As an occasional poster, and regular reader I know that after slagging off Palace us Northstanders like nothing better than a healthy debate about music tastes, so here's an extract from my blog this week on Arctic Monkeys to start things off...hope you enjoy...
“They’re very loud” said Gordon Brown of Arctic Monkeys in 2006 having rather amazingly claimed that he was a fan of their music. I suppose they are, Gordon, if you turn them up really loud. The whole thing became one of those embarrassments that the media revelled in as he then failed to name any of their tracks when pressed.
In his defense the whole infamous misunderstanding occurred when asked to choose between Arctic Monkeys and James Blunt…which way would you have gone, given the choice? In the spirit of investigative journalism I did tweet @SarahBrownUK this week to ask what music is currently playing in the Brown household but still await a response. Understandably I may never get one given their wariness of any music-related questions of the past – I may after all have been one of them Daily Mail journalists…
But it did make me wonder about other politicians and where they go with their music tastes. I’ve grabbed these from various sources ranging from the Guardian to the Telegraph to the Daily Mail to the Lady. So trust this as far as you trust those publications.
On the home front, David Cameroon cultivates a fairly offbeat image professing to the cool folk of Mumford and Sons (famed for the lyrics “I really f***ed it up this time”, but we won’t dwell on that), the moody kings of the 80s The Smiths and the rooted country of Ellen Jewell.
His coalition partner Nick Clegg is more classic in his tastes according to his Facebook profile – Johnny Cash, Led Zeppelin, David Bowie (so far so good). Prince…well, sorry you lost me there.
On the other side of the house Ed Milliband professes to Robbie Williams’ Angels as his favourite song. Ouch Ed, you do need to work on that. On his desert island he would also take some Billy Bragg, Housemartins and A-ha so maybe that compensates?
If we start to explore overseas French President Nicolas Sarkozy clearly loves the songs of his missus, Carla Bruni, but also admits to liking French rocker, Johnny Hallyday.
I thought the most astounding of all is the revelation that Osama Bin Laden loved the music of Van Halen, B-52s and – especially– Whitney Houston. I’m sure Whitney’s delighted. But then I heard that Robert Mugabe would rather listen to “the perennially wholesome Cliff Richard” over Bob Marley anyday. Surely not? Imagine how Cliff feels. Look up the Telegraph source below…
Not one to be outdone, Colonel Muammar Gaddafi has arranged private performances for himself and his family by such stars as Mariah Carey, Nelly Furtado and Beyonce – the common theme being they are absurdly beautiful women, and they didn’t know until they arrived who was the host. But when you’re being paid $1m for the gig maybe you don’t ask too many questions…or maybe you should!
I’ll finish by returning back home to two great dames of the Conservative party who aren’t famed for their musical discretion. Firstly, Ann Wiidecombe, who chose Cliff Richard’s Millenium Prayer as her favourite…maybe she and Mugabe should catch a gig together some time. Cliff would love that.
And the final word goes to that great lover of the arts and sport, Baroness Margaret Thatcher, who was very clear on her favourite song:
Two Little Boys by Rolf Harris.
She’s got something there though, hasn’t she?
The original posting at Living with...Arctic Monkeys...for a week
“They’re very loud” said Gordon Brown of Arctic Monkeys in 2006 having rather amazingly claimed that he was a fan of their music. I suppose they are, Gordon, if you turn them up really loud. The whole thing became one of those embarrassments that the media revelled in as he then failed to name any of their tracks when pressed.
In his defense the whole infamous misunderstanding occurred when asked to choose between Arctic Monkeys and James Blunt…which way would you have gone, given the choice? In the spirit of investigative journalism I did tweet @SarahBrownUK this week to ask what music is currently playing in the Brown household but still await a response. Understandably I may never get one given their wariness of any music-related questions of the past – I may after all have been one of them Daily Mail journalists…
But it did make me wonder about other politicians and where they go with their music tastes. I’ve grabbed these from various sources ranging from the Guardian to the Telegraph to the Daily Mail to the Lady. So trust this as far as you trust those publications.
On the home front, David Cameroon cultivates a fairly offbeat image professing to the cool folk of Mumford and Sons (famed for the lyrics “I really f***ed it up this time”, but we won’t dwell on that), the moody kings of the 80s The Smiths and the rooted country of Ellen Jewell.
His coalition partner Nick Clegg is more classic in his tastes according to his Facebook profile – Johnny Cash, Led Zeppelin, David Bowie (so far so good). Prince…well, sorry you lost me there.
On the other side of the house Ed Milliband professes to Robbie Williams’ Angels as his favourite song. Ouch Ed, you do need to work on that. On his desert island he would also take some Billy Bragg, Housemartins and A-ha so maybe that compensates?
If we start to explore overseas French President Nicolas Sarkozy clearly loves the songs of his missus, Carla Bruni, but also admits to liking French rocker, Johnny Hallyday.
I thought the most astounding of all is the revelation that Osama Bin Laden loved the music of Van Halen, B-52s and – especially– Whitney Houston. I’m sure Whitney’s delighted. But then I heard that Robert Mugabe would rather listen to “the perennially wholesome Cliff Richard” over Bob Marley anyday. Surely not? Imagine how Cliff feels. Look up the Telegraph source below…
Not one to be outdone, Colonel Muammar Gaddafi has arranged private performances for himself and his family by such stars as Mariah Carey, Nelly Furtado and Beyonce – the common theme being they are absurdly beautiful women, and they didn’t know until they arrived who was the host. But when you’re being paid $1m for the gig maybe you don’t ask too many questions…or maybe you should!
I’ll finish by returning back home to two great dames of the Conservative party who aren’t famed for their musical discretion. Firstly, Ann Wiidecombe, who chose Cliff Richard’s Millenium Prayer as her favourite…maybe she and Mugabe should catch a gig together some time. Cliff would love that.
And the final word goes to that great lover of the arts and sport, Baroness Margaret Thatcher, who was very clear on her favourite song:
Two Little Boys by Rolf Harris.
She’s got something there though, hasn’t she?
The original posting at Living with...Arctic Monkeys...for a week
