Another day, another ISP hassle. No blueyonder this morning but waht's the point of getting agitated. Plenty time for that later as the realisation of burning a weeks holiday kicks in.

Record Store Day was a hit in terms of the social aspect. I'll reserve my more cynical take on it all because even although every day is RSD for some people, it did stir up some very good vibes. I particularly applaud the "home baking" aspect and Katrina Pastel in particular for the scrumdiddleyumptious cheese sticks! I saw a couple of guys from a new signing - The Virgins - at Avalanche. Do the kids really want a new Doobie Brothers? Probably not.

The big story of the day though had nothing to do with RSD really. It involved the Boyle phenomenon that is seemingly sweeping the earth. True story, you couldn't make it up. A whole lot of you guys are familiar with the Rt Hon. Stewart Cruickshank, and you know his standing in the community not only locally but globally. So 10 years ago, the intrepid and selfless Captain Krunch finds himself in Whitburn Town Hall (look it up) judging a talent show. That was the self-same competition that resulted in this "Cry Me A River" track that's turned up. So there you go - the one and only Stewart Cruickshank gazumped Cowell by several light years.

The situation this woman finds herself in will hopefully provide her with the wherewithall to want for nothing anymore. the way her business has been dragged through te neighbourhood, she deserves it. Don't give me that crap about her sounding like Peggy Lee - she sounds like Lena Martell and I guess that she's taking one day at a time right about now. And it's true, she doesn't look anything like Julie London but as Jaki McDougall rightly pointed out, that's what wee wifie's from that part of the world look like.

Irrespective of the freakshow aspect, there's a John Waters factor here. Ultimately it doesn't matter what her background. Whitburn has been twinned with Baltimore by the sickness of this trumped up version of The Gong Show.

The Sexual Objects played as a duo at Mono and the Tyrannosaurus Rex vs Alex Harvey boded well for a full on electric assault. Would love to have stayed for Peter Parker, soundcheck was great but it had been a long, very cool shift. It's not often that you bump into a guy who's a mate of the great Roger Armstrong that you can reminisce about "Rock On" with.

At this point, I'm pondering whether to go to The Supersuckers/Nashville Pussy show. Not sure.

Elsewhere in Glasgow - Camera Obscura have an album launch in Mono tonight. They're not playing but the considerable djing skills of Traceyanne Campbell and Carey lander will be on display.

It's Record Store Day then... I had a thought, maybe there are some of you folks that don't have access to a real shop. It's pretty sick but I know that's a possibility. I'm not sure what the "limited" aspect of these special releases are but if there's anything you need then let me know before 10am (GMT) and I'll do what I can to hook you up. "Dos" by Wooden Shjips is to be made available today so I'm hoping to come back with that. OK, back at you much later...

Don't bother with the Susan Boyle 7" though. They're all sold out already...

GFT's birthday: 1974 film - you decide!

This is the elusive Per Gessle song... it's a little "Primitive", right?



Thanks to Carolline...

"Malcolm Tucker" onstage in Glasgow, February 2nd 1979.

No idea who took the shot...

... anyway, the subject's new film is out in cinemas today!

It’s been quite the week for anniversaries of people shuffling off this mortal coil.

Wednesday it was 8 years without Joey (Ramone), Thursday it was Johnny Thunders (18 years!) and today, it’s exactly a year since the great Chris Gaffney went to the great roadhouse. 49 today since Eddie Cochran. It occurs to me that this is worth mentioning...

Some shows this weekend...

Firstly, Shock and Awe in Edinburgh tonight.

"the world famous shock and awe are playing at henrys tonight - at the moment its a bit uncertain whether we're playing with our stand in drummer Barry Ands or our stand in drum machine Debbie Suicide, or you if you fancy it ! either way its going to be different from the gig we played the other week Either way we are on at 9pm sharp, so plenty time for a pint and a chat after - henrys cellar bar, morrison street at the lothian road end, I'll probably be playing my silver sparkly guitar because I broke my other one while kicking it round the stage the other week also performing tonight in a ear pleasing punk rock new wave frenzy are THE AXIDENTS + PLASTIC ADULTS + CHATEAU GREYSKULL + UGLY BABY so 5 bands for 5 quid and a free cd from me if you want onesee ye there ? Cheers, Murray"








Girls on Top in London and a reminder that The Phobics are in action dahn there also...

Tom, you want to take it from here?

"Call yourself my mates? - Further to my earlier begging missive, I STILL have tickets for our gig at the Dirty South in Lee High Road this coming Saturday 18th April and they are slower moving than the veg in a kebab. Come on guys and gals, 4 bands plus us for six quid - a recap - You will be entertained by: CATFIGHT / WONK UNIT / THE PHOBICS and THE BERMONDSEY JOYRIDERS featuring Garry Lammin from Cock Sparrer and Keith Boyce from The Heavy Metal Kids and - playing a rare London gig - PETER AND THE TEST TUBE BABIES. (Haud me back! - ha ha) Doors open at 7:30pm is and the bar is open til 2am so come early, stay late and spend Sunday saying hello to God on the big white telephone - you know it makes sense - It'll cost more on the door so act now save money and help the desperate old punk rockers - it's the gift that keeps on giving!! Thank you for your kind indulgence. TIGHTWADS!"

If you need to get in touch with Tom to take up his kind offer then do so via The Phobics myspace.

Record Store Day Happenings here and there…

Reverse the trend of driving the record stores into extinction. Stay the fuck away from your iPod or whatever on Saturday April 18th. Embrace the concept of leaving your billet and visit a record store. Here’s an example of what’s happening but if you go to the RSD website then you can zoom in on what’s happening near you.

I’ve already heard griping about it being an opportunity for record companies to cash in by releasing special items. Wake up you diddies! – there’s a full blown crisis going on. In these times, when the populace is more likely to vote for a crap singer or some drongo that puts their pants on their head during a so called reality TV show (because it's in the script) – instead of who runs the country then y’know, that concerns me a little.

Listen to what Joni said. “You never know what you’ve got ‘til it’s gone”. I think that was a prediction of what might happen if the record stores vamoose.

So in Glasgow for starters…

Monorail Music just had a big Norton Records trove arrive…

Sir Sandy McLean in The Herald today on the subject with details of wha’appen in Dundas Street.

Avalanche Glasgow schedule for the day (could be subject to chopping and changing over the course)...

FRAN SCHOPPLER : 1PM
ROSS CLARK: 1:30
DANANANAKROYD DJ SET: 2 PM
THE VIRGINS: 3 PM
WE WERE PROMISED JETPACKS: 3;45
VERTICAL BUTLER SCHEME: 4:30
THE BRAKES: 5 PM
ALISTAIR ROBERTS 5:30

In Stockholm – A Rawk slant at Sound Pollution!

In Rochester, NY – New Math Now are doing an instore at Record Archive!

I bet that Plato in Utrecht are doing something and don’t forget the big bash that’s going down at the Record Fair there on behalf of NederGlam!!

If anything particularly tasty rolls in then I’ll post that later. If you want to blab anything special that’s going down on your watch, then send an e-holler. Operators are standing by...

With all the reportage of the vinyl single reaching a ripe old age recently and the fact that sales of these things are up, let's just keep these "special editions" out of the hands of the tossers that are out to fleece you on ebay. Let's flush those blighters out of the system. Re-live the days when you used to spend that well-earned pocket money on a shiny black thing that would provide hours of repeated pleasure.

Something you had to interact with that wasn't a mobile phone. It may take some convalescence but you can do it!

This just in from Mr McLean... (click on image to enlarge).

Thanks to Duglas T Stewart via facebook...

Ahoy there Frat-friends!

There's 60s Shenanigans all weekend (17th - 19th April) down on the Good Ship Corrine/Ferry Station Cafe (opposite Watershed) in Bristol. On Saturday - there's The Deltics, Magic Tractor and musical fun galore up on deck during the day. The evening moves indoors where you can enjoy 60s Garage band The BRUTES, all the way from Glasgow for one show.

Plus a fine selection of Bristol DJs spinning 60s Soul, Psych, R&B, Rock'n'Roll, Go-Go and more!........... 8pm till late.

Oh and it will all be broadcast live on Radio Corrine!!

Hope you can make it along for this cosy nautical shindig!

EMPRESS OF FUR and The LA STOOGES at the Lava Lounge on 18th April! A night of drinkin' yellin' and shakin' in tribute to Lux Interior and Ron Asheton...

EMPRESS OF FUR - Playing a special one-off Cramps-heavy set!

THE L.A. STOOGES - The best Leicester area all Stooges band!

Pay your respects between 9pm-3am.

Only £1.99 entry! Firebug Bar, Millstone Lane, Leicester, United Kingdom

RIP - Peter Rogers (Carry On Films producer)

This is amazing. Thanks to Sébastien Favre and of course to Spike for posting it in the first place!

Wednesday night at The Cathouse in Glasgow, believe me - it’s not a lot like its LA namesake.

But needs must and MC Lars is in town and, despite having at least 10 years on the character he raps about in “Signing Emo”, that’s where the scene required to be made. When I got there the first band was on. Apparently called Track 9 they looked about my nephew Jamie’s age. They weren’t bad and if they muzzle their bass player and nail him down they might even go on to better things. The synth sound definitely set them apart from their ilk and I’m definitely not in their target demographic.

Next were Failsafe which is a terrible name on the face of it. However there’s a notion of prog to their sound that makes it almost acceptable. If the energy they expend could be harnessed then a small power station could easily be run from that. If Rage Agin Thon Machine had Bruce Dickinson on vocals, they might sound like this. This is the sound of the generation gap. The kids seemed to like it and I wanted to scream “Turn It Down”. In fact I was – in my head. Eventually they relented and they stopped…

…for a break, because they were Lars backing band… Which worked better for me it has to be said. Does this hip hop thing work live then? Yes it does. Even in the face of some technical problems. Lars came on dressed in an Aquabats costume and tore through a set of what should be big hit singles. If there were still such a thing. I have to deduct points for the non-appearance of “Hipster Girl” but by the time he got to “This Gigantic Robot Kills”, the show was in the bag.

I’m not sure if its just a little too savvy to go global but the audience here tonight were verging on ballistic. A small moshpit erupted next to the auld bloke during “Hot Topic (is Not Punk Rock)”. If we had that store here then maybe it would make more sense to the potential listener. We do have similar things here, the biggest being Camden market in “the London” of course.

And last but least longest, The Aquabats bounded on and for 25 minutes they could have been the best band on earth. Their Ed Wood meets Hanna Barbera schtick coupled with the Dickies via Devo with hints of ska was incredibly good natured and well, just plain fun. Why then did they need to burst that bubble with some toe curling “comedy”?

Talk about killing the buzz. We left and went for chips. The end.

Rather than cut and paste the extensive new NORTON NEWS parrot fashion, click this link, select that item from the menu and blast off into that whole 'nother world. It's all laid out pretty with sleeve art. etc.

The Lucinda Williams/Willie Nile workout video...



Thanks to Francesco Calazzo via Rock Backpages Blogs

At a loose end in Stockholm tonight...

So what is with monks mania! Mojo, NME, The Guardian – all going under the thunder to a lesser or greater degree. This is great and an undeniable thread from the days when combos like Das Furlines were preaching the gospel when nobody else was. Those girls even have a UK cousin in The Nuns right now. Anyway, for whatever reason, “Black Monk Time” is enjoying something of a Disney-like resurgence and that has to be a good thing. The apocalyptic “Oh, How To Do Now” would be a perfect closing theme for the endtimes.

I don’t know if the Light In The Attic release is the same as the recently reissued Universal version, the latter sounds great, way crisper than the one on Repertoire. This is all due to, in no small part, the documentary “monks - the transatlantic feedback”. Dietmar Post and Lucia Palacios created a monster when they made it possible to see this phenomenon as well as hear it.

To wit… there are three chances to dance coming up in the building site known as Edinburgh. The Cameo is screening the monkumentary thusly so hop to one of ‘em accordingly:

Fri 17/Sat 18 April - Screen One – 11.45pm
Thu 23 April - Screen Three – 6.15pm

(Thanks to Ian and Paul for the info)

After that you can go to Play Loud! and score the dvd direct from the filmmakers to help keep their coffers afloat. Extras include the full TV clips and also a very good interview with the late, great Dave Day.

Lucia and Dietmar with Dave - Photo by Theresa Kereakes - Los Angeles 2006

Two louder than the cadbury's gorilla! (Thanks Chris)

If you are ANYWHERE in the Philly area then this is a must attend. No excuses.

(Thanks Rich)

After humming and hawing about catching a couple of movies this past wee while, I seized the day after a pisser of a start. I remember sitting here and thinking that I have 12 minutes to catch a bus. Guess that would be what high flyers call an executive decision. Anyway, I didn’t want to drive to the station then to take a train. There’s something reassuring about cruising in the bus lane past the traffic that’s creeping slowly toward its destination. If I can bodyswerve driving then I will. Always.

12.45pm screening of “Let The Right One In” (Låt den rätte komma in)? Don’t mind if I do. The film has been getting big licks in the press. A Swedish vampire yarn with a twist, I’m not sure what's hit a nerve with the critics but for once they’re at least offering a good tip. It is good and the thing I dug most about it was the locations and the tranquillity of the sequences with the snow. Set in the Stockholm suburb of Vällingby, it reminded me of the long walk I took with Qina last summer.

I need to find out what the 45 that Oskar played for Eli was. Think that there was something in the credits about Per Gessle, but I couldn’t figure it out. At that point, I was the only person in the cinema. What is it with people that don’t stay until the bitter end? Should you see this? Well, yeah. It’s not for everybody and although it did drag a teensy bit, I think that the ending is good. Apparently it’s a faithful take on the original novel. You’d really have to get the definitive word on that from somebody who has read the Swedish version. I can’t read so there’s no use in asking me. Not sure about the trailer, but you can see it at the film website.

So that got me back out on the street and from there I headed for the 3.30pm show of “Religulous”, a documentary about religion as “neurological disorder” with Bill Maher as your reporter, directed by Larry Charles. Don’t about you but I’m de-sensitised to this type of film now, to the point that I can't tell if it's actually a spoof or for real. If reality TV isn't real then there's always the poss that a documentary might not be either. You can trace that back to my "guilty until proven innocent" credo. Probably. There’s always the possibility of Chris Guest or Michael McKean walking on screen. Particularly in the “Holy Land” theme park segment. The Bob Tilton footage got a big laugh and my thoughts were very much with Brother Randall and Sister Donna at that point. I imagined us all sitting watching the "crucifixion" amongst the flotsam that would attend such a thing. some of them clapped when the centurion beat on Hey-soos.

I like Maher, he’s a funny guy. Not as much a household name here as Jon Stewart, he seems to take more chances. For “Curb” fans, there are a lot of those extended pauses at the end of a “scene”. This is presumably an LC device to keep things sweet for himself. It’s a Larry David world we exist in after all...

I seldom think that it would be better to watch something at home but “Religulous” is an exception. There were a couple of points where I could happily have gotten up and put the kettle on. To me, the subjects were just a little too easy to take the piss out of. Couple of other aspects rankled too but in toto, some of it is pretty sharp. Like ouch.

Late news (courtesy of Mr U), the “mystery” tune in “LTROI” could be Gyllene Tider (Golden Times), Per Gessle’s old band. A wee root around identifies this as “Kvar i min bil”. So now I need to hear more. Could be a Gessle jag on the horizon.

The poster images came from here.

RIP - Marilyn Chambers

(More info that goes beyond the porn aspect...)

Does anyone remember Gruppo Sportivo? John Peel played their first LP, they appeared on TOGWT and Sire picked 'em up for US release...

Phil Spector - The verdict...

Never made it to the pictures (again). So this is like being on "twitter", only substituting an "a" for the "i". Aye. So let's see, a news update before I go watch a dvd. The extrication of the weeds in the drive is coming along fine. Oh, wait - you don't care about that, how about this then? (That sounds justa tad too Jimmy Saville but let's just run with it.)

Mr Duff has highlighted that Roky Erickson will play The Green Man Festival in August. Enterprising promoters might want to check out the ins and outs of bringing the man north? With The Explosives or preferably with The Nomads but either way, it's time that justice was done. He could surely sell out the big ABC?

Russell hepped me from NYC that the Joey Ramone Birthday Bash details for May are now available on the revamped Joe website as well as details of how to score tickets. There's a rumour that Eddie Vedder will appear but far more exciting is the news that Kitty Kowalski will join Bebe Buell onstage that evening.

Jos sent the following news on the imminent release of this. Looks like it would be just up our particular alley...

"Coming out next week, not on A Fistful of Records, but on other Utrecht, NL label - Excelsior. A cd comp of early 70s Nederglam !

Fistful Jos and Brit accomplice Robin Wills worked on this thing for some years now, having done all research, compilation and sleevenotes. The set is entitled "Clap Your Hands And Stamp Your Feet" after Dutch glam's biggest hit at the time by Bonnie St Claire & Unit Gloria. Other songs include some totally unknown Glam Rock stompers & crunchers by acts like Booby Trap, The Heavy Dwarfs, Dump, Zingara, Pantherman and Plastic Feet. Among somewhat better known acts like Lemming, Catapult, Left Side and Long Tall Ernie And The Shakers you will discover a multitude of Glam era obscurities that will blow your socks off and open your mind to some great sounds and beats ! With The Netherlands being the main country in continental Europe to boast a Glam scene, a collection of this stuff is way overdue. 24 songs by 23 acts with a 52 page full colour booklet crammed with cool pics, plus the incredible stories behind all bands and songs. Also included are reprints of all original sleeves, whether Dutch or foreign.

The cd launch will take place at the Utrecht cd and record fair, next saturday April 18th, from about 1 till 3 o’clock. There’ll be dj’s, original Nederglam videos, an exhibition of Nederglam memorablia and record sleeves and a Smyle reunion gig! Many ex-glamstars will be present, like the Catapult guys, the one and only Pantherman, of course Smyle, Lemming singer Wally, some Left Side guys, producer Peter Koelewijn, mr. Pink Elephant Willem van Kooten, the Booby Trap singer and all members of Bonnie st Claire & Unit Gloria, most probably including queen Bonnie herself !!!!!!!!!!!!!

“Clap Your Hands And Stamp Your Feet” will be available in all good Benelux record shops. It can also be ordered direct from Excelsior .

Here’s the full tracklisting:

Booby Trap - Kelly, Grace & Sally / Catapult -Let Your Hair Hang Down /
Lemming -Father John / Heart -Lovemaker / Dump -Annabelle /
Long Tall Ernie And The Shakers -Motor Man / Amsterdam - Mary Lou /
Bonnie St. Claire & Unit Gloria - Clap Your Hands And Stamp Your Feet /
The Heavy Dwarfs - Moeder Natuur / Left Side -(like a) Locomotion / Black Fire - Do It
Smyle - She Means A Lot To Me / The Rockets - Rock And Roll Drummer (Part 1) /
Plastic Feet - Big Blond Baby / Cardinal Point - The Grand / Melody - Stepping Stone /
BZN -Sweet Silver Anny / Cherrie Vangelder-Smith - Goodbye (Guitarman)
Hank The Knife And The Jets- Guitar King / Zingara - Girl, Girl, Girl /
Serpentine - Powerful Jim / Hans van Hemert - Because of the Cats /
Pantherman - Pantherman / Bonnie St. Claire & Unit Gloria - The Rock Goes On

And finally, I found two copies of NBT 26 replete with Monomen 45 and would be happy to send a copy to whoever would like to provide a good home.

If you're in and around Boston, that's the city in Mass. not the Tufnel park hostelry, then maybe you need the services of my ol' pal, Ms Stevie Gomez. Primo photographer and long time keeper of the faith. Click on the image for more info.

Looks like another good day out so that trip to the cinema in Auld Reekie is probably on. Of course, there's still plenty of time to talk myself out of it but its looking like "game on" at the minute. The mode of transport is in dispute but that is likely to be settled in due course.

"Scotland is staring into the abyss of social collapse" it just said on the wireless. Plus they're punting the notion that everything going down the pan is herding the masses toward religion. Too late folks, your cards are marked. Might as well go down with a crate of buckie and a 3 cd set of happy hardcore. Or maybe not. Myself? I'll stick with "Let The Right One In" at The Cameo - 12.45 for starters.

Did you ever hear of Carl Sigman?

I hadn’t until recently when The Chairman hooked me up with a copy of “Carl Sigman Songs”. A 3 cd set of material he wrote over a long, illustrious career. This has been put together by his sons to celebrate their father and they’ve got a lot to be proud of. I’ve been digging this stuff for weeks now. Always escaping back to it when I’d simply had enough of the countless mp3’s I get sent by acts that quite simply aren’t up to the task of writing anything approaching a real song, let alone perform one.

Maybe that’s a bit harsh but once you’ve tasted the primo stuff and all that…

How does this grab you? “Pennsylvania 6-5000” (Glen Miller), “It’s Square But It Rocks” (Count Basie), Buena Sera (Louis Prima), the theme to Robin Hood (The Richard Greene TV show), “Ebb Tide” (Sinatra/The Platters), the fantastic “The Day That The Rains Came Down” (Jane Morgan), “It’s A Marshmallow World” (Darlene Love) and “It’s All In The Game (The Four Tops) to take but the tip of the proverbial iceberg.

When he passed away, in September 2000, Carl Sigman was 91 years old. I guess they call that a good innings. What a legacy to leave. Irrespective of things not being like they used to be in some kind of rose-tinted rear view mirror, this consistent quality of work is surely a benchmark. I can’t even begin to tell you how captivated I am by these songs. They capture an era that came before anybody could pastiche, or beat the life out of a song in the name of faux authenticity.

Things weren’t sullied by bean counters or would be experts. This was a job of work. And that job was to write songs and have them recorded. Did they think they would last? Probably not, but so much of this man's work has entered the dimension of “the standard”. He kicked off his career in 1936 when he co-wrote “Just Remember” with Johnny Mercer. From 1940, he penned words and music of songs that were covered by artists as diverse as Aretha Franklin, Elvis, Louis Armstrong and Dean Martin. Relative youngsters are probably familiar with “Enjoy Yourself (It’s Later Than You Think)” by The Specials? Mr Sigman came up with that one in 1950.

When all is said and done, and the production is laid on thick with a dirty great trowel – it all comes back to the song and this man is responsible for a shed load of the greatest ever written. Carl Sigman had the chops and there’s not much coming out in today’s crop that will stand the test of time like this. I’ll cut out now, before I start to sound too much like my granny.

“Majorsongs… one of the top US music catalogues” strikes me as an understatement.

(Sincere thanks to Michael and Randy Sigman for kindly acquainting me with their dad’s work)

Does this look like fun or what?

This is the closest that Glasgow has been to a SXSW type stramash since "In The City" dropped by several eons ago. Do you have the stamina? There are some good acts involved. Drop by the website and figure out what works for that schedule of yours...

(Click on the image to open it in a legible size)

Not sure whether to see "Let The Right One In" and "Religulous" today or tomorrow. The world is my proverbial lobster or some such crustacean and the weather is holding up too. Down hill must surely be just beyond the immediate horizon.

It's been reported elsewhere but incase you haven't seen it, those New York Dolls have a show at the 100 Club on May 14th. Maybe some of you kids from other countries fancy it? It's just like the old days down there. In the venue I mean - not "The London", Rock On has long since left Camden as has Compendium Books and all the other haunts. Any of you guys heard the new Dolls record? The title track is on their site/myspace and it sounds puh-retty good.

Let's see how it all plays out this sabbath then. I used to be indecisive and well, still am.

Before I head for the kitchen, there's another JD King yarn on the go at his web hangout.

I've made a smidge of progress today. Both with the state of the drive and with filing records. Nothing too drastic but something.

Was reading the Lefsetz thing where he was getting all moist about “twitter”. This is the same guy that’s putting the boot into Record Store Day for whatever reason. Something to do with the internet? It generally is with him. Greetin’ faced is how we’d describe him here in Scotch-land. I’m guilty of being the same (stop smirking) myself but recently this guy has taken the art form to a whole new level. To tear something like RSD a new one is his most flaccid tirade yet. I actually find his attitude to this somewhat wretched, as I do his attack on (Elvis) Costello for something that has less than sod all to do with anything.

Yes, we know the web is killing music (sales) in terms of stores. That’s like a ripe plook on your schnoz that’s just about to burst but we must apply balm to those outlets that are left. If, for no other reason than the sheer joy they’ve given us over the decades. Some will survive and although it’s pretty tough, the hardcore hardware dealers are a fairly resourceful bunch themselves. It’s all a fairly romantic notion, I know. The ensuing generations have no experience of the finer aspects of hanging around in record shops. I could get all nostalgic at this point but will spare you that for now.

I was feeling pretty mellow before I read his pish. His angle on things used to entertain me but now the Apple groupie bit coupled with the continual mantra going over and over and over the same fucking thing has me reaching for the unsub link. His recent rankling of Gene Simmons bought him some time but even that was kind of sullied by his own seemigly creepy supercilious agenda. He has some answers but not them all. I do like clicking on songs that he recommends though, these are (almost) always horrible.

Anyway, RSD is presactly one week away, this time next year there will probably be less of them than ever. Celebrate this vanishing breed and pray that there’ll be a spike – something like the cinema industry experienced – when people started to go to those places again. There’s nothing like a cinema screening and there’s similarly nowt like going to a proper shop to pick up your music. Not Tesco, not Asda, not HMV. And as handy as Amazon or wherever may be, give that a rest, at least next Saturday.

If you have a store - or work in one, and you’re doing something to mark the occasion then please send details and I’ll compile a wha’appen, where in the middle of the week.

The Sonics "Way Out West" set from Gothenburg will be aired on Sweden's P3 Live this coming Monday (13th).

(Thanks to Kjell for the nod on this one)

It is with some relief that I can report that - I DON'T HAVE TO GO TO THE SALT MINES UNTIL ONE WEEK FRAE MONDAY! Don't like shouting in cap's like that but that was me getting carried away for a second. I haven't had one entire week off where I had next to nothing planned in a long, long time. Will I use this relative freedom wisely? Quite probably not, but you never know.

The "hotmail" wasn't working earlier but it seems to be now. Intermittent problems with all things internet seem to be ongoing. It doesn't matter really, other than if anybody thinks I'm not getting back to 'em. It's not necessarily my fault. Much as I try to keep on top of these things, maybe I have been a little tardy of late in some aspects of communication. At the same time, this caper with having to be reachable at any given second is not something that fills me with any great joy. Anyways, first things first.

A most excellent Eastertime to all our visitors wherever you happen to be dropping in from. Expect further bulletins in due course.

It ain't GF around here until approx. 12.30 but the wind-down is on, Mr Spence has managed to get this show back on the rails at the eleventh plus hour... have a braw Easter weekend, whatev you're getting up to.

FRIDAY 10TH APRIL at PIVO PIVO,
15 Waterloo Street, Glasgow; 8.30pm; FREE!

THE BRUTES
THE FNORDS

The first Glasgow show of the year for THE BRUTES, with support from multi-gender garage surf punkers, THE FNORDS.

Good Friday's gonna be VEEERRRY GOOD this year in Glasgow!!!

Admiral Stefan Conrad on the second instalment of Sophisticated Boom Boom on the cyberwireless tomorrow night between 7 and 9 CET. That's 6 til 8 here in the UK... good gear of the musical variety guaranteed.

The very Rev. JD King has posted another one of his fine yarns on his website. Go there and get acquainted with it in due course. All you need do is click this link.

There's 5 more hours to do at the coal face and then I have a week to try and restore order to various aspects of what passes for an existence. Part of this involves what goes on here in the blogosphere. Probably.

Also, I have Comedy Central free until May 4th so I'm making the most of that. South Park and Sarah Silverman tomorrow, after SBB of course. 'til then...

CULTURAPOP!

The Autographs on Revolver, found this via Ms Mona's B-Girls tip on fb earlier...

Hard to comprehend that it's just about a year since The Sonics blew through London. I imagine that a bunch of you kids will be taking in the LBB festivities over the impending weekend? No such gallivanting for me but I have a pass out from the salt mines for a week. At this point, there are plans to extricate myself from a number of ruts but that could all go south or down the pan, depending on how you like to describe what will likely amount to procrastination. So long as I keep away from futzing about on facebook then that’ll be something…

A schlep to Glasgow and Edinburgh could be on the cards, actually – it’s the MC Lars show on Wednesday. Couple movies, couple pints of Guinness mayhap? Just the two mind. Some gardening depending on the weather... I'm sure you get the drift. All subject to change.

Let’s get to some info then. It’s been a weird day with some kind of fug implanted where my common sense, such as it is or was, usually lives. This could make sense or not. Oh yeah, and this has nothing to do wit ICP or juggalos or whatever their crew call themselves…

Maybe some of you folks would like to try out Freekly?

I guess it works along the lines of when you order something from Amazon and it suggests other gear you might like? Anyway, it's a tie up with Rocks Backpages and it will deliver yer actual "rock writing" to your portal of choice.

I don't use iTunes or an iPod so I can't tell you if it does what it sez on the tin or not.

It does have an ever growing archive to draw upon though so it's potentially a very good source of information indeed. Particularly for future generations who are yet to discover that before the days of cut and paste, there was actual opinion and sometimes even passion involved with all this malarky.

I've also started to post on the RB blog. The idea is to float stuff on there that might not have made it to the pages of what's left of the inkies yet. We'll see, there's a lot of good stuff in there too so why not have a rake around. It goes like this, you head over to RBP via this link.

You’ll see an ad in the far RH column offering you an invite for a week so click on that and do the bizzo. Let me know what happens after that because I’m not tooled up for the full bhuna.

For those of you in the US, Eddie and the Hot Rods are headed in your direction! Click on the poster to enlarge and find out when they're hovering close to your zip code.

GLASGOW RHYTHM AND BLUES FESTIVAL - MAY 2009

A ton of shows happening over the coming week and months all over. I'm kinda pushed for time right now so maybe I'll try to round those up and, should you be in the 'hood of any of them then feel free to make the necessary arrangements...

In NYC...

It's more off-color action this week with Susquehanna Industrial Tool & Die Co. -- working blue at the honky tonkin'est joint in town, the Rodeo Bar!

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 8th / RODEO BAR /
375 Third Avenue (at the corner of 27th Street) in Manhattan / Two big & bawdy sets, from 10pm sharp until 12:30am / No cover -- and free peanuts! /

Ribaldly yours, Michael
Susquehanna Industrial Tool & Die Co.
"Ballads, Boogies & Blues"

in LONDON...

Thomas Phobic Esq sez... "I have tickets for sale for our up and coming gig at The Dirty South on Saturday 18th April.They cost £8 but I'm selling my allocation for £6 quid each - the £2 is supposed to go to us but feck it, theres a credit crunch (is that some kind of biscuit??)

You will be entertained by: CATFIGHT, WONK UNIT, your favorite well mannered deptford guitarslingers, THE PHOBICS, The Wonderful BERMONDSEY JOYRIDERS, featuring Garry Lammin from Cock Sparrer and Keith Boyce from The Heavy Metal Kids and, playing a rare London gig - PETER AND THE TEST TUBE BABIES.

The shindig starts at 7:30pm and the bar is open til 2am so come early, stay late and enjoy a smorgasboord of rock n roll delights. It will cost more on the door - so act now and save money for drink. Thank you for your kind indulgence."

in OSHAWA, CANADA...



Rob from Crummy Stuff checked in...

Hello everybody... Don't miss The Blue Coupe/Crummy Stuff show on April 17 at Chicago's in Oshawa...

Members of Blue Öyster Cult, Alice Cooper Band and Teenage Head all sharing the stage...

There is a good chance a certain Teenage Head member will join Crummy Stuff on stage for some rock classics!!

Let the music play, Rob.

And that's about yer lot for now, much more gig info to be processed and relayed in due course. I'm off to check out the new BoB and to have my tea. Not necessarily in that order though.

RIP - Mike McCann (Cannibals 82 -84/Disi & The Rathole Sheikh)

(Thanks to Gildas and Patrick for the info)

Here's a cool end to the weekend. Mr. Paul Cangelosi kindly dropped me a line to say that the Girl Trouble anniversary show sets are right there on the interweb for your downloading/listening pleasure!

All you got to do is click here and scroll down to the sonic paydirt. Of course it should be a triple vinyl release but until then, this will do nicely. I'm listening now and really wish I'd been there. A couple of the finest shows I ever saw by anybody was spent in their company way too long ago. They've still got it alright!

LORD ROCHESTER/THE MAD SCENE/THE INEPTORS plus Dj: Chris Fast/Wednesday 15th April/Henry's Cellar Bar/Morrison Street/Edinburgh/doors at 8pm - £5/4

Lord Rochester return fresh from London's 'Big Beat Bonanza' festival playing stripped down Bo Diddleyesque rock'n'rumble in tartan jackets! Featuring Russ 'Wildebeest' Wilkins, Saskia 'Sally Skull' Holling and Tim 'Mystery Juice' Matthew. Expect an LP real soon.

The Mad Scene play a warm up before 'Homegame' Fence Collective festival in Anstruther. From Brooklyn, New York they are a Velvets/Television Personalities/Syd Barrett inspired cacophony and amongst them lurks Hamish Kilgour of New Zealand's Flying Nun legends 'The Clean'

The Ineptors are the recently renamed 'Preston Pfanz and The Seaton Sands', Edinburgh's premier Surfbeat and R'n'R instrumentalists

Also in Edinburgh, two screenings of The Monks: Transatlantic Feedback doc at The Cameo. Friday 17th and Saturday 18th (the timings aren't on the site yet, it's late - I know that). So if you missed the recent Glasgow stint then get yourself along to one of those...

I'm experiencing some e-mail turbulence this am. Pain in the arse. Anyway, I'm off now to see Spinal Tap on the big screen (on a double bill with Anvil). A perfect Sunday afternoon pastime methinks!

John Cavanagh has this info for you lucky folks in "the London"...

"I'm sending this to friends who either live in London or who might be interested in Delia Derbyshire. Quite clearly, I understand many of those I 'invite" won't be able to attend, but I hope you're interested to know of this new film. I supplied interview material I recorded with the late Delia Derbyshire and also recorded a bit of voiceover for the film.

Here's some info about the film: The Delian Mode explores the life and work of electronic music pioneer Delia Derbyshire, the woman behind the distinctive Doctor Who theme music created at the BBC Radiophonic Workshop in the early 1960's.

The film delves into Derbyshire’s unique approach to sound recording and manipulation while supporting a slowly growing recognition of her as an influential figure in the history of electronic music.

Participants include Brian Hodgson and Dick Mills of the now defunct BBC Radiophonic Workshop, the founder of Electronic Music Studios (EMS) Peter Zinovieff, musicians Peter Kember (Sonic Boom), Adrian Utley (Portishead), and Ann Shenton (Add N to X) as well as other friends and colleagues of Delia. Directed by Kara Blake/
Duration: 25 minutes

Yellow Room, Spirit Level, Southbank Centre - The film will be introduced by Peaches at 6.30 and will screen on a loop until 9. Admission is free.

I decided against the haircut. And the rain meant that I could procrastinate with regard to pulling weeds outta the drive. Some headway was made in filing away 45's but that's all come to a grinding halt because I've brought a pile of stuff down to play. So I can do that while I futz around on here. Perfect. At the moment, The Screaming Blue Messiahs are reverberating at some considerable volume. I was inspired by hearing them on NoFoSo this morning and I'm thinking that this combo should have been bigger than U2. Come to think of it, everybody should be bigger than them but you get my drift. And if you don't then you can suck on the proverbial dummy...

A major regret of mine was not being able to see through the publishing of JD King's "Like A 45 at 33" collection of short stories. Each and every one was solid gold and if there are any enterprising publishers out there looking for that commodity then you should cyberscamper over to his site to check out a brand new piece that he's posted there. Also, if there are any bands who are looking to have a boss jacket adorn some kind of physical release, then JD is yer man. His wares are there to be poured over after you've dug the wordage.

Ever wondered what punk rockers in Glenrothes get up to? Nip on over to Newtown Products to find out.

Oh, Side one of "Gunshy" (pronounced "Gun Shy") is just about done so it'll be kettle on and flip it over. Oh, and I need to scan that Larry Wallis "Police Car" sleeve. Telling you, it's all flippin' go...

Robbie Fulks has 50 new songs available for your downloading pleasure right here...

He's also headed for Sweden, details here. (Thanks to Ms Amy Allison for the nod on this one)

I was never on board the Josef K bus but I'm down with this cause...

ROLinc News Release:

Basic premise: Blogs being targetted randomly by ISP’s even for music where artists are happy about the extra coverage. The sites are essential promo tools for all artists.

Most artists express the view that as many people should be able to hear their music as possible by whatever means. The fan will then go to a concert or by back catalogue get the vinyl or even the new cd. The Internet is just like radio and mp3s are just clutter to be binned or bought in better quality format after sampling!!! Artists need loyal fans.

Paul Haig gave a free track "Reason" to The Vinyl Villain to give away in support of the blogger network.

If you a have great track, the best method of getting it heard is over the net – where word is spread by music fans - Hearing new music is based on recommendation, not by mass advertising budgets….unless you are U2, blogs/free music on the net is the only future…

Evan, Label Manager ROLinc

Announced by Jim Clark (The Vinyl Villain)

"If you go stumbling around music blogs on the Internet on Monday 6th April, there's a reasonable chance you'll find someone saying good things about Paul Haig, arguably the greatest pop star to ever have come out of Edinburgh.

So far, some 25 bloggers have decided that next Monday should be designated 'Paul Haig Day' and will be featuring posts about the musician whose career goes back almost 30 years to the days when Postcard Records were The Sound of Young Scotland.

This sudden upsurge of interest in the former Josef K lead singer is no accident, and is the result of a number of music fans, not all of whom know much about Paul Haig, wanting to thank him for taking a stand and encouraging bloggers to keep on doing what they do.

Bloggers have come under increasing attack in recent times, thanks to many in the music industry using the draconian measures of the Digital Millenium Copyright Act (DMCA), an American piece of legislation signed by President Clinton in 1998 which insists that Internet Service Providers (ISPs) must remove material that appears to constitute copyright infringment.

So, if a music industry lawyer discovers a blogger has posted an mp3 of a song without permission, they can contact the ISP, claim they represent the individual or organisatin with the copyright and demand the offending material be removed. Fair enough you might say...

But, the law is such that anyone can use DMCA to demand a takedown without having to prove that they have ownership of the copyright, and the ISP have no option but to comply - it has even been proven that where musicians have expressly given support for their song to be highlighted on a blog, an anoymous DMCA request has seen the mp3 removed.

Such was the case last month when my blog, one that's been running since September 2006 and almost exclusively looks back to music of the 80s and 90s, featured "Blue For You", one of the early solo singles by Paul Haig. I'd been in touch with the singer who didn’t object at all to featuring the song and was given a few words by Paul to add to the story behind its recording in Edinburgh back in 1982.

Within 48 hours of publication, the piece was removed by the ISP, although no-one associated with the copyright had made such a request.

In response, Paul Haig immediately decided to make his 2007 single "Reason" available through TVV on the basis that music fans who downloaded the song and decided that they liked it were more than likely to subsequently purchase a copy. So far, after just more than a week, no-one has asked the ISP to remove the mp3....

JC, who runs "The Vinyl Villain" said:-

"I was shocked when the DMCA was served on 'Blue For You' and I did think about closing down the blog altogether, wondering if the hours spent working on it were worth it. But the quick response from Paul and his mangement and the offer of a further song made me realise that there are some musicians out there who value what I and many thousands of others do every day. Blogging isn't about piracy or making music available for free - it's more to do with writing about artists we love in the hope that more people will become fans.

I get about 700 hits a day from all over the world and quite a number of readers got in touch to say how much they appreciated the support given by Paul. The idea of Paul Haig Day emerged from that.

The thing I find most pleasing about it is that up until all this DCMA nonsense, some people knew next to nothing about Paul Haig and don't have any of his records in their collections but they're still going to put some words together and post an mp3. It'll be interesting to see if any of us are served DCMA notices."

Blogs in Australia, Canada, Germany and America and across the UK are all taking part.

Details can be found at www.thevinylvillain.blogspot.com.

As a footnote to all this, I don't post mp3's because I prefer to direct visitors to the artists site. There's simply no time on my part to harvest tracks and post every day. We're lucky to have resources like The Vinyl Villain and So Many Records, So Little Time to name but two.

The old guard is on the ropes, mostly because of their own inability to recognise that this is a legitimate form of getting the word out. They confuse a desire to communicate with piracy and for that alone they need to get a rocket up the arse. Ouch is right.

Bucketfull Of Brains returns after an 18 month hiatus to celebrate its 30th birthday!

The new issue features stories on the iconic JESSE HECTOR, the legendary MARTY THAU interviewed by Jeremy Gluck, THE SONICS, STEVE WYNN, WILLARD GRANT CONSPIRACY, THE PILLBUGS, PAUL & BARRY RYAN, Hugh Gulland remembers NICK SANDERSON, and there's more of the usual features, reviews, blabber and smoke. All subscriptions are being honoured but for the moment we're not taking more. Order the issue now direct by Paypal:

£2.99 UK / £3.75 Europe / £4.50 ROW

quote: bucketfull(at)blueyonder.co.uk

It's the end of another topsy turvy week. Ben Weasel informed me that his biz partner and friend Erika Hynes passed away and he's posted a short message. My condolences and thoughts are with her friends and family at this time. I had some contact with her when they picked up the NBT shirt and found her to be a diamond. We've lost another keeper of the faith.

RIP - Erika Hynes

Remember him this way (link via Staysick) I imagine this could be considered "Not Work Safe" or whatever the term is...



Other than that. Mr Percival is in the area so we're most likely headed for the pub. See you there or see you tomorrow...

Age old Dutch punk rock...

RIP - Duane Jarvis

I'm stunned that I can't find a YouTube clip to give you a taste of this guy's work so here's Lucinda singing a song that they wrote together. Of course, you can go to his myspace but I figured there would be something more tangible... also, Amy Rigby remembers DJ..

Short and sharp. None of these are April fools and they have little or nothing to do with G20 which up until now was a Glasgow postcode...

Today is this print relative of this blog's 32nd birthday. Who'da thunk it? March was the second highest "hits" month since records began. That's statistics, not them black round things some of us are obsessed with. Gracias for continuing to visit or howdy if this is your first pitstop.

Screeching Weasel and The Riverdales will be hitting up Austin this coming summer, full details here. Grab your tickets fast.

"Melodramatic popular song" duo, Two White Horses album is out today. More about that in due course...

Excellent, personal Lux recollections... at Popshifter (courtesy of nimereht/staysick)

And the Lux tributes just keep on coming...

17th April in Newcastle Upon Tyne and 18th April in Portland, Oregon. Watch out for news of a red-hot remembrance coming down on Philadelphia very soon too.

It's all pretty quiet around here tonight. It's been like summer today and by all accounts it's to stay like this for a few days. Probably up to Friday...

Still, I completed my Adiam Dymott assignment and it came out OK I think. In addition to having made an amazing record, this gal is our kinda people! Much more about her as the story unfolds.

There's other stuff to relay I'm sure but I'm not really up to writing any more today. They've started to show The Wire on BBC2 at 11.20pm and there's something strangely satisfying about watching it being aired. It gives one a sense of something beyond just slapping in a dvd whenever you want. it requires a level of engagement and commitment. Like seeing something at the cinema maybe. I'm sure you know what I'm getting at here. This 24 hour society thing is way overrated. Nothing can be overground popular anymore for any longer than a blip.

Anyway, I hope to be able to catch as many as possible in this manner and might even have a wee kip now to make sure I can stay awake. I shall leave you with this...

“Birdsongs, Beesongs” includes new and previously unreleased tracks from acts like Hari and Aino, BMX Bandits, TWIG, Saturday Looks Good To Me, Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin, The Paper Merchants and many many other great acts. Give it a try.

So much great music in this release and Knut has worked so hard to get all these great bands to release new songs for this project. Downloading "Birdsongs, Beesongs - Volume A" is free, so get to it."

Stop Press - James King and The Lone Wolves myspace, courtesy of The Vinyl Villain!

Wanda Jackson at The Jazz Cafe in June. (Thanks Andrew) and, while we're on the subject of legends, Mose Allison is at Pizza Express Jazz Club, London on June 15th - 21st.

Daylight fucking saving? What's that all about then?? Is it designed for lazy blighters that find it hard to get out of their scratchers or something. Far as I can tell it serves no purpose. And don't lay that "it's for the kids getting to school" bollocks. The molly-coddled little dears more often than not get dropped off by a parent or friend of same. The days of rugrats actually using shanks's pony to get anywhere are all but extinct.

So it was all a bit frantic this am. Just as well I had the new Wooden Shjips to audially sandblast on the journey to work. More about "Dos" closer to it's Holy Mountain release in May.

The priority tonight is to complete my Adiam D epistle so take a look at this and follow the instructions implicitly.



By the way this was post #4000.

BEEPFEST - Glasgow -SATURDAY MAY 9th 2009

The guff weather that was forecast to hit this part of the world hasn't shown and it's nice and bright out. Might take a trochle into town but...

...there are more pressing things on the horizon. Like listening to these City Rock tracks kindly dropped in courtesy of the good offices of Doc. H. I've got an itch to search for a Michael Stanley Band comp. "Midwest Midnight" track whetted my appetite. I remember liking another song of theirs back in the stone age but can't remember the title. This gives me a chance to maybe get into listing some stuff that you might care to check out rather than get on with your life.

The new issue of Dig It! (#45) is available and as ever it flags up all kinds of stuff that I need to hear and in some cases get. It's all in French but it's literally dripping with that high energy enthusiasm that their crew never fails to deliver.

Not music-related but cool nonetheless is the Glasgow-based I Like. A site that I do, as a matter of fact.

Mr Rafferty caught this and figured you may be interested. Think of The Dictators "Avenue A" when you're reading it.

There's a book out about Eric's in Liverpool. haven't seen it but you can get the scoop here.

Back to CR... what's wrong with me? I'm thinking that Huey Lewis and The News "The Heart of Rock'n'Roll" is some pretty hot shit... and I'm not ashamed to say it. It's maybe even the metaphorical AOR flipside of "American Beat"!

Tonight's Monorail Film Club... "This month we're showing Lynne Ramsay's Morvern Callar, a morally ambiguous story about a suicide and its immediate, unexpected aftermath. Partly set in Oban and partly in Ibiza, Morvern Callar is based on an Alan Warner novel and will be introduced by Roddy Woomble of Idlewild at GFT - 7.30pm".

I always loved "Summertime Girls" by Y&T. Didn't you?? This is turning into some kind of multi-cultural melting pot for a Sunday afternoon. I hope you'll be able to keep up... woah, the guitar solo!! Bring back full-on rock stupidity, please!!? Somebody??

Wow, thanks for the tip on this one. For a minute I thought Andy Stewart had been cloned. So, there's no White heather club footage but there is this...



And then there's this, unearthed by Eric Fusco and facebooked. Captain Cruickshank has a copy of the 45. It has some tie-in to what would become Beserkley.



This trio should keep you amused while we all adjust to being short-changed an hour.

"Turn Out The Lights" is an Amy Allison song. Sounds cool by candlelight when you're doing the Earth Hour thing.

I jus heard The Seeds "Can't Seem To Make You Mine" in a deodorant commercial.

These are weird times. Goodnight.

I heard Graham Forbes on the Janice Forsyth show this morning and he sounded like a top geezer.

Reckon there will be some cool tales in this new book of his, "Rock'n'Roll Tourist".

Here's something to blow off those cobwebs...



Thanks to Tex for fb'ing it and the Bedazzled Corp for everything else. A cinema stint with these babies is a priority. I feel another project coming on!