Saturday 28 February 2009

Fallen From Grace




The Gentle Waves were Isobel Campbell's side project when she was still a member of Belle & Sebastian and before she hooked up with that bad boy of rock Mark Lanegan and produced the excellent Ballad of The Broken Seas. The sound is heavily influenced by French 60's pop and folk.

The track Fallen From Grace was the lead single from Gentle Waves second album Swansong For You released on Jeepster records. It always evokes visions of sixties London and Michael Caine in his Harry Palmer persona in me.

The Gentle Waves - Fallen From Grace

Why does My Head Hurt So? is from Isobel's second solo release, a six track ep which is quite an eclectic mix of collaborations with the likes of Eugene Kelly (The Vaselines, Eugenius etc) and covers . This track features the first duet between Campbell and the afore mentioned Lanegan

Isobel Campbell - Why Does My Head Hurt So?

Friday 27 February 2009

It's Friday . . . Let's Dance



This Friday let's go back to October 2002 and the Cala Grand holiday park in Fleetwood Lancashire.

Eight of us used to make this pilgrimage to the Togetherness Soul Weekender where a weekend of dancing to Northern/Modern Soul would ensue. The itinerary consisted of an all niter on the Friday night, an all dayer Saturday, an all niter Saturday night, a Sunday afternoon session and finally the Sunday farewell, when all the classic and better known northern soul would be spun until around 2 am. In between all of the dancing, record buying and drinking we would catch the odd couple of hours sleep in a static caravan which ideally would house four adults.

The first time I heard Don't Send Nobody else was around 9 pm on the Friday night of the 2002 campaign. In my eagerness to get the weekend underway, I ditched my bag in the van had a quick bite to eat and then told the rest that I would meet them in the main hall. After milling around the record dealers area and getting my bearings I heard the intro to a track accompanied by a couple of hundred people clapping in time that stopped me dead in my tracks and for 3minutes 20 seconds I was transfixed watching the dancers moving in time to the music. Why had I never heard this track before? It had everything a northen anthem needed from the handclap interludes to the rousing choruses.

The track was so popular that the rush of dancers to the floor caused the custom made sprung dancefloor to move resulting in no further dancing taking place for the next couple of hours as the wooden floor was repaired.

Over the next 2 days I was to hear the track a good few more times between the main room and the smaller modern room. I was however unsuccessful in acquiring a copy of the single and it would be a further month before I tracked it down on cd, sadly still the only copy I have as every time it has came up on eBay it has either been out of my price range, current price between £40 and £60, or I have been outbid in the last minute.

Ace Spectrum - Don't Send Nobody Else

Thursday 26 February 2009

Teenage Wristband


The Twilight Singers was initially a side project of Greg Dulli's, however when the Afghan Whigs split in 2001, the side project became Dulli's main focus. The sound is not radically different from that of the Afghan Whigs except from the first album. After the demos for this album were leaked onto the Internet Dulli decided to remix the album with dance remixers Fila Brazilia, the results of which, Twilight As Played By The Twilight Singers is a mixed bag and not indicative of the subsequent path Dulli would follow.

The second long player is a concept album Blackberry Belle which was written after Dulli had read Martin Eden by Jack London, not the first concept album he had written, the 4th Afghan Whigs album Black Love had be loosely based on the book Spoken in Darkness by Ann E Imbrie.

The track posted today is from Blackberry Belle and is one of my five year old's favourite tracks (he calls it "go for a ride") which is rather disturbing. The song was released as a single in the UK in November 2003 and completely failed to set the heather on fire. It is one of the band's mainstays live and I have had the good fortune to see them perfom it on several occasions.

The Twilight Singers - Teenage Wristband

Wednesday 25 February 2009

Paid In Full



It's pay day today, thank god. I haven't a clue what I've wasted my money on this month.

Eric B and Rakim - Paid In Full

Tuesday 24 February 2009

Hands Down


Never really understood the term EMO, is all music not emotional? Even the coldest, minimalist techno evokes an emotional response.

Anyway I do like this track.

Dashboard Confessional - Hands Down

Monday 23 February 2009

Random Post



Scary stuff

Rob & Goldie - The Shadow (Process mix). remixed by Rick Smith of Underworld

Plastikman



I intended to start the week with either some twee indie or a little bit of ambient noodling to ease us wage slaves gently into another working week (apologies to those who do work the weekend); however to paraphrase Harold MacMillan, events dear readers, events, have gotten in the way, well blog postings really.

Early yesterday Nolan Micron at Castles In Space did a post on System 7 which got me thinking of Ritchie Hawtin's remix of Alpha Wave by that collective under his Plastikman pseudonym so I commented saying as much on this, dug out the 12", dusted it down and ripped it to itunes before my folks came round for lunch.

On checking the blogs last night, CTEL over at Acid Ted posted the remix of Alpha Wave which has totally screwed up my plans. Instead of something light and easy on the ear, now I'm posting a percussive, minimal techno monster from 1993 that on hearing for the first time with Mr Weatherall teasing it in and out of a couple of other tracks I thought what the fuck is that? I had never heard a track built solely on drums before and it just blew me away.

This will certainly not be everyone's cup of tea but give it a listen loud or through headphones and see if it doesn't cause you to have a headwreck too.

Plastikman - Spastik

Sunday 22 February 2009

Nothing much to say really.


A nice bit of jazz influenced house to ease you into a Sunday whatever you are doing, whether it be reading the sundays, cleaning the house or just spending time with the ones you care about.

I will be cooking lunch for my mum as it's her birthday.

The Ballistic Brothers - A Love Supreme

Saturday 21 February 2009

Happy Days!



I have been finding it difficult to keep up this positive attitude as the week has progressed. Being incapable of not listening to the news or reading the Guardian has not helped. However yesterday I did find a reason to be cheerful.

Having failed to get tickets at the beginning of this year for the Frightened Rabbit gig at the Captain's Rest on the 31st of March I was pretty pissed off, as I had bought on import the cd of a recording by the band on a previous occasion at this pub which gave me an idea of how good it would have been to see them in such an intimate venue.

I received an email informing me that Frightened Rabbit have added a matinee show on the same date. Without consulting the better half I was on to ticketweb to purchase 2 tickets for the gig. Only after doing so did I put 2 and 2 together and realize that my wife and I would now be seeing 2 different gigs on the 31st of March. As after seeing Airborne Toxic Event a few weeks ago I decided that L really needed to see them and got us tickets for their gig at Oran Mor ( now changed to the QM) on , you've guessed it the 31st of March.

Now all I have to do is get the day off work, find a baby sitter willing to look after a 3 month old baby from 2 pm to 11ish and someone to pick my eldest up from school and everything will be sorted, easy!

It's quite weird because the last time I saw Frightened Rabbit, was the 30th November 08 and the support that night was Airborne Toxic Event.

Anyway I'm not going to post either Frightened Rabbit or Airborne Toxic Event as everybody should now have these albums and if you don't shame on you and why the fuck not? Also I don't want the same to happen to me as happened to the Vinyl Villain the other day (see here) which was pish in my humble opinion.

Sp----------d - Oh Happy Day (the band in question's lawyers also seem to be quite litigious, hence the spaces)

Friday 20 February 2009

It's Friday . . . Let's Dance



It's a dreich Monday night around the middle of October 1987 and I'm standing in the Mudd Club at the Ritzy in Aberdeen, surrounded by students having a good time and getting legless as students do on a Monday or any other day of the week for that matter. I on the other hand am neither happy nor drunk, I am like the weather that night miserable.

I have just returned to Aberdeen after spending the last weekend with my long term girlfriend as on the Thursday she is emigrating to Australia. Her father in his infinite wisdom has decided to up root his family due to a selfish dream of living in a land down under.

Into the bargain I am also realizing that this student life is not all it's cracked up to be. Along with the freedom of living away from home comes the dubious pleasures of shit digs, even shittier food and penury.

Then out of the blue this track comes on and I grab a friend and dance. For nearly 7 minutes all of the crap feelings I have been carrying around with me for what then seemed like forever are lifted and I'm smiling and dancing with not a care in the world (without the aid of a disco biscuit).

The healing power of dance music.

New Order - Bizarre Love Triangle (12" version)

Thursday 19 February 2009

A Lovely Day Tomorrow



To continue with the positive attitude of this blog here is a typically odd release from British Sea Power.

A Lovely Day Tomorrow is a collaboration between BSP and the Czech band The Ecstasy of Saint Theresa. The track is one of three tracks on a cd released only in the Czech Republic to celebrate that country's entry into the EU. It was made available in limited quantities in the UK during BSP's 2004 tour and also via the band's website.

The song deals with the story of the assassination of Reinhard Heydrich (Reichsprotektor of Bohemia and Moravia and one of the architects of the "final solution") at the hands of 2 Czech agents. The cd was limited to 1942 copies which happens to be the year in which said assassination took place.

British Sea Power Allied With The Ecstacy of Saint Theresa - A Lovely Day Tomorrow

Wednesday 18 February 2009

The Boy Wonder



Anybody that knows me, will tell you that I have a bit of an obsession for the boy wonder and will tell anyone who will listen, how criminally underrated I think he is and with the exception of a large part of Love that his output is singularly impeccable.

(If Paradise Is) Half As Nice was a track recorded for a special NME album Ruby Trax recorded to celebrate the magazine's 40th Anniversary. It is worth getting a hold of as some of the covers are very good indeed, the Manics - Suicide is Painless and the Jesus And Mary Chain's interpretation of Little Red Rooster and some downright mad The Fall's Legend Of Xanadu.

The second track was originally on Roddy's first solo album The North Star a forgotten gem. I saw copies of the cd for sale for 3 quid in Fopp the other week and couldn't believe that it was so cheap. This version comes from the Live In Osaka cd which can be purchased here.

Both tracks are rather upbeat in keeping with the mood this week.

Aztec Camera/Andy Fairweather-Low - (If Paradise is) Half As Nice

Roddy Frame - Reason For Living

Tuesday 17 February 2009

A Little Bit of Positivity



I am sick of turning on the the radio or opening the newspaper to be confronted with doom and gloom at every turn. I have therefor decreed that nothing but positive happy tunes will be emanating from the kitchen table this week. I have not decided to stick my head in the sand but rather have time out from all the negativity out there and also hopefully purge me of my overwhelming desire to inflict lingering pain to any board members of RBS or HBOS I come across or Robert Peston for that matter.

First up is a band that I was not aware of until I heard this single back in 1997. It was the sample that first got my attention, it's from another northern soul floor filler, Dobie Gray's Out On The Floor which should have elicited the response "how dare they sample a classic like that", however what follows is just under 4 minutes of brilliant uplifting indie pop which I do rather approve of.

Spearmint - Sweeping The Nation

Monday 16 February 2009

Life Just Bounces



It's been a good weekend. So to start the week off here's something to put a spring in your step, the Fall with M.E.S. in a rather philosophical mood.

The Fall - Life Just Bounces

Sunday 15 February 2009

Possibly the finest anti-Thatcher song ever.


If there is one thing I hate with all my being it is Margaret Thatcher and I make no apologies for this, the sight of her can induce apoplexy in me and when I here her voice I feel physically sick. I read recently an article which said that the left should by now have gotten over their irrational hatred of the Iron Lady ( a term which I was once told had been mistranslated from the Russian and the actual quote was "frigid bitch", oh how I wish that to be true) and embrace the reforms that she had introduced, after all their leadership have. Bollocks!

The reason for the rant is that on the way home from an excellent lunch yesterday the Fine Young Cannibals popped into my head. They were responsible for, in my opinion, the finest anti-Thatcher song, Blue. The song is neither ranty nor preachy, it has a rather catchy chorus, is extremely soulful and is quite upbeat until you listen to the lyrics.

The version posted is the original album version, the track was remixed by someone for the single version and in my opinion they made a pig's ear of it, replacing the real emotion of the original with stale electronic beats, extra horn flourishes and a new vocal track.

This track also reminds me of my time as a student in Aberdeen long ago. A girl I knew then would substitute "Drew" for blue in the chorus and with hindsight she was probably right.

Fine Young Cannibals - Blue

And as an extra treat, the second best anti-Thatcher song.

The Beat - Stand Down Margaret.

Saturday 14 February 2009

Everybody Loves A Romantic Cover . . Right?



As it's Valentine's Day and I'm going to shell out more money on lunch than I would be allowed to spend on a brace of Northern Soul original 7"s, all in the name of L-O-V-E, I thought I would post a few of my favourite soppy covers.

Especially check the BMX Bandits track as it is nothing like you would expect them to be.

BMX Bandits - After I Make Love To You

The Jesus and Mary Chain - My Girl

King Creosote - Nothing Compares To You

Kathryn Williams - Thirteen

Friday 13 February 2009

It's Friday . . . Let's Dance




Today we go back to 1993 and an acid trance stormer from the Rising High Collective.

Rising High Collective was one of the many monikers of sadly departed Casper Pound. He also ran a label called Rising High Records which was responsible for some ground breaking techno and early ambient works by MixMaster Morris and Air Liquide. But Pound's main love was techno and the faster the breakbeats the better.

Fever Called Love is quite soulful and the BPMs not too fast. The version here is the 1993 remix by Hardfloor a German duo who invariably turn the 303 up to eleven in order to get their distinctive squelchy sound.

Enjoy

Rising High Collective - Fever Called Love (Hardfloor mix)

Thursday 12 February 2009

Everybody Else Is Doing It So Why Can't I?


Since it seems to be new music week in our little corner of of the blogisphere, I thought i would join JC and Davy H and post on something that was new to me last November but apparently wasn't that fresh as the lady in question has toured with loads of people and appeared on Later with Jools Holland which I haven't really watched for a few years now, probably not since the Fall were on it.

Anyway, Imelda May is a Jazz and Rockabilly singer from Ireland who has been on the go since 2003. She has toured with the likes of Dionne Warwick, Elvis Costello, the afore mentioned smug bastard Holland and Elton John but don't let that put you off. She released her first solo album Love Tattoo late last year. The album has a mixture of influences from Ella Fitzgerald to Patsy Cline and Wanda Jackson and to these ears was just what the doctor ordered after overdosing on pasty boys and girls in skinny jeans doing the "indie" thing. She is also extremely attractive and could hold here own against any of the Ghost of Electricity's "indie poppets" but as we know that is just superficial and you would never catch any of us earnest bloggers indulging in such shallow, sexist wishful thinking.

I have tickets to see her and her band on Sunday night at King Tut's, which I'm looking forward to and which will no doubt be mentioned in later dispatches.

Imelda May - Big Bad Handsome Man

and as a further treat, in the same vein

Kitty, Daisy and Lewis - Going Up Country

Wednesday 11 February 2009

Johnny Boy


The first time I was aware of Johnny Boy was when I received the latest installment in the series of Boobytrap monthly cds back in 2002. On first listen it sounded to these ears like a lost Pete Wylie song from the same session that produced Come Back. It had that epic, dare I say it, wall of sound backing, with a sample at the beginning which took me a long time to identify as being from Mean Streets. Being a sucker for anything vaguely Spectorish I fell in love with the track and had it on continually for weeks and eagerly awaited the next single.

It was to be a two year wait, the follow-up has probably one of the best titles I've ever heard - You Are The Generation That Bought More Shoes And You Get What You Deserve. The song turned out to be every bit as bombastic as the debut if not more so. It was produced by James Dean Bradfield who had heard the first single and loved it that much that he offered to produce the duo. Why this song did not did not reach a wider audience I will never understand as it is epic in every way.

After another couple of years an album appeared which I found a disappointment, I don't know if this was due to the wait and expectation of the first 2 singles or I had just lost interest but I have not found myself playing anything else apart from the tracks that introduced me to the band after the initial couple of listens. Maybe further listening and a reappraisal is in order.

On their myspace page they describe their music as "Church bells, boy-girl vocals, loops, twists, warps, walls of sound and edgy guitars combined to rekindle the idea of Sandinista!-era Clash having an, erm, shootout with Phil Spector. The Sandinista reference I know will put off a few of you (JC?) but give them a chance.

Johnny Boy - Johnny Boy Theme
Johnny Boy - Johnny Boy Dub

Tuesday 10 February 2009

Touched By The Hand Of God II



I was standing in the queue in Morrisons last night thinking to myself what the hell is worse than standing in the supermarket on a bloody miserable Monday night. When I did think about it, standing in a queue in a supermarket is quite low down on the shitty things that are happening right now. Don't worry this isn't going to turn into one of those hey let's all hug and be thankful for what we've got posts, not really my scene. It got me thinking about the track posted below and how it just should not work but does beautifully.

The story goes that one day a woman walked into One Little Indian's office and demands a deal to release her new single. The label owner, as you would, asks to hear it. The woman however does not have a demo tape but proceeds to read out her "Imperfect list" in a monotone Liverpudlian accent. Derek Birket is so moved by the words that he offers her a modest advance to make the record a reality.

She returns some time later with the finished product and along the way has managed to get Pete Wylie and Robin Guthrie involved and an agreement from one Andy Weatherall to remix the track.

On the cd, subtly subtitled Rimming Elvis The Andy Weatherall Way, their are 4 mixes of the list, the one I'm posting is #3. This has got to be one of the strangest records that I own but I have never grown sick of it and the impact of the list has not been diluted by the number of plays, however the relevance of some of the list will be lost on people who didn't grow up in the 80s and early nineties.

If I were to commit my list to cd I fear it may have to be a double disc job.

Big Hard Excellent Fish - Imperfect List (3)

Link should now be sorted, sorry about that.

Monday 9 February 2009

. . . but in reality


After yesterday's rather disingenuous post about the trials and tribulations of being single in the late 80s/early 90's. I thought it better to set the record straight, in the vast majority of the campaigns the final outcome can be summed up in the final verse of the song posted below.

Ian McNabb - Sex With Someone You Love

Sunday 8 February 2009

Sunday Morning



It has been quite a few years since I have been in the position of the protagonists in the 2 songs posted below, thank god!

We've all been there, coming to and trying to open your eyes only to find that the lids seem to have been superglued together and with a head that feels like somebody has split it in two with an axe. When you eventually prise the lids apart and in soft focus scan the surroundings, you realize that you are a) not alone in your bed or b) not even in your bedroom. Furthermore you have no recollection of the previous evening's festivities and no idea who the person is who is either lying still asleep or looking at you waiting for an acknowledgement.

All you want is a bottle of Irn Bru to try to get rid of the sawdust that somebody has poured down your throat and a cigarette to make your head and stomach feel even worse. But now you have to try to piece together the previous evenings campaign from that first beer to getting either back home or where you now find yourself, all in a split second. Not the easiest thing in the world at the best of times but made a thousand times more difficult by the mass murder of brain cells which you managed to achieve in the name of having a good time.

Anyway after much embarrassment, scrambling around for clothes and telling of barefaced lies, "i'll call you later", you are on your own again with nothing but your guilt for company. A feeling which is with you until at least the fourth hair of the dog at around which time you are making arrangements with your mates, who have been more than happy to fill you in on your exploits the previous evening, to do it all over again next Saturday.

The life of a single man, you can't beat it.

The Aloof - One Night Stand (The Long Night and the Samba)

The Tyrell Corporation - Waking With A Stranger

Apologies for the crackles in the Tyrell Corp, however it was well played back in the day

Saturday 7 February 2009

Last Nite



In a studio filled with a fog of skunk smoke somewhere in north London -

"I've got a great idea for a cover. We take one of of the tracks off of that album that sort of re-invented garage rock and made every spotty teenager want to pick up a guitar again rather than a sampler or a set of decks, and . . . this is the good bit we turn it into an acid jazz, soul, dancefloor friendly groove. Won't that blow people's minds!!".

That is how I like to think the conversation went during the conception of this track, although probably not.

You will either love this or hate it. I think it is as funky as fuck and make no apologies to the tight arsed indie snobs who will cry "sacrilege" and weep into their extremely expensive bottled lager.

Jumbonics - Last Nite

Friday 6 February 2009

It's Friday . . . Let's Dance




It's been a tough week in more ways than one. So here's a big smiley House tune from 1999 to thaw you out and cheer you up. You don't need to be on one to enjoy this, just pour yourself whatever your poison is and play it loud. This tune always makes me grin.

Pete Heller - Big Love (original mix)

Thursday 5 February 2009

Lux Interior 21/08/46 - 04/02/09


The Cramps - You Got Good Taste

Havana Guns


Had forgotten all about this single until it came on random on the ipod yesterday.

Havana Guns were a band from London, who after releasing one self funded single entitled She Always Goes Down were thrust into the limelight and lauded as the next great indie band. The NME not prone to exaggeration called them "the Blondie for the Libertines generation". However they released one more single N.Y.C.S. and then disbanded last year.

This sort of fits in with yesterday's post as the Raveonettes are cited as one of their influences along with the usual suspects The Velvet Underground and The Jesus and Mary Chain.

Havana Guns - N.Y.C.S

Havana Guns - I Want To Die

BTW if anybody has a copy of the first single for sale at a reasonable price drop me a email.

Wednesday 4 February 2009

The Raveonettes



After reading an article in the Scotsman in January 2003, reviewing their debut album which ticked all the boxes, feedback, influences like the Jesus and Mary Chain, Phil Spector and in bass player/singer Sharin Foo a Debbie Harry for the noughties, I decided to check them out at King Tut's.

From the opening squeal of feedback and an incredible rendition of Everyday by Buddy Holly I was hooked. The set ran to just under 40 minutes and was full of feedback, distortion, a guitarist who looked like he was fitting and way back in the mix sweet vocal harmonies from Foo and Sune Rose Wagner. Stage presence was nil, however you can't have everything and the racket they made was wonderful and more than made up for it.

At the end of the set, I went to the merchandise stall and bought the first full release a 7 track mini album and this was where my problem with the Raveonettes began. The next day when I put on the cd what I heard was good but was no where near as full a sound as I had heard the previous night.

I have bought the four albums and all of their singles but still they don't quite match up to what they sound like live. If I had never seen them live I would probably love the albums more, with the feedback, Spectorisms and great harmony vocals what's not to love but it just seems to be lacking that extra bite. On the recent download only eps (what's that all about?) they have dabbled with remixing and and adding electronic beats to their sound which in my opinion does not enhance their sound.

Since that first night in 2003 I have seen the Raveonettes on a 5 further occasions and the gigs have all been great, even the night when they blew the PA in King Tut's. The last time, they were touring as a 3 piece and had guest drummers, the female drummer on the night I saw them was the coolest drummer I have ever seen. This was probably the best performance I have seen from them and the reduction to just the 2 core members and a guest, rather than diminish their sound made it stronger and more primal . There is still, however, a complete lack of stage presence.

The Raveonettes may not be the most original act in the world but live and to a lesser extent on record they make a beautiful racket.

The Raveonettes - Remember

The Raveonettes - Black Satin

The Raveonettes - Everyday (live Roskilde 2003)

Tuesday 3 February 2009

Tuesday Apocalypse Blues



The death of John Martyn last week got me reminiscing about the times that I had the pleasure to see the man and my wife reminded me of the time he played at a local hotel as part of the line up for a short lived TV show either on Channel 4 or STV can't remember which or even what the show was called. What I do remember was that it was hosted by Stuart Cosgrove, one time head of programming for Channel 4 and one half of radio Scotland's Off The Ball team, "the most petty and ill-informed football show on the radio".

The guests on this programme ranged from legends like John Martyn and Desmond Dekker to knobheads like Pat Kane in his Armani socialist days as part of Hue and Cry.

Andy White was on the same night as John Martyn, two great singer songwriters for the price of one. Although during the filming we also had to endure the horrid Frank Carson, who at one point said to White that he could tell that he came from the North as he could smell the Semtex.

Andy White was born and brought up in Belfast and released his first ep Religious Persuasion in 1985 followed by the excellent album Rave On Andy White his first of 13 so far. I can't tell you what the rest are like as I only bought Rave On but after revisiting the album at the weekend, some thing I have done quite a few times over the years I have been wondering why I didn't buy anything else as the debut album is excellent. It is at times a commentary on the situation in White's native isle (Religious Persuasion, The Soldiers Sash ) and at others concerns itself with those universal topics of love and loss (Rembrandt Hat, Visions of Blue). At the time I think that he was described as the new Irish Dylan then again what earnest young man with a guitar hasn't been tagged as a " new Dylan".

Andy White - Tuesday Apocalpse #13

Andy White - Rembrandt Hat

Monday 2 February 2009

Fifty Fucking Million for a Picture



Today the Scottish Government gave 12.5 million of tax payers money as part of a 50 million price tag for a picture to one of the wealthiest men in the UK.

I cannot express the anger that I feel towards this move when in Scotland we have some of the poorest areas in the UK and people are losing their jobs, the Scottish Executive in their infinite wisdom are giving money to chinless wonders for works of art which were most probably procured in a less than honest fashion. I know that 12.5 million is not a great deal in the scheme of things but when you are struggling to pay your mortgage, feed your children or heat your home it must piss you off to see a needy aristocrat given that sort of money out of the public purse.

I am no philistine and believe that art has it's place in society but this is taking the piss. It's not even that good a painting and yes I have seen it in the National Gallery, granted not of my own volition.

Billy Bragg - The World Turned Upside Down

Soulcialism For The Masses



As another week of meetings, talk of EPS & End of Year results and other such corporate bullshit looms, how about a bit of angry yet soulful mid 80's idealism to put it all into perspective. Well at least we're not living in the decade of "greed is good", no condescending tone from that witch and her moralising, money grabbing cronies. Things have got so much better, we now have all of the tories worst attributes rolled into one odious figure, that hero of the left Lord Mandelson.

Back to the music, the Redskins were one of the most underrated bands to come out of the Thatcher years. Their mix of 60's soul, punk and pop made being preached at by Chris Dean a pleasure (those horns). Though I didn't agree with all that Chris Dean said including his scathing criticism of both Neil Kinnock and Billy Bragg, he did speak a lot of sense and to an absolutely cracking soundtrack

The band released one album Neither Washington Nor Moscow, a Peel Session 12" and 8 singles before splitting due to Chris Dean's increasing commitment to the Socialist Workers Party. In Neither Washington Nor Moscow they left an album that was of its time but after listening to it at the weekend hasn't dated badly and is actually very prescient.


The Redskins - The Power Is Yours

The Redskins - Keep On Keeping On

Sunday 1 February 2009

Stella Sunday



Glasgow Underground was just one of the many monikers that Kevin McKay and Andy Carrick used to release music they had produced on their Musique Tropique label. This track comes from The Music Tropique Collection , where they got other artists and friends to remix some of their back catalogue.

Stella Sunday has been remixed by the Idjut Boys, a duo who specialize in disco sampling dub heavy house.

glasgow underground - stella sunday (idjut boys sarbeni mix)

Pointless fact - a sarbeni is a type of kebab found in a kebab house in Sauchiehall street which the Idjut Boys were particularly fond of when the came to Glasgow.