THE MERRY MONTH OF MAY (Day 31) : SMALLTOWN BOYS

Growing up in a small town on the periphery of Glasgow the bright lights of the music industry seemed so far away and unachievable for someone like myself. At least that’s what careers advisors and guidance teachers told me and I believed them for a while. However that all changed in the mid 80s when the Glasgow scene exploded and it seemed that anyone with an axe to wield and a handful of tunes was being feted and signed by the industry in London.

Being pretty much “an indie kid” most of the bands involved left me cold until Stephen Lindsay’s The Big Dish released Swimmer on the Virgin label in 1986. Hailing from another of Glasgow’s satellite towns, in this case Airdrie, I was enthralled.

Whilst it would be so easy to write this album off as an over produced relic of the time that would do a massive disservice to the quality of song writing on display. The album works on two levels. On one level it is a slick pop record but delve a little deeper and you uncover darker themes beneath the shimmering production veneer.

Each one of these themes spoke to me in a way few records had previously. Whilst The Clash dealt with Londoncentric issues before branching into global affairs and The Smiths stayed true to their Manchester roots this record connected on a very local and intimate level. The album seemed to explore all of the feelings I had for my small town and the dreams I held for the future. Covering alienation (Loneliest Man in the World), disaffection (Slide), opportunity (Prospect Street), envy (Jealous) it felt almost subversive and in my mind fitted comfortably with my indie credentials.

I’ve chosen the track Christina’s World from the album. To me it has always been the most interesting of the cuts on offer. Whilst the song is clearly about alienation the interesting question is on what level. I have always read the song as being an allegory of mental health issues but it’s more likely to be about something much more mundane. I’ve long since stopped analysing music. These days I simply sit back, listen and appreciate the songwriters craft and the musician’s dexterity. I hope you can do the same.

The band released one further album for Virgin (Creeping Up On Jesus) before moving to Warner’s subsidiary East/West where the album Satellites produced minor hit single Miss America.

Stephen Lindsay continues to make music to this day although in my eyes he has undone a lot of his excellent earlier work with a recent ill advised cover of the seminal Monkey Gone To Heaven by the Pixies. But I kind of respect him for having the balls to do it.

mp3 : The Big Dish - Christina's World

TODAY'S GUEST POSTING IS COURTESY OF DAVENELLI, OF THE (LARGELY REDUNDANT) BLOG THE WORLD ACCORDING TO DAVENELLI, YET ANOTHER PERSON WHO OFFERED TVV SOME KIND WORDS AND SUPPORT IN THE EARLY DAYS.

THE MERRY MONTH OF MAY (Day 30) : LIFE ON THE ROAD AS SUPPORT TO MY BLOODY VALENTINE

On the day this blog is posted I’ll be as old as the speed a 7” record plays at. In 1989, when the band I played bass with, called Silverfish, first started playing gigs, I suspect I would have regarded this age as ancient. I still play in a band (called Giant Paw), I never got around to trading in my bass for a set of golf clubs.

I’ve agreed to reinvestigate the early gigging days of Silverfish, for The Vinyl Villain, with the help of a fanzine article I wrote, dug out from under the stairs, entitled, Life On the Road As Support to My Bloody Valentine.

Initially I thought about paraphrasing the whole article but the specifics of sound checks and whether bean burgers are served in ozone destroying CFC blown plastic containers is probably more detail than anybody need really know.

Re-reading the article certainly reminded me of the sights, sounds and smells of being a struggling band on the road though. From dodgy van drivers, to greasy caffs. From getting pissed and falling asleep in the back of transit vans, to stopping the van every twenty miles for someone to have a piss. From the glamour of loading equipment in and out of a venue every night, to the salubriousness of sleeping on someone’s floor. The initial method of travelling around, to entertain others, playing as a band is not altogether as enchanting as may be perceived from the outside. The hours are long, tedium can set in from the journey and the lack of sleep can only be caught up with after the whole thing is over.

Of course there are great laughs, late night banter, all sorts of people to meet and the ego massage of getting to show off onstage. I’ve always found it easiest to think of my persona onstage as someone different from who I am the rest of the time. In this way I get to be over the top when playing and a whole lot more quiet and unassuming, when I’m not. Injuries wind up being not uncommon too. I’ve cut my forehead from headbutting my bass. I’ve had metal staples put in my head after jumping off the drum riser, into a metal beam, In Edinburgh. I’ve made my knees bleed from diving onto them (in the style of James Brown) one too many times. I’ve stage dived, with my bass still on, into a modest audience number, with the vague hope of someone breaking my fall. And this is without dwelling upon any problems our feisty Scottish female vocalist, Birthday Party obsessed guitarist and rocking drummer may have had.

In the days before the Internet, touring was the way of getting your music directly to like-minded people, in a particular town or city. With the advent of Myspace and the accessibility of music online intense touring schedules no longer seem to be appropriate. Indeed it was probably a three-month tour of the USA that killed Silverfish off. There’s almost a danger of gigs becoming solely virtual events, to be logged on to. However the face-to-face interaction of a band with an audience is definitely something special. If you enjoy music, at whatever age, it is still your duty to get out there and support bands by going to see them however occasionally, or performing in one yourself.

All the best.

These live Silverfish tracks sent are from 02/02/90 :

mp3 : Silverfish - One Silver Dollar
(a Marilyn Monroe song, from the film River Of No Return)

mp3 : Silverfish - Driller

(I remember Lesley and Fuzz getting the lyric for this together from random headlines, in a Sunday newspaper we’d found.)

TODAY'S GUEST POSTING IS FROM CHRIS P. MOWORTH, BASSIST EXTRAORDINAIRE.

Happy 45th Birthday young man......

The memories of Silverfish are kept alive at this myspace site.

Chris is still making good music:-

mp3 : Giant Paw - Skin Of Your Teeth

More info on his new band can be found here.

THE MERRY MONTH OF MAY (Day 29) : RECORDED HISTORY (3)

Dreamfish – Dreamfish (1996): It has been a good two years. Me and D have been clubbing. It is 7am on a spring morning. We are sitting in her living room, drinking tea and smoking. We admitted we didn’t fancy each other long ago. We can just be friends. This is playing. It is an ambient classic. Light comes through the gently waving leaves of the trees and in through a gap in the curtain. It falls on the wall opposite where we are sitting. We both stop talking and for the twenty minutes the track takes to unfold just watch the light and the rippling patterns gradually make their way across the wall as the sun rises. It is a perfect moment. A collision of the perfect visuals with a track that matched. As the track finishes we both come to and realise that it was one of those rare moments in one’s life where we were both thinking and feeling the same thing in a perfect connection. We both still talk about it today.

R.E.M. – Country Feedback (Live) (2006): My little son has cancer. We are in hospital on the ward. He has just come back from neurosurgery for his brain tumour (his second in under a month). It is his last chance. But it could leave him blind, paralysed; who knows. The mix of fear and hope and trying not to have too much of either. I can’t sleep. I’ve been playing acoustic R.E.M. a lot. But this is the track that counts. The knotted tight emotions. The feeling that no-one else can understand. Like sex and drugs, you just can’t adequately explain how watching your child die over a protracted period feels to those who haven’t gone through it. And anger below the surface. I’m not normally good at hearing lyrics but the words “We've been through fake-a-breakdown, Self hurt, Plastics, Collections, Self help, self pain, EST, psychics, fuck all” express it all. The anger at the religious who in their pity will pray for you. The anger at the New Agers who will cure with crystals and incantation. The unutterable sadness from the repeated refrain of “It's crazy what you could've had”. Knowing that he's dying. Knowing I am right. And hating myself for it.

mp3 : Dreamfish - Dreamfish *
mp3 : R.E.M. - Country Feedback (live in Stockholm)

TODAY'S GUEST POSTING IS THE THIRD IN THIS SERIES COURTESY OF CTEL FROM ACID TED.

HIS BLOG OFFERS THE CHANCE TO HELP CHARITIES THAT ARE TRYING TO FIND A CURE FOR CANCER. PLEASE MAKE A VISIT OVER TO HIS PLACE AND SEE IF YOU FANCY HELPING OUT.

IF YOU WANT TO UNDERSTAND WHY, PLEASE CLICK HERE....IT'S WHERE I BORROWED TODAY'S PHOTO FROM....

JC
x

* an 18 minutes plus track that has been placed on an alternative server to preserve bandwith..

THE MERRY MONTH OF MAY (Day 28) : TRAPPED AND UNWRAPPED (2)

There are a few records of mine that I often wonder why they weren’t more successful. Why didn’t more people hear what I heard? What was it about them that didn’t quite grasp the record buying public in sufficient numbers to propel them on to commercial success? The blogosphere is full of bloggers asking the same question about their favourite bands/artists. There are a few that spring to my mind.

Vinyl Villain has championed one such artist in the shape of Paul Quinn and the other neglected voice that I’m really thinking of is Chris Thomson. Thomson was in Friends Again with James Grant and produced a seminal (I don’t use the term lightly) album, Trapped & Unwrapped in 1984. It’s that type of album that I can hum the intros during the silence between tracks; one that’s been played to death because you love it so much. I struggled to pick out one song from this album but as Thompson might say, “get a load of this!”

mp3 : Friends Again - Sunkissed (extended version)

Given their name, ironically, Friends Again split late on in 1984. James Grant went on to form Love and Money and achieved the comparative commercial success that had eluded him with Thomson. Rosemary is taken from a 4-track EP that was given away with Cut magazine in 1987. It’s probably not a classic Love and Money track and Grant wrote it with Friends Again keyboardist Paul McGeechan. Grant is still making music, releasing under his own name.

mp3 : Love and Money - Rosemary

Meanwhile Chris Thompson formed The Bathers with Callum McNair and Hazel Morrison. I loved The Bathers first two LPs, Unusual Places To Die (an early release on Go! Discs) and Sweet Deceit. Thompson’s voice had taken on a more gravelly tone and his lyrics become even more elliptical. I always enjoyed that a lot of his lyrics referenced locations in Glasgow. I remember being pleasantly surprised by Simon Bates playing a Bathers’ track on Radio 1 - that was until he asked us listeners if the singer was taking the mickey….

mp3 : The Bathers - Perpetual Adoration

I saw The Bathers play at The Tramway in Glasgow years later – Thomson was as fantastic live as on record. Both albums achieved critical acclaim but no gold records. Instead of dropping the The Bathers, Island Records put Thompson in a studio with two of Lloyd Cole’s Commotions, guitarist Neil Clark and drummer Stephen Irvine. They were called Bloomsday and produced one album Fortuny. (Fortuny was a Modernist Italian textile designer famed for his capes fact fans!)

mp3 : Bloomsday - Strange Honey

The album was another commercial damp squib. No critical acclaim to soften the blow either. Thompson went back to The Bathers. Clark and Irvine went back to Lloyd.

The Bathers released four albums for German label Marina, Lagoon Blues, Sunpowder, Kelvingrove Baby and an awful re-visiting of older material in a jazz-funk style, Desire Regained. He blotted his copybook with that.

Pandemonia was released in 1999 by Wrasse Records and now nothing for 10 years. Maybe he’s just gone a bit Blue Nile on us. I hope that he makes a return and his new material is merely trapped and unwrapped. Any announcement should be made at http://www.thebathers.co.uk/ but let’s not hold our breath.

I reckon the music and singing of Chris Thomson can bring out a Marmite reaction in the listener. I love it. Hate Marmite though. With these neglected/overlooked artists I reckon that deep down, in some ways, we are secretly glad that only a few, select(!) people know about them. Face it, if they’d achieved commercial success we would say something like “I bought their first album before they were famous. I’ve gone off them since they’ve sold out!” They just can’t win.

TODAY'S GUEST POSTING IS COURTESY OF GARETH JAMES OF THE BLOG HOW DOES THAT ONE GO AGAIN?

THE MERRY MONTH OF MAY (Day 27) : PRIMITIVE BUT FUN

Hello dear people,

First of all: thanks to you, JC, for letting me participate in this series of guest contributions for the Vinyl Villain. I hope you and Mrs. V. enjoy your holiday … you certainly deserve it!

Now, there are thousands of songs I like quite a lot and which I could have picked in order to write something pretty clever about. Songs with an immensely wise meaning, a political statement perhaps, songs you all know, love and would be eager to hear again here. Songs that would have made it more or less easy for me to create a long essay of wisdom about which I could then share with you here.

But be warned, the opposite is true, I’m afraid: the tune I have chosen doesn’t mean pretty much. Nor does anyone know it, I’m willing to have a small bet. Nevertheless I simply love it and have done so since I first heard it back in 1983 or thereabouts. It includes everything a good tune needs, at least as far as I’m concerned: a) whacky rhythm b) clever lyrics c) young female vocalists. Or, if you’d rather, it’s primitive, but fun.

In it the singer tells us a story of everyday life: it’s about chatting up girls. And about how ludicrous men behave when trying to do so. And yes, I admit: at times we do. Most often, in fact. Although: the bloke in the song really tops the bill, perhaps that’s why he’s referred to as an ‘Aquavelva Geek’. You may wonder now what this might possibly mean, and rightly so. Well, there’s a little dictionary at the back of the sleeve of the record, described as the ‘Val Talk To English Dictionary’. Here’s what the ‘Aquavelva Geek’ is translated as:

"(ak' wa vel'va gek) n. : Distasteful individual hailing from Marina Del Ray area; frequently divorced and on the make."

Next to this there is a little comic-style drawing of the Geek with clothing details described below: "1. attempted perm on balding head, 2. fake gold chain, 3. unbuttoned white collar shirt, 4. chest hair wig, 5. Casio alarm watch w/ Pac Man game, 6. Ultra-suede jacket, 7. doubleknit pants, 8. Justin boots. "

Mostly all of the strange expressions which are contained in the lyrics are translated in the dictionary and if I only had a scanner I would perhaps be able to picture it here. But I don’t, so listen closely to one of the finest songs in the history of recorded music, which, I shouldn’t forget to mention, includes my favourite song line ever: "Yeah, I learnt quite a while ago not to be afraid to wear fashion underwear"...:

mp3 : The Valley Girls – Marina Men

Marina Men was released as a 12” on Rhino Records back in 1982.

The Valley Girls were Chrissy Peters (16), Sonia Gordon (16) and Pamy (18) and, astonishingly enough, I got an email from one of their nephews not so long ago, saying that all of them are enjoying their family lives in the Valley …

Well, I do hope you enjoyed my choice, friends.

Take care,

Dirk from Sexyloser.

TODAY'S GUEST CONTRIBUTION IS COURTESY OF A REALLY TOP BLOKE...SOMEONE WHO HAS BEEN A LONG-TIME FRIEND OF TVV....AND SOMEONE THAT ONE DAY I HOPE TO MEET IN THE FLESH....DICK HUPPERTZ OF ALDENHOVEN, GERMANY AND OF THE BLOG SEXY LOSER.

THE MERRY MONTH OF MAY (Day 26) : THE DIFFICULT EIGHTH ALBUM

Very few bands make it to an eighth album. (Actually, I suppose you could argue, given the amount of bands that must form and split up, very few make it to actually releasing anything). But ten years after they released their debut Three Imaginary Boys, The Cure released their eighth album Disintegration in May 1989.

What was even more astonishing was not only how good the album was -and is, it's dated extremely well – but the contents therein. The Cure had gone from being yet another band out of the Post-Punk/New Wave who had taken the possibilities of what had gone before and run with them. From their second album, 1980's Seventeen Seconds, they had become associated with what would become known as the raincoat bands/positive punk/goth...call it what you will. Two further albums over the next successive years, Faith and Pornography, saw them get darker and fiercer. A surprise then that under Robert Smith's leadership they would discover pop and get bigger and bigger, managing to retain and pop sensibility, maintaining a loyal fanbase and attracting ever more folk to the cause. The next three albums, The Top, The Head On The Door and Kiss Me Kiss Me Kiss Me saw them reach ever successive heights, as they gained not just NME and Melody Maker covers but appearances in Smash Hits and on Top Of The Pops. So the expectation for their eighth album was pretty high.

Disintegration is a wonderful album, twelve tracks long (the LP misses off Homesick and Last Dance; it's one of very few albums I'd rather have on CD than vinyl) that for much of it is extremely sad and dark. As they headlined festivals and drew bigger and bigger crowds, they might have been expected to have gone completely pop. Instead, they released what would become viewed as a sister album to Pornography in its' intensity (this would later form part of a trilogy with the release in 2000 of the Bloodflowers album, perhaps the most underrated album of this band's career).

The opening song Plainsong would continue to open gigs for over a decade afterwards. It really is plainsong, managing to be simple and yet majestic at the same time. Your hair stands on end without needing to be backcombed, as slowly the band come in, one by one. The closer Untitled with similar motifs to Plainsong played on the harmonium is a perfect matching bookend.
Smith had married his long-term girlfriend Mary the previous year, and a tape of the second single Love Song was his wedding present to her. It's an honest love song, about how he feels, but also acknowledging that there may be difficult times. They're still married now...

Other hits from the album were Lullaby and Pictures Of You (the US also got a single of Fascination Street). In Lullaby, Robert Smith envisaged himself being eaten by a spider man, and a fantastically creepy video ensued. It became the band's biggest hit in the UK, reaching no.5; Love Song would also reach no.2 in the US. Thus, two years before Nirvana's Nevermind is perceived as opening the door for 'alternative' music, The Cure had already done it two years earlier.

It's not an upbeat album, but by no means is it as harrowing as Pornography. All shades of life as seen here; Smith coming to terms with being thirty, just as Bloodflowers would deal with hitting middle-age ten years later. It contains hit singles, that were deservedly hits, which reached out to the casual observers. Other tracks like the title track, the full album version of' Pictures Of You and Prayers For Rain showed that emotionally intense and epic songs could still be their forte.

20 years later, you're left to conclude that the title might almost be ironic. Though long-serving keyboardist (and formerly drummer) Lol Tolhurst left during the recording of the album, this is not the sound of a band disintegrating. Rather, it's the sound of a band firing on all cylinders, lyrically, musically, emotionally.

mp3 : The Cure - Plainsong

TODAY'S GUEST POSTING IS COURTESY OF ED, A RESIDENT OF EDINBURGH, SCOTLAND AND TALENT BEHIND THE BLOG 17 SECONDS. HE ALSO RUNS A RECORD LABEL OF THE SAME NAME, AND TO TOP IT ALL, HE'S A VERY DECENT HUMAN BEING.

THE MERRY MONTH OF MAY (Day 25) : IN MY ARMS....

I have this recurring dream. In it, I am clinging to a rock face, hundreds of feet up, and completely paralyzed. I’ve done a little abseiling in my time, but going down is easy. It’s hauling oneself up, inch by inch, that presents the challenge. It’s not so much that I’m afraid of heights, really. I’ve taken helicopter rides, and been on big dippers, and things like that. What terrifies me, I believe, is the concept of being so close to life-ending disaster; the idea that one slip, one misjudgment, a moment of weakness, might send me plummeting to my end.

I’ve never died in my dream, but I haven’t made it to the top, either. And in some ways I think that is as good a metaphor as any for this bizarre, mystifying, daunting, paralyzing, exhilarating thing we call life.

Back when kids had real toys, I used to have an Action Man (G.I. Joe) mountaineer. He had shorts, a light jacket, a red pudding bowl helmet and these strange spiked things that were supposed to clip to his boots. He also had some nails which were not, as I later discovered, in case he decided that a bit of cabinet making might be called for halfway up Mount Everest, but were actually the most important part of his kit. Be patient with me here, there is a point to this.

These nails, or pitons, are the means by which a climber makes progress when there are no footholds to be found. Through careful preparation, these small pieces of metal can guide the climber up a face that might seem impossible to navigate. In my own life, there have been times when events beyond my control have paralyzed me. There have been times when my dream has seemed real, that at any moment I would lose everything, forever. But, I have always had some pitons to hold on to. Sometimes, these pitons have been people. Sometimes it was faith. And sometimes, it was music.

Yes, music. That casual, take it or leave it, in the charts and gone tune, that forgotten album track, that throwaway B-Side. When I think of the really big moments of my life – the birth of my daughter, my wedding, my travels, my break-ups, there is a tune to be heard. That is, at heart, probably the reason we blog about it, and discuss it, and reminisce, and compare, and deliberate.

For my post today I’d like to share a particular moment on the rock-face.

It was March 18, 2006. We got a call at three in the morning telling us that my stepson, a soldier in the U.S. Cavalry, had been a passenger in a high-speed car accident, and that he was in critical condition and on life support.

I put my wife on a plane and then set out for a 13 hour drive with other family members. At that time, he was not expected to live.

During the next week, he hung on. We were told his brain injury was severe. I had to go back to work, and left my wife with him in the intensive care unit. She was there with him for the 17 days he was in a coma, and for the next month as slowly and surely, he made progress.

While I was at home, trying to keep things together, I started listening to Mary Chapin Carpenter ’s CD, Between Here And Gone. I remember driving to work and listening to “My Heaven”.

You can look back on your life and lot
But it can’t matter, what you’re not
By the time you’re here, we’re all we’ve got
In my heaven.

And then, he made a miraculous recovery. The physical damage had been done, and he is still undergoing serious reconstructive surgery three years later. But in less than a year, he was walking, talking, and returned to his Army career. When he drives me somewhere, I think back to the moments when I talked to him, lying in a hospital cot, dead in almost every sense. Now, he has good prospects and a young baby.

It was a little while later that I discovered “In My Arms” by Plumb, a Christian artist in the same vein as Evanescence. I was putting together a slideshow telling the story of this young man’s life, and of the moments in which it seemed everything would be taken away. But as parents, we know that giving up is not an option.

Castles they might crumble
Dreams may not come true
But you are never all alone
I will always, always love you.

Yes, there are going to be times when you find yourself clinging to a rock face. You are trying so very hard not to look down. The pressure makes movement almost impossible. But you don’t need big nails, or expensive nails, just something to hold on to. And that is what music generally, and these songs in particular, mean to me. I hold on, and keep looking up. And even though sometimes I want to, I never, ever, let go.

mp3 : Mary Chapin Carpenter - My Heaven
mp3 : Plumb - In My Arms

TODAY'S QUITE INCREDIBLE STORY IS COURTESY OF FIFTYPERCENT OF THE BLOG MINE FOR LIFE.

THE MERRY MONTH OF MAY (Day 24) : A MATTER OF TASTE

One of the things that irritate me most is when someone says a certain song is crap, in my opinion no music is bad , it is all really a matter of taste.

To explain my thoughts on this, I will give you a short intro to my personal music experience .I come from a small town about 15 miles from Glasgow I was always interested in music as a teenager my taste being sort of in the middle of mainstream to indie. At around the tender age of 21 I became involved with a guy who ran a local mobile disco , this was a vehicle to put across my music taste and to meet girls! I eventually ran this disco and was very successful locally as I discovered that I had finally found something I was good at and was passionate about. I then was approached by a local publican to be a resident DJ a job that I held for what must be a record of 16 years.

I started off thinking I had high moral standards about what I would play and what I would not play everyone would like what I liked. Then I had one of these drunken moments of clarity which made me think what right do I have to decide what people hear ? My job was to play what they wanted whither it was my taste or not and from then on I played such a variety of music you would not believe , yes I played Metallica , Spice girls, Take That , Rush (that was extremely hard to play) to Erik Morrilo and back with as much of my beloved indie music that I could possibly squeeze in. Watching the reactions of people when their genre of music was played made me realise I was right whither it was mass produced pop to indie to rap as long as they were entertained by the song then it was good for them and ultimately was worthwhile making and by my definition not crap.

Another instance from my personal life is around five years ago my nephew insisted he wanted to see Busted. I picked the lad up with his mother after the concert. He was hooked t-shirt , blow up guitar etc. He wanted to be them , now he is an accomplished young guitarist who constantly bugs me for information and has a fantastic varied taste in music all due to Busted (mass produced pop). I rest my case.

My soon to be six year old son overheard Sandman ,by Metallica (metal crap to some) in our car and linked it to the prayer he learnt at school after watching on you tube with me. His thirst for music is insatiable, it makes me laugh but equally melts me to hear the garage band he and his friends have formed and have created their first song "Brocolli" if I ever get it recorded I will send it to JC.

I am sorry if this is not the most interesting of postings but it is something I have always wanted to get of my chest, and I am grateful of the chance to do this ! If JC includes my words . I will end with three songs which are purely from my own warped personal taste ( I don't think any of these has ever graced TVV) and hope someone gets even a modicom of pleasure from. "

Son of the rock.

mp3 : Dirty Vegas - Days Go By

Just a wee tune that I would describe as a cross of dance and indie two of my favorite genres.

mp3 : Gordon Lightfoot - If You Could Read My Mind

A song I only became aware of through a comedy show on TV a few years ago but just totally love. Special merit badge for the first person to tell me which show and when during that ?

mp3 : The Roots - The Seed

Please give this one a full airing don't be put off by the start, there is a stunning vocal in there by a guy with the excellant name Cody ChesnuttOne of the things that irritates me most is when someone says a certain song is crap - in my opinion no music is bad , it is all really a matter of taste.

TODAY'S GUEST POSTING THE FIRST OF TWO IN THE SERIES CONTRIBUTED BY SON OF THE ROCK, A RESIDENT OF DUMBARTON, SCOTLAND (AND BIRTHPLACE OF DAVID BYRNE.... )

I'D LIKE TO GIVE SON OF THE ROCK A SPECIAL WORD OF THANKS FOR COMING IN EVERY DAY DURING THIS SERIES OF GUEST POSTINGS AND LEAVING BEHIND HIS THOUGHTS...

THE MERRY MONTH OF MAY (Day 23) : A TRUE CHAMPION

For me the Vinyl Villain is at his very best when he revives neglected Scottish artists whose recordings can only be found on old vinyl. So when I was offered the opportunity to deputise for a day, I immediately thought of an artist who fits the bill perfectly, yet hasn’t featured so far. Someone who's such a maverick that he's way off the radar of the average indie fan.

Champion Doug Veitch (born in 1960, a native of Hawick) was dubbed (by himself) The Undisputed King of Caledonian Cajun Swing, but this doesn’t even come close to describing the musical anarchy at play on this brilliant, hilarious mix of pop, reggae, country and rap.

mp3 : Champion Doug Veitch - Jumping Into Love

Sitting down to write, I did the inevitable googling and found a previous eulogy to this single in a blog called The Blue in the Air. This post really nails it, so I shall point you in its direction for a summary of what makes the song such fun... http://garbocathedral.blogspot.com/2008/03/champion-doug-veitch-jumping-into-love.html

Just to give a little more context, it came out as one of a string of Champion Doug Veitch singles in the 1980s which were played by Peel and Kershaw, lauded by the NME, and ignored by everyone else. They were subsequently compiled (along with some Peel session tracks) on a 1989 LP on Bongo Records called The Original. If you ever see a copy, don’t let it out of your sight!

Its sleevenotes alone are worth the price of admission, detailing Doug’s move down south...

“...Always a stroppy git, Doug and his sparkling eleven-piece band upset London’s music scene (specially the fat old codgers playing ropey ‘purist’ cajun or country rock in pubs) with their unique blend of any music that came to mind during sober spells...”

...and explaining how his drunken belligerence was the reason for his lack of success. Surely though, the main culprit must be the music itself. Who in the 1980s was prepared for this absurd collision of musical styles with a Scottish accent on top?

Aside from his own recordings, Doug was behind the Bhundu Boys ’ arrival in Britain and the label Disc Afrique, bringing African music to the ears of British music fans, just before it became neatly compartmentalised into "World Music", and 25 years before the African music craze among indie bands today.

At the end of the 1980s Doug turned his back on music and returned to Scotland. Nowadays he gigs occasionally in partnership with Rise Kagona, whose sparkling guitar was the defining sound of the Bhundu Boys.

Go and see them if you ever get the chance – he’s not drunk any more, but he’s still a rare character.

Very Happy Listening.

TODAY'S GUEST POSTING IS COURTESY OF CULLENSKINK, A RECLUSIVE RESIDENT OF GLASGOW WHO DOESN'T OFTEN LEAVE COMMENTS BUT DOES SEND ME OVER THE OCCASIONAL E-MAIL OF SUPPORT AND ENCOURAGEMENT.

THE MERRY MONTH OF MAY (Day 22) : LIFE AFTER THE FALL...

My suggestion is Baby's On Fire by The Creepers.

It doesn't really mean a tremendous amount to me in terms of stardust memories, other than it being a reminder of what made vinyl so special: that you could have a record that everyone wanted, but they couldn't get, as they were deleted, and CDs, t'internet were things of the future.

Growing up as an indie kid here in Manchester that meant more obvious tunes like So Young by the Stone Roses, Jeane by The Smiths, Chainmail by James etc which were always being played in the clubs at the time.

I bought it second hand in a shop in Bristol while at uni where no-one knew how cool it was (and hence how cool I was). Baby's On Fire, while a cover, also shows that there was more to The Fall in the 80s than MES ( The Creepers being Marc Riley's spin off band in case you're not familiar).

Not that I ever bothered buying more of their records. I think I paid £2 and I had never seen it for sale back home and have never seen it since. Like I say, sooo cool.

mp3 : The Creepers - Baby's On Fire

TODAY'S GUEST POSTING IS COURTESY OF ADRIAN WILLS, OF MANCHESTER, ENGLAND (POSSIBLY THE ONLY OTHER BRITISH CITY I COULD EVER CONTEMPLATE LIVING IN)

THE MERRY MONTH OF MAY (Day 21) : SHORT, SWEET AND SCANDANAVIAN

Par Lagerkvist

Låt min skugga försvinna i din.
Låt mig förlora mig självunder de stora träden.
De som själva förlorar sin krona i skymningen,
överlämnar sig åt himmelen och natten.

Let my shadow disappear into yours.
Let me lose myself
under the tall trees,
that themselves lose their crowns in the twilight,
surrendering themselves to the sky and the night.

mp3 : The Wannadies - The Beast Cures The Lover

Cheers

adam
x

TODAY'S GUEST POSTING IS FROM ADAM - ONE OF THE FIRST BLOGGERS TO EVER PROVIDE A LINK FROM HIS PLACE TO TVV - AND SOMEONE WHO GAVE ME LOADS OF EARLY ENCOURAGEMENT. GO SAY 'HI' TO HIM AT PRETENDING LIFE IS LIKE A SONG.

THE MERRY MONTH OF MAY (Day 20) : KC AND HER SUNSHINE BANDS

Preface from JC......

When I initially came up with the notion of the guest postings, Karen Campbell was the only person I directly approached (other than my wee brother) to ask if she'd think about a contribution. I was delighted when she responded in the affirmative....over to her.....

I used to work with Jim (aka the Vinyl Villain) at the City Chambers in Glasgow, and like a lot of friendships, it's only when you don't actually have to see each other that you find out if there's a friendship there at all. But, we've both moved on from promoting cooncillors opening fetes, and keep in touch we have, so I suppose I do quite like the grumpy sod after all ...

When he asked me to pick some music for his blog, I was surprised how hard it was to limit the tracks I finally chose. I'd forgotten how integral music was to me when I was growing up, but, having spent almost every Friday and Saturday night of my teens at Glasgow's Night Moves, or Tiffany's or the QMU and even the good old Apollo ( -just, before they pulled it down) , I found I was spoilt for choice. So sorry to The Stranglers and XMal Deutschland and The Damned and The Cure and Big Country and Killing Joke and all the other bands I've loved and lost - now that I've dug out your albums again, I remember what I've been missing. My only excuse is that work and kids took over - there's a whole decade in the nineties where music passed me by!

But what I did start doing in the nineties was writing. I took my time, mind - my first novel The Twilight Time came out last year, and my second After the Fire was published this March. Both books look at the world of the police, as I was a cop for a number of years. I really wanted to write about life behind the uniform, getting away from the PC Plod stereotype, and showing the real police, warts and all.

After the Fire couldn't get more 'warty' in fact ; it's about what happens to a firearms cop when he shoots and kills a suspect - and ends up in jail. I don't play music when I'm writing - I find I need the silence to think, but taking the time to run through the playlist of my life for Jim's blog has actually triggered off several new ideas for stories.

So cheers Vinyl Villain for raking up some inspiring memories - you've earned yourself an acknowledgement in Fade to Grey (which will be my third novel, and no reflection on your changing hair colour at all...)

'Roots, Radicals...' - Stiff Little Fingers (That whole 'Go for it' album is a teenage summertime in Glasgow, discovering music and politics and life, learning that it was okay to be different, in fact, that it was a good thing)

'She's in Parties' - Bauhaus or 'Ziggy Stardust' - Bauhaus version (Pete Murphy topless at Tiffany's, arms akimbo in the dark, painted in luminous skeletal stripes. Me in black lace, with poker face and poker hair (but underneath, desperate to dance!)

'Privilege (Set Me Free) - Patti Smith (strong, bolshy female with a fantastic voice and oozing individuality)

'Spellbound' - Siouxsie & the Banshees (ditto - plus more black lace)

'One' by U2 - but the version sung by Johnny Cash (gives me shivers every time)

'Dream Catch Me' by Newton Faulkner - a beautiful, uplifting love song

Postscript from JC......

I'm guessing that Karen's taste in music was pretty unique among her fellow cadets and police officers in Glasgow's finest back in the days....we were certainly in the minority at the cooncil with very few folk knowing anything about the bands we talked about.

I do of course thoroughly recommend both of her novels to everyone, and I'm not just saying that because she is a friend. If you visit her official website, you'll see all sorts of fine reviews....

mp3 : Stiff Little Fingers - Roots Radicals Rockers and Reggae
mp3 : Bauhaus - She's In Parties
mp3 : Bauhaus - Ziggy Stardust
mp3 : Patti Smith - Privilege (Set Me Free)
mp3 : Siousxie & The Banshees - Spellbound
mp3 : Johnny Cash - One
mp3 : Newton Faulkner - Dream Catch Me

TODAY'S GUEST POSTING IS COURTESY OF KAREN CAMPBELL OF GLASGOW, SCOTLAND.

www.karencampbell.co.uk

THE MERRY MONTH OF MAY (Day 19) : TRAPPED AND UNWRAPPED (1)

I like my pop music shiny. Yes, there is a place in my heart for the distorted bliss of MBV, the sweaty drip of old blues guitar, and the way Mogwai suddenly go VERY LOUD. Heck, I think I even prefer Bandwagonesque to Grand Prix. But when it comes to POP I like a bit of polish. To me, ABC’s The Lexicon of Love was a seminal work, as central to the canon as Revolver, and I’m probably one of the few people who thought the Altered Images 12” Dance Re-Mixes were an improvement from those dreadful early Peel sessions.

Great shiny pop moments have peppered my life and to this day the joy of discovering a new ‘great pop song’ is still a thrill. I can still picture the exact moment I first heard Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go, and had no idea it was the new Wham! single – but I knew it was awesome. And so the mid 80’s were a great time for me, particularly as I also loved cool indie guitar music, and I was always on the look out for my next ‘new favourite band’. Friends Again first appeared to me as a lovely white shiny double pack single, probably at a bargain price, and I bought it simply because I thought it looked good. I took it home and found a string of wonderful guitar based pop songs and so began my love of one of Scotland’s best lost bands. In the years that followed I tracked down everything I could find but never saw them in the flesh – by the time I was a gig-goer the party was long over.

Friends Again revolved around Chris Thomson and James Grant, both of whom would go on to other things, respectively The Bathers and Love and Money. Thomson provided the lyrics and slightly fey vocals, Grant the killer lead guitar lines – if you play guitar yourself you’ll understand how bloody good the guy is. Between them they concocted tight, snappy pop songs, with words that to this day I find pretty incomprehensible. They had by this time a slight funky edge, which they acquired as they were polished up by their major label and the production skills of Bob Sargeant. Previously they had been one of those many Glaswegian post-Postcard guitar bands, and the original versions of the songs, although much cooler, didn’t have the lovely sheen that was sprinkled across the one and only album release Trapped and Unwrapped. I suspect that although I loved the polishing, most of their core audience would have seen it as ‘selling out’ and so they didn’t quite grab the hip and trendy guitar crowd, or the Smash Hits teenie-boppers. (I’ve always found that a good place to hover for fine music is between these two groups) JC has written elsewhere on this blog about the sad demise of the band as their major label deal led to almost no sales, and they went their separate ways. A few years beyond Friends Again, Chris Thomson made a second classic album as The Bathers, Kelvingrove Baby, which is more gentle, acoustic and painfully romantic. (If you have a girlfriend, she’ll love it.) Although Thomson hasn’t released a record for many years, James Grant is still in action and apparently is still a great guitarist.

I still dream of a reunion so if you are out there somewhere guys…….

For beginners, step into the graceful State of Art, seemingly built around a simple,two chord riff, but blossoming into something ornate and intricate. To sample the more up-tempo fare may I suggest a slice of Lucky Star and then to finish, one of the extended 12” mixes: Lullaby No 2 (check that guitar solo!) perhaps? And yes, it is lovely sweet and sticky pop music, so after enjoying these tracks you can go back to being cool and groovy with some Yo La Tengo B-sides.

Ever since those days I thought I was alone in having even heard of Friends Again. When I met my wife a few years later one of her friends, who only owns about 5 albums, revealed he too was a big fan. I’m sure the wonders of the internet can help to grab a few more - Get in touch if you’re converted.

mp3 : Friends Again - State Of Art
mp3 : Friends Again - Lucky Star
mp3 : Friends Again - Lullaby No.2 (extended mix)

TODAY'S GUEST POSTING IS COURTESY OF KEVIN HARTLEY FROM LANGTOFT, LINCOLNSHIRE, ENGLAND.

THE MERRY MONTH OF MAY (Day 18) : RECORDED HISTORY (2)

The Smiths – This Charming Man (1983): This is listening to John Peel. This is a special new world. The excitement of something new and vital when music had seemed to go downhill in the aftermath of the demise of The Jam. This is snobbish rejection of mere ‘chart pop’. This is the exclusivity of the ‘in’ and the ‘unknown’. This is identifying with sensitivity whilst being at a rugby-dominated University (it was Wales after all). This is rejecting accepted norms of masculinity. But not a love like the adoring Smiths fans, who even then seemed to verge on the deranged in their fervour. There is admiration for Morrissey (untainted by time and events) for being prepared to assert himself in this way. I remember him playing at University and coming to the front of the stage and admiring his bravery at being prepared to face not only the adulation but the hatred of the non-believers. And the shock of seeing homophobia in the raw.

Carter USM – Twenty Four Minutes to Tulse Hill (1991): This is loud and overwhelming. The lyrics were local to where I lived. But the key to the track is the recording of the pre-recorded railway announcement of stations to which the West Sutton train will call. It is everyman. They are me and I am they. Anyone can be a pop star. There is no exclusivity here. Everyone is welcome if they are prepared to participate. I can see the yellow bricks of South London’s Victorian houses. I can see the way the late afternoon sun hits the yellow bricks turning them gold as we pull out of Forest Hill station. It is beautiful. More beautiful than almost anything I have seen before or since.

mp3 : The Smiths - This Charming Man
mp3 : The Smiths - This Charming Man (Peel Session)
mp3 : Carter The Unstoppable Sex Machine - Twenty Four Minutes To Tulse Hill

TODAY'S GUEST POSTING IS AGAIN COURTESY OF CTEL, THE GENIUS BEHIND THE BLOG ACID TED.

THE MERRY MONTH OF MAY (Day 17) : CHANCE ENCOUNTERS IN FOOTBALL STANDS/A POST-PUNK FAIRYTALE

The reason I’m doing this post owes everything to the first time I discussed music with JC. Seated in the away stand at Livingston FC back in 1999, somehow the conversation turned from football to music and I mentioned that I had a website, although I didn’t think he would be interested in the bands I liked. I was wrong and so almost 10 years later here I am filling in for JC on his hols.

I mention this not because it’s a riveting anecdote but because something similar happens in the story of the band I’m about to tell.

I was in my late teens before I properly discovered rock music (in its widest sense) and my early heroes included bands like the Bunnymen, Teardrop Explodes, even U2. And a Scottish band named after a comic I had read as a kid.

The band were a four piece from Edinburgh called TV21 (http://www.powbeat.com/ ) featuring Norman Rodger (guitar/vocals), Ally Palmer (guitar/backing vocals), Neil Baldwin (bass) and Ali Paterson (drums), who had replaced original drummer Colin MacLean. The first TV21 record I bought was their third single, On The Run which I’m pretty sure was the first to feature the above line-up.

On The Run is an urgent tale of paranoia set in Thatcher’s Britain which builds tension and momentum the longer it goes. To this day it remains one of my favourite singles ever.

mp3 : TV21 – On The Run (single version)

It was followed by a fourth single, Snakes and Ladders (which was packaged with a free 7” of their first two A-sides, Playing With Fire and Ambition) and this was supposed to be the record that took the band from critical to popular acclaim.

Despite being a great record (featuring brass, the band had by now expanded to a five piece with the addition of Dave Hampton on trumpet and keyboards) it stalled on the brink of the Top 40. Although the band’s delayed debut LP A Thin Red Line followed a few weeks later, again to critical acclaim, a lack of record company support ensured that the material never reached a wider audience, despite the release of a second single from the record Something’s Wrong.

A post LP single All Join Hands and a Peel session both illustrated a change of direction but in truth the band themselves weren’t sure where they were going. Despite obtaining a support slot with the Rolling Stones on their Scottish dates in the summer of 1982, the band were dropped by their record label and split shortly afterwards.

And that would have been the end of the story but for a chance encounter in another football stand at another match. Suffice to say that Norman was more than a little surprised to be serenaded by a stranger singing a TV21 song to him at Tynecastle. The singer turned out to be Bryan Chalmers, owner of the Citrus Club in Edinburgh.

That encounter, coupled with the untimely death of John Peel, ultimately led to TV21 reforming to play the first John Peel Day at the Citrus Club in 2005 with a number of contemporaries. Core members Norman, Ally and Neil were all on board and were joined by drummer Simon McGlynn. Having enjoyed the gig so much, the band kept playing and kept improving. And appropriately enough became more ambitious.

Having got to know the guys, it was a nagging worry that any new songs might not live up to their legacy. How easy would it be for them to write new stuff with a genuine connection with music written almost 25 years previously? Less than a year after reforming the first new TV21 song of the millennium, Last Man Standing was aired. The fact that the hairs were standing up on the back of my neck hearing the song for the first time was a pretty good indication that I needn’t have worried.

Although only one other new song, Look To The Sun was added to the set during 2007, the songs were being written behind the scenes. By the start of 2008, new tunes began to dominate the less frequent shows and over the course of the year the band recorded 15 songs for possible inclusion on the record.

The album, called Forever 22 is finally here – a mere 28 years after the debut. The band launch it at the Voodoo Rooms in Edinburgh on 24th May with support from young whippersnappers, Scott Hutchison from Frightened Rabbit and Adam Thompson from We Were Promised Jetpacks. Tickets can be bought by clicking here.

The odd thing after all this time is that, unlike many bands who reform and record, TV21 actually sound more like TV21 now than they did at the end of their original lifespan. Pitched somewhere between Teenage Fanclub and the Undertones, the new songs are a mixture of energy and melody full of ringing guitars.

Whilst the record is mainly up tempo it covers the band’s full range from poppy numbers like the wonderful title track with its soaring guitar solo, through the big rock songs like Look To The Sun and Last Man Standing to the new wave dance of Through Different Eyes. There’s also a quirky wee rhythmic pop song called In Another World which offers something more than a little special.

You don’t have to take my word for it – here’s the title track and you can also check out their Myspace where you can listen to another 4 songs from the record.

mp3 : TV21 – Forever 22 (from ‘Forever 22’) [Buy it]

The second half of the TV21 story would have seemed totally implausible to me a few short years ago – it’s almost a post punk fairytale. Yet somehow they have managed to deliver on an ageing fanboy’s expectations. Add in the fact that A Thin Red Line seems finally to be inching towards a long overdue reissue and that’ll do me.

TODAY'S GUEST POSTING IS FROM MY FELLOW RAITH ROVERS FAN MIKE MELVILLE FROM THE BLOG MANIC POP THRILLS. JUST HOW MIKE MANAGES THE TIME TO BE A RADIO/INTERNET CORRESPONDENT FOR THE ROVERS, BE A DAD TO TWO YOUNG SONS, HOLD DOWN A FULL-TIME JOB AND WRITE A MUSIC BLOG IS BEYOND ME.

THE MERRY MONTH OF MAY (Day 16) : IS THIS SONG THE ONLY ONE YOU SING?

Och, pop-kids, it doesnae always have to be "indie-cool". There was a time (1987, to be exact) when posturing didn't matter all that much. Not to you and me anyway. But then look at us, ya hoors. A wee bit confused, aye, on the dancefloor in our Sherry's Stay Press breeks and fake Adam Ant Highwayman ('gay') shirt. Erm, touch of Gedge-like mascara? It seemed a bit simpler though. But, aye, there was some posturing true enough. Just not indie posturing. Trust was placed, and won, via a beat, a tune to dwell on and repeat in yer heid. It really was just about hearing a fucking good song and feeling all sweet and pretty about it. The tap of a stray foot and the nod of a head. Disco lights shining down on the dead dancers. The memories abound. Doing that 'STOP!' sign with your right hand at one minute and four seconds, you know, when she told you to. It was just about the hook; a lift and a vocal that made you smile and dance. So, anyway, enough o' the old nostalgia shite: two songs, from 'back in the day', that you can't help but love. No? Please, cast aside yon upbeat soul prejudices and be taken away by Luther (RIP) and Alexander. Legends both: so just salute them and find yer groove.

mp3 : Luther Vandross - Stop To Love (4.24)
mp3 : Alexander O'Neal - Criticize (2.49)

For the curious and geeky, Stop To Love, criminally, only got to #24 in the UK Top Forty (September 1987) whilst Criticize peaked at #4 (October 1987).

TODAY'S GUEST POSTING IS COURTESY OF COMRADE COLIN, RESIDENT OF THESE FAIR PARTS AND OCCASIONAL ACCOMPLICE OF MINE AT A NIGHT OUT FEATURING ALCOHOL AND LIVE MUSIC. HE USED TO WRITE A BLOG Y'KNOW....

OH AND THAT'S ME NOW AWAY ON MY ACTUAL HOLIDAY. BACK IN 15 DAYS TIME....

THE MERRY MONTH OF MAY (Day 15) : THERE ARE ONLY THREE KINDS OF PEOPLE IN THIS WORLD...

Yep, it's true. Those who love Sigur Ros and worship them for the soul melting, uplifting, angelic Icelandic gods that they are. Those who hear them once and instantly hate them. And those who just don't get it.

In my experience, Sigur Ros really do seem to be a band that you either love or hate, which I think is actually a good thing. Surely it's better to inspire a passionate reaction, however negative it may be, than inspire nothing at all. Just think of all those bands you come across that are good at what they do, but leave you feeling cold. Coldplay, anyone? (Pun ever so slightly intended).

I think it's fairly obvious which side of the fence I fall on, and seeing these guys live last year only further cemented their place in my heart. I don't have just one 'favourite band' as such, but Sigur Ros inspire more feeling in me than any other band in my music collection. I can't even remember how I came across them, although it would've been some wonderful blogger pointing me in their direction I'm sure. I just wish I could remember who it was, so that I could thank them properly.

The first Sigur Ros album I heard was Takk and it blew me away. I had never heard anything that stirred up so much emotion in me. It was inspiring and uplifting and devastating all at once, and I couldn't get enough. I followed it up with Hvarf-Heim and the iconic Ágætis byrjun, and just when I thought I had these guys all figured out, they released the stunning Með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaust, and I was once again blown away by their versatility and stunning (largely self-taught!) musicianship.

While I love every song Sigur Ros have produced, there are two that are very close to my heart. The first of these is Glosoli and I think it's because it was the first Sigur Ros track I ever heard. Little did I know as those first notes flowed through my speakers that I was about to hear music of the kind I'd never known before. Too gushy for you? Perhaps it is, but I'd literally heard nothing like this before and was immediately overcome, and I played it again and again, soaking it in and finding something new to marvel at with each listen.

However, as much as I love Glosoli, it's Staralfur that has become my favourite Sigur Ros song. And if for some horrible, awful, hateful reason I was told that I was only allowed to listen to one song for the rest of my life, I have a very strong feeling that this would be the song I'd choose.

This song has never, ever failed to make me feel better when things aren't going so well. This song will calm me down when nothing else will, and this is going to sound really sappy and silly, but when I'm feeling stressed and all worked up I can literally feel my muscles relax and my breathing slow when this song starts playing. Do you think I'm a lunatic? Perhaps I am, but I can't say I care much when caught up in the beauty of Staralfur. And as long as this gorgeous, melting, aching stuff exists, I think I'll be ok.

mp3 : Sigur Ros - Glosoli
mp3 : Sigur Ros - Staralfur

TODAY'S GUEST POSTING IS COURTESY OF AGNES OF THE BLOG IT ALL STARTED WITH CARBON MONOXIDE. SHE NORMALLY LIVES IN AUSTRALIA, BUT IS CURRENTLY ENJOYING AN EXTENDED VACATION TOURING EUROPE.

THE MERRY MONTH OF MAY (Day 14) : MY SECRET IS OUT....!

The Vinyl Villain's Favourite Songs Part 478.5

Quick, nobody's looking. Go on, hurry up, that window's open. In you go.

Ow! Mind your feet, that bloody hurt. OK, we're in. Lets have a quick look around. Ah, here we go, it's like Santa's Grotto in here. If Santa was a Smiths fan that is. Blimey. Two life size cardboard Morrisseys. That's a little scary. What's that? Morrissey's pants? Put em down.

Now, there's got to be something here that we can use against him. Those gits up at the Record Company need something on him, something he won't want made public. That way if dares to speak up against em again they'll have him in their pockets.

But it's all good, he's not hiding anything. Whatever you see on the Vinyl Villain, well that's him. Damn. I thought this was going to be easy money. Oi! Watch where you step, I don't want anything.....broken.....oh you berk!! Twat! I told you to watch out. You're a real clumsy idiot. If you weren't family I'd throw you through that bloody window. Hold on. What's this? It's a false wall. Hold that torch a little higher. No, not in my face you mug, through that hole in the wall you've made. That's it.

Heh. Well, look at this. Paydirt! Eurovision 1981. It's a bloody shrine!! Look at those posters. Hey, wait a minute, isn't that? It is, it's the original costumes. Ergh, those stains look a bit dodgy. Well, who would have thought it eh? Bucks Bloody Fizz. Look at this, he's got posters, annuals, calendars. There's picture discs and everything. I got to admit though, I can remember watching those skirts coming off back in 81. Those girls were a bit tasty. Look, he's got photos taken with them!!! Even the blokes! Yup, keep that light up, I'm going to take photos of this, we've got him now!! The proof we wanted, the Vinyl Villain loves Bucks Fizz!!

Still can you blame him? They were the British ABBA. Without the advantage of being Swedish. Yeh, I know, one of em was a Cockney. And the blokes had dodgy haircuts. Like David Cassidy both of em. But still. The skirts. And some tidy little singles. You think I'm joking? Here, hold the crowbar, I'll put a couple on. OK, there's Land Of Make Believe, which will always be the sound of Christmas 1981 for me. Pretty much the last Christmas as a kid before the teenage hormones kicked in properly. But still there were the skirts. I suspect they helped speed up puberty. Listen to those Christmassy bells. Lovely stuff. "he came today, but had to go, to visit you? You'll never know"...that scared my little sister stupid!

And then spring 1982. An absolute classic time for British pop, all shiny and brightly coloured, ABC, Human League, Soft Cell, Associates, Dollar. And in amongst it all, My Camera Never Lies, with it's opening dreamy 'click click' stuff, then the jerky guitar riff that was made for that 80s dancing.

What? Oh yeah, all the girly backing vocals back then sounded like that, funny accents and all. You should listen to Toto Coelo. Ah, it's the click click middle bit. Now listen to this, all drums and the girls doing strange vocals again, I want to dance in a silly jerky fashion now! "My camera has good eyes" I had such a crush on those two girls...what did I say that out loud? Oi, why is the light on your tape recorder red? Turn that off you dozy idiot, now!! Oi come back here!!!

mp3 : Bucks Fizz - The Land Of Make Believe
mp3 : Bucks Fizz - My Camera Never Lies

TODAY'S PRICELESS OFFERING IS COURTESY OF SIMON FROM THE ENDLESSLY ENTERTAINING BLOG THE SONGS THAT PEOPLE SING.

(NB : Simon is soon going to be a dad for the first time. I bet he'll be great at making up fairy stories for his kid.....no really, I dont have a secret wall in my bedroom. Honest. Morrissey's pants?? Well that's another story.....)

THE MERRY MONTH OF MAY (Day 13) : THE CLASS OF '79 - POSTGRAD PUNK REUNION

Since Vinyl Villain does such a fine job of keeping vintage music from the Class of '79 alive, I thought it might be enlightening to put the spotlight on some of that year's more notable graduates. The lads have been quite busy from the looks of things, acquitting themselves well out there in the cold, cruel, postpunk world. Without further ado, the charter members of 2009's distinguished Honor Roll.

Stiff Little Fingers released four phenomenal records in its first incarnation, but the lackluster response to 1982's Now Then was a major factor in breaking up the original SLF operation. Jake Burns released some solo work in the '80s, but when he got the old gang together for a few St. Patrick's Day events in 1988, ironically it was the overwhelming positive reaction to those live shows that convinced SLF to reform for good, and they've been back at it ever since, releasing new albums and touring steadily. The band got their feet wet in 1991 with Flags & Emblems, but by 1994's Get a Life they were back in top form, with bassist Bruce Foxton, ex of The Jam, now a full-fledged member. I picked the song Cold because it doesn't sound like a Stiff Little Fingers song yet it stands up to their best work the first time around. Not only is every song on the album brilliant, but live versions of five classic SLF tunes close out the CD. A nice touch.

mp3 : Stiff Little Fingers - Cold

The original Buzzcocks broke up around the same time as their Irish counterparts, with Pete Shelley pulling the plug and pursuing a solo career in 1981. To that end, he released three interesting but uneven albums in the '80s: Homosapien, XL1 and Heaven & the Sea. Steve Diggle flew a bit more under the radar, with most of his post-Buzzcocks work released under Flag of Convenience, much of it highly worth hearing. But when Diggle and Shelley thankfully dusted off the good Buzzcocks name, sporting a brand new rhythm section, with the 1993 release of Trade Test Transmissions, they didn't disappoint: a batch of songs that fit right alongside Singles Going Steady. And they kept right on rolling with the superb All Set (1999) and then Modern, which might be my favorite Buzzcocks release period. Turn of the Screw is from that 1999 record, and if it sounds a bit like 1981's Why She's a Girl From A Chainstore, I don't see how that in any way can be a bad thing. Listen, and be moved.

mp3 : Buzzcocks - Turn Of The Screw

Punk legends The Clash held out a little longer, the original lineup splintering apart in Orwell's dreaded 1984 when founders Mick Jones and Joe Strummer could no longer agree on the political direction of the band. Jones went on to find chart success with Big Audio Dynamite, while Strummer seemed to do his best work in the 1980s in movies, not only acting in indie films like Mystery Train, but making standout contributions to the soundtracks for Walker, Sid & Nancy and Permanent Record. He collaborated once again with Jones on B.A.D.'s No. 10 Upping Street, produced The Pogues' Hells Ditch, and even toured with the Irish folk-punkers for a while. Never one to rest on his considerable laurels, Strummer went on to write some of his best songs while fronting the Mescalaros on albums like 1999's underrated Rock Art The X-Ray Style and 2001's Global A Go-Go. The 2003 release of Streetcore, coming as it does on the heels of his passing, is particularly haunting to listen to now. All Music Guide's Thom Jurek nails it when he says Streetcore "sends Strummer into rock & roll heaven a roaring, laughing, snarling lion." Coma Girl, from that album, represents everything that made Strummer great in the first place.

mp3 : Joe Strummer & The Mescalaros - Coma Girl

Paul Weller had his full of The Jam by 1982, and at the height of that bands popularity, he changed direction by forming a "soul" band, The Style Council, which lasted most of the decade, to the dismay of almost everybody. His first true solo album was 1992's eponymous Paul Weller, and he released about one album per year for most of the '90s, collected in greatest hits form under the modest title Modern Classics in 1998. And while I wouldn't be looking for Weller to reunite The Jam anytime soon, he's still making solo records, all of which contain gems. In fact, As Is Now, released in 2005, might be his best material ... ever; it's a no-frills, back to basics approach without sounding retro, with Weller himself in "roaring, laughing, snarling" form, sometimes all in the same song, like the imploring, riveting Come On/Let's Go, which as I listen right now has me singing along loudly with something very close to joy:

"I Believe Again, We are Everything,and I feel the Wind, and I get so High!"

mp3 : Paul Weller - Come On/Let's Go

TODAY'S GUEST POSTING IS COURTESY OF THE WARDEN, FROM ASTORIA, (WHICH I AM NOW RELIABLY INFORMED IS IN QUEENS, A FULLY-FLEDGED BOROUGH OF NEW YORK CITY) AND OF THE BLOG WARDEN'S WORLD.

THE MERRY MONTH OF MAY (Day 12) ; HEEEEEEERRRREEEE'S JONNY RUMBLE

I wanted to bring you a local Chicago band to give you a flavor of what music is really like here (no, it's not all hip-hop and house!). These guys play at a club I go to often, and I keep missing them for one reason or another, but they're awfully good. They have an EP coming out soon and just released their third LP last fall, Almost Dead. I'd say their sound is straight up rock and roll, in that Midwestern way, rooted in punk and post-punk history and tinged with some good old-fashioned working-class resentment. These two new tracks see them going in a more pop-punk direction and I'm quite addicted to Courtney's Basement. I have to admit. Johnny Rumble was always melodic, always good, but these songs are pop gems. It only makes me want to go searching their back catalogue to soak up the harder, rawer bits even more. But then, you know me... I'm a glutton for that kind of thing ;)

I was a bit worried that I was gonna ruin JC's pop-rock cred with these tracks, but he assures me that "nothing is ever too catchy for TVV"! and the more I listen to these, the more I can really imagine one of his beloved Britpop groups belting out a version of this. Well, a version... because Johnny Rumble is pure Chicago goodness. So enjoy them, darlin's and come see them at one of my favorite clubs here sometime, xoxo

Johnny Rumble is:

Brian Webb - Vocals, Guitar

Patrick O’Connor - Vocals, Guitar

Jeremy Pryor - Vocals, Bass

Seth Thomas - Vocals, Drums

As of this posting they are unsigned, but I don't expect that to last for much longer!

P.S. They're giving these songs away for free on last.fm :)

MySpace

Official Site

mp3 : Jonny Rumble - Courtney's Basement
mp3 : Jonny Rumble - Modern Way

TODAY'S GUEST POSTING IS COURTESY OF TART, OF THE BLOG LOVE SHACK, BABY.

TART, WHO HAILS FROM CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, USA, IS A LONG-TIME SUPPORTER OF TVV. SHE IS A CYBER-FRIEND I'D LOVE TO GET THE CHANCE TO MEET IN THE FLESH AT SOME POINT IN TIME. YOU'LL ALSO CATCH HER LEAVING COMPLIMENTS AND SUPPORTING COMMENTS BEHIND AT COUNTLESS OTHER BLOGS THAT ARE LISTED IN THE PANEL ON THE RIGHT HAND SIDE.....SHE'S SIMPLY QUITE ADORABLE.

THE MERRY MONTH OF MAY (Day 11) : IT'S PUNK BLOODY POETRY

I’d be no good in A&R. If I had a hat for the number of times I’ve fallen in love with a song and thought, “if that’s not a hit, I’ll eat my hat”… then I might actually have some hats left.

That’s never been more the case than with We Hate The Kids, from my favourite album of last year: American Demo by The Indelicates. It’s everything I love about music crammed into three and a half minutes; and yet I’ve never heard it on the radio.

We Hate The Kids is an anti-teenage, anti-music business, anti-corporate anthem. It begins with an exclamation, followed by a thumping, sinister, John Carpenteresque bassline, before adding layer upon layer of soaring guitar, classically trained piano (not just chords!), handclaps, feedback, and a vocal double act that puts me in mind of a rakish devil shagging an arch-eyebrowed angel… all of which crescendos to a climax that has me throwing my fist in the air every time I play it.

And then there are the lyrics. “Every generation gets fooled again,” it begins, echoing The Who twice, before going on to call time on pop music itself with a mixture of wit, cynicism, intelligence, and scorn. It builds through a series of literate slogans that are as quotable as “libraries gave us power” or “hang the blessed DJ” or anything Luke Haines ever penned. “Absolutely anyone,” it roars – with far greater fury than Thom Yorke mustered, “can play the fucking guitar!” And then it just gets angrier…

“Pop had a beginning, it grew and was tended
Now it is rotten, let it be ended
Let every hopeless case that every drummer befriended,
Every seven-inch that every student intended
Every groupie, ligger, identity seeker
Every druggy and drinker and every loudspeaker
Be done with, piled up, tossed, set alight
No more music - thank you and goodnight!”

It’s smart, it’s passionate, it’s self-aware, it’s funny as hell – it’s punk bloody poetry. If I were still 14, I’d be carving these lyrics into my schoolbag. I guess I’m not 14 anymore… but then again…

Late last year, I joined a crowd of maybe 70 other Indelicates fans in one of the smallest clubs in Manchester for a live show that made me feel like a teenager again. I hadn’t felt so excited by any band for a decade, and though it seemed I was in the minority – I really didn’t care. (When you’re young, it’s always better to like the bands nobody else does.) I went straight home and did a very teenage thing indeed (no, not that): I went online and left a comment on the Indelicates myspace page

“Great gig in Manchester tonight, guys. My ears are still ringing. God, I hate the kids.”

The next morning, Julia Indelicate herself replied:

“That's one of the best comments I've ever seen. God, I hate the kids too ;) Thank you for coming Julia xx”

And hell, if I didn’t love them already…

mp3 : The Indelicates - We Hate The Kids

TODAY'S GUEST POSTING IS COURTESY OF ROL, OF SLAWIT IN YORKSHIRE, ENGLAND WHO TAKES CARE OF THE BLOG SUNSET OVER SLAWIT. OH AND HE'S AN EXCEPTIONALLY TALENTED CARTOON-COMIC WRITER AS WELL....