Oh, the many words for Bono

Well, it looks like I've found somewhere else to spout about records on a monthly basis after a lengthy hiatus. May say a little more when it's confirmed. It's a nice feeling anyway, after a couple of years of not being able to say, "I'm in WH Smith" to loved ones, friends and bemused strangers.

Anyway, it looks like I'll need to be even more concise with my words than I used to be. As if trying to write about music wasn't difficult enough in the first place, this is a right bugger because it pretty much guarantees that you can't set the scene. So, in an attempt to get myself back into old habits, I present the first offerings in a terribly exciting selection of 20 words reviews. Feel free to contribute some yourself. It might even be fun.

 

The Divine Comedy - Regeneration

National Express man loses orchestra, suit and raised eyebrow but gains long hair, weird noises and Godrich production. Oddly undervalued.

 

The Divine Comedy - Absent Friends

National Express man regains orchestra, suit and raised eyebrow but loses sense of fun and retreads past to limited effect.

 

Blur - Think Tank

Not much Graham, too much Fatboy Slim. Often chilled, sometimes heartbreaking and - whisper it now - actually Blur's best album yet.

 

U2 - No Line On The Horizon

Crap. Cack. Shit. Toss. Balls. Plop. Shite. Icky. Smug. Piffle. Cobblers. Codshit. And, just for variety like, absolute smoldering arse.

 

Suddenly that two years hiatus makes sense, doesn't it?

Oh piss off, pop-pickers

What makes a record one of your 'all-time' favourites? I've been pondering this over the last couple of days, having nothing better to do and all that, and I've struggled to come up with a satisfactory answer. In the past, I 've always been able to trot off a list of ten albums that I really rate, but I'm not sure in what capacity they have earnt that title. For example, on that last would be Nina Simone's 'Here Comes The Sun', which is a beautiful album, particularly for this time of year. However, I can't remember the last time I played it. The same is true of R.E.M.'s 'New Adventures In Hi-Fi', which I own four different copies of, but which I haven't played for some time. Yes, I can't deny that I think they're brilliant records, but should what I play on a regular basis not offer a clearer definition of my favourite music?
Had I been sampled across the first few months of the year it would have seemed that 'The Good, The Bad & The Queen' was my favourite record by a long shot, at times almost like it was the only record ever made. I genuinely love it, and it may soon make it into my all-timers list, but if you'd asked me at the time if it was one of my all time favourite albums, I'd have snorted in your face. I suspect the whole idea is starting to rankle as a result of the constant obsession with lists in UK music magazines of a certain ilk. I've recently been enjoying Artrocker and Plan B, two fine, fine titles full of engaging, intelligent and fucking fun writing about music. Meanwhile, Uncut, Mojo and Q are happy to keep rehashing the same stupid lists with alarming regularity. I'm getting to the point where I couldn't give a toss about the 'best records of all time', I just want to keep expanding my record collection and finding albums that make me smile, nod and talk utter shite to other people. Is that one better than this one? Who gives a shit?
I did try to draw up a list of ten prior to writing this to see if it's something I can realistically do, and I struggled. Blur's 'Think Tank' made it in last time I settled on ten, and it's probably still there or thereabouts, but I've been playing 'Blur' much more in recent months. I haven't played 'Blue Lines' for yonks, and so I'm now less sure about how much I actually love it. I think Elvis Costello's 'My Aim Is True' is still safe, as it gets a regular dusting down and never fails to entertain. I'm sure the Super Furries deserve to be in there, but I'm not sure which album it should be. Miles Davis' 'In A Silent Way' has been a favourite for some time, but again, it hasn't been played all that much recently. And so it went on. Very few albums were certainties, but hundreds were possibles. Even in my sad little muso world, I just can't be arsed spending the time trying to figure this out.
I will tell you what my current favourite is, and that's the Maps album, 'We Can Create'. Is it in my top ten?

What top ten?

Apparently they are getting back together

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

Bloody hell! It's The Ozone!

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