Singles of the Decade ii

More choice choices from the decade almost past!

The Innocence Mission - One For Sorrow, Two For Joy mp3

Absolutely beautiful, and originally posted here in 2007 by Spike as part of this post.



Hello Saferide - I Was Definitely Made For These Times mp3

Released as a single in the UK in 2007, and arguably one of Annika Norlin's greatest compositions, this song has, bizarrely, failed to appear on any Hello Saferide album to date. Quite simply, it is three minutes and eight seconds of pure, unbridled pop genius!



Harmonica - Rocking Girl mp3

Not a lot of people know this track. But they should as, like the Hello Saferide song, it's joyous, life-affirming stuff. Rocking Girl originally appeared here as part of this Three of a Kind post on Norwegian pop.

Right, that'll do for today I think. More of the same at some point in the not-too-distant future I shouldn't wonder.

Bashing the Bishop

(Pope gets cross)
The BBC One news made me laugh tonight, when the newsreader described that woman lunging at the Pope during Midnight Mass on Christmas Eve. The assailant "grabbing him by his vestments" apparently! (No wonder he looked so shocked!)

I'm sure the Pontiff will bear her no ill will, anyway. Oh yes, he's very much a papal person is Benedict XVI.

*tish*

Elvis Costello and the Attractions - I Can't Stand Up For Falling Down mp3

Singles of the Decade

According to moi, and in no particular order. This is basically just an excuse for me to dig out some of my favourite songs from the past ten years and inflict them on you in something of a haphazard fashion. So haphazard in fact that the first one was actually recorded in late 1999, which wasn't in this decade at all. (It wasn't released until February 2000, though, so it's in.)

Anyway, the single in question is by Brighton combo Clearlake and it contains not one but two absolutely fantastic songs. And oh look, here they are now.

Clearlake - Winterlight mp3

Clearlake - Jumble Sailing mp3

Hamish & Andy on 6Music

Regular 6Music listeners will have heard the trails recently for the arrival of Australian duo Hamish & Andy at the station, initially for a one-off Midwinter Warmer show. Well, the day has now arrived! I'm quite excited about this because I really enjoy these guys' work. Their drivetime show in Australia is absolutely huge, and now we're getting a taste of it over here. If you enjoyed the recently finished (pro tem) Adam & Joe Show on Saturday mornings on the station (it was Adam & Joe's producer James who lobbied to get Hamish & Andy this gig at the BBC) then I think you'll really like these guys too.

Here they interview someone called Russell Brand for their Australian radio show (Ricky Gervais is one of the guests on the Midwinter Warmer, by the way):



And here's Hamish (the funny one) on Australian improvisational comedy show Thank God You're Here:



Hamish & Andy's Midwinter Warmer is on BBC 6 Music this afternoon, 4-7pm.

Frank Kelly - Christmas Countdown

In which a pre-Father Ted Father Jack Hackett - or at least the bloke who played him - gives us a humorous take on the traditional Twelve Days of Christmas song. Not as Father Jack, I should add. This was originally released way back in 1982, long before Father Ted would even have been a twinkle in Linehan & Mathews's collective eye. In fact it might have been easier had I not mentioned the whole Father Ted thing in the first place.

Annnnyway...

Frank Kelly - Christmas Countdown mp3

Mildly Interesting Pop Fact:A number #8 hit in Ireland in 1982, Christmas Countdown reached the dizzy heights of #38 in the UK charts a year later. I vaguely remember this when it crept into the charts although for some reason no UK radio station ever seemed to playlist it, so I never heard it till many years later. Probably got overshadowed somewhat by the contemporaneously released What Are we Gonna Get For Er Indoors? by Dennis Waterman & George Cole, which long-term readers of this blog will possibly remember from Too Much Apple Pie Christmases past. Fascinating, no? Oh.

Swedish Meatballs

Seeing as it's the silly season...

"I tripped(?) to the moon with Armstrong
I breakdanced with King Kong
I met Johnny Marr at a hamburger bar...

I walked under a ladder
While a black cat crossed my way
But I never tasted meatballs like yoooooooooours!"

Well, quite!

Waterbug - Meatballs ('96 version) mp3

Picture Perfect

Oh happy happy joy. It's the new single from Allo, Darlin'!



Allo, Darlin' - The Polaroid Song mp3

Allo, Darlin' - Will You Please Spend New Year's Eve With Me? mp3

Allo, Darlin' are currently in the studio laying down some tracks (maan) for their debut album, which is scheduled for release in February 2010. More details as and when we get them!

Buy The Polaroid Song 7" at Fortuna Pop

Christmas twee

Handsome Train - Winter War mp3

Christmas Sweptaways style

Bit of a Christmas treat for you today, with what are probably my favourite two festive songs from the past decade. Absolute gems the pair of them. If you hear any better Christmas-themed numbers in the next couple of weeks, then please do let me know. (I shan't believe you but let me know anyway!)



The Sweptaways and Marit Bergman - Christmas Party mp3

The Sweptaways and Magnus Carlson - Cry Cry Christmas mp3

Ride On Time

I had that Anne Soldaat in the back of my cab the other day. Insisted I play his latest single on the stereo so he could sing along so he did. Well, I don't normally go south of the river at that time of night as you know, what with all the crime and the puking punters and what have you, but I made an exception for Mr Soldaat as he's a lovely bloke. He left me a great tip as well: "Buy my new album a bit sharpish, like". Or words to that effect. So I did, and it's bloomin' great. Gawd bless yer, guv'nor.



Anne Soldaat - Going South mp3

'Going South' is taken from Anne Soldaat's album In Another Life

Flexi time

The following seven-minute clip originally appeared on a flexi disc given away with Select magazine in 1992 (it subsequently turned up as one of the extras on the On The Hour complete Series 2 CD box set earlier this year).

During the four hundred and twenty-ish seconds, an inspired Chris Morris satirises, respectively, Steve Wright in the Afternoon and Mark Goodier, then performs the best (and possibly only, admittedly) Pixies pastiche you're ever likely to hear. Finally he rings up Piers Morgan at The Sun with a "U2 exclusive" in which Morris masquerades as first the band's manager Paul McGuinness and then Bono, and which an excited Morgan falls for hook, line and sinker. It's pure brilliance from start to finish. Some thoroughly deserving targets too. What more could you ask for?

Chris Morris - Select Flexi Disc mp3

Don't Stop The Cavalry

A track that we get a lot of searches for every Christmas here on the blog today, which would suggest that a) quite a few people are interested in hearing it, or b) one person is very interested in hearing it and keeps landing back up here in a fruitless attempt to secure this elusive mp3.

Either way someone out there wants to hear it, so I'm going to put it up now and leave it here over Christmas because I'm nice like that. No, really, I am! Anyway, here it be. Knock yoursel(f)ves out.

The Cory Band & The Gwalia Singers - Stop The Cavalry mp3

Fromage

Bon Appétit!

Ray Conniff - S'Wonderful mp3

Denim - Snake Bite mp3