Neverending Top Ten #7.5: Eurovision

Sam and I visited The National Media Museum (or whatever they're calling it these days) in Bradford this week. Among the attractions was an exhibition about the Eurovision song contest. It was pretty fascinating, even for someone who lost interest in Eurovision post-Bucks Fizz. I even got to perform myself.

Here are a few appropriate tunes, only one of them a Eurovision contender...

Roxy Music - A Song For Europe

Suede - Dancing With The Europeans

The Blades - The Last Man In Europe

Magnetic Fields - Eurodisco Trio

Ed Kuepper - Also Sprach The King Of Euro Disco

John Foxx - Europe After The Rain

Lydia Loveless - European

Pavement - Sensitive Euro Man

Manic Street Preachers - Miss Europa Disco Dancer

Bis - Eurodisco

The Necessaries - Europe

T Bone Burnett - Euromad 

LIFE - Euromillions

Cleaners From Venus - European War

The Divine Comedy - Europop

Landscape - European Man

I know you won't have time to listen to all those, but there's some cracking tunes in there. More reasons to go back into Europe!

The List #5: Fake Tans & Styrofoam

More random stuff that I've been listening to and feel I ought to write about...

Bilk are from Chelmsford. The lead singer's nasal Essex accent remind me of Jonny Itch from The King Blues, if you remember them. They have a similarly in-your-face 21st century punk style, but they're not as political. They mostly just sing about girls, having fights, and taking the wrong drugs. Oh, and a little bit of social commentary...

I spend too much time, getting too deep
I'm laying in this single bed, but I can't sleep
There must be more to life than tinder swipes
And posting shit on Instagram for meaningless likes
Where I'm from there's teen mum's sipping booze
Whilst the babies takes twos from her B&H Blues
The boys are in gangs
The girls push prams
To spend all their money on some shitty fake tans

Since he produced the soundtrack to O Brother, Where Art Thou? in the year 2000, T-Bone Burnett has become a legend of the Americana scene. He also put Robert Plant together with Alyson Krauss, and going further back in time was a huge factor in the success of Counting Crows, Los Lobos and Gillian Welch. 

Before all that though, he played played drums on this...

The Legendary Stardust Cowboy - Paralysed

...don't ask...

...and he played guitar on Bob Dylan's Rolling Thunder Revue. After that, in 1976, he joined with two other stragglers from that tour to form The Alpha Band. They released three albums which iffypedia tells me were "particularly notable for their intelligent cultural critique". Which might be why I've getting into their songs, although I've no idea what this one is about...

I'm not sure whether they still publish the Encyclopaedia Britannica, or whether it's just been replaced by the aforementioned iffy website, but if they do, and you manage to snag yourself a copy, I imagine you'll find a picture of New Yorker Joanna Sternberg under the entry for either "lo-fi" or "bedroom recording studio"... 

The Tyla Gang were on Stiff Records in the 1970s, which is how I came across them on a Stiff compilation I've been working my way through. Lead singer & songwriter Sean Tyla was also the driving force behind Ducks Deluxe. Here's their song about Styrofoam, which I wasn't surprised to discover was the only song about Styrofoam in my collection, although I do have an album by these guys...

The Styrofoam Winos - Stuck In A Museum

I don't know why, but I was compelled to investigate if anybody else had ever written a song about this particular brand of closed-cell extruded polystyrene foam, and I was rather horrified to discover this...

Daniel Powter - Styrofoam

...at which point I went back to the Tyla Gang for succour.

Finally for today, Richard Hawley has a new record out. He's one of those artists whose work I'll buy without having to listen to it first, because he's never let me down. Nothing's changed there...

Snapshots #309 - A Top Ten OH NO! Songs

Oh no! I tried to find a picture of Bill Maynard holding a camera, to remind you all of the TV show Oh No, It's Selwyn Froggitt... but sadly, I failed. So here's Chris Hemsworth instead. Same difference?

Ten songs that will make go cry Oh No! 

10. Duke is still waiting for his test results.

Can someone please mark Ellington's test?

Marc Ellington - Oh No, It Can't Be So

9. Found in undeveloped countries and over the top melodramas.

UndevELOped countries and over the top mELOdramas.

ELO - Oh No, Not Susan!

8. Friends with Troy Tempest, and a girl's best friend.

Troy Tempest was the captain of Stingray. Marina was on his crew.

Diamonds are a girl's best friend.

Marina & The Diamonds - Oh No! (I Feel Like I'm The Worst So I Always Act like I'm The Best)

7. Presidents of the Yacht Club.

The president of a yacht club is called a commodore.

The Commodores - Oh No

6. Garfield meets Charlie Parker.

Andrew Garfield + Bird...

Andrew Bird - Oh No

5. Astonishing barks.

Bow Wow Wow - Baby, Oh No

4. Ludwig's holiday retreat.

Beethoven liked to get away in his camper van.

Camper Van Beethoven - Oh No!

3. Towel, please!

To dry that appendage...

Wet Leg - Oh No

2. Fancy a steak, now you're 16?

Johnny Burnette sang You're 16. He was partial to a nice T-bone.

T Bone Burnett - Oh No, Darling

1. Sounds like a healthier Nightingale.

Maxine Nightingale would be healthier if she ate brown bread...

1. Maxine Brown - Oh No, Not My Baby

Yes, I know Rod did that too... but honestly, which is the better version?

Snapshots will be back next Saturday... Oh yes!