unpopular

No-one ever tells you

More Fool You - Roy Moller (from 'Playing Songs no-one's Listening To')
Rat Race - Skytone (on YouTube)
Come Dancing - Darren Hayman (from 'I Taught You How To Dance')
Heart of Gold - The Kinks (on YouTube)
Hit the Grass Running - Brave Irene (Soundcloud)
No One Ever Tells You - Psychic Dancehall (Bandcamp)
Sarah Sitting - Swirlies (YouTube)
Wherever You Are - Audrey Ryan (Bandcamp)
Terms Of Reference - Champion, Alberta (Soundcloud)
Sunday (Psychic Conversation #9) - Crocodiles (YouTube)
No Big Deal - Terry Malts (from 'Killing Time')
If I Get Back On My Horse Again - The Hairs (Soundcloud)
Stockholm - Wet Wings (Bandcamp)
Stevie Nicks - Tigercats (Bandcamp)
Martin Amis' Teeth - Rockets Burst From The Streetlamps (Soundcloud)
Books - Paperfangs (Soundcloud)
Swoon - Ask For Joy (Bandcamp)
I Could Never Break Your Heart - Summer Twins (Bandcamp)

I'm never telling you again

Good Times

I’m sure that I have said many times in the past that radio has never played a large part in my life. I’ve never really analysed why this is the case but suspect it may the control freak in me: I like to feel in control of what I hear, and in what order. Even on the occasions that I allow iTunes to randomly choose songs I will find myself skipping over tracks and quite quickly returning to a pre-constructed playlist. As a result I am sure I miss out on a lot of things that might delight me, but I’m happy to live with that.

However one of the radio shows I do remember listening to was a ‘Disco’ show on Radio 1 back in the late 1970s. A quick search of the interwebs tells me this was possibly Robbie Vincent’s hour long show on a Saturday evening, although my admittedly dodgy memory insists it was closer to 1979 than 1977. Whatever the year, I was certainly reminded of the pleasure of listening to the show when I read that list of songs from 1979 in Kevin’s most recent ‘Your Heart Out’. I said at the time that it would make a great mix and that is so true. In fact it has been pretty much my sole musical accompaniment this past week. Breakfast seldom sounded as good as it did this morning with the sounds of ‘Cuba’ and ‘Number One Song In Heaven’ echoing in the kitchen.

In case you need any extra convincing I’m going to share the pleasure. Split into two fabulous collections. Available for a limited time only. I know you’ll buy the songs you love anyway...

“Lyrically weak, but the music's the thing”

Living On The Frontline - Eddy Grant
Boogie Wonderland - Earth, Wind & Fire with The Emotions
Silly Games - Janet Kay
Are 'Friends' Electric? - Gary Numan And Tubeway Army
Cars - Gary Numan And Tubeway Army
Ring My Bell - Anita Ward
Gangsters - The Special AKA
Cuba - Gibson Brothers
Ooh What A Life - Gibson Brothers
The Number One Song In Heaven - Sparks
Beat The Clock - Sparks
Space Bass - Slick

“Responsibility to me is a tragedy”

Death Disco - Public Image Ltd.
Good Times - Chic
We Are Family - Sister Sledge
Lost In Music - Sister Sledge
Ain’t No Stopping Us Now - McFadden & Whitehead
Shake Your Body (Down To The Ground) - The Jacksons
Babylon's Burning - The Ruts
Stranglehold - UK Subs
Lady Lynda - The Beach Boys
Reasons To Be Cheerful, Part 3 - Ian Dury
Money In My Pocket - Dennis Brown

"Did you buy a Porsche yet?"

I don't really read newspapers (see the point about Obituries columns below) so I missed this in The Guardian. I do read blogs however, and enjoyed Davy H's responses on his fab 'The Ghost Of Electricity'. Naturally I could not resist having a go myself. How do you fare?

You think it's about time you bought a nasal hair trimmer.
It has been safely housed in the bathroom cabinet for some years.
You can't sit down or stand up without making an "effort" noise.
Getting up from the sofa, certainly. I’m sure that’s just because the sofa is getting lower though.
You write a letter to your council about rubbish collection.
Thankfully no longer necessary now we live in a village. But actually one of the reasons we left the city...
All your friends start buying dogs.
Friends?
You become a bystander to the latest trends in denim.
There are trends in denim? I thought they were just jeans.
You notice your legs are going bald (men).
Perhaps unsurprisingly, only after I’ve shaved them. Actually it’s getting to that time of year again isn’t it?
You have a colourist (women).
Why would you want that? It would ruin your clothes, all those felt tip marks...
You listen to Radio 1 and don't understand any of it.
Never did understand Radio 1. Or listen to it. At least not since I was 14.
You rely on the kids for IT advice.
Ha! That’s so funny it’s not even funny. Or something.
You start flossing.
I know I should... does having an electric toothbrush count?
You wonder if there are cruise holidays not full of senior citizens.
Still don’t see the point of cruise holidays. Hope I never do :)
Tanktops, gilets, bodywarmers – sleeveless items of clothing begin to appeal.
I would only ever wear a gilet when riding a bicycle. And frequently do.
You know when the Chelsea Flower Show is.
No idea. I expect the Duchess does though.
You worry about your knees
Doesn’t everyone?
You don't wear heels in daylight.
I certainly try and avoid it.
The first thing you read in the obituaries column is age of death.
I almost never look at the obituaries column. I also hardly ever look at a newspaper.
You start getting your wine delivered.
Did that then stopped. Now it’s more likely to be beer.
You no longer scan the room for beautiful people at a party. You're looking for a seat.
Party? Ha!
You start each day thinking you should live it like your last. But you don't.
Nope. I just start each day certain I have forgotten to do something really important.
Your ears get bigger.
I have Simple Ears, so that would probably be a good thing.
You know you haven't got a novel in you.
At least not a good one... 
All your favourite TV is on Sunday night.
All my favourite TV is on DVD box-sets. Or iTunes. Or Netflix. Certainly somewhere other than actual scheduled TV.

 

we paid the guard to switch the sign

As mentioned in a previous nostalgic post about the old Belle & Sebastian ‘Sinister’ mailing list, the prize for the most posts in the first month of the list going live was a tape of then rare and unreleased recordings and demos. Some of the recordings became part of official releases and others I am sure have long since entered the pubic domain as downloads. Here, however, is a selection of some of those recordings. Specifically the early Stuart Murdoch demos of ‘Hurley’s Having Dreams’, ‘Pocketbook Angel’, ‘Rhoda’ and ‘London Has Let me Down’. Also in the zipped up package are a couple of recordings of ‘The Loneliness Of A Middle Distance Runner’ that are quite wonderful.

take a second of the day...

 

You taught me how to shuffle

I took this photo a couple of weeks ago but for some reason did not post it here. I had picked up that Pipettes 7” for the glorious Martin Rushent remix of ‘Stop The Music’ (well, that and the lovely sleeve, for I could just as easily have settled for the download after all) and the Darren Hayman records because, well, they are Darren Hayman records. The ‘I Taught You To Dance’ 10” is a particular treat, and not just because it is on the best format ever. For on that record Darren covers three songs with the word ‘Dance’ in the title. One of them is The Kinks’ standard ‘Come Dancing’ which Darren gives a gorgeously sympathetic reading, bringing to the surface Davies’ melancholic nostalgia. On another he takes on Eddy Grant’s ‘I Don’t Wanna Dance’, a song many of a certain age may recoil from as being an awful radio chart hit from their youth. Then again, it might cause us to reappraise the original...

By sweet coincidence then (and on Eddy’s birthday no less) Kevin Pearce has done just that with the latest edition of Your Heart Out. It’s a magical read. My favourite extract must be this paragraph:

“In the summer of 1979 Eddy Grant had his first big solo hit when Living on the Frontline crashed into the UK charts. At the time it seemed to come out of nowhere, but it was a good time for something unexpected to be a success. Other hits from around the same time included Earth Wind & Fire’s ‘Boogie Wonderland’, Janet Kay’s ‘Silly Games’, Gary Numan’s ‘Are “Friends” Electric’ and ‘Cars’, Anita Ward’s ‘Ring My Bell’, The Specials’ ‘Gangsters’, Gibson Brothers’ ‘Cuba’ and ‘Ooh What A Life’, Sparks’ ‘Number One Song in Heaven’ and ‘Beat The Clock’, Slick’s ‘Space Bass’, PiL’s ‘Death Disco’, Chic’s ‘Good Times’, Sister Sledge’s ‘We Are Family’ and ‘Lost in Music’, McFadden and Whitehead’s ‘Ain’t No Stoppin’ Us Now’, the Jacksons’ ‘Shake Your Body’, The Ruts’ ‘Babylon’s Burning’, UK Subs’ ‘Stranglehold’, the Beach Boys’ ‘Lady Lynda’, Ian Dury’s ‘Reasons To Be Cheerful’, and Dennis Brown’s ‘Money In My Pocket’. Records seemed to be transcending the specialist shows and defying the usual marketing campaign logic.”

Seriously. Take those titles and make a mix. Go on. How great a mix would that be?

Challenging perceptions. Questioning accepted truths. Get Your Heart Out here.

 

Find your Wet Wings

 

Wet Wings are my new favourite group for the week. Imagine Vasthi Bunyan with a sampler, a sequencer and a drum machine. In New Zealand. Throw in some clipped guitars and reverbed boy vocals (I know, I know, those have been done to the point of death these past few years, but bear with me) and you have something close to magic.

You can grab their ‘Skin To Soil’ EP and ‘Feeeel It’ single for free on the Lil’ Chief Records (home to the lovely Brunettes) Bandcamp, from where you can also pick up their newest (from July last year) collection ‘Glory Glory’ for six bucks. Bargain.

 

Tiger Twins at The Troxy

I will admit that Tigercats had passed me by until recently. Somewhere I am sure I had them confused with Summer Cats. Not that I don’t like Summer Cats (actually I think they are fab), but rather it was just that whole problem you get when you reach my age of things blurring into one. So, you know, two bands with the word ‘cats’ in their name in my head become the one group. And ah, you can laugh, but one day you’ll understand...

Neither had I made the connection between Tigercats and Esiotrot. However given the fact that my silly brain was confusing Tigercats with Summer Cats, and knowing Summer Cats are from Melbourne, you can hopefully see why that would be the case.  

It has been wonderful therefore for the confusion (in my head at least) to have been sorted out this past week or so. For whilst hearing Tigercats for the first time has been an exceptionally exciting experience, it has also led me back into those earlier Esiotrot records that seduced me so effectively back in the day. In fact. having just checked in with my longterm memory (using the search function on my blog posts) I see that it is almost five and half years since Esiotrot’s ‘The Dirtiest Birthday Present’ EP was one of the last batch of releases on ‘i wish i was unpopular’. I recently had a vague notion of revisiting all the releases in chronological order over the coming months but since life often doesn't feel comfortable with such strict structures, perhaps I’ll just share them as and when it feels right. I hope you agree that the Esiotrot tracks still stir.

If anything the Tigercats records sound even better. Perhaps that is at it should be after all.  Five years is a long time in which to develop; in which to refine one’s art. And if Tigercats are more refined it is without losing the essential ragged edges and delirious dislocations of Esiotrot. It’s just that Tigercats are more likely to shimmy and shake than shamble; are more likely to take the groove and shift up a gear or two. That’s clear as day on the very wonderful (and very beautiful) 7” picture disc ‘Banned At The Troxy’ that they made for Wee Pop. The title track is a boisterous five minute growl that, when it hits stride, reminds me of no less than those early Happy Mondays singles. There is something of the same collision between wound-tight tension of guitars that bite and terminally unwound laid-back rhythms. There is something of the same on the current (free!) single cut ‘Full Moon Reggae Party’. At less than half the length of ‘Troxy’ it doesn’t have the same space in which to extend it’s dervish dance and as a result has you hitting the repeat button more often than is strictly healthy. Watch out for the imminent ‘Isle Of Dogs’ album on Fika Records. It’s sure to be a belter.

Now if I was able to confuse Tigercats with Summer Cats then you might expect me to confuse Summer Cats with Summer Twins. Thankfully you would be wrong. Perhaps I am not so senile after all.

I have said in the past how the latest First Aid Kit record is an unashamed homage to the legends of Californian dreaming, Laurel Canyon mythology and mediated Joshua Tree spirituality. And if that perhaps seemed strange coming from a couple of Swedish sisters, then perhaps it is more expected of Summer Twins, hailing as they do from Riverside, California. Not that sisters Chelsea and Justine mine exactly the same veins of musical history. For whilst their ears may be receptive to the distant melodies drifting from the canyons the sound of Summer Twins is more obviously infused with an earlier rock’n’roll and surf inheritance. Out of the garage and into the sun. 

Their 2010 release ‘The Good Things’ is a free download from their Bandcamp page, from where you can also pick up the recently released eponymous album. CD and vinyl copies come from Burger records.