Songs what I have been listenining to recentlyz

1) Fear of the Dark by Iron Maiden

Normally I don't like Iron Maiden because they're one of those bands than encourage people obsessed with 80's hair metal to claim that no modern metal can match it. This is utter bullshit but anyway....

Fear of the Dark is a fantastic song. It's a lot shorter than most 80's metal songs (seven minutes, rather than the more usual nine) and it has a real progression to it. It also builds and builds in the way, for example, Telegraph Road does.

It's not fantastic by any means but it is a very good example of a genre which has been rather unfairly tainted by Aerosmith and the like.

2) 99 Red Baloons by Goldfinger

Now, as a musical purist, it does annoy me slightly to not hear this song in the original German. Particularly as I'm told the lyrics are completely different in English. Having said that, this song does beat the original in one all important way: It uses guitars instead of synth.

There is something for a trend at the moment for punk bands redoing 80's "classics". Orange did it with Karma Chameleon and their version is quite definitely better than the original.

Previously, I'd always assumed cover versions were attempts to grab quick publicity like Madonna's butchered version of American Pie. These versions are suitably obscure that they won't offend the people who legitimately love the original versions, though.

I love 99 Red Balloons for two reasons: Firstly, it is a lot faster than the original which makes it feel like it's got more energy than the original every had. Secondly, he slips into German for the third verse. This is awesome, and seems to increase the energy of the song even further

3) Jyosei Kashimashi Monogatari by Morning Musume

This one is going to be a hard sell.

Okay, so it's J-Pop, which isn't the most respected of genres (for good reason) but there are a few things I like about this one song.

1) The video is quite charming, in a really odd way.
2) It's *really* catchy
3) They do the same dance Mona does in Wario Ware: Smooth Moves
4) Most of the girls are quite hot. Which I admit has nothing to do with the music at all.
5) It's got a *lot* of energy in it. If this came on in a club, if suitable amounts of alcohol had been consumed, the dance floor would probably collapse from overly energetic dancing.

So yeah. I got recommended this, by the way. I didn't go out of my way to try and find it.

Stop judging me.

Stop it.

4) That's What You Get by Paramore

Sorry, I couldn't find a studio version of that song.

I love this song mainly because of Rock Band - I've been playing a drum campaign through on expert and this is one of the only songs I can get all the way through. The drum line is really fun to play.

Taken on its own merits, though, it's a surprisingly charming song. The singer is charismatic and it's rocky without going into actual metal territory.

5) Dirty Little Secret - The All American Rejects

Now, normally I shouldn't like the All American Rejects because they're generally a little bit emo for my liking. This is one song though that transcends its emo roots.

One reason for this is the video - which contains Post Secrets. Anyone not familiar with that project, head over to their website right now. It's incredibly touching to see these secrets for you to see in a high budget mainstream music video. It also means there's a genuine reason for the Emo - rather than generic whining which a lot of the genre tends to fall foul of.

Secondly, there's the drum line, which is a lot of fun to play. Sorry, I'll stop getting my recommendations from Rock Band one of these days.

Then there's the guitar line which is really, really damn simple but very catchy. Listen to it a few times and you'll be humming it all day.






So that's it, pretty much. I've got to go to my Ju Jitsu class now but I should say one thing before I go.

Seriously, why are the RIAA trying to close down torrent sites? I found all the songs I was after bar one studio version withing a few seconds on Youtube, one of the biggest sites on the internet.

But you can't keep those songs, you tell me.

Yes, you fucking can. Insert the word "kiss" before any youtube URL so www.youtube.com/whatever becomes www.kissyoutube.com/whatever and BINGO. A downloadable version for you.

A gift from me to you :)