Little Richard – I Don’t Know What You’ve Got But It’s Got Me

Written by the great Don Covay, this is a superb Little Richard performance that demonstrates just what a marvellous soul singer he could have been. Compared to his earlier, and much better-known, records this is a rather restrained affair, although packed with intensity – not least in the spoken word segment where he sobs and sounds like a southern preacher.

Fantastic lyrics, fantastic playing, it’s up there with the very best of sixties soul.

Of additional interest, that’s a young Jimi Hendrix you can hear on guitar…

Peter Andre – Kiss The Girl

Although he’s regarded as a figure of fun these days, we shouldn’t forget that there was a time when Peter Andre was a significant artist. After releasing a string of critically-acclaimed…

Of course, I’m kidding. But I’ve always loved his version of this Little Mermaid song. And I don’t care what you think.

Fucked Up – Queen of Hearts

From Fucked Up’s mighty David Comes To Life concept LP, this, the opening track, sets up the story of David falling in love with Veronica, and vice versa. The story as a whole is a sprawling affair set in Thatcher’s Britain that troubles itself with various postmodern conceits such as meta-narratives and unreliable narrators. A breakdown of it, including the lyrics, can be found here.

The great thing about the album, despite Fucked Up’s hardcore credentials and their standing among the hipster Pitchfork set (nothing wrong with that, by the way), is that it’s nothing less than a pop masterpiece. Above all of it, and working trough it – through Damian Abraham’s (Pink Eyes) brutal voice and the layers of screeching guitars  – are melodies that just won’t give up. Straightforward melodies, simple melodies but they hold the whole thing together. It’s almost as if with this record they really wanted to reach out. Thrilling stuff.

Below is the official video, along with a link to a video of a great live performance:

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Fucked Up on Pitchfork.

M.I.A. – Tell Me Why

I like M.I.A. I know she’s a bit annoying and that her politics are (to be kind) naive and stupid, but as a musician and a performer she’s still one of the most interesting things out there. Not least because she seems to not quite fit anywhere.

Tell Me Why is a decent example of how she manages to sound both mainstream and edgy at the same time. It has a tune and ‘proper’ singing but they’re enveloped by Diplo’s dense, and rather sluggish, production – the retreating, falling, drum pattern and the looped and distant voices. Very Animal Collective-ish.

Led Zeppelin – Communication Breakdown

I first heard this song on the Age of Atlantic sampler LP that I had as a kid. That I still have. (There’s a nice piece about it, and its great plasticine cover, here.)

Led Zeppelin had two tracks on the record: this one and Whole Lotta Love. I was, of course, aware of the latter from Top of the Pops’ use of the CCS version. Still, it was something of a thrill to hear the original in all its glory.

During that period, at a time when punk and new wave were all the rage, it was decidedly uncool to like Led Zeppelin. And quite right too. But Communication Breakdown was the song I always used to play to friends to convince them that Zep were different from the proggy nonsense that we were all supposed to despise. Of course, I was misleading them a bit because this song isn’t necessarily typical of their work, not least with its two-and-a-half minutes running time.

I think I even argued that it had a direct influence on punk. Which maybe it did.

World’s End Girlfriend – We Are The Massacre

Beautiful. And harrowing.

Mic Christopher – Kid’s Song

I was listening to this song the other day and decided to find out a bit more about Mic Christopher. Sadly, it turns out that he died in 2001: fell down some stone steps, banged his head, went into a coma and never regained consciousness. He was only 32. The poor sod.

This song, taken from his lovely posthumous LP, Skylarkin’, suggests that we lost quite a talent.