Category Archives: Music

My iPod #300: The Wombats – Dr Suzanne Mattox PhD

I’m not really into The Wombats anymore. I was never a huge fan of the band but I thought their singles from the first album were catchy. I think I got it for a birthday or something eventually. I think it was those “aaaahh-ooh-wah-wah” vocals that made the first album that bit more enjoyable. I’m sure the band decided to focus more on the singing than on the scatting, and that didn’t work out so well. They’re a bit boring now. Sorry.

“Dr Suzanne Mattox PhD” wasn’t released as a single from “The Wombats Proudly Present: A Guide to Love, Loss & Desperation“. I think it could have been, in my eyes. There’s a whole bunch of scat singing occurring in this one. But also it’s got a memorable chorus, a fuzzy guitar line which plays before that chorus begins, and a vocal melody, particularly during the verses, that reminds me of a song from a children’s school play for some reason. I do like that final D7 chord which ends the track too. Just like the way it sounds.

It’s about a guy falling for his GP, and gets upset whenever he sees her because she thinks he’s lying about his injuries/illness just to see her more. If you have been in that situation before, this is the song for you.

My iPod #299: Larrikin Love – Downing Street Kindling

This is the first of two posts today. This track should have gone on yesterday, but I was not feeling good… at all. So I only had time to do one. Now that’s out the way, let’s get to the song.

“Downing Street Kindling” is a song by the band Larrikin Love. The group split up years ago in 2007, and only a few months after releasing their album “The Freedom Spark“. Larrikin Love were alright. They made some real energetic folk-y type songs about life, love, and English society and whatnot. It’s a shame they broke up so soon.

“Downing Street” has lead singer Edward Leeson lamenting about living in England. He doesn’t like the government, the weather…. it has nothing more to offer him. It’s a funny one though, especially his dramatic vocal delivery when he announces that he can’t carry on in the country for he thinks.. that it is… HELL.

Even though Leeson obviously hated the country, people like the song enough that it got into the top 40 in the charts. Maybe people felt the same way.

My iPod #298: Blink-182 – Down

Hi WordPress people, and the dedicated Blogger followers.

This is my new home now. Looks good so far.

For anyone new, how are you doing? I’m Jamie. This is my blog where I comment on the songs I have on…. my iPod. Been doing it for a year and a few months now as you can see, and I actually do plan on finishing it however long it takes.

Have fun reading the previous ones. Look forward to the ones that come too.

Here’s “Down”, a track from Blink-182’s self-titled album from 2003. It came on one time on MTV2 in the UK, and I thought “ooh, a new Blink-182 song”. That was probably in 2005 or something. I didn’t know the song existed before then. Sounds bad, I know. But when the video is never shown on the television, how could I?

I like “Down”. It’s really depressing though and a bit of a downer to listen to. There’s not much else I can say about it. It’s not my favourite Blink song, but it’s still decent.

Farewell. (My iPod #297: Weezer – Dope Nose)

I’ve given up. I can’t do this anymore. A year and a bit of spouting endless rubbish about the songs I have on my iPod. How could I keep that going? This is the last post I’ll be doing. On here anyway. I’m moving to WordPress.

Even before I started this blog I always questioned myself on which blogging platform was the best to start it on. I chose Blogger ’cause it looked simple and easy to control. It is. But it’s for those reasons that I feel it’s time to move. Blogger looks too simple. I also think that I would get a bit more views if I were to go on WordPress. It looks so fancy and professional.

Blogger’s cool, but from either tomorrow or Saturday – it’s WordPress from here on out.

Let’s not end on a downer.

Here’s “Dope Nose” by Weezer, the first single from their fourth album “Maladroit” and believed to be written on the same night as another popular song by the band. The video is quite confusing; I wasn’t expecting Japanese motorcyclists either, but the track sounds like it should be played with motorcycles being revved up in the background.

Musically, the track is probably one of Weezer’s best post-Pinkerton. It has an edgy 70s hard rock roughness to it, complete with an awesome solo in the middle. However, it is backed up with some rather odd lyrics about cheese smelling good on a burnt piece of lamb and a fag of the year who could beat up your man. You will have a brief  ‘what did he just say’ moment when hearing that for the first time, but the music is so good that it overshadows it. You’ll be singing along to those weird lyrics in no time.

It is a celebratory song. I think the term ‘dope nose’ is a pun on the word ‘dope knows’, so Rivers is calling out to the haters and telling ’em he knows what he’s doing. Who those haters are, I don’t know. I should hope they weren’t hating when they heard this song for the first time.

That’ll do, Blogger. That’ll do.

I’ll be back soon. Hopefully all the posts you find on this site will be on the new one. I will provide you with a link as soon as I make it.

See you real soon.

My iPod #296: Stevie Wonder – Don’t You Worry ‘Bout a Thing

Time for a bit o’ sooooul. Weren’t expecting that were you? The D section has been very rock-oriented so far it has to be said, but it is not as if I just added this song yesterday to try and add some ‘variety’. Admittedly I have known “Don’t You Worry ‘Bout a Thing” for less time than the majority of the other tracks on here. I listened to its album some time last year when I was on a ‘quest’ to listen to the best albums ever. This is a very fine song though, so I had to add it. And it deserves to have a post.

“Don’t You Worry ‘Bout a Thing” is the penultimate track on Stevie Wonder’s 1973 album “Innversions“. It has a Latin vibe to it, started off by the stomping piano and exotic percussion which occur throughout, and comically referenced by Wonder’s mock-Spanish dialogue for the first forty seconds. After those forty seconds though, it’s serious business. Wonder delivers an outstanding vocal performance becoming more passionate with each chorus and key change, rising octaves until he eventually starts belting the song title from the top of his lungs.

Essentially it’s a song about being positive. If you didn’t get that from the title. It is a classic.