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30 Blogs of Night Friday Music: Songs I'm surprised I like

30 Blogs of Night

We're back with another attempt to blog for thirty days straight (I really need a logo for when I try this, don't I?). This time Eve has set me the challenge and I've been looking at ways to make it work without eating huge amounts of time. But, it's tradition to do a music based thing on a Friday, so that's where I'm starting. These songs are all pieces of music I'm surprised I like, for whatever reason. Mostly its because they fall outside my comfort zone, but have wormed their way into my heart.

Extreme Ways: Moby


I first heard this about a month ago, when I finally got around to watching the Bourne Identity. It really isn't my kind of music. In fact I've never even listened to Moby before - dismissing him as dancey rubbish. So I was really surprised to listen to the end titles music on Bourne and find myself really liking it, to the extent that its become part of my daily soundtrack, playing in the background as I do stuff on the computer.





Wide Awake: Katy Perry


I don't really remember how I 'found' Katy Perry's music. Again, her stuff is a bit outside my usual Goth/Punk/Indie sort of vibe which I normally have playing on You Tube. Perhaps I clicked a link and found I liked it, or some sliver of morbid curiousity led me to investigate her. There's something about the video for this track which I like, a lot truth be told. I think in part its the fact it reminds me of Labyrinth, and the fact that its a feminist as I think Katy Perry will ever get - there's a clear comment on losing yourself in the male dominated fantasies of the pop music industries with the start of the video. The inclusion of the younger self is an interesting addition too, as its clearly got a call back to the idea that we know what we need as children, but adulthood dilutes that in fairly horrific ways. Compromise may be necessary, but it can be crippling.  It's also as close to Goth as I think she'll ever get, to be honest.

Raise Your Glass: Pink


I have a confession. I hated Pink when she first became famous, and still can't listen to 'Get This Party Started', I find it so cringeworthy. Despite this I really like this track and the video is good too. I like that its quite an anthem, that it isn't about love, or anything like that, but is a real celebration of being different (even dorks get a look in). I'm pretty sure my sister in law would talk about the hermeneutics in the video, but I'm more interested in the song's content.





Spaceman: The Killers


I never warmed to the Killers, even in the days when Kerrang radio was easy to listen to (and based in Birmingham). This track is the exception to the rule, the only song of their's I like. While with Katy Perry and Pink, its as much about the video, here it's all the song. In the words of Hugh Dennis' character on the Mary Whitehouse Experience, it's got a good beat.

Once and Never Once: The Long Blondes

I blame Kieron Gillen for liking this, as I found out about the Long Blondes from the pages of Phonogram, and promptly fell in love with them. Despite this I find it surprising that I like them because... well they're popular.. or were at one point. The first song of their's I liked was Giddy Stratospheres, which I'm still trying to work out if its a song about tempting someone away from their love or chiding them for not being down to earth and realistic. This song makes me want to dance, and it surprised me in how literate and knowing it seemed the first time I listened  to it.














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