A Playlist With The Girls

Introduction

I have a series of posts on Instagram with the hashtag #OnThePlayerNow now which I have also used for one playlist here.

I share the albums I listen to while working and writing and they are also shared on Facebook and my friend Tim Barlow remarked what a good album this is here:

"Typical Girls" by The Slits came on and I loved how in the seventies girls took the reins with many punk and rock bands rather than being objectified in pop music as was the situation in the fifties and sixties. There were many powerful female artists in folk, soul and blues but very few in the mainstream.

The criteria for this is that the word "Girl" appears in the song title, so you know a lot will be by male singers. The first four come from the "John Peel: Right Time Wrong Speed" album which refers to the time he played a piece by Brian Eno backwards and at the wrong speed. The CD contains the reversed version of the piece "Swastika Girls" which will appear in this playlist.

So on to the playlist now, with the song that inspired this playlist:

The Slits - "Typical Girls" from "Cut"

I love this simple piano-driven song, with a complete change for the chorus, this still sounds very today. It is a brilliant opener for this playlist and it appeared on the album that supplies the first few songs here.

The Only Ones - "Another Girl, Another Planet"

A brilliant single from their debut album which we covered when I played with Spoon (the Tyneside incarnation) many years ago.

Scritti Politti - "The Sweetest Girl" from "Absolute"

I think this song is just beautiful, I don't know if it is post-punk but I love hearing it and the band has another favourite girl song which will appear later in this list.

Robert Fripp and Brian Eno - "Swastika Girls II" from "No Pussyfooting"

This is an instrumental featuring piano, guitar, Frippertronics and Enosification. I find it very relaxing and often play the album including reversed versions. Check it out, it may surprise you.

The Beatles - "Girl"

This is still a gorgeous ballad sixty years on, and I remember when it first came out, just showing my age.

Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers - "American Girl"

It's Tom Petty , do I need to say anything more? Another great song.

Scritti Politti - "The Word Girl" from "Cupid & Psyche '85'"

Another great song from the band, I do like Green Gartside's vocals, and this has a slow lilting ska beat.

Madness - "The Sweetest Girl" from "Mad, Not Mad"

Madness have lots of songs that are right for this playlist, but this cover of the Scritti Politti song outdoes the excellent original in my opinion.

Bram Tchaikovsky - "Girl Of My Dreams" from "Strange Man, Changed Man"

This is one of those songs that has stuck with me , and is a wonderful power pop love song.

Peter Bramall, better known by his stage name Bram Tchaikovsky, is a British vocalist and guitarist.

He first came to prominence as a member of UK punk/pub rock band The Motors, whom he joined in 1977. After he left them, he led an eponymous power pop band, with Micky Broadbent and Keith Boyce. He scored a US Top 40 hit single on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1979, with "Girl of My Dreams".

Taylor Swift - "How You Get The Girl (Taylor's Version)" from ‘1989 (Taylor’s Version)’

I had to include something by Taylor Swift or certain people would not speak to me again. So there were a few I could have chosen, but I took this one, and glad I found one by Taylor to close this first playlist of mine in 2025.

Conclusion

From John Peel to Taylor Swift via The Slits, Madness and Scritti Politti, now there's a tagline.