Stolen from a reddit thread I saw, so I can’t take credit for the question, but I like it so thought I would post it here.
Of course, many of you might want to answer ‘it doesn’t matter because taste is subjective and I don’t care what people think about my taste’, but then you would be a spoilsport and probably lying to yourself because you secretly believe in your own good taste.
I will have a think about my answer. This is a big question. It’s not just ‘my favourite song’, but is kind of ‘the song I am happy for people to think of as demonstrative of my taste in music’.
Then I Kicked Her – The Lurkers.
Yep, that’ll do it
Oh go on then
You are a wet and a weed and I diskard you uterly.
Dylan’s Visions of Joanna.
Nobody would say “Pretentious Prat” or “Ancient Hippy” or “God, that sounds awful” would they?
I don’t hear a tune. Is that a boy or a girl? They’re all on drugs!
I wouldn’t – Visions of Johanna has always been my favourite Dylan song. You officially have Good Taste.
Mine too.
Stout fellow, that Lodey. I like the cut of his jib.
Played it yesterday, then the track that follows it “One of Us Must Know (Sooner or Later)” is pretty much as good. Always loved it but it just jumped out at me (mono vinyl naturally)
La Booga Rooga by Andy Fairweather Low – obviously…
…or maybe O Caroline by Matching Mole…
…or maybe He’s So Fine by The Chiffons…
Fun question. “The song I am happy for people to think of as demonstrative of my taste in music.” I think I’d go for reggae cos a) I love reggae and b) loving reggae might make me look well cool. I’ll go for See Baba Joe by the Wailing Souls cos it’s not well known (thus also bringing kudos, natch) plus it’s great.
Great choice. As I have the 12″ on green vinyl that must make me well cool.
Funkier than a Mosquito’s Tweeter (live) – Nine Simone
Niiiicccceeee!
Hejira by Joni.
Amelia.
It was a tough choice.
Faces – Stay With Me
Good call. Or, The Killing of Georgie (Part I and II), if I want to show off my sensitive side.
Renee was a big lad, but he was still punching way above his weight. Gave us all hope.
Doesn’t he run an Italian restaurant in Tamworth now? Definitely the sign of good taste
Last time I was in Tamworth the checkout assistant in Lidl called me “Pop”. I felt like retorting that he was no Olive Oyl, but thought better of it. There was a queue.
Great choice! In fact, you’ve stolen my thunder. It has to be the full twelve inches with Que Pasa as the introduction by The Coconuts. I honestly believe Coati Mundi’s rap is the best and funniest ever committed to vinyl (from 1981!).
All together now; “When I came from the VD Clinic, I knew our love was finished… How could you be so crude? Making love to do many dudes?”
I’ll have to think of something else now. 🙁
Thanks Tigger, saves me typing almost the very same thing.
You did well to resist the urge. Tamworth is a very violent place.
I thought there was something off about that video. You see a lot of him but very little of her.
There’s a very good reason: it’s a stand-in, a completely different girl. These Latin lovers, eh?
https://www.allmusic.com/artist/ren%C3%A9e-renato-mn0001905255/biography
He used to run one in Four Oaks Sutton Coldfield (at the time of this hit). I don’t believe he’s in the restaurant business anymore due to not being alive.
Party Fears Two.
I don’t want to meet anyone who disagrees.
Big fan of Week Ending then?
Weak Ending?
Story of my life.
I miss week ending.
And it’s been 24 Years.
More co-writers than an R’n’B single.
No disagreement here. Any Rankine / MacKenzie Associates song works here…..
Fxxk me. If this was a thread to get me to state a song I actively dislike I’d have put the same. It’d be boring if we all liked the same things wouldn’t it?
Madame George. Obv.
I think I would say Move On Up by Curtis Mayfield. It’s by any definition a fabulous tune, it’s never lost its sense of being cool, I love it every time I hear it, it’s not ubiquitous or overplayed (like for example Superstition or Sex Machine) but not too obscure as to come across as a pretentious choice, and it has a great instrumental breakdown.
I love this instrumental cover version, Arthur.
Simple.
This Girls In Love With You – no apostrophe on the 45 – by Marva Whitney.
The sassiest and most beautiful “soul sister” you can imagine banging out a Burt tune, produced by James Brown.
And Bacharach gave all his best stuff to…erm… Dionne Warwick.
Goes well with Summer of Soul – the coolest film ever – actually, that might be Bullitt.
Wow, what a choice. I love that, and had never heard of it before now! I do love the original song but that version totally rejuvenates it and makes it into something new. Please have a ‘good taste’ sticker from me!
Mott The Hoople – All The Young Dudes
I feel it should be my duty as the instigator of this thread to reply to everyone and let you know whether I think you have good taste or not. But that would be cruel. Just let it be known that I am secretly judging you all! 🙂
You say “I am secretly judging you all” as if this is not absolutely standard AW behaviour.
Exactly. Which is why I never believe those ‘All taste is equal, each to their own, no pleasures are guilty pleasures’ posts. You know who you are!
Fear not. We will also be judging your adjudication. And if you do not express your judgement, we will decide for ourselves what it is. And if you do not have an opinion, well there’s no shortage round here of opinions we can lend you!
You say that, Chesh, but I’d be a little cautious if I were you. I lent Arthur an opinion once (about Plastic Bertrand, IIRC) and never got it back, never saw it again. Last I heard he was still using it on the Steve Hoffman Forum.
That is a brilliant track but the one that precedes it (“Thee Most Exulted Potentate Of Love”) on the album is even better… but even knowing that song proves you really do have good taste!
The only time I actually appeared in The Word print edition was a piece I wrote on the old blog part of the Word site about seeing The Cramps live, following Lux’s death.
I’ve just been given a nice red vinyl copy of that album (along with another 8 punk/post-punk records) a couple of hours ago by my next door neighbour, as a thank you for helping him out with a few things. Listening to some of his stories makes me very jealous. Seeing bands like Joy Division when they were still support bands is one thing, but he was even at the Pistols Christmas Day show in Huddersfield, having walked there from Barnsley.
Probably something from Eureka by The Bible, either Skywriting or Honey Be Good. Or Brilliant Mind by Furniture.
Angelo by Brotherhood of Man if I want to get rid of them quickly.
It wouldn’t get rid of me, but I’d be singing the Barron Knights’ version
I’m going for Ceremony by New Order. Or Pretty Vacant by the Pistols. Or maybe Geno by Dexys. Oops, that’s three…
Abba – Name Of The Game. The opinion of people who don’t rate this are of no value to me. QED impeccable taste. Can’t go wrong.
Goodness me you have good taste. SOS works too, or Lay All Your Love On Me or probably, ultimately The Day Before You Came
I still think of the exegesis of the lyric of TDBYC as peak Afterword.
Yes one of those too. It goes beyond taste really. Abba is objectively one of the wonders of the world, to pop like Cezanne was to still lifes.
This.
Superb choice Mr Biscuit
That really is on the money.
I would go for this version, myself.
Excellent choice, Sal. On this alone, I would recognise you as a man of taste
Very good – this tune keeps popping up of late.
I’m going to bring things bang up to date and select a track from an album released in 2022 that I can’t stop listening to:
Who are these sprightly young funsters? I predict they’ll go far in the hit parade etc
Not far enough. Sadly.
Little Feat fans may be interested to know that another LF bootleg has appeared on Youtube.
It’s “Little Feat Live at WLIR Ultrasonic Studios April 10, 1973”
You’ll see that it was recorded in exactly the same studio as the legendary Electrif Lycanthrope album, but about 17 months earlier.
It ought to be called Electric Lyfanthrope.
That sounds stupendous, Duke! Thanks for mentioning it!
You guys. Honestly.
Athletico Spizz 80, No Room
1 Its not the obvious choice
2 Sounds like a Midlands Springsteen
3 Great T shirts
4 Brings hope to anyone named Ken for fame and fortune ( possibly)
Not so sure about the t-shirts, they look like the bar staff in a mid-range hotel
Today it is Moving On, by Mark Mulholland. You know it, you must do….
“Lowdown” by Boz Scaggs.
Very good…
This.
Talk Talk. April 5th.
Oooh good one. What a song…
Chuck Prophet – Heart breaks like the dawn
This album hasn’t left my car CD changer in, probably, the best part of a decade.
Yes!
This would do it for me
Or this 😀
Thats the one. Thats mine too. What a bass line?
What a superb song! Great choice @Mike_H. The songwriting skills of the Was Brothers are sorely under-recognised.
Well I never! I’ve just discovered that Shadow and Jimmy from What’s up Dog? was co-written with Elvis Costello. Quite logical really, but a surprise.
not just their songwriting skills @Kaisfatdad. They remain one of the best live bands I ever saw. Their career was far too short.
I saw them just once in Stockholm @ SteveT and they were great but as one of the Was Bros had caught a cold and coukdn’t play, they were perhaps a little subdued.
This is too easy, cos we know what crowd we’re playing to, so I’m turning the question around and choosing a song that if someone played it I would be impressed and think they had good taste. What’s more, if you don’t like it you can just listen to the first line and make a witty riposte!
Listening to Abbey Road at the moment. Pick a song, any song. All killer, no filler. Every one a maserati.
Glad someone else uses ‘Every one a Maserati’.
Er Octopus? Maxwell?
Perhaps he likes the songs he likes, including the songs he’s not supposed to like. Some people do. I know…. terrifying.
I think I will have to go with XTC……
Could have been any of of a few tracks by them (Chalkhills, Rook, 1000 Umbrellas….. ) but today it feels like this one.
In the determination of my impeccable taste, I would like the jury to take into account that I did actually play “The Birdie Song” the other day – in my defence it was on the Now 1981 Yearbook Extra album (CD 2, Track 22 for those looking for it)
Could have gone for a few off XTC’s Nonsuch album…Then She Appeared, Peter Pumpkinhead etc…but Wrapped In Grey is a sheer beautiful wonder.
This one certainly would work for your question inversion, Paul Wad.
I toyed with Tom Waits, the Triffids and Thomas Tallis but in the end I’m choosing “Happiness”, a beautiful song, written in 1958 by Tom Jobim and Vinicius de Moraeus for the film Black Orpheus.
This exquisite version was recorded in Buenos Aires in 1970 when Vinicius was sent to Argentina to do a gig to boost sales of Brazilian coffee.
Pretentious pseud? Moi? Perish the thought!
Sonic cool in its glorious, finest purity.
If you knocked on the door of a new neighbour to introduce yourself, and that was playing, you would like them immediately.
A piece of music could not hope for a finer compliment @Alias. I put a lot of it down to Vinicius’s enormous warmth and charm. You make me glad I did not go for Rammstein, Slipknot or Melt Banana.
I think if a new neighbour had been playing any of those, I would have welcomed them and shaken hands while thinking we have nothing in common.
I think it would be ‘New Frontier’ by Donald Fagan.
And that’s an up from me
Goodness me, it’s a difficult choice and obviously tomorrow it would be different but today it’s “Under the Milky Way” by The Church. Dreamy.
Very hard question to answer but the first time I heard this song I was transfixed by the lyrics. Still am:
This has got me thinking. If the scenario was gun-to-the-head, one chance only, show you have exquisite taste – you’d have to think beyond saying just what your favourite record is. You’d have to work out the odds. A song from a popular album will be more likely to garner a thumbs-up from the gunman, so you’d narrow it down based on the age and gender of the weapon-brandisher in question.
As you might have a bag on your head, this might be difficult. So it’s best to go for a single – one that swept the nation and stayed at the top of the charts for a long time. Perhaps a single that covers several songs in case there’s one in there the glock-botherer standing over you likes. So…after a robust waterboarding session, he asks the question. You gasp quietly “ Jgfg bluhhg” he replies “ I can’t hear you – you piece of SHIT! Say it again!”
“JIVE BUNNY! I said JIVE BUNNY”
…
…
Bang.
Being the man with the gun in this scenario is every Afterworder’s secret dream. Except me. I have another secret dream. So secret even I don’t know what it is. Probably just as well.
“Being the man with the gun in this scenario is every Afterworder’s secret dream.”
A pedant writes: no, it really isn’t…
It’s secret. How do you know?
Ok: it’s not my secret dream and, according to your post, you are an exception – so it’s not your secret dream either…that’s at least two of us, so it can’t be EVERY Afterworder – QED.
I need a lie down and a tincture…
Watch out for waterboarding!
Where IS that boy Moose?
Here I am!
I’m certainly not New Order’s biggest fan, but come on: if you don’t like this, there’s something wrong with you.
Probably “Hip To Be Square” by Huey Lewis and the News – a song so catchy, most people probably don’t listen to the lyrics. But they should, because it’s not just about the pleasures of conformity, and the importance of trends, it’s also a personal statement about the band itself. Their early work was a little too new wave for my tastes, but when Sports came out in ’83, I think they really came into their own, commercially and artistically. The whole album has a clear, crisp sound, and a new sheen of consummate professionalism that really gives the songs a big boost. He’s been compared to Elvis Costello, but I think Huey has a far more bitter, cynical sense of humor.
(Winking emoji)
And in a similar vein…
I’ve been a big Genesis fan ever since the release of their 1980 album, Duke. Before that, I really didn’t understand any of their work. Too artsy, too intellectual. It was on Duke where, uh, Phil Collins’ presence became more apparent. I think Invisible Touch was the group’s undisputed masterpiece. It’s an epic meditation on intangibility. At the same time, it deepens and enriches the meaning of the preceding three albums. (Vomiting emoji)
Nah, can’t even pretend to like Phil Collins…
There is a synergy there. Clover were the backing band on My Aim is true and went on to back Huey Lewis as the News.
What a fascinating snippet of info, SteveT!
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clover_(band)
A US band that relocated to the UK! As did Sparks of course.
Mr Blue Sky by ELO. If it doesn’t make you feel great then you’re too starchy to be any use to anyone.
I’ll own up then. My bunch of muso mates play this every time we get together. Each time, I am left untouched and looking forward to the end.
I’ve been thinking about this far too much. There’s been some great suggestions but I think the answer is Airport by The Motors
Thanks to everyone for your answers. Some answers are revelatory, some are ridiculous, and one I can’t tell whether it’s serious or a quote from a certain Bret Easton Ellis novel, but all are interesting.
Come on then, Arthur – judge us, then put us in order of good taste!
Hmm, well I toyed with the idea of nominating Nic Jones’s “10,000 Miles” or John Coltrane’s “Acknowledgement”, or the Missa Papae Marcelli (1562) by Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina, but if you really, really just want one track, then I’ll go for “Born for a Purpose/Reason for Living” by Dr Alimantado:
That was quite a dilemma you had there. I was wondering what you would go for.
Bum’s rush for Palestrina and thumbs for the Ital Surgeon. A grand choice!
New Order – Bizarre Love Triangle
This works for me by demonstrating my “taste” in a couple of ways.
For your listening pleasure …. What an eclectic selection!
All the songs chosen to date. If there are any further postings, I will add them as they come in.
Excellent idea! That had occurred to me, but I’m too lazy and feckless to go to the trouble. Thank you!
I’ll cheat
Sandy Denny – Who knows where the time goes
Franco – Princess Kiku
A labour of love. It’s great to have a chance to listen to all the tracks without constantly having to click on new YT clips.
No groovy funk/jazz/soul vibes at all. Just a decent rock song.
On reflection, this might fit the request in the OP better than anything which I suggested upstream…
Oh yes, that’s a nice song.
Agnes Obel does a good version of it, too.
Thanks: I’ve never heard that, I’ll seek it out…
Heard it now – the studio version and a live version. She’s good – but I much prefer Cale’s original, and particularly his solo piano performance on Fragments of a Rainy Season.
I answered jokily earlier but I’ve got to ask because I’ve got to: does anyone here really honestly care whether anyone else thinks they’ve got good taste in music? Surely not. I love my taste in music. I think your taste in music is hilarious. I absolutely don’t give a shit whether you agree with me because it couldn’t matter less. Isn’t that everyone’s position?
(I’m only asking sincerely because I’m a bit tanked up on excellent Breton cider.)
I’m listening to The Wild, The Innocent and the E Street Shuffle. (Good taste)
Specifically, Wild Bill’s Circus Story. It’s my favourite track on the album. (Bad taste).
No sidewindin’ bushwackin’, hornswagglin’ cracker croaker is gonna rouin me bishen cutter.
I don’t know if that answers your question.
I think we do care about this sort of thing. It plays to our deepest fears. You must have had a time when talking to someone about music – they seem to be all right – and then they tell you what they like and….oh my!
At a gathering many years ago – very friendly and quite funny bloke. Then he gets all aggressive about the Venga Boys. Turns up the stereo to 11, dances largely on his own and he’s all “THIS is the stuff! THIS is real music.!” dancing *at* people, trying to get them into it.
OK – I think he was a bit pissed. But, I’m not going to be his friend after that display. If that’s snobbery then, good day to you, Sir – the name is Viscount Blacke, Earl of Celebrationshire.
My snobberies are otherwise, I think. If someone did that, I think my reaction would be “what a fucking legend”, a lot of laughter, and probably enthusiastic joining in. I’d probably do that if the same behaviour was inspired by some godawful cowboy-manqué from Stoke or whatever, too.
I definitely checked out of liking someone because of their music taste when I was much, much younger, because I was much, much younger. It honestly wouldn’t occur to me now.
I think you are right there, Hedge. We all go our own, bloody-minded,idiosyncratic ways and are not going to change them to please the ginormous, motley crew who are reading his thread.
But, at the same time, it is very pleasing if one other person comments that they also like a certain track.
This…
It’s a challenge, like a list. We can’t resist participating. It matters but it doesn’t matter. No one cares except us who are curious and participate.
…and, of course, this…
Of course you are correct, hedgepig. I don’t need my taste validated – it’s just a bit of fun, maybe a bit of a brain stretch…after all, it’s only leisure time, isn’t it?
Edith: and we got an excellent playlist from it, courtesy of KFD…
That playist is a great chance to find new favourites and rediscover old ones.
I was dipping into it on random last night and was reminded what a thoroughly magnificent song Dexy*s Geno is. I wikied. It was inspired by this song by the fabulous Mr Washington: Michael (the lover).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0T_3NXyG4Tc
I don’t give a stuff what anyone else thinks of my musical tastes, but I do worry about disturbing my neighbours with it. Which is why I have spent roughly the cost of a new car to soundproof my garage.
My new rental neighbours, however, think nothing of opening their windows with their stereo at full pelt, while sitting in the hot tub they have installed in their back garden. In amongst the relentless barrage of Europop was a track from the new Hollie Cook album, so maybe they’re not all bad.
I does make me wonder why I bothered spending all that money on soundproofing, though.
(Arthur rolls up his sleeves and cracks his knuckles in preparation because he always enjoys this argument)
The answer is YES – everyone cares about public perception of their taste. You do too: I’m sure of it and I think I can prove it. In the spirit of Socratic debate, let me ask you a question. This is an extreme example, but a genuine question. If I asked you to, would you go out in public wearing a Jimmy Saville tshirt? Or a Gary Glitter tshirt? Without any comment or explanation, or defence of irony or humour?
Unless someone was being deliberately obtuse, then the answer to that would be no. No sane person would do that.
Why not? Because it’s in bad taste. You don’t want to be perceived as a person who either genuinely likes Jimmy Saville or is content to wear “ironical” tshirts with his face.
So there you go. In that case, you DO care about what people think of your taste. Now maybe musical taste is on a much smaller scale and you might not personally care about it as much as other people, but it’s still on the same sliding scale of Things That Matter.
Personally, of course I wouldn’t wear a Jimmy Saville tshirt or a Gary Glitter tshirt. Nor would I be happy if someone wrongfully assumed I like Drake or Brotherhood of Man or Wet Leg or Elbow. I would want to correct them because I care about showing good taste. (Within reason, obviously: I don’t chase strangers down the street to show them that I’m playing Something Good on my iPod).
It’s like John Proctor in The Crucible! He didn’t want to publicly sign his name to a testify to a ridiculous notion like witchcraft. John Proctor too was concerned about showing poor taste.
I am in possession of a criminal record, M’lud. It is the Gary Glitter Party Album, which I fenced for my Best Man when he moved to Australia in 1997.
The Gary Glitter/Jimmy Savile hypothetical is a false analogy, because that’s a question of people judging your moral values, rather than your taste.
You are, of course, also wrong about literally everyone caring about public perception of their music tastes. Some people remain resolutely and blessedly unfussed.
Additionally, that is a batshit crazy reading of The Crucible.
A liking for Jive Bunny or the Venga Boys is a moral issue for me! 🙂
I’ve had a skeg at their hits, which I’d long forgotten – and my word I’d rather listen to that than the horse-faced millennial shite we were supposed to be listening to in the late 90s (Verve, Embrace, Ultrasound). Or for that matter the majority of the brown bearded earnestness beloved by the burghers of th’Afterword.
Jive Bunny really was shit though.
Doop was good though. I liked Doop.
Anyway, morality, when it REALLY comes down to it, is really just a taste judgement in the end, is it not? The moral judgments we make today are guided by the tastes of the society we live in, etc. However, that’s a whole philosophical argument that I’m not sure falls in the remit of The Afterword.
My comment about the Jimmy Saville t-shirt, however, was more about “that tshirt is in poor taste” rather than “than tshirt is morally harmful”.
Being semiserious for a second: those are two distinct understandings of the word “taste”, which you’re conflating to make a point which isn’t a point.
Arthur, speaking as someone who could hardly be said to be the brightest penny in the cash register, can I gently suggest that you’re a bit out of your depth here? I don’t want to invoke the Moon Landings Incident but hey, let’s be careful out there!
BA (Hons) in English Literature and Philosophy, by the way! Out of my depth, pah.
(That was over 2 years ago and I barely scraped a 2:2 (or a “Desmond” as we used to call it), but don’t tell Hedge and Bingo)
Oh English graduates, there are so many of us, we’re so clever, look at all the books we’ve read.
Now ask us if we can remember any of them.
*returns to Broons annual*
Romped in punts, did’ya?
They don’t allow punts in Prince’s Dock… you can’t navigate past all the McDonalds bags
Arf!
“Call me Hen”
“It was the brawest of times, it was the scunnerest of times”
I genuinely love the fact that what began as an invitation to “Socratic debate” has ended up here.
Gary Glitter and Jimmy Savile were paedophile rapists, and thus it may come as a surprise to you to learn that there’s no real equivalence to advertising one’s identification with them with advertising it with the Vengaboys.
Would I go out in a Vengaboys t-shirt? You’re damn right I would. You should see some of my clothes: they’re an outrage.
Equating supposedly cheesy music taste with moral turpitude is precisely why only 5% of Afterworders had girlfriends as teenagers. Don’t blame me: science is science.
As many as that??
It’s self-reported, so probably a bit of a soft number.
Someone wearing a Jimmy Savile t-shirt is probably considered more acceptable to many an Afterworder than someone wearing a Ramones t-shirt who knows none of their records.
As far as I can tell, on this site, the thing you’re most likely to be judged on is your taste in humour. Mrs Brown’s Boys, Stewart Lee, Michael McIntyre-you might have thought that these were just purveyors of gags who provide chucklesome moments in an otherwise weary day, but in fact they are in reality all touchstones by which you can be judged for your moral and spiritual essence.
In the outside world, it’s often your tastes in broader popular culture which are the benchmark. Even, or perhaps especially, arts graduates aren’t bothered if you like Beckett or Bergman any more, but if you aren’t interested in Harry Potter or the Marvel Universe, it’s as though you are devaluing someone’s deepest emotions, not just choosing to decorate your time (copyright F Zappa) with something else.
Here goes.
Fabulous lyrics too.
After an extended period of self-reflection and much agonized soul-searching, I would have to say anything by The Venga Boys. That’s the stuff. REAL music.
Did we meet at a party some years ago? If so, erm, I was talking about someone else in my post up there.
Bingo doesn’t drink, his aggressive Venga Boys fixation is entirely natural.
I think the VBs had a single called something like “Parade des Tettas” so they very much belong on a thread about good taste.
Great answer, Bingo. But what with Arthur rolling up his sleeves and that crazy Crucible, I’m no longer sure I know what the question was.
But what I do know is that Vengaboys ae the most successful band ever from the Netherlands. This from the country that gave us Focus, the Nits and Golden Earring. Heart-breaking.
The Dutch and the Germans do have a certain knack at producing Balearic floorfillers.
Try this recent schlager hit from Munich-
Actually, if you are of a delicate disposition, please don’t try it. You will get deeply upset.
A track that will separate our sophisticated, music-loving sheep from our musically omnivorous disco-goats.
It’s been causing quite a kerfuffle in Wurzberg…
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/jul/15/schlager-louts-row-erupts-over-sexist-pop-hit-in-germany
Schlager Louts! The Guardian outdid themselves on that headline.
I might rewrite The Crucible and set it in modern times. I’ll be the John Proctor character, and in order to remain a member of The Afterword i’m required to publicly sign a statement pledging my allegiance to Taylor Swift. But instead I refuse and agree to be hanged.
I was taught that The Crucible was an allegory for the infamous House Un-Afterwordian Activities Committee where blog members were pressurised to name those who held views such as The Abbey Road medley being a bunch of second rate half-finished songs stuck together.
Now it’s time to say good night and good luck.
You’re totes wrong. The Crucible to which Arthur and Bingo are referring is a venue in Sheffield where all the world’s snooker takes place. I don’t know who John Proctor is. Might be the umpire.
Isn’t he the chap that looks up where the sun don’t shine?
Proctor My A**e, as Jackson Browne nearly wrote…
Browne? ewwww
A fart on you Thomas Putnam!
Last night I had the playlist on random.
Well done @bamber and @gary.
Nina Simone then Wailing Souls. Superb!
Tweeter was written by Alline Bullock, Tina Turner’s sister.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Funkier_Than_a_Mosquito%27s_Tweeter_(song)
Nina’s version is quite something.
Thanks @Kaisfatdad I’ve been somewhat obsessed with this track over the years. In my head I can hear the perfect mash-up between this track and Jimi Hendrix’s Fire (live at Winterland) with a drum and bass backbeat that works for both. Alas my primitive technology has only allowed the crudest version, in itself enough to convince me that they work together.
Good luck with that @Bamber! I was listening to the playlist in the care and was immediately curious to find out who was singing and the other details.
Thanks @sarah! I’ve now added The Roches to the Spotify playlist from this thread which is now up to 71 songs. A very worthy addition.
I googled and discovered this interview which provides some background on the band.
https://americansongwriter.com/terre-roche-on-channeling-christlike-how-paul-simon-taught-her-to-study-music-always-a-hot-fudge-sundae/
And I’ll be only too pleased to add any future stragglers they crop up.
There were several possibilities, but I eventually decided to go with this one.
Great choice @Sarah I considered choosing that track too but recalled the dissing of the harmonies by the receiver of one of my compilation CDs in an Afterword CD swap. The curse of perfect pitch apparently. I love the harmonies, the subject matter and the beautiful Fripp solos.
Who dissed the harmonies of The Roches??? This song is gorgeous, and it’s had a new lease of life since Spotify I think. One of those forgotten gems that was waiting to be rediscovered.
Recently featured on an episode of Andy Kershaw Plays Some Bloody Great Records podcast. I had to stop what I was doing.
A friend of mine first heard them at Cambridge Folk Festival, they came on and performed the most awful harmonies. He was about to leave, when they laughed and started again properly, (all part of the act)
I’ll be honest, Bamber. I was only introduced to it when watching the Avalanches at Glastonbury on TV a few weeks ago. It was included at the end of their set and it completely and unexpectedly stopped me in my tracks (like fentonsteve says). It’s such beautiful song. I also didn’t know Fripp was involved until I managed to get a copy of the album.
To cross pollinate with another Cowslip thread…The Roches musical education was sponsored by Paul Simon. No wonder they have a sense of humour and their harmonies are so beautiful.
Just in case you didn’t know, the Avalanches’ album We Will Always Love You gets it’s title from that song, and samples it prominently on the track of the same name.
Come on Arthur. Stole the embers of this thread just a little and you’ll be up for Hamper No 2.
This song was on my shortlist. Sublime.
Or how about something a little rowdier?
I don’t like artificially stoking my threads just for the sake of a hamper.
I just don’t.
“Stoking my thread”?….. disgusting.
DISGUSTING.
Absolutely, Arthur! I was only pulling your leg.
The very idea that one of our contributors should be seen to be flagrantly stroking their own thread for all to see.. I blush at the thought.
Here from 1976 is an exquisite country rock gem from Poco.
First heard on Peel’s Saturday afternoon show and a great favourite of mine ever since,
That YTube is a cunning devil. Without consulting me, it chose to play this exquisite tune, Suroor, by Aroof Aftab.
That has to go on the playlist now.
At this stage, every new song suggested needs to undergo strict scrutiny.
Each and every one!
EBTG called in some top notch jazzers for their debut album, Eden. Magic ensued.
The Meters – People Say