28 January 2014

A week off last week as I struggled with recalcitrant computers. Anyway, back in the saddle this week with some more solid gold.

Quilt - Tie Up The Tides
Off the forthcoming album 'Held In Splendor' (their spelling - they're from Boston, Massachusetts) which comes out on February 24. That's just lovely.

The Last Skeptik - Hero Mask
The album 'Thanks For Trying' is an audio/visual thing in that each trak comes with it's own short film. Innovative and out now.

The Amazing Snakeheads - Flatlining
Bringing back some good old-fashioned rock n roll to Glasgow. This came out last week and I liek what they do.

Cover Version Corner
Ivor Cutler/Yacht - Women Of The World
I couldn't agree more with the sentiment of the lyrics. We like to play two very different interpretations of a song in this section and the contrat there is quite marked. acht is Jona Bechtolt from Portland and that's from 2007's 'I Believe In You. Your Magic Is Real'. Before that, with the trademark harmonium, Ivor Cutler from 1983 and the album 'Privilege'.

Outfit - Thank God I Was Dreaming
Touted as Liverpool's most exciting band , that's off their acclaimed album 'Performance' which came out last summer.

St Vincent - Digital Witness
Ex-Polyphonic Spree-er Annie Clark is now St Vincent. This is off her eponymous album which comes out on February 24.

Chanteuse and The Crippled Claw - Are You One
I've had this on my list for ages. It came out in 2010, so I'm really behind on it. It's still great though. Adrian Flagan is The Crippled Claw as well as the brains behind the Eccentronic Research Council and his electronic twiddlings are perfectly accompanied by Candie Payne's vocals. A delight.

Practice - Artery
Not got much information about this. Good though, ain't it?

One Degree of Separation
Julian Cope - Bill Drummond Said
Bill Drummond - Julian Cope Is Dead
Bickering between two grown adults... Drummond was once the manager of the Teardrop Explodes before a big fall-out for which Cope lays fault at his feet, hence that track from 1984's 'Fried'. Drummond's respose took a couple of years later on the album 'The Man' where he opines that if he'd just shot Cope, the legend of the Teardrops' legend would have been ensured and their records much bigger sellers.

Civil Protection - From The Parish To The Pavement
Post-rock is not a term I like much, but the accepted definition encompasses what this Yorkshie band do. Very much in the Mogwai envelope, that's off 'Stolen Fire' which came out last autumn.

ESG - Dance
Back to 1983 now and off the debut album by the Scroggins sisters, ' Come Away With ESG'. It still sounds fresh. Emerald, sapphire, gold, if you were wondering.

Hugh Masakela and Letta Mbulu - Mahlalela
Further back now, to 1970 and South africa. Off the album 'Letta', this, again, still sounds contemporary.

Life Without Buildings - New Town
From 2000, but with overtones of early-80s post-punkery, these are from Glasgow and the album 'Any Other City'.

The Modern Lovers - Roadrunner
End with a classic. I've not heard this for an age and there are many worse reasons for playing a track than that. Recorded in 1972, released in 1976, that's off 'The Modern Lovers'. Marvellous.

Here's that in YouTube form:



And slightly less of it on Soundcloud:



More next week

18 March 2013

An extra half hour today, you lucky people. Instrumentals, prog and prog instrumentals all on today's agenda.

Future Of The Left - Failed Olympic Bid
John: Great track, great video. From the album 'The Plot Against Common Sense' which came out late in 2011. Obviously railing against the nonsense of some of the companies that sponsored the Olympics and the abandonment of large swathes of the country so that London can prosper.
Carolyn: Yeah, I got the McDonalds bit. Other burger chains are available.


John Grant - Sensitive New Age Guy
John: We played the title track to the album 'Pale Green Ghosts' a few weeks ago and it's still the best thing I've heard this year. This is another track off the album which came out last week. The ex-Czars man from Denver is now based in Reykjavik and the album is quite brilliant.

Neon Neon - Mid-Century Modern Nightmare
John: New one from these, this is off the album 'Praxis Makes Perfect' which is out on April 29. Gloriously 8-bit.
Carolyn: Like the computer games of our youth. Manic Miner... And under two minutes. Very retro.

Cover Version Corner
George Martin/Van Der Graaf Generator - Theme One
John: Originally made as a theme for Radio 1 back in 1967. Manchester prog rockers Van Der Graaf Generator recorded that in 1972 and it's off the album 'Pawn Hearts'. That's just one of a number of covers - I could have gone for Schizo Fun Addict, Cozy Powell...
Carolyn: The instrumental possibly gives you even more freedom to put your own stamp on things. Is there a kazoo version?
John: Something to do over Easter, perhaps.

Phoenix - Entertainment
John: That's jaunty. From Versailles, that's off the album 'Bankrupt!' - with an exclamation point - which is out on April 5.
Carolyn: Very jaunty indeed. I liked that.

Ultraista - Smalltalk
John: That's the new single from these which comes out on the 31st off the album 'Ultraista'. That's Nigel Godrich's - Radiohead's long-time producer - project.
Carolyn: Who is on vocals?
John: I don't know. Good though, ain't it. Works well with the melodies to create something quite beautiful.

Yacht - Second Summer
John: This came out last December. We've played these before; they're based in Portland, Oregon.
Carolyn: That's really good.

Younghusband - Dromes
John: That's how you end a record...
Carolyn: I liked it up to that point.
John: The new single is 'Comets Crossed' from the album of the same name which this also comes from. Worth keeping an eye on these in the future.
Carolyn: As long as they learn to end a track.

The Avalanches - Frontier Psychiatrist
John: One purely for Carolyn.
Carolyn: What happened to Dexter? I got caught up in the narrative. Really like it though.
John: Those samples are from the John Waters film 'Polyester'. The track was The Avalanches' biggest hit and came out in 2000 from the album 'Since I Left You'.

One Degree of Separation
The Stranglers - Waltzinblack
Jean-Jacques Burnel - Waltz In Blue
John: I promised you more instrumentals. And a double link for a bonus. First was The Stranglers from the 1981 album 'The Gospel According To The Men In Black', their fifth. Then you heard Jean-Jacques Burnel - bassist in The Stranglers with a track from the soundtrack to the 2005 film 'Gankutsuou'. And you've got the waltz link there as well. Burnel studied history at what was then Huddersfield Poly back in the day.
Carolyn: Our alma mater. Good to have a local element.
John: Ain't no glory like reflected glory.

Wooden Shjips - Black Smoke Rise
John: I've been after playing these for ages. Wooden Shjips, with a J...
Carolyn: I... Why?
John: That's a couple of years old now. They're from San Francisco and the album is 'West'. We've played a lot of things like Toy and Hookworms over the weeks and months and these came a bit before, maybe a gateway to those early Can and Neu! records for the newer generation.

Wire - Love Bends
John: The 13th studio album from the London post-punk veterans is 'Change Becomes Us' and it's out on March 25.

Royksopp - Happy Up Here
John: And happy down here in our bunker. I like that a lot - very uplifting.
Carolyn: Yes, jolly pleasant indeed.
John: They're from Tromso in Norway and that's off the 2009 album 'Junior'.

Sparks - This Town Ain't Big Enough For The Both Of Us
John: I promised you more prog as well, so have some Sparks. From the 1974 album 'Kimono My House'. I don't know.
Carolyn: I guess prog puns were different back then.
John: I realised a few weeks ago that I'm now of an age where I get Sparks. It's worrying.

Woody Guthrie - Worried Man Blues
John: I've been meaning to play some Woody for ages. It's a traditional old song which he recorded in 1940. He's a bit of a hero.
Carolyn: And it's good to play some different things.

Wolf People - All Returns
John: Psych-folk, I think they call it. The new album is 'Fain' and comes out on April 30. They're based in London. And Bedford, and North Yorkshire.

Willy Mason - I Got Gold
John: A modern twist on country, which is good. That's off the album 'Carry On' which came out late last year and I've just not got round to playing. I like that track - the rest of the album... Not so much.

Teenage Fanclub - Baby Lee
John: Purely selfish. I adore that track. From the 2010 album Shadows.
Carolyn: No, it can't be selfish when you share something that nice. That's a beautiful record.

And here's all that in a YouTube playlist.

11 February 2013

Back to normal this week.

The Black Keys - Tighten Up
John: We've had these a couple of times before. This is another from their smash hit album 'El Camino' which came out in 2011. I could just play the whole album one week and not have to plan anything.

Public Service Broadcasting - New Dimensions In Sound
John: We've had these before too.
Carolyn: I like that one a lot. Their stuff is really interesting.
John: We're due an album soon too. 'Educate, Entertain'. Very Reithian.

Cayucas - High School Lover
John: Cayucas being Zach Yudin from Santa Monica and that's off the forthcoming album 'Bigfoot' which comes out in April.

Cover Version Corner
Wedding Present/Toquiwa - Kennedy
John: From the 1988 album 'Bizarro', that's one of my favourite Wedding Present records. Toquiwa are an all-girl 3-piece from Tokyo who have toured with the Wedding Present and are on the same record label.
Carolyn: That's nice and cosy.

My Bloody Valentine - New You
John: Back after 22 years, a new album, 'm b v', came out last week. I found a lot of it not to my taste, but that one I like.
Carolyn: You can't go wrong with a few doo-doo-doos. What were they up to for 22 years anyway?
John: I don't know, but it makes the 7 years for the Stone Roses' 'Second Coming' look positively prompt.

The Knife - Full Of Fire
John: Now I'm expecting this to divide opinion. It's over 9 minutes long and pretty experimental. It's by brother and sister team The Knife who are Olof Dreijer and Karin Dreijer Andersson.
Carolyn: I liked bits. Some other bits didn't work and it was probably too long, but you had warned me and I'm not totally against it.
John: Well that's something. I think it's quite astonishing. Off the album 'Shaking The Habitual'.
Carolyn: We'll no doubt have something less challenging next.
John: ...

Pertti Kurikan Nimipäivät - Mä Vihaan Maailma
John: Finnish punk from Pertti Kurikan and his band formed in 2008. The four of them all have some sort of learning disability and work in a not-for-profit music workshop for the disabled. Mä Vihaan Maailma means 'I Hate The World'.

Woodkid - Iron
John: That's something isn't it? Yoann Lemoine is Woodkid, better known for his music videos. This originally appeared on an EP in 2011 and also features on the album 'The Golden Age' which comes out next month.


One Degree Of Separation
Dalek, I Love You - This Is My Uniform
Teardrop Explodes - Treason
John: Two records from 1980. Your connection is Dave Balfe who played keyboards for both acts.

Yacht - Le Goudron
John: That's actually a cover of a Brigitte Fontaine record, reinvented for a neon-filled dancefloor it says here. Yacht are from Portland, Oregon and that came out last year.

Juaneco Y Su Combo - La Cumbia Del Pacurro
John: More Peruvian rarities off the Tiger's Milk label. That's from 1978.

Melt Yourself Down - Fix My Life
John: Jazz/funk excellence. And a flute.

And here's that lot wrapped up into a YouTube playlist.