John Gushue . . . Dot Dot Dot

How Bob the Builder got a No. 1 hit in the UK

I never, ever underestimate the ability of the British to put unexpected songs at the top of the pop charts. (Shaddap You Face, anyone?) The latest surprise is a song with unwieldy title of The Official BBC Children in Need Medley, put together by comedian Peter Kay and featuring dozens of animated characters, most of them from British television. The song is a fundraiser for the BBC's annual Children in Need drive. It was bumped today from the top spot in the charts by Lady Gaga, after holding it down for two weeks, with the video becoming a downloading phenomenon across the Atlantic. 

The song itself seems more of a nod to the parents than the kids, with the sampled songs coming from the likes of the Jacksons (Can You Feel It), Fleetwood Mac (Don't Stop) and, um, Chumbawamba. (Tubthumping does make for a great singalong, and may well instill in young ones an affinity for anarchism, rugby and/or getting pissed at the neighbourhood pub.) Another nod to the parents? Mixed in with Postman Pat, Thomas the Tank Engine and Bob the Builder is the Thunderbirds team, including Lady Penelope. (Meow.) 

Here's the video. I bet you could play a game trying to identify all of the characters (being British would surely help).

Paul Weller's new single

Paul Weller has been a big part of my musical life for three decades or so now. His new single, 7&3 Is The Strikers Name, shows he has no interest in slowing down, or getting boring, or even standing still. While he still and unfortunately is a bit of a cult thing on this side of the Atlantic, he's as popular as ever in the UK; he's been adding date after date for a marquee run at Royal Albert Hall in May. 

Adventures in the land of cheap videos

Ever had a kid ask you what the Seventies were really like?

Try this one, from Patrick Hernandez, he of the one-hit-wonder bin, with his last days of disco hit, Born to Be Alive, which I can recall from the Grade 9 dances of my childhood. With no budget - not even enough for anyone else to even fake an instrument - Hernandez uses a couple of props, mirrors and glances to get him through the tune. Poor sod.

Hang On Sloopy

A favourite pop chestnut from the Sixties, via the McCoys. My son heard this song recently, and thought it was about Snoopy and the Peanuts gang. Not so, and here's proof. 

Jarvis Cocker is back

Jarvis Cocker channels a bit of Jamiroquai, it seems, in the brand-new video for the title track of Further Complications.

Jean Knight, Mr. Big Stuff

Mr. Big Stuff is a heavily anthologized tune, but I was surprised to learn that Jean Knight's recording sat on a shelf before Stax decided to release it in 1971. Here's a video of Knight lip-synching the tune on Soul Train.

Arcade Fire and a Talking Heads cover

Arcade Fire has made the 1983 Talking Heads tune This Must Be The Place (Naive Melody) a favourite in concerts; here's why. (And here's a link back to a post from this winter of David Byrne doing the song solo ... with similar percussive arrangement, no less.)

See why 14 million people have watched a global jam of Stand By Me

This video is really remarkable: a collection of musicians from around the world, most of them buskers, each contributing a part to a group performance of the Ben E. King classic Stand By Me. Since it was posted last November, more than 14 million people have viewed it on YouTube. It's part of a peace-promoting campaign called Playing For Change.

Change Through Music

George Harrison, Here Comes the Sun

I grew up on Here Comes the Sun. I can remember hearing it on the radio before it was a golden oldie (as George Carlin joked, though, that didn't take long in those days) and around the house to boot. We're heading into winter, and the forecast for this week is gloomy and autumnal, but the song still works just fine. This is a performance George Harrison and famous friends made during one of the Prince's Trust shows in the Eighties.

Lou Reed: I Love You Suzanne

The weekend's here. Whew. A tune for tappin' your toes.