======= Date Modified 22 20 2010 09:20:02 =======
============= Edited by a Moderator =============
*edited to delete giant blank space at the bottom of the post!*

Well, it looks like Now That's What I Call 75 has just come out - so I've been pipped at the post with that one. So, I'm going to make a proposal for the contents of Now That's What I Call Music 76. For those of you unfamiliar, Now That's What I Call Music is a compilation album that features all the greatest music hits of the current time - and it comes out about twice a year. I haven't been best pleased with the series since about 1997, it's all seemed to go down hill since then. Atomic Kitten? Eurgh! Seal? No thanks! Vanilla? No way, no way! Indeep? No, last night I wanted to kill the DJ for playing crap music!
So, what I'd like to do is to compile a potential selection of tracks that could constitute Now 76. I'm doubtless that we all have an impeccable taste in music - we're post grad students after all. Some of us are even post docs! Often, I read the names of excellent bands touted on this site. Often, I have discovered impressive music through suggestions made on this forum. So, it only stands to reason that we should put together our collective knowledge of music, our eclectic tastes, and come up with the ultimate album, an album that reflects the highs and lows, the insanity of being a PhD student. Let's make Now That's What I Call Music 76!

Here are my suggestions for inclusion...

(Don't Fear) the Reaper - Blue Oyster Cult
Dance with Somebody - Mando Diao
Les Joures Tristes - The Divine Comedy

Any recommendations are welcome, all tastes are appreciated, a multicultural selection is encouraged.

======= Date Modified 21 Jun 2010 08:11:17 =======
Thought I would procrastinate 15 mins away doing this....(can all be found on youtube)

Some of my favourites from my beloved Nordic lands and Germany ;) Not exactly Now 76! material perhaps, but these songs are my PhD because I have written lots of it to them....

Jónsi "Go Do" - Icelandic postrock/pop hybrid/instrumental (contemporary to now - the others below are a few years old..)

Stafrænn Hákon - "Glussi" (instrumental - this is lovely to listen to with eyes closed and headphones on at max volume!)

Cajsa Stina Åkerström - "Vänd Dig Om" (Soft lovely female vocal Swedish language song from a few years back. Very soothing.)

Polarkreis 18 - "Allein Allein" (German indie-pop) -farily recent actually.

BWO "Voodoo Magic" (I love this pop song, perhaps because I fancy the lead singer or because the song is catchy...)

Jessye Norman "Isoldes Liebestod" -Tristran and Isolde (German Opera - Wagner, guilty pleasure!) - the last three minutes are a wall of perfect sound.

If you want some cool PhD sounds try:

It's not fair - lily Allen. A fusion of electronica and country music, which also wholeheartedly confronts the issue of premature ejaculation. Of relevance to me because it was released when I was going to my first conference and is quite a catchy tune (not because I have suffered from the problems Lily is singing about)

Jungleland - Bruce Springsteen. A tale of suburban new Jersey on a Saturday night, and a romantic liason between two people from rival gangs, a 10 minute masterpeice also containing one of the finest saxophone solos ever.

Comfortably numb - Pink Floyd. A PhD classic if ever there was one, not entirely sure what it's about, but is fairly depressing, yet relaxing at the same time, feels a bit like a long hard day writing up.

Enjoy

Chrisroliski, I find your taste in music to be an education in musical culture - and I've enjoyed listening to a lot of them. I'd even go so far as to say that some of them are catchy enough to listen to again and again, so they're going in the Now That's What I call Music 76 album. Cakeman, I'll give those a listen to. The Pink Floyd track is definitely a good choice.(up)

======= Date Modified 21 Jun 2010 18:51:07 =======
Any track by Pink Floyd has my thumbs up....(up). Comfortably Numb is an excellent choice albeit a depressing one, you should check out the video. Bob Geldof stars as Pink and sums up the song quite nicely.

Another favourite is a very cheesy one :$ - "I Ran (So Far Away)" by A Flock of Seagulls, for some reason this song always keeps me upbeat :).

What a great idea for a thread Wal!

I give you:
VAST - any songs really, but Pretty When you Cry, Flames, Tattoo of your Name, and A better place!
Boards of Canada/Beck - Broken Drum - keeps me sane on an almost daily basis :-x
Biffy Clyro - Christopher's River, or any really
Wisp - The shimmering hour
Tom Tom Club - Genius of Love, always manages to put a smile on my face and a spring in my step!

I could probably go on forever, but i'll stop there for now! :p

======= Date Modified 21 Jun 2010 23:10:24 =======
Excellent idea for a thread! :-)

I would like to include:

Kate Bush - Babooshka (got me through my final year dissertation)

Cat Stevens - Peace Train (simply a song that makes me smile)

Bob Dylan - Most of the Time (Alternative version)

ok, I may be showing myself up with my taste in music here, but here goes!

For days when I've had a meeting with my supervisor which has left me seething and mad...I give you Woman, by Wolfmother.
For days when I'm sitting looking down a microscope bored out of my mind, I give you Starlings, by Elbow (actually pretty much any song from the Seldom Seen Kid album)
For days when I'm wondering if it's all worth it and what the hell am I doing here, etc, I give you The Cave, by Mumford and Sons and My Boy Builds Coffins by Florence and the Machine
And for days when I've left the lab in a good mood about work, yet slightly apprehensive that this good mood will only end in a crushing and demoralising next day in the lab, I give you The Remedy, by Jason Mraz.

Intersparsing these with Sigur Ros tracks, Ray Lamontagne (for when I'm really missing the boyf and hating long distance relationships), Damien Rice, and the odd bit of Wagner, Mozart and Vivaldi (Spring from the Four Seasons, just perfection)

:)

That is just the most awesome post-breakup song ever. I could think about this seriously, but I've had too much to drink. I recommend John Mayer.....maybe "Who Says" "Free Fallin'" and "Gravity". He always cheers me up.....more tomorrow.

Wow, this is really coming on, guys. Lots of new suggestions and scores of fab tracks for me to listen to while I do my work. I'm thinking that Now That's What I Call Music 76 may be the best compilation album yet - certainly the biggest, stretching to at least 4 CDs!

I've got a couple more myself...

Electric Light Orchestra - Mr Blue Sky
Duran Duran - View to a Kill
Aha - Take on Me (it's a floor filler!)
And something for the intellectuals amongst us...Divine Comedy - The Booklovers....

God, how does that song go now...it's so clever...hmhmm (clear my throat): 'This book deals with epiphenomenalism, which has to do with consciousness as the mere accessory of physiological processes whose presence or absence makes no difference...whatever are you doing?'

Oh, and while mentioning 'clever' songs that can go in, we have to have a bit of John Cooper Clarke's Beasley Street.