I Suppose It's Time

I have just put the tree up and at this moment L is still enjoying decorating it. Give her time and she will be at the end of her tether as the boys take off what she has put on, finds her favourite bauble, the one she has had since she was a kid broken and the lights not working. Season of joy indeed.

I'm off to the town, to Nancy Smillie's to try and get something for L's Christmas. So I suppose it's time to start posting a few and I do mean a few Christmas related songs.

The Raveonettes - The Christmas Song

Black Satin

I wish that this duo would tour over here sometime soon. As I've said on numerous occassions they make a beautiful racket live and to a lesser extent on vinyl.

This track comes from their third full album Lust Lust Lust released in 2007.

The Raveonettes - Black Satin

Head Over Heels

For about a year from when I received the first 3" cd single from Cloudberry I was slightly obsessed by The Manhattan Love Suicides. They weren't doing anything particularly new but at that time not many bands other than The Raveonettes were making these kinds of sounds and I just lapped it up. Most of it sounded like The Jesus and Mary Chain with female vocals, no bad thing in my mind and in the realm of indie rock what is totally unique and new these days and is also listenable anyway?

The band hailed from Leeds and lasted all of 3 years. During that time they released the afore mentioned ep on Cloudberry, five 7" eps, an excellent album and a compilation cd which comprised of all the tracks from the album and the eps, Burnt Out Landscapes which is worth tracking down if you wish to investigate further.

The track posted is from is from the Keep It Coming single released on Lost Music Records and has that famous Hal Blaine drum beat at the beginning and with lyrics that would have fitted in with the subject matter of many of the hits of various 60s girl groups.

The Manhattan Love Suicides - Head Over Heels

Red Tan

Although I was less than impressed this year's Raven In The Grave, it is still about time that the Raveonettes toured the UK again. They are doing a one off gig in London but nowhere else.

Anyway,  here is a track from their third album, Pretty In Black released in 2005. Not a bad way to start the week but I've no idea what the "red tan" is all about unless being Danish they are similarly afflicted in the summer time as us Scottich people and they are singing about sun burn.

The Raveonettes - Red Tan

Does This Mean I'm Moving On?

I think that my love affair with the Raveonettes is over.

I think that my enthusiasm for the band started to wain after the last album was released, it was a good enough lp with a couple of really strong tracks but it also had the truly awful Boys Who Rape (should all be destroyed). So when they toured a couple of months later it was more out of duty than expectation that I bought my tickets and I duly went along expecting to be underwhelmed. But once again the pulled off an absolutely blinding performance with the tracks from In And Out Of Control that were played being every bit as good as the best of the tracks from the previous four albums and the debut ep and both myself and Stiff came home happy with a set of Raveonettes mugs in hand.

I have the feeling that if and when they tour this album in Scotland it will be a different story. I think that the older stuff will be made to fit around the new album and the, although not that dramatic a shift in sound, it is a noticeable one and sees them going in a more shoegazey direction. There was always a gothic element to the racket they made but the early rock and roll and Velvets influence always came to the fore and that is probably why I loved them so much  but the sound and feeling to this album is much more moody and a whole lot less fun.

Don't get me wrong it is by no means a bad album, it's just not a Raveonettes one. With the exception of the first and second last tracks the rest of the album washed over me, it wasn't a struggle to listen to but then again it was no great pleasure.

So I think on reflection and repeated listens that the time has come to move on. Sune and Sharin it's not you it's me but then again we will always have King Tut's.

The Raveonettes - My Time's Up.

The Raveonettes Do The Stone Roses

I never thought that the Stone Roses would be a band that The Raveonettes would cover. But they have and the result is actually rather good.

See that you think

The Raveonettes - I Wanna Be Adored

Raveonettes Again

Saw the Raveonettes last night and again they did not fail to meet expectations. The sound was great although due to the venue not quite as loud as usual. I'm still in two minds over the ABC 2 as a venue, after a good few years, sometimes I quite like it, for example when I saw Isobel Campbell there, it was great as I had a seat. However when the music,  like last night is that bit heavier it sort of loses something when the place isn't quite as closed in as King Tut's. One good thing for oldsters like myself is the fact that the main band comes on at 8:30pm a whole 2 hrs before the Wah Wah Hut, meaning you get to your bed at a reasonable hour on a school night.

My fears as far as the live Raveonettes experience losing its bite due to the poppier direction of the new album were unfounded. All of the tracks were still drenched in the reverb and distortion of old. There wasn't a great deal of reliance on the the new material with  tracks spanning all the albums and the first ep being present; including Bowels of the Beast, the first time i've ever heard that track live.

I really like the sound of new line up made, especially the extremely primal Moe Tucker style drumming. A couple of tunes including Little Animals had a really bizarre arrangement, just vocal and extremely distorted guitar which just about worked. My only gripe about it being that the show was too short running at just under an hour and another 10 mins of encores. It is not as if they are lacking in material these days.

Still can't complain too much as got a set of rather fetching Raveonettes mugs from the merchandise stall where I was served by the very lovely Sharin herself.

Walking up Sauchiehall Street, Stiff remarked that we must be getting old, he never thought he would see the day that we would buy souvenir mugs at a concert and be chuffed about the purchase. Changed days indeed.

The Raveonettes - Ode To L.A.

The Raveonettes - Get Lost

Drew's Concession to Christmas Songs

Contrary to popular belief at my work and amongst my friends I'm not against Christmas songs, I love the Phil Spector Christmas Album, and yes the man is a lunatic and murderer but still produced some amazing music, I'm not making excuses for him but I will still listen to the music but I digress. I just hate the ubiquity of Christmas music, it is fucking everywhere, shops, cafes even piped down our main street on speakers from lamp posts and most of the time not even the original or very good cover versions of the songs but this decade's equivalent of Top Of The Pops does Christmas album, those of you who grew up in the 70s will know what I'm talking about.

The other day over at 17 Seconds, Ed posted my favourite all time festive tune, Christmas (Baby Please Come Home) by Darlene Love,  some rather good covers and also a version by Bonzo and the other 3, that I have not heard and will try to avoid at all costs as I already have enough against the self righteous, short arsed, stupid hat and sunglasses indoor wearing git to be going on with.

I remember last year being excited by the prospect of the Raveonettes covering Baby Please Come Home, I thought that if anyone apart from the Jesus and Mary Chain could do the song justice then it would be them. I was rather disappointed with the lackluster result, judge for yourself but it falls a bit flat to these ears.

The Raveonettes - Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)

My second favourite christmas song

Tom Waits - Christmas Card From A Hooker In Minneapolis

something a bit thought provoking

Simon & Garfunkel - 7 O'clock News, Silent Night

and some nonsense and brilliance from the Fall

The Fall - Jingle Bell Rock

The Fall - (We Wish You) A Protein Christmas

The Raveonettes Go Pop

A couple of weeks ago two of the most eagerly awaited releases, in this house anyway, popped through the door. Tarot Sport by the Fuck Buttons and In And Out Of Control by The Raveonettes.

Tarot Sport blew me away so much so that I played it 3 times on the trot and tracks have been played every day since.

In And Out Of Control on the other hand, I don't know what to make of. On the face of it and after the first listen the title for this post seems apt but then again with titles like Boys Who Rape (Should All Be Destoyed) and Oh, I Buried You Today are hardly the stuff of hit pop songs. A lot of the tracks are certainly sugar coated not in itself a bad thing but as I've said before, what drew me to the band in the first place was the feedback and the chaos of their early stage performances which reminded me of The Jesus And The Mary Chain, however I also loved the harmonies and the boy/girl vocals which are still very much apparent but that  edge that could just be heard in their earlier recorded output has disappeared.

The album is in no way bad, it's just that I was hoping that this time Sune and Sharin would make the album which transfered the experience of them live onto vinyl. I know, never bloody happy.

I will be present when they play Oran Mor on the 15th of December and hope that they will be as good as they have always been live, although after listening to this album I have my reservations.

The Raveonettes - Suicide (from In And Out Of Control)

The Raveonettes -  That Great Love Sound (Live)

The Raveonettes, Again

As I've stated before I love the Raveonettes live and really like the recorded stuff but don't think that it does their live sound justice.

Here are another couple of tracks from previous albums, as it doesn't look as though there will be any new tracks or a tour for that matter in the forseable future.

As others have pointed out there is nothing revolutionary in their sound, yes it is derivative and the lyrics are not deep and meaningful; I think that they are rather good none the less.

The Raveonettes - Remember

The Raveonettes - Somewhere in Texas

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)