Harrowdown Hill
by Thom Yorke
"And where's the blood?"

This song is very macabre. It was written about David Kelly who I've actually heard a fair bit about recently, as Sam's mum was telling me about the book she read about him. And this song looks at the big question over him; did he really commit suicide? And if not, what happened? The echo in the vocals gives the song this perfect eeriness, considering the subject matter. And the lyrics are haunting.

You will be dispensed with
When you've become inconvenient
In the harrowdown hill
Where you went to school
That's where I am
That's where I'm lying down

In a way it reminds me of The Smiths' Suffer Litttle Children. It's the eerieness and the beyond-the-grave feel. Plus, the mention of the school gives it a far more poignant edge. It really brings the idea that this was a real person with a family and a past. I love the anger that is conveyed at the injustice of a person's life being taken so lightly, murdered or not. Because of course, regardless of whether or not there was foul play, his name shouldn't have been released to the public.

I can't take their pressure
No one cares if you live or die
They just want me gone

I really adore the rhythm in this one too. But my favourite bit is easily the little piano interlude at 3:37. The way it stands out and the gentle sound of it strikes me as being like a looming question in the back of your mind. It's so gorgeous and subtle but it adds so much to the dynamic of the song overall.

We think the same things at the same time
We just cant do anything about it

We think the same things at the same time
There are too many of us
So you can't count

I think this was Thom's first official solo release, actually. I might be wrong but I'm fairly certain that it was. And honestly, I think it's utterly striking and even more powerful than a lot of Radiohead's work. This song really sticks with you and makes an impression. This has been a really long song blog! I hope you listen to and enjoy the song because it really is exceptional!

Listen to it here
And have a nice day!

Rise
by The Frames
"Breathing in the night
There's nothing else I'm needing now"

There's something totally blissful about this song. The first time I heard it was over the summer at Elida's dance show. I wrote some lyrics down on my hand and searched them online and nothing came up. Tonight I went to another of her dance shows and they played it again. And this time I was early enough to get a programme, which said the name of the band in it, which made finding the song far easier.

So here it is: the song that makes the hairs on my neck stand on end. The piano is unimaginably wonderful. It skips about in a playfully melancholy way. And it's really breathtaking when the loud strings come in halfway through. And when they dip out and you hear the piano again. The construction is perfect.

Thanks to Dean for finding this one for me because I was having a hard time finding somewhere where you could listen to it!

Listen to it here
And have a nice day!

Bailamos
by Enrique Iglesias
"Tonight I'm yours"

I remember Enrique Iglesias but I probably couldn't name any of his songs, to be honest. Which is weird because I really love latin music. It's so fun and rhythmic and there is something very tense about it. Earlier this year my family went to see the Zorro Musical in London written by The Gypsy Kings and I found myself close to tears for most of it just because of how heartbreakingly passionate the music is. There's so much emotion in it.

And I love to hear guitars used like this.

Listen to it here
And have a nice day!

It's My Life
by Bon Jovi
"I'm not gonna be just a face in the crowd
You'll hear my voice when I shout it out loud"

You gotta love that dramatic guy at the beginning of the video "OHEMGEE!" He probably would have got there quicker if he took a cab.

Onto the song. This was on one of those awesome yearly hits CDs I would get when I was a kid and this is one of the songs that I remember sticking out. There were always a few that no one had really heard of but that were really good. There was a song that really stuck in my head one year and I adore it so I'll probably recommend that one tomorrow.

I love how cheesy but rocky this song is. It's got so much enthusiasm and it drips with determinism. And anyone who doesn't like his accent/hair/tight black shirt is daft. Yes, that's right. He's a sex symbol. Having said that I don't like that the video implies some sort of angsty teen message to the song like "Don't do anything for your mum - She only made you! It's your life."

This song is positive and motivational and wonderful.

Also, I like the little piano riff.

Listen to it here
And have a nice day!

Trains
by Porcupine Tree
"Shiny and contured
The railway shines"

jim says:
around the 6 mins mark
jim says:
where the drums kick in again
jim says:
sexy.

Listen to it here
And have a nice day!

Separate Ways
by Teddy Thompson
"And I don't care about you
If you don't care about me"

This song was in the soundtrack of My Best Friend's Girl and it totally blew me away. His voice is absolutely gorgeous. I sure do love haunting voices like these. I wish I had more to say about this but I know virtually nothing about him or the song and to be honest that is probably the best way to listen to a song. All I will say is that this is basically Indie music - acoustic guitar, beautiful male vocals. The lyrics are quite harrowing but in a passionate way... so that makes up for it. If you don't go and listen to this, you are wasting your life. Seriously.

Listen to it here
And have a nice day!

I Wish I Was A Girl
by Counting Crows
"And I'm going down to Hollwood
They're gonna make a movie from
All the thing they find crawling round my brain"

Would you believe me if I told you that I chose this song for the song and not for this fan video I found? I know I wouldn't believe me. But it's true, all the same, heh. I really love the accent in the vocals in Counting Crows. To be honest, this is the only song other than Colourblind that ever really caught my attention. I quite like the lyrics in this one.

And just because I can't finish this blog without mentioning it; Katherine Moennig is hot.

Listen to it here
And have a nice day!

Hey
by The Pixies
"If you go, I will surely die"

I've been listening to Wave of Mutilation a lot recently and this song popped up in 'Zach and Miri Make a Porno'. And it was so well placed. And ever since I can't really get enough of this song. I associate it with real tension now. Yum. I wish I had more to say.

Listen to it here
And have a nice day!

Sunglasses At Night
by Tiga and Zyntherius
"I wear my sunglasses at night
So I can, so I can
Keep track of visions in my eyes."

I stumbled accross this one back in the days of sitting in front of the music channels for hours at a time. I'm not sure what I was drawn to but I absolutely love this song. Something tells me it probably wasn't the song that caught my attention though. This track has a real Depeche Mode/ New Order feel to it. I really love the old electronic goth stuff you used to get. There's not much of it around now. It's all underground. Having said that, Marilyn Manson is around but he's a bit too heavy for my electro-goth tastes.

Listen to it here
And have a nice day!

Bleeding All Over You
by Martha Wainwright
"Then my mind turns into my heart
And whispers into that dark cave
That I've been wronged"

I don't think I've posted anything off of Martha's newer album. To be honest, it wasn't as good an album as her first. I don't think this album was quite as raw as the first. But I think this song has a lot of feeling to it which is exactly what I love about Martha's songs. A lot of raw passion.

I really like the pity you feel for the character in this song... she really is a very pityful character.

Listen to it here
And have a nice day!

Twist
by I Am Kloot
"Forget all about fact
"Evoke the rich tapestry of love and devotion,
Emote the sweet saccharine of all that devotion,
Forget all about that and fall in this ocean with me..."

I got into I Am Kloot after listening to From Your Favourite Sky in my step-dad's car. I love how broad the accent is. Phwoar. Anyway, I'm not really sure why I picked this one out of all of their songs. I think I have posted From Your Favourite Sky before. And I love Dark Star but that wasn't on YouTube. Um, but Twist is a pretty gross song really. It's got some hint at domestic abuse in it but then all of their songs have a certain darkness to them. Dark Star especially.

I love the tone to this.

Listen to it here
And have a nice day!

Crazy
by Patsy Cline
"Oh.. crazy
For thinking that my love would hold you"

Her voice is so dreamy. I'd like to go to sleep to this song. It's very comforting and relaxing. But beautiful all the same. It's kind of sad to hear a song with so little self-confidence in it though. There isn't really any redemption for her... which is a bit bleak. There's usually a little bit of angst but this hasn't got that.

But it's still gorgeous. So there.

Listen to it here
And have a nice day!

Sunchyme
by Dario G

Just recently I have been listening to this song a fair bit. It's got this amazing cheeriness to it. A feeling of pure contentment, joy and warmth. And that really works in the video too. I actually adore the video. It's extraordinary.

But back to the song, it's upbeat and it's glorious.

Listen to it here

Suffer Little Children
by The Smiths
"Edward see those alluring lights?
Tonight will be your very last night."

I have been a big fan of this song since I first listened to The Smiths all that time ago. I was really into serial killers as a child and so I read a lot about them. And naturally Myra Hindley was one I got to fairly quickly, after Aileen Wuornos and Mary Ann Cotton. What I always found disturbing about Hindley was not so much that she killed children and was a woman (which is what got everyone else) but that she didn't really want to do it - she just followed Brady around like a love sick puppy. Which is a little strange. Brady was completely insane and that so often gets tiptoed over so that people can start cringing about Hindley.

Anyway, enough of that. I actually think I should post all the lyrics to this one because it is so harrowing and poetic that I think everyone should read these words. They are very haunting.

Over the moors,
Take me to the moors,
Dig a shallow grave
And I'll lay me down.

Leslie Ann and your pretty white beads
Oh, John you'll never be a man
And you'll never see your home again

Oh Manchester,
So much to answer for

Edward see those alluring lights?
Tonight will be your very last night.
A woman said, "I know my son is dead
I'll never rest my hands on his sacred head."

Hindley wakes and Hindley says
"Oh, wherever he has gone, I have gone"
But fresh lilaced moorland fields
Cannot hide the stolid stench of death

Hindley wakes and says
"Oh, whatever he has done, I have done"
But this is no easy ride for a child cries:

'Oh find me
Find me and nothing more
We are on a sullen, misty moor.

We may be dead and we may be gone
But we will be right by your side
Until the day you die
This is no easy ride
We will haunt you when you laugh
You could say we're a team
You might sleep but you will never dream...'

Oh Manchester, so much to answer for.

Listen to it here
And have a nice day!

Dirty Diana
by Michael Jackson
"I'll be your everything
If you make me a star"

This is one of my favourite Michael Jackson songs. It has everything in it that I love about his music. It has passion and rhythm, great vocals, atmosphere. I am a massive Michael Jackson and if I keep talking, this blog will descend into rants about his innocence and how he has been bullied. That poor, beautiful, eccentric man.

Listen to it here
And have a nice day!

Too Bad
by Nickelback
"Father's hands are lined with guilt
For tearing us apart"

This isn't exactly in tune with my normal recommendations but I sure do love this song. Just recently Nickelback seem to have become kind of popular but at the same time they've lost a lot of the painful lyrics they used to use. I don't want to use the word depth because I think it would be an exaggeration, but suffice to say that their new stuff is far shallower. I rather like his gruff voice. It matches his face.

Listen to it here
And have a nice day!

Alright
by Supergrass
"We are strange in our worlds"

This song is a classic. It's so bouncy and happy. I finished editing the film that Dean and I have been working on for the last two weeks. This song is as happy as I am feeling :)

Listen to it here
And have a nice day!

Swim With The Tide
by The Creep Bed
"And the boats that line the shore
Have seen every corner"

If out of all the songs I recommended this year, I had to choose a single one to keep, it would be this. I can't possibly try to argue that I am not at all biased in this case, but it's irrelavent because this song is actually gorgeous. Alex's voice was always had a beautifully haunting quality about it. His lyrics always touched me too; they're so full of emotion. They overwhelm me.

I actually recommend listening to the EP if you get a chance. You can download it here. My favourite track is probably Wax Fruit.

Listen to it here
And have a nice day!