@thewrittentevs.bsky.social
Writer/Marketer. He/Him. Writes about Doctor Who at https://readfnord.wordpress.com 'By an English Sea' is in 'Neon Magazine 44'; 'The Month You Were in a Relationship with Taylor Swift' is in 'Kiss Your Darlings'.
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33. A pathetic Pill - The Display Team (from 'Drones', 2010)
It's another over-the-top rock song that takes an album's worth of riffs and just throws you around them, only this time vehemently anticapitalist and featuring a pronounced brass section. Also shout out to the album cover.
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32. Dishes - Pulp (from 'This is Hardcore', 1998)
My introduction to Pulp was when this played on an episode of Chris Morris' 'Blue Jam'. It's always been one of my favourite deep cuts.
"I am not Jesus, though I have the same initials" is such a good opening line.
As a Swiftie, I should've gone for the (Taylor's Version) but there's no way I'm getting into the weeds of whether an identical re-recorded version of a song done for copyright reasons counts as the same song, a different song or something else for the purposes of this challenge.
06.08.2025 07:45 β π 0 π 0 π¬ 0 π 0
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31. Wonderland - Taylor Swift (from '1989', 2014)
My favourite flavour of Taylor Swift is when she allows herself to be silly. The bit in this song where she goes "And then in Wonderland, we both. went. MAD" is cheese on toast and I absolutely adore it.
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30. Carry Stress in the Jaw - Mr. Bungle (from 'Disco Volante', 1995)
9 minutes of speed metal and jazz, including an entire hidden song that they managed to include without the drummer knowing, only for the drummer to spot it and add lyrics without anyone else knowing. That's Mr Bungle.
As someone whose lack of a romantic life comes from the fact that it's easier to logically conclude that someone probably doesn't fancy you than it is to go with your gut and risk being wrong, this is horseshit.
04.08.2025 16:01 β π 0 π 0 π¬ 0 π 0There are a non-zero number of connections between "Being anti-AI is ableist because it allows people without artistic skills to be artists" and "What do you mean you have sexual boundaries? Next person please."
04.08.2025 12:33 β π 0 π 0 π¬ 0 π 0This isn't just a gendered thing either; as a guy who likes to take things slow, you rarely get the time to do that and often get dropped at the first sign of hesitation. Part of it is porn, part of it is that dating is primarily digital - everything is about immediacy and getting what you want now.
04.08.2025 12:33 β π 2 π 0 π¬ 1 π 0
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29. A Day In The Life - The Beatles (from 'Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club', 1967)
Am surprised more Sgt Pepper tracks haven't been picked for this, given the biggest band's most iconic album is also the one without any singles at all. IMO, its closer is the most amazing thing they did.
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28. Writer in the Dark - Lorde (from 'Melodrama', 2017)
In which Lorde goes full Kate Bush, all while unlocking a level of anger, bitterness and desperation that you'd never get from a Kate Bush song.
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27. Les Etudes D'Organism - Thinking Plague (from 'In Extremis', 1998)
Quite a few of my favourite bands can be accurately described as "a circus band having a nervous breakdown".
The first streamable copy of this song was uploaded by a fan a month ago; become one of its 45 listeners.
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26. Fiery Gun Hand - Cardiacs (from 'Sing to God', 1996)
There's a bit at the end where the song violently falls apart into scraps and it's like the sky's been torn open so that Heaven can shine through.
11 POINTS!
I grew up on these streets
31.07.2025 15:03 β π 1 π 0 π¬ 1 π 0
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Honourable Mention 5: 'Tziidall Raszhisst' - KΕenjihyakkei (from 'Angherr Shisspa', 2005)
There was a time when half my list was Zeuhl tracks and extreme jazz metal, all Mike Patton and John Zorn. It'll never bother the rankings but please enjoy some experimental Japanese jazz rock.
A small correction for mine as I've done two 11 pointers so far:
"Tunic (A Song for Karen)" - Sonic Youth (1990)
"Baseball" - Major Parkinson (2017)
The 12 Pointer is correct ("The Ninth Wave" - Kate Bush, 1985)
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Honourable Mention 4: 'Till Death Do Us Part' - Madonna (from 'Like a Prayer', 1989)
'Like a Prayer' starts with one of the best pop singles of all time, then keeps getting more interesting from there. This is surprisingly ragged, particularly given it's directly about her marriage.
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Honourable Mention 3: 'Sex Dwarf' - Soft Cell (from 'Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret', 1981)
Still shocking and weird enough that I've been able to send it to even my most jaded and kinky friends and still have them double-take at it. You might have to verify your age to listen to it.
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Honourable Mention 2: 'Bonny' - Prefab Sprout (from 'Steve McQueen', 1984)
So which songs that I cut because enough people had picked them should I give points to? 'Kashmir' was too easy a cut. 'Debaser' has almost too many points and I prefer 'Dead'. 'Bonny' it is.
#ALL50RTS (getting caught up)
Honourable Mention 1: 'Unsatisfied' - The Replacements (from 'Let It Be', 1984)
My longlist ended up too long. Luckily several of my picks became popular, allowing me to safely cut them. This was my last cut from the list - a song I love for its stunning directness.
The front cover of a Sun newspaper from six years ago, featuring Boris Johnson's face and hair superimposed on a photo of the sun. Captions gleefully pronounce that we've been through the hottest July Day ever, celebrate the defeat of Corbyn (who's presumably never to be heard from again), and proclaim that Boris' leadership will herald a golden age for Britain.
Happy sixth anniversary to this steaming pile of madness, already feeling like it came from a completely different era of history.
26.07.2025 10:09 β π 4 π 0 π¬ 0 π 1I asked our host and he said that he's happy to allow it as long as the community's happy with it. Haven't received any pushback yet!
26.07.2025 09:44 β π 1 π 0 π¬ 1 π 0
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25. The Ninth Wave - Kate Bush (from 'Hounds of Love', 1985)
i.e. the entire second side of 'Hounds of Love'. It tells a single story of a woman's drowning and resurrection, is built to be listened to in one go and has its own collective name - it's a suite! And it's amazing.
12 POINTS!
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24. Mouths Like Sidewinder Missiles - The Fall of Troy (from 'Doppelganger', 2005)
I just like songs which throw riffs together and jump from idea to idea. Add a good dollop of teenage angst to proceedings and you get young me's adoration of Mathcore. Here's my favourite example:
A masterpiece of cinema
23.07.2025 22:01 β π 0 π 0 π¬ 0 π 0Also, the difference between "lost media" and "production documents"
23.07.2025 12:37 β π 1 π 0 π¬ 0 π 0
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23. Dancing with the Moonlit Knight - Genesis (from 'Selling England By The Pound', 1973)
Despite the ambitions of the band itself, I don't actually have anything particularly clever to say about this song - I just think it rocks.
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22. Love is Gonna Let Me Down - Toots & the Maytals (from 'Funky Kingston [US Version]', 1975)
What's that, Tom's picked a song that he loves for the way it captures the highs and lows of love simultaneously? Quelle surprise!
Amazing how many societal problems would be fixed by the government making companies pay people actual wages again, and how that's never an option put on the table.
21.07.2025 12:28 β π 2 π 0 π¬ 0 π 0Can confirm that Barry Adamson is well worth getting into. "Something Wicked This Way Comes" is an absolute banger and turns up on more soundtracks of weird 90s programmes/films than you'd think.
21.07.2025 10:52 β π 3 π 0 π¬ 0 π 0
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21. Gone Too Soon - Sarah Jarosz (from 'Build Me Up From Bones', 2013)
If Patsy Cline is what loneliness sounds like, then Sarah Jarosz is her rightful successor. This song really is a non-relationship I almost had put on record.
