Choon of the Month: Long Loud Hours

Original video located here. Accessed 28th October 2015

Song title: Long Loud Hours

Artist: Urthboy with Bertie Blackman

Year: 2015

Why I like this song:

I already knew about the story of the criminal John Killick and Lucy Dudko so imagine my surprise when a song relating that narrative comes along.

For the uninitiated, Killick was in prison when he struck up a bond with Dudko, who he had met previously. She visited him on several occasions before a plan was conceived: She would hijack a tourist helicopter, fly to the prion and airlift him out. And Dudko, who had no criminal background prior, did just that: holding a pilot at gunpoint. Following this, Killick and Dudko went on the run before finally being caught forty-five years later. 
Not quite a Bonnie and Clyde situation but a compelling story nonetheless. 

So it is interesting for Urthboy to take an empathetic approach, giving his subjects through a humanising perspective. And it works

We Are Live: Song From the Sixteenth Floor

Original video located here. Accessed 2nd September 2013

Song title: Song From the Sixteenth Floor

Artist: Paul Kelly

Year: 1994

Why I like this song:

I had the pleasure of seeing Paul Kelly live recently. It was a birthday present from my sister.
I am Australian and being an Australian it is near inevitable that one would see Paul Kelly once in their lifetime. And this time was my time.

The support act was Urthboy. No doubt this was due to Paul's (surprising?) interest in hip-hop but he did a good job and was fun to watch on stage

It was an interesting show: For the first half, he played his latest album, Spring and Fall, in full. It should be noted that the audience was seated. It wasn't bad but the audience was somewhat cold - no doubt through being presented with, dare I say, unfamiliar tunes?
But then came the second half: Where the audience were encouraged to get out of their seats, come up the front and rock out to Paul playing all his best known songs: Before Too Long, Leaps and Bounds, Dumb Things, How To Make Gravy. It was crazy to see the audience respond so strongly to all these songs that they have no doubt heard many times before.
However the best part came at the end: For an encore, Paul's band abandoned their instruments, came forward around the one microphone and they all sung Song From the Sixteenth Floor. Magic in simplicity indeed. 
All in all, Paul certainly was a charismatic presence and he knew how to hold an audience relying on years of experience. Great show indeed.