The 'Spill has moved!

The 'Spill has moved!

Please go to thespillblog.co.uk

for all the usual fun and debate!

See you over there!

Blimpy

The 'Spill Admin.

x

Little Miss Indie

buy

Another Beerplease

Little Miss Indie was the indiest person you've ever met in your whole life.

She looked indie because she was indie, in everything she did.

You could always tell where Little Miss Indie had been because she left a trail of indie records wherever she'd been.

Oh yes, Little Miss Indie was indie by name, indie by nature!

Little Miss Indie lived in a particularly indie looking house.

Posters of Damon on the walls.

7" singles spread out on the floor.

Fan club membership cards held together with hair clips in a secret drawer.

You know what she looks like don't you, because you've seen her picture at the start of this story... watching Gorillaz in a little indie club.

how happy was Little miss Indie


oh well - I can't post on the new one - it sends me straight to other things I'm working on - so if anyone see this enjoy.. (or does it redirect?)

The 'Spill Has Moved!!

The 'Spill has moved!

Please go to thespillblog.co.uk

for all the usual fun and debate!

See you over there!

Blimpy

The 'Spill Admin.

x

Bouncing Round An Empty House

.
Look which squatters are moving in ...

.

DarceysDad passes the last cardboard box of LPs out of the door for ejaydee to put it in the removal wagon. He watches as Ed passes the heavy box up to gremlinfc, who says "Don't Drop'box, Frenchy!" as he takes it off him. Gremlin then flicks it nonchalantly up into the last bit of space on the pile. “Top corner: get in!” he cries, pulling the front of his Sheffield FC top up over his face. He then pulls the van shutter down from the inside, and Ed walks around to the passenger door, where he climbs in next to sonofwebcore. As tincanman grinds the gearbox into first (“Bloody manual box, ayh?”) and pulls away, the three of them wave at DsD and gordonimmel, who salute back from the porch. Inside the house, ToffeeBoy brushes the cobwebs off the front of his Aztec Camera T-shirt, and reaches three bottles out of the coolbox that Abahachi & CaroleBristol had filled up earlier, and sits down on the hall stairs.

As he wipes the melted ice off the outside of the bottle of Lovely Ginger Beer, he looks around him, at the now empty interior of No.1 Spillers Way, Bloggerville. He's not sad to leave town: since those bleedin' Google police moved in at the top of the hill, it hasn't been the same. This happy communal house that’s become a home, on the other hand ….

He runs his fingers over the nick in the banister that saneshane made (when he got over-boisterous with the flying monster steenbeck had sent the Z-boy), and blinks his moistening eyes rapidly.

“You getting all sad about leaving here, mate?” asks DsD as he opens a bottle of Sheppy’s. “Or has StripeyBrat been on the phone again about her child support payments?”

gordonimmel sighs as he opens the last bottle of ‘Spill ale. “Haven’t you had enough foot-in-mouth disease this month, Richie? Ignore him, TB.” But as he takes a long drink of Abahachi’s finest, there’s definitely a tear and a faraway look there too. The memory of trying to figure out how to explain the definition of ‘dond’ to debbym in German takes Gordon back, and his eye is inevitably drawn through the doorway to the music room, where he can see the jarringly unfaded rectangle of wallpaper, exposed now that nilpferd’s House Rules And Definitions poster has been taken off the wall.

A loud bang from behind them makes all three men jump. An unmistakable French/Geordie accent exclaims “Merde!” They look around to see frogprincess emerge from the kitchen holding a LeCreuset pan handle in each hand. Unfortunately there’s no pan left between the handles! “I’m afraid the leftover Pork Filet in Roquefort Sauce is off the menu, gents.”

“Never mind” calls TracyK, her voice muffled as she reaches into the back of a cupboard, “I’ve found a packet of Vesta Chow Mein that treefrogdemon’s forgotten to pack. Put the kettle on!”

As the boys play rock/scissors/paper for who has to tell Tracy not to bother, they’re distracted by TonNL coming in the front door. “The newsagent wasn’t very pleased at getting no notice to cancel the papers” he grins. “He asked what the hell he was supposed to do with 77 copies of today’s Grauniad! I’ve told him it was all double Dutch to me, and to put them on Brian Speng’s account …”

Their laughter almost drowns out the sound of a Jonathan Richman ringtone, but whilst Toffee looks quizzically at his mobile, sourpus walks down the stairs talking on his phone. “It’s Blimpy”, he says to the others, “He wants to know how long we’re going to be, only SatanKidneyPie has to hand in the keys for this place, and sign off the contract for the new place in Wordpreston by noon. He’s tried ringing Japanther to get SKP’s direct dial, but the little swine must’ve sloped off to that underground vinyl emporium again, because his mobile’s coming back as uncontactable.”

They all look at each other, as it dawns on them that this really is the end of a chapter, an era even. No-one wants to say it, but they all know it’s time to leave. So in a symbolic and emotional last act here, the first house they got together after fledging from their Guardian mother[ship], they go out into the garden to join Chris7572 & Mnemonic by the flowerbeds over the cats’ final resting places. Chris presses ‘Play – Shuffle – Repeat All’ on the 80gb iPod (the one with the broken case that goneforeign has loaded up with reggae, dub, jazz, every Nina Simone record he could find … and one other tune), and pushes it into the crevice under the deckboards of the patio. He plugs it into the extension cable that barbryn ran out from the house, and turns up the volume.

As they all turn and walk away towards the bus stop, a familiar refrain sounds gently from their now ex-home . . .

"All together now ..."

;o}

The 'Spill has moved!

The 'Spill has moved!

Please go to www.thespillblog.co.uk

for all the usual fun and debate!

See you over there!

Blimpy

The 'Spill Admin.

x

The 'Spill Blog - Housekeeping & Housemoving

Hi 'Spillers - we're moving house!

To get away from G00gle's clutches and for a general shift to something a bit more modern, The 'Spill is migrating to Wordpress.

If you have a look at the new site here you'll see that it's pretty much the same, with all the old posts and comments in place.

I'm in the process of inviting all 77 authors to contribute, this is taking a wee while so don't worry if your invite hasn't shown up in the mail yet. Once you're added as an author, I can change the name associated with your past posts (they all say Ed at present, but won't always)

***update*** all invites have gone out, if you've not got yours please let me know!!


I also intend to buy a domain name for the new site, so if anyone has any objections of me using a small bit of 'Spillharmonic cash to do this, please let me know asap.



***update*** I've purchased the www.thespillblog.co.uk address!! we'll have a 'proper' web home very soon!


Cheers!

'Spillharmonic Records - Update!

There's no turning back now 'Spillharmonic Shareholders cos I've ordered the sleeves!!

"The Arigato Pak! is a Stumptown Printers original. This unique structure doesn't require adhesives for assembly, has four spines (approximately 3/16" thick), and finished dimensions 4 3/4" square. Made of thick (18pt.) brown 100% PCW recycled chipboard. Ready for your custom silkscreen/stamp/label/stencil artwork. Shipped to you flat with folding instructions"

600 of these beauties are in the post, and I''ve got my eye on a local artist who has been producing some top notch hand-printed art cards of late!

Suggestions for a striking cover image in the comments please!

Every Thing But The Frog?

Big Question. Are these sound effects or alternative instruments? Pretty catchy earworm & addictive visually. I'm on my 4th viewing. Also proves Nilpferds' point that sometimes a video works with the music. If anyone here has already seen this I apoligize. I've looked for a frog to no avail. The link goes to you tube HD version (recommended) or you can use the small player.


OK Go - This Too Shall Pass

C is for Conquering Animal Sound

Euan at mini50 records mailed me about a band called Conquering Animal Sound from Edinburgh, so, they're filling the "c" slot in the A-Z of Scottish Indie. Though I don't think they sound Scottish - more like a beautiful broketronica Bjork and amazing with it.

Very promising indeed, hopefully I'll get to see them if I get to the Meursault album launch. The song "Alice Shoes" is for sharing, and if you go to their myspace here you can hear a song called "Giant" which I think is fab and is going to be on the single that's about to come out. The other tune on their myspace is "Maschine" which is even better still!

Exile on Sao Paulo Street

Say you've got a bit of a band going. You've done a couple albums and they've sold so-so. The alt-country/blues/rock field is crowded these days. Reviewers say you can sound a bit like mid-70's Stones, which is great 'cause you loved those albums. So when someone - and we don't know who; it's not like minutes were taken - says maybe we should try and sound even a bit more like the Stones, no one puts their hand up and says ''surely you're taking the Mick.'' Someone else, maybe even the same person, says why not have a go at making a record that sounds like a follow up to Exile on Main Street? Or the missing tracks fromwhich thereby?

Now, would you do it?

Woulda ya?

Would ya have a go?

The Deadstring Brothers have, and its called Sao Paulo.

There's nothing wrong with the album. It's capably done.

But would you have done it?

Would I?

Well I picked Smile as the representative sample because it's the shortest song on the album. You've got stuff to do. I've got stuff to do. We're all busy.

New Fannies!

Teenage Fanclub are back, after what seems like eternity, such a long time that it feels weird that they even have a website. I feel weird looking at their website, but I don't however feel weird listening to their music.

The preview track from their new LP is called"Baby Lee"

I love Teenage Fanclub and have loved them since I was wee.

If you want to know more about the new record and the tour you could go to their website by clicking here

I'm sure there's lots of Fannie fans amongst us 'Spillers, so let's try the impossible and pick our favourite song by them please, in the comments!

Dream-Folk Radiohead

Regular readers with a vaguely unhealthy interest in my musical preferences will know I consider Gillian Welch's version of Radiohead's Black Star to be one of the most beautiful things in the history of beautiful things.

I came across this while trawling YouTube the other day. It's not quite in the same league, but it's still rather beautiful.



My wife was asking for a definition of "ethereal" recently; I played her a Marissa Nadler song.

Next week: Beach House do Idiotecque, Fake Plastic Trees by Alela Diane and Joanna Newsom's Paranoid Android...

For those who like to play....

This is a very new media player called MusicBee. It promises so many things that it all sounds too good to be true, but I've been using it for 2 days now and so far it's kept its promises.

If you are looking for an application geared toward managing extensive music collections, easy to use and with a comprehensive feature set - MusicBee is that application. MusicBee makes it easy to organize, find and play music files on your computer, on portable devices and on the web.

The screenshot above is Shane's spillpost. When you load any web page, a list of song files on the page is generated and you can listen to them as you read, download and/or add them to your library - all at the same time. There's also a lyrics/song info box. You can see the whole width of the web page - I just collapsed it in a bit for the photo size

Plays all formats, converts between formats, and if you search for a song you don't have, it will supposedly (haven't checked this yet) look for it on last.fm and play it from there for you.

It isn't the fastest player to load, but its faster to use than other players with browsers built in. It says it can sync with all sorts of portable media players and allows drag and drop updating, but I haven't had the courage to plug in my iPod yet.

I'm not endorsing this as something to switch to. Early days yet. But the guy doing it has been very responsive to suggestions, and if you want to be the coolest kid in your class, I'd check it out. (For those who follow these things, the long-promised songbird is emerging ... from someone else)

O is for Over The Wall

I never knew there was a video for this bit o' Scots indie, but there is, and it's a good place to start.

Owls, live

Shoot, I can't seem to embed the right code, but this is a live owl nest box cam. It's beautiful, you can see her breathe!

New "Four Lions" Trailer

Ho boy, that was funny - and I never thought I'd be happy to hear a song by Toploader in my life. . .

Marling Monday / Songs About Shagging

I think you all know how much I like the music of Laura Marling. Her debut was in my top 10 of the 00s, and its very likely the follow up will show highly in this years top ten.

Marling has taken the folk-pop songs of her past and given them a 4000volt-mumfordite shock, boosting them into the realms of the unreal, like at the 1.20 mark of the song above when things really go stratospheric. The closing song of the LP "I Speak Because I Can" is so emotionally charged that it quite took me aback the first time I heard it.

I couldn't post the official video for "Devil's Spoke" but this recent live session version is very good. Why is it that when women write songs about shagging it turns out awesome, but when men do, it turns out Def Leppard. Answers on a postcard, please, or a blog comment.

Trip-Hop Ping-Pong Sing-Song

This - I'm sure - doesn't really fit this week's RR topic, but for those who haven't heard it before, see what you think: is that percussion the sound of someone on the table tennis table in the studio back room, or what?!

;o)

.

I've got a....

and just like my artwork.. if you've got some F/X .. why don't you use them?
Bathtime In Clerkenwell - bubbles
Mashin' On The Motorway - my bad
Looks Like We're Shy One Horse - Shoot Out- yes it's got horses
Terrible Angels - piggies.. so many piggies.. all those piggies

Loose Fix (Perfecto 12" Mix) -anyone seen my dragon?
Purrfect- you want cats, I'll give you..... footsteps.
Close (To The Edit) -and the kitchen sink - really.. if I could find Max Headroom... altogether now "where's my teasmaid"
The North Wind- papa 'wots that sound?' 'that's a typewriter boy' 'wot's a typewriter..wear do they keap da spelchek?' ''how do I save" "arrrggggggg"

Sea Swells And Distant Squalls - it sounds....(well, like the GLOVE - Sex-Eye-Make-Up).. not a bad thing.. just a thing... like a lost thing thats just been found, but isn't really in the right place.

Relax (Club 69 Future Anthem, Pt. 1) if you are going to have a sound effect - let's get spunky! hit me with those lazar beams - why don't ya.
Groovejet (If This Ain't Love) - it's touchdown in Ibiza circa 2000..whoosh. sing posh blue peter daughter sing.
Kik Off - did I fit in the bells.. well here's the whistles.

special effects!

Clarence Gatemouth Brown - Alligator Eating Dog
Mandrill - Bro Weevil and the Swallow
Belle and Sebastian - If You're Feeling Sinister
M.I.A. - Paper Planes
K'Naan - Wash It Down
Jungle Brothers - Sounds of the Safari
Lupe Fiasco - Superstar
Jurassic 5 - Remember His Name
Pharoahe Monch - When the Gun Draws
Common - Payback is a Grandmother

On-U Blowout.

http://www.onu-sound.com/

Noise Polluters
Fuck You GI
No Sell Out
The Captain's Trance Mission
De Testimony

The Bubbly
England 2 - Yugoslavia 0
Jerusalem
Mind At The End Of The Tether
Blast Em Out

SXSW2010

Been trawling SXSW's You Tube site for no good reason other than to see what's going on and what's what. Here's some of what I found. Make of it what you will.

Covers? On a Thursday night? Yup - and there will be a quiz

Blue Hawaiians - Jockey Full of Bourbon

According to the Tom Waits Library this is Tom’s most-covered song. More than Ol’ 55 or Downtown Train. It's from Rain Dogs, and the Cover Me blog has tracked down a cover for each song on the album. Like the Dylan below, covers bring Waits' songwriting to greater light.

Shaye - No Mermaid

One of the people in this song runs with scissors. The other spends a lifetime on the sidelines watching people run with scissors. Which are you?

...Shaye was a Canadian pop-rock band who dropped from sight after two albums. The original is by Ireland's Sinéad Lohan, who ... dropped from sight after two albums. Motherhood, sigh.

Superb song which may not have been done to its full potential yet.

Sharleen Spiteri - Windmills Of Your Mind

Timeless songs should be, well, timeless. An 1968 Oscar winner for Noel Harrison from The Thomas Crown Affair, it is given a new outlook - love the latin elements - by Scottish singer Sharleen Spiteri (ex of the band Texas; bonus track Sleep ) on her second solo album, The Movie Songbook. It's a labour of love for her and I was lukewarm at first (too Olivia Newton John in places), but it's becoming a keeper.

Bob Dylan - To Ramona

er, Tin, that's his own song. Hey, good spot! This is where an an inviting cover (by Sinéad Lohan, with more Latin treats) can raise the standing of the original. Listening to Lohan after finding No Mermaid, her Ramona sent me scurrying to hear a song I did not know, and I was astounded by the fullness of the lyrics. It's still too 'old nasally Dylan' for me musically, but too lightweight without him. Maybe I should stop listening to Dylan and just read him.

Andy Clockwise - Taking Over The World

This is not so much a cover as a piss take. How many bands does he spoof? Comments below.

.... Watch for Mr Andy (too clever, not) Clockwise, though. Roguish charm generally only gets you so far, but this Austrailian comic turned (self-procliamed) pop star may be poised to take over the world on chutzpah alone.

Many will tell you this album (Are You Well?) is too frivolous to buy; I disagree. Bonus: The Socialite (with Lissie), well up on my songs of 2010 list.

Jerry Garcia & David Grisman - The Thrill Is Gone

Something to wind down with and echo the Latin scents above.

A touching tribute from the floor of Congress

Alex Chilton - RIP

No words necessary.

Fly Away, Alex

Sad news. Too much bad news this year. RIP, Alex.

Fly Away - Alan Vega, Alex Chilton & Ben Vaughn

Call me Mr. Slow, but . . .

I was searching around for any audio for the Quiet City / Paul Buchanan project that BarringtonWomble told me about over on the mothership, when I came across this, that I've never heard before.

Now I'm transfixed!

Charlie Gillett and Alex Chilton

Have both died.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ukpress/article/ALeqM5gHkBr8c5N0fMM62hhzzpFv1EVI7Q

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/music/music-news/7470110/BBC-DJ-Charlie-Gillett-dies.html

Sad news.

It is a shame that the Telegraph describes Gillett mainly as the discoverer of Dire Straits though.

Frank Lee Scarlet doesn't give a ...

Yes, caption time. Over to y'all

I Feel Better

Hot Chip - I Feel Better

Hot Chip | MySpace Music Videos

I LOVE this video (the song too).

This one's not bad as well:

Live, electric, and brutal

Just read confirmation that Don Cheadle will play the Prince of Darkness in the forthcoming Miles biopic.. here's what he has to do...

Genius Song Titles

You know when you get a new album and read the track listing, and there's a song you really want to hear just from the title?

Joanna Newsom's (utterly wonderful) new album has a song called

Good Intentions Paving Company

I think this may possible be my favourite song title ever. The song itself doesn't disappoint.

So... what's your favourite song title? What songs did you love before you ever heard them? Have you ever bought a record or a book on the strength of the title alone? And are there some that don't live up to their titular promise?

He's a hoot!

I like Toffee's idea of posting a picture of 'Spillers in their owl shirts. PROJECT OWL!! To start it off, here's the boy who started it off.

UK Hip-hop - What's Happening - Part 2

They may call it "crackhouse" (oh why oh why oh why) but there's no denying that this one's a bit of a banger and may rehabilitate Ms Dynamite...hold on **ring ring** **ring ring**

Blimpy "Hi"

MIA "Hi Blimps, you posting up on DJ Zinc?"

B: "Yeah, I was actually -remember his D&B tunes from way back when?"

MIA "Dem beats was sick, yeah?"

B: "Indeed, how are you?"

MIA: "I'm vexed yeah, Ms Dynamite's biting my flow, innit?"

B: "I was just about to mention that in the blog post. See you down the Dog n Bucket for the quiz later?"

MIA: "Course. Laters"

Outrage

Thought you might enjoy this: a short piece put together by my brother (Pete Sinclair) and his friend and long-time collaborator political comedian Mark Steel. Their aim was to write, film and edit the piece in one day - and they almost managed it ...

Mark Steel - Outrage - watch more funny videos

is it morning yet?

in keeping with the ten:
1 Witchin Hour
2 Nightshift
3 Time Of The Night
4 Midnight Blues
5 Midnight Sun
6 Animal Midnight
7 Midnight Coward
8 Midnight Runner
9 Gold Mine Gutted (Her Space Holiday MIx)
10 Good Morning Midnight
enjoy for now.

I will add some words in a bit.....

here's the bonus selection:
Nightswimmer
Night
Our Last Night Together
Darker Side Of Night
Nightcrawlers

Bishie goes to Bollywood (again)

Me again, with the second in what may be a semi-regular feature (depending on when my Bollywood well runs dry).

Here are a few more of my faves anyway:

This is the title track from a proper all-star Bollywood weepie about loving your fahhhh-m'ly. Peggy Mitchell would love it.

Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gham

This next one was played everywhere when I was in India four or five years ago. I'm aware it's kind of Europop cheesy (shades of Dr Alban?), but happy associations an' that...

Tera Suroor

This one features in a beautiful, 'starcrossed lovers' romance, "Veer-Zaara": he's an Indian (Hindu) fighter pilot; she's a young Pakistani (Muslim) woman. The fates conspire against them. Natch. Swoon, kids, swoon...

Tere Liye

And finally, another from my ultimate fave Bollywood film, "Rang de Basanti". This one has me in bits every time when I watch the movie (it might be the Westlife-esque key change):

Khoon Chala

Next time, I will dig out some slightly more credible tracks from the Subcontinent, I promise...

"Simplified and distorted..."

Waking up hungover at a friends some time ago I started nosing through the cds and played an album by This Kind Of Punishment a band from New Zealand, this along with their related material turned out to be something of a revelation, though at times not exactly ideal hangover music.

Nocturnal Projections - Walk in a Straight Line.mp3
This Kind of Punishment - Overground In China.mp3
This Kind of Punishment - Mr. Tic Toc.mp3
Peter Jefferies - Domesticia.mp3
Peter Jefferies - On An Unknown Beach.mp3

It's dark you know!

Very dark, it is the witching hour. Nothing stirs.

No light, except for the full gibbous moon casting its eerie glimmer across the black, silent landscape.

What mysteries, what horrors lie in the inky black pools of night where the silver glow of the moon cannot penetrate?

Starless

Stuck On Repeat

I can't stop listening to this.

Midnight

Following Shoey's example, I'm trying to keep it down to ten, and here they are...
Blind Willie McTell - Wee Midnight Hours
Uncle Tupelo - No Depression
Tom Waits - Midnight Lullaby
Karen Dalton - Blues on the Ceiling
Jimi Hendrix Experience - Burning the Midnight Lamp
Cat Power - Werewolf
The Clash - Midnight Log
Gnarls Barkley - The Boogie Monster
A Tribe Called Quest - Midnight
The Coup - Heven Tonite

Revisiting albums

This post has been prompted by listening to a particular CD that until recently I'd kind of dismissed as "used to like it - not sure if I really still want it" and that album is this one;



Bring It On by Gomez.

It was a Mercury Prize winner, back in 1998, and that is one reason I bought it, plus the fact that the track "Whippin' Piccadilly" got a fair amount of airplay at the time and I liked the song.

I liked Gomez so much at the time that I bought their follow up album Liquid Skin too.

Then, in around 2000, I went off them. I just stopped playing their albums and kind of forgot about them completely.

Anyway, I was refilling the car stereo CD changer cassette on Sunday and my gaze fell on Bring it on and, on impulse loaded it up.

I have been listening to it in the car since Sunday, playing it three times so far and guess what?

Yep, I really like it.

So, who else has had similar happy revisitings?

Or, for that matter, unhappy ones? I have one of those too. I bought the first Muse album when it came out and didn't like it much. I tried it again last year and still didn't like it. That one went for 50p in a car boot sale.

I am keeping the Gomez though and will have to give Liquid Skin a spin or two as well.

Pumpkin Time

Night Train
In The Midnight Hour
Midnight Dream
Midnight In Her Eyes
Midnight Man

Round Midnight
Late Night
25 O'Clock
Midnight Maps
Night Of The Hunter

A NEW LIST!

Since last weeks list drew approving comments, here's another. This one is culled from THE TIMES 2009 list of millionaires in the UK, it's a very long list so I abstracted only names that would be familiar and relevant to Spillers, The figure in the first column is the total assets, the second column reflects the losses for the year. Poor old Sting lost 20 million pounds! But wait, he's still got 180 times 1 million pounds in the bank! Bear these names in mind if ever you're tempted to illegally download a tune!
It should be obvious to Mr & Mrs Blimpy what the forthcoming kids first birthday present should be, start saving for a banjo for him!
This is only a partial list, there's many more on the full list.

Sir Paul McCartney £440m £60m Music
Sir Mick Jagger £190m £35m Music
Sting £180m £20m Music
Keith Richards £175m £15m Music
Sir Elton John £175m £60m Music
Sir Tom Jones £130m £40m Music
Eric Clapton £120m £20m Music
Ringo Starr £120m £20m Music
Phil Collins £108m £32m Music
David Bowie £100m £20m Music
Rod Stewart £100m £20m Music
Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne £90m £20m Music,
Charlie Watts £85m £15m Music
Roger Waters £85m £10m Music
Chris Blackwell £80m £20m Music
David Gilmour £78m £7m Music
Robert Plant £75m £5m Music
Jimmy Page £70m £5m Music
Engelbert Humperdinck £60m £19m Music
Mark Knopfler £60m £10m Music
Van Morrison £50m £5m Music
Pete Townshend £40m - Music
Sir Cliff Richard £40m £10m Music
Ronnie Wood £35m £5m Music
Roger Daltrey £32m - Music

All new Japanther - Double take

Although I love a good cover tune, i've never cared for alt. versions and don't have too much time for remixes unless they are radically different. But this pair of tracks that bookend Japanther's (the band Japanther of course, not me!) new album are so different (even going so far as to get someone else to sing it - Anita Sparrows) that I thought it worth posting them both.

That the song itself is a fine slice of lo-fi indie art-pop goes without saying (if you like that kind of thing) but which version is better?!

She's The One
Alone In The Basement

On a Wednesday?

I like Snooks Eaglin, his gentle voice, his sweet guitaring, and his name. (How bout Snooks, Blimpy?)



This is funny...



This is the start of my new series On a Wednesday? When I post random tidbits you'd never expect to find ... on a Wednesday.

Readers Recommend?

Hey 'Spillers - recommending is what we do best, so I'd like some suggestions please!

I need a fab boy's name, ready to bestow upon my second son (due mid July!) - so please fire away. His surname will be Broughton rather than McFlah though, so please do bear that in mind. We had a million cool and beautiful girl's names ready, but it's not so easy for a boy it seems...

Many thanks - can't wait to hear suggestions!

A Man Walks Into A Bar ( or a Pub or a Saloon or a Bodega or ...)

So you're on the road, spendin' the night in a strange town. Gotta get up early in the AM but it's too nice an evening to waste in your room, so you're out taking in the air when as you walk by a corner a door opens down the street and a well played chord catches you're ear. Nothin' but unfamiliar doors down the street but now you think a pint & a bit of song will do. But which one? Careful there's a 2 drink minimum.

INDY'S

LEON'S

JP'S

HEATHER & ROSE

LORENZO'S

ZANZIBAR

LILY'S

THE BAYOU PELICAN

STEAMERS

OK, Now what did I do with the keys? Oh, there's another!

Fireside Lounge

LOUDON'S LYRICS

Loudon's a guy I've been listening to and enjoying for better than 30 odd years, he's released over 20 albums, I have about half of 'em.
One thing that stands out in his music is the total personal honesty, it seems as though he looks for topics to write about in his personal relationships in ways that I can't think of any other artist doing. Most of us would rather keep the details of our private lives private, not Loudon he bares it all. There's about 220 of his songs listed at Spotty, he obviously can write a song about anything under the sun but he chooses include such personal themes, I like his music, his voice and his personality, in fact I like everything about him but I am slightly puzzled by his excessive honesty.
I've chosen half a dozen songs that all deal with his relationships with his wife, Kate McGarrigle and their children, Rufus and Martha and in none of them does he come off as a happy family man. Maybe it's the price to be paid if your art requires you to be alone on the road and away from home for much of every year. Dylan also comes to mind but he doesn't dwell on it's effect to the same degree at all and I can't think of any other similar artist who does; can anyone else, is this a common topic?

Totally off topic I've included a cut that I really like, it's a short personal history of 'folk/pop' music done in the style of 60's Dylan, it's his tribute to Bob for his 50th. in 1991.

Powered by Podbean.com

a little Sparkle

Maria's Little Elbows
Someday I Will Treat You Good
Spirit Ditch
Piano Fire
Heart Of Darkness
Go
Ghost Of His Smile
Cow
Comfort Me
Getting It Wrong
It's A Wonderful Life
Sick Of Goodbyes
goodnight sweetheart

I chatted with my friend last night for the first time in 6 months, bits about Mark Linkous and then the Jerry Dammers Spatial AKA Orchestra as she'd been to see them on Sunday (and it was less gut wrenching)

...this is a selection for those who loved / liked or are just getting to know (and are interested) in the music of Sparklehorse.

..hope you appreciate the sounds.

EOTWQ

1.What's your favourite kind of jam?
1a. Do you have it with butter?

2. We all have a sports team we follow from afar, that's close to our heart but isn't the one we're most passionate about. What's your second team?

3. What's your pet peeve? Go on, vent.

4. What's your favourite "chore"?

5. Not so topical anymore, but what's your favourite Winter Olympics discipline?
5a. Has Tincanman's beard, snapped here attending the Olympics, grown too long?

Earworms of the Week (Mar 9)

Flaming Lips - Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots, Pt. 1

I can't get this one out of my head. I woke up to it about a week ago, not sure why because I hadn't played the album in ages but there it is, the brain does weird things.

- CaroleBristol

Paper Tongues - Ride To California

We were talking this week about hip-hop, and many of us foresee fusion with other genres. This 7-man Carolina band fuse rock, funk, rap and soul and it's got me quite excited. And not just me - huge buzz is builidng for their debut album this summer.

- Tin

La BrassBande - Uebersee

This is punked-up brass band music from deepest Bavaria which I came across by chance (just picked up a CD with a picture of a cow on the cover). This track completely lifts my mood whenever I'm feeling down, especially if I'm having a grotty day at work - if I put this on to play, everyone in the shop suddenly seems lighter of foot and not quite so wint'ry-grey any more.

- debbym

Camera Obscura - Lloyd, I'm Ready To Be Heartbroken

I have a tendency to fall in love too easily with Scottish female indie singers but Tracy-Ann Campbell is in serious danger of replacing Clare Grogan in my affections. I was a huge fan of Lloyd Cole so I think it was the title that drew my attention to the song but after just a couple of listens I was hooked. I now have just about everything ever recorded by Camera Obscura right at the top of my iPod.

- ToffeeBoy

Michau - Vulture

From one of the surprises of 2009 off the album Jewellry: it's a mish-mash of many different sounds, rhythms, directions but a real catchy number- gets me nodding & moving when weaving through the morning traffic on the bike...gives you a certain amount of not just joi de vivre but also defiance- necessary sometimes...

- gremlin

Grim Northern Social - Gasoline Queen

I really wanted to find a way of shoehorning this song into this week's topic, because the appreciation is certainly of an ... um ... unconventional beauty. But even with my legendary topic-parameter-stretching will, I couldn't do it.

- DsD

Feedback? I've dropped this week's earworms in 2 iPod friendly formats as an experiment for those struggling with enough comp time. One is all 6 songs in one MP3, like a Spillcast with no announcer. The other is each song retagged under a common artist (earworm) and album (mar 9), so when you dump them in an MP3 player they'll all be together. Takes less than a minute for me to do, so if peeps wants it let me know.

PS I Love You

I'm seeing Phoenix again at the end of this month. This is a lovely video of a group of children from New York's Public School 22 singing Lisztomania.

DEFINITIONS?

Possibly everyone's already seen these, if so my apologies, but a small dialogue twixt webcore and ubu along these lines prompted me to search my old emails. Can't find an appropriate picture nor a tune, you just get dry bread this week.

The Washington Post's Mensa Invitational once again invited readers to take any word from the dictionary, alter it by adding, subtracting, or changing one letter, and supply a new definition.

Here are the winners:

1. Cashtration (n.): The act of buying a house, which renders the subject financially impotent for an indefinite period of time.

2. Ignoranus : A person who's both stupid and an asshole.

3. Intaxicaton : Euphoria at getting a tax refund, which lasts until you realize it was your money to start with.

4. Reintarnation : Coming back to life as a hillbilly.

5. Bozone ( n.): The substance surrounding stupid people that stops bright ideas from penetrating. The bozone layer, unfortunately, shows little sign of breaking down in the near future.

6. Foreploy : Any misrepresentation about yourself for the purpose of getting laid.

7.. Giraffiti : Vandalism spray-painted very, very high

8. Sarchasm : The gulf between the author of sarcastic wit and the person who doesn't get it.

9. Inoculatte : To take coffee intravenously when you are running late.

10. Osteopornosis : A degenerate disease. (This one got extra credit.)

11. Karmageddon : It's like, when everybody is sending off all these really bad vibes, right? And then, like, the Earth explodes and it's like, a serious bummer.

12. Decafalon (n.): The grueling event of getting through the day consuming only things that are good for you.

13. Glibido : All talk and no action.

14. Dopeler Effect: The tendency of stupid ideas to seem smarter when they come at you rapidly.

15. Arachnoleptic Fit (n.): The frantic dance performed just after you've accidentally walked through a spider web.

16. Beelzebug (n.): Satan in the form of a mosquito, that gets into your bedroom at three in the morning and cannot be cast out.

17. Caterpallor ( n.): The color you turn after finding half a worm in the fruit you're eating.



The Washington Post has also published the winning submissions to its yearly contest, in which readers are asked to supply alternate meanings for common words.

And the winners are:

1. Coffee, n. The person upon whom one coughs.

2. Flabbergasted, adj. Appalled by discovering how much weight one has gained.

3. Abdicate, v. To give up all hope of ever having a flat stomach.

4. Esplanade, v. To attempt an explanation while drunk.

5. Willy-nilly, adj. Impotent.

6. Negligent, adj. Absentmindedly answering the door when wearing only a nightgown.

7. Lymph, v. To walk with a lisp.

8. Gargoyle, n. Olive-flavored mouthwash.

9. Flatulence, n. Emergency vehicle that picks up someone who has been run over by a steamroller.

10. Balderdash, n. A rapidly receding hairline.

11. Testicle, n. A humorous question on an exam.

12. Rectitude, n. The formal, dignified bearing adopted by proctologists.

13. Pokemon, n. A Rastafarian proctologist.