Monday 31 December 2018

Out With The Old



All the best to all of you when it comes although the change of year will mean hee-haw when May is still in charge (well that's the theory anyway) here, the orange muppet is still in the Whitehouse and Vlad has carte blanche to do whatever the hell he likes.

Thanks to all who have stopped by here over the past 12 months. I hope that there will be more, longer and more interesting posts in 2019 but I wouldn't bet on it.


Thursday 27 December 2018

The Sound of Mu(sic)



I had contemplated posting this in the Monday Long Song slot but when I thought about it, it's not really a song. What it is, is a mix of music by the KLF put out in 2005 in a scam to make people think that Cauty and Drummond had unretired from the music business. The two jokers behind the prank were Strictly Kev (Dj Food) and Mr Trick. The full lowdown on the mix can be found here

Not a bad way to while away half an hour in the limbo land that is 27th December.

The Sound of MU(sic)

Tuesday 25 December 2018

Saturday 22 December 2018

Not Long Now


Yeah, I know this has been posted probably every festering season since I started this blog but I will not apologise for posting the Christmas song. Oh, and I have used that title before too. 

Darlene Love - Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)

Friday 21 December 2018

It's Friday . . . Let's Dance






"I really miss working in a pub on the Friday before Christmas" nobody in their right mind said ever.

Always known up here amongst the unfortunates like me who had to work it as Mad Friday, the night of the amateur drinkers who know fuck all about pub etiquette or when to ask for a pint of Guinness when at the bar with a list, I'll give you a clue it's first, every fucking time, not third not fifth and certainly not last. You also get the tradesman with his apprentice in tow, or maybe the whole team  who have loused early and are now pretty well into it, having forgone lunch or any lumpy stuff whatsoever, the apprentice is now nearly comatosed, ready to vomit or both. Then there are the party goers in their stupid Santa hats or Reindeer Antlers, the ones that say to the bar staff "cheer up it's Christmas". If I had a quid for every time I heard that on a Mad Friday I would have had enough money to keep me drunk all through January when all these tossers "are aff it" and unlikely to set foot in a pub until Easter.

The hardened drinkers, the ones who know how to conduct themselves in a pub stay away from the local on this night or they all congregate in the bar that is unlikely to get any of the punters described above, there will still be a few that enter by mistake but will drink up sharpish as the atmosphere  will not be one of joy and fun.

Too much, too bah humbug?

This tune is for all the unfortunates having to do a shift tonight, when things get too much for you start humming this song and sing the immortal words "sisters, brothers we'll make it to the promised land" I will raise a glass to you from the comfort of my listening chair and remember the good times when that bar keep was me.

Also if you are out tonight and not arseholed yourself be a good sort and buy the bar person a drink, I guarantee that if you are staying in that hostelry for a while you will be noticed when you go up for your next round.

The Diamonds were a bit better last week against Arbroath, who to be honest didn't look that great for a side with 20 odd more points than Airdrie! The team had there chances but we went home disappointed with another defeat but a close one, in what was a highly entertaining game in somewhat inclement weather. Tomorrow it's the long road to Brechin to take on the team three places below us in the league but worrying with only four points fewer.

Joe Smooth feat Anthony Thomas - Promised Land

Thursday 20 December 2018

What's One More Lie?



An apt question in these troubling times.

I know absolutely nothing about this track apart from up until 2007 it hadn't been released on vinyl, when it was pressed up and given away at the 100 Club's 28th Anniversary. It will set you back upwards of £125 to get a copy now!,  this absolutely glorious piece of heart on your sleeve soul had been included in an instrumental version on the essential Kent cd GWP NYC-TCB from a couple of years previously. I think that I prefer the instrumental but then again that was the first version I heard so maybe that's why.

Milton Bennett - What's One More Lie

The Milton Bennett Band - What's One More Lie

Monday 17 December 2018

Monday's Long Song



Another bit of modern kosmiche Musik this week. Mugstar are quite adept at the chugging bass and synth propelled epic instrumentals that spring to mind when somebody mentions Space Rock and so they should be as they have been honing their craft for well over a decade now. So there were quite a few tracks to choose from to fill this Monday slot. Remember The Breathing comes from the band's last album released in 2016 on Rock Action, the label set up by Mogwai who are no strangers to wandering past the 7-8 minute mark.

Mugstar - Remember The Breathing 

Saturday 15 December 2018

The Tracks Of My Year




Right here we go, time for what some have called the most indulgent post in a year of indulgent posts and I'm not going to argue. I like lists and I like compiling lists too. I was looking back at this list from previous years and there is a definite shift  away from the what would I suppose be termed as traditional "indie" to heavier, guitar based sounds that are generally longer. but still mixed with a large dollop of dance and a couple of bits of pop thrown in for good measure. This is also the first year since 2010 that their has been no presence from The xx in any form, not even a remix of somebody else by Jamie xx, if he has been active over the past 12 months then I have not heard it. Andrew Weatherall keeps up the record as the only artist to have featured on every one of my yearly lists. Although he has been slightly less prolific than last year he has still cost me a pretty penny. He could have easily made up a quarter of this list but I have limited him to three entries. I suspect that Lord Sabre will feature more prominently over at SA's Bagging Area when he gets his arse in gear.

It was pretty apparent from the first time that I heard SX1000 back in March that it would take something really special to usurp it from being my favourite track of the year and so it proved to be not even a highly anticipated Spiritualized album or a return to best form by the Orb produced anything that could create a bigger grin or hold my attention the same. Not even continual playing on YouTube prior to actually getting my hands on the 12" could sicken me off of first single from the Lucid Dream's 4th album. Magic stuff.

1, The Lucid Dream - SX1000
2, The Orb - Soul Planet
3. Spiritualized - I'm Your Man
4. Andrew Weatherall - Making Friends With The Invader
5. Traceyanne & Danny - O'Keefe
6. Jono Ma & Dreems - A Love Trance Mission From NK to 7S
7. Public Sector Broadcasting - They Gave Me A Lamp (Plaid mix)
8. Janelle Monae - Make Me Feel
9. Primal Scream - Big Jet Plane (original Mephis recording)
10.Daniel Avery - Glitter (Jon Hopkins mix)
11.Mogwai - We're Not Done (End Titles)
12.She Drew The Gun - Wolf & Bird
13.Mien - Black Habit
14.Psychic Lemon - Exit To The Death Lane
15.Jon Hopkins - Luminous Beings
16.Mattiel - Just A Name
17.Tomorrow Syndicate - A Glitch In Time
18.Haiku Salut - Iam Who I Remind You Of
19.Rival Consoles - Persona
20.Tracey Thorn - Sister (Andrew Weatherall mix)
21.Wooden Shjips - Staring At The Sun
22.The Shacks - Follow Me
23.Karen O feat Michael Kiwanuka - Yo! Ma Saint
24.Goat - Let It Burn
25.Beak - Alle Sauvage
26.The Lucid Dream - Alone In Fear
27.Confidence Man - Out The Window (Greg Wilson and Che Wilson mix)
28.Asteroid #4 - Ghost Garden
29.Black Delta Movement - Butterfly
30.Black Doldrums - It's A Dandy Massacre
31.Carla J Easton - Vagabond
32.Marius Circus - I Feel Space (original mix)
33.Field of Dreams - Nothing Is Perfect (Weatherall mix)
34.HiFi Sean - Transparent
35.Our Girl - Our Girl
36.Comet Gain - If Not Tomorrow
37.Spiritualized - Sail On Through
38.Tracyanne & Danny - Alabama
39,Liminanas - The Gift
40.Riton and Kah Lo- Fake ID












Thursday 13 December 2018

It's Beginning to Feel a Bit Like

With all the shite going on all around, something a little festive to cheer us up. The sight of Sharin Foo always makes me feel better, especially when she was on the merch stall handing me my mugs (sigh)!

Still can't get over the year Dobies Garden Centres used this to soundtrack their Christmas ad.


Wednesday 12 December 2018

Theory of Colours



I had totally forgotten about this album until a track popped up on the iPod a few weeks ago, since then it has been on heavy rotation. Theory of Colour, the debut album from welsh producer Dauwd came out last year. I must have ripped it, filed it and then let it slip my mind. The album moves from minimal house, through more abstract pieces sand this rather lovely more mellow finisher.

Dauwd - Theory of Colours

Monday 10 December 2018

Monday's Long Song.



I still have no idea who Koolaid are but the previous album Koolaid (Global Tyranny) from 2011 was a big favourite around these parts. Earlier this year a second lp Koolaid (Holy Sunshine) came out a few months ago and it's just about as bonkers as the previous release. Take this track. Canyon which makes the supposition that the whole counter culture movement in the 60s was actually a secret C.I.A. experiment that got out of hand. See I told you bonkers.

Koolaid (Holy Sunshine) - Canyon

Sunday 9 December 2018

My Top Ten Albums of the Year



It has been a great year in my opinion for music and even more so for the album a format that we were all told had had it's day. I have bought more albums that hang together  as a piece of work over the past 12 months than for many a year. Purchasing all of these has not come without its problems also, firstly there is the cost aspect, we shall not get into the question of why some new releases can be bought on vinyl for £13 and other are upwards of 20 quid but it is becoming very costly. Secondly and more worrying is that I am running out of space and even I can no longer justify the piles cluttering up the floor to the increasing comments regarding lack of visible floor in what should be the dining room.  Recently I have bought some on cd, even when available on vinyl! but am not yet ready to go round the download only route.

It has been difficult to pick my top ten, five of them were a given but there are lots of others that would have been shooty in in previous years but didn't make the cut in 2018. Notable mentions being the Orb, Daniel Avery and Jon Hopkins. I could have easily made this a top twenty but decided to keep it to the ten. There are others that if I had bought earlier and had a chance to listen to more may have edged something out of the list, I'm thinking of Beak in particular and there are most certainly at least two that would have made the ten if I had gotten round to buying. But this is the ten as of 08th December.

10. Mattiel - Mattiel



This is a raw, retro mix of soul and 60's garage sounds which is pretty effective, My only gripe is that the vocals of Mattiel Brown can sound a bit shouty after repeated listens.



9. Tomorrow Syndicate - Future Tense



Find of the year for me. Retro futurist sounds from Glasgow. All analogue synths and sci-fi inspired dreamy pop that would not have sounded out of place in those 70s programmes about the future, that's not to say that the music is not fresh it just brings to mind that kind vision of what was to come as forseen during that decade.



8, Mien - Mien



Psych rock supergroup made up of members of The Black Angels , the Horrors and The Earlies which is as good and diverse as that would suggest.



7. Psychic Lemon - Frequency, Rhythm, Distortion



There seems to be a glut of good psych rock bands out there at the moment and Psychic Lemon with this their second album must be amongst the top of the pile. A great mixture of Kraut, Spacerock with plenty of fuzz and distortion on 5 mostly instrumental tracks. Great stuff when played loud.




6. She Drew The Gun - Revolution of The Mind



Another second album, this time from Liverpool's Louisa Roach. More scathing social commentary expertly written to a soundtrack of catchy and at times quite poppy modern psych that deserves to be heard by a lot more people. What is it about Liverpool and psychedelic sounds at the moment?



5. Tracyanne & Danny



Sublime album from Traceyanne Campell and Danny Coughlan. So many highlights on this lush mostly laid back album. If Alabama, Tracyanne's tribute to her friend and bandmate Carey Lander doesn't leave you with at least watery eyes then you are one cold hearted bastard that I never wish to meet.



4. Rival Consoles - Persona



I'm not sure that a more different album from the one above would be possible on this list. Ryan Lee West's fifth long player as Rival Consoles has been compared to the most recent release by Jon Hopkins and I can see why. However I found this flowed better and held my attention a lot more than Singularity.  There are lots of 4x4 beats and immaculate techno on show here but also a couple of sublime less frantic moments.



3. The Lucid Dream - Actualisation



In any other year this would easily have been top of the list. The Carlisle psych-rockers experiment with acid house sounds and come up with something a bit different which got them tagged as "psych traitors" a badge that they and some of us wear with pride., The album had been highly anticipated after the release of SX1000 and did not disappoint over the 6 tracks, a hybrid of dub, psych and acid house. Very much looking forward to seeing them headlining in February after their all too short support slot with Wooden Shjips at St Luke's a couple of months ago.



2. Primal Scream - Give Out But Don't Give Up (The Original Memphis Recordings)



I have debated over including this in here but I think that it is different enough from the original release to warrant it's inclusion.

When I first read that Primal Scream were releasing the original Memphis recording of GOBDGU I thought to myself "oh aye, sounds a bit like barrel scraping to me" and then I thought that it might be worth having as a companion piece to the original which I really liked at the time. It can't be that different can it.

Fuck me, I was stunned on first play, those horns, the guitars, Bobby G's singing! There is such a warmth to the tracks on these recordings. At first I thought that they were mad not to release this at the time but on reflection, there was a lot of disappointment at what was released these recordings would not have been reviewed more favourably, 1994 was not the year for something as beautiful as these songs turned out under Tom Dowd's expert supervision. Even Rocks, my least favourite Primal track up until this point is nearly bearable. Who would have thought that Gillespie was capable of singing as well as he does on this record.



1, Spiritualized - And Nothing Hurt



It's Spiritualized, what more do you need to know.

If this is Spiritualized's swansong, (I hope not) then there are worse ways to bow out than this.



                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 






Friday 7 December 2018

It's Friday . . . Let's Dance



A bit later than usual and with a track that has been posted before, sorry. But in my defence it was nearly six years ago and it is a belter and worth another airing.

Greg Wilson is renowned for his edits and for me this along with his extended Voodoo Ray is his best. On this Wilson takes two already re-edited tracks, one a mash up of Massive Attack's Unfinished Sympathy and Amerie's 1Thing and the other a mash up of 1Thing and Sympathy For The Devil splices them together and creates a monster of a track which is virtually impossible not to dance to.

Last week's pitiful performance by Airdrie was enough but having to listen to JC relate how well Raith Rovers were to his mate Aldo over the phone as I was driving us all, including Walter back to Lanark was nearly too much. Let's hope that the Diamonds can do better tomorrow when they take on Dumbarton away, for the third time this season. They won the last encounter two weeks ago comfortably but the team that came out at Starks Park last week was the exact same team the performance was back to something akin to dire showings of earlier in the season, so god knows what will be on show tomorrow.

Have a good weekend people

Greg Wilson - Two Sides of Sympathy

Pete Shelley RIP



Very sad news last night. Going Steady is possible the greatest, singles collection ever.


Thursday 6 December 2018

It's That Time Of The Year Again



I wasn't sure about posting this as feelings are still quite raw regarding Scott's death but it is such a good song. I did burst out greetin' when I pulled the 7" out of the cupboard and put it on the other night.

Frightened Rabbit - It's Christmas So We'll Stop (Choir version)

Frightened Rabbit - It's Christmas So We'll Stop

Wednesday 5 December 2018

I Opened A Bar

This is a bit strange but it has inveigled it's way into my brain and refuses to leave. Sophie Hunger is a Swiss artist who now lives in Germany and whom I was blissfully unaware of until last week but since then I have heard this track quite a few times and I even bought the download, not something I regularly do.


Tuesday 4 December 2018

More Of The Genuis of Michael Head




I still haven't been able to finish that Shack ICA, every time I think that's it,  I fuck about with it some more and then it doesn't seem right. At present I am toying with the idea of doing two volumes as I don't think I'm allowed to make it a double album.

Here's Tom With The Weather was Shack's fourth album and is a rather mellow affair and the influence of Arthur Lee looms large on the album, nowhere more so than on the lovely Meant To Be with the track almost stops and the mariachi horns send it off in a totally different direction only for the track to break and return onto is original course. Not the sort of thing anybody else was doing back in 2003. The rest of the album is just as good and brother John takes the lead on three of the twelve tracks, his more gentle vocal adding a different dimension, check out Carousel for an absolutely lush love song.

Shack - Meant To Be

Monday 3 December 2018

Monday's Long Song



Today's tune is not the easiest of listens and not just due to the fact that part of it was used in the horror film 28 Days Later but it is still a gripping one and a track I return to often. I have learned that East Hastings is a rather down at heel part of Vancouver where all the trappings of poverty can be seen on the streets. I have heard comments that this track by Godspeed You Black Emperor would perfectly soundtrack a trip round the neighbourhood. Bleak is as good a description of the tune as you will get but as I said in the first sentence it is captivating. The rest of the album is great too and the further two releases I have by the Canadian band follow a similar vein but are no less worth checking out.

Godspeed You Black Emperor - East Hastings