Tuesday, January 26, 2010

S&M#2: Now known as EARWORMS OF THE WEEK


Sam Amidon - How Come That Blood
Sam Amidon's new record is due soon, and if this is any indication it should be a treat. I love the off-kiltar arrangements, and how they juxtapose with his voice (he has the sort of voice that sounds old, not in age, but like it's coming from another era) Anyway, this is what folk sounds like in 2010
- lambretinha

Trwbador - Little Lights
Nepotism alert - Owain Gwilym, the musical force behind this bilingual Welsh/English folktronica duo, is MrStepAbahachi - but, having listened to their new EP once out of duty, I've had it on steady rotation ever since. Lovely, fragile, not at all what I expected. More tracks available at www.myspace.com/trwbador...
- Abahachi

Ken Parker - Groovin' In Style
I've always liked the Ken Parker tune on my Nice Up The Dance compilation, and recently I treated myself to a 25 song CD of just Ken Parker. Some of it is almost un-listenable, because of the production, but there are some real gems on there, and I think this is one. I like the opening chords; I like his voice, which even when singing a happy song like this has a wistful quality. I love the lyrics to this song. It's not just a don't-worry-be-happy song (though there's nothing wrong with that, I suppose.) To me it has a deeper, more soulful quality to the peaceful feeling that it describes...
- Steen

Willard Grant Conspiracy - The Work Song
Currently riding high in both the current playlist, and "Oh the irony" charts chez DsD (actually, en voiture de DsD would be more accurate) is this aural relaxant from my favourite baritone.
- DsD

Opal Fell From The Sun
This is from one of my favourite chill-out albums (“Early Recordings”), but I only own it on vinyl so don’t play often – was driven to dig it out again by a letter in the current “Record Collector”, which suggests it might be a cover of a Pale Saints song. The reverse is the case – the Saints (themselves a Great Lost Band) covered Opal. I think that this recording meets the dictionary definition of the word ravishing: “unusually pleasing or striking”. Psychedelic folk at its spaciest; David Roback’s filigree guitar is a thing of wonder. Opal (aka Clay Allison) were a dry-run for the better-known Mazzy Star; it’s a matter of pride to me that Guru Rob A-listed this obscure band’s “Harriet Brown” (...aka Greta Garbo) for RRSA Actors, way back in the Silver Age."
- Shiv

Thea Gilmore - Sol Invictus
More from Shiv: (Musing on the solar theme tin, why don't you nominate Thea Gilmore's "Sol Invictus"? - it would make a very compatible roommate to "Fell From The Sun", and this is exactly the right time of year to be looking to the Sun to rise, rise, rise...).
- Obedient Tin

Topo - Colores
Colores by Topo is from 1982 but has recently found its way back into my collection. It's about taking time to stop, look and notice the colours and other beautiful things that surround us. It's a very simple song with very simple lyrics - It's the colours that make me feel good". It's very simplicity and the "breath of fresh air" lyrics just make me feel happy. The thirty second fade out of repeating chorus is a tad annoying, I know, but this song always manages to cheer me up
- Makinavaja

This is the second in our new S(pill) & M(usic) weekly playlist feature. Next week (email by next Tuesday please) could we have earworms from May1366, CaroleB and Blimpy to get us started. That leaves 3-4 slots for anyone else (open to all) who's got a song to share but doesn't want to do a full post.

As for a name, we can stick with S&M or have another. Shiv came up with Ravin' Faves, the title of a proto-RR column in the old anglophile US fanzine "Trouser Press" back in the 70s/early 80. Then there's more predictable fare like Spill Weekly Playlist.

Sam Amidon - How Come That Blood
Trwbador - Little Lights
Ken Parker - Groovin' In Style (AKA Groovin out on Life
Willard Grant Conspiracy - The Work Song
Opal - Fell From The Sun
Thea Gilmore - Sol Invictus
Topo - Colores

Starting next week, this feature shall be known as the Spill's Earworms of the Week. Anyone with an earworm to contribute can email it with a couple lines of explanation to rr@tincanland.com.

27 comments:

Mnemonic said...

I have a preview copy of Sam Amidon's new record and it is truly lovely. The arrangements, by the way, are by Nico Muhly, who also works with Doveman, Valgeir Sigurdsson, Grizzly Bear and Rufus Wainwright, among others. Sam has duets with Beth Orton on the new record too.

tincanman said...

sounds awesome! Is it going to be the 'big breakthrough'?

Mnemonic said...

I hope so. I saw him playing again last Saturday (with Nico Muhly and Beth Orton) and he is developing real stage presence. I think he has it in him to become a real star.

Shoegazer said...

Weekly Sprinkle? Weekly Tinkle might attract the wrong audience.

Makinavaja said...

Thanks, Tin. The "breath of fresh air" lyrics in Colores should really read "sixth form poetry lyrics" - don't like the song any the less for that, though! Will listen to this over the next couple of days. I hope this one runs and runs..

tincanman said...

Abahachi no need to apologize for the nepotist track. Quite nice, and delicate. it's my fave from this playlist.

steenbeck said...

Hey, Tin, is there any chance we could have these as a playlist with the yahoo player? It would still go through dropbox, but I had trouble downloading these. I got one song twice, and none of the others. I'm sure it's just me being a moron, but...

I'd be willing to put the links into the list and add them to the post, if it's a matter of being too time-consuming.

saneshane said...

steen and tin

that would be great if you could do that.. i'd love to listen

But after sending DsD an e-mail my computer crashed (hope you got it Rich)

but my ipod was loading up at the time and it's taken out everything on that and my itunes...whoops!
so I'm failing to work out where everything except 3974 tunes have disappeared to!!! and the bloody playlists (I have the safari document but how do you get that info back into itunes/) bloody nuts I say... (it would be so much easier on an Apple Flatjack I'm sure)

tin said...

go for it steen. they're dropped

Shoegazer said...

Shane! That sucks. Dr. Shoe is on standby to help save the tunes. If the tunes are missing from the pod only: reboot it. If the tunes are not in iTunes: check if they are still on your hard drive (usually My Music/iTunes/Music). If they are (& I really hope they are) drag & drop the iTunes folder into the open iTunes app window. That should fix. If not, you could try a windows restore, but that hardly ever works (sorry)

DarceysDad said...

Morning all. Bad day already; might spill the beans later, but NO, steenbeck, I have no email from you.

DsD said...

Whoops! Sorry, Shane, I meant you, obvs. See what I mean about a bad day already . . .

DsD said...

... unless you meant that address one, which I got the other day . . .

saneshane said...

yes.. DsD the address one (glad you got it) that's when my computer crashed.. so wasn't too sure.

Shoey

the pod is only a small one that is okay to leave in the car when working - I re do 150 songs each week to listen - so no worries there..

windows restore - restored all the glitches very well - but obviously not itunes.

dragging and dropping has doubled up what was left- now it says 9690.. but that could be about 30,000 short (the songs are on a huge external hard drive - so it's not tear your hair out time)
and before I moved , I put all of last years digital songs on discs.. so that's okay except, the draw wont open for me to re-upload anything!!!


The worst thing is the information - I need it for friends record labels and their djing- it all seams to be in music.library.xml as a safari document - but is there any way of getting that back connected with the tunes left in itunes?

(all spelling could be out - safari wont open, so using opera as a browser and it doesn't have saneshane spell cheak/cheque/chek!)


luckily I know how a record player works - Eugene and the lizards anyone?
needle
crackle
noise.....

ah that's better.
the pot of teas good too and the dark chocolate hobnobs.. I'll try and send them all virtally to anyone in need....

Unknown said...

Shane, the .xml file should be in the iTunes folder in My Music/etc. At least it is on a Mac.

gordonimmel said...

Well, I can honestly say that I enjoyed all of those tracks but I'll give a special mention to Topo and Thea Gilmore.
I think I might get to like this slot.

@saneshane, that looks nasty with your iTunes there. Can't help I'm afraid. Hope you sort it all out OK.

saneshane said...

ejay
I've got the .xml file and it has all the info for everything it seams... But it wont link back into itunes now.. so I can't click on an artist/song and find the comments that I had written about the songs.
(and all date added - is the last two days - and that doesn't help me find things!)

It'll just have to be a new start - it's quite nice really. (except the info)

tomorrow when I hear the new theme I be pissed off if I can't find that great track.. but hey - can't get on RR anyway most of the time!!!

cheers gordon
(I had a fab historical figures playlist that I was going to post today - I could hear you tutting about the FACTS all the way through compiling it! - it'll save us both some stress)


work oh yeah work. ummm I could make some more shelves instead...

this is a lovely playlist by the way - nice work 'spillers.

saneshane said...

Maki

don't know if you're linked to comments on this - but that tracks fade out that annoys you..

is it because of the possibility that Sting is about to pipe up with "so lonely.. so lonely" at any minute?

(and in English that Sting vocal is "Sue Lawley Sue Lawley" was that 'not the nine o'clock news' or 'spitting image')
before I feal any older I'll get on with something useful.

Unknown said...

Hey I do that too with the comments Shane! Unfortunately my comments are all shit, and I can never find a song in time...
I'm experiencing the opposite problem at the moment, I have all the info and my iTunes library is intact, but the files were moved and itunes can't find them on its own, so I have to painstakingly recover them all, one at a time. That's 34877 files, and you have to stay focused, because if you mess up you end up with wrong tags and the song is lost and then you have to reimport it with a new date and new info etc. Aaah the hard life of the anal music compiler...

Makinavaja said...

Tin
The elves been at work, then? Where did you find that version? No fade out and much better for that. Thanks.

Shane
Hadn't noticed the Sting thing, but now you mention it...

Gordon,

Thanks

steenbeck said...

I liked the Topo - Colores track a lot. Probably my fav on here. (other than Ken Parker, of course!)

Shoegazer said...

Shane, if the tags folder is in the same I-Tunes folder as the music folder. Dragging & dropping the entire I-Tunes folder on your external drive onto the I-tunes app window might restore the links. Dropping the individual tunes probably won't keep the original notes & there is not much you can do to keep the original add date. Hoping the problem is not being caused because the external drive has locked up, leaving you with a useless block of plastic.

Makinavaja said...

I have liked every song on the list. Every damn one of them. Let's keep this one going, please.

tincanman said...

We shall Maki. We're working on a couple improvements which you will see next week to make it easier to play the songs. We're also renaming it to the self-explaining title Earworms of the Week.

All up to Spillers after that - if people send in their earworms, I'll post em.
rr@tincanland.com

saneshane said...

maki - hope I haven't ruined it for you with the sting mention!


shoey - just tried another drag/drop but it's not coming with the info in that file... think it's too much for my little brain.

BUT the external hard drive has most of the stuff on it and is finding it for me via Ruths laptop - there's a few months gap in 2008 that I'm not finding - but it could be the gap between everything on disc to all stored on computer (and not loved quite as much - but for ease, useful)

ejd - "Hey I do that too with the comments Shane! Unfortunately my comments are all shit, and I can never find a song in time"
...my mellow nature is saying the same - and ideas/opinions change, so a new start is a good thing.

so far I've got 9,000 songs back.. so did a soul search - and had a great afternoons listening to things that I'd not heard in ages.

how do you say C'est la vie in French? that's what us brits would say at a time like this!!!

Unknown said...

I think we say "ze show meust goh ohnne" Shane.

Makinavaja said...

Shane - there is no danger of Mr Sumner ruining my appreciation of Topo - thank God! There's a Mexican group called ManĂ¡ whose singer does a passable impression. There's a song of theirs I'm (sadly) quite partial to. I may post it some day.
I'm glad the i-tunes problem seems to be less serious than at first feared.

Steen - thank you for your comments regarding Topo.