unpopular

on the way to Dulverton

IMG_0342, originally uploaded by unpop.

My Reality Is Television Records

The title of this one came from the fabulous Close Lobsters, who feature twice here with a couple of tracks from their excellent Headache Rhetoric album. Am I right in thinking that at the time people felt it was inferior to their Foxheads Stalk This Land debut? If so I think that is a real shame. For me Headache Rhetoric stands the test of time well; the sound of an assured and confident group. Certainly it sits well beside The Wolfhounds records of the same era, although I notice on this tape I’ve plumped for their track from the old Pink It Sells Or It Smells sampler EP. Ditto McCarthy with ‘In Purgatory’. That Pink EP was lovely with its die-cut front and spot varnish finish on the back.

Other highlights on this mix for me would be the run of New Zealand treasures on side two, led off by The Bats from their Daddy’s Highway. I played that album so much in those days. Loved it to bits. It’s something of a mystery then that I did not really follow their career much afterwards. Though by the time of their later albums I suspect my attention had been deflected by drum’n’bass and electronica. Whatever the reasons, it has been a genuine delight to discover them again in recent years. I finally got around to sourcing a digital version of Daddy’s Highway recently too, and listening again it sounds astonishingly good. It also feels beautifully familiar, like an old friend who falls back into your arms after years apart.


Side One

Sounds Like Something Dirty - A Certain Ratio (somehow escaped being zipped, so download separately!)
It's Easy - Laugh
Round & Round - New Order
Spoilt Victorian Child - The Fall
Riding The Times - Thirst
My Days Are Numbered - Close Lobsters
Stars In The Tarmac - The Wolfhounds
In Purgatory - McCarthy
She Stood Up - The Asassins
Blue Thunder (With Sax) - Galaxie 500
I Had Love In My Hands - Alternative TV

Side Two

Got Apprehension - Close Lobsters
Marquee Moon - Television
Trouble In This Town - The Bats
Never Never Go - The Chills
Don't Even Know Her Name - The Chills
The Strange and Conflicting Feelings of Separation and Betrayal - Sneaky Feelings
Better Days - Phil Wilson
Rip It Up - Orange Juice
Obscurity Knocks - The Trash Can Sinatras
Get A Knife Between Your Teeth - McCarthy
Falling Down Around Me - The Teardrop Explodes
Kilburn Towers - Bee Gees
Big Madness/Monday Club Carol - The Fatima Mansions

Sonic Love Rumbles

The Clouds Have Grooooovy Faces!

They had quite groovy haircuts as well, but that’s another story. Anyway, here’s one from January 1989. I know this to be the case because I had the foresight to add the date to the cover. It’s another rocking collection, which perhaps gives lie to the old tales about being devoutly anti-Rock and living in some candy floss Pop daydream. Whatever.

One of the things that unearthing and reassembling these old mixes reminds me of is the fact that I had remarkably few records from which to choose songs (though my mum would have begged to differ on that issue). Certainly compared to these days, when at last glance I had over 32000 songs to choose from in my music library, and literally millions more at my fingertips on the Interwebs. There is something wonderful about that ease of access of course, but equally there was something special in having limited resources. Those were days of utter immersion in records, and whilst I am willing to accept the argument that such an activity is partly to do with age, it is not entirely so. So here we have a couple of cuts from the Spacemen 3 ‘Revolution’ 12” alongside some Loop (a quick glance on the sleeve tells me that ‘Circle Grave’ was on the ‘Black Sun’ 12”) and My Bloody Valentine from the Isn’t Anything era (including one of the instrumentals from the free 7” that came with the album). Good to hear those 14 Iced Bears songs from the eponymous album on Thunderball records. My, what a splendid album that was. You can see some words I wrote about it in the old Imaginaction! Fanzine. And then there are three tracks from Lou Reed’s New York album which must have been released around that time.

Side One

The Mercy Seat - Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
There Is No Time - Lou Reed
Revolution - Spacemen 3
Torched - Loop
(When You Wake) You're Still in a Dream - My Bloody Valentine
Take It - 14 Iced Bears
It's Just a Fear - Answers
Psychotic Reaction - Count Five
Magnificent Dreams - Television Personalities
Fever Mountain - The Revolving Paint Dream
Hay Fever - 14 Iced Bears

Side Two

Rent Act - The Wolfhounds
Don't Wait Too Long - The Jasmine Minks
Strawman - Lou Reed
Deanna - Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
Ché - Spacemen 3
Mandra Mandra - The Revolving Paint Dream
Instrumental 2 - My Bloody Valentine
Circle Grave - Loop
Dime Store Mystery - Lou Reed

Falling like an enormous yes

I was blogging for work this morning over on my Transforming Learning and Teaching blog. In the process of doing so I thought about that line in Larkins’ poem about Sidney Bechet - “on me your love falls like an enormous yes”. Eagle eyed readers will know that I referred to that line and that poem in the second issue of my Melody Haunts My Reverie fanzine, and I kind of assumed that lots of people would be familiar with it and would have quoted it in various guises on the interwebs. I was surprised then to discover that there is just ONE result returned from Google for the line. Except if you try it now there will be two. Or, erm, actually now three if you include this one. It makes me wonder if I have remembered the line slightly wrongly, which is entirely possible. I’m sure that our learned literature academics will put me right if so.

Leading on from that, I have to admit a certain level of disappointment (I’m trying to nudge myself gently away from saying ‘depression’ here) about the complete lack of interest in the Transforming Learning blog amongst my education colleagues. I’ve been in the blogging and online publishing world long enough to know that building an audience takes time, and I’ve no problem with that whatsoever. It’s the deafening silence coming from immediate colleagues that’s somewhat bewildering. Maybe it’s just evidence of that great Bukowski quote that cropped up on Quotes On Design: “Some people like what you do, some people hate what you do, but most people simply don’t give a damn.”

Sidney Bechet: 'Shake It and Break It'

Not Blue Monday

The Boy Himself reminds me that today is ‘officially’ Blue Monday. The most depressing day of the year, apparently. Personally I’m feeling quite upbeat and actually looking forward to a fairly regular kind of week without any disruption due to weather or days out to education shows and interviews for Newsbeat (I didn’t hear it myself but reliable sources tell me I was introduced as a Mr Pritchard, so not quite the fame I expected).

On his blog post on this topic a couple of years ago (Blue Monday I mean, not me being called Mr Pritchard) The Boy Himself ponders making a mix tape to celebrate the occasion. I think that’s a wizard idea too, so here’s one I knocked up in my shed. I call it Mist On A Monday Morning after the very marvellous Move.

Tracks below, grab your zippy here, usual terms apply, support the artists and small labels if not the multi-national corporate music industry per se, etc etc.

Monday's Rain - The Clientele
A Thing Called Sadness - Bobby Vinton
Glad To Be Unhappy - The Mamas & The Papas
Blue Serge Blues - The Pretty Things
Monday After Sunday - Chicory Tip
Unhappy Boy - Twinkle
Everybody's Had the Blues - Merle Haggard
Space Blues - Felt
Depression Is Best - Slumber Party
Unhappy Holidays - The Mabels
Miserable In Coat + Tie - The Pathways
Depression Kicks - My Teenage Stride
Unhappy Days - 14 Iced Bears
Mist On A Monday Morning - The Move
Thirsty And Miserable - Dirty Projectors
Echoed In Sadness - Change Of Seasons

Mudlarks

I still really like the cover on this old tape. A photo of Pete Townshend in the process of destroying his guitar, taken off the telly one night. Taking photos off the telly was great. I always loved the quality of them. Shifty, shady and gravelly. The photo was overlaid with tracing paper with the obligatory Letraset letters. I can’t believe how labour intensive making a tape cover used to be.


The tracks on this one are pretty great too. Lots of spiky tunes, including some Wolfhounds songs that I don’t think have seen digital releases. Lots of Liverpool cuts too, with the Bunnymen, Teardrops and a healthy dose of Wylie and his various incarnations of Wah!

Side One

Story of the Blues, Pts. 1 & 2 - The Mighty Wah!
Pride - Echo & The Bunnymen
Books - The Teardrop Explodes
Why She's A Girl From The Chainstore - The Buzzcocks
New Thing In Cartons - Fire Engines
Deadthink - The Wolfhounds
Man Of Few SyllablesvBig Flame
Oh! Brother - The Fall
Motorcade - Magazine
Seven Minutes To Midnight - Wah! Heat
Marooned - Wire

Side Two

Welcome To The Working Week - Elvis Costello
Because You're Frightened - Magazine
Read It In Books - Echo & The Bunnymen
Swamp Thing - The Chameleons
Why D'You Imitate The Cut Out - Wah!
Mission Impossible - Wah!
Dream By Dream - The Chills
Eat Y'Self Fitter - The Fall
Men 2nd - Wire
L.A. Juice - The Wolfhounds
Bible Of The Beats - Age Of Chance

Form Follows Function - Transforming Learning & Teaching

First afternoon at BETT yesterday was a mixed bag. The highlight was certainly being asked to do a wee interview for Radio One Newsbeat about five minutes after I’d arrived. Not that I have listened to Radio One for many, many years (and even then it would only have been in the evenings for Janice Long, Kid Jenson and then Peel) but I do remember the Newsbeat segments. Vaguely.

Anyway, I jest about that being the highlight of course. Actually the most enjoyable thing was taking part in the 21st Century Learning Alliance debate in the Future Learning seminar space. Chaired by Sir Mike Tomlinson, the panel and delegates talked about what we would most like government (whichever government that might turn out to be come May) to do with regards education. It ended up being quite a tangential debate, as these things often are, but a couple of threads were coming out very strongly.

via unpopular.typepad.com

More of this over on my Transformers blog.

Big Flame part 13 - Tradesman's Entrance

Stretch.

*

The bay lifts a lazy eyelid and glances at me on the hill, descending like death into its heart. Careless, it’s all dying anyhow. Another bay. Another beach. Another golf course. Bodies dot another’s sands. Numbingly identical. The tradesman’s entrance to the Royal Turnberry Hotel, a flash, quiet now, midday bustle down below in kitchens.

*

Tubular hum, delightful.

Part 13 of Big Flame is online now.

Fantastique! issue 1

Fantastique! issue 1, originally uploaded by unpop.

Jenny Toomey of Tsunami / Grenadine / Simple Machines records said this one was "excellent... truly one of the most beautiful fanzines I've ever seen from England."

This was the first fanzine I had printed with a coloured ink, and the first one to have two colours (or at least two different hues of blue) used on the same page. It also had a tracing paper outer cover and a fiddly foldout page that was a nightmare to collate, but worked pretty well, particularly on the Stockholm Monsters piece. A fair bit of the text in this eventually surfaced again in Young and Foolish.

Download a PDF of Fantastique! issue one here

Kissing Machine

Kissing Distance 1, originally uploaded by unpop.

Kissing Distance 2, originally uploaded by unpop.

I finally got round to constructing one of my christmas presents today - a ‘kissing’ machine constructed of party blowers that Meg sent me. It’s an Art object of course. Instructions below.

Now perhaps I ought to go out in the snow and plant kisses on icicles...

Kissing Distance

Have you ever felt intoxicated by the proximity of things?

Scents can be overwhelming in the heat of a summer’s day.
A little breeze can carry distant sounds to your ear.
Reaching a clearing or turning a corner, you may be taken aback by the sudden nearness of the landscape jumping into view.

On such a day, feel free to unwind - revel in your surroundings and be on intimate terms!

1. Take a party-blower, unroll its length and cut off the tip leaving a straight edge.
2. Take a second blower and carefully cut off the plastic mouthpiece.
3. Insert the second blower inside the tip of the first and attach them together making a perfect seal with tape.
4. Check that you can still unroll this elongated blower with your breath.
5. Continue in this way adding more and more blowers, checking with each addition.
6. You may be surprised at the distance your breath will travel. Celebrate and plant a kiss on all you see!