Tuesday, March 16, 2004
The Headtapes. I have always been obsessed with lists and categories. It was a running joke at high school that I was like the Spanish Inquisition skit in Monty Python's Flying Circus - "There are three main categories... no, there are four main categories..."
I've been interested in writing some academic stuff about how we use lists to store and transfer cultural knowledge. Several weeks ago I had the idea of writing down every song that came into my head, and making a CD or tape of all those songs. That way, listening to the CD would be like having a window into my head. But it would be necessarily cryptic, because songs are put in your head by hearing them, by hearing conversation or reading something that trips them off in your mind, from other people's conversation and from memory alone.
The weakness of the Headtapes would be that nobody would know why I'd had that song in my head. I thought about liner notes, because when I make mixtapes I always go to a lot of trouble to make them look as schmick yet personalised as possible, explaining why I like all the tracks - almost like an audio-zine. But in a way I like the randomness and unknowability of the Headtapes. It will be up to others to make up their own mind on what they mean.
Anyway, given that it bores my friends to hear me recite each day's Headtape, I thought I'd document them all here. So, here are all the Headtapes, as complete as I could make them (sometimes I get a song in my head and I'm not sure what it's called or who it's by).
Friday 20 February
Popular Thug - Kelis featuring Nas
Baby Boy - Beyoncé featuring Sean Paul
Shy Guy - Diana King
Frontin' - Pharrell
(Oh No) What You Got - Justin Timberlake
Good Girl - Vanessa Marquez
Prototype - OutKast
Debra - Beck
Let Me Clear My Throat - DJ Kool
And I Love Her - Beatles
Are You Gonna Go My Way - Lenny Kravitz
Monday 23 February
Here Without You - Three Floors Down
A Whole New World - from Aladdin
Boys Will Be Boys - Choirboys
Boys - Britney Spears
Boys Boys Boys - Sabrina
The Power and the Passion - Midnight Oil
Fraction Too Much Friction - Tim Finn
Careless Whispers - George Michael
1999 - Prince
Shut Up - Black-Eyed Peas
All Things Just Keep Getting Better - from Queer Eye
Tuesday 24 February
Frontin' - Pharrell
Prototype - OutKast
Right Here's The Spot - Basement Jaxx
In The Hall of the Mountain King - Grieg
Wednesday 25 February
Planet Home - Jamiroquai
Hello Hello - The Cat Empire
Anitra's Dance - Grieg
A Whole New World - from Aladdin
Little L - Jamiroquai
The Lonely Goatherd - from The Sound of Music
Thursday 26 February
Red-Blooded Woman - Kylie Minogue
Teardrop - Massive Attack
Friday 27 February
Spread - OutKast
Monsoon - Robbie Williams
Brown Sugar - Rolling Stones
I Try - Macy Gray
Step By Step - New Kids on the Block
She Works Hard for the Money - Donna Summer
Deck the Halls
Rhythm of My Heart - Rod Stewart
Fame - David Bowie
Jet - Wings
Theme from Bonanza
Please Don't Go Girl - New Kids on the Block
Simply Irresistible - Robert Palmer
Monday 1 March
Finest Dreams - Richard X vs Kelis
Dracula's Wedding - OutKast
Sometimes Love Just Ain't Enough - Patti Smyth/Don Henley
Freestyler - Bomfunk MCs
Doo Wop (That Thing) - Lauryn Hill
White Lines (Don't Do It) - Grandmaster Flash featuring MC Melle Mel
Summertime - Sarah Vaughan
Kan Tong jingle ("mama's making Kan Tong/doesn't take long/for the word to get around")
Tuesday 2 March
In The Ghetto - Elvis Presley
Rondo Alla Turca - Mozart?
Beautiful - Christina Aguilera
Under Pressure - David Bowie and Queen
Tonight I Celebrate My Love - Peabo Bryson/Roberta Flack
Sara - Starship
Wednesday 3 March
Crazy In Love - Beyoncé
Just Like You - Robbie Nevil
Hey Ya! - OutKast
Toxic - Britney Spears
Wanna Be Startin' Somethin' - Michael Jackson
Thursday 4 March
Young, Fresh & New - Kelis
Flashback - Kelis
Okay, I've had enough typing. I'll get it up to date another day.
I've been interested in writing some academic stuff about how we use lists to store and transfer cultural knowledge. Several weeks ago I had the idea of writing down every song that came into my head, and making a CD or tape of all those songs. That way, listening to the CD would be like having a window into my head. But it would be necessarily cryptic, because songs are put in your head by hearing them, by hearing conversation or reading something that trips them off in your mind, from other people's conversation and from memory alone.
The weakness of the Headtapes would be that nobody would know why I'd had that song in my head. I thought about liner notes, because when I make mixtapes I always go to a lot of trouble to make them look as schmick yet personalised as possible, explaining why I like all the tracks - almost like an audio-zine. But in a way I like the randomness and unknowability of the Headtapes. It will be up to others to make up their own mind on what they mean.
Anyway, given that it bores my friends to hear me recite each day's Headtape, I thought I'd document them all here. So, here are all the Headtapes, as complete as I could make them (sometimes I get a song in my head and I'm not sure what it's called or who it's by).
Friday 20 February
Popular Thug - Kelis featuring Nas
Baby Boy - Beyoncé featuring Sean Paul
Shy Guy - Diana King
Frontin' - Pharrell
(Oh No) What You Got - Justin Timberlake
Good Girl - Vanessa Marquez
Prototype - OutKast
Debra - Beck
Let Me Clear My Throat - DJ Kool
And I Love Her - Beatles
Are You Gonna Go My Way - Lenny Kravitz
Monday 23 February
Here Without You - Three Floors Down
A Whole New World - from Aladdin
Boys Will Be Boys - Choirboys
Boys - Britney Spears
Boys Boys Boys - Sabrina
The Power and the Passion - Midnight Oil
Fraction Too Much Friction - Tim Finn
Careless Whispers - George Michael
1999 - Prince
Shut Up - Black-Eyed Peas
All Things Just Keep Getting Better - from Queer Eye
Tuesday 24 February
Frontin' - Pharrell
Prototype - OutKast
Right Here's The Spot - Basement Jaxx
In The Hall of the Mountain King - Grieg
Wednesday 25 February
Planet Home - Jamiroquai
Hello Hello - The Cat Empire
Anitra's Dance - Grieg
A Whole New World - from Aladdin
Little L - Jamiroquai
The Lonely Goatherd - from The Sound of Music
Thursday 26 February
Red-Blooded Woman - Kylie Minogue
Teardrop - Massive Attack
Friday 27 February
Spread - OutKast
Monsoon - Robbie Williams
Brown Sugar - Rolling Stones
I Try - Macy Gray
Step By Step - New Kids on the Block
She Works Hard for the Money - Donna Summer
Deck the Halls
Rhythm of My Heart - Rod Stewart
Fame - David Bowie
Jet - Wings
Theme from Bonanza
Please Don't Go Girl - New Kids on the Block
Simply Irresistible - Robert Palmer
Monday 1 March
Finest Dreams - Richard X vs Kelis
Dracula's Wedding - OutKast
Sometimes Love Just Ain't Enough - Patti Smyth/Don Henley
Freestyler - Bomfunk MCs
Doo Wop (That Thing) - Lauryn Hill
White Lines (Don't Do It) - Grandmaster Flash featuring MC Melle Mel
Summertime - Sarah Vaughan
Kan Tong jingle ("mama's making Kan Tong/doesn't take long/for the word to get around")
Tuesday 2 March
In The Ghetto - Elvis Presley
Rondo Alla Turca - Mozart?
Beautiful - Christina Aguilera
Under Pressure - David Bowie and Queen
Tonight I Celebrate My Love - Peabo Bryson/Roberta Flack
Sara - Starship
Wednesday 3 March
Crazy In Love - Beyoncé
Just Like You - Robbie Nevil
Hey Ya! - OutKast
Toxic - Britney Spears
Wanna Be Startin' Somethin' - Michael Jackson
Thursday 4 March
Young, Fresh & New - Kelis
Flashback - Kelis
Okay, I've had enough typing. I'll get it up to date another day.
