Track 7: Jake Bugg - Lightning Bolt
In my head, Jake Bugg is a bit of a one hit wonder, yet it seems he’s been ploughing away in the trenches ever since this song made a minor splash back in 2012. I liked the young-Dylan energy and wordplay of Lightning Bolt, but nothing I’ve heard since has really matched up. Maybe I should investigate further, but – so many artists, so little time. I have on occasion used lyrics from the song in English lessons as they’re ripe for basic analysis in terms of language techniques and connotations.
Track 8: The Human Beinz - Nobody But Me
I wrote about this one back when I featured bands name after
Human Beings in Namesakes,
about how a sales exec I used to work with ripped the song off for a radio
advertising jingle, and blah blah blah. I like the song well enough, but it’s
not a huge favourite… I think I chose to include it on the CD because of its
catchy “No no no no no” chorus, which I thought Sam would like.
Track 9: Split Enz - I Got You
I always find it hard to believe that these spiky,
weirdly-costumed New Zealand New Wave oddballs would eventually morph into the
far more serious and sensitive band Crowded House. Much as I appreciate some of
their later work, I generally find Split Enz to be a lot more fun. This is
their towering achievement, the “I don't know why sometimes I get frightened”
hook never fails to get me singing along.
Track 10: George Benson - Never Give Up On A Good Thing
George Benson had a string of excellent pop-soul hits in the
early 80s, and in my head this is the biggest one (although the charts tell a
different story). By that time, he’d been singing songs for almost 30 years –
he debuted back in 1954 when he was 9 years old, releasing records as “Lil'
Georgie Benson”.
Anything that was in the charts pre:1987 is pretty much fair
game for these compilations; it was only when I turned 15 that I started to
become more discerning in my tastes.
More tracks from CD 108 soon.
