Happy Birthday Iris

 

Welcome to Day 2 of the badly titled Everyone Has Got one Good Song blog thing.

Building the ultimate playlist with one simple rule. One artist. One song. Each day will feature a song by an artist whose birthday is that day and then nine other songs by nine different artists just because people like things to be in tens.

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Today’s selection.

Our featured birthday artist is Iris DeMent who I only know because of this one song. It was the theme tune to The Leftovers which is my favourite show-about-what-happens-to-the-world-when-a-hundred-million-people-suddenly-vanish-without-explanation. It speaks to me about a need to just accept whatever it is that has happened happen sometimes, whether that’s from a perspective of loss or grief or just what the fuck. Anyway, I like it.

So, the idea was that you might want to follow and share and either have the playlist yourself or do your own or chat about it with me, you could use the hashtag #EHGOGS.

@fourfoot on Twitter.

The other songs today….

Postcards from Italy – Beirut. Some day I’m gonna be sat on an Adriatic piazza or whatever and this is the kind of music that’ll be playing whilst I take in the sun’s rays, sipping a cool glass of something alcoholic and tasty. Maybe a breeze will blow. It’s a long time since I felt something like that. And this song better be playing when it does next.

Manana – Desaparecidos. I don’t know much about this act. I think it’s something to do with your dude from Bright Eyes. But it’s angry and melodic and political and it falls away into a lot of chat. I like things like that.

Working Late – Lone Justice. Before Maria McKee went all big hair 80s pop, she was the singer of an Ok band. I like this. I can imagine Kirsty McColl covering it. It's got massive fuck you and your lies energy.

Into The Blue – Geneva. Mid 90s surging Scottish indie-by-numbers with a falsetto dude up front. But still a shit load better than a lot of the shite that dominated those godawful Shine compilations.

Kaltes Klares Wasser – Malaria! Love an exclamation mark after a killer disease me. Go Malaria! It’s very 1981. I guess a lot of German kids really dug New Order’s first album. And I know nothing else about this but Chicks on Speed (who will pop up here at some point) covered this too.

Tuff Ghost – Unicorns – early 2000s synth indie thing like Hot Chip were making at the same time. And though I hate the spelling, I do like the over dramatic childishness of the whole thing.

My Love Explodes – Dukes of Stratosphear. It’s a song about jizzing isn’t it?

One Mint Julep – Clovers – bit of good old fashioned rhythm and booze for the weekend crowd. I don’t think I’ve ever had a julep. Will need to correct this if I ever find myself (oh hang on I can just cut and paste the flight of fancy I had earlier) - sat on an Alabama porch or whatever and this is the kind of music that’ll be playing whilst I take in the sun’s rays, sipping a cool glass of something alcoholic and tasty. Maybe a breeze will blow. It’s a long time since I felt something like that. And this song better be playing when it does next.

Angelina/Zooma Zooma (live) – Louis Prima – I put this on a compilation tape for my mate Garry’s 30^th in 2000 and he tells me that song made it’s way onto every compilation tape in the Lancaster area for the next couple of years such was it’s impact when he put it on. That makes me happy. This song should make you happy too.

Tomorrow, it’s Sandy Denny and nine more….