Hello all!
Mix number dooze is here for your delectation! As usual it's just a collection of songs I've liked lately that I thought should go on this mix. It's quite eclectic but hopefully you'll still like it. Have a listen, share it about if you want. You could even get in touch and tell me what you think if you felt particularly brave.
You can download the mix
HERE
The Boomtown Rats - The Elephant's Graveyard
Muncie Girls - Respect
The Darkest Of The Hillside Thickets - Kablam!
Toehider - Whatever Makes You Feel Superior
Abdoujaparov - Maria's Umbrella
Carl Espen - Silent Storm
Gloryhammer - Rise Of The Chaos Wizards
Imelda May - Right Amount Of Wrong
Biffy Clyro - City Of Dreadful Night
Gay Paris - Shame At The Anvil
Love Zombies - Bummer
Behemoth - Be Without Fear
She & Him - Something's Haunting You
The Monkees - She
Stiff Little Fingers - Who Died And Made You Elvis?
The Wildhearts - Better Than Cable
System Of A Down - Sad Statue
Cardiacs - Come Back Clammy Lammy
Snuff - Romeo And Juliet
Regurgitator - Mountains
The Mad Capsule Markets - What
Salty Dog - Come Along
For more info about each song and my usual ramblings, click on the Read More button. ta.
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The Boomtown Rats - The Elephant's Graveyard
Taken from the 1981 album
Mondo Bongo
I would imagine that the majority of people were like myself in that I could tell you precisely three Boomtown Rats songs. I'd wager you know even less. Aysha, my wife, is a big fan and in the 10 years we've been together I've heard more and more of them (she loves Take That too but let's skate over that...). each of their albums are a mixed bag, some of it isn't great and hasn't dated well but a lot more is really good and for all the stuff that's dated, a lot of it was actually before it's time. This is one of their less well known singles but I really like it.
Muncie Girls - Respect
Taken from the 2016 album
From Caplan To Belsize
Whilst travelling upon a Youtube journey, flitting from one "oooh, what's this?" music video to another, I stumbled onto the video for this song and liked both. I thought it was about domestic abuse but it might also just be about a fellow what puts it about a bit, I dunno. He sounds like a right bell-end whichever. The album is decent too, straddling the line between Punk and Indie Rock with plenty of good tunes.
The Darkest Of The Hillside Thickets - Kablam!
Taken from the 2001 album
Spaceship Zero
This nerdy Canadian band mostly write songs based around the Cthulhu mythos and their name is directly taken from a Lovecraft quote. They're pretty tongue in cheek but still manage to create an unsettling atmosphere when needs be, As this song is taken from a concept album based on a boardgame created by vocalist Toren Atkinson, there will be no such atmosphere present on this track...
Toehider - Whatever Makes You Feel Superior
Taken from the 2014 album
What Kind Of Creature Am I?
Toehider are an eclectic Progressive Metal band from Australia that straddle the weird line between Queen and Dream Theater. Their songs vary greatly in musical style but this is a good approximation of their various aspects. It also highlights their asinine sense of humour too which is refreshingly in this genre, Whatever Makes You Feel Superior is very catchy but there's still some heavy moments and some technical bits and pieces too. Mike Mills. He's also an excellent and versatile vocalist and they're one of my favourite current bands.
Abdoujaparov - Maria's Umbrella
Taken from the 2002 EP
Free CD
Les Carter was originally the guitarist in Carter USM but for the last 15 years or so has been frontman/sole permanent member in the Indie Punk band Abdoujaparov. This is quite an old song but I've been listening to it a lot just lately and I'd like for you to like it too.
Carl Espen -Silent Storm
Non-album track, released in 2014
Those of you know me well enough will know that I'm a bit of a Eurovision nut. Well, Carl Espen was the Norwegian entry in the 2014 Eurovision. Sadly, this delicate and moving ballad got lost in a sea of Celine Dion wannabees., including one with a beard... It was a shame this didn't do better. Its also a shame he doesn't really seem to have done anything else because he has a really nice voice.
Gloryhammer - Rise Of The Chaos Wizards
Taken from the 2015 album
Space 1992: Rise Of The Chaos Wizards
For me, the best way to parody something is to play it straight. That's exactly what these Scottish Power Metallers do; these songs could easily be taken at face value, the songs have ridiculous concepts and sound larger than life but are choc full of memorable lines, big riffs and annoyingly catchy choruses.
Imelda May - Right Amount Of Wrong
Taken from the 2014 album
Tribal
Everyone loves a bit of Rockabilly every now and then, even if they don't realise that they do. Imelda May is a Irish singer and all four of her albums are a lot of fun. This was a stand out track on her last album a couple of years ago.
Biffy Clyro - City Of Dreadful Night
Taken from the 2014 album
Similarities
It's strange just how big the Biffy have become over the last few years, one of their songs was the winners song on X-Factor! The Scottish Alternative Prog band have gone from strength to strength and while the angular, awkward and screamy songs of old are almost all gone, replaced by a much more streamlined, melodic sound. Whether that's for the best or not is matter for debate but this song from Similarities, a B-sides album, is really good either way.
Gay Paris - Shame At The Anvil
Taken from the 2013 album
The Last Good Party
Gay Paris are an Art Stoner Rock Metal Blues thing from Australia. There's an obvious Clutch influence in a lot of their music but they're very much their own band. They've had an album out since this one but I still seem to be listening to The Last Good Party all the time.
Love Zombies - Bummer
Taken From the 2013 single
Bummer
An American Pop Punk band with a big American Radio Rock influence. This was the first song of theirs I heard (after Ginger Wildheart extolled their virtues) Frontwoman Hollis has an interesting voice and I like this song a lot. I'm currently awaiting their debut album released through the PledgeMusic website and it's looking to be great.
Behemoth - Be Without Fear
Taken from the 2007 album
The Apostasy
As much as I enjoy Death Metal I do find that it has a tendency to be quite samey and a lot of the bands are pretty interchangeable. Polish band Behemoth however, are a step above all that. Frontman Nergal has a distinctive bellow and they aren't above using the occasional chorus from time to time. This song is a short, simple blast of aggression that absolutely crushes.
She & Him - Something's Haunting You
Taken from the 2013 album
Volume 3
She & Him are a twee Indie Pop supergroup consisting of acclaimed Indie singer/songwriter M. Ward and Zooey Deschanel off of the telly. They've released five albums to date and most of the songs sounds like this one: charming, feel good pop songs with a 60's influence. Speaking of which...
The Monkees - She
Taken From The 1967 album More Of The Monkees
Most of the music I heard as a kid I got from my Dad: Harry Nilsson, Dire Straits, The Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan etc. One band that I got from my Mum is The Monkees. Their songs have aged well, whether the earlier ones with songwriters or later ones they wrote themselves. I dunno if it's the very 60's pufts they always way but their music just feels bright and breezy when you listen to it, there's no point in being miserable, just have yourself a sing-song and you'll feel better,
Stiff Little Fingers - Who Died And Made You Elvis?
Taken from the 2003 album
Guitar And Drum
I guess the majority of people know Stiff Little Finger as a 70's Punk band and from their biggest songs Alternative Ulster and Suspect Device. They maybe don't realise that, not only are SLF still going but still making quality albums, their last being No Going Back in 2014. This song cropped up on shuffle a couple of time sand I found myself singing it to myself for a few days after That must be a good sign.
The Wildhearts - Better Than Cable
Taken from the 2004 album
Coupled With
One of my all time favourite bands, I'm surprised I haven't included them in any mix besides the first one I did. They're the greatest Punk/Metal/Rock/Songs-You-Can't-Stop-Singing band in the world. They're not split up but not recording any more these days. Ginger Wildheart is very prolific outside of the band too (I can't believe I've never used any of his solo stuff either!). This isn't their best or most representative song but, again, it popped up on shuffle and, well, see my description above.
System Of A Down - Sad Statue
Taken from the 2005 album
Mezmerize
Back at the peek of Nu-Metal's popularity there were a lot of mediocre bands knocking about, diluting the scene. There came a time when only three of the newer bands seemed to be doing something original with it: Slipknot, (HED)pe and System Of A Down. Everyone knows Slipknot, (HED)pe shot themselves in the foot with a load of misogynistic lyrics and System split in 2006.
The fact that they add elements of Armenian Folk to their sound overshadows just how heavy they could be, there are some proper meaty riffs in this song. Mercifully there's not much singing from guitarist Daron Malakian too, I wish he wouldn't.
Cardiacs - Come Back Clammy Lammy
Taken from the 1999 album
Guns
There's some peculiar stuff on this mix, and they don't come much more peculiar than this Art-Punk band. I bought this album for a pound in Borders, as I'd seen lots of bands citing them as an influence and liked it a lot. It turns out it's one of their more commercial albums and their earlier stuff was a lot less (casual) listener friendly. They're definitely a unique and ultimately rewarding band if you can get into them.
Snuff - Romeo And Juliet
Taken from the 2000 album
Numb Nuts
Snuff are a Cockney punk band that have been around for years, and influenced a lot of more prominent Punk bands of the 90's. they're well known for comedy covers, cheesy pop songs and songs from adverts such as Bran Flakes and Kwik-Fit. This overshadows their own songs which are often well written, thoughtful and catchy like this one.
The Mad Capsule Markets - What
Taken from the 1997 album
Digidogheadlock
This Japanese band were an Industrial band that added a bits of Hip-Hop and Punk to their sound. vocalist Hiroshi Kyono often sang and rapped in either Japanese or Engrish. They liked to write songs about technology and evil robots but then, who doesn't? I haven't a clue what this song is about but it sounds good and that's what really matters. Within reason obviously.
Regurgitator - Mountains
Taken from the 2013 album
Dirty Pop Fantasy
Australian band Regurgitator are an aptly named band, they take in all manner of musical styles and spew it out as their own distinctive sound. Some of their stuff is Punk, some Rock, some Hip-Hop and, as is the case here, Synth Pop. This song is much more restrained than their usual fare and has a strong 80's feel to it. I was disappointed with Dirty Pop Fantasy in comparison to their other but there's still a couple of decent songs on it.
Salty Dog - Come Along
Taken from the 1990 album
Every Dog Has Its Day
I've only rediscovered this album in the last couple of years. I had it on taped and listened to it loads but once I made the move to CD I lost it. Eventually I found a CD copy and probably listen to it more now than I did then, They've dated better than a lot of bands from back then have As you can tell by the band photo, Salty Dog are an 80's Hard Rock band, Vocalist Jimmi Bleacher is one of several who attempted to emulate the raspy howl of Tom Keifer and manages pretty well. The real star of the band though is guitarist Pete Reveen. He's a talented player and his solo's ebb and flow with the song rather than just being a load of widdly notes.
Come Along is the opening song on Every Dog Has Its Day but I always felt it was better suited as a closer. It starts slow and picks up the pace bit by bit until it's breakneck finale. It's a classic song of the genre,
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