Music

Playlist of the month: Actors turned artists

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Screenshot of the actors turned artists playlist on Spotify

Last month, I shared with you some appallingly bad cheese. This month, the theme is ‘actors turned artists’ – actors who have gone on to release music. There were quite a lot to choose from, although some are technically from musical films. Here’s the link to the playlist on Spotify.

  • ‘I’m Just Ken’ by Ryan Gosling. Gosling showed his singing talent in La La Land, but his solo in last year’s Barbie movie brought greater awareness. Especially to those who don’t remember him being on the Mickey Mouse Club.
  • ‘What If’ by Kate Winslett. Winslett sang this for a 2001 animated adaptation of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, and it was released as a single to promote the film. She has such an amazing singing voice, so it’s a shame that there aren’t more songs out there that she has recorded and released.
  • ‘Yellow’ by Jodie Whittaker. Whittaker is probably best known as being the 13th Doctor, and released this lovely cover version of Coldplay’s debut single for BBC Children in Need in 2019.
  • ‘On the Floor’ by Jennifer Lopez. JLo is probably as well known for her acting as for her singing. This song is probably my favourite of hers but ‘Waiting for Tonight’ is also top tier.
  • ‘The Greatest Show’ by Hugh Jackman. Oh no, another excuse to have a song from The Greatest Showman soundtrack in a playlist! Jackman was well known as musicals star before taking on the role of Wolverine in the X-Men films.
  • ‘Wild Wild West’ by Will Smith. There was a time when every Will Smith film had a song that accompanied it, although I’ve not seen Wild Wild West myself.
  • ‘Boy You Knock Me Out’ by Tatyana Ali. Ali was Will Smith’s co-star in the Fresh Price of Bel Air, and released a solo album in 1999 featuring a guest rap by Smith on this song.
  • ‘Under the Broadwalk’ by Bruce Willis. A friend at university had this on cassette tape, along with other novelty songs such as ‘Star Trekkin’ by The Firm.
  • ‘Looking for Freedom’ by David Hasselhoff. What can I say other than it’s David Hasselhoff singing?
  • ‘Falling Down’ by Scarlett Johansson. I could have chosen any number of other Marvel Cinematic Universe actors here as it seems that many of them have released albums (either solo or in bands) but I chose this one.

Madam Misfit

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A photo of Madam Misfit wearing a peacock outfit performing at Sci-Fi Weekender in Great Yarmouth in March 2023.

I’m going to talk about one of my favourite artists of the moment: Madam Misfit. She’s been at the past three Sci-Fi Weekenders and is always popular with the crowd (although we missed her this time as she was on really late). Her first appearance saw the smaller venue (‘The Spaceport’) filled to bursting, and so she’s rightly been on the main stage for her two most recent events.

I first found out about Madam Misfit through her collaborations with Professor Elemental (who we have also seen numerous times). Her music sits between Electro Swing and Chap Hop, combining singing and rap elements in songs that are very easy to dance to. As well as Sci-Fi Weekender, you can often find her at Steampunk gatherings, and co-hosting her Carnival of Chaos, a variety show.

Most of her music is on Spotify, but there’s also a few singles that are exclusive to Bandcamp, including her latest, Power Up. Also, if you want her song ‘Crap Romance’ (a parody of the Lady Gaga song), then you’ll need to buy her first album, The Elixir of Swing, on audio CD. Some of my favourite songs of hers are her cover of the Inspector Gadget theme tune, and the theme tune to The Wombles where Misfit plays the oboe.

Like many independent artists, you can also support her on Patreon – her third album should be coming out soon.

Playlist of the month: Appalling Cheese

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A screenshot of my appalling cheese playlist on Spotify

Last month’s playlist was a Eurovision cheese fest, and this month I’m looking at the worst kind of cheese. The horribly sweet, overpowering kind, in a playlist I’ve called ‘Appalling Cheese’. It’s actually one I’ve been developing over time, although thankfully I’m limiting it to just 8 songs this month. Here’s a link to it on Spotify.

  • ‘Macahula Dance’ – Dr Macdoo. This is supposed to be Scottish-inspired Europop, except that the man behind Dr Macdoo is actually Danish. I’ve included this rather than his other guise, Dr Bombay, where he puts on a stereotypical Indian accent. Because as he’s a white person, it’s textbook cultural appropriation and I don’t want to encourage that.
  • ‘Chacarron’ – El Chombo. Allegedly the nonsensical vocals on this track were a placeholder to be used during production, but it was released anyway, probably as a joke.
  • ‘No Way No Way’ – Vanilla. This is another song with an urban legend attached, in that its producers deliberately set out to release the worse song possible as a bet.
  • ‘Cheeky Song’ – Cheeky Girls. Ah, the Cheeky Girls. They found fame on the show Popstars: The Rivals and were picked up by a record label keen to capitalise on their viral notoriety. Said record label went bust a couple of years later, but they’re still going.
  • ‘Them Girls Them Girls’ – Zig and Zag. Zig and Zag are still a thing, apparently, despite this song having been released around 30 years ago when they were on The Big Breakfast. Its similarity to ‘I Like To Move It’ by Reel 2 Real (made famous in the film Madagascar) is no accident as both were produced by Erick Morillo, although this is significantly more excruciating to listen to. 10 year old me bought this on cassette; 40 year old me knows better.
  • ‘Fast Food Song’ – Fast Food Rockers. Take a typical campfire song (McDonald’s, Kentucky Fried Chicken and a Pizza Hat), give it a kiddy pop beat, and then add some sexually suggestive lyrics for the dads, and you have this hot mess.
  • ‘Ding Dong Song’ – Günther. Speaking of sexually suggestive, this is another painful piece of Europop by Swedish act Günther.
  • ‘Mickey’ – Lolly. Toni Basil’s song was just fine as it was. This cover didn’t need to exist. I wish it didn’t

That’ll do for this month. And also, I’m sorry.

Playlist of the month: Eurovision hits

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Unlike last month, I’m actually publishing this month’s playlist mid-month. And seeing as it’s Eurovision week, these are all my favourite hits from previous Eurovision years. My verdicts on this year’s songs are here.

You can listen along to this playlist on Spotify if you wish.

  • “Dancing Lasha Tumbai” by Verka Serduchka. A memorable performance from Ukraine in 2007. Allegedly ‘Lasha Tumbai’ was changed from ‘Russia goodbye’, as Eurovision tries to be non-political (but invariably is). It came second, losing to Serbia. It’s one of those very silly songs that epitomises Eurovision.
  • “Euphoria” by Loreen. Currently holds the record for most votes for any song performed in a Eurovision final and rightly a winner for Sweden in 2012. Loreen went on to win Eurovision again for Sweden last year, although I’m not so keen on her 2023 song “Tattoo”.
  • “Ooh ahh… Just A Little Bit” by Gina G. The British entry from 1996, and an absolute gay anthem. It didn’t win, although it came seventh which is pretty good compared to recent British Eurovision performances (2022 excepted). Gina G is actually Australian, and now Australia competes in Eurovision. Please don’t think too hard about the geographical implications of this.
  • “Satellite” by Lena. A fun little song which won for Germany in 2010. Lena would represent Germany again in 2011 but wasn’t as successful.
  • “Je Me Casse” by Destiny. The Maltese entry in 2021. A friend described this as Lizzo meets Mr Saxobeat (an Alexandra Stan song) and I agree, but it works. It came seventh. 2021 was an unusual event as it was the first show since 2019 and had a significantly smaller audience. Also, four countries (including the UK) got nul points that year.
  • “Only Teardrops” by Emmelie de Forest. This was the 2013 winner for Denmark.
  • “Thing About Things” by Daði Freyr. The probable winner for the contest that never was. This was Iceland’s entry for the 2020 contest that was cancelled due to you know what. Daði Freyr came back with a new song for 2021 but didn’t win.
  • “Diva” by Dana International. This won in 1998 in Birmingham, following Britain’s most recent win in 1997. Dana International was the first openly transgender Eurovision contestant and won with a great song.
  • “Toy” by Netta. Israel’s win in 1998 was followed by another win 20 years later, with this unusual but catchy song.
  • “Glorious” by Cascada. Whilst Cascada’s lead singer is British, this was the German entry for 2013. It didn’t do so well, coming 21st overall.

Eurovision 2024 – my verdicts

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An AI-generated image of a performer at Eurovision waving a Swedish flag

It’s Eurovision time again! It’s in Sweden again this year, after Loreen chalked up her second victory last year. The first semi-final was last night, and the second semi-final is tomorrow, with the main event on Saturday.

Watching the Eurovision finals used to be a big thing for us, and we would either go to friends’ houses for a Eurovision watching party or host our own in previous years. However, with an eight-year-old to get to bed, it’s not proved practical in recent years. Still, I’ve listened to all 37 entries on Spotify, and here are my highlights and lowlights:

Douze points

  • “The Code” by Nemo (Switzerland). Heartfelt lyrics by the singer about coming to terms with their non-binary identity.
  • “No Rules” by Windows95Man (Finland). This was the first song that I heard, due to its video going moderately viral on social media a few weeks ago. Very much a novelty song, but catchy.
  • “Rim Tim Tagi Dim” by Baby Lasagna (Croatia). A thumping beat drives this song.
  • “We Will Rave” by Kaleen (Austria). Feels like 1990s Eurodance, but in a good way.
  • “Always on the run” by ISAAK (Germany). A good voice; Germany came last in 2023 (they should have chosen Patty Gurdy) and this is a much stronger entry.
  • “Unforgettable” by Marcus & Martinus (Sweden). Not as strong as some of Sweden’s previous entries but a good performance on Saturday could see Sweden hosting two years in a row.
  • “Liar” by Silia Kapsis (Cyprus). This was ranked top in last night’s first semi final, and rightly so. Silia is only 17 too.
  • “SAND” by SABA (Denmark).
  • “Loop” by Sarah Bonnici (Malta). Malta have put entered some good songs over the years but never seem to win, which is a shame. This is a good one.
  • “Ulveham” by Gåte (Norway). I like this one. It won’t win because songs that aren’t in English rarely do well.
  • “11:11” by Megara (San Marino). As above, unlikely to win but this is a pretty storming song.

Nul points

  • “Europapa” by Joost (Netherlands). Like Austria’s entry, sounds like 1990s Eurodance but not in a good way. More suited to kids birthday parties.
  • “Doomsday Blue” by Bambie Thug (Ireland). This just sounds like a lot of noise and unnecessary shouting to me, but it made it through last night’s semi final.
  • “Hurricane” by Eden Golan (Israel). This is a by-the-numbers Eurovision entry that will probably not get through the semi-finals because of who the host country is. I’m surprised Israel was permitted to take part this year, as Russia and Belarus have been banned for the past three years.

The UK Eurovision entry

This year, the UK will be represented by Olly Alexander from Years & Years with “Dizzy”. It’s not bad; I don’t think it’s the best song, but often success is determined by the quality of the performance on the night.

The UK has had mixed success in recent Eurovision competitions; Sam Ryder’s “Spaceman” came second in 2022, leading us to host last year through Clearing as Ukraine (the actual winners) couldn’t host, due to being invaded by Russia, another Eurovision country. However, last year, Mae Muller’s “I Wrote A Song” didn’t achieve the same success and came second from bottom. Which was a shame as I felt it deserved to do better.

It would be nice if the UK could repeat its 2022 success, but I don’t think it’ll be our year.

Playlist of the month: Covers

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Screenshot of the Covers Spotify playlist that I created for this blog post.

So I’m leaving this month’s playlist to the very end of the month. Again. This month, I’m doing some of my favourite cover versions of songs – some of which you may not realise were covers. Here’s the Spotify playlist.

  • Natalie Imbruglia – “Torn”. This was Imbruglia’s debut single, and most well-known. If you haven’t seen David Aramand’s interpretive dance version, you should. Most people don’t realise that this was a cover and was originally sung in Danish.
  • Rage of Light – “Lollipop (Candyman)”. British music fans may be less familiar with the original song by Aqua, as it was never released as a single in the UK. I really like this cover by Swiss heavy metal band Rage of Light.
  • Mark Ronson featuring Amy Winehouse – “Valerie”. I’m sure Amy Winehouse would still be wowing us nowadays in different circumstances. She lent her vocals to this upbeat cover version of a song originally by the band The Zutons.
  • Disturbed – “The Sound of Silence”. Disturbed have done some slower songs in the past (Darkness, for example) but this cover of the Simon & Garfunkel song is superb. I much prefer it to the original.
  • Leona Lewis – “Run”. Originally Lewis sang this as part of BBC Radio 1’s Live Lounge, but it was subsequently recorded for her album and became a number one single on downloads alone. It’s a cover of a Snow Patrol song, a band that I also like, and both versions stand up well.
  • Aurora featuring Naimee Coleman – “Ordinary World”. This was originally by Duran Duran, but this trance cover version features vocals from Naimee Coleman which were allegedly recorded in one take. A more acoustic version appears on Aurora’s album, Dreaming.
  • My Darkest Days – “Come Undone”. Come Undone is my favourite of Duran Duran’s songs, but this rock cover is also excellent.
  • Bastille – “Of The Night”. This opens with lyrics from Snap’s ‘Rhythm is a Dancer’, but then switches to Corona’s ‘Rhythm of the Night’. I love Dan from Bastille’s voice and this takes Corona’s song in a different direction.
  • Bowling for Soup – “1985”. This was a more well-known version of a song by the band SR-71, but both have different lyrics. There’s also “2002” by Davvn which uses the same melody but updates the lyrics.
  • Kerry Ellis – “Defying Gravity”. This is the best known song from the musical Wicked, and whilst it was originally performed by Idina Menzel, Ellis has also played the role of Elphaba in London’s West End. This version was produced by Queen guitarist Brian May and makes it more of a rock anthem. This is one of my go-to pick-me-up songs.

Patty Gurdy

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I’ve been getting a little obsessed with the song Melodies of Hope by Patty Gurdy. Imagine folk-pop music, but instead of a guitar solo, there’s the sound of a Hurdy-Gurdy instead.

I’ve only recently come across Patty Gurdy, through her recent collaboration with Alestorm on their recent single Voyage of the Dead Marauder – which is excellent by the way, and a real return to form. She’s apparently quite big on TikTok, although I’ve decided that I’m too old for TikTok which is why I haven’t heard of her until now.

If Melodies of Hope sounds like it would make a really good Eurovision entry, that’s because it was a finalist for Germany’s entry for 2023. Had Patty Gurdy won, she would have represented her native Germany in the Eurovision finals in Liverpool last year, but her song wasn’t selected. A shame, because I expect it would have done really well. As it was, Germany went for Blood and Glitter by Lord of the Lost, and came last.

I also think it’s worth noting that she isn’t signed to a record label, and all her music is self-released. You can sort of tell, as the production values for her music videos are basic. But when her music is this-good, this is merely nitpicking.

Besides listening on Spotify and buying her music at the usual places like iTunes, you can support her on Patreon.

Unfortunate – the untold story of Ursula the Sea Witch

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A photo of the encore of Unfortunate the Musical, showing a lit up stage at the Bradford Alhambra theatre

Last week, Christine and I went with a group of friends to see the Unfortunate Musical at Bradford’s Alhambra Theatre. It’s a musical parody of The Little Mermaid, but told from the perspective of Ursula the Sea Witch; indeed, Ariel doesn’t appear until towards the end of the first act.

I suppose you could say that Unfortunate is to The Little Mermaid as Wicked is to The Wizard of Oz. However, Unfortunate is very much an adults-only affair, with plenty of swearing and sex references throughout. The touring version of the show sees Shawna Hamic as Ursula, who is absolutely fantastic, and Ariel is played by River Medway, one of the contestants from series three of RuPaul’s Drag Race UK. There are also standout performances by Thomas Lowe as Triton and Allie Dart as Sebastian (and several other roles, including two in the same scene).

It’s very, very camp, as you would expect from a show with more than one drag queen in the cast, and isn’t afraid to poke fun at Disney’s film adaptations. It makes good use of a multi-level set, and Ursula’s character breaks the fourth wall on multiple occasions throughout. I thoroughly enjoyed it, and it was worth arranging childcare for our eight-year-old to be able to see it.

Unfortunate is still on a UK tour until July, with some more dates in the North to come, including York, Newcastle and Blackpool. If you like big, camp comedy with original music, then I would heartedly recommend it. I took the photo for this blog post during the encore when photography was encouraged.

Playlist of the month: Funeral songs

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It’s time for the fifth instalment of my playlist of the month. Whereas last month was a mostly upbeat selection of songs about alcohol, this month is a little different.

Please note that this blog post carries a trigger warning for death and suicide. Please don’t feel that you have to read this if you’re not in the right head space to do so.

Ten years ago, my good friend Dave Jennings passed away. His death, from a heart attack, was completely unexpected and I still miss him even now. Dave was a music journalist, and his review of a record as a ‘daft, punky thrash’ may have inspired Daft Punk’s name.

At his funeral, there were two songs that I remember:

  • Always On My Mind by Pet Shop Boys. This played during the service, and whilst it’s a typical upbeat synth-pop song from the Pet Shop Boys, the lyrics took on a new poignancy that day.
  • Changes by David Bowie. Dave was always a massive Bowie fan. Sadly he wasn’t alive for the release of Bowie’s final album, Blackstar, which I’m sure he would have loved. This played as we entered the chapel at the crematorium.

To this, I’m adding the three songs that I would choose to have played at my funeral, in the hopefully highly unlikely event that this happens any time soon:

  • Good Riddance (Time of Your Life) by Green Day. “It’s somethin’ unpredictable, but in the end is right / I hope you had the time of your life”.
  • One More Light by Linkin’ Park. The title song of their final studio album, about showing that you care about someone even though they’re not here anymore. Hearing this following lead singer Chester Bennington’s suicide makes it all the more heartbreaking.
  • Whole World Is Watching by Within Temptation. Yes, I had to have a song by my favourite band on this list. It’s a duet, and probably their most radio-friendly song to date.

Build Something Better by Grace Petrie

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Album cover for Grace Petrie's Build Something Better

There’s a new album out by queer folk singer Grace Petrie this week, called Build Something Better, and I think you should buy it.

Grace is someone who I’ve seen live a couple of times, mostly supporting Josie Long on tour. She’s always fantastic to see live; not just because her music is great, but because she can work a crowd between songs. I was not at all surprised when she did a stand-up comedy show at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in 2022 called Butch Ado About Nothing. Of her previous songs, Black Tie, from her 2018 album Queer as Folk is the one that probably resonates the most with me.

Her last album, Connectivity, reached in the UK album charts without much promotion. Grace is not on a major label – hence the links to her music on Bandcamp – and I gather its appearance in the top 40 was a surprise for her. This time, for Build Something Better, Grace is aiming to get into the charts again. So, if you can, please buy the album today or tomorrow, to give it the best chance of charting.

You can stream Build Something Better on Spotify if you want, or I suppose you can buy it on Amazon (sponsored link). But if you buy it on Bandcamp, you can pay more and more of your money goes to Grace. And it’s available in a variety of music formats, including lossless audio, if that’s your thing, with no digital rights management. However, if you do buy it from Bandcamp, make sure you download it, as simply purchasing the music isn’t enough to count for charts.

I’ve had a listen to a few of the songs so far, having bought it at the weekend, and I’m enjoying them so far. It’s already at Number 17 in the midweek charts, so a few more sales could get it into the top 10.