Shuffle Sunday - A Valentines Special

Love is in the air, and even I, the Mistress, can sometimes be romantic...especailly when it comes to music. So today I've had a little help from Cupid to develop a special Valentine's mix of my favourite love songs.

5 Songs About Love.

Track listsings

1. Moldy Peaches - Anyone Else But You
2. Rufus Wainwright - The Art Teacher
3. Flaming Lips - Do You Realise?
4. The Hours - Love You More
5. Divine Comedy - In Pursuit of Happiness

Is your music collection in cardiac arrest?

A friend suggested I write a blog for people like her that might be…let’s say…a bit out of touch. This sounded like a good idea so I asked her when was the last time she bought any music. She replied: “Ohhh, I’m not sure…maybe sometime in the 80s.” Time to fire up the defibrillator and resuscitate those music collections.

I’ve not bought any music since the beginning of the noughties...
Ok, don’t panic - you’ve missed a decade of fantastic music but you can still catch up. Chances are if you were buying music in the late 90s/early noughties you might have been a little bit caught up with the likes of Blur, Pulp and Oasis. Some of those bands are still knocking about, but let’s not dwell on the past. The noughties has been one of the best decades for indie music. There’s so much to choose from, such as Kings of Leon, Franz Ferdinand and Artic Monkeys. But if you really want to give your music library a shot of adrenalin then maybe try something a little more daring, such as The Foals. Their crazy syncopated rhythms and big horn section have brought a fresh injection into the indie scene, which by the end of the decade has became dominated by what I’ve termed Shouty Boy Bands.

If you’re feeling a bit old for indie music then there is further good news. With the re-emergence of folk music, young people are now old people too. They’re calling it anti-folk as it doesn’t have the earnestness of the 60s scene. Have a listen to the beautiful lyrics of Mercury nominated, Laura Marling; Moldy Peaches, who dominated the Juno soundtrack; or Mumford & Sons who bring together both folk and bluegrass.

I’ve not bought any music since the 90s…
Ok, it’s time to put the glow stick down and move away from Manchester. If you really can’t bear to leave the past behind then New Rave might be just what you’re looking for. Big acts include Klaxons, who step too far into previously mentioned Shouty Boy Band category for my tastes. Alternatively there’s Brazlian band Cansei de Ser Sexy who as well as writing brilliantly titled tunes like Music is my hot, hot sex, have a lead singer with a splendid collection of all in one lycra body suits.

I’ve not bought any music since the 80s…
Although your music collection is in a life threatening condition, you can still be saved. Fortunately for you we’re having something of an 80s revival, with bands like Neon Neon using a range of retro synths to recreate an authentic 80s electro pop sound. My personal favourites though are Australian synth kings, Empire of the Sun. They produce an amazing soundscape of beats and bleeps and you can almost smell the Sydney surf when you listen to them.

I’ve not bought any music since the 70s…
Don’t call the hospital, call the morgue.

You can't beat a good list

Last weekend I bought the Karen O movie soundtrack for Where the Wild Things Are and I can’t stop listening to it. I have been ridiculously excited about the forthcoming film as the book was one of my childhood favourites. If I ever come in sniffing distance of a child I’m like a Jehovah Witness with a copy of The Watchtower. (What you’re only three and the monsters scare you? Oh grow up you little cry baby!)

The soundtrack by Karen O only added to my excitement. The score features Karen on most tracks with an “untrained children’s choir” who bring a ram-shackled charm. Rather than the sugary sweetness of most children’s choirs, The Kids sound as mischievous as our hero, Max.

The album got me thinking about other great movie soundtracks. These are my favourites – what are yours?

1. Tommy: The only time you will hear me saying I like Elton John and Tina Turner is in the context of this soundtrack. Both performances walk a fine line between genius and madness.
2. Trainspotting: This could be the soundtrack to my youth with 90s big hitters Underworld, Blur and Leftfield sitting along side the classics such as Blondie, Iggy Pop and Lou Reed.
3. The Piano: This rarely makes it into top ten lists, or even top 100 lists for that matter, but this was one of the first soundtrack albums I bought. Michael Nyman’s unrelenting flurry of plaintive piano scales make me want to weep. I felt utterly privileged to see him at this year’s Bestival.
4. The Jungle Book: Who doesn’t love the jazz/swing classic I Wanna Be Like You (monkey song). I’m such a fan I named my cat after the permanently stroppy jungle panther, Bagheera.
5. The Graduate: Simon and Garfunkle’s ethereal, dreamlike soundtrack is the perfect accompaniment to Dustin Hoffman’s aimless, lay-about Benjamin Braddock.
6. Superfly: I’ve never actually seen the film but the album I played until I nearly wore the grooves out. It’s been described as a pioneering soul record, yet Mayfield's death seemed to go almost unnoticed on Boxing Day 1999, aged just 57 years old.
7. O’ Brother Where Art Thou: This was probably my first introduction to bluegrass, having previously had an allergic reaction to anything vaguely country. The soundtrack left me feeling like I’d had an unexpected homosexual experience – all flustered and at odds with myself, yet undeniably excited.
8. Withnail and I: I knew Whiter Shade of Pale long before I had seen the film, yet now when I hear it I instantly think of that grotty Camden flat and Richard E Grant walking around in an overcoat and y-fronts. The film changed the meaning of the song to me, yet somehow it still seemed a perfect fit.
9. Juno: There are a number of bands who try and do the unpolished anti-folk thing, yet nobody pulls it off quite like the Moldy Peaches, who dominate this soundtrack. Just as Simon and Garfunkle captured Benjamin Braddock, Kimya Dawson, with her shouty, rough round the edges vocals, captured the spirit of Juno.
10. The Rocky Horror Picture Show: This has been so done-to-death that it’s easy to forget the genius gems, like the outrageous Sweet Transvestite or the hilarious rock and roll pastiche, Eddie.

Today I was mostly listening to Karen O and The XX and somebody told me I looked like a female Johnny Cash