The History of Music 19Seventy Something to The Present Day - Part One

This morning I was reading an article on pre-writing activities for EFL classes. The general idea is that you do a series of things before the actual writing, in order to make it easier yet more rewarding for your students. A good example for this is simply asking your students to 'write a story', to which they reply 'About what? I can't think of anything!' Whereas, compare this to playing them pieces of music, and asking them to decide what kind os scene in a movie this might be the soundtrack to, and they are off and running with a bag of ideas.

One of many ideas with music in the classroom included asking people to write a kind of personal music history, as placing a song in a time and a place tends to bring back lots of memories. You hear a snippet of the song in your head and the memories come flooding back, great for 'jumping off points' for a piece of writing. What did you listen to when you were a kid? What music was in the house? What did your parents listen to? What was your older brother or sister listening to? What about at school? Who were the heroes of the day? And do you and your loved one have that special song too?

Does it work though? As a poor man's muso, with anorak tendencies, I decided to put it to the test. Obviously, I took it to the absolute extreme, and rather than making a note of a few songs I liked, I thought I'd map out my entire listening history, just for the hell of it. And, don't you know, the memories did come flowing back. It was interesting to see how much more conservative my tastes have become, which is natural I guess, but also to notice that essentialy, I always go back to the same. The change in formats mean that you lose a lot of stuff along the way. Jesus there was a lot of rubbish, some of which sems to have come full circle and sound almost contemporary again. So, without further ado (it's a real word, look it up), and with links to all the audio rubbish that makes me who I am today, here is the

Official Musical History of Shropshire Lad Birth to 1980

I looked through the pop charts for 1975, but can't remember anything, although the charts from 1976 throw up clear memories, which would make me musically aware at the age of 7. Showaddywaddy's Under The Moon of Love is a clear memory, as are gangs of Teddy Boys in Blackpool on a day out with my grandmother (I thought they were exclusive to Blackpool at the time). Darts popped up in about 1977 and I loved Daddy Cool. The only punk related memory from this time was some talk of 'the lad round the block', who wore a 'bum bag', although I was never really sure what this was (the bitter Darts entry in Wikipedia reads "The band is still in the Top 250 selling list according to the Guinness Book of British Hit Singles. Despite this, and the fact that they remain Britain's best-known doo-wop vocal group, they receive almost no coverage compared to other doo-wop revival groups of the period such as Showaddywaddy").

I guess we also start with the music in the house, I certainly did. There were plenty of records to choose from including Elvis, (who now lives in Argentina, and may well have gone to the World Cup Final mentioned below), and, though I hate to say it, Cliff Richard's 'Thank You Very Much' live album with The Shadows got a lot of airplay in our living room around 1978. You can't really go wrong with Willie & The Hand Jive or Apache, can you? Also in the rack was Neil Diamond's 'Hot August Night', and his throaty "Good Lord!" at the start of the album got a good airing. It was the heaviest piece of rock in the house, apart from the rocks my Dad brought back from geology trips. I'm not making this up.

Of course, 1978 was the year of Grease, and all those singles seemed to dominate Top of the Pops for ever. For ever is a long time when you're 9. I also had a World Cup Final Birthday Party, and we saw Argentina beat Holland 3-1 (and the fixed 6-0 against Peru before???). I'd end up in a bar in Buenos Aires 25 years later, watching Birmingham v Arsenal with my brother.

1976 may have been the coming of punk, sweeping away the old guard, but it went unnoticed by me apart from an unsuspecting DJ playing 'Frigging in the Rigging' (B Side of the 'Somethin Else' cover) at a Park Junior School disco 3 years later. You'd think the title may have given him a clue to why he'd had so many requests for it. The year it all changed for me was 1979 (we watched The Waltons on BBC2 while we ate our tea), as in the same year up popped The Specials, 'Oliver's Army' by Elvis Costello, and the Smokey Robinson cover of 'Tears of a Clown' by The Beat. This was music by serious people in odd suits. Of course, I was equally as interested in Racey and 'Some Girls'.

The Jam's 'Going Underground', The Specials 'Too Much Too Young', Dexy's 'Geno', The Vapours 'Turning Japanese', all came out in 1980, and were all purchased in John Menzies in Wellington by the future fat Shropshire Lad. But, beating all of them hands down? 'Midnite Dynamos' by Matchbox.

This period was also notable for K-Tel's timeless classic, 'Axe Attack', surely the finest metal compilation to find its way into Haygate Drive. Just reading the track list gives you shivers. It was the music your mates big brother listened to. It was ROCK. Apart from Aerosmith's 'Sweet Emotion', it's music for 12 year olds. If you were still listening to The Scorpions years later you were a bit soft in the head, or coming out of east Berlin. Even then I thought Iron Maiden plainly ridiculous, although you can't knock an album too much that has Rainbow's 'All Night Long' and ACDC's 'Highway to Hell'.

2008

Back injury and work, when it comes to blogging they are pitiful excuses, but excuses they are, the blight of Kev and myself, work for me and back problems for Kev. So it is apologetically I put this post together.

This year for me musically it has been dull, for some people out there it was a year for gleeful joy that new albums by Coldplay, Keane and Oasis hit the shelves, that Chinese Democracy stopped becoming a story and became a reality, a year where Dido returned and indie boybands took over the charts.

Not me though, 2008 was the year I despaired at the state of modern music, the year that I stayed away from festivals, the year that I enjoyed mainly back catalogue tunes.

Normally around this time of year I would compile my top ten tracks and albums, the music that made the year special, I can’t this year, I would struggle to think of ten, therefore following Kevs lead, 3 of the best new albums and 3 of the best new to me albums, followed by my favourite singles of the year, the latter may be very short.



So my favourite new album of the year, Glasvegas, their self titled debut is still magnificent and swooping and retrospective whilst being circa now, the mangled cod Reid posturing aside their influences all be them worn so publicly are just a façade to their own sound, their own style of songwriting, JAMC, Primal Scream, even the BMX Bandits all jostle for space, Buddy Holly, Doo Wop, The Beach Boys the influences are there, but they are the right influences and I listen to the album again and again and think if this is what they do now, how glorious will they be in 5 years time, hopefully not friends of Bono or a Gallagher.



Flowers and Football Tops (Demo) - Glasvegas

My second favourite album and a possible contender for my favourite of the year is Save The World, Get The Girl by The King Blues, a punk, ska, reggae, rap hybrid of an album that sounds like none of them and all of them at the same time, its punk ska but not [Spunge], its reggae rap and dub but its not King Tubby, It’s The Clash, but its 3rd side of Sandinista, not London Calling. The album deals with being young, squat life, punks and ultimately getting the girl. Think Jaimie T but sans his London set, where he has his bass guitar this punk has a ukulele. This band could be, could be my new favourite band.



My Boulder - My Boulder

Finally my third new favourite album is Dan Le Sac vs Scroobius Pips’ Angles. This album is phenomenal, if this is hip hop then this is the future, as the track recites, intelligent hip hop not that channel U malarkey, no guns bitches or bling, but Scroobius rapping the periodic table, a beautiful tribute to Tommy Cooper, a song about self harm and oh so much more. Glasvegas and King Blues are purely personal things but Dan le Sac and Scroobius Pip, once you hear it, you WILL love it so I really do stress that you listen to this, savour the lyrics, the music and the production, this record will mess with you preconceptions.



Tommy C - Dan Le Sac Vs Scroobius Pip

My favourite new to me album this year is American Beauty by The Grateful Dead, this went from a passing reference in the TV show Freaks and Geeks to being a musical revelation. Men, and they are always nearly always men, but men who take drugs discuss the virtues of The Grateful Dead, but in doing so they unfortunately put you off for life, think also Pink Floyd, Phish and early Genesis. They make them sound like some prog rock experiment, that teases the ears and is a wonder for the eyeballs, noodling 20 minute solos designed to numb the senses. With heavy heart I thought I would give American Beauty a try. Oh my life, noodle free, psychedelic whoop de do it was not, a slab of Americana Gene Clark would be proud of and disciplined with it. I was later told that I only need to listen to two Dead albums, American Beauty and Workingmans Dead, I have only listened to them two, and loved them like a child.



Box of Rain - The Grateful Dead

My second favourite new to me album is an album that wasn’t new to me, I had heard it maybe once, maybe twice at a push, but this year I really listened to it and listened to it a lot and that is Metamorphosis by The Rolling Stones. A very interesting Stones album out of band whose output I love more than any other band barring NOFX or The D. A often overlooked compilation of rare and different versions, I am still listening to alot.



Family - The Rolling Stones

My third favourite new to me album is the reissue of Arthur by The Kinks, both this and Percy also by The Kinks have received a lot of play over the last 12 months and The Kinks 70’s output has been the real surprise for me, I was aware of their hits and some of which appear on Arthur, but it’s the stuff that wasn’t released as a single which has done it for me. The news that Ray and Dave may be working together in 2009 was really good to hear and hopefully they will be a band concentrating on going forward and not resting on former glories. That all said Arthur is by a fair chalk the third best album in 2008 that was new to me.



Arthur - The Kinks

So that leads us on to singles.



This year has been a bit bereft of classic singles, the rather pedestrian but altogether nice, mainly for its use of the minor chord, Human by The Killers really earwormed it’s way in late in the year, there is no shame in that, however you know it appears when you say this in mixed company, people tend not to hear Human is an alright song, but actually hear, I have been sleeping with my nan. This is not my favourite track of the year though, it illustrates perfectly how bad it has been for singles.



Now I am discounting any song by anyone that appeared on any of the albums that made up the best of the year or I would be hear with Mans letter to god, get the girl and Flowers and football tops.



Another record that I really liked was the Adele cover of the Dylan track, To Make You Feel My Love. Its Dylan a few miles away from his classic period covered by Adele, I shouldn’t like it, at least it isn’t the troll like Duffy. This song though I prefer by Adele, there is something about her that charms me, unlike Duffy. The thing that I find with Adele though is even though she isn’t some talent show reject, she seems like she is. That’s a bad thing and not the reason why I like her.



To Make You Feel My Love - Adele

Finally then its Heart Song by Weezer, from their first for me, disappointing album, a band that I have followed since their debut single and I will follow for many years to come, but Heart Song was probably the only good song on a bad album, one of my favourite bands Ballboy also produced a new album and that too was a disappointment, I am nervouse thinking about Camera Obscuras new one next year. Back to Weezer though, Heart Songs lists a load of songs, that’s the long and short of it, and unless I can think otherwise those are my favourite new tracks of the year.



Heart Songs/Sliver - Weezer

My most played track according to Last FM is Don’t Stop Believing by Journey so make of that what you will.



Don't Stop Believing - Journey

Parfum

I'm currently suffering with back-knack. Today I had to go to a clinic and put on one of those robes that's open at the back, and designed so that you are unable to do up the cord, thus treating everyone to a glimpse of your lillywhite torso. Following the robe I had to climb into a giant tube while some woman magnetically scanned me in order to find out the extent of back-knack. What does this have to do with music, you might ask. Nothing, I would answer.

My favourite song for today is taken from an advert for Kenzo perfume. It's by Shanghai Restoration Project, and is called Introduction (1936). It seems to be on heavy rotation here in Chile, and I love it. I think they are one of those outfits like the Gotan Project, or Moby, who like to blend original music of a certain ilk with bleeps and beats and squirts. With a name like Shanghai Restoration Project they really should be building more public toilets.

I was looking up some info on Shanghai jazz from the 30's, which is more interesting and easy to listen to than you might think, and I stumbled across NPR Music, which kept my attention for a while and is well worth a look. It's National Public Radio in the U.S.

Anyway, here's the ad.
Shanghai Restoration Project

The Non Carpenters Carpenters

A friend of mine actually made a request for a post, on the subject of The Carpenters. This is a first, and a landmark in the short, glorious, unknown and undiscovered history of I Taught Myself How to Grow Old. Unfortunately, having been driven to distraction by a workmate who used to play The Carpenters endlessly, I have been forced to expunge all things Karen and Richard from my already fogged up brain, although I do remember a good tribute album featuring a Sonic Youth cover of Superstar.

So, unable to provide even a half decent post on The Carpenters, I've made a stab at a Carpenters related post, as you will see.

First up, Bobby Davro, I mean Bobby Darin, making Tim Hardin's If I was a Carpenter famous (Carpenter! Wehey!).


Second batter up is the music from Halloween, composed by John Carpenter. He didn't just write it and direct it you know.


And finally, in this non Carpenters Carpenters list is House Carpenter's Daughter by Natalie Merchant, who appears to have changed her name to 'Ex Ten Thousand Maniac Natalie Merchant'. She released an album of traditional folk songs in 2003, and this was one of them. Is it possible that the carpenter's daughter went to school with the blower's daughter, in some special performing arts school for tradesmen's offspring?

And that concludes my knowledge of Carpentry in music.

House Carpenter's Daughter by Natalie Merchant

Odetta RIP

Odetta Holmes died on December 2nd 2008. I'd read that she was going to sing at Obama's inauguration, so it's a shame she didn't make it. My Dad had an album of hers and I remember some of the songs actually scaring me when I played it, not that he played it. Maybe they scared him too. Have a look at the video for Water Boy and you'll see what I mean. She was a big influence on Dylan, and he went on to make some frightening music himself. Her voice had a tone too it that made whatever she sang totally unquestionable, if that doesn't sound too harsh. She was pretty remarkable.

Glory Glory sung by Odetta

The Best Albums of 2008 Not Released in 2008

Peter is pondering the continued loss of Peel, and may well step into the breach with some kind of end-of-year eyebrow raising top three hundred songs of 2008, but only those based on some ctiteria like 'Top Songs Related to Murder but Done in a Jaunty Way-2008'. As my continued exile from all new music looks set to continue for the immediate future, my end of year charts would comprise of albums that I only got round to discovering in 2008. Musos may well shudder in their anoraks and wonder how I could have made it this far without such discs, but I'm ready to zip up the parker hood of destiny and struggle on without being told what to listen to.

Who would have thought that Blue Peter would have a musical influence. The first time I ever saw Jerry Lee Lewis on the telly was on Peter Azul. Jerry was sandwiched between a spot on collecting freezer tags to alleviate suffering in western Hudan, and a nice little segment on how to make sorin gas from old socks. Jerry came on and pounded the piano rather unlike the woman at school who played in morning assembly. Having been a fan for many years (of Jerry's, not the woman from school assembly) it's strange I only came across his Live at The Star Club this year, a good 44 years after it was recorded. Sadly I can't find a video clip from the show, so you'l have to make do with audio only. I think the band are hanging on for dear life.

Jerry Lee Lewis live at The Star Club, Hamburg, 1964


I'm a bit like my Dad in respect to violence on the telly and in films. Unlike him I can stomach slightly more than the Little Mermaid, but I do wonder what sick bastards dream up stuff like Saw 3 or what sick bastards watch it. I found myself watching a nasty little film by Rob Zombie (surely that's enough of a clue to turn over to something else?) one night, about a group of travelling sick bastards who do sick bastardly things to innocent strangers. It was called the Devil's Rejects, the follow up to his previous meditation on life and death - House of a Thousand Corpses.I'd rather not remember anything else about the film, apart from the soundtrack. Apart from gems like Midnight Rider by The Allman Brothers, it also featured songs by Terry Reid. Terry who, you might ask, unless you are peeking out from behind the furry hood of your perma wearing anorak (there seems to be a hood theme developing), or have been around a long time, or just know more than me.

If Wikipedia is to be believed he turned down a request from Jimmy Page to be the singer in his new band (and suggested Robert Plant), and also once turned down Deep Purple. He has supported the Rolling Stones and appeared on albums by Jackson Browne, Don Henley and Bonnie Raitt. He sounds like that bloke who gets into photos with every new president of the USA but nobody knows who he is. Anyway, to return to the travelling sick bastardly bastards in the dastardly devilish Devil's Rejects, it was his song To be Treated Rite that really got my attention. It's of an album called Seed of Memory from 1976, produced by his mate Graham Nash, with one of the all time worst sleeve covers. He has a voice I think you either like or dislike, but it's certainly not run-of-the-mill. So he's my second choice for my best album of the year not released in 2008. The echo-ey flute type sound in this song (I'm not exactly sure of the title but it's off the album) could well be provided by Ron Bergundy.

Terry Reid, The Devil's Rejects closing credits


My third choice for best album not released in 2008 would be Ray LaMontagne, either his 2004 album Trouble (apart from Ron Sexsmith's Whereabouts this is the only album that can reduce me to tears), or his 2006 follow up Till The Sun Turns Black . His was one of the strangest gigs I ever went to, as the mood was almost reverential. He was not an artist of twenty years renown, visiting the UK after a long absence, so it was strange to see an audience so mesmerised and quiet. The spaces between songs were usually filled with the sound of Ray's breathing, as he seemingly struggled to find the confidence to say something. At one point, a member of the bar staff dropped something and was promptly shhhhhushed by someone in the crowd.

I often think singer songwriter types like Ray, particularly if they get a bit of relatively mainstream success, often suffer critically. The true folk or country set won't touch them for being too pop, and the alt set won't touch them for not being alt enough. If they are embraced by the Blunt/Alanis cd buying middlers they end up being incorrectly tagged and lose credibility.

What makes Ray different is that he is the real deal. He appears to dislike the attention and doesn't play the publicity game, can't be in it for the money, so one must assume he's in it for the music, which sounds sentimental but appears, on the surface at least, to be true. His starting point is Tree Top Flyer by Stephen Stills, which is a good place to come from.

Be Here Now by Ray LaMontagne

50

Its not an anniversary, I guess if anything the Festive 50 approaches and it gets you thinking, but for me it was the mention of Culture in the top 5 that got me thinking.

I think since Peels death its become even more apparent of just how valuable he was and how much his contribution is missed. No one has feasibly taken his place as he couldn’t be replaced, DJ’s of a similar ilk are just faceless facsimiles and have not got a clue what eclectic means.

I first listened to Peel as a pimply faced youth in the throws of a Frankie Goes To Hollywood fixation who was devoted to Smash Hits. Invariably I used to go to bed listening to a cassette but once I decided to listen to the radio, late night radio was a bit of a netherworld I had no inclination to jump into, but jump I did and in one evening I heard The Ramones and John Peel and a short lived platonic love affair started with one and an affair lasting decades started with the other.

My favourite peel moment that I would love to track down and listen to again is from around 89, the festive 50 is due on and he is playing records and he reads out a note that he has received from a young girl, for the sake of this story and as my memory isn’t so good, lets call her Sally, and the note goes on to say she is 13 or 14 and no one she knows of listens to Peel, no one she knows of likes the music she likes, she is not even supposed to listen to Peel as her step dad will tell her off, at the end of the note, Peels says Sally, it’s tough being 13, this ones for you, and he plays Teenage Kicks. A real marvellous moment.

I listened to the Festive 50 religiously during the late 80’s and 90’s usually ended up recording it as I had missed so many of the songs that made up the 50, and in the days when he played the best sessions of the year during the same show also introduced me to a lot of wonderful music, from the sessions The Siddeleys and The Passmore Sisters, from the festive 50, Bill is Dead by The Fall and On Tape by The Pooh Sticks, to name one or two.

Soon the Christmas Radio Times will be out and that always meant flicking towards the back to find out when the festive 50 was on, its rather sad that we don’t have that any more, John not able to gauge what records had touched his listeners hearts for that year, what the pig had voted for, how high my favourite bands had got, all of that no more.

So this year I will think of my favourites of the year, it won’t be sent anywhere, just here.

Wednesday Top 5.

Last weeks Top 5 may have been a little too much for some people, all that rudeness in one posting. I have decided to tame things down a little for this week, well not Tame as such but not really about making oneself go blind.

Today marks many things, the birth of a member of Brotherhood of Man, Tina Turner, Natasha Bedingfield but also the birth of John Mcvie, of Fleetwood Mac, there is quite a lot there to do a Top 5 with, but to be fair to John McVie he isn’t in particularly good company Bedingfield tends to soundtrack tampon ads, Turner only appears to release greatest hits albums, Brotherhood of man, well it’s Brotherhood of man. So if it came down to it I could if pushed do a Fleetwood Mac top 5, but I am not.



Todays Top 5 then. The Top 5 songs that someone who doesn’t really like or know anything about reggae may refer to as reggae but probably aren’t, but he does like.



Bit of a mouthful that.



The first one is a song from my distant youth, or more realistically, childhood. I spent a short period of time as a child in Trinidad, when my parents hear this song they tend to go all doe eyed and do that swaying that the elderly do to songs that have a beat that is more compromising than a Celine Dion song, I guess partly because my parents in 1982 were long off elderly. That song is quite a schmaltzy but rather perfect version of Send me the pillow by Cynthia Schloss. I guess this is best described as lovers rock.




Send me the pillow by Cynthia Schloss





Second is the song Sitting In Limbo by Jimmy Cliff. Taken from the soundtrack to the film, The Harder They Come and personally the stand out track from one of my favourite movie soundtracks.

I first heard Jimmy Cliff in the early eighties as my sister had the title track of this album on 7”, I really liked it and I never not once sneaked into my sisters room to play it, not once.

A few years ago I got hold of the album as I kept hearing snatches of songs and realised that I loved it, that’s when I heard the fantastic Sitting In Limbo and decided that one day when I am a pop star and have to fall back on a covers album to fulfil the tenth contractual obligation album, Sitting In Limbo will be on that album, that and Car Chase City by Tenacious D!




Sitting in Limbo by Jimmy Cliff.


Number three is a pretty well known song, it’s Uptown Top Ranking by Althia and Donna. I own this on 7 inch, it’s one I like for its music and beat as opposed to the singing. In the days of yore when Jupitus was on the breakfast show on 6 music, he used to play a fair old bit of reggae, soca, bluebeat, ska etc, I never listened to him mind as I was usually on a bus hurtling towards Telford cursing at the ne’er do wells playing 50 cent at ridiculous volume on mobile phones. I will come back to Jupitus in a moment, anyway, in the days of yore, the lofty wife told me that Uptown Top Ranking was based on a song with the refrain 3 piece suit and ting, my wife, no she knows an awful lot about 80’s pop but chuff all about the music of the West Indies so I poo-pooed her and said she was talking out of her arse. Turns out she was correct and after further prodding, it seems Jupitus had played said track earlier and furnished her with the trivia. That’s my Uptown Top Ranking tale. I can see you are mesmerised by it, you want to hear my Resurrection Shuffle tale?




Uptown Top Ranking by Althia and Donna


Onwards to number four in the Top 5, and that be Dillinger with the infectious Cocaine. A song bought to my attention as a 15 year old child by a teacher. You know however I say that it sounds dodgy, a teacher played me an LP by Dillinger that had the song Cocaine on it, still dodgy. I guess we went to an enlightened school but through some odd ITV telethon type affair for kicks we had a sponsored stay awake at the school, one of the teachers decided to set up what could only be called a sound system and one of his albums was the Dillinger album, it was biddly biddly bong, that’s a good enough description anyway, I later bought the album and appreciated it more as I got older, mainly as I saw a VU reference in a knife a fork a bottle and a cork. I don’t own the album anymore.




Cocaine in my brain by Dillinger


Finally we arrive at 5. I am going to write a glowing eulogy to Peel, I am going to do it now, so in all briefness, 5 is Lion Rock by Culture, he played, I heard it, I loved it.




Lion Rock by Culture

Carter USM, Birmingham Academy

We have been a bit quiet of late on how to grow old, real life unfortunately gets in the way and those spare minutes to write a quick post about Naomi Campbells shortlived recording career get fewer and fewer.

Friday just gone I dipped my toe in the waters of nostalgia and had an evening at the Birmingham Academy watching The Vile Evils, EMF and Carter the Unstoppable Sex Machine.

This had all the makings of a Here and Now for tubby thirty something indie kids, indie kids who have long since been indie or kids.

VileEvils are ex members of Pop Will Eat itself, possibly the non golden globe nominated composer bit of PWEI, I certainly know Fuzz Townsend is part of them, I have a Fuzz Townsend record, its best described as novelty big beat, my verdict on VileEvils? Unless they were playing in the pasta restaurant me and the short one were in prior to the gig, I didn’t see them, so can not comment.

We did arrive at the venue for EMF. EMF were a band that really were not my thing, they played baggyesque dance rock and I didn’t really get all that, I knew a few of their songs, notably the hit and it’s B-side. They didn’t seem to have changed one bit, except they had an ex member of Pop Will Eat Itself/Bentley Rhythm Ace on guitar and they were an interruption to the night for me, the sooner they were off the better. They did seem to go down quite well, oddly.

When EMF finished a crowd friendly tape was played, Wonderstuff, Sultans of Ping, Senseless Things etc, this went down VERY well, unfortunately not many people knew Too Much Kissing.

So to Carter, not much had changed to be honest, 2 men, backing tracks, guitars, one a little balder. Hell, they were even introduced by a semi naked Jon Beast. They sounded as they did, they played as they did, the same songs, the same shapes, the same crowd, even the same venue. Don’t get me wrong, they were playing to their strengths and ensuring that the crowd got what they wanted, the best bits of their entire career over 2 hours, falling on a bruise, GI Blues, Sheriff Fatman, Rubbish, Bloodsport for all, Lets get tattoos etc etc etc. The lighting it has to be said was the best I had ever seen at a gig this size, a great lighting rig, looked after by a really talented lighting man, other bands should take note.



The band as I said, sounded as they did when I last saw them in 93, 15 years ago, they sounded the same as I first saw them in 1990, 18 years ago. If it was Kidderminster Market Tavern this could have been that gig, except they describe that gig as the worst of their career and Bob weren’t supporting.

That’s the problem, my friend Jon says I love nostalgia, I don’t I like to see progression and there wasn’t any progression in the 15 years since I last saw them, and that is why it may not have been Howard Jones or Kim Wilde and the guitars may have been louder, it was in effect the same thing.



Billy's Smart Circus by Carter USM at Birmingham Academy.

Swap Shop with Neil Young

I was trying to find a Neil Young song off the Life album the other day and stumbled across something called A Perfect Echo. Some chap called Braden Strickler, yes, Braden Strickler, has put together an 8 disc soundboard recordings set of live Neil, spanning the years 1967 to 2001. From what I've heard it's head and shoulders above the usual bootleg quality, and you've got to say what a complete nutter. There's a bit of a blurb on a website called Aquarium Drunkard, have a look by clicking here. I also found a complete track listing here, which is a one man site by a bloke called Jack, who is big on swapping whatever live stuff he's got for whatever live stuff you've got, a bit like Saturday Morning Swap Shop but not on a Saturday.

Wednesday Top 5

Is it Wednesday? No actually it isn't Wednesday it's Tuesday, I write this a day early as I have to give serious thought to the top 5. I was considering doing a Prince top 5, mainly because the wee fella is in a bit of trouble for not flogging his scent as per a contract, but as he is rather particular about his copyright I think I would struggle to turn up the goods in Youtube.



So where to go from there? OK, if you can't have Prince, what do you go for?



This weeks top five is the top 5 songs dedicated to wanking.



The first song is the rather splendid and future top 5 artist, Hello Kitten by Hefner. Hefner are normally coupled with the phrase Peel Favourites and it was Peel who once said it was always about sex with Hefner. He was absolutely right with this classic, with the refrain I'm gonna make myself go blind tonight, this ode to the joy of self was a fan favourite and when singer Darren Hayman trots it out at his solo shows these days it is met with a joyous reception. I used to have a website called hello kitten, it wasn't about masturbation, it was about hefner. Hefner came from the south, they released near perfect albums and then they split up, that's how it should be.



Darren Hayman and Jack Hayter performing Hello Kitten at Primavera Sound


Obvious number two is The Violent Femmes ode to the joys of fiddling with ones self, Blister in the sun. Lately used as the soundtrack to Fosters supping shade hunters, but historically the most well known of the wankthems. The Violent Femmes appeared in Sabrina the Teenage Witch and once cancelled a UK tour so they could go on a fag sponsored tour of the US, also Gano sold the advertising rights to this song to the US burger chain, Wendys. This song confirms them as wankers.



The Violent Femmes performing Blister In The Sun

Men who are not wankers but also sing about it, The Buzzcocks and the third best song about spanking the monkey is Orgasm Addict. I recall vividly the first time I heard and got The Buzzcocks, for ten minutes one summer whilst I was working at Butlins they were my favourite band and I still have a soft spot for them to this day, this is a million miles from their best work, but as What do I get isn't about self love, it will have to do.




The Buzzcocks performing Orgasm Addict at Shepherds Bush Empire in 2003

Which brings us neatly to Longview, the first time I heard Longview was the result of Kev T playing it a lot at the record shop we worked at, I say record shop, we could have been selling shoes, but prior to him playing Dookie, I knew little about them, other than they played that punk rock music. It was over a decade later before I realised it was essentially about onanism. Obviously Green Day weren't as in your face as Ivor Biggun.




Longview performed by Green Day

Finally we have Jackson Browne, I love Jackson Browne, Its a recent thing and I am unsure if it will be a fleeting love or I will be consumed, time will tell. Rosie is Jacksons tale, a rather sad tale of a roadie and his unluckyness in love, I say love, if it was love Jackson would be telling the tale of a roadie solitarily watching Sleepless in Seattle and not singing an ode to his hand.




Rosie performed by Jackson Browne in Maryland in 1975

Under Rated Artist Due a 2nd Look (If P can have Tenacious D as best album ever I'm on safe ground with this one).

I've rather neglected top 3's, 5's and 10's, leaving penhappy Peter to shoulder the list making burden. So, I'm wading in with my top 3 most under rated artists, although there is only one as I couldn't really think of anybody else to fit the criteria. Said criteria is strict as they have to have had considerable sales and success but be due a second look. These are the artists that didn't fill stadiums (apart from at home maybe), but were major label, probably had a big album and possible monster single that the world remember them for, or were often compared to another outfit who were worse but sold more records or had a mouthy frontman. Or, maybe they were just big in Australia, or Latvia, or Crewe. It's lining up to be a groanathon as they are unhip and middle of the road and get hit by traffic from both sides, but that's why they need a second look.

Groan number one, it's shouty baldy Oz festers Midnight Oil. Of course they hit most of the criteria head on, with monster single Beds are Burning, and were big in Australia and possibly Latvia. I ignored them through their burning beds phase but thought their Earth and Sun and Moon album in 1993 was tremendous. Believe it or not their first album came out way back in 1978 and they only called it a day in 2002. I saw them live in Birmingham in about 93 and they were a loud, shouty but melodic lot, with a frontman you could respect. Peter Garrett is now government minister for Environment, Heritage & The Arts in Australia, which should give baldies the world over a nice warm feeling, or maybe that's just me.

Dreamworld by Midnight Oil (live)

Go square go

A good friend of mine despairs at times at my choice of favourite album of all time. Almost to the point of violence. He was well aware that I believe the debut Tenacious D album to be the finest record ever recorded. He is far from happy about this. This weekend we discussed the top 10 and he gave his opinion on another album in the ten.

Glasvegas’s self titled is apparently too new to be a favourite, a favourite of all time in such a short space. September this year it was released, I heard the demos earlier this year, even so, less than a year to form an opinion that a new album was amongst the ten best albums I have ever heard? This angered my friend more than the Tenacious D issue.

It has to be said I couldn’t defend myself, Margaritas and Beer had got the better of me and he was like a Kalashnikov. So what are the rules for making an album the greatest ever made? What criteria must be followed? What are the timescales?



You see people believe the dirge that Radiohead put out to be classics, I am sure in some poll, probably put together by Q that In Rainbows will be amongst the best albums ever made, sharing I am sure company such as pony made by Coldplay, Oasis, U2 or Razorlight.



The Beatles, undoubtedly have made some extremely special albums, Let It Be for me is by far their best work, but pollsters don’t agree. With crushing inevitability Sgt Pepper and The White Album tend to be one that critics choose. But at the end of the 60’s did beard strokers think that its vintage hadn’t fully matured or were their albums instantly recognised as modern classics?



My theory regarding the beratement I received for choosing Glasvegas as part of the ten is that effectively Glasvegas are perceived as a throwaway indie band who may or may not be around in an albums time. Disposable heroes of indie poppery? Is Glasvegas’s album likely to be in my all time top ten in a years time, highly unlikely. You see the point of that 10th album is that it is ever changing, this week THAT album is the tenth greatest album ever made, next week it will be The King Blues album, a year ago it was some other indie act, next month it will be someone else. 1-9 they may not change for the next 5 years, they are albums I play regularly and adore beyond belief.



But for now, for today, for this week, Glasvegas are responsible for the tenth best album ever made.

Lizz Wright

I was planning to do a lovely threesome of Neil Young covers, but this version of Old Man by Lizz Wright is head and shoulders above any others that spring to mind. Ian McNabb of the Icicle Works used to do a great version of The Needle and the Damage Done (he went on to record with Crazy Horse at some point), and Cassandra Wilson does a spooky version of Harvest Moon, but wonder at this if you will. Also, at the risk of sounding a bit Waynesworldesque, she's a fox.

Old Man by Lizz Wright

Crime and punishment.

Kev has had his life touched by crime, that’s what you get when you live on the killer streets of Chile and not the burgeoning hot spot crime capital of crime, Stafford.

That’s said I am not from the ghetto, I was born in Telford, blunts, ho’s and a 40 mean something different to me than say to Snoop.

In the 80’s I couldn’t really empathise with KRS-1 or Kool Keith but I could pretend I could, as a result of I enjoyed the electro compilations and this encouraged my belief that I was a fly breakdancer, I wasn’t, I was one of the ones that stand round the edge with their arms folded, possibly saying that a compadre was wack, or to use the vernacular, wiggidy-wiggidy wack.

After the electro I developed a love of The Beastie Boys, during 1987 only The Ramones came close for my affections, Licensed to ill was the soundtrack to my O’levels, I was perfecting my rhymes when I should have been revising, and by my rhymes, I mean learning the words to No Sleep Till Brooklyn, thank heavens for Smash Hits. Brooklyn was a mere stones throw away, just past Dawley.

Although after The Beastie Boys no one really came close, I still had a love of Hip Hop and the power of street knowledge but found it marginalised in the house, one song on a compilation, listening to NWA when the wife was out, it was a bit like a dirty secret.



“What did Daddy do during the Indie Wars mummy?”

“He bought Gangstas Paradise Dear.”



This is true, I bought Coolios Gangsters Paradise, not before it was a hit, not whilst it was an underground banger, not early on in its chart run, I bought it after its 32nd week at number one. Kev wants crimes, that’s mine.


Not Coolio.