Well here we are again, my first go on a tenth instalment of something that increases its gravitas with every version, every event in our lives has an impact on the selections and every gap or quick succession could have some great meaning, or indeed none at all. I think you Kev may have had an inkling of what this could be from the get go, or at least you saw its potential, for me not so much from the beginning but now im starting to see it I think. Maybe it needed a deeply human tragedy viewed from outside to give me the perspective it needed, or maybe its just where im at but while I always knew this was good, right now im thinking it could be whole lot more than that. But then again lets not get too anal about it, this is music and important as it is to us all, not least for its powers of rejuventaion and possibly even redemption but people are so much more so. But when you can share music constantly with two good friends, over such a timespan and possibly more, and its all recorded for posterity then there is something unique about that. Joy and pain, ups and downs, smiles and frowns - its all recorded here from time to time and in the intervening places just some great music that means nothing more than the love of a good melody, or bassline or even a surprising 'snap' in a top twenty record of all time (bold claim there Hodge, but you got your knackers out and slapped them on the line so fair play to you for that) then those moments are visceral and to be cherished.
Ok, like the man says, onwards and upwards - Hodge great to have you back, I always knew you would be, the darkness doesnt last forever thank fuck and while no-one can tell anyone else how they could or should deal with the dark parts of life we all have, I know that good music plays a big part for all three of us - it was the initial tie that bound us after all. The previous 10:
Sugar Daddy - love this to be honest, got a real feel of late 90's deep(ish) house about it, great bassline, real dark club feel about it - especially with that seductive vocal.
Bike - how chilled is this record ? Doesnt do an awful lot for me but would be great background music at an appropriate time - very nice.
Snooze 4 Love - the big chill continues here - again this is background music for me, its very nice but doesnt get the blood rushing in - but then again I guess it isnt meant to !
Relax - nice mix of this tune, although one gripe in the production is it seems 'cut and paste'd at times when it builds up to the end of a bar with a big whoosh and then just cuts off, which I found a bit jarring. This was the early 80s though so I guess things were different then... great use of the major chords though
Save a Prayer - always liked this tune, nice selection - never a big nu romantic but I heard a shut up and dance tune called 'mourning after' that used the chorus to great affect
Duw its hard / A whole world of opportunity / My Hero
Im not really going to comment on these tracks Hodge, I think its a deeply personal thing and to be honest what I think of the music is completely irrelevant as I simply cannot grasp the deeper meaning they have for you, apart from My Hero I guess - I bet the acoustic version was stunning. A wonderful tribute Ben.
Somebody that I Used to Know - you're right this is everywhere, the first time I heard it I couldnt believe it was so popular, but it was a grower and I get it now. A nice inclusion - a very cool tune.
Still Here - This is lush melancholy to me, I think thats fair. Absolutely top notch production, a track that takes its time and is in no way rushed, I'd imagine Kev loves this. I think its nice, but again I'd need to be in the right mood to really appreciate it.
Ok my next 5:
Straight Up and Down - HBO continue to select cracking tracks for their best series, this is the title to 'Boardwalk Empire' which im absolutely loving - those opening chords that they thankfully keep returning to rather than bridging are IMMENSE. I could listen to that all day.
Sweet Dreams / Fortitude / Slow - ok I thought a lot about whether to include these 3 as we have had loads of Moby, but he only went and released 'Destroyed - Deluxe' and I couldnt believe there was so much quality still to come. So I though, what should I showcase on Spot - it should be tunes that should be on there that the others might know, it could be the state of our lives, or it could just be the tunes that are rocking your world right now - and these 3 have been on heavy rotation for about 6 weeks and I still love them. Im not going to say anything about the individual tracks but there are some truly magnificent moments on there to these ears. Moby and I are on exactly the same wavelength I would say. Wonderful stuff.
Outro - When you go tot he cinema as much as I do (saw 'The Raid' last night, which was excellent) then you see the latest red bull advert a lot and its hugely uplifting, and uses this track to great affect, so it had to be on here, although it could use the language over the top that they had in the ad as its spine tingling in places "You are the world champion - enjoy it" being the best. But its plenty sufficent on its own. As good as 'lower your eyelids' ? Maybe...
One love
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