A massive thank you to Nurse Kat for spending her Friday night with Aaron and I, talking Arkells!  Though none of us could be called hardcore Arkells veterans, our passion certainly came through.  Since falling in love with the band roughly 18 months ago, Kat has seen Arkells 13 times.  From New York to LA to Glasgow, she had a lot of cool stories to tell.  Meanwhile, Aaron filled us in on the early years, as he saw them even before the Jackson Square debut album was out.

A common theme for this show was the power of music to connect with the human heart.  Kat and I both had some pretty emotional experiences to an Arkells soundtrack.  This is a band that really seems to have a direct line to the mind and soul.

I presented my Nigel Tufnel Top Ten Arkells songs (from the albums I own) and Kat provided some cool live clips and photos.  We hope you enjoy!

 

 

Mike’s Nigel Tufnel Top Ten Arkells tunes:

 

11. “Savannah” from Morning Report – acoustic anthemic awesomeness.

10. “Passenger Seat” from Morning Report – what a falsetto!  So much passion!

9. “Hung Up” from Morning Report – “The gatekeepers are keepin’ me out!” – what a hook!

8. “Coffee” from Michigan Left – Powerful lyrics with personal meaning.

7. “On Paper” from Michigan Left – killer chorus, powerful rock.

6. “Whistleblower” from Michigan Left – as hard as Arkells songs get, based on that riff.

5. “Michigan Left” from Michigan Left – “Decorations won’t be wasted” – one of their best choruses!  And that percussion!  Oh man.

4. “Come to Light” from High Noon – channeling 80’s Bowie?  You be the judge.

3. “Leather Jacket” from High Noon – the song that got me to buy the album in the first place.

2. “11:11” from High Noon – so hard to narrow things down to only four songs from High Noon, but this one is just hook laden and nostalgic.

1. “Fake Money” from High Noon – This song is pure hooks, from start to finish, with an angry bent.

Honorable mentions – “Cynical Bastards”, “Crawling Through the Window”, “Book Club”, “Drake’s Dad”

Jen’s #1 – “Leather Jacket”

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BONUS

Tune in 9:00 AM Saturday morning for an extra weekend live stream with Jex Russell!  Cassette fans, don’t miss this bonus episode!