Oh yes!

With thanks to Phill and Phil, hosts of the rather wonderful 'Perfect 10' podcast, for the tip-off.

If you would like to be outraged, turn to page 4

What an odd week it's been. On Wednesday afternoon, I was sitting in Dublin airport, a sizeable snowstorm visible through every window, sipping what was alleged to be tea and flanked on all sides by the moral outrage of the British press. The TV in hotel had Sky News, so I'd caught moments of the scandal as it unfolded by, even now, I can't quite believe how it was escalated so quickly by the delightful, intelligent and well-rounded individuals who work for the Mail.

If  I might just, briefly, focus on the point that I believe to be key to the whole situation. Prior to the papers getting hold of the story, there had been five complaints, and only two had come immediately after the show had aired. Now, it's also worth stating that what Brand and Ross got up to in that particular programme should not have been broadcast. But, I think it says a great deal about what that show must have been like that such content only provoked two complaints from its actual listeners. Thus, the people tuning in for that particular programme were, almost entirely, untroubled by that incident and felt it was in keeping with what Saturday night on Radio 2 offered.

I could spend several days writing about the people who are willing to be engineered into moral outrage by the very people who claim to want to protect our delicate little minds from such filth, but I'll try and keep it brief. If what was said was humiliating for Andrew Sachs' granddaughter, then why on earth did the Mail decide to take something that had only been heard by a little under half a million Radio 2 listeners and reprint it for the benefit of the masses?

That Russell Brand, he's outrageous. The things he says aren't fit for the good people of Britain to hear. Why not read them instead?

It's typical Mail reportage.

So-and-so went to a film premiere last night looking really slutty. Here's a fucking huge picture of her so that you can examine exactly how slutty she looked. Hands on the table at all times, please.

As someone who struggles with the notion that God guides us all through our daily lives, I'm tempted to try and organise 10,000 complaints about Songs Of Praise. I find it offensive to my beliefs and, although I've never seen it, they sing songs about God and bang on about him being a redeemer and stuff. Honest, I read it in the paper. Then again, I could engage my brain for, ooh, maybe five seconds, and realise that this programme isn't for me. That's why I haven't watched it and it's why it hasn't actually offended me. There, that was a really unnecessary crisis averted, wasn't it?

On Thursday night, Newsnight gave over the first thirty minutes of the show to this story. Thirty minutes! Still, it's not like a super-power is about to appoint a new President or anything, is it? Emily Maitlis appeared to want to leave Mark Thompson as close to death as her sense of humanity allowed during her interview and actually bothered to quote a fairly typical Frankie Boyle crack from Mock The Week at him twice, in the hope that he would condemn that and give the hacks something else to find some fake ire over.

I know that this blog is essentially about music, but I get a lot of my musical info and awareness from some of the BBC's outstanding broadcasting. The Beeb means a lot to me and the access I have to it is something I cherish. The thought that this story will lead to an even more timid BBC than we already have, post-phone-in scandal, genuinely troubles me. Not as much as Fox News does, mind you.

Absolutely right.

I will gather my thoughts in due course, but Tim Shaw does a pretty decent job of summarising how insane the week in media has been.

£17.50 for a conversation in a room with a sticky floor

The first time I heard 'Asleep In The Back', a winter's night towards the end of 2001, I found it almost too dense to get my head around. These beautiful, ethereal tunes, simultaneously complex and yet understated, have since taken up residence as old friends. 'Cast Of Thousands' took even longer to make sense, and it didn't really click until after I'd heard the rather wonderful, 'Leaders Of The Free World'. This latter record contains one of my all time favourite songs; 'Great Expectations'. Musically, it's pretty great, but lyrically is where it gets me. Guy Garvey tells the story of a marriage that happened only in his mind, as he imagined nuptials with a regular passenger on the late bus.

"A call girl with yesterday eyes
Was our witness and priest
Stockport Supporters' Club kindly supplied us a choir
Your vow was your smile
As we moved down the aisle
Of the last bus home."

Perfect. Argue with me, if you like. I won't listen.

And then, 'The Seldom Seen Kid' arrived and it all changed. It's another beautiful album and it may well be their best to date - certainly, songs like 'One Day Like This', 'Friend Of Ours' and 'Grounds For Divorce' support that theory - and yet, finally, the great British public have come on board. I talk, as it must have become clear by now, about Elbow.

I had the pleasure of their company at Leeds Academy last night and I'm still smiling. I don't think I've ever heard such clear vocals at a concert before as the sound for Guy's mic last night. The track, 'Leaders Of The Free World' is one of the most gigantic sounding songs I've ever heard live and there wasn't a moment in the whole show where the band were anything other than imperial and, frankly, fucking brilliant. It's right up there in my top five gigs; I only wish I'd gone to see them sooner. They played 'Great Expectations' last night, at which I entered an almost trance-like state and stood their swaying like a ninny, completely lost in that beguiling song. Until, that was, the twerps behind me decided to revive a conversation they'd been having intermittently throughout the gig.

Answer me this. Please. Why the hell would you pay for tickets to a concert only to talk through the gig? I expect a little chat during the support act - that's life. But during the main act? You know, the ones on the fucking tickets you had to give up to get in to this venue? The people you knew you were coming to see and, presumably, at least quite like. Why go to a hot, sweaty building, with a suspiciously sticky floor and speaker stacks that could destroy hospitals to have a conversation about hats and trains? I know this might be coming across as something of an over-reaction, but what goes on between the ears of these gibbering fucknuts? If you don't know many songs, but still decided to buy a ticket, presumably you're expecting to like the songs you've not heard? Thus, perhaps, you'd actually want to hear them?

Having completed a brief assessment of how likely they were to be knife-wielding maniacs, I opted to turn round and frown sternly at them. This caused a cessation of idle chit-chat for a song or two at least, but it's an ever-increasing problem. Towards the end of the gig, as the band were performing some of the afore-mentioned, dense but beautiful material from the debut, an exasperated male voice  could be heard yelping, 'Shut the fuck up, just shut the fuck up." He made a fair, if not especially eloquent, point.

Anyway, Elbow were utterly fantastic and I cannot recommend them highly enough. I'm sure the people behind me would too, except of course they've no idea if they were any good or not.

***

Had a quick skip through The X Factor this morning. Yeah, I put it on Sky +, so what? Alexandra kicked things off with a terrific, 'I'll Be There'. The one who always starts in Spanish didn't, and then got told off for not doing so, despite being reasonably good, while even Pontins managed a respectable, if utterly unremarkable, stab at 'She's Out Of My Life'. Why Michael Jackson songs, by the way? In what way is he relevant to the modern music scene, that is so frequently a reference point in much of the judges' critical opinion?

Girlband's 'Heal The World' was hilarious. Properly bonkers, that one. The little Irish Lego man was overcome with enjoyment during the performance, suggesting that there is, actually, at least one person who likes that song. Their fate was sealed.

Talking of shit Michael Jackson songs, 'You Are Not Alone' got a reasonable going over by Bo-Selecta, even if the start was a bit mediocre, only to be eclipsed by an opinion-dividing performance from Austin. I was actually quite taken by his version of 'Billie Jean'. Who cares if that version's been done elsewhere? Isn't that essentially the basis for pretty much every performance on The X Factor? It'd be fantastic if each show was filled with new music performed by the wannabes, but it's never going to happen.

David Brent - leave the joke alone, Louis, or I'll tape your hands to your sides - was coma-inducing at his best and completely shit at his worst. Strip his story away and you've got nothing. If it's done on merit, I'd imagine he'll be in the bottom two next week.

JLS brought a West End show feel to 'The Way You Make Me Feel' and made me feel quite queasy. It was very late-eighties, New Kids On The Block-lite, and one of them has a hideously nasal voice that detracts from the half-decent work of the others. Louis' only remaining shot at the title, and thus it's easy to say that the-over-excitable-Girlband-dressing-room-loiterer is screwed.

Diana was, naturally, tremendous. The novelty 'wow' factor from last week had worn off, but it was still a wonderful rendering of 'Man In The Mirror' and her voice remains the most compelling on the show by miles.

Macy Gray was up next. In addition to the tinge of madness displayed last week, there was an undercurrent of menace and desperation added to the mix this week. Perhaps she'd been getting performance tips from Ringo Starr. That said, creative Brian - you know, the one they couldn't fire after he turned out to be a shit judge, so they labelled him the 'creative director' - really did fill the tissue of ego-wanking with the truly bizarre concoction that the mad one was ensconced within.

Little, squidgy E-Owen was up last with, the not-especially shocking song choice, 'Ben'. He was rather good. Nothing more, nothing less.

Girls Aloud popped up for the results show and delivered a reasonably strong performance of their marvellous new single, 'The Promise'. It really is good. I make no apologies.

Girlband and Not-so-Spanish-now contested the bottom two spot and, having gone to 'DEADLOCK', Girlband were told to go away. Quite right really. Not quite as entertaining this week, but then what was I really expecting?

Like you didn't watch it.

So, the live shows return. I love music. I know that there's every chance that the majority of The X Factor will make me angry, and yet, every year, I return for more. Every so often someone great actually makes it through. It may well have happened this year.

That said, I'm not sure any of the acts are ever good enough to justify watching Louis' simpleton-at-a-Radio-1-roadshow clapping on a regular basis. (By the way, did Simon try to out Louis tonight? Sorry, I digress.) There were some truly awful performances tonight, some mediocre offerings and a couple of decent vocals.

Girlband, who kicked off the show, have a truly shit name. Weirdly, they ended up being the better of the two girl groups that the little Irish nutjob is looking after this time around. It was a solid enough performance but never going to win in a million years. The remarkably different looking Austin followed, with a competent version of The Police's 'Every Breath You Take'. The panel seemed to love it, but I'm not entirely sure why. It was alright. It was safe. It did the job, I guess, but who the hell made the backing track? Was it from one of the karaoke nights we saw him running in his little film before the performance? It was utterly chronic and sufficiently diverting that I ended up quite ambivalent about one of the few I reckoned might be quite good.

Alexandra was very good. There was definitely a risk of a wardrobe malfunction, and Whitney tunes always know how to rub me up the wrong way, but she has a fabulous voice. Cheryl clearly has the best group and appears to be bloody good at mentoring, what with her rather successful song choices. More of which, later.

Daniel followed. As he was singing, I pointed out the similarities between the performance and this:

However, ol' cymbal hands himself made a similar, if less accurate, comment directly afterwards, thus ruining the moment a little. It was very poor. Big heart, big arms, poor performance. If a judge's review begins with words like, "I just want to say that you're such a nice guy..." it's pretty obvious that the vocal wasn't up to it. And it wasn't.

Ricky Gervais' dad ( © Dermot O'Leary) has one chance of winning this year, and it's JLS, whose performance of 'I'll Make Love To You' was 50% quite good. They'll get better, and they're one of the better acts in the twelve. Quite a disappointing start though.

Pontins was up next. I'm not sure what his name was, actually. Might be Scott. Who cares? By the time you read this, I'm fairly certain he'll have been kicked out. At least Simon, who I have to say talks the most sense out of the lot of them, was honest enough to say out loud what everyone else was thinking. He screwed up. Pontins' version of 'Yeh, Yeh' was toe-curlingly bad. I imagine there was more entertaining wakes occurring at the same time as that performance.

Macy Gray was on next. Or at least, that seems to be who Rachel is using as the basis for her stage persona. A not-as-bad-as-the-judges-seemed-to-think version of that song by Robyn was hijacked by some of the most disturbing bumping and, if you will, grinding since the most recent Austrian dungeon clearout. Then, she coined her catchphrase, "taken on board." Take this on board too: stop playing your arse a different song to the rest of the room.

And then, for me, one of the very best performances ever seen on The X Factor. No, really. Diana's version of 'With Or Without You' knocked me for six. It made me think of Emiliana Torrini and Frida Hyvönen. Even once I realised that it was a U2 song she was singing, it didn't automatically summon a Bono-rage. It was magnificent. It was controlled. It was different. And, crucially if you listen to what the judges always bang on about, I'd buy her record. I may be proved wrong by some shocking performances in the future, but I thought she was great. And I'd expected to find her exceptionally annoying. So, that shows what I know.

Although, I do know that Bad Lashes were crap. To paraphrase Boyzone, I didn't get it. It was a mediocre song, it was a mediocre performance and (pulls trousers up to tits) it sounded like a drunken hen night. Apparently their image was good. Not so sure myself.

Little Irish boy who doesn't spell Owen as Owen was next. I really, really don't like 'Imagine', but it was hard to deny that it was good. Good enough, in fact, that BT are currently altering their network to ensure that if you press 1 on the keypad of all mums' phones, it automatically registers a vote for little Owen with an E at the front.

I would imagine that singing the first couple of lines of every song you do in Spanish, before going back to the English language original, would get pretty bloody annoying after a while. Oh wait, it already bloody well has. Ruth - or Rachel, as Simon called her whilst mid-orgasm - makes me angry. It's not even a gimmick, it's just stupid. Sing the bloody song and get off. Decent enough voice, but the novelty act schtick needs to go.

Bo Selecta closed the show and proved she has a much bigger voice than anybody had expected. I was quite surprised at the choice of an Alicia Keys song, but, by the end, I had to admit that it was a very impressive performance. Cheryl must have the winner in her ranks and she certainly outclassed the others on song choices tonight.

One last thing. Dermot makes it a much more enjoyable watch. Kate Thornton was, as she always is, diabolical as the host of The X Factor. She had no personality and very little ability when it came to presenting. Dermot's enthusiasm is contagious and, whisper it, I actually find myself quite enjoying the programme. Anyway, got to go. Time to watch Leon (I know, I know. Who?) before Pontins gets told to bugger off.

EDIT: Pontins got the sympathy vote in the end and it was Louis' girl-group showdown. The right group got binned, although neither 'bonus' song was much cop. Watching the Sarah Harding-lite girl in Bad Lashes go to bits was a little unsettling although Dermot's school master impression, "Now's not the time for petty squabbles," was wonderful.

All I Want To Do Is Ballad

'Writing To Reach You', 'Selfish Jean', 'Closer', 'More Than Us', 'Driftwood', 'Flowers In The Window', 'Re-Offender' and 'Something Anything'. All of these are wonderful songs by Travis. I know, as a 'serious music fan', I'm not supposed to rate Travis but they're great. Let's get the mudslinging out the way first. '12 Memories' is quite poor and its effect on their sales may never be reversed. However, it's pretty much their sole aberration.

I've got 'The Man Who' on as I type this and it sounds marvellous. The sound is rich and warm and the songs are, at worst, gently charming and, at best, genuinely affecting. Balls to the fact that plenty of bands have tried to do this since, (go on Lightbody, fuck off) it doesn't make these songs any less great. The album was a sneaky success when it came out, gradually gathering momentum until it was virtually compulsory to buy it in order to be allowed to purchase bread and milk for your hungry family. And, like so many others, 'Why Does It Always Rain On Me?', got on my nerves after the billionth play during Glastonbury footage, but I'm even rehabilitated towards that song now.

My return to Travis' bosom came about as a result of hearing their utterly splendid new single, 'Something Anything' for a second time. When I first heard it, I wasn't convinced it. It sounded a little bland and, well, chuggy. The second listen enabled me to hear the wailing backing vocal in the chorus. Now, regular readers will know that the bit in Radiohead's 'Weird Fishes/Arpeggi' when Ed comes in, wailing as a counterpoint to Thom's main vocal is one of my absolute favourite musical moments. This isn't quite up to it, but it is similarly powerful, but in a different way. I don't know why, but it gives the song more heart. There's a real sense that somebody's giving everything to that song and suddenly the chorus comes alive.

Furthermore, it's short and sounds tremendous at unacceptable volume levels. Shit cover, mind. Anyway, the new single led me back to the last one, 'J Smith' which is just bizarre, flicking between shuddering rock and a dramatic choir on the edge. From there, I ended up digging out their last album, 'The Boy With No Name'. The lead single from this, 'Closer', is the sort of track that is as inextricably linked to 'the Travis sound' as 'Imitation Of Life' is to 'the R.E.M. sound', but that doesn't make it bad. The list I started this post with demonstrates that a number of their best songs come from their most recent albums, and how many long-lasting bands can you say that about?

The 'Singles' album went on next. Why do I even own it, when I have the album? Not sure, it must have been cheap. But it's got a new song! I was amazed by how, when almost every song started, I kept thinking, "Oh good, I like this one." I got the new singles collection by The Coral yesterday and I thought that was pretty impressive, but this, while less musically creative, made me smile more.

Obviously, if they've never done anything for you before, then it's unlikely they ever will, but if they've faded away, lost in the middle distance, then give 'em another shot. I can almost guarantee you won't be disappointed.

Can't embed 'Closer', for some reason, but if you go to Travis' Last.fm page, you can listen to it, and many other tunes, in full.

Woooooooo!

Elbow win the Mercury Prize. Justice is done. If you don't own it, sort yourself out now. It's wonderful.

Wooooooo again!

I guess I should update the blog, so...

Still obsessing over the music of Tindersticks so, instead, here's a classic bit of digging from the truly wonderful Jon Stewart and The Daily Show in relation to the Presidential election.

 

In a word, 'toss'

Don't waste your money on the new albums by Bloc Party or The Verve. I've tried to listen to them a few times now, but with no joy. Each time I find myself skipping to the next track to avoid torturing myself. I'm sure some of you reading this will like one or both if you spend long enough with them, but, fuck me, there's better stuff out there to be spending your cash on and filling your time.

I was going to write a long, and quite possibly pretentious, dismissal of these two records, but what's the point? I think they're both a bit shit. I quite liked the single, 'Love Is Noise', but most of the album is six minutes plus drones with fuck all in the way of lyrical quality and utterly inoffensive music. As for Bloc Party, it occasionally piqued my interest but then, just as quickly, pissed me off.

Don't you wish broadsheet reviews were like this?

Asphalt Ribbons

As the last post was thorough, structured and even vaguely factual, I reckon I can get away with something a little less coherent this time out.

I mentioned Tindersticks the other day. Seriously, how have I not found this band before now? They're just the right amount of...different to be utterly beguiling. It's that kind of quality sentence that will ensure that none of the big names in music publishing ever come calling, but how do you express this kind of music in mere words? I know this sounds like one of my usual attacks, whereby every couple of months I shit out hyperbole until I'm dehydrated, but I oh-so-definitely mean it this time.

If you ignored my call to arms the other day then I now present you with a few more useful resources to help you as you fall in love.

Firstly, last.fm has loads and loads of Tindersticks tracks available to stream in full; thus the love affair costs nothing! Click here and turn the speakers up.

Secondly, Tinder.info has a wealth of great Tindersticks info, interviews and reviews and I've found it invaluable as I've been trying to slot their back catalogue into place. It hasn't been updated for a bit, so it doesn't cover the recent album, 'The Hungry Saw', but pretty much everything else you'll need is there.

That is all.

A logo written in toothpaste

Mmmm. Another record shopping-based outing today. A small, but splendid, pile of records are being aired as I type. Currently, it's the new Stereolab, which is better than I'd expected after reading some mixed reviews on the net. The limited edition Japanese-style CD is rather fun too. Anyhoo, said record shopping expedition leads me to my (main) two topics for today.

Firstly, the Coalition of Independent Record Stores and secondly, the changing ways people purchase music, with a particular focus on those young rapscallions, Bloc Party.

I've mentioned the 'Coalition' a few times already and I'm still not convinced that it actually counts for anything. I've previously expressed my misgivings about the elitist approach it's taking and this has been underlined by my experiences over the past couple of weeks. As is my tendency at this time of year, I've been working my way round many of the independent record stores of the UK and, not being an especially shy chap, I've taken to engaging the staff (generally the owners, it must be said) of these stores in conversation about how business is going, which has, inevitably, brought us round to the topic of the Coalition.

When I first mentioned this idea it was alongside a blog post by the good folk at Norman Records that didn't paint the project in an especially pretty light. It would seem that the initial fears have proved absolutely correct. One of the main reasons quoted to Norm as to why they wouldn't be allowed into the Coalition was that this initiative is all about driving people back in to actual record shops rather than simply adding to online sales. As Norm pointed out at the time, many of the shops allowed in to the Coalition actually do a brisk trade online. Thus, it came as no surprise to me today to find that, upon visiting one of the Coalition stores - I'll not mention which one to avoid any assumptions about who said what - the Brett Anderson album, 'Wilderness', that is, apparently, exclusively available in Coalition stores in August ahead of its main release in September, had yet to arrive. It was officially released to these stores last Monday and yet this store had had none, and had no idea when they would actually arrive. However, Avalanche Records, who, if you remember, are the initial torch-holders for this endeavour, had plenty in stock from the off and have been merrily flogging them to anyone who wants them...via eBay! I know, just sit back and bask in the insane hypocrisy of that for a moment.

During the numerous chats I've had with Coalition members of late, it has been noted that a Brett Anderson album is hardly going to set the charts alight or keep the tills ringing for weeks on end. Surely, you don't release an album in a limited edition of 1900 if you think you can flog 1901, or more, copies of that title? That said, not even a handful of those 1900 copies had made it to at least one of the Coalition stores by this morning. When I last checked, Avalanche's eBay shop had put up 50 copies, and already sold 21 of them. Still, at least Avalanche aren't letting their position as 'head honcho' distort things in their favour. Oh, hang on. For fuck's sake, you're either trying to help out all of the people in the same, dire position or you're not.

Apparently, during the heated meetings that occur from time to time between representatives from the Coalition member stores one of the most recent (and I think you'll agree, brilliant) ideas was to have exclusive Coalition T-shirts that can only be bought from Coalition stores. Have you seen the Coalition logo? It's over to the right in amongst the links to independent record stores. It's truly appalling! The title of today's post is the best description I've been given of what the T-shirts look like. The most important point that's been raised, however, is who the bloody hell would actually wear one of these things, let along buy it? Furthermore, who even knows that the Coalition exists apart from over-keen people like my good self and you, my loyal readers? It seems like an exercise in dithering thus far. A Brett Anderson album that you couldn't pay most people to take away is exclusively available from Coalition stores - unless it's not of course. It's intended to provide an incentive to shop in a bricks and mortar record shop, and yet it's doing steady business on a world-famous, online - and let's be pretty fucking aware - corporate auction site. Mission accomplished.

Some readers may remember the joyous days of the 'Chain With No Name', regularly labelled as CWNN on adverts in the music press. Regular pages would tell you what the latest indie releases were and then, at the bottom of the ad, you could find out where to buy them from. CWNN occasionally led to little perks like bonus discs or posters you couldn't get elsewhere. Not CWNN T-shirts, you'll notice.

Some questions remain about the Coalition:

1. Who's it really for? Does the consumer really benefit when there's bugger all advertising, the stock isn't actually in the shops that it's supposed to be in and those in charge don't appear to care too much about other shops.

2. What's it really for? If it doesn't actually alter the record-buying experience, how will it have an impact? Is anyone going to think, "Balls to buying that CD on play.com for £6.99, I'm going in to town, to my local indie so I can get it for £9.99, but at least I'll have the chance to buy one of those lovely T-shirts?" I suspect - and I'd so dearly loved to be proved wrong on this - that the answer is no.

3. Does it actually have any meaningful principles? If web-only indie stores aren't going to be allowed in on the grounds that they don't cause people to tend towards independent stores on the high street, shouldn't all Coalition exclusives be store sales only? Isn't it a really shitty tactic to ostracise online-only dealers and then fill your pockets with eBay funded cash?

As virtually nobody knows about the Coalition and even fewer care, I think that'll have to be my last word on it for the time being. I'm sure I'll be whining about it again by this time next week.

And so, eventually, we come to the other topic of note. Bloc Party's new album, 'Intimacy', is out on Thursday, at 9am. No, really. Out of nowhere, they've come up with the idea of announcing an almost immediate download of an album, with a CD version to follow. It's revolutionary, I tell thee. To be fair, the manner in which they've done it is quite neat. It was only announced last night and yet, in a couple of days time, the album will be all over file-sharing networks the world over. And a few people will pay for it, I'm sure. However, it continues the logic I was touching on yesterday with my post about boxsets. The bands and record industries are desperately looking for anything that will give the business a quick cash injection. Using upfront, and unexpected, paid for downloads is a very simple way of avoiding the 'leak' issue that can cause untold damage to physical sales, as everybody illegally downloaded the album six weeks before it came out for real. Not the case with this. However, if you look at the new David Byrne and Brian Eno release, 'Everything That Happens Will Happen Today', which went on sale digitally yesterday. A CD will follow, if you took that option on purchase, but for now you've got the MP3 or flac files to play with. However, disproving the theory that this makes leaks less of an issue, within an hour of the webshop going live, the album was available for illegal download all over the internet. I'd recommend the Flac + CD option, personally, but the point remains that plenty of people don't expect to have to pay anything and giving them a good deal does nothing to change their minds.

Oh, and if 'Mercury' is anything to go by, it'll be a big bag of arse anyway. That said, I'm sure they'll get my tenner and I'll have a grumble about it on here at the end of the week.

That'll do for now, eh?

Boxing clever (and why I love Tindersticks)

The Monkey album, 'Journey To The West' came out today and it's really rather good. I'd anticipated having to give it a number of listens before warming to it. I figured it'd be awkward and difficult to get my head round, but it's actually pretty accessible. There's some lovely little Albarn melodies and flourishes throughout and, while there's still far too much to get your head round on the first listen, you'll certainly find yourself going back for more.

The only way you can get this on vinyl is via the special edition by The Vinyl Factory, which is £65 before P+P! As much as I love Damon's music, I'm not shelling out that kind of cash on a one album. It's one of many, similarly insane, projects that have been put before the record-buying public of late. When Radiohead announced the 'In Rainbows' project, back in October of last year, the media made bold claims about the impact it would have on the music industry and how free music would be the way forward. Far from it, it turns out. The actual legacy of the experiment is the 'discbox' effect, with prices ranging from 'a little steep' to 'taking the piss'. Primal Scream have one for 'Beautiful Future', also created by The Vinyl Factory. You get the album, on double vinyl, plus a 12" with one remix on it, a poster and a fancy, but flimsy booklet. All for the knock-down, bargainous price of £50 + P+P. No, seriously! There's one for the new album by The Verve, which features the CD/DVD and double vinyl (featuring two bonus tracks) and a booklet with 'exclusive artwork'. £40 to you. Likewise, Portishead's 'Third' came in a box with double vinyl, an etched 12" of 'Machine Gun' (available elsewhere for £4) and a USB stick with digital files of the album and some videos. Once again, £40. The new Oasis album will also be available in a £50 special edition and there are plenty of others that you can seek out in your own time. As nice an idea as they initially seem, it's starting to feel like the record companies have grabbed at this concept as a way of trying to prop-up flagging sales by fleecing the hardcore fans for as much as they're willing to pay.

Obviously, I'm in the minority in that I buy a lot of records and thus I'm exposed to a lot of these 'special' editions, whereas perhaps the casual fan is less aware of how common these are becoming. However, that doesn't make them any more palatable. The original Radiohead discbox is a delight. Worth £40? Probably not, but it was justifiable as a 'one-off', a treat, a nice item for the collection. But, now they're coming thick and fast, I'm finding myself tempted by many options and therefore choosing to buy none of them. The minute these become an acceptable indulgence, my record-buying budget goes out the window. I know, I know; I'm moaning about something I can just ignore. If I think they're too pricey, I can just not buy them. But they're so pretty!

Two more things before I go. Firstly, I was flicking through the Later - The First 15 Years DVD the other day and came across a truly joyous performance from Al Green. Sure, at times he does Grandad dancing and smiling that much is probably bad for your health (well, your jaw at least) but he just oozes enjoyment and I found myself grinning like an idiot by the end. Watch it yourself right now:

I've spent most of the last few days listening to the music of Nottingham's Tindersticks. Why had nobody told me about them before? I knew they were there but I've no real recollection of hearing much of their stuff previously and I'd never read anything that made me want to investigate, but I've really been missing out. Delicate but ambitious indie music that isn't ashamed to wear its soul and jazz influences in public, their back catalogue is an absolute joy. The first two albums, both, confusingly, called 'Tindersticks' are avilable now in expanded, double CD format and I cannot recommend them highly enough. That said, I'd also recommend all of their other studio albums, so you won't go wrong, whatever you go for.

Here's some YouTube-age to begin the love-in.

This is the track, 'For Those', rendered so beautifully on the Bloomsbury disc that accompanies the reissued version of their second album and in demo form on the debut's bonus disc.

A vintage Jools performance - firstly, 'No More Affairs'

and then 'Talk To Me'.

Finally, this is the much-revered, 'Tiny Tears', accompanied by some random footage, as it average You-Tuber's wont.

Good, aren't they? If you've just fallen in love, thank me later. If you already knew, why didn't you tell me?

I stand before you to urge you towards Action

On Saturday, I spent a couple of hours sampling music on the MySpace pages of acts tagged as 'friends' on Steve Lamacq's page. In that time, I found one act I liked the sound of. One! My new found enthusiasm for tarting around on MySpace was quickly extinguished. The one act I liked? Well, for a start, they've already split up but, on the plus side, you can download their music for free from their site.  They are The Arrogants and their music is essentially a rockier Sundays. Occasionally somebody gives them a few too many blue Smarties, but I suggest you have a listen. Go here for free audio goodness.

I finally visited Action Records in Preston yesterday. I've used them for mail order from time to time over the years, but I'd never previously experienced the shop. It was a delightful (and costly) experience. I'll get my one concern out of the way immediately: For most of the time that I was in the shop, there was no music playing. That's not right, is it? I used to have to budget extra when shopping in the now defunct Reveal Records of Derby to allow for the inevitable purchase of whatever was on the 'now playing' shelf. I expect to be bombarded with tunes and I don't remotely care if they're actually toss, just so long as they're there. Which reminds me. The other week, whilst browsing the vinyl department of a well-known Midlands indie store, the young lad behind the counter decided that the next record we were going to hear was the current (and oh-so-very-perfect) Elbow album, 'The Seldom Seen Kid'. He'd been playing a dance 12" previously and so, just as the record was starting, he flicked the speed from 45 to 331/3. Unfortunately for him, that particular album is pressed on two 45rpm discs. Plus, the opening track has a long, instrumental build-up before the vocal arrives. Hoping to communicate in the way only slightly anti-social, slightly hairy musos can, I looked across at him trying to convey my confusion about what was coming out of the speakers. At this point, he gave me a look that I can only describe as, "What, peasant? Haven't you heard this great record?" Once Guy Garvey's delightful voice grace the speakers, he hurriedly (and, agonisingly, audibly) dragged the needle away from the vinyl. A few seconds later, it returned at the correct speed. As I was leaving, I looked across and he scowled at me. If you're going to be an indie snob, know your bloody tunes. Like me, for example!

Anyway, where was I? Ah yes, Preston. Action Records is packed full of quality stock and disturbingly good prices. In particular, the new vinyl section is very reasonably priced. For example, the Johnny Flynn album, 'A Larum' is available as a double-vinyl, pop-up gatefold sleeve, limited edition for £20. In Action, £18. And such was the case for many other titles I could mention. There's a huge CD sale with piles of stuff reduced (admittedly not all of it worthy of your attention). Back catalogue isn't marked up ludicrously and it's clear that their approach to stock control is to keep prices low on stock that isn't shifting. Seems sensible, but so few other record shops do it. I won't say much more other than to once again recommend their excellent mail order service which is available on their website here and to reiterate how delightful I found to be.  A rare beacon of splendour on an increasingly dour music shopping landscape.

On that note, I've put up a link to the 'Coalition' site along with the other record shops on the right-hand side of the page. I mentioned it a few months back and how it's meant to unite the remaining indie stores in the UK to make them stronger and to help with business. However, they're still not involving the good folk of Norman Records (or some other indie mail order types I can think of) because they don't have an actual shop. Surely, for something designed as a means of fighting the big companies who shut off doors to small companies, being elitist is rather anti the ethos of the Coalition? Who knows.

Do you have hallucinatory visions of The Chuckle Brothers?

Mojo readers - is it wrong to like that cover of 'Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da' by Gabriella Cilmi that's on this month's free CD? Clearly, it's dreadful, wrong and naughty, but something about it got under my skin. Surreal, to say the least. Not a great start, I know, wittering on about a track you'll only know if you buy a certain magazine. Not unusual, either.

The post had a few surprises in it today. Firstly, the new Herman Dune album, 'Next Year In Zion', which is really rather good. Never taken to them in the past, but, on first impressions, it sounds splendid. They haven't changed particularly, perhaps I have.

Secondly, a new album from Misty's Big Adventure! Oh yes! The last one only came out towards the end of last year, but even so there is more to delight, thrill and confuzzle your ears. 'Television's People' is a concept album about a troubled man seeking solace in daytime stodge who ends up getting sucked into the TV. Delightfully bizarre, but not especially surprising when it comes to Misty's. If you've not yet had the pleasure of this lot  then a) you're not a long-standing, loyal reader of the Vinyl Junkies internet presence (fair enough, really) and b) you're in for an absolute treat. Start with the album, 'The Black Hole' and then buy everything else. Anyhoo, this album is wonderfully good and comes with a quite brilliant press release by Grandmaster Gareth (the head honcho). I truly hope the good folk of Misty's and SL records won't mind that I've temporarily placed track 10, 'There Is Hope' on the Muxtape, simply because of its comic genius. It documents the daytime commercials coming alive in the head of the man at the centre of the story and he starts to believe that the telly is talking to him. Superb. Naturally, if anyone's pissed off at its presence on the Mux, please let me know and it'll disappear rapidly. That also goes for any of the new bands whose material I've popped on there as a taster for those who'd like to go and spend their hard earned quids on some independent releases.

As I believe I mentioned the other day, I was off on my jolly holidays last week and upon arrival I was heartened by the lack of phone reception and utterly shite TV signal. I was subsequently startled when I turned on the DAB radio and had the strongest reception I've ever had. Figure that out. Anyway, as a result of that, I ended up spending some time with 6music outside of the Gideon Coe show. In particular, I spent a few afternoons with the ever-delightful Lammo. Only the other week I was praising his blog and now it's the turn of his radio show. His 'New Favourite Band' feature is a logical extension of what he's been doing on the radio for years and years. Quite simply, each week he identifies a new act to which he's taken a shine. Last week it was Tom Williams & The Boat. It's a good band name that. Although the name at the start is nothing out of the ordinary, by adding '& The Boat' on the end, the name is suddenly memorable. It would've been enough to keep it lodged in my mind until I got back to the world of Google. Obviously, I'm geeky enough that if I ever happen upon music I like when I can't do anything about it, I save the name of act and song as a draft text message, but if I wasn't a geek, I'd still have been able to remember their name.

Anyway, we got sidetracked there. Tom Williams & The Boat's latest release is the 'Got Fuel EP', which you can get from this website. It's a delightful little package, coming as it does in a PVC sleeve with a wraparound sleeve made of glossy photos stuck to sugar paper. Inside, you get two more photos, a lyric sheet and, of course, the rather splendid CD. 'Got Fuel' is a delightfully woozy indie singalong that has been going round in my head for the best part of this week. To confuse matters, there's a song called 'Pete & The Pirates' that actually sounds like a menacing version of The Young Republic and 'Half Mast' contains one of my current favourite lyrical refrains; "I don't have a hoodie set at half mast, sitting on my fringe like  balaclava on my chin." I'm not putting it on the Mux because I think the bloke deserves £6 for that alone.

The whole EP is great but, should you want more convincing, over on the main TW&TB site there are loads of free downloads, including some rather amusing covers. Treat yourself.

One final act of note today. Our Broken Garden are a new act on the, quite superb, Bella Union label. She - for it is only one woman, Anna Broensted of Efterklang - had an EP out back in April called, 'Lost Sailor' and there's a new album on the way in September, entitled 'When Your Blackening Shows'. Nothing else to tell, I'm afraid, but you can be thoroughly enchanted by the tunes over at the Myspace page.

 

A curator, if you will

I'm not even sure what radio show it was, back in the day, one of the stations I listened to used to do a music press review on a Wednesday. Actually, it might have been in the early days of 6music when Andrew Collins' afternoon show (RIP) was still called 'Teatime'. Anyway, I used to love hearing the cherry-picked highlights and treated it as a buyer's guide. Sadly, there isn't enough music press to make that particularly worthy these days, but, on this occasion, indulge me.

There are two things I've been meaning to share with you. The first is the rather excellent list of 'Things heard at the Latitude festival' in this month's Uncut.

Some of my favourites:

• "Pimm's me up to the power of two!"
• Heard over a walkie-talkie: "Child control to the Poetry Arena!"
• "Seriously, I thought it was called Ricky Pedia. I assumed it was a bloke with a really popular MySpace page."
• Woman on phone telling her friends where to meet her: "I'm directly below the cloud that looks a bit like Cyprus."

Splendid stuff.

The second item of note is in today's NME. Now, I know that every few months I keep saying almost nice things about this magazine but it really has shown signs of improvement recently. For a start, the woefully pretentious letter from the editor - and his picture, for that matter - has disappeared from the third page and the writing just seems sharper and funnier. Mark Beaumont having a weekly column can only be a good thing. Anyway, this week, the main feature is a huge interview with Noel Gallagher. Say what you like about Oasis, and most people do, Noel is fantastically good value when it comes to interviews. Never one to disappoint, this time around it's regarding Jay-Z.

"I never dissed that guy. But there's no point going on about it or you end up sounding like Heather Mills."

Fair point, well made. It's worth £2.20 to read the whole thing.

And finally, today's new music mutterings:

They describe themselves as 'ambient/electronica/pop', which'll do for me. That said, one track, 'Handcuffs' is pure indie joy from start to finish. If you've already visited the VJ myspace then that's the track that blares out at you when the page loads. Good, innit? They're good Welsh boys, are Man Without Country. That's who I'm on about, by the way. There are delightful moments in the aforementioned track where you're left in no doubt about the band's country of origin and I can't deny that I love it all the more because of that. The other tracks that you can hear on their Myspace and iSound pages have a little more of that ambient feel to them, but if you love innovative, energetic songs then you should give them a few minutes of your time.

Quite spacious at the moment

Ok, so it's very 2005, but I spent longer than I meant to setting up a Myspace page for the blog yesterday. I mention lots of different bands on this blog and increasingly it tends to be things that aren't perhaps as well known as they deserve to be. To make it easy for the loyal readers of this blog to have a listen to the stuff I'm talking about, the Myspace page will try to link to as many of these bands in the 'friends' section, thus allowing you to listen to whatever they've got on their Myspace player. Simple, eh? Anyway, don't expect it to look particularly special - that's not the point. (Plus, I'm not entirely sure how to do that anyway) It's there for the tunes. Little, clickable link on the top right of the site.

A few things to talk about today. First up, a single that was released, seemingly via download only (I know, the site is called Vinyl Junkies, but give me a break) today by Ryan Mullin. The track is called 'The Splint', on Grooveland Records. I've seen it described on the interweb as tech-house, whatsoever the flying fuck that means, but to me it's just very, very good. I have a soft spot for imaginative electronic music of whatever kind. That Glow album is still wonderful, by the way. Anyhoo, 'The Splint' can be heard in full over the Ryan's Myspace and there are many links to allow you to buy the track for varying prices and in varying qualities, from 192kbps MP3 up to WAV. Treat yourself.

Secondly, Robin Allender and The Allender Band. Technically two different acts, although you can probably guess what the common factor is. I defy anyone to listen to the start of 'Green Wound' and feel nothing. It's not possible. That noodly little guitar thing (so, so technical, as always) is just beautiful and the way the band gradually seem to arrive in the background sets you up for a rather splendid piece of music. It's one of the best tracks I've heard all year. Thankfully, it's not a one-off. The accompanying 'In The Grip Of Light' EP is all of the same standard. You can also pick up Robin's solo album from last year. There is some overlap with the material, but it's a worthy purchase. Both CDs come in exceptionally fun card boxes with fold-down flaps and black CDs. You can order straight from the Dreamboat Records site. The less said about the name of Robin's previous band, the better.

Here's the original, stripped down version of 'Green Wound' by Robin. Full version, oddly enough, can be heard on his Myspace.

Finally, as the whole point of setting up the Myspace page is to tie together recommended tunes and to hunt out other good stuff, I should give a mention to the first act to request friendship from the mighty bastion of musical mutterings that is Vinyl Junkies. The honour goes to Derby band, Leon. Nope, I'd never heard of them either. Now, they're not doing anything particularly original and I don't imagine anyone's ever heard one of their records and thought, "Christ! The future of music is here," but they do melodic indie-rock rather well and considerably better than plenty of bands that are selling records these days. 'Hope' sounds like contemplative Feeder and 'Be There' sounds immediately familiar - a bit like a tidied up and polished Super Furries singalong in the chorus.

Oh, and while I think of it, here's the album cover for the quite magnificent Glow album, 'I, Yeah!'

No reason, other than the fact that it gives me another chance to point out how wonderful it is. I promise you, I'm not being bribed to mention it. Like this blog will ever be that important, anyway! Still, like I said yesterday, it's only a fiver!

I'm hoping to tell you a little bit about Man Without Country tomorrow, but I'm waiting on some demo tracks from them. Worth the wait, I assure you.

Taking all the credit

Having been banging on about physical media and the demise of the record shop only yesterday, I found myself purchasing a download-only album mere hours after publishing said blog entry. My main excuses are that a) it was only a fiver b) it isn't available by any other means. I'm not especially fond of downloads, mainly because I rarely form an attachment with music I acquire in that manner, but on this occasion I'll make an exception. The album I download was 'I, Yeah!' by up-and-coming (get me!) Bristol band, Glow.

Regular readers may remember me droning on about the sheer majesty of Northampton's finest, Maps, last year. The album, 'We Can Create', just edged 'The Good, The Bad & The Queen' as my album of 2007. It's slightly squelchy, delightfully indie, intelligently-crafted electronic music. And that, my music-loving-internet-browsing chums, is also how I would describe 'I, Yeah!' Seriously, it's that good. It hasn't been with me long enough for me to make insanely hyperbolic statements about how it's as good as the Maps album, but I can forsee a long and beautiful relationship. It won't be quite as beautiful as could be though, because it's a CD-R. Still, mustn't grumble. This appears to be a clear argument for the increasing reliance on digital releases. My guess would be that this album would have been a financial nightmare to get off the ground if it had to be pressed up and packaged as a full CD release, but as a download that you can pay for with Paypal, it's a (relative) piece of piss.

I should just confess at this point that I shambled upon this rather wonderful album as a result of the tireless work of one Adam Walton. I've mentioned him before for one reason or another, but for those not up to speed he's the host of a late-night new music show on BBC Radio Wales. I became hooked on the show in an earlier format during my later teenage years living in South Wales and I've kept listening from time to time ever since. A few months back he played the Glow album in its entirety. As it happens, I missed that show, but while following the time-extinguishing Google/Wiki trail of Adam Walton I happened upon a post on their site about him doing that. So, I had a listen and the rest, as they say, is history. For those counting cliches in this post, I think that's four.

Adam's great, by the way, and sadly not as revered as he should be. There are two remaining, essential new music shows for me these days - one is, as you may be aware by now, Gideon Coe on 6music and the other is Adam's. He plays some truly bizarre stuff from time to time, but his show is essentially a latter-day John Peel show with the emphasis on Welsh music. Last night I heard a hip-hop group called Mudmowth - great, although the Myspace page appears to have been written by an Alan Partridge version of Westwood - a delightful female artist by the name of Georgia Ruth Williams, the folksy delights of The Toy Band and a truly brilliant indie band called Man Without Country. Click on the respective names to find out more and/or have a listen to last night's show via the BBC iPlayer. He's on every Sunday from 10pm.

Oh, and if you didn't click on the link above, go and buy the Glow album here.

Not Keane.

Chortling, red-cheeked, rehab-frequenting, hay-chewing chump Tom Chaplin and his popular music troupe, Keane, are offering a track from their new album as a free download for one week only, starting today. 'Spiralling' is really, really bad. To give you some idea how bad it is, I had to listen to Bloc Party's 'Mercury' afterwards, in order to cleanse my ears*.

Allow me to convey my disgust in real time. I'll just restart the song.

Big, cheesy 'Ooooh!' over synthetic guitar sounds and eighties piano. Verse begins with drums, bass and repetitive piano refrain and over-emoted and over-polished vocals sit atop, speaking lots and saying nothing.

Stadium roof-lifting chorus. Tick.

"I fashioned you from jewels and stone, I made you in the image of myself." Must have used a lot of rubies.

Cheesy guitar thing from start runs through the chorus but there's not really a hook to hum along with. It goes up and down, up and down. You know like Keane songs do. It's so obvious they even made a video demonstrating it for the first single off the last album.

Ah, the middle-eight.

"Did you wanna be a winner?

Did you wanna be an icon?

Did you wanna be famous?

Did you wanna be the president?"

In a weirdly American sounding voice, Tom bellows the above, and more that I can't be bothered typing out. A few screeching, internet dial-up noises at this point to sound...edgy?

Chorus comes back. Oh good. I'm not sure that even Max Moseley would have got much enjoyment from listening to this.

Well, I've no idea what they're trying to do with their 'sound'. I confess that I quite liked bits of the debut, but whatever this is, it's not for me.

Download, for free, from here.

*Cotton buds are more effective.

The Kids Aren't Alright...apparently

I've just returned from a week in Northumberland. Very nice, thanks for asking. While in the area, I took the opportunity to drop in on the independent record shops of Newcastle. Before I go into any kind of detail, I should point out that I tried to go to Steel Wheels, but I'm fucked if I know where it is. Apparently it's now called Beatdown Records and I found their old store and...  oh, forget it. I'm still bitter, ok?

Anyway, I very much enjoyed my time in both RPM and Reflex. RPM smells like a proper record shop. I'd feel obliged to explain that statement were it not for the fact that I'm making it on this blog. And if you're reading this blog then I'm fairly certain that you know what I'm on about. In addition to this, they were playing 'The Good, The Bad & The Queen', which I'm not sure I've ever heard being played in record shop previously. It was a promising start. As it happens, I didn't actually spend any money in there. Not that their stock isn't splendid. There's racks of vinyl at reasonable prices, a reasonably clear filing system for the CDs and a few sale racks. I have nothing but praise for RPM, it's exactly how I would describe the model independent record shop. Ticks every box.

I also visited Reflex, where I confess a number of my quids were liberated by the fine tune-age of Terry Callier and Micah P Hinson. It's a bit more sanitised than RPM - which is to say everything is very neatly arranged and not an inch of display space is wasted. It's clearly a very efficiently run business and you have to applaud any shop that employs a Lurch looky-likey to stand at the end of the road with a large sign directing custom shopwards. I was served by a slightly hyperactive woman who offered up the kind of banter you just don't get in your enormo-stores. Just as I was about to pay, I noticed 'Old Rare New', a delightful tome about independent record stores, up on a shelf and thus double the cost of my shop. Still, another great indie store. The people of Newcastle are spoilt.

In amongst the many tales told in 'Old Rare New' is a page by Sister Ray owner, Phil Barton. I enjoyed his words and offered a token world-weary sigh as I read his comment that,  "kids don't collect records anymore, they steal tunes instead." He may well have a point, I thought. Then, I got back yesterday and found my weekly email update from Sister Ray, in which the news was imparted that the shop is in administration while a new buyer is sought. I'll be honest, my first thought was, "Shit! Don't they own Selectadisc in Nottingham too?" I've since had most of my fears about a knock-on effect allayed, but I'm still rather dismayed by the news about this Berwick Street great. It's a cracking shop, full of the sort of records any self-respecting collection requires and not unreasonable prices. A few years back it moved across the road into the old Selectadisc store when that particular business opted to concentrate on one city only. I've not been since the move, but I remember, in its slightly pokier previous location, being thoroughly chuffed with its stock. It was in Sister Ray that I finally managed to buy a - not 100% official - copy of 'Fanfare For The Comic Muse' by The Divine Comedy, back in 2001. I'd spent years looking for it and was happily dispatched with a copy, some sixteen pounds lighter. I'm sure I've moaned about the state of Berwick Street in the past, but only a few years ago it was the ideal day out. A street full of record shops, each offering different things for the rabid collector, but it's now flagging seriously. I hope that Sister Ray finds someone willing to stump up the cash, but its potential demise is yet another sign that the physical product isn't winning over the latest generation of music fans.

I'm still a little concerned about Selectadisc. I wrote about the reduction in floor space a few months back, and while the shop isn't part of the same company as Sister Ray, I know there are some financial links. I can only hope that its legacy and seemingly continued popularity with the good folk of the East Midlands will ensure its survival for some time to come. If that fails, does anyone know what house prices are like in Newcastle?

Mixtape...blah, blah, nostalgia, blah...

I was about to start with a profound and incisive statement, but that new Bloc Party single really is fucking dreadful, isn't it?

I've spent a thoroughly enjoyable day rearranging bits of the record collection and ripping assorted tracks to the computer in order to refresh the content of my mp3 player and contruct a decent mp3 CD for a long car journey that's coming up. It's wonderful just browsing through the tunes that have, at various times in the last few years, meant rather a lot to me. I did the slightly embarrassing, but hugely popular, swivelling-a-little-bit-in-a-computer-chair dance to Stardust's 'Music Sounds Better With You' earlier and it was hugely satisfying. And what about 'Forever J' by Terry Hall? A beautiful, beautiful song which was sampled on 'Life In Mono' by Mono, which I've also ended up digging out. However, whilst finding out more about it I stumbled upon the Emma Bunton cover version. Eugh. Now, I actually really liked that soul-pastiche album she did a few years back. The one with pink cover. But this is not good. At all. The original is, however, and it would seem you can still buy it via the iTunes empire.

The mp3 player will soon be receiving a number of albums that I can't believe I haven't felt the need to put back on there since reformatting it a few months back. Most of Supergrass' back catalogue is still absent, as are the first two Portishead albums and Thom Yorke's 'The Eraser'. Not for much longer. Also going on will be Madness' wonderful track, 'NW5' that came out as a one-off single a little while back, but which will feature on their forthcoming concept album, 'The Liberty Of Norton Folgate'. If you've not heard it, I would put it up there with pretty much anything else they've ever done. It's great.

And with that cunning link (that's great and so is this) I should probably say a few words about the Jamie Lidell record I was on about the other day. Gilles Peterson has started offering a splendid service via TellJack that allows you to hear albums, in full, before deciding whether or not to purchase. You don't download anything, it's all done via high quality streams, but it's splendid. That's how I got to hear 'Jim', by Jamie Lidell. I keep calling it 'Son of Stevie' because it sounds like that sort of record Stevie Wonder would be making now if he was a) younger and b) as good as he used to be. To me, this album slots in quite neatly alongside 'Innervisions' and 'Talking Book'. High praise, I know, but it really is the best soul album I've heard in yonks. And, I've heard Sharon Jones and the new Al Green. Anyway, there's a track on the newly updated Mux (click on the tape in the right-hand column) along with a chance to hear the Terry Hall track 'Forever J' and the Mono track that sampled it. Plus other stuff. Stuff you'll like, I'd imagine.

I remember now what it was that I was going to talk about when I was going on about mp3 compilations. I was listening to Jeremy Vine's show on Radio 2 yesterday (the outraged voice of middle class Britain©) as he discussed the possible charges for broadband customers in the UK. Apparently, devious downloaders will be receiving angry letters in the near future, explaining that what they're up to is illegal. Assuming, of course, that they are downloading illegally, that is. They wouldn't make any mistakes, would they? Judging by some of the calls to the programme, mistakes have already been made and there will be more on the way. Predictably, one of the 'I ain't paying for it, why should I? I've ten CDs over the last twenty years and they were, like, £16 each, so why should I pay now?' brigade got on air. I've never really had a strong opinion about it one way or another, but with the number of independent record stores dying on their arses and bands failing to keep hold of their record contracts, you do have to wonder. Ok, so it's a symptom of a jaded industry, rather than the cause, but surely nobody who loves their tunes thinks it's a long-term approach? Weirdly, I've just noticed that the good folks at Norman Records are having a similar debate on their blog.

And finally, the nominations for the Mercury Music Prize came out t'other day and I was amazed by just how many I've actually heard and liked. The list is as follows:

Adele - '19'
British Sea Power - 'Do You Like Rock Music?'
Burial - 'Untrue'
Elbow - 'The Seldom Seen Kid'
Estelle - 'Shine'
Laura Marling - 'Alas I Cannot Swim'
Neon Neon - 'Stainless Style'
Portico Quartet - 'Knee-Deep In The North Sea'
Rachel Unthank & The Winterset - 'The Bairns'
Radiohead - 'In Rainbows'
Robert Plant & Alison Krauss - 'Raising Sand'
The Last Shadow Puppets - 'The Age Of The Understatement'

It's only Portico Quartet that I need to do any real research for - and I will, I'm sure. I can't think of a time when I've been so in line with the Mercury choices. It could just be that I've bought far too many records recently, and therefore whatever they'd gone for I'd have been in this position, but I'd like to think not. From my perspective, it's got to be between Elbow, Laura Marling and Radiohead. Radiohead are getting a bit of negativity thrown their way regarding this because of how established they are, but 'In Rainbows' really is one of their best albums and definitely one of the best albums of the last twelve months. Laura Marling is someone that I've raved about on here for almost a year now and I certainly don't intend on stopping. 'Alas I Cannot Swim' will be in my end of the year list and it's a near-perfect folk-pop album. It's an exercise in measured understatement, and it's all the more beautiful because of that. However, I think it should probably go to Elbow. They went off, not in possession of a record deal, and did it all themselves; recording a record that they would want to listen to. It's a wonderful, wonderful collection of songs and 'One Day Like This' could well end up as one of my all time favourite songs.

Any thoughts? Perhaps the blog will get spammed again by the vinyl collectors of Idaho. (See comments for previous post) I'm with Neil Hannon on Idaho.

Like I said, have a listen to the Muxtape.

So, in conclusion, don't read this...

I love Steve Lamacq. Not like that. Obviously. Although, I guess I could pretend if I could get near his record collection. He was the aural comfort blanket on the nineties and I adored listening every evening to the Session. Jo Whiley's subsequent media whoredom has ensured that I've written her out of history and I just remember Steve's grand work. These days he's on Radio 1, Radio 2 and the afternoon host on BBC 6 Music, also home to the beloved Gideon Coe. His shows remain a delight, but he's gone back to his roots and you can read his musings on music in blog form. And, perhaps unsurprisingly, he's still as bloody great as he was back in his pre-radio days.

Go here for a number of witty, eloquent and downright entertaining blog posts.

Why do I bother?

A few, minor things

Christ, the coverage of T in the Park was dreadful. I mean truly awful. For a start, it was hosted by that bloody Bowman individual, along with 'Grimmy' (lovably cutesy nickname always means wanker - he doesn't disappoint) and Jeff Leach (whoever the fuck he is.) On top of this, the choice of songs offered up was piss poor. For example, when Primal Scream were shown, was it a late nineties/early noughties electronic beast? No. It was fucking 'Rocks'. What a surprise. R.E.M. headling, eh? Ah, well, headlines get a good few songs don't they? What can we look forward to? 'What's The Frequency, Kenneth?' and 'Man On The Moon'. That was it. Two songs!

"But, the Sunday night highlights package was 135 minutes long," I hear you cry. Indeed, but after the first hour, it consisted of The Fratellis, KT Tunstall and Amy MacDonald. Presumably, as I can't think of any musical reasons for showing them, because they're Scottish and it's a Scottish music festival. Just as the Glastonbury highlights were only based on English bands, of course. Numpties.

So, if I can recommend just one thing to do with T, it's to not bother even watching bits via the BBC website. Waste of time.

Secondly, I finally browsed through the photos and artwork found on CD2 in the 'In Rainbows' boxset earlier and was pleasantly surprised. There's some lovely stuff on there, such as this one, which is now my wallpaper. Not sure why I'm telling you this as if you've not got the discbox it's sold out and if you've got it, you're probably not as tardy as my good self. If you are, however, then go and have a look now. I remain of the belief that 'In Rainbows' is a truly great album, by the way.

The Jamie Lidell album, 'Jim', is fantastic, but I'll write about that next time.

I love a good pop tune. I tend to only think about this at the weekend. This coincides with chunks of time spent flitting about between all of the music video channels. Obviously, most of what I end up catching is shite. But, in amongst the seemingly endless supply of Girls Aloud (hey, who's complaining?) can be found some wonderful tunes. The track 'Love Song' by Sara Bareilles (two attempts) has been all over the radio for weeks now and I remember some of the pre-release interest was centred around the fact that her label told her to write some love songs for her album if she wanted to be a success, so she wrote a song about that and cunningly titled it in a way to confuse said suited buffoons. I hadn't really taken in how good the song is until I caught the rather twee video. Now, I can't deny that my interest was piqued in a different way than radio play can manage, but the song is wonderful pop. Well-produced, piano and vocals to the fore, splendid little melody and doesn't outstay its welcome. One of the singles of the year thus far.

Another song I was surprised to find myself liking was will.i.am's 'Heartbreaker', which should really be disqualified from the off because off his bloody stupid name. However, it's a quality bit of throwaway pop. Slightly cheesy, repetitive chorus? Check. Random famous female vocalist? Check. (Cheryl Cole) Mid-song swearing to catch out shit local radio DJs? Check. The video is crap, mind, but the song's very good indeed.

The Bareilles (first time!) team appear to disagree with YouTube video embedding. So, you'll have to click on the words 'Love Song' to hear that one.

will.i.am.a.man.with.a.silly.name is available below.

What the cocking hell are Bloc Party doing?

I'm not one to make a big fuss of not-especially-legit interweb downloadage - mainly because I love record shops and adore the sound quality of well made discs, rather than any issues with morality - but, without much hunting you should be able to track down the new Bloc Party single, 'Mercury'. It leaked earlier after the tech boffins at Radio 1 put their BP exclusive online 90 minutes early. Anyway, if you've not found it, I imagine Zane Lowe's homepage has probably got it by the time you read this.

Anyway, it's very, very odd. Now, I loved 'Flux', their last single, which pissed off an awful lot of fans. I've seen this described as a cross between 'The Prayer' and 'Flux' on one message board and I can kind of take the point. That said, 'The Prayer' had a cracking and thumping drum track and 'Flux' was a serious band after too many Skittles and cheap cola. This is just...bad.

I'm actually quite offended by the repeated bit: "My mercury's in retrograde", looped and twisted and just fucking annoying. I've just had my third listen, just to ensure it's a bad as I first thought it was.

If you'd like to tell me why this isn't a hugely disappointing release from a band who have, at times, promised such great things, then please do. 'Flux' convinced me that they were back on the right path after the mushy sound of their last album, but this is awful. Apologies for not being more eloquent about this, but why search for twenty words when 'crap' will do?

On the plus side, the new Beck album is ace.

Four

Hmm. The fact that I'm researching some background details for work tomorrow via the interweb and updating this here blog doesn't exactly offer a ringing endorsement of The Verve, does it? Well, two plus two and all that.

Oh, and 'Life's An Ocean' has the bassline to 'Another One Bites The Dust', doesn't it? 'Mad' Richard's introductions for the songs are right up there with vintage Alan Partridge. He doesn't really do stage banter does he? By the way, if you've got the nickname 'Mad Richard', you shouldn't really do things like this, should you?

No sign of Solomon Burke. And, in every sense, if you can't spot him on the horizon, he's no-fucking-where near.

May well give up soon. I just want to be entertained!

Finger firmly out of arse

The BBC have updated lots of the artist pages on their Glasto site with 30 minute highlights videos. Well worth having a look about. Most noteworthy is the arrival of the Elbow highlights from last night. A wonderful performance of simply splendid songs. As I updated this morning's post to say, Massive Attack are on there and, having seen it on the red button this afternoon, it's a treat and a half.

Neil Diamond was really rather good earlier, and not just when performing some of the excellent songs from his recent Rubin-assisted albums. Mark Ronson struck me as rather inessential, despite liking the album itself, and Goldfrapp were a little odd. Did the maypole dancers realise that the pervy cameraman would get close enough to show the whole world their pants? He did, you know.

Solomon Burke and The Verve to come, and who knows what else is the magic world of le button rouge. Or something.

I was too busy watching it

Saturday provided much to enjoy, as it turned out. The red button was the saving grace however, as the various programmes offered a frantic dance around the stages - Jay Z and Winehouse aside - leaving you with only a fleeting sense of what might have been. Thankfully, thanks to the multi-screen splendour I got to see Crowded House, Imagined Village, Vampire Weekend, Band Of Horses, The Wombats and, probably the set of the weekend thus far, Elbow. I'm sure Massive Attack could have been in there too, but in their infinite wisdom, the Beeb offered five minutes of their set to fill a gap before Jay-Z came out and then two songs some time after midnight. Having just skimmed through the iPlayer, it would seem that BBC3 played out two more songs at around 1.40am. I'm astonished that the BBC didn't consider them more important.

(EDIT: It's now midday and 34 minutes of their set has appeared on the BBC Glasto site - go here.)

The Jay-Z performance was much as expected. If you like his music, you'll have enjoyed his set. If you don't, then you probably didn't. It's as simple as that. There's no debate to be had about what 'belongs' at Glastonbury. Everything 'belongs' at Glastonbury - that's the whole point of it. Whether Jay-Z was a more worthy main stage headliner than Massive Attack though, I'm not so sure. He opened with a version of 'Wonderwall', obviously trying to ram home his point about Noel Gallagher getting it wrong, but the crowd took such delight in singing the song for him, it was hard to tell what the final message was. That said, Oasis delivered one of the worst Saturday night headlining sets I've ever seen three years ago, so I'm not sure anyone's in a position of superiority on that one.

Anyhoo, there was much to enjoy, although the BBC's Glasto site doesn't appear to have caught up yet in terms of video footage. Your best bet is to head straight to the iPlayer. The show labelled 'Elbow/Hot Chip' features two belters from Elbow near the start, the hour long 'Pyramid Stage' show is all Winehouse. Worth a watch. It was riveting, if not, perhaps, the most professional festival set you've ever seen.

The big fuss today is about the return of The Verve, but having heard the new single, I'm not expecting a great deal. If ever a band was coasting by on nostalgia for halcyon but, crucially, bygone times, it's them. Everyone bangs on about how they captured a moment with 'Bitter Sweet Symphony', but a few decent singles (because, let's face it, 'Urban Hymns' wasn't much cop) does not a tremendous Sunday night headline slot  make. Especially when you think it was The Who last year.

'Mad Richard' (oh do fuck off) aside, Solomon Burke's performing today and that promises to be an absolute joy. If he hasn't got his own section in your record collection you need to get that sorted. Leonard Cohen, Spiritualized and Laura Marling all play today too, but I wouldn't get your hopes up too much in terms of seeing them on the telly.

I suspect, looking at the line-up, that the red button showings of yesterday's highlights may well be your friend today. Have fun.