Spotify upset me today

and this is why. I don't think Spotify really knows me at all.

Rubbish phone company. Great ad music.

Joe Strummer

Can't believe it's been nine years to the day since Joe Strummer died. I was lucky to see him live once - absolutely brilliant. I bought Combat Rock when I was 13 and I think I played it every day for a year.

Art Brut! Top Of The Pops! But In German!

Sometimes this country isn't all it's cracked up to be.



Last night, while BBC and ITV were showing Strictly Come Dancing and X Factor, ZDF in Germany were broadcasting a live performance of Art Brut, The Blood Arm and dEUS in a warehouse in Berlin.

I watched neither - I dug out my Hot Fuzz DVD instead - but was able to watch it in its entirety this morning. Not knowing how long it was going to be on the ZDF website for, I also managed to, er, find a copy, which you can download below:

Part 1 |
Part 2 |
Part 3 |
Part 4 |
Part 5 |
Part 6

It's almost a gigabyte and it's in ASF which plays perfectly well on Windows Media Player for me, hope it does for you too if you go to the trouble of downloading.

PS Google Translate seems to think that Top Of The Pops in German is Top Of The Pops, which is a little disappointing. I might have gone for Top Der Pops or something.

PPS And they played St Pauli. Natürlich.

Fight Like Apes and (2 of) the Frank and Walters - Walter's Trip

Still doing some random Youtubery while I contemplate getting this blog back on track.

I was pretty surprised to see this collaboration - after all no one covers the wonderful Frank and Walters, do they? Recorded by some guy (thanks, guy) on Thursday last week at the Bowery in Cork.

The Welsh Music Prize

I know I haven't blogged much lately because of WORK and stuff but I found this much more interesting than the Mercury Music Prize, mainly because Adele isn't in the shortlist I guess! The excellent JOY FORMIDABLE and Y NIWL are on it, as well as the very very good Gruff Rhys and the Manics I suppose - not sure if that band hanging around makes me feel old or young again.

This is one reason why the Joy Formidable are excellent:



and one why Y Niwl, etc ...



To quote the press release I received:

We’re excited to announce the shortlist for the first ever Welsh Music Prize. The shortlist, in alphabetical order, is as follows:

Al Lewis - In The Wake [Al Lewis Music]
Colorama - Box [See Monkey Do Monkey Records]
Funeral For A Friend - Welcome Home Armageddon [Distiller Records]
Gruff Rhys - Hotel Shampoo [Turnstile Music]
Lleuwen - Tan [Gwymon]
Manic Street Preachers - Postcards from a Young Man [Columbia]
Stagga - The Warm Air Room [Rag and Bone]
Sweet Baboo - I’m a Dancer/Songs About Sleepin’ [Shape Records]
The Blackout - Hope [Cooking Vinyl]
The Gentle Good - Tethered for the Storm [Gwymon]
The Joy Formidable - Big Roar [Atlantic]
Y Niwl - Y Niwl [Aderyn Papur]

As daunting as the task of choosing a shortlist was, a panel of 10 expert judges will now face the unenviable task of choosing just one winner from that list to be announced on Friday 21 October 2011 during SWN Festival 2011 in Cardiff.

Huw Stephens, Radio 1 presenter and co-organiser of Welsh Music Prize said: “We are very pleased to launch the Welsh Music Prize with twelve strong albums from Welsh artists. The shortlist is but a reflection on the quality music made in Wales and released internationally. We hope the Prize brings these collections of work to a new audience, and we are looking forward to announcing an overall winner on October 21st.”

http://welshmusicprize.com
http://swnfest.com

Or if you like:

Ni yn falch iawn i gyhoeddi y rhestre fer ar gyfer Gwbor Gerddoriaeth Gymreig, y tro cyntaf i'r gwobrau ddigwydd. Dyma'r rhestr fer, yn nhrefn y wyddor:

Al Lewis - In The Wake [Al Lewis Music]
Colorama - Box [See Monkey Do Monkey Records]
Funeral For A Friend - Welcome Home Armageddon [Distiller Records]
Gruff Rhys - Hotel Shampoo [Turnstile Music]
Lleuwen - Tan [Gwymon]
Manic Street Preachers - Postcards from a Young Man [Columbia]
Stagga - The Warm Air Room [Rag and Bone]
Sweet Baboo - I’m a Dancer/Songs About Sleepin’ [Shape Records]
The Blackout - Hope [Cooking Vinyl]
The Gentle Good - Tethered for the Storm [Gwymon]
The Joy Formidable - Big Roar [Atlantic]
Y Niwl - Y Niwl [Aderyn Papur]

Roedd cyraedd y rhestr yma yn anodd gan fod gymaint o albyms gwerth chweil wedi dod o Gymru yn y 12 mis diwethaf, ond nawr bydd 10 beirniad yn gorfod dewis un ennillydd o;r rhestr yma, i'w gyhoeddi ar ddydd gwener Hydref 21 2011 yn ystod Gwyl Swn 2011 yng Nghaerdydd.

Dweudodd Huw Stephens: Rydym yn falch iawn o lawnsio Gwobr Gerddoriaeth Gymreig gyda deuddeg albym cryf ar y rhestr fer. Mae'r rhestr yn adlewyrchiad o'r gerddoriaeth o safon uchel sydd yn cael eu greu yng Nghymru ac yn cael eu glywed o amgylch y byd. Rydym yn gobeithio bydd y Wobr yn dod a'r gerddoriaeth i gynulleidfa newydd, ac rydym yn edrych mlaen i ewni enillydd ar Hydref 21.

http://welshmusicprize.com
http://swnfest.com

Probably unlikely, but you never know

Dreamt last night I interviewed Kate Bush and found out she was a big fan of early 2000AD, progs 1-400. Probably not a precognitive dream.

Here's a video that someone posted on my wall soon after I woke up. Hard to cover Kate Bush in the same kind of style but I have big love for the Faroe Island and a cover from a Faroese singer just makes sense.



Easier to cover if you completely change the style. Not everything works but I've loved this song since it came out in 1996.

I Don't Have Your Money, I'm Broke, Get Over It

Beautiful and funny song from this Irish band; thanks to The Devil Has The Best Tuna for finding. In the words of the band themselves:

€85,000,000,000 is a lot of money. Unfortunately we owe this money to our friends in the EU and the IMF. Another downside to this situation is that we don’t have it. The Difference Engine thought it might be best to highlight this problem to our friends through the medium of music. Please enjoy this song sensibly and if you like it, pass it on www.differenceengine.ie.

The studio version is available from Bandcamp. Here's a Phantom FM session.

Bloody hell, 50?

Kim Deal and Kelley Deal are 50 today. I wasn't a massive fan of either the Pixies or the Breeders, favouring bands like Carter USM and They Might Be Giants instead, but I was still well aware of their work and hearing the news about their half-centenary just makes me feel, well, old and dignified myself. (I am not there yet. More than a handful of years to go).

Great Covers Of Our Time: 2. Ha-Mechashefot - The Taking Of Peckham 123

Ha-Mechashefot (English: The Witches) were an all-girl Israeli rock band formed in 1992. They were fronted by founder Inbal Perlmutter along with Ifat Netz and Yael Cohen.

The band began to perform in clubs around Israel, and got public notice on a TV show called “Songs of the Sea of Galilee”, hosted by Naomi Shemer. The Witches performed a sensual version of Shemer’s song Kesem ‘Al Yam Kinneret (“Magic on the Sea of Galilee”) which astounded both the audience and the host. This version was recorded in April 1993, and was released as a DJ record with cover art by Perlmutter.

In early 1994, the band released its first album, Ad Ha-Oneg Ha-Ba (“Till the Next Pleasure”). Perlmutter wrote the lyrics and composed nearly all the songs. Thanks to Korin Alal’s arrangement and production, the band succeeded in creating an energetic guitar rock album which gained immense popularity and was certified gold. Following the album’s release, the band had dozens of concerts. Some of them were held on Friday the 13th under the title “The Night of the Witches”, and featured guest singers Korin Alal and Dana Berger. In March/April 1995, The Witches released its second album, Zmanim Muzarim (“Strange Times”). This time they arranged and produced the entire album themselves. They also supported Bjork at some Isreali shows.

In April 1996, the band released its third album, Ha-Mechashefot Mitkasot (“The Witches Cover Up”), a collection of all the cover songs they recorded in their early days. This is the album which the Carter cover appears on.

After the release of this album, they became considerably less active, although they never officially announced that they were disbanding. They held their final concert in September 1996. Perlmutter died in a car accident in London on 1 October 1997, aged just 26.

RIP Martin Rushent

Blimey, they're all dropping like flies, first Donald Hewitt and now this.

The 1982 BRIT award winner for best producer but mostly known for his work with the Human League, and having been alive 30 years ago I can remember what an impact their music had. I was 11 years old when The Sound Of The Crowd came out and it was genuinely the coolest thing I had ever heard, ever - and this was after I'd been mesmerised by Ashes To Ashes the summer before. (The Bowie song, not the TV programme with Keeley Hawes ... oh wait ...)



Of course Martin Rushent didn't produce THIS version, as it's actually live on OTT. Was amazed to find this on the web - one of the better tracks on Dare from the ones they didn't release as a single. Firstly amazed that anyone kept this and could get a copy up on Youtube (quality is understandably a bit pony) and secondly I just love the way they're playing live in the middle of where the audience sit, as opposed to the audience coming to them. But why are the audience all looking straight ahead instead of the beheeled and becoiffeured weirdos behind them?



One of the few other bands his bio mentions him working with in the last 20 years was Mama Shamone, a band who I recorded a session with in October 2006 but are now no more - the bass player, Ru Owen, is now working as a journalist in Baghdad so I don't think I'll see them in the Hoxton Bar and Grill any time soon.

Great Covers Of Our Time: 1. Weezer - Paranoid Android

Well to be honest I've posted it but I've only listened to it once. It's good - but PA is such a BIG song in my life that any cover would be great. And it seemed like a good idea for a theme of stuff to post. (Can't think of any great covers now ...)



For some reason, trending on Twitter in Chile and Peru (and Canada, although that's not so weird). Maybe because the video was put up on Youtube by Weezer less than 24 hours ago and has had 150,000 plays already?

I'm From Barcelona - We're From Barcelona

Filed under music but it's inspired by the football. A 3-1 demolition of Manchester United, which wasn't so bad. West Ham beat them 4-0 in the Carling Cup earlier this year, and we got relegated!

I'm From Barcelona are a 29-piece baroque pop band from Jonkoping in Sweden - this is one of their first releases, from 2006.

My ex Brother-in-Law's shit record collection

This is the best thing I have ever seen on eBay, EVER. It's not just the abuse at the start, it's the way he just doesn't let off at any point.

And he's dead right, this is EXACTLY how to treat people who like this music. Billsmoker from Croydon, I SALUTE YOU.

Originally appearing on http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/290570522953 EDIT: Can't believe eBay took this down after less than two days, glad I saved it!



My ex Brother-in-Law's shit record collection
Jazz funk, soul, disco, bollocks. 50 discs 12" & LP

You are bidding on a collection of 50 (approx) 12" singles and LPs of crap music.

My sister found these in her attic last weekend, where they has been sat gathering dust for the last couple of decades. They used to belong to her ex-husband, who is one of the biggest arseholes ever to draw breath. I never liked the wanker, and based my initial antipathy towards him on his taste in music. Not to put too fine a point on it, he was that most contemptible form of pond life, a Jazz Funker. This meant that as well as shit taste in music, he had appalling taste in clothes too. Pringle jumpers, pleated Farrahs, shoes that looked like pasties, white socks, revolting shirts and a comical wedge-cut hairdon't. Add to this 80s fashion horrorshow a Ford Capri and Super Mario-style moustache underlining his bulbous nose, and you get an object lesson in twatdom. No wonder Northern Soul fans (and everyone else) treated the Jazz Funk fans with sneering comntempt.

I couldn't comprehend what on earth my usually sensible sister could possibly see in the pillock. In vain I pleaded with her to send him packing. My argument that his hankering for Earth Wind & Fire records and attendance at soul weekenders made him a poor choice of mate was waved away as the rantings of a callow youth. She felt my reasoning was unsound.

Reader, she married him.

He made her life miserable for a few years with his moping, moody belligerence (and playing horrendous records like these). He told her lies and generally behaved like a platinum c*nt. Then he dumped her for his mistress when my sister was four months pregnant.

It's now nearly 20 years later and I would still like to take a meat tenderizer to his face. But his most horrendous crime, worse than wiring up my granny's shower so it was electrically live, worse even than his infidelity or the awful way he treated my sister, was the fact that he actually liked the abomination known as Jazz Funk. Here is the evidence. What a bastard.

Well, I suppose I'd better tell you what's for sale, though why you would actually want to own this dreck is beyond me. It's basically music for people who have a deep-seated hatred of music and want to inflict their pain on the world. But here goes nothing.

First the 12" singles.

ARTIST A B Label No Comment Year Condition (visual)
Beggar & Co (Somebody) Help me out b/w Rising Sun Ensign ENYT201 1981 VG++
Bob James Sign of the times b/w Westchester Lady ; Tappan Zee CBS 1608 1981 VG
Central Line Nature Boy (full version) b/w Nature Boy (83 mix) ; You've said enough Mercury MERX131 PS 1983 VG++
Change Searching b/w Angel in my pocket WEA K79156 Company bag 1980 VG+, small WOL
Chi Lites feat Gene Record Have you seen her b/w Super mad (about you baby) 20th Centry Fox 2481 1980 NM
David Joseph You can't hide (your love from me) b/w You can't hide (acapella/Instr) Island 121S101 PS 1983 NM
Debra Laws On my own b/w Long as we're together Elektra 12529 1981 VG++
Eddy Grant Do you feel my love b/w Symphony for Michael, opus 2 Ensign 4512 Company Bag 1980 VG++
Eddy Grant Can't get enough of you b/w Neighbour Neighbour ; Time Warp Ensign ENYT207 Company bag 1981 Ex
Fantastic Four Bring Your own Funk (BYOF) b/w Sexy lady (remix) Atlantic LV14 1978 NM
Galaxy feat Phil Fearon Dancing Tight (dancemix) b/w Dancing Tight (instr) Ensign 12ENY501 Co bag 1983 Ex
Gap Band Burn Rubber on Me (Why you wanna hurt me) b/w Nothin' Comes to Sleepers Mercury MERX52 PS 1980 VG+
Heatwave Gangsters of the groove b/w Someone Like you GTO GT13 285 1980 Ex
Johnny Bristol Love no longer has a hold on me b/w Til I See you again Ariola Hansa AHAD567 1980 VG++
Kid Creole & Coconuts I'm a wonderful thing (baby) b/w Table manners (remix) ZE 12WIP 6756 PS 1982 VG++
Level 42 Love Games (full length ver) b/w Forty two Polydor POSPX234 1981 VG+
Light of the World Time (remix) b/w I'm So happy Mercury MERX64 PS 1980 VG++
Light of the World I shot the sheriff (ext mix) b/w Painted Lady; A new soft song Ensign 4612 Co Bag 1980 VG+ small WOL
Love Unlimited Orchestra Lift your voice and say (united we can in peace live today) b/w My Fantasies Unlimited Gold ULGA 13 1496 1981 VG++
Lynx So This is Romance b/w So This is Romance (Rio mix) Chrysalis 2546 PS 1981 VG-
Machine There but for the grace of God go I b/w Get your body ready RCA PC1456

Co bag
1979 VG++
Melba Moore Love's comin' at ya b/w Let's go back to lovin' ; Love's comin' at ya (instr) EMI America 146 1982 NM
Odessey Inside Out b/w love's Alright RCA 266 1982 Ex
Patrice Rushen Never gonna give you up (won't let you be) b/w Don't blame me Elektra 12494 1980 VG+
Players Association Turn the music up (remixed disco ver) b/w Goin to the disco (remixed disco v Vanguard VSL5011 PS 1979 VG+
Roberta Flack Don't make me wait too long b/w God Don't like ugly Atlantic K11555 1979 NM
Seawind What cha doin' b/w I need your love A&M 7575 1980 Ex
Shakatak Brazilian Dawn b/w You Never Know Polydor POSPX282 1981 VG
Shalamar Dead Giveaway (ext ver) b/w I don't wanna be the last to know Solar E9189T PS 1983 Ex
Sharon Redd Never Give you up b/w Beat the Street (instr & vocal) Prelude 13 2755 1982 Ex
Sugarhill Gang Rappers Delight (long version) b/w Rappers Delight (short version) Sugarhill SHL101 1979 VG+
Yarborough & Peoples Don't stop the music b/w You're My song Mercury MERX53 1980 VG+
Unlimited Touch I hear music in the streets b/w In the middle Prelude PRL D 605 1980 VG+
Fantasy You're too late b/w You're too late (instr) Pavillion 4z8 6408 1980 VG+
Kid Creole & Coconuts Annie I'm not your daddy b/w You had no intention Island 6801 PS 1982 VG+
MFSB Mysteries of the world b/w Manhattan Skyline CBS TSOP 9501 1980 VG++
Kool & the Gang Let's go dancin' b/w Stand up and sing De Lite DEX9 PS 1981 Ex
Third World Dancing on the floor (hooked on love) b/w Who gave you (Jah Rastafari) CBS 1214 1981 VG+
Sharon Redd Can you handle it b/w Leaving you is easier said than done Epic 9572 Cobag 1980 VG++
Shakatak Dark is the night b/w I lose myself Polydor POPSX 595 PS 1983 VG+
The Whispers It's a love thing b/w Girl I need you Solar SOT 16 WOL 1980 VG++
Donald Byrd Love has come around b/w loving you Elektra 12559 1978 VG+
Roberta Flack feat Donny Hathaway Back together again b/w Only heaven can wait Atlantic 11481 1979 VG++

Now the LPs

ARTIST TITLE Label No Year Sleeve Disc Comment
Linx Intuition Chrysalis 1332 1981 No sleev VG
Level 42 World Machine Polydor POLH 25 1985 VG++ Ex two copies!
Earth Wind & Fire Raise CBS 85272 1981 Ex VG
Odyssey hang together RCA 13526 1980 VG++ VG+
Summer Flying Home Touchstone BBT 113 1979 VG++ Ex
Earth Wind & Fire I Am CBS 86084 1979 VG++ VG+
Earth Wind & Fire Best of vol 1 CBS 83284 1978 VG++ VG++

I mean, Shakatak for fucks sake. What a prick. And surely he must have realised that buying anything by Shalimar would open him up to ridicule. Even those bands' mothers couldn't bear to listen to that stuff. I know I couldn't. None of this is play graded, only visually. I just could not bring myself to dirty my stylus with this bollocks.

Boring stuff: - I grade conservatively, particularly when I don't like the records. Don't ask me to split this lot. You buy it, you buy all of it and pay the shipping. I'm not keeping it in my house any longer than strictly neccessary. For the same reason, no returns. I don't want it back. Shipping in UK is £15 because the weight is approx 10kg . I'm willing to ship overseas at cost, but it's likely to be expensive (maybe £45 in europe) and frankly this crap isn't worth the stamps. If you want to collect from Croydon, that's OK but I will look at you with a contemptuous sneer as you stand in my doorway, proving by your purchase that you are tone deaf and tasteless.

Good luck, and God help you for liking this drivel.

Whatever happened to the 25th of May?

Today is the 25th of May. I would never have realised if I had not heard the BBC tell me this morning, "it's the 25th of May". And I thought, whatever happened to that band?



A Liverpool-based politically motivated rock/rap/indie hybrid with clever titles like 1991 album "Lenin & McCarthy" which I still have in my big box of cassettes up in the loft.

The band used to get an occasional airing on Gary Crowley's excellent Sunday afternoon show on GLR, although probably not Fuck The Right To Vote, which I can't play on the radio either, although I can embed it into a blog post.



I'm not sure what happened on the 25th of May that the band named themselves after. It is also Geek Pride Day, but I'd guess probably not that.

Grimsvotn erupts, again

I was in Iceland a few weeks ago and a bit gutted not to have been there for an eruption. I wasn't in a particular hurry to fly home and back to work anyway!

A definite opportunity to share a few Icelandic songs though ...



How can I forget HAFDIS HULD .. it's her birthday today. (32, ahem). While her solo stuff has been absolutely fantastic, this song - from 2002 - is a forgotten classic. (Not forgotten by me, obviously). And I particularly liked the comment from the guy on Youtube who said "I stopped my porn for this song" - high praise indeed.



This song is fantastic too - not sure how I came to find it. Don't be put off by the Nazi uniforms and imagery in the Þeyr video. It's not even another hilarious episode of Father Ted; it is an anti-fascist song. Þeyr is pronounced Theyr and the song is from 1982. (Oh wait, the video says that!) The drummer ended up in the Sugarcubes.

I saw the Rokk i Reykjavik DVD in a shop for £5 last month - and regret not buying it. Let's face it, nothing in Iceland costs as little as £5.



Saw this live on Icelandic TV a few years ago, great song.



Love the imagery on this video, although I am a bit unnerved at the thought of us all turning into he-shes because of the nucular power.

Mystery Guitar Man – Flight Of The Bumble Bee

I just like this, I don't know why.

Living Is So Easy

First post.