Monthly Archives: May 2008

Science, Politics and Religion

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Finally managed to plough my way through Neal Stephenson’s extremely lengthy novel ‘Quicksilver’ last week. It’s a remarkable work set in the 17th century amongst court and political intrigue in England, France and the Netherlands all against a golden age of scientific discovery.

It’s also an alternate historical novel since whilst it features many, many real people it apparently deviates from our own history at some point. However my knowledge of the era is so limited it’s impossible for me to spot these. Not surprisingly at 900+ pages, it’s a complex beast (with two more books to follow in the trilogy) such that I suspect that I could really do with re-reading it to fully appreciate who does what and to whom throughout. Whilst it took me a wee while to get into it, I was reading it quite quickly from about a third of the way in – which is never good news for anyone else in the house who wants to speak to me! [Buy the book]

One of the most remarkable things about the book given the extent of period detail is that the author is actually not English but American. I will get round to the subsequent books in due course but at the moment I could really do with reading something else!

In tribute to one of the lead characters, here’s a song from an LP which also has an apt title:

The Chameleons – Mad Jack (from ‘Strange Times’) [Buy the CD] [Download the LP]

I confess that whilst there were plenty of good songs on them I found the early Chameleons lacking in something. But on ‘Strange Times’ they pulled it all together which makes it somewhat surprising that I only own it on cassette.

I think this is the first rip I’ve done of a tape – it won’t be the last.

Gratuitous Rabbit Nudity

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With 2 still relatively small children to entertain, getting out for anything other than kids’ films is still something of a rarity for reasons of time and energy.

Last night however myself and Mrs MPT went out to see the Cumbernauld Theatre’s version of ‘The Wasp Factory’ at the Adam Smith Theatre in Kirkcaldy. This adaptation of Iain Banks’s debut novel was first performed at the Citizensin Glasgow in the early 90′s. I actually saw the original production and whilst this version lacks the pyrotechnics of the original it manages to retain all the elements of the book from the pitch black humour to the grotesque horror.

I was feeling a bit under the weather last night (still am) so I wasn’t in the best frame of mind to appreciate the show. But it felt a bit disjointed switching moods rapidly. If you know the twist at the end of the book then you will probably query the casting of Nicola Jo Cully as Frank. The book’s reveal of course is something you can do in literature but not nearly so easily on stage. So despite Ms Cully’s excellent performance, you never believed that she was a 16 year old boy which is surely a flaw in the production. Nonetheless If you like the book then it’s worth catching.

An odd reflection – the opening seconds when 3 rabbits dance on to stage had me thinking straight away of a giant rabbit called Frank from ‘Donnie Darko’. Are the two related somehow? And was teh gartuitous rabbit nudity really necessary??

No music from the show but rather a repeat. April’s top tune on the site was the following:

The Triffids – Hell of a Summer (from ‘Treeless Plain’) [Buy the CD] [Download the LP]

Something To Believe In

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Bob Mould live, Glasgow ABC2, 23rd May

Bob Mould Band, Glasgow ABC 2, 23rd May 2008

It was surely an optimistic promoter who booked Bob Mould for the ABC in Glasgow. Whilst Beggar’s seem to have been active in promoting Bob’s latest LP ‘District Line’, his profile in the UK hasn’t been high for well over a decade. Trying to put Bob on in a venue that Sonic Youth playing Daydream Nation sold out was over estimating his box office pull. In some ways then, no matter that it was disappointing, it was not surprising to turn up and find that last night’s show had been switched from the 1,250 capacity ABC1 to the 350 capacity ABC 2.

It’s the same venue Bob played a solo show at a couple of years back. But whilst last time he managed to sell the venue out, this time there were tickets on the door although there can’t have been many left by the time he hit the stage.

If he was disappointed at the switch then it never showed. Other than a spell during and after ‘Time After Time’ when the song seemed to take him to an unhappy place, Bob seemed in good spirits. The chat was, as normal with the band shows, fairly minimal because most of the concentration was focussed on the playing.

Despite the different approaches he now favours on record the Bob Mould Band live experience remains a coruscating, no holds barred experience. As ever with Bob the intensity isn’t maintained for the whole set but whilst the opening five songs, strongly based on ‘Copper Blue’ were remarkable, the closing run, featuring principally HD songs, probably managed to top that. That finale prompted some seriously middle aged slam dancing mayhem.

Highlights included the opening pairing of ‘The Act We Act’ and ‘A Good Idea’ followed by ‘I Hate Alternative Rock’ and the ‘New Day Rising’ due of ‘I Apologize’ and, IMHO. one of the best rock songs ever ‘Celebrated Summer’. ‘Ego Override’ allowed everyone to briefly catch their breath as first encore whilst the extended freak out finale for ‘Chartered Trips’ was mind blowing.

Bob Mould

It doesn’t take a genius to work out that all bar one of these songs I’ve mentioned are 15 years plus old. There were three songs off each of ‘Body of Song’ and ‘District Line’ and whilst they were fine (‘Miniature Parade’ certainly benefited from losing the electronic vocals from the LP), it’s impossible to do anything other than say that they weren’t as breathtaking as the older stuff.

Bob fans have long complained about his predictable choice of show stoppers and it’s fair to say that this remains a quibble. I can’t imagine him not playing some of these classics but to be honest I could live with the likes of ‘Makes No Sense’, ‘Your Favorite Thing’ or ‘Could You Be The One’ making way for ‘Divide and Conquer’ (played on the US leg of the tour but not here) or something off ‘Beaster’ every now and again. It’s seems odd that from such a big list of old songs Bob trots out such a frustratingly small number of tunes over and over again.

Setlist

1. The Act We Act 2. A Good Idea 3. I Hate Alternative Rock 4. See A Little Light 5. Hoover Dam 6. I am Vision, I am Sound 7. The Silence Between Us 8. Hanging Tree 9. Miniature Parade 10. My Favorite Thing 11. Again and Again 12. Circles 13. Paralyzed 14. Can’t Help You Anymore 15. I Apologize 16. Could You Be The One? 17. Celebrated Summer

Encore 1

18. Ego Override 19. If I Can’t Change Your Mind

Encore 2

20. Chartered Trips 21. Makes No Sense

The support act, Oppenheimer from Belfast, were almost an archetypal Bob Mould 21st century support being a duo very much operating between electro pop and rock. Think Blowoff with Rich singing or MGMT and you’re about there. Their half an hour set was very tuneful and quite entertaining even if one of them only sang using a Vocoder and the song with the long title was quite horrible.

Oppenheimer

If you’re a Bob diehard on the rest of the short UK tour who can’t abide his interest in electronica, then you should probably avoid but if you like Blowoff then Oppenheimer are definitely worth catching. Certainly the relatively small proportion of the eventual crowd who did see them last night gave them a very positive reception at the end of their set

Bob plays the Academy 2 in Manchester tonight before playing the Academy 2 in Birmingham on Monday (26th) and Koko, London on Tuesday.

Some of last night’s highlights:

Sugar – The Act We Act (from ‘Copper Blue’) [Buy it]

Bob Mould Band – I Hate Alternative Rock (from ‘Live Dog 98′) [Buy it]

Bob Mould – Celebrated Summer (from ‘Circle of Friends’ live DVD) [Buy it US/UK]

All Your Victories Feel Like Defeats

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Having finally freed a large section of my vinyl collection from a sort of prison, I’m going to celebrate with a record by the Room.

The intervening years have played havoc with my memory of this band. I recall very little – they were from Liverpool and I saw them just once live – at Night Moves in Glasgow supporting the Red Guitars (which must make it circa 1984). I thought they were pretty good but I’ve got just two of their records, a 5 track 12” single and a 7″.

Another, important, thing I’d forgotten is just how good the EP is which makes it all the more surprising that I never followed it up by buying an LP. Here’s the epic title track:

The Room – Jackpot Jack (from ‘Jackpot Jack’ EP)

The above track is from a Radio 1 session. The song is available on the ‘No Dream’ compilation on LTM Records but it’s a different, slightly shorter version. You can buy the CD here or download it here. If you want to know more about the Room then check out this review of a reissue which I’m about to go out and see if I can get a hold of.

Dave Jackson and Becky Stringer from the band went onto form Benny Profane, Dust and Dead Cowboys.

Party Like It’s 1986

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In something of a first for the normally insular MPT, I’ve contributed to Sweeping the Nation’s Muxtape project, which is intended to provide a mixtape for every year of rock’n’roll.

1986 seemed an appropriate year for me to pick not just because it was a good year but also because this blog’s title originates from that year as well.

Inevitably trimming back a year into 12 tracks was extremely difficult but researching the year proved easier than I’d anticipated. Instead of having to leaf through my LP and 7” collections I was able to refer to a compilation tape of 1986 tunes. Even though it was only actually ¾ of a tape (I clearly never got round to finishing it!) it was a very useful reminder of what I liked back then.

Regular readers of MPT will see a lot of familiar names featured in my selection – The Triffids, REM, Sonic Youth, Throwing Muses etc and a lot of that was down to the fact that ’86 was the first year that I really got into the alternative American rock scene of the time.

However I think that the obvious choices are balanced by a number of poppier, less obvious moments as well such as Colourbox and the Woodentops.

Here are a number of songs which didn’t make my final selection:

Goodbye Mr Mackenzie – The Rattler [Buy it] [Download it]

The Adult Net – White Night (Stars Say Go)

Big Black – Bad Houses (from ‘Atomizer) [Buy it]

The GMM track would have made the cut but for the fact that there’s an unpleasant scratch on a chunk of this. For which, apologies.

The Adult Net were Brix E Smith’s solo project at a time when the Fall were heading in a more accessible direction. I never got the LP (probably because I wasn’t so keen on single 2) but this one still sounds fine. The one current Adult Net CD release for some reason doesn’t feature this single but a lot of the other contemporary stuff. Get it here.

Changing mood entirely, ‘Bad Houses’ was the track I plumped for on my original ’86 cassette compilation and whilst I overlooked it for the Muxtape there is another track from the LP to be sampled there.

As ever, if you like the songs, support the artists.

Anyone interested in contributing to the project should check it out – there are still plenty of years left to be taken.

Surf’s Up!

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The Beat Poets

This post has been prompted by a musician getting in touch. But whilst a number of musicians have contacted me in response to postings about their music, Tom from the Beat Poets actually emailed about James King & The Lone Wolves. In fact it was only his email signature which alerted me to his band.

And, do you know what? I actually have arecord by the Beat Poets – the ‘Glasgow, Howard, Missouri’ 12” EP, something I haven’t listened to in many years. Beyond the fact that they are a Glasgow based instrumental band (and the use of the present tense isn’t a mistake, they’re still going) I can’t tell you much about them. Rather than any connection with post-rock, the Beat Poets draw their inspiration from the early days of rock’n’roll. So given my interest in instrumental rock, it seems entirely appropriate to feature the following song, which in common with the rest of the EP, is good fun:

The Beat Poets – Exterminator (from the ‘Glasgow, Howard, Missouri’ EP)

The record does appear to be available from various second hand shops on the net if you’re interested (here’s one at least). If anyone gets it, please let me know.

On the trivia side, I’d always assumed that the EP’s title was an amalgam of names linking the band’s home to Missouri (in which case, who was Howard?). It may well be, but there is actually a place in the States called Glasgow, Howard, Missouri. Well, that’s something I, at least, didn’t know!