It’s time again for Friday on My Mind. Our weekly blog post where we look at videos centered around one common theme. This is a collaborative effort between KEXP and King 5 News.
We are about to wrap up the 2014 Spring Fundraising Drive later this afternoon and I’m still hoping that if you haven’t already given, that you’ll do so now to help us finish this bad boy on a high note. I want to give a sincere and heartfelt THANK YOU to each and every one of you who donated over the course of this last week. I’m particularly overwhelmed and grateful to all of the Morning Faithful who let me know each day of this drive that the Morning Show means so much to them. It’s all of you that make it possible for the KEXP DJs to program music organically along with your support. One of the many things that you can only find here at KEXP is themed programming, which is something that doesn’t happen at other stations. If one of our DJs decides to spotlight an artist or celebrate milestones in history, or focus on whatever theme just for the hell of it, they have the freedom to do that. I was happy to geek out and program themes throughout this drive and I hope all of you enjoyed it just as much as I did. One of the themes that came about this week was an hour full of songs that were 2 minutes or less. I didn’t realize how many seminal songs were so short. For this week’s Friday on My Mind theme, we thought we would spotlight a few of those songs. And now here are a few of our favorite songs that are 2 minutes or under...Queen - We Will Rock You
Our first song is the one and only “We Will Rock You” from Queen. Released in 1977 on the New of the World album, and released as a single October 7, 1977. Brian May has said that “We Will Rock You” along with “We Are the Champions” were written after the band experienced a great deal of love from their fans after one of their concerts. When the band left the stage, their audience chanted and sang “You’ll Never Walk Alone” instead of applauding. It was overwhelming for the band to be shown so much support. For the recording they captured the sound of each band member stomping and used reverb on the captured audio. The only other instrument used in the song is Brian May’s guitar. Now it’s pretty standard to hear “We Will Rock You” at sporting events all around the world.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XMLiqEqMQyQ
The Clash - Career Opportunities
From their 1977 self-titled debut, our next choice is “Career Opportunities” from The Clash. This one was written by Mick Jones, who at one point had worked for British government opening packages to make sure that there were no bombs within the contents, hence the lyric, "I won't open letter bombs for you". Another version is found on Sandinista!, which added child vocals.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MsE5NAAU39k
The Vaselines- Molly’s Lips (Performed at KEXP on May 13, 2009)
When The Vaselines stopped by the KEXP studios in May 2009, their set list included three of their songs that were covered by Nirvana during their Unplugged performance. As well, Nirvana included their Vaselines covers on their 1992 Incesticide compilation. Long after Nirvana covered the Scottish band, they returned the favor when they contributed their own rendition of Nirvana’s “Lithium” to Spin Magazine’s Nevermind cover project in 2011.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a4kov4p64Ss
Honorable Mentions:
Blur - Song 2
From 1997’s Blur release, “Song 2” is our next song choice. The song almost didn't make it onto the album due to the fact that it was so short. Luckily the band decided to keep it in because it is now one of their most recognizable and famous songs. “Song 2” has become ingrained in the brains of most of us, partially due to it being used within many commercials, movies, and television shows. It was even used in The Simpsons AND South Park. You know you've really made it when you've been included in either one of those shows.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SSbBvKaM6sk
Electric Six - Gay Bar
And last, but not least, we had to include “Gay Bar” in our list. We really, really had to. From their 2003 album Fire, Electric Six are the Detroit band responsible for this gem.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tw7EJ_mTmdM
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It’s time again for Friday on My Mind. Our weekly blog post where we look at videos centered around one common theme. This is a collaborative effort between KEXP and King 5 News.
It’s time again for Friday on My Mind. Our weekly blog post where we look at videos centered around one common theme. This is a collaborative effort between KEXP and King 5 News.
