Glasgow’s Attic Lights this week released a new single, Late Night Sunshine, a joyful rush of pop harmonies, through Island Records. Lifted from their debut album, Friday Night Lights, which was released in September. By their own admission, the band are five likely lads ‘brought up on a diet of Beach Boys, Flaming Lips and deep fried Mars Bars’.
Massive Attack / Unfinished Sympathy
Perhaps my favorite song of all time and a constant on my iPod, it makes my heart swell up every time I hear it. I can’t get sick of it. It might also have the most perfect tempo any song has ever had!
The Beach Boys / When I Grow Up To Be A Man
Eleven years old, travelling through France in the back of my parent’s car and wanting to be anywhere but there. Looking out the window at the beautiful French countryside and beautiful French girls. This song is playing and it sets me free in my head into a world of possibilities and excitement. Suddenly music became my whole world.
New Order / Bizarre Love Triangle
Another song that I find it hard to put into words why it has such an effect on me. A great example of how you only really need three chords to write something effective, moving and simultaneously danceable.
Dogs Die in Hot Cars / Paul Newman’s Eyes
One of the great under-rated Scottish bands. This song starts like an old railroad work song before exploding into a funky groove that makes you wish you were playing in the band. And Paul Newman’s Eyes. They deserved to be celebrated. Even straight guys like me would go a bit gooey inside when Newman flashed those baby blues on the silver screen.
Bruce Springsteen / Highway Patrolman
I’m a sucker for sad, folky ballads and this may be one of The Boss’ best. Stark, haunting and tragic. The Boss gets a lot of stick for being bombastic. Play his critics this song and it usually shuts them up.
Guns n’ Roses / Don’t Cry
This is a major guilty pleasure. I was never into Guns n’ Roses when they were about, but this song has somehow sneaked into my life. Hilariously over the top performance and production, but at the heart of it is a really great melody. For maximum impact you should really watch the music video where Slash drives himself and his nagging girlfriend off a clifftop, only to reappear at the top of said clifftop playing an elaborate guitar solo as the car explodes in a ball of fire in the valley below. Genius!
Jens Lekman / The Opposite of Hallelujah
Sweden’s finest export. Jens is one of the best songwriters working today. Part Magnetic Fields, part Belle & Sebastian, part funky sampled soul music. What more do you need? This song is one of my favorites. But don’t just download this. Buy everything he has ever released. You won’t be disappointed.
REM / Nightswimming
I got the album Automatic For The People on tape when it first came out. I was just a kid at the time, but when this song came on, I listened to it, stopped the tape, rewound and listened to it again and again about twelve times or so. It’s a totally unique sounding song with a wonderful lyrical concept. I’ve no idea how they wrote it. As a songwriter, it amazes me to see someone come up with something like this. You can’t learn that sort of shit. This is the Kissy Remix of the song.
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