Leaving it propped against the door wasn't so great though

I take it all back. I'm very sorry, people of Royal Mail-shire. T'was a splendid surprise to see a woman pushing around one of those hi-tech mailbag-on-a-trolley devices today, delivering the mail in place of our normal postie. As a result, I am in possession of the Edgar Jones album!
It really is as good as I was hoping for, if not a little bit better. I'm not sure how best to describe it, but it resembles one of those exceptionally good compilation albums put together by trendy record labels with a mix of early sixties rock'n'roll, reggae and soul. It certainly doesn't sound like it was recorded any time in the last forty years. Nevertheless, it's bloody marvellous and sounded fantastic sat out in the garden during what was officially the first proper day of summer. It has left me in an astoundingly good mood, so good that even the little errors with the BBC's iPlayer thingy won't make me cross. Honest. No, really. Ok, well maybe a little bit.
This is a track from the Edgar Jones album (which is called 'Gettin' A Little Help From "The Joneses"') that isn't particularly representative, but then no one song is, I'm afraid.
Just buy it! (Here, if you so desire)

Sorry, you were out. Why? I had a nice time.

I'd like to spend some time today talking about how great the Edgar Jones and The Joneses album is. I'd like to dedicate a number of paragraphs to exploring the retro-soul/psych sound of this delightful record. Sadly, I can't, as the British postal system has gone to hell in a handbasket. Fuck alone knows where that package is. I gather they're not doing anything tomorrow or Thursday either. As much as I sympathise with their plight, I do get tetchy whenever anything gets in the way of me and my records.
On the plus side, the pile of Beta Band vinyl has started to appear.

"Well, hello there, girl's name"

Musical Revelations Of The Week:
Spoon - 'Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga' - As documented in yesterday's post, I made a bit of a boob with this band, and ignored them because I, ahem, didn't like the artwork of one of their old albums. Turns out I had my head nestled firmly up my arse. Feel-good indie with charming melodies that is a late contender for album of the summer. Mind you, summer's late too, so who knows, the summer album might come out in October!
Lily Allen - 'Everybody's Changing' - Her utterly fabulous ska-cover of the pleasant-enough Keane single had passed me by until I was in a situation whereby I was listening to a compilation of live stuff from Dermot O'Leary's Radio 2 show. It turns out that it was the b-side to the 7" of 'Littlest Things', which is now winging its way to me. Who knows, if the posties show up to work tomorrow, I might even receive it.
Josh Rouse - 'Country Mouse, City House' - Wooo. 'Subtitulo' may have been mediocre tosh and 'She's Spanish, I'm American' was a quaint diversion, but this latest effort from Josh is right back up to his usual high standards. On the off chance we have some sunshine this week, feel free to dust down '1972' and 'Nashville' and play them back to back with this newie for some genuinely sunny tunes. As cheesy a comment as I've ever made, but accurate, methinks.

Non-musical Revelations Of The Week:
Jekyll - What a fantastic conclusion. Some neat twists, brilliant acting and numerous laugh-out-louders. A genuinely brilliant piece of modern drama. More, I say, more!
Scrubs - Yeah, I know I keep banging on about Scrubs at the moment, but I'm only doing it because it's ace. This coming Thursday on E4, at 9pm (repeated numerous times, including Saturday at 5.30pm) is a quite brilliant episode with a musical theme. I'm aware that truly shite shows have attempted this in the past, but rest assured that the Scrubs writers pull this off with aplomb. You'll particularly enjoy the song about poo. No, really. Ah, go on then, here's the two best songs:
'Everything Comes Down To Poo'

'Guy Love'

Nick Abbot on LBC - I used to love Nick's phone-in shows of the 90s on Talk Radio and Virgin. Having been quiet for a few years, Nick returned to the phone last year and is now running at full speed. This week he filled in for Iain Lee for a few evenings, and I can't recall sniggering at a radio show so much since Kevin Greening left daytime Radio 1 for the last time. While I can't recommend future fill-ins, as I'm not aware of any, I can point out that he's on every Saturday at 10pm, via channel 0177 on Sky and through their website at www.lbc.co.uk If you do fancy treating yourself, you can subscribe to their podcast service, which will allow you to download all of Nick's past shows. If you happen to do that, and want some tips on which ones to get, get in touch.

Have a good week all.

Goo Goo

So, that new Spoon album's a bit good, isn't it? I have to confess that this was one of my 'not heard a note of this, or indeed anything they've ever done' purchases. The splendid people over at a music messageboard I frequent have been raving about it, and I finally decided to pick it up earlier this week. Sadly, my local indie didn't have it in stock, but it did give me a chance to make a long-distance purchase from my old stomping ground, Spillers in Cardiff. Anyway, this record is much more accessible and feel-good than I was expecting.
That old saying, 'you can't judge a book by its cover' also applies to records. My first experience of Spoon was their 'Gimme Fiction' album, of which all I know is the cover. That cover made me think it wasn't for me, and, because I'm an idiot, I didn't pursue it any further, despite critical approval. I'm actually now quite surprised by how I managed to find out nothing about the band's music between then and me finally acquiring 'Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga' this week. It confirms for me, once again, that it's impossible to ever feel like you're on top of 'new music' as an entity, and also that I can be a picky and stubborn fucker when I want to be. Anyway, I'm enlightened now, and I'm very glad to be. Worth grabbing it while it has a bonus disc very neatly tucked into the back of the digipak sleeve.
In other news... I watched 'Damon and Jamie's Excellent Adventure' thanks to the quite marvellous www.blurcast.tv that I believe I've waffled on about in the past. It's the story of how Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett put together 'Monkey - Journey To The West' a truly unique opera. It's a genuinely engaging piece of telly, and worthy of note because of the Albarn musical sketches that are littered throughout. Watching Damon make up a vocal melody on the spot is astonishing, and it sent me back to the track on the 'Help: A Day In The Life' album that he submitted as Gorillaz, entitled 'Hong Kong.' If you've not had the pleasure yet, head over to the War Child music page at 7 Digital and spend the best quid you'll part with all weekend.

Great show, Steve

On a musical note, may I recommend the Elvis Costello DVD, 'A Case For Song', featuring a BBC concert performance from 1996 that combines different strands of his career, including a section with The Brodsky Quartet. Finally out on DVD, and with 100 minutes of loveliness, it's going cheap at a music emporium near you. It'll be in the revelations, but just in case you want a head start!

On a non-musical note, it's always nice to find out that Steve Wright's been made to look a dick.
Click here to find out how this time.

Not sponsored by YouTube, honest

Whilst piddling around on iTunes again earlier (yep, same voucher), I noticed some Beta Band remixes available in the 'Plus' format and thought I'd take a punt. This in turn led to me putting the 'Best of' DVD on and this in turn led to me ordering the three studio albums on vinyl. Fuck knows quite how my mind works, but it does at least ensure that I have a constant pile of great records to plough through. They were a fucking awesome band at times, and I have fond memories of catching them on their farewell tour. They were slightly too 'out-there' for the music-buying public and never seemed to concrete their reputation outside of critical adoration. I loved 'The Three EPs', which I received from the ever-splendid Adam Walton at BBC Radio Wales as part of a competition prize pack. Weird but wonderful - the CD that is, rather than Adam, who is one of those genuinely passionate broadcasters who makes you as enthusiastic about certain records as he already is. Anyhoo, loved the EP collection but didn't buy the debut because, as a cash-strapped teenager, their interview in the NME where they denounced it just prior to release ensure that I couldn't justify it being one of the rare additions to my still nascent collection. As a result, I have to confess that I took my eye off them for a while and only really returned with the quite fabulous, 'Heroes To Zeros'. By then it was too late. The band were splitting up and the future was bleak in terms of record company support. It's well worth picking up the aforementioned DVD to check out the documentary about the making of that album. Interesting stuff. Plus you get to see an old Safeway store. Ah.
Anyway, spiffing band and the subject of today's chit-chat as I'd dug out some of their marvellous music and thought you might like to as well. Ahhhh, again.
Anyhoo, here's a bit of classic Beta.

Fizzy cola bottles for me every time

I had no idea there was a video for 'In The Neighbourhood' by Tom Waits, but it would seem the Tube wishes to enlighten me.


I've just ordered the new biog by Patrick Humphries. His Nick Drake book was a little dull, but the reviews for this one have been universally positive, despite not saying an awful lot about the quality of the writing. Still, with Waits it's generally worth a punt.

This is in complete contrast with the music I've been listening to thus far today. Picked up the Sugababes best of for a fiver in Woolies earlier, which in turn led to the Girls Aloud greatest hits. Also had a first listen to the debut album by Justice, which is an awful like Daft Punk put through a blender and the latest Josh Rouse finally got a full airing. Better than 'Subtitulo', which is more than enough good news for me. Splendidly cheap music DVDs in Woolies at the moment, by the way. The highlight is the recent Marvin Gaye CD/DVD retrospective thingy, 'The Real Thing.' Well worth the fiver they're asking. Other entertainment shops are available.

For the time being at least.

I once sat a few seats down from farmer boy at a Rufus Wainwright concert

I picked up the 'Glastonbury' movie yesterday. Haven't watched it yet, but did flick through the bonus material and got all maudlin at the interview with the late, great Peelie. Anyway, this reminded me of a genius Glasto moment from this year that I forgot to talk about. Namely...

Only Rufus.

T'is worth shoving the word 'Glastonbury' into YouTube. You can turn up all sorts of vintage performances. And The Seahorses doing 'Love Is The Law', back in 1997!

One other thing. I noticed that Dermot O'Leary's Saturday Show on Radio 2 has spawned a compilation album full of live performances recorded for said broadcast. It has to be said that it is overwhelmingly average with one notable exception. That exception is a quite brilliant ska take on 'Everybody's Changing' (the Keane tune) by Lily Allen. Genius, I promise.
EDIT: Oh, just found a slightly shite quality version with a truly terrible video on YouTube. Presumably the shitty video was made so that they could simply upload a cracking tune. Enjoy.

It was Kevin Greening's last record on Radio 1

A strange day today. Not only have I had it made clearer than ever before the need to save the independent record shops from almost certain doom but I've also experienced the potential upside of the iTunes store.
Actually made a special journey to Sheffield today to visit Record Collector, a revered indie store at the heart of the city's music scene. From my personal perspective it was, well, alright, but as a shop it was a marvel. If I hadn't bought so many bloody records then I'd have been thrilled by the incredibly good pricing, but as it was I kept finding myself saying 'Bollocks' before thinking 'Well, I've had it for a while now, and got good use out of it.' Who am I fooling? Sadly the vinyl section was closed to due to 'long-term illness' which is no doubt more sad for the person involved, rather than people who just want some cheap LPs. Still, it's a great little shop and it serves a clear purpose to an obvious audience. Not quite as spiffing as my beloved Reveal Records but then what is. I'm not sure I can ever move so that I'm not near enough for regular visits. Ever.
Then, upon returning, I had a gift voucher for iTunes so I thought I'd round up a few 'iTunes exclusive' thingies I was going to pick up recently. Then, figuring that I wasn't going to do anything else with the credit, started tiddling around searching for certain names to see what they've been involved in. It's been rather interesting listening. For example, I've never heard Damon Albarn's cover of 'We Have A Technical' with Matt Sharp before and it's, well, not brilliant, but interesting. That's the key word here, folks. Similarly, Damon, Graham Coxon, Thurston Moore and Voafose's collaboration, '101% / Threpton' from the bafflingly titled, 'Fabulous Shit' was, you guessed it, interesting. None of these tracks are going to make future compilations, but they're nice to have. Also picked up the Super Furries' 'The Proper Ornaments' from 'The Free Design : The Now Sound Redesigned.' No idea what it's 'supposed' to be, but it's bloody good. I have to confess to downloading 'Where I Find My Heaven' by the Gigolo Aunts too, but we don't need to dwell upon that.
Anyway, who knew that iTunes could be a satisfying experience? Even with things as ace as the 'Live at SoHo EP' for 'The Good, The Bad & The Queen' record, I still resent paying for digital files, rather than a physical item. Downloads don't mean an awful lot to me. I'm far, far less likely to play something on a CD-R than a proper CD, and furthermore, if I like a record, I want a proper copy on the shelf. But, having said that, I did quite enjoy the hour spent pootling round the iTunes store. Frigid Vinegar's 'Dogmonaut 2000' brought back some bizarre memories, and I think I'll download Bowie's 'Baal EP' in a moment, to supplement my prized 7" copy.
That said, and this is where the big lesson came whilst browsing not only Record Collector in Sheffield, but also the charmingly traditional Hudsons in Chesterfield, the thought of this being the only way we do things in the future is horrifying. It's a nice little toy. A digital jukebox, but you get to keep the songs you choose in a little file. It's not, however, wholesome, aesthetically pleasing or materialistic to suit me.

My Bones Hurt?

Musical Revelations Of The Week:

Super Furry Animals - Absolutely everything they've ever done - Listening to 'Hey Venus!' this week has once again convinced me that this band have NEVER done anything less than excellent. I've spent the last couple of days working through all of their albums, and even 'Guerilla', the record I tend to put at the bottom of the SFA pecking order, sounded fantastic. Every time Gruff et al release a newie I think the same thing; 'God, SFA are great. They're really underrated, I should listen to them more.' Which I duly do, absolutely love all of their records and then move on again. The Super Furries seem to be condemned to being one of those bands that everyone says they love but never quite achieve legendary status. With 'Hey Venus!' they really should.

Daniel Pemberton - Tvpopmusik - Loads of bits and bobs that Mr Pemberton has composed for TV shows, in longer versions along with other assorted instrumental bits. Shame there's no League of Gents theme, but the music from That'll Teach 'Em sounds superb, freed from the irritating connotations of that tittish headmaster.

Maps - We Can Create - Bollocks to the fact that I've talked about this before. It got a Mercury nomination this week, and I can only hope that that leads to a number of people checking it out that might otherwise not have done so. T'is a tremendous record, and if you're a vinyl nut there's a quite beautifully pressed 2x10" edition available while stocks last.



Non-musical Revelations Of The Week:
Jekyll - Another brilliantly written episode. Laugh-out-loud funny and full of suspense almost simultaneously, this series has been a joy. Final episode next week. I don't imagine it'll make much sense, but then who cares when it's this entertaining?
Scrubs - Back to that start via the DVDs for me. Season Six is currently being shown on E4, and is meeting the high standards one has come to expect from it and as a result I thought I'd nip back to the start and remember why I fell in love with it. It's the nature of the ensemble performance that does it. The plots ensure that virtually everybody is used in every episode, and the throwaway gags that are peppered through the not-especially-complex plots range from genius wordplay to the most vintage slapstiok imaginable. Word is, Season Six will be Zach Braff's last, so this could be the final run of greatness. E4, Thursdays, 9pm. Or the first five seasons on DVD from all good retailers and lots of shit ones too.
101 Great Welsh Tries - Ok, something of niche item here, but I enjoyed it. I say I enjoyed it, but I speak mainly about the tries themselves. The talking head bits with Robert Jones and Clive Rowlands are at best funereal and at worst bloody pointless. I tried watching it at double speed and suddenly Rowlands was almost talking at the speed the rest of us use normally. Still, some great footage.

Baldy

Something new for you, although if you've taken my advice then you'll already know this from the second Maximo Park album, 'Our Earthly Pleasures.' Not sure about the video just yet, but it's another cracking single.

I DO know what it is, and it sure IS funky

Ah, t'is the weekend. Dig out the old 45s and dance around like an arse.

Try this for the time being.

I'll show you magic

Oh. What happened on Wednesday? No idea, sorry.

I'm still absolutely enthralled by the new Super Furries album, 'Hey Venus!'
Here's some old, but still marvellous, Super Furries.

Play It Cool

Ice Hockey Hair

They gave it to M People. Wankers.

So, the announcement has been made. Not too bad, I suppose.

Arctic Monkeys - 'Favourite Worst Nightmare' - Great record. Far superior to the debut, and all the more brilliant simply for having 'Fluorescent Adolescent' on it.'
Klaxons - 'Myths Of The Near Future' - Can't say I've played it much. Couple of great singles, but a very loud master makes for tough listening.
Amy Winehouse - 'Back To Black' - A near-perfect soul record. Sounds like it's straight out of the sixties. Worth tracking down on vinyl too.
Maps - 'We Can Create' - My joint favourite album of the year so far. Lush, electronic and understated. People have compared it to Spiritualized but I think that does it a disservice.
The View - 'Hats Off To The Buskers' - Just piss off now, won't you? Only redeeming feature is that they're not The Twang.
Jamie T - 'Panic Prevention' - Doesn't matter if you get Bob Hoskins in your video; if you're bobbins, you're bobbins. Has very occasional moments where I think I should give him another try, only for him to be disappointing yet again.
Dizzee Rascal - 'Maths & English' - Can't say I've even bothered to hear this. Not for me if past form's anything to go on. I can appreciate why people like him, mind you.
Bat For Lashes - 'Fur And Gold' - Decent enough NME-friendly fare, but hardly in the top-drawer of the year.
Young Knives - 'Voices of Animals And Men' - An overlooked work of splendour. While not quite as brilliant as 'Weekends and Bleak Days (Hot Summer)' had shown they could be, it's still a remarkably assured debut, and worthy of your time.
Fionn Regan - 'The End Of History' - A wonderful, lilting acoustic thing that has straddled generations and melted hearts all around the world.
New Young Pony Club - 'Fantastic Playroom' - The only thing I have to say at this point in that I was given an I Heart NYPC badge in my local indie emporium a little while back. I put in on the side and then it fell on the floor. How exciting.
Basquiat Strings - 'Basquiat Strings' - Ah-ha! The token 'random' entry that no sod's ever heard of. Have you? If so, tell me something about it.

Winehouse and The View are most likely, in my book. Naturally I'd love Maps to have it, but then there's the risk of the Mercury curse. Where was 'The Good, The Bad & The Queen' album, by the way? Not that I imagine any of the musicians involved can give two shits one way or the other.
All we have to do now is battle the suspense between now and the results being announced in September. I'm not sure I'll be able to hold all of my emotions in.

No really, the Longpigs!

He's back. I do love the Cherry Ghost album, but is there any substitute for the one, the only, Mr Richard Hawley.
'Tonight The Streets Are Ours' will be the first single from 'Lady's Bridge', his fifth album, which will be released on August 20th.

Le Bateau Jus Viande

Musical Revelations Of The Week:
Cherry Ghost - Thirst For Romance - I was convinced he'd deliver a brilliant album after I heard him do a session for Radcliffe and Maconie. It confirmed for me that 'Mathematics' was not a one-off. A wonderfully wistful album with more than a hint of the Hawley about him. A few upbeat tracks shocked the bollocks off me at the end of the record, but overall it's the sound of autumnal evenings. Or as we now know them, summer days.
The Chemical Brothers - Greatest Hits - When they were good they were fucking brilliant. 'The Private Psychedelic Reel' is just as beguiling now as it ever was, while the glory of 'The Golden Path', 'Star Guitar' and 'Out Of Control' demonstrate how undervalued this lot are. Not much cop at normal albums, mind.
Prince - New Earth - Ok, so at times it's a little Eighties in terms of production, and he still doesn't know when to end a song, but it's not a bad little record at all. The slower tracks hint at 'Older'-era George Michael while the straight up funk of quite a few tunes hark back to the Prince records that people would actually want to buy in a record shop.

Non-musical Revelations Of The Week:
Grass - The Complete Series - Finally got this BBC3 comedy drama on DVD this week. I refused to buy it as part of an over-priced 'Fast Show Threesome' boxset, as this was the only decent thing in the set. In years to come I genuinely hope that this is held up as a masterwork of its time. I doubt it, because that's never really the way these things work out. Co-written by Simon Day (of Fast Show stock) and Andrew Collins (general media legend), 'Grass' is a delight for every second that it is on screen. Old Fast Show character, Billy Bleach witnesses a gangland shooting and is required to turn grass for the police. As a result he is placed on the witness protection scheme in a little village in Norfolk. The ensuing plot lines - poetry olympics, a rural pub that only serves Moroccan cuisine and two metropolitan police officers embarking on the senior officer's first gay relationship, whilst protecting Bleach - are quite beautifully woven around a superlative performance from Simon Day as as the titular grass. The laughs linger at all the right times, and the throwaway jokes are often the best. The local plod is christened 'Heartbeat' by Bleach, who himself spends much of the first episode inventing as many possible different identities for himself as possible, not quite realising that he may meet these people again. I cannot recommend this show enough. Click on the piccie above to purchase.
Jekyll - Ok, so I already knew this was great, but the back and forth storytelling of this week's episode was captivating. Genuinely great telly and a real feather in writer Steven Moffat's bow.
The Mail On Sunday - yuk. No, really.

You're The One For Me Fatty

Last week's NME carried a rather spurious story about Morrissey resigning from the world of music. Some of his US tour dates were cancelled through illness, and suddenly the end is nigh. However, the old chap doesn't seem quite himself. A couple of weeks back he performed a new song, 'That's How People Grow Up', on the David Letterman show and didn't really seem like he was all that bothered. I know they say the camera adds two pounds, but exactly how many cameras were pointed at him?
Anyway, here's the new song, and long may he continue.

No illegal substances

Now, I know I posted a Chemical Brothers video only last weekend, but I felt compelled to bung this one up after being reminded of what an amazing song it is while listening to the Greatest Hits. The Chemicals at their best, with Coyne on form too. Perfect.

Apparently they are getting back together

Paul Weller and Graham Coxon have just released a three-track EP thingy via the usual download services. In a couple of weeks it'll also be on 7". What's interesting is that two commercially potent artists get together and bash out some spikey indie rock and yet the one format they don't touch is CD. People who get paid to talk bollocks about the future are already announcing the death of the CD. A load of old cock, naturally. But, what's more interesting is the strength of the 7". Indie bands are releasing singles on CD, download and 2x7" these days. Yes, part of it is about being collectors' items, but surely part of it is also because vinyl is cool. Anyway, the EP is decent enough, although nothing life-changing. But then I don't imagine you thought it would be. Best place I've found to purchase is 7 Digital, with 320kb/s mp3s of all three tracks for £1.77. Can't complain.
Speaking of vinyl and Graham Coxon, I nipped down to the sorting office this morning to retrieve another lovingly mauled parcel from the care of Royal Mail. Inside said parcel was an item I've been after for years, the double-vinyl, gatefold edition of 'Blur' by Blur. If I was being Sherlock Holmes I'd say that the previous owner was an alcoholic based on the scratches at the start of each side of vinyl, a la the scratches around the keyhole on Watson's father's watch. Snap, crackle and pop aside, it sounds bloody brilliant. I'm well aware, as indeed I've said before, that I tend to listen to vinyl through, er, rose-tinted earphones but it definitely sounded more alive than either CD edition that I have. (Yes, I own it three times now.) It remains one of my all-time favourite albums. For a while I thought I'd have to demote it because 'Think Tank' had made it into the top list too, but then realised that nobody gives a flying fuck what my all-time favourite albums are, and thus it could be a list consisting entirely of Blur and it wouldn't matter.
And finally... The Chemical Brothers' greatest hits record turned up from play.com today. At £2.99 it seemed rude not to. I enjoyed it much more than I expected to. I haven't returned to the new one yet, despite intending to do so. Some of the vintage tunes are surprisingly fresh a decade on. 'The Private Psychedelic Wheel' sounds better now than it did back then. 'The Golden Path' is probably the best Flaming Lips song ever made, and they didn't make it. Still £3, and well worth a punt.
P.S. Just finished watching 'Grass', the sitcom starring Billy Bleach, a bit-part character from The Fast Show, turned police informant. Bloody marvellous and yet no bugger knows about it. Full, gushing review in the revelations on Sunday.

Anyone for Chocolate Cake?

The quite superb CD/DVD edition of The Finn Brothers' 'Everyone Is Here' arrived in the post today. £4 in the play.com sale. T'was enough to convince me that I could allow myself to buy the album again for the bonus disc. It's well worth - a bundle of hi-res audio tracks and some terrific live performances, also with hi-res audio. Lovely stuff. Reminded me of just how great that album is. Here's 'Won't Give In' from said record...

Oh, and one more.
Found this today on Ver Tube. An amazing little video of my current faves, Maximo Park, live in a little record store, with no amplification whatsoever. Great stuff.

There's also a great version of 'Going Missing' on there, but you'll have to go to the Tube site yourself and search 'maximo pure' for that one, as it won't let me embed it.

Then why haven't I got more money?

The usual 'is it a shit year for music' argument has broken out on a music bulletin board I frequent. As usual there are people arguing for both sides of that particular argument. Personally, it's been a bloody great year for music already - and there's still the best part of six months to go. This is, as you may already be realising, simply a good excuse for a list.
Already this year I've grown to love:

Maximo Park - Our Earthly Pleasures
Arcade Fire - Neon Bible
Wilco - Sky Blue Sky
Crowded House - Time On Earth
Air Traffic - Fractured Life
Grinderman - Grinderman
The Bees - Octopus
The Aliens - Astronomy For Dogs
Lavender Diamond - Imagine Our Love
The Dials - s/t
Arctic Monkeys - Favourite Worst Nightmare
Manic Street Preachers - Send Away The Tigers
Feist - The Reminder
Rufus Wainwright - Release The Stars
B.C. Camplight - Blink Of A Nihilist
Cherry Ghost - Thirst For Romance
Sondre Lerche - Phantom Punch
The Strange Death Of Liberal England - Forward March!
Bjork - Volta
Kings Of Leon - Because Of The Times
Hamfatter - What Part Of Hamfatter Do You Not Understand?
Ash - Twilight Of The Innocents
Editors - An End Has A Start
Mark Ronson - Version
Ryan Adams - Easy Tiger
Gruff Rhys - Candylion
The Cinematic Orchestra - Ma Fleur
Tracey Thorn - Out Of The Woods
Andrew Bird - Armchair Apocrypha

And...
The two stand-outs thus far
The Good, The Bad & The Queen
and
Maps - We Can Create.

Won't say any more for now, but if you look into even one of those albums, I'll be pleased.

Such Energetic Animals

Not sure about the video, but a sample below of the surprisingly decent new Interpol album, which has popped onto the shelves today. Well worth a listen.

Plus, there's no excuse for not owning the Cherry Ghost album, as it appears to be discounted pretty much everywhere. Get it now before the marketing men can ruin it and turn it into another David Gray.

Ok, so who took it with them?

Musical Revelations Of The Week:

Ash - 'Twilight Of The Innocents.' 'Meltdown' was a crock of shit. There's no disputing that I'm afraid. Oddly, I appear to have the 2CD limited edition of it nevertheless, which one again casts further doubt on my quality control when it comes to purchases, but that's for another time. This latest one is full of quality pop tunes and Tim's finest vocal performance to date. Unfortunately, it's been mixed so it sounds like you're listening to it through two pillows rather than two speakers. Presumably it's another example of the compression that's being used to kill off the remaining elements of the music industry. That said, it's a minor quibble about an unexpected triumph, particularly with the absence of the lovely, lovely Charlotte (whose album, 'The Deep Blue' is also worth some of your time.) Ok, so they've gone for cheap publicity by making the announcement about there being no more Ash albums, but you can't blame them for wanting to raise their profile a little.
B.C. Camplight - 'Blink Of A Nihilist' - Like Ben Folds fronting the Beach Boys. Don't think I need to say anymore because in what universe does that not sound like a great thing?
Crowded House - 'Time On Earth' - Unlike most 'reformed' albums, this is bloody great. Having received the spangly CD/DVD edition, I've given it a more thorough listen and it is a really strong collection of tunes. Like much of Neil Finn's songwriting, it takes a few listens before it starts to reveal its full charms, but once it does there's plenty to get excited about. 'Don't Stop Now' is reasonably representative, in the sense that it sounds very much like Crowded House, but there are a number of less conventional tracks towards the end of the album that ensure things are interesting until the last notes are played. Plus, it made me dig out the Finn Brothers' 'Everyone Is Here', which is another great album.

Non-musical Revelations Of The Week:















The Thick Of It - Due to a combination of a shite DVD recorder and a briefly hectic social life, I never managed to see all of the first part of the two-hour special when it was first show in January. Thankfully, it was repeated this week in preparation for the debut of the concluding part on BBC4. Both episodes were laugh-out-loud hilarious and, while not surprising for a show with a 'swearing consultant', the expletives were beautifully executed. My favourite bit involved Malcolm talking about downloading rice. I won't try to quote it as it'll never managed to be as funny as the real thing.
Catherine Tate in Dr Who - She'll be his regular compadre for the next series. And it was all going so well.
Summer - I used to console myself with the fact that although I was suffering with nuclear hayfever, at least it was sunny outside. Yet this week I have had chronic symptoms and it's barely stopped raining. Exactly how is that fair? Some nice weather would be appreciated. That said, the current weather does make for ideal playing conditions for 'The Good, The Bad & The Queen.' Every cloud, and all that...

That's wordwang!

I find it hard to believe but, as far as I am aware, this morning was the first time I have ever watched the video for The Chemical Brothers' 'Let Forever Be.' It's ace. I was flicking about during half-time in the rugby and ended up sticking with the entire video. Great stuff.

Oh, and while we're on the subject of 'Let Forever Be,' 'how does it feel like?' In what world is that allowed. There's clever twisting of the language and there's talking utter bollocks because it fits the length of the line. That'll be talking bollocks then. Silly man.

Nobody likes peeing outdoors

This is a track from current favourites, BC Camplight. It's as close as you can get to being Ben Folds without being Ben Folds. With a healthy portion of the Beach Boys thrown in for good measure.

I would imagine the insoles are warm

For part 2 of 'Something Changed' I thought I'd conduct an experiment. Up to this point Shed Seven have functioned as the punchline to virtually every musical joke I have ever made. They're a very easy target, and Rick- cockney rhyming slang - Witter's foghorn voice really used to piss me off. However, with time I have mellowed and actually found that a lot of the tunes from the indie years are quite charming. Admittedly much of this is to do with nostalgia, and I'll never think Menswear were good but, in an attempt to be fair-minded, I have bought their greatest hits, entitled 'Going For Gold,' for £2.50. Below I will be writing a track-by-track commentary as I listen to it. Will my opinion of the band have changed at the end? Read on.

1. Going For Gold - Perfectly serviceable indie fare, although until this moment I was under the impression that it was their highlight. Hopefully not, otherwise the next hour could be quite punishing.
2. Disco Down - Now this is more like it. I really, really hated this when it came out. But then I felt obliged to. Shed Seven were the hate figures to represent the average side of indie that any self-respecting indie kid must rail against. It's actually a neatly put together indie-dance number with some nice string sounds. Things are improving.
3. Getting Better - Frankly, this shits all over 'Going For Gold'. This was the first Shed Seven I can remember encountering. I thought it was alright. It certainly didn't provoke the hatred that I have since attached to the band.
4. Chasing Rainbows - One of two Sheds singles I actually bought. T'was a gatefold 7" if I recall correctly. Bit over-polished and badly sung for my liking. Represents the very smug side of Britpop.
5. Speakeasy - "at The Link, it's easy." Hard to forget the terminally shit ad that adapted this track. It's a bit more naive sounding than the other stuff, with more of a Wedding Present feel. Not bad at all. Ooh, it's just gone all baggy.
6. She Left Me On Friday - Forever attached to the episode of 'Teachers' where Simon has pissed off Maggie and spends the entire weekend alone in his pyjamas, lying on the sofa failing to achieve anything. This was the first Shed Seven song that I truly hated, but its rehabilitation at the hands of one of my all-time favourite TV shows has worked wonders for it. I'm actually quite enjoying it.
7. On Standby - It builds like there's going to be an anthemic chorus. But then there isn't one. Dull. Really very dull.
8. Dolphin '99 - Presumably a re-recorded version to get fans to buy the best of. Musically akin to the second Charlatans album. What does that one sound like, I hear you ask? Exactly my point.
9. High Hopes - Quaint string-based intro, before ballady drums creep in. Woah. It's finished, and I'd barely noticed that it had even happened. Bland.
10. Bully Boy - The reason for wanting this compilation. Another track that got used in 'Teachers', and the other single of theirs I bought. Admittedly it was on tape, as part of a 3 Cassette singles for £1.50 offer, but I bought it nonetheless. Perfectly, storytelling, singalong, air guitar-friendly indie fodder. Possibly their finest. And a great ending too.
11. Devil In Your Shoes - They nearly won me over in their twilight years with this one. A gently, lilting tune with Witter's singing notably improved. This is rather anthemic, nice use of horns and genuinely enjoyable, if not earth-shattering.
12. Where Have You Been Tonight? - I can remember the little adverts for this in the NME. An atmospheric swagged to this one, and it's hard not to warm to it thanks to the confidence of the band's playing. It's typical mid-90s cocky indie band in pomp stuff. But that's great. No, really.
13. Ocean Pie - Drifted by a bit. A few engaging chords but vocally fairly drab. I may well be losing interest, folks.
14. Mark - Doesn't sound like Shed Seven! Rick's voice is different. In fact it reminds me of a current band, but I can't quite figure out which band. Yes, I know, and excellent point of comparison, therefore.
15. The Heroes - And here we are at the end. A weirdly twinkly and off-kilter organ thing to kick off. Slightly too languid vocal, but nowhere near as annoying as I would have expected. Launches into another mid-paced, ballady bridge, although it has a hint of that cheeky mid-90s, 'we can get away with anything' spirit. Ideal album closer. Has a nice ending, but then noodles on a little bit. Sometimes less is more.

So, what have I learnt. Essentially, fuck all. But, I do think Shed Seven are ok now, and freely admit that they actually had half a dozen really decent singles. For me, that's serious progress. I don't think they were a particularly brilliant band, but I will concede that they were by no means the sub-indie pondlife I thought they were. Any thoughts?

But where's the indie chart?

Last week I decided to give the NME another chance. Partly as a result of my recent obsession with my Britpop-infused youth and partly because I wanted a bit of follow-up on Glastonbury. I realised that Maximo Park had escaped my attention because I wasn't really scouring enough channels for new music - the NME being one of them. So, I coughed up my £2.10 (a week! Not in my day) and settled down for a flick through the latest issue of a rag that used make me genuinely excited when I woke up on a Wednesday.
It's not as thrilling as it used to be. But then that might be me. Perhaps I'm not as easily thrilled as I used to be. However, it's pleasing to see that there are some quality journos still working for them, including a few from my era. In addition, the anarchic spirit of sections like the letter page remains as blunt and sarcastic as it ever was.
Most important though, was the 'Radar' section (for new bands) and the reviews section. While browsing the reviews I happened upon a positive review for the new Air Traffic album, 'Fractured Life'. Never heard of them, I thought. But the review made it sound like I really should have. So, today, whilst browsing in the local indie store I decided to take a punt on it. I have to confess to be being bloody surprised that it actually turned out to be a really decent album. Piano-heavy rock without being Keane. It's not like Ben Folds either, mind. I'll try and review it properly in this coming Sunday's 'Revelations.'
Anyway, I've learnt my lesson. Give the NME a chance. I'm such an obsessive when it comes to music mags that I'm already trying to decide if the subscription offer's worth a punt.
P.S. Mojo can fuck off with their free badges and shabby 80s supplement this month. What a load of old toss. The magazine itself isn't much better.
Uncut looks alright, but then it's a 10 Year Anniversary issue, so bonhomie is carved through it like Blackpool in a stick of rock.
Plan B has a huge interview with Bjork and a free CD from Rough Trade. Sounds more like it.

I want to ming with you

The genius of the Super Furries for you. A not especially high-quality live recording of new single, 'Show Your Hand.' Has there ever been a more consistently excellent band? Not one duff record in thirteen years. Time for some surround sound 'Phantom Power', methinks.

Angel Interceptor

For all of my independent record shop rhetoric I caved today. Morrisons are doing their chart CDs for £7, and the new Ash and Chemical Brothers albums were sitting there, luring me in. The Chemicals album might have something about it, but the first listen proved it to be wallpaper with slightly higher bpm.
The Ash album, however, is a beauty. I didn't think they had it in them after the terrible, terrible career nadir of 'Meltdown', but this is the power pop indie of old. It's their 'last' album before they go download singles only on our collective asses. Nice bit of PR but it means bugger all. Shame mind, as this may be their most cohesive album to date.
Sadly, I was correct about Seven Ages Of Rock. At least half the show appeared to be given over to Oasis. Yes, Noel is a cracking interviewee, but he's said pretty much all he's going to say on the subject now. Occasionally I thought, "woo, here we go, some time on Suede or Blur", but having had them on screen for a few minutes of we were back to the riverboat on Gallagher senior's alimentary canal. Where were Sleeper, Pulp, Dodgy, Supergrass, Super Furry Animals, Elastica and so on? It was 50% longer than the other episodes, so the need for a precise focus is bullshit. The film about Britpop, 'Live Forever', managed to cram plenty of indie luminaries into its ninety minutes. It was engaging telly, but another missed opportunity. Part 2 of 'Something Changed', the Britpop review will be on here towards the end of this week. Oh, and fucking Franz Ferdinand at the end. When was this made? May 2005?

You're like House without the limp

Musical Revelations Of The Week:

Maximo Park - Every last thing they've every done, seemingly. As I may have mentioned, Maximo Park's performance at Glastonbury last weekend sparked something in me and another 'new favourite band' was born. I'm well aware that they're not 'new', indeed I already had both of their albums prior to seeing this performance. But something about their presence on stage, in particular that of frontman, Paul Smith, pushed all the right button. It's spiky, literate indie with no shortage of noise and thrust. It doesn't come across as particularly fashionable, just hugely enjoyable. As a result of that dawning realisation I reverted to my teenage approach to music and started to hoover up everything I could find. Only difference being I now have access to eBay and Amazon marketplace, which makes it both easier and more expensive. It's been fun though. Lovely assortment of colours on the 7" vinyl.
Ryan Adams - 'Easy Tiger' It's a very nice record. I'm sorry to use the word 'nice', but that's where I'm up to at the moment. Considering he releases a recording of pretty much every noise that is ever emitted from his body, simply being nice isn't too bad an achievement. There is a very limited edition orange vinyl pressing of this one, and unlikely previous Lost Highway vinyl outings, it's a pretty quiet pressing. I think I like it, although I couldn't hum you a tune from it if you put a gun to my head. That said, if you're the kind of person who would put a gun to someone's head over a Ryan Adams album then I suspect you're probably unhinged enough for me to get away with a brief doo-doo-doo. Is this the worst review ever written. Possibly.
Super Furry Animals - 'Show Your Hand' Possibly the greatest comeback single of the year. The album, 'Hey Venus!' is yet another sun-kissed SFA masterwork. Is any other act this consistently bloody brilliant? Caught a performance of the new single from Glasto last weekend, and it really is as good as it first seemed. Sixties harmonies, pure-pop melodies and a real sense of urgency. It'll probably get to Number 22 and then drop like a stone, but then this is the same public that thought Michelle MacManus had a pop career in her. (Do your own joke)

Non-musical Revelations Of The Week:

Scrubs - It returned to E4 this week, for season six. This prompted me to resume devouring season five on DVD. It really is never less than hilarious, and often much funnier than that. The shift in JD's character as he is now, at least nominally, Cox's equal is well handled, while Cox's breakdown after a wrong decision made for some genuinely lump-in-the-throat viewing. An undervalued work of genius that nobody will shout about until it's long gone, no doubt.
News 24 bloke with enormous bouffon grey hairdo - Good grief. I happened to have News 24 on yesterday morning, while they were covering the Queen's visit to the Scottish Parliament. Listening to this bloke trying to string a sentence together was genuinely disturbing. Every so often you were on edge as you waited to see if he'd actually died or simply forgotten every single word in the English language. Thank God that Peter Sissons was on duty when the burning car got stuck in the automatic doors at Glasgow airport.
Buying shops that have been in administration twice already isn't a good idea - 'Nuff said.