Choon of the Month: Fuck You

Original video located here. Accessed 2nd September 2010

Song title: Fuck You!

Artist: CeeLo Green

Year: 2010

Why I like this song:

Some poeple might call this juvnile but this is still pretty funny. Also helps that it's a real snappy tune.

Explorations: Skin Deep

Original video located here. Accessed 8th August 2014

Song title: Skin Deep

Artist: The Stranglers

Year: 1984

Why I like this song:

Lately I've been listening to the Stranglers.

This band has an unusual legacy: They were a punk band who utilised keyboards and had experience on their side. They were a bunch of trend-chasers. They could write some snappy pop songs. They managed to garner respect from audiences and fellow artists alike.

And I'm in the camp that says they could produce some great songs. Indeed, I would argue that the further they got from their punk roots, the more interesting they became. And this song is a solid example of such a notion. Superb use of the synths and a great build of atmospherics

This Song Rocks: XXXO

Original video located here. Accessed 23rd August 2010

Song title: XXXO

Artist: M.I.A.

Year: 2010

Why I like this song:

Seems a great beat and a venomous delivery make for a winning combination 

Classics: Misirlou

Original video located here. Accessed 11th March 2017

Song title: Misirlou

Artist: Dick Dale and his Del-Tones

Year: 1962

Why I like this song:

Funny how a tune associated with surfing would later be revamped as a tune for feeling like a badass

Won't to an instrumental and this boasts one of the most lethal guitar riffs ever. 
Got the foundation of metal right here folks.

Nineties Revisited: Friday I'm in Love

Original video located here. Accessed 9th August 2010

Song title: Friday I'm in Love

Artist: The Cure

Year: 1992

Why I like this song:

This is my favourite song of all time. No competition. I will never tire of it no matter how many times I hear it. It sits atop my list of most played songs, picking it's teeth with the bones of many a would-be challenger.

So what makes this song special?
Simple: It make me happy.

Of course such a statement is a loaded one so lets unpack shall we?

This song is by a band who have built a career out of being touchstone for gothic music. After all, it was only a decade prior when they released the Pornography album. An album that had the opening line of: "It Doesn't Matter If We All Die!"
But there is an appeal to me that a band with such a dour reputation would turn around do something so cheerful. Uncharacteristic maybe but that's part of the charm.

Going further with the dual nature of the song, the lyrics fascinate me: They tell the story of a guy who is miserable throughout the week - that is until Friday comes along. Granted this is a universal feeling (who doesn't wait for Friday to do something fun?) but these are real grim lyrics for such a cheerful sounding song. Does it fit? Maybe but when one utilises such the exuberance one can get away with anything.

I will maintain that when Robert Smith can put his mind to it, he can churn out a winner of a pop song (see: High, Just Like Heaven, Inbetween Days). And this is that theory in practice; It has more hooks than a fisherman's tacklebox, boasts an instantly recognisable intro and some winning guitar figures. Indeed, it's not hard to hear this and smile.

Finally, it seems that Robert has an odd relationship with this song: One on hand it still gets played live and he certainly doesn't appear embarrassed by it. But on the other hand, he did declare that it isn't representative of The Cure as a whole. Well I have enjoyed The Cure at their gothiest but that doesn't stop me from enjoying their poppier side. 

So perhaps it's the dual nature of the song that really clicks with me: I myself consider myself a powderkeg of contradictions so may it is fitting that I would adore a song that is in itself a powderkeg of contradictions.

Classics: Lust For Life

Original video located here. Accessed 6th August 2010

Song title: Lust For Life

Artist: Iggy Pop

Year: 1977

Why I like this song:

This is punk, no question about it. Some may argue it doesn't sound punk but that is missing one crucial detail: Punk is all about attitude and this has it in spades. It's the song that blasts down doors and has enough swagger to turn any listener into the most charismatic dude in the room. 

Classics: Kashmir

Original video located here. Accessed 28th January 2017

Song title: Kashmir

Artist: Led Zeppelin

Year: 1975

Why I like this song:

An eight and half minute epic, combining Middle Eastern exotica, some stunning strings, superb guitar work, some of the most powerful drumming I have ever heard and the sense of the world coming to an end. Many emotions come through when I hear this: Danger, Journeying, and the image of marching to a battlefield knowing thy time hath time. I listened this a lot during my first year of University and it is still mind-blowing to hear it now.

Classics: Anarchy in the UK

Original video located here. Accessed 2nd February 2010

Song title: Anarchy in the UK

Artist: Sex Pistols

Year: 1977

Why I like this song:

The benchmark for all punk bands to match and the inevitable conclusion of my teen years spent being interested in punk rock (as teenagers tend to do). Raw power in full-flight accompanied by some guitar work that is demented, chaotic and full of maniacal glee. Throw a lead singer roaring his way with glee and staking a claim of being the Antichrist that no one can argue, and you have something that no one has been able to match since.