Seven Songs for the Week #80 - 16th October 24

I found a message board thread this week where people were sharing their favourite tips from the late sixties/early 70s German television show Beat Club. https://forums.stevehoffman.tv/threads/beat-club-west-germany-tv-music-show.1209565/

The first two selections on the playlist were sourced from the many performances that were posted. Captain Beefheart is someone whose personality I know better than their music. Very much enjoy how this song introduces itself. I'm now mulling over buying the RSD version of The Spotlight Kid.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ucA3q5VCQW0

Another great performance from the Beat Club thread. Heads Hands and Feet exist in that strange early 70s space of British bands trying to sound like the Canadian band The Band. The TV performance is much more full throttle than the recording of this song, but the most important thing is that the lead singer is Chas Hodges who later found more fame with Chas and Dave. That's him on the fiddle, and singing. Nice vibe, great sounding drums.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=38DlMTdNV9A

I went to see Crowded House live in Dublin this week. In the middle of the show Neil Finn played this song. It’s quite possible that there were many people in the audience who didn’t know this one, but it’s important that Neil Finn knows how much joy I got from hearing it in the middle of the setlist. Intriguer is a severely underrated album, subtle and supple and melodic, it’s a latter-day favourite.

Charli XCX brat remix album anyone? There’s some fun stuff on this, and I almost added the Julian Casablancas track because it sounds very much like Owner of a Lonely Heart by Yes, but instead I chose this one.

Stevie Nicks was on Saturday Night Live this week and this was one of the songs she performed, a new single she put out a few weeks ago. It’s a standalone release, as far as I know there’s no album coming. It doesn’t begin in the most Stevie Nicks of ways, which is commendable.

Bob Mould does pop up on these lists semi regularly. Once again I’m slowly working my way through his catalogue, and was listening to Beaster this week. Sugar's 1993 album Copper Blue is one of my all-time favourites, Beaster came out six months later and is made up of the more aggressive leftover songs. Sometimes it gets lost in the slipstream of its parent album, but the reality is that it’s a brash 30 minute listenn and is full of remarkable tunes like this one.

The Who. I go from loving them to hating them. I had Odds & Sods on this week and Long Live Rock is both annoying in its solipsism (like a lot of Pete's writing) and yet it flies (like a lot of Who recordings). Pete was declaring Rock was dead while still in his twenties.