2004 – Think Bensonium

Day 437: Everybody’s changing, Keane

Roderick Benson — Sun, 30 May 2021 23:00:48 +0000

Yesterday I cited a Travis song. Not sure why but Travis and Keane always remind me of each other so I thought it was therefore time for another Keane song. This is also the second time Keane has appeared in Covid Island Discs. The last song I cited was She has no time which I think is their prettiest song. This one however is probably one of their most famous and better known I think than “She has no time”

Day 421: While My Guitar Gently weeps, Jeff Lynne, Tom Petty, Prince et al.

Roderick Benson — Fri, 14 May 2021 23:00:36 +0000

Wow another amazing Youtube find to open week 61 of Covid Island Discs. This is the Beatles classic While My Guitar Gently Weeps a song which nearly didn’t make it onto the White album because sadly poor George was not seen as a musical equal to John and Paul. Anyway, apparently with the intervention of Eric Clapton, this song made it onto the White album.

This performance of the classic song was done in 2004 in memory of George Harrison by a group of artists who really are all rock and roll legends in their own right. I’m sure the late great George would have been proud. Enjoy!!

Day 409: Yahweh, U2

Roderick Benson — Sun, 02 May 2021 23:00:56 +0000

As a Christian of some 50 years I can relate to this song. Sadly life is not easy for anyone and sometimes it is so hard to make sense of the odd reality in which we all find ourselves.

Day 295: Boulevard Of Broken Dreams, Green Day

Roderick Benson — Sat, 09 Jan 2021 00:00:00 +0000

This is the first Green day song to make Covid Island Discs. I didn’t realise how long ago this band formed which was all the way back in 1987 while I was till just an undergraduate at the University of Sydney. This song was released in 2004 and was on their American Idiot album (interesting title!).

There is also some interesting history behind this album. This is taken from Wikipedia:

In the summer of 2003, the band went into a studio to write and record material for an album, tentatively titled Cigarettes and Valentines. After completing 20 tracks, the master recordings were stolen from the studio. Instead of re-recording the stolen tracks, the band decided to abandon the entire project and start over, considering the taken material to be unrepresentative of the band’s best work. It was then revealed that a band called The Network was signed to Armstrong’s record label Adeline Records with little fanfare and information. After the band, who concealed their identities with masks and costumes, released an album called Money Money 2020, it was rumored that The Network was a Green Day side project, due to the similarities in the bands’ sounds. However, these rumors were never addressed by the band or Adeline Records, except for a statement on the Adeline website discussing an ongoing dispute between the two bands. The bands “feuded” via press releases and statements from Armstrong. Several journalists openly referred to the group as a Green Day side project, although it was not confirmed as such until 2013.

Day 164: She has no time, Keane

Roderick Benson — Fri, 11 Sep 2020 07:22:22 +0000

I thought this song was about a broken relationship but Thomas Chaplin actually introduces it by saying the song was written by his band mate about him because he was so bad at getting girls. However the original Youtube video that has this introduction has sadly been taken down by the original poster so I have had to replace the live performance of this song with the official video.

Day 156: Because of you, Kelly Clarkson

Roderick Benson — Thu, 10 Sep 2020 16:22:13 +0000

This album came out when I was working for AstraZeneca in the naughties. This song is particularly good and also sad. I guess it captures the dynamics of abusive relationships and also the deep scars that are left in adults when they fail to receive the parental love that is so essential for adult mental health.

Day 64: 5:15 am, Mark Knopfler

Rbenson — Tue, 18 Aug 2020 20:37:50 +0000

Another lovely song from another great wordsmith. A great little story that unfolds in this song.

The bandit man
Came north to fill his boots
Came up from cockneyland
E-type jags and flashy suits
The bandit man
Came up the great north road
Up to geordieland
To mine the mother lode

Day 62: You’re Beautiful, James Blunt

Rbenson — Tue, 18 Aug 2020 20:32:42 +0000

OK this is an unfortunate album because it was so overplayed in the UK that everyone came to despise James Blunt after hearing the hits on this album over and over and over and over again. However, this little song I think stands the test of time.

I must confess I particularly relate to this song when many years ago (1992) I returned from a trip from the religious community Taizé. Jon and I spent a night travelling back on the train talking to two fellow young women one who by the end of the night I was highly attracted to even though she was engaged to married so knew that as we exited that train at Victoria station I would never see again — it was a melancholic feeling at the time.