Terrible Love Songs

Creedence Clearwater Revival - 'Bad Moon Rising'

noreply@blogger.com (chalky) — Sun, 28 Jan 2018 17:16:00 +0000

Creedence Clearwater Revival - 'Bad Moon Rising'

Such a guilty pleasure of a song. My band played this yesterday at a show in Bristol, it's one of my favourite songs to sing. There's a euphoria in the suggested encroaching darkness that makes me want to pack my 'end of days' backpack and head to the hills.

Creedence Clearwater Revival - 'Bad Moon Rising'

Lyrics

I see a bad moon a-rising
I see trouble on the way
I see earthquakes and lightnin'
I see bad times today

Don't go 'round tonight
It's bound to take your life
There's a bad moon on the rise

I hear hurricanes a-blowing
I know the end is coming soon
I fear rivers over flowing
I hear the voice of rage and ruin

Don't go 'round tonight
It's bound to take your life
There's a bad moon on the rise

I hope you got your things together
I hope you are quite prepared to die
Look's like we're in for nasty weather
One eye is taken for an eye

Oh don't go 'round tonight
It's bound to take your life
There's a bad moon on the rise
There's a bad moon on the rise

Lyrics by John C. Fogerty (1969)

Beth Rowley - 'Beautiful Tomorrow'

noreply@blogger.com (chalky) — Wed, 17 Jan 2018 20:12:00 +0000

Beth has featured strongly on my playlist today. Such a hopeful song.

Beth Rowley - 'Beautiful Tomorrow'

Jamie Woon - 'Night Air'

noreply@blogger.com (chalky) — Tue, 16 Jan 2018 21:19:00 +0000

Headphones on, lights out, nothing else to do but play some euphoric Jamie Woon.

Best Lyrical Moment:

"Comfort of the world revolving / I can hear the earth in orbit"

Best Bass Moment:

The whole way through. This song does bass and deserves to be played loud for an all out appreciation. Wait for just over a minute in... simple yet low enough bass to create a deep intense bedfellow for euphoric keyboards and Mr Woon's beautiful falsetto.

Soundcloud

Big Thief - 'Shark Smile'

noreply@blogger.com (chalky) — Sat, 13 Jan 2018 16:33:00 +0000

I wish I'd seen Big Thief play Bristol last November, what a band. I'm not going to write anything here that hasn't been written about them on any other website. Basically they're brilliant and you need to hear them, some of the best music I've heard in a while. There's something calm and knowing in her voice, there's something 90's about the guitar and bass, there's something magic connecting it all together.

The lyrics of 'Shark Smile' ooze pain. Singer Adrianne Lenker said it's "a story of a car accident in which one dies and one lives". "She recalls her lover leading up to the moment of the wreck, wishing she'd been taken into the next realm too."

'Shark Smile' is taken off their second album, Capacity released in June of last year via Saddle Creek. Big Thief are a Brooklyn based band.

Big Thief - 'Shark Smile'

Queen - Space Travel and Folk Music

noreply@blogger.com (chalky) — Thu, 11 Jan 2018 20:25:00 +0000

'39 penned by Brian May for Queen's fourth album, 'A Night At The Opera' is one of my guilty pleasures. It's one of the only space travel folk songs I know and if anyone could do this well then it would have to be the physicist and musician, Brian May.

In this song he sings of a group of "volunteers" who head out on a voyage. I imagine these volunteers are like astronauts and the ship that "sailed out into the blue and sunny morn" is actually a spaceship. The speed of their travel causes time dilation to happen (Einstein's theory of relativity), this means when they return to Earth they have hardly aged but the Earth has and their loved ones are long gone, "For the earth is old and grey, little darling went away/ But my love this cannot be/ For so many years have gone though I'm older but a year/ Your mother's eyes, from your eyes, cry to me" (think Interstellar). When they return all they have are messages left in the sands of time, the past. The 'volunteers' are effectively trapped in time and calling their loved ones but their call can't be heard, it's too late, "Don't you hear my call though you're many years away/ Don't you hear me calling you/ All your letters in the sand cannot heal me like your hand/ For my life/ Still ahead/ Pity Me". It's a sad old space travel folk song.

The moral of the story, don't go on a long and fast space mission if you want to see your loved ones again.

Lyrics

In the year of thirty-nine assembled here the volunteers
In the days when lands were few
Here the ship sailed out into the blue and sunny morn
The sweetest sight ever seen

And the night followed day
And the story tellers say
That the score brave souls inside
For many a lonely day sailed across the milky seas
Ne'er looked back, never feared, never cried

Don't you hear my call though you're many years away
Don't you hear me calling you
Write your letters in the sand
For the day I take your hand
In the land that our grandchildren knew

In the year of thirty-nine came a ship in from the blue
The volunteers came home that day
And they bring good news of a world so newly born
Though their hearts so heavily weigh
For the earth is old and grey, little darling went away
But my love this cannot be
For so many years have gone though I'm older but a year
Your mother's eyes, from your eyes, cry to me

Don't you hear my call though you're many years away
Don't you hear me calling you
Write your letters in the sand for the day I take your hand
In the land that our grandchildren knew

Don't you hear my call though you're many years away
Don't you hear me calling you
All your letters in the sand cannot heal me like your hand
For my life
Still ahead
Pity Me

My Twins Wish David Bowie A Belated Happy Birthday!

noreply@blogger.com (chalky) — Thu, 11 Jan 2018 16:47:00 +0000

I went to a David Bowie birthday party last Friday. My 4 year twins thought I was going to a real birthday party and demanded I bring back cake and a party bag. On my way home I got them them chocolate brownies and stuck a couple of candles in for good measure, who doesn't love blowing out a candle? Then they sang the song in the video and shortly after they asked what David Bowie is doing now. We chatted about how he is dead but it's nice to celebrate his birthday, then they asked for their party bags. Someone had posted a couple of Star Wars themed party bags through the door for a party they had missed, it worked out well.
Happy birthday David Bowie. You are missed.

RIP Holger Czukay (Can)

noreply@blogger.com (chalky) — Thu, 14 Sep 2017 19:46:00 +0000

Turn the bass up and revel in the magnificence of this.

RIP Holgar Czukay. Thanks for bringing your music into the world.

In his words "The bass player’s like a king in chess,"..."He doesn’t move much, but when he does he changes everything."

Full obituary here.

Can - Vitamin C

Rising Star Maggie Rogers

noreply@blogger.com (chalky) — Thu, 02 Mar 2017 12:37:00 +0000

While the insanely talented and mega fast rising star Maggie Rogers is charming the European music industry with her current tour on the strength of just one EP, lets not forget how she charmed Pharrell at his Masterclasses at NYU’s Clive Davis Institute back in February 2016, where he critiqued student work. Just check out Pharrell's face when he hears her song, it perfectly captures that moment when you hear something that blows you away. Must have been hard to have been another student in that class that day.

And here is the produced version of the same song 'Alaska'

And my favourite song 'Dog Years' off her EP Now That The Light Is Fading.

The Dø - 'On My Shoulders'

noreply@blogger.com (chalky) — Sun, 26 Feb 2017 16:17:00 +0000

Taking it back to 2007/14 The Dø with 'On My Shoulders' from the album A Mouthful.

Great indie pop from the French/Finnish duo. A wonderfully addictive tune. Olivia Merilahti's beautifully fragile vocals indulge us in a vocal melody that is both easy going and wholly pleasing in its simplistic yet catchy rhythm. A melty sad song.

Radio NZ : Low Interview

noreply@blogger.com (chalky) — Mon, 04 Apr 2016 19:30:00 +0000

Lovely interview with Alan and Mim of Low while on their current tour down under. Listen here.

In case you need reminding how awesome they are, here's the opening track 'Gentle' off their latest album 'Ones and Sixes'.

The build up is all about the 3 min mark with an intense level of bass that shakes the very definition of slowcore into a new dimension. Pump this song up and hear that bass. Low's intense key changes after the most intense build ups and walls of sound are immense. How I love to surrender to music that takes me on this kind of a journey. I love these guys, can't get enough.

Nina's 'Stars' at Montreux Festival 1976

noreply@blogger.com (chalky) — Fri, 01 Apr 2016 19:29:00 +0000

This performance of 'Stars' at the Montreux Festival in 1976 is simply stunning. Possibly one of the best performances out there on record. Who could fail to look into Nina's eyes and not feel something. Nina was feeling too much. Listen to that perfect pitch at the beginning where she begins to sing before the first notes from the piano. A genius command of sound. I'm so glad someone filmed this because I feel like I was there (with out the feelings of nervousness for potentially being told off for standing up). These were a great few moments in time.

Unknown Mortal Orchestra - 'Multi-Love'

noreply@blogger.com (chalky) — Mon, 27 Jul 2015 11:35:00 +0000

The video gives me a headache but the song doesn't. This is a band that should be playing End Of The Road festival this year.

Unknown Mortal Orchestra

Broken Bells - "Sad Bee Gees"?

noreply@blogger.com (chalky) — Mon, 27 Jan 2014 12:53:00 +0000

Best quote I've heard in forever. I'm a big fan of Broken Bells. Their music feels like some of the best around at the moment. Their latest single 'Holding on for life' with the positively sad lyric, "What a lovely day to be lonely" is so catchy I think I could almost get sick of it, but it never happens.

Looking forward to catching their European tour this time round and to hearing their second album 'After The Disco' when it's released on February 4th.

Live dates here.

Go See Nick Mulvey!

noreply@blogger.com (chalky) — Mon, 27 Jan 2014 12:42:00 +0000

I interviewed Nick Mulvey 5 years ago, he was really good then, he's really good now, especially live. His recently released single 'Nitrous' has a surprise twist of Olive's 'You're Not Alone' towards the end. This brought back memories of dancing to her playing live in Preston Park one summery day some 15 years ago, ah gees, see? OLD! I digress.

While this single doesn't show off Nick's amazing guitar skills, it does showcase his ability to put together a great sounding song. Listen for yourself here.

Also check out his latest song 'Cucurucu' accompanied by a gorgeous video shot on Nihiwatu beach in Indonesia by National Geographic director James Morgan. It was a video commissioned by Nick himself and filmed by Morgan in March 2013. Nick says: "I felt this song needed a video with wide expanses. Space to wonder. I didn't have to look too far for the right film maker - James is a friend of mine, and I've loved his work for National Geographic. I knew he'd understand what I was after and have something special in his vaults…"

Nick is doing a European tour in February and March, look for dates on his website, I'll be seeing him just a few doors down the road from me in The Art bar, Oxford. Really excited, snap up a ticket fast, this will be great.

P.S. Hi! It's nice to be back :)

'Under Dubwood' - The Dubwood AllStars

noreply@blogger.com (chalky) — Fri, 01 Mar 2013 18:20:00 +0000

Listening to Richard Burton reading Dylan Thomas' 'Under Milk Wood' always transports me back to Wales. Happy St. David's Day.

Artist: The Dubwood AllStars
Song: Under Dubwood

The Boss

noreply@blogger.com (chalky) — Tue, 19 Feb 2013 20:18:00 +0000

Oh Bruce...

*Update The house where Bruce Springsteen supposedly wrote 'Born to Run' '74/85 is up for sale. It could be yours for a cool $350,000! *Shakes penny jar* :(

The Knife's Upcoming Tour

noreply@blogger.com (chalky) — Sun, 20 Jan 2013 11:41:00 +0000

Did you get your tickets to see The Knife's upcoming tour? What? You didn't bother? OK, you might be missing out on one of the concerts of 2013 but I'll say no more in case the subject is still a little sore for you. Don't know who The Knife are? Don't care? Fair enough, their music isn't to everyone's taste. MrChalky likes to point out how weird my musical taste is whenever I put one of their albums on.

This is probably their most well known song - the actual singer is the lady sitting down at the very end. Can't wait to hear their new album.

2013

noreply@blogger.com (chalky) — Tue, 08 Jan 2013 16:44:00 +0000

It's quite an exciting year for new releases. There's Caitlin Rose, Low (yes!), Phosphorescent, The Knife, Devendra Banhart and probably loads more I forget right now. Yep, 2013, the year of the snake according to the Chinese and what will be our first full year in Oxford, which incidentally I'm delighted to say has a thriving music scene. I'm looking forward to lighter, warmer days and catching up with friends, old and new. Happy new year everyone!

Roy Orbison - 'Dream Baby' (awkward audience)

noreply@blogger.com (chalky) — Sat, 22 Dec 2012 14:49:00 +0000

Great song but have you ever seen a more awkward looking audience?

Roy Orbison - Dream Baby (Monument Concert 1965)

"Don't champagne or lemonade me"

noreply@blogger.com (chalky) — Sat, 22 Dec 2012 14:37:00 +0000

"IIIII'm a soft drinks ex-pert I know what's class"
"IIIII'm a soft drinks ex-pert I know what's hip"

I'm rather partial to the odd tipple of Canada dry. Following on from my obsession for non alcoholic drinks during the drunk season I found this incredibly long and slightly insane Canada Dry advert from the 60's. At least it's better than that terrible $7 million Chanel No.5 Brad Pitt one whose dullness is only slightly off set by some of the parody ads put together by members of the public, on a shoe string. Gees Brad, why'd ya do it?

Canada Dry 60's advert

Kennel No. 5 - Brad Pitt Chanel No. 5 Advert

Bonnie 'Prince' Billy : 'I Am Goodbye'

noreply@blogger.com (chalky) — Tue, 13 Nov 2012 19:00:00 +0000

It's Bonnie 'Prince' Billy time again! I was reminded of him today when I got an email from his record company letting me know his new 7" duet single with Dawn McCarthy is going to be arriving through my letter box sometime very soon. The Christmas themed single is comprised of two songs from the Everly Brothers' catalog, 'Christmas Eve Can Kill You' and 'Lovey Kravezit'. More Christmas songs to add to my collection!

Domino Records website

Here's some cheerful Bonnie 'Prince' Billy singing 'I Am Goodbye'.

New Caitlin Rose Song: 'No One To Call'

noreply@blogger.com (chalky) — Tue, 13 Nov 2012 18:08:00 +0000

Here's the lovely new song 'No One To Call' from Caitlin Rose's soon to be released second album, 'The Stand-In'. I'm enjoying the Kirsty MacCall vibe, never connected the two voices before. Somehow her voice sounds much fuller this time round and it's precisely this which is attracting me to the song. That's not to say I didn't enjoy hearing her on songs such as 'Learning to Ride' or 'For the Rabbits', I love both of those songs, there's just a slightly different resonance in her voice on this new song and it's making me super excited to hear the whole album (which I think is released in February). She sounds fantastic!

The Sad Passing of Terry Callier (24/05/45 – 28/10/12)

noreply@blogger.com (chalky) — Mon, 29 Oct 2012 11:55:00 +0000

Like many people of my age, I was first introduced to Terry Callier through his collaboration with Beth Orton back on her 1999 album Central Reservation. He also came highly recommended by a friend into dub and hip hop.

Terry Callier's voice was always the real draw for me. Soothing in its fullness, listening to his 1998 album Timepeace made me feel like I imagine a cat feels sitting in its favourite cardboard box, it never failed to transport me to a warm secure place.

His music is often referred to as jazz-folk. This has never really been a genre I've found myself dwelling on for too long, especially back in 1999 when dancing to electronic music in clubs with my friends generally got me distracted. Still, his songs were always reassuring to come back to, there was something earnest in his lyrics and voice which handed me my more quieter contemplative moments when they were most needed.

Thank you Terry Callier.

Here's one of my favourite songs from Timepeace called 'Lazarus Man'.

Terry Callier - 'Lazarus Man'

Gathering Festival Oxford

noreply@blogger.com (chalky) — Thu, 18 Oct 2012 12:56:00 +0000

I'll be at the sold out Gathering festival in Oxford this Saturday. Aside from a great line up, it would be rude not to, it's about a 5 minute walk from my house. Seriously Oxford, you're spoiling me!

If you have managed to bag a ticket there are so many great bands to look forward to.
Here are just a few:

Dan Croll - 'From Nowhere'

Clock Opera - 'Once And For All'

Lucy Rose - 'Middle of the Bed'

Spector - 'Never Fade Away'

Fossil Collective - 'On and On'

Bonnie 'Prince' Billy - 'I See A Darkness'

noreply@blogger.com (chalky) — Fri, 05 Oct 2012 14:31:00 +0000

It's definitely a Bonnie 'Prince' Billy sort of a day. Here's his version of 'I See A Darkness' from the Now Here's My Plan EP released this Summer. Thanks for posting a link to the video Gareth. Love the rhythm and his little dances. Great song.