mattypenny

My songs from the marvellous CrucialTracks website last week - Eddie Cochranm Fun Boy 3, the Banshees, the Floaters, Finbarr and Aine Furey, Andy Williams, the Small Faces, and Tolü Makay and the RTÉ Concert Orchestra do the Saw Doctors

More here: Crucial Tracks

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What's your go-to song for getting ready in the morning?

"C'mon Everybody" by Eddie Cochran

To be honest, I tend to listen to speech radio most mornings, but if I do listen to music it would either be Irish rebel songs, or something like this

"C'mon Everybody" by Eddie Cochran on Apple music

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Share a song that sounds like your favorite weather.

"Summertime (Live in Hitchin 6th April 1983)" by Fun Boy Three

My favourite weather is that of a lazy summer's day, when everyone slows down and relaxes a bit.

This song embodies that, although this particular performance is a bit different.

One day I’ll do a list of my favourite bits from live shows…and the Fun Boys doing Summertime at the Hammersmith Palais would be in the list.

It was a very cool show altogether, and this song was especially good live. This recording doesn’t really capture that experience but it’s a nice reminder

"Summertime (Live in Hitchin 6th April 1983)" by Fun Boy Three on Apple music

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Share a song that captures the moment when seasons change.

"Il Est Ne Le Divin Enfant" by Siouxsie & The Banshees

I know we're not quite there yet...but is Advent a season?

I’m not sure why but I associate this song with the beginning of Advent, and it’s always the first song on my Christmas playlist, or mini disc, or mix tape

The video is worth seeing, featuring the band, including Robert Smith of the Cure, in festive Victorian mode

"Il Est Ne Le Divin Enfant" by Siouxsie & The Banshees on Apple music

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What song makes you feel like you're floating?

"Float On" by The Floaters

This is a bit 'on the nose', but as a song it does very much what it says on the tin

(with apologies for the Britishisms)

"Float On" by The Floaters on Apple music

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What's your favorite song about growing up?

"Hail, Rain or Snow (with Aine Furey)" by Finbar Furey

I don't know if this is quite about growing up, but it's a song I really like and it does feel very grown up.

Aine Furey is the daughter of Finbar Furey, who himself is one of the Furey Brothers

"Hail, Rain or Snow (with Aine Furey)" by Finbar Furey on Apple music

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Share a song that makes time feel like it's standing still.

"Moon River" by Andy Williams

"Moon River" by Andy Williams on Apple music

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What song would you dedicate to your younger self?

"Itchycoo Park (Mono Version) [2012 Remaster]" by Small Faces

Because it all has been too beautiful.

"Itchycoo Park (Mono Version) [2012 Remaster]" by Small Faces on Apple music

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What's a song that feels like magic every time you hear it?

"N17" by Tolü Makay & RTÉ Concert Orchestra

This is a ballad version of a Saw Doctors sing-a-long hit, with a full orchestra.Its as if Whitney was singing the Clash, and it feels like magic, a special alchemy, to me.

"N17" by Tolü Makay & RTÉ Concert Orchestra on Apple music

In honour of it being December, the Goth-iest Christmas record ever

The marvellous Il est né, le divin enfant by Siouxsie and the Banshees

youtu.be/J_2QaNWQs…

The end of my plod/jog around Salisbury is brightened up by Christmas

A festive street is illuminated by strings of lights wrapped around the trees lining the wet sidewalk.

I very much enjoyed this film. It feels like a properly grown-up film….in a good way

A new favourite Christmas film

Watched: The Holdovers 🍿

A colorful movie soundtrack poster features a collage of characters and artists' names alongside a prominently displayed man with a mustache.

Watching Final Score or listening to Sports Report always calls to mind the people I’ve known who supported, or particularly disliked, each club

People I haven’t seen for years, who may even not still be with us live on in my memory through Walsall, or West Brom, Bournemouth or Tranmere Rovers

A television screen displays a football championship scoreboard showing Sheffield Wednesday versus Preston, with the score 2-3, along with statistics and current news updates.

I hate to see our flag abused by the far right, and it was good to see the bloke from the Council taking them down.

Thirty odd years ago, I was working on the Strand. One lunchtime I wandered into a bookshop, and found someone I vaguely recognised talking to a handful of people about Charles Dickens.

It was Miriam Margolyes. She did a couple of readings, and was very, very good at doing the characters.

I bought a copy of Hard Times, and I’ve been a bit of a Dickens fan-boy ever since

Anyway, this is great

Betwixt The Sheets: The History of Sex, Scandal & Society - The REAL Charles Dickens with Miriam Margolyes

I thought this was a fantastic film. It was fascinating in the way that DJT has a dark fascination.

From a political point of view…. the shocking think about it was that it wasn’t that shocking.

Tmdb link

Three individuals are depicted against a backdrop of a tall city building, with text indicating a film called The Apprentice by Ali Abbasi.

My crucial tracks for the last week - The Fall, Nick Cave, June Tabor, Cypress Hill, Prince, and Ini Kamoze

These were my platters that mattered over the last few days.

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Share a song that makes you want to call an old friend.

"Lie Dream of a Casino Soul" by The Fall

This reminds me of a friend from my school days who's no longer with us

"Lie Dream of a Casino Soul" by The Fall on Apple music

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What's your favorite song to sing in the car?

"Straight to You (2010 Remaster)" by Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds

I'm going to answer a slightly different question because I don't drive, and although I'm often a passenger, I think that's a bit different

Anyway I was walking home last night, through this medieval/gothic town. It was very dark, and a bit wintery, with little bits of Christmas beginning to creep in.

This came through my headphones and it was a huge struggle not to sing along.

"Straight to You (2010 Remaster)" by Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds on Apple music

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Share a song that feels like it was written specifically for you.

"Lullaby of London" by June Tabor & Oysterband

I possibly didn't take an awful lot of notice of this song when it came out on one of the Pogues LPs, when I was actually living in London, but when I heard this cover, despite it not actually being all that London-y, it hit my nostalgia button quite hard

"Lullaby of London" by June Tabor & Oysterband on Apple music

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What's a song you only listen to when you're completely alone?

"Hits from the Bong" by Cypress Hill

Nobody else in the house much likes hip-hop, so this is one I only ever listen to when no one else is around

"Hits from the Bong" by Cypress Hill on Apple music

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What's your favorite opening line from any song?

"When Doves Cry" by Prince & The Revolution

There were a lot of candidates when this post came around before, so I'm pleased to have another crack at it

My choice today is

“Dig if you will the picture, of you and I engaged in a kiss”

Surprisingly this is my first Prince track so far. It’s not my favourite of his songs, but I love that first line

"When Doves Cry" by Prince & The Revolution on Apple music

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Share a song that makes you feel invincible.

"Here Comes the Hotstepper" by Ini Kamoze

When I was about 30 years old, we used to go to a pub on a Friday lunchtime, and play pinball. I used to put this on the jukebox. I was pretty good at pinball.

"Here Comes the Hotstepper" by Ini Kamoze on Apple music

England and Scotland….both got ex-Chelsea guys as managers. Both top of their groups. Just saying.

⚽ #ChelseaFC #cfc

I thought Riot Women was great. There was a lot going on, but as Rabbi Lionel Blue used to say…isn’t that a bit like life?

Watched: Riot Women Season 1 🍿

Five women are sitting and standing around a room filled with posters and props.

It’s very Beckham-esque the way that Rashford only needs half a yard to whip a cross over

It is, clearly, coming home. ⚽

“I guess if it’s unintentional, you don’t apologize”

An interesting point of view

My Crucial Tracks for this week were cheerful and tearful - Stone in Love, Driving Away From Home, Goin' Back, Illegal, Sycamore Tree, the 59th Street Bridge Song....and the first Fairy Tale of the season?

My personal Crucial Tracks this week.

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What song do you turn to when you need to cry?

"Fairytale of New York (feat. Kirsty MacColl)" by The Pogues

I'm answering a different question here

There’s a live version of this song that’s just been released. It’s not on Apple Music yet, as far as I can see.

I only heard it this morning, and it starts with the crowd chanting “Kirsty, Kirsty”

I don’t usually get very emotional about the deaths of people I never knew, but there was something very sad about the loss of Kirsty MacColl

"Fairytale of New York (feat. Kirsty MacColl)" by The Pogues on Apple music

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What song feels like a personal anthem right now?

"59th Street Bridge Song (Feelin' Groovy)" by Sugar Minott

I am always feelin groovy.

This is a great reggae version by Sugar Minott

"59th Street Bridge Song (Feelin' Groovy)" by Sugar Minott on Apple music

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What's a song that feels larger than life to you?

"Sycamore Tree" by Lady Saw

Wikipedia tells me that this came out in 1997, but it feels as fresh as a daisy, and, I guess, as big as a sycamore.

"Sycamore Tree" by Lady Saw on Apple music

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Share a song that represents rebellion or freedom to you.

"Illegal" by Swayzak & Benjamin Zephaniah

As a (very) late-middle-aged 'centrist dad', I'd have to say that freedom from crime is one of the most important freedoms....but this is gorgeous

You might know Benjamin Zephaniah from Peaky Blinders, but he was mainly a poet. We saw him in the 1980s at the Elephant Fayre, but more recently he was on BBC Radio 4 a lot. He came across as an all-round good guy

"Illegal" by Swayzak & Benjamin Zephaniah on Apple music

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What's a song with lyrics you didn't fully understand until you were older?

"Goin' Back" by The Byrds

There are probably a lot of candidates, as I often don't understand much!

Obvious ones would be American Pie, or My Name is Michael Caine ( I didn’t know what that was about until a couple of weeks ago), or lots and lots of songs about Irish history.

The track I’m picking is a song that I didn’t appreciate until I got older. This is because I think it’s about aging, and looking back

I’ve posted Dusty’s version before, so it’s the Byrds this time. I really like the Pretenders version too but I don’t think it’s on Apple Music

"Goin' Back" by The Byrds on Apple music

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Describe the perfect song for a road trip and why it works.

"Driving Away from Home (Jim's Tune)" by It's Immaterial

A nervy, indie, slightly wistful song from the 1980s about a road trip in the north of England

“You know, I like this suburb we’re going through

And I’ve been around here many times before

When I was young we were gonna move out this way

For the clean air, healthy, you know

Away from the factories and the smoke

I like that shop, too

You can get anything there”

"Driving Away from Home (Jim's Tune)" by It's Immaterial on Apple music

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What song would you use to describe your current relationship?

"I'm Stone in Love with You" by The Stylistics

This song sums it up.

Not at all connected with my current relationship, but I had a friend, Kathy, who was from Philadelphia. She was once in hospital, in a bed next to someone who said she was a friend of the Stylistics. The group came to visit, and Kathy was joshing with them, saying “you’re not The Stylistics”, and eventually “prove it”….so she ended up with the Stylistics singing to her in a hospital bed.

I never knew what Kathy was in hospital for….but it may well have been worth it

"I'm Stone in Love with You" by The Stylistics on Apple music

Some nice quotes in the Cramps article in Vintage Rock magazine this month

“There’s a million sides to Ivy and I just love all of them,” cooed Lux.

And Ivy wrote this in the notes for Lux’s funeral - Lux was"creature from another world, with one foot already out of this dimension,”

AI just described the image on my last post as a “child-like drawing”

I mean….it is very child-like, in fact most children over the age of 3 could do an awful lot better, but AI is normally so polite ! 😡😡

Scored my first own goal for a few weeks.

I can’t think of another sport where own goals are a feature. Players of basketball, cricket, rugby, golf, netball, baseball and ice hockey will never have quite that feeling.

A childlike drawing of a stick figure wearing a blue outfit with JS on it, standing on a lined surface with small dots around.

I’m getting attached photos through from Bluesky in my micro.blog feed now :)

(You can’t see too many photos of the Chelsea ’60s/’70s team)

A group of men, including Peter Osgood pointing at John Boyle, are gathered around playing Domino's in December 1966, while Joe Kirkup and the Harris brothers watch and smile.

Thoughts on Don’t Look Now at Salisbury Playhouse

  • it’s very tense and very dark

  • it’s well worth seeing

  • you can’t quite get the “drowning in beauty” in Venice thing in the theatre

  • I’d be interested to see the film

  • I’ve been to Fowey, it was very sunny and cheerful. I can’t imagine the gothic and gloomy Daphne du Maurier living there

  • ….perhaps I need to go in the off-season

youtu.be/xUfUqTMUb…

Thoughts on going to a silent disco in Salisbury Cathedral

  • the Big Church is a surprisingly good venue for a silent disco
  • after a few minutes it didn’t seem particularly weird to be dancing and drinking amongst the tombs of Bishops
  • it did, though, cross my mind that it was odd to be wandering around on my way to the loo, mildly sozzled, within a few yards of the Magna Carta
  • this probably reflects my low-church agnosticism, and reverence for all things lefty
  • the privacy of the headphones has a disinhibiting effect. It does have a dance-like-nobody’s-watching feel
  • I’m #TeamGreenChannel (pop), rather than Blue (rock and indie) or Red (‘urban’), apart from the reggae
  • but it was great being able to switch when there was a boring song
  • it was fun being able to watch people doing the Macarena, while listening to something else
  • although I do actually love the Macarena
  • it’s not at all silent
  • part of the fun was listening to people singing along
  • especially on the big anthem-y songs. Hundreds of people singing along to Oasis, unaccompanied, was fab

I didn’t get round to getting a poppy this year so I chipped in a few quid here

Royal British Legion -Donate

Pic is Klatschmohn by Christian Rohlfs from Wikimedia

A vibrant, abstract painting features red flowers in a vase with green stems and leaves against a warm, textured background.

BBC ‘100% fake news’, says Donald Trump’s press secretary

Explains why they keep telling me that the Arsenal are at the top of the table ⚽