This week’s Random Five are so good, you’ll think I’m hand-picking them just so you’ll think I’m cool. But I assure you I am not. Hand-picking them, that is.

Universal Traveler by Air Album: Talkie Walkie
I liked this album so much, I bought it twice. The second copy came with a DVD, and wasn’t Copy-Controlled, so of course. (I may be able to score you a copy if you email me and ask nicely.) The song sounds as eclectic as its title would suggest. African-sounding percussion, nimble guitar, and restrained synthwork, all set to make the song crisp and uncluttered. And you must sing along to the refrain: So far away…

Morning Night and Day by New Order Album: Waiting for the Siren’s Call
I liked individual New Order songs before Get Ready, but that was the first album that worked all the way through for me. This song is cut from the same cloth. It’s muscular and rockish, with electronic touches to keep it interesting. And it’s good to hear New Order sounding so fresh.

I.O.U. by Roman Holliday Album: Cookin’ on the Roof
Hands up, everyone who remembers Roman Holliday from 1983. (Not too many of you, are there.) They brought swing into pop music, predating the Squirrel Nut Zippers by over a decade. Ira Robbins of Trouser Press described them thus:

Typical of the ability of English pop to absorb virtually any musical style so long as the band dresses colorfully, the seven-man Roman Holliday succeeded for a minute by playing fired-up jumpin’ jive in sailor caps.

I’ll ignore the five or so implied slights in that paragraph and say this: It was jumpin’. For one amazing summer, this was the music of youth, and my friends and I danced to it till we were sweaty.

This isn’t just a case of liking the music that was popular when you felt happiest. Even listening now, the musicianship of the band comes out as well as the sense of fun.

But the fun didn’t last. Their second album tanked, they got dropped from Jive Records (yes, that Jive Records), and their producer Jeff ‘Mutt’ Lange went on to make millions from Britney Spears and the Backstreet Boys and to marry Shania Twain. Oh, the infamy!

Oh, the Swiss! by Prefab Sprout Album: Appetite (Single)
Paddy McAloon is probably a genius. And by that, I mean, he is absolutely nuts. People won’t understand his work for another 50 years. As proof, I offer “Farmyard Cat”. Go to iTunes and click on the snippet. What you hear will have you either laughing or saying “WTF?” But listen closer. He’s combining the Broadway musical genre with Copeland! In a way that bespeaks mental illness, it is true. But when the Prefab Sprout stage production is written, as ‘We Will Rock You’ was for Queen, it will be called ‘Farmyard Cat’. Of that I am sure.

Another manifestation of McAloon’s brilliance is offered here. “Oh, the Swiss!” is a heavenly string of pearls in the form of a piano solo. It wanders up the keyboard in different keys, it soars, and just as it reaches its peak of power, it evaporates as beautifully as a mouthful of divinity.

Heartfelt by Davol Album: Mystic Waters
Davol (last name: Tedder) is a MIDI nerd. Let’s face it. His music fits into that New Age/inspirational niche. You’d expect to hate it for that alone. But something about his music runs quite a bit deeper than you’d expect. It isn’t just pleasant; it’s also thoughtful. It’s buffed to a synthesised sheen without feeling overworked. And it is very beautiful to listen to. Though I haven’t checked out his new stuff, I don’t mind when one of his songs comes up.

And a bonus sixth because I couldn’t resist:
Triste by Ryuichi Sakamoto Album: Heartbeat
You may remember Sakamoto from YMO (if you have good musical taste, and you’re old), or from the David Bowie film Merry Christmas, Mr Lawrence (if you’re just old). Even though the guy is a legend, I have to say this particular album isn’t his best. Too much jazz and sampling. But this track Triste works very well. A funky beat with muted horns and strings, combined with French rap years before it was popular. Night-time sophistication in spades. I can’t stop playing it.