May Muzak

Big upgrades to my behind-the-scenes process for keeping track of what I’ve been enjoying listening to this month (it’s a spreadsheet - it’s always a spreadsheet!). None of which will impact the awesome tunes but at least will help me with the formatting.

• Sail (Awolnation Rework) - MEUTE

  A long-time favourite song getting a rework by a not so long-time favourite brass band? Yes please!

• Monkey Wrench - Foo Fighters

  The music world had it’s eyes on the Foos to see what direction they take after the passing of Taylor… and it seems from their livestream that Josh is going to be a very punky and very perfect fit for their next era. (And Violet’s vocals in Show Me How are setting the band up for the next era after that!)

• Secret - Fred Again… & Brian Eno

  Brian Eno just keeps popping up and keeps on doing great stuff.

• Silk Chiffon - MUNA ft. boygenius

  I guess it’s inevitable that I watch a bunch of live performances from Coachella and I listened to a bunch of boygenius so MUNA would appear in the algorythmic mix somewhere. The crowd were absolutely in love with this performance. Great track.

• Easy On Your Own? - Alvvays

  One recommended by this month’s The Skinny (a magazine founded in my old student flat, don’t you know).

• You And Everybody That You Love Will One Day Die - Slime City

  (Also from The Skinny). Also Dial-Up Internet Is The Purest Internet.

• Main Attraction - Jeremy Renner

  There’s a special place in my heart for actors and actresses who can sing and Jeremy definitely has it.

• The Alcott (feat. Taylor Swift) - The National

  Not as great an album but still a good album and a few really nice sounding tracks.

• Whole Again (Atomic Kitten cover) - Daði Freyr

  Eurovision: Honestly, this was the best track of the night by far. Pity it wasn’t an entry!

• Carpe Diem - Joker Out

  Eurovision: Initially I thought this could have won but it wasn’t Europop enough.

• Évidemment - La Zarra

  Eurovision: One of my favourite entries of the night - I think this had enough of a Europop vibe to have been a winner.

• Blood & Glitter - Lord of the Lost

  Eurovision: A nice balance to the pop stuff… although arguably their cover of Cha Cha Cha is better than either the original or Blood & Glitter!

• I Wrote A Song - Mae Muller

  Eurovision: I loved the singing inside her own head visuals. And the beat.

• My Sister’s Crown - Vesna

  Eurovision: Very Eurovision.

• Promise - Voyager

  Eurovision: Sounds pretty anthemic.

• Queen of the Kings - Alessandra

  Eurovision: Has a very Ancient Forest Of Elves vibe that I was loving!

• Mama ŠČ! - Let 3

  Eurovision: The production on this track is nuts - the overlapping choir, lead vocals, synth, drums, opera, whatever near the end sounds amazing.

• Big Rig - Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs

  Aural assault. In a good way.

• Tiny Desk Concert - Lewis Capaldi

  I don’t get to anywhere near as many gigs as I’d like these days - life’s busy. I’m not sure I’m a Lewis Capaldi gig person which makes the Tiny Desk concert all the more special - it’s rich, heartfelt, honest… and witty.

• Dignity (Deacon Blue Cover) - Swim School

  Edinburgh’s Swim School being true and faithful to the original.

• Cory Doctorow & Rebecca Giblin - Page One Podcast

  Talking about the writing process of Chokepoint Capitalism.

• The Fifth Elephant - The Compleat Discography Podcast

  One of my favourite ever books getting the review treatment. Nice to hear some ideas being picked apart that I hadn’t spotted and adding extra depth to the story.

• Pulp’s Common People - 60 Songs That Explain The 90s

  “He looks like the man who, right there in the 90s, invented the private browsing tab.” Rob Harvilla on Jarvis Cocker. That’s why I’ll listen to every podcast he makes - pure gold.

• Tunes From The Planet Jono - [Y2K]

  Craig found an old mixtape that we made (or maybe he made from my music). Is it sad that my musical tastes have hardly changed? Possibly. But there are some gems on here. A few songs and bands that still rank as favourites. The mix between tracks is pretty poor, some randoms in there, and sadly a couple of tracks are missing - Veer’s Stingy Pup (which is on Spotify) and Bobland’s Excuse Me (which I can’t find online at all. I think they were a band that played at Hawick Jazz and Blues Festival in 1998! I don’t even remember the song but I suspect there’s a rocking guitar solo in there somewhere.)