Farraginous Friday #18 – Money, money, money

Good day my frivolous farraginous friends and welcome to the 18th edition of Farraginous Fridays!

Due to the apparent economic peril we are facing in this country I thought I’d cash in on this by setting this week’s playlist theme as money. Songs about having it and not having it are generally what it’s about! Please do add your own suggestions in the comments section below! We can’t farraginise without you!’d think.

Farraginous Friday #18 – Money, money, money      (SPOTIFY)

Farraginous Friday #18 – Money, money, money      (YOUTUBE)

The Drifters

The Flying Lizards‘ take on Barrett Strong’s 1959 hit Money starts the tills rolling this week. Singer Vivian Goldman  really doesn’t beat about the bush about what she wants! These New-wave experimentalists released this version (and probably the best known version) in 1979 and it appears on numerous films and TV shows. It was to be the band’s only Top 40 hit.

Money Honey was the debut single for legendary doo wop group The Drifters . The song was written by (the then lead singer) Clyde McPhatter. A man, who, struggling for money, asks his woman to help him out and it turns out she’s getting some (and money) from another fellow. Charming! Notable covers of this come in the form of Eddie Cochran and The King himself, Elvis Presley.

R.E.M., in my opinion, have two very underrated albums; New Adventures In Hi-Fi and the wonderful stadium filling Monster, from which our next song, King Of Comedy, is taken. An air of cool breathes through this track, leaving enough space for some sweet sounding drums and crunchy, gutsy guitars. Apparently the working title for this track “Yes, I Am Fucking With You”. Can’t decide which I prefer.

Pet Shop Boys

The next track on the list is Alice Cooper‘s Billion Dollar Babies. Taken from the 1973 album of the same name, this tune features folk legend Donovan on falsetto backing vocals. The album is arguably Cooper at his creative peak and the album name was, the following year, the subject of a legal suit after members of the band split to form their own group called Billion Dollar Babies.

Going for broke next are New Wavers ABC with their 1984 track How To Be A Millionaire . This track wasn’t a big hit, only reaching #49 in the UK charts, but I think it’s one of their catchiest and most brilliantly produced songs. A smile always creeps across my face when the “Billions of pounds” sample makes an appearance.

Not a lot I can say about the flamboyant-yet-timid Pet Shop Boys. The London electro duo have sold in excess of 50 million records world-wide. Opportunities (Let’s Make Lots Of Money) – is from their debut album Please. Neil Tennant says the song was inspired by the two lead characters from the 1969 film Midnight Cowboy.

Next up are the hugely influential New York based MC/DJ hip hop combo Eric B. & Rakim. Paid In Full is the fifth and final single taken from their debut album of the same name. I love the minimal and subtle arrangement of this track but I think my favourite part is when our heroes decide to fuck off mid-track and leave the beat going.

Eric B. & Rakim

Some lefty-hippy bounce up next with California’s Singing Bear. Billionaire sees the narrator saying how he would and would not spend princely sums of cash on. Expect to hear anti capitalist rants, weed smoking and also a curious Mexican sounding accent at one juncture!

Brummie one-hit-wonders Hollywood Beyond check in next with their 1986 track What’s the Colour of Money. If electro had been invented by the sea in medieval Britain then I think it would have sounded like this. Seriously, tell me that I’m wrong.

Now, I’ve decided to finish up with some classic dad-rock from the gyrating Geordies, Dire Straits. Money For Nothing was officially documented as a Straits/Sting writing collaboration but the tantric titillator insists he only wrote one line (“I want my MTV“) and supplied some backing vocals.  The track comes from their 1985 album Brothers In Arms. Mark Knopfler claims that many of the words used in the song, stole straight from a guy working in a New York department store.

That be all for this week I’m afraid. I hope you’ve enjoyed the cash-ridden melting pot that was, this week’s Farraginous Fridays playlist.

Do leave your suggestions below as I’m sure many of you have many of your own ideas of what you’d like to include on a money themed playlist!

Please do continue to tell your friend’s about Farraginous Fridays. Send them along to the Facebook group here – http://groups.to/farraginousfridays or just invite them straight to the blog at http://farraginousfridays.com.

Until next time…

Love
Farraginous Francis x

Farraginous Friday #18 – Money, money, money     (SPOTIFY)

Farraginous Friday #18 – Money, money, money      (YOUTUBE)

Farraginous Friday #08 – A river runs through it

Hello my farraginous friends and welcome to the 8th edition of Farraginous Fridays!

This week our songs have a river theme flowing through them. So expect a more soothing and relaxed selection than that of the rigid numbers theme of last week.

Farraginous Friday #08 – A river runs through it (SPOTIFY)

Farraginous Friday #08 – A river runs through it (YOUTUBE)

Pushing us away from the bank this week is The Byrds and their Ballad of Easy Rider, which was written for the 1969 Dennis Hopper road movie, Easy Rider. Let the adventure begin…

The folk-infused experimentalists Akron/Family are next, with their Vampire Weekend-cum-They Might Be Giants track, River. This comes from their 5th studio album Set ‘Em Wild, Set ‘Em Free. The lazy bass line of the verse moves to military stomp to a delicious poppy bounce in the chorus. This is probably the most genre-crossing song on this week’s list.

Bruce Springsteen

There isn’t a great deal that needs saying about “The Boss”, Bruce Springsteen. With so many songs that are still so popular and significant today, this man is a true music legend. The song tells the tale of a man who has to deal with life as it really is and to re-adjust the dreams he’d originally set out for himself. “For my nineteenth birthday I got a union card and a wedding comb” is just a sign things to come as the country slips deeper into economic decline. The River was taken from the 1980 album of the same name.

The endlessly creative and experimental Sparks are at the next stop. Seemingly about capitalism, the narrator humorously talks of taking the river on his travels or perhaps buying another one to keep his present river company. With no less than 22 studio albums to their name, there’s no doubting the tireless work ethic of LA’s most inventive export. I Bought The Mississippi River is from their 1976 album Big Beat.

Stadium rockers Styx greet us next with Boat On The River; a haunting little shanty from their 1980 album Cornerstone.

Strawberry Switchblade were a pop punk rock duo from Glasgow. Their eponymous album (also their only album) from 1985 was, rather interestingly, produced by Queen’s John Deacon.

The wonderous Wilmslow’s Doves deliver us the closing track from their 2002 The Last Broadcast. A popular single, this track has featured on many a TV series soundtrack.

David Byrne is next.  One of the most acclaimed and diverse bands of the 80s, Talking Heads here perform an interesting cover of the Al Green song Take Me To The River. Although Psycho Killer was a minor hit at the time, it was this track that really made them a household name.

These days the name Albert Hammond will be more associated with The Strokes yet it’s the indie kid’s father, Hammond Snr, who delivers us this insanely upbeat track about pollution. Down By The River‘s insatiable bass line and repetitive lyrics make this catchy track a perfect choice for the Farraginous Friday mix!

R.E.M.

Our boat completes it’s journey this week with a song that is of huge importance to me. R.E.M.‘s massive album of 1992, Automatic For The People, was the album that actually got me in to music. After the big success of 1991′s Out Of Time, it was wondered how the pop rockers would be able to top it. This album is one of the biggest selling in history and is a must-have album for any pop rock fan. Find The River is the beautiful closing track on the album and possibly my favourite song by the Athens band. A sombre, reflective track, it still delivers a ray of hope (“All of this is coming your way“) and seems the perfect way to close this week’s Farraginous Friday.

Thank you for listening and I hope you’ve enjoyed this week’s mix. Do leave comments below if you have ANYTHING to say about the selection or perhaps how individual tracks have affected you.

Please do continue to tell your friend’s about Farraginous Fridays. Send them along to the Facebook group here – http://groups.to/farraginousfridays or just invite them straight to the blog at http://farraginousfridays.com.

Until next time…

Love
Farraginous Francis x

Farraginous Friday #08 – A river runs through it (SPOTIFY)

Farraginous Friday #08 – A river runs through it (YOUTUBE)

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