counting to ten

I left off last week at song no. 5. A very deserving number by the Beatles, no less. Lurking just over the horizon at a cozy number six is...

6. Karma Police, Radiohead

Ok, yes, what a surprise... I'm a Radiohead fan. And hey, I say if you're going to go for a cliche, you may as well own it, so I've gone with Karma Police, though it could just as easily have been No Surprises, House of Cards, All I Need, or ... you get the picture. And it would be lame to list entire albums (another list opportunity?! Hold back your enthusiasm please, I'm not even half way through this one) but if I was going to list entire albums, I'd have to list In Rainbows, which would just sneak ahead of Ok Computer. Just. Anyway, back to Karma Police. It's anthemic for Gen Y, I reckon.

As an aside, I have a rather fond appreciation for this tune which came over the radio (Triple J, since you asked) recently after I lost my wallet in the middle of the street, complete with cash, a gift voucher, a brand new bus ticket, and all the cards I own. I took note and figured I was on the wrong side of the karma cycle until a lovely man called me with the very welcome news that he had my wallet, complete with cash and cards. Karma Police indeed. And I'm not sure if it's a good thing that I'm astounded at the honesty and good will of other people, or it's a sad indication of my expectations of society that I was so astounded, but that's a whole other bottle of red just there.

7. With My Two Hands, Ben Harper and the Innocent Criminals

So says she who's volunteering for 12 months. And won't no one tell me any different.

8. Where Is My Mind, The Pixies

Because who, tell me who, doesn't secretly want to be Kim Deal screeching on stage with her dodgy bass guitar??? Who??? (drug addiction and unsavoury penchant for tracksuit pants aside). In particular this song is a testament to Ms Deal and Mr Black who influenced Kurt Cobain so much he admitted to trying to rip them off. Unfortunately for The Pixies, Kurt tops the list of top earning dead celebrities, and The Pixies are most certainly nowhere near topping any such list. On the other hand, they're still around to bask in the glory of bands covering them left right and centre (Placebo's version of this tune is also worth a night in), and Kim has managed to kick the gear, and nicotene. Not bad. As for Kurt, well we're all a little too familiar with what happened to his mind.

As an interesting aside, pay attention next time you watch Fight Club (and everyone should watch Fight Club more than once. Edward, Brad and Ab King Pro combined...every boy's dream).

9. The Ship Song, Nick Cave

I was always going to be nervous about a religious song, and I'm nervous putting this here. But it would be lying (and lying does awfully unattractive things to you like making your nose grow and puts boils on your tongue etc etc) not to include it so here it is. I love the build, I love the lyrics, I love the intimacy, and I love the line "come lose your dogs upon me" in particular.

10. Wendy – Concrete Blonde

I admit now that this is a hangup from my teenage years where a friend and I spent many a depressed 'so wish I was emo but we're 10 years too early' night playing this tune relentlessly nodding to each other with the seriousness only other sixteen year olds can really understand. It was also the first song I heard which made me consider the people who lose loved ones to HIV/AIDS. And it's just so sincere, and a little bit terrible. But it never ceases to throw me right down to the depths of heartfelt sadness when I hear it now, and all of a sudden I'm thanking my multi-coloured burkenstocks that I made it through that one unscathed. (being sixteen and serious, that is, not...)

::peers over shoulder at the uncomfortable silence in the room::

11. Let's Dance to Joy Division, The Wombats

Ok, so there's no way this song deserves to be this far down the list, and to be blatantly honest it in no way should feature before Joy Division themselves (oh come on, don't look so surprised. As if The Cure, Nick Cave and Radiohead didn't give you enough warning) and i've gone past number ten which I wasn't planning to do but it's my list and I'll change the rules if I want to (oh, I get lamer, don't worry. especially considering I doubt 'lamer' is even a word, technically, and if it is it shouldn't be).

But everybody wants to dance to joy division, especially in summer when this song was a bit of an anthem for me, and when you're from dreary old London. Which I'm not, but I'm sure I'm from convict stock somewhere along the line which gives me some surrogate rights to bitch about bad London weather even though I've never been there. And leaving it on this upbeat, boppy, and fun tune is much better than the alternative. It's no doubt these marsupials know how to have fun (see, lamer already) and it's good enough to remind me the best bits of being silly. Sometimes it makes people smile, which is nice.