14 January 2014

Possibly our shortest ever Cover Version Corner and a fraternal One Degree this week, plus new stuff and old stuff coming out anew. Onward, travellers...

Big Wave - GW Bridge
A cracking wee tune which came out last May on the quite wonderful Art Is Hard label. We play that for the fact that the George Washington Bridge has become such a political football lately, with the New Jersey governor's office causing hold-ups for people getting across it.

Hospitality - I Miss Your Bones
From Brooklyn, this is on the album 'Trouble' which is out in a fortnight. Can't quite put my finger on what that reminds me of... Good, though.

Joanna Gruesome - Madison
The new single from these who we like a lot. The album 'Weird Sister' came out last October.

Wild Billy Chyldish and CTMF - Joseph Beuys Flies Again
Poet, author, painter, sculptor, Stuckist, Wild Billy Chyldish and CTMF - Chatham Forts, that is - singing about German artist Joseph Beuys who was in the Luftwaffe during WWII. That's off last summer's album 'All Our Forts Are With You'.

Cover Version Corner
Stone Roses/Ke$ha and The Flaming Lips - Elizabeth My Dear
Told you it was short and sweet. 50 seconds of the Stone Roses, from the 'Stone Roses' album from 1989, and about twice that for the Flaming Lips. Theirs comes off an album of Stone Roses covers called 'The Time Has Come To Shoot You Down... What A Sound' which I think I need to explore more.

Pilote - Shapeshifter Blues
I like that a lot. Pilote is Stuart Cullen from Somerset and that is off the album 'The Slowdown' which came out last May.

Mike Hughes - (That Girl Is) Misery
From Sheffield, this was his debut single which came out last autumn. Shades of Richard Hawley stylings, perhaps? Unless I'm imagining it.

Menace Beach - Fortune Teller
That is ace. I like these a lot. Something of a Leeds supergroup, their debut EP 'Lowtalker' is out today. It's good. Get it.

One Degree of Separation
Attempted Moustache - Superman
Half Man Half Biscuit - Ordinary To Enschede
Simon Blackwell and Paul Wright were Attempted Moustache and that's from 1980's 'A Trip To The Dentist' EP. Four years after that, Simon and his brother Nigel - along with Paul Wright - began the greatest band in the world, Half Man Half Biscuit. That one is the B-side to the 1990 single 'Let's Not'.

Silkken Laumann - Obvious Water (Yer A Kitten)
I've been listening to these a lot. They're from Ottawa and the name is a misspelling of a Canadian Olympic rower, Silken Laumann. Anyway, the album 'Not Forever Enough' is available now and you can get it free from their website.

Sultans Of Ping FC - Give Him A Ball (And A Yard Of Grass)
A permanently overlooked bunch of geniuses, this is from their debut album 'Casual Sex In The Multiplex' from 1993. The title is about Nottingham Forest midfielder John Robertson. As Brian Clough said of his less-than-attractive player "I'd sit next to him and be Errol Flynn. But give him a ball and a yard of grass and he was an artist".

Les Pachas du Canapé Vert - Desordre Musical
From Haiti, this is from 1972, but will be on a compilation of Haitian music - 'Haiti Direct' - which comes out on January 27.

Frankie Knuckles - Your Love
A Chicago classic. It's been cut up, sampled and covered many times, but always worth a listen. From 1984 originally, but sounds as good as ever.

Severed Heads - Dead Eyes Opened
And another '80s electronic classic, this time from Sydney. From 1987, this. Fantastic.


YouTube and Soundcloud playlists below. Back with more next week.

7 January 2014

New year, a new you. Well, a new voice for me anyway. Sounding more like Howlin' Wolf after a heavy night on the whiskey and cigars (i.e. I had a bit of a sore throat), it's more tunes and less chat which probably suits the majority.

Pixies - Blue-Eyed Hexe
New from Pixies. Following up last year's EP1 comes the startlingly imaginatively named EP2. EP3 will follow in April and who knows, maybe they'll not change bassist for that one. That role is beginning to resemble that of Spinal Tap's drummer.

Maximo Park - Leave This Island
I'm a fan and the prospect of the forthcoming 'Too Much Information', due out on February 3, is exciting. This is just gorgeous.

Africa Express ft. Ghostpoet and Doucoura - Season Change
One of last year's more interesting projects was Africa Express, something Damon Albarn is involved in. This features Malian drum band Doucoura and the lyrical stylings of Ghostpoet. Lovely stuff.

Cover Version Corner
Kaiser Chiefs/Bonzo Dog Doodah Band - I Predict A Riot
Gloriously silly stuff from the Bonzos from whom it is always a pleasure to hear. That's off the 2007 reunion album 'Pour L'Amour Des Chiens - for the love of dog - albeit very sadly without Vivian Stanshall. Before that, of course the Kaiser Chiefs from their 2005 debut 'Employment'. Lots of woah-woah-woahs and la-la-las which have become their slightly tedious trademark.

Prefab Sprout - The Best Jewel Thief In The World
Another curio that largely by-passed me at the time was the album 'Crimson/Red' - a reference to Mark Rothko it says here - which came out last year. It's pretty much just Paddy McAloon these days, but none the worse for that. Not sure about the synthesised harmonica though.

Stupid Robots - Nightshift
Bryan Drummond from Dunblane is Stupid Robots and this is off 'The Rural Electrification Administration', which is easy for you to say. Delightful.



The War On Drugs - Red Eyes
A couple of records off the Secretly Canadian label now. First, Philadelphia's The War On Drugs. That's off 'Lost In The Dream' which comes out on March 18, when it will hopefully be less crappy weather than tonight.

Damien Jurado - Silver Timothy
He's from Seattle and 'Brothers And Sisters Of The Eternal Son' is out in a couple of weeks time. Kind of a bossa nova feel to that in places.

One Degree Of Separation
Gil Scott Heron - Johannesburg
Latin Quarter - No Rope As Long As Time
Of course the big story while we were on our break was the sad death of Nelson Mandela, so here are two records with an anti-apartheid message. First, and I can't believe we've not played anything by him before, Gil Scott Heron and Brian Jackson from the 1976 album 'From South Africa To South Carolina' and then Latin Quarter from 'Modern Times' which came out in 1985.

Holy Ghost! - Okay (a/jus/ted remix)
The album 'Dynamics' came out in September last year, but this track passed me by. A wonderful remix from Justin Strauss and Teddy Stuart.

East India Youth - Dripping Down
William Doyle is East India Youth and 'Total Strife Forever' is out next week. I did go looking for a different track for this week, but this one got in the way and stuck in my head. I'm sure I'll be playing more of young Master Doyle in the future.

I Break Horses - Denial
To Sweden now. These are from Stockholm and this came out last summer. Again, I question how I missed it at the time.

Colour Of Bone - Keep It That Way
Also from last summer, apparently these feature a lad who starred in Whitechapel. Which I've not seen, but remains one for trivia fans.

Donna Summer - I Feel Love
One chap who did have a good 2013 and something of a career revival, thanks in part to Daft Punk, was Giorgio Moroder. Here's where it started, back in 1977.

Iron Galaxy - The Attendant Army Of Rats
And we close with a dreamy slice of electronica. Iron Galaxy is Adam Hodgins from Montreal and this is off and EP called 'Things We Lost Along The Way' which is another one from last summer that I missed.

More next week when I hope to be able to talk in something other than a gravelly whisper.

Meantime, here's that on YouTube except for the Stupid Robots track which is above:

Pick of the year

In the absence of any air time until January 7, I've put together a selection of some of my favourite tracks from 2013. It's not definitive, I'm not claiming any authority and neither is it in any particular order. It's simply 21 tracks I've enjoyed this last year.
I haven't only enjoyed 21 tracks all year, obviously, but I had to stop somewhere and that just happens to be the number at which I stopped. Anyway, here you go:


Listen, enjoy, share if you like. Tell me what I'm missing, if you really want.
Merry festivities.

17 December 2013 - The christmas special

Christmas show;
Orbital and Low.
Gruff Rhys, Ethiopians, Breeders and Sho-
nen Knife, Frank Sidebottom, Sultans of Ping,
Röyksopp, Sufjan Stevens and Lips most Flaming...

Enough of this tomfoolery. Get on with it. Also, John brought props...

Frank Sidebottom - Christmas Is Really Fantastic
Originally released in 1986, there was a re-release in 2010 after the sad death of the man inside the enormous papier-maché head, Chris Sievey, and an associated campaign to get it into the charts. Frank's philosophy was that all songs should have proper endings, so they all ended like this one.

The Goons - I'm Walking Backwards For Christmas
From June 1956, with Spike Milligan on vocals and Peter Sellers at the piano and with the usual backing from the Ray Ellington Quartet. That's on the B-side of 'Bluebottle Blues', hence the reference to 'I thought that my side was better'. My dad had that on a 7" which now resides on my shelves.

Shonen Knife - All I Want For Christmas
Osaka's finest and their 1999 festive effort. That was written by Sonic Youth's Thurston Moore, but I guess it doesn't really fit their idiom.

Gruff Rhys - Post-Apocalypse Christmas
From the Super Furry Animals frontman's 2011 EP 'Atheist Christmas'. It's all well worth a listen.

Mighty Mighty Bosstones - This Time Of Year
Another band you wouldn't normally associate with the festive spirit, this is from 2007 and the album 'Medium Rare'.

Low - Just Like Christmas
One of my favourites from this time of year. This is off an EP called 'Christmas' which came out in 1999.

Sufjan Stevens - Get Behind Me, Santa!
Mr Stevens has done loads of festive collections. This is from 'Songs For Christmas volume 5' from 2006. He's up to volume 10 now.

Sultans Of Ping - Xmas Bubblegum Machine
It's not all about losing jumpers and giving people a yard of grass, y'know. This is the B-side to the 1993 single 'Michiko'.

Saint Etienne - Unwrap Me
One of my favourite bands, this is off a compilation of their many christmas-themed songs called 'A Glimpse of Stocking' which came out a couple of years ago.

The Ethiopians - Ding Dong (Christmas Bell)
One of the best things ever are Trojan Records' christmas compilations. Nothing says christmas to me like a bit of ska. This is from the one released in 2003, though the song first appeared in 1968.

Jacques Dutronc - Le Fille De Père Noël
Dutronc's first two albums were called 'Jacques Dutronc', rather unhelpfully. This is off the first of those, from 1966. The son of Father Christmas, in case you couldn't work it out.

Dr Dog - Christmas Party
Bit of a Beach Boys theme to it, which is never a bad thing. That's from the new EP 'Oh My Christmas Tree' which is out now.

The Breeders - Christmas Song
Recorded for a Pee Wee Herman TV show, that's basically Cannonball, their big hit, with bells on. And none the worse for it.

The Flaming Lips - Christmas At The Zoo
From back in 1995 off the 'Clouds Taste Metallic' album. Because we've all wondered what happens when the zoo is closed.

The Knife - Christmas Reindeer
Something a bit avant-garde, from these Stockholm avant-guardians. The song Reindeer came out in 2001 in the album 'The Knife', but like The Breeders previously, added some bells to christmas it up.

Röyksopp - Le Cantique Du Noël
Keeping it Scandinavian, this is their version of a French carol which dates back to 1847. Relaxing...

They Might Be Giants - Santa's Beard
Remember these? Well they're still around and putting new stuff out. This is from 2001 and the EP 'They Might Be Giants In Holidayland'.

The Gresham Flyers - Perfect Christmas Snow (Perfect Christmas Kiss)
I've been after this for ages. It came out in 2010 and I've not been able to put my hands on it until just now. It's on an EP called 'Merry Christmas From The Gresham Flyers' which is available as a pay-what-you-like download from their bandcamp page. I flippin' well love this record. Bloody ace.



Orbital - Christmas Chime
This year's must-have christmas single. Another one that's a reworking of an older track, in this case 1990's Chime, with additional bells. Go get it. Download it from iTunes now. Do it and do it often. Get it into the charts. Resistance is futile.

Half Man Half Biscuit - All I Want For Christmas Is A Dukla Prague Away Kit
It is not ever christmas until you've heard this, but now that you have, you are officially allowed to get festive. Best christmas record ever? Possibly.


Here's your YouTube extravaganza, apart from the Gresham Flyers track which is above:


And that's it for 2013. We're off for two weeks, but will be back in the New Year with more of what's good for your ears.
Before we depart though, here's last year's festive playlist for those that may have missed it.
Merry Christmas!

10 December 2013

More of what's good for what ails you. Listen round, listen round...

Junior Murvin - Apartheid
Not that I'm conflating the global importance of the two men, but I play this in marking two sad deaths in the week. Most of Junior Murvin's back-catalogue has been overlooked after his death just over a week ago, purely to reduce his output to Police And Thieves. That's unfair as there was much more to the man that that. And obviously, it's about a racially divided South Africa.

The Flaming Lips - Peace Sword
Written for the film Enders Game which came out in October. In fact, they wrote a whole EP for it, but this was the only one that was picked up. Everyone's a critic...

The Shall I Say Quois ft CTMF - It's Hard To Be Happy
What a joy this is. Their debut EP is 'Shall I Say Quoi?' and is out now. CTMF are Wild Billy Chyldish's band from which more in future shows.

Cover Version Corner
Julian Cope/Death Cab For Cutie - World Shut Your Mouth
Not hugely different versions, but Death Cab have put their own stamp on it. Moreover, it's good to see someone as influenced by Julian Cope as I am. It was a non-album single from 2007 for Death Cab. The original is off 'Saint Julian' from 1987.

Courtney Barnett - History Eraser
I like it when people sing in their own accent. Ms Barnett is from Melbourne, Australia, and that's off an EP called 'How To Carve A Carrot Into A Rose'. Of course. Also, bonus points for the mellotron.

Nimi Dovrat - For Fun
Our first Israeli artist, this came out in May and is available as a free download. It reminds me of something. What, though?

The Wharves - Thick Syrup
An all-female 3-piece from London, this is new on a split single on Soft Power records and is out now.

Motorama - Winter At Night
To Russia now. These are from Rostov-on-Don and it's their new single.

One Degree of Separation
Rod Stewart - Maggie May
David Rotheray - Maggie's Song
It's only when you listen to these back-to-back that you realise just how nasty the lyrics to Maggie May actually are. I mean, I like the song, but the sentiments within are really quite horrible. Maggie's Song is off David Rotheray's, ex of the Beautiful South, new album 'Answer Ballads'. It's a really good idea pulled off with great style, 'answering' famous records like Roxanne, Jolene, Sylvia's Mother. Maggie's Song is a big two fingers up to Rod.

Likely Lads - Irreverence
A new band to me, from my home town of York. Nice, jaunty stuff. I fear they'll forever be likened to Shed 7 and I'm not convinced that's a good thing.

Pixies - Another Toe In The Ocean
Brilliant. Another track off 'EP1'. They've lost another bassist called Kim since then as well. Careless.

Solomon Grey - Firechild
Wonderful. Solomon Grey isn't a person, this a duo and this came out on the 18th of last month.

The Orielles - Truth Be Told
These are from Halifax and used to be called The Oreohs. I'm guessing that H didn't save them from the copyright police... Anyway, jolly pleasant stuff and I'll be keeping an eye out from them in future.

Grimes - Circumambient 
And we finish with another track from last year's smash album 'Visions' from Claire Boucher, aka Grimes. I don't care what anyone says, I like her stuff. And it throws forward nicely to Phil Brook's Down Tempo show that follows us.

Here's all of that via a combination of YouTube:


and Soundcloud:


Enjoy that, won't you.
Next week, our last show of the year, so you know what that means; Christmas Special. All the tracks you won't hear when out shopping. This was last year's. Any suggestions? Hit us up below the line or badger me on Twitter.

Junior Murvin

This week saw the sad passing of Junior Murvin. Needless to say, he's most remembered for Police And Thieves. Why not; it's a great record which spawned a great cover version by The Clash.

But here, by way of tribute, are five great Junior Murvin tracks that aren't Police And Thieves:

3 December 2013

December already. This will remain a festive-free zone of sanity until Christmas Eve at the earliest. With that in mind, we start with one of the pertinent questions of the age.

Captain Ska - What's The Point Of Nick Clegg?
South-coast ska with a political edge. What's not to like? This came out in January 2012, but is no less relevant now than it was then. Quite the reverse, in fact - perhaps even more so.

Billy Bragg - No-one Knows Nothing Any More
Sticking with that sort of theme, the Bard of Barking and his thesis on what it wrong and what we do about it. This is from his last album, 'Tooth And Nail', which came out in March. Musically, that's as good as he's ever been.

††† - Bi†ches Brew
Crosses, they call themselves, despite the three-dagger motif. Needless to say, the T in 'Bitches' is also stylised the same. Suit yourself. Chino Moreno of the Deftones is behind this act and they've an album coming in February.

Cover Version Corner
K-Klass/Cut Copy - Let Me Show You
I doubt I've heard that K-Klass tune since 1994 when it came out. Second year at university. That's a long time ago now... I digress. A proper club classic that's now had a thoroughly modern spin put on it by Cut Copy. They're from Melbourne and that's off 'Free Your Mind' which came out last month.

Keel Her - Don't Look At Me
The multi-talented Rose Keeler-Shaeffler's new single. And there's an album coming in February, which is exciting.

Resigned - New Cross Nervous Breakdown
These are new to me. I gave them a listen after noticing they were gigging with the year's stand-out breakthrough band, Eight Rounds Rapid. Not quite in the same vein, but jolly good nevertheless. The album 'Pleasure Unit' is out this month.

Tropical Contact - Nightmare Baby
A local band and I don't know a lot about them. I've not seen them in the pubs around and about or anything. I only found out about them as a friend did a photoshoot for them recently and thought it rude to not give them a listen. I'll certainly be checking local listings to find them in a live environment.

Jonathan Richman and The Modern Lovers - The Modern World
From 1972, a bit of a classic. That's off the album 'The Modern Lovers'. Typical of the era. Sounds a lot like The Stooges, which is never a bad thing.

One Degree of Separation
The Delgados - I Fought The Angels
Abdoujaparov - Air Odeon Disco Pub (Here Comes Trouble remix)
A two-wheeled theme today. First, from 2004's 'Universal Audio' album, Motherwell's long lamented The Delgados named after 1988 Tour de France winner, the Spaniard Pedro Delgado. After that, one of the few Abdoujaparov records I can play on a family station, though I urge you to check out their back catalogue. They're Les Carter's - Fruitbat out of Carter USM - band and named after the Tashkent Terror, Djamolidine Abdoujaparov, one of the few cyclists to win the points jerseys in all three Grand Tours.

Pariis Opera House - Dragndrop
Pariis with two Is and their first single off an EP called 'Uniiverse I', also with two Is. I guess that's going to be a recurring theme. "UK electro space-funk mavericks", they call themselves. Fair enough.

White Punks On Dope - Destination:House (Aniki remix)
Not sure how you'd define this. Just... there. And interesting. It's off a 2009 compilation 'Total Electro House volume 1'.

Dead Skeletons - Dead Mantra
To Iceland for a closer. Again, beyond easy pigeon-holing. It's stripped, bleak... Love it. From 2011 and off the album 'Dead Magick'.

Between the YouTube playlist here



and the Soundcloud one here


you can find all of those tracks.
Back next week with more of the same.