31 Songs
Encyclopedia
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
writer Nick Hornby
Nick Hornby
Nick Hornby is an English novelist, essayist and screenwriter. He is best known for the novels High Fidelity, About a Boy, and for the football memoir Fever Pitch. His work frequently touches upon music, sport, and the aimless and obsessive natures of his protagonists.-Life and career:Hornby was...
about songs and (more often) the particular emotional resonance they carry for him. In the UK, Sony
Sony
, commonly referred to as Sony, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan and the world's fifth largest media conglomerate measured by revenues....
released a stand-alone CD, A Selection of Music from 31 Songs, featuring 18 songs. The hardcover edition of Songbook, published in the U.S. by McSweeney's
McSweeney's
McSweeney's is an American publishing house founded by editor Dave Eggers.Apart from its book list, McSweeney's is responsible for four regular publications: the quarterly literary journal,...
and illustrated by Marcel Dzama
Marcel Dzama
Marcel Dzama is a contemporary artist who lives and works in New York. His work has been exhibited internationally, in particular his ink and watercolor drawings.-Range of practice:...
, includes a CD
Compact Disc
The Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,...
with 11 of the songs featured in the book.
Summary
The music varies from established classics like Bruce SpringsteenBruce Springsteen
Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen , nicknamed "The Boss," is an American singer-songwriter who records and tours with the E Street Band...
and Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet, film director and painter. He has been a major and profoundly influential figure in popular music and culture for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler and a seemingly...
to independents like Ani DiFranco
Ani DiFranco
Ani DiFranco is an American Grammy Award-winning singer, guitarist, poet, and songwriter. She has released more than 20 albums, and is widely considered a feminist icon.-Biography:...
, Top 40 pop like Nelly Furtado
Nelly Furtado
Nelly Kim Furtado is a Canadian singer-songwriter, record producer and actress. Furtado grew up in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada.Furtado first gained fame with her debut album, Whoa, Nelly!, and its single "I'm Like a Bird", which won a 2001 Juno Award for Single of the Year and a 2002 Grammy...
, and a few songs with special meaning only to Hornby. Song by song, Hornby delves into what makes music catchy or classic, and how it can come to play an integral role in a person's emotional life.
Proceeds from the book go to the TreeHouse Trust, a UK charity operating a school for children with autism
Autism
Autism is a disorder of neural development characterized by impaired social interaction and communication, and by restricted and repetitive behavior. These signs all begin before a child is three years old. Autism affects information processing in the brain by altering how nerve cells and their...
and communications disorders, which Hornby's son attends, and to 826 Valencia
826 Valencia
826 Valencia is a non-profit organisation dedicated to helping children and young adults develop writing skills and to helping teachers inspire their students to write.-Overview:...
, a U.S.-based learning center, founded by McSweeney's publisher Dave Eggers
Dave Eggers
Dave Eggers is an American writer, editor, and publisher. He is known for the best-selling memoir A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius and for his more recent work as a screenwriter. He is also the co-founder of the literacy project 826 Valencia.-Life:Eggers was born in Boston, Massachusetts,...
, that offers writing
Writing
Writing is the representation of language in a textual medium through the use of a set of signs or symbols . It is distinguished from illustration, such as cave drawing and painting, and non-symbolic preservation of language via non-textual media, such as magnetic tape audio.Writing most likely...
workshops and tutoring.
The paperback edition of Songbook adds a few music-related essays by Hornby from other sources.
After the release of "Songbook," McSweeney accepted online submissions from authors writing about their favorite songs in the same manner as Hornby. These submissions were posted to the McSweeney website. Additionally, TheBlueScarf is a blog adaptation of Hornby's collection.
Contents
There are 31 songs, but only 26 essays; in a few instances, multiple songs are discussed within a single piece.- Teenage FanclubTeenage FanclubTeenage Fanclub are an alternative rock band from Bellshill, Scotland. The band is composed of Norman Blake , Raymond McGinley , Gerard Love and Francis MacDonald , with songwriting duties shared equally among Blake, McGinley and Love...
- "Your Love Is the Place Where I Come From" - Bruce SpringsteenBruce SpringsteenBruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen , nicknamed "The Boss," is an American singer-songwriter who records and tours with the E Street Band...
- "Thunder RoadThunder Road (song)"Thunder Road" is a song written and performed by Bruce Springsteen, and the opening track on his 1975 breakthrough album Born to Run. It is ranked as one of Springsteen's greatest songs, and often appears on lists of the top rock songs of all time.Rolling Stone magazine placed it as #86 on its...
" - Nelly FurtadoNelly FurtadoNelly Kim Furtado is a Canadian singer-songwriter, record producer and actress. Furtado grew up in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada.Furtado first gained fame with her debut album, Whoa, Nelly!, and its single "I'm Like a Bird", which won a 2001 Juno Award for Single of the Year and a 2002 Grammy...
- "I'm Like a BirdI'm like a Bird"I'm Like a Bird" is a song written by Canadian singer-songwriter Nelly Furtado, and produced by Gerald Eaton and Brian West, as the first single from her first album Whoa, Nelly!. It was one of the year's critically acclaimed songs and widely considered as Furtado's signature song...
" - Led ZeppelinLed ZeppelinLed Zeppelin were an English rock band, active in the late 1960s and throughout the 1970s. Formed in 1968, they consisted of guitarist Jimmy Page, singer Robert Plant, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham...
- "HeartbreakerHeartbreaker (Led Zeppelin song)"Heartbreaker" is a song from English rock band Led Zeppelin's 1969 album, Led Zeppelin II. It was credited to all four members of the band, having been recorded at A&R Studios, New York, during the band's second concert tour of the United States, and was engineered by Eddie Kramer."Heartbreaker"...
" - Rufus WainwrightRufus WainwrightRufus McGarrigle Wainwright is an American-Canadian singer-songwriter. He has recorded six albums of original music, EPs, and tracks on compilations and film soundtracks.-Early years:...
- "One Man Guy" - SantanaSantana (band)Santana is a rock band based around guitarist Carlos Santana and founded in the late 1960s. It first came to public attention after their performing the song "Soul Sacrifice" at the Woodstock Festival in 1969, when their Latin rock provided a contrast to other acts on the bill...
- "Samba Pa Ti" - Rod StewartRod StewartRoderick David "Rod" Stewart, CBE is a British singer-songwriter and musician, born and raised in North London, England and currently residing in Epping. He is of Scottish and English ancestry....
- "Mama, You Been on My Mind" - Bob DylanBob DylanBob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet, film director and painter. He has been a major and profoundly influential figure in popular music and culture for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler and a seemingly...
- "Can You Please Crawl Out Your Window?Can You Please Crawl Out Your Window?"Can You Please Crawl Out Your Window?" was a 1965 single by American rock artist Bob Dylan. It reached #58 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart, and #17 on the UK chart in January 1966...
" / The BeatlesThe BeatlesThe Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
- "RainRain (The Beatles song)"Rain" is a song by the English rock band The Beatles, credited to Lennon–McCartney. It was first released in June 1966 as the B-side of the "Paperback Writer" single...
" - Ani DiFrancoAni DiFrancoAni DiFranco is an American Grammy Award-winning singer, guitarist, poet, and songwriter. She has released more than 20 albums, and is widely considered a feminist icon.-Biography:...
- "You Had Time" / Aimee MannAimee MannAimee Mann is an American rock singer-songwriter, guitarist and bassist.-Early life:Aimee Mann grew up in Bon Air, Virginia, graduated from Open High School in 1978 and attended the Berklee College of Music in Boston, but dropped out to sing with her first punk rock band, the Young Snakes...
- "I've Had It" - Paul WesterbergPaul WesterbergPaul Westerberg is an American musician, best known as the former lead singer, rhythm guitarist, and songwriter of The Replacements, one of the seminal alternative rock bands of the 1980s. He launched a solo career after the dissolution of that band...
- "Born for Me" - SuicideSuicide (band)Suicide is an American electronic protopunk musical duo, intermittently active since 1970 and composed of vocalist Alan Vega and Martin Rev on synthesizers and drum machines. They are an early synthesizer/vocal musical duo....
- "Frankie TeardropFrankie TeardropFrankie Teardrop is a song by Suicide from their acclaimed first album Suicide. The song tells a story of a young father and poverty-stricken factory worker. He is very depressed about this, and eventually drifts into insanity. One day, Frankie comes home from work, murders his wife and then...
" / Teenage FanclubTeenage FanclubTeenage Fanclub are an alternative rock band from Bellshill, Scotland. The band is composed of Norman Blake , Raymond McGinley , Gerard Love and Francis MacDonald , with songwriting duties shared equally among Blake, McGinley and Love...
- "Ain't That Enough" - The J. Geils Band - "First I Look at the Purse"
- Ben Folds FiveBen Folds FiveBen Folds Five is an alternative rock trio formed in 1993 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. The group comprises Ben Folds , Robert Sledge , and Darren Jessee . The group achieved mainstream success in the alternative, indie and pop music scenes...
- "Smoke" - Badly Drawn BoyBadly Drawn BoyDamon Gough is an English alternative music singer/songwriter. He was born on 2 October 1969, in Dunstable, Bedfordshire. He grew up in the Breightmet area of Bolton, Lancashire, England....
- "A Minor Incident" (from the About a Boy movie soundtrackAbout a Boy (soundtrack)About a Boy is an album by Badly Drawn Boy released in 2002 as the soundtrack to the film About a Boy. Gough was chosen to compose and perform the entire soundtrack....
) - The BibleThe Bible (band)The Bible are an English rock band. The band released two critically acclaimed albums in the mid 1980s and are best known for the independent chart hits "Graceland" and "Mahalia"...
- "Glorybound" - Van MorrisonVan MorrisonVan Morrison, OBE is a Northern Irish singer-songwriter and musician. His live performances at their best are regarded as transcendental and inspired; while some of his recordings, such as the studio albums Astral Weeks and Moondance, and the live album It's Too Late to Stop Now, are widely...
- "CaravanCaravan (Van Morrison song)"Caravan" is a song written by Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison and included on his 1970 album, Moondance. It was a concert highlight for several years and was included as one of the songs on Morrison's 1974 acclaimed live album, It's Too Late to Stop Now.It was also performed by...
" - Butch HancockButch HancockButch Hancock is a country/folk music recording artist and song writer. He was born July 12, 1945 in Lubbock, Texas. Hancock is a member of The Flatlanders along with Joe Ely and Jimmie Dale Gilmore, but he has principally performed a solo career....
and Marce LaCoutureMarce LaCoutureMarce Lacouture is an American folk music and cajun recording artist and song writer.- Biography :Lacouture grew up in Texas and Louisiana.She began singing professionally in Austin folk and rock bands and in 1984 formed a duo with Butch Hancock, with whom she recorded two albums...
- "So I'll Run" - Gregory IsaacsGregory IsaacsGregory Anthony Isaacs was a Jamaican reggae musician. Milo Miles, writing in the New York Times, described Isaacs as "the most exquisite vocalist in reggae". His nicknames include Cool Ruler and Lonely Lover....
- "Puff, the Magic DragonPuff, the Magic Dragon"Puff, the Magic Dragon" is a song written by Leonard Lipton and Peter Yarrow, and made popular by Yarrow's group Peter, Paul and Mary in a 1963 recording. The song achieved great popularity and has entered American and British pop culture.-Lyrics:...
" - Ian DuryIan DuryIan Robins Dury was an English rock and roll singer, lyricist, bandleader and actor who initially rose to fame during the late 1970s, during the punk and New Wave era of rock music...
and the Blockheads - "Reasons to be Cheerful, Part 3Reasons to be Cheerful, Part 3"Reasons to be Cheerful, Part 3" is a song and single by Ian Dury and the Blockheads, initially released as the single BUY 50 "Reasons to be Cheerful, Part 3 / Common as Muck" issued on 20 July 1979 and reached number 3 in the UK singles Chart the following month...
" / Richard and Linda ThompsonLinda Thompson (singer)Linda Thompson is a British singer. Born Linda Pettifer in Hackney, Thompson became one of the most recognised names—and voices—in the British folk rock movement of the 1970s and 1980s, in collaboration with her former husband and fellow British folk rock musician, guitarist Richard...
- "Calvary Cross" - Jackson BrowneJackson BrowneJackson Browne is an American singer-songwriter and musician who has sold over 17 million albums in the United States alone....
- "Late for the Sky" - Mark MulcahyMark MulcahyMark Mulcahy is an American musician and former front-man for the New Haven, Connecticut-based band Miracle Legion in the 1980s to mid 1990s. The band earned modest renown, especially in their native New England region, but disbanded after a sad turn of events with their record label, Morgan Creek...
- "Hey Self-Defeater" - The VelvelettesThe VelvelettesThe Velvelettes was an American singing girl group, signed to Motown in the 1960s.-Early years and establishment:The group was founded in 1961 by Bertha Barbee McNeal and Mildred Gill Arbor, students at Western Michigan University. Mildred recruited her younger sister Carolyn , who was in 9th...
- "Needle in a Haystack" - O.V. WrightO.V. WrightOverton Vertis "O. V." Wright was an American singer who is regarded as one of Southern soul's most authoritative and individual artists...
- "Let's Straighten It Out" - RöyksoppRöyksoppRöyksopp is a Norwegian electronic music duo from Tromsø, formed in 1998. Since their inception, the band's line-up has included Svein Berge and Torbjørn Brundtland....
- "Röyksopp's Night Out" - The AvalanchesThe AvalanchesThe Avalanches are an Australian electronic music group formed in 1997 with mainstays Robbie Chater on keyboards, Tony Diblasi on keyboards, bass and backing vocals, and Darren Seltmann on vocals and keyboards. They are known for their live DJ sets and their debut album Since I Left You , which was...
- "Frontier PsychiatristFrontier Psychiatrist"Frontier Psychiatrist" is a song by Australian group The Avalanches, released as the second single from their debut album Since I Left You.-Background:The song is a mix of audio samples of music, dialogue and sound effects....
" / SoulwaxSoulwaxSoulwax, headed by David and Stephen Dewaele, are an alternative rock/electronic band from Ghent, Belgium. Next to the Dewaele brothers, Soulwax consists of bassist Stefaan Van Leuven and drummer Steve Slingeneyer. They were first noticed after the release of their album Much Against Everyone's...
- "No Fun" / "Push It" - Patti Smith GroupPatti SmithPatricia Lee "Patti" Smith is an American singer-songwriter, poet and visual artist, who became a highly influential component of the New York City punk rock movement with her 1975 debut album Horses....
- "Pissing in a RiverPissing in a River"Pissing in a River" is a rock song written by Patti Smith and Ivan Kral, and released as a lead single from Patti Smith Group 1976 album Radio Ethiopia. It was featured in both the 1980 movie Times Square and the 1997 independent film All Over Me. Nick Hornby describes "Pissing in a River" as one...
"
Paperback additions
- "It's a Mann's World", a review of Aimee Mann's album Bachelor No. 2Bachelor No. 2Bachelor No. 2 is the third studio album by American singer-songwriter Aimee Mann, released in 2000. Its full title is Bachelor No. 2 or, the Last Remains of the Dodo. The album is notable for the fact that Mann was initially without a record company and sold the album through her website, but the...
, from The New YorkerThe New YorkerThe New Yorker is an American magazine of reportage, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons and poetry published by Condé Nast... - "Alternative Earle", an essay on Steve EarleSteve EarleStephen Fain "Steve" Earle is an American singer-songwriter known for his rock and Texas Country as well as his political views. He is also a producer, author, a political activist, and an actor, and has written and directed a play....
- "Sweet Misery"
- "The Entertainers", an essay about the Los LobosLos LobosLos Lobos are a multiple Grammy Award–winning American Chicano rock band from East Los Angeles, California. Their music is influenced by rock and roll, Tex-Mex, country, folk, R&B, blues, brown-eyed soul, and traditional Spanish and Mexican music such as cumbia, boleros and norteños.-History:The...
box set El Cancionero Mas y MasEl Cancionero Mas y MasEl Cancionero Mas y Mas is a box set by Los Lobos. The set was the subject of an essay by author Nick Hornby in his collection Songbook-Disc 1: 1977 - 1987:# "Guantanamera" - 4:52... - "Pop Quiz"
A Selection of Music from 31 Songs track listing (UK)
- Teenage FanclubTeenage FanclubTeenage Fanclub are an alternative rock band from Bellshill, Scotland. The band is composed of Norman Blake , Raymond McGinley , Gerard Love and Francis MacDonald , with songwriting duties shared equally among Blake, McGinley and Love...
- "Your Love Is the Place Where I Come From" - Bruce SpringsteenBruce SpringsteenBruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen , nicknamed "The Boss," is an American singer-songwriter who records and tours with the E Street Band...
- "Thunder RoadThunder Road (song)"Thunder Road" is a song written and performed by Bruce Springsteen, and the opening track on his 1975 breakthrough album Born to Run. It is ranked as one of Springsteen's greatest songs, and often appears on lists of the top rock songs of all time.Rolling Stone magazine placed it as #86 on its...
" - Rufus WainwrightRufus WainwrightRufus McGarrigle Wainwright is an American-Canadian singer-songwriter. He has recorded six albums of original music, EPs, and tracks on compilations and film soundtracks.-Early years:...
- "One Man Guy" - Rod StewartRod StewartRoderick David "Rod" Stewart, CBE is a British singer-songwriter and musician, born and raised in North London, England and currently residing in Epping. He is of Scottish and English ancestry....
- "Mama You Been on My Mind" - Ani DiFrancoAni DiFrancoAni DiFranco is an American Grammy Award-winning singer, guitarist, poet, and songwriter. She has released more than 20 albums, and is widely considered a feminist icon.-Biography:...
- "You Had Time" - Paul WesterbergPaul WesterbergPaul Westerberg is an American musician, best known as the former lead singer, rhythm guitarist, and songwriter of The Replacements, one of the seminal alternative rock bands of the 1980s. He launched a solo career after the dissolution of that band...
- "Born for Me" - Ben Folds FiveBen Folds FiveBen Folds Five is an alternative rock trio formed in 1993 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. The group comprises Ben Folds , Robert Sledge , and Darren Jessee . The group achieved mainstream success in the alternative, indie and pop music scenes...
- "Smoke" - Badly Drawn BoyBadly Drawn BoyDamon Gough is an English alternative music singer/songwriter. He was born on 2 October 1969, in Dunstable, Bedfordshire. He grew up in the Breightmet area of Bolton, Lancashire, England....
- "A Minor Incident" - The BibleThe Bible (band)The Bible are an English rock band. The band released two critically acclaimed albums in the mid 1980s and are best known for the independent chart hits "Graceland" and "Mahalia"...
- "Glorybound" - Gregory IsaacsGregory IsaacsGregory Anthony Isaacs was a Jamaican reggae musician. Milo Miles, writing in the New York Times, described Isaacs as "the most exquisite vocalist in reggae". His nicknames include Cool Ruler and Lonely Lover....
- "Puff, the Magic DragonPuff, the Magic Dragon"Puff, the Magic Dragon" is a song written by Leonard Lipton and Peter Yarrow, and made popular by Yarrow's group Peter, Paul and Mary in a 1963 recording. The song achieved great popularity and has entered American and British pop culture.-Lyrics:...
" - Ian DuryIan DuryIan Robins Dury was an English rock and roll singer, lyricist, bandleader and actor who initially rose to fame during the late 1970s, during the punk and New Wave era of rock music...
& The Blockheads - "Reasons to be Cheerful, Part 3" - Richard and Linda ThompsonLinda Thompson (singer)Linda Thompson is a British singer. Born Linda Pettifer in Hackney, Thompson became one of the most recognised names—and voices—in the British folk rock movement of the 1970s and 1980s, in collaboration with her former husband and fellow British folk rock musician, guitarist Richard...
- "The Calvary Cross" - Jackson BrowneJackson BrowneJackson Browne is an American singer-songwriter and musician who has sold over 17 million albums in the United States alone....
- "Late for the Sky" - Mark MulcahyMark MulcahyMark Mulcahy is an American musician and former front-man for the New Haven, Connecticut-based band Miracle Legion in the 1980s to mid 1990s. The band earned modest renown, especially in their native New England region, but disbanded after a sad turn of events with their record label, Morgan Creek...
- "Hey Self-Defeater" - The VelvelettesThe VelvelettesThe Velvelettes was an American singing girl group, signed to Motown in the 1960s.-Early years and establishment:The group was founded in 1961 by Bertha Barbee McNeal and Mildred Gill Arbor, students at Western Michigan University. Mildred recruited her younger sister Carolyn , who was in 9th...
- "Needle in a Haystack" - O.V. WrightO.V. WrightOverton Vertis "O. V." Wright was an American singer who is regarded as one of Southern soul's most authoritative and individual artists...
- "Let's Straighten It Out" - The AvalanchesThe AvalanchesThe Avalanches are an Australian electronic music group formed in 1997 with mainstays Robbie Chater on keyboards, Tony Diblasi on keyboards, bass and backing vocals, and Darren Seltmann on vocals and keyboards. They are known for their live DJ sets and their debut album Since I Left You , which was...
- "Frontier PsychiatristFrontier Psychiatrist"Frontier Psychiatrist" is a song by Australian group The Avalanches, released as the second single from their debut album Since I Left You.-Background:The song is a mix of audio samples of music, dialogue and sound effects....
" - Patti Smith GroupPatti SmithPatricia Lee "Patti" Smith is an American singer-songwriter, poet and visual artist, who became a highly influential component of the New York City punk rock movement with her 1975 debut album Horses....
- "Pissing in a RiverPissing in a River"Pissing in a River" is a rock song written by Patti Smith and Ivan Kral, and released as a lead single from Patti Smith Group 1976 album Radio Ethiopia. It was featured in both the 1980 movie Times Square and the 1997 independent film All Over Me. Nick Hornby describes "Pissing in a River" as one...
"
Selections from Nick Hornby's Songbook track listing (US)
- Paul WesterbergPaul WesterbergPaul Westerberg is an American musician, best known as the former lead singer, rhythm guitarist, and songwriter of The Replacements, one of the seminal alternative rock bands of the 1980s. He launched a solo career after the dissolution of that band...
- "Born for Me" - Teenage FanclubTeenage FanclubTeenage Fanclub are an alternative rock band from Bellshill, Scotland. The band is composed of Norman Blake , Raymond McGinley , Gerard Love and Francis MacDonald , with songwriting duties shared equally among Blake, McGinley and Love...
- "Your Love Is the Place Where I Come From" - The BibleThe Bible (band)The Bible are an English rock band. The band released two critically acclaimed albums in the mid 1980s and are best known for the independent chart hits "Graceland" and "Mahalia"...
- "Glorybound" - Aimee MannAimee MannAimee Mann is an American rock singer-songwriter, guitarist and bassist.-Early life:Aimee Mann grew up in Bon Air, Virginia, graduated from Open High School in 1978 and attended the Berklee College of Music in Boston, but dropped out to sing with her first punk rock band, the Young Snakes...
- "I've Had It" - Rufus WainwrightRufus WainwrightRufus McGarrigle Wainwright is an American-Canadian singer-songwriter. He has recorded six albums of original music, EPs, and tracks on compilations and film soundtracks.-Early years:...
- "One Man Guy" - Rod StewartRod StewartRoderick David "Rod" Stewart, CBE is a British singer-songwriter and musician, born and raised in North London, England and currently residing in Epping. He is of Scottish and English ancestry....
- "Mama, You Been on My Mind" - Badly Drawn BoyBadly Drawn BoyDamon Gough is an English alternative music singer/songwriter. He was born on 2 October 1969, in Dunstable, Bedfordshire. He grew up in the Breightmet area of Bolton, Lancashire, England....
- "A Minor Incident" - Teenage FanclubTeenage FanclubTeenage Fanclub are an alternative rock band from Bellshill, Scotland. The band is composed of Norman Blake , Raymond McGinley , Gerard Love and Francis MacDonald , with songwriting duties shared equally among Blake, McGinley and Love...
- "Ain't That Enough" - Ben Folds FiveBen Folds FiveBen Folds Five is an alternative rock trio formed in 1993 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. The group comprises Ben Folds , Robert Sledge , and Darren Jessee . The group achieved mainstream success in the alternative, indie and pop music scenes...
- "Smoke" - Mark MulcahyMark MulcahyMark Mulcahy is an American musician and former front-man for the New Haven, Connecticut-based band Miracle Legion in the 1980s to mid 1990s. The band earned modest renown, especially in their native New England region, but disbanded after a sad turn of events with their record label, Morgan Creek...
- "Hey Self-Defeater" - Ani DiFrancoAni DiFrancoAni DiFranco is an American Grammy Award-winning singer, guitarist, poet, and songwriter. She has released more than 20 albums, and is widely considered a feminist icon.-Biography:...
- "You Had Time"