Something random and off-topic to take us through the weekend - we did this a couple of years ago and it was quite fun. Boot up your iTunes, Windows Media Player or whatever, and tell us about a dozen of the artists and/or songs you find there. They can be well-known or obscure; local, national or international; opera, rock, country and western or 14th-century monks chanting. Links go to appropriate Youtube content.
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Cat With 2 Heads! - The Aquabats
Ska-punk isn't a genre I generally listen to, but The Aquabats enliven it with so much goofy, tongue-in-cheek humor that it's impossible to resist. Their live shows are particularly fun, combining superheroics, monsters and wrestling. Their old drummer is now part of Blink-182. -
Def Con One - Pop Will Eat Itself
Clint Mansell is now a soundtrack composer [he does most of Darren Aronofosky's films, and Lux Aeterna is one of those songs you know without knowing, since it turns up all over the place in trailers and commercials], but before that he was the lead singer of grunge-industrial-pop band PWEI. -
Don't You Forget About Me - Simple Minds
Scotland does not have a great rock heritage [Bay City Rollers? Big Country? The Proclaimers?] but Simple Minds can stand against any of them. For a while, they were probably bigger than U2 in Britain, but vanished up their own self-importance in the late 1980's. This is likely their best known song. -
Music of the Night - Michael Crawford
I am, occasionally, a sucker for a musical, but only the really good ones - few genres are worse when done badly. I really liked the Phantom of the Opera movie; while impressed that Gerard Butler did all his own songs [before heading off to kill Persians], he isn't a patch on the original. -
We're All Going to Hell - The Bastard Fairies
To be honest, the rest of their songs largely suck, but this is one of those horribly infectious tunes that gets stuck in your head. You will likely find yourself, like us, going "Hell, hell, hell, it's a wonderful place, it's a place of fire and brimstone," at the most inappropriate moments. -
Joku Raja - PMMP
A chunk of my songs are in foreign languages: this is Finnish [found on Limewire while seeking something entirely different. Somewhat Abba-esque - two female singers; one blonde, the other brunette; palindromic name. This sounds like a Bond theme, but is actually about an abusive marriage. -
You Make Me Crazy - The Strand
Eight years ago this Thanksgiving, I moved to AZ. Our first night, we went to see VNV Nation; opening were a local band, who smashed the inviolate law that support bands are awful. They play tonight at Chasers' [with Hardwire and American Gods]; if we didn't have a comedy show, we'd so be there. -
King of the Mountain - Kate Bush
I have to admit, in my teen years, I had an absolute crush on Ms. Bush, ever since seeing her, aged 19, sing Wuthering Heights on Top of the Pops. Back before I met Mrs. SnakePit, obviously. ;-) 25 years and more later, she still has a voice that could melt butter.
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Scandinavian Hardcore Fusion - DJ Bluecore vs DJ Samination
Ah, yes, there's nothing like Swedish techno: many are the reports of game victories written this season, while bobbing my head enthusiastically [it's obviously less appropriate after defeats...] The audio equivalent to 44 oz of a highly-caffeinated beverage. -
Cloverfield Overture (ROAR!) - Michael Giacchino
This was the first time we ever stayed through all the end credits of a film because we liked the music so much. It's a great take on the soundtracks from Japanese monster movies, especially those by Akira Ifukube. I now have this urge to find a model city somewhere, and trample it. -
Sympathy for the Devil - Laibach
No-one does covers quite like these guys, a Slovenian martial-rock band who can take any song and subvert it entirely [you should also hear their version of Life is Life]. They did the Beatles' Let It Be album in its entirety, and another release contains seven different version of Sympathy. -
Rompe - Daddy Yankee
Yes, there is one Yankee I like. :-) Maybe I can blame Chris's Latin influence on my fondness for reggaeton - there certainly can't be many Scots in that group! Once again, I don't understand a word of it, but the sheer ass-kickery of the rhythms transcend any language.