I've said it before, but it's worth another shot

Go and investigate The Innocence Mission.

That is all.

VJ will be taking a break from here on. The daily-ish posts will come to an end for the time being. It will return. Probably.
Speak soon.

I was, er, 'on board'

Two great artists were played on last night's Zane Lowe programme - the first of which being Laura Marling. The new single, 'New Romantic', is what won me over, but here's the last one, 'London Town':

The second spiffing piece of musical niceness came from Adele. Again, it was her new single, 'Hometown Glory', that grabbed my attention, but here's a performance of a track called 'Daydreamer' from Later.

P.S. You may remember that some time back in June I alerted you to the podcasting efforts of Nick Margerrison, a DJ and now stand-up who offers something a little different in the increasingly muddied waters of British radio. Well, the fine chap has got himself a brilliant gig which'll start in October. Nick's going to be doing late nights on Kerrang! Radio in Brum. Bearing in mind the kind of show he's replacing, it's safe to say he should have enough freedom to produce a show as great as the Hallam FM triumphs that converted me some years ago. Info here.

And this was a good idea how?

What the fuck?

"This is the way they would have come, if they hadn't not come this way"

Musical Revelations Of The Week:

The Go Team! - 'Proof Of Youth' - Ok, so they're not reinventing the wheel, but there were some quite sniffy reviews of this album in the 'serious' papers recently. It's meant to sound like it's all coming through a transistor radio. That's what made the first album so charming. This one's a bit more vocal-heavy than the debut, but still rides a wave of euphoria from start to finish. I wasn't convinced by the first singles initially, but I'm glad to say I was wrong and if 'Thunder, Lightning, Strike' was a favourite, then take a punt on this too. Purchase early for a rather splendid free bonus disc of oddities.
Andy Lewis & Paul Weller - 'Are You Trying To Be Lonely?' - A cracking Northern Soul stomper that is a logical continuation of one of Weller's teenage compositions, 'Left, Right & Centre' having similar treatment at the hands of Lord Large and Dean Parrish not all that long ago. As I've said recently, Weller's voice has matured like a fine wine, and his covers album, 'Studio 150', demonstrated that he can apply it to a variety of styles. This is a resounding success, and far more heavyweight than the collaboration with Graham Coxon from a few months ago. Single out tomorrow.
Bat For Lashes - 'Fur And Gold' - I've already said a fair bit about this, but for anyone who likes their female singers quirky but affecting then this is for you. No peaks and troughs, just quality throughout. Still cheap at the moment due to excess Mercury-influenced stock in shops, but may not always be the case.
Non-musical Revelations Of The Week:
Argentina's rugby team: To be fair to myself, I'd had more than a slight hunch that the opening game of the Rugby World Cup 2007 might go against the home team, France, but what a bloody great game it was. I shouted myself hoarse cheering on the underdogs, despite the fact that I reckon France deserve their time. It blows Pool D wide open, with Argentina, France and Ireland all competing to get out of the group and on to the quarter finals. Gripping stuff. Unlike the England team who looked like there's a slight risk they may not come even second in their pool. As for my lot, it's a good job we finally managed to play well in the second half of a game of rugby for a change, as we were fucking awful in the first half. I fear for us against Australia. Here's a cool picture of Shane Williams from the BBC website, although likely to be from Huw Evans' Welsh Rugby Pics website, which is full of wonderful Welsh rugby photos to buy.Sky News - This morning a slightly flustered member of the Sky team attempted to fill a huge chunk of airtime stood by the side of a road waiting for the McCann family to arrive at an airport. She spent much of the report turned sideways on to the camera as she appeared to also have the job of looking out for the relevant vehicles. It was one of the most pointless and ill-conceived bits of 'news' reporting I've ever seen. Quite what would have been gained by seeing the cars I'll never know. Such is the problem with rolling news. It's got to be filled with something. Rather charmingly, she was determined to make up for failing to being us live pictures of a moving car, so she showed us the airport, and how it would have been for the McCann family if they hadn't gone through the private entrance. So, in other words, here's some footage of an airport for absolutely no reason at all. Bizarre.
Outnumbered - Some of it might have been improvised apparently, but who really cares, because it was funny. Starring Hugh Dennis and the delightful Claire Skinner, this was a comedy based around some brilliant child actors who spent the majority of each of the six episodes pushing their parents to the edge. Laugh-out-loud funny at times, and nothing less than chucklesome at others, this was another fine piece of telly from the team behind Drop The Dead Donkey.

It was the first game of the Rugby World Cup. Did you really expect me to be here?

The Bat For Lashes album was waiting for me when I got in yesterday and I already feel a little slack for not having explored it sooner. The performance at the Mercury awards was fantastic, almost bettering the quite sublime offering from Maps, and led to an almost immediate purchase from the very reasonable, Action Records. Having shouted myself hoarse supporting the Argentine underdogs last night I've finally had a chance to listen to it this morning and it's actually better and more consistent than I'd hoped it would be. Something about the fragile, haunting live track made me suspect that such aural claustrophobia wouldn't translate to a full album, but it never relents.

I was rather delighted to be reminded of Mazzy Star by 'Seal Jubilee', while the inevitable Bjork comparisons are no less than accurate, although it's definitely early Bjork. Not sure when I last listened to 'Volta', but I feel like it's something I have to mentally prepare myself for. I'm a sucker for the piano, and similar more bizarrely named instruments on records, and 'Fur and Gold' has plenty of it. I can same with some certainty that this is one that will be played regularly here, and for once the Mercury has done something good. Obviously it still gave the award to The Klaxons, to ensure that people aren't too satisfied, but a C+ for effort.
The good folk at Norm have come good on the vinyl of 'BFI' by The Dragons, finally. There's a great deal of muttering going on about this record on the interweb. A surf-psych/funk/soul record recorded 37 years ago and then abandoned due to the lack of 'a hit' is the official line from Ninja Tune. Seems perfectly plausible to me, but certain know-it-alls are claiming that it sounds too 'clean' to have been made back then. Who knows, eh? All I can say for certain is that it sounds great and is worth ten of your earth pounds.
Finally, I've just finished playing the new Misty's Big Adventure 7". Oh, how I love this band. 'I Can't Bring The Time Back' is a slightly less 'kitchen-sink' pop nugget, but the real gem is on the flipside. 'Serious Thing' is a pounding little beast of a tune that is the most ballsy thing they've done to date. Well worth hunting down on Club Fandango records.
Hmmm. Time for more rugby methinks.

Really I need a rapper to just talk bollocks over the start of this, and then I'll have loads of readers

Sitting here, air-drumming along to 'A Certain Trigger' as I am, I am reminded of just why I love music so much, and spend so much of my hard-earned cash upon it. It really can pick you up, give you a massive great shake and set you on your feet again.
Whilst purchasing a few bits and bobs in Morrisons earlier, I was drawn to their 'Chart CDs for £7' offer. Naturally, the choice isn't exactly broad, and I enjoyed smirking at the big pile of unloved Athlete albums, but I was reminded that I'd toyed with picking up the Rihanna album a few weeks back. 'Umbrella' started off as something I found quite annoying - quite possibly simply because lots of people like it, but it grew and grew until I finally realised that it's a piece of perfect pop. Factor in the new single, 'Shut Up and Drive' and I was sold. Turns out that the album is really good record, and that the pop masterclass is present for pretty much the duration. I'm not ashamed to admit my liking for pop - the Girls Aloud and Sugababes singles collections are both fantastic sets - but I have to confess that I didn't imagine a few months back that I'd be enjoying a Rihanna album quite so much.
I also didn't imagine I'd be particularly impressed by an issue of Q magazine, but lo-and-behold, the new 'Songwriting issue' is a great record. Interviews with Stipey, Bjork, Rufus Wainwright and Nick Cave amongst many others and Cash For Questions is Girls Aloud. The Editor's note suggests it'll be normal, lists-r-us fodder next month. They do have a sense of humour, mind. On the letters page, someone's written in to point out that there's a Scandinavian magazine called Q. The Q response is, "Do they do lists?"

So hard to deal with all the love

So, last night I did live coverage of the Mercury Prize on the blog and today it has the lowest number of readers since the very early days. Harrumph.
Anyway, here's Bat For Lashes and Maps, just to point out how utterly splendid they are and how Maps wuz robbed!

Live and interactive

A brief initial post in which I point out that I would love Maps to win the Mercury tonight. Of course, if James (Maps) Chapman is the winner now I'm going to be annoyed that I put no money on it. Still, it's a wonderful album and if you don't own it yet, then you really need to sort yourself out.
Anyhoo, this post will be contiuned later with reaction to the event.
It's 'live' on BBC4 from 9pm.

EDIT:

Well, The View were shite, as was Jamie T and that old Rascal. The Young Knives had a certain charm, although they were a little nervy, and New Young Pony Club went from a band I'd wanted to investigate to the 'not bothering with them' list. The Maps performance just edged it for me, although La Maison du Vin did a wonderful job of putting the attention back on the music and the Bat For Lashes album has just been purchased. Neat little performance from Glasto by the Arctics, while Klaxons were somewhat wonky as is always the risk with so much in the high-notes range - sounds a bit better on record. Basquiat Strings weren't all playing the same song, to my knowledge and Fionn Regan conducted himself with a fragile majesty.

And the winner is...

(God, Jools is a knob!)

The Klaxons!

What the fuck happened there then? Just goes to show that the Mercury is the most bizarre music prize in the world. Bear in mind that in the past they did give it to M People. The Klaxons are crying on stage. Awww. Couple of decent songs lads, but do they really deserve this?

Ah well, good exposure for Maps and I've found a nice album from Bat For Lashes. Night all.

A Short Post About Nothing Much

Went to work this morning with a spring in my step and left truly brow-beaten and wondering why such a frivolous mood had been present nine hours earlier. As a result, I required a large dose of loud, familiar music to sort me out. I've now moved on to a live version of 'The ChangingMan' by Weller and The Needles' 'Girl I Used To Know', but my initial came from my beloved Neil Hannon and The Divine Comedy.
To celebrate this, some spiffing Ver Tubeness featuring Sir Niles Hammond of Irelandshire.

No more than seven years behind the times

Musical Revelations Of The Week:

Paul Weller - 'Heliocentric' - Yup, finger on the pulse of yoof music, once again. As I said a week ago, I've finally picked up the two Weller solo albums that were missing from my collection, this one and 'Heavy Soul.' I won't go over the reasons for the delay again, but suffice to say I've been proved wrong. Somebody I work with is absolutely obsessive about Weller and recently attempted to persuade me that this album was far better than critics judged it on release. I allowed him to blather on for a little while, before dismissing such fanciful notions with but a waft of my eyelashes. However, I think he might actually be right. I've been playing it quite a lot this week - that and 'Lady's Bridge' - and it's really starting to win me over. It's not so much individual songs that stand out, but the overall mood that it creates. It's soulful, it's got that earthy-rock sound that has more than a little blues in there and his singing is marvellous. There is, however, one tune that does stand out, and that's the closer, 'Love-less.' One of Weller's heart-breaking, piano-led ballads that just floors me. A delight, not to mention a surprise. The spiffing chap himself was in the Sunday Times magazine today which I happened upon as a result of switching from the Sindy as a result of the free World Cup guide. I'm such an oval-ball whore. That seems so much worse written down than it did in my head.
Booker T. & The MGs - Picked up the 'Stax Profiles' CD from Fopp the other day because a) it was £4 b) it's compiled by Elvis Costello. I've always been quite fond of BT&MGs, but the 'Complete Stax/Volt Singles' and their 'Green Onions' album had always seemed to suffice. This album was something of a revelation and Costello must take some of the credit for his wonderfully enthusiastic sleevenotes. Sitting between the speakers and giving it my full attention I realised that I'd done this lot a disservice in the past. Don't just judge them on 'Green Onions' and don't write them of as background music. At this price, you can just buy it rather than have me try and capture the raw power of these tracks on a blog on a rainy Sunday afternoon.
Super Furry Animals - 'Hey Venus!' - I was convinced that, having waited an extra week for it, the vinyl edition was going to be a shit pressing that sounded like somebody was eating a bag of salt and vinegar throughout, but no, the LP of this quite marvellous record sounds ace. In addition to that, you've really got to get it just to see that artwork in its 12"x12" glory.
Non-musical Revelations Of The Week:
The Smoking Room - Got series two on DVD this week and it reignited my love affair with this programme. The laws of the land ensure that a third series would be highly improbable, but that doesn't stop the two that exist being laugh-out-loud funny throughout. A beautifully observed bunch of regular characters reaching into double figures spend each episode doing little more than talking. This would be shit, but for the perfectly crafted dialogue and the meticulous performances from the cast. Video samples from here.
The Likely Lads - It's my firmly-held belief that 'Whatever Happened To The Likely Lads?' is one of the all time great comedy shows but I'd never got round to buying the DVD of the surviving episodes of the original, black and white series from the sixties. The Beeb, back in the days before archive material was the never-ending source of money, had wiped a great deal of legendary material - Pete and Dud and Dad's Army suffered similarly cruel fates, but these seven episodes remain. They're bloody funny. To be fair, it's the later episodes that stand up the most, but still, I remain hugely jealous of Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais, writers of not only this, but the follow-up series and another of the greatest shows of all time, Porridge and its follow-up, Going Straight. The Likely Lads owes a great deal of its entertainment value to the performances of Rodney Bewes and James Bolam who are superb throughout. Their entirely believeable relationship adds a dramatic elements to events, as well ensuring that every gag is milked to its full potential. Wonderful stuff, and currently going rather cheap. (You can get the surviving episodes of this series, plus both series of 'WHTTLL?' in a box for £17.99 here)
Gideon Coe on 6music moving - I was rather dismayed to learn that one of the most under-rated presenters on British radio is being moved from his morning slot to the equivalent show at the other end of the day. From 22nd October, Gid will be hosting 10pm-1am, while shouty E4 tyke, George Lamb will do a straight swap into the mid-morning show. Is it a genius move to provide music lovers with an excellent late night listening experience now that Radcliffe's been moved up the schedule or is it yet more dumbing down of 6music to the point that intelligent presenters can no longer be heard during daylight hours?

No movement required

The second of the 'indie shops that are dead good and well worth your time and money' series (catchy, eh?) is one you can't even go to. Over the last couple of years I've become increasingly aware of the demise of the bricks and mortar musical havens and in particular the plight of my favoured store. Naturally, mail order is the thought that springs to mind, but do I really want to be giving Play, HMV or even, ahem, Amazon my money?

I chanced upon the quite splendid folk at Norman Records when looking for a copy of the out-of-print Magnolia Electric Co live album, 'Trials and Errors'. After trawling through umpteen webpages with no joy, I happened upon this beacon of splendour in a sea of porn and badly informed twerps ranting on bulletin boards. I've been increasing my spending with this particular shop in recent months due to their excellent customer service, competitive prices and wide range of stock. The lines of communication are second to none, and tweaks to orders or discussions about pre-releases are dealt with quickly and successfully.
In addition, the site features extensive reviews sourced from weekly updates that can be accessed from the main page, where all of the staff chip in to review the new releases. What I particularly enjoy about this aspect of the site is that they've not afraid to say something's shit. They work on the theory that everyone's entitled to their own opinion, and as it's their site it'll be their opinions that will be posted. You can add your reviews if you want, but nothing's ever as amusing as reading some of Phil's rants about tired, bed-wetting indie music. There's a rather charming attempt at a caveat on their reviews page, that in itself can't help being opinionated - "Please note: if the review isn't positive or offends, please remember it's only someone's opinion - so get a grip!"
So, to summarise, the staff are shit-hot, music-loving types, like me and thou who spend silly money on vinyl and can't get enough noise in their ears. Prices are ace and items are packaged really well. Lines of communication are frequently monitored and the stock range is a delight. If you can find a problem with them, let me know, 'cos I can't. I think Norman Records is an outstanding little indie store and you'd be a fool to not click here.