And another thing…

Tom – loved the playlist…I have only one addition to suggest because I’ve seen them at so many festivals, and it’s such a summery sound: Bloc Party, Helicopter……love the chorus…”are you hoping for a miracle?”

Shouldn’t have let Gordoom escape the office, the weather has collapsed since he went on leave.

Kudos for having the bluetones on there Saw them at Glastonbury in 2000, great band.

Listening to The Counting Crows cover of Big Yellow Taxi borders on blasphemy.

I would add “Oh Lori” by the Alessi brothers to that list. It always brings back memories of the long hot summer days of years gone by.

Not one piece of classical music Tom.Its a very narrow choice but then you are a labour man.

Try listening to Bachs Brandenburg No 3 its a wonderful uplifting piece.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=16AscICqXf8

My god, you’re all grumpy buggers. Believe it or not, Tom’s choice of music has nothing to do with politics, nor is it an opportunity to crack rather weak political jokes. Have you considered acquiring a life!?

Argh, Simply Red!!?? Much like my feelings over lists with Sion Simon in them, any list with Simply Red is immediately discredited (although you do have some good tunes on there, esp. Boston).

I think Obnoxio the Clown has a point. Going off the MetOffice data, and counting summer 2007 as a Brown summer (we all knew he was coming, including the weather gods) the average rainfall in a Blair summer was 206.87mm. In the past two summers the average was 315.9mm, a 53% increase. Coincidence?

The list certainly is short on classical(as well as romantic, baroque, modern) music, as Johnny Norfolk says.

But considering the digitally murdered reception one gets on any music downloaded, perhaps it’s understandable!

Liberanos, Johnny. It’s also short on Death Metal, World Music, Blues, Folk, Techno and Trance. Hardly a political statement.

Awful. Truly, truly awful.

Oh God! I’m 43 and I’ve only heard of 5 of them.

@Alasdair

Not entirely sure I understand the ‘political statement’ bit.

Are you saying Tom should only make political contributions to the blog?

You simply cannot have a summer playlist that doesn’t include The Isley Brothers. Pretty much any track will do, but clearly “Summer Breaze” would be the most appropriate.

obangobang – As it happens, “This Old Heart of Mine” is my number 1 all-time favourite pop song, and it’s on many other playlists of mine.

“I wanna go where love is” by the Foreigners?

Common as dirt. Smooth as silk.

Sorry to be a pedant, but it’s actually “I wanna know what love is”. But you’ve just reminded me to put another Foreigner rack, “Cold As Ice” on the list.

Tom.
Oh yeah.
Sorry for the Mondegreen.

Tom, no Beach Boys? Criminal.

No summer comp is complete without Jonathan Richman and The Modern Lovers’ ‘That Summer Feeling’, and St Etienne’s ‘Nothing Can Stop Us Now’. Or ‘Deep Blue Breath’, by A.R. Kane.

Johnny Norfolk, a man of taste and refinement. I am one of those people who would have some AC/DC followed by a Beethoven Sonata, then a bit of jazz.

Anyway my two pieces of classical music for yours and everyone else’s pleasure include the 3rd movement of Bach’s Italian Concerto for the piano. The lady does make a small mistake but she can tinkle my ivories anytime, matron and Chopin’s Nocturne No 20 in C# Minor. The latter particularly deserves a wider audience. As a Sunday afternoon basher it is my limit technically what I can play. Just remember it says Lento, very slow, I’ve heard it destroyed by being played at adagio or even andante, off with their heads.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SBWPrEaQDwM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=79Wsp9TpIZw

I love how Alasdair drives towards the common sense position with “music has nothing to do with political stance”, only to crash ignorantly into a wall of twentieth history.

Carolyn’s not impressed!

I bought a Motown compilation CD recently, most of the tracks on that feel very summery and upbeat. We’ve been playing it in the car a lot, on No 1 Son’s insistence. One favourite is the Contours’ Do You Love Me (Now That I Can Dance)? – ‘I can mash potato, I can do the twist, now tell me baby, do you like it like this?? Do you like it like this??? Tell me! Tell me! Tell me! Watch me now!!!’ That one. Not very sophisticated, but it’s fun.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9g-1NRN8srY

We also like the Supremes’ You Can’t Hurry Love, which Son also spotted must have influenced Katrina and the Waves’ Walking on Sunshine, another summery sound: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4z_usl6i9IY
Incidentally, the Katrina video features – strangely enough – the Houses of Parliament in the background at one point. It’s also the only rock video, as far as I know, to feature feeding some ducks – I suspect they didn’t have an enormous budget for the video.

Another one that conjures up sunny days is Siouxsie and the Banshees’ spaced out version of Dear Prudence:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3AD740iyTLw&feature=related

‘Dear Prudence, greet the brand new day. The sun is up, the sky is blue, it’s beautiful and so are you, dear Prudence, won’t you come out to play.’ Please note: no prizes to anyone shoe-horning in a reference to G Brown and his erstwhile devotion to Prudence.

Tom, I know it sounds highly improbable or even impossible, but I think your taste in music is getting worse. Surely ‘Go Square Go’ by Glasvegas is the sound of summer for many people. Well it’s better than bloody ELO anyway.

Typical New Labour propaganda.

I am with you on Boston, ELO and Chris Isaac. I always cry when I hear “Wicked Game” (It’s a long story) This world is only going to break your heart.

Please add to your play list

http://www.divshare.com/download/7158581-b1a

This is the latest from my protege, Bob David Bell – free to dowload.

The Album has just been released and Tom, if you send me an address, I will mail you a pristine, shrink wrapped copy!