04 June 2021 – Dreams by Fleetwood Mac

June 5, 2021June 5, 2021 kevinisabastarddreams, kevinisabastard, kevinisabastard.comLeave a comment

“Dreams” by Fleetwood Mac is a controversial choice to wrap up my week of Vine songs. Firstly, it’s more than 40 years old and was a massive hit before anyone was dreaming of memes. Secondly, it’s not associated with Vine. “Dreams” is one of the most bizarre viral trends that have cropped up on Tik Tok. I like the idea that my final song choice in this series would be from Tik Tok because Tik Tok viral songs are a whole new world that grew from viral songs on Vine. There’s a wonderful randomness to meme virality and a Tik Tok of a man on a skateboard singing along to this song while drinking cranberry juice is a great example of that.

In some ways, it was a perfect combination and the guy deserves props for a good song choice for a moment. “Dreams” is a real cruising song. The drum track drives it along. The bass grooves away. There’s a great combination of voices. The guitars have a real dreamy effect (excuse the pun). I think the mix of the driving drumming and the dreamy guitars creates a feeling of peaceful forward momentum that really suits the vibe of skating to work and drinking cranberry juice. And I think that’s pretty fucking cool.

You can listen to “Dreams” by Fleetwood Mac here.

01 June 2021 – I Don’t Mind by Usher feat. Juicy J

June 1, 2021June 1, 2021 kevinisabastardi don't mind, juicy j, kevinisabastard, kevinisabastard.com, usherLeave a comment

Continuing with the theme of my favourite songs that are also iconic Vine songs, today’s song of the day is Usher’s “I Don’t Mind” featuring Juicy J. You can listen to it here and listen to the playlist of all the songs of the day here.

I love “I Don’t Mind” because it’s a demented song. I love that Juicy J missed the memo about this being a song about respecting strippers. I love that Usher seems confused in his wokeness. He calls this woman his bitch and assures her that being a stripper doesn’t make her a ho. The whole thing sounds like Usher is trying to convince himself that he doesn’t mind.

Usher is a bit of a wizard. He’s got a great voice for these slow jams. The song is super simple for the most part, it’s just some chords on top of beats that get more intense for the chorus. And then there’s some great nonsense ad libs from Juicy J.

And Kermit’s version is quite possibly the greatest Vines of all.

31 May 2021 – Run Away with Me by Carly Rae Jepsen

June 1, 2021 kevinisabastardcarly rae jepsen, kevinisabastard, kevinisabastard.com, run away with meLeave a comment

Carly Rae Jepsen is a legend. “Emotion” is an incredible album. “Run Away with Me” is an incredible opening track to that album and the soundtrack to two of my favourite Vines.

“Run Away with Me” is just a belter and I think it’s very underrated. The saxophone intro is iconic. The drums in the chorus are massive. If I was a teenager this would be my YA fiction romantic montage song but since I’m a grown man it’s the montage in my dreams for when I win the lottery and quit my job without working my notice.

Listen to “Run Away with Me” here. Also, a reminder that you can listen to all the songs of the day together in one playlist here.

28 May 2021 – Cake By The Ocean by DNCE

May 28, 2021May 28, 2021 kevinisabastardcake by the ocean, dnce, kevinisabastard, kevinisabastard.comLeave a comment

You can listen to “Cake By The Ocean” by DNCE here.

I once had a conversation with my brother about a college course he was doing on the history of sport. He told me about the reasons for success and popularity of certain sports and games. I guess strict rules require particular skills and creative solutions.

The idea of strict rules or constraints is something that always appeals to me in challenges. In my days of FIFA manager career modes, I liked to have self imposed constraints to make things more realistic, a French football team would be more likely to buy French speaking players, English players don’t often move abroad, etc. These little constraints are challenges to make things more realistic and more interesting.

That idea has lead me to a fascination with pop bands. I can, and always will, appreciate any good song made by a person on a computer, but the constraints of using the standard pop bands instruments of the last 70 or so years make things more interesting to me. “Cake By The Ocean” is very close to achieving that. It’s got a great funky bass line leading the whole song. There’s handclaps and a drum kit involved. There’s vocals. There’s a guitar and some backing vocals. Then there’s some extra sounds that are added on top that throw things off, but it’s very close to following the rules.

Aside from my nerdy musical snobbery, I also appreciate the lyric, “I’ll be Diddy, you be Naomi. I thoroughly enjoy that somebody felt it was necessary to write that the song is about sexual intercourse on the wikipedia entry for the song. And of course, I like that the title is based on confusing the phrases “cake by the ocean” and “sex on the beach”

27 May 2021 – Genghis Khan by Miike Snow

May 27, 2021May 28, 2021 kevinisabastardgenghis khan, kevinisabastard, kevinisabastard.com, miike snowLeave a comment

You can listen to “Genghis Khan” by Miike Snow here.

I went to see Flight Facilities in 2014 and at the very end of the set they played “Hey Ya!” by Outkast. Not a cover or a remix, just the standard original version. I remember talking to someone else afterwards and I remarked that it was a bit weird. They said that they loved it because it was a massive song for their friend group, like it was the equivalent of an inside joke that I just didn’t get. It was as if they didn’t realise that “Hey Ya!” is one of the biggest songs of all time and probably a massive song for lots of friend groups. I was thinking about the idea of what songs you can claim like that. “Genghis Khan” by Miike Snow is probably a song I feel that way about for my own friends. It’s been a regular feature at any occasion where there is a chance for anyone to suggest songs since we first heard it in 2015.

I think part of the appeal is the video, which is magical. It’s goofy but brilliant. There’s a story to it, which is always one of my favourite kind of videos. There’s fantastic dancing by people who don’t immediately look like dancers. A good video is a great first impression for a song. The song also ticks a lot of my usual boxes. It’s catchy. There’s lots of falsetto and sing along bits. I like the melodrama of the phrase “I get a little bit Genghis Khan”. Musically, it’s all about the piano which is punchy and abrupt throughout the song before pushing to the front towards the end of the song.

26 May 2021 – No Words by Erik Hassle

May 26, 2021 kevinisabastarderik hassle, kevinisabastard, kevinisabastard.com, no wordsLeave a comment

I’ve been at this for quite a while and there’s a decent bank of songs built up. I’d be interested to see the stats for the songs I’ve posted about to see what kind of time periods they’re from. I’d imagine the bulk of songs are from 2012-2015, while I was in college and spent a lot of time on buses.

“No Words” is from towards the end of that period. I remember being in college and realising that I had been mishearing the lyrics for months. I thought Erik Hassle was confessing to not being a wordsmith when he sang “I’m out of words, babe”. I liked the wordsmith lyric better. The dude has written loads of songs for himself and for people like Shakira and Rihanna so obviously he can put words together. It was like he was so disorientated by the person he’s singing to that he’s become shit at his job. And that’s what happens when you spend too much time on your own listening to the same songs. Stuff like that makes sense.

Erik Hassle is somebody I thought would be a superstar by now. He’s probably got a perfect level of success for a person, his songs have millions of plays and he’s got big writing credits, but he’s not massive. For me, he’s an incredible pop artist. His songs always have a sad disco vibe. His voice sounds like he grew up singing Prince songs. “No Words” is my favourite of his songs. There’s a great funky guitar lick throughout the song with a lot of the body of the song built up with the strings. In the verses the bass is really ominous and then when the chorus kicks in it switches up to something busier. I’ve heard him speak about the song and it was written at a time when a relationship was finished but the rest of his life was going well and he was otherwise happy. I think you really get that, because it’s a song that you can dance to, but the lyrics are obviously coming from a place of heartbreak.

You can listen to “No Words” by Erik Hassle here.

25 May 2021 – Reborn by Kids See Ghosts

May 25, 2021 kevinisabastardkevinisabastard, kevinisabastard.com, kids see ghosts, rebornLeave a comment

You can listen to “Reborn” by Kids See Ghosts here.

I was late to the party with Kid Cudi and I’ve never been a committed Kanye West fan. With Kanye, I think he has some incredible songs and then I just can’t go any deeper. With Kid Cudi, it’s borderline embarrassing because I heard rappers doing the Kid Cudi humming around 2016 and I didn’t get that it was a Kid Cudi thing for a long time. He’s a big deal in terms of his own work and songs he’s written for other artists, but also for the generation of artists that he inspired. One thing I like about all of his own songs is that he’s very up front. I’m sure there are lots of people who had never heard an artist talk about their mental health, particularly in a hip hop context. I think there’s a lot of value in people hearing about these things from someone they look up to or can relate to.

Lyrically, I like “Reborn” a lot. It’s real hopeful vibe after coming from some dark places. I’ve always thought Kanye had interesting lyrics, I think “Y’all done “specially invited guest”‘d me out” is a great phrase. Kanye’s verse is kinda confrontational and in the context of what he’s saying it seems fair. He was having a hard time and people took the piss out of him. On the other hand, Kid Cudi’s verse is more philosophical and focused on the negative past versus the positive present and future. I like that there’s a real message but it’s also cleverly written by both of them.

“Reborn” is a nice song. It feels very gentle. The piano is nice and soft and Kid Cudi’s backing vocals add a depth. The track has a slightly hypnotic vibe. Musically, it’s quite lullaby-esque and then the chorus is like a repeated mantra. It’s like some positive mentality brainwashing and I think that’s something we always need more of.

24 May 2021 – A Kiss by The Driver Era

May 24, 2021 kevinisabastarda kiss, kevinisabastard, kevinisabastard.com, the driver eraLeave a comment

Have a listen to “A Kiss” by The Driver Era here.

One thing I like about the Spotify recommendation playlist style of music consumption is the anonymity of an artist. If I’m listening to a playlist of recommendations, I’m very unlikely to follow through to see what an artist or band looks like. If I like a song I’ll have a look at their name and song title. It takes a little bit of time and regular listening for me to follow up and check their Wikipedia or their social media.

As a result of these playlists, I hear songs like “A Kiss” by The Driver Era and give it a chance. The band’s singer, Ross Lynch, is a Disney Channel kid and played Harvey in Netflix’s “Chilling Adventures of Sabrina”. I’m not that bothered by the Disney connection, but that Sabrina show was tough going. If I’d seen Harvey’s dazed dopey head bopping around to “A Kiss” I would have turned it off pretty quick.

It’s a cool song though and I’m glad I gave it a go. Lynch’s voice doesn’t sound like it should come out of him and it’s highlighted by the fact that he talks in the background of the song and it sounds like a completely different person. I’m not sure if it’s a voice that’s put on but it works in this song. The bass drives the song along and it’s mostly backed by keys. There’s a lot to the production, extra keyboards and I think there’s multiple drum tracks in there. Sometimes, it’s interesting to hear alternative versions of a song to understand what you like about it. Having listened to an acoustic version, it’s easier to place what’s so good in the standard version. There’s a fullness to the sound and the bass complements Lynch’s voice. There’s a pace and groove to it that puts it into a category of alternative rock songs that you could dance to, which is important to me. And of course, I always love a classic sing along “na na na na na”.

20 May 2021 – Freedom! ’90 by George Michael

May 20, 2021 kevinisabastardfreedom! '90, george michael, kevinisabastard, kevinisabastard.com1 Comment

You can listen to “Freedom! ’90” by George Michael here.

I was thinking about George Michael and I was going to write about how I first heard him. I went to listen to that first song that I’d heard and I got side tracked on the way so that will have to wait for another day. I watched “This is England ’90” today and as well as the similarity in title, I copped the similarity between “Freedom! 90” and some of the soundtrack to the show, most obviously “Step On” by The Happy Mondays. I thought that was a fun coincidence.

George Michael was a tremendously talented songwriter and his lyrics could be cutting or cheeky or emotional all at the same time. “Freedom! ’90” is a classic example. There’s criticism of the music business, all wrapped up in an incredible pop song. You can see that in the video which features Naomi Campbell, Cindy Crawford and Linda Evangelista and was directed by David Fincher.

The link back to Madchester tunes isn’t just that piano sound. The beat is sampled from James Brown’s “Funky Drummer”. If you do any reading about Madchester and the sound, there’s a quote from Joshua Clover about how the dance beats were descended from the James Brown track.

I have a huge amount of time for George Michael as a singer, songwriter and as a man. He has an incredible and unique voice, he has written some truly fantastic songs and he seemed like a very good dude.

19 May 2021 – Diver by Canterbury

May 19, 2021 kevinisabastardcanterbury, diver, kevinisabastard, kevinisabastard.comLeave a comment

Listen to “Diver” by Canterbury here.

There was a phase around 2011 where people were obsessed with serious over ear headphones. You had to wear them around your neck all the time so people knew you were listening to something interesting. It was a real wanker move that I was gleefully guilty of. Conceptually, the explosion of big headphones made sense around that time. The mid 2000s were a time of peak poor quality illegal downloads being blared through mobile phone speakers. Then towards the end of the decade there was a swing towards sound quality snobbery that coincided with my late teens.

One of my favourite things about serious headphones was sometimes finding songs that had way more layers than you originally noticed. My little mind would be blown sitting on the 103 bus coming up Whitworth Road in the evenings fairly regularly. “Diver” is probably the main song that I think of when I remember that feeling.

Canterbury were an English band at a weird time for English rock bands. They were kinda heavy but too good looking to be marketed as a proper heavy band so they ended up as a kind of a rock band for teenage girls. I went to see them in 2011 without having really listened to them and then downloaded their free album “Thank You”. I gave the album a listen and the chorus of “Diver” was absolutely massive. If you skip to the one minute mark you’ll hear what I mean. The drums have that indie disco rhythm going. There’s one guitar playing a riff that kinda goes in circles. There’s a second guitar throwing in disco chords. And then the bass riff has this great slide and then grooves along. You’ve got all these complete layers and it feels like each layer is a band member. Lots of bands have more instruments than band members in their songs and they lose that band feeling. “Diver” on a decent speaker makes Canterbury feel like a real band, all doing different things to make the same song.