TESTING, TESTING....3

Two previous postings featuring the man with possibly the biggest ego in pop music in my lifetime have escaped the notice of the dmca chaps. Will it be third time unlucky??

mp3 : Prince and The New Power Generation - Sexy MF
mp3 : Prince and The New Power Generation - Strollin'
mp3 : Prince and The New Power Generation - Daddy Pop

You wont be surprised to find that the record label had to provide radio stations the world over with a censored version of the song. It was a huge hit in the UK, reaching #4 in the charts in the summer of 1992, but less so in the USA where it stalled at #66 (I'm guessing that even with the censored version many stations didn't play the song for fear of an orchestrated backlash among local communities).

There's a funky groove thang going on in the TVV house today.

Happy Listening

THE CLASS OF '79 (Part 40)

The Jam released three cracking singles in 1979 - Strange Town, When You're Young and The Eton Rifles.

Personally, I thought the last of them was the weakest of the three, but it did give the band their first Top 10 single at the ninth attempt. Oh and every single afterwards (with the exception of the import-only That's Entertainment) would also go Top 10.

And it was the NME Single Of The Year for 1979.

mp3 : The Jam - The Eton Rifles
mp3 : The Jam - See-Saw

Paul Weller was only 21 years of age when he wrote this song, and contrary to popular belief, it isn't based on anything that happened to him.

It was inspired by newspaper story that concerning elements of a Right To Work march going through Slough in 1978 breaking off to attack pupils from Eton College who were jeering them. However, the marchers got a bit of a kicking for their troubles as the posh boys tuned out to be younger, fitter and more than capable of looking after themselves.

Much of the trouble was blamed on marchers from a far-left political party, with some first-hand reports claiming that they instigated the fight and then fled the scene when they realised they were going to get a hiding - thus Weller's scathing lines

" What a catalyst you turned out to be
Loaded the guns then you run off home for your tea
Left me standing like a guilty schoolboy."

Here's a clip from a BBC2 programme called 'Something Else' back in the days.




Oh and here's wee bonus of a demo version (although its actually a solo Weller recording):-

mp3 : The Jam - The Eton Rifles (demo version)

Happy Listening.

ANYONE ELSE A FAN?

That above is a picture of one of the many line-ups of The Monochrome Set.

It's easier to tell you their story with an adaptation from wikipedia:-

The original line-up consisted of Indian born lead singer and principal songwriter Bid (real name Ganesh Seshadri), Canadian guitarist Lester Square (real name Thomas W.B. Hardy), drummer John D. Haney, and bassist Charlie Harper. The band went through several bassists in the next few years, including Jeremy Harrington, and Andy Warren of the Ants, a childhood friend of Bid.

Experimental filmmaker Tony Potts began collaborating with the band in 1979, designing lighting and stage sets with film projections for their live appearances. The band's early persona was defined by the shadowy, uncertain stage images created by the films to such an extent he is often described as being the band's "fifth member."

They released several singles for the Rough Trade label before recording their debut album, "Strange Boutique", produced by Bob Sargeant, for Virgin Records' imprint DinDisc in 1980, as well as their follow-up effort, Love Zombies, produced by Alvin Clark and the band later that same year. John Haney left the band in 1981 and was replaced by Lexington Crane.

In 1982, the band switched labels to Cherry Red to release their third full-length album, Eligible Bachelors, produced by Tim Hart. Lester Square and Lexington Crane left soon afterwards, and were replaced by keyboardist Carrie Booth and drummer Nicholas Weslowski. This line-up recorded 1982 single Cast a Long Shadow, for Cherry Red before Booth was in turn replaced by new lead guitarist James 'Foz' Foster.

In 1983, Cherry Red released Volume, Contrast, Brilliance... sessions & singles vol. 1, a retrospective of the band's early Rough Trade singles, BBC and Capital Radio sessions, and other unreleased early sessions.

In 1985, with the same line-up as on Cast a Long Shadow, The Monochrome Set recorded the relatively mainstream album The Lost Weekend for major label Warner Bros. Records. The Lost Weekend failed commercially, and after a few singles, the band officially broke up, though they served as Jessica Griffin's backing band on the first album by the Would-Be-Goods, The Camera Loves Me.

In early 1990, Bid, Lester Square and Andy Warren reformed the band, with the addition of keyboardist Orson Presence and drummer Mike Slocombe (who was quickly replaced by Trevor Ready). The new band toured extensively—especially in Japan, where Bid had become a major star.

The band released several low-key albums for Cherry Red Records during the 1990s, and has been on hiatus since 1998, though Bid has since recorded a number of albums with his new band, Scarlet's Well. The song "He's Frank" appears on the popular tv series "Heroes" in the second season.

The band reunited on 8 October 2008 for a one-off performance at Cherry Red's 30th Anniversary party at Dingwalls, London. It also marked the 30th year of The Monochrome Set. Bid, Andy Warren and Lester Square were joined by Jennifer Denitto (drums) and Sian Dada (keyboards) of Scarlet's Well, and performed 13 songs.

Do you want to know something else about this largely-forgotten band? They were big favourites of both Johnny Marr and Morrissey....and musically and lyrically they were an influence on the Manchester magicians. All sound quite interesting doesn't it:-



And how about these as well:-

mp3 : The Monochrome Set - Jacob's Ladder
mp3 : The Monochrome Set - The Mating Game
mp3 : The Monochrome Set - He's Frank (Slight Return)

I think you'll also agree that Franz Ferdinand have been influenced by the last of the above tracks.

Happy Listening.

IT'S FRIDAY, I'M IN LOVE....WITH GREAT SCOTTISH SINGLES (6)

My very dear friend Jacques the Kipper cannot abide Simple Minds. They've always been one of those bands that get that sort of reaction from otherwise fair-minded folk. Even back in the days before they went massive and all stadium-rock wanky on us.

Me?? I loved them to bits back in the early 80s. I even forgave them some of the early pomp-rock because the video for Waterfront was shot on location in Glasgow and gave the city a real boost at a time when many had written us off as being in terminal decline. I didn't even mind the fact that they enjoyed massive success across the world in the mid-late 80s....local boys made good and all that. But I could never again take them seriously after the monstrosity of the 1989 #1 that was Belfast Child....

It was all so different just eight years previously:-

mp3 : Simple Minds - Love Song
mp3 : Simple Minds - The Earth That You Walk Upon

This was the band's sixth single, and the first to threaten the charts when it peaked at #47 in August 1981. I was just about to start university, and this songs and so many other great pieces of synthesiser-led music would form the backdrop to my first forays into the student union where I would spend far too much time over the next four years.

Happy Listening.

PS

I know this is a music blog, but I cant let today pass by without this clip from 15 years ago today:-

AND THE WINNER IS...

.......Keith from North Wales.

My thanks go to everyone who made the effort to enter - I got e-mails from all over the place, including Canada, USA, Australia and Germany.

I've been going through the vinyl cupboard in recent weeks and found a couple of things Smiths/Morrissey related that I have two copies of, so there's likely to be another competition early in 2010.

A LOOK BACK AT OLD RADIOHEAD (Part 2)

I don't reckon I'm alone in the fact that first time I ever heard Paranoid Android was when Radiohead appeared on the late-night BBC music programme Later in May 1997. The person who posted this on YouTube said it was one of the greatest performances ever to grace the stage of that show. And they're not wrong:



It was something totally unexpected. Yes, the band had released a cracking LP in The Bends a couple of years previously that had brought them to the attention of the wider public and also got them positive reviews from the rock meeja. But this was something else entirely.....

The single had in fact been released a few days before the TV performance as was on heavy rotation on the evening shows on Radio 1. It was already being described as the Bohemian Rhapsody of the 90s. But to me that's just a lazy description based on the fact that the song has different and distinct sections at more than six minutes in length is not anything like your average single.

Paranoid Android is a strange, complex and twisted song that really shouldn't work, but somehow it does.

Maybe its the fact that we're all lulled into a false sense of security by the gorgeous opening with its acoustic guitars over Thom Yorke's high-pitched vocal. And for about three minutes we can sing along, tap our feet and move our head of work from side to side enjoying a song that is that is not all that indistinguishable from other admittedly top-quality indie pop/rock.

But then it gets all strange as Jonny Greenwood batters the shit out of his guitar and it suddenly comes not quite to a halt, but slows to a ballad pace and becomes almost like a hymn sung by a choir before Thom Yorke comes back in with a vocal that seems to challenge his God to take out his anger on him. Then just when you thought that would be it...there's about 45 seconds or so of a guitar solo and backing music that wouldn't have been out of place on a heavy metal album from 15 years or so earlier....certainly something that air guitarists would get awfully excited about.

As I said, it shouldn't work, but it does.

It reached #3 in the UK singles charts on its release and remains the biggest hit Radiohead have ever enjoyed. There were two CD singles available to buy, and the b-sides are well worth a listen as they show different sides to the band, but they wont be everyone's cup of tea. In fact some of you might find them downright irritating:-

mp3: Radiohead - Paranoid Android
mp3: Radiohead - Polyethylene (Parts 1 & 2)
mp3: Radiohead - Pearly
mp3: Radiohead - A Reminder
mp3: Radiohead - Melatonin

Happy Listening.

IDEAS FOR XMAS (16)

Today is the 25th November, exactly one month until the day that Santa pops down your chimney, so this is the last of the short series with a few suggestions for gifts to either put on your own lists or buy for someone else.

Today's suggestion features The Twilight Sad, a four-piece band formed in Kilsyth which is a small town some 12 miles north of Glasgow. This year saw the release of the second LP Forget The Night Ahead, the long-awaited follow-up to the very highly acclaimed 2007 debut Fourteen Autumns & Fifteen Winters.

Ed from 17 Seconds was one of the first bloggers to review this album back at the beginning of October, and part of what he said was spot-on:-

Second albums are traditionally difficult things. And when your first album, almost always written before you’ve been signed, has been a kick up the backside to an industry that fifty years in, is still always in danger of getting smug and self-satisfied, that momentum needs to keep going. The problem is that bands frequently never get enough time to do their second album. It’s a good companion piece to their debut - and if I hadn’t heard their debut, I’d probably be blown away.

Well, it was spot-on at the time on my first listen to this record.

I do happen agree with Ed that Forget The Night Ahead isn't as good as the debut. But that would be an impossible task. On the first couple of listens you might not even think it comes close....but this is a record that just gets better and better with every listen. It's big, its noisy and in places it is catchy (not something I thought I'd ever say when talking about The Twilight Sad). Two or three weeks ago I would have said it was a good album. Now I think it is an exceptional album.

Invest not just your money in this album, but your time and energy to get to know it. Before long you will come to realise that it is a masterpiece....

mp3 : The Twilight Sad - That Birthday Present





Available to buy from their own record label right here.

Happy Listening. And Happy Xmas when it comes.

IDEAS FOR XMAS (15)

I normally move away quickly to the opposite corner of the record shop as fast as I can if someone points in the direction of a charity record, for almost without exception they are well-meaning but crap.

But not Dark Was The Night, a 2CD release from earlier this year on behalf of Red Hot, the long-established AIDS charity (I remember buying a compilation VHS tape for Red Hot back in 1990 that featured loads of covers of Cole Porter songs).

It has 31-tracks from some of the very best indie artists around, mainly from the USA. It was a project produced by Aaron Dessner and Bryce Dessner of The National with assistance from John Carlin the founder of Red Hot - some blogs and sites give the impression that the songs themselves were all produced by the trio but this is not the case.

Released on the 4AD label back in February, the record had, by late October, made almost £450,000 in profit for the charity. But if some of you who havent yet bought it do so as Xmas presents, then that figure can increase further.

Those featured on the record are Antony, Arcade Fire, Beirut, Andrew Bird, Blonde Redhead, Bon Iver, The Books, David Byrne, Cat Power, The Decemberists, Devastations, Dirty Projectors, Kevin Drew, Feist, Ben Gibbard, Jose Gonzalez, Grizzly Bear, Iron & Wine, Kronos Quartet, Stuart Murdoch, My Brightest Diamond, My Morning Jacket, The National, Conor Oberst, The New Pornographers, Riceboy Sleeps, Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings, Dave Sitek, Spoon, Sufjan Stevens, Gillain Welch, Yeasayer, Yo La Tengo.

I'm not fond of all 31 tracks, but then again I dont think I own any album of that length that I can say every song is an absolute stunner. But at least three-quarters of these are among some of my favourite releases of 2009. This however, is the one I nominate as the absolute stand out:-

mp3 : Conor Oberst & Gillain Welch - Lua

Simply beautiful. A stunning cover of the 2004 single Conor had previously released under the Bright Eyes moniker.

Go buy Dark Is The Night. It should be available in your local indie record store. If you cant get a hold of there, try HMV.com

Thank You.

IDEAS FOR XMAS (14)

I've reviewed some books this past 12 months on TVV, and if you haven't got hold of them already, why not add these to your lists?

1. Bad Vibes : Britpop and My Part In Its Downfall - Luke Haines

In which the ex-frontman of The Auteurs recounts an insiders view of all that was wrong with UK pop music in the 1990s. Reviewed here on 21st January. Click here to buy.

2. The Song Of The Soul - Richard Cundill and Mark Bradley

An authorised biography of Martin Stephenson. As a fan of more than 25 years, I thought I knew a lot about one of the best singer-songwriters ever to come out of the north-east of England. I learned a lot.... Reviewed here on 17 June. Click here to buy

3. Falling & Laughing : The Restoration of Edwyn Collins - Grace Maxwell

A compelling read. An eye-opening and astonishing book. The title tells you all you need to know. Reviewed here on 28 July. Click here to buy

4. You're Entitled To An Opinion - David Nolan

A wonderful bio of the late Tony Wilson which I raved about only a few weeks ago. Reviewed here on 27 October. Click here to buy.

And one I thought I know I disnt review, but I did go on about its subject matter quite a bit in 2009:-

5. Mozipedia : The Encyclopdia of Morrissey and The Smiths - Simon Goddard

There's hardly a fact or stat missing from this 532 page opus. And very well-written to boot...but be warned, it will be impossible for any fan to agree 100% with the opinions expressed. Click here to buy.

And now some related songs:-

mp3 : The Auteurs - American Guitars
mp3 : Martin Stephenson & The Daintees - Endurance
mp3 : Orange Juice - Falling and Laughing (Postcard Records version)
mp3 : New Order - True Faith
mp3 : The Smiths - Unloveable

Happy Listening. Happy Reading.

THE CLASS OF '79 (Part 39)

There's just no way I could ever claim to have bought this back in 1979. I listened to John Peel occasionally, but not every night. And his was the only show that played any songs by Wire.

And although I became aware of them during my students days in the early 80s, I didn't rush out and but any of their albums. Indeed, I think the first thing I ever owned was a John Peel Sessions CD released in the early 90s (and it was courtesy of a birthday or Xmas present from my amigo Jacques The Kipper)

But in recent times, with the records of old being repackaged and reissued, I've got a hold of all three of the albums that were released in the 70s and now realise just how important and special they were.

The band also released six singles in the 70s, of which this was the nearest to a hit, reaching #51 in January 1979:-

mp3 : Wire - Outdoor Miner
mp3 : Wire - Practice Makes Perfect

The single was actually a re-recorded and extended version of a song that had appeared on 1978 LP Chairs Missing. And it is quite wonderful.

KIDS NOWADAYS...

......probably know this song better than many other flop singles from 1994.

While I can't vouch for this myself, I believe it is a playable track in Rock Band 2 and Guitar Hero World Tour.

I believe they are some some sort of interactive electronic games. Whatever happened to the days when you picked up a tennis/badminton/squash racquet and did it yourself all in your own head?

mp3 : Dinosaur Jr - Feel The Pain
mp3 : Dinosaur Jr - Get Out Of This (no words just solo)
mp3 : Dinosaur Jr - Repulsion (acoustic live at CBGBs)

Love the sleeve on this single which is the work of someone called Angry Johnny. Also love the promo video:-



Happy Listening and viewing.

IT'S FRIDAY, I'M IN LOVE....WITH GREAT SCOTTISH SINGLES (5)

Here's what my encyclopedia says:-

Formed in Glasgow in 1991 as Dove by Applied Biochemisttry student/graduate Dorothy 'Dot' Allison, along with Ian Carmichael and former Altered Images man Jim McKinven. Initailly released on the local Soma imprint, the dreamy ambience of 'Fallen' was subsequently remixed and re-issued by the 'Boys Own' label, an operation partly run by DJ extraordinaire, Andrew Weatherall. The band's association with Weatherall helped create a buzz that peaked with the release of 'White Love' (recorded with the help of Jah Wobble and Primal Scream's Andrew Innes amongst others), another slice of shimmering, crescendoing ambient dance-pop that only just missed out on a Top 40 place in Summer '93.

The band's rock'n'roll credentials were assured by a headline grabbing jaunt down the Thames and with the hype machine still in overdrive much vaunted debut album, 'Morning White Dove' was finally released in September 1993. Not exactly the groundbreaking opus some fans had been led to expect, the album was nevertheless a pleasant enough melange of classic pop, dub reggae, ambience and rock dynamics, all wrapped up in Dot's Julee Crusie-esque vocals.

Very much a band of their era, One Dove split acrimoniously in 1996 during the recording of their second album.

At the age of 30, I felt I was too old for all that trippy dance nonsense, and so I ignored a lot of the stuff that was being writen about at the time. It was only at the end of 1993 when I picked up a compilation CD which brought together some of the 'NME Singles Of The Week' did I realsie the error of my ways. This is a true classic in every sense of the word:-

mp3 : One Dove - White Love (Radio Mix)
mp3 : One Dove - White Love (Lonesome Demo)
mp3 : One Dove - White Love (Weatherall's Guitar Paradise Mix)
mp3 : One Dove - White Love (Weatherall's Meet The Professionals Dub)

This reached #43 in the charts in July 1993. Deserved much better.

PS : Readers from days of old will be thinking they may have heard all this before. Well, you did, I wrote about this single back in August 2008....and said this at the time.

My good friend, and occasional TVV contributors, ctel, has been singularly unimpressed with some of the songs that have found their way here in recent times. But I'm hopeful that today's offering will be more to his liking as I think it is one that wouldn't look out of place on his amazingly informative and educational Acid Ted blog.

One Dove were a Scottish act founded in 1991, and comprised the vocal talents of Dot Allison, and the musical brains of Jim McKinven and Ian Carmichael (the former had been part of Altered Images in the early 80s).

They were around for no more than 3 years, during which time four singles and one LP were recorded. Their sound was a mixture of pop, dub, ambiance and rock. While I have a few things in the collection that I've downloaded as mp3s (oops....I'm not supposed to do that sort of thing am I?), I've only one CD single in the collection and it dates from 1993. Its a track that reminds me an awful lot of parts of Scremadelica by Primal Scream, but in a sense that's hardly a surprise given that Andrew Weatherall was heavily involved with the band at this point in time.

There's four mixes available on the CD, and all of them are well worth a listen.

The one common feature is Dot's wonderful dual-delivery which to me sound like the pop sound of Bananarama backed by a manic Kate Bush. The radio mix is the most accessible, coming in at just over four-and-a-half minutes, and it was remixed by Stephen Hague who worked with many a successful chart act in the 80s and 90s. But I particularly like the 10 minutes plus of the guitar paradise mix which shows just how close the relationship between rock and dance can be - when in the right hands.

IDEAS FOR XMAS (13)

I raved about this album a while back without actually posting any of the mp3s. Read here for a reminder.

But dont just take my word for it. Here's the review that the ever-articulate Matthew from Song, By Toad posted around about the same time:-

Having just complained about Dent May being overly arch and insincere I am about to praise an album which is rather arch and definitely very stylised, and I can imagine people feeling that to be a slightly false distinction. There is a cool veneer of old-school indie meets sixties beat combo, but if you’ve ever seen this band live you’ll know that there’s not the slightest distance between them, their music or their audience: they are fucking amazing.

This record has been gestating for some time now, as the Low Miffs rebuilt from something of a personnel shakeup a couple of years ago, started working with Malcolm Ross, and finally pulled together an album of new material after two excellent singles on Art Goes Pop. I confess I was somewhat guilty myself of taking my eye off what they were doing – the world thunders on at pace, and a year below the radar can see people move on pretty quickly, I guess. Then suddenly, this appeared.

I am not yet completely on board with all of the songs; Scarface isn’t really a favourite, but I really like almost everything else. The Man Who Took on Love and Won and Cressida are exuberant pop gems, where Kind of Keen and The Back of Midnight are laid back dive bar lotharios and Mankind is flamboyantly over-the-top, mixing Scott Walker with Franz Ferdinand* to produce a somewhat mental piece of cabaret art rock.

I am still coming to terms with the songs themselves, so for the moment the whole album hasn’t quite crystallised for me, and I am still hearing it as a collection of songs rather than as a single piece of work. It’s a collection of songs I really like though, so I reckon the rest will come with time.

*Sorry lads, I know you probably won’t like this, but it’s not far from the truth

So there you have it. A working-class bloke Glaswegian and a posh chap from Edinburgh in agreement. You really can't have more of a recommendation for an album than that.

mp3 : Malcolm Ross & The Low Miffs - Cressida





Available to buy from loads of places (including the record shop in the above clip which, incidentally is where I do most of my shopping). Try here if you need to buy online.

Happy Listening.

IDEAS FOR XMAS (12)

Those of you who tuned in every Friday over the best part of a year for the long-running series on Morrissey solo singles will be familiar with all 18 tracks on his latest album which was released just last month.

It is of course, another compilation - but this time featuring many of the b-sides ( released on the singles that have been lifted from You Are The Quarry, Ringleaders of The Tormentors, Greatest Hits and Years of Refusal. And collectively, they combine to make this as excellent and consistent a solo LP in the great man's career as there has been.

I'm not saying all 18 tracks are essential. but the vast majority of them, as I said time and time again during that series, are as good as if not better than tracks we have been able to get very familiar with thanks to them being on the LPs.

Despite having all the songs in the collection, I bought Swords simply for the 8 live tracks taken from the concert performed in Warsaw in July 2009. And having loaded them on the PC, I now want to offer the album as a giveaway to one luck TVV reader.

That's the 2 CDs, the booklet with lyrics and Morrissey interview and still inside the cellophane protective cover when I bought it from the local indie record shop.

All you have to do is drop me an email, at the address over on the right hand side of the blog and saying you are entering the competition to win the album. I will then put all names (assuming there is more than one entry) into some sort of hat or cap and draw put one lucky person to who I will post the CD before I go off on holiday on 1st December. The closing date is a week today, 25th November. Good luck one and all.

In the meantime, here's what I think is one of the best of the 18 tracks as well as something from the live bonus disc:-

mp3 : Morrissey - My Life Is A Succession Of People Saying Goodbye
mp3 : Morrissey - Life Is A Pigsty (live)

Swords should be available from your local record store. If not, try here. Where you'll also see not everyone agrees with my view of the quality of this release.

IDEAS FOR XMAS (11)

There were great expectations about Lungs, the debut album by Florence & The Machine. Prior to its release, Florence Welch was being hailed as the next great female singer-songwriter - the person who had the artistic and critical credibility of Kate Bush, but who had the hooks and tunes to appeal to all ages, crucially the younger more pop-orientated lovers of music at whom so much is aimed nowadays.

Certainly, the two singles from 2008 - Kiss With A Fist and Dog Days Are Over - were hugely promising. Live appearances on TV which were plastered all over the likes of youtube showed an attractive young lady whose vocal and musical talents were plenty. By February 2009, before an album had got anywhere near the shops, there was a Critics Choice Award at the Brits as well as a place on the prestigious NME Awards Tour alongside Glasvegas, White Lies and Friendly Fires. But it wasn't until June 2009 that a third single was released, and more than a few of the previously fawning critics weren't impressed with Rabbit Heart (Raise It Up). Some knives were being sharpened.....

A month later and the release of debut LP Lungs seemed to provoke completely contrasting reactions - folk either adored it or thought it ridiculously over-hyped and nowhere near as good as they had been led to believe. But credit has to go to Ms Welch and her band for they took on some very high profile support gigs for the likes of Blur and Duran Duran, proving they were determined to have as big an impact as possible to as wide an audience as they could achieve. There were slots at all the big outdoor festivals in the UK and Ireland where the sheer effort put into the live performances helped win over quite a number of the sceptics.

Excellent cover versions of songs by Candi Staton and Beyonce (You've Got The Love and Halo) also helped things along, and while it is accurate to say that Florence & The Machine still have a lot of folk who don't like what they do, they have more fans than most of the new acts that have emerged in 2009.

Lungs did reach #2 in the UK charts, so it has sold a fair amount of copies. Personally, I wasn't entirely convinced about it on the first two or three listens - I think I was expecting just a bit too much. But gradually, I've fallen for the album, and its blend of indie, pop, blues and soul has done enough to convince me that Ms Welch can be around for a long tome to come. But then again, the pop world is littered with all sorts of acts, but particularly female singer/songwriters, whose subsequent albums haven't fared well and they've very quickly fallen from favour and become obscure within months. So there's a lot of pressure on the follow-up. I wish her well.

mp3 : Florence & The Machine - Kiss With A Fist
mp3 : Florence & The Machine - My Boy Builds Coffins





Happy Listening.

IDEAS FOR XMAS (10)

Up until now, I've been quite specific with my recommendations and ideas for Xmas gifts for yourself or passing on to others. Today I'm being a bit looser in that I want you to take a look at the on-line offers from Scotland's best and most creative record label, and make your own selections.

I'm referring of course to Chemikal Underground records, a label formed in 1995, in the first instance to issue Monica Webster, the debut record by The Delgados. Since then, the label has nurtured some of the most wonderful talents to have come out of Scotland - far too many to mention just now, but the names will appear as this posting unravels.

Earlier this year, as part of the job that I'm paid to do, I had the great fortune to meet up with Stewart Henderson, best known to most of you as the bass player for the afore mentioned The Delgados but whose main role is as MD of Chemikal Underground. It was a real honour to meet such a legend and inevitably we got talking about music, and in particular how a record label can keep its head above water in challenging economic circumstances and changing ways that music is consumed nowadays.

I was shocked to discover just how few records even the most famous and critically acclaimed acts on Chemikal Underground sold in a good year - and appalled to learn the numbers for acts scrambling for attention. But Stewart explained that by keeping overheads down at the label (eg there's no big executives with expense accounts nor any fat cat company HQ) as well as being innovative in finding ways to promote and sell the music, Chemikal Underground can plough on and find ways to bring great new music to Scotland and the rest of the world.

Well, I reckon that we can all do our bit to help, which is why I am asking you to click here and spend a bit of time looking at what you can buy and then send the bank and credit cards into action.

Not sure about things? Well, the great thing about the Chemikal shop is that, in most instances, you can listen to a track in its entirety before buying it. If you try a whole LP but only like some of it, then you have the option of just picking up just your favourites for 69p per song.

It's also great for putting loads of old stuff that otherwise has been very difficult to track down (including loads of the early Arab Strap singles and b-sides)here really is so much in there to enjoy, and something for everyone's tastes.

Here's a few samples:-

mp3 : Arab Strap - Love Detective
mp3 : The Delgados - Accused Of Stealing
mp3 : Trashcan Sinatras & Ali Smith - Half An Apple

Of the 2009 LPs that are available on Chemikal Underground, I thoroughly recommend the releases from Lord Cut Glass, The Phantom Band and Zoey Van Goey. Oh and Aidan Moffat & the Best Ofs who made what is surely the best pop promo of 2009.

Happy Listening. Happy Viewing. Now please get spending and play your part in ensuring a bright future for this fantastic record label.

THE CLASS OF '79 (Part 38)

Having become highly popular in the first half of 1979 with an album and singles originally released back in 1978, there was a huge amount of interest in the new material that was going to be released by The Police.

In September 1979 they unleashed a single which somehow straddled new wave and MOR rock and in doing so turned the band into a global product for mass consumption. In other words, this is the single that re-invented stadium rock just as those who had fought in the punk wars had thought they were going to win.

mp3 : The Police - Message In A Bottle
mp3 : The Police - Landlord

I'm not going to sit and here and say that this is a dreadful song. Far from it. Its got a great tune and a catchy chorus to kill for. And the drumming from Stewart Copeland, in particular the way he changes tempo all the way through it, is something to behold. Hell, even the bass playing of Sting is top-class stuff. As for Andy Summers on guitar.....well he's not a million miles away from playing the same notes as can be heard on Don't Fear The Reaper by Blue Oyster Cult which has long been regarded by rockists as a classic. Indeed, just last week I was surprised to be in a room full of Glasgow hipsters of all ages and discovering that I was very much in a minority with my distaste for Reaper....

So this was a single which tailor-made for sounding brilliant on the radio. And heavy rotation on Radio 1 as well as across the ever growing independent local stations in the UK meant it was a certainty to hit the #1 spot within a very short space of time.

The Police had shown that emerging from the new wave/indie pack was no barrier to mainstream success, and the 80s saw a procession of bands try and follow their way of developing a loyal following through constant gigging and regular record releases which would grow year after year after year, and before you knew it, the world had been conquered. Step forward U2, Simple Minds, R.E.M and Depeche Mode. Close but no cigar to Echo & The Bunnymen, Talking Heads and The Cure.

I bought this single on green vinyl when it was released - just as I owned other earlier singles by the band on different coloured vinyl as part of the marketing ploy from A&M Records. After the success of Message In A Bottle there would be no need for such gimmickry.....

Happy Listening

FROM UNDER THE COVERS (Parts 60,61,62 & 63)

It's been a wee while since I threw some interesting cover versions your way. So much so, I feel it needs to be a quartet today - all of them covers of classics:-

mp3 : British Sea Power - A Forest

This is such a difficult song to cover. I've always felt that with this 1980 single The Cure created one of the all time classic goth anthems. Almost 30 years on the original hasn't dated one bit - it still fills the floor of indie discos the world over. Just the other week I saw trendy young things dressed head-to-toe in black at a Halloween event scream with delight when this was played. Alongside them on the dance floor there were blokes old enough to be their dads just as excited....and closing their eyes and imagining themselves to be three stones lighter, with full heads of hair and so on.

To be fair to British Sea Power, they make a good first of it and they manage to make it sound like one of their own songs. But....given how much prominent the bass line is in the original it seems strange to discover it is so relatively low in this mix. Anyone got strong views either way?

mp3 : Carter USM - Down In The Tube Station At Midnight

Once again, a very difficult track to do justice to. But if you didn't know the original I reckon you'd think this was yet another a Carter USM classic lyric and tune. Jim-Bob and Fruitbat have done a very fine job....the vocal delivery isn't a million miles away from that of Paul Weller...and they keep the classic chant-along "whoa-oh-oh-oh" refrain after the song title is sung. I love it.....

mp3 : The Divine Comedy - Party Fears Two

Now I am very sure about this. The Divine Comedy have taken one of the best-loved songs ever released by a Scottish group and ruined it. Neil Hannon is not a bad singer by any means, but his half-arsed effort at this shows just how distinctive and unique a vocal talent we had in the late and lamented Billy Mackenzie. And don't get me started on how a great pop tune in the hands of Alan Rankine has been turned into something that makes me want to throw rotten fruit in the direction of those with the musical instruments in their hands. Bloody awful. But feel free to disagree.

mp3 : Aidan Moffat - I Got You Babe

Despite me being just 2 years old when Sonny & Cher took this to #1 in both the USA and UK in the late summer of 1965, it is a song that I know every single word to and note of simply because it was a staple favourite of radio stations for at least a decade afterwards. These were the years when DJs relied heavily on requests from listeners, and inevitably it would be a couple's anniversary and this was the song they fell in love to and/or it was the first song at their reception. Oh and it was always one asked for by wives on the Armed Forces request show on Sunday mornings for their husbands serving their country, usually in Germany or Belize.

Aidan Moffat's version, which was made available on 7" vinyl if you bought the deluxe version of his 2009 LP How To Get To Heaven From Scotland has turned into one of my favourite bits of music released over this past year. Aidan delivers it with enough sincerity to make us feel believe that he's a big fan of the original, and yet thanks to that brilliantly distinctive Falkirk twang in his voice he could just as equally be accused of taking the piss such is the lack of polish in its production. Personally, I think he really is delivering a heartfelt tribute....and the singing and playing compliment much of what was on his own LP. But if you don't get Aidan Moffat or thought Arab Strap were hugely overrated, then I suspect this cover is not for you.

Happy Listening.

IT'S FRIDAY, I'M IN LOVE....WITH GREAT SCOTTISH SINGLES (4)

For a whole bunch of complicated and related reasons, I sort of lost touch with music from late 1986 through to early 1990. Thankfully, I've been able to plug the gaps in my musical knowledge thanks in the main to my dear friend Jacques The Kipper who supplied me with all sorts of C90 cassettes over many years chock-full of great tunes that had passed me by.

By the time I had even heard of Close Lobsters, they had come and gone leaving behind a body of work that consisted of 2 LPs and 6 singles. Indeed, the first time I ever heard any of their songs was when The Wedding Present did a cover version on a b-side.

It was talking to folk in a pub one night in the early 90s about my recently discovered love of TWP (it took me until the single Kennedy in 1989) that mention was made of Close Lobsters and a couple of folk said they were best described as the Caledonian Weddoes. Intrigued, I tried to track down some of their songs, but wasn't successful as they had been released on a record label which weren't the best for re-stocking when a shop had sold out.

So it has only been in recent times through their songs appearing on compilation CDs that I've picked up on Close Lobsters. Oh and the advent of ebay which has allowed me to pick up one or two releases.

But above all else, its the recent re-releases on CD of 1987 debut LP Foxheads Stalk This Land and the release of Forever, Until Victory! a fantastic compilation of the singles that I've been able fall totally head over heels with the band.

A potted history:-

Close Lobsters were formed back in 1985 in Johnstone, which is a small town a few miles to the south-west of Glasgow by Andrew Burnett, Bob Burnett, Tom Donnelly, Stuart McFadyen and Graham Wilmington. They got their break via a song on the legendary NME C86 tape and then signed a deal with Fire Records. They toured extensively, including a major support slot to Jesus & Mary Chain. Bob Burnett left after only a couple of singles and was replaced on bass guitar by Paul Bennett.

Their sound was unmistakably of its era which is no bad thing. And yes, there's an awful lot of musical similarity between Close Lobsters and The Wedding Present, which again is no bad thing.

For a while, the band looked as if they would break through, thanks in particular to their songs featuring heavily on college radio across America. But it just never happened, and by mid 1989 they had split, reforming very briefly two years later for some live gigs but no new records.

The release of Forever, Until Victory! has been overseen by two members of the band, and a superb collection of songs it has proven to be. Indeed, in addition to including a look at one of the singles today, I'm also suggesting the LP as part of my Ideas for Xmas (see below.....)

And the single I'd like to rave about today?? It was released in August 1988 :-

mp3 : Close Lobsters - What Is There To Smile About?
mp3 : Close Lobsters - From This Day On
mp3 : Close Lobsters - Loopholes
mp3 : Close Lobsters - Skyscrapers of St Mirin

It reached #17 in the UK Indie Charts. Which in sales terms maybe amounted to a couple of thousand.

Happy Listening.

IDEAS FOR XMAS (9)

If you've read the posting above about the latest great Scottish single to feature in the on-going series, you'll understand why I'm asking you to have a good think about adding this gem to your lists for Santa.

Available for less than £10 here. You can also see some more very positive reviews.

IDEAS FOR XMAS (8)

Fuckin' idiots at the record label.

Here I am recommending something for Xmas and I get a dmca takedown.

OK, so I'll remove the songs and the nice words, and the comments left behind too.

These folk have no brains.

IDEAS FOR XMAS (7)

Ok, this is a bit of a cheat as the LP in question actually came out in November 2008 and I'm supposed to be giving you ideas for Xmas gifts based on things that were released or issued in 2009. But my excuse was that I didn't get a hold of this album for a couple of months after its release.....

Last week, I mentioned that Song By Toad is the best blog out there. I've a whole list of reasons for holding that view. There's the quality of the writing from Matthew, not to mention the contributions made every day via the comments section by his many hundreds if not thousands of regular readers. The fact that the blog covers loads of new music while not neglecting the legacy of songs from days of old is quite unusual and highly commendable, and then there's the always entertaining Toadcasts during which Matthew often drinks gin and and swears a lot in a highly entertaining way.

But above all else, the reason I so admire Matthew - and indeed Ed who runs the 17 Seconds blogspot - is that both have gone that stage further and ploughed their own money into record labels and offered the chance for emerging singers and acts the opportunity of some fame and hopefully some fortune.

One of the acts on Song By Toad Records is Meursault. I really liked debut LP Pissing On Bonfires/Kissing With Tongues when I eventually got a hold of it, but was a bit worried that my judgement may have been influenced by wanting it to be good to show support for Matthew. But any such minor negative thoughts were banished when I got to see the band back in April when to my astonishment, they blew away headliners Frightened Rabbit - and on a night when the latter gave one of their best performances in all the times I had caught them live.
It's hard to pin down Meursault. There's touches of indie, electronica, folk, electronica and pop within the 11 songs on the debut LP and also on 2009 release the Nothing Broke EP. But while the music is something to behold, there's no getting away from the beauty and magnificence of the vocals of Neil Pennycook, who is also the writer of all the songs.

A singer like Neil Pennycook and a band like Meursault wouldnt get past the first hurdle of any TV stardom show like X-Factor (not that they would look to enter such a 'competition' in any instance). But there's no doubt that they have more talent in their pinkie fingernails than any of those who dominate the telly ratings of a weekend, who are guaranteed to have the #1 single in the UK come Xmas Day and are already bound for a sell-out Arena tour in 2010.

It's your duty dear readers to balance out this travesty of justice. Go and visit the website of Song By Toad Records and buy not only Pissing On Bonfires/Kissing With Tongues, but all the other things Matthew has for sale.

And when you've done that, go and do the same at the website of 17 Seconds Records. Your soul will be immediately cleansed.

mp3 : Meursault - The Furnace
mp3 : Meursault - William Henry Miller (Pt 1) *

* taken from the Nothing Broke EP

And here's some stunning live footage:-



Happy Listening.

IDEAS FOR XMAS (6)

OK, so this is the luxury item on this ongoing list of suggested Xmas presents, retailing for the best part of £40. But for the Lloyd Cole fan in your life, believe me they will love you forever if you manage to get Santa to deliver Cleaning Out The Ashtrays on 25th December.

It comprises 4 x CDs and a 36 page booklet compiled and written by Lloyd himself. There are 59 tracks in total, many of them previously unreleased but also including loads of b-sides that have been very difficult to get a hold of for years as well as tracks recorded for various tribute and compilation albums.

Lloyd says in his notes that via his weblog he had been made repeatedly aware that fans were out there who wanted to get a hold of the rare and deleted songs, and he personally doesn't think, at this stage in the evolution of the music industry, that tracks available only for digital download are 'in print'.

What is very evident from this exquisite box set is that some of the best solo work was stuck away on b-sides, which is either down to the record label not quite understanding what made Lloyd Cole such a great talent, or perhaps it was an act of perversity by the singer to hide away some great tunes that only die hard fans prepared to shell out for singles would be allowed to hear. It's also the case that some of the mixes of well-known songs are better than those released back in the day....but be warned.....a project like this inevitably has to throw up a couple of turkeys...and the less said about a cover of the pre-glam T Rex song Romany Soup the better. (Lloyd has always been a big fan of Marc Bolan.....one of the songs below taken from a b-side is his own heartfelt tribute....)

It is a crying shame that since the onset of the solo career in 1990, Lloyd Cole has only had one instance of chart success when Like Lovers Do reached #24 in the UK charts after it had been championed by breakfast DJ Chris Evans (in much the same way as the DJ had also just about single-handedly brought the attention of the UK public to the magnificence of A Girl Like You by Edwyn Collins). Yes, there's no question that the records released by Lloyd Cole & The Commotions have a special place in the hearts of many folk who are in the 40-50 age bracket as they represent times, places and memories in our lives which seemed so significant and unique; but Lloyd has done so much more as a solo artist, and almost all of it as valuable and enjoyable as the things released with his first band.

mp3 : Lloyd Cole - Don't Look Back (original mix)
mp3 : Lloyd Cole - 4MB
mp3 : Lloyd Cole - Like Lovers Do (Stephen Street mix)
mp3 : Lloyd Cole - Fool You Are (ETC session)

And here's a wee clip from a gig he played at the small and intimate Oranmor in Glasgow in the spring of 2008:-




Buy Cleaning Out The Ashtrays from this place if you live in the USA. If you live in the UK, this place is as good as any. Elsewhere, I can only suggest you google to find the best available deal. You wont regret it.

IDEAS FOR XMAS (5)

My favourite discovery of 2009. And all thanks to it being a small world in which I guy that I play golf with once a week is mates with a musician who was promoting a Glasgow appearance by a band from Finland who came over to the UK for a few days.

Cats On Fire aren't a new band. They've played gigs since 2001 and released their first actual record in 2002. But it wasn't until early 2007 that they released an LP entitled The Province Complains with its follow-up Our Temperance Movement being released earlier this year.

Now I have an excuse for not picking up on the band when the first LP came out in that I spent a fair chunk of that year in Canada and missed out on any media coverage they night have picked up in the UK. But if it hadn't been for said golfing mate Douglas Mackie and his friendship with Basil Pieroni, the guitarist with Butcher Boy, I would have in all likelihood missed out again as I've more or less stopped reading music papers/magazines and a band like Cats On Fire wont get on music TV all that often...certainly not at the times I'm liable to be watching.

So the lesson for 2010 is to try and pay more attention to what is going on out there. It was just luck that I get to see the band when they played a tiny venue in Glasgow last July and that they were selling copies of their albums at the show.

As I said when I wrote about them previously, if you want something truly original and ground-breaking, then Cats On Fire probably aren't for you. But, if you're anything like me and a total sucker for indie pop from the 80s/90s that crosses The Cure, R.E.M and The Smiths, then you will be blown away by Cats On Fire.

They are a four-piece consisting of Mattias Bjorkas (vocals and acoustic guitar), Ville Hopponen (electric guitar and backing vocals), Kenneth Hoglund (bass) and Henry Ojala (drums), but were augmented by Iiris Viljanen on keyboards and backing vocals for the live show. They are a superbly tight and talented band - some of Ville's guitar playing was hugely reminiscent of a young Johnny Marr - but the attention is grabbed by the singer who also happens to be the band's songwriter.

There's no other way of putting it - Mattias Bjorkas should be a superstar in the world of pop, and not just indie-pop thanks to his talent, looks, confidence, charm and charisma. Have a look here to see what I mean:-







mp3 : Cats On Fire - The Borders Of This Land

Just one of ten great tracks on This Temperance Movement which can be bought right here for just £5 plus postage. Buy a copy for yourself and everyone else who you give presents to at Xmas.

Oh and here's a promo of one of the other songs....one that bears more than a passing resemblance to Get Over You by The Undertones:-




Told you they were great.........

THE CLASS OF 79 (Part 37)

There are some things which really dont seem as if they were released 30 years ago. The 7" single given the catalogue number FAC 13 first hit the shops in October 1979.

I'm guessing that more people heard the song for the first time over the past 5 years than did over the previous 25 years such has been the resurgent interest in Joy Division and in particular the life and death of Ian Curtis.

mp3 : Joy Division - Transmission
mp3 : Joy Division - Novelty

It didn't chart. Radio wasn't ready to play this sort of song in those days.

THAT LINK I WAS TALKING ABOUT YESTERDAY....

When I was looking to find out the release date of Legal Man, I found this in wikipedia:-

"Legal Man" is a single released by Belle & Sebastian on Jeepster Records in 2000. The title track also features Jonny Quinn and Rozanne Suarez of The Maisonettes on congas and vocals, respectively. The cover features band members Stevie Jackson and Isobel Campbell along with Adrienne Payne and Rozanne Suarez.

Then when I looked again at the sleeve on the B&S single I saw that it says the artist is "BELLE & SEBASTIAN" in large letters and in much smaller letters underneath "FEATURING THE MAISONETTES". It only took me all these years to notice.......

I picked up a very obviously second, third or even fourth-hand copy of Heartache Avenue a couple of months back and have been looking for an excuse to post what I think is a brilliant bit of pop music. The link to Legal Man gives me said reason:-

mp3 : The Maisonettes - Heartache Avenue
mp3 : The Maisonettes - Last One To Know

This was the band's debut single. It reached #7 in the UK charts in December 1982. The band never troubled the charts again. Still, I guess they enjoyed the fame while it lasted.

IT'S FRIDAY, I'M IN LOVE....WITH GREAT SCOTTISH SINGLES (3)

I'll make no apologies for this, but Belle & Sebastian are likely to feature quite a few times as this series unfolds in the weeks and months ahead.

I'm really not sure which of their many singles/EPs is really my personal favourite as it depends largely on my mood. When I did my rundown of my all-time favourite singles back in 2008 it was the very failure to single out (if you'll pardon the pun) one 45 by B&S that stopped me finding a place for them in the rundown.

But...... if I was forced by torture to choose one single then it would be the one that sounded so different from anything else they had done up until the point when Legal Man was released in May 2000. And for being the song that finally got them on Top Of The Pops:-

mp3 : Belle & Sebastian - Legal Man
mp3 : Belle & Sebastian - Judy Is A Dickslap
mp3 : Belle & Sebastian - Winter Wooskie



I was at a clubnight last Saturday night and saw with my own eyes that Stuart Murdoch still dances in that same distinctive and stylish way.

Oh and there's an obscure link to this song coming along tomorrow.....

IDEAS FOR XMAS (4)

Regular readers will not be surprised with today's suggestion for Xmas Lists as I've consistently given plenty of praise to Malcolm Middleton over the past 3 years since starting up TVV.

Waxing Gibbous is his sixth solo album, and I reckon is his best yet. I never thought he would top his 2002 LP Into The Woods, but this collection of songs really is top-quality stuff both lyrically and musically. Its a long way away from the pre-conceived ideas that many hold, namely that Malky is only good when he writes songs about misery.

For instance, album opener Red Travellin' Socks is one of the best pop singles recorded by anyone so far in the 21st century, and it was a disgrace that it never got near the charts, Zero features the best Scottish-rap since Bill Drummond in his 1987 heyday with the Justified Ancients of Mu-Mu, while Don't Want To Sleep Tonight has an infectious chorus that drills into your brain and has you singing it to yourself for hours on end, long after you last played it. But then again if misery is what you're after then Ballad of Fuck All All will tick all your boxes.

There was a superb interview with Malky earlier this year which allowed him to describe all the tracks on the album, which can be read by clicking here.

Malky is on tour next month. I'm however going to be away on holiday when he comes to Glasgow and will miss out on what is sure to be one of the best gigs of 2009. News of the tour and all other sorts of great things can be found over at his official website right here.

Rather bizarrely, the shop on his site doesn't sell Waxing Gibbous, so you'll have to either nip down to your local store or use the record label site which is right here.

mp3 : Malcolm Middleton - Shadows
mp3 : Malcolm Middleton - Whistle *

*not actually on the LP, but the b-side to Red Travellin Socks.

And thanks to my good mate Matthew from Song By Toad (which is without question the best blog on the planet), here's Malky doing a wee cover earlier in the year:-



Happy Listening