ Audio - YouTube
“I shiver” – Robert Cary -I picked up a couple cheap LPs just before the COVID lockdown as I had just got a new record deck and this album was one of these (£5 new) I now need a new “Shame and Sin” LP as I played this song this to death
I Shiver - YouTube
Gimmie little Sign – Brenton Wood – I heard this for the first time in over 40 years in a record shop in Glasgow a few years ago and it took l me right back to 1970 -Its now on my Spotify playlist and Walkman/ipod
Brenton Wood - Give A Little Sign - HQ - YouTube
Babylon’s Burning by Ruts – This has always been one of my favourite Punk rock /rock songs but I hadn’t listened to it in years until I was in a pub with my mates and a youngish kid (ok maybe 28-30 years old but that's young to me) put it on the jukebox– the place was buzzing.
THE RUTS - BABYLONS BURNING - YouTube
Thanks for the topic, Charlie and thanks to everyone else for your comments, so far.
As for my choice, I'm not particularly obsessive about anything at the moment but Tom Robinson's Atmospherics, Squeeze's The Elephant Ride and Placebo's Jesus' Son have had some play on my YouTube turntable, of late.
Not quite an ‘obsession’ but sometime last year, we were all discussing Prog Rock (at Redartz’ old blog, I think) and the band Asia came up. It got me thinking about their third album, ‘Astra’, which I used to have on cassette but didn’t care for all that much so I never bothered to get it on CD. So I checked it out on the YouTube to see if I still felt the same, and got hooked on their song ‘Go’. Not a ‘great’ song but it has a really catchy refrain.
A couple years ago, a somewhat similar thing happened with The Cars’ third album, ‘Panorama’. At some other site, I got into a disagreement with another Cars fan about it. My feeling was that it was too experimental, lacking in radio-friendly singles and overall a bit too cold and robotic. I think I listened to it just a few times back in the day, said ‘Nope’ and never gave it another spin. This Other Guy says ‘I know that’s the common perception, but frankly anyone who doesn’t like ‘Panorama’ isn’t a True Cars Fan.’ Quelle absurdité ! But just in case, I listened to the whole album on YouTube — THREE times — and for once found myself mostly in agreement with 19-year-old Me. I did like the album better this time around, and the single ‘Touch and Go’ is catchier and more charming than I’d remembered, but overall, i think the album is kind of a dud. And I STILL consider myself as a True Cars Fan.
b.t.
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