Thirty Days of Music, Day Thirteen

Ah excellent! We get to spend even more time outside of the 90s.

Day 13: A song you like from the 70s

2020: “Stuck in the Middle with You”, Stealers Wheel

I know Tarantino took a massive hit to his credibility recently when he went after Paul Dano and seemingly the entire Internet turned round and said ‘The f*ck are you playing at?’. But you can’t fault the man’s taste in music, he knows some good sleeper songs waiting to be unearthed and introduced to the modern man. “Stuck in the Middle With You” was one of the first times he did that and I know some people can’t hear it without getting earache (If you know, you know) but me? I have a jolly old time with it. I may even find myself dancing about like Michael Madsen if the mood takes me. Sucks that we lost him this year.

2025: “Midnight Rendezvous”, Casiopea

The 70s is a melting pot when it comes to legendary songs by legendary artists. ABBA, Bowie, solo Beatles, the Who, Blondie, Supertramp, Pink Floyd, I could go on.

So instead, I want to turn back to my jazz fusion obsession from earlier this year and the band who turned that movement mainstream in the 70s. Casiopea. Their self-titled debut is a lovely little thrill ride, and “Midnight Rendezvous” is almost certainly the highlight of the LP. There’s a reason why they chose racing cars to go on the front cover, this song is great for driving to. Close your eyes and pretend you’re some shady character driving under the bright neon lights of the Tokyo midnight.

Thirty Days of Music, Day Twelve

Well I said I needed to get out of the 90s and wouldn’t you know it, I have to pick a song from my preteen years, aka the 2000s. Let’s add some variety to this shit for a change!

Day 12: A song from your preteen years

2020: “Ruby”, Kaiser Chiefs

I’ll admit this is the first and only song of the Kaiser Chiefs that I’ve heard, at least that I care to remember. But I definitely recall hearing it a lot around 2006/07 so that made it an easy choice for me last time I did the 30 Day Song Challenge.

But now I have to consider what to choose all these years later. My immediate thought is that Peter Kay charity single about Amarillo, mainly because whenever we went on the bus for a school trip, everyone would be singing it the whole way. You think 6-7 is bad? Spare a thought for the poor bastards who had to supervise us for hours on end while ad nauseam we would all sing ‘Tra la la la la la’ (with an ‘England’ on the end during the 2006 World Cup. I drew France that year in the class sweepstake. Bugger.)

Anyway, not going for that one. Here’s another one that just about sneaks into my preteen days.

2025: “I Gotta Feeling”, Black Eyed Peas

So no one really gives a toss about the Black Eyed Peas anymore do they? Am I right in thinking they peaked with this song, hence it still appears once in a blue moon on the radio??

Anyway it set me up for the night-out vibes I would rarely if ever experience as an adult but at least it successfully captured the tone of what it sung about. It’s another one I would regularly hear when I was younger, and I think I’m right in saying it cropped up a lot during school discos and trips. Other than that…I think it’s more of a guilty pleasure for me now. I don’t mind hearing it, but it’s not really something I’d have on repeat. But hey at least it resembles a tune, unlike most of what followed from the BEPs. “Dirty Bit”, anyone?

Thirty Days of Music, Day Eleven

This is a trickier category for me to nail down as I do have a problem with overexposure. Sure, like every person I’ll inevitably come across a tune that’ll be on repeat some nights (Recent examples include “Anything Could Happen” by Rialto, “Rhythm of Yourself” by the Molotovs, and “Up in Suze’s Room” by Paul Weller). However, there will absolutely be a time when I finally break free of the cycle and go out of my way to avoid that song for a while before I start to dislike it and its rent-free presence in my brain.

So what we’re looking for today isn’t just a song. It’s a lightning in the bottle kind of tune. Like I say, tricky.

Day 11: A song you never get tired of

2020: “Blinding Lights”, The Weeknd

A tune not made in the 90s? A tune that was brand new back in 2020?? What was I on???

Well, a good time, that’s what I was on. Ages ago I noted that Benson Boone’s “Beautiful Things” had been a modern day equivalent of Blur’s “Song 2”, being overused and in promotional material here, there and everywhere. The same could be said for “Blinding Lights” at the start of the 2020s, because Christ what wasn’t it used for? Every third advert you’d see on the telly, soundtracks for films and video games, themes for sports events etc. etc.

Being routed in an 80s sound with it’s synths and electropop feel, in a roundabout way this song felt fresh. It was a pop song with its own identity, able to easily stand head and shoulders above the other stuff in the charts at the time. It felt good, nay rewarding, to listen to it over and over again. Everything about it just clicked, and I never once felt like I was hearing it too much. A nod to the past, a look to the future, and granted eternal life as a result. “Blinding Lights” is timeless and I likely will never tire of hearing it.

Eee, God. Now I’ve got to find another song like it. Wish me luck.

*A DAY ON AND OFF OF THOUGHT LATER*

Sod it.

2025: “Beetlebum”, Blur

It’s a cop out, but it’s true.

Haven’t tired of it since the day I was born. 27 years on, still going strong as one of my faves. Once again, extensive thoughts on this song are available at the very beginning of this blog.

I really need to get out of the 90s, this is getting ridiculous.

Thirty Days of Music, Day Ten

Now this might be something we’re more familiar with, season of jolliness be damned.

Day 10: A song that makes you sad

2020: “No Surprises”, Radiohead

I mean, the possibilities are endless when it comes to sad Radiohead songs. You could make a 2 CD compilation album out of them. “No Surprises” is probably the most obvious choice as, when you get older and chewed up by the daily grind, it speaks to you more and more. And again, with the pandemic raging on at the time a lot of us were probably relating quite heavily to the lyric ‘Bruises that won’t heal’. Nowadays a lot of people on both sides of the political spectrum may consider the entire second verse a call to arms: ‘You look so tired, unhappy/Bring down the government/They don’t, they don’t speak for us’. Good job this song sounds as sad as it makes us otherwise it would surely have been poached for a party conference by now.

There we go, there’s the appropriate sadness all nice and laid out for us. And now, more!

2025: “Into My Arms”, Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds

Same year, different side of the world. The Boatman’s Call boasts a myriad of sad songs but it hits you in the gut right out of the gate, doubly so if you’re just coming off listening to one of the album’s predecessors like Murder Ballads and Let Love In. The customary goth rock? Shelved. It’s all pianos and the most heartfelt lyrics ever penned by Nick. Ironically, despite its melancholy it is meant to be a more optimistic song expressing a firm belief in love over interventionist Gods, and letting nature run its course. Yet the performance boiling solely down to the piano and Nick’s beautiful singing…it’s a struggle to stop those waterworks from springing into action.

Right, just a quick heads up – I’m going abroad for a few days with some friends and I’m going to try and schedule the next few installments of Thirty Days of Music. I’ve never tried this at all since I started the blog so if it doesn’t work and there’s no posts between now and next Monday, apologies in advance.

If it does work though, excellent, see you tomorrow!

Thirty Days of Music, Day Nine

And now on A-Side Glance, we’re going to stop and consider an emotion that’s become an increasing rarity as time has gone by, as we’ve gone from literal to virtual caves.

Happiness, as decreed by the 30 Day Song Challenge.

Day 9: A song that makes you happy

2020: “Wild Wood”, Paul Weller

In my rather limited repertoire back in the day, I did consider a few Paul Weller songs to be ones that made me happy – “Sunflower” and “The Changingman” to name a couple. But “Wild Wood” struck a chord with me due to how gentle it was, the laid-back folky vibes ideal for the springtime, and the lyrics struck a chord too. Again, peak pandemic time, we were all stuck in the wild, wild wood and we were all waiting on a way out, waiting for that golden rain.

*(most of) Us when the vaccines finally rolled out*:

Incidentally, while it’s on my mind, I did Spotify Wrapped a few days ago. Paul Weller was one of my most listened-to artists for the second year running. So much for the variety I’ve been trying to tout on this blog for most of the year. Most listened to song was “He’s the Keeper”, another Weller song and one that was from an album that I think is my least favourite of his…? Make it make sense, music Gods!

Ok, another song that makes me happy.

2025: “Rayners Lane”, The Real People

Excellent, I finally get to stop and talk about the Realies! If my memory serves me correctly, I first checked these guys out via Britpop Memories on Twitter – They normally have anniversaries primed and ready and one was for the cult Britpop favourite What’s On The Outside. I checked it out and yeah, quality album. If you like Oasis’ early style of sound you’ll like the Realies, mainly because they did actually take the Gallaghers and co. under their wings for a few years. There’s a bit of history between the bands which I won’t bore you too much with, save for the fact that I still will not play “Don’t Go Away” on the radio given that Noel took advantage of Marshmellow Lane being trapped in limbo and stole the chorus from “Feel the Pain” to make it.

Anyway, I digress.

“Rayners Lane” definitely makes me happy whenever I hear it, it’s a grand old knees up of a tune, nice and simple to the point where I’ll be teaching it to the kids when or if they arrive. Very British, very poppy, perfect for the time it was made. Could’ve and should’ve made more of an impact.

I wish I was musically talented as for yonks I’ve wanted to have a cover made of this but instead of using the London Underground, it would be for the Tyne & Wear Metro:

It’d probably go something along the lines of this:

‘I caught the train

To Percy Main

I bought a ticket from Wallsend

Got shanked along the way’