unpopular

In My Room

Recursive - CAVE CAT (Soundcloud)
1994 - Damn The Lion (from an i wish i was unpopular 3" CD)
I Can't Decide If She Really Loves Me - Gene (on To See The Lights)
Whistling In the Dark - Faith Brothers (from Eventide)
In My Room - Slow Animal (Soundcloud)
Between the Kicks - The Adultery Brothers (YouTube)
The Vitalist - The Puddle (Bandcamp)
You Guys Are Gonna Wake Up My Mom - Field Mouse (Bandcamp)
Introduction Song - Computer Magic (YouTube)
The Night - School of Seven Bells (YouTube)
Prodigal Summer - snow in mexico (Bandcamp)
Melted Rubber Soul - Campfires (Bandcamp)
The Rules for Hearts - Sleuth (live from thunderbird radio hell... on Bandcamp)
Sometimes I Hit London - Tigercats (Soundcloud)
Darth Vader - Standard Fare (from the third Hangover Lounge EP)
The Beach Is Calling Me - Boy Party (Bandcamp)
Throwaway Days - Termites (from the 'Termites' LP)
Under The Bridge - The Motorcycle Boy (from unreleased 'Scarlet' album)

Aim for the stars. Aim for the cosmos...

Just For (more) Fun

 

Good is something you do, not something you talk about...

In celebration of the Milan-San Remo Classic today, here's a Gino Bartali quote poster I dashed off last night.

brucetigerfangshangover

they're still makin' 7" singles (and I'm still buying them)

Camus, Gide, Dylan and Sassoon (Vidal, not Siegfried)

I did a bit of preparatory work to help in the teaching of my GCSE Graphic Design course today. Based on a few “inspirational” quotes suggested by staff, tangentially they may also provide some resources for use in school. That’s Albert Camus pictured there. I also did Andre Gide, Bob Dylan and, er, Vidal Sassoon.

 

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...