🎵 Music
Crucial Track 🎵 May 13, 2026
"Perfect Day" by Lou Reed
Whenever it doesn’t seem right … Lou sets me straight.
Crucial Track 🎵 May 12, 2026
"The New Math (What He Said)" by OSI
I was sat on a plane reading an interview with Bowie who talked about this band he'd just heard. Made a note of it, and ordered it online. Their first album arrived and this was the first track and I was IN. How could you not be?
Crucial Track 🎵 May 11, 2026
"Thank You for the Music" by ABBA
Today’s post is a sister post to this one.
My memory … sitting alone tin a large Odeon(?) cinema - South London - Streatham. I really can’t recall the movie - except the closing credits - as Wiki says:
The song also plays over the closing titles as the camera pans out from the band performing in a hut on an island in the Stockholm archipelago to views of the archipelago itself.
That is my only memory and on that day, for whatever reason found it so uplifting. Where are we now? What 47 years later - and that memory is locked. That song. Locked. Loved it then. Love it now.
Abba? Sure I have great respect for what they did. The songs they wrote and recorded - but in all honesty - never really my bag.
Except this one.
Crucial Track 🎵 May 10, 2026
"When an Old Cricketer Leaves the Crease" by Roy Harper
I wouldn’t describe myself as a fan of cricket .. but this one is nothing to do with cricket and everything to do with life. Been in the soundtrack of my life for 51 and counting years and hard to reach the end without life memories coming to the fore.
Crucial Track 🎵 May 9, 2026
"The Ocean" by Richard Hawley
Hawley’s voice has me … every time. You can … I do .. just fall into his songs .. not just the ocean,
Crucial Track 🎵 May 8, 2026
"Infected" by The The
The first track of Matt’s second album left the speakers in my living room and arrived in my ears nearly forty years ago. I never looked back .. the power of this opening track hit me like a sledgehammer and does a stunning job of introducing the ‘tour de force’ that is the album.
Crucial Track 🎵 May 7, 2026
"Fever (Adam Freeland Extended Remix) [Adam Freeland Master]" by Adam Freeland & Sarah Vaughan
Cover? Mix? Do not know. First heard it 21 years ago .. been on the non existent mix tape of my life ever since. Give it a whirl.
Crucial Track 🎵 May 6, 2026
"Woke Up This Morning" by A3
I watched the occasional Sopranos back in the day. But somehow it never stuck. Unlike the theme which has been in my Just Good Songs playlist since I discovered playlists. Such a powerful song. Never tire of it. Here’s to the next 29 years.
🎵 Rare Birds by Jonathan Wilson
I have no idea how I missed this - futzing with my sound set up last night and Siri suddenly started playing ‘Trafalgar Square’ that I had to Shazam to find out what it was. Then listened to the album once and here we are. Great album. Always nice to discover a ‘new’ artist.
Crucial Track 🎵 May 5, 2026
"Steppin' Out" by Joe Jackson
I was listening to the new Joe Jackson album - really rather good - but for me - it still doesn’t meet the excellence of Joe’s crucial track.
Crucial Track 🎵 May 4, 2026
"(Don't Fear) The Reaper" by Blue Öyster Cult
Prompt Share a song you love that has parentheses (in the title).
A song that would have been in my ‘Just Good Songs’ playlist the day I heard it - it’s just that 🍎 hadn’t got round to inventing it - mainly because mere mortals didn’t have the internet.
Crucial Track 🎵 May 3, 2026
"Rockin' In The Free World (Glastonbury 2009)" by Neil Young
Live. Glastonbury. Well over ten minutes. Neil rockin' out.
Crucial Track 🎵 May 2, 2026
"Hi Ren" by Ren Gill
Stunning. A friend shared this with me last year. If you want to listen to a totally original and highly talented artist - start here.
Crucial Track 🎵 May 1, 2026
"Permanating" by Steven Wilson
In the Venn Diagram of music that jax and I both like - this one sits high ... so clearly needs to be pulled out first.
🎵📼 🔗 Tom Petty does ‘The Mac’ - and his ‘Welllllll’ must be the best ‘Wellllll’ I have heard in any other cover. It might also be better than the original.
The Irish tale of Oisín describes the warrior’s journey to Tir na nÓg, the land of youth. He spends three years there but when he returns to Éire to see his old fighting comrades from the Fianna, 300 years have passed.
And for a related 🎵 interlude …
Tír na nÓg are an Irish folk duo formed in Dublin, Ireland, in 1969 by Leo O’Kelly and Sonny Condell.[^cite_ref-LarkinGE_1-0][1] They are often considered one of the first progressive folk bands with other artists like Nick Drake or groups like Pentangle.
💬 Wikipedia
Not to be confused with Horslips - who along with Tír na nÓg were in constant circulation on ‘young John’s’ turntable back in the day. Almost certainly arrived at them via Pentangle and Fairport - but most definitely stood on their own. Still listen to Horslips to this day - not so much Tír na nÓg.
🎵 Vincent's Tale by Ren
Surprise? Not if you know Ren. One of the most extraordinary artists that have emerged in the past decade.
🎵 Boots on the Ground by Massive Attack, Tom Waits
Massive Attack and Tom Waits … that’s the surprise. The result? As wonderful as you might expect.
🎵 Hope and Fury by Joe Jackson
Always liked Joe - and he has still got - 22 albums in. The tour starts soon.