7 Bloggers . . . 7 Songs . . . 7 Links

There's a canny music meme that's been doing the rounds for a few weeks now and, at the last count, I've been tagged four times to do it but bare arsed laziness - coupled with an exceeded bandwidth - has thwarted me in complying with the repeated request.

So, whilst I'm in the process of trying to relegate my bloggers block to the bottom of the sock drawer, here's a quick series of links to a magnificent seven who have done the meme in good time.

The music choice are all theirs . . . the snotty comments are all mine . . . and, as an afterthought, rather than me tagging seven people in turn to do the meme, this is my arse about face way of finishing at the end and working my backwards.

Btw, just noticed that I've written arse twice in less than three paragraphs. It must be the dutch oven effect.

Back to this meme that has been hanging over me:

"List seven songs you are into right now. No matter what the genre, whether they have words, or even if they’re not any good, but they must be songs you’re really enjoying now, shaping your spring. Post these instructions in your blog along with your 7 songs. Then tag 7 other people to see what they’re listening to."

Bob From Brockley tagged me nearly a month ago and I was a good little blogger at the time, selecting seven songs and the rest, but the bandwidth thing intervened at the time. I can't even remember what songs I selected (that's a partial fib), and I know that I wouldn't pick the exact seven songs today or tomorrow.

Of the seven songs 'Bob's' selected, the only one that recognise is the Miles Davis track and that's only because the self-same track is mentioned in glowing terms in 'The Shoe'. Of course, I recognise three of the other artists listed but tracks 5, 6 & 7 have me reaching for the cut and paste function on the computer.

Going by Bob's selection I'm guessing that he is a bit of a muso. Has been known to subscribe to Record Collector magazine, and has index carded his record collection. Back in the day he was more of a Charlie Gillett groupie than a John Peel groupie. Been known to not only buy CDs that have been reviewed in the New Internationalist, but he's also been known to listen said CDs voluntarily.

Never Trust A Hippy Paulie over at NTAH also tagged me last month. Damn, I'm struggling here. I only recognise The Specials track - great track, btw, and I also know of Roy Ayers. (The title of his song looks interesting.) Have I already done the CDs reviewed in the New Internationalist joke? Shit, moving on then. I think Paulie may have misread the meme because his choices seem to be based more on, 'Name 7 songs that remind you of the 1981 Nottingham Riots.' I'm prompted to ask, has Nottingham ever produced any decent bands? I can only think of Paper Lace off hand.
Back to Paulie's selection. Another muso by the looks of it. And I'd always pegged him as a meat, two veg and a Jam box set sort of guy. I got him wrong. He's the Rob Gordon to 'Bob's' Barry. Music wise, they'd both intimidate the hell out of me, but I like the sound of The Enemy . . . even if I've yet to hear the sound of The Enemy.

Big Blowdown Surely I'm on safer ground with Reidski's selection? The bloke's not known for his obscurantist music tastes, and I admire him all the more for it. OK, I recognise all of the seven artists listed but only one song? What the hell?
I think I've got a handle on this meme now. The theme of the meme is the more obscure the better. Everybody's hiding their ABBA greatest hits inside a Captain Beefheart record sleeve. I'll bear that in mind when I pick seven obscure tracks in my meme

Reidski likes LCD Soundsystem? I guess someone has to.

Harpymarx Socialist-Feminist blogger is a kindred musical spirit. I actually recognise - and like - 5 of her 7 selections. Well, you can't go wrong with The Jam, Liz Fraser and Blondie. And I've long since come round to the opinion that Julian Cope is a bit of a lost treasure. He seems resigned to being a *spit* cult artist and he's much too talented to be put in that category.

A Very Public Sociologist Just like Phil over at AVPS blog to actually apologise for the best song on his list. Since when have The Boo Radleys become a guilty pleasure? I must have missed the leaking of Peter Taaffe's memo in the pages of Weekly Worker where he outlines the CWI's opposition to Britpop/Creation crossovers.
Phil mentions an Icelandic band that isn't the Sugarcubes, and tries to make a case for the monstrosity that is Morodor and Oakey's 'Together In Electric Dreams': without a shadow of a doubt the worst piece of music that Oakey has ever put his name to.

I know Phil (from Stoke, not Phil from Sheffield) is trying the old 'so bad it's good' defence with regards to Moroder and Oakey, but though that sort of logic might work with regards to the Millies transitional programme, it doesn't cut any musical mustard from where I'm sitting . . . in an aged armchair which has only one arm (on the ultra-left of where I'm sitting) and which is cut off from the working class.

Life is all Cobblers JJ comes up with the goods with a selection of The Auteurs, The Divine Comedy and one of Chumbawamba better tracks.
Nice to see that JJ didn't feel compelled to dredge up the obscure stuff to belittle the rest of us muso wise, but I have to say that, even after all these years, the jury is still out for me when it comes to McAlmont and Butler's 'Yes'. I sometimes hear it and wonder at its spine tingling majesty and lush orchestration. Other times I hear it, and I think 'Will someone stop trying to drown that cat. It just depends on which day you catch me.

Infinite Thought A totally random pick. Just typed '7 song meme + socialist' into the google search engine, and this post came in at number two (after Bob From Brockley).
Never clicked on IT before but it sounds familiar. A quick look at the links suggests that s/he might be an SWP blogger, so where's The Redskins tracks in amongst the seven? (Alleged) SWP members really have lost sight of their original political tradition.
An eclectic selection that reflects the SWP's current perspective of a popular mixtape of a special kind. From what I recognise, very last century, very angsty . . . someone who is obviously harking back to the safe political security of the downturn period.

Bet after all that, IT isn't even a Swuppie. I should have just recycled that New Internationalist joke again.

OK, that's 7 bloggers, 7 links, 49 songs and 83 gratuitous insults. If I ever get round to actually doing the meme, I'll get totally bloody slaughtered.