Drum roll please………

Here it is…

My favourite song of all time (well err probably at the moment anyway)

#1 Teardrop – Massive Attack

As you can imagine as a former DJ this wasn’t an easy task, 15,000 tracks down to this one, but this just shone out, i never get tired of it, it relaxing yet inspiring, it’s trip/hip hop based which i love, it’s sang beautifully, it ticks all my boxes.

From wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teardrop_(song)…

“Teardrop is a song by Massive Attack, which was first released on their 1998 album Mezzanine. It was released as a single on 27 April 1998. The song became another UK hit for the group, peaking at number 10 on the UK Singles Chart. The song features vocals by Elizabeth Fraser of the Cocteau Twins. The song is also known for its use in numerous TV programs and movies, notably as the theme song, on American TV, of the medical television series ‘House’. The instrumental portions of the song at the beginning and the end which feature a bass drum beat reminiscent of a heartbeat are used in the opening theme.

The song’s music video featured a plastic fetus in the womb, singing the song. It was directed by Walter Stern.

“Teardrop” was first developed from a simple harpsichord riff picked out in the studio in April 1997. Vowles sent the demo to Madonna as he wanted her to record the vocals for the song (the band had previously worked with her on their 1995 reworking of the song “I Want You“). The two other band members Robert Del Naja and Grantley Marshall wanted Elizabeth Fraser of the Cocteau Twins to record the vocals, feeling her ethereal style suited the mournful melody and feel of the piece. Madonna was very keen to record the vocals, and was disappointed when the two-to-one vote went in Fraser’s favour.^[1]

Fraser wrote the song’s lyrics and was recording the song when she got the news of the death by drowning on 29 May 1997 of her once-close friend, Jeff Buckley. “That was so weird … I’d got letters out and I was thinking about him. That song’s kind of about him – that’s how it feels to me anyway.”^[2] 

It’s amazing what a old group of break-dancers and DJ’s from the 80’s can produce 🙂

Live performance …

Honourable mention…

Protection – Massive Attack, another great song…

My blurb about #mytop30 …

I now have 15,906 songs in my iTunes collection. In my defence I am an ex-DJ, honest! So on a long train journey i started to add my favourites to a playlist. I was aiming to find my top 5, but ended up with my top 30.

Whats your top 5/10/20/30?

#2 Walking on the moon – The Police

Probably one of the worse videos ever made , shell suit included, but a fantastic track with some of the best drumming ever (not originally performed on the side of a rocket!). When new bands (and speakers) start they feel the need to fill every moment with sound, this is a pretty empty track with both sounds and silences. so whether you’re a speaker or a musician you don’t have to fill every moment, let your content breath. Bizarrely some tracks i love to play while driving at night – this is one of them, it somehow sounds better in the dark, i think the video is better in the dark too!

My blurb about #mytop30 …

I now have 15,906 songs in my iTunes collection. In my defence I am an ex-DJ, honest! So on a long train journey i started to add my favourites to a playlist. I was aiming to find my top 5, but ended up with my top 30.

Whats your top 5/10/20/30?

#3 Superstition – Stevie Wonder
I came to Stevie Wonder only a few years ago to be honest after hearing Superstition in the opening scene of the Will Smith film I,Robot and I’m so glad I did. This is one of many great songs of his, I just love the distorted clavinet and Moog synth here that he somehow managed to make sound good. Stevie was at the cutting edge of the synth and sampling revolution in the early 70’s and this song was recorded in a room full of wires and overheating, unreliable primitive electronics. Thats the thing about music, no-one is really interested how you do it, just make it the best you can and get it recorded well. Great lyrics too.

Live…

My blurb about #mytop30 …

I now have 15,906 songs in my iTunes collection. In my defence I am an ex-DJ, honest! So on a long train journey i started to add my favourites to a playlist. I was aiming to find my top 5, but ended up with my top 30.

Whats your top 5/10/20/30?

#4 It must be love – Madness

It’s not often that a cover version is better than the original, but this is an exception. A great version of a Labi Siffre’s song that means a lot to me. Madness may have been the nuttiest band around but they were romantics at heart! Thanks Suggs.

“British band Madness had a major UK hit with this song in 1981, and with good reason: heartfelt and nutty in equal measure it still brings the house down at every Madness show. The video – filmed above and below water – is one of their classics, with cameo appearances by big bird, a killer whale and Mr Labi Siffre, who wrote the song.”

Labi’s version…

My blurb about #mytop30 …

I now have 15,906 songs in my iTunes collection. In my defence I am an ex-DJ, honest! So on a long train journey i started to add my favourites to a playlist. I was aiming to find my top 5, but ended up with my top 30.

Whats your top 5/10/20/30?

#5 One Love / People get ready – Bob Marley

This is my favourite Bob Marley song. This is him at his best imho, great vibe, summery feel and amazing musicianship. Job done.

My blurb about #mytop30 …

I now have 15,906 songs in my iTunes collection. In my defence I am an ex-DJ, honest! So on a long train journey i started to add my favourites to a playlist. I was aiming to find my top 5, but ended up with my top 30.

Whats your top 5/10/20/30?

#6 Special Brew – Bad Manners

I’m proud to say that this was the first record I ver bought! I remember walking into the shop when i was ten and they were playing this on the shop hifi, so i said can i have that one please – pointing to the speakers! I still love it now. Get to see them live if you can, true British eccentric music.

My blurb about #mytop30 …

I now have 15,906 songs in my iTunes collection. In my defence I am an ex-DJ, honest! So on a long train journey i started to add my favourites to a playlist. I was aiming to find my top 5, but ended up with my top 30.

Whats your top 5/10/20/30?

#7 Cissy Strut – The Meters

Very deep funk tune with an amazing bassline (try playing it on a proper sound system!) featured in lots of films but people don’t often who it’s by.

“New Orleans R&B and funk band The Meters formed in 1966 with a line-up of keyboardist and vocalist Art Neville, guitarist Leo Nocentelli, bassist George Porter Jr. and drummer Joseph “Zigaboo” Modeliste. They released their self-titled debut album three years later, which spawned two Top 40 singles, “Sophisticated Cissy” (#34) and Cissy Strut, (#23). After a label shift in 1972, the Meters struggled to return to the charts but their pioneering funk sound gained the respect of such legends as The Rolling Stones and Paul McCartney. They also played an influential role as backing musicians for other artists, including Lee Dorsey and Dr John. The group disbanded in 1977 when Art formed the Neville Brothers with his brothers Aaron, Charles and Cyril.

Nocentelli explained to Gibson.com that he penned this song to replace their traditional opener. Said Nocentelli: “There was a club on Bourbon Street. This is before The Meters, man. We were called Art Neville and the Neville Sounds. Art Neville was the elder statesman in the group, he already had a group called The Hawkettes. By the time we got to a club called the Ivanhoe, it was George [Porter Jr.] and Zig [Modeliste] and myself and Art. That was really The Meters, but we weren’t called The Meters. We used to play Top 40 stuff. And most of the bands, all of the bands had an opening song that they’d play before they’d actually get into their set. And one of the songs that everybody kind of played was a song called ‘Hold It.’ And everybody played it, man. I got sick of playing that, so I wrote ‘Cissy Strut.’ The melody came out and I introduced it to George, Art and Zig. And we started opening the set with ‘Cissy Strut,’ but it didn’t have a name or anything. It was just that song, that opening song. That’s how that happened. We recorded the song, and it was named ‘Cissy Strut’ long after I wrote it.”

My blurb about #mytop30 …

I now have 15,906 songs in my iTunes collection. In my defence I am an ex-DJ, honest! So on a long train journey i started to add my favourites to a playlist. I was aiming to find my top 5, but ended up with my top 30.

Whats your top 5/10/20/30?