Showing posts with label Ani DiFranco. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ani DiFranco. Show all posts

Tuesday, 12 November 2019

Hot 100 #32


Apologies. I got two thirds of the way through this countdown before life got in the way. But I don't like leaving things unfinished, so the Hot 100 is back... maybe not every week, but whenever I get the time. Your suggestions, as always, are very welcome.

Wretch 32, pictured above, is a popular grime star, apparently. We used to have grime round these parts, then we got a new window cleaner.

Way back in July, George wondered whether the unsavoury lyrics in this oldie might make it unpalatable...

Robert Johnson - 32:20 Blues 

Far be it from me to let unsavoury lyrics spoil the day. And Lynchie seemed similarly undeterred, suggesting the Cowboys Junkies version...

The Cowboy Junkies - 32:20 Blues

And here's the Charlatans with the same song... but not The Charlatans you and I know, the Manc band fronted by Tim Burgess, no, this is the original Charlatans...

The Charlatans - 32:20 Blues

Speaking of 32 calibre weapons, Douglas came close to taking the title this week by suggesting one of my all-time favourites...

Jim Croce - Bad, Bad Leroy Brown

He got a custom Continental
He got an Eldorado too
He got a thirty two gun in his pocket for fun
He got a razor in his shoe

C went a different lyrical route, with this one from a band I only knew in passing. Some great guitar to be hear here though.

The Au Pairs - Armagh

You can ignore the 32
There are 32 women in Armagh jail
political prisoners here at home
the British state's got nothing to lose
It's a subject better left alone

The Swede was up next, with one that had made my shortlist

The House of Love - 32nd Floor

Alyson, meanwhile, dug up this rarity, ten streets away from fame...

Ronnie Lane - 32nd Street

While Martin was bang up to date with a tune from the latest Joe Jackson album, which I've not heard... but I might have to investigate further.

Joe Jackson - 32 Kisses

For a laugh, Martin also suggested this oldie-but-mouldie...

Mr. Mister - 32

And that was it for your suggestions. But what did my record collection throw up? Let's see if we can go even lower than Mr. Mister to start with, and climb up from there, shall we?

Genesis - The Chamber of 32 Doors

I do like Peter Gabriel, but... you have to draw the line somewhere.

What else?

Craic Haus - 32 Girls

No idea where that came from, but it's better than The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway.

The Mekons - 32 Weeks

That made me smile.

Ani DiFranco - 32 Flavors

I like that. From a CD I bought in a charity shop. Back when I could still find decent CDs in charity shops.

Van Morrison - Thirty Two

Not really a song, more a warm-up.

Finally, an obscure b-side...

REM - 32 Chord Song

But this week's winner was chosen by Rigid Digit, who found another old favourite of mine...



Coming soon: 31. I promise.


Thursday, 9 February 2017

February #7: Not Pretty, Not Self Pity


7. Ani DiFranco - Not A Pretty Girl

Another fine charity shop purchase, this 1995 album by Ani DiFranco, a name I've heard bandied about in the same circles as Alanis Morrissette, though she's got a little bit more punk-folk grit to her sound.

Ani started her own record company, to get control over her music and her career, back in 1989: long before everybody else started doing the same thing. She's been outspoken in her criticism of major record labels even longer than Prince was (and she worked with him on a number of occasions) and is well known as a political activist... which we obviously need a hell of a lot more of in the music world right now. And the ordinary world.

The title track from this album made me think of the Kasey Chambers track I featured in My Top Ten Self Pity Songs Volume 2: except that while Kasey encapsulates teenage insecurity in her fears about not being pretty enough, Ani takes on gender stereotyping and big business, effectively tackling both men and The Man... and winning this round, indisputably.





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