I have a ridiculous to-do list that never seems to get any smaller. When I look at it I just have no idea where to start, procrastination sets in and I find a thousand things that aren’t on the list and probably aren’t very important to do instead. Enough of that though, this morning I sat down and opened the laptop with a determination to hear as many satisfying little task completed ‘ding’ noises as I could manage.
Of course to do this I needed to minimise outside distractions, so I grabbed some headphones and set about creating just the right kind of playlist. I’m not really sure what my general productivity playlist would sound like but this is where my mind went today.
Oh, and yes, maybe writing a mixtape article could be seen as procrastinating BUT it’s a good kind of procrastinating, we haven’t published one for far too long and I made quite a few ‘dings’ at the same time!
You can also listen as a playlist on our Spotify and YouTube channels
Love Will Tear Us Apart – June Tabor & Oysterband
Some people might think there is something almost sacrilegious about covering a Joy Division song, especially that ‘one’ which has been covered badly so many times. This though is beautiful, it’s a whole different take on Love Will Tear Us Apart but rips at my heart strings in just the same way as the original.
Dress Up In You – God Help The Girl
From the first word Stuart Murdoch’s voice is unmistakable. God Help The Girl is essentially Belle & Sebastian with a few extra female vocalists and a slightly more 60’s ish sound. The ‘band’ was formed to create the soundtrack to Murdoch’s film of the same name, which I haven’t seen but really feel like I should get around to.
Future Love – Ride
I loved Ride in the 90’s, then they split up, reunited a couple of times for one off shows and 21 years later released a new album which isn’t half bad but didn’t make me massively excited. A mere two years on they are releasing another one, Future Love is the lead single and I have a feeling I might just start to love them again.
This Old Love – Lior
I don’t know much about Lior, I just stumbled on this today and it makes me smile. Maybe it’s just this tune, but I’ll definitely be having a search and listening to more to find out.
Mary Sunshine Rain – Dada
I have a kind of thing for Dada, although it seems that, apart from early 90’s single Dizz Knee Land, I’m in a pretty small minority. I saw them as a support act for someone a long time ago and just really liked something. I haven’t listened to anything by them for what feels like an incredibly long time and then today just suddenly felt like hearing this.
So Young – Suede
Partially because I can listen to anything from Suede’s debut album (or Dog Man Star for that matter) anytime, but also because it just feels like it works after the last track, like it belongs here.
This One’s For You – Ed Harcourt
I’m not a massive fan of Ed Harcourt but I really like this song, both lyrically and musically it just flows nicely and it’s somehow optimistic and jolly to listen to.
Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow – Amy Winehouse
You can love or hate Amy Winehouse, but you really can’t deny the indefinable something that she managed to inject into just about anything she turned her vocal chords to. Add that to a song as good as this and how can it possibly go wrong.
Grace Cathedral Park – Red House Painters
Mid Wednesday afternoon you either need something jaunty to pick you up or something melancholic and a bit sombre to wallow in. Grace Cathedral Park is a great little slice of the latter.
Wouldn’t it Be Good (Solo Acoustic) – Nik Kershaw
In 1984 Nik Kershaw released his debut album Human Racing, full of typical of the era pop songs that got heavy MTV play and charted all over the place, including the single Wouldn’t It Be Good. Twenty six years later he popped up with an acoustic album offering live recorded versions of some of his old songs. Some of them are less than great but I do like this one 🙂
Desperate Days – Side 4 Collective feat. Josh Ritter
This isn’t the kind of song that you would normally expect with Josh Ritter’s vocal over the top of, but it’s bloody wonderful.
Who You Are – Dada
Another track by Dada because…. well, why not?
By The Sea – Suede
And another one by Suede, this song never needs any kind of justification.