Thursday 31 October 2013

Happy Birthday




It is the boy's birthday today. He is ten going on seventeen. Unfortunately this is his favourite song at the moment.

Sex Pistols - Something Else

Happy birthday Max.

And something for Halloween

Shane MacGowan & The Popes - Haunted

Wednesday 30 October 2013

She Got Me Spinning From The Beginning





Last Friday Stiff and I attended another near perfect performance from the Wedding Present. With the exception of 2009 I have seen the band every year since 2006 and they have never disappointed. You get 90 minutes of full on guitar thrashing, bitter sweet love songs a bit of banter and you go home happy in the knowledge that you have seen a band who have enjoyed themselves as much as you and have given their all. I also love the fact that you don't get a greatest hits type gig either. I heard a couple of people moaning at the end that they didn't get "all the best ones" not sure how many WP gigs they have attended before as this

I have one small niggle and that is that I am getting tired of the playing an album in its entirety from start to finish. I quite like not knowing what is coming next. Last week's performance didn't feel so much like that as it was the Hit Parade album, which wasn't originally an album in any case but twelve singles, one released each month in 1992, but on hearing the first chords of Blue Eyes you know exactly the order of the next eleven tracks to be played.

Gedge put out a question on Twitter to find out which was the favourite of the twelve singles released in 1992 and I wasn't surprised when he informed us that it was July's offering Flying Saucer. Posted is the Peel Session of the track.

If you like the music of the Wedding Present but have never had the good fortune to experience them live, check out Scopitones and buy tickets when they are next touring near you. I guarantee you will not be disappointed

The Wedding Present - Flying Saucer

Tuesday 29 October 2013

Thirteen



There have been many covers of the classic Big Star song. Only Kathryn Williams version, in my opinion comes close to the beauty of the original but even hers pales in comparison to the original. It is a song that I wish I had known of when I was fifteen/sixteen as I would have included it on every compilation tape I ever made in order to woo potential girlfriends and I think that at least one may have been susceptible to the charms of this most wistful of tracks.

Big Star - Thirteen

Monday 28 October 2013

I Can't Deny This Feeling Inside




Here is a belter of an early Sister Sledge side from 1974. You can hear the disco influence here but I would say that this is more of a soul track than disco. No matter what it is I love it.

Sister Sledge - Love Don't You Go Through No Changes On Me

Sunday 27 October 2013

Lou Reed 1942 - 2013




Sad, sad news.

To contemplate rock music without Lou Reed's influence is way too scary to think about!

Go easy Lou

The Velvet Underground -  Rock & Roll (Live 1969)

Get A Grip



I see that the good folk of the South East are getting all worked up about a little bit of wind, if it were happening further north it wouldn't even make the news. For fuck's sake get a grip people.

The Fall - A Lot of Wind

Mellow Sunday




Vangelis - Memories of Green

Friday 25 October 2013

It's Friday . . .Let's Keep It Peel.




Why should we continue to celebrate John Peel, some may ask?

In my experience this kind of person tends to be someone who uses music as background noise or listens to what they hear on Radio 1 or the many commercial stations where you hear more ads than songs. The kind of person who music just isn't that important to.

I'm not pouring scorn on such people, it's just they have different priorities to me.  If I wasn't ever so slightly obsessed with music I would probably be a lot better off, so who is the mug?

For me the reason to celebrate the life of John Peel is to say thanks for introducing me to some of the most glorious music I have ever heard as well as subjecting my ears to some of the worst pish it has been my misfortune to hear but so much more of the former. He is also partly responsible for me being skint about two weeks into each month as I buy records that I suppose I could live without but which make life that little bit better when put on the turntable as if it wasn't for him I would probably not keep seeking out new music.

It is said that it has taken a whole station to take the place of Peel which is partly true, however I think that 6Music isn't as diverse as it likes to think it is and I believe that I heard more varied music on his shows during the week than I do listening to three or four times the amount of time on 6Music.

Here is a session from one of the later genre's of music that Peel championed which probably alienated a lot of indie kids as punk and reggae had earlier listeners. Plastikman is the alter ego of Canadian Ritchie Hawtin who has produced some of the most minimalistic yet exciting techno since the early 90s. He performed three live DJ sets for Peel at the beginning of the noughties and recorded one session on the 14/7/94 which was aired on 16/09/94.

Have a good weekend people. Fittingly I'm off to see the "boy Gedge" tonight.

Plastikman - PP001
Plastikman - Dubfunk
Plastikman - Helikopter
Plastikman - Minak

Tuesday 15 October 2013

Mid-Term



Right we are away up to Lochearnhead for a few nights in a log cabin, a huntin', a fishin' and a shootin'. it is half term after all. Hopefully I will be able to get a few books read, I've got Bob Stanley's massive Yeah, Yeah, Yeah and a couple of Brookmyre's amongst the "to read pile". Unfortunately, or fortunately I couldn't be arsed doing any posts in advance, so nothing to see here until Friday night, if we are back in time or more likely Saturday.

I will leave you with this absolute belter of a remix from SCB one of favourite producers/remixers of the past few years, from 2011.

Emptyset feat. Cornelius Harris - Altogether Lost (SCB edit)

Monday 14 October 2013

People Believe Me, That Man Is Mine



On Saturday I went to the Barras for the first time in ages. I have to admit that it didn't have the buzz or the number of people milling about that I remember, Not sure if it was a quiet Saturday or if the place just isn't as buy as it used to be.

I was there to attend the first Scottish Independent Label Market which was rather good. There were about two dozen stalls representing the great and the good of the Scottish indie record labels and some from south of the border. I picked up a few interesting things from the Optimo label and a rather lovely piece of vinyl from the Vinyl Factory. I also had a conversation with William Collins at the AED stall on the new Roddy Frame album which I was informed was coming together nicely and all the while during the conversation and my time at the event Will's father, up on the balcony spun some excellent northern soul tunes with the odd Velvet Underground  and other hip 45s thrown into the mix for good measure. On my way out I chatted to Mathew, always a pleasant experience at the Song By Toad stall then got back on the scooter and rode home.

On the way back I began to reminisce about my visits ti the Barras when I was younger. We used to go in on the scooters about once a month if not more when we were younger, some just to pose with the scooter and have a drink in that most unhygienic of Cafes,  the One Up,  other to see what bargains there were to be found. Me, I always headed to the dodgy Revolver Records stall to see if there were any new bootlegs worth buying and then a trawl through the other second hand record stalls. There was one stall in one particular shed that had more soul 45s than the rest, ranging in quality from almost mint to totally fucked.

On one particular occasion I remember asking the stall owner if he had It Should Have Been Me by Yvonne Fair to which his retort was "Why do you want that, your bird dumped you?" Needless to say he didn't have it.

For ages I thought that the Yvonne Fair version was the original version, possibly the only one as I had never heard any other. However a few years back I learned that Gladys Knight and The Pips had recorded the song some eight years prior to Fair's top 5 hit in the UK and then not so long ago I found out,  that Kim Weston had originally recorded and released the song back in 1963. I am not as fond of her version as I am of the other two but ask me which of the two I prefer I don't think I could choose, I love both of them. I have posted the Gladys Knight version as this is probably the lesser known of the two.

Gladys Knight and The Pips - It Should Have Been Me

Friday 11 October 2013

It's Friday . . . Let's Dance



Some proper Techno from Detroit this Friday.  Possibly from Mad Mike, Mike Banks, co-founder of the Underground Resistance label with Jeff Mills but the identity of the Martian has never been 100% certain. What we do know is that the Martian releases on the Red Planet label are very similar to those of Underground Resistance at the time.

Ghost Dancer was the 6th release on the Red Planet label and was only one track of seven on the double 12". It is probably the least abrasive and warmest of the tracks, if the Martian's music can ever be described as warm.

Have a good weekend people.

The Martian - Ghostdancer

Thursday 10 October 2013

Nitcomb



On Sunday 6Music in the UK had a pretty special edition of Cerys' show which was made up with interviews with the three surviving members of the Clash and their first tour manager Johnny Green, interspersed with music by the band, originals of songs that they had covered and the sounds that influenced them. This was radio at it's best. You will find it here if you missed it.

One of the tracks played was from the first Joe Strummer and the Mescaleros album, Rock Art And The X-Ray Style which to my shame I had totally forgotten about. Not sure why because at the time I think that I included it on every compilation tape I made for about 6 months. I think that what really appealed to me was the world weary feel of the track. Since Sunday I must have played it about a dozen times and it really fit my mood yesterday when sitting at the side of the M61 waiting for the AA to come and tell me that my car was fucked and would not be getting me back home to Lanark!

Joe Strummer & The Mescaleros - Nitcomb

Tuesday 8 October 2013

A Box Set Too Far



Yesterday I found out that The Jesus and Mary Chain were to release a vinyl box set of all their studio albums (here), BBC sessions, a live album and another filled with b-sides and rarities. I have too admit that this had me salivating more than a little as I am a sucker for this kind of thing,  until I saw the price.

So I began to have the debate with myself.

Will there be anything you don't have?

well no, apart from the live album which is of them once they were passed their best before date granted but it's still the Mary Chain live on heavyweight vinyl actually it will all be on remastered shiny new vinyl

you have most of it on vinyl and the remastering of Psychocandy wasn't that good

true, but it's a boxset, with a 32 page book!

you don't have a spare £130 quid.

End of debate.

Here's something that will be on the BBC sessions vinyl.

The Jesus and Mary Chain - In The Rain (Peel Session)

Monday 7 October 2013

A Fortunate Mistake



See me, I fucking love serendipity so's I do.

A few months ago I heard this song with the refrain la la la la la, pretty basic lyrics you'll agree but the song stopped me in my tracks it was the kind of tune that would have been big with the three button suit and feather cut brigade. I managed to find out it was by a group called the Blendelles and left it at that. But as the weeks progressed I could not get this song out of my head and so I decided to pay MusicStack a visit and see if there was a reasonably priced copy of the single available in the UK as it wasn't good enough to warrant the exorbitant prices of postage from the USA these days.  I was in luck there was a Ex copy of the record in the price bracket that I could afford and so the disc was duly ordered.

About the middle of the following week the record arrived and I carefully put it on the turntable. As it started I thought to myself that's not how I remember this started and after about thirty seconds I realised that this wasn't the tune I had heard, it was totally different and on first listen a whole lot groovier.

I was still rather confused as I had the name of the band right, The Blendelles, surely they couldn't have written two songs with La, La in the title? So I was Google bound to solve the mystery.

Of course there were The Blendells and The Blendelles, how stupid of me! One sang a song titled La La La La La and the other a ditty called La, La The Magic Song, the one I now possessed.

So now I had a new,  very good upbeat soul single for my collection but I still had the other tune in my head so it was back to the internet to procure a copy of the original earworm, which arrived earlier this week. In the meantime I have taken the other track to my heart, it's pure optimistic message has gotten the better of me.

See, ain't serendipity magic?

The Blendelles - La, La The Magic Song

Sunday 6 October 2013

Mellow Sunday



Here is the final track from the absolutely wonderful forth album from Jon Hopkins, Immunity. The album is supposedly structured to be like a night out full of highs and lows the music moving from the ambient preamble to the joys of the club with Collider, one of the best techno tracks I've heard this year and then to the comedown in the form of this, final beautiful title track.

I'm off to see Airborne Toxic Event tonight, with very low expectations as the last time I saw them they were lacklustre at best and the new album is a bit "meh" as Colin would say.

Friday 4 October 2013

It's Friday . . . Let's Dance




I'm going to stay with Lord Sabre this week but. I know that probably everything that he has had his mits near or smoked a cigar over will have popped up either here, Swiss Adam's, Ctel's or the gone but not forgotten blogs of Moggie Boy and Stx.

Today's remix comes from around the time that Weatherall's name became synonymous with excellent remixes. It would be a slight understatement to say that 1990 was a pretty good year for remixes from the man from the likes of St Etienne, My Bloody Valentine and James to name but three absolute belters.

I know absolutely nothing about Sly and Love Child, don't even know what the original of this track sounds like, there is another mix on the other side but frankly in the twenty three years I have owned this record I don't think that I have ever been curious enough to flip it over and play it. If I have it could not have been very memorable. The Weatherall mix on the other hand is magic, a moody builder of a track, more vocals than usual. Just right for a Friday afternoon or evening or any other time for that matter.

It's Weatherall, it's from 1990, what else do you really need to know?

Have a good weekend people.

Sly & Lovechild - The World According To Sly & Lovechild (Soul Of Europe mix)

Thursday 3 October 2013

Rejoice! New Fall Release Imminent



We haven't had anything from The Fall for ages and more disconcerting for me is the fact that I haven't listened to anything by them for some time. Have I fallen out of love with the gruppe, no but the last album didn't really grab me and recently there have been some very good releases vying for my attention. However, I have high hopes for the 6 track 10" released next week and it looks like a new album early in 2014. My self imposed ban on seeing them live is still in force.

Here is a track from the last album which I truly loved, the 2005 released Fall Heads Roll.

The Fall - What About Us

Wednesday 2 October 2013

Autumn Leaves




The weather up here has turned very autumnal all of a sudden. There has been a significant drop in temperature and the wind has gotten up. I was out on the scooter on Monday and notice that thee were more than a few leaves on the road.

A bit obvious but that does not detract from the sheer brilliance of the mix.

Coldcut - Autumn Leaves (Irresistible Force Full Chill Mix)

New Blog On The Block

Long time commenter and series suggester George has decided to throw his stookie into the ring while incapacitated and have a go at the blogging business.

Check it out here http://gaforsyth.wordpress.com/

Tuesday 1 October 2013

Heaven Knows



I have been trying to sort out the singles boxes over the long weekend. I can only get away with so many flight cases cluttering up L's dining room before she cracks up. So it has been an exercise in trying to keep the singles that I will more than likely want to listen to and banish to the cupboard those which are less likely to take up space on the turntable where they will languish with all the others that I can't quite bring myself to part with.

This has been quite an eye opener as there are quite a few 7" that I had forgotten that I owned and some others that I am less than likely to admit to owning having either being bought on a whim or when in an altered state of consciousness.

Today's track was one that wasn't that much of a surprise as I can remember buying it but I am not sure why I haven't played it more as it's a brilliant track.

Heaven Knows is credited to "Donna Summer with Brooklyn Dreams"  as the second vocal by Joe "Bean" Esposito of the band and the backing vocals are the other members of the band. It is a great song and probably my second favourite Donna Summer track after On The Radio. The single was released in 1978 when Summer was at the top of her game and reached number 4 in the US but a very disappointing 34 in the UK.

Donna Summer - Heaven Knows