Hello lovely people! So this weekend gone, I had two weddings to go to! I've opened with this, not to tout my status as a social butterfly (because that's highly debatable), but to help explain how I found today's Tunesday pick. At the reception for the second wedding, the DJ did an awesome job, and I quite possibly spent more time Shazaming songs on my phone than dancing! At some point toward the end of the night, when shoes had been kicked off and ties had been securely reknotted around heads, this relaxed reggae jam came on. Listening to the lyrics properly after the weekend made me realise what an amusing choice this was for a wedding - you'll get it when you listen. Anyway, in the same way that this song played as the night drew to a close on Saturday, I've chosen it as a chill, end-of-summer jam, as shorts are packed away for another year, and scarves and gilets begin to reappear as evenings become cooler to remind us that summer 2014 is almost done. Enjoy! Until next time...
M-J
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Let’s journey back in time, to 1972. My Dad’s side of the family would never forgive me should I not use one of these weekly musical opportunities to promote T. Rex; the band at the forefront – and eventual peak – of the ‘glam rock’ movement in the early to mid-1970s. Glam rock as a term was coined to describe a unique hybrid of rock and pop music that developed in the U.K. around this time. Traits involved wearing outrageous clothes (by the standards of their day), make-ups and hairstyles. Platform shoes and glitter during live performances were not uncommon. This was a time when wearing flamboyant costumes and sporting camp visual styles were briefly accepted as cool for grown ‘straight’ men. Brief is an appropriate word to describe not only this curious style of music, but also T. Rex frontman Marc Bolan’s life, which was tragically cut short at the age of 29. It’s somewhat hard to believe that this particular performance of Telegram Sam, one of the major hits when ‘glam rock’ was at its peak, took place only five years before that infamous car crash. There is no doubt that he was the star of the band, and perhaps the entire music scene at that time. I’ve talked enough. I ask you now to imagine living forty (two) years ago. You’re a young man or woman. The world is a different place, as yet untainted by postmodernism, video games and Internet forums. This song is the kind of thing that people spend their evenings dancing to. This music scene will inevitably influence your teenage years. In a few years it will be dead, its main superstar along with it. You’ll only truly appreciate it with the benefit of hindsight. But for now, you don’t care about any of this. For now, you are young. 1972 style. EGS
Despite its name I consider this week's Tunesday to be a very good summer tune. Actually, on second thoughts this is one that would fit in with any season. Who says the occasional bit of spring or summer rain isn't refreshing, after all? Taken from Basement Jaxx's emotionally charged fifth studio album Scars, Raindrops is a warm, uplifting song. Vocals are provided by male group member Felix Buxton using the 'Auto-Tune' effect (a kind of audio processor that can alter tone and pitch), which gives the track its unique sound. In the instrumentals can also be heard rock, house and even subtle elements of jazz. All mixed electronically in the fashion that Basement Jaxx are so well known for. Upon first glance this video may give off warning signs for the more conservative viewer (yes, those are half naked women dancing) but its artistic style is something to be greatly appreciated. Filmed in a kaleidoscope style, it emits nostalgic disco vibes that could make you reminiscent about former decades while also managing to feel distinctly modern. Indeed, if old fashioned disco dancing was still in fashion then this is the kind of tune I'd like to - in fact, no, you don't want to imagine that any more than I do. Just check out the video already! EGS
Today's pick is the kind of song that needs little, if any, introduction, so I will keep it uncharacteristically (for me at least) succinct. Green is the first single off Adam Barnes latest album 'The Land, The Sea & Everything Lost Beneath,' and it is beautiful. I've said in the past that I'm an absolute sucker for an acoustic performance, and this one is no different. Just about caught the vapours at 1:14 in! You get the feeling, watching the emotion you see Barnes pour into this set, that he is laying all his cards on the table here. The lyrics are indubitably heartfelt, and like an an arrestingly poetic version of situations that many of us have been a part of. Seriously, I think the only way this song could be made better is if you listened to it bathed in the fiery glow of a fulgent sunset. As always, enjoy! (: M-J
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