ladyislingering

Among my recent enjoyment:

The Rolling Stones - "Play With Fire"



The Rolling Stones - "Mother's Little Helper"



I was completely obsessed with this ridiculously dumb song a few years ago.

1910 Fruitgum Co. - "1-2-3 Red Light"



Ki and I watched "Zoolander" earlier and I could not help but delight in this song's presence. I always like to unearth this video around Halloween anyway.

Herbie Hancock - "Rockit"

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ladyislingering

I think it's time to do a special feature on Roxy Music. I won't bore anyone with history or specifics, because it's really all about the music. However, I will mention that the noticeable shift in Roxy Music's general sound after "For Your Pleasure" is due to Brian Eno's exit from the group. With or without him, I love this band. Here's some of my favorite songs from each album.

Selections from Roxy Music (1972)

"Ladytron" (Old Grey Whistle Test)

Bryan Ferry's looking superfine here. And this song is just incredible. People must have heard it back then and wondered what the hell was going on. It's so bizarre, though it does give a nod to the psychedelic rock of the late 60s (in the UK and the US) with Eno's "treatments".



"If There is Something"

I love this song because the first time I heard it, I was so taken off-guard. I wasn't really sure what I was hearing, what to make of it, how to feel about it, but it just touched my glam-loving soul. I love Bryan's vocal strain, and the bizarre Ladytron-esque melodies about mid-way through and toward the end. This is just a great song. Simple as that.



"Bitter's End"

This one's incredibly Sparks-like, but came about before Sparks did, if that makes any sense. It's like a crooning 50's love song with a little bit of spook and a little bit of weirdness. It's just really something. Just listen.



Selections from "For Your Pleasure" (1973)

"Strictly Confidential"

Gloomy, hypnotic, melodic, and lovely.



"The Bogus Man"

This is just a great song to get really messed up to. Or to listen to when you're stoned or drunk or any other sort of chemical modification. Mainly because you can groove on this **** for like 10 minutes. It's groovy, strange, and a little creepy. It's even a little proggy, if not for all the art-rock stuff being thrown at you at a weirdly comfortable pace. I could listen to this song a thousand times and still it never bores me.



"For Your Pleasure"

With its luscious lyrics and psychedelic melody, this is almost 7 minutes of perfection. It's a soothing, beautiful end to this weird album. The "tara, tara" at the end always gives me a spook. I don't know why.



Selections from "Stranded" (1973)

"Just Like You"

Bryan Ferry's vocals just make me swoon. For some reason this song is a lot like something Squeeze might record a decade later.



"Mother of Pearl"

I hope none of you are stoned upon listening to this, because it'll freak you out for quite a while and you'll never get to the exceptionally beautiful part.



"Serenade"

This is just a really great track. It's more of what Roxy Music was slowly shaping into. It's some good rock. That's really all I can say.



Selections from "Country Life" (1974)

"Bitter Sweet"

This is just a rollicking track, full of surprises, lush with instruments, with some terrifying German lyrics thrown in. It's one of my most favorite Roxy Music songs. I can't exactly explain what I love so much about it; it's just an unusual song.

***I could only find a video with this song and the next, with "Casanova"***

"Triptych" begins at 4:50/"Casanova" at 8:00. "Casanova" is pretty groovy, too.

"Triptych"

I just love the intro of this song, it really drew me in because it was so odd. The rest of it is awesome, too, but ... that weird intro.



"A Really Good Time"

There's really nothing particularly special about the sound of this song. I remember just being so taken with the lyrics the first time I heard it, and it instantly became a favorite of mine.




Selections from "Siren" (1975)

"Both Ends Burning"

This song will always sound fresh to me. There's just something totally timeless about it. It's an electronic masterpiece. This is classic Roxy Music style.



"Love is the Drug"

This is possibly the first Roxy Music song I ever heard. I was about 15 at the time. I was completely sold. It's not really my favorite anymore, but it deserves some recognition because it's still a pretty good track.



"She Sells"

This is so much like the groovy stuff that was going on in the states at the time. I'm not sure what to say about this; I feel like it would have climbed the charts in the US, had they been more popular across the pond. This is just so groovy. Almost disco-groovy at some point.



Selections from "Manifesto" (1979)

"Angel Eyes"

This is just a great pop song, while still being, of course, Roxy Music and classy as hell.



"Dance Away"

Another great pop song. Delightful, and remixed about a thousand times in its lifetime. Lush. Have at it.



I have to confess that I'm not super-familiar with "Manifesto" in its entirety just yet, but I'm working on that as I write this. I actually have the LP, I've just never played it. I'm a bad person.

Selections from "Flesh + Blood" (1980)

"In the Midnight Hour"

Just a great cover of Wilson Pickett's original. Enjoy it.



"Same Old Scene"

This one sounds like it should have been on "Manifesto" or (as we'll find out later) "Avalon". Just a pleasant, smooth listen.



Here's a weird cover of the Byrds' "Eight Miles High" ...



"Avalon" (1982)

I just really love "Avalon" as an album. I'm sure I've mentioned it before but it's one of my most favorite albums of all time, so it's hard to choose which songs are my favorites.

If you have about half an hour to spare, just listen to this. If you need to calm down, chill out, feel totally awesome, whatever. Whatever you need, you need to listen to this album.



Personal highlights:

More Than This
The Space Between
While My Heart is Still Beating
True to Life

I seriously have chills just listening to the first track.

I hope I've turned someone on to the magical world of Roxy Music. That's all for me tonight.

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ladyislingering

Recently enjoyed:

David Bowie - "Drive-in Saturday"



Smith - "Baby, it's You"



The Yardbirds - "For Your Love"



The Moody Blues - "Nights in White Satin"



Also, around '09-'10, I was pretty obsessed with this weird bunch of space cadets ...

Sigue Sigue Sputnik - "21st Century Boy"



Sigue Sigue Sputnik - "Love Missile F-11"

You'll remember this from Ferris Bueller's Day Off.



Sigue Sigue Sputnik - "Mickey Mouse is Going to Hell"



That's all I've got for now.

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ladyislingering

So I've been grooving on Strawberry Alarm Clock these past few days. They were a favorite of mine in high school, back when I was probably groovier than I'll ever be, but only now do I really appreciate how far-out these guys really were.

Everyone should know this song. Everyone.

In one of my high school notebooks (probably my composition book, which was handed in at the end of every class) I'd sketched down "who cares what games we choose/little to win, but nothing to lose".

"Incense and Peppermints"



This next song reminds me of many mornings/afternoons spent traipsing around town taking pointless pictures and enjoying my own company as a young girl.

I've always loved the line "old folks try to catch their breath as children catch their jacks". This song is just packed with interesting passages.

"Barefoot in Baltimore"



This one reminds me of someone I knew at the time. I used to play it to taunt him, because he had a tiny dick.

"Small Package"



I always thought this was some kind of really deep stuff, but here's a ton of nonsense lyrics written by a bunch of dudes who were obviously tripping their asses off.

"Black Butter [Past/Present/Future]"



And this is just 8 and a half minutes of pure psychedelic grooviness.

"The World's On Fire"



Another long, groovy one for you:

"Curse of the Witches"



But what I've really been grooving on is this.

"Pretty Song (from Psych Out)"



I was going to write an entire feature on these guys, but it seems sort of fruitless. Nobody really knows who they are, so I may as well just post my favorites and be on my merry way.

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