The Na na hey hey list is up...
http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2010/feb/11/readers-recommend-meaningless-words-songs
and it seems like the new subject is whispering songs. Not sure what that means, yet, of course, but here's a song in which people actually whisper...
Welcome to The 'Spill!
An open-to-all music blog which originated from the Guardian Readers Recommend community.
Mp3s are for sampling purposes only, and are kept up for a short time only. Mail us if any need to be removed.
-
▼
2010
(252)
-
▼
February
(91)
- Pale Rider
- Sunday evening - what's happening?
- Pale Rider deceit
- Truth, Deception & Lies
- NINA SIMONE
- Deception
- Akihabara Majokko Princess
- Big fib from Gremlinfc
- Cheaters
- No Deception Intended !!
- ...................recovery position
- Music to Convalesce to...
- Nostalgia
- Come on, just one more story Ole Uncle Tinnie
- Hit Me With Your EOTWQs! HIT ME!
- ShoePop or Shane's Dare or 'Spillers Post Music T...
- Plastiscines
- Earworms of the Week (Feb 23)
- Meltdown director announced
- Japanese Groupsounds
- Loft Classics #6: "She Cries Your Name"
- BMW POSTERS
- Miles In Amsterdam
- 2 times Grandaddy
- One million miles is a long way to fall
- Let It Fall
- Falling and Laughing
- Falling
- Oh what a fall was there
- Going Down
- Hello, my dears
- I just wanted to share this because I love it
- Well, HE asked for it ...!
- Well, SHE started it ...!
- Shane made me post PICTURES!!
- RIP Lychee 1990-2010
- EOTWQ - i wont do what you tell me, version!
- If a train leaves Glasgow playing an MP3 at 60mph ...
- Disco Shoes ('Spillers Post Music That You Wouldn'...
- I Never Knew!
- Redressing The Balance
- Evie Part 2
- Earworms of the Week (Feb 16)
- The Brits - Live Blimped!
- Evie Sands
- Take a break sample spot.
- Girl at her volcano
- pssst - not on a Shhunday totally shoooober
- Sunday evening - what's happening?
- The Nilpferd A-listers- Jazz
- YEVGENY YEVTUSHENKO
- Here or there?
- Happy New Year!
- Emotional surgery
- a taste of sourpus
- News from Ilona and Manuel
- Careless Wispas
- The Na na hey hey list is up...http://www.guardian...
- Ukraine's Got Talent
- Phew!
- I threw back the covers and look what I found
- Songs From The Back Of The Shelf.
- First musical discovery of 2010
- Swan Lake
- A Couple Of Samplers
- Earworms of the Week (Feb 9)
- Shoey's Album Of The Month - Jan 2010
- Head 2 Head: Raw vs Cool
- R.I.P. JOHNNY.
- The Nilpferd A listers- the rock and pop bands.
- **Spoiler Alert** The Web Is Nonsense
- La La La La
- MAKI DON'T DANCE
- On The Waters
- New Frabbits
- Steengazer's Gobbledygook
- Kanye West Asks The Important Questions
- Turntable Trouble
- Skreebiddybop!
- Share your good fortune
- Trailers? For Albums?
- Sounds Like Ecstasy
- Welcome to the Shoe Lounge ('Spillers Post Music T...
- Dream of Life
- YOUR LIFE AIN'T NOTHING BUT A MOVIE!
- Earworms of the Week (Feb 1)
- H2H - the winter warmers
- Spice Up Your Life!!!!
- 'Spillharmonic Records - 2010 update
- WTF
- The Nilpferd A-listers- The Electronic/Disco Cuts
-
▼
February
(91)
Scottish BaMS Network
- ....
- Abahachi
- AliMunday
- BalearicBeat
- BeltwayBandit
- Blimpy
- BloodyParadise
- Brian Speng
- CB
- Carole
- Catcher
- DR
- Dangerpuss
- DarceysDad
- Dominia
- Exodus
- Fintan28
- GarethI
- Makinavaja
- Marconius7
- May1366
- Mnemonic
- Noodsy
- Proudfoot
- Sarah G
- SatanKidneyPie
- ShariVari
- ShivSidecar
- Shoegazer
- SkippyisaCult
- SwiftyBoy
- TatankaYotanka
- TatankaYotanka
- Tempusfugit
- Tim (Kalyr)
- ToffeeBoy
- TonNL
- TracyK
- Zephirine
- barbryn
- bishbosh
- cauliflower
- d33pf1x
- debbym
- ejaydee
- el derino
- fourfoot
- glasshalfempty
- goneforeign
- gordonimmel
- gremlinfc
- junks
- magicman
- nilpferd
- rwrrwr
- saneshane
- scarymonster
- severin
- snadfrod
- sourpus
- steenbeck
- swissphil
- tarxien
- tincanman
- tincanman2010
- treefrogdemon
Donds? Dondling? A Dondle?
The Greatest (Music Lists) Book Ever Written!
How to..
Not sure about the computery stuff involved in posting?
87 comments:
You read my mind, steenbeck.
"Whispering Songs" - is that "Songs About Whispering"? "Songs With Whispered Vocals"? Or even "Songs that make their point quietly/subtly/without fuss"?
Difficult to know how to pitch initial thoughts without waiting for the blog to come up.
Can I have a whip-round for some support for Bjork's It's Oh So Quiet again, if it fits topic?
Ejay was a little premature with his "Grass" then. Happens to me all the time.
Apparently so Shoey.and pre-donds to It's Oh So Quiet.
Needless to say, I won't be competing with anyone to nominate that!
Whispering Grass by the Ink Spots is zedded - so, luvvly boy, the way is clear.
Gah, there's always the Ying Yang Twins...
Please tell me we dont have to resort to Kajagoogoo?
While we wait, new Lupe:
http://www.kanyeuniversecity.com/blog/index.php?em3106=244307_-1__0_~0_-1_2_2010_0_0&eM=
Not bad too.
Are we having another techie cock-up?
Shoot, I can't get the lupe to play at the moment.
He still looks so young, though, doesn't he? What year were you born Ejay?
I'm feeling really stumped on whispering songs, whatever it may mean.
DsD, you have my support for Bjork. Have to say that y brain is not teeming with whispering songs and if the blog hasn't gone up before I finish my glass of Prosecco, I'm going to bed. Clearly the techies need to be fed to Mastodon rather than Throbbing Gristle.
I've got maybe 2 tops. THere's a bunch of Serge and CHarlotte Gainsbourg songs I could nominate, but I'm not generally a fan of their whispered vocals.
Myself, I'm from '81, Steen
Its even worse if you're one hour ahead or more. We also have work in the morning over here you know? C'mon, finger out!
Thanks, Mn. My let's-try-yet-again nom this week is Ella Guru's Noisy Insects, btw!
Damn! And I thought I was late for MFF! What was I thinking?
You got at least a double A-listing in this morning's paper, lambre - Van Morrison & Pink Floyd
How about that old classic 'Keep on pressing' by The F5 Keys?
Big donds for Oh So Quiet.
I only thought of Shout, by the Isley Brothers, and this great whispered interlude on a Regina Spektor album, right before a song that would have been perfect for last week's topic.
Sorry if that was nosy, Ejay, I just happened out of curiosity to look up LF's birthday - Feb 16th, 1982, so his birthday is this weekend! (or, I suppose, next week) - and it seemed like you might be of an age, as they say...sorry
Morning all. I stayed up cos I'm on my own, Mrswebcore is in hospital. First shout would have Whispering Pines by The Band.
Wow! I got Sister Nancy A-listed. Surely the cock-up artist is the same person. You're can't have an office full of them. Can you . . ?
Our Way TO Fall would have been great for this week too and I didn't feel you were nosy at all. I almost talked to him once, he was right next to me checking out magazines at the airport, Kick Push had already been out, but I didn't bother him.
Hey SOWC, hope Mrs SOWC is OK.
DsD, I think there might be a potential candidate on your Mood Indigo compilation.
The Shoegazer boycott continues. List of demands:
1. Post the fucking thing on schedule
2. Give us our own tab on the music page so we can find said fucking thing & give the most popular blog on The Gruniad the respect it deserves.
3. Update the Guardian i-Phone app so that you can see & post to the blogs or give us our money back.
4. Erm, that's it
I noticed, DsD!. It's just luck, really, he could have done 20 lists this week, only with obvious songs, if he wanted.
Hope the missus is OK, sowc.
Dunno what we're thinking - expecting a thread that had 1705 comments last week to be properly maintained...
Hope it's really nothing, sowc!
Which one, Mn? Peace And Quiet? Must dig it out. Seems like I've got time to ...
@ sowc - ulp! Is Mrs. sowc's hospitalisation planned or otherwise? Hope she's OK.
Ten more minutes, I reckon.
So...what we all listening to? At the moment, I've got Bless You by Chairmen of the Board (as opposed to Fuck You by Techies of the Board) - oops, now it's Train To Skaville by The Ethiopians. No whispering on either of them
Stupid question... What's the point of having the starting point at midnight if they can't open the damn thing on time? If you're going to be late, you might as well start the blog at 5 PM, or whenever
Thanks MNEMONIC, it's a scheduled op on her foot. Quite serious, she'll be laid up for some time and in hospital until next week. But it will preserve her mobility later in life.
I think Captain Beefheart's Golden Birdies is as close to whispering as he ever got.
Hope Mrs. SWC is feeling well.
Love the ethiopians.
I've been listening to Blackalicious all day. I feel a "steenbeck discovers west coast underground hip hop ...in...slow...motion"...post coming on...
(the slow motion being how long it takes me to figure it out!)
Hope all goes well with Mrs SOWC,
Thanks to others, too.
DsD, that's the one. I have it marked with 4 stars in my iTunes
As King Canute the Great remarked at the water's edge..
"It 'aint 'app'nin..."
Its 1.55 here. Im off.
Right now it's Sally Shapiro's "He Keeps Me Alive"... no whispering (though all her songs sound as they were half-hushed, so...)
Gah!
*... as IF...*
Good luck to Mrs. SOWC.
I hope this doesn't sound grumbly, but just to hark back to something lambretinha earlier, does this week's A-list seem a bit obvious, and maybe a bit lazy to anyone else? There were so many great songs suggested, especially left-of-centre ones, that to have a list with Hey Jude, Brown Eyed Girl, Single Ladies, and The Great Gig In The Sky (don't get me wrong, all great songs) on it just seems like a bit of a missed opportunity to me. Feel free to shout me down, it was just that my first reaction to the list was 'meh', and I can't remember the last time that happened.
Thanks, Mn. Peace & Quiet will need a decent leg-up from the topic definition, I reckon. If it's whispered vocals Paul's after, Shawn Smith hits the spot on Satchel's Looking Forward, so I'll nominate one or the other once the blog finally arrives.
Harrumph
To cheer you all up, have you seen
PaulMac's new haircut?
Oh my god it's Bernard Sumner!
Not sure I have strong feelings this week, Catcher. I had a little bet with myself that I'd score one A-lister, and it would either be Hey Jude if Paul was making some sort of serious musical point, or The Dickies if he wanted pure childlike fun.
I obviously won my bet, but I'm not sure I feel I earnt the winnings. It felt like shooting fish in a barrel ...
@Catcher, I had exactly that reaction
@Noodsy, Classic!
Catcher, I sort of agree with you, especially when it comes to The Beatles. I have no problem with their music, but surely they've got enough A-listings. DO they get to keep the trophy now? Oh well, I had fun making my own list and that's what matters.
Are You Hung Up? by The Mothers Of Invention has a truly great whispered section to the performance. Note the word 'performance'.
I know what you mean, CATCHER. I was surprised to see Sister Nancy on the list as Pliers' cover was a bigger hit and the original is very rough and ready (fine by me). Very tempted to retire now.
Webcore - don't worry us like that! Best wishes for a speedy recovery, though.
Not sure we can accept pre-noms given all the fuss you made the other week.
Whispery 'Spill playlist coming up.....
Give the man a break - it must be tough being ginger.
My initial thoughts were Lullaby by the Cure and The Wind Cries Mary by Hendrix. Haven't got much further than that.
Paul Mac is Auburn - I thought everyone knew that.
SHOEY - I was waiting for that! I said I'd abide by Marconius7's ruling. There was never a peep out of me once he'd made his decision known. Anyway, pre-noms had started before I joined in.
If you can't beat 'em . . .
I've got to be up early to inject a diabetic doggy, then off to visit Mrswebcore, so this delay has taken what time I had.
DsD, in a way I'd have put your examples of what P-Mac's intentions were the other way around. Add in The Crystals' 'Da Doo Ron Ron' to the examples I mentioned earlier, and that's half the list made up of songs that surely everyone knows.
Practically every other week, some blindingly obvious song makes the A-list, and that's fine, but this week's list is 50/50, it just doesn't seem that inspiring, and it almost feels like it contradicts the spirit of the blog, that it's not a didactic 'best', but a starting point for investigation.
I don't know, maybe (probably) I'm making too much of it, but I do feel a bit cheated this week.
Other weeks is fishing in a barrel. This week he was really spoilt for choices, having an obvious nomination didn't guarantee you the list, that's why I said it was only luck.
I think he tries to keep it all balanced most weeks. But this week, yeah, maybe the obvious songs were more obvious than usual...
Then, I remember one week, when I was just a RR lurker... I don't know which topic it was, but I remember "Common People" was just perfect for it. It didn't get elected because it was too obvious. That did cause a bit of a stir. I guess the guru (whoever it is) just can't win, one way or another
You can't beat the 'Spill!
P.S. I'm deliberately paying no attention to pre-donds. Once bitten . . .
I'm going spelunking to scrape off some lichen to fry up for breakfast (great to see you over here ,Webcore).
My glass is empty and I'm off to bed before the cats wake up and decide to play war all round the bedroom. I think I may join Shoey in the boycott for a few weeks.
As usual, Lambretinha has put it very eloquently and sanely. I think this would have been a hard week to pick, because every song recommended this week fit the topic on some level. And everybody knows how I feel about the beatles, but I think at this point it probably takes a certain amount of courage to pick a beatles song if you like it and it fits. But there were a bunch of other songs I would have chosen...I hope RockingMitch got one in...
Well, I don't have a list of pre-donds to get anybody in trouble with. Looking forward to the b-list and some explanation of "whispered"
We've been blizzarded in for days! Anybody else? Malcolm has a 6 day weekend, what with all the snow days!
Fair dos, Catcher. I certainly know the feeling you describe. I had it for consecutive A-lists for over a month last year, either side of, and culminating with the Songs With Super Solos topic (which I still think was a truly awful final selection).
But we move on, eh? Or maybe not, in the case of the techies learning curve!
:o(
I'm pinning all my hopes on Wait (Whisper Song) by The Ying Yang Twins, I love the beat, it was fresh because they were usually so rowdy, and it's cheeky. It's an obvious one, true, but if Hey Jude can get in...
G'night Mnemonic.
The weather is all over the news here, steenbeck, but only because there's been an inch of the stuff where all the bloody TV news producers live in Kent. It's pathetic.
Don't know about anyone else, but I've sent a very curt email to the techies. Still hasn't raised them from their pizza&porn / sleeping-on-the-job positions, mind.
Ty, Steenbeck. And I also hope RockingMitch got one in... In general terms, 50's Rock&Roll and / or Doo-Wop acts have never been my thing, but, truth be told, they own last week's topic.
I'm curious about the B-list as well: usually, they let loose a bit more there.
That was the first song I thought of, eJay (one of the only three I can think of, really!) If that's not a whispering song, I don't know what that is!
Steen, am longing for a snow day. Rumours of flakes in the panhandle & my toesies are not as toasty as they should be here in O-town.
Hey is this a WTF moment on the RR? Thought there might be some discussion over & lo. Lambretinha- I Think the Gladiolas was a Rockingmitch Nom.
I spy with my little eye, something beginning with ... R
It's a funny thing about Doo wop. (actually, I think RockingMitch said he doesn't like that term, didn't he?) I don't know that much about the genre, and I think the big, obvious few songs get overplayed, but I've had a nice time listening to RM's less obvious suggestions. I'm a big fan of sweet songs (surprise surprise) and there's some really unexpected, unusual and, well, sweet stuff. It's been a nice education in stuff that I thought I knew, but I had no idea. And I guess I still have no idea, but it's been fun looking into it.
Ty, Fintan: yeah, like Yogi Berra famously said, it's deja vu all over again (with the techies)
In my case, it's more a matter of overcoming prejudice. There's something about that era that just rubs me off the wrong way, and I don't even know why. There's nothing wrong with the music per se, I just sort of disconnect.
The thing is, he (RM) not only knows and loves his stuff, he does a great job at communicating it. If he doesn't get me hooked, I'll guess is just not for me!
Now having a strange vision of Marconius kitted out in full judges garb, making a ruling in the court of rr.
Mnemonic, thanks for support of my trivial cause - we could get some "free the RR 2" T-shirts made up?
It's 3 AM. I could have gone to bed, or I could have gone out and have a drink. Instead, here I am...
I hope PaulMac does the decent thing and feed the piranhas with whoever's responsible...
I give up! See you all tomorrow in the blog.
G'night, mate.
Right! I've had enough too. If anyone is feeling brave, they could copy the following comment over in its entirety for me, when I sleep through the alarm clock and have to rush the girls to school!
********************************
About bleedin' time! Why were we left scratching that particularly irritating techie-itch – YET AGAIN - for hours last night?!
Several of us whiled away the hours wondering what "Whispering Songs" meant. "Songs about Whispering"? "Songs with Whispered Vocals"? Or even "Songs that make their point quietly/subtly/without fuss"?
Now that it’s finally up, and given that I’ve missed the FF (the M prefix has been suspended pending an investigation by a Trades Description committee), I suppose I ought to read PaulMac's header first. But quite frankly, sod it! If the techies STILL can't get it right, I reserve the right to jump to conclusions about the rubric.
Some perennial DsD nominations - all highly recommended - that may or may not fit:
Ella Guru - Noisy Insects
Fits all three of the possible variations above: early, I know, but this is my "Surely its time has come..." nomination for the week. The lyrics fit, the vocals are suitably hushed, the subject matter is bang on. Sod the each way bet, a pound to win, please Mr. Bookie.
You can listen to it by clicking the "MUSIC" heading on the (sadly-defunct) band's website here.
Bjork - It's Oh So Quiet
May not fit quite so well, depending on topic definition!
Cowboy Junkies - Witches
Margo Timmins rarely releases her inner banshee, but even by her standards this vocal is gossamer.
Back when I've actually read this week's parameters, and caught up with the early risers !!
********************************
Goodnight, anyone still left out there.
72 comments! Well, I partly enjoy the MFF cause it's nice talking to all of you at once, so I guess we've had that here. (plus I'm still feeling stumped)
Thought of a couple of tenuous ones...Chapter 13, Common starts with the whispered message "let's talk about money..."
Shoey, when you get blizzards in Florida, we'll all run for the hills and hole up together with our RR community, fighting off Mel Gibson and Tina Turner with our excellently chosen song lists...
Not a-bleedin'-gain! What is going on?! My only thought so far is Alison Moyet's camptastic "Whispering your name", but as pointed out, it all depends on what the topic really is. Harrumph, suppose I better try and get back to sleep for an hour or two then.
I've had to get up to see to my dog. Still can't find the blog!
No blog, again? This is getting very tiresome.
8.35 here, still no blog..I hope we're not going to hear some other lame excuse, or start getting told what an enormous size of work is involved..(yawn)..so many comments..(yawn)..oh I should get to ged earlier...(yaaaaaaawn!)
Still nothing, and somehow that magnifies my general feeling of complete underwhelmingness about the A-list - normally that's taken over by excitement about the new topic, but when left in this state of aporia and expectation, the disappointment tends to take over...
If anyone's taking notes, can you tell Sid I recommended Talking 'bout A Revolution by Tracy Chapman?
Cos it "sounds like a whisper".
Or shall we do the show right here in this barn?
Hi
Sorry, premature
As opposed to the thread... I'll post on the RR blog about that.
Thought I'd address your A list concerns here though. I'm not sure I see the role of the A list to bring little-heard music to more people (though I would say that it is one of the functions of the blog). I'm not sure I do have a defining credo, but I do tend to incline towards selecting songs that are great examples of the topic under discussion. I think Hey Jude obviously qualifies because 1/ it's a great song and 2/ it shows the power of meaningless words, in this case making the song something that can become a communal experience/performance. Single Ladies, meanwhile, also conforms to criteria 1/ but to me, shows that the lineage established by doo wop and early rock'n'roll still exists in some forms today. I tried to explain that in the column. Maybe didn't do a great job.
Sorry again for last night
This quote is from RR FAQ
"The idea is not to establish a top ten of the "best" songs, but to create a diverse and engaging listening session - like building an iTunes playlist or, in those not-so-distant pre-digital days, making a compilation tape. I hope to introduce everyone to some more obscure pieces of music, reaffirm some old favourites and satisfy my own capricious whims, all at the same time."
Dorian's original perception was that the blog is fun but that the newspaper column probably has far more readers, (also the rationale for B-listers still being available for A-listing).
As the guru, you (Paul) are entitled to change that but please change the FAQs as well. Same goes for starting time. If the techies really can't cope, then change the official starting time and nobody will complain. It would be sad, however, to lose one of the few things that caters to nightowls rather than the early morning peeps. The rest of the world runs on their time, after all.
Oh god, I didn't realise I was being held to that!
I'll have a look and amend if needs be, but I guess I see the centre of operations as being the blog.
As for start time, it's going to stay at midnight.
I think you've nailed the difference there, Paul. You notice it's usually the long-termers (admittedly like myself) who have a whinge about the occasional A-list. I don't have time to find his words online, but Dorian did used to place more of the emphasis on the benefits of introducing little-known songs/artists to a wider audience, and we undoubtedly got used to that. Sometimes to the extent of Mr. Lynskey getting his own ears bent by us when he did pick the blindingly obvious / ubiquitous - anyone remember the hard time we gave him over Belinda Carlisle's Heaven Is A Place On Earth?
Although I'm on shaky ground by defining anything as blindingly obvious these days. One of the things I'm finding weird with you is the ever-more-apparent difference in our ages. Donna Summer's State Of Independence - a big chart hit back when - was new to you?
Kkerrissttt, I feel old!!!!
Anyhow, I must let you get back to your techie-bashing ... you ARE techie-bashing, aren't you?!
Keep up the good work, on the subject of which, I have a request. Would it be possible for you to mention a couple of the songs already nominated this week to use as examples / clarification to us of whether a vocal is whispered enough? I don't know about the others, but it would really help stop me from burying you under songs which are merely quiet, rather than whispered.
Ta.
Thanks Mnemonic. Obv, my lst comment was still being typed whilst you were getting on the ball quicker.
:o}
"I hope to introduce everyone to some more obscure pieces of music, reaffirm some old favourites and satisfy my own capricious whims, all at the same time."
I think we've still got that every week. The list always seems like a good mix of genres & eras, songs that are familiar and songs that are new to me.
If it's the beatles that are being called "too obvious," well, I'm not really a fan, but I recognize that they should have a place on a playlist.
(Although the last time I complained about them being on the list I stuck my foot in it, because I was talking to you, Mnemonic, and it was you that recommended the song! Still feel bad about that...)
I think a week like this, with so many suggestions, and all of them perfect for the topic, there were bound to be a lot of complaints. Still a fun topic, though, and I feel like I heard a lot of songs that were new to me.
Hi Paul,
I hope we haven't put you too much on the defensive regarding your A-list choices. As has been said before, your game, your rules, and this is the first time I've moaned about one.
I think my disappointment with this week's list was partly to do with Dorian's original intentions for the A-list, as quoted by Mnemonic above, but part of it is related to what you said about a function of the blog being to champion more obscure delights - if the A-list doesn't reflect this in some way, is this doing the blog a disservice? If someone who hasn't visited the blog saw today's list in the paper, would they be inspired to visit the blog and join in, or have any idea of the variety of suggestions made week on week therein, or would they just think it was a list anyone would have picked? I'm not advocating picking obscure songs for the sake of it, and I know you can't listen to everything suggested, just that this week's A-list isn't an accurate or inspiring reflection of the staggering breadth of choices made in the blog, and it would be a shame if the blog ended up a closed shop for those of us in the know while everyone else makes do (and nods in agreement) with the much safer published list.
I hope I've explained my problem clearly, I'm not having a go, Paul, and I'll still keep posting here and there, and enjoying it as part of my week.
Post a Comment