Wiz Ball
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wizball50.bsky.social
Wiz Ball
@wizball50.bsky.social
Well versed in both the politics of dancing and the art of parties. Songwriter and vinyl bore. Wild #LFC fanatic and chant-crafter. Proud nephew to two beautiful uncles.
#ArtistFave15
Scott Walker
#MusicChallenge

2—Duchess

One of the most beautiful songs he ever wrote, with Browning-flavoured lyrics that observe so lovingly, set to a sweet, delicate melody. But not so sweet that it can puncture the poignancy of his dying duchess.

#musicsky #nowplaying #vinyl
November 13, 2025 at 9:21 PM
#Top30TomWaits
Unranked
#MusicChallenge

16 Shells from a 30.6

Sparse and tight as a clothesline, with buckshot-ricochet percussion and a growled falsetto vocal that could whittle a man into kindling. A battlecry of a song.

#musicsky #nowplaying #vinyl
November 13, 2025 at 9:12 PM
#MusicinMusic
#MusicChallenge

Thirteen—Big Star

"Won't you tell your dad get off my back?
Tell him what we said 'bout Painted Black"

#musicsky #nowplaying #vinyl
November 13, 2025 at 10:13 AM
#Top30TomWaits
Unranked
#MusicChallenge

Ol' 55

Cleverly, this isn't a song about a romantic conquest: we have loads of those already. Instead, it's set in the aftermath, with Waits driving home at 6am, basking in the post-coital glow as the sun comes up. Triumphant.

#musicsky #nowplaying #vinyl
November 12, 2025 at 10:08 PM
#20SongsByYear
1991
#MusicChallenge

A Roller Skating Jam Named 'Saturday'
De La Soul

The wittiness of the sampling: the 'Saturday' from Chicago, the 'Roller skates' from Chic. Q-Tip drops in to ensure that first verse is a killer. And De La Soul are alive and kicking.

#musicsky #nowplaying #vinyl
November 12, 2025 at 9:03 PM
#ArtistFave15
Scott Walker
#MusicChallenge

4—The old man's back again (4)

Only Scott could write a song for the neo-Stalinist regime and scat on it. (Ok, only him and Joni). But it is up to its lofty task: lyrically brilliant, musically assured. And what a bass line!

#musicsky #nowplaying #vinyl
November 11, 2025 at 9:29 PM
#Top30TomWaits
Unranked
#MusicChallenge

Lucky Day

A sort of 'Shiver me Timbers' by way of 'In the Neighbourhood', Lucky Day had everything a great farewell song needs: nostalgic lyrics, a big sing-along chorus and a ton of personality.

#musicsky #nowplaying #vinyl
November 10, 2025 at 10:38 PM
#ArtistFave15
Scott Walker
#MusicChallenge

5—Patriot

"The good news you cannot refuse
The bad news is there is no news."

Could be about journalism in the contemporary US, or the current scandal at the BBC. Like the album it comes from, still supremely relevant.

#musicsky #nowplaying #vinyl
November 10, 2025 at 9:48 PM
#20SongsByYear
1991
#MusicChallenge

Wagon—Dinosaur Jr.

I love an opening track that throws you in the back of a car and drags you off on an adventure. Of course, it's only after you're in there J starts asking why you don't see him so much any more… A blast of a track

#musicsky #nowplaying #vinyl
November 10, 2025 at 9:02 PM
#musicinmusic
Ballad of Dorothy Parker—#Prince
#MusicChallenge

"Mind if I turn on the radio?
Oh, my favourite song, she said
And it was Joni singing:
Help me, I think I'm fall—drrring, the
phone rang…"

One of my favourite meta moments in music.

#musicsky #nowplaying #vinyl
November 10, 2025 at 2:23 PM
#MusicinMusic
#MusicChallenge

Oh Yeah—Roxy Music

There’s a band playing on the radio
With a rhythm of rhyming guitars
They’re playing 'Oh Yeah' on the radio...

#musicsky #nowplaying #vinyl
November 9, 2025 at 6:58 PM
#Top30TomWaits
Unranked
#MusicChallenge

I beg your pardon

This One's from the Heart is a sadly underrated album. Sure, perhaps Crystal Gayle wasn't the perfect foil for Tom, but the songwriting remains at his usual high standard, as this delight of a track proves.

#musicsky #nowplaying #vinyl
November 8, 2025 at 9:18 PM
#20SongsByYear
1991
#MusicChallenge

Hand on the pump—Cypress Hill

Smart use of sampling (the ever-present 'Duke of Earl' is inspired) and the very best example of that Whiney-bit, Barky-bit Cypress Hill chorus. Comes at you like a stiff blow.

#musicsky #nowplaying #vinyl
November 8, 2025 at 9:05 PM
#ArtistFave15
Scott Walker
#MusicChallenge

8—Tilt

Inescapably country in nature with its jugband style bass, it's almost disarming compared to its mates on the album. But it's false sense of security, because that chorus is utterly harrowing. Strikingly eclectic.

#musicsky #nowplaying #vinyl
November 7, 2025 at 9:04 PM
#Top30TomWaits
Unranked
#MusicChallenge

Accompanied by 3am horns and a bassist who hasn't changed his strings since the Nixon administration, Waits comes flying over the hill here, brakeless and careering. A wild, thrilling opener.

#musicsky #nowplaying #vinyl
November 6, 2025 at 9:36 PM
#ArtistFave15
Scott Walker
#MusicChallenge

9—Hero of the War

Sassoon-like lyrics, that can't help broaching the existential question of what it is that drives us to war. Sweeping strings and a shuffle guitar. It shouldn't work, but it does. And very beautifully.

#musicsky #nowplaying #vinyl
November 6, 2025 at 9:30 PM
#20SongsByYear
1991
#MusicChallenge

Wash your face in my sink—Dream Warriors

As it transpires, 1991 was a banner year for hiphop. This Toronto outfit played their part in that, pairing a swinging Count Basie sample to their drilled, meticulous flows. Uplifting.

#musicsky #nowplaying #vinyl
November 6, 2025 at 9:20 PM
#Top30TomWaits
Unranked
#MusicChallenge

Clap Hands

A macabre retelling of the old playground favourite, set to a percussion track like raindrops dripping into masonry jars, with a cast of characters fresh out of Bedlam. Sane, sane, they're all insane...

#musicsky #nowplaying #Vinyl
November 4, 2025 at 11:33 PM
Two wins. Two clean sheets. And, crucially, two very good performances in a row now. That's us in much better stead for City on the weekend who, I still believe, aren't really all that. Now it's time for a night cap. #UTFR ✊✊✊

#LFC #LIVRMA #Redsky
November 4, 2025 at 9:56 PM
#ArtistFave15
Scott Walker
#MusicChallenge

11—Jackie

Nobody, perhaps not even Brel himself, could do Brel quite as well as Scott could. His interpretations always bring a bit more to the table, and with Jackie, he adds tortured cynicism to the drama and provocation.

#musicsky #nowplaying #vinyl
November 4, 2025 at 9:19 PM
#Top30TomWaits
Unranked
#MusicChallenge

Underground

The rattling of big black bones rang the death knell for Waits' cool jazz-cat persona and ushered in something completely different, created in partnership with his wonderful wife Kathleen Brennan.

#musicsky #nowplaying #vinyl
November 2, 2025 at 10:02 PM
#ArtistFave15
Scott Walker
#MusicChallenge

13—Track Three

I sometimes wonder if Billy Ocean knew what he was getting into when he agreed to sing backing vocals on this. You don't have to listen too carefully to hear the seeds of Scott's '95 album Tilt being sown here.

#musicsky #nowplaying #vinyl
November 2, 2025 at 9:24 PM
November 1, 2025 at 9:38 PM
You've inspired me to stick this on now...
November 1, 2025 at 4:38 PM
#Top30TomWaits
Unranked
#MusicChallenge

I hope that I don't fall in love with you

A staggering feat of songwriting from the 23-year-old Waits, this balances pathos and humour with all the expertise of a classic episode of Cheers. An artist destined for greatness.

#musicsky #nowplaying #vinyl
October 31, 2025 at 10:12 PM