top of page

Around the world in 80 plays…

We conducted an 80 day musical chain on social media—where each day's music post related in some way to the previous one. Here it is in full. Enjoy…

 

POST 1—24 Jan

A classic remastered. Sunday coffee music.

• JACQUES DUTRONC—'Mini, mini, mini' remastered

 

POST 2—25 Jan

Our Sunday post was Jacques Dutronc, which reminded us of...

• JACQUES LU CONT—'Church'

 

POST 3—29 Jan

Okay—let's continue this musically-connected journey. Our last track was by Jacques Lu Cont—so let's go with this: Have a top Friday, all!

• THE KILLERS—'Mr. Brightside (Jacques Lu Cont's Thin White Duke Radio Remix)'

 

POST 4—30 Jan

…from yesterday's Mr Brightside to this.

Where next?...

• MONTY PYTHON—'Always Look On The Bright Side of Life'

 

POST 5—31 Jan

From Monty Python yesterday, how about this for the next stop?

• PYTHON LEE JACKSON—'In A Broken Dream'

 

POST 6—01 Feb

This one shares a vocalist with yesterday's…

• JEFF BECK—'Morning Dew'

 

POST 7—02 Feb

From the awesome 'Morning Dew' to a bit of this…

Any guesses where to next?

• STEELEYE SPAN—'The Lark In The Morning'

 

POST 8—03 Feb

…from The Lark In The Morning to this li'l number by The Larks.

On yer feet now…

• THE LARKS—'Do The Jerk'

 

POST 9—04 Feb

Yesterday's track was sung by Eugene Mumford—who later joined this outfit:

• BILLY WARD & HIS DOMINOES—'Deep Purple'

 

POST 10—05 Feb

Okay, no surprises to go from a song called 'Deep Purple' to this…

• DEEP PURPLE—'Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye…'

 

POST 11—06 Feb

Nick Fyffe, bass player on yesterday's track, made the, erm, natural progression from Deep Purple to…

• JAMIROQUAI—'Canned Heat'

 

POST 12—07 Feb

From 'Canned Heat' to the band Can—and a track from an LP with a can on the cover…

• CAN—'Vitamin C'

 

POST 13—08 Feb

Moving on from Can yesterday, their co-founder, Holger Czukay, contributed French Horn (among other things) to the awesome album this is from…

• DAVID SYLVIAN—'Brilliant Trees'

 

POST 14—09 Feb

…from Brilliant Trees to this:

• THEOLONIUS MONK—‘Brilliant Corners'

 

POST 15—10 Feb

Maybe an obvious link—but the band named after the album yesterday's track was from…

• BRILLIANT CORNERS—‘I Can’t Wait That Long’

 

POST 16—16 Feb

Our last music post was from a Brilliant Corners album called 'Somebody Up There Likes Me'—so let's follow that up with this…

• DAVID BOWIE—'Somebody up There Likes Me’

 

POST 17—17 Feb

Yesterday's Bowie track was produced by Tony Visconti—who also produced this wonder…

• OSIBISA—‘Y Sharp’

 

POST 18—18 Feb 302/13/3

Yesterday's track was from the Osibisa album 'Woyaya', which features the distinctive artwork of Roger Dean—who, aside from his many famous artworks for Yes, Asia, etc, also produced cover art for this 2020 Scandi-Yes-alike:

• THE FLOWER KINGS—‘From The Ground’

 

POST 19—19 Feb 324/8/3

Yesterday's prog-rock outing outing was from The Flower Kings, who are from Sweden—as are…

• THE WANNADIES—‘You And Me Song’

 

POST 20—20 Feb

Yesterday we had a song called “You & Me”, which puts us mind of the refrain to this little gem…

• R.E.M.—‘Be Mine’

 

POST 21—21 Feb

From one 'Be Mine' yesterday, to a very blissed-out other—perfect for a Sunday morning…

• JAZZINUF—‘Be Mine’

 

POST 22—22 Feb

Yesterday's track was by Jazzinuf, who is Korean, Edward Lim, an opera singer by profession—which is a great excuse to link to this:

• MARIA CALLAS—‘Ave Maria’

 

POST 23—23 Feb

Yesterday's sublime Schubert song was tributed by none other than…

• BEYONCE—‘Ave Maria’

 

POST 24—24 Feb

Yesterday we had Beyoncé, who lives in LA. As does this avant-garde saxophonist…

• SAM GENDELL—‘Freddie Freeloader’

 

POST 25—25 Feb

If you didn't recognise yesterday's somewhat abstracted cover, here's the über-classy original… Aaaaaahhhhh…

• MILES DAVIS—‘Freddie Freeloader’

 

POST 26—26 Feb

Yesterday's Miles Davis track featured on piano Blues specialist, Wynton Kelly, who made his debut in 1948 on this:

• HAL SINGER—‘Cornbread’

 

POST 27—27 Feb

Yesterday's song was called 'Cornbread'—also the name of a 1978 album by reggae stalwart, Dillinger. Here’s a very timely slice from that:

• DILLINGER—‘Children Go To School’

 

POST 28—28 Feb

Dillinger, the star of yesterday's track gets name-checked in this ol' classic:

• THE CLASH—‘(White Man) In Hammersmith Palais’

 

POST 29—01 Mar

Yesterday we posted The Clash. Among the many covers of their songs is this, from 1995:

• ANNIE LENNOX—’Train In Vain (Stand By Me)’

 

POST 30—02 Mar

Yesterday's Annie Lennox Clash cover was produced by Marius de Vries, who co-wrote this…

• JOHN LEGEND—'Start A Fire’

 

POST 31—03 Mar

Yesterday’s song was from La La Land, scored by Justin Hurwitz and directed by Damien Chazelle—who were both in the original incarnation of this band in college…

• CHESTER FRENCH—‘C’mon (On My Own)’

 

POST 32—04 Mar

Given that yesterday's act were sign to Pharrell's Star Trak label, there's an obvious music link there—but we preferred this slightly less direct one: the band were named after sculptor Daniel Chester French—most famous for the Lincoln Memorial. …This timeless song is off a neat little 1988 LP called 'Lincoln’…

• THEY MIGHT BE GIANTS—‘Kiss Me, Son Of God’

 

POST 33—05 Mar

John Flansburgh—guitarist from yesterday’s They Might Be Giants—founded the subscription label Hello Record Club who released an EP by XTC’s Andy Partridge, which included a version of this song:

• ANDY PARTRIDGE—‘Candymine'

 

POST 34—06 Mar

A phonetically simple link—Candymine (yesterday’s track) puts us in mind of today’s wonderful track:

• TAJ MAHAL & RY COODER—‘Candyman’

 

POST 35—07 Mar

From an album yesterday called 'Rising Sons'—this obvious(ish) leap—but which version to choose? We thought, THIS…

• FRIJID PINK—'House Of The Rising Sun’

 

POST 36—08 Mar

Mornin' all… From Detroit's Frijid Pink yesterday, to Liverpool's Pink Industry today:

• PINK INDUSTRY—‘Don’t Let Go’

 

POST 37—09 Mar

From one 'Don't Let Go' (1987) yesterday, to another (1996) today… • EN VOGUE—‘Don’t Let Go (Love)’

 

POST 38—10 Mar

Yesterday’s track was on the soundtrack for the 1996 film 'Set It Off', as was this l'il classic…

• DES’REE—‘Feel So High’

 

POST 39—11 Mar

Yesterday’s artist, Des’ree, had her biggest hit with the single ‘Life’—a cover of which appeared on the Netflix show, ’Sex Education’…

• SORENIOUS BONK feat. SIGNE MANSDOTTIR—‘Life' (Des’Ree cover)

 

POST 40—12 Mar

Yesterday’s song features the line “I’d rather eat a piece of toast”—which takes us neatly to…

• STREETBAND—’Toast’

 

POST 41—13 Mar

Obviously, yesterday’s hit single was the first brush with the charts for one Paul Young—between then and his solo career, he fronted (awesome live band) Q-Tips. A version of this song later appeared on his first solo LP—but we’ve a feeling this arrangement is superior…

• Q-TIPS feat. PAUL YOUNG—‘Broken Man’

 

POST 42—14 Mar

Yesterday’s Q-Tips song was written by the late keyboardist Ian Kewley—who also plays on this…

• DAVE GILMOUR—’Out Of The Blue’

 

POST 43—15 Mar

Yesterday's track was from Pink Floyd's Dave Gilmour—whose first guitar solo for them appeared on the album version of this song… couldn't resist this stylish live version though!

• PINK FLOYD—‘Let There Be More Light’

 

POST 44—16 Mar

Yesterday’s Pink Floyd track’s intro bass line bears more than a little resemblance to this 1997 charmer…

• CHEMICAL BROTHERS—‘Block Rockin’ Beats’

 

POST 45—17 Mar

Yesterday’s Chemical Brothers’ track was produced by their frequent collaborator Steve Dub (Jones)—who is also credited for this unusual hybrid…

• AUDIO BULLYS feat. NANCY SINATRA—’Shot You Down’

 

POST 46—18 Mar

Nancy Sinatra—who featured on yesterday’s track—mainly collaborated with this late, great character…

• LEE HAZELWOOD—’Nothing’

 

POST 47—19 Mar

Yesterday’s track was from Lee Hazelwood’s final album, 'Cake or Death'—named after a set by Eddie Izzard; whose first record bought (on pink vinyl) was this…

• SQUEEZE—‘Cool For Cats’

 

POST 48—20 Mar

Yesterday’s performance by Squeeze featured Jools Holland on keyboards—he was replaced, when he left, by Paul Carrack—who, perhaps unexpectedly, plays on this sublime track…

• THE SMITHS—‘Reel Around The Fountain’

 

POST 49—21 Mar

Yesterday’s act, The Smiths, split in 1987 after which Johnny Marr picked up high profile credits with acts like The Pretenders, The The, Pet Shop Boys, Electronic, Modest Mouse, The Cribs, etc but also made some prominent contributions to some smaller projects—like this moment from 1990… • STEX—’Still Feel The Rain’

 

POST 50—22 Mar

Okay, tenuous link day: yesterday’s act was STEX, which puts us in mind of STAX, which puts us in mind of Booker T & The MGs, which usually puts us in mind of 'Green Onions'—but also (and this is especially for the peculiar among you who are into cricket), this track…

• BOOKER T & THE MGs—’Soul Limbo’

 

POST 51—23 Mar

Okay, so yesterday we delved into the wonderful world of STAX—who had a sister label, VOLT, whose first release was this beautiful thing:

• THE TRIUMPHS—‘Burnt Biscuits’

 

POST 52—24 Mar

Yesterday’s track was written and produced by Chips Moman—who in his early days played in the live band of this artist (whose debut here on Sun Records outsold debuts from Elvis and Johnny Cash)…

• WARREN SMITH—‘Rock’n’Roll Ruby’

 

POST 53—25 Mar

Yesterday’s song was written (perhaps) by Johnny Cash. Here’s one of our favourite tracks from his 'American Recordings' series…

• JOHNNY CASH—‘I Hung My Head’

 

POST 54—26 Mar

Somewhat surprisingly, yesterday’s Johnny Cash song was actually written by Sting—so here’s a track from him…

• STING—’Shadows In The Rain’

 

POST 55—27 Mar

The drummer on yesterday’s track was the very, very wonderful Omar Hakim—who also provides the driving force for this banger, which we just HAVE to dedicate to Stuart at Hifi Pig …

• DAFT PUNK—‘Contact’

 

POST 56—28 Mar

Yesterday’s track was from Daft Punk’s final album, their only one released on Columbia Records—a label that also brought us this… Happy Sunday, all.

• DUKE ELLINGTON—’Nutcracker Suite: Overture’

 

POST 57—29 Mar

Yesterday’s music featured jazz inspired 'The Nutcracker’—by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. Here’s a more conventional rendition of another of his works to help with your morning work-out…

• TCHAIKOVSKY—‘Mazeppa; Cossack Dance'

 

POST 58—30 Mar

Yesterday’s track was ‘Cossack Dance’. Our favourite Cossack is Gogol’s Taras Bulba, who was portrayed in a movie version by Yul Brynner—so it seems a great opportunity to gift you with this gem…

• YUL BRYNNER—’Two Guitars’

 

POST 59—31 Mar

Perhaps oddly, yesterday’s performance was from Yul Brynner—who had a significant dalliance with…

• MARLENE DIETRICH—'Sag mir, wo die Blumen sind'

 

POST 60—01 Apr

Yesterday we heard a German version of 'Where Have All The Flowers Gone?’—originally by Pete Seeger. Here’s a song he wrote in 1970 but didn’t record until 2008, at the tender age of 89…

• PETE SEEGER—'Song Of The World's Last Whale’

 

POST 61—02 Apr

Yesterday’s song was from Pete Seeger—who originated this bible-verse-turned-pop hit…

• THE BYRDS—’Turn! Turn! Turn! (To Everything There Is A Season)’

 

POST 62—03 Apr

Yesterday we heard a cover from The Byrds—whose own song 'Eight Miles High' was covered very compellingly by…

• LEO KOTTKE—‘Eight Miles High’

 

POST 63—04 Apr

Leo Kottke (who provided yesterday’s musical interlude) when he was young, lived in lived Muskogee, Oklahoma—which is where the artist singing this (somewhat appropriate for the day) song hails from…

• CARRIE UNDERWOOD—‘Jesus, Take The Wheel’

 

POST 64—05 Apr

Yesterday’s song, ‘Jesus, Take The Wheel’, just couldn’t help but put us in mind of this irreverent slab of psychobilly…

• BEASTS OF BOURBON—’Ten Wheels For Jesus’

 

POST 65—06 Apr

The singer of yesterday’s track, Tex Perkins, sang with The Dark Horses (some 32 years later) on a cover version of this song…

• RACING CARS—’They Shoot Horses Don’t They?’

 

POST 66—07 Apr

Yesterday’s hit was inspired by the film ’They Shoot Horses, Don’t They?’, however, it wasn’t on the soundtrack to the film. This, on the other hand, was…

• GUY LOMBARDO & His Royal Canadians—‘Coquette'

 

POST 67—08 Apr

Yesterday’s slice of 1928 heaven was entitled ‘Coquette’—a bit like today's track…

• OF MONTREAL—‘Coquet Coquette’

 

POST 68—09 Apr

Yesterday’s track was by a band called 'of Montreal'—who are in fact from Athens, Georgia. A band that can truly claim to be ‘of Montreal’ are these good people…

• ARCADE FIRE—‘Reflektor’

 

POST 69—10 Apr

In the same year as yesterday’s Arcade Fire track, Win Butler wrote the soundtrack for the beautiful Spike Jonze film, ‘Her’—which features this…

• SCARLETT JOHANSSON & JOAQUIN PHOENIX—'The Moon Song’


 

POST 70—11 Apr

Yesterday’s song from the film Her, was written by Karen O from…

• YEAH YEAH YEAHS—‘Maps’

 

POST 71—12 Apr

Yesterday’s artist, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, once shared a loft with this lot…

• METRIC—‘Wanderlust’

 

POST 72—13 Apr

The eagle-eared among you will have noticed, hiding among the choruses of yesterday’s track, this little-known guy…

• LOU REED—‘Romeo Had Juliette’

 

POST 73—14 Apr

Yesterday’s artist, the legendary Lou Reed was very close with (and ultimately married to) this awesome human…

• LAURIE ANDERSON—‘Excellent Birds’

 

POST 74—15 Apr

Laurie Anderson was ably assisted on yesterday’s track by Peter Gabriel—who has many well-known musical highlights. A lesser talked-of outing was the soundtrack he did for the massively underrated 1984 film, Birdy…

• PETER GABRIEL—‘Birdy’s Flight’

 

POST 75—16 Apr

Yesterday’s track was from a film directed by the late, great, Alan Parker—whose debut provided this terrific Prohibition era-throwback…

• PAUL WILLIAMS—‘Fat Sam’s Grand Slam’

 

POST 76—17 Apr

Yesterday’s track was written and performed by Paul Williams for the soundtrack to Bugsy Malone. Williams also starred in a few movies—including the one featuring this li’l gem…

• ERWIN T ROUSE—‘Orange Blossom Special’

 

POST 77—18 Apr

Yesterday’s song was from the 1973 film, Smokey & The Bandit, set in good ol’ Texas. Another film set in that part of the world contained this rare beauty…

• JEFF BRIDGES—‘Brand New Angel’

 

POST 78—19 Apr

The soundtrack to Crazy Heart—which yesterday’s song was from—was produced by this guy…

• T BONE BURNETT—’Pressure’

 

POST 79—20 Apr

Yesterday’s T Bone Burnett song featured a certain Mick Ronson on guitar. Who, of course, delivered the chugging guitar riff on the original of this classic…

• HEARTLESS BASTARDS—’The Jean Genie’

 

POST 80—21 Apr

Today—finally—via a very circuitous route, we close our musical loop. Yesterday’s song, 'The Jean Genie’ is thought by many to be influenced by this swaggering track—which happens to be by the chap who was the very first link in our 80 day-long musical trip!

• JACQUES DUTRONC—‘La fille du Père Noël’

 

Comentarios


Recent Posts
bottom of page