Tuesday, October 24, 2006

Nice Song, Shame About The Band

Hooray! It's Tuesday! Contrast Podcast day! This week's theme (suggested synchronously by Amy from Shake Your Fist and Matt from Earfarm) was a bit of a tricky one: "A Song I Like By A Band I Don't." And so, Dear Friends, we've got ourselves a whole mess of love and hate as contributors try to sort out their feelings...

As usual, the podcast can be downloaded via this link, or else you can get your computer to do the dirty each week and automatically download the latest episode using the following RSS code: http://feeds.feedburner.com/ContrastPodcast .

Let us plunge into a morass of conflicted likes & dislikes...

(00:00) Paul McCartney - Momma Miss America
Tim from The Face of Today

(04:50) The Smashing Pumpkins - Cherub Rock
Matt from Earfarm

(10:23) The Decemberists - O’Valencia!
Natalie from Mini-Obs

(14:48) Larrikin Love - Downing Street Kindling
Ross from Just Gimme Indie Rock

(17:27) Panic! At The Disco - I write sins, not tragedies
Bethanne from CTASLS

(21:06) Bob Dylan - Subterranean homesick blues
FiL from Pogoagogo

(24:16) Unknown Artist - Audio Track 01
Fraser from BKLYN Song of the Day

(31:58) Sum 41 - We’re all to blame
Rachel from Untitled

(35:43) Creed - Roadhouse Blues
Andy from Circles of Concrete

(41:15) Deep Blue Something - Breakfast at Tiffany’s
Tom from Other People’s Toys

(46:05) Chumbawamba - Tubthumping
Lyle from Mentok the Mindtaker

(50:23) The Smithereens - She’s got a way
Jim from Quick Before it Melts

(58:42) Jenny Lewis - Born secular
Marcy from Lost in your inbox

Bob Dylan was my hands-down choice this week - the man really gets on my nerves, apart from that one song which sets me bouncing every time. I once had an hour to kill at Frankfurt airport and did so at an ersatz American diner with a jukebox on which I discovered said tune. So I pumped the machine full of my remaining marks and got five or six plays of the tune, much to the dismay of my travelling companions who cared not a whit that Johnny was in the basement, mixing up the medecine.

However, a few other tunes were briefly considered. Indeed, it was a useful exercise; when they popped up from my subconscious I really had to ask myself: "And how on earth, Dear FiL, can you say that you actually like this abomination??" So here are the three tunes that also vied for the title:

Journey - Don't Stop Believing (buy here if you must)
Yes, Journey stand for just about everything I can't stomach about MOR arena rawk: mullets, twiddly guitars, lowest-common-denominator subject matter, power ballad histrionics. But something about this tune makes me hold my lighter aloft with conviction. I must admit it's partly mockery (especially when it comes to that widdly guitar!), but a tiny bit of me appreciates both how the song chugs along and the fact that I can just about squeal the line "A smell of wine and cheap perfume" in tune with Steve Perry.

Barry Manilow - Copacabana (If you're desperate, buy here)
Oh God, I find Manilow unspeakable. Whenever I hear his oeuvre I feel awash in a sea of schmaltz and mawk - how horrid! But if LaRonda Beautay, my drag queen alter ego, ever makes the transition from the stage in my imagination to one in gorgeous reality, this is the song she'll sing.

Idlewild - American English (buy here)
Y'know, I tried several times to like Idlewild. Really, I did. But I just could never get excited by them. Even seeing them live (opening for The Hives, wouldja believe??) didn't do it for me; it all just seemed so boring and nicey-nice. But "American English" does manage to tug on my soulstrings enough to create that achy, yearning feeling. And that's a good thing.

In keeping with the season, next week's theme is all Halloweeny: "Music To Watch Ghouls By." So dust off your 50s horror beach party surf tunes and your grimly gothic dirges, Dearest Fiends, and hasten over here to find out how you can participate.