Day 30 - Your favourite song at this time last year

This is the last day!  I had been following the month's dates in order but got a little behind over the weekend, hence the rush today.

A bit before last year I had (rather late) been introduced by the great Mark Lamarr to the great Tom Waits, about the time the live album Glitter and Doom was released.  This was the track which got played on Mark's radio show a few times, and although I now love all the Tom Waits stuff I've heard, this one was the one that really grabbed me:

Lurching, menacing, swaggering and awesome.

Day 29 - A song from your childhood

Depending on how you define childhood (actual childhood or teenager?), I was listening to one of two things:  music my parents were listening to, or music my parents wouldn't listen to.

In the former category, one song I do remember absolutely loving was Queen's 'Radio Gaga':

Both my Mum and Dad were fans and the Greatest Hits albums in particular were never far from our stereo in the 80s, and apparently this one was my favourite.  I do like a bit of Queen these days although 'Seven Seas of Rhye' and 'Stone Cold Crazy' would probably be more up my street now.

In the latter category, there are loads of bands, but after a bit of reminiscing with an old friend recently I remembered how much I loved the first Amen album.  It might just be your generic shouty angsty metal to some but there was something about that record which marked it out as a bit special:

Oh, and as an afterthought, do you know what the first ever record I owned was?  It was this:

On 7" vinyl, bitches.  I still have it.

Day 28 - A song that makes you feel guilty

What does this mean other than the obvious 'guilty pleasure' angle, which is covered in another entry anyway?  Well, here's my interpretation:

I've been a lifelong Metallica fan.  The black album was one of the first three records I bought myself (along with Green Day's Dookie and Faith No More's King For A Day ... Fool For A Lifetime), and I absolutely worshipped it.  By the time Load came out, I'd got all the Metallica back catalogue and a fair amount of the rare stuff too.  I even liked Load, and I liked Reload even more.  Metallica at Birmingham in '96 was my second gig (the first having been Michael Jackson at Roundhay Park in '92 or '93!), and I saw them again headlining the Big Day Out at Milton Keynes Bowl in '99 - basically, for me in my adolescent years Metallica could do no wrong.

I've never been into downloading music so I didn't care about the whole Napster thing.

I didn't shed too many tears when Jason left, either.

But St Anger, dear god.

St Anger was unforgivable.

I probably don't need to expand on this statement too much since if you didn't close the window on first seeing the word 'Metallica', you already know that it's their career nadir:  a dreadfully misguided attempt at making themselves more relevant by downtuning all their guitars à la nu-metal and replacing their drumkit with dustbin lids.  It sounds atrocious, and the songs are appalling - unmemorable, weak, clumsily lyric-ed and far, far too long.  Much as I generally regard Pitchfork with suspicion, their review will probably tell you as much as you may further need to know.

St Anger came out in 2003 when I was halfway through uni, and although I was massively disappointed I didn't care quite as much about Metallica as I had done six or seven years earlier.  I was well into punk and hardcore by that stage, so it wasn't too painful an experience.  So naturally I wrote off my childhood favourite band, assuming they would never come to any good ever again.

I was wrong, and that's why Metallica make me feel guilty.

Regular readers of my occasional blogging will be aware that last year I wrote a still-not-quite-finished Top 50 Albums Of The Decade piece, which included Metallica's most recent album Death Magnetic.  [Sidenote:  this piece will eventually be finished, as this meme has got me interested in writing about music again.  Honest.]

I'm just going to paste my little outline of it here ...

Death Magnetic is the best Metallica record since ...And Justice For All. There, I said it. If there were an award each year for Album Most Expected To Be Uneventful And Boring But Actually Turns Out To Be Surprisingly Brilliant, this would surely have taken 2008’s title. Who would have thought that a bunch of rich middle-aged men could make a record which basically takes the best bits of all their previous records and smashes them all together? Well, I suspect that that’s exactly what happened: they’ll have taken on board the fact that St Anger was a big bag of bollocks, and they’ll have paid a bunch of lawyers or estate agents other such hell-bound scumbags a fuckload of money to tell them what to do and what not to do on the next record. “Hey guys ... lose that shitty drum sound. Put solos back in. Lots of them. If you’re going to do a ballad, you might as well link it to a respected song you already have (‘The Unforgiven III’). Let’s have some intricate Justice-esque riff-melody (the brilliant post-solo segue in ‘Cyanide’, and all of the excellent ‘Suicide & Redemption’). Stick in a heavy anthem (‘Broken, Beat & Scarred’). Take some of the underrated bluesy bits from Load / Reload and whack them into a metal track (‘The End Of The Line’). Have a media-friendly single which starts as a deceptive ballad and morphs into a five-minute riff-fest (‘The Day That Never Comes’).” Fanks, here’s a million dollars. But I don’t care how inorganic the birthing process for Death Magnetic was: from the heartbeat opening through to the frenetic finale, Metallica have not sounded this exciting in 20 years, and that is genuinely astonishing.

They were also exceptional at Reading in 2008, their set including 'Cyanide' and 'The Day That Never Comes' which at the time were new to the UK.

Does all this mean a newer, leaner, sharper, more relevant Metallica is here to stay?  No, probably not.  They're still not high on my list of favourite bands, not any more; whatever follows Death Magnetic may well be pretty poor in comparison.  And they are now so, so mainstream that I feel guilty for that reason as well.  To acknowledge that, the clip I'm choosing for this post is their performance of 'Cyanide' on that most middle class of music programmes, Jools Holland:

The little section at 5:10 makes the hairs on the back of my head stand up.  Guiltily.

Day 27 - A song you wish you could play

Following on from the previous post, one thing I do slightly regret is not keeping up an instrument, which is partly because the instruments I played when I was younger (violin and then flute) were not really top of my wish-list.  From what I can recall my primary school offered different instruments to different age groups, and violin and viola were the ones available at the youngest age.  Then I took up flute at secondary school because it was the most interesting to me of those in the orchestra.  I was relatively good at both, but once I got started on A-levels I didn't really have the time, and I haven't played either since.

Instruments I would definitely be interested in learning obviously include the guitar, which I have dabbled with on occasion but never actually made a proper effort with, and the piano, which I think really requires owning one to become anywhere near good.

When I was in Singapore last year I went to see the Singapore Chinese Orchestra in concert, which was a really fantastic experience as it included lots of traditional instruments I'd never even heard of before, let alone seen.  One which I had heard of but wasn't that familiar with is the yangqin, which we know as the hammered dulcimer, and I found it especially captivating (not least due to the boyish enthusiasm of the happy fat man playing it).  I can't find any performances specifically by that orchestra online, but there are loads on Youtube under two broad categories:

- the westernised hammered dulcimer clips, which are often very fast and technically proficient:

- the oriental yangqin clips, which are more traditional and poised:

I suspect this is an instrument that takes a lifetime of learning so I will probably never get the chance.  I also did a little research into their prices and they're not cheap ...

Day 26 - A song that you can play on an instrument

Another tricky one, this, as I don't actually play any instruments.  I played violin and flute years ago when I was at school, but I probably couldn't get anything meaningful out of them these days.  It might take me about half an hour to learn the chords on a guitar required to play improve Oasis songs, but still.

If I were to learn an instrument now I would teach myself by picking songs that are fairly easy, or at least which I perceive as 'easy'.  Someone will probably tell me that these aren't easy to play at all, but I regard them as pleasantly simple, because they have uncomplicated riffs or rhythms:

So they're either songs which are easy to play or songs which I would choose to play as soon as possible, I guess.

Stupid category.

Day 25 - A song that makes you laugh

Some of these categories only make me think of one song immediately, but this is one where there are loads.  Not novelty songs, which are largely Not Actually Funny, or certainly not for repeated listening, but songs with amusing lyrics or clever wordplay are often ones I enjoy.

I'm a big fan of Reverend Horton Heat, who play amazing psychobilly rock'n'roll songs about women and drinking.  Most of their stuff is very funny.  Here's a little ditty about getting rich after finding a load of crack in Texas:

It's sunny and I'm in a good mood, so you can have some more.  A heartbreaking song about a woman who leaves a man with nothing, not even the means to clean his teeth:

And of course, a song about being drunk:

How can you not smile at a song which contains the lyric, "I'll explain in the morning 'cause the kitchen bright's too light"?

Happy weekend, everyone!

Day 24 - A song that you want to play at your funeral

My funeral will be forward-looking and positive, without being cloying and sentimental.  I hope.

Soundtracked by the best pop song ever written.  Its lyrics are wondrous:

<3

Day 23 - A song that you want to play at your wedding

I'd like to hope that if/when I get married, my other half will know that the key to any good diet relationship is riffage:

Also works well as a divorce song.

Day 22 - A song that you listen to when you're sad

As I posited yesterday (well, the day before, as I was busy last night so this is a day late), when I'm happy and when I'm sad I probably listen to the same sort of stuff.  Either maintaining the good mood or trying to get back to it.

Most of the things I get sad about are fairly #middleclassproblems.  My well-paid job is not 100% exciting.  The bus back home to my nice house is full.  I've run out of wheat beer.  That sort of thing.  This is a song which does a great job of cheerily reminding you that your lot is much better than many people's, without being patronising.  I can think of quite a few people who probably need to read the lyrics once in a while ...

It's also a belter of a tune.  'Generator', by The Holloways:

And all the better that I'm posting this on an absolutely glorious day in Oxford, where the weather is perfect, the birds are singing and I've just had an ice-cream.  Sad?  Nah.

Day 21 - A song that you listen to when you're happy

Tomorrow's category is "...when you're sad", and it occurred to me that for both moods I would listen to similar stuff, actually:  if I'm feeling down, there's a particular track which always cheers me up (more on that tomorrow), whereas if I'm feeling up, I'm not going to ruin that mood by sticking on something that makes me want to cry at the state of the world.

There is one particular track which I adore listening to and singing along to when I'm in a particularly good mood, and it often makes its way on to mixtapes.  And you know what?  It's pretty obscure, especially compared to everything else I've included in this meme so far.  So obscure that it's not even on Youtube.  It's called 'Summer', and it's by the High Back Chairs.

It's basically 80s pop, but without the cheese - beautiful soaring melodies with sprightly guitars, and this massive vocal hook which just gets me beaming from ear to ear.  They were signed to Dischord so I was aware of them because of a lot of other related bands who I love.  Sorry I can't share the track, or at least can't be bothered to upload it right now - I'm not changing my choice because it was immediately the one that came to mind.

I've found a site which purports to offer you all their mp3s, so you can savour its full glory:  High Back Chairs goodness.  Whether this is legal or actually going to work, I have no idea.

Alternatively, and much more preferably, buy 20 Years of Dischord, because it's one of the very best compilations ever.

Or ask me for a mixtape.

Day 20 - A song that you listen to when you're angry

I hate the #5.  The bus to Blackbird Leys.  It's full of chavs and twats.  It often smells of dog.  Sometimes it smells of dog when the only dogs are those under the wheels.

Most of the time I'm on the bus I'm doing one of two things:  listening to the inane conversation of the unwashed, unemployed and unlovable, mentally noting it down for my other documenting of rage, or I'm listening to my iPod on very loud while pretending the rest of the world does not exist.  This features a lot:

Sometimes I have a moment of conscience and think, "Hmm, maybe I should turn this down.  I might be disturbing my fellow passengers."  Then I pause it for a moment and listen to some oxygen-stealing douchebag murdering the English language, and I unpause it and turn it up.  Seethe.

Day 19 - A song from your favourite album

There are a lot of albums which I consider flawless, or so close to flawless that it doesn't make any difference, so it's a tribute to this album's ability to stand the test of time that it was the first one I thought of.  The first time I heard it, I wasn't actually that fussed.  It was a fairly big deal in its own right when it came out, and I remember thinking at the time (having borrowed it from a friend), "Well, I'm glad I've heard it, but, well, it's not that awesome."

But Tool's Aenima is not an album that immediately sinks in.  It's brooding and it's long and parts of it are very inaccessible at first.  When it does start to take its hold on you, though, it won't let go, and it worms its way into your brain and takes root.

There's just so much to it.  It has its tracks which can be taken out of context as singles, like 'Stinkfist', the quasi-title track 'Aenema' or the venomous 'Hooker With A Penis', but what makes it such a coherent record for me is the subtle connections and moods on the less well-known songs like 'Pushit' and 'Third Eye'.

Anyway, here's my favourite track from the album.  I recommend also checking out the songs which have proper videos because they're all excellent.

"You claimed all this time that you would die for me / Why then are you so surprised when you hear your own eulogy?"

Day 18 - A song that you wish you heard on the radio

Whoever wrote this 30 days thing didn't really think the categories through.  There are so many hundreds of radio stations available these days that if you're still listening to Radio 1 and whining that they don't play your favourite bands, you're probably an idiot.

As stated in my previous post, I don't listen to the radio an awful lot.  So what am I being asked here?  I'm interpreting it as 'music I've come across, and wish I'd known about sooner, as opposed to through randomly discovering it myself'.

I happened upon this band purely because I saw the album in a record shop in Brighton and I really liked the cover and I knew the label.  I bought it, and now it's one of my favourite albums of last year.  Why didn't I have it handed on a plate to me by the radio?  GOD DAMN YOU MODERN WORLD.

My other half also pointed out that, really, I wouldn't want anything I like played on the radio.  Because then it becomes popular and de facto I can't like it any more.  It's true.  I even only liked the Chilean miners when they were still underground.

Day 17 - A song that you hear often on the radio

Tricky one, as I don't often listen to the radio.  Radio to me means background noise, music I haven't chosen to listen to or which just appears as collateral in the surroundings.  Perhaps it could mean music which is often stuck in my head.

I find that often I get snippets of songs, maybe just a line of lyrics or a quick riff, lodged on repeat until I figure out what it is.  One lyric which invades my brain quite a lot is "Is it heavier than air?  Tell us, is the black box lying?"  Which is from:

Those familiar with this exceptional album may well have experienced the same brain takeover, if not with this particular phrase (followed, of course, by that twinkly, chaotic breakdown) then with one of the many other choice expressions.  Relationship of Command is a magnificent album musically, but the lyrics are very poetic in an abstract sort of way, often utilising vocabulary you don't expect to find in melodic songs.  It's less mental than The Mars Volta, mind.

If you're going to hold me to the on-the-radio bit rather than this loose interpretation, it's true I do sometimes listen to Mark Lamarr's shows (God's Jukebox, or one of the three genre-specific series he does - all of which I cannot recommend highly enough).  Just because I feel like pointing out another amazing band you might not be that familiar with, here's a track which he introduced me to a little while ago:

Fecking top.

Day 16 - A category you didn't agree with so have changed

Day 16 - which was actually yesterday but I was too busy lazing around, eating a lot and then having an awesome time at the Decemberists - was supposed to be 'A song that you used to love but now hate'.

I thought about this quite a lot, but couldn't come up with anything.  Used to love but now hate?  That's pretty extreme.  I can think of some tracks which might fit in the 'guilty pleasure' category, as in stuff you listened to when you were younger and now find a little embarrassing, but the category otherwise doesn't make much sense.

I think if you loved a particular band years ago, and you've now gone through your extreme metal phase, your bleepy electronica phase, your hates-all-music phase, your nothing-but-Led Zeppelin phase and now you listen to Radio 2, you might be a bit more po-faced and slightly ashamed of what you used to like, but that doesn't necessarily mean you hate something you once loved - just that you don't listen to it any more.  Example:

I don't hate Limp Bizkit, I just don't listen to them any more.  I liked them a lot when I was in school, and if this track came on my iPod now I might well listen to it just for a wry smile at the memories.

How else could the category work?  Perhaps if you loved a band but then they changed their ideals and, well, sold out.  But even then could you honestly say that their political stance or attitude to the record industry actually changed your appreciation of the music they made before that point in time?  Just the music?  Example:

Lostprophets, when they first appeared, were a pretty exciting (nu-, maybe) metal band from Wales.  I saw them a couple of times, once at an awesome show with Pitchshifter and earthtone9.  Then, as I understand it, on the verge of their second album, they were given the choice as part of a big record deal:  go into the studio and record album #2, or go back and revisit album #1, putting in all kinds of stupid hip-hop overdubs and stuff that would make them appeal to a wider American (pun intended) audience.  The fact that you've heard of this band means you know which option they chose.  Look at them in this video.  They look like twats.  They are twats.  That's pretty much the definition of selling out, but I'm not sure I can honestly say it makes me hate the original recording of the first album.

What this category should be, in my opinion, is a song that you used to hate but now love.  That's much more challenging and much more meaningful.  I can't think of anything which fits the bill perfectly, although it's true that I hated Rage Against The Machine for a long, long time, and now I rather like them, and some of their stuff I like a lot.  To bring my mini-rant to an end, though, let's take this:

I was never that fussed by Biffy Clyro until Puzzle came out - Puzzle, the much more mainstream and radio-friendly album was the one that caught my attention.  Maybe it's me that sold out after all.  I don't like their more recent stuff, though, so I'm not handing in my punk licence just yet.

Day 15 - A song that describes you

Most of these choices I planned in advance, but there were a few categories where nothing immediately sprang to mind, and this is one of those.  In the end I've settled for 'Roscoe' by Midlake, because a lot of the ideas expressed in the lyrics are things I really identify with - the search for simplicity and rural living, eschewing the complications of modern life and enjoying an easier time.

Maybe the category would work better if you had to ask a friend to pick the song, I don't know.  Anyway, it's an opportunity to share an amazing track.

Day 14 - A song that no-one would expect you to love

You know when someone tells you that they've got eccentric taste in music, and it's because they like Kings of Leon and Pendulum?  Yeah, I hate that.

I also dislike it when people assume I won't like something.  I know a lot of the stuff I regularly listen to is pretty heavy, but not exclusively so.  One of my friends has a habit of saying, "Oh, I've been listening to so-and-so recently; you probably wouldn't like them ..."  What?  Why?  Grrr.

Anyway, I like to think I am open-minded to any new music I don't know, but that doesn't mean I'm going to search out the most, I don't know, un-me song I can think of for this category; I'm just going to post a song I love which is of a different genre to the stuff I've selected so far.  Here's something that fits more with country or acoustic singer-songwritery stuff than anything punk or rock.

This is Jason Molina, who writes mostly solo stuff, often quite slow and haunting, in his other guise with a band as Magnolia Electric Company.  It's a really brilliant album and despite the music it's his voice which ties it all together.  He has about a million different records so you can't go wrong, really, but this one is full of heartfelt country/folk which sounds amazing on vinyl and about 30 years behind its time.

(PS - I like Kings of Leon but I don't like Pendulum.  Because they're gash.)

Day 13 - A song that is a guilty pleasure

I normally hate the sort of punk/alternative music which is actually mainstream stuff in disguise.  Stuff like My Chemical Romance, etc.  Fuck off.

You could certainly argue that no music should be a guilty pleasure, you just like what you like.  But when you spend plenty of time reading very strait-laced, pro-DIY independent music scene stuff, it's Not Cool to admit you actually really, really like Billy Talent.

I had an unexpected dilemma at Reading a few years ago when their set clashed with Faith No More, but don't worry, I came to my senses.  I probably listened to this on my way home, though.

Day 12 - A song from a band you hate

Most bands I 'hate' are those I find mind-numbingly tedious and mediocre.  There are loads of bands whose stuff I don't really enjoy and plenty I don't like, but it's the middle-of-the-road, unimaginative and inexplicably popular acts which really grind my gears.

Coldplay, for example, are fucking rubbish.  I mean, who in their right mind wants to listen to this derivative bollocks?

Honestly, you've just got no right to be that smug and self-satisfied if your music sounds like a flatulent grandma.

Day 11 - A song from your favourite band

My favourite band is Fugazi.  This song is called 'Shut The Door'.  It is from their DVD documentary Instrument.

 

On hiatus since 2002.  Please come back and describe yourselves.  :(

Day 10 - A song that makes you fall asleep

I love sleeping, so I consider a song which makes me fall asleep to be a very good thing.  That said, very few tracks actually do:  most of the time when I'm listening to music, I want to concentrate and hear different details, or at least not just have something in the background completely passing me by.

However, there are obviously some genres which make me feel relaxed and at ease, defenceless almost.  This track immediately came to mind as particularly anaesthetising:

'Svefn-G-Englar' is just magnificent - quiet, wonderfully paced, elegant and most of all simple.  I've seen Sigur Ros live a few times and this is always a highlight as it tends to have the whole audience completely spellbound in a way I've not really seen with other long, slow tracks.

The video for this is also one of the most innocent, pure and beautiful things you'll ever see.

Day 09 - A song that you can dance to

Frankly, I'm amazed that I've gotten this far without mentioning Clutch - I could do one of these consisting entirely of Clutch songs (except for the negative categories, obviously).

So yeah, this one's Clutch.

I could also have picked quite a lot of other Clutch songs, because they're all fucking awesome, but I particularly love the rhythm of the lyrics in 'Pure Rock Fury' - the way it builds up at the start and jumps into that massive, crunching riff.  10/10.

Day 08 - A song that you know all the words to

It's a fact that not many people actually know all the lyrics to many songs, however favourite they may claim them to be.  But everyone should have at least one, I think - you could, obviously, make this category really easy by simply picking an acoustic track, or a song with lots of repeated and simple lines, but reading and absorbing lyrics to tracks can be very enjoyable and rewarding.  Except with Mumford & Sons.

Anyway, when approaching this question I was thinking about what songs I really like singing to myself in the car (when alone, obviously), and which I would even dare to sing at a gig.  One track in particular is a joy to join in on:  'The Mariner's Revenge Song' by The Decemberists.

Here's a version in Lego, just because:

Lyrically I find this band almost unmatched, and this is one of their absolute best:  a meandering sea shanty of giant whales, treacherous seas and cold filial revenge.  Make sure you read the lyrics along with watching the video because they're just fantastic.

The whole song is rousing and thrilling.  If the hair on your arms doesn't stand up at the drum-fuelled call-to-arms line "One night I overhead / The Prior exchanging words / With a penitent whaler from the sea", or the magnificent conclusion, "But O what providence! What divine intelligence! That you should survive as well as me!", then you're probably dead.

Amazing.

Day 07 - A song that reminds you of a certain event

The same Gareth I mentioned in my previous post I met through going to shows about eight or nine years ago, mostly small punk and hardcore gigs in Leeds, Bradford etc.  I haven't seen him for ages now he lives overseas but we went to see some awesome bands together.

One of the best was when The Pine came over here.  They played in Leeds one day and in Norwich the next, and we went to both.  At the Leeds show I was completely exhausted - I was at uni at the time, and had just that morning packed and moved out of college, driven all the way home and unpacked again, then headed over to Ponte to meet Gareth.  The show was fantastic, just crammed into this tiny pub's upstairs room, drenched in feedback, and followed after by an acoustic thing in some guy's bedroom (at which I more or less fell asleep due to being so tired...).  The next day we drove over to Norwich, and the gig there was pretty brilliant too, partly because we met up with loads of other mates too.

Anyway, it wasn't actually the gigs which I remember most from that time, it was the drive!  It was just me and Gareth from Leeds to Norwich, minimal traffic and loads of CDs.  We were both getting into loads of punk and emo at the time and just generally geeking out and being music nerds.

This song reminds me of that drive through the endless flatness of East Anglia.

Day 06 - A song that reminds you of somewhere

In 2006 I went to Canada for the first time, initially to Toronto where my friend Gareth was living.  We went on the customary daytrip to Niagara Falls to indulge my tourist leanings, which was a nice early Sunday morning drive along the shore of Lake Ontario.

This was on in the car:

At the time I didn't know Modest Mouse, and I didn't ask what the album was while it was on.  But I had heard of them and knew I'd probably like them, and when I was in New York a week or so later I picked up, by total coincidence, the very same album while record-shopping.

I prefer Good News For People Who Love Bad News (just), but The Moon And Antarctica and this track in particular always bring back memories of wide open Canadian freeways, crisp sunshine and seeing old friends.

Day 05 - A song that reminds you of someone

Lots of songs remind me of people, and a fair few people remind me of songs.  This was the first one that sprang to mind when I read the question, though.

Whether she comments or not, she'll be smiling.

Day 04 - A song that makes you sad

This one's a little cliched, but for good reason:

Not actually that track, though.  This one:

There's plenty of Kid A that makes me feel a bit :'( but this one is particularly melancholic.  Also this video is ... interesting.

Whenever I write about Radiohead I feel like I'm just treading old ground; the blogs of the world have already said it all.  So that's it folks, see you tomorrow.

Day 03 - A song that makes you happy

In 2008 I was lucky enough to visit Vancouver.  I stayed in the city for a few days, then travelled around Vancouver Island and up to Whistler, before coming back to Vancouver.  When I got back, I didn't have a great deal of money left, so I was just finding low-maintenance things to do.

I was having lunch at the Granville Island market and browsing through the Metro paper (does everywhere have one?), and I noticed that Elbow were playing a gig the following day, apparently in a church.  I didn't really know Elbow all that well and probably wouldn't have paid the £15-£20 to see them over here, but figured I'd give them a try anyway.  I went to the church to see if they had any tickets, and was told I had to go through Ticketmaster.  Oh well, never mind.  Later on that day I was in the Tourist Info place and discovered it was also a Ticketmaster outlet, and they had plenty of tickets left for only $15.  Win.

This was shortly after The Seldom Seen Kid had come out, and I hadn't heard it yet, nor had most of North America.  It turned out the venue really was just a church, as Elbow weren't all that popular in Canada, so I got to hear their new stuff in a tiny venue of about 300 people for less than a tenner.  It was absolutely magic, and this is the track which particularly reminds me of the gig.  It also never fails to make me smile.

For those interested, there are some clips of that very special gig on this guy's Youtube account.

The other highlight of the evening was queueing round the block beforehand.  Some guy pulled up in his car and asked what we were all queueing for, and several people responded by pointing at their elbows.

Day 02 - Your least favourite song

Nnngngggrrghhh rage.

When I think of this song, I rrrrrnngg fists into the desk teeth-clenching gffff f BASTARD.

GAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH

I am vocabularily reduced.

Look what you're doing to my heart-rate.  I can feel the bile raging through my every pore.  You soulless, talent-deprived, lowest-common-moron shitwizards.

I'm not linking it.  I refuse.  You can find the videos easily if you just Google "music for the vapid and hopeless".

Music.  No, not really.  I've had farts I'd sooner hear again.  Lumbering piano and Fisher Price drums.

Lyrics.  She's so lovely, she's so lovely, she's so lovely, she's so lovely.  Oh, wow!  I FINK DAT SHE IS BOOTIFUL.  Stay up all night writing that one did you, you moon-faced cunt?  Was she this fit when she was 10 years younger?  Creepy.

What is particularly hell-screamingly awful is I even looked them up in the name of research.  You unmitigated bastards.  No I don't want the fucking ringtone sent to my fucking mobile, I want the whole of the internet printed out and shredded and glued into a big fucking ball which is then SHOVED THROUGH YOUR FAT EYEBALLS UNTIL YOU DIE FROM DEATH.

I can't even write about this, I'm so angry.  I'm off out to kill and eat something cute and endangered.  Scouting For Girls, you are Satan scratching nails down a blackboard made out of bone marrow culled from babies.

Day 01 - Your favourite song

Facebook currently has a 30 Day Song Challenge meme doing the rounds. Figured I'd take part.

Day 1 is one of the easiest for me:  my favourite song is 'Carry The Zero' by Built to Spill.  I could listen to this song every day for the rest of my life and I'd die content.