A couple of fine 90s / 00s indie bands illustrate our feature this week as we reach one of those number with loads of great options...
Walter opened proceedings with this cheery lyrical offering from the Manics - Nostalgic Pushead…
One two three four five six seven eight
I am the raping sunglass gaze
Of sweating man and escort agencies
60's alienation the anthem of care
Bet you feel better about your day already.
Next came The Swede who suggested a bit of early Elton John (can't go wrong with early Elton John):
Elton John - Sixty Years On
The Swede also reminded us of a song that got a mention last week due to one of its b-sides…
Sixty Minute Man' by Billy Ward & The Dominoes
That's another of those song that claims to be the first rock 'n' roll record ever (there are hundreds of them). Brian seconded The Swede's suggestion... and Alyson thirded it. But I swore no more peer pressure this week.
The Swede also directed us back to the aforementioned Bonnie Prince Billy' cover... "or preferably the first version I ever heard of the song by The Trammps - discotastic!" I'll throw in this country version by Roberta Lee & Hardrock Gunter from my own collection. I'm sure there are many more. (You may prefer Rigid Digit's suggestion of Ivor Biggun's version... or maybe not.)
Finally, The Swede wondered, "lyrically, how about 'Glam Racket' by The Fall?"
You post out sixty-page computer printouts on the end of forests,
All the above will come back to you and confirm you as a damn pest
Great opening line to that one too. If Mark E. Smith tells you to stop eating all that chocolate... well, I reckon it's time to start the diet.
Lynchie was up next, with one of those songs that just keeps giving to this feature...
The Incredible String Band - Way Back in the 1960s
(I'm gonna have to use that as a Grumpy Old Man song very soon.)
And then this bluesy gem...
Ev'ry 60 seconds, of ev'ry minute
Ev'ry 60 minutes, of the hour
Ev'ry twenty-four hours of the day
I just sit a-round an' pray.
Jim then sent us these two suggestions, all the way from Dubai...
Audio Deluxe - 60 Seconds
Tight Fit - Back to the 60s
(Guess which of those I preferred. I know. I need to get a life.)
And then Jim remembered this old favourite, getting its second mention on this feature... with a third still to come...
Bow Wow Wow - C30 C60 C90 Go!
From Dubai to Canada next, welcoming new player Douglas McLaren, who hit the ground running with these fine suggestions...
As a Canadian, may I suggest Gowan - 60 Second Nightmare?
Ah, gowan then. (See what I did there?)
Or to dig into lyrics, my Scottish heritage prompts me to suggest
Train arrive, sixty minutes gone
Whoo-ooh train arrive, sixty minutes gone
Well I ain't seen my baby, he's been gone so long
Whoo-ooh train arrive, sixty minutes gone
Well I ain't seen my baby, he's been gone so long
We're always ready for a bit of Eddi round these parts. Thanks, Douglas.
Alyson then came back with two more...
60 Miles An Hour by New Order and Sixty Mile Smile by 3 Colours Red, the first of which breaks my No New Order rule, while the second reminded me how much I liked 3 Colours Red for about 5 minutes back in the day.
Once Rol's No New Order rule had been broken, it seems only right that Rigid Digit comes along to break Rol's other big rule... No U2.
U2 - Sixty Seconds In Kingdom Come
More of Bono's God Complex there, if you ask me.
Much more palatable was RD's second suggestion...
Bruce Springsteen - The Rising
How far I've gone, how high I've climbed
On my backs a sixty pound stone
On my shoulder a half mile of line
On my backs a sixty pound stone
On my shoulder a half mile of line
Finally from you guys this week, Martin got very excited...
That would have been one of my suggestions, but not the winner... because a quick trawl through my own music library produced loads of contenders...
Kenickie - 60s Bitch
The Dead Weather - 60 Feet Tall
America - 1960
Jeff Rosenstock - Pietro, 60 Years Old (Could have been one of my < 40 Seconds Songs)
Neil Young - Crime In The City (Sixty To Zero, Pt 1)
Black Box Recorder - Jackie 60
Rose McDowell - Sixty Cowboys
My Top Three for this week though goes like this...
3. The Indelicates - Julia, We Don't Live In The 60s
"We've never had it so good!"
2. Death Cab For Cutie - 60 & Punk
Already featured here as one of my 2018 contenders.
This week's winner was chosen as a rebuttal to all those many, many posts I write about growing older, sharing my Mid-Life Crisis with you all. It might also cheer up those of you who are a good few years older than me... or perhaps not, if you listen too closely.
Nils Lofgren - 60 Is The New 18
There's an obvious winner for next week in my head... and a less obvious runner-up. I'll be interested to see what you can come up with for 59 though...