I first heard the music of English musician and singer-songwriter Nick Mulvey (b. 1984) on Guy Garvey’s Finest Hour which airs Sundays on BBC 6 Music. That program has been a staple of my musical diet for years, though I haven’t listened to it much in the last month or two. From the first listen,Continue reading “Unconditional”
Tag Archives: Guy Garvey's Finest Hour
River Man
I first came to know of the music of English singer-songwriter Nick Drake (1948-1974) through the BBC 6 Music program Guy Garvey’s Finest Hour. As I’ve referred to so many times before, the host is the lead singer of the English band, Elbow, and I often find post-worthy songs on the show. The first NickContinue reading “River Man”
Are You My Woman? (Tell Me So)
I’m not sure how I feel about the use of sampling in music production; that is, the practice of taking a clip from a song and editing it into a new piece. Sometimes I think like it’s the equivalent of plagiarism, in other words, a ripoff, and indeed it’s been a source of lawsuits inContinue reading “Are You My Woman? (Tell Me So)”
Bloomsday
Well, at last, after the eternity of nearly two months without him, my BBC 6 Music mainstay Guy Garvey is back in the chair for his Sunday program, Guy Garvey’s Finest Hour. Frequent visitors to this blog will know I savour Garvey’s program with its banter, visitor segments and musical selections, as well as theContinue reading “Bloomsday”
Sandman’s Dust
As I mentioned in a post earlier this week, my sweety and I have numerous friends in Colorado, USA. We all hold heavy hearts at the senseless killing of ten women and men at a grocery store in the city of Boulder on Monday. Sweety and I spoke with some of our folk today andContinue reading “Sandman’s Dust”
Weird Fishes
Happy Friday! On this bright, sunny day (and cool/windy… not like Monday’s “heatwave” day across Manitoba!) I’m sharing a song with dreamy and rocking aspects to it, “Weird Fishes,” by British singer-songwriter and producer Lianne La Havas. I heard the song on BBC 6 Music’s Guy Garvey’s Finest Hour, the February 7 episode, “Enjoy EnjoyContinue reading “Weird Fishes”
Work Is a Four-Letter Word
While Guy Garvey’s Finest Hour is my number one BBC 6 Music program to listen to, there are some others I like quite a lot, too. Amy Lamé, whose program comes on right after Garvey’s Sunday time slot, is another presenter I like. I’ll occasionally listen to Sean Keaveney on weekdays, too. Sometimes Liz KershawContinue reading “Work Is a Four-Letter Word”
Lilac Wine
In 1966, American singer, songwriter, musician arranger and civil rights activist Nina Simone (1933-2003) released her sixth studio album, Wild Is the Wind. The album was assembled from recordings left over from previous recording sessions. (Please check out my post on Simone’s cover of “I Put a Spell on You” for more about her lifeContinue reading “Lilac Wine”
Please, Please, Please, Let Me Get What I Want
Today I was catching up on past episodes of Guy Garvey’s Finest Hour, a two-hour collection of songs, interviews and various segments and features that appears weekly on BBC 6 Music. I finished the show from January 13 (guest host “Nadine Shah Sits In” -and by the way, check out my post from last yearContinue reading “Please, Please, Please, Let Me Get What I Want”
The Birds
Maybe you’ve been a follower of this blog for a while. In that case, you’ll know I take a lot of inspiration and acquire much of my new music from the recommendations of Guy Garvey, the lead singer of Elbow during his weekly program, Guy Garvey’s Finest Hour on BBC 6 Music, on Sundays (2:00Continue reading “The Birds”
Symphony No. 3, Op. 36, III: Lento – Cantabile Semplice
Today I ponder on the eve of the eighth anniversary of one of the pivotal days of my life: the day our dear friends’ daughter was killed along with 27 other people: children, educators, the killer’s mother and himself in two incidents (at a home and a school). Upon returning to my office from aContinue reading “Symphony No. 3, Op. 36, III: Lento – Cantabile Semplice”
I Just Want to Celebrate
“Three-and-a-half minutes of sheer, giddy positivity…” That was how Guy Garvey’s sister Becky, aka “The Beckapedia,” described Rare Earth’s 1971 hit “I Just Want to Celebrate” in her segment during the November 22, 2020 instalment of Guy Garvey’s Finest Hour (“Happiness and Home”) on BBC 6 Music. I was listening to the episode on theContinue reading “I Just Want to Celebrate”
The Very Thought of You
I haven’t yet listened to last weekend’s installment of Guy Garvey’s Finest Hour, “Nick Drake — Featured Artist,” but looked over the tracklist today, and it is inviting and engaging as usual. I look forward to spending some time with it soon, thanks to the BBC Sounds app. One of the songs on Garvey’s listContinue reading “The Very Thought of You”
Day by Day
Today, I dug into and — rare for me — listened to a whole episode of BBC 6 Music’s Guy Garvey’s Finest Hour in one sitting. It was the November 8, 2020 episode, “Hello Matt Berninger” (the frontperson of the band The National is interviewed by Garvey). Garvey said how much he has always lovedContinue reading “Day by Day”
Dreaming of You
Hey, it’s another Friday, folks! Another challenging week here in Manitoba, learning of new record numbers of COVID-19 cases, a health-care system under strain, a lockdown 2.0, and deaths rising at a frightening rate. One of the few politicians I genuinely respect, Calgary, Alberta mayor Naheed Nenshi, spoke today at a televised press conference carriedContinue reading “Dreaming of You”
Chewing Cotton Wool
Today, I’m delving into the archives of BBC 6 Music’s Guy Garvey’s Finest Hour again… there were many great songs on his BBC Slow Sunday episode (October 25, when the British Isles left daylight savings time, a day when the station’s show hosts all played “chill” music. My selection for today played right after anotherContinue reading “Chewing Cotton Wool”
Coming to Get You Nowhere
The British band This Is the Kit is one I’ve heard from quite a lot on my favourite radio stations, BBC 6 Music and KEXP Seattle. Most of the BBC’s presenters have been playing their songs, and Guy Garvey is no exception: today’s selection aired on Guy Garvey’s Finest Hour this past weekend, as partContinue reading “Coming to Get You Nowhere”
Just Breathe
Happy Friday, friends! This morning I’ve been catching up on past episodes of Guy Garvey’s Finest Hour on the BBC Sounds app, as they’ve been collecting on the e-pile. In one sense, I suppose it’s a good thing he returned to two hours from his pandemically-induced three-hour slot (partially filling in Amy Lamé’s time); however,Continue reading “Just Breathe”
Nobody Knows
Today, I’m sharing an exhilarating piece I heard for the first time this morning. As followers of this blog know, I gain a lot of my new-to-me music through Guy Garvey’s Finest Hour on BBC 6 Music, where the host and lead singer of the British band Elbow shares his musical taste, history bits byContinue reading “Nobody Knows”
Listening Wind
Today I was thinking of the 1980 album by Talking Heads, Remain in Light. In my opinion, it’s their best and most inspired work. A visit to the vinyl collection in the basement and a look at the album and liner notes reminded me that Brian Eno, David Byrne and Talking Heads co-wrote the album’sContinue reading “Listening Wind”
On the Sea
It’s Friday, September 11, the last day of what’s been for many a challenging first week back in school in Canada. It’s also a day when the world remembers the deaths and other losses suffered in terrorist attacks on the United States 19 years ago. The commonality is life and death, the sometimes thin veilContinue reading “On the Sea”
The Yellow Lights of Moray
It has been a while since I have highlighted a local musician. Today, a song by Winnipeg, Canada’s Scott Nolan. Nolan is a talented individual with a good heart, who supports the local music scene and musicians, and has exposed Winnipeg to talent from other places. A great example of this was the playbill heContinue reading “The Yellow Lights of Moray”
At the River
Having spent two afternoons and evenings at the beach this week, I’m keenly aware of and appreciating the beauty of the living world — the sky, the land, the water and the air. Such magnificence all around us. (And sure, a little irony that my sweety and I drove out there twice, but I rationalizeContinue reading “At the River”
Suspicious Minds
Life has been busy for the last few weeks, particularly since I’m cycling a lot… Two hundred forty-four kilometres (152 miles) on four rides over the previous seven days. How I love being retired! One indicator of how full life has been is that I only this week finished listened to the August 2, 2020 episodeContinue reading “Suspicious Minds”
Fade into You
Mazzy Star, an alternative rock band from Santa Monica, California in the USA, is an act I keep stumbling across. Their single “Fade into You,” from the 1993 album So Tonight That I Might See plays often on KEXP Seattle, and it popped up in the YouTube suggestions when I was working on the postContinue reading “Fade into You”
Who Loves the Sun
Happy Friday, friends! Who loves the sun? I do… though it was almost mostly absent for my 68-kilometre (42-mile) bike ride south of Winnipeg to Saint Adolphe this morning. When I set out, the temperature was 21°/28°C humidex (69.8°/82.4°F) but was up to 27°/38°C humidex (80.6°/100.4°F) by the time I returned. I was wearing aContinue reading “Who Loves the Sun”
Courage
I heard today’s song on this past weekend’s instalment of Guy Garvey’s Finest Hour, listening to the show archive after the broadcast through the BBC Sounds app. Of a few songs that I was looking at yesterday, I couldn’t decide which I wanted to post more, this one or yesterday’s, so yeah, you’re getting themContinue reading “Courage”
Black Water Falls
I first heard the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania band The War on Drugs on CBC late-night radio in around 2017, and bought the album A Deeper Understanding, released that year. Since then, I’ve also heard them on KEXP Seattle and purchased one song from an earlier issue, Lost in the Dream (2014). The singer, Adam Granduciel, whoContinue reading “Black Water Falls”
French Countryside
This past weekend, while listening to Guy Garvey’s Finest Hour on BBC Sounds, I heard this song by Jehnny Beth. I’d never heard her before, and it seemed a good fit for the hot summer, slow moving mode I’ve been in for the past couple of days. The song also made me think of theContinue reading “French Countryside”
Uncertain Smile
My earliest memory of the band The The relates to a former schoolmate whose condominium I rented a room in, during the early 1980s. Ours was a friendship I mentioned in my post on “Song to the Siren.” He’d heard of The The, somehow, and I remember him finding the name quite noteworthy and funny.Continue reading “Uncertain Smile”
Time
A few weeks ago, listening to Guy Garvey’s Finest Hour on BBC 6 Music (May 31, 2020 – “Tom Waits, Tim Buckley and Talk Talk”), I heard a recording of Tom Waits singing his composition, “Time.” It reminded me of the Tori Amos cover of the piece. I like her version a lot; she capturesContinue reading “Time”
Mind Over Money
This past Thursday, I wrote a bit about serendipity, and here it comes again. I was feeling like posting some older songs in the last week or so and, this past Saturday, landed on “Higher Love,” by Steve Winwood. Well, today I listened on the BBC Sounds app to some of Sunday’s episode of GuyContinue reading “Mind Over Money”
Are You a Hypnotist??
On his May 31, 2020 instalment of Guy Garvey’s Finest Hour on BBC 6 Music, Garvey spun a few songs in particular that really grabbed me by the scruff of the neck. One of these was The Flaming Lips’ “Are You a Hypnotist?” from their tenth studio album, Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots (2002). ItContinue reading “Are You a Hypnotist??”
I Put a Spell on You
Nina Simone was unknown to me until she was the featured artist of the week on a recent episode of BBC 6 Music’s Guy Garvey’s Finest Hour, where he played her 1965 recording of “I Put a Spell on You.” I’d likely heard other music of hers before, just didn’t know who she was. I’veContinue reading “I Put a Spell on You”
Sea Song
The Cheshire, England based band Doves released their debut album, Lost Souls, in 2000. Songs from that album get a fair amount of play on two of my go-to sources for music, Guy Garvey’s Finest Hour on BBC 6 Music and The Morning Show with John Richards on KEXP Seattle. The three-piece band took aContinue reading “Sea Song”
Isolation
Happy Friday, friends! Of all John Lennon’s compositions for The Beatles and his solo work, I’m not sure I’ve ever heard today’s song, “Isolation,” before today. This morning I was poking around the BBC 6 Music website and delved into some April 2019 archives of Cillian Murphy, the Irish actor in Peaky Blinders (a show IContinue reading “Isolation”
Bare
It’s late in a day that saw us spend about 11 hours out working in the yard today. A hot, sunny, windy, glorious Manitoba spring day. Our neighbourhood has 115-year-old elm trees which are awesome, but this is not so awesome for the lawn. The grass struggles to grow and has done so for theContinue reading “Bare”
Splitting the Atom
Massive Attack is an electronic group I know nothing about, aside from the fact that their piece “Teardrop” was the theme music for the TV series House, M.D., and I always found it to be a clever piece of music. The show ran from 2004 to 2012, starring British actor Hugh Laurie as the American diagnosticContinue reading “Splitting the Atom”
When Will I See You Again
Yesterday, I listened to much of this past weekend’s edition of BBC 6 Music’s Guy Garvey’s Finest Hour, “Nina Simone Rules.” A feature of the show I quite enjoy is when Garvey brings his family members onto the program, in the various ways he does. His toddler son Jack is fascinated with all the buttonsContinue reading “When Will I See You Again”
I Don’t Want to Go Home
This week’s edition of my perfect afternoon of music enjoyment (or more, if I dole out bits of listening to the program at a time), BBC 6 Music’s Guy Garvey’s Finest Hour, just finished an hour before I sat down to write this. The archive was already pasted up on the BBC Sounds site atContinue reading “I Don’t Want to Go Home”
April in Paris
The government in my province of Manitoba, Canada has set out a staged return to commercial and other activities. Sweety and I are unconvinced that a specific date suddenly makes it safe to be among people again, say, for haircuts, followed by beers and wings on the patio. We get it; there’s pressure to “restartContinue reading “April in Paris”
Out of the Blue
Elton John has had a couple of mentions in this blog, here and there. Today is the first time I’m featuring a solo piece of his. I vaguely remember the record, Blue Moves, which came out in 1976 though I do remember the melancholic hit that came from it, “Sorry Seems to Be the HardestContinue reading “Out of the Blue”
I’ve Got the Music in Me
Well, here we are again with a selection played on Guy Garvey’s Finest Hour on BBC 6 Music. I’ve only just finished listening to the third hour of Sunday’s episode, “Pink Floyd and Stevie Wonder a Go-Go Today” in which he features some Pink Floyd as well as songs written, sung or contributed to byContinue reading “I’ve Got the Music in Me”
Real Life
Happy Friday, friends! Another week of sweatpants and BritBox. Though I did shave today and put on “button pants” as the talking dog character in Pluto Living calls them. I’m delving once again into the vast store of musical delights that Guy Garvey played this past weekend on BBC 6 Music’s Guy Garvey’s Finest Hour. Today’sContinue reading “Real Life”
I Am… I Said
Neil Diamond was another musical staple in my childhood home. I’m not sure who brought his music to us, but he was very popular with my late mum, as I recall. I’ve featured a few other 1960s and ’70s songs here: “This Guy’s in Love with You” (a post where I recount Saturdays trailing aroundContinue reading “I Am… I Said”
Sleep
I first heard a version of today’s selection sung by an a cappella choir in Winnipeg, Canada called Prairie Voices, which a friend, Amanda, belonged to some years back. (She is the same person who created our wedding invite theme, as featured in this post. By the way, Amanda has recently been called upon byContinue reading “Sleep”
Dear Friends
If you’ve visited this blog any number of times, it’ll be no secret to you that I’m a fan of Guy Garvey. Every Sunday, I look forward to hearing the lead singer of the band Elbow on his (now three-hour) program, Guy Garvey’s Finest Hour on BBC 6 Music. He shares some beautiful music, asContinue reading “Dear Friends”
April Fools’ Day Song
Seriously. Today was a weird day. I woke up and did my usual morning routine which is centred around playing with our cat, Perry Como, who is addicted to his “Da Bird” toy, and then feeding him his wet foot with warm water mixed in. It’s clear who runs the household, but he’s so charming…Continue reading “April Fools’ Day Song”
Wish You Were Here
Pink Floyd is a band that had a formative influence in my early life. I believe that their blending of rock with experimental music was part of what made me seek out more obscure types of rock music, a taste I’ve retained through my life. When one of my brothers was still living in theContinue reading “Wish You Were Here”
‘Cello Song
Nick Drake (1948-1974) is an artist I don’t know anything about; I suppose in part because he died just as I was growing into the age where my interest in listening to and collecting music was developing. I gather Drake’s music didn’t gain as much recognition in his life; in fact, he entered the BillboardContinue reading “‘Cello Song”
Here Comes the Sun
I was still only three years old when I was allowed to stay up late, already in my pyjamas, of course, to watch The Beatles when they debuted on The Ed Sullivan Show in February 1964. The Beatles have remained a part of my life ever since, coming in and out in greater measure whenContinue reading “Here Comes the Sun”
An Echo
Lately, when listening to the BBC 6 Music program Guy Garvey’s Finest Hour, I’ve been waiting until after the broadcast and then I play it on BBC Sounds. In addition to it being on-demand there (though on live internet play, it can also be paused), the episode microsite shows a full listing of the bandsContinue reading “An Echo”
Spanish Harlem
I remember Aretha Franklin’s album Who’s Zoomin’ Who coming out in 1985 and it seemed like she had almost reinvented herself to appeal to a younger audience, not that she ever had a shortage of success or fans in her career up to that point. It did, however, rise higher on the charts than anythingContinue reading “Spanish Harlem”
Mother Fighter
When I went through my Shazam app earlier this month I bought 25 tracks all in one go, each of them by different artists. Some of them I heard on either BBC 6 Music programs (in the addition to Guy Garvey’s Finest Hour, I often listen to Amy Lamé, Tom Robinson, frequent Garvey sit-in CillianContinue reading “Mother Fighter”
This Blue World
I first heard of the band Elbow through one of my cousins in the UK. He and his siblings and families and I reconnected in 2008, with my sweety-and-then-future-bride in tow (well, that’s perhaps another story: they said upon meeting her that they’d come to Canada to visit if we married, so we did, andContinue reading “This Blue World”
January 9, 2020 – Cedar Lane
I can’t recall exactly where I discovered First Aid Kit, but every time I hear another song by them I am immediately drawn in by the lush harmony of the Swedish folk duo’s voices. I may have heard them on KEXP Seattle as, other than Guy Garvey’s Finest Hour (BBC 6 Music), KEXP is whereContinue reading “January 9, 2020 – Cedar Lane”
Song of the Day for Today 