This week our Friday Mixtape comes from Duncan Reid and the Big Heads. His new album ‘The Difficult Second Album’ comes out on the 5th October.
One man’s mixtape can often be another girl’s nightmare, but I like it. My desert island discs? Most definitely (and my luxury item would be a tortoise shell shoe horn for those days when I decide not to go barefoot). So off we go:
1. The Ramones: I Wanna Be Sedated
I saw a Ramones shirt for sale in Tesco last week so a whole generation is growing up thinking they are an item of clothing as opposed to the most perfect band of all time. Take your pick from hundreds of 100 mph pop classics. At the moment this is my favourite. I was lucky enough to sing with them and now they are all gone. Very sad.
2. The Teddy Bears feat. Iggy Pop: Punk Rocker
These Swedish electronic masters recorded many versions of this song but only the Iggy version cuts it. Just shows how important the singer is. You need someone with Iggy’s supreme chutzpah to pull off the immortal line “I’m bored with being God”. I know how he feels!
3. Chris Isaak: Wicked Game
Achingly beautiful and one of the best videos of all time. iTunes says I’ve played this more than any other song and I’m not surprised. When working on our “Difficult Second Album” my most common request to producer Tony Barber was “push your Chris Isaak button”. By that I meant bring in the Everest sized reverb which is all over this record.
4. The Beatles: Paperback Writer
Will The Beatles ever be cool again? I don’t care when you can hear something like this. A driving riff, way ahead of its time, really clever lyrics and multi layered backing vocals bigger than volumising conditioner. Who needs cool when you’ve got all that.
5. The Boys: First Time
My previous band and brilliant we were too. Pioneers of pop punk. The “extended version” was 2 minutes 59 seconds long. Now, does that sum everything up or what?
6. Wire: Outdoor Miner
There are very few songs I wish could have been a lot longer. ‘The Suburbs’ by Arcade Fire is over 5 minutes but I wish it was 10. This is only 1:45 so it needs playing at least twice. Wonderful looping backing vocals and haunting tune. Oh I do like backing vocals and a good tune!
7. The Vaccines: Melody Calling
I caught them early on and liked them. I thought they had the Ramones approach to writing with Chris Isaak’s reverb pedal. A good combination as you may have already read. The strongest song they have written so far and should have been a big hit.
8. The Beach Boys: God Only Knows
Caused consternation in the US when released because it dared to mention Jesus’ dad but what a song, what an arrangement from the tortured genius Brian Wilson and, you guessed it, backing vocals to die for. The French horn has never sounded so alluring.
9. Foo Fighters: Walk
I do like a bit of Foo Fighters. Tony Barber, who was once in Nirvana for a couple of hours, is not particularly praising of Dave Grohl but I think he can write a tune. And they do satisfy my need for brilliantly produced driving guitars.
10. Goldfrapp: Happiness
Perhaps the best arranged song of all time. It could almost have been made in the sixties apart from the electronic instruments weaving in and out of the Beach Boys like ba ba bas and ooh ooey oohs. And in my opinion a record is always much improved by a few well placed ooh ooey oohs.
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