10 September 2013

Bit of a German theme this week, quite by accident, but we kick off this week's show with something more Gallic.

Melanie Pain - Black Widow
John: That's Pain as in French for bread and she used to sing with Nouvelle Vague. This is off her album 'Bye-Bye Manchester' which came out last year.

Joanna Gruesome - Sugar Crush
John: A five-piece from Cardiff, that's of their debut album 'Weird Sister' which is out today, so you're bang up to date with it.

Wedding Present - Two Bridges
John: New stuff from these! Be excited! They released this last week on their YouTube channel. No word on whether this is a portent for a new album as yet, but we wait with breath duly bated.

Cover Version Corner
John Kongos - He's Gonna Step On You Again
Happy Mondays - Step On
John: One of those where the cover has surpassed the original in many ways. From 1990 that and the album 'Thrills, Pills and Bellyaches', it made it to number five in the charts. Before that, John Kongos from back in 1971. He's from Johannesburg and that made it to number four. Easily his biggest hit.
Carolyn: So it actually did better than the Mondays even though it's - arguably - less well known.
John: He's still recording, apparently. That track is in the Guinness Book of Records as it was the first record to use a sample.
Carolyn: In 1971? Wow.

Roosevelt - Elliot
John: One of the German tracks I promised. Roosevelt is an artist from Koln and other than that, I don't know much about him.
Carolyn: International man of mystery, eh? Are you sure he's doing it right?
John: Well, people are in this game for different ends. Anyway, I really like that. It's off an EP also called 'Elliot' which is out now and follows his debut album of last year which we played something off.

Applescal and Ryan Davies - Creatures
John: We played a track from Applescal, Amsterdam producer Pascal Terstappen that is, a while ago - Spring And Life - which went down really well. Now he's teamed up with Ryan Davies from Germany and produced an EP called 'Creatures' from which this is the lead track.
Carolyn: Sort of dreamy, late-night stuff.


Artichoke Heart Souffle - Don't Forget About Me
John: That's jaunty isn't it.
Carolyn: Very! I like it though.
John: They're a brother and sister act - Brad and Stacy Michaelson from LA - and that's off 'Treble And Bass' which is out now.
Carolyn: I'll be checking that out.

One Degree of Separation
Mr Scruff - Jazz Potato
Hot Chip - Over And Over
John: One of Hot Chip's better known ones, that's from back in 2004 off the album 'Coming On Strong'. Before that, Mr Scruff - Andy Carthy from Macclesfield - from 1997's self-titled album. Potato. Chip. I think you get it...

Seams - Rilo
John: One last German one - sort of. Seams is James Welsh - born in Britain, but based in Berlin - and that comes off the album 'Quarters' which comes out next Monday, the 16th.

Cloud Control - Scar
John: New single from the New South Wales band. This is getting airplay everywhere, but I don't mind giving it a spin too. That's off 'Dream Cave' which was out last month.

And that'll do us for this week. All that's wrapped up in a YouTube playlist here apart from the Applescal and Ryan Davies track which you can find above. We're off next week, bumped for live football commentary, so we're back in a fortnight.

3 September 2013

We're on Tuesdays now, so not exactly kicking any weeks off. We'll sort that out shortly, but meantime, here's what went out.

Mary Epworth - September
John: Short and sweet to kick us off. That's the new single from Bishop Stortford's Miss Epworth and jolly good it is too.


Franz Ferdinand - Treason Animal
John: The new album, which came out a week ago, from these is 'Right Thoughts, Right Words, Right Actions' and largely as you'd expect. This stood out for me for it's Joy Division-esque intro and bassline.

Mos Def ft Slick Rick - Auditorium
John: Mos Def has become one of the leading critics of America's foreign policy, to the point where he volunteered to be waterboarded in order to allow people to see for themselves whether it was torture or not. This, off 2009's album 'The Ecstatic' is about the war on terror and it feels like an important time to bring such matters up.

Cover Version Corner
Arcade Fire/Tears For Fears - Ready To Start
John: Tears For Fears are back! The two have put their acrimonious split behind them and started recording again. They say that having heard their stuff re-used and sampled all over the place while they've been away, they fancied doing something with an existing record. Arcade Fire plus a bit of drum 'n' bass is what we get. The original is off 2010's 'The Suburbs' and Arcade Fire have a new album, 'Reflektor', out soon.

The Dials - Rose Marie
John: New from these, this is off a forthcoming, as-yet untitled album which is due out on October 1. They'd better get a name soon. I'd have thought the artwork would have to be signed off shortly. Very Inspiral Carpetsy organ.
Carolyn (stepping into the room for the first time): Which is probably why you like it.

Belle and Sebastian - Your Cover's Blown (Miaoux Miaoux remix)
John: New but old but new. The new album is 'The Third Eye Centre' and consists of remixes, B-sides, unreleased goodies and what have you. I like the way it's almost like two songs in one.

Broken Arm - Guilty Conscience
John: Noisy and from Leeds, that's from an EP called 'Life Is Short' which comes out on October 14.
Carolyn: Yes, that came on pretty loud and quick. Apologies if it woke anyone else up.


One Degree of Separation
Melt Banana - Shield For Your Eyes, A Beast In The Well Of Your Hand
Melt Yourself Down - Camel
John: Melt Yourself Down are, I'm told, quite the live treat. Saxophones, brass, noise, general chaos. That's off their self-titled album that came out a while ago. Before that, Tokyo's Melt Banana off their 2003 album 'Cell-Scape'.
Carolyn: Melt? Is that it? Are you just phoning these in now?
John: It's a link. Of sorts.
Carolyn: I'm sure you used to put more effort in.

Black Yaya - Paint A Smile On Me
John: And we finish with this jaunty number from David Ivar from Paris off the album 'Eerie Themes and Tales Of Revenge'.

Here's all them via the magic of YouTube, apart from the Mary Epworth and Broken Arm tracks which are above.
Now, what to call the show...?

19 August 2013

No show last week as we were at a funeral. No show next week as we have time off for the Bank Holiday, so we'd best pack as much in this week as we can.

Best Friends - Happy Anniversary
John: Not just a great tune, but it's also about a year since we started this show. These are from Sheffield and that comes out on September 23 on Art Is Hard records.

Mr Shiraz - No Prophecy
John: One minute, 45 seconds. Local rockers with a new album, God Hates Mr Shiraz.

Pearl Jam - Mind Your Manners
John: New from these - their first stuff in four years. I never was a big fan, but I can change. That's off the album Lightning Bolt, their tenth and first in four years, which is out in October.
Carolyn: It's a very rocky opening to things today.
John: It'll change, don't worry.

Cover Version Corner
Nirvana/Sinead O'Connor - All Apologies
John: I'm in constant wonder at the beauty of Sinead O'Connor's singing. That's on her 1994 album 'Universal Mother'. Before that, Nirvana, off In Utero which is 20 years old now, released in August 1993.
Carolyn: Sometimes, I think O'Connor's personality and everything else she does makes you overlook what she's most noted for. But yeah, that's quite something.

Emiliana Torrini - Speed Of Dark
John: Off the forthcoming album Tookah which comes out on September 19. She's from Iceland - not a very Icelandish name.
Carolyn: No, but an Iceland sort of sound. It reminds me of some other Ice-ish stuff we've had on the show before. Sort of ethereal and other-worldly.
John: It's three minutes 45, but feels like five or six minutes. I don't know how she manages that.

Barbarossa - Pagliaccio
John: Barbarossa is James Mathé and that's out now.
Carolyn: It started quite stripped back, sort of like the xx. Didn't end up like that.

Idea Shower - Time
John: We've played a lot of Hookworms on this show. This is three-fifths of them, doing something a little less... experimental than we've become used to.
Carolyn: They've not split already have they?
John: No, just a side project. And jolly good it is too.

FutureAges - Under Orders
John: One I've been meaning to play for a while, this came out in June on an EP called 'EP 001'. I see what they've done there.
Carolyn: Unlike the Emiliana Torrini one, this is five minutes and some and feels like it. Just a bit too long, I think.

Crocodiles - Cockroach
John: Quite jaunty, that. They're from San Diego and that off 'Crimes of Passion' which came out a couple of months ago.

One Degree of Separation
Pixies - Monkey Gone To Heaven
Ian Brown - Dolphins Were Monkeys
John: Ian Brown, from his debut solo album following the Stone Roses splitting, 'Unfinished Monkey Business' in 1998. Before that, the Pixies from 1989 and the album 'Doolittle'. Monkeys. That's your link.
Carolyn: Is that it? Lots of animals today - cockroaches, crocodiles, hookworms and now monkeys.


Drums Of Death ft Yasmin - True
John: Drums Of Death is Colin Bailey from Oban in Scotland. That came out in June.
Carolyn: When you said we were having a track from Drums Of Death, I was expecting more quite dark rock. Not that. I like that.
John: It's got that UK garage feel you might have expected in the late 1990s, but updated. I reckon that qualifies as a Monday night banger.

Satin Jackets - Come On
John: Don't know a lot about these other than they're from Germany. I did say we'd get away from rock and onto more electronica though.
Carolyn: You did. I like that one as well.

Liam Lynch - My United States Of Whatever
John: From 2002 and the album 'Fake Songs'.
And that'll do us for this week. Not in next week due to the holiday and not in on Mondays after that. We're shifting to Tuesdays now where we'll need a new name as we shan't be kicking off any weeks there unless we redefine the week like Louis XIV or something. Thinking caps on.



Here's all that in a YouTube playlist, though not the Best Friends, Idea Shower and Mr Shiraz tracks which aren't on there. Follow the links in the relevant section for those.

5 August 2013

Quite by accident, there's a bit of a 1970s feel to tonight's show. Even the new stuff.

Iconili - Mulato
John: From Belo Horizonte in Brazil, that came out earlier this year. Taking cumbia themes and updating them a bit. Good work from the session xylophonist. Definitely a '70s vibe to it.
Carolyn: Just a bit.

Sara Lowes - I Find You
John: That's quite lovely. Brand new from the Mancunian singer and off the EP 'All For The Dream (With The Means Of A Well-Planned Getaway).

Outfit - House On Fire
John: This is their second single which is out now. Rated as the most exciting band to come out of Liverpool in donkeys years and recently named by the NME among their 25 top bands to go see.
Carolyn: Even above the Reynolds Girls?
John: Even them.

Cover Version Corner
A House - Endless Art
Dave Couse - Endless Art '06
John: Cheating a bit here... The original came out in 1991 on the album 'I Am The Greatest'. Several years later, Dave Couse, now a solo artist and formerly the lead singer of A House, updated the song with artists who had died in the interim. The original was criticised for only including men and, despite claiming they thought Joan Miro was a woman, recorded More Endless Art which is all women. Well apart from Walt Disney's Minnie Mouse...
Carolyn: Yeah, but even if Miro was a woman, that would possibly be worse - tokenism at it's worst.



Pet Shop Boys - Axis
John: New from these and something of a return to basics.
Carolyn: I've always been a fan, but some of the stuff in the last... almost 30 years, I guess, hasn't really done much for me. This, though. Yes.
John: The album is 'Electric' and came out last month.

Babe Ruth - The Mexican
John: 1975 now and these are from Hatfield in Hertfordshire. That came from an album also called 'Babe Ruth' and has been used in soundtracks and sampled half to death.

Washed Out - Don't Give Up
John: Washed Out is Ernest Greene from Perry in Georgia. That's off an album called 'Paracosm' which is out this month.

One Degree of Separation
Kraftwerk - Das Modell
Karl Bartos - Atomium
John: An easy link here - Bartos was one of the original four in Kraftwerk of whom Ralf Hutter is the last one left.
Carolyn: So they're like the Drifters now then?
John: Well no, because it's not like each of the original line-up are now touring as Kraftwerk.
Carolyn: More like the Sugababes then?
John: No, there's none of them left. I play the German version of The Model - that's from the 1978 album 'Die Mensch Maschine' - simply because I prefer it. Karl Bartos's album 'Atomium' surfaced earlier this year.

Physics House Band - Teratology
John: New from these lads from Brighton. We were trying to work out what genre you'd call that while it was playing. It's very prog.
Carolyn: Well you did say there'd be a '70s feel to proceedings...

Therapy? - Opal Mantra
John: One of those bands I flipping well loved when I was a teenager. In clearing and tidying the house, I found a load of their old stuff. This was a non-album single in 1993 which I have on a cassette which dates it instantly. Bloomin' good though.

Tricky - Parenthesis
John: Off his recent 'False Idols' album. Paren-thesis - I see what he did there.

Rodriguez - Establishment Blues
John: And finish on a 1970 record from Sixto Rodriguez. Off the album 'Cold Fact'.

Here's that wrapped up in a YouTube playlist, bar the Iconili and Outfit tracks which are linked to above.

29 July 2013 - The Yorkshire edition

Liverpool's had a few scenes, including one semi-popular four-piece beat combo they do like to mention a bit, as has Manchester, Bristol and of course London. Well it's high time Yorkshire's music scene was celebrated and with this being the week in which Yorkshire Day falls - it's on Thursday, August 1 - what better time?

Pulp - Do You Remember The First Time?
John: I remember the first time I heard this. From way back in 1994 and their breakthrough album 'His n Hers'. I'm conscious that Sheffield will feature a lot in this selection tonight...

Wedding Present - The Girl From The DDR
John: Up the M1 to Leeds now. From last year's 'Valentina' which I haven't listened to enough, a take of holiday romance behind the iron curtain.

Fila Brazillia - Neanderthal
John: Take the M62, A63 and Clive Sullivan Way and it's to Hull. Doesn't that dreamy, summery track evoke memories of a stroll along the gentle, lapping waters of the Humber? That came out in 2007.

Cover Version Corner
The Human League/Heaven 17 - Being Boiled
John: Back down the M18 to Sheffield, and this works as a cover version and our other format section, One Degree of Separation what with Heaven 17 being formed by ex-Human Leaguers Martyn Ware and Ian Marsh. I think you can hear the musical difference that caused that split. The Human League version, from 1978 originally and the album 'Reproduction', is really stripped back, bare, experimental. Heaven 17 tart it up, make it more grandiose, maybe a little bit pompous. That's off the 2008 album 'Naked As Advertised'.

Gang Of Four - I Love A Man In Uniform
John: Back to Leeds and everyone's favourite agit-punk rockers with an avowedly anti-war song from 1982 off the album 'Songs Of The Free'.

The Crookes - Afterglow
John: Love that. Punchy, lively and a woah-oh-oh-oh bit.
Carolyn: I like that. I love a good chorus.
John: Thought it's be up your street. That's off last year's album 'Hold Fast'.


High Hazels - Hearts Are Breaking
John: We've had these before too, still relatively fresh. That's jolly pleasant.

Hey, Rube! - Bali Hai
John: Another laid back, dreamy comfort blanket of a track from Hull. Must be something in the water... That's off last year's album 'Can You Hear Me Mutha?'

Chanteuse and The Crippled Claw - You're A Freak
John: Back to Sheffield for this and they've still got electro-pop covered down there. The Crippled Claw is Adrian Flanagan of show favourites the Eccentronic Research Council and Chanteuse is singer Candie Payne. I'm not sure how a leopard dances on the floor, but that's just lovely and verges on the 1980s Doctor Who score at times which is never a bad thing. More please.

LFO - LFO
John: And that's how Leeds used to do it. You've no idea how much pleasure it gives me to play that on the radio and really test the bass in the headphones.
Carolyn: Were you getting a bit of a dance on there?
John: A little bit. Man, that takes me back. 1990, that came out in, off the album 'Frequencies'. Low-frequency oscillator, before you ask.

Comsat Angels - Independence Day
John: Another band I've been trying to squeeze in for ages, but no excuse today. That's just a great record. From 1980 and the album 'Waiting For A Miracle'.

One Degree of Separation
Arctic Monkeys - Don't Sit Down Cause I've Moved Your Chair
The Last Shadow Puppets - My Mistakes Were Made For You
John: There's this band called The Arctic Monkeys, right. You might not have heard of them, but I reckon they're going to be big. Obviously your link here is Alex Turner. I love the guitar on that Last Shadow Puppets track which is off the 2008 album 'The Age Of The Understatement. The Arctic Monkeys record comes off 2011's 'Suck It And See'.

Terrorvision - Tequila
John: Breaking the Sheffield/Leeds/Hull hegemony we've built up here, it's a big hello to Bradford for our last track. From 1999, this, off the album 'Shaving Peaches'. Do drink sensibly, folks...


Here's all that in a YouTube playlist apart from the High Hazels, Hey, Rube! and Chanteuse and The Crippled Claw tracks, links to which are in the relevant sections.
So much more that I wanted to play. Babybird (not THAT one), Longpigs, Utah Saints, Richard Hawley, The Ukrainians, Cabaret Voltaire, Spectrals, Menace Beach, The Mekons.... I'm going to expand the playlist out to include a load more stuff and you feel free to use that in your Yorkshire Day celebration parties.

Happy Yorkshire Day everyone!

22 July 2013

Bit cooler today and everything is working fine.

Drenge - Face Like A Skull
John: Show favourites, this is their new single. They suddenly gained national notoriety when namechecked in Tom Watson MP's letter of resignation from his post as Labour's election strategist. Not unwelcome publicity, but they seemed quite bemused by it all.
Carolyn: Yes, it was more about how he was urging Ed Miliband to make sure he had time for the wider pursuits in life. Either way, good band, good feel to it all and more power to them.

Warren Peace - FRANKLYSTVN
John: That's a couple of records in one from Warren Borg and Buddy Peace with some philosophising on love and life from one of our favourite artists Scroobius Pip.
Carolyn: And why not?
John: I guess we pronounce it 'frankly Steven'.

Silver Arm - Dead Tongues
John: Another band that came to my attention via Twitter. 'Listen to this if you like', they said, 'or if not, just imagine a horse with a machine gun ripping your face off'. Which is fair enough I suppose. I don't know a lot about them - they're from down south somewhere - but I like their energy and attitude.



Cover Version Corner
Small Faces/Ride - That Man
John: Same song, one stripped back and bare, the other massively produced and engineered within an inch of it's life. The original is off 1967's 'From The Beginning' while Ride's is off a compilation called 'Long Agos And Worlds Apart: A Tribute To The Small Faces' which came out in 1995. While trying to find out more about that record, I searched online for 'ride that man'. My advice - don't.
Carolyn: Ah. Yeah. Good point. Don't try that at home everyone.
John: Or do while you still can. Don't do it at work though. Four pages...

Hot Vestry - Commiserations
John: Also in the Drenge envelope a bit, these are from Macclesfield and it's off an EP called 'Tell Me How It's Done'. I like that a lot.
Carolyn: The ending drags out a bit. Otherwise, yeah.

The Vaccines - Melody Calling
John: New from these and a bit different to normal. Nice and summery though. Now you like these - how does that stack up?
Carolyn: I want a big chorus to sing along to. I can't sing that in the car.
John: Oh. No.

NYPC - Hard Knocks
John: NYPC is the new name for New Young Pony Club. The first half of the show was guitar-dominated, so it's time to electronicify it up a bit. That's new and is released on August 12.
Carolyn: It went a bit weird towards the end, but yeah, not bad.

Deutsche Amerikanische Freundschaft - Vershwenden Deine Jugend
John: More electronica, this time from 1981 and Dusseldorf. It means 'wasting our youth' and is off the album 'Gold Und Liebe'. I play that because we played a record by Gesaffelstein recently and these are an influence. You can see the lineage and that these things go in cycles. This sort of thing is back.

The Clean - Diamond Shine
John: From Dunedin in New Zealand, this is off their 1990 debut album 'Vehicle'. Always worth a revisit.

One Degree of Separation
The Altered Hours - Sweet Jelly Roll
Lemon Jelly - Nice Weather For Ducks
John: I play that Lemon Jelly track in an ironic sense of our recent weather. That's off the 2002 album 'Lost Horizons' which we've probably done to death on the show now. Last time they featured in this section, it was a lemon link. This time, it's the jelly. 'Sweet Jelly Roll' is the EP from Cork psych-rockers The Altered Hours and that came out in April.

Daughn Gibson - You Don't Fade
John: An interesting character. A former trucker from Pennsyvania, the album is 'Me, Moan' and it came out last month.
Carolyn: So not Dawn? I figured it was a bloke. That's a rich and interesting voice.

Pixies - Debaser
John: From way back in 1989 - where does the time go? - and the album 'Doolittle'. We play that as it contains oblique references to the Bunuel film Un Chien Andalou and we have Andalucian visitors in town on Wednesday when Town play Real Betis. Tenuous? Anyway, we'll be covering that game later in the week.

Here's all that in a YouTube playlist for you apart from the Warren Peace track. Links in the heading for that section. There's also a better, studio, version of the Drenge record up there too.

15 July 2013

It might be the heat in our airless bunker, but shit ain't working tonight. CD players not reading discs, for instance. Either way, we're pretty stuffed, but what that does mean is I can stick it up here instead and pretend I did a show. As long as I don't admit it to anyone, you'll not be any the wiser. Oh...
Also, it allows me to open with the track I wanted to.

B Dolan - Which Side Are You On?
Poet, activist, rapper, Rhode Island's B Dolan is pretty much a renaissance man. Sampling the old 1930s protest song of the same name, that's off last year's 'House Of Bees vol 2' EP.
I had to pull this initially. I do vet tracks before play to establish suitability for a fairly MOR station, but found a couple of swears I overlooked. Still, that doesn't matter to you, right. Moreover, any excuse to link to a game of Hip Hop Guess Who...

The Black Tambourines - Bodies
These are new to me. As I've said before, I like Twitter. What often lets it down though are the suggestions of who to follow. This week, however, it redeemed itself by suggesting I follow Art Is Hard records to whom these are signed. They're based in the south-west and Black Tambourines are from Falmouth and this is their new single. Very summery it is too.

The Cairo Gang - Take Your Time
Emmett Kelly and band are back with a new album, 'Tiny Rebels', which is out a week today and this is the first track to come off that. They're from California and it has that sort of San Francisco '60s feel about it.

Cover Version Corner
The Monks/The Fall - Higgle-dy Piggle-dy
The Monks were American GIs based in Cologne and had some short-term success with some good old garage rock. That's from the 1966 album 'Black Monk Time'. The Fall are an institution and that's off a 2006 b-side to 'Monk Time' which was used in support of the documentary film 'The Monks: The Transatlantic Feedback'.

MJ Cole - Sincere
Perfect for a long, hot summer night. Off the 1998 album 'Sincere', this was a hit in 2000 at the peak of the UK garage scene. It still sounds great.

Jackamo Brown - When She Comes
The mysterious Jackamo Brown doesn't do interviews, doesn't do gigs, had to be persuaded it was worth putting a record together. This was released last year, but I'm only just coming to it now. The album is 'Oh No, The Drift Of The World' and is lovely. It's on Scrobius Pip's, who we saw playing Guess Who earlier, Speech Development label and it's a joy.

Breathe Out - Dead Friends
Another one from the Art Is Hard stable. These are from Plymouth and this perky little number was out in March on the 'Absolute True Love' EP. Nice false ending.

The Loft - Up The Hill And Down The Slope
An early signature to Creation Records. This is from 1985.

/please/ - Chevrons
Back to the Art Is Hard treasure trove. /please/ is Ellen Davies. 18 years old. Blimey. That's out next week.

One Degree of Separation
Manic Street Preachers - If You Tolerate This, Then Your Children Will Be Next
The Smiths - The Headmaster Ritual
From 1998's 'This Is My Truth, Tell Me Yours', it doesn't take a genius to work out that that Manics track is avowedly an anti-fascist record. Which is probably how those dickheads the EDL used it on a propaganda video and are now being sued by the band. Johnny Marr told David Cameron he wasn't allowed to like The Smiths after the spam-faced git picked one of their tracks as one of his Desert Island Discs. So there's your link - inappropriate use by people who really don't get it. That track is from 'Meat Is Murder' released in 1985 and has one of the all-time great intros.

Hugh Cornwell - God Is A Woman
The ex-Strangler is 63 now, but still going strong. His latest album, from which this comes, came out last month and is called 'Totem and Taboo'.

Godspeed You! Black Emperor - Mladic
It's difficult to get tracks by these on as they are invariably massive, like this 20-minute epic. The album is 'Allelujah! Don't Bend! Ascend!' and is the Montreal avant-gardistes fourth studio effort, a first in ten years, which came out last year.


And that'll do you. Hopefully we'll actually get back on air next week. Meantime, most of that's in this here YouTube playlist. A couple of tracks aren't, but there are links above if you have a poke around.