I was hoping for a nice quiet February to make my choices this month nice & easy but no, the standard of songs once again is annoyingly high. I could be here for the next 6 years trying to decide but I`ve whittled it down to 6 songs.Sorry the choices are a bit Soundcloud heavy, simply listened to SC more so they`ve sunk slightly deeper into my tiny brain.Big thanks to
@pompeyjazz for compiling the SC list for all the songs this month. However this blatant disgraceful attempt at bribery meant all his songs were immediately disqualified.
This month again shows the strength & diversity of this forum. Away from the forum I`ve been listening to the great new albums from
@montydog &
@pompeyjazz on Bandcamp & the FuneralCrasher/ADDA/
@PaulAds is writing a song every 2 hours , which will hopefully appear over the coming months.
The songs I`ve picked fall into 2 categories:
1. Bugger !! I wish I`d written that.
and 2. How the hell did they do that?
Really sorry if I didn`t pick your song. Content yourself with knowing that I`m a prick.
Anyway lets get on with it. I promised myself to get this done before I feed the animals..and that was 5 days ago, poor things are starving. In no particular order:
Don`t Tell Me Now by Eugene YusI wanted to hate this song. I read the SC blurb saying "no humans were used on this track" & thought "oh Christ !!". Twenty minutes later I`ve got my top off dancing on the coffee table releasing my inner Pop bitch while my girlfriends trying to watch "Location,location,location" and I`m shouting "Catchy,catchy,catchy!!" .She`d divorce me if we were married. It may be a clever computer making the noises but its a very clever human (thank God) thats written the hook that re-enters my mind at 4 hour intervals. Great stuff
@sweeny500 Our Town by MichaelA (with Ces Sile,Pompey Jazz & the Funeral Crasher)Its one thing to be a gifted storyteller but to write a storysong thats poignant,heart breaking & true is two things.
@MichaelA conjures up the spirit of Alan Bennett for a song about death,remembrance & stolen daffodils. The 3 troublemakers of the Friday night zoom are joined by
@Melusine2 adding a bit of class to the proceedings.God knows why she`d want to do anything with these yobs but there you go.The result is a fabulous advert for the collaboration possibilities on the forum but mainly its just a magnificent song.
I`m Here by Man Made Material@man made material has created an ominous, disthopian world of inner turmoil & isolation (either that or he lives in Wales).The gasps & heartbeat take me back to a discarded phone box just outside Birkenhead in 1984. The closely miked vocals add to the friction but the song uncurls into reassurance while maintaining a mysterious sense of menace. Anyway enough of this bollocks..its a great song,give it a listen.
Reflection by Jamie@Jamie created this exquisite song with a wonderful chord structure overlaid with a simple but effective melody. I love Jamies use of chords. I don`t know how he does it but I think he`s cheating and hes got 3 hands.Love the spacey interludes & his vocals are fabulous. To misquote Eric Morecambe "he`s playing all the right notes in the correct order" conjuring a mellow world that looks far nicer from 30000 miles away in space.
The Blank Paper by Mora Amaro La Loba@moraamarolaloba not only writes an original, fresh & innovative song about writers block but creates a witty,interesting video to go with it, and it suits the song perfectly. I don`t know how she finds the time. I know theres a time difference to Spain but they must have 40 hour days. Terrific stuff.
Makes Me Want To Dance Now by CowparsleymanDespite the title evoking disturbing images of Tom Jones´version of "Kiss" this song falls into the "how the hell did he do this?" category. If you asked
@cowparsleyman how he did it he`d say "its a Wartzhog 450 through a dual compressor SM`d into a hoodwinkler" & thats fair enough but the technology is just the medium. You can feel the graft, musical intelligence & detail thats gone into it.How an 89 year old can create something so fresh & contemporary is astounding. A talent to aspire to.