By George Boyland
Tankus The Henge - Recurring Dream
Went down very well in our house, grandchildren included. Fabulous musicians, who seem to have a touch of Madness. Whatsitabout? Erm, the protagonist keeps dreaming that he's jumping off a building with his girl. Falling is such a wonderful sensation that he keeps on doing it, over and over. Gravity's orgasm. Thomas Pynchon I'm not.
Erland Cooper - Spoot Ebb
I asked the lovely Linda what "spoot" means. She is so clever, and so innocent. She said it's when razor clams spout water from under the sand at low tide allowing you to pick them for lunch. Sure, I remember that; now. I was so proud of her. Then I went online and found that there are further meanings. I shall spare you all.
The spoot ebb is when you can go and pick shellfish, which I love. Of course it's the Moon's gravity behind it all. There's a beach behind my house, and apart from the usual birdies a pair of little egrets have settled there. The crows have learned to pick cockles and mussels. They sit on the promenade railings staring at me like something out of Hitchcock. As distraction techniques go, I wonder if I'm doing well.
Ivor Cutler - Gravity Begins At Home
An average evening in the Cutler household.
Nothing seems strange if I may be so bold.
Ivor is observant. He doesn't miss much.
He may seem brave but his courage is Dutch.
I believe him, though I've never had to scrape anyone off the ceiling . . . yet.
John Mayer - Gravity
Given that gravity is subtle, it's appropriate that this fella has subtlety in spades. A fine understated voice, and guitar licks that seem to want to be played more forcefully, but are held back, restrained, for aesthetic reasons. It was news to me that he joined The Grateful Dead, but why am I not surprised?
Prince Far-I And The Arabs - Low Gravity
So let's run with the mood: subtlety, restraint are the order of the day. Prince Fari knows how to use low frequencies to manipulate bodily reactions. Me, I'm skanking. Alone.
Tarpeian Rock - Protomartyr
This is quite simple and straight forward. It's basically a list of people these guys would like to throw off a cliff. HMHB would approve.
Gorillaz - Sound Check (Gravity)
There's not a lot of lyrical variation here, but it sounds so good that it doesn't matter. In fact nothing matters because I got so into it I forgot to check the lyrics, not that they say much. And one of the guys sounds very like Damon Albarn ...
Bootsy Collins featuring Kelli Ali - Play With Bootsy
This is Bootsy playing with all the space cowboys in the Star Wars bar, asking for zero gravity. He arrives in his zoom car, so what? I got my Noddy car. Seems we're both doing well.
Nada Surf - Here Goes Something
Okay, you've got a great melody, the band are pumping, but you don't have any lyrics. Pick a few interesting words like 'gravity', 'speed' and 'majesty', and hey presto, you've made the A-list. Excellent tune though.
James Brown - Gravity
Wow! This geezer's had his Otis lessons. What's he got to say? G-R-A-V-I-T-Y. What more do you need? What more do you want? He went to jail once. Locked in his cell he shouted to everyone in the prison who he was. “I'm James Brown! I'm the Godfather Of Soul. Ow! Hear me now, I invented funk. I am the man.”
The tired voice of a prison officer . . . “Mr. Brown, can you keep it down please, Mr. Brown.”
Desmond Dekker - Hippopotamus
Can't say I know much about what's going on here, ’cept that it's fab. Maybe it’s because the hippopotamus is Africa's most prolific killer. They raise themselves out of the Zambezi and collapse their bodies on to tourist boats, making sure that they are all dead. That's gravity for you.
XTC - Another Satellite
Ah, a metaphor. Who needs another person hunting you down when your life is overcrowded with minor orbitals, moons and asteroids? Well, some people are lonely. Lucky them.
Lau Nau - Painovoimaa, Valoa
I don't know what this is about so I'm placing my trust in the original poster. I'm certain it's about gravity as it's so beautiful.
Attracting Force A-List Playlist:
Tankus The Henge - Recurring Dream
Erland Cooper - Spoot Ebb
Ivor Cutler - Gravity Begins At Home
John Mayer - Gravity
Prince Far-I And The Arabs - Low Gravity
Tarpeian Rock - Protomartyr
Gorillaz - Sound Check (Gravity)
Bootsy Collins featuring Kelli Ali - Play With Bootsy
Nada Surf - Here Goes Something
James Brown - Gravity
Desmond Dekker - Hippopotamus
XTC - Another Satellite
Lau Nau - Painovoimaa, Valoa
Light-Bending Beyond B-List Playlist:
Peter Hammill - Earthbound
Ben Cox - Einstein Cross
Jesse Winchester - Defying Gravity
Gustav Holst - Jupiter
Robert Wyatt - Free Will And Testament
Editors - The Weight
King Crimson - Fallen Angel
Captain Chris Hadfield - Space Oddity
The Rolling Stones - Sweet Sounds Of Heaven
Pylon - Gravity (Gyrate)
Frank Black - Two Spaces
The Folk Implosion - Gravity Decides
R.E.M. - Feeling Gravity's Pull
Jupiter
Guru’s Wildcard Pick:
PJ Harvey - Liverpool Tide
These playlists were inspired by readers' song nominations in response to last week's topic: Pulling power: songs about gravity. The next topic will launch on Thursday at around 1pm UK time.
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