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| This is worth a closer look if you haven't seen it before |
This week is a special week for anyone with even half an ounce of fondness for London - it's the 150th anniversary of the London underground - the Tube. Now I love the tube - I'm proud of the fact that I can find my way around with barely a glance at a map, I like the anonymity, I find the classlessness wonderful. Over the years I've used it to get to work, get to gigs, been drunk on it, fallen in love on it, been dumped on it, dreamed many dreams on it and still marvel at the fact that much of it was built when Queen Victoria was still only part way through her reign.
On top of all the travel advantages of the tube it's also given us one of the most classic pieces of design in the modern tube map, some of the greatest posters ever to be designed, shelter from the Blitz (well, not me, but you get the gist) and buskers....
Yeah not all buskers are great, I'd be the first to admit it, but then again I once saw The Clash busking at Tottenham Court Road late on a Friday night - that's a story for another time.
There are many articles in the papers and on blogs which pay tribute to this anniversary by way of songs about tube stations, some of them quite tenuously, so I thought I'd post something a bit different - what follow are some tracks about the system itself, the arteries, the tracks, the lines....enjoy.
First stop the Bakerloo Line and this Eddy Grant produced produced corker by UK moonstompers The Pyramids - pure London.
This next one takes us out on the Jubilee Line, I'd never heard of Brian Olive before but I'm guessing by the look and sound that he listens to more than a little of the stuff that lights our fire around here. Nice poppy stuff that makes that most unlovely of lines almost romantic.
Next we're off 'round the District Line and out to the South, guided by Yorkshiremen Milburn - a great bit of Arctic's style guitar pop
The Piccadilly Line seems to have inspired quite a bit of musical activity around the late sixties - this is a bit of psych pop by The Liverpool Five. I used to go to work on the Picadilly Line every day - did you know that Holborn is the deepest station on the line? Full of facts here !
Then a bit of jazz tinged electronica from Squarepusher as we set off down to the clubs around the Central Line -100 Club here we come.
And finally - off on what used to be the most useful line on the whole
system. But why the hell doesn't it go in a full circle any more...? I
really don't want to spend any more time at Edgware Road than is
absolutely necessary.... and should you be tempted to skip this one I'd like to point out it isn't that Blue - this is a bit of dreamy dub to pay tribute to all the times I've fallen asleep on the Circle and gone round and round and round....
