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CMU Playlists
Playlist: Marsha Shandur
By CMU Editorial | Published on Saturday 16 January 2010
Marsha Shandur is a purveyor of excellent radio on Xfm and her weekly podcast, ‘Marsha Meets…’, in which she interviews stand-up comedians, is one of the reasons I continue to wake up in the morning. She is also the person responsible for the rather marvellous soundtrack on sitcom ‘The Inbetweeners’, which makes it extra exciting that she’s agreed to put together a playlist of her favourite tracks for us.
Says Marsha: “Doing this was really, really hard and rather heartbreaking. I’ve had to exclude songs from some of my favourite bands (Clem Snide, Andrew Bird) and it’s thin on the ground when it comes to the new bands I love (Tellison, Mechanical Bride), but in order to get on my Top Ten Favourite Songs list, I think you need to pay your dues. With the exception of Tubelord, who transcend all boundaries”.
MARSHA SHANDUR’S TEN
Click here to listen to Marsha’s playlist in Spotify, and then read on to find out more about his selections.
01 Elbow – Starlings
This is the closest thing I’ve ever heard to the musical representation of what it feels like to fall in love. All the joy and the shock and the gently bubbling warmth.
02 Sam Isaac – Annie, Why Are You So Angry?
In spite of having heard this a thousand times, it still gives me goosebumps on every play. If you listen carefully, you can hear Sophie from My First Tooth, Rod from Bright Light Bright Light and Stephen from Tellison on backing vocals.
03 Glenn Miller – When Johnny Comes Marching Home
I think being a woman in the 40s and being alive through the war would have been really tough but, oh, how I sometimes long to be there at a tea dance. It was tough picking just one GM song, but this won for the different voices.
04 Tubelord – Night Of Pencils
This band make me insanely happy. I love that they clearly know great pop but choose to eschew it. The album is wonderful.
05 Regina Spektor – Samson
This is my favourite song of the last decade. I want it played at my funeral. The chord change after the chorus makes something inside me collapse.
06 Maximo Park – Postcard Of A Painting
I don’t listen to this album that often because when I do, it makes me feel like I am clad in armour. As such, I save it for emergencies. Maximo are my favourite band.
07 Fionn Regan – Snowy Atlas Mountains
On my iTunes, this shows up as my most played song. The drama of it has never worn out.
08 Al Bowlly – Two Sleepy People
This battles with Regina Spektor’s ‘Samson’ for title of Most Romantic Song Ever Recorded.
09 The Reindeer Section – Where I Fall
This was a toughie – Snow Patrol have been one of my favourite bands since they started, but this song by Gary Lightbody’s Glasgow indie supergroup side project is my favourite thing he’s done, in spite of how understated and sparse it is.
10 Death Cab For Cutie – Brothers On A Hotel Bed
If I was only allowed one album for the rest of time, I would take Fionn Regan’s first. But I would certainly wonder for a moment whether I should take ‘Plans’, as it’s one I’ve come back and back and back to. Oddly, this is a great running song.
