"street spirit" - the darkness

"fade out again"



sitting in a pub in the countryside on a sunny afternoon, eating a moderately generous amount of reasonably pleasant food, and gently despairing at the choices of piped music at barely audible volume - an inoffensive-as-possible mix of 70s "classics" and modern ballads - when jamie cullum's smug little cover of high and dry came on. with my mind wandering away from the conversation in hand i was thinking of the folly of doing a radiohead cover when i remembered this one. it was one of the first darkness tracks i heard and at the time it raised my opinion of them beyond being a one trick novelty act - though i have since returned to the one-trick-novelty-act theory. but this reinvention of the song as a huge screaming rock song was invigourating and my mind kept returning to it throughout the afternoon - until the conversation turned to slagging off my ex which held my attention somewhat more

"police officer" - smiley culture

"me and my colleagues have got a few questions to ask ya. you'll be on your way as soon as we get an answer"


walking home from the pub. outside selhurst park a pair of cops are hassling some drunk, scratty woman. all i can think about is this song. if only that woman had recorded the song cockney translator she could have gotten away with anything.

this song has a special place in the hearts of everyone who lived at byron acres. it was the highlight of vh1's worst videos countdown and we all loved it. many's the time we drunkenly acted out the comversation from the middle eight, though i think we usually got the words wrong.