S is for Sparks - Number One Song In Heaven

The year is 1980, I'm an inquisitive 13 year old boy with a sparkly fifty pence piece burning a whole in my pocket. It's about two o'clock on a Saturday afternoon and we are visiting my Gran who lived in Heston.

To escape the tedium of these visits (I loved my Gran but she was not so in tune with small boys and recognised this, hence the shiny coin gift) my elder brother and I scooted off happily down to the shops.

The target shop was an Indian newsagents run by a lovely smiley old fella who was always very affable as I recall. He kept a fine array of sweets and magazines and my bro was gonna purchase Battle Picture Weekly, a riveting tome, telling tale of latter day warfare.

The object of my interest however was his collection of ex jukebox 45's at twenty five pence a pop. I plundered a number of fine records from this source, but I think of all, this is the song that still passes muster today.

Released in 1979 by the brothers Mael and produced by Giorgio Moroeder and presented here the full length album version, you can still hear its influence today. 

It is the No 1 song in heaven    

R is for The Rolling Stones - Shake Your Hips

The Stones take on  Slim Harpo's blues standard is gritty, dirty and tight. My favourite track from "Exile On Main Street" though the album as a whole is an absolute work of genius.

Jagger was a huge Harpo fan (his "I'm a King Bee" was on their first album) and loved that Swamp blues, Louisiana sound in general.

Enjoy!

P is for Pearl Jam - Given To Fly

My favourite Pearl Jam track, period. The first single from their 5th studio album Yield is  an amazingly evocative song. The Mike McCready penned guitar riff is loosely based on the Zeppelin classic "Going to California" and Vedder said of the ambiguous lyrics: 
"a 20-page cardboard book with a line on each page and a picture to go with it.
It's a fable, that's all. The music almost gives you this feeling of flight, and I really love singing the part at the end, which is all about rising above anybody's comments about what you do and still giving your love away. You know? Not becoming bitter and reclusive, not condemning the whole world because of the actions of a few"
A fantastically empowering tune.
Off to see them next month at the IOW festival and I can't wait.

O is for Orbital - Halcyon (live)

Superlatives abound for the brothers Hartnoll and their legendary live performance. Picked this fantastic version of the hypnotic Halcyon as it evokes memories of the first time I saw them perform this and the wonderful use of sampling. Never before have I been so ecstatic at the sound of JBJ!

They are astounding as they are one of the few electronic bands (the Chems and Underworld are the only others I can think of) of that have lasted and are still producing fantastic music today. The latest album Wonky is well worth checking out and nearly made it here, but I'm drawn back to the nostagia of this tune.

N is for Nine Inch Nails - Closer

Trent Reznor's signature piece from 1994's The Downward Spiral is a torrent of angst, lust and sexuality. It seeps into your consciousness with its undulating synth bass line and Iggy sampling drum track, before assaulting the senses in  glorious crescendo. 

I do love Nine Inch Nails, they have been extraordinary and pioneering and this song was like nothing I'd ever heard before. The song and the accompanying Mark Romanek directed video were widely censored at the time due to their explicit nature. 

Play it LOUD!!! 

M is for The Music - Getaway

Roaring into the week with a classic tune from Leeds finest The Music. These guys released three studio albums and were a fantastic live act performing their farewell gigs last year. 

This track comes from their eponymous debut album released in 2002 and is a huge swirling mess of guitars, with Robert Harvey's distinctive strained vocals  piercing through like a glorious slap in the face.

Break your speakers on this beauty it needs playing LOUD!!!

L is for Lemon Jelly - A Tune For Jack

Picked this tune as I knew that I'd hungover this morning. Suitably wondrous for a Sunday morning, Lemon Jelly will pull you into the day with a joyous aplomb

K is for The Kinks - David Watts

From the year of my birth comes this old favourite. I could have picked any number from a plethora of great songs released by The Kinks. I have never met anyone who doesn't like at least one song their repertoire is so diverse.
Of course lots of you will remember The Jam covering this, try listening to the two back to back and tell me that the original doesn't far outstrip the cover. If you believe that you can F....f....f....f....f....f......f.....f......   

J is for Jack White - I'm Shakin'

It's Friday and you should all have an extra spring in your step.
To that end J is for Jack White. The White Stripes and The Dead Weather lynchpin is in supreme form on this wondrous piece of jive rock from his latest assault on musical immortality "Blunderbuss". Tell you what, it's a cracking video too.
Go on, let's see ya shakin'

I is for Ice Cube - Giving Up The Nappy Dugout

I is for Ice Cube. I love this tune, musically it's fantastic, lyrically it's highly dubious and it reminds me of my ex brother in law who had a penchant for playing great hip hop tunes at extreme volume at his soundproof studio.
Never has the parental advisory sticker been more apt - Enjoy!

H is for Hothouse Flowers - I'm Sorry

A blast from the past today, this is from the debut album of Irish funsters Hothouse Flowers.
An uplifting blues piano break combines with the fabulous vocals of Liam O'Maonlai. I was lucky enough to see them live, being two rows from the front and it stands out as one of the best gigs I've been to. Enjoy!

G is for G. Love & Special Sauce - Blues Music

Tuesday's tune is from one of my favourite albums, the self styled Ragmop crossover stylings of the brilliantly laconic G Love and Special Sauce from their eponymous debut. A fine laid back fusion of jazz, hiphop and rhythm and blues, these boys epitomize cool. I've seen them live a couple of times, great band and the performances have been tight. The experience is definitely enhanced by a hot summers day and a few beers. I could have picked any track from this collection, but seeing as The Blues are playing in the Champions League final on Saturday this seemed appropriate
Sounds good any time but a definite sure fire BBQ winner.

      

F is for Fixers - Iron Deer Dream

Monday is  all about the letter F, made more poignant by the Fact that I have Fucked my back up. But more importantly it's for Fixers. Fixers are an experimental 5 piece from Oxford who I saw a couple of times last year and am going to see again at the end of the month. Beach Boysesque harmonies combined with a psychedelic melting pot of keyboards and rhythm to produce such an immensely joyous cacophony.

Their debut album "We'll Be The Moon" is released next Monday and Ir"on Deer Dream" is one of the singles from it. Go buy it, talent like this must never go unrewarded!

    

E is for Eat - Bleed Me White

A swirling mess of guitars and driving rhythm, this gem was the last hurrah from the hugely underated Eat's second album Epicure. Lead singer Ange Doolittle, having fought through a debilitating heroine addiction between their first and second albums, finally quit during the bands first US tour which saw them playing to empty halls.
Doolittle returned with most of the Wonderstuff minus Miles Hunt to front a band called "We Know Where You Live" whilst drummer Pete Howard later hooked up with Hunt and former Cult guitarist Billy Duffy in a band in Vent 414 who I saw at the much missed Old Trout in Windsor. 

D is for Deep Purple - Woman From Tokyo

Today's offering is from 1973's "Who Do We Think We Are" album, featuring the classic Purple line up of Gillan, Blackmore, Glover, Paice and Lord. This is fantastic tune from the one time holders of the "Loudest Pop Group in the World " title according to the Guinness Book of Records. Could have picked a number of songs from Purples' back catalogue, but this for me encapsulates the essence of what made them special. A straight balls out, rock track with Gillan's rich rasping vocal stamped all over it. Paice's wonderful snare intro pulls you in and the whole piece rides along on the richness of Jon Lord's Hammond. This takes me back to my school days, though it was released way before. A crowd of us used to debate the merits of Sabbath, Purple and Zeppelin et al.......Happy Days!!   

C is for China Crisis - African And White

The year is 1982, the new romantic era is gathering pace and I as a 15 year old have my feet firmly planted in rock. Not many bands managed to pierce that unerring musical love of mine at that time, but surprisingly this, the debut offering from Kirkby's own China Crisis was one.
Taken from their "Difficult Shapes and Passive Rhythms, Some People Think It's Fun To Entertain" album, its fusion of new wave synth and world music percussion made for curious listening in a fairly bland pop landscape. I loved this tune and it still sounds great to these world weary ears today. And life is just a fever..... 

B is for Billy Fury - Wondrous Place

Today's offering goes back to 1960. I'm not a huge Billy Fury fan, but I love this song. The bassline just purrs along underneath Fury's tremulous vocal and the lyrics are just magical. It was originally released as a string laden, lilting ballad by Jimmy Jones in the US where it failed to chart and more recently has been covered by The Last Shadow Puppets and Alice Gold (the latter featuring in a Carling commercial)   

A is for Apex Manor - Southern Decline

The opening track from one of last years favourite albums, the marvellously titled "The Year of Magical Drinking" this is cracking little tune with a lovely gunfire guitar riff and a bucket load of melancholic vocal resignation.