MORE ECHOES OF THE BUNNYMEN

Last week's posting on Electrafixion was meant as a taster to today's posting.

After successfully touring the United Kingdom and refusing to play any Echo & the Bunnymen material, Electrafixion released their only album, Burned, in September 1995. Despite critics giving the album good reviews, sales of it and the follow-up singles were disappointing.

After embarking on a tour of the United States in 1996, Electrafixion eventually gave in to fan pressure and began to introduce Echo & the Bunnymen material to their live set. Will Sergeant felt that as the band were playing Echo & the Bunnymen songs, they might as well reform Echo & the Bunnymen;[13] however, Ian McCulloch was initially opposed to the idea. McCulloch changed his mind and, having persuaded Les Pattinson to come out of retirement, Echo & the Bunnymen was reformed in mid-1996.

The first of the new material was the single Nothing Lasts Forever, released in June 1997. Just about every Bunnymen fan of old considered it a majestic comeback well worthy of their heyday a decade or so earlier.

I certainly rushed out and bought the 2 x CD singles and helped propel it to #8 in the UK charts which matched the performance of their previous best back in 1983 with The Cutter.  The following month, I also rushed out and bought the LP Evergreen and again was delighted with what I was hearing.  Having said that, it didn't really stand up to repeated listens - it was more the thrill of an actual new LP from the Bunnymen that provided the initial rush of excitement for me, and while I still think it's a decent enough record, it's not a great album.

But....I remain of the view that Nothing Lasts Forever is one of the band's best ever songs and one that wouldn't have sounded out of place on Ocean Rain. Here's the 2 x CDs in all their glory:-

mp3 : Echo & The Bunnymen - Nothing Lasts Forever
mp3 : Echo & The Bunnymen - Watchtower
mp3 : Echo & The Bunnymen - Polly
mp3 : Echo & The Bunnymen - Colour Me In
mp3 : Echo & The Bunnymen - Antelope

The thing is, this was a time when I wasn't buying vinyl, and there were two other tracks  made available initially only on a 7" single housed, I believe, in the sleeve pictured above.  I've one of them, courtesy of having a copy of the Crystal Days boxset:-

mp3 : Echo & The Bunnymen - Hurracaine

But I've never been able to track down the song Jonny.  Anyone out there able to help?

I thank you in advance......

SOME RANDOM THOUGHTS - FROM THE MP3 PLAYER OF ANON (5)

Walkman Sony NWZ-E464 
8 GB 906 songs 

1 - Me First and the Gimme Gimmes - My Boyfriend is Back 
2 - Monster Island - GM Verses 
3 - Cure - Let's Go to Bed 
4 - Rolling Stones - Satisfaction 
5 - Princess Chelsea - Monkey eats Bananas

Nice series! 

Cheers!!! :)

Yet again......loads of stuff that's new to TVV. This is probably as diverse a selection as any so far....

Oh and a near-certain DMCA notice thanks to #4 which is why I'm going down the you tube route for it.

mp3 : Me First and the Gimme Gimmes - My Boyfriend is Back
mp3 : Monster Island - The GM Verses
mp3 : The Cure - Let's Go to Bed
mp3 : Princess Chelsea - Monkey Eats Bananas


Happy Listening and viewing.....

50 GREAT ALBUMS IN MY 50th YEAR (Part 41)

Since 1984, Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds have released fourteen studio albums and with almost all of them having a claim to inclusion in this rundown.  However, in my mind there's one LP which stands head and shoulders over all the others and which was one of the first LPs that I wrote down as being included in this rundown.

Let Love In was released in April 1994 and more than any other of his records demonstrates just how astonishingly good The Bad Seeds are and how they are essential to enjoying and appreciating Nick Cave's output.  Bad Seeds have come and gone over the near 30 years (!!!!) it has been since the release of From Her To Eternity.  Indeed just Mick Harvey and Blixa Bargeld from the original four band members were around by 1994 and neither of them feature on this year's Push The Sky Away.

The line-up for Let Love In was:-

Nick Cave - vocals, organ, backing vocals, piano, electric piano, oscillator, bells
Blixa Bargeld - guitar, backing vocals, vocals
Martyn P. Casey - bass guitar
Mick Harvey - guitar, backing vocals, organ, drums, string arrangement, bells, tambourine, shaker
Conway Savage - backing vocals, piano
Thomas Wydler - drums, tambourine, timpani, shaker, triangle, fish

There were also a bundle of guest musicians who made appearances on one or more of the songs, including Warren Ellis on violin who would before too long become firstly a member of the touring Bad Seeds before an important and integral member of the band, particularly over the past 15 years or so.

Lyrically and musically, this is a dark, brooding, menacing record and yet at times it is as commercial a record as Nick Cave has ever released, yielding three outstanding but flop singles. It is record which, for the singer and band, remains one that they are very willing to dip into time after time when going out on tour - almost all of the songs at some point have been regularly featured in setlists in the near 20 years since it was first set loose on the world. And it's no real wonder as the LP is damned near flawless.

Opening track Do You Love Me? remains my all time favourite Bad Seeds single. As I said when I listed it in the 45 45s at 45 rundown:-

A single drum note. The haunting sound of the staccato Hammond organ. Nick mumbling the one line over and over to himself. The bar-room piano that comes crashing in on top of everything. And that’s just the introductory 45 seconds - a sort of overture for all that follows. 

Is this a song that is a plea for affection from someone who wants so much to be loved back?? I’m not sure.... I’ve always thought it is something altogether far more creepy and sinister – the song of a dominating control-freak who breaks the soul and spirit and eventually the body of their lover because although she gave him everything, it was never ever enough to satisfy his lust. 

In many ways, it’s a bit like The One I Love by REM. If you just catch the most audible part of the song, it all seems innocent enough. But listen closely and you'll notice that there's a lot of venom and poison lying within……

And it perfectly sets the tone for all that follows.

Nobody's Baby Now (track 2) initially sounds like a crooner lamenting his girl has upped sticks and left him - a closer listen suggests that in fact said crooner has bumped off said girl for if he can't have her then no-one shall have her either - the sort of stuff that would be explored in more detail in the follow-up LP Murder Ballads.

Loverman (track 3) is, quite simply, the best goth song about love and lust ever recorded.

Jangling Jack and Thirsty Dog (tracks 4 and 7) are two belting and frantic tunes that perfectly fit lyrics detailing genuinely funny bar-room tales which help nail the myth that Nick Cave is just a miserable, dour bastard at heart.

In between those two tracks you'll find Red Right Hand and then the song from which the LP title is taken,

The former has always been a favourite among Cave devotees and thanks to its use in film and TV shows is probably one of the best-known Nick Cave songs given his lack of success in the singles charts over 30 years.  A song in which the devil comes to life and stalks the earth, looking out for the next sucker who will sell him his soul.  The organ solo in particular gives the song the atmosphere the lyrics conjure up and the entire playing has that epic soundtrack feel to it - so it's no surprise Red Right Hand has become a staple in many a Hollywood production

I Let Love In is another outstanding track, largely down to the fact that as the Band Seeds deliver a cracking toe-tapping upbeat jaunty tune the crooner is bemoaning the fact that falling in love is the worst possible thing that can ever happen to you.  Worse than being bound, gagged, terrorized, castrated or lobotomised....another fantastic lyric in an album packed with them.

The LP closes with a trio of  slower numbers.

Ain't Gonna Rain Anymore is the most straightforward song on the entire record being a ballad about the end of a love affair to a moody tune that wouldn't have been out of place on some of the first few Bad Seeds records.

Given that Nick Cave had long suffered from serious drug addiction with many in the music media predicting he's not long left on Planet Earth, the sentiments behind Lay Me Low are most likely autobiographical as a semi-famous protagonist considers his own mortality and wonders just what everyone around him will say long after he's gone. The protagonist sounds as if he is lying pissed on the floor as an equally pissed pub band bang out a cracking tune that suggests they should be on the stage of arenas the world over instead of stuck in some god-awful backwater getting paid in whisky.  It's bitter, it's twisted, it's philosphical and it's magnificent.   It would have been a great way to close the LP except it has one final, dark, sordid twist....Do You Love Me? (Part 2).

I certainly am willing to admit that when I played the LP for the first time I was expecting a sort of reprise of the album opener - maybe the same tune with a slightly different mix.  Instead it was a re-heat of some of the lyrics over a stripped down, melancholic tune in which a haunting nightmarish violin and electronic piano compete with angelic backing vocals as the sordid, sad and tragic tale of the life of a rent boy earning his crust in a darkened cinema.   It remains to this day one of the most disturbing and scary records I have ever heard.....but somehow it manages to be the perfect conclusion to an LP in which the subject matters of love, lust and heartbreak have dominated but with lyrics as far removed as possible from the standard saccharine confection applied to most love songs in pop music.

mp3 : Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - Do You Love Me?
mp3 : Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - I Let Love In
mp3 : Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - Do You Love Me? (Part 2)

I know there's folk out there who are instantly dismissive of Nick Cave and I will never, no matter how much I make the case that the man is one of the greatest artists to emerge in the final quarter of the 20th Century, I will never change their minds. I accept that fully as there's certain well-known, critically-acclaimed acts out there that I will never give a second of valuable listening time to....

Ladies and Gentleman.....Let Love In....one of my all time Top 5 LPs ever.

SOME RANDOM THOUGHTS - FROM THE MP3 PLAYER OF PIP

This was actually the first comment left behind when the idea for what has turned into a series was inspired by Jacques the Kipper:-

Pip said...

I've blogged a random five a couple of times in the past - here they be: Random factor, like a tractor
Random factor, like a tractor, part 2

Neither had any Jam in though :(

9:23 am, April 17, 2013

Pip provided a link to posts from his blog Pipsqueak dating back to March and August 2009 as follows:-

Random factor, like a tractor

fired up the MP3 Walkman this morning (no generi-Pod for me), hit 'random' and decided to document the first five tracks it played for me.

These are they:

"Blow Your Mind" by Jamiroquai, from High Times: Singles - a bit crap, if I'm honest

"A Car That Sped" (Radio 1 session version) by Gene, from To See The Lights - more than a bit brilliant

"Lenina" by The Vapors, from The Best Of The Vapors - though you're better off buying New Clear Days in my view

"Wild Boys" by Duran Duran, from Greatest - every home should have a copy

"Groovy Train" by The Farm, from Spartacus - memories of loose-limbed dancing

The purpose of all this was two-fold: firstly, it maybe gives an insight into me that you, (in)constant reader, may not otherwise get; secondly, it might make you think about trying to program randomness into an electronic device. Surely if it can be programmed into my erstwhile MP3 player's firmware, it can't be random?

Coding randomness - is it possible? How do you test it? Any thoughts?

Random factor, like a tractor, part 2

This is a bit of a lazy post, but I like to blog early every month (otherwise there's no page for that month), so in the interests of getting something written, here goes. I'm too tired to write anything original or thought-provoking, and I'm questioning my ability to write anything creative or new... so I'll fall back on firing up the MP3 Walkman, hitting "shuffle" and documenting the first five tracks it plays for me...

"Hole In The River" by Crowded House, from Farewell To The World - meandering live music outing for Neil Finn's peerless tunesmithery.

"Hey Girl" by The Small Faces, from The Autumn Stone - the mod's mods. Hard to overstate how important this band were to the teenage me. This album's title track is beautiful.

"All The Right Friends" by R.E.M., from And I Feel Fine - rare-ish out-take from former label IRS's barrel-scraping exercise. Feels unfinished and under-rehearsed, probably because it was.

"Song To The Siren" by The Chemical Brothers, from Singles: 93-03 - this is okay, I guess. Bought the album purely to get a copy of "Chemical Beats".

"Grounds For Divorce" by Elbow, from The Seldom Seen Kid - I wonder if this, their breakthrough after twenty years, can be attibuted to bitter 30-/40-somethings wanting to listen to music about divorce?

And there we go. Does any of this help you understand me? No. Know more about me? Probably not. Serve a purpose? Well, you tell me, you're reading this...

Some I know and others I don't.....and as nearly always, a few things you wouldn't normally find at TVV. Here's the ten of them (or versions of them that I could track down) in at the touch a few clicks:-

mp3 : Jamiroquai - Blow Your Mind
mp3 : Gene - A Car That Sped (Radio 1 Session Version)
mp3 : The Vapors - Lenina
mp3 : Duran Duran - Wild Boys
mp3 : The Farm - Groovy Train
mp3 : Crowded House - Hole In The River
mp3 : The Small Faces - Hey Girl
mp3 : R.E.M. - All The Right Friends
mp3 : The Chemical Brothers - Song To The Siren
mp3 : Elbow - Grounds For Divorce

Happy Listening dear readers.

Oh and for those of you who have submitted a list that hasn't yet featured, I hope you can be patient for a wee while longer.  I've been typing up each contribution as they come in and in the spirit of the series, selecting them at random.   There's still around another 15 to come.....but new submissions are also coming in most days. Thanks folks.

SOME RANDOM THOUGHTS - FROM THE MP3 PLAYER OF SWISS ADAM

Swiss Adam is a tremendously talented and entertaining blogger. You'll find him everyday over at the Bagging Area.  I was delighted when he left behind this comment waaaaaay back when this random shuffle thingy got going:-

MBV Only Tomorrow
Joe Strummer Free At Last
The Clash The Card Cheat
Mazzy Star Common Burn
Billy Childish Sally Sensation

 Lot of guitars there considering half the 2597 songs are dance/electronica.

(cough cough......that's one of the songs on London Calling that I tend to skip part nowadays.....feel free to stone me for heresy!!)

mp3 : MBV - Only Tomorrow
mp3 : The Clash - The Card Cheat
mp3 : Mazzy Star - Common Burn
mp3 : The Buff Medways - Sally Sensation*

* although featured on a Billy Childish LP, the recording was (to the best of my knowledge) attributed to one of his earlier bands.

You'll also have spotted there's only four out of the five available.  For the first time, I've been stumped.  I can't trace any recording of Free At Last by Joe Strummer....

SATURDAY'S SCOTTISH SINGLE (Part 59)

It's not been that long since I featured Idlewild on the blog, so I won't waste your time repeating the band's history.  Let's instead get straight into the tunes:-

mp3 : Idlewild - No Emotion
mp3 : Idlewild - No Emotion (Caucasian Dub : Trance Mix)
mp3 : Idlewild - Lookin' For A Love

These are from the 2 x 7" singles that formed two-thirds of the set that made up a 2007 release.  It reached #36 and was the last time any of their 45s troubled the chart compilers.

The remix of the single was, according to the sleeve, 'by Eliot James for Audio Authority Management.' The other track is a cover of a Neil Young song.....and yes, it does seem that just about every half-decent band to ever emerge out of Scotland has at some point made a stab at a cover by the great man.  The original version of this song can be found on the Zuma LP, released in 1975.

Happy Listening.

SOME RANDOM THOUGHTS - FROM THE MP3 PLAYER OF CHARITY CHIC

charity chic said...

1 - Do you Realize?? Flaming Lips 
2 -Jezebelle - The Real Nasty 
3 -Atomic Power - Uncle Tupelo 
4 -Evona Darling - Teddy and Linda Thompson 
5-Leavin on Your Mind - Patsy Cline 

from c7500

The odds, incidentally, of those 5 being selected from 7,500 on charity chic's mp3 player are something ridiculously stupid when you think that to get 5 numbers in a lottery when it's 49 balls is something in the the odds are 1 in 55,492.......

mp3 : The Flaming Lips - Do You Realize??
Click here for link to: The Real Nasty - Jezebelle
mp3 : Uncle Tupelo - Atomic Power
mp3 : Linda Thompson - Evona Darling
mp3 : Pasty Cline - Leavin' on Your Mind

Again, a fair few newbies to the blog.

SOME RANDOM THOUGHTS - FROM THE MP3 PLAYER OF MARTIN MAGUIRE

Another that was sent to the e-mail address:-

ipod 160gb 35547 songs 

Finisterre by St Etienne 
Come On Over by Isobel Campbell and Mark Lanegan 
Hit by the Sugarcubes 
Let Them All Talk by Elvis Costello & the Attractions 
Throw Your Gun Dub by Prince Far I 

which, all things considered, is pretty cool... It could have been much, much worse.

I quite fancy having the 160gb i-pod.  Right now, I'm restricted by the space available on my i-phone and this is the first time I've never had the largest of the i-pods in my possession.  Having said that, 35,000 songs would take at least 100 days listening non-stop...I doubt I'd ever get through them all.

mp3 : Saint Etienne - Finisterre
mp3 : Isobel Campbell & Mark Lanegan - Come On Over (Turn Me On)
mp3 : The Sugarcubes - Hit
mp3 : Elvis Costello & the Attractions - Let Them All Talk
mp3 : Prince Far I - Throw Your Gun (Dub)

Thanks for contributing Martin.  I like what your i-pod threw out for us.

SOME RANDOM THOUGHTS - FROM THE STARRED TRACKS IN GERALD KELLY'S SPOTTERS..

Hi Vinyl Villain

I found your blog by chance a couple of years ago, and have looked in almost daily ever since. I actually stopped using mp3s a year ago now, but still look in, as I find your blog can be a source of ideas for music that has passed me by, or sometimes that I had forgotten about, and other times it takes me down memory lane. 

Instead of mp3s I now use spotify (plus the mp3s that I already have). So, this random selection is from my starred tracks in spotters: 

Germ free Adolescents - X Ray Spex:just over 2 yrs since Poly died :-( 
Driving Nowhere: Paul Weller: one of my fave tracks from Stanley Road 
You'll Always Find Me in the Kitchen at Parties - Jona Lewie: blimey, forgot I had this... kind of like it, kind of can't listen to it. 
What Makes You Cry: The Proclaimers. Love it... these two make me wish I had a twin to sing harmonies with. 
I Can't Give You Up: Smoove and Turrell: Newcastle based duo who are full of pleasant surprises

Hope you like 'em, keep up the good work

That's a comment left behind by Gerald Kelly highlighting you don't need an mp3 player to take part....

mp3 : X Ray Spex - Germ Free Adolescents
mp3 : Paul Weller - Driving Nowhere
mp3 : Jona Lewie - You'll Always Find Me in the Kitchen at Parties
mp3 : The Proclaimers - What Makes You Cry
mp3 : Smoove and Turrell - I Can't Give You Up

That Weller track is probably the first from Stanley Road** ever to feature on TVV.  It's a record I just never took to and don't own a copy........so you're safe to assume that it won't be in the final 10 LPs in the rundown.  It's also certainly the first I've been exposed to the catchy dance-pop of Smoove and Turrell.....

** OK. I could say it was a deliberate mistake to spot if anyone was reading.....but I'd be lying.  As has been mentioned in the comments, the track is not from Stanley Road.....only goes to show that I don;t own much in the way of solo material from 'The Modfather'.  Apologies for the dreadful error.....

50 GREAT ALBUMS IN MY 50th YEAR (Part 40)

The big hint that I love and rate this record was given with this post on 7 March 2009....

I bought this album in the summer of 1999 not long after it was released, on the back of hearing most of it played in Fopp Records during an afternoon's browsing. Over the years, I've probably done such a thing maybe four or five times, and more often than not, when I took it home and shoved it onto my own system, the songs didn't sound anything like half as good. 

But that didn't happen with Play which became a firm favourite on heavy rotation in Villain Towers. The mix of electronic dance, rock, pop, ambiance, folk and gospel just struck the right note with me at that particular point in time - it was the sort of record that could play away in the background and on every listen, my ears would pick up something that was fresh. 

Within a few months, I began to notice snippets of the album getting used in a lot of TV adverts and then I started reading that many journalists were placing it high in the best of 1999 charts and predicting that the 21st Century - (which was then very nigh assuming you take 1st January 2000 as the first day of that era) - would see loads of artists try to blend the modern with the traditional. 

Then Moby started getting very heavy rotation on MTV/MTV2 thanks to a hauntingly memorable video featuring Christina Ricci. 

And then......Moby and his bloody record were everywhere you turned. Before too long, it wasn't difficult to feel bored about it all. 

About four weeks ago, I picked up the CD again for the first time in probably eight or so years and, if you'll pardon the pun, pressed Play on the machine and let it go all the way through in just over an hour. And I re-discovered that it is a genuine classic deserving all the plaudits initially thrown at it, and I accepted that time will fully bring back to life something that had once seemed so to be stale. 

Play remains a tremendous LP that really was ahead of its time.  I remain very proud that I was one of the few who picked up on it in the early days - it's a record that took fully nine months to get to #1 in the UK but once it did begin to pick up momentum there was simply no stopping it all across the world.  There can't be all that many LPs that go on to make 12 million sales on the back of 6,000 in the first week of release.

There's a very healthy 18 tracks on the LP and while it is very much an electronica album, the use of many historic samples made it sound very different than anything else before. There were also a staggering nine singles taken from the LP, the first coming out in August 1998 (well before the LP) and the ninth and last in February 2001.....

Everyone of the singles was a worthy release and indeed there's a case to be made that two or three of the non-singles could also have charted if released in that format.  Play turned Moby into an international megastar, some seven years after his first releases, and made a lot of money for the UK indie label Mute Records - indeed, the success of the LP probably help to keep a lot less commercially viable acts on the books for a while longer than would otherwise happen.

It's tough to select the best tracks on Play - it all very much depends if I'm in the mood for the uptempo numbers or prefer to chill out a bit.  But right now I will go with these.  It's a certainty that if I was typing this up on another evening, the chosen tracks would be different:-

mp3 : Moby - Honey
mp3 : Moby - Porcelain
mp3 : Moby - South Side
mp3 : Moby - If Things Were Perfect

Quick reminder then of the 40 records featured so far:-

30 Something - Carter USM
All Mod Cons - The Jam
Back In The D.H.S.S. - Half Man Half Biscuit 
Boat To Bolivia - Martin Stephenson & The Daintees
Boxer - The National
Closer - Joy Division
Debut - Bjork
Different Class - Pulp
Don't Try This At Home - Billy Bragg
Doolittle - Pixies
Dummy - Portishead
Everything's Getting Older - Bill Wells and Aidan Moffat
Grab That Gun - The Organ
Head Over Heels - Cocteau Twins
Heaven Up Here - Echo And The Bunnymen
High Land, Hard Rain - Aztec Camera
Hypocrisy Is The Greatest Luxury - The Disposable Heroes Of Hiphoprisy
Is This It - The Strokes
Nevermind - Nirvana
Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret - Soft Cell
Out Of Time - R.E.M.
Parallel Lines - Blondie
Philophobia - Arab Strap
Play - Moby
Rattlesnakes - Lloyd Cole and the Commotions
React Or Die - Butcher Boy
Seamonsters - The Wedding Present
Songs To Remember - Scritti Politti
Soul Mining - The The
Steve McQueen - Prefab Sprout
Strangeways Here We Come - The Smiths
Technique - New Order
The Bends - Radiohead
The Clash - The Clash
The Correct Use Of Soap - Magazine
The Midnight Organ Fight - Frightened Rabbit
Tindersticks - Tindersticks
Vauxhall And I - Morrissey
Violent Femmes - Violent Femmes
Will I Ever Be Inside Of You? - Paul Quinn &n The Independent Group

SOME RANDOM THOUGHTS - FROM THE MP3 PLAYER OF SIMON P

Simon P dropped this line:-

1. Reason To Mourn (Alternate Mix from disc 3) - Ben Harper - Both Sides Of The Gun
2. Pause 4 Cause - Roots Manuva - Awfully Deep
3. My Beloved Monstrosity - Eels - Souljacker Part 1
4. Happiness In Slavery - Nine Inch Nails - Fixed
5. Leaving California - Shawn Smith - Shield Of Thorns

 80% American selection!

And later added:-

Forgot to put that I was using iTunes, rather than my iPod, which only has a couple of hundred songs on it at the moment. iTunes annoyingly doesn't appear to tell you how many songs are in your library any more, but I reckon it's around 15,000. The next 3 after my 5 were by Brits, too!

Delighted that you played by the rules Simon.....you came up with a really eclectic selection which again brings new stuff to TVV and in the Roots Manuva track, one of the shortest.


mp3 : Ben Harper -  Reason To Mourn (alternate mix)
mp3 : Roots Manuva - Pause 4 Cause
mp3 : Eels - My Beloved Monstrosity
mp3 : Nine Inch Nails - Happiness In Slavery
mp3 : Shawn Smith - Leaving California

PS added on Sunday 19 May......thanks to Simon, I can now give readers the chance to listen to the Ben Harper and Eels tracks as his itunes shuffle so desired....

Cheers!

IN DEFENCE OF LOOK SHARP

Last night, Girl On A Train reminisced about buying two LPs during a sixth form trip which took her to London for the first time, and she considered all these years later that the Rickie Lee Jones debut LP had the longevity over Look Sharp by Joe Jackson.

I'm not so sure.

As it turns out, I know exactly the date I bought Look Sharp on white vinyl. It was 5 April 1980 and it was from Woolworth's Store #283 (which I'm sure would have been Argyle Street, Glasgow).  I only know this as the little security sticker inside the record sleeve with this information is still there to this day.

Now I won't make a claim that Joe Jackson's debut LP is worthy of a place in the 50 countdown underway just now, but as pop albums almost 35 years old go, it's not that bad. And in this track, it has one of the most enduring and memorable singles of the era:-

mp3 : Joe Jackson - Is She Really Going Out With Him?

While none of the other nine tracks are in the class of the hit single, I'll take most of them over the easy listening jazz-pop of Ms Jones.

mp3 : Joe Jackson - One More Time
mp3 : Joe Jackson - Look Sharp!
mp3 : Joe Jackson - Fools In Love

Happy Listening

SOME RANDOM THOUGHTS - FROM THE MP3 PLAYER OF GIRL ON A TRAIN

I'm really excited by this particlar contribution.  It came courtesy of someone whose former blog provided loads of entertainment on a daily basis, and I was pleased and chuffed that she got in touch:-

Hello, 

Lurker here! 

My ipod touch is one of the three reasons my blogging ground to a halt (now tend to use it for internet accessing rather than firing up The Big Computer but it's not great for typing anything much longer than a tweet - which is why it's taken me a while to actually send this email...). The second reason* was that my commute reduced from 30 mins each way to 15 - neither enough time to listen to enough tracks nor enough thinking time to compose a post. 

But anyway, your invitation to submit a 5-song random playlist was a call back to the 'good old days' and hard to refuse so, here goes: 

There are currently 5482 songs on my ipod touch (had to do some pruning recently as was getting to a one-in one-out stage). Don't know how many artists, but my Lastfm library has 1,895. This is my random playlist from 7:48am on 23rd April 

1) Mazzy Star - Into Dust 

Bought 'So Tonight That I Might See' because of that one track (Fade Into You) and paid the rest of the album scant attention for a long, long time. In the last few years have actually started listening to it properly and realised what I'd been missing. Love Hope Sandoval's voice. 

2) Rickie Lee Jones - After Hours (Twelve Bars Past Goodnight) Bought this album when it came out, on Oxford Street, on a Sixth Form trip, during my first ever visit to London. Bought Joe Jackson's 'Look Sharp' at the same time. Would be safe to say Rickie Lee has had the longevity. 

3) Jackson Browne - ? I don't even know what this track is**. It will be from the 'Greatest Hits' compilation I have but, it is a DUD. Will be unceremoniously culled at the next sync :-(

4) Mogwai - George Square Thatcher Death Party (really! this was random, I promise)

Didn't 'get' Mogwai for the longest time, then saw them live at End Of The Road a couple of years ago and suddenly it all made perfect sense. Love when that happens. 

5)Isley Brothers - Summer Breeze What's to say? Doesn't matter what weather or season - instant nostalgia for a time that never really existed! 

It actually surprises me how old most of those tracks are. But that's the beauty of the random playlist - it never lies! 

Thank you for making me feel inspired to do that. You have my deep admiration keeping up the blogging enthusiasm. Long may it last. 

Love Girlonatrain 

*I forget the third reason 
** Retrospective check tells me it was "Boulevard". Not Jackson's finest hour. Now removed.

I know I won't be alone in fondly remembering Girl On A Train.  For a long while, her blog was on the list of links on the right hand side of TVV and it rarely failed to make me smile or lift spirits.  It was back in July 2010 that it all suddenly came to a halt after six years.

I'm glad it was all for the best of reasons rather than something going wrong.  I'm also delighted to say that it has never been removed.  Click here to access.

mp3 : Mazzy Star - Into Dust
mp3 : Rickie Lee Jones - After Hours (Twelve Bars Past Goodnight)
mp3 : Jackson Browne - Boulevard
mp3 : Mogwai - George Square Thatcher Death Party
mp3 : Isley Brothers - Summer Breeze

Lovely stuff....even if I disagree with the Rickie Lee Jones v Joe Jackson point.

AN ECHO OF THE BUNNYMEN

Electrafixion were formed by Ian McCulloch and Will Sergeant in 1994, who were joined by by bass guitarist Leon de Sylva and drummer Tony McGuigan.  This was the first time that the ex-Bunnymen had played together in about seven years and hopes were high given that Mac the Mouth was, not unexpectedly, saying the new songs were astonishingly good.

In the end, there was just the one album, Burned,before the band was disbanded in favour of a reformation of the Bunnymen. To be honest, nobody cared all that much for Electrafixion - they were nothing more than a bog standard rock band with none of the subtle touches on guitar and vocals that the main protagonists had delivered previously. Here's the tracks from the 2 x CDs that made up one of the three singles lifted from the LP:-

mp3 : Electrafixion - Never
mp3 : Electrafixion - Not Of This World
mp3 : Electrafixion - Subway Train
mp3 : Electrafixion - Lowdown (Rest of the Trash Mix)
mp3 : Electrafixion - Work It On Out
mp3 : Electrafixion - Never (Utah Saints Blizzard On Mix)
mp3 : Electrafixion - Sister Pain (Last Remains Mix)

Given lots of the random shuffles feature the Bunnymen some of you might want to have a listen and compare......

Tune in tonight for a really good shuffle summission.

SOMR RANDOM THOUGHTS - FROM THE MP3 PLAYER OF ECHORICH

A contribution from someone who leaves a lot of great comments behind:-

2nd gen iPod nano with just 8 gigs:

Hit shuffle and here's what I got:

1. Julie Ocean - Undertones
2. Medication - New Build
3. Hallelujah Anyway - Candy Stanton
4. You're A Big Girl Now - Black
5. Changeling - Alison Moyet

My iPod shuffle beats any radio I've listened to for 20 yrs.

With the exception of the shows broadcast by the late John Peel, I reckon most TVV readers would agree with that final sentence....in as far as commercial radio goes.

mp3 : Undertones - Julie Ocean
mp3 : New Build - Medication
mp3 : Candi Staton - Hallelujah Anyway
mp3 : Black - You're A Big Girl Now
mp3 : Alison Moyet - Changeling

Once again, the random shuffle brings something different to TVV. As much as I love Undertones, I never air them on the blog thanks top Feargal Sharkey's previous attacks on filesharing..........

50 GREAT ALBUMS FOR MY 50th YEAR (Part 39)

It's taken a long while for The Clash to feature in the list.  The thing is, I wasn't sure at one point if they would even make the cut.....

I initially was considering London Calling.  But as I've got older, it's an album that I've developed a very strange relationship with in as much that the tracks I like I go nuts for, but the tracks I have little time for - and there's around four or five of them over the double LP - I consider to have date badly or highly unrepresentative of the band at their best.  And it was the fact that I now detest some of the songs on London Calling that I crossed it off the list.

The other thing about The Clash is that some of their best material was never put on any original studio LP and so I find myself pining for songs like (White Man) In Hammersmith Palais and Complete Control when listening to LPs.

But in all seriousness, how the heck could I have a rundown like this without having them included?  And so I found myself turning again to the debut LP.....

The thing is, there's very few of the initial punk/new wave records from 77/78/79 that have stood the test of time, but that's as much to do with the way my tastes have developed and that I'm no longer an angry, skinny and well-coiffured young man.  In recent years, I've found I really have to be in the right frame of mind to listen to The Clash, but that's my issue and problem rather than a reflection on the LP itself as I've become all too aware in recent weeks.

There are 14 songs on this record with 11 of them coming and going almost in the blink of an eye in under three minutes.  It's a frantic, angry, adrenaline-rush of an LP that I guess today still speaks volumes to teenagers and early 20-somethings the world over judging by the number of replica t-shirts I spot each passing year.  It's a record that has to be played at a very high volume to get the best out of it.  And my ageing ears can't always cope.....

However....putting all that to one side.....the debut LP was The Clash at their most basic and unsophisticated best. The songs and the playing are a lot rawer than they would be on any subsequent release.  The subject matters are of their time - both in history and the ages of the band members.  Some of these themes have been covered by many others over the years, but rarely if ever have The Clash been bettered.  Take for instance the song Career Opportunities which is today every bit as relevant and meaningful as it was when it written and recorded the best part of 40 years ago, while the sentiments on I'm So Bored With The USA haven't altered much either.

I turned to this LP wondering if after all these years it deserved a place on the list and as a consequence I've ended up listening to it in its entirety more times in the past three weeks than I have in the last twenty years.  I wont deny that compared to much of the music I listen to nowadays, this LP sounds very primitive but it also sounds still like one of the most important records I've ever had the pleasure of owning.  It was critical in developing my musical tastes and in shaping my outlook on life. I'm more than a bit embarrassed at the doubts I brought to the turntable when I gave The Clash a spin a few weeks back and that for a while there was a threat of the band not making this list.  Quite simply, this is a record that no serious music fan should be without:-

mp3 : The Clash - Janie Jones
mp3 : The Clash - I'm So Bored With The USA
mp3 : The Clash - White Riot
mp3 : The Clash - Career Opportunities
mp3 : The Clash - Police and Thieves

Seriously....this rundown would have had no credibility without these songs.

SOME RANDOM THOUGHTS - FROM THE MP3 PLAYER OF LAST YEAR'S GIRL

From Lisa (aka Last Year's Girl) , a wonderful Glasgow-based blogger and music aficionado whose company I've enjoyed on a few occasions in recent years and who I sometimes bump into on the train as she lives very close to my workplace:-

I listen to music on the go on a 16GB iPhone. 

I have about 17,000 songs in my iTunes library alone, so I have developed a complex system of automated playlists for transferring music across. It's usually stuff released that year or stuff I've recently added to my library, with the gaps filled by my all-time favourite songs. Since there's a heavy skew on stuff I've been sent to review, it means I've often never heard of half of it! 

With the qualifiers out of the way, here's what's coming up today: - 

Evan Greer, "I Want Something": US queer folk-punk, regularly covered by my pal Dave Hughes during his live shows (I've sung backup on this song for him a few times, I love it); 

Kid Canaveral, "What We Don't Talk About": from their magnificent new album;

Jackson C Frank, "Blues Run The Game": one of my all-time favourite songs; 

Dirty Beaches, "Mirage Hall": I don't think their new album is out yet? Regardless, not as into this as I'd thought I would be; 

Rebecca Pronsky, "Better That Way": pretty, country-ish, singer-songwriter fayre.

Cheers Lisa.  Plenty new stuff here as far as TVV is concerned....and I'm with you on Kid Canaveral's new LP being magnificent.  And given it is so new I don;t want to shove up the mp3, so instead here's this:-


Happy to provide three others though.....

mp3 : Evan Greer - I Want Something
mp3 : Jackson C Frank - Blues Run The Game
mp3 : Rebecca Pronsky - Better That Way

As far as the Dirty Beaches track goes, Lisa was right about it not being released yet....so I'm sorry but I can't come up with that mp3 either!

More shufflin stuff at 6pm this coming Monday - Friday.

SATURDAY'S SCOTTISH SINGLE (Part 58)

From the Great Scots Musicography:-

The all-female His Latest Flame emerged from the ashes of previous Glasgow band called Sophisticated Boom Boom.

Initially signed to Go! Discs, the band released two singles in 1986, and while from memory they were gigging quite frequently across Scotlland, they didn't release anything further until 1989 by which time they were now part of London Records.

Comprising Jacqueline Bradley, Irene Brown, Laura Mazzolini, Moira Rankin and Tricia Reid, they were known for great melodic pop songs that packed a punch, thanks to the vocal talents of Reid who was also the main songwriter.  The material on London amounted to a handful of singles and one LP, the songs on which were boosted by the guest appearance of a number of session musicians on accordian, banjo, fiddle, pedal steel and harmonica.  Sadly and rather unjustly, the world wasn't interested all that much in the band, although they retained a loyal following locally.  Their vinyl pops up every now and again in second-hand shops, probably as a result of many of those old fans clearing out space and deciding they wont play the records again, and I've managed to pick up a couple of singles and the album that way.

Here's one that got away:-

mp3 : His Latest Flame - America Blue
mp3 : His Latest Flame - Tongue Tied

Here's the promo:-




Happy Listening

SOME RANDOM THOUGHTS - FROM THE MP3 PLAYER OF JEFF (NO LONGER IN CHICAGO)

Quick bit of background.

Today's contributor was one of the first overseas correspondents, initially via comments on individual postings and later via e-mail.  There was something about the style of 'Jeff In Chicago' that made me one day drop him a long note to ask a bit more about his background and why an American had a love of so many things that were British - particularly football.  One thing led to another, and Jeff soon adopted my beloved Raith Rovers as his Scottish team.

Back in 2010, my wee diddy team did the unthinkable and reached the semi-final of the Scottish Cup.  To my astonishment and delight, Jeff flew in from Chicago to be part of that weekend. Our team never got through to the final, but the few days Jeff spent with me in Glasgow and elsewhere in Scotland will never be forgotten.

In recent years, work has seen Jeff relocate his family to North Carolina and while he perhaps doesn't contribute nearly as much as he used to at TVV, I still have a very regular dialogue with him about Raith Rovers....as indeed does the gregarious Mr John Greer, another regular of this parish.

Jeff  has chipped in with this contribution to the shuffle series:-

It's my Ipad2. Got it as a gift from my last company. I think it was a gift...they never asked for it back when I left. I don't have it fully loaded as I need space for my kids to take 7000 pictures of themselves when I leave it lying about. "Each one's a keeper"they say....I finally discovered how to do group deletes.

I used to run client presentation on it until "Cruiser's Creek" started playing at the end of one presentation. The client loved it, my boss wouldn't have. Took music off for a while. I use the Djay app for music. I like the way it mixes seamlessly (and the kids like all the effects they can add). It definitely has a mind of it's own as the first five in Automix were:

Thou Shalt Always Kill. Dan LeSac vs Scoobius Pip.
Old Joe's Place. The Folksmen.
Sunday Will Never Be The Same. Spanky and Our Gang.
Step On. The Happy Mondays.
Bohemian Like You. Dandy Warhols.

How would you classify the Dan LeSac piece? Spoken Word over low-fi electonica? I just like it and think the lyrics are spot on.

Old Joe's Place...before there were Mumford and Sons there was A Mighty Wind...the hilarious Christopher Guest mockumentary of folk music (same guys that did Spinal Tap). The Folksmen are the pivotal act in the film.

Spanky and Our Gang: I love Sunshine Pop. There.. I said it. As a matter of fact, I have infected my entire family (kids included) with this bug. 60's pop with huge vocal harmonies...The Mamas and Papas, 5th Dimension. Peppermint Rainbow, The Association, et al. No songs are more fun to sing along to on a long minivan voyage to the beach.

Step On....gotta groove sometime. And Shaun can groove.

Dandy Warhols...this song just cuts too close to my youth. Ouch.

My Ipad and I both thank you for this opportunity.

Jeffinchicago...well not anymore but "jeffincharlotte" just doesn't feel right.

Cheers amigo.  Always a pleasure to hear from you.  And while our season may have ended last Saturday, it's not long till 2013/14 kicks off.

mp3 : Dan LeSac vs Scoobius Pip -  Thou Shalt Always Kill (extended and uncensored)
mp3 : The Folksmen - Old Joe's Place
mp3 : Spanky and Our Gang - Sunday Will Never Be The Same
mp3 : Happy Mondays - Step On
mp3 : Dandy Warhols - Bohemian Like You

Love that Dan Le Sac vs Scoobius Pip track.   Video is well worth a look too.


Marvellous.

50 GREAT ALBUMS IN MY 50th YEAR (Part 38)

You do know that yesterday's choice isn't that far removed in many ways from today's selection.....

Fast and aggressive in many places. Loud then quiet in other places.  A far from classical vocalist often screaming as he hits the notes.  Fantastic rhythm section that drives the whole thing along.  Kurt Cobain made no secret that Doolittle was a huge influence on his work.....and yet while he's seen as an out-and-out rocker, Black Francis and the other members of The Pixies are seen as the kings and queens of alternative indie.  I sometimes don't get the pigeon-holing of musicians.

Doolittle is one of the greatest albums of the 80s.  It also is a record which has had an incredible impact on music and the wider creative industries in Scotland.......as the next four paras will demonstrate:-

Hearing an album that you like – really like – for the very first time, can be a pretty thrilling experience. It happens more often for some than for others, I’m sure, but nevertheless when it happens…wow. It was ‘Doolittle’ for me, by The Pixies: bought blind at the age of 17 on the recommendation of a music-obsessed work colleague ten years my elder (I’d just left school to work in an office job before starting University). Taking it home after work, I did something I’d rarely done before which was to stick it on the turntable, plug in the headphones, sit down on the couch, pull out the limited edition booklet…and wait.

We’re all guilty of retrospectively dousing the mundane in the magical, I know, but when Kim Deal’s bassline flew out of those headphones it ushered in a whole lot more than Black Francis’ deliriously brilliant yips and yowls: it was, unquestionably, my ‘floodgate’ moment. That album pointed me in so many different musical directions that I’m not entirely sure I ever made it back: it ignited touch paper that I hadn’t even realised needed to be lit and that’s what makes the album such a powerful, wonderful thing.

A much loved album is a priceless gift, plain and simple. It lasts a lifetime without being static or inert: it can prime you for a night out in an hour’s time and capture in amber a night you had in twenty five years ago. It’s a tranquiliser, a stimulant, an ice-breaker, an aphrodisiac, a counsellor, an agitator, a social convenor and a constant, unerring companion. No other artform inhabits and enhances our lives more than music and nothing packages and delivers that art more efficiently, more effectively and, at times, more dazzlingly than the album.

Let’s hear it for opened floodgates and sliced-up eyeballs.

Those are the words of Stewart Henderson and it's quite clear that Doolittle had a major role in directing him into a musical career as bass player in The Delgados and, arguably much more importantly, as one of the co-founders of Chemikal Underground.

This is no ordinary record label.  It's impossible to overstate the contribution this Glasgow-based organisation has made to the Scottish music scene over the past near two decades.

The folk at Chemikal have never been afraid to champion all sorts of new ways to support and promote music and other creative aspects of life in Glasgow and across Scotland.  Right now, some of them are very heavily involved in the promotion of the Scottish Album of the Year 2013, and it was from the website behind that initiative that I borrowed Stuart's wonderful words about Doolittle.  Click here for more.  And please, no matter where you live, feel free to get involved with the event.

Anyways.  Doolittle is an astonishingly good record.  It's not perfect - there's a couple of tracks that I could easily live without, but alongside that there's about half-a-dozen which are among the finest bits ?>6of music ever recorded by any band.  And in Debaser, possibly the finest opening track of all time....and in .0, one of the finest closing tracks of all time.

Feast on these:-

mp3 : The Pixies - Debaser
mp3 : The Pixies - Tame
mp3 : The Pixies - Monkey Gone To Heaven
mp3 : The Pixies - Hey
mp3 : The Pixies - Gouge Away

Only 12 more to go in this rundown.  Only five and bit weeks till the 50th birthday.....the series is just about on schedule.

SOME RANDOM THOUGHTS - FROM THE MP3 PLAYER OF THE BIG O

Yet another fantastic e-mail that made me smile:-

Dear JC: 

Here are my shuffle 5 from 1902 songs on an iPhone 4: 

Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers - I won't back down from the album Full moon fever (1989) Hopewell- Echo & his brother - from the album Beautiful targets (2007) 
The Smiths - How soon is now from the album Meat is murder (1985) 
Mumford & Sons - Feel the tide from the EP Love your ground (2008) 
Bruce Springsteen - Frankie from the album Unsatisfied heart (1984) 

The Hopewell song is special to me because it was written by my nephew Jason Russo, the founder and singer songwriter of the band Hopewell. He has been at it for probably 20 years now - did a stint playing bass for the band Mercury Rev - and he keeps on going, i admire him for that perseverance. 

I am a native Parisian who has made his home in New York City. I need to thank you for keeping me sane and opening my world to new music. Back in 2009, I was laid off and walked through the desert for two years before getting a new full time gig with health insurance. It was that year that i found the TVV and faithfully kept coming back to daily to discover a world of music I did not know existed and has made me very happy. From Paul Quinn, Friends Again, Orange Juice, Martin Stephenson to Fruits of Passion, a whole world of Scottish music, The The, Kitchens of Distinction and so much more. You have persevered keeping your blog alive in the face of tragedies, difficult times and moments of doubts and i have to say "thank you" because there is not a week that goes by without checking your latest entries, new ideas for posts and musings. This latest shuffle top 5 is just a brilliant idea and got me to participate. 

I'll keep on reading and listening as long as you're willing to post and when the day comes that you stop, you will have left us a truly selfless gift that has enriched my life and will be remembered always. 

All the best, The Big O.

As with the recent contribution from Luca Banci, this is the sort of thing that really does make the hours I put into TVV all worthwhile.

I never imagined when I started TVV that people living in Italy, the USA, Australia, Germany, Israel, South Africa and all many other countries would become regular readers and contributors. There was a time when I though turning 50 years of age would be the ideal time to give it all up and go back to reading more about music, particularly over at the many other fine blogs and websites out there and to which I've provided links over on the right-hand side of TVV.

But the comments left behind each day, not to mention the e-mails that a lot of folk take the time to drop into the inbox, provides the cyberspace equivalent of a hi-energy drink.  One read and there's a surge of energy to keep it all going.  Thanks Big O.  It's you and everyone else who make TVV what it is....


mp3 : Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers - I Won't Back Down
mp3 : Hopewell - Echo & His Brother
mp3 : The Smiths - How Soon Is Now *
mp3 : Mumford & Sons - Feel The Tide (Turning)
mp3 : Bruce Springsteen - Frankie

I'm fairly certain this post will attract a DMCA**........oh and I've decided to put an alternative version of How Soon Is Now up with today's posting.  One that was seemingly made available on a 12" single released in Italy...

** It did!!!

CALLING ALL FAIR-MINDED TVV READERS......

I get regular updates from British Sea Power and I wanted to share the contents of the latest one with you.

Basically, a fan of the band has launched a campaign to get a former single back into the charts as a response to the outcome of recent elections here in the UK.

Waving Flags was initially released in January 2008 as the first single from the rather excellent LP Do You Like Rock Music? and at the time reached #31 in the singles chart.

It's a cracking upbeat song which addresses what has long been an unhealthy fear of immigration in the UK - there's been a disturbing increase in recent times, as the recession begins to bite hard, in the number of unsubstantiated newspaper articles across the right-wing press which stoke up fear, suspicion and hatred of non-Brits. Sadly and worryingly, this has translated into a modicum of success for the UK Independence Party (UKIP) at council elections held at the beginning of May.

Let British Sea Power tell you the rest:-

The BSP audience has launched a campaign to get the pro-immigrant BSP track Waving Flags into the UK singles chart - as a gesture of opposition to the recent electoral success of the UK Independence Party. 

For overseas readers, Nigel Farage's UK Independence Party are bumbling bozo-ologists whose reactionary agena centres on the scapegoating of immigrants. UKIP made substantial gains in recent UK elections. In the face of this, the long-standing BSP devotee Pale Fox, aka Gary Williams, has decided to try and get BSP's pro-Bulgar Waving Flags into the UK charts. 

Says Gary: "Even to get the track into the lower reaches of the chart would be a gesture worth making. We're calling on the BSP audience to help wake people up in these worrying times." Less Rage Against The Machine. More Machineries Of Joy against the Farage... 

PLEASE NOTE. To feature in Gary's campaign, Waving Flags needs to be downloaded BEFORE MIDNIGHT THIS SATURDAY, 11 May. We are told a download should cost 79p.... 

The Quietus website currently has a story on the campaign, with an extensive chat from BSP frontman Yan on the subject: 

http://mailinglists.beggars.com//lt.php?id=MB8FDQIAB1QBV0hXBwUORVYHBQNbAw%3D%3D 

There is a Facebook event page for the campaign here: 

http://mailinglists.beggars.com//lt.php?id=MB8FDQIAB1QBVkhXBwUORVYHBQNbAw%3D%3D 

And a Tumblr page here:

http://mailinglists.beggars.com//lt.php?id=MB8FDQIAB1QAU0hXBwUORVYHBQNbAw%3D%3D 

The track can be downloaded here: 

http://mailinglists.beggars.com//lt.php?id=MB8FDQIAB1QBWEhXBwUORVYHBQNbAw%3D%3D 

Or from Amazon here:

http://mailinglists.beggars.com//lt.php?id=MB8FDQIAB1QAUUhXBwUORVYHBQNbAw%3D%3D

I'd be delighted if some of you would put your 79p worth of protest in before this coming Saturday.  I'm loading this up at work so can't access my tunes, but I will put up a lovely alternative version of the tune later on to hopefully encourage you.

Thanks again.

JC

as promised:-

mp3 : British Sea Power - Waving Flags (Wandering Horn Instrumental)

50 GREAT ALBUMS IN MY 50th YEAR (Part 37)

I don't dislike loud rock music.  I'm just a bit particular about it.

My introduction to Nirvana came via a Jacques the Kipper compilation tape.  At the time, we had great fun exchanging tapes with cryptic clues so that the other could try and work out the song and artist.  I will never forget the stroke of genius when he opened up his latest tape with a one word clue - Vodka

mp3 : Nirvana - Smells Like Teen Spirit

It still sounds amazing all these years later.  And if you don't mind me saying,  every other track on Nevermind is also a standout.  It's hard to say whether or not the world would have tired of the band if Kurt Cobain hadn't shot himself - certainly there was enough great stuff on the follow up In Utero to suggest that this was a band who could continually surprise and enthral.  But we'll never know.

30 million copies sold.  This is a record which really hit the buttons of the record buying public.  My love for this record grew out of first hearing the single that made them famous and then from a brilliant appearance on UK telly a few weeks later:-


If memory serves me correctly, the show it featured on went out on Channel 4 between 6pm and 7pm.  Bloody marvellous.

Here's some other bloody marvellous tunes:-

mp3 : Nirvana - In Bloom
mp3 : Nirvana - Lounge Act
mp3 : Nirvana - On A Plain

It ain't noise pollution.......

SOME RANDOM THOUGHTS - FROM THE MP3 PLAYER OF JIMDOES

Another of the lovely e-mails that have dropped in:-

Hello Mr villain…

Here’s the background to the songs on my shuffle…

1035 songs on my iphone – I change them fairly regularly always adding new stuff for my jimdoes internet radio show (http://seeksmusic.com/show/jimdoes/#/listen/jimdoes-april-2013)… but some favourites always remain – pixies, the smiths, kate bush, etc

Sonic Youth - I Love You Golden Blue


One of those bands that I always keep a few tracks by on my iphone – you never know when a Sonic Youth moment is going to strike…!

Patti Smith - Seneca


The only Patti Smith track on my phone – but what a song it is. Sounds fantastic on headphones.

The Very Best - Angonde


From one of my favourite albums of the last few years – you really should listen to the whole thing!

Allo Darlin’ - Dreaming


Proper indie by one of my favourite bands – again if you don’t know them, they really are worth checking out. This album is one of my go to albums when I’m not sure what to put on. Always gets the family singing in the car.

Belle and Sebastian - Another Sunny Day



Another of those bands that has a constant presence on my phone. I like cooking to Belle and Sebastian – I sing along! This isn’t one of my favourites of theirs but I guess it’s vaguely optimistic now that Spring might finally be here.

thanks for consistently entertaining me with your blog and showing me loads of music that I probably wouldn’t be exposed to – Butcher Boy being a case in point – first discovered via your blog, I love them! Anyway have a good day!

xxxjim

Seemed to make sense to put this up on the same day as Pat's Breakfast Show contribution, so please click here to make your way to Jim's very interesting internet radio show.

mp3 : Sonic Youth - I Love You Golden Blue

mp3 : Patti Smith - Seneca

mp3 : The Very Best - Angonde

mp3 : Allo Darlin’ - Dreaming

mp3 : Belle and Sebastian - Another Sunny Day



Match that BBC Radio 6......