The memories are golden.
After many great years and stacks of free vouchers, the good folk at Golden Discs have decided to depart sponsorship duties on our Friday music competition mainstay.
I think I speak for everyone when I say they it’s been a blast.
A big thank you to all at Golden Discs and Sinéad and everyone in Presence PR.
All outstanding winners will receive their vouchers this week.
Nick adds: May all your days be gold, my friend.
The results are in.
Last week, from a suggestion by Andy Pipkin and with a €50 Golden Discs voucher redeemable in any Golden Discs store on offer, I asked for your favourite song or lyric mentioning a specific year.
You answered in your dozens.
But there could be only one winner.
Third Place:
In The Year 2525 by Zager And Evans
Slightly Bemused writes:
“Is it cheating to add several years? In The Year 2525 by Zager and Evans. They through a few more years in for good measure: 3535; 4545; 5555; 6565; 7510; 8510. Great tune, even if a little apocalyptic.”
Runner-up:
A Life (1895 – 1915) by Mark Hollis
Otis Blue writes:
“Released just over 20 years before his untimely death, Mark Hollis’ eponymous, solo 1998 album remains a fitting swansong to his genius. It’s a beguiling mix of pastoral folk, jazz and ambient music and brimful of hushed, haunted hymnals, the centerpiece of which is A Life (1895-1915), believed to be a tribute to a fallen soldier in WW1.”
Winner:
1952 Vincent Black Lightning by Richard Thompson
AMC writes:
“A tale as old as time – boy meets girl, boy blown to pieces during attempted armed robbery, girl gets free motorbike.”
Nick says: Well done AMC and thanks all.
Last week: Win Nick’s Golden Voucher
Thank Faye it’s Friday.
Rain, glorious rain! We missed you! Normal service has been resumed. The downpours will continue until morale improves.
Alright, so let’s have another music competition. This week the theme comes courtesy of regular reader Andy Pipkin who suggests your favourite song or lyric mentioning a specific year.
Here’s mine.
Reply below to be in with a chance of bagging yourself a €50 Golden Discs voucher redeemable in any Golden Discs store.
The winner will be chosen by my biographer.
Please include video link where possible.
Line Must close on Saturday at Midday!
Last week’s winner: Paulus!
The results are in
Last week, with a €50 Golden Discs voucher redeemable in any Golden Discs store on offer and inspired by a new documentary that argues 1971 was the greatest year for music, I wanted to know the top music year of your life with the top tune of same.
You answered in your dozens.
But there could be only one winning year.
Third:
Running Free by Iron Maiden
Clampers Outside writes:
“1985… was the year I fell in love.. With HEAVY METAL! Metal of all types! If it was gnarly or heavy I was listening :)
“Guns N’ Roses, Janes Addiction, Sabbat, Stormtroopers of Death were some of the bands formed that year.
“Album releases included Anthrax ‘Spreading The Disease’, Slayer ‘Hell Awaits’ and ‘Live Undead’, Exodus ‘Bonded by Blood’, S.O.D. ‘Speak English Or Die’ … And a whole heap of great metal albums from the like of Onslaught, Motley Crue, Celtic Frost, Loudness, Kreator, Overkill, Pantera, Faith No More, Twisted Sister, Megadeth… Ireland’s own Mama’s Boys ‘Power & Passion’ … and of course, Iron Maidens’ ‘Live After Death’. As well as, special mention for The Cult ‘Love’ :)
“How was I going to get a hold of all this new music? Well, a summer job of course!
“And what made things even much better was working in my local Esso station and all those drivers not collecting Tiger Tokens!!! Best dual-brand promo ever! That Golden Discs /Esso promo meant that I got at least one album every week and sometimes two or three, aaaaall summer long :)
“It was Maiden’s Live After that solidified my love of metal, but that didn’t come until later in the year, well after that glorious summer.
“And the track from the album… It has to be…Running Free (Live)
“Enjoy! :)”
Runner-up:
Waterfront by Simple Minds
GoldenBrown writes:
“1985 was of course Live Aid the year before my Leaving Cert and that Saturday was a day very like today – beautiful, sunny and warm. We lived on the edge of Dublin in a town technically in a different county but totally “down the country”.
“Up to my much wealthier best mate’s gaff to organise a very busy day (and because I fancied his sister rotten although she was 3 years older than me), started off with a round of par 3, then jumping off the bridge into the canal, back to his gaff for food, underage drink and watch the events of the day on an expensive Sony Trinitron.
“Had been through a couple of genres already in my early teens up to that point but the band that caught my eye for some reason was Simple Minds…playing live in Philadelphia – LIVE I tells ya!! (it’s hard to put into words just how awesome that was at the time), super confidently stole a kiss. One of the best days.
“The following week I went straight into town to Freebird and bought an album called “Sparkle In the Rain” by Simple Minds with the money I’d saved from picking strawberries at the fruit farm up the road (not a lot because I mostly ate the strawberries).
“I still have it on the shelf and it gets the odd spin to this day some great songs on that album but I will nominate “Waterfront” .
“Simpler times and very glad and fortunate that I lived my teenage years in the ’80s!”
Winner:
Fight The Power by Public Enemy
Capernosity & Function writes:
“I was too young for punk and new wave and there were no equivalent movements in the early 1980s that I could get my teeth into. By the late 80s I was moving beyond the Top of the Pops/Smash Hits phase to the NME/Hot Press phase. MTV Europe had arrived and opened up new horizons.
“1989 was the end of first and the beginning of my second year in college. It was a very disruptive and turbulent time in my life so my bedroom with headphones and my music was my retreat. For me my late teens and early twenties were THE period when I had the most passion for music. I started owning it and looking for other stuff beyond the charts, started going to gigs and clubs.
“What signified 1989 for me was the Madchester/Baggy scene and the wave of rap and hip hop coming from the US. Indie music was also a separate entity then with genuinely independent labels with their own charts and songs that barely skirted the Top 40. Taping off the radio and Fanning’s Fab 50, happy days.
“Here are the albums that meant most to me. I played these to death at the time on my radio cassette player:
De La Soul – Three Feet High and Rising
The Stone Roses – The Stone Roses
The Pixies – Doolittle
New Order – Technique
Beastie Boys – Paul’s Boutique
NWA – Straight Outta Compton
The B-52s – Cosmic Thing
The The – Mind Bomb
Faith No More – The Real Thing“Song of the year would have to be Public Enemy – Fight the Power from Spike Lee’s “Do The Right Thing”: ‘1989/Another summer /Get down /To the sound of the funky drummer’.
“I don’t mind if I do.”
Nick says: Well done Capernosity & Function and thanks all.
Last week: Win Nick’s Golden Voucher
Thank Foden it’s Friday.
It’s a wonderful summer’s day where you could fry an egg on the stones here… if you had a stone. So let’s have another music competition.
This week, dear readers, inspired by a new documentary that argues 1971 was the greatest year for music, I want to know the top music year of your life with the top tune of same.
For me, I’m gonna go with 1985:
Albums I binged on from that year included The Smiths – Meat Is Murder, REM – Fables, New Order – Lowlife, That Petrol Emotion – Manic Pop Thrill, Microdisney – The Clock Comes Down The Stairs, and 10,000 Maniacs – The Wishing Chair.
My song of 1985 has to be this.
Over to you…
Reply below to be in with a chance of bagging yourself a €50 Golden Discs voucher redeemable in any Golden Discs store.
The winner will be chosen by my archivist.
Lines MUST close on Saturday 11.15pm
Nick says: Good luck!
Last week’s winner: Harold Molloy
The results are in.
Last week, from an idea prompted by marathon-missing reader Janet and with a €50 Golden Discs voucher redeemable in any Golden Discs store on offer, I asked you for your favourite song to go long-distance running to.
You replied in your dozens, creating an exhausting but worthwhile playlist that might jog the memories.
But there could be only one winner.
Third Place:
Sweet Disposition by the Temper Trap
Millie writes:
“Perfect for an early morning run (if I ever manage it). I frequently listen to it when out walking and it never fails to lift the mood.”
Runner-up:
Lose Yourself by Eminem
Fez writes:
“Running is quite a religious thing for me, got me out of a depression that lasted for my latter teens and most of my 20s, and helped me drop 40kg. It’s also religious in that I feel weird if I don’t do it, kinda like my mother having to go to mass, even in a country where she doesn’t speak the language.
“Eminem’s Lose yourself is a proven 20s per km pace increaser, in particular this verse, when you feel like giving up…”
‘Gotten me to the point, I’m like a snail I’ve got
To formulate a plot or end up in jail or shot
Success is my only motherfuckin’ option, failure’s not
Mom, I love you, but this trailer’s got to go, I cannot grow old in Salem’s Lot
So here I go, is my shot
Feet, fail me not, this may be the only opportunity that I got.’
Winner:
Claire de Lune (with two pianos) by Claude Debussy
Harold Molloy writes:
“Long distance running is about running slow, especially starting slow, which is something that I’m learning and struggling with.
“As such, I need music that is serene and so I choose classical. And my favourite piece is Clair de Lune by Debussy – must be a recording on two pianos, like.”
Nick says: Well done, Harold and thanks all.
Thank Fionnouladh it’s Friday.
It’s that time of the week when the sacred warriors of the keyboard put down their weapons and feel the love all around us. Yes, it’s another music competition.
Prompted by reader Janet I Ate My Avatr‘s dismay at the kyboshing of the Dublin City Marathon this week, the theme today is: your favourite song to go long-distance running to.
Here’s mine.
Reply below to be in with a chance of bagging yourself a €50 Golden Discs voucher redeemable in any Golden Discs store.
The winner will be chosen by my fitness instructor.
Please leave a video link where possible, thanks.
Lines MUST close on Saturday at Midday.
Nick says: Good luck.
Last week’s winner: Lush!
The votes are in.
Last week, with a €50 Golden Discs voucher redeemable in any Golden Discs store on offer , I asked for your favourite song about Summer or whose lyrics refer to Summer.
You answered in your dozens – providing a Factor 50-resistant playlist of sun-soaked gems.
But there could be only one winner.
Third Place:
That Summer Feeling by Jonathan Richman
Stephen Moran writes:
“From the pen of the eccentric incurable romantic that is Jonathan Richman (minus the Modern Lovers here) comes an infectiously sunny ditty “That Summer Feeling”. It’s a sort of American Graffiti like pathos infused homage in song to memories of summers past filled with a mix of nostalgia & regret
“I recall seeing him in Whelan’s about a quarter century ago when a chap requested this classic cut & Richman started strumming the intro. The guy then shouted out could he wait until he got back from the jacks & Jonathan duly obliged & played ” I Was Dancin’ in a Lesbian Bar” while we awaited our hero’s return from his call of nature. “That summer feeling’s gonna haunt you the rest of your life…”
Runner-up:
Summer Wine by Nancy Sinatra & Lee Hazlewood
Sten writes:
“Summer Wine by Nancy & Lee is the perfect song. It’s got the boy/girl duet, a story that keeps you hanging till the end, the double meaning to the lyrics and all wrapped in a crackin tune with duelling Spanish guitars.”
Winner:
The Boys Are Back In Town by Thin Lizzy
Scottser writes:
“When I was 12 I went camping with my big brother and his mates on the dunes in Portmarnock. There were illicit cigarettes, my first sip from a warm can of Harp and observations on ladyparts that made no sense.
“There was a mission that morning to steal milk, juice and yoghurt from local doorsteps at 5am. There was unlicensed craic. the stereo played The Who, The Stones, The Ramones, AC/DC and, in particular, Thin Lizzy’s ‘Live And Dangerous’. And from that album the one song that captured the freedom, camaraderie and invincibility I felt that night was ‘The Boys Are Back In Town’. Since then, it’s not summer until that album gets played in full, outdoors in the evening with beer in hand.”
Nick says: Well done, Scottser and thanks all.
Last week: Win Nick’s Golden Voucher
The votes are in.
Last week. from a suggestion by SOQ and with a €50 Golden Discs voucher redeemable in any Golden Discs store on offer, I asked for your favourite political song.
You answered in your dozens – providing a placard-filled playlist of agreeable sounding agitprop (thank you).
But there could be only one winner.
Third Place:
Buffalo Soldier by Bob Marley
Slightly Bemused writes:
“Can I mention Buffalo Soldier, which linked a specific struggle to a long-term ongoing one in a beautiful melody and incredible lyrics. All put so simply, but so provocatively.”
Runner-up:
Beasley Street by John Cooper Clarke
Fearganainm writes:
“41 years later and there are still places like Beasley Street all over the world. We could have had a Sráid (Phiaras) Béaslaí (or Béaslaigh) – we certainly have our own Beasley Streets.”
Winner:
Jesus Christ by Woody Guthrie
Harry writes:
“The late, great Woody Guthrie says it all about today’s Ireland and its neo-liberal politics.”
Nick says: Well done Harry and thanks all!
Last week: Win Nick’s Golden Voucher
The votes are in!
last week, with a theme suggested by Slightly Bemused and a €50 Golden Discs voucher redeemable in any Golden Discs store on offer, I asked for your favourite song that puts a smile on your face.
You answered in your dozens – providing a grin-inducing playlist.
But there could be only one winner.
Third Place:
Tonight We Fly by the Divine Comedy
Capernosity & Function writes:
“This song to me represents pure exhilaration and joy. Imagine being able to fly above the world and observe life down below. What could be more wonderful? “The music pulses and races you along as if you are careering through the clouds. As ever the lyrics from Neil Hannon shine through.”
Runner-up:
Lovely Day by Bill Withers
YupYup writes:
“I don’t even have to put an ounce of thought into this week’s one. It’s straight up and easy with a big dollop of sunshine. Have a nice sunny weekend wherever you are, people.”
Winner:
Kooks by David Bowie
Millie writes:
“This song was (apparently) written after the birth of his son and is wonderfully upbeat and happy, echoing the joyous mood which comes after the arrival of a baby. I truly love this song, it always makes me smile and even now evokes some lovely memories of dancing in the kitchen with my dearest little lady.”
Nick says: Well done, Millie, and thanks all.
Last week: Win Nick’s Golden Voucher
Voucher note: Overdue vouchers are winging their way to Truelovewaits, Mucho Gordo Delgado, Nicorigo, Specific Gravity, Friscondo, Andy Pipkin and Otis Blue. Thanks for your patience.
