By Alaric
Amongst our Song Bar regulars, we have fans of reggae, death metal, hip-hop, (rude word) from Preston (Cockney rhyming slang), heavy metal, electronic dance music, funk, disco, punk, house, techno, indie, grunge, ambient, gospel, grime, trap, psychedelic…
And then, there’s me, leaning towards, well, gimme your trad folk, and your top show tunes … gimme your ballads, and your moon Junes (sorry, Dory). Perhaps give me “different stuff” – or even “indifferent stuff”. While I’m doing the guru thing (not metal guru, as explained above) you can be assured that there is nothing wrong with your television set. Do not attempt to adjust the picture. I am controlling transmission. I am controlling the horizontal. I am controlling the vertical. For the next hour, sit quietly and I will control all you hear. You are about to participate in a (not particularly) great adventure. You are about to experience the awe and mystery which reaches from the inner mind to The Doubtful Limits.
A List Playlist – Bee-Bop-A-Lula:
Christy Moore – Beeswing (severin)
I can never choose between the two versions – Richard and Christy. Love ‘em both. Some controversy over the title – given the context, the narrator is almost certainly referring to a “bee’s wing” in the chorus. And yet the title is “Beeswing”. Beeswing is a crude form of potassium bitartrate that is purified to make cream of tartar. The song is set during the Summer of Love (1967, of course). The narrator meets a girl – possibly a hippie – whilst working in a steamie (a large steam laundry). He loves her and wants to settle down. She loves him but doesn’t want to settle down – “You may be lord of half the earth. You won’t own me as well.” So she slips away and eventually marries Romany Brown (you all probably know this - Romany, or Romani, is an ethnic group whose origins are traced back to India. The word “gypsy” was misapplied to them due to a belief that they originated in Egypt). A sweet, sad song that’s always in my top ten).
The Temptations – My Girl (George Boyland)
“Written with all the women in the world in mind”, according to Smokey Robinson, its creator (he also wrote My Guy for Mary Wells). The Temptations were playing as part of a package tour with The Miracles. According to Otis Williams: “The way it came about was that Smokey saw David Ruffin sing a tune by The Drifters (Under The Boardwalk) and was astounded by the way he handled himself when it came to the lead vocal. So Smokey came up with a tune just for him - a song that had hit written all over it.” There are more than 150 other recordings of the song, but the poise and soul of The Temptations’ version still reigns supreme. It’s time the incredible injustice of non-zeddedness was rectified.
Ella Fitzgerald - Let’s Do It (Let’s Fall In Love) (Uncleben)
Cole Porter. Obviously. Introduced in his first Broadway success, the musical Paris (I’m always intrigued by educated fleas. Can they cohabit whilst avoiding (flutteringly) that thing we all do when we try to murder them with a snatch of the fist? Or am I overthinking this?) It’s not just me. Overthinking (or perhaps accurate thinking) led many contemporary reviewers to conclude that the lyrics were about s-e-x – “a euphemistic reference to a proposition for sexual intercourse,” said one such. With lines like, “Moths in your rugs do it - what's the use of moth-balls?", “Folks in Siam do it - think of Siamese twins" and "Sweet guinea-pigs do it - buy a couple and wait", you have to say these folks had a point. The original words (soon and thankfully replaced) were just a tad racist – “Chinks do it, Japs do it - up in Lapland little Laps do it.” Factoid - Noel Coward sang it in cabaret, but replaced ALL the words, with zingers like “Even Liberace, we assume, does it.” But I thought Noel was also… well, never mind…
The Beatles – A Taste Of Honey (magicman)
Recorded in 1963 (the Acker Bilk instrumental version was in the charts at the time) with a chorus slightly changed from the Bobby Scott original. We all know how wholesome Paul McCartney is, and “wholesomeness” was what he liked about the song – “It was one of my big numbers in Hamburg – a bit of a ballad. It was different, but it used to get requested a lot. We sang close harmonies on the little echo mikes. It used to sound pretty good, actually.” It did, I’m sure, and it still does. The sentimental tone is odd for the band at the time when set beside tracks like Twist And Shout and I Saw Her Standing There.
Scritti Politti – Wood Beez (Shoegazer)
There’s nowt Green Gartside wouldn’t do for his squeeze, including both doing nothing and praying like Aretha Franklin.” Wood Beez? Que? Green says the song is “about “the whole question of what pop is; its relationship to language, power and politics.” Power Green doesn’t yet have, therefore he’s a “would be”. Geddit? They’re rolling in the aisles. Anyhoo, Robin Turner was impressed – "Wood Beez crackled over airwaves from Anglesey to Arizona like an alien radio transmission beamed out to an unsuspecting planet. A gleaming, chromium nugget moulded by ultra-modernist studioheads, it heralded in three and a half minutes the dramatic, bravura transformation of a band called Scritti Politti. Formerly a DIY squat punk band, they were now a group doused in glinting pop sheen.” So there you go.
Jean-Jacques Perrey - Flight of the Bumblebee (Traktor Albatrost)
Love this bee-loaded version. Orchestral interlude written by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov for his opera The Tale Of Tsar Saltan. At the end of Act III, the magic Swan-Bird changes Prince Gvidon Saltanovich (the Tsar's son) into an insect so that he can fly away to visit his father – “Well, now, my bumblebee, go on a spree – catch up with the ship on the sea.” A challenge to play, due to the complexity and the swift finger movements needed. Popular culture has absorbed it eagerly. It features, for example, in Chaplin’s The Gold Rush, Fantasia, the first episode of the Muppet Show, a Lurpak advert (with Douglas, a trombonist made of butter), and on the soundtrack of Tetris 99.
Bird And The Bee – Birds And The Bees (BenazirGalbasi)
Could this start a trend? Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Bird by Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds. Andrew Birds by Andrew Bird. We shall see. More importantly, in this ‘ere song (this ‘ere lovely song) Inara George sings, “Why oh, why do the bees need a beekeeper? Let them alone – taking all of their honey. Isn’t it greedy leaving them dry?” Fair point, but it ties in with all the vegan/vegetarian stuff, which I don’t have an issue with – I eat very little meat – but which I am getting confused by in light of a lot of recent research proving that trees communicate with other trees and plants with other plants. What CAN we eat, then? Returning to Inara and apropos of nothing, she’s the source (Indirectly) of a top quality quote – “Midlife crisis has become synonymous with convertible Porsches, men leaving their wives for younger women, and women leaving their husbands for their trainers. A friend of mine once said, “It’s like ripping pages out of a book you can’t read any more.””
Simpson, Cutting And Kerr – Dark Honey (Suzi)
“One summer′s evening, and the kids ran free. All the bees were swarming in the cemetery. And they sucked that sweetness their natures crave from the flowers that grew on every grave.” Wonderful sentiments and a superb song performed by three legends of the British folk scene. Written by Nancy, it’s in sum her “reflection on the human influence on our fast-changing ecology”. Inspired, apparently, by a summer of bee swarms in her inner-city garden, and the story she heard of bees collecting the sweetness from discarded cola cans and subsequently producing the dark honey of the title. Martin on banjo, Andy on melodeon and Nancy on fiddle. Concerning getting the act together, Nancy says: “Andy was the soundtrack to me wanting to become a musician. He’s incredible. Kit, Martin’s wife, had a lot to do with it. She’s Roy Bailey’s daughter, and I think she essentially told Martin he had to work with Andy and me. He’s shrewd and didn’t argue. We all do what we do, but we also give each other the space to do it.”
Regina Spektor – Up The Mountain (SongBar Landlord)
Regina comes from Moscow originally. Sanction her instantly. Kidding, of course. On the Landlord’s recommendation, I gave my ears a treat. Up The Mountain is classified as avant-pop by one of them folks who cares about such things. Another critic tagged it as “a waterfall of visceral description and urgent feeling that cascades like an unsolvable riddle”, and I agree with that. Part orchestral and part electronic, it feels like opera. “In the garden, there’s a flower. In the flower, there’s a nectar. In the nectar, there’s an answer. In that answer, there’s another.” Just gorgeous. Another fun fact – while she was in college, Spektor worked at a butterfly farm (nod to recent topic). It would have been perfect if she’d worked with bees instead.
The Unthanks – Honey Bee (severin)
“You're the courage when I fade. Take a look at what we've made.” An unusually optimistic song from two ladies who often take the mickey out of themselves on stage about the melancholy nature of most of their songs. "We're miserable buggers underneath," Rachel says. "As kids, those are the songs you love. The ones about death and heartbreak… it’s good to not be afraid of the sad side of life… I've had pictures sent to me of Patience Kershaw with an arrow pointing to her baldy patch." Becky adds, “I get a bit traumatised to be honest when someone suggests we do a happy song," But Honey Bee IS happy for the most part – a lively piece with swing harmonies. Always wondered where Unthanks came from, so this time I looked it up. Apparently the name derives from a dialect word for squatters or travellers who appropriated common land – border reiver families – outlaws who recognised no jurisdiction but their own. You never stop learning, do you?
Alison Moyet – Honey For The Bees (PopOff!)
She comes from Billericay, but her given name isn’t Dickie, a point that’s actually quite relevant. When she was growing up she had a distinctly androgynous appearance - “'I had fist fights with boys at school. I was called "sonny" by my teachers. I was sexually assaulted by both men and women looking for my c**k.” And life didn’t get easier. “It was always me and a group of about eight blokes hanging round Canvey. There were times we'd be surrounded by skinheads, mods, Teds or "market boys", and I had to out-threaten them.” Her hero was Elvis Costello. “I met him once after one of his gigs. I was trying to be all urbane and not gush too much but what came out of my mouth was: "You dragged that out a bit, didn't you?"” Still, like Leonard Cohen, she was “born with the gift of a golden voice”, never better displayed than in this impossibly good song about uncontrollable mutual attraction.
Monty Python – Eric The Half A Bee (severin)
You see. It’s hard to disagree. With me. When I say that half a bee, philosophically, must ipso facto half not be. Composed by Eric Idle with lyrics by John Cleese. One of the best of the songs preceded by one of the best of the sketches, Fish Licence, in which Mr Eric Praline, played by Cleese, tries to obtain a pet licence for a halibut and numerous other pets, all called Eric. One such pet is half a bee. Fish Licence is one of Cleese's personal favourite Python pieces. “I love him semi-carnally.” “Cyril Connolly?” “No, semi-carnally.”
B List? The Bee List:
Jesus Christ Superstar – What’s The Buzz?/Strange Thing Mystifying (BenazirGalbasi)
Squeezed out at the last minute. There must be over fifty thousand complaints (yeah, I know that’s Simon Zealotes). Which artist do I credit this to? I’ll leave that to Marconius7. Video suddenly won’t load for me. If needed, I suggest the movie cast.
The Rolling Stones – I’m A King Bee (Marconius7)
Apologies to fans of the original, but Jagger’s at his prancing best here, gathering no moss.
Van Morrison – Tupelo Honey (Uncleben)
Don’t know if it’s zedded – only checked the A list. But if it isn’t, shame on all of us.
Manhattan Brothers – Oh, Honey Be (My Honey Bee) (magicman)
Absolute sucker for doo-wop (comes from listening to my dad’s collection of Ink Spots records (they weren’t doo-wop, but near as dammit)). And this is doo-wop at its best.
Memphis Jugband – Bumble Bee Blues (Tarquin Spodd)
We need to throw a little Will Shade on the proceedings, do we not?
Blind Blake and Leola Wilson – Back Biting Bee Blues (Nicko)
How many of these artists who put “Blind” in front of their names could spot a courtly lady at five hundred yards?
Martin Stephenson and The Daintees – Me And Matthew (Shoegazer)
In the greenhouse, there are long discussions between Martin and his grandaddy. Nostalgia and stuff. Ah, nostalgia. It was much better in my day.
Eric Andersen – Bumblebee (Fred Erickson)
Love me some Eric. Particularly White Boots In A Yellow Land (well, I think that out-Ochsing Phil Ochs cover was him – too darned lazy to check. But, but, but… as this was nominated by Fred Erickson, shouldn’t Eric change his name to Eric Fredsen?
Taj Mahal And Toumani Diabate - Queen Bee (Nicko)
Brilliant belter from Bamako, which location, I have to tell you (unfortunately), is Dante’s gate to hell.
Fats Waller And His Rhythm - Honeysuckle Rose (Nicko)
This needs to be recognised. Hope I ain’t misbehaving if I do so.
B Bumble and The Stingers – Bumble Boogie (Max Visconta Nuclerosea)
B.B. Bumble and the Stingers, Mott the Hoople, Ray Charles Singers. At the end of my rainbow lies a golden oldie.
Of Montreal – Happy Yellow Bumblebee (Uncleben)
“We don't talk to spiders because they're mean and they try to trick us, because they want to eat us”. I’m on the bee side.
C List – Bee-hind The Eight Ball
We seem to have a C-List going (on occasion) these days, so (I declare) I shall use that to list songs that I hadn’t heard before and liked:
Abigail Washburn – Single Drop Of Honey (PopOff!)
Tintern Abbey – Beeside (ShivSidecar)
Acabou Chorare – Novos Balanos (pejepeine)
Agnes Obel – Bee Dance (BenazirGalbasi)
Caribou – Bees (Traktor Albatrost)
Cab Calloway – The Honeydripper (severin)
Billie Piper – Honey To The Bee (Noodsy)
Cyril Tawney – Sally Free And Easy (Suzi)
Roky Erickson - Bumblebee Bee Zombie (Tarquin Spodd)
Davina and The Vagabonds – Bee Sting (Pop Off!)
The Grateful Dead – Samson And Delilah (Chris7572)
Adult Net – Honey Tangle (ShivSidecar)
Guru’s Wildcard Picks:
Jeanes – Trees Hug Bees
“Nobody out there sounds quite like Russ Jeanes; the taste of honey is almost tangible on Trees Hug Bees. Pure pastoral nectar from the heart of Northern England. Accept no substitute' - Tom Robinson.
Loudon Wainwright III – B Side
I was so sure this would come up that I’d already written something in preparation. About REAL bees. Indeed, Loudon IS a bee. From the top quality Album III.
James Yorkston – Like Bees To Foxglove
The inimitable Mr. Yorkston off on one of his crazy verbal rambles.
Neko Case – Outro With Bees
“So it’s better, my sweet that we hover like bees, 'cause there's no sure footing; no love, I believe.”
John Renbourn - Soho
“The buzzing bees do harmonise through the rushing sale daylight.”
Keep hovering …
These playlists were inspired by readers' song nominations from last week's topic: What's the buzz, hive mind? Songs about bees. The next topic will launch on Thursday at 1pm UK time.
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