The term "genius" is often mis-applied, but in my book it's never been more appropriately used than when used to describe writer and director David Lynch.
This whole world's wild at heart and weird on top.
Much will be written about Lynch's legacy in the world of film and TV, and there's little point in me adding to that other than to say that he was responsible for one of my all time favourite TV shows (two if you count the sequel, which was a very different proposition... and a lot of people couldn't get behind that, but I did) and some of the most affecting, thought-provoking and visionary (another term that rarely gets used appropriately) movies I've ever seen.
Why are there people like Frank? Why is there so much trouble in this world?
His death leaves a big hole. Even though he struggled to get funding to make his films over the last few years, I still held out hope we'd see more from him one way or another. And now he's gone. Another hero of my youth lost to the reaper.
People are frightened by what they don't understand.
C said that Howard Jones looks better now... I actually think he sounds better now. I was never that fussed at the time, but now I find these decent enough pop songs.
5. Coo-lumbo, Sherlock Homing and Agent Coop-er remove a lady's rear.
I'm not the world's biggest fan of the Pigeon Detectives, but sometimes the clue is too good to avoid...
I have to admit that when Jim in Dubai suggested a band called Seventeen to illustrate this week's edition of the Hot 100, I did wonder if he meant the Indonesian boy band.
Fortunately, he has a much better memory than me for bands long lost in the search engines of google...
Seventeen would, it turns out, grow up to become a little more famous as The Alarm.
Jim also suggested two other 17 bands, the first being an actual boy band... who were "alright" as boy bands go... although they did wear some ridiculous outfits.
I don't know if I should say this in a public forum frequented occasionally by those of the muso persuasion, but while I always appreciated the Sex Pistols for their comedy value... less so for their musical contributions, I'm afraid.
The Swede's next suggestion will definitely throw you down a hole in google if you start trying to find out more about them as I just did...
Brian wins prizes for the video. They wouldn't allow that these days. Although, to be honest, the woman in the video looks (thankfully) much older than 17, as most "teen" movie stars of the 80s actually were. Michael J. Fox was 24 in Back To The Future.
C seconded a couple of earlier suggestions, then offered up two fine ones of her own...
Rigid Digit was next to arrive, complaining that "Most of mine have gone again (my first vote is for Sex Pistols - Seventeen. The Regents in second place.) So what have I got left on me list?"
Seventeen has a proper emotional heft, capable of giving you a bit of bump and stopping you in your tracks (you meaning me I guess), there's something about the rising chords and Sharon's voice that goes hits the bullseye. The 80s production is what must have sounded familiar to me. I never thought that a song that seems to reference mid- 80s Springsteen would appeal to me so much. In the song Sharon addresses her seventeen year old self and her freedom/ naivety, wanting to warn her about what lies ahead and the poor decisions she'll make but still knowing that she has to go through it all. She also gets pissed off with her younger self who she thinks wouldn't fully like her as she is now, would think she's lost it or sold out or something similar. One of the lines goes 'I used to be free/ I used to be seventeen' and judging by the comments on Youtube it seems that the line and the sentiment affects those much older than that and those around that age equally. I'm eleven years older than Sharon, turn fifty in a few months, and this song definitely nails a feeling, a sense of the loss of youth and the pain of looking back. That's the literal definition of nostalgia isn't it? Nostalgia usually evokes a sentimental looking back, feelings of wistfulness, the rosy glow of the past. But it's literal translation involves looking back with feelings of sadness, of something lost and gone. I don't want to be a person who's nostalgic for being seventeen- there are other 'better' ages to be nostalgic about, it's an age where you're still not fully sure of yourself in a lot of ways, I certainly wasn't, and an age where you know so little despite being so sure you know so much- but this song really does push all those buttons.
Brian suggested this one, and for a while now I thought it would be my front-runner... but only because my memory is shot and I'd neglected to consider this week's winner. That said, I do think this is Ms. Nicks' finest moment... and not just as a solo artist.
The song was a big hit for Janis in the US in 1975, and although it never appeared in the UK charts, it soon became a staple of the airwaves. The song is about a girl who is somewhat of a social outcast in high school, and so it became a kind of anthem. She was inspired to write the single after reading a newspaper article about a young woman who believed her life would improve after a debutante ball, and her subsequent disappointment when it did not. All these years later nothing has changed, and with social media to muddy the waters, if anything, things have got worse. I remember the year my daughter and her friends turned 17 and were experiencing the kind of anxieties as recounted in the song. I got them to listen to this song, as I think it summed up how they were feeling. Many nights were spent bemoaning the fact they were not one of The Populars, that group of girls with “clear skinned smiles” who always seem to get the boy.
Not much I can add to that, except... this is a heartbreaker.
Sweet little sixteen next week... I shudder at the prospect.
Before we get to my favourite album of the year, here's a few that would have made the Top Twenty. Let's start with the obvious one...
In case you thought you'd sussed my Number One through the process of elimination - sorry to disappoint. Bruce doesn't make it this year. Mainly because, although there's much to enjoy about High Hopes, it still doesn't feel like a proper album. It feels like a contract-filler, a compilation cobbled together from various sources and with an odd insistence on promoting the work of guest guitarist Tom Morello.The best songs have been heard before, although the versions included here are stronger. American Skin (41 Shots) was originally released on the 2001 Live In New York CD. It's an emotional retelling of the story of Amadou Diallo, shot by the NYPD in 1999... sadly still timely considering recent events in America. There's also a barnstorming rock version of The Ghost of Tom Joad, originally recorded on the 1995 acoustic album Devils & Dust: this one blows the roof off. The album concludes with a hypnotic cover of Suicide's Dream Baby Dream (also previously released). None of the new songs can really match these three. There are rumours of another new album in 2015: let's hope Bruce breaks back into my Top Ten next year.
Eels are another band who usually make it onto my year end list. This year saw another fine album from the man called E, promoting his true identity as never before on The Cautionary Tales of Mark Oliver Everett. Worth buying the deluxe version for an excellent live cover of Fleetwood Mac's Oh Well.
My second favourite album of 2013 was Rewind The Film by the Manic Street Preachers. I generally find I prefer the Manics albums the critics dismiss, so it was unsurprising that this year's critical darling, Futurology, didn't quite do it for me in the same way. A little bit more experimental, a little bit more political, this was best when taking on Facebook and Twitter on The View From Stow Hill and eulogizing Richie Edwards (although the band claimed it wasn't about him at all!) on the opening single...
Most of the music press seem to have plumped for Lost In The Dream by The War On Drugs as one of their top albums this year. I loved Under The Pressure but found the rest of the album a little oblique for my aging tastes. Similarly Sharon Van Etten's critical darling Are We There... I thought Every Time The Sun Comes Up was fantastic. Nothing else came close. Meanwhile, I've not heard enough of Weezer's Everything Will Be Alright In The End to form an opinion yet... but Eulogy For A Rock Band is fantastic.
I just read an article that claims 2014 has been the worst year for album sales and new artist releases in the History of Time. Of course, such articles always pop up around this time of year, but it made me feel a little better about not having as much money to spend on new music as I once did. And generally the music industry works in peaks and troughs, so 2015 could well be a stormer.
One final 2014 album worthy of mention - once again from an old warhorse, but always a safe pair of hands. Tom Petty's Hypnotic Eye remains in my car stereo as we head towards the New Year. Here's my favourite track from that... you could well take it as a metaphor for the music industry this year, though I'm not sure it was meant that way.
And finally, we get to my Number One. After crossing the above albums off your guess list, what's left? Find out in a couple of days...
