last night a CD saved my life...


Well, after a while, SwissToni’s Shuffleathon CD Extravaganza makes it’s way to me…

Hello Leah Wagner! Since there are no identifying marks as to which exact blog you come from, sorry for not popping in and looking. I was trying to do so so I oculd better understand the context of the songs that arrived. Nonetheless, here we are, and a delicate handcrafted CD now lives in my collection.

So whilst I slaved to get my selection down to twelve, Leah spoilt me with 17 songs… and here they are, presented in the order they are on the CD : alphabetically. It’s not exactly an odd compilation, though large parts of it are unfamiliar to me : I always thought my tastes were quite populist, but realistically, as I don’t own a single album by Madonna or in fact a single song by The Beatles, I suspect I’m not quite as obvious as I thought I was. It’s an interesting cultural experience, the Shuffleathon CD, because I get to see a culture where things are very different, and yet very similar. People who are quite popular in America aren’t so in Britain – and vice versa.

So what do we get?

Another Wish Dash, Butterfly Boucher – I have no idea who this band, or solo artist, at first thought I suspected they were something vaguely emo, but no. I like the opening rhythms, with the ascending chord patterns, but to me, probably the most distinctive part of any song is the vocalist, and as soon as she opened her mouth and started singing I thought that this was an ideal candidate for appearing on a Joss Wheedon approved “Buffy” soundtrack album. Joss is such a geek apparently.

As Time Goes By, Frank Sinatra – you all know this, “You Must Remember this, a kiss is still a kiss”, Frank admonishes as in the background, a gang of Yes-Men break arms and he swigs champagne. My ex’s mum used to listen to Frank all the time. Which meant I listened to him all the time. I know this song inside out. It’s not bad, and this will annoy Ol’ Blue Eyes, but Elvis is, and always will be, the undisputed king of rock n roll.

Beautiful Disaster, Kelly Clarkson – apparently Kelly Clarkson is some big deal or something in the States. As far as I can work out, she was on a “pop idol” type of show, and now she’s a pop idol? I would never normally listen to this stuff, which makes quite a nice change, as I tend to live in a vaccum where the only stuff I hear or watch is stuff I think it likely I’m going to like in the first place.There is also a second Kelly Clarkson song called “Since U Been Gone”, but it isn’t the Whitesnake one.

Buleria, David Bisbal – I’ve heard this somewhere, and not coming out of cars on holiday. It doesn’t do much for me, I’m afraid : I have great difficulty interacting with songs without English words

Can’tcha Say, Boston – for some bizarre reason, I imagine this will go into a just-been-dumped sequence for some nonexistent Waynes World or Bill & Ted movie. Gasp as Mike Myers topples his nemesis (a tricky guitar solo!) in a montage, and high fives Garth. Or is that Bill showing Ted how to play the opening lick to “God Gave Rock N Roll 2 U”? This is movie music.

Can’t Stop Loving You, Phil Collins – sorry I can’t stand Phil. Maybe it’s because he dumped his wife by fax. That said, I do like the drumming a lot. It may seem I am being negative, but I am trying REALLY hard to see the good in some of this stuff.

Friends, John Montgomery – Never heard of this chap either. Maybe it’s an American thing. (Hey, that’s OK, Robbie Williams is practically anonymous there, so it could be a fair trade off). It’s very sincere this song : it started off like a kind of mid-western Elton John. And it sounds like this guy really wears a hat when he sings. (I checked by the way, he doesn't).


(dudes, you will never be as good as Iron Maiden, so give up now)

Holiday, Green Day – ah! Something shouty. I’ve seen Green Day a lot, though never actually by design. Sadly, I think Green Day are rubbish. Well, Sad for me, anyway. They’re everywhere. I remember The Sex Pistols, so a band that sounds the same, but less seems a little wimpy to me. I know, I’m rather ungrateful really.

Holiday In Spain – Counting Crows. Again, another band that hasn’t really translated that well to the UK. My friend used to live with an American Girl who loved this band, she had everything by them. I don’t really know if it does anything for me though.

I Won’t Back Down, Tom Petty – as covered by Johnny Cash on “American III”. I seem to remember there’s a video for this with rabbits. Or am I wrong? It’s a damn good song.

Romeo And Juliet, Henry Mancini. Actually this is fantastic. An absolute classic of soundtrack work. It makes me sad these days that the art of soundtrack music has been marginalised to provide marketing opportunities for pop groups. Film soundtracks are the modern classical genre.

The next two are songs that, even if you don’t know them, you know them., You’ve heard them. Maybe you can’t remember them, or what they’re called but when you hear them, you know them. Or of them. And the next two are Summer Of 69, Bryan Adams and Whenever, Wherever, Shakira – oh this, I know this one. I think.

Overall, an interesting experience, an insight into a world of cultural references that has been previously absent from my vision. Shuffleathon! Opening your eyes and your ears!
- posted by Mark @ 2:41 pm