Posted April 24, 200817 yr This is England .... My Album of quintessential songs ...... that only could have come from & celebrate England 1. The Kinks - Waterloo Sunset - This is so sixties English, the best era for pop music ever certainly from a English perspective. This song was written about London. 2. The Beatles - Penny Lane - A serious contender for McCartney's best ever lyric due to the way each line paints an aural collage of images in your head about Liverpool in the 1960s. Of course the song is not as good as Strawberry Fields Forever, but unusually on this occasion Paul trumps John on the lyric front. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wgTaH8PbeqM 3. Small Faces - Lazy Sunday - Steve Marriott & Ronnie Lane came up with this delightful cocktail of 1960s suburbia part inspired by the immensely popular Olivier movie that was out at this time, hence Steve's exaggerated "Mockney" vocals for two thirds of this psychedelic knees up. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zTAC-fy85hI 4. Nick Drake - River Man - Nick Drake had the voice of a tormented angel, that is beautiful and haunting. An amazing song that for me gives a peek into another enchanted world, where it is always Summer. "..tell him about the plan for lilac time.." Enough to bring tears to your eyes, especially when you understand the circumstances of his death. The actress in the video is Gabrielle Drake, his sister. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y9HRo-9mqrQ 5. Kate Bush - Oh England, My Lionheart - A song written by Kate from the perspective of an English World War 2 Spitfire fighter pilot falling to his death thinking about everything he had left behind and was never to see again .... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xakoLYwokBo 6. Sex Pistols - God Save The Queen - To people who were not around then it is difficult to comprehend how shocking this song was to the establishment, that makes the Arctic Monkeys seem like Take That. Fantastic nihilistic lyrics by John Lydon. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8z2M_hpoPwk 7. Squeeze - Pulling Mussels (From The Shell) - A good old song about Sex... but in the very English way of a local seaside holiday, which is what most of us had to make do with in the summer as that was all we could afford back in the day... Plenty of English lyrical referrences thanks to Chris Difford's fantastic lyrics complimenting Glenn Tilbrook's melodies. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jaEcUMrsBhU 8. XTC - Towers of London - There was no chance I was going to compile this and leave out this band. Andy Partridge & Colin Moulding I salute you. As I've said before the Kaiser Chiefs have based their career on this band's back catalogue. (Although listening to the coda of this song it is clear it is inspired by Paul McCartney's Listen To What The Man Said :lol:) The sadest thing is that most teenagers now would relate Towers of London to that t*** who appeared on Celebrity Big Brother & his talent free zone of a band. 9. The Specials - Ghost Town - Written about Coventry, but as 1981 was the year of race riots in London, Liverpool, Bradford, Bristol & Leicester in Thatcher's recession hit, 3 million+ on the dole Britain, then it could apply to any major town with a large populus of young men. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=28TeUbYvXS0 10. The Jam - That's Entertainment - As someone growing up in a council estate in an English town in the 1980s, I can relate to every single lyric of this song. There is no way in the world that someone from Seattle, USA could have written this. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mv55WsedLYI 11. Madness - House Of Fun - Another song about sex, or rather reaching the legal age of consent. A band who influences were as much Monty Python, The Goons & The Goodies, as The Kinks, Ian Dury & the Blockheads & the Specials. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3WDdRqs-76Y 12. The Smiths - Sheila Take A Bow - If ever a band in the history of popular music defined Englishness, then the Smiths are a shoe-in at #1. Virtually impossible to select one track to represent their canon representing Morrissey's awkward Englishness, but I've picked this track due to it's deliberate borrowing of some of David Bowie's Kooks lyrics.
April 24, 200817 yr I love eight of that selection. I'd have preferred XTC's Making Plans For Nigel though - I love the words to it. Norma
April 25, 200817 yr This is England .... My Album of quintessential songs ...... that only could have come from & celebrate England 1. The Kinks - Waterloo Sunset - This is so sixties English, the best era for pop music ever certainly from a English perspective. This song was written about London. 2. The Beatles - Penny Lane - A serious contender for McCartney's best ever lyric due to the way each line paints an aural collage of images in your head about Liverpool in the 1960s. Of course the song is not as good as Strawberry Fields Forever, but unusually on this occasion Paul trumps John on the lyric front. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wgTaH8PbeqM 3. Small Faces - Lazy Sunday - Steve Marriott & Ronnie Lane came up with this delightful cocktail of 1960s suburbia part inspired by the immensely popular Olivier movie that was out at this time, hence Steve's exaggerated "Mockney" vocals for two thirds of this psychedelic knees up. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zTAC-fy85hI 4. Nick Drake - River Man - Nick Drake had the voice of a tormented angel, that is beautiful and haunting. An amazing song that for me gives a peek into another enchanted world, where it is always Summer. "..tell him about the plan for lilac time.." Enough to bring tears to your eyes, especially when you understand the circumstances of his death. The actress in the video is Gabrielle Drake, his sister. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y9HRo-9mqrQ 5. Kate Bush - Oh England, My Lionheart - A song written by Kate from the perspective of an English World War 2 Spitfire fighter pilot falling to his death thinking about everything he had left behind and was never to see again .... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xakoLYwokBo 6. Sex Pistols - God Save The Queen - To people who were not around then it is difficult to comprehend how shocking this song was to the establishment, that makes the Arctic Monkeys seem like Take That. Fantastic nihilistic lyrics by John Lydon. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8z2M_hpoPwk 7. Squeeze - Pulling Mussels (From The Shell) - A good old song about Sex... but in the very English way of a local seaside holiday, which is what most of us had to make do with in the summer as that was all we could afford back in the day... Plenty of English lyrical referrences thanks to Chris Difford's fantastic lyrics complimenting Glenn Tilbrook's melodies. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jaEcUMrsBhU 8. XTC - Towers of London - There was no chance I was going to compile this and leave out this band. Andy Partridge & Colin Moulding I salute you. As I've said before the Kaiser Chiefs have based their career on this band's back catalogue. (Although listening to the coda of this song it is clear it is inspired by Paul McCartney's Listen To What The Man Said :lol:) The sadest thing is that most teenagers now would relate Towers of London to that t*** who appeared on Celebrity Big Brother & his talent free zone of a band. 9. The Specials - Ghost Town - Written about Coventry, but as 1981 was the year of race riots in London, Liverpool, Bradford, Bristol & Leicester in Thatcher's recession hit, 3 million+ on the dole Britain, then it could apply to any major town with a large populus of young men. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=28TeUbYvXS0 10. The Jam - That's Entertainment - As someone growing up in a council estate in an English town in the 1980s, I can relate to every single lyric of this song. There is no way in the world that someone from Seattle, USA could have written this. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mv55WsedLYI 11. Madness - House Of Fun - Another song about sex, or rather reaching the legal age of consent. A band who influences were as much Monty Python, The Goons & The Goodies, as The Kinks, Ian Dury & the Blockheads & the Specials. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3WDdRqs-76Y 12. The Smiths - Sheila Take A Bow - If ever a band in the history of popular music defined Englishness, then the Smiths are a shoe-in at #1. Virtually impossible to select one track to represent their canon representing Morrissey's awkward Englishness, but I've picked this track due to it's deliberate borrowing of some of David Bowie's Kooks lyrics. cant argue with this at all... a superb selection of 'britpop' music . love 'pulling muscles(from a shell)', an overlooked squeeze track imho. xtc did have their detractors though...much though they were good, in the same way cod cites the kaisers for using xtc as their main scource of material so xtc were accused of copying 60's artists from the beatles, kinks, small faces in particular.
April 25, 200817 yr tbh i think youve chosen the definitive list there mate!... you could possibly argue to swap afew kinks tracks, 'dead end street', 'dedicated follower of fashion' or 'sunny afternoon' would easily fit the bill.
April 25, 200817 yr Good selection of music there! And a thumbs up from me too for Pulling Muscles by Squeeze - I had that single on red vinyl back in 1980.
April 25, 200817 yr Excellent selection, TIP, only one I don't know is Nick Drake. Was that his sister that was on moonbase in UFO? :)
April 26, 200817 yr Author Excellent selection, TIP, only one I don't know is Nick Drake. Was that his sister that was on moonbase in UFO? :) ^ Yes it was. Cheers for all your comments
April 26, 200817 yr I think that's a pretty definitive list, too. Only 2 slight amendments I'd make - I'd put 'Delius' in instead of 'Oh England My Lionheart' for La Bush, and I'd have to omit 'Sheila Take a Bow' in favour of 'Last Night I Dreamt That Somebody Loved Me' - just because it's one of the best songs ever written :P
April 27, 200817 yr Good choices indeed - although I'd maybe omit Madness and put in Billy Bragg's 'A New England' - or maybe even the Kirsty MacColl cover. Might also switch the Smiths song for 'Panic' just for the list of towns! Oh...and similarly, as a bonus track? 'It's Grim Up North' by the Justified Ancients of Mu Mu!
April 27, 200817 yr I think I'd include 'My Love of This Land' by Killing Joke, too - great, great single about the beauty of England.
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