the (new) vinyl villain

A LAZY STROLL DOWN MEMORY LANE : 45 45s AT 45 (22)

March 5, 2016

ORIGINALLY POSTED ON THURSDAY 24 APRIL 2008

AND ADAPTED SLIGHTLY FOR A RE-POST ON SATURDAY 2 AUGUST 2014

skids-into-the-valley-129040

I’m just about halfway through this epic adventure, and maybe it’s a bit of fatigue that’s set in.

But its getting more and more difficult to put into words, in a different way, just why a particular 45 means so much to me.

I think I’ve also thrown myself by Buzzcocks appearing way down at #23. Can I really justify that it’s better than what you’re getting today? Looks like I’m going to have to…

My love for this song is very much down to two things.

Firstly, The Skids were the first Scottish band to really make a big impact on the punk/new wave scene. And by that, I mean they were probably the first to get themselves onto Top Of The Pops.

Given how little exposure bands got on TV back in the 70s, getting your face on TOTP was an incredibly important arena to be seen on. And the debut performance from Richard Jobson et al will stay etched firmly in the minds of everyone who saw it. As well as in the minds of their parents.

This truly was the first time I heard my dad say something completely negative about something on TOTP. He was 43 years of age when this came out…..his taste was a little bit of Johnny Cash, a little bit of Neil Diamond, a little bit of Supertramp and a little bit of Status Quo. He knew that music was important to me, and never did he slag off anything that I brought into the house or that I professed to loving when watching TOTP.

Then he saw and heard The Skids.

I don’t think he swore – at that time, he wouldn’t do so in front of any of his sons. But he laughed out loud at Richard’s efforts at dancing and singing, which truly were like nothing else on the planet. I didn’t realise it at the time, but this was the generation gap finally showing through.

Of course I went out and bought the record a few days later with that week’s money from the paper round. Of course I played it louder than anything else I owned at the time. Of course I tried, behind the privacy of a closed bedroom door, to dance the way I had seen Richard dance (remember kids, no VHS tapes in those days, you saw something once and you had to commit it to memory).

There must have been thousands doing the same as me because the single continued to rise up the charts. TOTP had a policy of not having bands on two weeks in a row (unless they were at #1), so it was a fortnight before the band got back onto the show. This time my dad went into the kitchen and made a cup of tea as he was thoroughly sick to his back teeth with the song by now. I was a teenage rebel……at last.

Oh and the second reason why I love this song? One of the best b-sides ever. No arguments.

mp3 : The Skids – Into The Valley
mp3 : The Skids – TV Stars (live at The Marquee, London)

The TOTP performance is now widely available thanks to youtube. As is a hugely clever advert featuring the song, which I’m sure must have made my dad laugh many years later.

Happy days.

BONUS POSTING : LINK TO A NEW SITE BY AN OLD FRIEND

March 4, 2016

JC Rezillos 6 Comments

erics

One of the links on the right hand side is to The Corn Poppy, primarily an art/photography blog which is run by Phil Oates who has long been a supporter of this and indeed the original Vinyl Villain in the google days.

Phil has been in touch about a great piece of nostalgia he’s been working on, and he tells a self-deprecating tale which may well be familiar to many of us who have been at hot and sweaty gigs.

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Thought I’d let you know about a new blog I’ve put together. Its a time limited event, 40 or so posts, each featuring a months worth of artists who performed at Liverpool’s Eric’s Club, between October 1976 and March 1980. Each post will include a flyer/member’s notice and contemporary videos of the bands. A couple of these (Clash, XTC) feature the audio of their Eric’s gigs and there’s footage of Elvis Costello on stage at Eric’s. There’ll be one post a day until we get to March 1980 in mid April. It’s called, with no imagination, Liverpool Eric’s and you can find it at http://liverpoolerics.blogspot.co.uk/

Eric’s was a wondrous place, the first gigs in October ’76 were Stranglers, Runaways and Sex Pistols; the night the Clash played in May ’77 was the night Julian Cope, Ian McCulloch and Pete Wylie set out to become rock stars/legends. I can remember my first gig there, headlined by Scots band The Rezillos. I was a bit young for Eric’s; it was a member’s club with a minimum age of 20. I was 16 first time I went. I recall one occasion when Jimmy the Bouncer asked me how old I was. 16 year old me says 20. Jimmy asks if I have any proof. “Well” I say, my voice cracking and going up an octave, “yer can phone an’ ask me mam”. That wasn’t this first night. Back to the Rezillos.

Most of the gigs I went to in those days were at the Empire, a 2,500 seater, where you stayed sat until the encore, then ran down the front for the last 15 minutes. Eric’s was very different. For the Rezillos it was one big mosh pit. They were incredible. Total energy. I was right at the front pogoing, bouncing up and down, loving it. It was so hot, there was no air, after a while I had to get out , get to the bar, get a drink. I fought my way out to the bar at the back of the room. I asked for a pint.

The barmaid said we’ve got no pint glasses left, do you want two halves. It made sense so I walked off with a half pint glass in each hand. I’d passed over all the money I had, I wasn’t sure how much drinks cost in a club. I didn’t take any change. I walked away from the bar and . . . passed out. Dropped the two glasses. Came round, no money, no drink, dehydrating, in a room like a sauna. Walked towards a stairway, not the entrance, crashed through the fire escape out into Mathew Street. Walked off into the Liverpool night in a daze. Couldn’t wait to go back the following week………

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JC adds……

I’ve never passed out before, but only because I’ve pulled myself out of the mosh pit and either gone out for fresh air (sometimes not getting back in thanks to evil bastard bouncers) or got water and poured it all over myself. I remember coming out of a particularly crazy Bunnymen gig in Glasgow in a tiny venue in the early 80s and the amount of steam coming off me was ridiculous. That many of the smaller venues nowadays have some sort of ventilation system that wasn’t around 30-odd years ago is a godsend.

Phil’s musings about Eric’s are worth checking out and I’ll be adding a permanent link over the weekend.

In the meantime…..

mp3 : The Rezillos – Destination Venus
mp3 : The Rezillos – Somebody’s Gonna Get Their Head Kicked In Tonight
mp3 : The Rezillos – Top Of The Pops

Enjoy

LOOKING BACK ON IT, THEY SPOILED US VERY EARLY ON

March 4, 2016

JC Suede 5 Comments

suede

I received a rather lovely e-mail the other day from Berlin courtesy of Thomas in which he queried whether I had a disdain for Suede given that they hadn’t featured on the blog. I was surprised this was the case – the band had certainly been on the old blog a few times – but indeed Thomas was right. In what is now fast approaching 1,000 posts, I haven’t mentioned Suede except in passing.

I wasn’t fortunate enough to latch on to them so early that I saw them in 1992 when they played what is now regarded as a legendary gig at King Tut’s in Glasgow, but I was in the audience on 1 April 1993 when they returned to the city on the tour promoting the self-titled debut LP that had been released just a few days earlier. The gig was at the now demolished Plaza Ballroom on the south side of the city and it remains in my memory as one of the most dynamic and energetic performances that I’ve ever witnessed, in the main down to the astonishing guitar playing from Bernard Butler although to be fair Brett Anderson was a terrific frontman.

There were three singles issued in advance of the album. I bought all of them on CD and what was particularly impressive was the quality of the b-sides. In all, you’d find nine tracks and there’s a case to be made that almost all of them would all find their way onto an ICA…well they would if I was penning it.

The down side was that having made so many great tracks available so early on that some of the tracks on the debut LP initially sort of felt like a bit of a letdown in comparison. A few weeks later a fourth single then lifted from the album (again with two new b-sides – no remixes or live versions for these boys) and then on Valentine’s Day 1994 the band issued their fifth single, a brand new song with two more new songs.

It was an astonishing run of 45s that even now, more than 20 years on are well worth a listen. It’s not that I fell out of love with Suede after this, but they had set such a high standard that was going to be impossible to maintain that I became a bit detached. I still bought the singles and albums but never went out of my way to see them in the live setting. Besides, and although the new line-up was still enthralling, it wasn’t the same without Bernard.

mp3 : Suede – The Drowners
mp3 : Suede – To The Birds
mp3 : Suede – My Insatiable One

mp3 : Suede – Metal Mickey
mp3 : Suede – Where The Pigs Don’t Fly
mp3 : Suede – He’s Dead

mp3 : Suede – Animal Nitrate
mp3 : Suede – Painted People
mp3 : Suede – The Big Time

mp3 : Suede – So Young
mp3 : Suede – Dolly
mp3 : Suede – High Rising

mp3 : Suede – Stay Together (edit)
mp3 : Suede – The Living Dead
mp3 : Suede – My Dark Star
mp3 : Suede – Stay Together (full version)

Enjoy.

CHEMIKAL UNDERGOUND COMPETITION – WINNER OF THE

March 3, 2016

JC Chemikal Underground Records, Pavement 4 Comments

chemwinner

For those of you can’t read my appalling handwriting, the bit of paper in the right hand of Stewart Henderson reads MICHAEL BOYES.

His was the name drawn from the 32 who entered the competition to win £50 of stuff from the online shop at Chemikal Underground. Incidentally, every entrant was a bloke….

I’ve been in touch already with Michael and will also be dropping an e-mail to those who entered but were unlucky in the draw. Stewart has come up with an idea of a consolation prize for all concerned…..

Many many thanks to everyone, and in particular the folks at Chem for supporting the idea for the competition.

Here’s a bit of music non-Chem related, but from a band who would have been a perfect fit for them:-

mp3 : Pavement – Winner of The

Yup, that’s its title. Winner of The. It was the b-side to the CD single release of Stereo.

THE STYLE COUNCIL SINGLES (13)

March 3, 2016

JC Style Council 1 Comment

The music press had reported in Autumn 1986 that the band had been busy in the studio writing and recording what would be their third studio album with plans in place for everything to appear in early 87. Indeed, it was the second week of January that saw the release of a new 45 which, given that Have You Ever Had It Blue? was a re-recording of an old song, meant it was the first new material in almost two years – almost unheard of with Paul Weller given how prolific he’d been his entire career.

It Didn’t Matter was a catchy enough pop single to merit attention from fans and critics alike, not to mention radio DJs desperate for something other than Christmas song after Christmas song. Maybe not the greatest Weller single thus far but not the worst. It entered the charts at #15 and then climbed up to #9, giving the band their seventh Top Ten success. Little did any of us know it would be their last:-

mp3 : The Style Council – It Didn’t Matter

Slightly concerning was the lack of material for b-sides, which as you’ll have seen from most of the previous singles featured in the series wasn’t ever a problem. The 12″ had an instrumental version of the a-side together with this which was also common to the 7″:-

mp3 : The Style Council – All Year Round

A tune that bore than a passing resemblance to The Big Boss Groove, the song that had been the double-A release with You’re The Best Thing. Maybe the great man was running out of ideas…..

AN IMAGINARY COMPILATION ALBUM : #064 : KANYE WEST

March 2, 2016

JC Kanye West 14 Comments

A GUEST POSTING BY ROUGH S.F aka GANG$TA RHYMES

Kanye

This is that Goon’s Shit. An Imaginary Kanye West Compilation by Rough S.F aka Gang$ta Rhymes

I hear what you are saying about Kanye West.

“Kanye West is an asshole.”

“He’s a self-absorbed prick who rants just to get attention.”

That sadly is the point with Kanye West, I don’t like his public persona, but I tell you what, I’m not going to sit here and deny his talent. Whether this is behind the production desk on the mic – he has this magnetic quality that always keeps you wondering what he is going to do next. This is the man that put a Raekwon (a member of the Wu Tang Clan) and Justin Bieber on the same record and made it work. Somehow. For the only time in my life, I listen to a record with Justin Bieber on it. This is also the man who launched ‘Yeezus’ by releasing ‘New Slaves’ a brutally angry record about racial segregation in American prisons by plastering his face all over random buildings all over the world.

You think he cares what you think of him?

He’s the man. Now I’m not stupid enough to argue that just because you win an award you are any good, I mean some years ago, Lulu won an Oscar. Lulu. Also I think Gary Barlow has three Ivor Novello awards for songwriting. Gary Barlow – but Kanye West has won more than 20 Grammys. How many other artists have won that many?

He’s the man. I’m also not stupid enough to believe everything the music press right about stuff – I mean ‘A Rush of Blood to the Head’ by Coldplay was voted Album of the Year by seven mainstream papers when it was released. But Kanye West has more records in Rolling Stones Top 500 albums of all time than any other rapper. Pitchfork magazine voted two of his records in the Top Ten (1st and 8th) greatest records of this decade. Time Magazine voted him one of the most influential people in the world last year, and yet still people say he’s shit.

He’s the man. I’m also not stupid enough to say just because people copy you or be influenced by you that this is a good thing. But. When West released the Daft Punk sampling ‘Stronger’ he single-handedly paved the way for a disco and electro revival in the States in the latter part of the ‘noughties’ (sorry, terrible term) and paved the way for a new breed of hip hop acts to change the way it looked at life, much of the ‘Gangsta’ persona has been dropped, acts like Frank Ocean, The Weeknd, Future and Drake arrived and Hip Hop changed, and in the last ten years it’s been better than it has been for years and years.

Whatever you all think, let’s face facts. Kanye West is one of the greatest hip hop acts of all time. He is as bold and creative artist as ANY of the boys with guitars we all adore. His sound continues to evolve with each release. His albums range from soulful (College Dropout) through autotune hell (808s & Heartbreak) to the experimental genius of ‘Yeezus’. So he is an arrogant self-publicising wankpuffin, who cares! He is a rapper, that’s what rappers do. So what that he has a mouth the size of the Brooklyn Tunnel, He’s a rapper. Get over it. So he dissed Taylor Swift and married a Kardashian. He also dissed George Bush, funded numerous inner city charities (google the Kanye West Foundation), and helped to launch the careers of several excellent rappers through his constant work and involvement in the American Hip Hop scene. Alongside Jay – Z and possibly Kendrick Lamar, Kanye West is probably one of the most influential people in the world right now – whether you like or not. So – here it is, a Kanye West Imaginary Compilation. Enjoy it you muthafucking jive turkeys.

Side One

Jesus Walks – From ‘The College Dropout’ (2004)

They said you can rap about anything except for Jesus—but Kanye did just that, and made a certified hit. It also got praise from critics and fans alike. The drums on this are perfect, the gospel chants are unlike anything else in hip hop. The fact that this is as religious a song as you can feasibly get without turning a bit Cliff Richard is incredible.

Niggas in Paris – From ‘Watch the Throne’ (2011) (with Jay Z)

By 2011, West had become a rap icon. So when he linked with his mentor Jay-Z to record the collaborative ‘Watch The Throne’ album, it was merely a shits‘n’giggles LP recorded for their own amusement. Such opulence was apparent on album anthem ‘Niggas in Paris’, which introduced the term “cray” and reminded us all that we’re mere minions to the throne. That shit cray.

Runaway – From ‘My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy’ (2010)

Chilling, brooding and poignant, ‘Runaway’ was the clear centrepiece of ‘My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy’. After six minutes of intricate self-loathing with collaborator Pusha T, ‘Ye emphasises the point with another three minutes of piano-laced reflection, this time distorting his vocals to the point of incoherence. Even if you hate Auto-Tune, you have to respect his artistic approach here.

Through The Wire – From ‘College Dropout’ (2004)

Before Kanye would crash Taylor Swift’s parade and highlight then-US President George Bush’s apparent disdain for black people, he was just a regular dude trying to get on. These days, it’s crazy to think that Kanye’s career almost ended before it got started. For ‘Through The Wire’, he rapped through a wired jaw, the result of a nearly fatal car accident in 2002. This track was Kanye at his most human, before all the flash and decadence that keeps the artist from fawning adoration. Oh and it samples Chaka Khan, and that is essential listening.

New God Flow – From ‘New God Flow’ Single (featuring Pusha T) 2012

While “New God Flow” is heavy on the samples (most notably Ghostface’s “Mighty Healthy”) it provided the perfect backdrop for Kanye to shed some light on the recent violence that had been plaguing parts of the States. “I’m from the 312/Where cops don’t through/And dreams don’t come true” he tells us. Kanye has always created certain songs with packed stadiums of festivals in mind – which probably explains the military call and response at the end. Heavenly.

Side Two

New Slaves from ‘Yeezus’ (2014)

My favourite Kanye moment. This is just vicious. A song about racial segregation and not following the crowd “You see there’s leaders and there’s followers/But I’d rather be a dick than a swallower” he raps near the start. That, is an inspired lyric. Even if you hate rap, hip hop, anything without a guitar, applaud its genius. The song is pretty basic with this lovely little bassline running through it – but then this truck of beat drives through it to an aggressive conclusion. “Fuck you and your Hampton house” he spits – and you get Frank Ocean as well, cooing sweetly at the end.

Heartless from ‘808’s & Heartbreak’ (2008)

Due to a string of tumultuous events in Kanye’s life (relationship breakdown, mothers death, the collapse of the regime in Burkino Faso, that sort of thing), his album ‘808s & Heartbreak’ broke from his past and took an entirely different path. Favouring Auto-Tune and erm, singing over traditional rapping, 808swas a total departure. And mostly it was difficult to listen to, but then you get this.

Cold and hollow, “Heartless” probably best describes this dark yet beautiful moment in his career. The tones Kanye brought to life may have sounded heartless, but the song was really all about affairs of the heart. Tragedy in love is something every human on the planet can relate to. Bad break-ups happen, and since Kanye was living through one at the time, his honesty bled through. That’s probably why the song sold 5.5 million copies worldwide. He’s shit though, right?

Can’t Tell Me Nothing (single)(2007)

If there were one song to describe Kanye West and his career, this would be it. A statement, a promise, and a motto—“Can’t Tell Me Nothin’” set the tone for his defiant third album, Graduation; and gave West his first-ever street anthem. This song also marks the exact moment in his career when he went from rapper to international superstar. Its his finest moment.

Black Skinheads from ‘Yeezus’ (2014)

This tackles the tricky subject of a black man dating a white woman – note the reference to people ‘coming to kill King Kong’. On this song, West sounds as savage as he ever has done. He is fit to burst. He claims to be wiser than he’s ever been before and its this song that the ‘haters’ come in for particular attention. ‘If I knew what I know in the past, I would have been blacked out on your ass’ he tells them. Watch your backs, Kanye’s angry. Essential stuff.

Good Friday from ‘G.O.O.D Friday’ (2010) – features a cast of thousands

In 2010 West released a series of singles from his ‘G.O.O.D Friday’ series – which was kind of to launch the ‘G.O.O.D’ records label and gave them all away as free downloads. This was the fifth instalment and about 600 people guessed on the record. An ode to going out ‘I know the city getting ready for me’ he states and with that a classic joint was done.

He’s the man. Accept it.

GR

mp3 : Kanye West – Jesus Walks
mp3 : Kanye West – Niggas in Paris
mp3 : Kanye West – Runaway
mp3 : Kanye West – Through The Wire
mp3 : Kanye West – New God Flow

mp3 : Kanye West – New Slaves
mp3 : Kanye West – Heartless
mp3 : Kanye West – Can’t Tell Me Nothing
mp3 : Kanye West – Black Skinheads
mp3 : Kanye West – Good Friday

JC adds…….

Love or loath the man, there’s no getting away from the fact, as GR highlights, he’s made a lot of great music over the year.

IT’S FINALLY MARCH 2016

March 1, 2016

JC Adam Stafford 5 Comments

screen-shot-2015-12-07-at-20-57-45

The rather strange title of today’s posting simply reflects the fact that I’ve been waiting patiently for an awful long time for March 2016 to arrive as it marks the month when Adam Stafford finally gets to release his new album.

I’ve said before that if Adam lived and worked in somewhere like New York, Berlin or Tokyo he would be hailed as a visionary genius making the most extraordinary music, much of which would be famous to millions thanks to it being snapped up by directors and producers for use on film soundtracks or as themes to strange and unfathomable TV commercials. It’s his rotten luck to be Scottish and while he is revered by those of us who are fans there are just far too many folk out there who never get the chance to hear or experience this most incredible of talents.

His last work, Imaginary Walls Collapse, should have won the Scottish Album of The Year after its release in 2013 but had to make do with simply making the long list of finalists. It was an album that defied conventional description, with a thin white duke playing his guitar, beat-boxing, crooning and using effect pedals to make sounds unlike any other release that year. And it worked even better in the live setting.

I feared that an album of such magnitude couldn’t be topped but I’m thrilled and amazed that Taser Revelations, which comes out on Song By Toad Records on Monday 14 March, achieves that by some distance as it is an alt-music opus in the truest sense of the phrase.

If you like your music to be accessible, radio friendly and occasionally danceable in an indie-disco sort of way then there are a number of songs on this album which will more than tick all of your boxes. On the other hand, if you prefer things to be more experimental, weird and reminiscent of the sort of stuff that would stop you in your tracks when spun by John Peel, then there is a great deal within its grooves that you will never tire of. It’s a captivating album that seems to offer something new and different with every listen with all sorts of subtle and clever bits of melody, instrumentation and vocal delivery (often thanks to the wonderful harmonies provided by Anna Miles). Oh and then there’s the continued evidence that Adam Stafford is one of the finest guitarists of this era.

The songs have been in the live sets for quite a while and indeed it was as long ago as ten months that a taster single was released :-

mp3 : Adam Stafford – Atheist Money

A second single, Phantom Billions is due for release soon. It contains steel drums and is set to a foot-tapping, head-nodding and infectiously catchy beat that pisses all over anything in the charts right now. I’ll get round to sharing that tune with you when the promo video becomes available!! (one has been made which is a first for the record label and the artist). In the meantime, I recommend that you demonstrate your impeccable taste by getting a hold of the album, which is available on pre-order, from here.

Finally….and at the risk of becoming repetitive, I have to emphasise that hearing the music of Adam Stafford is one thing – seeing him perform on stage is something else altogether. Thankfully there’s an upcoming short tour:-

March 11th (Fri): Summerhall, Edinburgh, The Dissection Room w/Robbie Lesiuk & Withered Hand (solo)
March 17th (Thurs): Mad Hatters, Inverness w/Robbie Lesiuk
March 18th (Fri): The Old Bridge Inn, Aviemore w/Robbie Lesiuk
March 19th (Sat): Aberdeen, Downstairs, w/Robbie Lesiuk & Special Guests
March 20th (Sun): Glasgow, The Hug & Pint w/Robbie Lesiuk, WOLF and Sweethearts of The Prison Rodeo

I’ll certainly be at the Edinburgh and Glasgow gigs. Most likely weeping with unbridled happiness down the front.

the (new) vinyl villain

A LAZY STROLL DOWN MEMORY LANE : 45 45s AT 45 (22)