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.

So hard to deal with all the love

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

Live and interactive

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

EDIT:

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

And the winner is...

(God, Jools is a knob!)

The Klaxons!

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

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

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?

He won't win, mind.

New Maps single, 'You Don't Know Her Name', has a curious video. The downloads are already available and the remixes of both the title track and 'Elouise' are well worth the money. I love Maps. Not in a geography way though.

What time's the bus come?

In brief, today.
I think I was unnecessarily nasty about the Arctic Monkeys when they first arrived on the music scene. I think the hype sent me running in the opposite direction. However, any band that can come up with lyrics like "this house is a circus, berserk as fuck" and "there's only music so that there's new ringtones" actually deserves a little place in my world. Playing, as I am, both albums back to back emphasises the fact that I actually love a large number of these tunes. Since getting the debut on vinyl, I've learnt to appreciate its, well, 'oomph' a little more. I bought 'Favourite Worst Nightmare' on vinyl from the off and have been pretty fond since day one. This may sound a little silly, but this lot are definitely a vinyl band.
Other quick things; the Patrick Humphries book on Tom Waits is excellent. I had a very pleasant afternoon in the back garden listening to the Maps album and reading this fine text on the marvellous man himself. Dvd.co.uk are doing a cheap, free-postage deal on it. Other bookshops are available.
That'll do for now. Hope all's well with you.

My Bones Hurt?

Musical Revelations Of The Week:

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

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

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



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

They gave it to M People. Wankers.

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

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

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

Ignore the fact that Colin Murray likes them

If you want words, read the plentiful supply of them in previous posts.

If you're after a new favourite album, try 'We Can Create' by Maps.

Hear This...

Short but sweet today, as I'm keen to get back to Peter Guralnick's 'Sweet Soul Music' book, which I've returned to yet again after picking up his biog of Sam Cooke for all of £3 in Fopp today.
Musical Revelations of the week:
Maps - We Can Create - a fabulous electronic album that's simultaneously blatantly retro and one of the freshest sounding albums of the year.
Wilco - Shake It Off film - found on the DVD with 'Sky Blue Sky' this is a wonderful film with some outstanding performances of songs from said album.
Rufus Wainwright - Release The Stars - now I get it! It's not so much cluttered as layered. If you've already dismissed it, give it one more shot.
Sly & The Family Stone - Life - never heard this record before, but it was the only one of the splendid new, deluxe reissues series that Fopp had left in stock. A really engaging soul/funk album that I'm particularly glad I took a punt on.

Non-musical revelations of the week:
Peep Show - so they could maintain the high-standards, with the final episode the stand out for series 4. The pissing scene - ahem - was quite brilliant. Shame about the film, based on what I've read and heard about it.
A Bit Of Fry & Laurie - finally bought Series 3 and 4 and am once again enjoying the genius of these two. 'Hey Jude' sung with a helium voice was a particular highlight.
Andrew Collins' That's Me In The Corner - finished Andrew's final installment of his autobiography. This one deals with his time at the NME, Q, Empire and the like and while a little lower on the whimsical humour of the first two, is an absolute belter for any media obsessives like myself. There few genuinely feel-good autobiographical works out there, but all three of College's efforts fit into that category. I can't recommend them highly enough. The others, should you wish to explore further, are Where Did It All Go Right? and Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now
I keep meaning to buy his biog of Billy Bragg, but never quite get round to it. Anyone wish to persuade me to do so?

Till tomorrow.

It's Still Here

Hello again.

It's absolutely pissing it down here, and has been for the last 48 hours. My foot's aching after falling down the stairs, but apart from these things, all is well. I hope the same can be said for you. Amongst the music related post this month was a particularly scary promo item with additional security. Now, I'm used to watermarked CDs - apparently any rips from these discs can be traced back to the original. Not sure if this has ever happened, I would imagine everyone's too shit-scared to try it - and sealed cases for promos, but for the promo of the new Marvin Gaye reissue set for 'In Our Lifetime' it not only had a unique number on the CD, but it was also written on the jiffy bag. I didn't really feel like I should be opening the thing, for fear of somehow incriminating myself. It's like when you see a police car and you automatically feel guilty - even though you've done nothing wrong (unless we have any drug-barrens or multi-national fraudsters reading). Anyway, I'm pleased to report that the music on the discs is spiffing, containing the original mixes of the album before they were remixed, without Marv's consent, ahead of finally being released.

Other promo stuff of note - in other words, some bands to keep an ear out for in coming weeks and months - includes Dirk Darmstaedter's new album, 'Our Favourite City'. While his name makes him sound like middle-management in Ikea, the music is sun-kissed indie-soul straight out of the world of Josh Rouse's excellent '1972' album. The cover looks bleak and you expect it to be a mopey, singer-songwriter record with 'woe is me' written through it and twelve songs that are identical bar the painful metaphors for loneliness. Joyous pop of the highest order. He used to be in a band called, 'The Jeremy Days'. Poor bugger's clearly never had any luck with names. See and hear him in action here:

Also, coming soon is the new album by Jonathan Krisp with the quite tremendous title, 'No Horse, No Wife, No Moustache'. It's part Royksopp and part Lemon Jelly. It's that quirky dance music with vintage samples and easy listening sounds peppered with electronic trickery and loops to provoke twattish grins on a hot summer day (and after 48 hours of solid rain, as it turns out). It's on the Cookshop label, while Dirk is on Tapete.

There's plenty of vintage soul on the way as part of the Stax 50 celebrations, including the Johnnie Taylor live album, as well as the old Stax/Volt singles boxset reisssued as 9 separate CDs. Those CDs are naturally essential items for any self-respecting record collection and currently going for £5 in that there high street shop that rhymes with, well, shop. Also, 'This Is Soul', essentially the FIRST soul compilation has been reissued in a mini-LP-style gatefold sleeve along with a stack of bonus tracks. Nothing new, but they all sound tremendous next to each other - and it looks pretty!

As for the more conventional stuff, there's some great mainstream releases on the shelves at the moment. People always expect me to be apologetic for liking the Manics, but I stand by the fact that they are rarely anything other than excellent. 'Know Your Enemy' was a pile of shite and 'This Is My Truth' was a few songs too long, but otherwise there's much to love. 'Send Away The Tigers', their latest offering, is one of their best. Short and to the point, it's riff-heavy, power-chord-obssessed and epic in a way that every other writer is comparing to 'Everything Must Go' - can't see any point in disagreeing for the sake of it. If you've had even a passing interest in the band in the past, you'll love it.

Wilco's album got a mention last time out, and it's finally in the shops now. It's possibly their best, and so I will briefly talk about it again. The heavyweight vinyl edition is on the way, as their 180g vinyl pressings for their last two studio albums were quite something, and this one will suit that treatment just as much. Not much more to say other than buy the bloody thing.

Say it very quietly, but the Travis album's quite good. It's their best since 'The Man Who', if not their best ever. There's bit more kick on some songs and they've ditched the two things that have held them back in recent years. (1) Fran's desire to be politically active in his lyrics, despite this sounding really rather crap (2) A constant determination to keep making songs that sounded like the old, successful ones. 'The Boy With No Name' sounds much less forced and is all the more enjoyable for it. Still not the greatest lyrics, mind.

Tiny Dancers have an album called 'Free School Milk' out in a few weeks and it's barn-storming indie-pop to listen to whilst chewing on a bit of straw and putting on an embarrassing and potentially offensive 'farmer' accent. 80% enjoyable album from a band who are almost frighteningly eager to please. If you're after future eBay profits, then picking up their early singles now mightn't be a bad idea.

The Maps album, 'We Can Create' is a thing of electronic beauty which will wash over you at first, and runs the risk of not being recognised as the classy collection of tunes it is. Mark Ronson's 'Version' is worth picking up for the Amy Winehouse take on 'Valerie' and a funk/soul instrumental take on Coldplay's 'God Put A Smile Upon Your Face'. There's also a re-worked version of Maximo Park's 'Apply Some Pressure'. Their latest album, 'Our Earthly Pleasures' reminds me of The Jam and Gene at times - no great surprise that they'd be linked - and in no bad way. It's got some intriguing lyrics, a number of which I'm still not sure about - Profound or Shite? An example: "Nightfalls, And towns become circuit boards". Listening to it the first time, in the rain, it charmed the pants off me, but when I listened back to it I was less sure. Anyway, it's a decent little record that I'll keep returning to.

Oh, and Bjork's new album's out. It has to be said that listening in surround sound to her music makes me even more convinced that sounding like a mad fucker on your records must make it quite fun in the studio. At times 'Volta' is beguiling, but at other times it's plain scary. I've no idea if it's any good yet - does anyone else feel like listening to Bjork is a little like homework? You know you should do it, but it's hard motivating yourself to do it properly, or to get to the end. Hmmm, and the packaging's a sod to get into.

More soon. Much sooner than before. No really.

Speak soon,

Gaz

(Cross-posted to the blog in the hope of you nipping over to the site)