By Loud Atlas
Gather around. Crowds offer a place of hustle and bustle, with the shuffling of feet, the inadvertent bumping and dose of close proximity. They are busy places filled with all sorts of characters both remarkable and anonymous. Whether to embrace them, surf them, flee them or curse them, crowds are marvels. Musically speaking, our crowd this week offers a slice of life in, out, around and away from the crowd.
Blue Öyster Cult get us under way with a tale of Johnny and Suzy in The Marshall Plan. The crowd roars, but what of the lives of those in the crowd and what are the musicians' motivations? The draw of the crowd, both for a musician and audience member is strong.
But let's get back to basics: a crowd has to start somewhere. One person finds another, who latches onto another, who sidles up to the next, and so on. Joni Mitchell is just one of the 'half a million strong' who make their way to Woodstock, even though, ironically, she never played there.
What's that noise around the corner? Noises of triumph, revelling or riot? You'll often hear crowds before you see them. The Human League want you to add your voice to The Sound of the Crowd in this slice of 80s New Wave.
In our modern world, humans find all sorts of way to congregate. Sadly, not all congregating is intentional. Spare a thought for poor James Taylor in his Traffic Jam. Crowded people powering machines to somewhere, but nowhere all at the same time.
Unlike the freedom granted at field-based music festivals or events held on wide boulevards, crowds are often found within rooms. XTC are struggling with the bodies, breathing and claustrophobia within their particular Crowded Room. But help is at hand, in the form of a fire escape as blessed relief from the melee. Have a peek at that album cover, too - crowded beyond belief!
Édith Piaf's experience among La Foule ('The Crowd') leads to her being thrust into the arms of a handsome stranger - love at first sight! But what the crowd gives, it also takes away. Beware the power of the crowd. The English translation of the lyrics are on the video.
Mass anonymity is the aim of the game for The Jam. When they're In The Crowd they lose themselves to the act of being in the crowd - their issues are the crowd's, and they too lose their identity to the system.
Crowds in the animal kingdom occur for shelter, protection and to preserve their species. A collection of thousands of birds is perhaps the world's most beautiful crowd.The astonishing annual migratory flight detailed by The Ink Spots in When The Swallows Come Back To Capistrano, serves as a signal of hope for the characters of the song.
How do some people stand out in the crowd amongst the unwashed masses of a sweaty gig? A little bopping head pops up and down like everyone elses, but yet somehow a connection is made. The Little River Band have got great eye sight to spot that Face In The Crowd.
Betty Everett knows what she wants. She won't stand to be the third person in a crowded heart as it's Getting Mighty Crowded. After all, two's company and three's a crowd when it comes to love (in most monogamous relationships!).
The Guitar Man thrives and survives thanks to the hordes of his doting fans. They are his Bread and butter. Even when one crowd disperses, there's another not too far away.
A feverish sporting crowd begins Laduma! (a Zulu expression meaning 'to thunder' or 'to be famous' which is used by fans when a goal is scored). Mbongeni Ngena and co. come together to support one of South Africa's best-loved football teams: Kaizer Chiefs F.C.
I'd imagine most people wouldn't like to get in with a bad crowd. Lucky for R.E.M. there's a crowd full of Shiny Happy People, which, although the title is dripping with irony (the phrase comes from a Chinese propaganda poster), is an upbeat piece of fruity mastery.
What of the crowd haters? Not everyone loves them. For some it's the pleasure of just one other person that matters. Regurgitator's retinas are a concern in the Prince homage ! (The Song Formerly Known As).
To end this overcrowded list, the coolest, hippest place to be is surely Bryan Ferry's place back in 1974. If you want to be part of The 'In' Crowd then just get to walkin' and talkin', and dressin' fine.
The A-Crowd Playlist:
Blue Öyster Cult - The Marshall Plan (Uncleben)
Joni Mitchell - Woodstock (treefrogdemon)
The Human League - The Sound of the Crowd (Uncleben)
James Taylor - Traffic Jam (amylee)
XTC - Crowded Room (Nicko)
Édith Piaf - La Foule (swawilg)
The Jam - In The Crowd (megadom)
The Ink Spots - When The Swallows Come Back To Capistrano (Marconius7)
Little River Band - Face In The Crowd (Fred Erickson)
Betty Everett - Getting Mighty Crowded (severin)
Bread - Guitar Man (AltraEgo)
Mbongeni Ngema - Laduma! (George Boyland)
R.E.M. - Shiny Happy People (IsabelleForshaw)
Regurgitator - ! (The Song Formerly Known As) (Nicko)
Bryan Ferry - The 'In' Crowd (severin)
B-Crowded Playlist:
The Grateful Dead - Crowd Sculpture (Chris7572)
Kaiser Chiefs - The Angry Mob (shoegazer)
Alice Donut - J Train Downtown: A Nest of Murder (happyclapper)
The Cramps - Green Door (IsabelleForshaw)
The Saw Doctors - Macnas Parade (Suzi)
Lesley Gore - The Old Crowd (TatankaYotanka)
The Kinks - (A) Face In The Crowd (Fred Erickson)
Johnny Cash - The Matador (Alaricmc)
Burning Spear - Them A Come (Nicko)
Ben Folds Five - Draw A Crowd (swawilg)
Kimya Dawson - Parade (shoegazer)
The Ruts - Staring At The Rude Boys (Carpgate)
Mickey Gilley - Three's A Crowd (TatankaYotanka)
The Har-You Percussion Group - Welcome to the Party (Nicko)
Ramsey Lewis Trio - The 'In' Crowd (BanazirGalbasi)
Guru's Wildcard Picks:
Before the crowd melts away into obscurity and back to their real crowdless lives, here are a final gathering of crowd tunes.
Joe Satriani - Crowd Chant
A rock god gets the crowd involved - with some riffing of Fauré's Pavane for good measure.
Tom Odell - Wrong Crowd (Live from Dublin)
Odell has found the right crowd whilst singing about the Wrong one.
Allison Pontier - Hell Is A Crowded Room
How true this is nowadays.
Ashleigh Frieze - Where's Wally?
The ultimate crowd-dweller!
These playlists were inspired by readers' song nominations from last week's topic: Surf this: songs about crowds. The next topic will launch on Thursday at 1pm UK time.
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