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Thursday, 29 August 2013

DYLAN COVERS #114 Moe Tucker - I'll Be Your Baby Tonight/Noel Redding - She Belongs to Me


Is that Mark Smith or is that our Moe?

 
MOE TUCKER - I'll be Your Baby Tonight (1982)

Have you ever wondered what happens to all the members of famous groups?, they can't just disapear, can they?  They are obviously into the music and mostly, I am sure they stay involved in some form or other.

How about  Moe Tucker of  The Velvet Underground  fame. Moe is best know for being the drummer of that ground breaking Band.  Both Nico and Lou Reed have done excellent Dylan Covers, so here is Moe's turn.

It looks as if Moe has had quite a successful solo career. Here is a fab take on  I'll be your baby tonight.  I think this is great and it is exactlty what I would have expected from Moe. Brilliant. It can be found on her first solo album Playin'Possum (1982). It appears Moe plays all the instrument on the album too. What a gal.! My type of gal!

My second artist is none other than Noel Readding who was part of the Jimi Hendix Experience  and it is a cover of  She Belongs to Me. This can be found on his album  West Cork Tuning (2004) backed by the San Francisco band 3:05AM.  Not a bad effort, but it is no  Watchtower  folks. 
NOEL REDDING - She Belongs to Me (2004)

I like this idea and may do some more in the future.
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DYLAN COVERS #114 Moe Tucker - I'll Be Your Baby Tonight/Noel Redding - She Belongs to Me


Is that Mark Smith or is that our Moe?

 
MOE TUCKER - I'll be Your Baby Tonight (1982)

Have you ever wondered what happens to all the members of famous groups?, they can't just disapear, can they?  They are obviously into the music and mostly, I am sure they stay involved in some form or other.

How about  Moe Tucker of  The Velvet Underground  fame. Moe is best know for being the drummer of that ground breaking Band.  Both Nico and Lou Reed have done excellent Dylan Covers, so here is Moe's turn.

It looks as if Moe has had quite a successful solo career. Here is a fab take on  I'll be your baby tonight.  I think this is great and it is exactlty what I would have expected from Moe. Brilliant. It can be found on her first solo album Playin'Possum (1982). It appears Moe plays all the instrument on the album too. What a gal.! My type of gal!

My second artist is none other than Noel Readding who was part of the Jimi Hendix Experience  and it is a cover of  She Belongs to Me. This can be found on his album  West Cork Tuning (2004) backed by the San Francisco band 3:05AM.  Not a bad effort, but it is no  Watchtower  folks. 
NOEL REDDING - She Belongs to Me (2004)

I like this idea and may do some more in the future.
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HIP HOP CLASSICS - Grandmaster Flash / Run DMC

Hip Hop Classics...we celebrate Hip Hop's 40th birthday, straight outta Surrey Heath......and you don't stop!




Earlier this month saw the 40th anniversary of the birth of Hip Hop, I'm almost as old and grew up with the genre, it's my bread and butter but perhaps now, like Hip Hop, I'm not as fresh, a bit bloated but can still pull it out the bag now and again.

It apparently all began at a block party in the Bronx in 1973 where DJ Kool Herc, accidentally knocked his turntable scratching a record and the rest is history. Hmmm, that was crap, actually it's ...pinpointed back to said block party where a young DJ Kool Herc, inspired by Jamaican Soundsytems, hooked up a makeshift system of his own to play select funky records (mostly parts of the song or the breaks) for his friends and family. Word of his set got out and his skills became in demand and it went on from there....well basically.

Sorry Old Pa despite a valid argument 'Subterranean Homesick Blues' doesn't quite qualify as the first Rap record, in fact I hate to say it but Sir Cliff Richard and the Shadows' 'Apache' was one of the early Hip Hop anthems thanks to the Sugarhill Gang. Apart from certain elements of Hip Hop getting into the charts in the early 80's, like The Rock Steady Crew, Blondie and Malcolm McLaren, it probably wasn't until about 1985 that I first started to really get into it.

Here are the two tracks that started it all off for me:-


Grandmaster Flash - 'The Adventures of Grandmaster Flash on the Wheels of Steel' (1981)

Originally released in 1981 but I probably first heard it around 1985 and at 11 years old, it blew my impressionable mind. The splicing and dicing of different songs together, the scratches and making beats using the turntable's crossfader, was amazing. Stars on 45 it was not, it was fresh, exciting and absolutely nothing I had ever heard before. It was the true essence of Hip Hop where block parties would be organised and DJ's like Kool Herc and Grandmaster Flash would create these backing tracks, like this one, for an assortment of MC's to rap over.



Run Dmc - 'Peter Piper' (1986)

Raising Hell was Run DMC's breakthrough and probably the first ever commercially successful rap album, at 12 years old, anyone who was anyone had to own a copy, if not you were wack! Amongst the plethora of hits, 'It's Tricky', 'You Be Illin' and 'Walk This Way', it was 'Peter Piper' for me with it's bell and beat combo and clever rhyme interplay. In the Oxford English Dictionary the entry for the word 'dope' it says 'see Run DMC's 'Peter Piper'. Well it should.



Run DMC's success opened the door for many other acts and I remember Old Pa, like any good father who wanted to educate his offspring to the arts, buying me the Beastie boys' 'Licensed to Ill'. It was waiting for me before school one morning and I felt 10 ft tall on that bus journey in, I knew I was listening to something special which no one knew about at the time. And don't get me started on Public Enemy, when I discovered them a bit later, it completely cemented my love of Hip Hop. Word!

Yes Yes Y'all..have a listen to our Hip Hop Classics playlist on Spotify or check out some more Hip Hop classics here..



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Wednesday, 28 August 2013

Beth Orton - Central Reservation

Old Pa's Wednesday Club

...MICHELE FRIENDLY
Here is a pic of  Michele & friend
 
BETH ORTON - Central Reservation - Spiritual Life Remix

What is Michele Friendly?

Well it started quite a long time a go, probably in the eighties. You see I had a big problem with Old Ma.  If we were having a drink at home, she just did not like my choices of music. If  Dylan, Van or Joy Division came on, the evening would go flat or we would end up having an argument about how lousy Dylan's voice is etc etc.

What was the solution? well I came up with the Michele Friendly cassette. I would hand pick songs I thought she would like, she did lean towards disco and dance. The song would only get on the tape if I liked it as well. Essential.

I even made picture covers and took a lot of care to make them look appealing and attractive. I convinced OM that they were her tapes and that she had actually really good taste. I made one up every few months and made it out to be a great event. 

'Lets have a drink and we can listen to one of your fabulous 'Michele Friendly tapes'

Of course I would convince her that she had great taste and I was only putting on tape what she liked. 

A typical tape may have Santana, always a few Reggae, as luckily she likes that, maybe some REM or U2. New Order was acceptable so there certainly was room to manoeuvre. I would also have some of the latest dance music which I would of course have to like. 

The big thing for me was to slip on something really daring and get off with it. I did manage to slip on a Joy Division track The Eternal. She even ask who that was as she liked it. I even managed to get off with a Dylan track Belle Isle. Oh how I loved that.  If only you could have seen how I glowed.

It's all a case of doing what you have to do, but at the same time making the best of what is available.

I progressed from cassettes to Cd's, always with carefully prepared covers. I still do MP3 play lists which I know will be compatible with OM.

Anything for a quiet life. That's me!  

I chose Beth Orton remix of Central Reservation as it was typical of the type of song I would put on. I knew she would like it and I certainly did.  

If I ever formed a group (unlikely) Michele Friendly would be high on the list as a potential name.

'You know what Old Ma? you have got really great taste, even if I say so it myself!'

Here is the album version. It is just a bloody good song no matter how you hear it. The Ben Watt re-mix is not to shabby either.

 
BETH ORTON - Central Reservation (1999) 

P.S. Good Job Old Ma does not read my Posts!
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Monday, 26 August 2013

Cass McCombs - Morning Star

TUESDAY BLUES

Do you like Singer/Songwriters, or do you have a unhealthy affection to the sadness, if so you may have a case of the Tuesday Blues!

What's it like to shit in space? 

Cass McCombs - Morning Star (2013)

In 2011, Cass McCombs released two fantastic albums, Wits End and Humor Risk and he's now back with a 22-track LP, Big Wheel And Others, which will be out in October on Domino Records.
The elusive singer/songwriter, who is currently touring, has always created music of humour, insight and mystery.  Morning Star, is no different with its hazy, Californian feel (congos?) and lyrics that ask that age old question "What's it like to shit in Space?" (I must email the crew of the ISS).

If that wasn't perfect enough the video features old skateboarding footage.  Result!


If you are a fan of Men with Beards, like the gentle stroking of a six-string, or just a miserable bugger, Please subscribe to our Spotify playlist and read more Tuesday Blues here!

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Sunday, 25 August 2013

TRACKS OF THE WEEK - 25/08/2013 - White Lies, Pond, Night Beds, Tired Pony, Pearl Jam

Five tracks that were as good as a £1500 feast at Nando's....


Shell Hunter:-
White Lies - 'There Goes Our Love Again (Night Engine Remix)' (2013)


I know I've been flying the neon flag of Night Engine recently but I don't put my seal of approval on just anyone. I was passed this remix of White Lies' recent single There Goes Our Love Again and I love its more somber, slowed down take of the original. It really is a plethora of my favourite 80s synth snippets, from the Ultravox 'Vienna' intro beat through to the Depeche Mode echoey vocals. If you listen hard enough once the beat kicks in, there's a bit of Pink Floyd's 'Another Brick In The Wall' guitar riff in there and (am I mad?!) a bit of MJ's Thriller too! Throw in a some hand claps for good measure and I'm sold! The MP3 is available to buy on iTunes or Amazon now and is featured on White Lies' There Goes Our Love Again Remixes album released on 23rd August.

Flycasual:-
Pond - 'O Dharma' (2013)



You can't beat a bit of psychadelica. It makes me feel care free, like I'm prancing around in a field of barley, in my underpants, with only the blue flashing lights of the 'feds' in the distance killing my buzz, man. This is one such song, a stunning track by the Aussie five piece (including two members of Tame Impala) which is taken from their fifth album, Hobo Rocket. I love how it feels like it's in two parts, starting off at a slow dreamy pace before the drums kick in, igniting it off somewhere up into the stratosphere. It'll have you getting undressed in no time.

Check out Pond's bits on the Modular Recordings website here...

SFW:-
Night Beds - Ramona (2013)


Night Beds is Winston Yellen, a 24 year-old from Colorado Springs and have unveiled a new video for "Ramona" which features on his 2013 debut release, Country Sleep. The song was written in a colonial style home on the outskirts of Nashville that was once owned by Johnny Cash and June Carter Cash. The tune’s tale of unrequited love and courtship suggests those walls recall the
moment Johnny brazenly told June upon first meeting, “You and I are going to get married someday.”

The album was released by the label Dead Oceans Records, which is the home to Bill Fay, Phosphorescent and Tallest Man on Earth, which might just get your attention!

Old Pa's Corner :-
Tired Pony - All Things All at Once (2013)

 
I was a big fan of  Tired Pony's  first album  The Place We Ran From (2010). This is track from their second album  The Ghost of the Mountain (2013)  and seems to have a much bigger production, but who's complaining. This track is an instantly accessible song and the lead singer's voice sounds spot on.
It is apparently liked by none other than  Harry  himself and there is talk, he and the Boys may record it. So enjoy it while you can, before it becomes a 1D tune and is instantly number one in the charts. (do they still have charts?).

London Scouser:-
Pearl Jam - 'Mind Your Manners' (2013)


Finally, a new track from one of my favourite bands. Eddie and the guys are back with a great song that reminds me of 'Spin The Black Circle' and could quite easily have come from 'Vitalogy' their 3rd and possibly one of their best albums IMO. This is from their upcoming album 'Lightning Bolt' which is released in October....... I can't blinking wait !!!

Subscribe to our 2013 Tracks of the Week Spotify Playlist




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Saturday, 24 August 2013

FRONT ROW CENTRE - LATITUDE 2013 SPECIAL - DAY 3

Welcome back to the last round up of highlights from Latitude Festival 2013 from Day 3. I'll be back next year to immerse myself in another music filled weekend!

Latitude Festival Henham Park, Southwold, Suffolk on July 21st 2013
Hooray! The sun was back and it meant business! Sunday was what all Sundays should be, lounging around listening to some chilled out songs in the park whilst flicking through our festival bible at what bands to see next. After my daily baby wipe bath (God bless baby wipes) I was still black from all the dust but by now I had become one with the dirt. The line up was good but it wasn't such a struggle to choose who to see and when. We had more free time to look around the site and what it has to offer. If you wanted to have a break from the music there was comedy, spoken word, literature and poetry reading, live cooking classes and for the people with kiddies there was a petting farm, fun fair and massive climbing area in the woods. We took a walk out towards the stage in the woods and there were groups of people having impromptu jamming sessions amongst the trees! So much to see and do with so little time. As with all good things, it must come to an end so it was time to start packing everything in readiness for a hopefully quick exit in the morning. I was not looking forward to getting up at silly o'clock to fight the crowds and a five hour journey home but I was determined to enjoy it to the last minute.


Junip - 'Always'
I knew a couple of tracks from Junip and Jose Gonzalez and apart from Line Of Fire which will be in my Top 5 tracks of 2013, they hadn't quite hit me yet. I still insisted we see them on the strength of that one song but I was so impressed, they blew me away. It was the right setting and the perfect mood music for siting on the grass in my hat, sunnies and dusty flip flops. I could not get enough of the constant hum and gentle strumming. They had funky little instruments that made shaking sounds and I couldn't take my eyes off them. Real winners like Always, In Every Direction and of course Line Of Fire were stunning. New favourite band of the year for me.


Dan Croll - 'Compliment Your Soul'
He was my one to watch last year so I absolutely had to see him live. We grabbed a spot in front of The Lake Stage and Dan Croll's complete set got me in such a good mood. There seems to be an almost African jolliness to some of his songs and the band just looked like they were really at ease and enjoying themselves. He played one of my favourite tracks of last year, From Nowhere plus more recent singles In/Out and Compliment Your Soul which I couldn't stop singing for the rest of the day! It really just reaffirmed why I love his sound and he is sure to be a success if he keeps going the way he is.

Grizzly Bear - 'Yet Again'
To be honest I didn't know these guys from Adam but whilst flicking through the programme earlier, I read that they are supported by high profile fans such as Fleet Foxes, Jay - Z and Radiohead. Well if its good enough for them, I want a piece of that! I always wondered who my music heroes listened to. I thoroughly enjoyed their gig, they had the right balance of rocky drums and ambient sound. Stand out tracks were from their album released last year Shields: Sleeping Ute, Yet Again and Gun Shy. Well worth checking out the album, a genuinely good listen.


Have a listen to my Best of of Latitude Spotify playlist and relive more great moments!

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Thursday, 22 August 2013

DYLAN COVERS #113 Joni Mitchell - Mr Tambourine Man/Baby Blue/Girl from the North Country


Big Yellow Taxi please!

JONI MICHELL - It's All Over Now Baby Blue (demo)

Here are three delicious covers by Joni Mitchell, the first is a demo version of It's all over now Baby Blue and can be found on the Complete Geffen Recordings Box Set (2003). It was recorded as part of the Night Ride Home (1991) Sessions.

Joni and James Taylor

In the second cover by Joni, she is joined by James Taylor, it was recorded  on the 16th Oct 1970 at a Benefit concert for Greenpeace. The Concert was organised by Joni and Phil Ochs and James Taylor was a surprise guest. I believe there is a CD around of the concert.

JONI MICHELL with James Taylor - Mr Tambourine Man (1970)

The third is taken from a duet with the great Johnny Cash where Joni joines Mr Cash on a rendition of Girl from the North Country. It is from the Johnny Cash Show. 
 
JONI MITCHELL with Johnny Cash - Girl from the North Country
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DYLAN COVERS #113 Joni Mitchell - Mr Tambourine Man/Baby Blue/Girl from the North Country


Big Yellow Taxi please!

JONI MICHELL - It's All Over Now Baby Blue (demo)

Here are three delicious covers by Joni Mitchell, the first is a demo version of It's all over now Baby Blue and can be found on the Complete Geffen Recordings Box Set (2003). It was recorded as part of the Night Ride Home (1991) Sessions.

Joni and James Taylor

In the second cover by Joni, she is joined by James Taylor, it was recorded  on the 16th Oct 1970 at a Benefit concert for Greenpeace. The Concert was organised by Joni and Phil Ochs and James Taylor was a surprise guest. I believe there is a CD around of the concert.

JONI MICHELL with James Taylor - Mr Tambourine Man (1970)

The third is taken from a duet with the great Johnny Cash where Joni joines Mr Cash on a rendition of Girl from the North Country. It is from the Johnny Cash Show. 
 
JONI MITCHELL with Johnny Cash - Girl from the North Country
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Rachid Taha / Gatanga Boys

World Music Corner

Here are a couple of gems from a couple of albums I've been listening to recently

What are you talking about Rachid, what bloody tape?

 
 


Rachid Taha - 'Algerian Tango' feat Mick Jones (2013)

First up is Algeria's king of Punk Rai, Rachid Taha and 'Algerian Tango', taken from his latest album, Zoom and with non other than The Clash legend, Mick Jones on chorus duty, delivering some great lines over a sinister dub track.

 

Rachid Taha is a big fan of The Clash and sites them as a big influence, it's also widely rumoured that Rachid was perhaps the inspiration behind the classic 'Rock the Casbah'. In 1981 after a Clash concert in Paris, Rachid gave band members a demo of his music (he was in a punk band at the time, singing predominately in Arabic) with Strummer and co promising to give it a whirl. Rachid never heard back from them thinking that was that but a few years later 'Rock the Casbah' was released, tenuous perhaps but spooky. Of course Rachid Taha recorded the sensational cover, 'Rock El Casbah' and has performed with Mick Jones notably at the Stop the War concert in 2005.


Gatanga Boys - 'Keep Change Kairitu' (1977)

Second up to bat is a veritable foot tapper, Kenya's Gatanga Boys with the funky 'Keep Change Kairitu', which I heard on Soundway Records', Kenya Special and it just hit the mark. These cats hail out of the central Kenyan town of Gatanga, funnily enough and the song is apparently about a local tradition where the tea and coffee farmers congregate at the local pubs on a big harvest. They'd have wads of cash and would show off splashing it about recklessly, buying drinks and ting. The 'keep change' bit refers to the big tips left to the honeys (Kairitus, meaning young girls) serving the men drinks. 'Buy one for yourself love', thousands of miles apart but we are all not so different eh?

I saw her first,

Soundway Records

 

Have a listen/subscribe to TuneDr's World Music Corner Spotify playlist below or have a look at some other WMC posts here..

 

 

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Wednesday, 21 August 2013

Echo and the Bunnymen - Thorn of Crowns

Old Pa's Wednesday Club

...Sandy Lyle - The Open

 
ECHO AND THE BUNNYMEN - Thorn of Crowns (1984) 

I always thought Sandy Lyle had the talent to win one of Golf's majors and he was a Scots man to.

I was visiting my parents in Inverness during the Open in 1985, The day before it started I went out with my father to his bowling club for our lunch time drink. I always looked forward to this as it was a joy to listen to the banter between my father and his senior mates. They had me in stitches.

This time my Father went to the Bookies before going to his club. I don't usually bet on horses but I decided to have a flutter on Sandy to win the Open, the odds were 14 to 1 so I put a tenner on Sandy to win.

Andy was doing quite well, he was in contention and when the last round came he was right up there. I said that if Sandy wins I will share the spoils with everybody who was in the room at that moment.

Bloody 'ell, he just went and did it. There were 10 people there, including myself, so it was £15 each. I bought some booze to celebrate and you know what?  I lost money after I paid everyone and bought the booze.

Oh Well! it was worth it. My sister and brother in law got a new fence, the kids got something they wanted. My father got an good bottle of Malt and of course Sandy won the Claret Jug. A good day all round.

Why Thorn of Crowns?. Well I bought the Album Ocean Rain in a second hand shop that morning and I loved the track. It always reminded me of Captain Beefheart. 
     
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Monday, 19 August 2013

Drew Holcomb and The Neighbors - Wine We Drink

Tuesday Blues

Do you like Singer/Songwriters, or do you have a unhealthy affection to the sadness, if so you may have a case of the Tuesday Blues!


Drew Holcomb and The Neighbors - Wine We Drink


I recently discovered this beautiful track by Drew Holcomb and The Neighbours, which features on their 2013 album, Good Light.  It's a love song sung by Holcomb and his bandmate wife Ellie which exposes their openness, vulnerability and living with the mundane, "dirty dishes in the kitchen sink".  With its tender lyrics and soft fingerpicking it reminds me of Damien Rice / Lisa Hannigan, which is a good thing!

If you are a fan of Men with Beards, like the gentle stroking of a six-string, or just a miserable bugger, Subscribe to our Spotify playlist and read more Tuesday Blues here!

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Sunday, 18 August 2013

COVER NERD! meets DYLAN COVERS - Transvison Vamp - 'Can You Please Crawl Out Your Window'

This week I've decided to encroach on Old Pa's territory and share with you a cover of a Bob Dylan classic. Do you have a favourite cover you want to share, Dylan or otherwise.
If so click here and let us read all about it and share with the world.

Apparently there were other band members too....
Transvision Vamp - Can You Please Crawl Out Your Window (1991)

Wendy James...... Phwooooaaarrr !!!! Just thought I'd get that out of the way. Back in the late 80's early 90's I was heavily into my music, however I also was heavily into female pop stars being plastered the walls of my bedroom. In amongst the Madonna and Kylie posters I'd taken from Smash Hits my pride of place had been a 24 by 18 inches (although as an 18 year old lad, my perception of size may have been exaggerated) poster of Transvision Vamp's singer, Wendy James. The poster was, is and always will be stored in a corner of my mind..... It made my Mum tut every time she came into my room, but I bloody loved it.
Don't look now Mum
I bought everything they released and I even bought a record store promo of their 3rd album, 'Little Magnets Versus The Bubble Of Babble' which their label MCA deemed not worthy of a UK release. It did get released in the US and Australia though. That's the album that this song featured on. At the time I didn't know who Old Pa was and therefore hadn't been introduced to the ways of the Dylan. I loved the song and only recently realised that it was a cover, shame on me I know.

After the band split up, Wendy released a solo album called 'Now Ain't The Time For Your Tears', all the songs were wtitten by Elvis Costello, I liked it but sadly the British public didn't and she was dropped by MCA. She surfaced earlier this century fronting a band called Racine (no me neither to be honest) they had two albums out, which I recently listened to on Spotify and they will take a few more plays. In 2010, Wendy resurfaced with a second solo project, but this time all her own work called 'I Came Here To Blow Minds' and as you can see, she still has the trademark platinum blonde hair. In 2012 she released her version of 'It's Alright Ma'

NERD ALERT - At the height of the band's fame, I remember Wendy had a bet with the then editor of the Bizarre column in The Sun, Piers Morgan. She bet him that she would win an Oscar before the end of the century....... She didn't and he has since gone on to world domination.

To take a peak at my other Cover Nerd! posts, click here and for Dylan Covers, click here

Sadly this cover isn't yet on Spotify, but you can listen and subscribe to my Cover Nerd! playlist below


As a bonus, please find a version of the track by Bob Dylan himself





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TRACKS OF THE WEEK - 18/08/13 Laura Veirs, The Establishment, The Vaccines, Grant Hart, OutFit

This weeks top scorers are...




London Scouser:-
The Establishment - 'Jennifer Jones' (2013)

Oh what a glorious weekend.... I don't mean the weather obviously, no I mean the football season (Premier version) is back and I for one can't wait for the inevitable disappointment that I've learned to live with in recent years as a Liverpool supporter. But what has that got to do with music I hear you ask ???? Well tenuous of tenuous links here we come.

I heard this the other day and it immediately sent me back to the 80's (which is when Liverpool were the bee's knees) as it sounds like it should be in a John Hughes type film, Pretty In Pink or The Breakfast Club. It might not set the world on fire, but I like it and I hope you do too.

This band who have been around for a few years are managed by none other than Dion Dublin, ex footballer and famous for something to do with time spent in the shower !!!! The video has cameo's by three other ex footie players.... Can you name them ??? Answers on a postcard to the usual address.


Shell Hunter:-
The Vaccines - 'Melody Calling' (2013)


I kept hearing this song and wondered who it was. I never would have guess it was the latest offering from The Vaccines! It is a smooth summer groove, with less vigour than previous singles. Less vigour isn't a bad thing, sometimes you need a song like this to massage your mind when its overworked. The single was first aired back in June with a great quote from Mr Music, Zane Lowe himself saying this was "the hottest record in the World". A bold statement indeed! It was released last week and the good news for Vaccines fans is, it's set to be part of a 3rd album which the boys will get their heads down on early next year!

Flycasual:-
OutFit - 'Want What's Best' (2013)



I've been enjoying OutFit's debut album, Performance, this week. It's a real synth pop treat with full of spooky atmospheric nuances, which I love, all in the mould of Hot Chip, Django Django, Depeche Mode and Johnny Hates Jazz. Ok not quite as catastrophic as JHJ but there are elements of other 80's bands in there that I can't quite pin point, maybe even Tears for Fears. Either way it's all good and certainly makes for an interesting and worthwhile listen fo sho'. The Liverpool band's current single is 'House on Fire' but the highlight for me is 'Want What's Best', it just makes me think of wearing a shiny suit and looking forlornly out of a rainy window......No, really I'm ok!

It's a great video too, it takes something to spray acrylic paint on your face everyday!


Check out OutFit on Double Denim Records.

SFW:-
Laura Veirs - "Sun Song" (2013)


Checkout the summer-esq "Sun Song" which is the opening track on her forthcoming album "Warp and Weft". It features notable guests Jim James, Neko Case, k.d. lang and members of the Decemberists and is due for release on the 20th August.

She's touring the UK in November, check out the dates through her label, Bella Union.  It's now time to dip my toes in the sea.

Old Pa's Corner :-
Grant Hart - Morningstar(2013)


This is a track from Grant Harts's album The Argument (2013). Grant was once with the alternate Rock Band  Husker Du  and has been pursuing a mainly solo career since the late nineties.

This is a nice haunting track and has been a favourite of mine over the past few weeks.

Subscribe to our 2013 Tracks of the Week Spotify Playlist




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Saturday, 17 August 2013

FRONT ROW CENTRE - LATITUDE 2013 SPECIAL - DAY 2

Welcome back to the Latitude Festival 2013 Special - Day 2!

Latitude Festival Henham Park, Southwold, Suffolk on July 20th 2013

Talk about chalk and cheese with the weather! I woke up on Saturday morning and it was grey and drizzly. Having checked the weather frequently on the run up to the festival, it clearly stated sunny all weekend! Well, needless to say I had not packed for this eventuality apart from the hoody incase it was cool in the evening. So that was me for the day: shorts, flip flops and a hoody. I was bloody freezing and damp but it still didn't take away from the great music that was on. It was a relief that we still had a few sunny spells especially whilst seeing the bands featured here. It was the first day I really noticed people milling around in fancy dress with my particular favourites being a bloke dressed as Alice In Wonderland and several blokes in full ball gowns. Other amusing sights were a guy with a stuffed budgie clipped to his shirt and a man with a massive fried egg T-shirt and bunny mask.


Night Engine - 'Seventeen'

If there is one new band you check out this year, make it Night Engine. My good friend Dominic who plays keyboard for the band, made my visit to Latitude possible so they were up there with my 'must see' bands. Perched along the barriers right at the front of The Lake Stage, I was swallowed up with Night Engine's energy. They got the crowd dancing to funky hits Seventeen, Treat Me Like A Baby and my personal favourite (featured previously on totw), I'll Make It Worth Your While. My friend mused that it was difficult to behold all the facial expressions but in my opinion, its what sets lead singer Phil asides from the rest! Well worth watching these guys if you get a chance, they really give it their all. If it was possible for steam to rise up off the stage from drummer Lee and bassist Eddy during their last track then they warranted it!



Hot Chip - 'Ready For The Floor'

One of my all time favourite dance groups really put on a fabulous show. I was sat in a field on a portable chair shivering under a gloomy sky but as soon as they knocked out big numbers like One Life Stand, Boy From School and this great rendition of Ready For The Floor I was rocking around in my chair and heating up nicely. I was especially impressed when they played Over And Over as despite the fact I was towards the back of the stage, the volume from the crowd singing along felt like I was bang smack in the middle of the mosh pit! I was also surprised to hear that their female (and might I add, highly skilled!) drummer was also playing The Obelisk Stage the previous night, headlining with Bloc Party!



Alt-J - 'Breezeblocks'

A hard decision had to be made: A historic 3-D Kraftwerk show or Alt-J? For me it wasn't that tough as I know far more of Alt-J and they were such a mega part of my listening pleasure last year. On our way to the BBC6 tent, we heard Kraftwerk kick off with Robots which sounded pretty good. As it was now dark out, it was much colder so it was a relief to seek refuge amongst the warmth of a packed tent. The sound was so crisp and the band tight so credit to BBC6 for that. It was really like being part of a community in that tent, the crowd all knew every word of every song and sang in perfect timing. Tessellate and Something Good came surprisingly early on but Alt-J kept me waiting for Breezeblocks and it didn't disappoint.
Enjoying these reviews? Come back next week for the last instalment with Day 3 or listen to my best of Latitude Spotify playlist!

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Thursday, 15 August 2013

DYLAN COVERS #112 Hazel Dickens/Seldom Scene - Only a Hobo


Howdy! Hazel

 
HAZEL DICKENS - Only a Hobo(1986)

When I heard this track by Bluegrass whizzo Hazel Dickens it just blew me away and I could not stop playing it. It is just pure bliss. Her accent is so good. It is taken from Hazel's album  It's Hard to Tell the Singer From the Song (1986).

Listening to the track inspired me to find some more Bluegrass Dylan covers and it was not long before I found this other little gem by Jonathan Edwards and The Seldom Scene, it is from their self titled album from 1988.

Sorry! I can't hang around I am off to find some more Bluegrass covers. Watch this space.

Howdy! Boys

 
JONATHAN EDWARDS AND THE SELDOM SCENE - Only a Hobo (1988)


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Pokey LaFarge - 'Central Time' / 'Devil Ain't Lazy'

Recollection Collection......musical memories recalled with affection!



Pokey LaFarge, Musical Memories,



Pokey LaFarge - 'Central Time' (2013)


A couple of weeks ago I spent a weekend away, with family, in a gorgeous cottage in the Shropshire countryside. Warm, blue skies, local cider and rolling hills, the UK in the summertime you can't beat it. That is of course unless you're in Hounslow West. It was a period cottage probably used as a farmhouse and relatively untouched since it was built in the 1920's therefore the grounds were huge, with a tree house and plenty of nooks and crannies, a Famous Five adventure playground. Inside there were old pictures of the residents, antique furniture throughout, busy carpets and furry wallpaper, at first I wasn't so sure but it's unusual nostalgic charm won me over, it reminded me of visiting my grans houses when I was younger, musty smell included.

Inevitably, warped by years of horror films, I thought "it must be haunted". I fully expected to find a ghostly presence staring back at me from one of the bedroom windows as I explored the grounds or an unwanted figure in the family portrait as we flicked through the pictures on the camera. And what was in that locked cellar? Thankfully I will never know, safe in the knowledge that I didn't open a portal 'to the other side' and inadvertently summon Beelzebub's minions to inconvenience my father in law's birthday. "Bloody hell" I thought, think more Enid Blyton not the Evil Dead.

Where do I plug in my IPod?


With the silence and the lack of reception on my mobile, it really felt like I could have been sometime in the 1940's. It was like going back in time, without the need of a Delorean, gazing out the window, I fully expected a Spitfire to flypast the house, then possibly a diplodocus. But apart from a pristine 1982 ET colouring book I was especially impressed by a magnificent piece of furniture that I guess dated back to the late 50's/60's, a radio record player. The record player didn't work, perhaps thankfully, as on the deck was Oklahoma which my wife loves and i'm pretty certain would have given us a horrendous rendition, probably enough to summon aforementioned minions (there was a best of Ken Dodd too, I don't think I'd be writing this now if that got played). But the radio still worked, which was brilliantly nostalgic, I could just imagine the sounds of something just like Pokey LaFarge emanating from the speakers.



Pokey LaFarge - 'Devil Ain't Lazy' (2013)

Despite going for almost a decade, he's only been a recent discovery for me and I'm quite partial to a bit of American Roots/Swing anyway. I suppose I could listen to any number of bands that were around during the era but St Louis' Pokey LaFarge are refreshing and full of Southern Charm with immaculate musicianship.

Both songs are taken from his, fourth and self titled album released earlier this month on Jack White's label, Third Man Records. As Pokey says himself, "It's not retro music. It's American music that never died."



Have a listen to some of my favourite tracks on my Spotify playlist below or click here to read some more posts.

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Wednesday, 14 August 2013

Ali Campbell - Nothing ever Changes

Old Pa's Wednesday Club

...UB40 V DA PINO
Where's my onions?

 
ALI CAMPBELL - Nothing Ever Changes (2007)

Torrievieja is on the map, UB40 were coming to town, this was a big deal for here, we don't get many live events. It was not the original band but Ali Campbell backed by musicians, but I suppose he was the main man. Hey! it was better than nothing.

I wanted to go, but when I found out it would cost 100 euros for both of us, without drinks, I thought twice. We just had a lot of work done including a large palm tree removed and re-tiling. Money's too tight to mention. (Valentine Brothers)


On the Sunday before the concert we were discussing the event and trying to convince ourselves to go. It was the usual conversation,  'it's only money, you can't take it with you'  'there are no pockets in a shroud'.

Ssuddenly the electrics tripped out.  It was my fault of course, its my fault for everything, if there is an earth quake in San Salvador, I get the blame. (water of a platypus's back).

Anything to do with DIY and I am completely hopeless, but I did isolate it to a certain area, but I could not go any further. It was so hot and humid here, it would have been impossible to go through the night without fans or air conditioning. To cut a long story short (Spandau Ballet) I phoned an electrician and he luckily came out on that Sunday night. He detected the fault in 30 secs. I needed a new Boiler (The Boiler). It cost me 70 euros for his visit and the Boiler cost 250 euros.

That decided it, no UB320.

On the day of the Concert we decided to go to a location close to the venue by the sea and sit in a restaurant, have a few beers and maybe a meal, but at least we could get some atmosphere (Joy Division) and hear the music.

That Bar Restaurant we chose unfortunately had their own entertainment, a Shirley Bassey tribute, so we left and got as close as we could to the venue and found another Bar about 100 metres away. We settled there and waited for Ali and the Boys to come on. He was an hour and a half late (I want my money back) and the sound was poor from where we were. I found out later the beer was 8 euros a pint inside the venue, I was paying 2 euros. God knows how much a red red wine (Neil Diamond) would have cost.

That was it!

It was Pino night. If we were quick, we could get back to Da Pino's Restaurant and get his special Thursday 'Menu Del Dai' which was Schnitzel (the best in the World) and you could have any topping you want. For me it was lashings of fried carmalised onions. Bring it on home (Sam Cooke)

Bloody Ali 'bollocks' Campbell . Who needs it when you got Da Pino's Schnitzel.

The track by Ali is actually pretty good.
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Monday, 12 August 2013

Gregory Alan Isakov - Living Proof

Tuesday Blues

Do you like Singer/Songwriters, or do you have a unhealthy affection to the sadness, if so you may have a case of the Tuesday Blues!


Gregory Alan Isakov - Living Proof (2013)


Where have I been?  I've only just 'discovered' Gregory Alan Isakov and feel that I should lined up and beaten with a stick and slapped with a fish. (A little harsh).  Born in South Africa, he emigrated to the United States as a child and and now resides in Colorado.

Living Proof features on his 5th album, The Weatherman, which was released in July and was recorded mostly in solitude outside the mountain town of Nederland, Colorado.

Dare I say it has leapfrogged itself in my top 10 albums of the year, well, I just did!

If you are a fan of Men with Beards, like the gentle stroking of a six-string, or just a miserable bugger, Please subscribe to our Spotify playlist and read more Tuesday Blues here!

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Sunday, 11 August 2013

GIVE ME A GUITAR!!! - The Wildhearts - 'Caffeine Bomb' / 'I Wanna Go Where The People Go'

The Wildhearts - 'Caffeine Bomb' (1994)


They say that every decision you make in life has a consequence however great or small. Some you regret, some you remember with absolute fondness.
This is one of the latter....
In the 90's I had a steady job working for a high street bank and spent my money on CD's and videos. My local video rental store in Feltham was a place called Terminal Five Video. I got on really well with the owners and one day I asked if they had any part time jobs. I fancied getting to watch films cheaper or even for free and thought why not. They were just in the process of opening a new store in Bedfont and I had the privilege of being the first person to work in the new store. It was whilst working there that I got meet a guy called Darren (I've forgotten his last name I'm sad to say) and he introduced me to a number of things that to this day I still like. He was a metal-head..... I absolutely wasn't and he introduced me to many great bands amongst then were Alice In Chains who to this day remain my fave band of the grunge scene. He got me into Marvel Comics in an obscenely big way (ps if you wanna buy my collection please let me know.... Seriously) There was also the WWF wrestling which I've managed to wean myself off of.

The Wildhearts - 'I Wanna Go Where The People Go' (1995)


The other band which I have to thank him for was The Wildhearts. They were loud, brash and looked like they needed a good wash..... But I liked them, so much so that I bought their albums Fishing For Luckies and also Earth vs The Wildhearts. Their next album was imaginatively titled Phuq (they got away with it too... I bought it in Woolies !!) They had some great song titles, like 'If Life Is Like A Love Bank, I Want An Overdraft', 'Greetings From Shitsville' and my favourite 'My Baby Is A Headfuck' !!!
The tracks I've chosen both have videos from Top Of The Pops and I remember seeing Caffeine Bomb and chuckling to myself when they got away with the lyrics 'Baby can't you see I'm shitting brown water' it was when they used to go out live and I'm sure that the people in charge probably couldn't understand a word that they were singing.
Very child friendly !!
The lead singer, Ginger has had a relatively unsuccessful solo career and been involved in a few side projects. Most notably for me a band called Clam Abuse who did a great cover of 'I Think I Love You'
This may not be to everybody's taste but I don't mind and its all down to the decision to work in Terminal Five Video. Thanks Theo & Anja for the job and thanks Darren for the music.

Check out our other Give me a Guitar Posts? (click here)


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