Guest Post: Laura - Africantakeover

So I'm back from Queenstown, New Zealand. Spent the week there with a girlfriend snowboarding, jumping off of cliffs for fun, drinking and generally being on holiday. And man oh man am I wishing I was back strapped in and boarding away....

We were very glad we didn't get there via Christchurch (earthquake measuring 7.1 on the Richter Scale), and wish all the folk there the very best!

Before I left, the stunningly gorgeous Laura of laurawire (click to see her fab blog) and myself decided to do a musical guest post swopsie. I think she got gipped, because she clearly knows her music and has brilliant taste in said music and her blog reflects that....whereas I err do not.

Anyway, I'm not complaining, I got the better end of that deal.....here's her fab words of musical wisdom. Take note :)

"Little else but elephants and lions..."
(Laura)

In the spirit of this wonderful blog, I decided to do a five-track takeover with a twist: all of the songs have to feature an African animal in the title. It sounds easier than it is; it’s one thing to bung together five songs about lions (although let it be known, I was seriously tempted) but it’s quite another to find five songs that I’d happily be associated with. Although as some might point out, when you own as many Britney Spears CDs as I do, there’s not much else you can sully your good name with.

1. Mumford and Sons - Little Lion Man


We all knew it was coming, so let’s get the most obvious choice out of the way. Most people are quite aware of Mumford and Sons and their work so I shan’t patronise anyone by telling you they are a folk quartet, originating from London. Their music is pretty polarising when it comes to how people feel about it, but with summer on the horizon in the UK (at long last), I challenge anyone to not enjoy the Mumford album as the sun is going down at a festival, and you’re armed with a beer. Admittedly, some people might need more beer than others to get through the whole album, but it’s still jolly atmospheric.

2. Beach House – Zebra


If there is one thing that is guaranteed to have me reaching for the bin, it’s reading press releases for bands who have tagged themselves with a pretentious-sounding genre to try and make themselves sound more interesting. And on that note, may I present to you, dream-pop band Beach House. I know this sounds quite negative and I’m not going to help matters by saying that I wouldn’t normally listen to this (ridiculous) genre of music but like Mumford and Sons, there is a direct correlation between how listenable Beach House are and how much alcohol I’ve had to drink. But this song has grown on me, even while sober. What a review.

3. The Flaming Lips - This Here Giraffe


Is there anyone who can say no to a bit of the Flaming Lips? I think not. I’m not going to lie, I was struggling to think of any giraffe-tastic tracks until someone pointed me in the direction of this obscure single from 1996, but I think it is a wonderful discovery. The thing that I like most about this song is that, of all the tracks I’ve researched for this blog, all of them – bar this song – used the animals as metaphors for something else in their life, while this song is literally about a giraffe that doesn’t give a fuck about anything. It’s amazing, and ironically has more meaning for the listener than anything else here. Wonderful.

4. The Strokes – Elephant Song


This is not the Strokes’ finest moment, by far. But even when it’s not the best, the Strokes are still heaps better than a lot of crap that’s filling up the charts at the moment (Glee, I’m looking straight atcha). This song was written by Albert Hammond Jr. for some college project, and is occasionally played by the band live, despite the fact it’s never properly been released. I love love love the guitar riffs in this song, and quite staunchly believe that if it had a gritty bassline and a 4/4 timing on the drums, it could be quite a good song. Or even better than it is now, I should say.

5. Elton John/Tim Rice – Circle of Life


Oh come on, I can’t write about Africa and not mention the title track of my second favourite film of all time. I know, strictly speaking, there’s no animal in the title but if you actually need a justification for this, one of the greatest Elton John moments of ALL TIME, then I think it’s safe to say that we shall never get on.

Love the selection...get acquainted with Laura, visit her here now!