There are a number of songs on this list that, in the cold light of day* it has been hard to find someone who will champion enough to write about it. One even got booted off of the list for that reason. A similar situation has arisen with The Futureheads version of The Hounds Of Love. To a sober mind it is hard to work out why this robust but one joke gag on one of Kate Bush’s best tracks should have made any list of the Top 100 Songs of All Time. Especially with Kate’s own Wuthering Heights wuthering considerably lower down.
To explain it, and to excuse saying much more about it than calling it “a robust but one joke gag on one of Kate Bush’s best tracks” it probably would make sense to explain again how this list was made. Since in the next couple of months we will finally make it to number one after this six year journey, let us go back to a room above the Jeremy Bentham pub on the 29th December 2004 and see how that group even suggested The Hounds Of Love by The Futureheads.
First remember that everyone had been drinking for at least four hours. Remember it was Christmas, post party season where any dancing aspect of Christmas paries would have been slim pickings indeed. In this era of landfill indie anything which stood out or had at least some claim to musical greatness (which The Hounds Of Love certainly does, less so in this version) would be a fig leaf from pop heaven. Consider how funny Geordie accents are. Take all this into consideration before thinking that at this point in time the list making will have been going on for just over an hour. About 150 tracks would have been suggested, some given quite fulsome consideration, others thrown out on their ear. A song required a proposer, a seconder but four vetoes around the room would have kicked it out. Early on songs got in on a good vibes nod. But when you start getting to the top twenty, things slow down considerably. You may get five songs in a row vetoed because they are not top twenty material. And all the time people are getting more drunk, some are also getting bored.
Enter our previous number. House Of Love, by East 17. Remember that this party took up the entirity of the pub floor, was noisy and some people did not hear House Of Love, they heard Hounds Of Love. Humourous banter ensues to clarify which if the songs is voted in. East 17 makes it on a whisker. Smart arse coming up next then says Hounds Of Love, BY THE FUTUREHEADS. Laughter ensues, voting goes through on a nod because it seems like a good idea at the time.
And if anything sums up Hounds Of Love by the Futureheads its: Seems Like A Good Idea At The Time.
Mind you their remix of Fit But You Know It is terrific.
*Or indeed the cold light of 2000 days later.