Listen Up: A Bring The Noise playlist

Consider the noise brungeth…

Readers of this blog are possibly more than aware of my feelings towards Dorset’s delightful End of the Road festival. Over the course of the 2012 edition I bumped into some wonderful people including UK music site Bring The Noise‘s roving reviewer Charlotte Owen. ‘Lotti’ and the BTN team – although of a different taste to mine at times (which is this features’ entire raison d’etre) – are absolutely barmy about music and were more than enthusiastic when asked to curate a Listen Up playlist for The G-Man so here it is…

Depeche Mode – ‘Enjoy The Silence’
Depeche Mode is my favourite band, and it is hard to choose simply one song of theirs in which stands out, however Enjoy The Silence is buttered with lead singer Dave Gahan‘s memorable voice, each electronic sigh a produce of the incredibly talented Martin Gore, and the track as a whole catapulting myself into my childhood. This song was originally to be a slow ballad, however band member Alan Wilder suggested an upbeat tempo, and with producer Mark Ellis‘ addition of the songs historical guitar riff, a classic was born.
(Charlotte Owen – Bring The Noise Reviewer)

Parkway Drive – ‘Swing’
At first listen I wasn’t a fan of Parkway Drive, looking back I have no idea what I was thinking. I love this band, Swing is a motivating song, its pure violence will kick your ass. I tend to listen to this song at the gym as I train harder when listening to bands like Parkway Drive. The lyrics ring true too “This song was born for battle, My heart was built for war. Built for fucking war!”, and life is a daily battle.
(Ian Arnold, Bring The Noise Founder & Editor)

Ben Howard – ‘Keep Your Head Up’
I was having a tough time going through a nasty break up and kind of lost myself and who I was a bit, those tracks picked me up a lot and kept me going.
(Tamsyn Wilce, Bring The Noise Social Media & Competitions Editor)

Reuben – ‘Stuck In My Throat’
Reuben were and still are my favourite band, sadly for them they never made it out of the “Toilet Scene” and are a band no more. The fire in lead singer Jamie’s voice got me every time, you can hear the passion and connect with the lyrics so well…well I can anyway. ‘Stuck In My Throat’ I feel was one of their best tracks and would always pick me up when I was feeling rubbish.
(Ian Arnold, Bring The Noise Founder & Editor)

Mumford & Sons – ‘Sigh No More’
I was having a tough time going through a nasty break up and kind of lost myself and who I was a bit, those tracks picked me up a lot and kept me going.
(Tamsyn Wilce, Bring The Noise Social Media & Competitions Editor)

Lou Reed – ‘The Gun’
The husky hums of the bass guitar flirting with skimming drums in this song fizzes with masochism with Reed’s mutterings embalmed in the track, for me, this song is always a journey. After a bad day I will shut myself out of the world, turn the lights off, and just get drunk from the floating guitars. There’s something reassuring about songs that verge on insanity, and at its loudest, this track can send you into a trance.
(Charlotte Owen – Bring The Noise Reviewer)

Alexisonfire – ‘To a Friend’
I mainly love it for the line ‘I think it’s time to kill the drama, this life style’s getting old’. I hate drama and the fact that my friends always try to drag it into my life, so this song speaks volumes to me. It’s basically saying to a friend – stop with the drama.
(Carly-Ann Morris, Bring The Noise Pop & Urban Editor)

INXS – ‘Mediate’
A segue from the Australian bands hit single Need You Tonight, Mediate suffers the brunt of suffocation beneath a more successful siblings shadow, however, the poetry and repetition in this song is what makes it so incredible. With Michael Hutchence’s oozing vocals draped upon Kirk Pengilly’s saxophone, it is rich with the classic INXS sensuousness, and a favourite of mine.
(Charlotte Owen – Bring The Noise Reviewer)

Bury Tomorrow – ‘Lionheart’
Bury Tomorrow’s ‘Lionheart’ sums up British metal. The chorus is huge, the breakdowns are intense and the lyrics are crammed full of patriotism. This song makes you proud to be British.
(Mattie Borucki, Bring The Noise New Noise Editor)

The Libertines – ‘Time for Heroes’
A life changing song for me, that brought back my faith in the music scene. Any song that can mention wombles and still be one of the finest examples of poetry in music is a definite classic. This song will forever remind me of being young and I’m lucky to have had it in my teenage years.
(Stephanie Chase, Bring The Noise Indie & Rock Editor)

Stream the Bring The Noise playlist in full by clicking play below:

For more on Bring The Noise visit:

– For past editions of ‘Listen Up’ click here
– Spotify is a great tool for finding music. Please don’t let it be a substitute for buying music