Off To Sunny Spain

I'm off to Madrid in the morning for four days of fun and frolicks, not.

Four days of long hours pouring over the minutiae of protocols and coming to the conclusion that things aren't going to be as easy as people thought they would be.

Here is another belter of a northern track from the essential, For Millionaires Only cd from Goldmine.

The Magnetics - Heart, You're Made Of Stone

Tommy Bolin

As I alluded to a couple of months ago, when I was a youngster I had a fondness for what was then called Heavy Metal. The big influence was my older cousin Stuart who was into all of that stuff and by the time I was in 2nd year at high school he had already taken me to see Whitesnake, UFO and Motorhead at the legendary Glasgow Apollo.

By this time however I had moved away from the NWOBHM to the older hippy shit of Hendrix, Love and Janis Joplin through the influence of a couple of 5th year guys I started hanging about with. They also got me into later day Deep Purple. I had never been the biggest fan of Ritchie Blackmore, Ian Gillan et al but Jim reassured me as he gave me the Come Taste The Band album that this was different and he was right, out went all of the pomp and theatrics associated with Blackmore and in it's place were some funky riffs and some restrained vocals from David Coverdale.

I decided to find out more about Tommy Bolin and discovered that he had OD'd the year after this album had been produced, 1976 at the age of twenty five. He had produced 2 solo albums Teaser and Private Eyes which both showed how versatile a guitar player Bolin was and what a waste of talent.

Not the normal sort of thing that is posted on this blog but here is my favourite track of Bolin's Teaser album.

 Tommy Bolin - Wild Dogs

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

The Morlocks Play Chess

This is a really lazy post but the band are definitely worth checking out.

A couple of weeks ago I got a mail from the Morlocks PR including the track post below. Here is an extract from the press release.


"The Morlocks Play Chess sees these Los Angeles garage-rock stalwarts paying their respects with appropriate raucous abandon to one of the most crucial body of recordings in the American popular music canon. The original Chess releases by now-legendary Blues, R&B and Rock ‘n’ Roll artists like Howlin’ Wolf, Bo Diddley and Chuck Berry among others was the primary inspiration to a generation of young British musicians who’d constitute the “British Invasion,” i.e. the Rolling Stones, Yardbirds, Pretty Things and countless others. The English in turn influenced and encouraged white American teens to follow in their footsteps creating the genre that came to be known as “Garage-rock.” A few years later Garage-rock aficionados would jump start the music revolution we now know as “Punk.” All these artists either covered or reverently “appropriated” the riffs, song structure, primal rhythms and fierce lyric stances of those Chess recordings. Not a single one among them would every claim they’d done it one whit better. The Morlocks hope to bring new attention in the 21st century to this powerful and seminal body of work."

I've listened to the album and it ain't half bad. If you are into scuzzy retro garage rock then this will be right up your street.

The Morlocks - I'm A Man

this love is fucking right!

This Love Is Fucking Right was the first release from the New York then 3 piece The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart on Cloudberry records in May 2007 and is a wonderful piece of thrashy indie pop which bears a more than passing resemblance to the sound of early Wedding Present singles. However if you take the lyrics literally then the song is a bit dodgy. In an interview Kip Bergman stated the song wasn't about incest but was a reference to a Field Mice song called This Love Is Not Wrong. Irrespective of what the lyrics actually mean the track is a cracking 3 minute slice of indiepop.

Since the release of this ep,the band have gone on to release another ep, 6 singles and an eponymous album in 2009 on Slumberland.

The ep came out as a very limited (100 copies, mines is 61) 3" cd, the 13th release  Cloudberry is a DIY indie pop label that specialise in limited run 3" cds and 7" vinyl singles by new bands who sing about unrequited love. In the past they have released singles by The Manhattan Love Suicides, Celestial and The Jealous Sea. All of singles come in beautiful hand made, individually numbered sleeves and are worth collecting for the sheer aesthetic value. If your into indie pop at all then it would be well worth your time to check out the website here.

The Pains of Being Pure at Heart - this love is fucking right!

John Public

A bit of dub for a Sunday.

Errol Walker also know as Bagga Walker is a multi-instrumentalist who has worked with the likes of King Tubby, Jimmy Cliff and on this track Lee Perry. John Public can be found on the excellent Lee Perry Arkology boxset.

Errol Walker - John Public

Jaymay

A complete change of pace today.

I first became aware of Jaymay when she was supporting Isobel Campbell at the Liquid Rooms in Edinburgh in 2006. Although trying to hear her through all of the ignorant bastards who talked continually through the whole set was challenging to say the least.

I was sufficiently impressed with what I heard that I sought out the ep Sea Green, See Blue her only release at that point which I really enjoyed and then bought the album Autumn Fallin' when it was released in 2007, however I have not been able to catch her live again.

Jaymay is from New York and I suppose you could catagorize the music as folk and there have been comparisons with Regina Spektor but apart from the fact that both are female and both sing the comparison doesn't stand up for me. One thing for sure is that she has a thing about colour as at least five of the tracks that I have have a colour in the title. She also has a weird sense in what she goes for in a guy, I ask you what kind of woman searches out men in corduroy?

Jaymay - Corduroy

Jaymay - Gray or Blue

It's Friday . . . Let's Dance

Well you can dance to this if you want, I however have no idea how you would go about dancing to drum & bass as I've never been to a drum & bass night. I prefer to listen to it either through headphones or with the volume cranked right up so that the walls start to shudder.

Photek is the alias of one Rupert Parkes who has been making what would come to be termed as drum n bass since 1992. In the mid 90s he released some absolutely brilliant 12" singles such as Rings Around Saturn, The Seven Samurai and Hidden Camera. Parkes' style was to use atmospheric samples and bits of jazz noodling with mental drum patterns and huge bass sounds.

UFO was the double a side of Rings Around Saturn and was released in 1995. It starts with a real sample of the dialogue between two American soldiers who appear to be encountering a UFO while stationed in the UK. This single was definitely of it's time as this was when the X Files popularity and interest in everything extra terrestrial was at it's height.

If you like the track, the best thing to buy would be the Form and Function album which collects together all the early singles and remixes of these tracks.

I think that it is an absolutely brilliant track.

Have A Good Weekend

Photek - UFO

Another Day, Another Bloody Rant

Getting back to the subject of being a music snob. We were at a barbecue at some friends house last Saturday evening so the full horror of the autumn TV schedule failed to register with me until Sunday evening.


 I was sitting at the laptop in the cupboard come office when I heard the strains of a cat being castrated without anaesthetic coming from the next room. I popped my head round the door to find out what the fuck could be making that kind of racket to see L and M captivated in what I quickly realised was the return of the TV programme I despise above all others with the possible exception of perhaps Pets Do The Funniest Things.

Fucking marvelous, I thought to myself as I shrunk back into my bunker, four months of poor misguided fools, all with a sad story to tell murdering old soul classics and "reinterpreting" million plus selling pop songs. All while the Great Satan looks on from behind his desk with that smug look which can be translated "I can't believe I'm getting away with this yet again, ker ching" and his minor demons bickering amongst themselves and occasionally weeping at one of the sad stories.

And this is where my troubles begin. I know that millions of people get pleasure out of watching what in my opinion is absolute garbage. But, who am I to tell others that what gives them pleasure is vacuous nonsense.

I have heard people talking bollocks about how good such and such was at covering Hallelujah for the umpteenth time and had to stop myself from sneering and feeling superior. After all I  know that the only worthy cover of that song is by Kathryn Williams.

So I try to vent my disdain at the judges and the poor unfortunates that actually perform for the entertainment of the masses.

I have and I hate to say it, nothing but contempt for the contestants on this programme because in my opinion and based on the facts presented, the majority are there simply to be famous not for a love of music or the joy of singing. I may be wrong but I don't think so. I am sick of hearing "PLEASE, Simon, this means the world to me", really more than your kids, your family, stop deluding yourself and realise you are a plumber or call centre employee and not a fucking pop star who hasn't been spotted yet.

Which brings me on to the thing that disgusts me the most about the X Factor, the way that the producers prey on the delusions of people who are not of sound mind and then show them being laughed at by the audience and put down by judges. How do these people who don't have that firm a grip on reality feel when it dawns on them that they have been held up to the ridicule of the millions that watch this programme.

But again, it comes back to the fact that the programme would not be made if the contestants weren't there clamouring for their 15 seconds of fame and it certainly wouldn't be aired if nobody watched it.

So once this rant is finished I will desist from commenting on the programme further and will allow others, however misguided they may be to enjoy this guff without any comment from me

Ballboy - Avant Garde Music

Northern Soul Revival?

At the weekend there was an article in The Guide in the Guardian about Northern Soul. When I picked it up over the kitchen table on Saturday morning and saw the cover I gave a kind of cynical grunt. Here we go again, some misguided souls are trying once more to turn the scenesters onto northern soul. It is a prospect that fills me full of dread, people who last month were into crunk or whatever the media had fed them as the sounds to be heard talking about listening to, will be going down the charity shop trying to find an original Adidas or Gola holdall which they can then fill with their vest tops, high-waister trousers and dodgy cd compilations.

I had to check myself, as that alter ego of mine the music snob was coming to the fore. Didn't I post more than my share of northern tracks on my blog in order to turn people onto the pleasure that can be attained through listening and dancing to the 4/4 beat of tracks like What, Seven Days is Too Long and Love Factory to name but three. Am I not being just a little bit hypocritical here? I asked myself.

I really hate when I start to act like a holier than thou music snob, it really isn't a trait that endears you to anyone except others who like to think that their taste is that much better than everybody else. The type that believe that in knowing who produced the b-side to a long deleted, over rated, obscure , only ever available in Detroit for 2 short months during 1965 7" inch single puts them on a par with Einstein. So I will try to be a little less cynical and agree that anything that turns people on to the joy of northern soul is a good thing and it means that some people may eventually receive the plaudits and royalties that they deserve.

However, we have all seen this phenemenon before, every couple of years somebody thinks that it is time for Northern Soul to become hip and we have to endure adverts for shit chicken, dodgy banks and even dodgier wine being soundtracked by one northern soul classic or another.

There is hope however.

Not one of these campaigns has been that successful, yes there have been the extremely shady Now That's What I call 100 Northern Soul classics cd compilations and the obligatory Keep The Faith T-shirts on show but the fad never seems to last.

I have a theory as to why this happens and it is that you can't just poke your big toe in northern soul you have to immerse your whole body in it. There is that much of it that it will take you a life time to get to grips with it and it is not something to dabble in. The other reason is, and I'm not being a music snob about this but it is an acquired taste. I have friends who like most of the music I like but who don't see the fascination in the 4/4 beat or the endless lyrics about love and loss and baulk at the idea of paying anything from twenty to hundreds of pounds for a 7" inch single. I sometimes pity these individuals but cannot condemn them for not liking it.

So hopefully after a few months of the two films on the subject being released and some toe curling use of some classic tracks in adverts or even worse music to accompany footage of over priced footballers with not an ounce of the talent of say, Jackie Wilson, putting the ball in the back of a net, northern soul will go back to doing what northern soul does best hyping up old soul tunes to stupid buggers like me who will pay over he odds for singles that are older than  a lot of the people buying them.

Anyway here is Edwyn Collins' homage to all things Northern

Edwyn Collins - Keep On Burning

Divine Thing

I've always thought that the Soup Dragons were unfairly tagged as bandwagon jumpers in 1990 when I'm Free hit the charts. As at the tail end of 1989 the promo of Mother Universe was circulating around the indie disco nights and the song certainly declared the direction in which the band were moving.

I'm not trying to say that their stuff is up there with the likes of Loaded or Come Together but when I hear the argument that they were copying Primal Scream I get rather annoyed as at the time of Mother Universe's initial airings, I don't think anybody other than Weatherall and probably Primal Scream had heard the masterpiece which is Loaded.

Anyway, here is a track from the Soup Dragons from 1992 which still makes me want to dance when I hear the intro and has absolutely nothing to do with the witterings above.

The Soup Dragons - Divine Thing

My GS

While clearing out a load of old books yesterday I found the above picture of my Vespa Grand Sportique I had when I was 17. Not the best of pictures but I don't tend to keep photos so it's probably the only one I still have.

When I got this scooter it came with front crash barriers with 12 mirrors attached and a whip ariel, which were quickly binned. I loved the chrome panels and the King and Queen seat on that scooter and it used to make this lovely distinctive ring ding ding noise when you revved up the throttle.

The Who - I've Had Enough

Shimmy

Just trying to tidy up my itunes, I have a fair amount of pish on there that I don't remember downloading, uploading, ripping or whatever.

I found this brilliant track by The Lost Patrol which I'm sure I downloaded from the always intriguing Nevver website a good couple of years ago. Don't know anything about the band but wonder if they are named after the John Ford film staring Boris Karloff? Just googled them and the wiki page categorises their music as surf-a-billy, a new one on me but highly accurate in relation to Shimmy.

The Lost Patrol - Shimmy

Mid Life Crisis

I have been thinking a lot recently about scooters and in particular getting my hands on a fully restored Lambretta GP. I realise that the sight of an overweight middle aged man riding one would induce hysterical laughter from most people, the trouble is I really don't care, as I type this I can smell the 2stroke oil and hear that tinny, some would say rather feeble sounding whine of the engine.

I have the remains of a Vespa P200e rusting away in one of S's many sheds but the prospect of months of work in a cold draughty garage with my head in a Haynes manual isn't really that appealing.

JC, inadvertently fuelled this desire last week when he posted Shall We Take A Trip by Northside. After reading his piece, it got me thinking of an article the Face did years ago on the second wave of the Manchester/baggy bands,  such as the afore mentioned Northside, Flowered Up,  Eusebio and a few other also rans. From this article it wasn't a giant leap of thought to another article in the magazine, I was an avid reader from early on right up until the end, about the Glasgow Scooter scene, an article I missed out being part of by an hour or so.

From when we all got our scooters, it was a regular occurrence to go into the town of a Saturday, go to Mickey Oats to buy various essential parts for our scooters or if really lucky not need any essentials and therefore spend money on unnecessary shiny accessories. Then it would be off to the Barras, where the mods in our midst would go to the incredibly manky OneUp cafe, while I scoured the record stalls for some bootlegs.

In the late 80's, the head of one of the more infamous scooter clubs in the area opened up a scooter parts shop not far from the Barras and the meat market and we started to get our spares from there,  considerably cheaper than Mickey Oates.

One Saturday we arrived to find lots of scooterists milling about outside the shop all dressed in their best gear and their scooters all clean and shiny. When asked what was going on we were informed that some press photographer was coming to take pictures. We decided to hang about but after an hour or so I got bored and decided to ride home and thought nothing more about it thinking that someone was on the wind up only to find out later that it had been true, the photographer had turned up and done his stuff but nobody could remember what mag it was for.

A couple of months later the piece came out in the Face.

This reminiscing has not quelled my desire one little bit for owning another scooter, I realise it is a ridiculous idea and that scooters are nothing but hassle but I don't think that you ever get the bug out of your system, once a stupid bastard always a stupid bastard.

Oh, and if anybody has a copy of that article I would greatly appreciate a scanned copy as I got rid of all my old Face's, Jockey Slut's and the likes 4 years ago when we moved and hate to admit that they went to the local cowp.

The Jam - When You're Young

Just Because

This came on the ipod yesterday. I've said it before but at the risk of repeating myself, you can keep your Aretha's, Diana's,  Martha's et al, Gladys had and still has the best voice out of all of them.

Gladys Knight And The Pips - Best Thing That Ever Happened To Me.

An Update Of Sorts

When I first heard Mardy Bum by the Arctic Monkeys, I immediately thought of My Girl by Madness.  To me the song just sounded like an updating of my favourite Madness track, well if Madness had been northerners and into indie instead of ska but you get my drift don't you?

Madness - My Girl

The Arctic Monkeys - Mardy Bum

It's Friday . . . Let's Dance

Today's track comes courtesy of the Manic Street Preachers. The Manics have always employed the talents of some of the best remixers to add a dance element to their rather earnest polemics to varying degrees of success, The Chemical Brothers did what the Chemical Brothers do to Everything Must Go, not their finest moment if you ask me. Other tracks have been remixed by the likes of Jon Carter, Massive Attack and Felix Da Housekat.

After completion of their last album, Journal For Plague Lovers they decided to let various bands, DJs etc get their hands on the tracks and make of them as was there want. The resulting album, Cooking, Cleaning, Flower Arranging is absolutely brilliant and ridiculously scarce, as only 300 copies were pressed.

With the like of British Sea Power, Saint Etienne and The Fuck Buttons turning in really good tunes but the two stand out tracks are Weatherall's Peeled Apples which has already been featured on this blog and Optimo's (Espacio) Journal For Plague Lovers.What resemblance these tracks bear to the originals I haven't a clue of, as I stopped buying stuff by the Manics long ago and haven't heard the original album.

Optimo  is the alias for DJ Twitch and JG Wilkes , two DJs who have run the Optimo (Espacio) night in the Sub Club in Glasgow since 1997 until April this year.

Manic Street Preachers - Journal For Plague Lovers (Optimo (Espacio) mix)

Never Too Late

M went back to school on Monday, it has been a quick 6 and a half weeks. He got up a little less quickly than he has over the past few weeks and was a bit hesitant about getting the uniform on and getting out of the door, more so than my memory of last year and in complete contrast to the year before, his first when he was practically shoving us out of the door.

I have been trying to remember what it felt like going back to school after the holidays and apart from the first day at high school I have absolutely no memories of the first day at school, which troubles me as it either means that I have early onset Alzheimer's or it was so traumatic that I have blotted these experiences from my memory.

It could be that it really wasn't that big a deal which is a distinct possibility as my mother being a teacher most probably didn't hype it up that much as it meant back to the grindstone for her as well, or as she would say "back to pit boots and purridge".

Anyway,  thinking of school brought to mind the excellent lyric from the song posted about hearing music in a school bell that I thought was worthy of your attention.

Michael Franti used to front the Beatnigs who I saw support Billy Bragg a long time ago in the Glasgow Pavillion.  Then he formed the Disposable Heroes of Hiphoprisy and since 1994 has been with his band Michael Franti and Spearhead. The track comes from a session he recorded for KEXP and can be found on the rather good first volume of Live At KEXP.

Michael Franti -Never Too Late

Garden

We haven't had anything from "the mighty Fall" on here for a while. I know that some of you are saying thank god,, yes Ctel I was thinking of you but I think that it is time that that robbing git Smith should feature once again.

Here is a track recorded for John Peel on the 26th of August 1981 which would find it's way onto the first truly great Fall album Hex Enduction Hour released the following year.

I have absolutely no idea what Smith is going on about but it is magic, you may disagree but I know I'm right.

The Fall - Winter (Peel session)

Blog Rocking Beats III

Well that was the last Blog Rocking Beats, only for now I hope and rather a good night was had by the 3 saddoes playing the records at least. I think most people had a good time, we didn't get any complaints and there was some movement on the floor a couple of times.

Both Mark and Gareth played outstanding sets. For Gareth's playlist head over to HDTOGA. I will try to reproduce Mark's below but I may get a couple wrong as there were a few that were new to me and the second last was an absolute belter.

This time we decided to just go with 3 sets , ANCB starting as he was supposed to go to a family do that night, which he did attend for about five minutes before making it back to the Duck. Gareth was up next and then I finished things off in a rather schizophrenic manner.

I had thought long and hard on the lead up to Saturday about what I was going to play and the order in which it would be played but by the third record, one which I didn't even think I had put in the box and which fitted like a square peg in a round hole all bets were off and from then on in it was anybody's guess where I was going with the tunes. I did play Disco Biscuit Love which arrived on Saturday morning just in the nick of time.

I would just like to thank everybody who has come along and supported the 4 of us over the 3 nights with this vanity project, your attendance was very much appreciated. I would especially like to thank my eighteen year old niece, her boyfriend and their pals who came along and seemed to have a good time. It did lead to a couple of bizarre moments for me and L, especially when S walked in and said "uncle Drew where is Auntie L" not something I ever thought that I would hear in a club in the town.

After we finished myself, L and some friends stayed on for an hour or so at the clubnight Half My Heartbeats which is well worth a visit if you are in the town. After which H drove us home in her car and I felt like a teenager again as due to the numbers I had go home in the boot space.

Although ANCB and Gareth played top tune all night, my track of the night came during the club night when the dj played Men's Needs by The Cribs and at that moment to me just sounded like the best track ever, although I had had quite a few Red Stripes by then.

The Cribs - Men's Needs

Here are the set lists if anybody's interested.

ANCB

Bobby Womack - Across 110th Street
Fathers Children - Hollywood Dreaming
Ripple - Sure Is Funky
Gwen McRae - 90% Of Me Is You
Benny Golson - I'm Always Dancing
Bill Withers - Everything's Ok (edit)
Empress - Dying To Be Dancing
Jackson 5 I Want You Back
Specials - Gangsters (DJ Reefa edit)
??? - Starlight
DTrain - Music
Roxy Music - Slave To Love (edit)
Dee Dee Sharp - Easy Money
4 Hero - Les Fleur
Spinners - A Shame (edit)
Stevie Wonder - Signed, Sealed, Delivered
Lee Dorsey - Night People
Third Degree - Mercy
Eli PaperBoy Reed (Come And Get It ) Absolute Belter!!!
The Charlatans - North Country Boy

Gareth


John Schroeder’s Sounds Orchestral: cast your fate to the wind. 1964
Al Hudson & The Partners: spread love. 1978
Diana Ross: surrender. 1971
Patti Drew: hard to handle. 1969
Mama Cass: it’s getting better: 1969
Kenny Dope: can you handle it (part one). 1999
Eruption featuring Precious Wilson: i can’t stand the rain. 1977
Deee-Lite: deee-lite theme (global village mix). 1990
The Saint Orchestra: funko. 1978
Set The Tone: rap your love. 1983
Hey! Elastica: eat your heart out. 1982
The Main T Possee: fickle public speaking. 1983
Fruits of Passion: all i ever wanted. 1985
The Icicle Works: birds fly (whisper to a scream). 1983
The Farmers Boys: for you (dj version). 1983
Friends Again: honey at the core. 1983
XTC: love on a farmboy’s wages. 1983
The Maisonettes: heartache avenue. 1982
Dennis Coffey: getting it on ‘75. 1974(!) + Jane Kemlow: flashlight (acapella). 2001
The Velvelettes: he was really saying somethin’. 1964
Shocking Blue: venus. 1969
Unlimited Touch: i hear music in the streets. 1980
LCD Soundsystem: daft punk is playing at my house. 2005
The Kills: u.r.a fever. 2010
Muskabeatz featuring Biz Markie: body rock. 1997
Sugarhill Gang: rapper’s delight. 1979
Wham!: wham rap! (enjoy what you do) [special U.S. mix]. 1982
Chad Jackson: hear the drummer (get wicked) [radio edit]. 1990
The Special A.K.A. featuring Rico: too much too young (live). 1980
Tom Jones: looking out my window. 1968

Me

Redskins - The Power Is Yours
M.I.A. - Paper Planes
SLF - Alternative Ulster ?
Guillemots - Trains To Brazil
Allo Darlin' - The Polaroid Song
Blondie - Dreaming
The Monochrome Set - Jacob's Ladder
Aztec Camera - Spanish Horses
Real Estate - Fake Blues
Lloyd Cole & The Commotions - Forest Fire (extended)
Bourgie Bourgie - Breaking Point
Belle And Sebastian - Lazy Line Painter Jane
Frankie Valli - The Night
Human Beinz - Nobody But Me
Millie Jackson - My Man's A Sweet Man
DJ Shadow - This Time
South Street Player - (Who?) Keeps Changing Your Mind (Night mix)
Saint Etienne - Kiss And Make Up (12")
New Order - Bizarre Love Triangle (12")
Pale Fountains - From Across The Kitchen Table (12" extended version)
Airport Girl - The Foolishness That We Create Through Love Is The Closest We Come To Greatness
The Jezabels - Disco Biscuit Love
Frightened Rabbit - Head Rolls Off
Camera Obscura - French Navy
The Ronettes - Be My Baby
Little Willie John - Shaking (Lulu Rouge edit)
Imelda May - My Baby Left Me
The Fall - Mr Pharmacist
Pop Will Eat Itself - Beaver Patrol
That Petrol Emotion - Big Decision (extended mix)
Bessie Banks - Go Now

If we weren't as incompitent as we think we were, there will be a rip of the whole night availible at A North Country Boy's site once I get the mini disc player and discs back to him, so keep your eyes peeled.