Anti Love Songs

I quite like Steve Wright's afternoon show on Radio 2. But I can't stand his Sunday Morning Love Songs show.

Love songs are so boring. They're all the same sickly sweet cloying junk, and the messages in between are worse.
I only ever listen in case Seiko sends me a dedication...

Anyway, I find anti love songs much more interesting. As a member of the iPod generation (okay as a parent of the iPod generation), the joys of making mixed tapes are lost to me, but if I was still inclined to copy songs off the radio onto cassette, here is my anti love mix:

• Paradise by the dashboard light - Meatloaf. 'Praying for the end of time, so I can end my time with you'. That's REAL emotion.

• It doesn't matter any more - Buddy Holly. Brilliant. Such jolly music, such bitter sentiment.

• You've lost that loving feeling - Righteous Brothers. Good one for singing in the kitchen. Although every time I try it turns into 'Summer Nights' from Grease. At the end of the chorus it goes 'You've lost that loving feeling, now it's gone, gone gone, Whoa-oha-oha-oh dum dum, dum dum, dum dumdum dum dum, Summer loving, had me a blast... etc'. Just me, then?

• Walk on by. Dionne Warwick version is fine. The Stranglers version has fantastic keyboards.

• I will survive. Again, the original is good, but I prefer the cover by a band called Cake. Musically quite a different style, to say the least. I did actually once see them perform it on a Chris Evans TV show a few years ago, when I think it was released as a single... I think it sank without trace. It is worth a listen though.

Talking of Cake, they have a great little anti love song on the end of one of their albums, called 'Sad songs and waltzes'. You might not be familiar with it, so here are some of the lyrics:

I'll tell all about how you cheated
I'd like for the whole world to hear
I'd like to get even
With you cause you're leavin'
But sad songs and waltzes aren't selling this year.

The rhyme of 'even' and 'leavin' is quite special and close to my heart. He sings it so well.

Just in case you were wondering, I still love Seiko, our marriage isn't on the rocks or anything. Well, it wasn't before I wrote this, anyway...

Bye for now,

Tony