Every Sunday (or maybe Monday) we will post a little mixtape selection of some of the songs that have been the soundtrack to our exploits of the week just passed.
One of us spent the last week in Norway having far too much fun in the snow, so the playlist this week is all down to me and is a pretty random selection of things I have been listening to in the kitchen.
There are plenty of female vocalists, some interesting cover versions, a Swede, some Frenchiness and generally just tunes that make me smile. Choice and opinions are entirely my own (but also bloody good :-))
You can also find these tracks as a playlist on our Spotify and Youtube channels.
I Know What Love Isn’t by Jens Lekman
It gets a bit boring with everybody wanting to tell you their definition of what love is, whether in poetry, prose or song. Jens turns things around and knows what it isn’t.
Getting Ready To Get Down by Josh Ritter
I only discovered Josh Ritter with his latest album Sermon on the Rocks, but I will get around to checking out the earlier stuff at some point, in the meantime this is just great.
Do You Remember The First Time? by Sophie Ellis-Bextor
Britpop at the BBC in 2014 brought a whole raft of adorable live cover versions, with few better than Sophie Ellis-Bextor delivering this version of the Pulp classic.
Nobody Does It Better by Radiohead
True Radiohead fans will have you believe that the band can never do anything wrong which clearly isn’t true. When they do get it right though then they are majestic, this cover of the 1977 Carly Simon hit is one of those moments.
No Surprises by Regina Spektor
From ‘Radiohead covering…‘ to ‘Radiohead covered by…‘. Regina Spektor’s No Surprises is a departure from the original but in my opinion just as beautiful.
Magnificent (She Says) by Elbow
I was never really a fan of Elbow until I saw them at a festival last year and realised that apart from the really quite poetic lyrics they also produce really well crafted songs that can really suck you in and take you on a journey if you actually take the time to listen properly.
You and Me Song by The Wannadies
Always when we fight, I try to make you laugh
Until everything’s forgotten, I know you hate that
Blue Suitcase (Disco Wrist) by The Orielles
To be completely honest I don’t really know why I like this so much, but I do.
Royals by Clean Bandit
It’s a mediocre pop song, covered by Clean Bandit, with the theme from The Snowman incorporated as an intro and a couple of great lyrical performances by Florence Rawlings and Elisabeth Troy.
Really, what is there not to like?
The Polaroid Song by Allo Darlin’
It will be a rare week indeed where I don’t listen to at least one Allo Darlin’ track multiple times, this week it happened to be The Polaroid Song.
Silly Crimes by The Tough Alliance
If you aren’t familiar with The Tough Alliance, then you really should be. This track is already twelve years old but TTA are timeless and just make me smile.
Roll Back by George FitzGerald & Lil Silva
I know nothing about George FitzGerald, but this song makes my ears feel happy. It’s released next week and it is just beautiful.
Float On by Modest Mouse
Because sometimes it’s nice to hear that life is really ok (also because it’s catchy and great).
Tilted by Christine and the Queens
Every so often I dig this out and have a few weeks of listening to it often enough to annoy everyone else around me. That’s probably not great, but it doesn’t stop it from being a great song, with a pretty excellent video as well.
Where Do I Begin by The Chemical Brothers
Dig Your Own Hole is an amazing album, arguably the Chemical Brothers finest moment. Plus Beth Orton… enough said.
I love that Modest Mouse song but didn’t have any idea who it was by or what it was called. Thank you!
Excellent, happy we could help!