Wuthering Heights is the song that originally awakened my interest in Kate Bush. I don’t even particularly like the novel, but there’s something magical and otherwordly about the song, and often it’s the first song I play when I take out my Kate Bush CDs. This video version is delightfully overacted. Enjoy!
- Rike Horstmann
My favorite CD right now is Best of Bowie. There are about 10 songs among the 20 on it that I could enter here as an earworm, but I have decided for Thursday’s Child. It’s one of those sneakily catchy songs that appear rather unspectacular when you listen to them, then grab you and don’t let go for the next 48 hours.
What are your favorite David Bowie songs?
- Rike Horstmann
Let the River Run is an old favorite. I also love the movie from whose soundtrack it is, Working Girl. The song gets me into an upbeat mood, so it’s ideal for phases with lots of work (but a weekend on the horizon).
- Rike Horstmann
I love Omara Portuondo’s CD Dos Gardenias, from which this version of Chile lindo is taken. My favorite song on it is actually Gracias a la vida, but as I was unable to find a decent-sounding version on YouTube, and Chile lindo comes a close second, here it is!
I understand very little Spanish, so I don’t understand the text. But I love the music, the voice and the rendering of the song.
What songs in the Spanish language do you like especially?
- Rike Horstmann
I have very mixed feelings about Suzanne Vega. When I was at university, for six months I lived next door to this very nice girl named JoAnn, who loved listening to music. Really loved it. Did I mention the walls were thin? Her favorite albums were Suzanne Vega’s Solitude Standing and Tracy Chapman’s Tracy Chapman. And believe me, there are only so many times a day you want to listen to Tom’s Diner or Talking ’bout a Revolution. That said, I have since recovered from Vega overload and have come to quite like her. Luka, with its harrowing lyrics and lovely melody, is probably my favorite song by her.
Are there songs that you hated due to ever-exposure in the past, but that you like now?
- Rike Horstmann
This song is what I call an insidious earworm: It sticks to the back of your mind even after you’ve just heard the first few notes, and doesn’t leave you for days.
I don’t even particularly like this song. I understand it’s emotionally charged with memories of 09/11 for many, and for that reason I respect it. But that doesn’t change the fact that it’s the kind of song that does not appeal to me much. Still, it sticks to me like a burr whenever I hear even a snatch of it.
Yesterday, someone hummed it near me – and here is my revenge on you all: I’m giving you the earworm. 
- Rike Horstmann
For me, Marianne Faithfull is a true “mood” musician. Sometimes, I don’t listen to her for months, next I take an album of hers and listen to it non-stop. (more…)
I’ve been listening to Bruce Springsteen’s Born to Run a lot recently, and the song Jungleland is the one that has stuck with me the most. I love the way the different melodies and instruments are weaved together, and the urgency of Springsteen’s voice as he delivers it. Unfortunately it’s too complicated for me to sing without a score, but I catch myself humming snatches of melodies.
What is your favorite Springsteen song?
- Rike Horstmann
Recently I asked a group of seventeen-year-olds whether any of them had ever heard of Tom Petty. They just stared at me. (more…)
This is one of the songs about which I can’t really explain why they stick to my brain the way they do. It’s incredibly ’80s in the almost negligent way it’s presented. I still haven’t figured out what it’s about. I don’t know any other songs by Tanita Tikaram. (more…)
