Spin Like An Egyptian

Introduction

On Thursday, I was in Preston and bought a vinyl copy of "Desire" by Bob Dylan from Action Records, which contains a plethora of excellent songs. "Joey" contains a couplet that perfectly describes me:

"Always On The Outside

Of Whatever Side There Was"

It also contains "Isis", a sort of cowboy story relocated to Egypt, then I thought, what about an Egypt related playlist?

Some of the songs will be obvious, others may be a little more subtle.

So we shall Spin Like An Egyptian now.

Utopia - Overture: Mountaintop and Sunrise / Communion with the Sun from the album "Ra"

This is the magnificent opener from the album "Ra", and I saw the band play the first Knebworth Festival, complete with a pyramid for Todd Rundgren to climb. The album itself comes with a cutout pyramid for you to make, although I haven't done that with mine.

Ra was the ancient Egyptian deity of the Sun. By the Fifth Dynasty, in the 25th and 24th centuries BC, Ra had become one of the most important gods in ancient Egyptian religion, identified primarily with the noon-day Sun. Ra ruled in all parts of the created world: the sky, the Earth, and the underworld. He was believed to have ruled as the first pharaoh of Ancient Egypt. He was the god of the Sun, order, kings and the sky.

Jonathan Richman & the Modern Lovers - Egyptian Reggae

I played this in one of my early bands, The Bok, with Andy Marshall, and it is one of the simplest instrumentals ever, just three minor chords and a bit of messing about. It went down well at all our gigs, and I suppose I should try and do a version for my YouTube channel. It still sounds excellent to me.

The Bangles - "Walk Like An Egyptian"

Listening to this once more, and it sounds quite vicious, and the words are excellent too. I bet you thought this was where this playlist would start or finish.

Kate Bush - "Egypt"

Beautifully atmospheric song from our Kate, though I get darkly magical vibes from this as I listen to it.

Third Ear Band - "Behind The Pyramids"

Listening to this makes me think of Ethiopiques; there is a definite threat behind this simple melody. I hadn't noticed it until I recently played all my Third Ear Band albums, and this is one of the tunes that stuck with me.

Madness - "Night Boat To Cairo"

Just some excellent fun Ska from the nutty boys, with a very long intro. I love this song.

Radiohead - "Pyramid Song" from "Amnesiac"

This is pure uncommercial Radiohead, disconcerting, and the only Egyptian link, I believe, is the title.

Gojira - Sphinx

Very metal, and I believe that Gojira is the Japanese for Godzilla, but let me know if that is wrong. This sounds more like Godzilla than a Sphinx.

Wings - "Spirits Of Ancient Egypt"

I bought a vinyl copy of this recently from RPM in Newcastle, and it calms things down after the Gojira song.

Bob Dylan - "Isis" from "Desire"

This is the song that inspired this playlist. It is one of Dylan's great story songs, despite its crossover cowboy/eastern locations. A treasure hunt that is not a treasure hunt after a marriage break-up.

Isis was a major goddess in ancient Egyptian religion whose worship spread throughout the Greco-Roman world. She was believed to help the dead enter the afterlife as she had helped Osiris, and she was considered the divine mother of the pharaoh, who was likened to Horus.

Conclusion

Thank you for reading and listening. I hope you found something you liked.