Vinyl Junkies - written from scratch (d'ya geddit?)

Eurgh. This weekend I have mostly been getting annoyed with lazy journalism. Cajun Dance Party are just finishing their A levels, apparently. They got the album finished and ready for release and then went back to school. Fair play to them. But does that really make it ok to then say that they'll soon be 'top of the class'? Is that really the best way to say that they've got plenty of potential (and a decent debut album, as it goes)? It's like the reviewer was channeling the jokes of Jimmy Tarbuck in an attempt to avoid having to think of a single, original idea.

It's not entirely the fault of these vacuous dullards that clutter up the reviews section of most of the (notional, if not actual) broadsheets. If you're going to tell someone to review an album in 100 words or less you may as well have a rating system of just: Excellent, Good, Ok, A Bit Dull, Crap, Blunt. Why bother with the other words if, having deployed a subordinate clause, the review is pretty much over before its begun?

Today's Madonna review in The Observer set of the crapulous bullshit alarm almost as quickly as the actual album being reviewed. Almost every time Gavin Henson plays in a rugby match at which his partner, Charlotte, is present,  the commentators will call him Mr Church at some point in the game. What the hell is that all about? Apart from the fact it means absolutely fuck all, it's such a simplistic and dopey way of saying he happens to have a famous girlfriend. In a similar manner, today's review of 'Hard Candy' mentioned a 'Mr Ciccone'. When exactly did Guy Ritchie change his name by deed poll? I wasn't aware he had time in between making gangster films according to the law of diminishing returns to do such a thing. I mean, for fuck's sake, it doesn't matter where that review had appeared; it's shit journalism, and it's meaningless space filling. I should know. Ahem.

I know I shouldn't be getting worked up about this, but do any newspaper reviewers actually have anything to meaningful to say about the music they're attempting to evaluate? Having spent a few years writing reviews for one of the monthlies, I can vouch for the fact that it's bloody hard work, but that doesn't mean you should just settle for the first draft to avoid getting stressed. A review needs to be an interesting piece of writing on its own, irrespective of what it's about, otherwise why read it in the first place? 

I can't actually remember what the review said about the album, but I'm willing to bet it's every bit as desperate as the single that preceded it. Oh, and if you can spare a couple of quid, probably best send it to the 'Clothes-that-aren't-underwear for Madonna to wear in pictures and videos from now on fund'. Just Google it.

***

I've been thoroughly enjoying the tunes of The Field Mice and Trashcan Sinatras this weekend and, were I less worked up about trifling matters, I would happily tell you more. As it is, have a quick poke around the interweb. Emusic-ers can get a splendid compilation of pretty much all of the essential stuff by The Field Mice right now, while Trashcan novices can download slightly low quality audio files of much of their output here.

Oh, and the muxtape's been updated to reflect some recent musical highlights.

I's tunes

Recommending tunes was always meant to be the real reason for this blog existing, and I realised today that I've not done that for a bit. So...

A couple of weeks back, BBC 6Music's 'Roundtable' played a track from the Bon Iver album, 'For Emma, Forever Ago' which ticked all of those completely subconscious boxes that simply cause your ears to tingle and your heart to race. I quickly purchased a copy of said album and was not disappointed. It's hard to describe the quirky voice that ebbs and flows across the album's nine tracks. If Elbow staged a coup of Arcade Fire, it might sound a bit like this. Or not. It's lovely. Go here, and choose 'Skinny Love'. Then go here and click 'Add to Shopping Cart'. Or, if you're an eMusicer then it's here, with a bonus track.

Ever since I heard Mark Radcliffe play 'Fat As A Fiddle', I've been wanting to hear the new album by Chris Difford (you know, him out of Squeeze... no, the other one.) Rather brilliantly titled, 'The Last Temptation of Chris' is a beautiful little album full of melodic reflections on life from the other side of your fiftieth birthday. If you love Teenage Fanclub's 'Songs From Northern Britain' then you should really treat yourself to this one.

Here is the aforementioned single ("Now I have tits, just like my mum") while the album is knocking about with free delivery here.

The Sea and Cake are not exactly a groundbreaking discovery, but they're new to me. I heard them on Gideon Coe's show last week and was smitten. They have a slightly jazzy, soulful but acoustic feel and clearly love a good pop melody. If you look them up on places like Allmusic then you'll find that the members of the band were originally in lots of bands you've never heard of. Not that you need to now, as I've just told you. Anyway, I now own three of their albums and don't intend stopping there. You can hear tracks from the most recent, and deeply charming, album 'Everybody' here. Part with cash here.

Finally, an extra mention for Malcolm Middleton, who I surely must have talked about in the past. Hmm, he's not in the tags. How remiss of me. He's ace, to put it simply. Because he's a truly splendid man, you can listen to all of his latest stuff for free over at that there last.fm place. In particular, go for 'Blue Plastic Bags', a strikingly bleak, but ever-so-wry, take on British life. "The whole world's going home with blue plastic bags. Six bottles of Stella, Jacob's Creek and twenty fags." This track's just come out as a blue vinyl 7", although you should treat yourself to the parent album, 'Sleight Of Heart'.

An exclusive coalition?

Having wittered on about 'Record Store Day' last week, I did a bit of internet pootlage and found out a little bit about the Coalition Of UK Indie Stores. This has, apparently, been set up to try and fight the corner of indie stores, across the length and breadth of the country. Apparently, there will be Coalition-only releases in order to curry favour with those who might shop elsewhere, along with future events and the like.

However, there are only twenty-three stores in the coalition. As there are more than twenty-three independent record stores in Britain (admittedly, not many more) how can this be a true coalition? So far, it's been announced that the boss of Avalanche Records is in charge for the early months, and then leadership will pass to the supremo at Rough Trade East. Fair enough, you say, and so did I, until I read this.

Interesting post on the Norman Records blog. Click me!

A coalition of some indie stores then, and definitely not any of those excellent mail order only stores that offer a huge range of stock, fantastic customer service and tremendous reviews. The comment about the difference between Norman Records and Avalanche was what annoyed me most. What a twatty thing to say. And plain, bloody wrong.

I suspect that this particular blog post will make for an interesting read as it develops over the next few days.

Duffing is very much the anti-shabba

Attentive readers of the blog will have noticed the new clickable banner at the bottom of the page. It refers to Gideon Coe's quite brilliant radio show on BBC 6Music. I get nothing from doing this, naturally, I just love the show and think you might do so too. I was always rather fond of Mr Coe when he was in the mid-morning slot on the station, a gig he occupied from the station's launch in 2002 until October of last year. At that point, a straight swap was made George Lamb, then-host of the station's late show. I have to confess that I was actually quite pleased, as previously I'd had bugger all chance of hearing Gideon as I was in no position to listen to his daytime show at work. Catching his show when enjoying time off was always a delight, but it always seemed a shame that I couldn't hear more of it.

Gideon has created a wonderful show in the 10pm-1am slot and I cannot think of another radio programme being broadcast anywhere in the world that I rate higher than this one. The music is absolutely spot on and the sense of community is right up there with the work of the late, great Peelie. With regard to the music; as a reader of this blog I'm guessing we have at least vaguely similar tastes in tunes and therefore I should utter some brief words of caution. Unless you can afford to dispense with a tenner a week as a result of hearing something great that you previously didn't know existed, don't tune in. Only last night, I sent $8, via Paypal, to Matinee Recordings for the debut EP by Northern Portrait as a result of hearing one of the tracks on Gid's show.

The listener interaction makes for one of the most pleasant ends to a day I can think of, and it's not just about inviting emails and texts. Far from it. In fact, it's all about the topics he chooses to pursue and the quaint regular features such as 'Paintbox Jury' (famous-ish albums covers, re-done in Paint) and 'Duffing' (listeners' emails in which they have a gentle moan about the world - all ages welcome.) On top of all of this, Gideon is, quite simply, a very witty man. At a time when silly little catchphrases and tales of getting drunk constitute 'radio banter', it's a relief to listen to a show where it's acceptable to:

a) give a shit about music

and

b) have at least a modicum of intelligence

It's rarer than you'd think these days.

Were this blog a school playground, at least one person would now be shouting, 'Why don't you just marry him if you love him that much?' such is my eulogising about the show. But it's all perfectly sincere. It's nice to hear a show that seems designed for you. If it was bollocks then I wouldn't waste your precious time with it, but I genuinely believe you should have a listen. You may well like it muchly.

Gideon's video manifesto for the late show

Last Night's Show

Oh, and don't, whatever you do, play the new Portishead 12", 'Machine Gun', at 33 1/3 rpm. It'll fair make you shit yourself.

I'm still working on factual AND funny...

Thanks to those who've been in touch about indie stores of note. Will be doing some researching over the next few days and will start to add names soon. One that pops up quite a lot, and one which I have experience of and there I'm able to write about with relative ease, is Selectadisc in Nottingham.

In the last couple of weeks, things have changed in store and everything's been bunched up a bit. I've just tried describing this in words, but it didn't work especially well, so here's a visual aid.

Right then, the bit you can see some of on the left used to be the 'specialist' CD section but they've now put that up for rent and squidged the whole stock into the main bit you can see and the upstairs of said main shop. Confused? Good. Anyway, it's now even more bonkers and cluttered than it was before, but I think I might actually like it better like this. For a start, it feels much more like your traditional indie store, with things shoved everywhere and quality stock piled high. Secondly, if this ensures the store a long and prosperous future then that can't be a bad thing. 

Why's it worthy of your time and money? Well, the internet is full of people bitching about arsey staff and the like but from my personal experience this is utter cobblers. Sure, they're not the most talkative bunch but they're some way from the snobbery of 'High Fidelity'. In addition, as a result of Fopp opening in the city about over six years ago, prices altered. When Fopp's popularity was at a peak in the city, Selectadisc figured that they could be a little bit more competitive and, from that moment on, they regained the title of 'Best Record Shop in Nottingham'. Back catalogue is regularly no more than 8.99 on CD, with a lot of mid-price titles at 4.99 or less. New releases are very competitively priced and their vinyl stocks cannot be rivaled for many miles around. Where they stand out from many indie stores is their refusal to treat vinyl buyers as mugs and use scarcity as a reason to hike prices. They are regularly a couple of quid cheaper than any other sources on new vinyl and bloody quick at getting hold of import copies of select, splendid titles.

The main plus point for this lot is their excellent stock. Great prices, sensible organisation and atmosphere are added bonuses. Music fans who have lived in Nottingham at some point in their lives always seem to remember Selectadisc, and always seem to rave about it. You can count me in that group.

It's a grower, right?

Oh, and one other thing. What the hell is going on in the world of The Zutons? Their new sound appears to be a cross between Status Quo and 'Remember You're A Womble'!

If you fancy putting yourself through it, you can hear it here.

Did you find e̶v̶e̶r̶y ANYthing you were after?

I've ranted about this before, so stick with me on this, but the lack of decent music shops is alarming. Obviously it's not alarming to many people otherwise we wouldn't be in this situation in the first place, but for those of us who enjoy picking through obscure new releases and well-chosen back catalogue stock, the end is increasingly nigh. Last summer I found out about the demise of Derby's last remaining indie store, Reveal Records, which closed its doors for a final time at the end of last year. The reports of record shops in London closing keep coming thick and fast and Left Legged Pineapple has shut up shop in Loughborough, Track has departed from York and Selectadisc has downsized its operation in Nottingham.

I had the misfortune to be in Northampton yesterday and I haven't had such a poor record buying experience in a long time. I couldn't find a traditional indie store to speak of, and judging by a search of the net that is indeed the case, and the one second hand store, Pied Piper, that has something of a reputation is some way into a depressing 'closing down' sale that consists of utter toss that you couldn't pay me to take away. They will continue trading in a different manner, so I can only hope they've kept the decent stuff back for that venture. There's Sidewinder, a very specialist dance shop but beyond that I could find nothing. What's even worse is that HMV and Zavvi haven't opted to capitalise on this. HMV appeared to have no vinyl whatsoever, while Zavvi - currently doing a wonderful job of filling their stores with vinyl nationwide - had a limited stock that appeared not to have been updated in months. The Last Shadow Puppets single, 'The Age Of The Understatement' was released yesterday on CD and 2x7". I could not find either 7" anywhere, which is a major surprise. Why, when they happily pile it up in other stores, aren't Zavvi and HMV catering for music fans? Saying, "did you find everything you were after?" at the till counts for fuck all if it's a token gesture and the answer is of no consequence. I was amazed that people living somewhere as big as Northampton have so little access to music. Now that HMV find music a dirty word, favouring DVDs, the stock is growing ever more conservative and the range is diminishing rapidly.

Now, there's no point me issuing a rallying cry for people to go dashing off to their local indie store and purchase a record or three, as I suspect the game is already over and we've lost. In addition, if you're reading this, the chances are you already frequent indie stores wherever possible. The thought that in the not too distant future I won't be able to have a proper browse in an independent record store upsets me more than it probably should, but I won't pretend otherwise.

Thankfully, a stop off at Leicester to visit Rockaboom restored my confidence in the indie store. Well-run, competitively-priced and sensibly-stocked, this small indie store is a flashback to the glory days. There's a second-hand rack, a great back-catalogue with most essentials in stock at less than a fiver and new releases are shoved wherever possible, ensuring you get exposure to as much great music as possible. There's a good selection of vinyl, local bands are covered and the traditional rail of metal T-shirts is there by the till. Both Last Shadow Puppets 7"s were duly purchased, along with the Jim Noir album which, to dispel one of the rumours about independent stores, was actually a quid cheaper than HMV or Zavvi. I don't imagine you'll go out of your way to visit, and they don't have an online presence, but if you happen to be in the area, treat yourself.

All of this neatly links in with this weekend's 'big' event, Record Store Day. We'll just have to allow the Americans the word 'store' on this occasion, as it's for a good cause. You'll have noticed the logo for this in the top right of the blog for the last few days and by clicking on it you can read the philosophy behind the event. Worthy of your support, I would argue. Rough Trade East is having a whole day orgy of live music including the sublime Jason Molina (Magnolia Electric Co / Songs:Ohia), up and coming Glasgow band of note, Make Model and Billy Bragg. Full info here. Action Records in Preston will have live performances from 4pm - info here. Spillers in Cardiff are in the middle of organising something. Avalanche, in Glasgow and Edinburgh, are listed on the Record Store Day site, although I can't find out what they're doing. By visiting the RSD site you can access a list of all stores participating. It's mainly US, but worth a look. If your local indie store's not on there, ask them why not.

If you've got info on particularly lovely indie stores you know of, please let me know and I'll bung it up on the site - the more promotion the better. If you have any Record Store Day news, then likewise, bung it in the comments.

Shuffle The Third

1. Jens Lekman - Friday Night At The Drive-In Bingo

Ooooh, now there's a tune to start with. This is taken from the absolutely wonderful album, 'Night Falls Over Kortedala' on the equally splendid Secretly Canadian record label. The good folks at Norman Records pointed out a few similarities to Barry Manilow on this album, and while the notion is horrifying I can see what they mean without that reflecting badly on Jens. He's from the stable of slightly fair vocalists that is headed by Stuart from Belle and Sebastian. Actually, there are some musical comparison points there too, but he's very much his own man. This album really swings and is a joy from start to finish. Vinyl comes with a code for a free download too!

 

2. Richard Hawley - Serious

Splendid track and it'll give me an excuse to post the sublime video that accompanied its release as a single. 'Lady's Bridge' is a wonderful album, although perhaps not as sublime as 'Coles Corner', and this is one of many highlights. Not particularly representative of the overall sounds, but perfectly in keeping with the jolly, skiffle-for-the-noughties sound he uses from time to time and which is a real delight witnessed live. The man loves his music and it's bloody obvious when you realise just how many wonderful songs the man has written. If you don't anything by him, sort that out now.

 

3. Soil & Pimp Sessions - Red Clay

Now here's a curious one. Downloaded this album from eMusic after seeing them on Later towards the end of last year. Their performance was, to be frank, fucking bonkers. But, despite straying a little close to Jamiroquai's wet dreams at times, their enthusiasm was enthralling and there is something genuinely great about the musical synergy that occurs when they've on stage. I'm not entirely convinced that that same magic is there in the record tunes, and this isn't one of their strongest tunes. Heavy on the sax and manic jazz drums.

Here's the track 'A.I.E.' as performed for Jools.

 

4. R.E.M. - Losing My Religion (Sheffield Hallam Fm Arena - 25/02/05)

This is a weird flashback from my past. Travelled up to Sheffield in the snow and frankly horrific driving conditions to see R.E.M. live for the first time. Finally got warm, stood not too far from the stage only for the intro tape to go quiet but the lights remained on full. At this point, a rather subdued looking Michael and Peter walk out to inform the crowd that Mike had an ear infection and couldn't stand up. Stipey was clearly battling nerves and emotions as he made the announcement and, having explained that the date would be rescheduled, told the dismayed throng that they'd do a few songs for us as an apology for us not doing the show. A wonderful little acoustic set followed, this being one of the tunes. A strange, but beguiling performance, with two men doing what they do best, but with the house lights up and everybody united in a mass singalong. Not to be forgotten. Amazingly, although perhaps not surprisingly, there's a video of it on Ver Tube!!

 

5. Dexter Gordon - Flick Of A Trick

My affinity with Dexter Gordon came about as a result of the rather well-known Blue Note record, 'Go'. That we can buy so many of the wonderful Blue Note albums these days for a fiver or less is something to be truly chuffed about. There's so much great music there for the taking. The only downside is that I never really feel like I ever get to know the music as well as I'd like, although I guess that's as true of any of the genres as much as it is of jazz. As a result, although I have a faint memory of this tune, I'm hearing it with essentially fresh ears. Delightful Sunday evening listening; a ten minute stroll through a master class in the saxophone.

Here's 'Cheese Cake' from the aforementioned, 'Go'.

Shuffle The Thirdish

Come here, little boy

Just when you thought she couldn't be any more repulsive, Madonna comes back and trounces her previous lows. Have you seen the video for '4 Minutes'? I was unfortunate enough to stumble across it today and found it absolutely terrifying. It appeared to be a promotional video for some kind of Granny-porn fetish site, in which their young male model who looked a bit like Justin Timberlake, only with far too many scarves, was groomed by an old dear whose clothes kept coming off in quite sinister fashion.

Does she honestly believe this is a good idea? Naturally, this is part 2 of the exciting, 'What was she thinking?' series, although for somewhat different reasons. I'm amazed that Madonna is persisting with that little dance she seems to think looks good and, at about the 3:15 mark, makes it seem like she's taken a little tumble. Which, at her age, is not surprising.

Of course, all of this would be of little consequence if the song wasn't based around the sound of two rhinos having a farting competition. Would have made for a more interesting video anyway.

Fair play to Justin Timberlake. As a first project since he pledged to work with 'Help The Aged', it's probably a little bit more high profile than he'd anticipated, but he's had a go. The huge wads of cash probably had nothing to do with it, and he really did want to work on some sub-standard tosh with a singer who hasn't released a decent record in six years.

The Kooks can fuck off too.

***

On a lighter note, and I don't think that phrase has ever previously been used with this band before, you can watch Portishead performing seven songs from their forthcoming new album, 'Third', in a special broadcast on Current TV. UK viewers can see it on Sky Channel 193 at various times over the next few days or you can simply nip over to the Current website and watch the video there. Here it is in a small, blog-friendly box.

Smooth Trading

I made my first visit to Rough Trade East yesterday and found it to be quite a pleasant experience. For those not aware, Rough Trade closed its Covent Garden store last summer in order to open what was widely described as a 'megastore' off Brick Lane. This new store has been much hyped by the media and hit the headlines with the free Radiohead gig back in January that was so popular it actually had to be moved down the road.

The internet community is littered with people unhappy with the prices in Rough Trade and so I approached the store uncertain about what I'd find inside. As it goes, the first thing that you're greeted with is a cafe, offering the chance to grab yourself something to drink as you wander about amongst the racks. There is something fundamentally wrong about this, it seems to me, although at the time I didn't allow it to sour the mood. As someone who practises the 'two-handed rummage' when looking through racks, I'm not sure where the coffee's meant to go when you're actually looking at the records you presumably went there in order to purchase. Am I over analysing this?

Anyway, the record shop is presumably what you're interested in. Firstly, the selection is huge but, as a result of being in a bloody big building, the shop is enjoyably spacious. Having sweaty, middle-aged men in raincoats squeezing past you as a fug of warm fart hangs over the artist-alphabetical section that you're battling to get a look at loses its allure pretty bloody quickly. Filing is pretty simple and none of the artists I could think of - and I did try to be a little bit awkward at times - were filed out of my grasp.

Price-wise, I take the point of those who mutter about how much certain things cost, although I don't think that they're particularly over the top for the majority of items. I have to say, my main focus was on the vinyl which was pretty reasonable all round and when I strayed into the CD sections the odd item was a little more than I'd have expected. To use a couple of the items I purchased as examples, £13.99 to add a vinyl copy of Richard Hawley's 'Coles Corner' to my collection is pretty standard and The Superimposers' new album, 'Harpsichord Treacle' was £9.99 on CD, with a bonus - Rough Trade only - disc featuring remixes and unreleased tracks.

Rough Trade East seems pretty good at stocking those items that you struggle to track down. In amongst the racks of 7" singles, I noticed Duffy's 'Rockferry' (ok, I know, I'm just using it to make a point) and Adele's 'Hometown Glory' at their original prices, rather than the inflated eBay nonsense that's occurred since they became famous. They've still got stocks of the 'Fat Children' 12" that Jarvis put out a while back, which everyone else tells you has sold out. Ok, so it's on their own label, but it's worth a rummage if you're after something in particular.

The other reason for visiting is the sheer exposure to different records. A sustained browse - caffeine assisted or not - will present you with all sorts of records you'd forgotten about or never seen physical copies of. In addition, the reasonably hyperbole-free description labels on everything help you to dig up something new that you just might like. Be in no doubt, there are plenty of better record shops out there, but this one is a worthy addition, and I can't help thinking it'll still be there long after many of my current favourites have pulled down the shutters for good.

Vinyl Rotters at your service

Fair play to the NME, their piece about people getting attacked as a result of their musical preferences is a decent read and long overdue. That said, once the Daily Mail had said that 'emo' music was dangerous, you'd like to think that most sane people realised it was quite the opposite. Their coverage was centred around the recent rulings on the murder of Sophie Lancaster, a 20 year old Goth who was attacked last August as a result of her and her boyfriend's appearance. They quoted a truly brilliant post from one of the Goth message boards, "no group of Goths ever beat up a chav." The idea that musical tastes will lead the nation's youth astray is hardly a new one, although you can't blame publications like the Mail, as all of the evidence would suggest that in previous cases this assertion has been proved to be complete and utter bollocks. Which is how they like their 'news'. Do I need an allegedly here? Allegedly.

Something else that came out of reading the article was a sense of disbelief at the name 'Faris Rotter'. Apparently that's the name of the lead singer of The Horrors. I guess he deserves a smidge of respect for supporting the message of the article before I wade in with a torrent of abuse. There it was. Right then, 'Rotter'? 'Rotter'? What, as in Rotten? Well, good idea, not like that's been used before. The ever reliable Wikipedia reveals that his name is actually Faris Badwan. Obviously he couldn't use that as it'd make him sound too much like some simpering twat who'd stick out his little finger whilst supping a mochachino in the back of a limo on the way to being fired by Sir Alan. Yeah, sticking up for the real people there! Being true to yourself, etc. Such begging for credibility has not been witnessed since Sporty Spice unleashed her cover of 'Anarchy In The UK' on the unsuspecting crowds at V99. The piss couldn't be flung quick enough.

Anyway, having allowed by ire to subside - all this based on a name, I know - I was then confronted by a member of My Chemical Romance. They're just shit, really, aren't they? I've no qualms about defending people's right to listen to them, dress like them and all that, but their very existence in the first place is what bugs me. In my dim and distant past as an occasionally published, and even less frequently read, music reviewer I gave Green Day's 'American Idiot' an almighty shoeing but this lot almost arouse pangs of sympathy for that bunch of middle-aged wankers in their three-quarter-length trousers. It strikes me that if you're going to have to battle against narrow-minded, knuckle-dragging fuckwits in order to submerge yourself in a particular musical culture, shouldn't the music be good enough to warrant the fight?

As readers of this blog will be aware, every so often I go through a period of acknowledging that the NME isn't actually that bad only to become completely disillusioned a couple of weeks thereafter. Once again, reading the new issue today I found it quite a pleasant experience and was delighted to reach the back end of it and find an interview with Roger Daltrey. Top man.

The NME review of The Long Blondes' '"Couples"' was reasonably close to the mark, although it represented my view of the album after a couple of listens. After a few more listens, the seemingly cold and insular sound opens up just enough to let you in. It's still pretty claustrophobic, and not what I'd expected, but it's a lot better than I first thought it was. 'Century' has really grown on me, despite initially hating it, while next single, 'Guilt', is already on the VJ muxtape.

Small child reaching for a gun. Controversial? Us?

I bought the new James album, 'Hey Ma', yesterday and I have to confess to being a little surprised by it. Obviously, I didn't expect it to be a complete bag of arse - I don't buy records I suspect will be shite - but I wasn't entirely certain if it would fit with their legacy. To these ears, it picks up where 'Whiplash' left off, only a bit better. 'Millionaires' was just a little bit too full of...well, just too full. And can you even remember what the album after that was called? Ha! Thought not. Read into that what you will.

'Hey Ma' is a quality collection of songs with uncluttered guitar work and a knack for a nagging melody last heard when 'She's A Star' took over my speakers for a month in 1997. Future single 'Waterfall' will be a forthcoming single and ranks up there with the best stuff they've ever done.

James were always an infuriating band when it came to albums and, if I'm absolutely honest, their best album is the best of that came out in 1998. 'Fresh As A Daisy' had some merit in that it opened a few more ears to some cracking pop songs, but it was a completist cash-cow and its place in history is irrelevant. However, 'Hey Ma', while not earth-shattering, nor likely to suddenly make them stadium-shagging, sunglasses-indoors-wearing cockheads, is a mighty fine collection of songs that doesn't provoke any fervent use of the skip button. Seriously. You'll spot it easily enough in the shop, it looks like this:

Oh, it was 'Pleased To Meet You', by the way.

Mux U

Ah, I'm just reclining and enjoying the sheer wit and style displayed in the title of this post. Ahem. So, you may or may not have heard about this yet, but it's the latest way of pointing people in the direction of good music. It's called muxtape - as in mixtape, geddit? - and can be accessed here. To demonstrate its many charms, here's one I made earlier. Would fill one side of C90 perfectly. I'll update it in due course...

VJ in the mux

Sunday Shuffle - Take Five (more)

1. Jimmy McGriff - Cash Box

Funkier than the proverbial Mosquito's tweeter. Whatever that mad-as-a-table songsmith Nina Simone was on about, it's a cracking phrase and damned appropriate for this swinging bit of organ work from the really rather splendid McGriff. You only really need one album of his and, rather splendidly, 'The Best Of The Sue Years 1962-1965' was release a couple of years back at a bargain price. All the tracks match this hip-shufflingly high standard and never fail to raise a smile. Even when your rugby team has been booted out of the Heineken Cup by Toulouse. Smile along.

2. Freddie Hubbard - Hub's Nub

Cards on the table, I'm not sure I've ever played this before. I got myself a bulk load of jazz not all that long ago and I'm still working through it. Classy enough from the get go as it hails from the Blue Note stables and thus can't be anything other than good and is likely to be great. My foot's tapping at a fairly swift rate. Splendid trumpeteering throughout, although I'm finding it hard to passionately care one way or the other about this. I hate to say this about any piece of music, but it's, ahem, nice.

3. Radiohead - Something To Hate

From a bizarre Radiohead rarities collection that I dug up over at atease.com, this is nothing to write home about. In fact, it's an absolutely dreadful piece from the early peroxide days. What were they thinking. Thankfully, it's only 1:15 long!!

4. Laura Marling - (Interlude) Crawled Out Of The Sea

Technically, the next track was a Nick Abbot phone-in programme from 1998, but I've decided against including those. The next musical track was this, a brief moment of musical majesty from Laura Marling. To understand just how great she is, feel free to scroll down through this blog to see me rhapsodising at length about her on numerous occasions. Here she is performing it in a Brighton record shop, although it comes after 'Cross Your Fingers', as per the album tracklist.

5. Paul Weller - I Wanna Make It Alright

Quality tune from the somewhat overlooked, 'As Is Now'. After the somewhat bloated 'Illumination' and the pleasant enough covers album, 'Studio 150', this album was a surprisng return to form from Weller and this one is a lovely, Swinging-Sixties style piece that demonstrates what a wonderful, soulful voice Weller has.

Here's a live performance to enjoy