05/03/2018: The music of my week

In this week’s music post, I’ve put together some very different tracks. We’ve got some indie hits, dream collaborations and as always, general feel good. Enjoy! 🙂

“Pumped Up Kicks” by Foster The People

In 2011, “Pumped Up Kicks” became the group’s breakthrough hit. The song is not only catchy and musically playful, but also acts as an observation on the troubled youth of today and on gun violence.

“The Second Summer of Love” by Danny Wilson

Best known for “Mary’s Prayer”, Danny Wilson’s music is upbeat and blissful. When it was first recorded, the song was only a minute long. After objections by Virgin Records, the band recorded a long harmonica solo just to increase the run time. This song may look like a normal love song, but it was originally written as a joke about the rise of acid house and its impact in cultural and media. The title of the song is what they called the period of the acid house and MDMA-fuelled rave craze, spanning from 1988 to ’89. Check out the video if you want to see life going backwards and the band awkwardly sitting amidst the chaos in suits and sunglasses clapping on rewind.

“Speechless” by Lady Gaga

To be honest, “Speechless” is not the kind of song I’d usually expect from Lady Gaga. It is very reminiscent of rock power ballads from the 1970’s, making a number of people think of Queen’s approach to rock. “The Fame Monster” is the album that fights against a monster or fear of some sort. The emotional “Speechless” was written to convince Lady Gaga’s father to have open-heart surgery.

“Charlemagne” by Blossoms

Originally called “Made of Lead”, a historical conversation between Tom Ogden and his brother made the band’s frontman name the song after the great Charlemagne, a famous Frankish king from the medieval period. The song is very catchy, electric and fitting to its present name. “Charlemagne” also has a sound which reminds me of Suede!

“Handle with Care” by Travelling Wilburys

However, I have left the best one for last. Ever heard of Travelling Wilburys? Probably not, but you will most likely know of the members of this super-group. This British-American collaboration consisted of Jeff Lynne, George Harrison, Tom Petty, Bob Dylan and Roy Orbison. And no, I have not just dreamt all of this up. From 1988-91, they all teamed up and recorded two albums. There is some great music here, and “Handle with Care” is a really sweet song. Another great fact about this dream-come-true project? They all loved Monty Python and often bonded over it. Roy Orbison was especially renowned in this respect for his ability to impersonate the Monty Python troupe and recite various sketches. Who would have guessed? Enjoy “Handle with Care” below.