Monday 31 October 2011

Happy Birthday Son



It's Max's birthday today. He came into this world eight years ago at 08:30 on Halloween and has been scaring the shit out of his mother and I ever since.

Here is a couple of his favourite records.

Tinie Tempah - Written In The Stars 

The Fall - Touch Sensitive

And seeing it's Halloween, here is a relevantly themed song by Shane MacGowan with the aid of the sweet, sweet tones of Sinead O'Connor

Shane MacGowan And The Popes - Haunted

Sunday 30 October 2011

Football And (or) Music



Unless you are a parochial, small minded bigot from west central Scotland , then this post will probably mean very little.

For years I have wondered about the correlation between having a shite taste in music and being a fan of either of the two sectarian clubs in Scotland. It has never ceased to amaze me at the lack of taste in music of most supporters of what we are led to believe are two of the greatest teams in the world and whose derby is so much more important than that of any other two teams that reside in the same city in any other nation on earth.

I have decided that it comes down to passion or lack thereof. There can be no other reason as to why one side of the divide will stand there week in week out singing a third rate Tina Turner song or at the other extreme,  be so passionate about a song from a forties Rodgers and Hammerstein musical, which has been stolen from a more successful team from another country!

 Recently I have come to the conclusion that the reason that  most people who support either side of the Glasgow sectarian divide have such a bad taste in music is that  their allocation of passion is wasted,  they would rather use all of their emotion in hate and bigotry for a past that can not be changed than just feeling the sheer joy of hearing something that does something to you on an emotional level,  for no more reason than it sounds wonderful and makes you feel happy

I am sick to the back teeth of people I know who behave in this manner. I have had enough of the insinuation and covert sectarianism on both sides.  Get a grip and realise what is important, not the perceived wrongs of a generation or so ago but who we are now and what we want for the future and for us fortunate enough to have them, our children.

Here endeth the rant

 Specials - Doesn't Make It Alright

Saturday 29 October 2011

Friday 28 October 2011

It's Friday . . . Let's Dance



Since it's the Friday before the 31st of October, Max's Halloween party is today and at least a few of you I bet will be following his lead by dressing up and dooking for apples over the weekend I thought that we should maybe have a themed dance track.

Finding scary dance tracks wasn't as hard as I originally thought it was going to be, my first thought, obviously was Spooky with Billie Ray Martin and their version of Persuasion a track I've always found more than a little disturbing. Then there was Organ Donor by DJ Shadow which does send a shiver up my spine. I found quite a few more including more than a couple of unsettling Aphex Twin tracks.

I also found a 12" single called Nightmare by Brainbug which I have no recollection of buying. When I went to put it on it was surprisingly not as bad as I thought but it is still, unmistakeably trance,  a form of music that brings me out in cold sweats just at the thought of how mind numbingly tedious it is.

However, by far the scariest tracks are to be found in Drum and Bass, what with all those amen breaks, tracks like Shadow Boxing, Escobar Blues or Origin Unknown's QED near death experience documentary sampling Valley of the Shadows.

But the daddy for me has to be a remix of the track released in celebration of Moving Shadow reaching it's hundredth release. The original of The Shadow along with Distorted Dreams on the flipside are two of the darkest tracks I've ever heard. Rick Smith, however on his Process mix takes it onto a further level of eeriness which when played at night on the mp3 player while out walking makes you stroll that little bit brisker and you start to view your surroundings differently. It is a most wonderful piece of paranoia inducing music or maybe that's just me.

Have a good weekend people.

And remember, don't have nightmares.

Dom, Rob & Goldie - The Shadow (Process mix)

A suitably scary picture don't you think?

Wednesday 26 October 2011

Just Because



I'm in London for a couple of days and I didn't have time to do 3 posts on Sunday night.

But it is a brilliant song.

Bruce Springsteen - American Skin (41 Shots)

Tuesday 25 October 2011

Keeping It Peel Day 2011



Last year for Keeping It Peel Day you may recall that I did a run down of my Top Ten Peel session tracks ever. This year what with one thing and another I have not had the time to do anything as extensive.

But what to do? Pick my favourite number 1 from all of the Festive Fifties, or a track that I had first heard on the Peel Show or go for another session. The problem with Peel is that there is so much choice, the man shaped the music I listen to in more ways than one. Also it didn't matter the genre of music, if it came Peel approved then it was at least worth a listen, if only the once, for me in the case of  Bolt Thrower and Napalm Death and many others which just didn't do it for me.

As I've said before, no matter what your taste in music is, Peel will have championed somebody you love, unless the extent of your interest in music goes no further than that Irish Band. He will also have played stuff that you absolutely detested.

When looking through The Peel Sessions by Ken Garner for inspiration for this post I decided to steer clear of the stuff that he will always be remembered for by people of my age group the post punk and indie. This decision did not reduce the amount to choose from that much. So I decided to further limit my choice to sessions that I actually had either on record, those wonderful Strange Fruit 12" singles, cd, just about every re-release comes with Peel sessions, if available or download which I had already acquired. I gave myself one further restriction for which I know at least two people will be glad of and decided no Fall.

This was still proving to be difficult until I looked at p312 in Ken Garner's excellent reference book and it hit me, of course a session by the first band I ever saw live,  at the Glasgow Apollo aged thirteen.

So I have posted the one and only John Peel session by my favourite band from the age of ten to about fourteen, Motorhead. I cannot claim to have heard this session at the time as in 1978 I probably only had the vaguest of ideas of who Peel was. But the truth is that Motorhead were the first band I saw live and I remember going to school the next day and not being able to hear a thing the whole day due to the ringing in my years.

This session was recorded at Maida Vale on 18th September 1978 and broadcast seven days later on the 25th.

Motorhead - Louie-Louie
Motorhead - Tear Ya Down
Motorhead - I'll Be Your Sister
Motorhead - Keep Us On The Road

Monday 24 October 2011

Mukatsuku Records




Here is a record label that you really should check out if you like anything with a dance beat or a bit left field.

The label was started by Dj Nik Weston and is a strictly 7" vinyl operation, no cds or downloads here. The label has been championed by the likes of Mr Scruff and Giles Peterson. Most of the artists on the label I had never heard of before with the exception of Tom Middleton and Amp Fiddler but all of the stuff that I have bought so far  has been as funky as one of the most funky things you can think of. The records can be ordered from Juno Records here .

Mukatsuku is Japanese for pain in the neck, btw.

The track posted is from 7" MUKAT 007.

Gaggle(DJ Mitsu the Beats) - Eastern Voyage

Saturday 22 October 2011

Church



I have been reliably informed that 2 Bears are Joe Goddard from Hot Chip and Raf Rundell. They have produced a few 12" singles for Southern Fried, however this absolute belter of a track is released on Bitches Brew and has been remixed by Darkstarr Diskotek (Ashley Beedle & Collen Murphy) into a gospel and afrobeat tinged balearic classic.

But why the hell wasn't this released during the summer, not now when the sun and heat are just a distant memory?


  2 Bears Church DarkStarr Remix by DarkStarr

Friday 21 October 2011

It's Friday . . . Let's Dance



What with all of the Stone Roses stuff that has been happening this week I have been casting my mind back to the late 80's and to what was really going on, with me anyway.


I remember buying The Stone Roses a couple of months after it's release and liking it. It didn't blow me away or anything, no Damascene moment. At this time it wasn't Manchester bands so much that interested me but more producers such as A Guy Called Gerald and the others who had been showcased on the "North, Sound of The Dance Underground album. In fact around about this time I was getting the feeling that guitar bands were a thing of the past , slightly outdated and that House and Acid were the future.

I know that the two scenes weren't mutually exclusive and there would be a coming together of the genres in the years to come in what would horribly be termed as 'indie dance' but could be more appropriately be termed as 'indie shuffle'. But I do think that there were 2 distinct camps, the House heads and the guitar loving indie kids still not at one with the concept of 4/4 beats.

So when I think back to 1989, sure I played Fools Gold,  I Am Resurrection and  W.F.L by Happy Mondays but the track that sums up that summer for me from a Manchester band is Pacific 202 by 808 State.

Have a good weekend people.

808 State - Pacific - 202

Thursday 20 October 2011

You Made Me Realise



I was going through my tracks on the mp3 player trying to make some space for new stuff last night. I hate doing this as I end up spending the night playing about a minute of  maybe a hundred tracks that either I can't remember or think 'haven't heard that for a while'. Last night spending about two hours and freeing up less than half a gig of space. I even thought of converting everything back to 128kbps but know that I would just spend more time reloading all the tracks that I will convince myself no longer sound right.

I was surprised to find that during an earlier cull I had deleted both My Bloody Valentine albums released on Creation Records but what surprised me even more is that I hadn't noticed and hadn't missed them. Both of these albums used to be played pretty regularly around these parts, although I can't even recall the last time now.

I decided that if I hadn't missed MBV, I could go ahead and delete the other things by the band with the exception of the Weatherall remix of Soon.

Before doing so I clicked on You Made Me Realise and it did just that, made me realise what I have been missing. So instead of freeing up space it was time to reload both albums mentioned above but I decided to stop before uploading the bootlegs from the last tour.

My Bloody Valentine - You Made Me Realise

Wednesday 19 October 2011

Ain't That Always The Way




It's half term up here and I took the week off to look after the boys. I also figured that I would have plenty of time to get a load of blog posts down and bits and pieces done around the house.

 . . . well it's now Wednesday and I have done absolutely bugger all on either the DIY or as you will have noticed the blog fronts. We are going away for a few days tomorrow so I better get my arse in gear.

Paul Quinn - Ain't That Always The Way

Tuesday 18 October 2011

White _ _ _ _



Well the Lord Chief  Justice has upheld the 4 year prison term given to the two numpties who encouraged others to riot on Facebook. It makes you wonder what they would have done to Joe and Mick if they had released the single below in 2011 rather than 1977?

The Clash - White Riot

Monday 17 October 2011

I Got A Letter From The Government The Other Day.



Before I heard Tricky's interpretation of Black Steel if I had read anywhere that somebody was tackling covering Public Enemy I would have thought that they were mad and would have been confident that the results would have been pretty dire.

I wouldn't say that Tricky's version is better, it is on a par with the PE version. I love the way he has dropped the piano sample and replaced it with loud thrashy guitars and poiunding drums. But it is probably Martina Topley-Bird's laid-back delivery of the lyrics which makes this a classic.

Tricky - Black Steel

Btw this was the 1001 piece of nonsense that has been posted on this blog!

Sunday 16 October 2011

Let's Get Ravey



The only problem with this brilliant remix is that it takes far too long for the beat to come in and then it's all over too soon. But that is probably why I love it so much, the anticipation of what's to come.

La Roux - In For The Kill (Skream's Let's Get Ravey mix)

Saturday 15 October 2011

Tightrope



Something a little bit different from the usual stuff you find round these parts.

I bought Archandroid last summer after reading all of the reviews and expected a bit or R&B in the style of Kelis or the like. But the album is a melting pot of different styles and experimentation at times a bit psychedelic at other a bit folky and with quite a bit of a jazz feel. But on the whole,  the concept album about a dystopian future holds together rather well and keeps your attention throughout.

Here is one of the stand out tracks

Janelle Monae - Tightrope

and the brilliant performance from Glastonbury earlier this year.

Friday 14 October 2011

It's Friday . . . Let's Dance

Is anybody becoming bored of this?

I'm just asking as I think that it may be time to think of a new Friday feature the only problem being I can't think of one. JC suggested just posting "Sturdy Girl" every Friday but I'm sure everybody bar Anon would soon get tired of that.

As I am persisting with flogging the dead horse for the time being. It's back to 1992 for a bit of Italian House remixed by a Mancunian.

TC1992, were  the same guys as TC 1991, surprise surprise. They were also the FPI Project, responsible for the 1990 remake of Going Back To My Roots. They also recorded under a number of other aliases that I will not bore you with.

Funky Guitar came out in 1992, the clue being in the band's name, on Union City Recordings. The version posted is the Justin Robertson mix. The man responsible for Lionrock and the Most Excellent label amongst a myriad of other things.

Have a good weekend people.

TC1992 - Funky Guitar (Lion Rock Inna Milanese Stylee)

Thursday 13 October 2011

Nostalgia's Not What It Used To Be




So, I'm standing there with L, front and centre in the ABC and who comes and stands next to me? The one and only Vinyl Villain, pleasantries were exchange and I was introduced to the rest of his gang, after which he said " well,  are you going to review this then .  . . "  I explained that gig reviews are not really my thing, as I never remember set lists, running orders,  band members etc. But I capitulated in the end as what with him being away and having other things to concentrate on, you people would miss out on hearing how the Boy Wonder's first outing in over a decade with a band turned out. So here is my gig review.

Roddy Frame at the ABC in Glasgow was absolutely fucking wonderful.

Somebody once said nostalgia isn't what it used to be, whoever that was was talking through their arse either that or they have never experienced a Roddy Frame gig. At one point, during Oblivious I was fourteen again, at the school disco, stomach full of butterflies asking the girl of my dreams to dance. During Killermont Street, I was transported to my cold flat in Aberdeen, winter of my first year of Uni, homesick and longing for the security and warmth of home in the west.

It was pretty easy to track my development from petulant teenager to married middle aged man through the music being played last night.

I always come out of a Roddy Frame gig elated but also a little angry that a musician and wordsmith of such prowess has never been given the recognition that he deserves when other numpties from the eighties, take your pick, it's easy, got lauded with praise and sold shed loads of albums. Not that Frame seems all that bothered judging by the performance last night. He looked as if he was loving every single minute and he even made a joke about being on "the fringes of the post punk indie scene".

I must mention that the backing band were brilliant and it looks as though he has stolen at least half of Edwyn Collins touring band. The guitarist and also the bass player, neither of whos' name I can remember, which incidently has nothing to do with their ability but more of me having the memory of a particulalry forgetful goldfish these days,  seem to have either been put out on loan or have decided to jump ship. The keyboard player I have seen play with Roddy before but the drummer was entirely new to me. They dealt with the tracks which spanned Frame's whole career with the exception of Dreamland with the respect such classics deserve.

I have only two gripes about the evening.

Firstly, that there was only one new song aired, so no new album anytime soon!

Also the gig was over far too quickly no sooner had he taken the stage than he was off again , okay that is a slight exaggeration, they did play for over an hour and a half but it felt like about ten minutes. Personally and I don't think I was alone in feeling this last night, that they could have played for three hours and it still would not have been long enough.

Oh, and while I'm at it, I'm sure Mr Frame has a portrait locked away in an attic somewhere as he looks no older now than he did in 1990, the bastard!

Nostalgia isn't what it once was, last night it was so much better than that.

Roddy Frame - Rock God

Wednesday 12 October 2011

The Boy Wonder Returns



I'm off to see Roddy Frame tonight and I am looking forward to it more than just a little as this will be the first time in over a decade when he has been accompanied by a band. It's kind of hard to remember how good he is when electrified but we have had glimpses over the past couple of years when he was performing with Edwyn Collins, an amazing bit of a guitar wig out during A Girl Like You at the ABC springs to mind.

One thing for sure it will not be dull and let's hope that there will be some new songs showcased as well. i will also hopefully hook up with the Vinyl Villain who shall also be present. The last time the two of us met at a Roddy Frame gig he put the notion of doing this nonsense into my head so who know what might come of tonight?

Here is a track recorded twenty one years ago at the Barrowlands Ballroom in Glasgow. I had the good fortune to be there that night and when I exclaimed that's Mick Jones, the girl I was with just said in a rather bored voice "who?"

Aztec Camera - Good Morning Britain (Live Barrowlands)

Tuesday 11 October 2011

Seda Muerta



How about a bit of pounding Techno to brighten up your Tuesday. This mix by Female is one of the best things this side of the new Slam single Chasing Shadows which you really must look out for.  The track just keeps building and building.

Svreca - Seda Muerta (Female remix)

Monday 10 October 2011

Love Like Fire



I don't really know that much about this band other than they come from San Fransisco and they have been going since 2006. I bought this single on the back of hearing it somewhere, it sort of reminded me of Asobi Seksu who I was quite into at the time. Listening to the single again at the weekend I'm wondering why I didn't go on to buy anything else other than the next single, Stand In My Shoes.

If you feel the need to investigate further see here

LoveLikeFire - William

Sunday 9 October 2011

Do It All Over Again



I'm off to see Spiritualized tonight in the Queen's Hall in Edinburgh, not the best venue in the world but still, I'm excited. It's been a couple of years since the last time I so Pierce and his henchmen. The album release has been pushed back until March next year when there will be a further round of gigs, this time the ABC in Glasgow a much better venue. I'm still hoping to hear some new material this evening.

Here is a laid back BBC session of Do It Over Again, originally on the Let It Come Down album.

Spiritualized - Do It All Over Again

Saturday 8 October 2011

Breaking Into Heaven



I have played this track quite a lot recently and for me it holds it's own against anything from their debut album or the non album single releases.

What really strikes me is the guitar playing there is a certain swagger or looseness about it that isn't quite as apparent on the earlier releases.  It reeks to me of somebody who not only thinks that they can play but has that arrogant belief that they are better than almost all of their peers. The self belief that the likes of  Jimmy Page or Ritchie Blackmore had/have and there in probably lies the reason why I like the track so much, it has to do with spending all that time in my youth with the pseudo hippies and soaking in all of those albums by Deep Purple, Led Zeppelin, Hendrix and the like which has made me a sucker for the sound of a wah wah peddle or a meandering self indulgent guitar solo.

One other thing, doesn't Ian Brown sound like he really can sing on this track,  what happened?

The Stone Roses - Breaking Into Heaven (Full version with wanky intro)

Friday 7 October 2011

It's Friday . . . Let's Dance



Here's a track from probably my favourite band from the early nineties. It was a real bloody shame that they only released one album but what an album Morning Dove White was. Even now after nearly twenty years of listening I still don't get bored of it and there isn't a duff track on the album.

I have seen the album compaired with Screamadelica and I think this is due to a certain Mr Weatherall being in charge of production and it does have a similar kind of feel about it but I'm not sure if the comparisons are all that helpful. To be honest I play this album a lot more frequently than I play Screamadelica but I don't think that anything here is as outstanding as either Loaded or Come Together. That is not to say that it doesn't have it's standout tracks, it does and for me those are Breakdown, Transient Truth and Why Don't You Take Me. I am not as keen on Weatherall's mix of Fallen as the Darkest Hour mix that was on the original Soma release but that is due to me completely falling in love with that single when I first heard it and flogging it to death. In fact that statement above about One Dove having nothing to match Loaded or Come Together is pish, they do, it's just that the version that does rival those two is not on the album.

Sadly the band split up before completing the follow-up long player so we will never know what could have been. But although Dot Allison went on to produce one really good solo album and three that have their moments she never produced anything nearly as good as this quite underrated album

Anyway today's dance track is one of the brace of Secret Knowledge mixes of the third single to be released from the album, Breakdown. Most people will already have this but I was in a One Dove mood yesterday so . . .

Have a good weekend people

One Dove - Breakdown (Secret knowledge light mix)

Thursday 6 October 2011

Cashing In



Another track which Ian Levine must get the credit for breaking. Due to the music policy in the Blackpool Mecca being a lot less insular than that of the Casino new soul records such as Cashing In were played as well as the more exclusive 60s tracks.

The track was released on Just Sunshine Records in 1973 and was a Leroy Hutson/Curtis Mayfield production that went on to be an anthem in the Highland Room showing that the Blackpool crowd had impeccable taste.

Voices of East Harlem - Cashing In

Wednesday 5 October 2011

Giving Up



A couple of years ago I posted a track by Hairy Diamond that sampled this rather brilliant Van McCoy penned track. Mr H put me onto the original track which I have been searching for on vinyl ever since. The only copy that I have so far seen was £40 which in these cash strapped days just cannot be justified. So it looks like I will be stuck with it on a digital format for the foreseeable future but still think that it should be shared.

The Ad Libs are probably better remembered for The Boy From New York City which was released in 1964 and covered by Darts when I were a wean.

The Ad Libs - Giving Up

Tuesday 4 October 2011

I Won't Hurt You Anymore



How about a bit of Chicago Blues? Here is the b-side of the latest release in the Jazzman  Juke Box Jam series.

Quite, quite beautiful

Frances Burr & KJ Trio - I Won't Hurt You Anymore

Monday 3 October 2011

White Label, Stolen Voices.



I'm not sure what this is apart from really good. Is it an edit, refit, cover,  mash-up? I'm buggered if I know.

Ok, so the concept is that 3 musicians got a pile of obscure tracks by people such as Billie Holiday, John Lennon and Dennis Wilson to name but 3 and took the vocal and a few snippets of the tracks and built their own tunes around them in the style that they felt suited the feel of the vocal. So the Billy MacKenzie vocal is given a Memphis era Elvis like production. On the whole it works but I'm not too sure about the cut-up of Small Hours by John Martyn but that maybe because I love the original so much that touching it is tantamount to sacrilege in my book.

The tracks are collected on a vinyl album which can be purchased for the very resonable price of just £10:49 including postage. The track posted is worth that on it's own.

Jean1 is a reworking of an old Supremes song, 5:30 Plane on which Jean Terrell took lead vocal duties and has been turned into the sort of track that northern soul djs have wet dreams about discovering.

White Label - Jean1

Sunday 2 October 2011

Beyond The Clouds



Here is a lovely piece of dub techno to soundtrack what ever it is you are going to get up to today. Me, I will be doing the bloody shopping . Hope you people down south are enjoying the sunshine. It is grey, dank and horrible up here as I suspect it will be over the water as well!

CV313 are the duo who also record under the name of Echospace and have produced some exceptionally good pieces of dub techno, very remeniscent of the Basic Channel stuff. This is the b-side the epic 23 minute live mix of Beyond The Clouds which you can really lose yourself in.

cv313 -Beyond The Clouds (reprise)

Saturday 1 October 2011

Repackage, Reissue, Ripoff




This week saw the repackaging of all the albums of my favourite band of the 80s and also the back catalogue of another group from that period who, seemingly,  if you believe what you read single handedly changed the music scene during that decade.

Anyway, all this repackaging and remastering is beginning to get on my nerves. I know that I have mentioned before that I bought the remastered Screamadelica and I have also said that afterwards I felt like a mug. I just can't understand why these things are remastered, well I can,  it's just to make money. But what it says to me is, at the time we released a sub standard product which we weren't really that proud of and it has been remastered to sound the way it should have in the first place. Well, if that's the case I want a free copy of the remastered album or my money back as the one that you sold me at the time, you sold under false pretences and all the time in interviews you were saying that this is the best thing we've done, blah de blah.

I have decided to say no to any re-releases, even Fall ones from now on. The Reids, Marr's and Gillespie's of this world, if you want me to spend money give me something new, fresh, original which is more deserving of my money than say, the new Death In Vegas album (not likely, as it is brilliant)  and if you can't,  fucking retire!

Here is an extremely bad cover version by the Reid brothers

The Jesus and Mary Chain - Alphabet Street

oh, and the demo of Upside Down available on the repackaged Psychocandy

The Jesus and Mary Chain - Upside Down