If you're a music blogger, and you choose the records you write about because you think other people will think they're cool... and by extension that you are cool for liking them... then you are being a music blogger for the wrong reason. Go be a music journalist if you want people to think you're cool. Go work for the NME. (Well, what's left of it.) Some people - the ones who follow the crowd - may end up thinking you're cool. The rest of us will probably think you're a tool who occasionally gets it right, but... well, at least you'll be getting paid.
No, if you're a music blogger, you you never choose your songs because of what other people might think - about the songs or about you. You should just go ahead and pick the songs you like, write about them, and please yourself. Screw what anybody else thinks. The really cool people (not the NME journalists) will respect you for that, even if they don't agree with you.
Many fine (and cool) songs were suggested for the number 69. Here's a selection...
Serge Gainsbourge & Jane Birkin - 69 Année Erotique (The Swede)
(I quite like Bad Seed Mick Harvey's English translation too: 69 Erotic Year.)
Liz Phair - Go West (Yes, Swede, cold showers after often needed in this house following a bout of Liz Phair)
Stepping down off my platform shoes
Sixty-nine in the afternoon
And I'm waiting for someone in the know
Like Pirner tells me on the radio
Says "Take it from someone who's been there before,
You go west, young man."
The Vines - 1969 (Lynchie)
The Incredible String Band - Way Back In The 1960s (also Lynchie... but one I think we should save for another 9 weeks' time)
Mott The Hoople - Saturday Gigs (Rigid Digit's last hurrah with that one)
Sixty-nine was cheapo wine,
Have a good time,
What your sign
Float up to the Roundhouse
On a Sunday afternoon.
Stiff Little Fingers - 78 RPM (RD again, and the second mention for this one... although it could have been running for longer than The Hoople has)
Sixty-nine, it was fine
You say, but by seventy-nine it's gonna be mine
Iggy & The Stooges - 1969 (RD, C and Swiss Adam went for this... the cool choice!)
Sonic Youth - Death Valley '69 (C and Swiss Adam both going for the really cool choice)
Sandi Thom - I Wish I Was A Punk Rocker (With Flowers In My Hair) (Alyson - I was going to say the "contemporary" choice, but then I realised this is 13 years old)
Oh I wish I was a punk rocker with flowers in my hair
In seventy seven and sixty nine, revolution was in the air
David Holmes - 69 Police (Swiss Adam with another "contemporary" offering... from 18 years ago)
REM - Star 69 (C and Swiss Adam with my runner-up)
Oh, and of course, Charity Chic had to throw in a mention for this lot, who would have been at the top of the page were it not for my favourite Magnetic Fields album...
Other contenders from my own record collection included...
Booker T & The MGs - Soul Clap '69
Babes In Toyland - Sweet 69
Adam Ant - 1969 Again
Mouse & The Boys -- Xcedrin Headache #69 (not sure where that came from - some old psychedelia compilation)
The Fuzztones - Highway 69
Rick James - She Blew My Mind (69 Times)
Albert Collins - 69 Underpass Roadside Inn
...and... wait for it... wait for it...
Ministry - Psalm 69 (a godawful racket, but it makes me smile)
Phew - 69 appears to be an inextricably popular number with popular musicians. Go figure.
In the end though, I refer you all back to my opening paragraphs. There could only be one winner this week, even though I knew it wouldn't be a particularly popular choice in many quarters. It's a song I've written about before here and may even do so again. Sorry if you don't like it: your loss.
(Oh, and in case you're going to accuse me of choosing a year song when there were some fine non-year tracks I could have had instead... well, Bryan himself claims this song isn't about 1969 at all...)
68 next week, and an equally obvious choice for me. We'll see if you agree...
Going for the obvious one
ReplyDelete68 Guns by The Alarm
Yes, the obvious one for me too
DeleteThat opening paragraph could have been written for me as you know my song choices are rarely cool - Never going to be an NME music journalist though so not really a problem, except when I see my post titles sitting on your blogrolls, and have a bit of a cringe moment.
ReplyDeleteBizarrely I have just finished editing a Brian Adams' post over at my place - I randomly check links occasionally to make they are still working (they weren't) so had to fix that. Different song though in my case, the really, really uncool one that seemed really apt to share after the death of Alan Rickman.
Anyway enough about me but suffice to say it's nice to have it reaffirmed that what we do around here is personal and doesn't always have to be "cool". As for a 68 song, as with CC, can only really be 68 Guns for me too.
I'll dive straight in at this point and offer one on behalf of myself and John Medd. 'The Six Teens' by Sweet - '...but sixty-eight was sixty-eight,
ReplyDeleteno matter what they say....' John even has a t-shirt to confirm this fact.
Of course it has to be 68 Guns by The Alarm. All other possible suggestions have been completely obscured from view by their hair.
ReplyDeleteThere's nothing cool about me, Rol, believe me. Awkward, gauche, misunderstood and tepid at best. I just don't like Bryan Adams' music, and I do like Iggy's!
I personally don't have one iota of cool in my body, but how flippin' cool is this tune? Roland Kirk & Jack McDuff 'Doin' the Sixty-Eight'.
ReplyDeleteSeasick Steve - Barracuda 68'
ReplyDeleteIf it was bands with 68 in there name i would suggest The Mai 68's and suggest the song Totality for Kids, Indie pop at it's best, cool tune :-)
ReplyDeletePink Floyd, Summer '68
ReplyDeleteChicago, Questions 67 and 68 (getting one in for next week there too)
Neither floats my boat though, I'd go for The Alarm.
I'm on to you. You're just trying to be cool by writing about how uncool it is to write about music that's perceived by so-called cool people to be cool. Hey, that's cool by me. Now I can finally write about Nik Kerhsaw.
ReplyDeleteDamn. Brian sussed me out.
DeleteJoining the popular vote: The Alarm - 68 Guns
ReplyDeleteBut alternatives are available:
Seasick Steve - Barracuda 68
and pushing the numbering system a bit:
Blink 182 - 6/8
Think Brian's onto something there!
ReplyDeleteHow on earth did 9 Police get to be 18 years old
ReplyDeleteTime warp.
Delete