Another week with some very visually appealing videos. There are four strong contenders here:

1. Because of you by Kelly Clarkson
2. My Immortal by Evanescence
3. Stay with me by Shakespears Sister
4. No more I love you by Annie Lennox

I think out of this list the Kelly Clarkson video is the best in that it captures the theme of the song in strong images. Likewise the video that accompanies the song by Shakespears sister is also pretty good. Finally My Immortal by Evanescence and No more I love you by Annie Lennox are less story-like videos than the first two but also consist of great imagery to match the songs — the Annie Lennox song being the more out there in that respect.

So today I watched a very interesting video analysis of a song by the Beatles called A Northern Song. Post Covid Island Discs now usually records the death of famous musicians and of course poor old George Harrison passed away many years before the Covid-19 pandemic. So I guess this post is in memorandum to George Harrison even if he did pass away so many years before this website was even born. Yet there appears to be so much more to this song of Harrison's than meets the eye as explained by James Hargreaves in his video which is also included under the Beatles Anthrology recording of Harrison's clever song which I think, as Hargreaves argues, is a passive-aggressive dig at the way McCartney and Lennon treated him as an inferior member of the Beatles.

After watching Hargreaves excellent analysis of the Harrison's song, along with his detailing of the complicated tensions that existed between the Beatles in the late 60s, it became obvious that the band was always in trouble and it was only a matter of time before the fab four would go their separate ways. Hargreaves analysis challenges the commonly held idea that the breakup of the band was solely down to Yoko entering the scene as clearly relational tensions in the Beatles were not just confined to John and Paul.

A less known version but better version (in my opinion) of the song before Lennon and McCartney fell into a possible trap set by Harrison (see Hargreaves analysis below).

Analysis of the song and its meaning by James Hargreaves

The mainstream version of the song as first published on the Yellow Submarine Album

Couldn't really not post this one given its international appeal and the fact I'm working through Aussie music.
"I said to the man are you trying to tempt me. Because I come from the land of plenty."

Never really understood why so many people hate Nickelback. I like this tune again because its lyrics tell a story. This film clip is clearly captured at one of their concerts by one of their fans on a low quality mobile phone. Yet what is impressive is how close their sound is to the original studio album performance. Always an impressive feat in my view because it shows the original album was not over-produced with auto-tune and other post production tricks.

A concert version

And here is the original

Yep time for some more Elton John. I think this is one of his most prettiest songs and this clip is recorded before his voice was destroyed by singer's node in the 80s.

This is one of my all time favourite Christmas carols. As I get older, I realise the reality in which we find ourselves leaves us with a stark choice. We can make our way through life looking for the odd joy here and there but anyone who really ponders the human condition realises that if there is really no power outside of ourselves then things are existentially very bleak.

While I am a Christian, I accept that my only tiny understanding of reality means that I could be mistaken. However, for me the Christian message appears to be the most coherent and correspondent (for a more formal explanation of these ideas which are used in the practice of science see my first lecture) explanation of the strange life in which I find myself. While sometimes, in my darker moments, I think surely the gospel is too good to be true, I choose to continue to hold onto the hope that there is a good God who made us and who one day will put everything to right, despite our best efforts to mess everything up.

Can't believe it has taken me so long to cite this very old Beach Boys classic and this is the first time they appear in Covid Island Discs. This song brings back a nice memory for me relating to my old St Paul's youth group. Every year we would go away together for a least one or two house parties and during the weekend's festivities we would have some form of a campers concert on Saturday night. I used to take popular songs and reword them with silly lyrics and one year I reworded California Girls. Amazingly I still have the tatty bit of paper it was written on in 1985 (36 years ago!).

The first verse and chorus went

It's Friday night and we're cruising on the bus down Telford way Trying to find the turnoff so we don't end up in Yowie (yes it is a real place) bay We went down many dirt roads just to see where they would lead If only we could have seen the signs, if only we could read Chorus: I wish that I could see where my bed was I wish that I could unknot my pants I wish they hadn't created Seaforth girls

Well it was funny when we were 18 something years old performing lots of silly skits! The other bit of trivia related to this song is of course it inspired the Beatles to write "Back in the USSR" with the classic lines: "Ukraine girls really knock me out, they leave the west behind and Moscow girls make me sing and shout that Jojo's always on my my my my my mind"

Another classic song from Dido. The video is particularly evocative.