Saturday, August 23, 2008

For Friendly Strangers & My Strange Friends

1) Best Stranglers song ever? 2) Marianne Faithful hooks up with Beck. 3) Howard's back again, more estranged than ever. Still can't choose between this & "I Want to Burn Again". 4) Laura Cantrell, great song, awesome voice. 5) Nick Cave covering Cash. 6) Hunters & Collectors. No idea what they are banging on about in (Australian) English or French (translation please?), but find something to bang along with them. Epic wonderfulness.

Strange Little Girl
Sex With Strangers
You Never Knew Me
Bees
The Singer
Talking To A Stranger

The music was easy this week, but had to let a lot of "Strange" songs go by the wayside. Best I could for a picture was my 3rd favorite TV series (behind The Wire & Twin Peaks) about a group of strangers stuck on an island (this thing better have a pay-off). Who wants to be Jack?

Don't be a stranger.


13 comments:

Proudfoot said...

Not my fave Stranglers song shoey (reserved for 5 Minutes/ Don't Bring Harry), but close. I did buy the single though. I think the picure sleeve was taken near Bath. I was staying near there in Malmesbury, Wiltshire in 80s when the Guildford 4 turned up. They'd been judging a local beauty pageant (SO Stranglers!). My Dad beat Jet Black at darts!
Can't believe Grace Jones hasn't covered 'Sex With Strangers'
Hunters & Collectors, wow. Real blast from the past. I thought they'd be the antipodean Talking Heads but they were destined to be more like the Oz Gang of Four. Franz Ferdinand I bet had a sneaky listen, nonetheless. Can't help you with the lyrics, but they're probably less arcane than the 'Jaws of Life' stuff. What d'you expect when you go to record in Connie Plank/Can's studio?
Who does the version of Lakes of Pontchartrain? Did you realise you'd put that extra stuff on? Do you still wear a pinny now? What's a washing dolly? I'm glad I'm sober/ drug-free listening to the end of this stuff or I'd sue you for unbalancing my mental equilibrium. Jack the biscuits indeed.

Shoegazer said...

@Proudfoot
TFD provided the lovely Lakes of Pontchartrain in the next room down. I plead guilty on the rest. The Yahoo player joins all the Boxtr playlists on the page in a continuous stream, which is kind of cool, if a little confusing.

Glad Radio Shoe is having the desired effect (even further down), but only a brave few have dared to comment. According to my Boxtr stats there are plenty out there silently muttering "W.T.F. was that?"

Proudfoot said...

Not sure I'm comfortable with the Boxtr stats thing. I mean you KNOW who's actually listened to what? I'd never have got through college without just PRETENDING to have read 'Ulysses'. Good thing my tutors didn't have a Boxtr thing going with James Joyce. If I'd actually READ it my brain would have melted and I'd have blown my student grant on recreational drugs and weird music. Um.Yes...Er....

Anonymous said...

All you get from Boxtr is a total for listens/downloads per mp3. All it's good for is checking if anyone is showing up to the party. Your secrets are safe. & I am not convinced that anyone has ever read all of Ulysses

ejaydee said...

I'm too jetlagged to figure out what they're saying in French if it really is French, but I enjoyed the music.

treefrogdemon said...

The trick to Ulysses is realising that each chapter is written in a different style. The first chapter is the most obscure - it gets a lot easier after that.

Shoegazer said...

I stand corrected. Is it worth the effort?

Anonymous said...

I'm listening to this because I started with steenbeck's playlist, it's nice that it just carries on into the next one.

It's a great Stranglers song, "Something Better Change" from the earlier punkier days and this from the later mellower Stranglers could be my favourites of the little I know. Enjoyed the Laura Cantrell too.

I really enjoyed Chapter 1 of Ulysses when I concentrated on it, but then never got any further. One day...

Anonymous said...

Strange Little Girl was one of their earliest songs, believe it or not, that they dusted off & put out to fulfill contractual obligations to their record company before they parted ways.

Anonymous said...

Probably just as well nobody wants to play the Lost game. In recent weeks have been: Lilith, Sauron the (friendly) Dark Lord, the cowardly, misogynist Vacuum Man & my own bloggy shoe persona. Feel I'm having an identity crisis.

Would go with Ben though, as he's the most interesting character on the show, & the main reason to stay with it. Well, that & the hotness that is Kate.

Anonymous said...

See, just don't know who I am anymore.

Anonymous said...

Oh yes, The Stranglers existed before punk & surfed the 'new wave' (sorry, just been reading frogprincess on the Atlantic coast of France), apparently being hated by the Pistols etc. for being middle-aged dope-smoking hippies. So it makes sense that they had decent songs that had to wait a few years to see the light of day. Not bad for a 'contractual obligation' release !

Anonymous said...

Grew up between Woking & Guildford, so the kids at school were divided between The Stranglers & The Jam (& there were the rockers & disco kids of course).

The Stranglers were always very approachable & friendly to their fans, despite their image. Great story, Proudfoot, by the way. Some of their fans made it into the songs: The Finchley Boys on "Burning Up Time" & "Dagenham Dave". Used to help stuff envelopes for their fan club in exchange for freebies & show tickets.