A YEAR IN THE LIFE OF GIGS : WEEK 2 : SWEDE SOUL MUSIC

A LIFE IN A YEAR OF GIGS : #2 : SWEDE SOUL MUSIC

After the experience of the local hip-hop scene in week one, your humble scribe and his sidekick Aldo decided to get on more familiar ground in week two. And to avoid the possibility of us having to leave early and miss the headline act as had happened with Mackenzie and Swad, we decided to make it a Friday night out.

There were two gigs vying for our attention – in the end Aldo tossed a coin. If it had come up tails, we’d have gone to this:-

“Ultimate Thrush, She’s Hit, Smack Wizards and Gig O Ram play the Old Hairdressers on 13 January and then all their names will go into a hat to select four new supergroups who will have just 24 hours to create a set then play the same venue of the 14th”

But it was heads. So it was a swift return to the 13th Note on the 13th for three bands, the headline act of which was described as ‘fiery indie music from Sweden.’

First thing we note is that the venue isn’t quite as crowded as it had been for the hip-hop night. Also, instead of about 80 baseball caps in the house, there’s just one on the head of a bloke who is the double of the bloke who used to play bass in Queens of the Stone Age. Oh and there’s a lot more females in the audience this week – a mix of indie-cool, goth and rock. The night looks promising.

Fat Janitor take to the stage. Four young men who have attracted a fair crowd for being bottom of the bill. It’s loud guitars, bass, drums and a laptop. It’s mostly instrumentals or minimal lyrics. It’s mostly fast. Oh and did I mention it was loud??

These boys can play...no arguments from either of us. They are hugely energetic and seem slightly constrained by the small size of the performance space. This is a band whose audience would revel in a mosh pit. Korn come to mind as do Rage Against the Machine, but no doubt their real influences will of course be more hardcore and obscure.

The drummer was particularly impressive. He battered away without seemingly breaking sweat during the six-song set. But the truth is, it was neither of our scenes. Aldo was pleased he’d brought his earplugs while JC wished he’d invested in a set. Can’t see John Butcher Boy playing any of the Fat Janitor material at any of the Little League nights. Not enough in the way of pop hooks or melodies.

After a short break, Miss the Occupier take to the stage. JC has to own up and admit that this is a band he’s long been looking to catch live as the drummer is someone he used to work alongside.

Another four-piece act - guitar, drums, keys and a fantastic-looking female singer who also plays bass. Said singer had been spotted in the venue a bit earlier wearing killer heels – these were removed for the performance so that it was barefoot a la Sandie Shaw, who coincidentally the singer, thanks to the black-bobbed hair, has more than a passing resemblance to.

Despite the band being a bit unhappy with the sound via their own monitors, what comes across to the audience is a fabulous 30-odd minute set that had the two of us among many others swaying and dancing along. Lots of hook and lots of melodies. Notes we took at the time name check The Cure, Pauline Murray, Sons & Daughters, Sonic Youth, The Slits, Pixies and Lush. Two more to add in the cold light of day  - The Organ... and Elastica Hugely enjoyable stuff.....but it all begs a thought.

If a band this talented, energetic and such damn good fun to watch and listen to are still unsigned more than three years after their formation, then no wonder the modern-day music industry has gone to buggery.

Miss The Occupier would, without any question, have been massive if the industry hadn’t messed up so spectacularly in the late 90s when any indie-looking and sounding band were signed up and given huge advances only to see the scene crash and burn within months thanks to a lack of quality control and the fact that things do move on (albeit inevitably come back into fashion some time later). Right now, the fashion is for bands round these parts to have something that makes them stand out as distinctly Scottish and that clinches them a deal – no harm in that – but there has to be and must be room for talented bands like Miss The Occupier. They aren’t your typical Scottish band right now – they could just as easily be from Swindon, Swansea, Sunderland or Stockport. And their music deserves a wider audience. Including the good people of Sweden. Talking of whom....

The QOTSA look-alike in the baseball cap with the beard turns out to be the bassist in From Our Hearts, tonight’s headliners. Formed in Gothenburg back in 2009, they have attracted a reasonable crowd for a Friday night in January, but we’re wondering how the hell they can afford to be here. The entry fee was just £3 and there’s no t-shirts, CDs, vinyl or merchandise to allow any further financial contributions to support their efforts.

They’re another four-piece band – and we’re caught out by them having a female vocalist as she is stood to one side while the bass player is centre stage. Oh and their drummer has more than a passing resemblance to Kurt Cobain in those photos where he wore glasses – or maybe it’s Garth from Wayne’s World.

JC makes his mind up right away that this band are going to be good. Opening few minutes of guitars are indie-rock heaven....and besides the singer’s guitar-strap says ‘Jazz Sucks’ on it. JC would want one of those if only he had a guitar....

They are also very good indeed. Less poptastic than Miss The Occupier there is a touch of shoegazery about them and its close cousin – grunge. Dinosaur Jr and Siamese Dream-era Smashing Pumpkins influences are duly noted. There’s nothing unique or earth-shattering about From Our Hearts, but after more than 30-years of listening to punk, new wave, indie, college rock, grunge, Britpop and all parts in between, there’s very little can ever be new with a classic four-piece line-up.

But part of what this whole ‘one gig per week’ is to try and ‘discover’ things that otherwise would have passed us by. From that perspective, the night at the 13th Note was a success as two of the acts are now firmly on our radar while the third, while not our cups of Earl Gray, are recommended to those who like lots of noise and moshing.

Even at this stage in the adventure, it’s going to take something special to give us a better value night than we enjoyed on Friday the 13th at the 13th Note. £3, three bands and we got talking to one of the performers afterwards (and yes, Ione from Miss The Occupier was as good on the drums as the other two stickmen mentioned above).

It was a gig we went to on the toss of a coin. Very much a case of ‘heads, we win...’

NOW TO THE MUSIC....................

Fat Janitor's six-track debut mini-LP Lurk can be downloaded for free by clicking here

mp3 : Fat Janitor - Laughing Sick

Loads of information and links to Miss The Occupier can be found here

mp3 : Miss The Occupier - All Day



And finally....to learn more about the headline act, please click here

mp3 : From Our Hearts - Berlin/San Francisco
mp3 : From Our Hearst - Disco From Our Hearts
mp3 : From Our Hearts - Rewind
mp3 : From Our Hearts - Sunn 636


JC and Aldo. Wednesday 18 January 2012

THIS WAS ON THE CD SHELF NEXT TO YESTERDAY'S OFFERING

And it couldn't be anymore of a contrast.

From the winner of the 1998 BRIT Award for Best British Male Solo Artist.

mp3 : Finley Quaye - Your Love Gets Sweeter (Abbey Road Version)
mp3 : Finley Quaye - Your Love Gets Sweeter (Album Version)
mp3 : Finley Quaye - Everybody Knows
mp3 : Finley Quaye - Le Saint Des Delinquents

What can I say? It's a cracking wee pop song with a hint of reggae. I don't own anything else by the singer.

The BRIT was in recgnition of his debut LP Maverick A Strike which sold by the barrowload when released in 1997. By the time he got round to releasing a follow-up some three years later, his public had more or less deserted him and he's never troubled the charts since.

Strange fact pop-pickers. Finley Quaye is Scottish.

Born in Edinburgh in 1974 to a Scots mother. His dad, who he never knew when he was growing up, was from Ghana and a well-known jazz musician.

REVISITING AN OLD POST.......LET'S RAAAWWWKKK

This wasn't originally intended to be a repeat post. I just wanted something loud to blow away the cobwebs on a Monday morning. But I did a quick search via google and found I composed these cliches back on Tuesday 19 January 2010:-

Sometimes I fall for something that isn't quite what folk who know expect of me. Such was the case back in Y2K when the heavy rotation of some promo videos on MTV2 expanded my horizons. (I had only just got a satellite dish installed and was amazed that there was a music video channel that played non-chart fodder). There was also a great wee 45 minute show on Sunday nights that was presented by a little-known fella from New Zealand by the name of Zane Lowe......


Anyways, I ended picking up what seems now to be a hard-to-get-hold-of CD by Queens Of The Stone Age. It came, as the image indicates, with a bonus disc of 5 songs plus a CD-ROM video.


If the truth be told, it's not an album I play all that often nowadays, but I still think the two singles are fantastic, and I've also a very soft spot for one of the tracks on the bonus disc for the fact that it plays nicely on an old hippy hit by Carly Simon away back when I was just a child. And here they are:-

mp3 : Queens Of The Stone Age - Lost Art Of Keeping A Secret
mp3 : Queens Of The Stone Age - Feel Good Hit Of The Summer
mp3 : Queens Of The Stone Age - You're So Vague

And apologies to Drew - he left a comment behind 2 years ago saying that he hated it.

Here's the promo.



As I said, sorry Drew. And anyone else who hates it.

SATURDAY'S SCOTTISH SINGLE (Part 17)

From wiki:-

The Beta Band formed in 1996 around St Andrews musicians Steve Mason (vocals, guitar) and Gordon Anderson. The two had plans to call their group The Pigeons but later changed their minds. As they pulled together songs for their debut EP, Champion Versions, they added Robin Jones (drums) and John Maclean (DJ, sampler, keyboards). Steve Duffield was the original bassist but quit the band soon after recording Champion Versions. Not long after they were signed to Regal/Parlophone, Anderson became ill and decided to quit the band. He would later produce recordings under the name Lone Pigeon. The remaining members added Englishman Richard Greentree (bass) and solidified their lineup.


Champion Versions was released in July 1997 to critical acclaim not only for the music but also for the record's innovative cut-and-paste sleeve design (the work of John Maclean). Two further EPs followed in 1998: The Patty Patty Sound in March and Los Amigos del Beta Bandidos in July. The EPs were all subjects of widespread critical praise, and all three appeared on the appropriately titled The Three E.P.'s collection in September 1998. The compilation was rated by Pitchfork in the Top 10 Albums of the year.


The band soon commenced work on their ambitious first full-length recording, pulling inspiration from sources as diverse as Jamaican reggae, Disney's movie The Black Hole and Bonnie Tyler's "Total Eclipse of the Heart." The record, simply titled The Beta Band, was released in June 1999. The first track, "The Beta Band Rap," managed to tell the band's back story over alternating bubblegum pop, rap and rockabilly backing tracks. Its eclecticism was representative of the rest of the album, which was widely perceived to be more stylistically diverse than the initial EPs. The mixed press turned decidedly negative when the band announced their own disdain for the record. They claimed that Regal's unreasonable deadline and tight budgets kept them from refining their improvisations into coherent songs.


Nonetheless, the album had not generally been as well-received as the preceding EPs, and the band returned to the studio with something to prove. The result of that session was the double A-side single "To You Alone"/"Sequinsizer", recorded by future The Go! Team producer, Gareth Parton. As early as August the previous year, Mason had discussed the possibility of releasing the tracks as a single and had urged fans to lobby Regal for the release. It was released on 24 January 2000. The single was received favourably and was widely regarded as a return to form for the band. The NME made it their "Single of the Week", and would later select it as one of the 50 greatest singles of 2000 in their end-of-year awards. "To You Alone" was also included on the soundtrack of the 2000 remake of the television series Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased), released in March.


Even higher profile soundtrack exposure was to follow, with the band's music featuring prominently in a scene in the film High Fidelity (based on the Nick Hornby novel of the same name), released in late March 2000 in the U.S. and July in the UK. In the film, a record store owner played by John Cusack mentions the band by name ("I will now sell five copies of The Three E.P.'s by The Beta Band") and plays a minute or so of the song "Dry the Rain." This exposed the band to a wide range of new listeners, particularly in the U.S., where the band's profile had previously been borderline nonexistent.


A hiatus followed, during which Mason released his second King Biscuit Time EP. The band gradually gravitated back into the studio, this time recruiting noted UK producer Colin Emmanuel, aka C-Swing, to oversee the process. The album, Hot Shots II, appeared in summer 2001, and was warmly received by critics and fans alike. It sacrificed much of the first album's experimentation for more boiled-down pop structure and hooks. The band had originally intended to release "Squares" (b/w "Won") as the leadoff single—a video had been filmed and promo discs issued—but when it transpired that another single ("Daydream in Blue" by I Monster) featuring a sample from the same sixties song by Gunther Kallman was to be released at around the same time, the band opted to release "Broke" instead. Two other singles were released from the album: "Human Being" in October 2001 and "Squares" in February 2002 (with the I Monster track long out of the charts). The band embarked on a long tour to support the album, at one point supporting Radiohead. In August 2002, they made #3 on Q magazine's list of "50 Bands to See Before You Die".


The band began demo sessions for their third album in September 2002. They entered the studio with producer Tom Rothrock in 2003 and managed to complete a number of tracks. However, the band were not pleased with the results, and nor were Regal executives. So it was that the band themselves produced the album. Famed producer Nigel Godrich was called in to mix the album, which was finally completed in early 2004. Lead single, "Assessment," was released on 12 April 2004, followed by the album Heroes to Zeros on 26 April. One of the tracks, "Liquid Bird" is based on a sample of Painted Bird by Siouxsie and the Banshees. A second single, "Out-Side", followed in July. To the surprise of most fans, the band announced their breakup on their official website on 2 August 2004. In November, they performed at the Summer Sundae festival and commenced a farewell tour. Their final show was at Edinburgh's Liquid Rooms venue on 5 December 2004.


On 3 October 2005, the band released a 2-disc DVD set, The Best of The Beta Band - Film, featuring most of the band's videos and a selection of short films, television footage, documentaries as well as four songs recorded live at the Shepherds Bush Empire on 29 November 2004, one of the band's final performances. Also released on the same day was a 2 CD set, The Best of The Beta Band - Music, comprising a compilation disc of studio recordings and a disc containing the Shepherds Bush gig.


Since the split, Steve Mason has released music with his solo project King Biscuit Time, as well as new projects Black Affair and Good Face. In May 2010, he released the first record in his own name entitled "Boys Outside". Robin Jones and John Maclean have become The Aliens along with former Beta Band member Gordon Anderson (a.k.a. Lone Pigeon) and Richard Greentree is working with his new band The General and Duchess Collins.

Now I'm willing to admit that it's a bit of a cheat offering today. I'm not lucky enough to own a vinyl copy of the 12" EP that was Champion Versions. There were only 1000 of them made and they are exceedingly rare. But I do have a copy of the afore-mentioned Three EPs collection on which you will find:-

mp3 : The Beta Band - Dry The Rain
mp3 : The Beta Band - I Know
mp3 : The Beta Band - B+A
mp3 : The Beta Band - Dog Got A Bone

A genuinely innovative and impressive debut that still sounds fantastic almost 15 years later. All four songs .

Here's astunning and extended live version of the best-known song from the farewell tour:-



And said clip from High Fidelity:-



Brilliant stuff all round.

Next up Big Country.

IN PRAISE OF THE CD SINGLE : SOMEONE SOMEWHERE

The Wannadies released many a great single in the 90s and the early part of the 20th Century. They were a hugely entertaining live act as well with one particular show some 10 years ago at King Tut's in Glasgow being a particular stand out.

They are probably best remembered for You And Me Song which was a bit of a flop when first released in 1994 but which soared to #18 some two years later after it featured in the soundtrack to the hit movie Romeo + Juliet - the updated one directed by Baz Luhrmann.

Despite their singles being infectiously catchy and radio-friendly, The Wannadies only enjoyed chart success on two further occasions - the aptly named Hit in 1997 reaching #20 and today's offering for your ears, which was the follow-up to the re-released You And Me Song:-

mp3 : The Wannadies - Someone Somewhere (single version)
mp3 : The Wannadies - Why
mp3 : The Wannadies - Goodbye

A paltry #38. The UK CD-single buying public were too busy looking out for the next great Britpop act to pay attention at that time to the great stuff coming out of Scandinavia.  Fools.

Here's the LP version which tags on another minute of music at the end:-

mp3 : The Wannadies - Someone Somewhere

Happy Listening.

CHIRPY, CHEERY POP - PERFECT FOR LIFTING THE JANUARY GLOOM

January is a depressing month.   Tired and skint and after Christmas.  Trying hard to get back into the swing of things at work.  Dark mornings when you set off and even darker evenings when you come home.  It's cold, it's wet or snowy.  The joys of summer seem a long way off.

Sometimes though a chirpy cheery pop song comes on the i-pod shuffle and lifts that gloom.

mp3 : The Thrills - One Horse Town

Released in March 2003, it reached #18 in the UK singles chart. It was just about the band's biggest ever hit - but this equally jolly follow-up hit #17 a few months later:-

mp3 : The Thrills - Big Sur

Promo time.....





Told you. One listen and it feels like July.

REVISITING AN OLD POST.......BECK : DEVIL'S HAIRCUT

TOUCHED BY THE HAND OF GOD

Well.....that could have been a headline you would have expected to read when this single was released in mid 1996.

It was a time when the mania and hype around Oasis was at its most ferocious with Wonderwall and Don't Look Back In Anger having dominated the singles charts like no others in many a long time. Beck had recorded a critically-acclaimed LP entitled Odelay, but the first single lifted from it, Where It's At, hadn't done all that well, peaking at #61 in the USA and #35 in the UK.

But Noel Gallagher was a big fan of Beck and he offered to play on and produce a remix of the follow-up single, Devils Haircut. Fair play to the record label, they resisted the temptation to make the most of things by keeping the original version as the single with Noels' remix, along with another remix by Mike Simpson of The Dust Brothers made available as extra tracks along with a previously unreleased Beck song.

The Oasis connection worked to some extent in the UK, with the single reaching #22 (which is the third highest single position Beck has achieved over here). But it made no difference at all in the USA with Devils Haircut bellyflopping its way to #94.

mp3 : Beck - Devils Haircut
mp3 : Beck - Devils Haircut (Remix by Noel Gallagher)
mp3 : Beck - Devils Haircut (Groovy Sunday Remix by Mike Simpson)
mp3 : Beck - Trouble All My Days

My own verdict? An excellent pop single on its own. But both remixes do manage to bring something extra along to the song - the extra guitar playing (by Noel Gallagher himself) makes it ideal for your indie discos, while Mike Simpson's work gives it a touch of soul.....

Happy Listening.

IN PRAISE OF BOOKS : IT'S LOVELY TO BE HERE by JAMES YORKSTON

This wasn't a Xmas gift....it was one I picked up in the middle of last year while browsing round one of the few remaining branches of Fopp Records in Glasgow City Centre and one which was read in a few days. I'm giving it a mention here as I saw some copies on sale in the same shop for just £3 the other day which is an astonishing bargain given its list price of £9.99

The book is, as its cover indicates, a series of extracts from the diaries of James Yorkston written while he was on various tours. On the surface this might sound a bit dull and monotonous - you know the sort of thing....woke up with hangover, travelled to venue, did soundcheck, gig was great/mundane/OK/awful* (* delete as appropriate), got drunk afterwards and went to bed after crazy party/realising again how much I miss my family back home* ("delete as appropriate).

But this is nothing at all like that.

It begins, somewhat very helpfully to anyone who might not know too much about the author,with a 20-page introduction that explains how James Yorkston became part of the roster of the critically-acclaimed and increasingly popular indie-label of Domino Records. There then follows five separate chapters for tours covering 2004-2009 in different parts of the world promoting different records to different audiences.

There's a real touch of the Malcolm Middleton's about much of the writing with James seemingly always trying to convince himself that he is as good and talented a performer as everyone else is telling him. It's very clear from the outset that the author is indeed a true gent from his behaviour towards fellow artistes, including support acts or those above him on the bills and that he is one of life's genuinely decent blokes in an industry where egos run rampant and you can never really be sure of who your friends really are.

The book, like a few others in the genre (see in particular parts of the Luke Haines bio Britpop and My Part In Its Downfall which was previously reviewed here at TVV), is great at reminding anyone envious of the rock'n'roll lifestyle that much of it is mundane and repetitive with the added worry of never knowing in advance how well your performance will be received.  It's worth remembering that to musicians this is a job first and foremost.....and I don't care what anyone says, there are days when nobody wants to go to their work.

Other recurring themes are the need to get a decent meal - James is a committed vegan and many a promoter has failed to grasp just what that means - and his feeling that only drink and Valium can get him through the fear of flying.  I know all this sounds a bit downbeat and depressing, but at no point does the author seek your sympathy.  There's a great deal of self-deprecating humour in the writing (another Middleton trait) and all told you cannot help but feel a lot of warmth and affection for the author....he's the sort of bloke you'd be proud and honoured to call a mate.

You really don't need to know anything about the records James Yorkston has released over the years to get something out of this book, and as I say, it's going for a ridiculously cheap price in Fopp Records just now, so don't be shy and give it a try.

mp3 : James Yorkston  The Athletes - St Patrick
mp3 : James Yorkston & The Athletes - St Patrick (Vitus Mix)
mp3 : James Yorkston & The Athletes - Catching Eyes
mp3 : James Yorkston & The Athletes - Blue Madonnas

All four tracks lifted from a single released back in May 2002. It's a really beautiful song in my humble opinion.



Happy Listening

A YEAR IN THE LIFE OF GIGS : WEEK 1 : THE GLASGOW HIP-HOP SCENE

A LIFE IN A YEAR OF GIGS : #1 : THE GLASGOW HIP-HOP SCENE

As explained yesterday, 2012 is going to be the year of the live gig for TVV with your humble scribe and his sidekick Aldo doing all we can to give you a flavour of all sorts of music in the raw from all sorts of venues.

We decided to dive-in at the deep end. In some ways we had no choice given how few live gigs are put on during the first week of any January. There was an option to head through to Edinburgh and take in something highly recommended by Song By Toad on a Friday night, but we wanted to get things going in Glasgow.

So it was on Thursday 5 January that we headed along to the 13th Note to take in the following attraction:-

“Deadlife Entertainment presents: MACKENZIE & SWAD (ep launch) / JAKEYBYTEZ / ERIN FRIEL / THE HEAVY DAMAGE


Mackenzie & Swad-EP Launch of 'Falling The Concept Of The Number 7' - Complex Lyricism With Some Outstandin Beats
Jakeybytez -Comedy Hip Hop Trio
Erin Friel-Young Talented Female Songwriter/Singer
The Heavy Damage-Abstract Hip Hop Duo
Doors being 8pm and the price reasonable blingin. £4 entry”

Neither of us had been to any hip-hop gigs before unless you include catching sets by famous Americans at outdoor festivals. We certainly had no idea that there was a Glasgow hip-hop scene that on the evidence of the turn-out at the 13th Note is reasonably thriving.

There must have been close on 100 folk in the small basement space that is one of the best and sweatiest venues in the city. And I reckon 98 of them knew one another. Guess which two stood out in the crowd??

The pre-gig beats came courtesy of Tesko. We didn’t recognise one single track but it was clear the stuff was going down well with the audience one or two of whom were dancing. At 9pm the first act took to the stage – and it was Erin Friel. In our heads when we see the description “young talented female songwriter/singer” we imagine some bed-sit angst with an acoustic guitar.

Not this time.

All 4 foot 11 inches of Erin grabbed the mic and proceeded to give us a few minutes of spoken word in a very strong Glasgow accent delivered at full speed. There was the occasional stumble along the way, possibly from nerves, but that was about the only grumble we had about her performance. She followed up with three songs again delivered with a heavy Glasgow accent, all of which seemed to draw on her life and environment, but there was no doubt she could sing and rap. One track, which may or may not have been called No one's an angel until they go to heaven was a particular standout. Erin finished with some more spoken word and after 15 minutes left to well deserved rapturous applause and acclaim.

The next 35 minutes were among the most surreal either of us have ever had at any gig. It was ‘Open Mic’ time.

It was opened by one bloke paying tribute to what he’d just seen with Erin’s set and with a warning that he didn’t want the usual nonsense spouted at open mic sessions about guys shagging burds and spurting all over their faces or bitch this, cow that. In other words....cut out the misogyny.

It was, we’re afraid to say, like a red rag to a herd of particularly pissed-off bulls as bloke after bloke took to the stage and spouted all sorts of nonsense about their masculinity and virility. They all seemed to have a mic in one hand and a pint of Tennent’s Lager in the other and it seemed to be a spoof of a bad sketch in some sort of Scottish comedy show.

Having said that, a couple of those who took part in the open mic session did stand out. The same bloke who had started it jumped up at one point and delivered another blistering rap along similar lines of his opener – he was right in the face of one of the other rappers who had been ranting about women and it seemed for a moment that it might turn into a violent confrontation. But then again, given that everyone in the venue seemed to know one another it might just have been part of an elaborate and very clever act. Our suspicions that the Open Mic session might be a bit more planned were raised when the final person took to the stage and delivered something that was as good as anything either of us had heard in our admittedly limited knowledge of the hip-hop genre. Not so much straight out of Compton as straight out of Crookston (or No Sleep Till Buarheid)

Ten minutes later and Jakeybytez took to the stage. To our dismay, there were at times 5, sometimes 6 and occasionally 7 of them on stage at one time. We say dismay as all of them had been part of the Open Mic session that we had for the most part just endured. Thankfully, there were only 4 mics available so we were spared all of them rapping at the one time.

At least we knew from the advance description that Jakeybytez (a great name incidentally) were a comedy hip hop act. But sorry guys, we just didn’t get it. Having said that, we were in a bit of a minority as their 20-minute set went down an absolute treat with the 13th Note posse. One thing we will say however – the shouty-along chorus of set-closer Out Comes Stanley was catchy as fuck.

By this time is about 10.20 and the MC announced the headline act MacKenzie and Swad would be up next in about 10 minutes time but for now we’d be left in the capable hands of Tesko. Again, all sorts of tunes were pumped out none of which we knew, but they showed that in the right hands, rap can be wonderfully entertaining to listen to.

Unfortunately by 10.45 there was still no sign of the headliners and with our last train back to our hoods due not long after 11 we cut our night short and headed to the station.

Overall, we had a good night. It was well worth the £4 entry fee....there are pubs not far from the 13th Note where it costs more than that for a bottle of beer...particularly for catching Erin Friel’s set and for learning that in a city famed for jingly-jangly guitar pop played by boys with occasionally fashionable haircuts there is a hip-hop scene that until the participants opened their mouths would not have looked out of place in any working-class city in North America....except 95% of the folk in the Glasgow venue were white.



Here's JC's favourite ever hip-hop effort:-

mp3 : Disposable Heroes of Hiphoprisy - Television, The Drug Of The Nation

And a great suggestions from Jacques the Kipper for a fine example of hip-hop from closer to home



And finally, as JtK puts it....."to show where hiphop can travel to musically - one of the best singles of last 10 years". No arguments there....




More adventures next week as we seek out gig #2.

JC and Aldo. Monday 9 January 2012

THIS WEEK...I HAVE MOSTLY BEEN WATCHING.....

One of the things that I have in mind to try and keep TVV a wee bit fresh in 2012 is to get along to many more live gigs and write about them.  Not neccesarily a review as such.....as I will now try to explain.

I've made a new year's resolution to get to at least one live gig per week throughout 2012 (unless I'm away on holiday).  But I'm not going to be seeking out the usual indie-schmindie sort of stuff that I listen to all the time.  Instead it's going to be a smorgasbord of singers, acts and bands who will be taking up my evenings - and more often than not I'm going to have a bit of company.

Some of you may recall that last June's gig by Morrissey was reviewed by Aldo.  Click here for a reminder.

I've been trying hard to get him more involved with TVV....he's a former work colleague of Jacques the Kipper and he's become a good mate of mine in recent years, particularly since he moved through to live and work in Glasgow about a year or so ago. I mentioned this idea of a gig per week and he said he was right up for going along.

We've already done our first event earlier in the week and the second is happening in a few days time.  Our thoughts on what we saw at #1 of 2012 will be shared with you very soon.

mp3 : Rilo Kiley - It's A Hit
mp3 : We Are Scientists - It's A Hit

And finally today, in response to a lovely comment left the other day by Craig (one that was initially disturbing but quickly cleared up....)  here's the cover version that started it all for the late great Mr MacKenzie:-

mp3 : Associates - Boys Keep Swinging

And the original promo to say happy 65th birthday Mr Bowie.  See you with your bus pass on the top deck of a London Routemaster:-



And one final wee tribute:-

SATURDAY'S SCOTTISH SINGLE (Part 16)

From wiki:-

Belle and Sebastian are an indie pop band formed in Glasgow in January 1996. Belle and Sebastian are often compared with influential indie bands such as The Smiths, as well as classic acts such as Love, Bob Dylan and Nick Drake.The name Belle & Sebastian comes from Belle et Sébastien, a 1965 children's book by French writer Cécile Aubry, later adapted for television and an anime. Though consistently lauded by critics, Belle & Sebastian's "wistful pop"has enjoyed only limited commercial success.


After releasing a number of albums and EPs on Jeepster Records, they are now signed to Rough Trade Records in the United Kingdom and Matador Records in the United States.


Belle and Sebastian were formed in Glasgow in 1996 by Stuart Murdoch and Stuart David. Together they recorded some demos with Stow College music professor Alan Rankine, which were picked up by the college's Music Business course that produces and releases one single each year on the college's label, Electric Honey. As the band had a number of songs already and the label was extremely impressed with the demos, Belle and Sebastian were allowed to record a full-length album, which was named Tigermilk. Murdoch once described the band as a "product of botched capitalism".


Tigermilk was recorded in three days and originally only one thousand copies were pressed on vinyl.These original copies now sell for up to £400. The warm reception the album received inspired Murdoch and David to turn the band into a full-time project, recruiting Stevie Jackson (guitar and vocals), Isobel Campbell (cello/vocals), Chris Geddes (keys) and Richard Colburn (drums) to fill out the group.


After the success of the debut album, Belle and Sebastian were signed to Jeepster Records in August 1996 and If You're Feeling Sinister, their second album, was released on 18 November. The album was named by Spin as one of the 100 greatest albums between 1985 and 2005, and is widely considered the band's masterpiece. Just before the recording of Sinister, Sarah Martin (violin/vocals) joined the band. Following this a series of EPs were released in 1997. The first of these was Dog on Wheels, which contained four demo tracks recorded before the real formation of the band. In fact, the only long-term band members to play on the songs were Murdoch, David, and Mick Cooke, who played trumpet on the EP but would not officially join the band until a few years later. It charted at #59 in the UK singles chart.


The Lazy Line Painter Jane EP followed in July. The track was recorded in the church where Murdoch lived and features vocals from Monica Queen. The EP narrowly missed out of the UK top 40, peaking at #41. The last of the 1997 EPs was October's 3.. 6.. 9 Seconds of Light. The EP was made Single of the Week in both the NME and Melody Maker and reached #32 in the charts, thus becoming the band's first top 40 single.


The band released their third LP, The Boy with the Arab Strap in 1998, and it reached #12 in the UK charts. While often cited by critics as the band's best album, Arab Strap has nonetheless had its detractors. Pitchfork Media gave the album a particularly poor review, calling it a "parody" of their earlier work. In spite of this, the album garnered positive reviews from Rolling Stone, and the Village Voice, among others. During the recording of the album long time studio trumpet-player Mick Cooke was asked to join the band as a full member. The This Is Just a Modern Rock Song EP followed later that year.


In 1999 the band were awarded with Best Newcomer (for their third album) at the BRIT Awards, upsetting the much better known acts Steps and 5ive. That same year, the band hosted their own festival, the Bowlie Weekender. Tigermilk was also given a full release by Jeepster before the band started work on their next LP. The result was Fold Your Hands Child, You Walk Like a Peasant, which became the band's first top 10 album in the UK. A stand-alone single, "Legal Man", reached #15 and gave them their first appearance on Top of the Pops.


As the band's popularity and recognition was growing worldwide, their music began appearing in films and on television. The 2000 film High Fidelity mentions the band and features a clip from the song "Seymour Stein" from The Boy with the Arab Strap. Also, the title track from Arab Strap was played over the end credits of the UK television series Teachers.


Stuart David soon left the band to concentrate on his side-project, Looper, and his book writing, which included his The Idle Thoughts of a Daydreamer. He was replaced by Bobby Kildea of V-Twin. The "Jonathan David" single – sung by Stevie Jackson – was released in June 2001 and was followed by "I'm Waking Up to Us" in November. "I'm Waking Up to Us" saw the band use an outside producer for the first time. Most of 2002 was spent touring and recording a soundtrack album, Storytelling (for Storytelling by Todd Solondz, a movie which The New York Times has called one of the best 1,000 movies ever made). Campbell left the band in the spring of 2002, in the middle of the band's North American tour.


The band left Jeepster in 2002, signing a four album deal with Rough Trade Records. Their first album for Rough Trade, Dear Catastrophe Waitress, was released in 2003, and was produced by Trevor Horn. The album showed a markedly more 'produced' sound compared to their first four LPs,as the band was making a concerted effort to produce more "radio-friendly" music. In spite of this, the album was warmly received, and is credited with returning the band's "indie cred". The album also marked the return of Murdoch as the group's primary songwriter following the poorly-received Fold Your Hands Child, You Walk Like a Peasant and Storytelling, both of which were more collaborative than the band's early work. A documentary DVD, Fans Only, was released by Jeepster in October 2003, featuring promotional videos, live clips and unreleased footage. A single from the album, "Step into My Office, Baby" followed in November 2003 – it would be their first single taken from an album.


The Thin Lizzy-inspired "I'm a Cuckoo" was the second single from the album. It achieved their highest chart position yet, reaching #14 in the UK. The Books EP followed, a double A-side single lead by "Wrapped Up in Books" from Dear Catastrophe Waitress and the new Your Cover's Blown. This EP became the band's third top 20 UK release and the band went on to be nominated for both the Mercury Music Prize and an Ivor Novello Award. In January 2005, B&S was voted Scotland's greatest band in a poll by The List, beating Simple Minds, Idlewild, Travis, Franz Ferdinand, and The Proclaimers, among others.


In April 2005, members of the band visited Israel and the Palestinian territories with the UK charity War on Want; the group subsequently recorded a song inspired by the trip titled "The Eighth Station of the Cross Kebab House", which would later be released as a B-side on 2006's "Funny Little Frog" single. Push Barman to Open Old Wounds, a compilation of the Jeepster singles and EPs, was released in May 2005 while the band were recording their seventh album in California. The result of the sessions was The Life Pursuit, produced by Tony Hoffer. The album, originally intended to be a double album, became their band's highest charting release to date upon its release in February 2006, peaking at #8 in the UK and #65 on the US Billboard 200. "Funny Little Frog", which preceded it, also proved to be their highest charting single, debuting at #13.


On 6 July 2006, the band played a historic show with the Los Angeles Philharmonic at the Hollywood Bowl. The opening act at the 18,000 seat sell-out concert was The Shins. The members of the band see this as a landmark event, with Stevie Jackson saying, "This is the biggest thrill of my entire life". In October 2006, members of the band helped put together a CD collection of new songs for children titled Colours Are Brighter, with the involvement of major bands such as Franz Ferdinand and The Flaming Lips.


On 18 November 2008 the band released The BBC Sessions, which features songs from the period of 1996–2001 (including the last recordings featuring Isobel Campbell before she left the band), along with a second disc featuring a recording of a live performance in Belfast from Christmas 2001.


During the downtime, Murdoch has initiated the film and music project God Help the Girl, while Jackson and Kildea have toured with the reformed Vaselines.


In May 2010, the band stated on their website that they were "back in the studio working on some new songs" and later revealed that they were "in the final stages of recording the [new] album". Sarah Martin later stated in the Q&A section of their website that it would be a 14 track album.


On 17 July 2010, the band performed their first UK gig in almost four years to a crowd of around 30,000 at Latitude Festival in Henham Park, Southwold. They performed two new songs, 'I Didn't See It Coming' and 'I'm Not Living In The Real World'.


In a news update to the official website on 11 August 2010, it was revealed that their eighth studio album would be titled Belle & Sebastian Write About Love. The first single from the album, as well as the record's title track "Write About Love", was released in the US on 7 September 2010. The UK and international release was 25 September 2010.


In December 2010 Belle & Sebastian curated the sequel to the Bowlie Weekender in the form of Bowlie 2 presented by All Tomorrow's Parties.

And here's the three tracks from the afore-mentioned Jonathan David EP:-

mp3 : Belle & Sebastian - Jonathan David
mp3 : Belle & Sebastian - Take Your Carriage Clock And Shove It
mp3 : Belle & Sebastian - The Loneliness Of A Middle Distance Runner



Next up.....The Beta Band

SIX DAYS IN TO 2012....AND NOTHING BY THE SMITHS??

TVV had a long running series in 2010/11 in which, every Saturday, one song by The Smiths would feature.  I stopped after Part 50 back in August 2011 as I was bored with it and judging from the lack of comments felt most readers were too.

This really should have been featured before now:-

mp3 : The Smiths - I Started Something I Couldn't Finish

I have to say that I've no idea what 2012 holds for this blog.  Sometimes I'm filled with enthusiasm and at other times I'm bored rigid.  I'm grateful to occasional correspondent Mr John Greer for digging me out of the occasional hole when I can't think of anything meaningful to say, but he's away on holiday just now and so there's nothing pending in the in-tray from him.

I'm actually OK just now...I've a few ideas for postings in mind and I'm also quite content to go back and re-post some of the old stuff.  But it is quite tough going to think you've something meaningful to say after nearly 1800 posts and gawd only knows how many mps (going by 4 per post - which is probably an underestimate - that gives you over 7000!!!). And I don't want to go down the road of simply posting an mp3 with the artwork from the single or LP.

A few of the bloggers who were around when I began have packed up their tents and headed to the more fashionable Facebook and Twitter.  I'm on the former thanks to the need to keep up with news from some of my favourite singers and bands but I don't go near the latter.  I'm an old-fashioned boy set in my ways.

So don't come here in 2012 expecting too much in the way of new and emerging music.  There will be some, but not much, of that genre.  It's going to be the same-old, same-old with music from the dim and distant past prevailing for the most part.  Oh and the Saturday series for Scottish singles is coming back tomorrow.  And hopefully Comrade Colin will soon be back on the trail telling us all the amazing story of Sarah Records.

This song also somehow seems apt today:-

mp3 : Wake The President - You Can't Change That Boy

Happy Listening

THE SINGULAR ADVENTURES OF EDWYN COLLINS (Part 1)

An occasional series for 2012. Most of the mp3s will have featured before over the past five and a bit years. But this will round everything up nicely and it will be in chronological order.

Shortly after the demise of Orange Juice in 1984, Edwyn collaborated with Paul Quinn to release a cover of Pale Blue Eyes but nothing was heard from him for a wee while after that. It was 1987 when his next bit of music was unleashed on the world.  I've previously covered this release on TVV back in June 2010, and being lazy will simply reproduce it:-

Elevation Records was set up as a joint venture between Creation and WEA in 1987. It was a short-lived affair, with just six singles and two LPs neing released between April and November by The Weather Prophets, Primal Scream and Edwyn Collins. None of the releases made the Top50 and WEA pulled the plug because of the poor sales.

Edwyn's first single has the catalogue number ACID4:-

mp3 : Edwyn Collins - Don't Shilly Shally
mp3 : Edwyn Collins - If Ever You're Ready

This was the extra track on the 12", which carries the catalogue number ACID4T:-

mp3 : Edwyn Collins - Queer Fish

The 12" versions are no different from those on the 7". Years later, the demo version of Don't Shilly Shally would appear as one of the extra tracks on one of the versions of A Girl Like You, while a re-recorded If Ever You're Ready would be part of the 1989 LP Hope and Despair as well as the b-side of the 7" single 50 Shades Of Blue).

There was a great promo made for this single:-



And from a special one-off gig in Glasgow back in 2009 when Edwyn was backed by Teenage Fanclub:-



I sadly could not be there that night. Still breaks my heart thinking about it.

NOT TRAINSPOTTING

There are many many more people out there way more qualified to talk about The Lilac Time than me. Here's the wiki article if you need further info just now.

They've been going, on and off, since 1987. They werent a band I ever picked up on until Jacques the Kipper included this fabulous bit of pop music from 1989 on one of the many compilation tapes he put together for me:-

mp3 : The Lilac Time - The Girl Who Waves At Trains

I cant believe this wasnt a hit single. It was tailor-made for radio.......

I actually picked up a mint condition vinyl copy of Paradise Circus, the LP from which 'Trains' is taken, for just $3 in Canada a few years back. It really is a gorgeous bit of work in many places and I will get round to praising it in full sometime soon.

Back to work today. Can't be arsed.  I will probably put as much effort into the job as I've put into this particular post.  Roll on home time.

IN PRAISE OF BOOKS : TWISTING MY MELON by SHAUN RYDER

I asked for, and received, a lot of books from Santa and already I'm getting through them at a fair rate thanks in part, at long last, to me accepting at 48 and a half years of age, I need assistance when it comes to reading. So after going to an optician for the first time in my life the other day, I now wear glasses for smallprint - including books and newspapers.

Over the coming year I intend to highlight a few of the music books that I own - I think in terms of bios alone there's now around 100.  Just something a wee bit different in an effort to keep the blog a wee bit fresh.

Twisting My Melon, the autobiography of Shaun Ryder is the latest music book I've devoured - and that's an accurate word given all 345 pages were finished in just over a day (it's one of the benefits of working in an office which closed down over the Festive period and forced all staff to take three precious days of annual leave to enable this).  The description the book trade are using is:-

Rock'n'roll legend, reality TV star, drug-dealer, poet, film star, heroin addict, son, brother, father, husband, foul-mouthed anthropologist and straight-talking survivor, Shaun Ryder has been a cultural icon and a 24-hour party person for a quarter of a century. This title tells his story.


The raw, undiluted story of Shaun Ryder, lead singer of the Manchester band the Happy Mondays. Following the success of 2 huge albums, a Glastonbury headline slot and world tours in the 1990s, Ryder's drug troubles reached their height, Factory Records was brought to its knees and the Mondays split. This covers everything, from the Mondays to Black Grape to Ryder's success on "I'm A Celebrity".

It's understandable that  "I'm A Celebrity" and "reality TV star" get such mentions given that the vast majority of the British public who are aware of Shaun only became so just a couple of years back when he did go into the Australian jungle with a list of Z-celebs for a few weeks.  But fear not music fans, it is only from pages 336-342 that we get any great details about that adventure and its aftermath and the vast majority of this hugely entertaining read is all about sex, drugs and rock'n'roll.

As you'd expect given Shaun's chaotic lifestyle over the years, there's loads about drugs.  But there's just as much about the sex and the music.  (Don't worry, while sex is mentioned a fair few times it is only ever in passing - there's nothing graphic!!)

It is a genuine autobiography going back to childhood and his upbringing, his first jobs, his life of crime, his early and doomed marriage and the efforts to make it as a pop/rock star.  The years of success and the subsequent downfall of both Happy Mondays and Black Grape are covered in detail with Shaun candidly admitting a lot was down to him but he's also used the book to set the record straight that other fellow musicians and latterly his management were often even more problematic.

What makes the book such a pleasure is its style.  Early on Shaun acknowledges he's not the most literate person on the planet and it's clear that a ghost writer has worked alongside him - and full credit must go to Luke Bainbridge, who for years has been an excellent music writer on The Observer newspaper, for producing a work that never sounds anything less than Shaun Ryder talking to you down the pub or on a plane and giving you his lifestory.  Every page bristles with that distinctive Salford accent.

The good times from the drugs - including just how much money he, the band and their entourage made from selling ecstasy back in the mid 80s are recounted in as much detail as Shaun can recall.  But so too are the really desperate times - the true story of what happened in Barbados during the recording of the Yes Please album is superb reading - but the squalid life of a junkie when all seems lost is not glossed over either as evidenced by a short spell when Shaun lived in Burnley.

There's a few great anecdotes about life on the road with his bands - one of the best being how they dealt with someone they caught robbing the tour bus.  The irony being how little mercy a thief showed another thief.  There's also a fair bit of humility about Shaun - he doesn't fully accept the praise heaped on him as a lyricist by others, and he's quite happy to admit he took ideas from others in putting his songs together. Twisting My Melon itself was a phrase he nicked from a documentary about Steve McQueen....who was one of his great boyhood heroes along with David Essex!!

If you've got some spare cash or vouchers hanging around from Xmas, then do yourself a favour and grab a hold of this very readable, entertaining and often very funny autobiography.  It's worth it alone for the family photos of Shaun as a kid.....who would have thought anyone that cute he would turn out quite the way he did??

mp3 : Happy Mondays - Bob's Yer Uncle
mp3 : Black Grape - Shake Well Before Opening
mp3 : Gorillaz - Dare (Soulwax mix)

(Apologies for the links not working previously.....bit of a cock-up on the admin side!!! 
JC : 4 Jan 2012)





Enjoy.

GIG REVIEW : THE WEDDING PRESENT : GLASGOW GARAGE : 29 DECEMBER 2011

I'm the first to admit that gigs-wise 2011 was less action-packed than any other over the past 30 years.  I've a cunning plan in mind to make sure 2012 is a lot more productive...more on that in the coming days.

But 2011 was seen out with a great night out.  But you wouldn't expect anything else from a night in the company of David Gedge & Co.

The thing is....before you go along you know what to expect.  Around 90 minutes of fast and furious indie-pop played with huge energy and at high volume.  With no encore.  And at least once in the set, the audience will go bonkers as loads of late 40 and early 50-somethings turn back the clock and pogo down the front to the strains of a Wedding Present classic.  It's usually Kennedy or something from way back in the catalogue.

This was a wee bit different.

The tour was a very small one - called Seeing out 2011, it involved just four gigs.  One at a very small venue in the village of Leslie in Fife (at which Mike from Manic Pop Thrills was lucky enough to snare a ticket given he lives close by - and here's his review) and the others in Glasgow, Leeds and London.  Recent tours have seen the band, for the most part, begin at a blistering pace, slow it down a little and finish on a bit of a high.  This particular set however was a real slow-burner with a fair sprinkling of new material (that's the phrase the great man used himself from the stage) combined with the older. more familiar material. As ever, when a band has such a fantastic back catalogue and play for just 90 minutes, it's very easy to mump and moan about what wasn't played rather than was.  But I'm not going to fall into that trap other than to say, some that I expected to hear didn't get aired but others that I never thought I'd hear - for instance Queen Anne and Perfect Blue from the Take Fountain LP and the 1992 single Loveslave - were played and played quite brillaintly.  And one of the new songs - Deer In The Headlights - sounded as good as anything else played in the set.

But the best (almost) was left to the end.  The three closing tracks were You Should Always Keep In Touch With Your Friends, Kennedy and Don't Talk, Just Kiss.  They got the biggest roars of the night as the audience to a man and a woman danced their collective socks off and then went into the night with huge grins on their faces and a ringing in their ears that wasn't unpleasant.

My personal highlight was a stunning rendition of Dalliance that built up from the oh-so-quiet start into the white noise middle and end that was such a feature of the entire Seamonsters LP of 1992.  Kind of similar to this  live version of it from the time:-

mp3 : The Wedding Present - Dalliance (Black Sessions)

But believe it, the 2011 version was way more sonic.  Could even have been a tribute to My Bloody Valentine.

The great news as far as I'm concerned is this:-

The Wedding Present have announced the dates of their 2012 concert tour of North America.


Although the tour has been primarily arranged to celebrate the release of the band’s forthcoming album [which will be out in March 2012] they are also taking the opportunity to celebrate the twenty-first anniversary of the release of their classic ‘Seamonsters’ album. As such, Seamonsters will be played in its entirety as part of the set each and every night from 20 March onwards. The band’s specific appearances at the South By Southwest Festival in Austin, Texas, are yet to be confirmed, but the other dates are as follows…


March – April, 2012 : North America


14-17/03 : Austin, TX, USA – ‘South By Southwest’ Music Festival [Actual appearances TBC]
20/03 : Washington, DC, USA – Rock And Roll Hotel with The Jet Age
21/03 : Brooklyn, NY, USA – Bell House with The Jet Age
22/03 : New York, NY, USA – Le Poisson Rouge with The Jet Age
23/03 : Allston, MA, USA – Brighton Music Hall with The Jet Age
25/03 : Toronto, ON, Canada – Horseshoe Tavern with The Jet Age
26/03 : Pontiac, MI, USA – Pike Room with The Jet Age
27/03 : Chicago, IL, USA – Double Door with The Jet Age
28/03 : Minneapolis, MN, USA – 400 Bar with The Jet Age
30/03 : San Diego, CA, USA – Casbah
31/03 : Los Angeles, CA, USA – Troubadour
01/04 : San Francisco, CA, USA – Independent
05/04 : Vancouver, BC, Canada – Biltmore Cabaret
06/04 : Seattle, WA, USA – Crocodile
07/04 : Portland, OR, USA – Mississippi Studios

The European leg of the tour will follow later in the year. I cannot wait. I might even fly to one of the North American gigs....Toronto being a possibility.

The boy Gedge still has it.  By the bucketload.

mp3 : The Wedding Present - Kennedy (live)

This particular version was part of a show for John Peel's 50th Birthday.  Recorded on 29 August 1989.  The version from 29 December 2011 was just as energetic.

Some footage:-





The latter is one of THE great pop promos of all time......

Dont even bother to argue.

MORE BITS OF BLOGGING TRADITION

mp3 : Altered Images - Happy New Year

It might only be 23 seconds long, but the sentiment is there.

Here's hoping 2012 turns out to be a good 'un for all concerned.

mp3 : Ballboy - Welcome To The New Year

And my oh my, haven't this lot's image changed a fair bit since 1983......



Tune in all year for more random and incoherent thoughts from your humble scribe.

OUT WITH THE OLD......

As 2011 draws to an end, many bloggers - including most mt favourite places to visit as lsited over on the right hand side - will already be looking back over the past 12 months and highlighting some of their personal best ofs in terms of music, books and other entertainment.

I'm sorry for an readers who are fans of such items for it's no something going to feature at TVV.

2011 has not been a great year. Most of you will know why. I thought that 2010 was bad enough - and by gawd it was - but the past 12 months have been just horrible for the most part. Yes, there's been some memorable and happy times to recall but they've easily been outnumbered by the depressing and sad days. As such, I can't look back with much fondness and say why such a piece of music has been great....partly as I didn't find myself in the mood all that often to get out there and buy new things.

It's also why I wasn't able to contribute to the end of year round-up over at the Contrast Podcast. Tim looks for everyone to put forward their 50 favourite tracks, and based on this comes up with a short-list for further round of voting after which we are asked to record an introduction. I just didn't get involved and I feel bad about it....

I do urge you all to pay a visit to the Contrast Podcast in the coming weeks as Tim unveils what will be a hugely entertaining and diverse selection of songs - and all of the introductions will be fantastic as well.

For what it's worth, the three LPs I've listened most to this year have been, in alphabetical order:-

Adam Stafford - Build A Harbour Immediately
Butcher Boy - Helping Hands
Bill Wells & Aidan Moffat - Everything's Getting Older

They might turn out to be my favourite records of 2011 but given that I've just received a whole bundle of CDs for Xmas, as well as there being about a dozen I've bought but never yet got round to listening to, that could yet change.

One thing I can say music-wise about 2011 - and I'm leaving myself open to all sorts of criticism given that everyone else out there seems to love it - and that's how bitterly disappointed I was with Let England Shake by PJ Harvey.

I've been a fan from the outset, all the way back to the early 90s when she first emerged with singles like Sheela-Na-Gig and Dress.  I'm not saying I've loved everything she has released - like everyone else with a career that spans two decades there will be the occasional recording that isn't as good as precious material.  It took me a while to buy Let England Shake as I had a few other things to occupy my foremost thoughts.  It would have been around the month of May that I got a hold of it - some three months after its release and by which time it had been labelled a masterpiece.

First listen did nothing for me.  But then again, that sometimes happens even with records that soon become part of my own list of all-time classics. Also, I might not have been in the right frame of to take it all in.

But it wasn't any better second or third time around.  Or the fourth.  And since then the fisth and sixth.  There might have been a seventh but I'm not sure.  In other words, I've given the LP every possible opportunity to grow on me but it hasn't.

It's not that I'm against the idea of protest songs - you only need to have a glance through the vinyl and CD collection to realise that.  But I just can't bring myself to agree with those who have said that this is a powerful,  inventive, profound and passionate album that captures the anger so many of us feel about the state of the world and mankind's awful ability to wage war on one another for no good reason.  Lyrically, it is all of that.  Musically, it is so dreary, dull and tedious.

Listening to it took me back to the mid-late 70s when so many friends made me sit for hours with them listening to Pink Floyd LPs and trying to convince me that they were all incredible works of art.  To some folk they were and still are.  I was bored rigid. Maybe I just din't 'get it'.  Today Pink Floyd still bore me rigid and I don't get their popularity.

Let England Shake is my 21st Century equivalent of Dark Side Of The Moon.  It's likely to always be high on the all-time lists.  Just don't expect me to fall in line.





JC, Tuesday 27 December 2011

I HOPE YOU'RE NOT HAVING A BLUE MONDAY

The day after Christmas can sometimes be a bit of an anti-climax. I hope it is not the case with you dear readers.

The folk I feel sorry for are those in the retail sector. They probably finished at 6pm on Saturday night after about three or four weeks in a row without a day off during which time they dealt with customers who were clueless and often rude. I certainly saw some supermarket check-out staff get a mouthful of abuse because the shop had the temerity to have run out of some foodstuffs and those who left it till the last minute were disappointed and in some cased angry.

Over here, 26th December is referred to as Boxing Day. Thought I'd find a track with a tenuous link to the theme of boxing for today...and that linked in with the day of the week. It was one of three on a belter of a CD single from 1990:-

mp3 : Happy Mondays - Wrote For Luck (Vince Clarke mix)
mp3 : Happy Mondays - Wrote For Luck (Paul Oakenfold Mix)
mp3 : Happy Mondays and Karl Denver - Lazyitis - one armed boxer

Enjoy.

HAPPY CHRISTMAS DEAR READERS (Part 4)

It's the tradition round these parts:-

mp3 : Sultans of Ping - Xmas Bubblegum Machine

Hope Santa has been great to you and your loved ones.

HAPPY CHRISTMAS DEAR READERS (Part 3)

This is for my brother and his family in Florida...and my mum and dad who are over there visiting the grandkids this festive period.



He was lying in the half light
Of Christmas and Glasgow
Thinking and talking
Talking to St Enoch about
Christmas and Glasgow
Drinking and talking


And the sweet smell
Of the Kelvin Hall Circus
And the sweet smell lingered
Of her perfume and kisses


He needed to take one step
He was taking one step back


She knows the only danger
Of Christmas And Glasgow
Is you love too much
And she's thinking of years
At Christmas and Glasgow
When it meant too much


And walking in frost
Down in Cowcaddens
And the sweet smell
As they were lost in the garden


She needed to take one step
She was taking one step back


They could hear choirs, those heavenly choirs
Choirs of angels, those heavenly choirs


They needed to take one step
They were taking one step back

Santa will be coming down the chimney with tunes for you tomorrow.

HAPPY CHRISTMAS DEAR READERS (Part 2)

This was a bugger to sort out for you as the a-side to this 12" single is a double-grooved record, which means you've got to muck about with it a bit to make sure you get both versions of the song as available on the vinyl:-

mp3 : Sugarcubes - Birthday (Christmas Eve)
mp3 : Sugarcubes - Birthday (Christmas Day)

Now these might very well be the wrong way round. I've never been sure which is which - I'm basing it on the fact that 'Eve' is listed before 'Day' and is the one the needle slips easiest into.

The b-side is a lot easier:-

mp3 : Sugarcubes - Birthday (Christmas Present)
mp3 : Sugracubes - Petrol (live)

Unsurprisingly, the sleeve gives a big thank you to Jim and William Reid.

And here's the promo of the single version:-



And finally.....the original and best version:-

mp3 : Sugarcubes - Birthday (Icelandic version)

One more posting before Santa arrives.......

HAPPY CHRISTMAS DEAR READERS (Part 1)

Released in 1981.  It's on Les Disques du Crepuscule.  Here's what it says on the back of the sleeve:-

Yet another Christmas album. This one comes from Belgium, a small country which has contracted debts from its partners all around the world.  In debt we are towards the artists who have written the featured selections collected under the title 'Chantons Noel'. Let's sing Christmas.


Some will enjoy it, some will dislike it, some will be surprised.


On this particular day where a smooth tender cloud seems to transform all virtualities into possibilities, our best wishes are to those who don't live up to their abilities.....

There's 13 tracks all told, many of them instrumentals.  Some of the acts are well known, others less so.  Here's a wee bit about each of them:-

mp3 : Aztec Camera - Hot Club Of Christ

If any readers don't know about Aztec Camera or Roddy Frame, then they've stumbled upon this blog by mistake.  Surely one of the strangest tracks the boy wonder ever recorded.  Throw some spare change into the collection box sir??

mp3 : The Names - Tokyo Twilight

Brussels new wave band originally active between 1979 and 1982, associated with Factory Records and Les Disques du Crepuscule. During this period the group worked extensively with producer Martin Hannett.

mp3 : Paul Haig - Christiana

See what I said about Aztec Camera??? Ditto for Paul Haig.......

mp3 : The Swinging Buildings - Praying For A Cheaper Christmas

Although unconfirmed, the mysterious Swinging Buildings are rumoured to be New Order in disguise…(have a listen...Hooky is in there somewhere surely....)

mp3 : Soft Verdict - For Christmas Only

Soft Verdict is the name under which Wim Mertens started his musical career. Soft verdict is not a band but more a collection of musicians under the direction of Mertens who performed with him. Oh and Wim Mertens is a Belgian composer, countertenor vocalist, pianist, guitarist, and musicologist who in March 1998 Mertens became the Cultural Ambassador of Flanders.

mp3 : White Birds - Possessed By The Stars

aka Minny Pops, a Dutch electronicgroup who released four albums during the early 80's before disbanding in 1986.

mp3 : The Durutti Column - One Christmas For Your Thoughts

aka Vini Reilly. Stalwart of Factory Records who would later write and record with Morrissey as the Smiths frontman embarked on his solo career.

mp3 : Cabaret Voltaire - Invocation

Cabaret Voltaire were a British music group from Sheffield, named after the Cabaret Voltaire, a nightclub in Zurich, Switzerland that was a centre for the early Dada movement. Their earliest performances were dada-influenced performance art, but Cabaret Voltaire later developed into a group that blended pop with dance music, techno, dub house and experimental electronic music.

mp3 : Tuxedomoon - Weihnachtrap

Tuxedomoon is an avant-garde, electronic-oriented collective whose music ranges from new wave pop to jazz fusion to more experimental synthesizer soundscapes (usually including saxophone and violin), which were frequently married in concert to performance-art shows. Tuxedomoon was formed in San Francisco in 1977 and landed an opening slot for Devo in 1978 at around the same time they cut their first single.

mp3 : Simon Topping - Peep Show International

Another Factory stalwart, having once been part of A Certain Ratio and Quando Quango.

mp3 : Thick Pigeon - Silhouettes

A minimalist duo who operated on the fringes of synth music and art rock. Instrumentalist Carter Burwell has since gone on to provide soundtrack work for around 50 motion pictures whilst singer Stanton Miranda has worked with Durutti Column and Sonic Youth not to mention being a fully-fledged actress. A 1984 LP ny Thick Pigeon was recorded with Stephen Morris and Gillian Gilbert of New Order.

mp3 : Michael Nyman - Cream or Christians

Michael Nyman an English composer of minimalist music, pianist, librettist and musicologist, known for the many film scores he wrote during his lengthy collaboration with the filmmaker Peter Greenaway, and his multi-platinum soundtrack album to Jane Campion's The Piano. His operas include The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat, Letters, Riddles and Writs, Noises, Sounds & Sweet Airs, Facing Goya, Man and Boy: Dada, Love Counts, and Sparkie: Cage and Beyond, and he has written six concerti, four string quartets, and many other chamber works, many for his Michael Nyman Band, with and without whom he tours as a performing pianist.

mp3 : Magazzini Criminali - Honolulu 25 Dicembre 1990

In English the name means 'Criminal Stores'. They were (and indeed could well still be) an avant-garde theatre group from Florence.

 And of all the bits of music I've ever featured on TVV....Magazinni Criminal is just about the strangest.

As the sleeve notes say.....'Some will enjoy it, some will dislike it, some will be surprised.'  Most I reckon will be bemused.