tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3774690407548657707.post8151762350301367038..comments2023-10-24T11:11:49.568+01:00Comments on There Are Places I Remember: Songs About Places: Oxford StreetGeoffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10966328708258079467noreply@blogger.comBlogger41125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3774690407548657707.post-10606365012091911032010-08-12T23:23:56.588+01:002010-08-12T23:23:56.588+01:00Yes I agree with Simone and Geoff. This is music w...Yes I agree with Simone and Geoff. This is music with patterns of loss, loneliness, and a slightly unsettled happiness.Roznoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3774690407548657707.post-78280962885403230812010-08-12T23:21:11.947+01:002010-08-12T23:21:11.947+01:00I used to work at the shop that gave the band thei...I used to work at the shop that gave the band their name. "Everything but the Girl" was the slogan of a furniture shop called Turners on Beverley Road in Hull. Anyone driving from Paragon Station to the University of Hull would have driven past the store. Turners has long since been demolished though.Jennynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3774690407548657707.post-51338531039376248702010-08-12T23:18:16.465+01:002010-08-12T23:18:16.465+01:00I think music by EBTG is perfect urban walking mus...I think music by EBTG is perfect urban walking music - maybe they are songs FOR places as well as songs ABOUT places. They are my favorite band to listen to as I walk around New York. It has the perfect cadence to match my steps and enough synth to drown out urban sounds. It makes walking like swimming -- fluid movement through millions of people and places. On the train, up the stairs, avenue by avenue, street by street.Daniellenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3774690407548657707.post-13527128299406760452010-08-12T22:14:05.450+01:002010-08-12T22:14:05.450+01:00Great column Geoff - it takes a true writer, histo...Great column Geoff - it takes a true writer, historian and music buff to produce 1000 quality and provocative words about Hatfield..... <br /><br />A Hatfield residentEricnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3774690407548657707.post-19322673679660410422010-08-11T23:26:18.352+01:002010-08-11T23:26:18.352+01:00I think the first Virgin store opened in Oxford St...I think the first Virgin store opened in Oxford Street in 1972Geoffhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10966328708258079467noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3774690407548657707.post-75281803692168127372010-08-11T23:25:29.742+01:002010-08-11T23:25:29.742+01:00This is a fascinating debate about suburbia and sm...This is a fascinating debate about suburbia and small towns. I am sure there is a difference here between the UK and USA, where maybe 'small town' doesnt have the same connotations as here. I think too there is a difference between suburbia and the sort of town like Hatfield, which was consciously built as something new-so lacked the sort of reference points that suburbs had.<br /><br />I think the last comment about comforting melancholy sums up the sound of EBTG-v different from the usual take on suburbia/small townsGeoffhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10966328708258079467noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3774690407548657707.post-66355344296448537632010-08-11T22:29:08.693+01:002010-08-11T22:29:08.693+01:00The EBTG approach to music, and this song, is inte...The EBTG approach to music, and this song, is interesting. A comforting kind of melancholy rather an oppressive one.Simonenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3774690407548657707.post-4249327097132313382010-08-11T22:27:03.234+01:002010-08-11T22:27:03.234+01:00hey there geoff and friends, maybe you'll like...hey there geoff and friends, maybe you'll like my mashup of Everything but the Girl’s “Missing” with Shadow’s “Blood on the Motorway”:<br /><br />http://soundcloud.com/tigermendoza/missing-on-the-motorway-shadow-vs-everything-but-the-girl<br /><br />Cheers for the blog.Tigerhttp://www.tigermendoza.co.uk/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3774690407548657707.post-11321351789504084332010-08-11T22:17:29.896+01:002010-08-11T22:17:29.896+01:00I sort of agree with Andre. Not that Geoff is part...I sort of agree with Andre. Not that Geoff is particularly setting out to write about great songs (witness the column about "Watford Gap"), rather to talk about memory, geography, etc. Everything But the Girl belongs with Eurythmics and Simple Minds as boring boring semi-alternative but really mainstream bands. All the more credit to Geoff for thinking of so much to actually say about them!:)Tiffanyehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01945758814187026754noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3774690407548657707.post-9884526784379908632010-08-11T22:03:15.280+01:002010-08-11T22:03:15.280+01:00I love her vocals. She is very restrained (no diva...I love her vocals. She is very restrained (no diva antics) in her singing. It's pretty unusual.Stevehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15427693964807938715noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3774690407548657707.post-24412903330809241652010-08-11T21:59:38.323+01:002010-08-11T21:59:38.323+01:00Even if that were true, Andre (which I don't a...Even if that were true, Andre (which I don't agree it is), that would suit the subject matter of suburbia!M.J.https://www.blogger.com/profile/07615974799201593427noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3774690407548657707.post-27097302508588180012010-08-11T21:56:43.866+01:002010-08-11T21:56:43.866+01:00I love the column and the debate, but hate this ba...I love the column and the debate, but hate this band. I feel like Everything but the Girl just whitewashes various genres of music, making everything from breezy Latin jazz to spartan folk sound tasteful but invariably bland.Andre Bnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3774690407548657707.post-71516715767216490692010-08-11T21:49:33.478+01:002010-08-11T21:49:33.478+01:00I'd recommend for this amazing and growing lis...I'd recommend for this amazing and growing list, 'Out of Vogue' (1978) by The Middle Class, and 'Subdivisions' (1982) by the Canadian rock band Rush.Lisanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3774690407548657707.post-91061229916578866432010-08-11T21:48:17.084+01:002010-08-11T21:48:17.084+01:00We have roundabouts over here, Jan, but they are m...We have roundabouts over here, Jan, but they are much rarer. To prove they exist though, here's the one near me! - http://www.cityoforlando.net/transportation/TransportationEngineeringDiv/pdfs/Cinderlane%20roundabout.jpgRuthnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3774690407548657707.post-80782317789291545132010-08-11T21:47:30.283+01:002010-08-11T21:47:30.283+01:00Oh dear, the word that the blog made me type to po...Oh dear, the word that the blog made me type to post that comment just now - you know the thing that proves it isn't spam - was "trite". I hope your blog hasn't taken on a life of its own and is judging our comments Geoff........ :)J.J.noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3774690407548657707.post-90780132178418124112010-08-11T21:46:31.784+01:002010-08-11T21:46:31.784+01:00I think what Geoff's column suggests is that s...I think what Geoff's column suggests is that suburbia in music is about a state of mind rather than a geographical location. It's about the colonization of space and culture. This is perhaps why there is so much satire and rejection of suburbia - it's about rejecting a particular point of view, an emptiness.J.J.noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3774690407548657707.post-77941106801179326492010-08-11T21:44:21.848+01:002010-08-11T21:44:21.848+01:00I feel like I learn a lot about the UK from this c...I feel like I learn a lot about the UK from this column. I just googled 'roundabouts'! Not sure but I think we don't have them as much in the US.Jannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3774690407548657707.post-44321934014423214252010-08-11T21:42:45.227+01:002010-08-11T21:42:45.227+01:00Love the Orwell reference!Love the Orwell reference!Vincenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3774690407548657707.post-150631624049561042010-08-11T21:38:58.493+01:002010-08-11T21:38:58.493+01:00Semi-Detached Suburban Mr James by Manfred Mann. B...Semi-Detached Suburban Mr James by Manfred Mann. Best song EVER.Davidnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3774690407548657707.post-53189115848682127882010-08-11T21:37:44.561+01:002010-08-11T21:37:44.561+01:00But K.B., I think the point is that the SONGS don&...But K.B., I think the point is that the SONGS don't take any differences into account....Sidneynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3774690407548657707.post-3593316648178229292010-08-11T21:33:37.921+01:002010-08-11T21:33:37.921+01:00I'm not sure if we're taking into account ...I'm not sure if we're taking into account all the variety of suburbia. There can be just little clumps of houses on a city's edge. There can be a whole brand new town that is supposed to be self-contained. There can be a place that existed before and then got a bit absorbed by a large city. They might all be called 'suburbia' but all feel different.......K.B.https://www.blogger.com/profile/07064887918789647799noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3774690407548657707.post-26297561349855039562010-08-11T21:31:04.097+01:002010-08-11T21:31:04.097+01:00Surely there are some positive visions of suburbia...Surely there are some positive visions of suburbia in music?? How about Martha and the Muffins, "Suburban Dream"?Mikehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15992349400128489370noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3774690407548657707.post-26854567195273468052010-08-11T21:23:43.924+01:002010-08-11T21:23:43.924+01:00Maybe this counts; I'm Gonna Move to the Outsk...Maybe this counts; I'm Gonna Move to the Outskirts of Town by Ray CharlesHildenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3774690407548657707.post-72197706583660133092010-08-11T21:17:54.847+01:002010-08-11T21:17:54.847+01:00Tales from Turnpike House - Saint EtienneTales from Turnpike House - Saint EtienneRobertanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3774690407548657707.post-75160527092182179062010-08-11T21:14:25.253+01:002010-08-11T21:14:25.253+01:00I think there is a confusion here between small to...I think there is a confusion here between small town songs and suburb songs. In the US, the songs being listed in this discussion could be small town songs - with all the imagery of mowing lawns, middle class conformity, the dark angst behind the bliss of apparent domestic bliss, etc. I think US suburb songs are rarer than British ones. Maybe because they are supplanted by the small town song..... Which I'm not sure Britain has as a exact match of songs. <br /><br />Totally fascinating column and debate! Geoff - write a book already! "Songs About Places" would be a good title too!Sam Ohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08523013822784596338noreply@blogger.com