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Been a while since I've contributed.
Many Splendoured Thing - Papa M. A wonderful little love song / lullaby that, strangely enough, reminds me of Ananda Is The Ocean (pimped a few pages back). There's a guitar, there's Dave Pajo's voice telling us that, yep, love's pretty okay, there's Will Oldham lending some backing harmony to the track. And that's it. Despite the lack of instrumentation, the song still sounds... full, complete. The repeated melody tilts and swoons and you can't help but go along with it.
Also by Pajo under the Papa M name is Northwest Passage. A different take on Arundel (from Live From A Shark Cage), but whereas that was a sad, mournful tune played on acoustic guitar, here it becomes a huge, happy ending, credit-rolling, THE END of a track. Listening to it, you can see the sun setting on the lovers as they walk into the distance, their fight won, the baddies vanquished for good.
Both tracks from last year's Whatever, Mortal (which I urge everyone to hear ASAP).
Hey! Mona Lisa - The Mighty Wah!. An absolutely sodding enormous, joyous, heartbreaking anthem of a song, a huge "fuck you" to cynicism and misery. I don't normally do this sort of thing (as anyone who knows me will attest), but there's an enthusiam behind the entire album that this is taken from, 2000's Songs Of Strength & Heartbreak, that's totally infectious and impossible to resist. This track, jeez, it makes me want to yell the lyrics out as loud as I possibly fucking can, it gives me that stupid schoolkid grin that normally only comes from the very best stuff in life, I've got it on my stereo now, half-midnight, and I want to whack it up full volume.
There's so much good stuff on that record that I've had no end of trouble picking one out. And I know it's cheating, and I know Flux is going to kick off with me for not following the rules of the thread, but fuck it. There's precious little uplifting, screamingly catchy stadium poprock out there. So, while you're doing your Audiogalaxy thing, line up Never Loved As A Child, Sing All The Saddest Songs, I Still Love You and Heart As Big As Liverpool, all from the same album. You stick any of those on (esp Sing All The Saddest Songs, thinking about it) and any and all worries, problems, shitty little niggles you've got pestering you are gone for four minutes. Guaranteed.
Be warned: it's overtly cheesy, orchestra & choir backed, freakishly catchy rock 'n' roll 'optimisery' through and through. I have no doubt that at least 66% of the board will hate it with a vengeance. |
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