Lights Out: Sleeve Notes PLUS BONUS TRACKS!
Monday, December 16th, 2019 12:36 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
tamaranth01 Glitter and Gold—Barns Courtney
Discovered via a Marvel fanvid (here, if you're interested). I liked it so much I bought the album.
02 Melt by the Morning—The Duke Spirit
From this year's DJRiko Merry Mixmas, always a source of joy (yes, even the day after the UK election) and new Christmas music.
03 Nitro—Dick Dale
Dick Dale and his Deltones were an integral part of the music I grew up with: radio play, younger relatives, and (somewhat later) the Pulp Fiction soundtrack. Dick Dale died this year. Woe.
04 La Nuit—Superbravo
Gentle winter music in French. I love the texture of this. Discovered via Bandcamp, and the ChristmasUnderground blog.
05 Lights Out—Royal Blood
I have no idea where or when I first heard this, except that it was this year and I wrote it down, fairly coherently. Might've been a Shazam find?
06 Red Sun—Anna von Hausswolff
Someone at Worldcon, on one of the music panels, recommended Anna von HaussWolff -- possibly as inspirational music to write to. Can I remember who mentioned her? I cannot. Am I pleased to have discovered her music? I am.
07 Just a Girl—No Doubt
From the soundtrack of my favourite Marvel movie of the year, Captain Marvel, which is awesome and funny in all kinds of ways, has a delightful 90s girl-band soundtrack (sadly not available as an actual CD) and which made me much happier than Endgame with its character assassinations.
08 I Want New Ramones Songs (For Christmas)—Vista Blue
Seasonally relevant and short. I encountered this by searching for Christmas on HypeMachine. Oh for the days when I had only just discovered 'Merry Christmas (I Don't Want to Fight Tonight)'.
09 Danny Says—Ramones
Number 24 in the Guardian's wrong-headed Guardian's 50 Greatest Christmas Songs , on the basis of the line 'it ain't Christmas 'cause there ain't no snow', which I had always assumed to be a reference to cocaine.
10 All the Queen's Horses—Shakespear's Sister
A new Shakespear's Sister EP, with fabulous videos and that angsty tension coupled with perfect pop. It's not quite up there with 'Stay' or 'Primitive Lover' but OMG yes.
11 Today—Talk Talk
Mark Hollis (vocals) died this year, and I was sad because this particular song was something I played on the school bus. It has all the minor-key goth hand-staple-forehead of bigger New Romantic hits, without the lucrative tang of commercial success.
12 High on Xmas—Oh! Gunquit
I am spending Christmas at home on my own for the first time in ... ever? Certainly not for some time. I shall languish on the couch with CAT and WINE and INDULGENT BAROQUE MUSIC and possibly a Marvel film. And some Naproxen. That counts as 'high', yes?
13 My Best Friend’s Girl—The Cars
Ric Ocasek died this year aged 75. (!!!) I first heard this on one of those cover-version 'Chart Favourites' cassettes from Woolworths in the late 1970s, eep, and it instantly clicked. I still think it's one of the finest pop/New Wave singles ever: that riff makes me melt. What exactly are 'nuclear boots' though?
14 I Need Never Get Old—Nathaniel Rateliff & the Night Sweats
Having loved 'S.O.B.' (see a previous CD) I discovered the whole album! And this seemed appropriate for all those people dying, the ones I thought were around my age ...
15 Friend, Please—twenty one pilots
Just like Muse when Muse were good and had prog-rock keyboard bridges. This is another one that I don't know where I heard it first, but am very glad I did.
16 Shut Up // Enjoy—Jumper Boy
Up and coming Sheffield band. I once went to a Libertines gig with the bassist.
17 Donner and Blitzen—Rob Halford
Ah, Rob Halford. Still got it, mate. This is a proper pagan metal Christmas track, delightful in its refusal to be frivolous. Bonus points to Rob for being out: the heavy rock world does not have enough LGBT+ representation.
18 Extra Gin—The Doubleclicks
I saw and fell for the Doubleclicks at Worldcon: happy, gentle, genderfluid acoustic pop. This song pretty much sums up my social anxiety, my increasing acceptance thereof, and my reaction to the state of the world.
19 Woody Guthrie—Alabama 3#
Yet another death: the Reverend D Wayne Love (a.k.a. Jake Black) died this year, not very old, very sadly missed. I saw A3 live several times, thanks to multiple friends who were serious fans, and they combined excellent danceable music with splendidly ironic stage personae. Unfortunately I've put my very favourite A3 tracks on previous CDs: but this one seemed relevant.
20 Moving to Scotland—Mitch Benn
Also relevant: see under 'UK Election'. To be honest, Scotland would not suit me: I struggle enough with winter in soft southern latitudes where the sun does occasionally rise above the horizon. But oh my god let me out of Tory Britain please.
21 Next Year will be Mine—Whyte Horses
This is me ending on a note of positivity. It's also a delightfully upbeat Christmas / New Year song. I hope next year is for all of you, my dear friends (and others who found the link) and that the best is yet to come.
I paid money for all of these songs: some are from CDs I've owned for years, some are from Bandcamp, some are from Amazon. If you like any of the tracks, please buy more by the artist(s)!
Bonus Tracks!
These didn't make it onto the CD ...
An extra festive track: What if Santa Claus is just Twenty Ferrets in awetsuit* Red Suit -- Goddammit Jeremiah
An extra sadly-missed track: Up And Down Around -- The Muffs (RIP Kim Shattuck)
Another festive track: Getting in the Mood (for Christmas) -- Brian Setzer and the Brian Setzer Orchestra (this is a Marmite song).
Another in memoriam: Mirror in the Bathroom -- The Beat (RIP Ranking Roger)
*Thank you Claire for putting this in my head. Thank you ever so much.
Discovered via a Marvel fanvid (here, if you're interested). I liked it so much I bought the album.
02 Melt by the Morning—The Duke Spirit
From this year's DJRiko Merry Mixmas, always a source of joy (yes, even the day after the UK election) and new Christmas music.
03 Nitro—Dick Dale
Dick Dale and his Deltones were an integral part of the music I grew up with: radio play, younger relatives, and (somewhat later) the Pulp Fiction soundtrack. Dick Dale died this year. Woe.
04 La Nuit—Superbravo
Gentle winter music in French. I love the texture of this. Discovered via Bandcamp, and the ChristmasUnderground blog.
05 Lights Out—Royal Blood
I have no idea where or when I first heard this, except that it was this year and I wrote it down, fairly coherently. Might've been a Shazam find?
06 Red Sun—Anna von Hausswolff
Someone at Worldcon, on one of the music panels, recommended Anna von HaussWolff -- possibly as inspirational music to write to. Can I remember who mentioned her? I cannot. Am I pleased to have discovered her music? I am.
07 Just a Girl—No Doubt
From the soundtrack of my favourite Marvel movie of the year, Captain Marvel, which is awesome and funny in all kinds of ways, has a delightful 90s girl-band soundtrack (sadly not available as an actual CD) and which made me much happier than Endgame with its character assassinations.
08 I Want New Ramones Songs (For Christmas)—Vista Blue
Seasonally relevant and short. I encountered this by searching for Christmas on HypeMachine. Oh for the days when I had only just discovered 'Merry Christmas (I Don't Want to Fight Tonight)'.
09 Danny Says—Ramones
Number 24 in the Guardian's wrong-headed Guardian's 50 Greatest Christmas Songs , on the basis of the line 'it ain't Christmas 'cause there ain't no snow', which I had always assumed to be a reference to cocaine.
10 All the Queen's Horses—Shakespear's Sister
A new Shakespear's Sister EP, with fabulous videos and that angsty tension coupled with perfect pop. It's not quite up there with 'Stay' or 'Primitive Lover' but OMG yes.
11 Today—Talk Talk
Mark Hollis (vocals) died this year, and I was sad because this particular song was something I played on the school bus. It has all the minor-key goth hand-staple-forehead of bigger New Romantic hits, without the lucrative tang of commercial success.
12 High on Xmas—Oh! Gunquit
I am spending Christmas at home on my own for the first time in ... ever? Certainly not for some time. I shall languish on the couch with CAT and WINE and INDULGENT BAROQUE MUSIC and possibly a Marvel film. And some Naproxen. That counts as 'high', yes?
13 My Best Friend’s Girl—The Cars
Ric Ocasek died this year aged 75. (!!!) I first heard this on one of those cover-version 'Chart Favourites' cassettes from Woolworths in the late 1970s, eep, and it instantly clicked. I still think it's one of the finest pop/New Wave singles ever: that riff makes me melt. What exactly are 'nuclear boots' though?
14 I Need Never Get Old—Nathaniel Rateliff & the Night Sweats
Having loved 'S.O.B.' (see a previous CD) I discovered the whole album! And this seemed appropriate for all those people dying, the ones I thought were around my age ...
15 Friend, Please—twenty one pilots
Just like Muse when Muse were good and had prog-rock keyboard bridges. This is another one that I don't know where I heard it first, but am very glad I did.
16 Shut Up // Enjoy—Jumper Boy
Up and coming Sheffield band. I once went to a Libertines gig with the bassist.
17 Donner and Blitzen—Rob Halford
Ah, Rob Halford. Still got it, mate. This is a proper pagan metal Christmas track, delightful in its refusal to be frivolous. Bonus points to Rob for being out: the heavy rock world does not have enough LGBT+ representation.
18 Extra Gin—The Doubleclicks
I saw and fell for the Doubleclicks at Worldcon: happy, gentle, genderfluid acoustic pop. This song pretty much sums up my social anxiety, my increasing acceptance thereof, and my reaction to the state of the world.
19 Woody Guthrie—Alabama 3#
Yet another death: the Reverend D Wayne Love (a.k.a. Jake Black) died this year, not very old, very sadly missed. I saw A3 live several times, thanks to multiple friends who were serious fans, and they combined excellent danceable music with splendidly ironic stage personae. Unfortunately I've put my very favourite A3 tracks on previous CDs: but this one seemed relevant.
20 Moving to Scotland—Mitch Benn
Also relevant: see under 'UK Election'. To be honest, Scotland would not suit me: I struggle enough with winter in soft southern latitudes where the sun does occasionally rise above the horizon. But oh my god let me out of Tory Britain please.
21 Next Year will be Mine—Whyte Horses
This is me ending on a note of positivity. It's also a delightfully upbeat Christmas / New Year song. I hope next year is for all of you, my dear friends (and others who found the link) and that the best is yet to come.
I paid money for all of these songs: some are from CDs I've owned for years, some are from Bandcamp, some are from Amazon. If you like any of the tracks, please buy more by the artist(s)!
Bonus Tracks!
These didn't make it onto the CD ...
An extra festive track: What if Santa Claus is just Twenty Ferrets in a
An extra sadly-missed track: Up And Down Around -- The Muffs (RIP Kim Shattuck)
Another festive track: Getting in the Mood (for Christmas) -- Brian Setzer and the Brian Setzer Orchestra (this is a Marmite song).
Another in memoriam: Mirror in the Bathroom -- The Beat (RIP Ranking Roger)
*Thank you Claire for putting this in my head. Thank you ever so much.
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Date: Saturday, December 21st, 2019 01:23 pm (UTC)