Better Than Book Club
One of the things I look forward to is a semi-regular get together with friends that’s centred around music. We call it a Music Appreciation Society, and the concept’s pretty simple. About a week before we meet, we select a theme (everyone gets a turn) and then we all bring along three songs that have some relationship to that theme. On the night, we play a song each, until all the songs have been played, maybe with a spiel about how the song relates to the theme. We also have dinner and a few glasses of wine. It’s great. And it’s much better than book club because it’s a much smaller time commitment than it is to read a book that one person might like and the rest will hate.
You could consider it a collaborative version of Bob Dylan’s Theme Time Radio Hour.
Our group has fairly diverse tastes: there’s a guy into hip-hop, reggae and alt-country, a girl into 80s hits and female singer-songwriters, another who’s into show tunes, ballads and classical, and then there’s me, who’s pretty much into anything, but I probably focus more on alt-rock and experimental more than anything else. Past themes have included Time, Face Cards, War, Colours, Animals, and Heroes.
Here’s the tracklisting for our Covers night:
- This Land Is Your Land – Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band (Woody Guthrie cover)
- I Just Don’t Know What To Do With Myself – The White Stripes (Burt Bacharach cover)
- Ceremony – Radiohead (New Order cover)
- When Doves Cry – The Be Good Tanyas (Prince cover)
- Everybody Wants To Rule The World – The Bad Plus (Tears for Fears cover)
- Straight Outta Compton – Nina Gordon (N.W.A. cover)
- Hand On Your Heart – Jose Gonzalez (Kylie Minogue cover)
- You’re Gonna Make Me Lonesome When You Go – Ben Watt (Bob Dylan cover)
- Superstar – Sonic Youth (Carpenters cover)
- Fast Car – Xiu Xiu (Tracy Chapman cover)
- Helpless – k.d. lang (Neil Young cover)
- Cars – Katzenjammers (Gary Numan cover)
- Love Will Tear Us Apart – Jose Gonzalez (Joy Division cover)
Our next theme is Sex. Any suggestions?
June 22nd, 2009 at 8:44 pm
Nothing says "business time" better than NIN's Closer.
June 22nd, 2009 at 8:48 pm
This sounds like a completely brilliant idea, and so much fun than a book club. (Reading? Bah!) I might have to organise such a group with my posse.
My 3 Sex theme song suggestions:
"Let's Make Love and Listen to Death From Above" – CSS.
Because it's so joyful and lovey and just about how it's kinda nice to listen to some rarrrrgh sexy music with the one you love (or the one you're with).
"Never Had No One Ever" – The Smiths
It's not so much about virginity but about the loneliness and isolation of never even having someone in your life. (Actually, I'm not sure about this pick, but there must be some good Smiffs/Morrissey song about the woes of sex).
"…Baby One More Time" – Britney Spears
A girl has dumped a guy. But something stirs deep within her. Does she want to get back together or does she just need to get laid? Well, there's only one way to find out.
June 22nd, 2009 at 9:32 pm
Great suggestions!
The Smiths are an intriguing choice, a lot of their songs seem to suggest sex but I can't think of one that deals with it directly. Maybe "Half A Person"?
June 23rd, 2009 at 3:56 am
One of my current faves: American Analogue Set covering The Clean's "Anything could Happen"
…i miss our occasional music rants…
July 2nd, 2009 at 2:38 pm
Re Smiths songs i would suggest 'reel around the fountain' about your losing your virginity to a more experienced lover, all the extreme emotions you have as a teenager and/or over your first love and how that changes you as a person.
the other song i think of is much more literal. Tricky – Abbaon Fat Tracks off Maxinquaye. The music is a smooth and sexy seduction while the lyrics are hard, dirty and violent. not love, but a drunken/high, lust driven sexcapade, probably with a whore.
Suffocated Love off the same album is another seductive track. about a twisted relationship that for all it's flaws suits them both: the man stays for the sex and the woman for the money.
July 5th, 2009 at 5:53 pm
a couple of 'whiskey dick' songs were offered up by the mp3 random god over the weekend. 'Soft' by Kings of Leon and The Bad Livers hillbilly cover version of 'Too Drunk to F#@k' (hmm.. not allowed that word, it's a valid word Matt)