It's practically Friday so let's just approach that quietly. While half the world is in Austin, I know for the fact that HS ain't there so we can just watch these great clips in the hope that they're gonna come out this way soon. Beware though "Arjeplog" cuts off pretty brutally. I was looking for Maia's appearance on TV last night to pre-empt the album but found these instead.
I'm planning a sort of write-o-thon this weekend. Let that be a warning.
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
It was another of those jump starts. A sleepless night followed by a sluggish reaction to having too much to do in too little time. Getting to be something of a habit and it really throws me off. A blast of the Adiam album (out in Scandanavia today!) brought me round on the way to work. The damage with regard to what the car needed wasn't quite as bad as anticipated but still leaves a dent in the old wallet that I could have done without. So anyway, I have some reading and stuff to catch up with. I'm also trying to get a beat on "City Rock"...
A few things to keep you amused then...
Tom Phobic wishes it to be known... Hi kids, Well the credit crunch has fecked us all rightly, I'm potless, all my shares are worth nothing and the yacht and apartments in New York, Bermuda and Deptford have been repossessed. My team lost the Carling Cup and I'm getting balder as well. Already in 2009 Big Ron and Lux have been snatched away from us, and thats sad brothers and sisters it really is. Still, as Phil Spector once said "Look after Rock n Roll and it will look after you" and thats what we're gonna do - just for all you out there in myspace land. We've a gig to tell you about and without further horsesh*t here tis' - Saturday 21st March at THE MARLBOROUGH - 67 SEDGMOOR PLACE, CAMBERWELL, SE5 7SE with the very wonderful ZOMBIE MET GIRL.
A few things to keep you amused then...
Tom Phobic wishes it to be known... Hi kids, Well the credit crunch has fecked us all rightly, I'm potless, all my shares are worth nothing and the yacht and apartments in New York, Bermuda and Deptford have been repossessed. My team lost the Carling Cup and I'm getting balder as well. Already in 2009 Big Ron and Lux have been snatched away from us, and thats sad brothers and sisters it really is. Still, as Phil Spector once said "Look after Rock n Roll and it will look after you" and thats what we're gonna do - just for all you out there in myspace land. We've a gig to tell you about and without further horsesh*t here tis' - Saturday 21st March at THE MARLBOROUGH - 67 SEDGMOOR PLACE, CAMBERWELL, SE5 7SE with the very wonderful ZOMBIE MET GIRL.
And that's yer lot for now. There's more but it's gonna take some compiling. I'm going to try and knock the hour before I go to work thing on the napper also.
One last gem to leave you with here.
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
I've been inundated with mp3's and info on stuff that's happening at SXSW. I imagine it's reaching full swing? Most of it is is tosh but check out this Get Hip shindig. Also Matt & Kim are there for one show, good luck with getting into that. It'll be jumpin'. Sir David Alvin is playing the Doug Sahm tribute wherever that is amongst the hubbub.Monday, March 16, 2009
I woke up discombobulated today and that's been the modus since. After the carry on with the heating last week and make no mistake, I'm grateful for the fact I have that, let alone have it back - this week's huckle is the dreaded car service/MOT. I just dropped it off and be wondering (spell that – d-r-e-a-d-i-n-g) what size of hole this'll bury me in. The added bonus of my road tax being due will possibly result in my having to switch the heating aff. That's not spelled wrongly, incase you were wondering. I just reverted to the vernacular or localese. Not sure why.
Just watched the Lefsetz/Simmons oratory set-to and now I’m even more depressed. True, I could have turned it off but for some reason I stuck with it. Time is precious and you can’t get it back so I’m signing out and looking to Maia Hirasawa’s new set of songs to maintain the ballast. I know it’s a fine thing and if anything can sweep those cobwebs away, then these will.
Just watched the Lefsetz/Simmons oratory set-to and now I’m even more depressed. True, I could have turned it off but for some reason I stuck with it. Time is precious and you can’t get it back so I’m signing out and looking to Maia Hirasawa’s new set of songs to maintain the ballast. I know it’s a fine thing and if anything can sweep those cobwebs away, then these will.
Sunday, March 15, 2009
Public Service Announcement...
"Take out an annual subscription to Rock's Backpages before 31st March and we will refund 50% of the first year subscription cost! It works like this...
... please go to the subscribe page and e-mail me at tony@rocksbackpages.com to let me know you've done so and we'll refund 50% of the cost to your credit card account. That's it!
We now have over 14,000 articles in our archive from the 60s to to the present day? You can also listen to our expanding library of exclusive audio interviews with great artists, not available anywhere else!
Regards, Tony Keys
"Take out an annual subscription to Rock's Backpages before 31st March and we will refund 50% of the first year subscription cost! It works like this...
... please go to the subscribe page and e-mail me at tony@rocksbackpages.com to let me know you've done so and we'll refund 50% of the cost to your credit card account. That's it!
We now have over 14,000 articles in our archive from the 60s to to the present day? You can also listen to our expanding library of exclusive audio interviews with great artists, not available anywhere else!
Regards, Tony Keys
I just listened to the Richard Holloway programme on Radio Scotland. He was talking to the amazing Una McLean and they brought up the subject of Scots comedian, Lex McLean (no relation). Lo and behold, I found this on YouTube...
Lex died in 1975 and I guess almost no episodes or clips have survived so it was a trip to find this and two more. And then I also found some Chic Murray so that's an entirely different rabbit hole. See you around 2pm...
On the radio thing, Una tells a story about Lex playing Ayr that pretty much sums up everything some of us stand for. Amazing stuff. It seems as though this isn't available on the listen again feature yet. Maybe later. Here's the link to the page just incase.
Lex died in 1975 and I guess almost no episodes or clips have survived so it was a trip to find this and two more. And then I also found some Chic Murray so that's an entirely different rabbit hole. See you around 2pm...
On the radio thing, Una tells a story about Lex playing Ayr that pretty much sums up everything some of us stand for. Amazing stuff. It seems as though this isn't available on the listen again feature yet. Maybe later. Here's the link to the page just incase.
Saturday, March 14, 2009
“Adiam Dymott” is the album I’ve been eagerly awaiting since I first heard “Memory Loss” last summer. The condition of the same name that I intermittently suffer from started way earlier. Kicking off with “John Denver”, it’s evident that this expectation has not been in vain. 10 nuggets of loud, crunchy pop magic crossed with a spiritual hip hop persuasion await anybody who enters here.Each and every cut is wilfully commercial. Taken individually it’s actually 10 one-sided singles backed up ready for take off. I imagine that you’re already familiar with “Miss You”. If not then you’ve not been visiting here much.
Out on Razzia this coming Wednesday, Ms Dymott has taken that classic Roxy Music swagger, added a heady dose of shake appeal and delivered something undeniable. There’s an upbeat twist to the relatively downbeat subject matter of the song titles. “Today Was Just a Downer” will make yours anything but.
The percussive attack of “Black Cloud” (maybe some mad mental Indian Chief?) is phenomenal. Imagine the finer elements of "Exile on Main Street" and think of how they might have benefitted from a “Wall Of Sound” treatment. When the bright white lights hit the audience at the point of guitar ignition then it’s gonna be pandemonium. I hope to be right down the front at just such a stramash before long.
"Holiday Inn" (not the Stereo Total song) closes things with an almost “Auld Lang Syne” meets Sam Cooke refrain with a big rolling BCR anthemic guitar lollup. Runrig vs Sigue Sigue Sputnik even. It takes the pace down a notch and fires up the emotional quotient. Absolutely fucking beautiful, if you excuse the vernacular. There could well be tears, depending on how liquored up any given crowd gets.
Don’t encourage Boner or any of these other "names" that are out to fleece you, you need something that will be a little familiar but presented in a way that’s so bloody infectious they’ll need to develop a balm for it. And even that will only work temporarily.
The album is streaming on her myspace, just hit the link at the start there...
Ease yourself into Saturday with the Ian McLagan clip here. If we could all go to a shindig where the band sounded like this tonight then we'd be doing better than alright.
Friday, March 13, 2009
The oxygen of publicity in any shape or form is something that shouldn’t be taken lightly. If you believe in something then you should root for it. If you have to criticise something to create a perspective then fine but don’t spend hours putting the boot into something that would be best left to wither and die.
I’ve been following the Lefsetz/Simmons thing. One of them has a point that he’s labouring and the other one doesn’t just have a chip on his shoulder, he’s balancing an entire sack o’ spuds on there. And then there’s the two gallon drum of snake oil he’s attempting to pass off into the bargain. Meanwhile elsewhere, trails are being blazed. Acts with genuine talent are building a following, almost brick by brick.
It’s heartening to read how Matt & Kim are trouncing Cut Copy. They’re doing this via hard work and playing their fucking hearts out. The clips of Hello Saferide that I posted the other day are so great that they give me goosebumps. To me, this is the reason why I keep banging my napper bloody against the wall. Watching The Quattros at DWC last week I wondered why the hell they weren’t a household name.
I’m not down with “pee the highest” contests. The terrain has shifted and cool things can happen. No arts grants or business plans tend to be involved. When the blue touch paper is lit. So come on folks, get to rubbing those sticks together to make some fire. Then we’ll get to running the dilholes that are choking the pipes all the way outta dodge.
That RT documentary on BBC Four just now brought back a lot of idealistic, bloody-minded memories. I could do with more of that kinda jump start activity on the noggin.
I’ve been following the Lefsetz/Simmons thing. One of them has a point that he’s labouring and the other one doesn’t just have a chip on his shoulder, he’s balancing an entire sack o’ spuds on there. And then there’s the two gallon drum of snake oil he’s attempting to pass off into the bargain. Meanwhile elsewhere, trails are being blazed. Acts with genuine talent are building a following, almost brick by brick.
It’s heartening to read how Matt & Kim are trouncing Cut Copy. They’re doing this via hard work and playing their fucking hearts out. The clips of Hello Saferide that I posted the other day are so great that they give me goosebumps. To me, this is the reason why I keep banging my napper bloody against the wall. Watching The Quattros at DWC last week I wondered why the hell they weren’t a household name.
I’m not down with “pee the highest” contests. The terrain has shifted and cool things can happen. No arts grants or business plans tend to be involved. When the blue touch paper is lit. So come on folks, get to rubbing those sticks together to make some fire. Then we’ll get to running the dilholes that are choking the pipes all the way outta dodge.
That RT documentary on BBC Four just now brought back a lot of idealistic, bloody-minded memories. I could do with more of that kinda jump start activity on the noggin.
When New Math were morphing into The Jet Black Berries, they were one of the first combos to embrace the influence of The Cramps. Here's a link to a recent live show that includes a stonking version of "Garbageman" from their home turf in Rochester at The Bug Jar.
(Thanks to Brother Duano for stickin' out those cans!)
(Thanks to Brother Duano for stickin' out those cans!)
This time last week I was in the pub with David, Penny and The Quattros. Good times.
This past few days haven't been quite so rosy but at least I'm still in employment. The "jaicket on a shaky nail" scenario has receded for the immediate future but who knows what's in store.
Still, things could be much worse and I'm coming around to the notion of being appreciative of what does go on. Not exactly to a stage of thinking "half-full" but quietly thinking that "it's the little things" that really matter.
I'd dearly love to make up those facebook lists of fave records and things but I just don't have the time and energy. It's fun diggin' in to other peoples gear though. there have been some great ones. Is it possible for everybody to access these things or do you have to be "friends"?
Need to make a concerted effort to get some stuff done on here this weekend too but I'm a wee bit sidetracked by the fact that I'm waiting for somebody to come and (hopefully) fix the central heating. Next week it'll be the car service/MOT. I HATE all that crap but it's a necessary evil.
Why don't things just work? And keep on going?? Is that really so much to expect???
So, time to catch up on correspondence and whatever else my limited bursts of energy allow. have a good one whatever you're up to. I'm just about to blast the Adiam album at ear-splitting volume and will provide the lowdown in due course. It's out next week...
This past few days haven't been quite so rosy but at least I'm still in employment. The "jaicket on a shaky nail" scenario has receded for the immediate future but who knows what's in store.
Still, things could be much worse and I'm coming around to the notion of being appreciative of what does go on. Not exactly to a stage of thinking "half-full" but quietly thinking that "it's the little things" that really matter.
I'd dearly love to make up those facebook lists of fave records and things but I just don't have the time and energy. It's fun diggin' in to other peoples gear though. there have been some great ones. Is it possible for everybody to access these things or do you have to be "friends"?
Need to make a concerted effort to get some stuff done on here this weekend too but I'm a wee bit sidetracked by the fact that I'm waiting for somebody to come and (hopefully) fix the central heating. Next week it'll be the car service/MOT. I HATE all that crap but it's a necessary evil.
Why don't things just work? And keep on going?? Is that really so much to expect???
So, time to catch up on correspondence and whatever else my limited bursts of energy allow. have a good one whatever you're up to. I'm just about to blast the Adiam album at ear-splitting volume and will provide the lowdown in due course. It's out next week...
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