Seven Songs for the Week #49

A few weeks ago I wanted to listen to Led Zeppelin 4, but I don't own LZ4, and so this week I picked it up along with the debut. LZ must be the band whose catalogue I've put together over the longest time. At school in 1989 someone sold me a copy of LZ2 on CD that they had won or something, so I bought it for £5 as I recall. It didn't do much for me. When the double CD Remasters came out the following year, I bought that and for years that was all the Led Zeppelin I needed. Reading about LZ at the time of their 2007 reunion, I picked up Presence, because I liked the scandi-bleakness vibe. When HMV shut down in Dublin in 2016, was it, I picked up very cheap vinyl reissue versions of LZ3 and Physical Graffiti (the 2LP and 3LP versions). I've become very fond of LZ3. It's good! They were €10 or something each. Last year I found a cheap second hand Houses Of The Holy CD, because original 80s masters are where it's at. Those keeping score will realise that 35 years in and I still have Coda and In Thorough the Out Door left - I've listened to the latter a bit on streaming, I like it's pop vibe. And so to Led Zeppelin 1 - Track 1 - Good Times Bad Times. I like concise pop, not extended blues, so this is the Zep I like.

From the new Ariana album, and some Zep-like chords, they should've got Jimmy to put them down on a 12-string and pushed him up in the mix.

I was watching Isle of Dogs this week, would recommend. This song is in it and so I guess I'm going to have to get around to listening to all of the WCPAEB back catalogue.

JMJ was being discussed on the Afterword board which led me to watching a 1980s ITV health programme on YouTube about the new disease, AIDS. The theme tune was Oxygene4. I forget who it was who noted that if this song had lyrics, they would be:
"How's Your mum and dad?
How's Your mum and dad?
How's Your mum and dad?
How is your mum?
How is your dad?"

Heard this in a very cool hairdresser's this week. This song is 22 years old, it has the Neptunes sound that was prevalent at the time, but does it sound 22 years old? 22 years separated Love Me Do to Give My Regards To Broad Street. Billie Eilish is 22 years old, and she won her second songwriting Oscar this week. MAKES U THINK.

Nepobaby rock! Doesn't seem fair really: good looking movie star parents, good acting career, and now a song that sounds like a parallel universe Aimee Mann.

It's hard not to have an in memoriam track on these playlists every week, but Karl Wallinger was only 66 and that seems too young. He wasn't very prolific, but that wasn't the point. If you knew, you knew. Oddly, for someone who made music that looked back, he was ahead of his time. Too early for the Britpop years, and way too early for the internet, because if there had been music blogs and social media in 1990, I'm sure World Party would've done well, because people who like World Party like other people who like World Party. And the internet loves a clique. RIP Karl.