Certainly triggered

It's the dreaded British indie episode of 'Seven Ages Of Rock' tonight. I'll be recording it, as 'Jekyll' is on at the same time, but whenever I get around to viewing it I'll report back on how traumatised I was by the whole experience. I guess there's a chance they'll do it well.

Ha!

Maximo Park live from the Oxford Union tonight on Channel 4, apparently. It's one of those Vodaphone TBA things, that seem to exist only to get the name 'Vodaphone' into the tv listings. And blogs, evidently.
Maximo Park are my current love affair. I have a habit of throwing myself into the collecting of a band or artist as soon as that magic 'click' occurs and I realise their greatness. I've stubbornly held out on Maximo Park for some time, but thinking back, I'm not sure why. I took a punt on 'Our Earthly Pleasures' back in April because the CD was fairly cheap, and realised that they weren't at all bad. A chance to buy the special edition of the debut at a good price ensured that that was in the collection too. However, the adoration didn't happen until the Glastonbury performance (See video clip in a previous post.) They delivered a blistering live set and suddenly I realised what I'd been missing.
As a result, this week has involved tons of Maximo Park stuff pouring through the letterbox, including a multi-coloured pile of 7" singles, a Japanese b-sides collection, a limited edition CD/DVD book thingy and both albums I already own, but this time on vinyl. Ok, so they didn't come through the letterbox, but you get the idea. I have form for this kind of behaviour. But, it's not like I don't listen to it all, and thoroughly enjoy it.
I really do recommend that you check out the Field Music re-version of 'I Want You To Stay', available on the single of that name, or for download via the excellent Bleep.
The music's spiky, the lyrics are just the right side of odd and the presentation is perfect. An indie band that's a cut above the rest. It'd be nice to hear about an act such as this lot on tonight's 'Seven Ages', but I suspect it'll be the Oasis show. I'd love to be proved wrong.

It's just MVC repeating itself...

And so it was confirmed today - Fopp is dead. Internet rumours suggest that the staff were told in an email, yesterday afternoon, that they were out of work and would not be receiving their pay for June. A fairly shabby way to treat your staff, especially when they've been having to trot out nonsense excuses to the public for the last week.
I used to love Fopp. I first discovered it whilst at uni. The first few visits were slightly too overwhelming to result in actually spending all that much. That was a problem I soon ironed out and was frequently to be found exiting with £40 worth of CDs and books every couple of weeks. The nearby rival in Nottingham is 'Selectadisc', who altered their pricing policy to be competitive against Fopp's 'pile it high, sell it low' approach. It was at this point that I realised that if continued to do what I was doing - and, let's face it, many other people in the city were doing the same - then one of my favourite record shops, Selectadisc, was losing previously guaranteed custom. This wasn't so much of an issue while Fopp was still genuinely different to all of the big stores, but in the last few years it was becoming predictable and faceless. Far too much of the stock and pricing was interchangeable with HMV and Virgin. Vinyl disappeared from many of their stores and the few remaining bargains tended to be in the book section. My spending in Fopp tailed off dramatically, and while I've still used them in recent years (£25 last month on the Sly & The Family Stone reissues alone) it had lost that excitement factor that musos feel when going out record shopping.
My loyalties were even more torn in recent weeks when I found out about the plans for a new Fopp in the Eagle Centre redevelopment in Derby. As I may have mentioned in the past, I have an unhealthy love of Reveal Records in that their city. It's like a big blanket in winter, and a chilled foreign beer in the summer. I can never buy only one thing in there, and their constant 2 for £20 and 2 for £18 offers (on vinyl as well as CD) ensure that each desired item is suitably paired off. I popped in today and spent twice as much as I had intended to. The staff are friendly and knowledgeable. The stock is varied, well-presented and competitively priced. They've got a healthy vinyl section and the shop is light and airy. It is, to my mind, the best record shop in the UK.
Another rumour that circulated the internet in recent times (and I restate that this is nowt but a rumour) was that there was a bonus available to Fopp staff in new branches, if they killed off the local indie store within months of opening. Now, this does sound rather like fanciful nonsense put about by those poor indie stores that are on their last legs, the length and breadth of the country, but it does fit with the increasingly sour image of Fopp in recent times.
I hope to see them breathe again in some capacity. If only so I can have one more visit. But it's unlikely that it can be a going concern as a business. I can't really envisage a time without physical record shops, but it's clearly becoming harder and harder to even break even. I was worried the day that it was announced that Fopp had bought up the Music Zone stores and sadly those fears have proved to be justified.
They treated music fans well for a while. How about justice for the staff?

Woop-dee-bleeding-doo

Left-Legged Pineapple in Loughborough (a record shop) closes this week. Fopp appear to be in serious trouble as a result of their takeover of Music Zone and HMV are preparing to launch new stores in the Borders mould so that they can reduce their rent in each city by not needing an HMV store and a Waterstone's.
Thank fuck then that music has been saved.

The Spice Girls are getting back together.

Yup. Named after a Wilco lyric.

Still obsessing over Maximo Park. I'll be writing about that 'I must buy everything they've ever released' feeling tomorrow.
In the meantime, someone else for you to check out.
The quite sublime, Cherry Ghost. This song is out on 7" and CD this week.

Just a bit good!

Not much on telly tonight

Glastonbury Revelations:
Well, if you can't change the format on your own site, where can you? Glasto only this week so that I can tidy up my views on the festival.
Editors - how can he sound like that but look like that? Doesn't really look tortured enough to sing the kind of harrowing tunes that they specialise in. Bloody good, though. Tight play, decent vocals and a fired up crowd. New stuff sounded just as good as the debut album, which is no mean feat when playing prior to release.
Super Furry Animals - only caught fifteen minutes of this before going out on Friday, but it was a joy. Few bands can make me dance like a twat and nod like a muso at the same time. SFA are one of them. 'Northern Lites' in a Big Star/Teenage Fanclub style was a gem and 'Hello Sunshine' sounded like a Sixties classic that should have been a worldwide smash. They're just so charming. New material was broadcast; most notably the new single, 'Show Your Hand'. A world-beater if you ask me. In at 27 if you ask the British public.
The Who - great value entertainment. Roger's voice isn't what it was, but Pete's guitar playing was superlative in the extreme and to be fair to Mr Daltrey, his ability to catch the mic without looking is a fantastically precise science.
Arctic Monkeys - a no frills headline set from a band hitting their stride. Wasn't sure with album one, but completely sold second time around.
Maximo Park - I've been quite fond of this lot for a little while now. I'd recently picked up the debut album and was content with another 'indie band I quite like'. However, their set on Saturday night was near perfect. A charismatic frontman, tight musicianship, belting tunes being sung back by the crowd and every single member of the group looking like it was the happiest day of their various lives. The thirty minute highlights package was essential viewing - so much so that I watched it three times.

The Stinkers
Paolo Nutini - I'm reminded of a Ross Noble routine about a drunk talking into his can of special brew. What a bizarre voice! Somewhere between comical and genuinely disturbing.
Kaiser Chiefs - Bloody sing! Stop shouting. People will stop loving you pretty bloody quickly if you think you can piss away that much good will in just over an hour. Smug, clowning and vacant. Like Robbie Williams pre-'Angels'.
The Killers - Terrible shouty cobblers and way too close to the posturing of The Darkness. It confirmed for me that 'Sam's Town' really was that shit.

You can watch plenty of these performances over at the BBC site until next weekend. www.bbc.co.uk/glastonbury

And it's still raining

The Manics did ok, although I think I prefered the interview with Zane afterwards. Not their natural environment, but they were fairly well received, and Nina from The Cardigans managed to stick to the tune of 'Your Love Alone Is Not Enough'. Only caught a bit of Beirut, but it looked bloody great. I was asked how I'd describe them and I was reminded of a review I read that said something along the lines of, "it's the album of the decade. That decade being the 1920s" or somesuch. For me it's cossack-folk with hippy love sprinkled all over it.

The Kaiser Chiefs appeared to be all bluster and self-worship with piss-poor vocals just to top it all off. Alex Greenwald managed to cause all kinds of mental anguish for security by climbing up into the gantry during Mark Ronson's performance while doing his vocal on 'Just'. All good fun, but didn't really add to the experience of the really rather good studio album.

Chemicals looked ace, but it's not really what you want blaring out of the telly late on a Sunday night. In fact, that seems to be exactly what The Who were made for. BBC2 has been broadcasting them for a solid hour and fifteen minutes as I type this. Fair play to them for that. Poor old Roger's voice isn't what it was, but they can still put on a decent show. The Gossip are on one of the other stages. I just don't get the appeal.

Well, there's plenty to mull over for the final comment on the weekend, but a number of acts did themselves proud. Plenty of mediocrity as always, mind.

Gum boots

Editors were outstanding. Maximo Park pulled an absolute blinder. Sometimes all it takes is one fantastic festival performance to put everything into place. Certainly the case for me and, as almost certainly nobody calls them, the Park.
Seth Lakeman had his moments. Mika didn't. Neither did Bassey. Young Knives sounded a little bit all over the place, as did The Rumble Strips, although I think they're meant to sound like that. The Killers were as dull as you might expect. Wasn't entirely convinced by Weller for once, and didn't quite sense the majesty of CSS that everyone else seems to think is present. Nice of BBC3 to give us all of five minutes of the Manics. Bit of a weird day in terms of coverage. Edith Bowman really is one the most depressingly uninteresting individuals to ever have walked this fair planet of ours. Mind you, I'm even finding Lauren Laverne annoying this weekend, and I normally have plenty of time for whimsical ways.
I'm going to delay the 'Revelations Of The Week' until tomorrow so that I can do a Glasto special.
In the meantime, if you need to do some homework, the place to go is the BBC Glasto site.

I prefer marmalade

What in the name of all things bizarre and freakish is Paolo Nuttella's live performance from Glastobury all about? Is he slurring? Is he doing it on purpose? Has someone told him it sounds good? It's genuinely uncomfortable viewing, and not just because it involves watching, and unfortunately hearing, the songs of Paolo Nuttella.
The Dirty Pretty Things set looked promising from the three minutes we got of it earlier, and the highlights of yesterday have been enjoyable enough. That's what I like about the Beeb's Glasto coverage. While never particularly essential, it's comforting like cricket commentary on the radio. Plus, with the red button, it introduces an element of mental anguish as you sit there constantly worrying that you might be missing out on something good over on one of the other video streams.

But it is still essentially an end

I think it's safe to say that the Editors are never going to release an album called 'Ten Songs About Picnics and Wanking'. The new album, 'An End Has A Start' picks up where 'The Back Room' left off. It's slightly more relentless in terms of maintaining the pressure throughout and the production is a little smoother, but the all-encompassing sense of dread that was so successful on the debut is still the key-selling point. I've not played it enough to offer any valuable insights on lyrical quality, but it does seem to have the tunes. I get the feeling that there's a bit of a backlash against them already, which I don't really understand. It seems that there is a suggestion that with the sheer wealth of bands out there people are only adoring the 'next big thing' for one album, before moving on. If you liked 'The Back Room' then I can't imagine you being anything other than delighted with 'An End Has A Start'. The vinyl comes in a kind of thick yellow tracing paper inner sleeve that wears through on all sides with depressing ease, but it looks pretty!

I'll be posting random thoughts across the weekend to make up for the lack on content on Thursday and Friday.

I miss The Chart Show

Something Changed

I fucking loved getting off the bus on a Monday evening and dashing across the road to our town's one and only independent record shop. You had to go down a little set of steps to get into Dominion Records. It didn't mean an awful lot to me until Britpop kicked off. I can vividly remember standing by the 7" section, flicking through the new releases and trying to decide if I could justify spending £2.29 on the vinyl of 'Country House', when I'd bought the tape for the same price the week before.
Across those halcyon years in the mid-90s, every spare penny I had went into the till in that shop. You felt like no record would be a bad move. Nothing that you picked out would be shite - it was Britpop, and Britpop seemed invincible. That said, I never stooped to buying a full price Shed Seven single (I ended up with 'Bully Boy' in some kind of 'buy three for £1.50' clearout deal, but we won't count that.) 'Marblehead Johnson' by The Bluetones and 'The Circle' by (say it quietly) Ocean Colour Scene were the two CDs that proved to me that I was besotted with this particular 'movement'. Never before would I have justified paying, gasp, £2.99 for a single. But, in October 1995 I got my first CD player, and thus the additional avenue of multiple CD sets entered the fray. I can remember being pissed off that both Woolies and my beloved Dominion Records wanted the best part of £3 for The Bluetones. I wasn't too worldly-wise, but I knew that a single by The Bluetones was hardly a gold-encrusted cultural document.
Anyway, what Britpop offered to me was a route into an obsession. My love of music was vastly accelerated by those years, those issues of the NME and those hours spent glued to Lammo and Jo on Radio 1. The Sesh, as nostalgic wankers such as myself now call it, was a nightly appointment with two cool friends who seemed to have all of the new records long before we did. (Remember, this was a time before the internet was the first source of a band's new single) I can remember Jo Whiley's articulate, compassionate and incisive interview with Nicky Wire when the Manics were taking their first, tentative steps as a three-piece. I'd make a mental note of any particularly good songs played across the week, and then hope to God that Dominion would have them in on the Monday. I can remember having to wait for the family trip to Bristol to rummage on the Gloucester Road for a copy of Marion's 'Sleep' on orange vinyl. Still a cracking tune, to these ears, although probably not worth the petrol involved.
The afore-mentioned NME also played a huge part in my development. I was an NME snob, and I couldn't bear the Melody Maker. It wasn't as clever, it wasn't as well designed and it didn't get such good interviews. Occasionally I'd buy it for a Manics or Blur interview and sniff with derision as I flicked through it on my way to the important interview. It was a period where you had to speak up for whichever side you were on, where lines were drawn and allegiances fiercely protected. I loved it.
I get hugely nostalgic for it now, and that's why 'Something Changed - The Britpop Years' will be an on-off series for the forseeable future on this blog. Please have your say via the comment option.

Somewhere on the Goldhawk Road

Currently giving 'The Good, The Bad & The Queen' another play. I remain convinced that the vinyl is the way to go with this one. While other albums have looked to be running it close for album of the year, thus far of course, it remains my favourite. The Manics, Wilco and Lavender Diamond all made strong pitches, but this one's going to take some beating.
It's claustrophobic and yet atmospheric. It's brooding and yet sweetly beguiling. It's full of longing and seemingly content with its lot. In short, it's bloody great. I'm going to keep banging on about this record for, well, quite possibly, ever. I suspect it might well pass into the annals of time without due attention and admiration, despite critical approval on release. Where this really holds its own above the other contenders is the way it works as a complete listen, rather than simply being a selection of songs. While I hate turning any album off halfway through, this is one I simply can't bear to interrupt. From the opening notes of 'History Song' through to the clattering finale of 'The Good, The Bad & The Queen', this album ebbs and flows and pulls you into every little musical nuance. I still don't feel like I've heard everything there is to hear on this album, but with familiarity, far from bringing contempt, comes infatuation. Over at the previously recommended www.blurcast.tv you can see a number of great TG,TB&TQ videos, including live performances and interviews to promote the new record. Worth a look.

Something Changed - The Britpop Years - starts tomorrow.

Bless his cotton socks

Musical Revelations Of The Week:
Bruce Springsteen - 'Live In Dublin' - A joyous 2CD (and DVD if you're willing to spend the extra) set that simply encapsulates the atmosphere of an excellent gig. Live albums are nearly always a crock of shit, but this one sounds like the crowd were having a riot and The Boss sounds on good form. Mainly drawn from the 'We Shall Overcome - The Seeger Sessions', a fine album in itself, this is the most vibrant that Bruce has sounded in yonks.
Manic Street Preachers - 'Assorted B-sides' - As I think I mentioned, I'm currently attempting to buy up the Manics singles that I missed out on first time around. Hearing tracks like 'Hibernation', 'Too Cold Here' and 'Love Torn Us Under' it makes me wonder how the hell 'Lipstick Traces' ended up with the tracklist it did. Well worth hunting down these increasingly cheap old CD singles to hear some lost gems. And a shit live version of 'Drug Drug Druggy'.
Amy Winehouse - 'Back To Black (vinyl pressing)'- This album finally got a vinyl release recently, and as I said back at the start of the week, it really does improve the listening experience on this one no end. An extra mention in the weekly round-up in the hope that it will spur a few more people on in terms of registering the sonic differences.

Non-musical Revelations Of The Week
The work of Jerry Seinfeld and Larry David: I sort of stopped watching season six of Seinfeld on DVD around the time the Michael Richards (Kramer) story broke about offensive comments made during a stand-up gig. It's what Google's for, kids. Anyway, up till then I'd been devouring the series at a fair old pace but it took its place on the shelf and dozens of other things moved ahead of it. However, a bargainous offer over at Amazon whereby you get £5 off if you buy two TV DVD boxsets from a certain selection allowed me to get Seinfeld season 7 and Curb season 5 for £18.50 delivered. An offer not to be passed up, and thus I felt obliged to finish off season 6 prior to 7's arrival. And what a delight it was. I didn't watch Curb's fifth season as it went out on More4 because of its late-Sunday slot, so I have the delights of that ahead of me too. If you've not bothered with either series, it's not too late. In fact, it's bloody cheap to get up to speed now.
Jekyll - Plot all over the shop, delightfully menacing performance from James Nesbitt and Michelle Ryan looking eerily like Kylie at one point, this was the latest Saturday night offering from the Beeb. It's ace, although I'm not sure why. So much unexplained, although I guess that's the point. The cast is particularly well chosen - Paterson Joseph as the slightly OTT bad guy was a sublime idea. Written as it is by Steven Moffat it was unlikely to be shite, and sure enough it wasn't. Charmingly bizarre, I hope it doesn't get an intellectual panning in the press to blight its run.
Simon Ambrose - If only I was a betting man...

Yadder, yadder and indeed yadder

A plug for someone I find rather interesting now. I'm a bit of a radio geek and some years back I first caught some of 'Late Night Nick' on Hallam FM in Sheffield. I found him more than a little obnoxious and disagreed with pretty much everything he said. However, as a fan of Nick Abbot, I was well aware of the fact that this is a requirement for any good talkshow host. I even went so far as slagging him off on some tinpot radio forum.
However, always one to admit if I've got it wrong, I happened upon his show again in a convenience store in Sheffield after leaving a gig at the Leadmill. It caused me to tune in again and suddenly something clicked. Nick, or to give him his full title, Nick Margerrison was bloody good at his job, and I made sure that I popped back to said tinpot radio forum to explain my change of heart. Hallam FM, in their infinite wisdom, stopped the phone-in element of the show and then stopped the Nick element of the show. He's now doing music radio in Morecambe but writes a regular blog and has now branched out into podcasting. You may find him an acquired taste, and the podcast is in its infancy, but he's an amusing man, and worth a few minutes of your time.
Find him here: www.margerrisons.blogspot.com

In addition, some vintage Nick Abbot has surfaced thanks to http://forums.nickabbot.info
Clicky here for part 1
Clicky here for part 2

I am an architect

I realised today that I never actually commented on the Manics' concert at Nottingham's Rock City at the end of May. They were, it must be said, bloody marvelous. It was the eleventh time I'd seen them and it was right up there with their best. The venue was absolutely packed and the atmosphere was remarkable for a band who appeared to have slipped out of the mainstream with 'Lifeblood'. The comedy middle-aged baldies congregated in the middle of the floor and virtually ever person in the place seemed to know all of the lyrics. Certainly a different experience to the crowd at the 'Past, Present, Future' gig I attended in Derby, back in 2005. The passion was back this time, not only from the audience but the band also.
Material from the new album, 'Send Away The Tigers' sounded like it had been in their cannon all along, while vintage joys such as 'Sleepflower' were dusted down to keep us keenos happy. In short, it was 100 minutes of delight on an otherwise dull Thursday evening. It certainly rejuvenated my interest in all aspects of the band.
I've since been attempting to track down a selection of early Manics singles via eBay and the like. I had everything from 'A Design For Life' onwards and the six singles from the 'Generation Terrorists' era, but nothing from the 'Gold Against The Soul' and 'The Holy Bible' periods. I remember coveting these rare CD singles ten years ago and being aghast at the high prices being asked for them. However, online auctions and marketplaces have reduced the reliance of guide prices and now things simply sell for whatever they can get in a certain time. In the past couple of weeks, I've tracked down the 2CD sets of 'Revol' and 'She Is Suffering' as well as the CDs of 'La Tristesse Durera' and 'Roses In The Hospital'. 'MASH', 'From Despair To Where', 'Faster' and 'Life Becoming A Landslide' are all in the post. I can't deny that there is a certain satisfaction in being able to fulfill a youthful ambition, however materialistic. On top of all of that, they had some bloody good b-sides. 'Love Torn Us Under' and 'Too Cold Here' are standouts from these discs, and yet they weren't on the b-sides compilation, 'Lipstick Traces'. Manics history tends to get revised and shuffled quite a lot, so the best way to make up your own mind is to do as I have done: keep an eye out for auctions that finish mid-week, ideally in the morning and have fun. These can all be picked up cheap and there's much to enjoy.

Pig's arse

I think I just saw legendary Brum record shop, 'The Diskery' on Dalziel and Pascoe! That'll do for today.

For lots of words, see other posts. I'm tired.

Raise eyebrow in a quirky way

Arch-indie trio:

Yes, the one about the bus

Whilst perusing the message board over at www.thedivinecomedy.com, I noticed a reference to an instrumental version of 'The Booklovers', the legendarily bonkers track from 'Promenade' featuring a gargantuan list of authors read out with ad-libs and affectations linked to each person. Subsequent rummaging provided the information that this had come from an American promo CD designed to get airplay and soundtrack appearances for said band. Also on there are instrumentals of 'Sticks and Stones' (one of only a few highlights on his career nadir, 'Absent Friends') and 'Here Comes The Flood' (one of only a few lowlights, as t'were, on 'Fin De Siecle'). In addition, this promo features a delightful cherry picking of all sorts of bits and bobs from Neil Hannon's work. Plus, oh no - I'm going to say it again - it looks pretty. Damn, won over again. A copy is winging its way over from the US as I type. I shall report in further detail upon its arrival.

Anyhoo, it's directed me back to the many many joys of The Divine Comedy. I've just noticed that I can finally download the 'To Die A Virgin' 7" b-side, 'Long Slow Suicide' from iTunes. Not that I can't play the 7", nor that I couldn't wire it all up and record it through the pooter, but I'm a lazy bastard and it was much easier to do it this way. It's up as part of iTunes Plus, which is nice, if expensive. This has allowed me to bring together my 'complete b-sides' set for the 'Victory For The Comic Muse' album. Yes, I'm a sad bastard - I know this, and there's nothing you can say that can hurt me. (Perhaps, 'that man over there thinks Kelly Jones is an excellent singer' might do it, but there's very little else) Anyway, it got me thinking about what an excellent period for Neil that campaign was. I adore the album. From start to finish it is beautifully produced, played and arranged. Neil's voice is sounding superb and the ten original songs are right up there with his past glories. 'A Lady Of A Certain Age' is rightly revered amongst the critical fraternity, but I'd add to that 'Light Of Day', 'Snowball In Negative' and 'To Die A Virgin'. If you've ever had a passing interest in the band, treat yourself to that last album; it's a delight.
The b-sides were pretty decent too. The version of 'Lili Marlene' on the 7" only release of 'ALOACA' was quaintly charming, while the aforementioned 'Long Slow Suicide' is one of his finest cast-offs. 'Pamplemousse' is great fun and 'Births, Deaths and Marriages' is a romp of the 'Casanova' vintage. 'Absolute Power' never quite managed the transition from beguiling live tune to vintage recording, but it's still a belter of a track.
Not a great deal of point to today's witterings, other than continuing to try and get everybody to give The Divine Comedy a go at least once. You might surprise yourself.

Can't think why they tried to make you go there

Ah, The Winehouse, or Majestic, as we call it round here. 'Back To Black' remains one of THE pop/soul albums of recent years, containing as it does, not a single duff track. I always thought the CD sounded a little too mashed, even though the plan was always that it should sound like the compressed to hell vintage Motown singles of the sixties. It made those annoying clicking noises that you get with over-compressed records. It's not hugely noticeable, but when you're obsessive about these things it becomes an issue. Thus, I was pretty chuffed to discover that a vinyl release was finally upon us and that it sounds a lot better than the CD.
Now, as far I'm concerned that statement is true. A copy arrived in the post today, and it sounds wonderful. The album breathes, as well as swinging, bounding and seducing. It's hard to pin down what is so much better about the vinyl, but then I've always been like this. I love the sound of a good piece of vinyl - currently, Terry Callier's 'What Colour Is Love?' - but short of 'it's analogue', I don't really have any reasons why. Naturally, it looks pretty, but even I'm not shallow enough to buy a format for that reason alone. Anyway, this vinyl. If you have the means, track yourself down a copy and treat yourself to just over half an hour of soul indulgence. It's a modern classic, and I don't bandy that phrase around willy-nilly. (I appear to writing this live from the 1960s, based on some of my language choices this evening. Anyway, it's been a long, long day, my hay fever is ridiculous and I'm knackered.)
Till tomorrow.

I'm a nice girl, me

Musical Revelations Of The Week:
Hamfatter - What Part Of Hamfatter Do You Not Understand? I've been hugely fond of this record for the last two months since it dropped onto the doormat. The artwork promises little and they've not got the best band name I've ever heard, but they've got the tunes. A whole album full, to be precise. I've been playing this rather a lot today for vaguely professional reasons and I'm still discovering new bits I love about it. I won't say too much now, as it's not out till mid-July, but around release time I'll deploy hyperbole like you wouldn't believe.
Suburban Kids With Biblical Names - #3 This one that I have to thank Radcliffe and Maconie for. 'Loop Duplicate My Heart' was an early single of the week on their new Radio 2 show and their name lodged at the back of my mind as a result of its shining brilliance. I was tootling around town on Friday evening, in the mood to pick up a few bits and bobs and this popped back into my mind. Glad it did. Very Magnetic Fields-y with some superb summery sounds.
Songs : Ohia - The Lioness I've been working my way through Jason Molina's back catalogue over the last couple of years, and this was the last album for me to pick up. The blessed Norman Records got a second hand copy of this in on vinyl last week so I figured it was time to get hold of it. Once again, it's a beautiful, fragile album that creates an atmosphere and commands your attention. I'm conscious of the fact that his albums need a bit of time to be absorbed and that I flit about far too quickly to truly appreciate them. Thus, I have mentioned it here so that it might actually remind me to spend more time with the Molina cannon in the near future.

Non-musical Revelations Of The Week:
Alex James - 'Bit Of A Blur' Yes, I know, it's a book primarily about music, but when you bear in mind that I spend as much of my free time obsessing over music as possible it's hard for anything else to creep in. Anyway, it's as good as I had hoped. I've even forgiven him for selling his soul to the Mail on Sunday and letting them print extracts in the run up to its release. It's honest, breezy and chirpy. It doesn't get bogged down in the first sixteen years of his life like so many biographies that end up boring the arse off you before you get to the good stuff. I'm just over a hundred pages in and he's already up to the recording of 'Parklife'. Suits me just fine.
Another quick mention for Blurcast.tv (full details below) at this point. Currently watching/listening to the '13 Live' show that was on BBC2 to promote said album, back in 1999. Excellent stuff.
Big Brother - Apparently they have a moral conscience after all. Did they need to show the clip though? Was it really essential viewing? In a sense I do agree that it had to be aired once in context in order for it to be put to bed, but at the same time Channel 4 can't really claim to have been acting with anything other than ratings in mind, as with the Diana show. If nothing else it confirmed my opinion that Emily wasn't even half as clever as she thought she was. The flimsy attempt at an explanation in the diary room was disturbingly confident, almost as if she didn't really believe anything would happen. Yes, I'm still watching it, four days after the point at which I normally storm off in a huff complaining about how annoying they all are. I still think that, only I seem to be more tired in the evenings and less willing to get off the sofa.
New Zealand rugby team - Is there any point having the World Cup later this year? Watching the destruction of France at the hands of the All Blacks, who themselves were not at their best, made it quite clear that nothing much is up for grabs this autumn. However, for some insane reason, New Zealand will be playing a warm up game against Canada next weekend. Canada? Even my beloved Welsh team managed to put a bucketload of points past them last year, so what sort of challenge will they present for the world's best rugby team?

Bloody hell! It's The Ozone!

Late post today as I can't drag myself away from www.blurcast.tv
It's the most astonishing archive of Blur bits and bobs.
Not going to say much as I've got a few more things lined up, but it's great to know there's a full length version of the 1999 South Bank Show special available here.
Have a look.
Unless you hate Albarn, of course.

Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery

I've just listened to the Felice Brothers' new record with appeared in the post this morning. The first reason for pointing out that it is rather spiffing is the inclusion of 'live' lightning on track 3. Apparently the studio was struck during the session for 'Hey Hey Revolver' and they liked it so much they left it in. I don't imagine Sir Thumbs-Aloft has that on his newie, although I have to confess that what I heard of it in Starbucks earlier was quite, well, pleasant. It didn't help that a couple, clearly in the early flush of romantic endeavour, were exchanging saliva in such a fashion that it brought to mind the way snakes dislocate their jaws in order to swallow their prey. Where was I? Oh yes, a rare visit to Starbucks. It's on constant repeat there as it's on their own record label. It would seem that the price of their instore CDs are on the grande side too. Anyway, it sounded ok.
Right then, back to the Felice Brothers, who sound really rather like Dylan. In fact, more like Dylan than Dylan often does these days. Charming in a Bob and The Band kind of way, with some quite beautifully yearning steel guitar and the slightly fragmented vocals that tell of experiences long remembered. It's a delight from start to finish, although some of that pleasure comes from the soundalike quality of the performance. It got me thinking - how accepting am I of music that sounds like other music I like? Is it simply a stepping stone from one CD I like to another one I'll probably enjoy or do I need to have a clear distinction between 'similar to' and 'inspired by'? Too many of the current 'The' indie groups have plenty in common with my Britpop heroes, and thus I can't find a great deal to enjoy in them, and yet at the time I was awestruck by the mid 90s music scene I didn't have the same reaction to these shameless bands plagiarising all the had gone before.
I guess it's a little like literary theory. Each person will have their own, unique spin on many things in life as a result of their own, unique experiences. Thus, with music, every circumstance that has led to the record collection alongside you now will inform every judgement you make about an album on its first play. It's what makes music criticism such a peculiar field. On the one hand it's invigorating, inspiring and enlightening. On the other, it's frustrating, fickle and phenomenally controversial. What tops it all of is the fact the by the forth play of an album your opinion may have nothing at all with what you thought first time around. I'll let you know how the Felice Brothers fare this time next week.

'Tonight at the Arizona' is out Monday on Loose Records.

The contract stipulated brie

I posted this elsewhere and figured it might be nice to offer it up here. I'm not a big one for sharing music across t'internet- I prefer buying a physical format, however, I don't imagine any money is being made from this these days. If anyone would like me to nuke the link, just say so and I will.
Video preview:


The link:
The Shirehorses - Our Kid Eh

First time for everything, I suppose

I remember getting excited about buying the NME each Wednesday morning before getting on the school bus. It was the burgeoning Britpop era and the improvement in paper quality that bookended my stint with the nation's most renowned music weekly. I'll never forget the wit, enthusiasm and passion of the bog roll days. 'He Could Be Eros' was a classic cover to mark the release of 'A Short Album About Love' by The Divine Comedy, while everybody knows the historical Blur/Oasis Heavyweight battle image. The charts were there to study, the letters page took the piss magnificently out of the loonies and the album reviews were amongst the most coruscating pieces of writing I've ever read. God bless mid-90s NME, and all who sailed in her.
Then things changed. The 1998 shift to posher paper began the drift, but things really started to tail off as the price kept creeping up and the cover even became glossy. The volume of text reduced rapidly and the sense of fanboyism that made the paper so lovable, comforting and familiar evaporated.
I occasionally dip in these days. I bought the issue with The Good, The Bad & The Queen on the cover around Christmas and found all but that interview decidedly uninspiring. Nothing about the new issue has achieved anything other than the same result. Big pictures, large adverts and some fairly uninspiring text. However, it's got a free White Stripes 7" this week, previewing the new album. Actual vinyl, stuck to the front of a magazine. Fabulous!

Ignore the fact that Colin Murray likes them

If you want words, read the plentiful supply of them in previous posts.

If you're after a new favourite album, try 'We Can Create' by Maps.

What do you do when the music stops?

It's boiling here. Technically summer from here on in, methinks. Which means one record in particular gets dusted down. Each year one album tends to get branded my 'summer album of the year'. It's not always obvious which record it's going to be, but once an album clicks into place it gets played constantly throughout the warmer months. In 2005 it was the sublime 'Road To Rouen' by Supergrass, and last year it was The Pipettes' debut album, 'We Are The Pipettes'. I started every work day with that album for three weeks on the trot almost a year ago. Harnessing all of the charms I've been exploring on the 'Girl Group Sounds' boxset, along with 21st century lyrics packed with wit and charm. It's a sing-a-long album and, as someone who mimes when called upon to join in with any kind of public singing, that takes some doing. If you didn't pick this record up last year, do so now and guarantee a smile till September.
This year's summer record looks like to be Wilco's 'Sky Blue Sky' as things stand, but it's not guaranteed just yet.

I listened to Christopher O'Riley's piano interpretations of Radiohead last night. Entitled 'True Love Waits', it's a collection of the great and good from the band's back catalogue played in sparse but oddly affecting fashion. Quite apart from allowing me to wallow in the foul mood I was in it also made me think about how much I'd enjoy something similar for a number of artists. R.E.M., Elvis Costello and Rufus Wainwright all struck me as possible contenders for this. Simply thinking out loud here, or whatever the typing equivalent is. In a 'loose-fingered' fashion, perhaps? Although that sounds a little odd.

Finally, 'Bit Of A Blur' by Alex James is out there. My copy's on its way from Waterstone's who send books via Royal Mail with free delivery, unlike a certain other internet store who are increasingly fond of those shoddy delivery networks that throw parcels around your garden, if they ever actually manage to deliver the thing in the first place. So, that was Waterstone's. Very reasonable price.
Really looking forward to this one, although I'm still not happy about him selling his soul (well, extracts from his book) to The Mail On Sunday. Will feedback on it as soon as I have something to say.

Wangers

Musical Revelations Of The Week:

'Girl Groups Sounds - One Kiss Can Lead To Another' Boxset - A quite brilliant box from Rhino, up to the high standards of the Nuggets sets. It contains four CDs of 60s pop with a female origin. In amongst the tried and testeds lurk some truly wonderful neglected gems. If that wasn't enough, it comes in a mini-hat box with each CD in a digipack styled like a make-up compact. Splendid. Shown here.
The Beta Band - Best Of DVD - Finally picked up the 2DVD set this week as it was less than a tenner. Much to love about the Betas, although it was the case that perhaps not enough people realised this at the time. Well worth getting for the 'Let It Beta' documentary on Disc 2 that follows the band for the entire process of creating 'Heroes To Zeros', their final album. Absolutely warts'n'all, and full of hissy fits and seriously pissed off musicians, it's compelling viewing.
John Phillips - John Phillips (John The Wolfking of LA) - Reissued last year, this country-rock wonder is well worth investigating. Released at the start of the seventies, it's a wonderfully produced album, with the warmth of sound one associates with that period. Hard to describe adequately, so it might well be worth seeking out some audio clips.


Non-musical Revelations Of The Week:
The Apprentice - It dawned on me this week that all of the remaining contestants are a bit rubbish. Would you have faith in any of them if real money depended on it? Alan (come on, it might catch on) made the point that it wasn't about being TV presenters, and yet these channels depend entirely on good presenting in order to flog some of the utter arse they wish to peddle to the public. All round excellent media chappie, Andrew Collins, points out on his blog that Katie will be made to suffer in next week's episode. I can hardly wait.
Big Brother - Only my computer's frequent inability to perform basic tasks (the key one being - working as a computer) annoys me more than some of the new housemates. Every year I start watching, and every year I get a week in and storm out the room declaring it the biggest waste of time imaginable. Same situation this year. So few of them are even likeable, although presumably that's the point. So oddly involved with it was I on launch night that I even watched Chris Moyles hosting 'Big Brother's Big Mouth'. When will TV executives realise that he can't do telly. It just doesn't suit him. He can be occasionally amusing on the radio, but put a camera in front of him and he becomes the playground bully. If you laugh at his crass generalisations then all will be fine, but if you dare to slip up then he will target you with a personal slight as quickly as the thought can get to his lips. It was horrific viewing and it almost made me want to see more footage of the twins talking instead. Almost.
The Sindy's new look - One big paper, one big magazine, one pound. Yeah, this week maybe, but no doubt it'll be £2.50, or something similarly ridiculous once the hyping stops. I've been an Indie reader for the last eight years, and I've stuck with it through thick and thin (apart from a brief strike as a result of that awful 'Sleeping Around' column), despite its occasionally obsessive environmental front pages and its love of price hikes and all in all I'm happy with what I get. Looking at the relaunched Independent On Sunday this morning was like looking at website content that had been put into the paper. It now has the equivalent of hyperlinks telling you where to go next and the stories can be read in more detail via their website. Not entirely convinced about what they're trying to achieve, but it all looks quite pretty. Simon Kelner, the editor of The Indie, frequently makes the point that papers are too cheap when you take into account the sheer volume of writing you get in them. While he has a point, you have to wonder how much it's possible to stretch the definition of value for money. I don't buy a paper everyday anymore, as a result of the increasing costs. The Indie's website is my homepage and I flit about each day, whether I've bought a physical copy or not. But constantly hiking the price requires an audience that are resolutely tied into your product. If Indie readers are the sort of people who like the idea of hyperlinks in their newspaper articles, what's to stop them simply reading the paper on the web instead?

Oh look at me! I'm so clever

As I type this 'The Seven Ages of Rock' is droning on in the corner of the room, and once again it's annoying me. Has anyone not seen the Pistols swearing on TV yet? Was there any point featuring Patti Smith for all of two minutes, someone not featured much on national telly, and then following it with what felt like years of the Sex Pistols? Was Charles Shaar Murray sat on a washing machine for all of his interviews?
This show is a bizarre combination of things we already know and a select group of musos attempting to make things we already know sound like the most startlingly original insights known to man.
I'm now starting to dread the programme on 'Britpop'. God alone knows which acts they'll decide to focus on. It'll probably be thirty-five minutes on Oasis plus brief sections on Menswear, Echobelly and Shed sodding Seven. The only positive is that the producers will hopefully hand over a huge chunk of the show to the unfalteringly charming, literate and witty, John Harris. If you've not read his study of Britpop, 'The Last Party', you really should. Go on, treat yourself.
I'll be returning to Britpop for a lengthy period soon, as part of my delight at the release of Alex James' memoirs, shamelessly entitled, 'A Bit Of A Blur'.
The Clash are on now. Have you heard of them, dear? Ah, bollocks to it, here's Lydon again.

I just hope you've got a good connection

Last week Wales were promising. This week wasn't quite so enjoyable. Fair play to Charvis and Owen though.

Anyway, it doesn't put me in the frame of mind to write dynamic prose about records. So, instead, you could do far worse than give a few hours of your weekend over to a man whose enthusiasm for music is infectious. Even if you don't like him from the telly, try him on the radio.
Mark Lamarr's Friday Night show on Radio 2.

You have to admit, 'She Said' was a cracking tune

I've never been particularly fond of 'Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band', which was released forty years ago today. I don't know if you just had to be there, man or if I'm just being deliberately obtuse. Popular opinion has it as one of the greatest albums of all time, but then popular opinion says that Eastenders, Coronation Street and Mika are good, so what the fuck does it know?
It's interesting at times but very dated at others. I'm well aware that this collection of songs is tightly bound up with memories for many people but I'm with Nick Hornby who makes the point in '31 Songs' that music shouldn't simply a way of assisting the memory. Simply because it conjures that time, does that make it excellent in itself? I went through a period last year of picking up vintage indie albums from The Seahorses, Longpigs and Sleeper. I wanted to hear them as part of a nostalgic reflection on my formative years. Does this mean I now think of them as classics? No. Although I did smirk, yet again, at the mention of 'Strap-on Sally' in 'Love Is The Law' by the first of that trio of 90s goodness.
I know I'm simplifying the argument on purpose, but I just can't find it in me to love 'Sgt Pepper's'. I think I enjoy pretty much every other Beatles record more than this one. I promise you I'm not playing devil's avocado when I say that I actually prefer Gomez's take on 'Getting Better' to the original. 'Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds' is wearing thin these days and is about as subtle as those annoying twins in the new Big Brother. (Fuck off! Like you're not watching it.)
'When I'm Sixty Four' makes me want to attach string to each of my ears and hook said strings up to the back of a passing Pendolino. Well, Thumbs is currently sixty four and if you look at the video on Amazon to promote his new album it demonstrates clearly that it's not an age that suits him well. He's turned into a shit version of Cliff Richard. Who knew that was even possible?
'With A Little Help From My Friends' is oddly endearing in the same way as an instantly recognisable, hugely dated museum piece that you might look at when doing obligatory 'family things' on holiday.
The title track is dire, pub-rock, balls-out, tub-thumping chuggery and by the time it makes a second appearance it quite cleverly ensures that the dramatic pomp of 'A Day In The Life' is welcomed just that little bit more, as respite if nothing else. I played it this afternoon whilst wondering when Uncut got so bad, and it still didn't do much for me. It's pleasant enough at times, but I know how frustrating that description can be if you love the album in question. I'll just accept it's not for me and move on, I guess. I hasten to add, I'm not saying I think The Beatles are shit in an attempt at engendering some conversation, I'm very partial to a number of their other records, but this one is a symbol of a time, a sun-faded relic of a by-gone era that no longer means anything new, but which represents a huge amount for those who were there the first time.