Sometimes when I am not at my happiest and shiniest I like to go for a walk away from people, I pick the road that I think will be the emptiest and wander off where I think that nobody will be able to hear me, I put on noise cancelling headphones and listen to a playlist of (some guilty pleasure) songs on random and sing along loudly and badly and I start to feel good about the world again.
For this weeks playlist I decided to share the list of tunes from my last little wander into the wilderness.
Some of these songs might not be considered as great musical achievements, it might not be ‘cool’ to like some of them, but I can’t help it I love each and every one, all for different reasons.
You can choose to take it as a snapshot of my psyche or just a random collection of pretty bloody good songs. Don’t judge me! ๐
You can also find these tunes as a playlist on our Spotify and Youtube channel.
Kiss Your Lips by Allo Darlin’
Regular mixtape followers will not be surprised by the fact that a Allo Darlin’ song has popped up at the start. It’s great and I love them.
No Church in the Wild by Devlin ft. Ed Sheeran & Labrinth
It’s a live cover of a Jay Z and Kanye West track, very much Londonised and throwing together a few seemingly quite different artists but sounding really great and is if it was really fun to record.
I love the lyrical sentiment of No Church in the Wild, both in the original and this version.
Strange Currencies by R.E.M.
“I don’t know why you’re mean to me, when I call on the telephone” – It’s a brilliant opening line, and Strange Currencies ties with At My Most Beautiful as Michael Stipe’s finest love song in my humble opinion.
Divine Sweet Divide by Tanya Donelly
I’m a fan of Throwing Muses and of Belly and I love The Breeders. So it might seem that I am a fan of everything Tanya Donelly touches but actually I don’t particularly like most of her solo work. Lovesongs for Underdogs is pretty good, the rest I can take or leave BUT Whisky Tango Ghosts is beautiful from start to finish. There are no standout tracks and no filler, this could easily have been any track from the album but it isn’t, it’s this one.
Tilili Tilili by Telebimbam
It’s Lithuanian, I don’t understand all of the words, but it’s about little frogs, it sounds really nice, it’s musically joyful and it is sung by some cute kids. My singing along to this one is even worse than all of the others.
A Sorta Fairytale by Tori Amos
Tori Amos can do little wrong in my opinion, even when she is at her most self indulgent and pretentious. When she isn’t she sometimes turns out the kind of music that makes your spine go a bit wibbly. This is far from her finest moment but it’s a great song. The video is pretty cool as well.
Cannonball by The Breeders
Tanya Donelly’s second appearance, this time together with Kim and Kelley Deal, Josephine Wiggs and Jim MacPherson. The Breeders have gone through a lot of personnel changes over the years but this is the definitive group in my opinion and Last Splash is masterpiece.
Dancing on my Own by Robyn
Callum Scott – No
Robyn sells me every single word and every emotion in this song every time I hear it, especially in this toned down live performance. It’s haunting and a bit painful to listen to if you are in a certain mood, but it’s undeniably brilliant.
Running Up that Hill by Placebo
Yes of course, Kate Bush’s original is brilliant but I actually think I prefer the Placebo cover.
Cornerstone by Benjamin Clementine
If you aren’t familiar with Benjamin Clementine then you should be.
Just listen, preferably in a quiet place and loud enough to let the piano shine, maybe in the dark…
Anna Begins by Counting Crows
Adam Duritz has an uncanny ability to write lyrics that say things I think or feel in better ways than I can express myself and I never really know whether I should love or hate him for it, I think I do a little bit of both.
Bluetonic by The Bluetones
However bleak my mood, or even when I am actually really happy, singing along to this song makes me feel better.
Love Ed! I don’t know this song though, who is it by?
It’s by Jay Z and Kanye West, you can find it on the 2011 album Watch the Throne.
The original is great, but to be honest i prefer this cover version.