As always, obtained via Kirsty. These are all just in the order they came to me, and not order of preference.
Top 5 lyrics that move your heart
- Wires by Athlete.
Down corridors through automatic doors,
gotta get to you, gotta see this through.
Written about a premature baby, I hated this song to start with until gradually the lyrics filtered through and now I can't listen to it without welling up inside.
First day of your life
curled up on your own...
Oh my god I'm blubbing again! - Sing For The Moment by Eminem
Or for anyone who's ever been through shit in their lives
Till they sit and they cry at night wishin' they'd die
Till they throw on a rap record and they sit, and they vibe
We're nothin' to you but we're the fuckin' shit in they eyes
I guess a lot of people don't get Eminem and a lot can't see past the profanities but almost all of his lyrics are extremely clever, a lot are very funny and some are deeply moving. This song never fails to move me, a song about how music can affect people and how it can give them something to cling to even in the depths of despair. - English Summer Rain by Placebo
English summer rain, nothing ever changes,
English summer rain, seems to last for ages.
A truer word was never spoken, the more time I can spend abroad in sunny places the better! - I May Be Ugly by The Beautiful South
And he sings
I may be ugly
But I've got the bottle-opener
He may be fat but he's got the cork-screw
I love this song, a song about a bloke who fell from the top of the ugly tree and hit every branch on the way down. But at least he can console himself with drink. Beautifully sung, witty but incisive lyrics, I've a feeling Paul Heaton may have written it with himself in mind. - Role Model by Eminem
I've got genital warts and it hurts when I pee.
Don't you wanna grow up to be just like me?
Eminem on the stupidity of following what others do or appear to do. - Hammering In My Head by Garbage
In our electric storms and our shifting sands
Our candy jars and our sticky hands...
A breathlessly sexy song and one of Garbage's best, most especially when performed live.
(Oops, did I do 6 here!)
Top 5 instrumentals
I'm not struck on instrumentals, and especially not "rock" ones. Those that I have any liking for at all tend to be dance(ish) tracks.
- Bulletproof Cupid by Placebo
- Lily Was Here by Dave Stewart & Candy Dulfer.
- Crocket's Theme - Jan Hammer
- American Dream by Jakatta
- Ecuador by Sash
Top 5 live musical experiences
- Garbage at Doncaster Dome.
Quite simply the best concert I've ever been to. If I could live that night again, I would. - Kylie at Newcastle Arena
Superlatives cannot do her justice. - Robbie Williams at Newcastle Arena
Robbie is not just a musical performer, he's a real showman. Entertainment in every sense of the word. - U2 at Leeds Roundhay Park.
Not a U2 fan, I went because I'd enjoyed other huge concerts at Roundhay and U2 were then probably the biggest band in the world, so I thought I owed it to myself to go. the 82,000 crowd was the biggest single attendance for a concert in the UK, up to that point. Took 5 hours to get out of the car park afterwards. - The Stranglers at Sunderland Locarno
The Stranglers were always a good gig, I saw them 3 times, twice at Newcastle City Hall and this time at Sunderland. This was my favourite because the Locarno was basically a nightclub so the audience occupied the dancefloor, which gave you a lot more freedom. The City Hall was a seated venue, and at a "punk" concert seats just get in the way...
Top 5 artists you think more people should listen to
Who am I to say what people should listen to? But if I were to choose...
- Keane
Absolutely superb vocals and a cleanness and clarity about the music that really is cutting. - Errr, now I'm struggling!
Top 5 albums you must hear from start to finish
What does this mean exactly? I usually listen to albums on random play, so that the track order doesn't get ingrained in my head. Besides which, almost every album has a duff track - even the otherwise perfect Dummy by Portishead has Mysterons as the first track. Take that track away and maybe it would fit the "start to finish" criteria
Top 5 musical heroes
- Ian Curtis of Joy Division
Cut down in his prime, his strangely dark vocal style and songwriting (not to mention his "dancing") were the driving force behind the band. Though New Order went on to be successful, they were not the band that Joy Division had been. - Kylie Minogue
A perennial favourite, the true princess of pop. - Jay Kay (Jamiroqaui)
Whetever you might think of "The Twat In The Hat" he's a modern jazz/funk master. I've seen him twice now, both times at The Newcastle Arena, and his shows are fantastic. At the second gig wife passed out (too much wacky baccy wafting about I think) and I just left her to it cos I didn't want to miss the encore! Spellbinding. - Duke Erikson of Garbage.
Proving that even 53 isn't too old to be in a hip & trendy rock band. - Robbie Williams
A real showman (as I said elsewhere). Has his share of problems in his personal life but keeps bouncing back, keeps smiling and keeps up his "don't give a f*ck what you think" attidude.
Top 5 intros
- Trick Me by Kellis
- New Rose by The Damned
- What Difference Does It Make by The Smiths
- Matinee by Franz Ferdinand
- Days Before You Came by Placebo
Top 5 songs that take me right back
- School's Out by Alice Cooper
The first song that I can remember that we all raved about, at the tender age of 9. Takes me back to Junior School. - Master Blaster by Stevie Wonder
A memorable song from late Secondary School years, could have featured in my Top Intros too, if It went to a Top 10. - Tainted Love by Soft Cell
Out at the time we started frequenting pubs on a regular basis, and was usually on on the Juke Box in said establishments. - She's Lost Control by Joy Division
My favourite Joy Division song, takes me back to my Uni days even though that was just after Ian Curtis died - I still listened to Joy Division incessantly during that period. - Lady by Modjo
Ah, take me back to the Indian Ocean jewels that are The Maldives. Lady was out at the time we went and was produced faithfully and flawlessly by the house band on the island where we stayed.
Top 5 Cover Versions
In the spirit that Kirsty started, I have added a category of my own...
For the most part these are totally different to the originals and in my opinion superior. The exception is Personal Jesus, which is better though largely similar to the original. I already had in mind that I was going to do a "My Top 10 Cover Versions" blog, I guess now I don't need to.
- Running Up That Hill (Kate Bush) by Placebo
- Feeling Good (Nina Simone) by Muse
- Personal Jesus (Depeche Mode) by Marilyn Manson
- Daddy Cool (Boney M) by Placebo
- Don't Stop Moving (S Club 7) by The Beautiful South
Go on, just rub in that you saw The Stranglers live. Have to agree about Robbie, though. I was tricked into seeing him, but came away from the show in complete admiration for his talents.
Posted by: mrs mcmuffin | May 27, 2005 at 10:54 PM
Oh, I really must add "Fell In Love WIth A Girl" by Joss Stone to my list of covers. I thought The White Stripes had ruined an excellent song till I found out it's actually theirs!
Posted by: steve | May 27, 2005 at 11:37 PM
The Joss Stone version is crap! What are you thinking?!
I agree with you about Eminem - he's more intelligent than he looks!
And I like your cover versions idea!
How long did it take you to do?
Very interesting reading, anyway. Never knew you'd been to the Maldives. And I could have sworn you'd told me you never went to university. ???
Posted by: Kirsty | May 28, 2005 at 11:12 AM
You asked me to fill it in but i can't do most of it seens as Im not old enough:
Cover Versions
Hounds Of Love Futureheads/Kate Bush
Feeling Good Muse/Nina Simone
Handbags & Gladrags Stereophonics/Rod Stewart
Suicide Is Painless Manic Street Preachers/Marilyn Manson
Crazy In Love Snow Patrol/Beyonce
Top 5 albums you must hear from start to finish
Franz Ferdinand-Franz Ferdinand
The Killers-Hot Fuss
The Zutons-Who Killed...
MCR-Three Cheers
Muse-Absolution
Heroes
Sharin Foo-Raveonettes
Shirley Manson-Garbage
Charlotte Hatherly-Ash
Karen O-Yeah Yeah Yeahs
Brody Dalle-Distillers
Lyrics
Snow Patrol-Run
Coldplay-Yellow
MCR-Helena
Feeder-Feeling A Moment
Feeder-Just The Way I'm Feeling
Bands You Should Listen To
Art Brut
The Others
The Music
Yeti
Maximo Park
Best intros
Franz-40
Kaisers-Everyday I love you less and less
Muse-Plug In Baby
Music-Freedom Fighters
Muse-Hysteria
Only Been to a couple of concerts all of them SAD!!!
Posted by: charlotte | May 28, 2005 at 01:19 PM
But Charlotte, you went to that U2 concert that I mentioned, as well as Simply Red at Manchester (Old Trafford) in the same year. Only thing is, you was just a foetus at the time... :-pp
Posted by: steve | May 28, 2005 at 08:56 PM
As i said all of them sad (except U2)!
Posted by: charlotte | May 29, 2005 at 03:03 PM