Hello each and every one of you. What a week it's been. If you're thinking, "Hang on, didn't we already do songs about arguments?", then award yourself an extra mark because, yes, we did. Forgive me. But taking even the briefest look at this week's responses will have convinced any doubters that there are many songs we never even touched on before. Pop music loves nothing more than a good fight, eh?
Consequently, in the two lists there are as many moments of boiling anger, as there are quiet questions about betrayal and deceit. There are arguments between lovers, families, friends, every bugger's at it, and every bugger thinks the other person is behaving more unreasonably than they are and, therefore, their argument is fundamentally flawed. Human beings are clever like that.
Anyway, the A-list was a fight in itself but it ended up looking like this: The Argument – Ike and Tina Turner; Night of the 4th of May – Al Stewart; I Luv U – Dizzee Rascal; Why – The Byrds; She Said, She Said – The Beatles; Alone in the Make-Out Room – The Broken Family Band; Wasted Words – The Allman Brothers; Explanations – Gil Scott-Heron; Silent Treatment – The Roots; Gerry Rafferty – Whatever's Written in Your Heart.
As far as the B-list, well, here we go:
Family Life – Sham 69
"You bladdy get upstairs and get a wawsh …" Mum argues with son. Son writes a song about his muvver arguing with him all the time. "It's better than getting chucked out," they reason, "it's better than being alone." Well, it is, isn't it?
Dance Music – The Mountain Goats
John Darnielle remembers only too well when, aged 5 ("or 6, maybe") his stepfather starts shouting at his mother and "launches a glass" right at her head and he ran to his room to put on a record to drown out the noise. And that record was, well, "dance music".
The Memory of a Wife – Millie Jackson
Ms Jackson sees an old boyfriend. He tries to pretend he's on top form, she lays into him, describing how his "thing" is "as ragged as a bowl of sauerkraut", while his new love, "done lost her job". Jackson trusts, "you didn't tell her about our love-making …" Astonishing vocal, astonishing track.
Dirty Glass – Dropkick Murphys
This is moronic, but in a good way. I feel like I shouldn't like it, but I've just re-watched that episode of The Wire where they held the whiskey-soaked wake for Ray Cole and I'm kind of in the mood for east coast "Irish" drinking music.
Fighting Talk – Everything But the Girl
Entirely unargumentative music supports a tale of a bitterly contested marriage war. "You slam the door and turn the catch," Tracey Thorn sings, "you turned your home into a prison, conversation into a slanging match …" Literally, ouch.
The Trees – Rush
Alright, so I like Rush a bit. Anyway, this is about an argument in a forest. Or is it? Perhaps it's a rilly, rilly clever allegory that only people wot read books will understand! (I haven't got a clue, sorry.)
Don't Answer the Door – BB King
Mr King is no one's fool. Instead of waiting for his wife to do something so aggravating he has to – has to! – have an argument with her (if not actually smack her legs), he tells her, in no uncertain terms, to not answer the door to anyone, not even her sister (FYI, she talks too much) while he's out mucking about with his pop group. It was acceptable in 1966. Amazing.
Man Next Door – Massive Attack
Horace Andy comes home late – perhaps he's been out for dinner with friends, or at singing at an illegal rave – and his next door neighbour is, as ever, "fussing and fighting", (that's reggae for "arguing"), and he does it "all through the night" to boot. Horrible man. The neighbour, obviously, not Horace.
The Spaniard That Blighted My Life – Billy Merson
Merson should have been as big as Al Jolson. But he wasn't thanks to the latter nicking this song and selling a million copies of it – in 1913, mind – before being sued for copyright infringement by Merson himself. Now that's an argument.
I Hate the Fact That We Breathe the Same Air – Monolithic
No words whatsoever, just nine minutes of freezing cold ultra-metal played by people who appear to be inventing a whole new world of music as they go along. Features a brilliant, fallen-into-the-depths-of-hell breakdown halfway through and a pant-wettingly heavy false ending. Actually mind-warping.
And so to this week's topic, which is, appropriately, mistakes. I'm after songs that are able to look at what's happened, hold up a steady hand and go, "You know what, that was my fault …" Let's hear about some songwriters that are aware of their own mistakes, but also those that can outline and highlight other people's errors and failings. Who's done something they shouldn't have done? Who messed up? Who did something awful they really want to admit to now? Who's got the gumption to turn a mistake into a masterwork? As ever, many extra points will be awarded to well-argued examples. Until next week …
The rulebook:
DO post your nominations before midday on Monday if you wish them to be considered.
DO post justifications of your choices wherever possible.
DO NOT post more than one third of the lyrics of any song.
DO NOT dump lists of nominations – if you must post more than two or three at once, please attempt to justify your choices.
Let's be wonderful to each other – because who knows when it might be your time to trip up?
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