As its Friday I have taken the liberty of copying and pasting The Farraginous Blog which is put together by one of the LMM gang…..enjoy!
Farraginous Friday #08 – A river runs through it
26 02 2010
Hello my farraginous friends and welcome to the 8th edition of Farraginous Fridays!
This week our songs have a river theme flowing through them. So expect a more soothing and relaxed selection than that of the rigid numbers theme of last week.
Farraginous Friday #08 – A river runs through it (SPOTIFY)
Farraginous Friday #08 – A river runs through it (YOUTUBE)
Pushing us away from the bank this week is The Byrds and their Ballad of Easy Rider, which was written for the 1969 Dennis Hopper road movie, Easy Rider. Let the adventure begin…
The folk-infused experimentalists Akron/Family are next, with their Vampire Weekend-cum-They Might Be Giants track, River. This comes from their 5th studio album Set ‘Em Wild, Set ‘Em Free. The lazy bass line of the verse moves to military stomp to a delicious poppy bounce in the chorus. This is probably the most genre-crossing song on this week’s list.
Bruce Springsteen There isn’t a great deal that needs saying about “The Boss”, Bruce Springsteen. With so many songs that are still so popular and significant today, this man is a true music legend. The song tells the tale of a man who has to deal with life as it really is and to re-adjust the dreams he’d originally set out for himself. “For my nineteenth birthday I got a union card and a wedding comb” is just a sign things to come as the country slips deeper into economic decline. The River was taken from the 1980 album of the same name.
The endlessly creative and experimental Sparks are at the next stop. Seemingly about capitalism, the narrator humorously talks of taking the river on his travels or perhaps buying another one to keep his present river company. With no less than 22 studio albums to their name, there’s no doubting the tireless work ethic of LA’s most inventive export. I Bought The Mississippi River is from their 1976 album Big Beat.
Stadium rockers Styx greet us next with Boat On The River; a haunting little shanty from their 1980 album Cornerstone.
Strawberry Switchblade were a pop punk rock duo from Glasgow. Their eponymous album (also their only album) from 1985 was, rather interestingly, produced by Queen’s John Deacon.
The wonderous Wilmslow’s Doves deliver us the closing track from their 2002 The Last Broadcast. A popular single, this track has featured on many a TV series soundtrack.
David Byrne is next. One of the most acclaimed and diverse bands of the 80s, Talking Heads here perform an interesting cover of the Al Green song Take Me To The River. Although Psycho Killer was a minor hit at the time, it was this track that really made them a household name.
These days the name Albert Hammond will be more associated with The Strokes yet it’s the indie kid’s father, Hammond Snr, who delivers us this insanely upbeat track about pollution. Down By The River’s insatiable bass line and repetitive lyrics make this catchy track a perfect choice for the Farraginous Friday mix!
R.E.M. Our boat completes it’s journey this week with a song that is of huge importance to me. R.E.M.’s massive album of 1992, Automatic For The People, was the album that actually got me in to music. After the big success of 1991’s Out Of Time, it was wondered how the pop rockers would be able to top it. This album is one of the biggest selling in history and is a must-have album for any pop rock fan. Find The River is the beautiful closing track on the album and possibly my favourite song by the Athens band. A sombre, reflective track, it still delivers a ray of hope (“All of this is coming your way“) and seems the perfect way to close this week’s Farraginous Friday.
Thank you for listening and I hope you’ve enjoyed this week’s mix. Do leave comments below if you have ANYTHING to say about the selection or perhaps how individual tracks have affected you.
Please do continue to tell your friend’s about Farraginous Fridays. Send them along to the Facebook group here – http://groups.to/farraginousfridays or just invite them straight to the blog at http://farraginousfridays.com.
You can find the playlists above on both Spotify and Youtube by following the links.
Until next time…
Love
Farraginous Francis x
