The 'Spill

The 'Spill has moved!

2010-04-02T20:11:00.001+01:00

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.

Little Miss Indie

2010-03-29T12:46:00.003+01:00

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!!

2010-03-25T09:09:00.003Z

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.

Bouncing Round An Empty House

2010-03-25T00:57:00.013Z

.
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!

2010-03-24T20:27:00.005Z

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.

The 'Spill Blog - Housekeeping & Housemoving

2010-03-24T13:01:00.004Z

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!

2010-03-24T09:58:00.003Z

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?

2010-03-24T00:52:00.003Z

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

2010-03-23T22:15:00.002Z

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

2010-03-23T21:10:00.003Z

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!

2010-03-23T20:17:00.003Z

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

2010-03-23T14:53:00.002Z

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....

2010-03-23T02:34:00.003Z

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

2010-03-23T00:41:00.002Z

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

2010-03-23T00:25:00.001Z

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

2010-03-22T22:30:00.001Z

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

2010-03-22T20:47:00.003Z

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

2010-03-21T21:41:00.004Z

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....

2010-03-21T21:13:00.003Z

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!

2010-03-20T01:54:00.004Z

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.

2010-03-19T05:34:00.005Z

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

2010-03-19T05:17:00.007Z

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

2010-03-18T22:23:00.008Z

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

2010-03-18T20:34:00.002Z

Alex Chilton - RIP

2010-03-18T14:55:00.001Z

No words necessary.

Fly Away, Alex

2010-03-18T12:19:00.003Z

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

Fly Away - Alan Vega, Alex Chilton & Ben Vaughn

Call me Mr. Slow, but . . .

2010-03-18T09:13:00.003Z

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

2010-03-18T07:42:00.002Z

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 ...

2010-03-18T04:58:00.003Z

Yes, caption time. Over to y'all

I Feel Better

2010-03-17T15:00:00.004Z

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

2010-03-17T11:38:00.006Z

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

2010-03-16T11:31:00.002Z

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!

2010-03-15T21:37:00.004Z

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

2010-03-15T17:07:00.002Z

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

2010-03-14T11:03:00.003Z

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?

2010-03-13T22:15:00.003Z

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)

2010-03-13T20:00:00.003Z

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..."

2010-03-13T14:44:00.011Z

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!

2010-03-13T10:21:00.004Z

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

2010-03-13T09:29:00.001Z

I can't stop listening to this.

Midnight

2010-03-12T20:19:00.002Z

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

2010-03-12T12:22:00.005Z

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

2010-03-12T02:06:00.004Z

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!

2010-03-11T17:14:00.003Z

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

2010-03-11T13:48:00.003Z

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?

2010-03-11T00:50:00.004Z

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?

2010-03-10T19:33:00.003Z

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 ...)

2010-03-10T04:00:00.007Z

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.

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

Fireside Lounge

LOUDON'S LYRICS

2010-03-09T20:05:00.006Z

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.

a little Sparkle

2010-03-09T13:53:00.005Z

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

2010-03-09T11:37:00.002Z

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)

2010-03-09T10:08:00.006Z

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

2010-03-09T08:32:00.003Z

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?

2010-03-08T16:55:00.003Z

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.

SXSW: I went so you didn't have to

2010-03-08T09:03:00.003Z

A blatant lie that. I'm not in Texas, and the annual gargantuan South by Southwest music festival and conference is just starting. Still, I have been hard at work (ish) on your behalf.

Here's where you need to pay attention:

The John Peels at NPR (National Public Radio) have selected their Top 100 songs from the 1,700 bands scheduled to appear. You can LISTEN to a continuous 6 1/2 hour streaming loop of the NPR 100. There are no scheduled start times. You join the loop wherever it happens to be, and every 5 songs an announcer tells you what you've just heard. Or you can download a recorded version for your iPod. It's broken down into three segments: 01-30, 31-60, 61-100. There may be the odd short pause due to internet fluctuations. I did the best I could.

SXSW also always has a few gigabytes of free MP3s available for download. They are/will be available via the official SXSW site, but it is way easier by legal torrent available here. (P2P and torrents are legal; its what's in them that is or isn't). There's two torrents with over 1,000 songs total (5gigs). (I'm not dropping 1,000 songs - it was too disruptive last year, and is really only for the extra eager.)

This is all free and legal; the idea of SXSW is to promote bands, and the NPR 100 is deffo worth a listen. There's some good stuff here!

Enjoy

MArk Linkous - R.I.P.

2010-03-08T08:05:00.000Z

Beauty

2010-03-07T23:41:00.003Z

With her granddaughter..

I'm so moved by this woman. I think this is beautiful. Thanks, Ejay.

goggles

2010-03-07T21:37:00.003Z

so this is the normal - sensitive song writing bloke adores woman, woman pisses off with someone else.. (what, because you are NICE, lovely, a friend, not a bastard, thoughtful, a wimp.. or wanking over your guitar- delete where appropriate)
Elegant Lines (Love You Mix)

hey look - my chance to play this track yeah- 2mins 40ish she mentions "..your vision of beauty.." and the great extended remix (I know it's the same at the beginning and end, just added sax in the middle - but that IS the meaning of life)
How Do I Love Thee

I only know this version, so hope it is a slight change to the original, and doesn't annoy DsD.
Beauty Dies Young (Graham Coxon Mix)

I was thinking of the subject while reading about International Woman's Day - this song crept into my mind- an artist that doesn't tramp the dirt down on the faces of collaborators as she makes it to the top - beautiful, natural and sexy song - (but obviously a feckin nut nut - what's not to admire?)
My Spine

it's ace.. (can you tell my typing finger is aching?)
Young And Beautiful

always long for those that are slightly more unstable than you are.. it makes going home on your own less likely... ( a good cover)
Faraway Eyes

2 minutes(ish) in.. there's a faint (sympathy for the devil) whoo hoo right down in the mix, it that kind of detail that makes my life worth living!
Ageless Beauty

I was the only one able to photograph my friends when we were teenagers.. because I destroyed the images so well.. this song reminds me of a very beautiful person who didn't wake up.
How Beautiful You Are

peacocks - I'm told you shouldn't take lots of LSD on Brownsea Island and try to make a video.
Peacocks In The Video Rain
peacocks can be distracting and you just know it's females that have to keep them in order.. make sure the fridge is full, pants are clean.. that kind of stuff.
Peacocks

Handsome devil who?
This Charming Man

now this is more like it.. a tattooed tit that says #13 - what have I been thinking.
No. 13 Baby

(I'm trying the other way of posting tracks- so hope they work.)

Beauty is in the Ear of the Beholder

2010-03-07T02:36:00.007Z

My mobile phone's camera has unfortunately failed to do justice to Friday's spectacularly beautiful sunset; the pinks and oranges amongst the blue and against the silhouettes was breathtaking. But it was an obvious shoo-in for this post. :o)

***EDIT***
Lowgold's original of Beauty Dies Young added for Shane to compare

Fort Lauderdale - Beauty
Aynsley Lister - Beautiful (Keiana's Song)
Ian McNabb - Why Are The Beautiful So Sad?
Shack - Beautiful
Lowgold - Beauty Dies Young

Oigan La Música del Convaleciente

2010-03-06T13:35:00.012Z

A week or so ago I asked for your help to put together a play-list for my mate Quique, who is recovering from an operation. The response was wonderful and Quique has been very touched by your kindness. He sent me an email (part of which follows) and a play-list to thank you all for the gesture. He wrote:

And so to the “List”.
I’ve no idea how many times I must have listened to it by now! And it’s already become one of those essential ones that will accompany me through the rest of my life. You get fond of things. Period. And I have reasons to feel attached to this musical selection, which you started for me.
It kicks off with your beloved Stranglers (and that characteristic thumping bass) and there follow 20 something more tracks!! Amongst them I’ve managed to identify at least; one by A. Piazzolla (the first of GF's two); Nina Simone (Steenbeck); T. Mahal and an African vocalist (Ali Munday); I’m not sure but I think gremlinfc's first might be Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan; DsD's track rings loads of bells but I can’t work out who the fuck it is; Shoey’s is the same as the one with which Diego A. Manrique opens his “Ambigú” programme on Radio 3; not to mention the unmistakable Dead!
And finally Shane’s nine, where lamentably I recognise no-one, but curiously I like a whole lot more than I thought I would when I saw the picture!
So, I had an idea – and that’s to make a selection of about ten tracks. Classics covered by other artists that I’ve come across recently and think are either good or very good. And put them up on the ‘Spill as my way of saying thanks. That way people would have an idea of where I’m at, musically speaking, especially as this blog’s currency is the exchanging of musical tastes.
Now this (Quique posting without being a registered ‘spiller – ed.) may be way off the normal criteria of the blog but it could - or rather - should be an exceptional case seeing as you (Maki) started the whole thing off and I would like to respond to the lads and lasses with music. ‘Cause, as you know, music is the food of life.

Here’s Quique’s list (a shed-load more than the original 10, I fear), which I’ve rather predictably titled:

SICK OF BEING BEDRIDDEN, I’M THROWING BACK THE COVERS!

Solitude
Madame Geneva's
You Win Again
Shine On You Crazy Diamond
Won't Get Fooled Again
Oo-De-Lally
Why Do People Act Like That
Rehab
Me Gusta Ese Tajo
Theme from The Godfather
Jealous Guy
Gotta Serve Somebody
Brother
Run To The Hills
Les Feuilles Mortes
Apache
Lili Marlene
Another Brick In The Wall
Fly Me To The Moon
Waltz for Debby
Time of No Reply
Mil Horas
Alfonsina Y El Mar
Chiquilín de Bachín
Los Mareados
La Canción de Buenos Aires

And here's a link to the details of this lovingly crafted play-list as provided by Quique.

Thanks everyone, we hope you like this!
Quique & Maki

Carole's Springtime Playlist

2010-03-06T08:00:00.003Z

The picture is by Pre-Raphaelite painter John William Waterhouse and is called "A Song of Springtime", which seems appropriate.

Anyway, when Steenbeck asked us all to contribute songs for the Fishy Birthday Bash playlist, I found it hard to limit myself (which is why I have two selections on the list anyway) and kept coming up with songs.

There isn't anything here that is particularly leftfield or radical, just some pretty solid good music, in my opinion.

What they all have in common is a kind of spring, bounce and general joy de vivre, which seems fitting now that the Winter is receding and we can start looking forwards to a bit of Springtime warmth and sunshine.

Ace of Wands

Damn, I wish I was your lover

I Zimbra

The thrill of it all

Don't leave me this way

Freedom rider

Only love can break your heart

The shoop shoop song

Peg

King Tubby meets rockers uptown

Prove it

Nathan Jones

Song 4 Mutya

There is a light that never goes out

This is Radio Clash

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, PISCES PEOPLE!!!

2010-03-05T16:41:00.013Z

It's a Pisces Party!!! It's been a long winter, and we could all use a little dancing, so we got some of the best DJs in the world to handpick a selection of dance tunes for ROCKING MITCH! and SONOFWEBCORE! and TREEFROGDEMON! and BARBRYN! and EJAYDEE! and GREMLINFC! and (slightly belatedly) for ALIMUNDAY!!!!!!

HAPPY HAPPY BIRTHDAY, 'Spilly friends.

DJ TatankaYotanka
DJ Carole
DJ Nilpferd
DJ Carole
DJ Magicman
DJ DebbyM
DJ Treefrogdemon
DJ Marconius
DJ Penguin
DJ AliMunday
DJ Mnemonic
DJ Tin
DJ SatanKidneyPie
DJ DaddyPig
DJ Fintan
DJ Makinavaja
DJ Marconius
DJ BishBosh
DJ Exodus
DJ Steenbeck
DJ Toffee
DJ Japanther
DJ Sane
DJ GHE
DJ GHE
DJ GremlinFC

Ali's first choice wasn't playing, so we're replacing it with this...
DJ Ali
And here's one from May1366
DJ May

HAPPY HAPPY BIRTHDAY to CATCHER as well!!!!!
DJ Catcher

Some fishy dance tunes from
DJ EJ
DJ EJ

DJ Lambretinha

From birthday boy Barbryn...
DJ Barbryn

H2H - Battle of the Beauties

2010-03-05T13:28:00.002Z

Not alf. Two muses of sixties pop. But which one would the evil queen give her apple to?

Beautiful World

2010-03-05T03:42:00.003Z

When Your Dream Of Perfect Beauty Comes True
Most Beautiful
Sad & Beautiful World
Beautiful
A Beautiful Peace

Oh You Pretty Things
There She Goes My Beautiful World
The Beautiful Silence
Make Hell For The Beautiful People
The Wild, The Beautiful & The Damned

Title to come

2010-03-04T19:59:00.001Z

Hey, it's National Procrastination Week in the States.

(more later)

I'm sensing your location

2010-03-04T13:59:00.002Z

My first thought was that this sounds like Sigur Ros covering Belle & Sebastian's "Stars Of Track & Field".

My second thought was that this is a fab song and that's the important thing, isn't it?

Share your 'getting psyched' moments

2010-03-04T10:07:00.003Z

This one's for ToffeeBoy too. Later today, I will be in the studio again, working on my fabled recordings. So, as you can imagine, the last few days since I made the date have been an anxious wait for the moments of release - hopefully, that's what they'll be anyway. Yesterday, therefore, I was glad to receive this clip from my ex-flatmate Paul. We shared a place when I lived in Poland, when I was a 'failed' musician and he a recently graduated Philosophy student, taking our first steps in the English teaching world. This was 13 years ago. We had a good old time there in Poland, along with many discussions about our aspirations, such as they were. Paul was just 22 and dreamed of making films one day. I had just left behind the only profession i'd ever dreamed of, with a sad resignation. His enthusiasm for film making fired me up and made me want to carry on making and writing music.

So, here we are more than 10 years later. Paul is now a successful film director - he shot this film on the rainy streets of Dublin - and me, I'm finally heading into the studio again. When people talk about receiving inspiration from their friends, I think this might just be a fine example. Cheers Paul. And the best of luck to us all!

Shoey's Album Of The Month - Feb

2010-03-04T03:53:00.002Z

Nooo, too many goodies, avoided the more obvious ones & stuff already mentioned on t''Spil. Edited down & am still left with all these. Over to U, which should be declared SAOTM for February?

Drunken Poet's Dream
My Name Is Carnival
Grey Pastures, Still Waters
Stand Still
Doudou
Ran Come Saw
Girl In A Green Dress
Spy On The Floor
The Burning Mountain
Bastard Samurai
Superglue

OK Go do it again....

2010-03-04T00:18:00.004Z

...what do they do again? They make another brilliant video...

for those of you that have forgot, or those of you who haven't seen it, here's their first one:

Chicken? More please

2010-03-03T16:51:00.006Z

When I signed up here Blimpy said ''This is not a music blog'', which is something I tend to forget.

And so, to do my non-musical share, here is an excerpt from food blog Cheap Healthy Good.

How To Make 17 Delicious Meals From 1 Chicken

The budget – for EVERYTHING - was $25.
I had to use as much food already in my pantry as possible. (Which accounted for a lot, and saved me mad dough in the long run.)
Each meal had to feed at least two people (The Boyfriend and me).
Bonus points for leftovers.
The chicken had to be used up within a few days, so it wouldn’t go bad.
The meals had to have reasonable variety, preferably from a range of cuisines. It couldn’t be Chicken with Spaghetti on Day 1, then Chicken with Penne on Day 2.
The meals had to have very little added fat, since the leftover chicken would provide most of it.

What about it Spillers, before checking the link could you do it? What would you make?

A concerted effort to put concerts on wheels

2010-03-03T08:13:00.000Z

Here's a smattering (what's a smatter? Nothing, what's a smatter with you?) of informal mini-concerts (3-4 songs) reformatted to play on either a PC or video iPod. If you need help,ask.

mini concerts1 is Laura Veirs, Alec Ounsworth, David Rawlings & Gillian Welch, Fanfarlo.

mini concerts2 is Low Anthem, Mountain Goats, Lissie & Lightning Dust.

If more are desired from time to time, let me know. Or you might prefer hunting and gathering your own - it is all readily available.

UK Rap -What's going on?

2010-03-02T23:12:00.004Z

Wiley gets his rock on - old skool drum n bass with a steal from possibly the oddest UK number one there's been. . .What next for UK hip-hop? Any tips, 'Spillers?

I'm your (AR Rah)man

2010-03-02T18:58:00.007Z

OK, first attempt at posting...* So, various people were ever so nice about the AR Rahman track I contributed to tinny's Earworms feature a week or two back, so I thought I'd, ahem, treat you to a few more of the Mumbai maestro's meisterwerks.

Rang De Basanti
The title track of my favourite Bollywood film (for sentimental, rather than artistic, reasons). Big old upbeat bhangra-esque (I think) stomper.

Ghanan Ghanan

From the only Bollywood film I would unequivocally recommend to anyone, "Lagaan".

Jiya Jale

From "Dil Se". Those RR-ers with particularly lengthy memories will recall that "Chaiya Chaiya" from the same movie made it into the A List for Songs Recorded for Movies.

Tere Bina

A swoonsome weepy from "Guru", starring Mr and Mrs Bollywood, Abishek (son of Amitabh) Bachchan and Aishwarya Rai.

Yeh Jo Des Hai Tera

I just love this one. Makes me homesick for a land that was only ever my home for six months but will always have a special place in my heart (bleurgh, etc).

*If this works, big thanks and respec' to Steenbeck, tincanman and ejaydee. If it doesn't, I have only myself to blame...

BBC 6Music

2010-03-02T14:51:00.005Z

I really cannot believe that the BBC management think that axing 6Music is a good idea.

It is the one BBC station that regularly plays new and interesting music. It is the spiritual home for those of us who grew up with John Peel, Whispering Bob Harris and Annie Nightingale back in the 1970s.

R1 is rubbish and R2 is mainly rubbish except for a few decent evening shows. Where is the diverse stuff, the underground, the word-of-mouth things and the alternate music that doesn’t have a home anywhere else?

There are plenty of us who are not interested in chart rubbish or AOR Golden Oldie playlists, why is “our” station getting the chop?

I wake up to 6Music. There isn’t an alternative. I am never going to listen to the insufferable Fatty Moyles or Mrs Daily Mail Personified Sarah Kennedy (I really really really hate Sarah Kennedy), so what else do I listen to?

Commercial radio? No thanks. I don’t want inane adverts, chart rubbish playlists and moronic DJs and phone-in dullards.

If the BBC wants to axe crap – get rid of BBC3.

While they are at it, they can cut back on moronic “reality” TV programmes too.

Just save 6Music. It isn’t like it costs much.

Of course, they won’t save it.

The BBC is running scared of Rupert Murdoch and wants to concentrate on safe, dull, boring light entertainment to keep up a big audience.

Music lovers don’t amount to much. What we want doesn’t matter, just chasing the ratings.

I have written to complain to the BBC Trust and joined the Facebook group.

If you want to complain here are a couple of email addresses;

srconsultation@bbc.co.uk

trust.enquiries@bbc.co.uk

What do other people think about this?

I Can't Understand

2010-03-02T12:34:00.002Z

For some reason, the verse reminds me of the winding horns in Flying Home.

Also, French newspaper Le Monde has been doing their own RR! Cheeky. Also, practice your French with these songs, translated from English, which is how it should be, since there's law in France requiring that, to put it shortly, any writing in English must be translated. Interesting version of Where Is My Mind?

Earworms of the Week (Mar 2)

2010-03-02T08:31:00.005Z

Sam Cooke - Trouble Blues

My current one, and it has been so for at least a month or two, is Sam Cooke's "Trouble Blues" - I guess because it fits my life at the moment.

- RockingMitch

Josh Reichmann - Daniel (Bat For Lashes cover)

Sometimes you listen to a song, and right away think: "How would this one sound like if X were covering it?" Two people came to mind with this - Julianne Regan (from Zalamanda's favorite band, All About Eve) and Iggy. Of course, it will never happen. But... Josh Reichmann somehow makes me miss that Iggy's cover even more. It is from Paper Bag Records' compilation "The Seven Year Itch", also includes a fine rendition of Dylan's "I Want You" by Rock Plaza Central).

- lambretinha

O-Zone - Dragostea Din Tei (Ma Ce Ki Massimo)

Most people will probably hate this but I can't stop singing it because my son likes it and we dance around the room to it pulling silly faces and laughing. It's driving me nuts!

- Ali

Black Prairie - Red Rocking Chair

Rich but moody, sort of Sort of indie-folk goes gypsy. Black Pairie is an SXSW side project for Decemberists Chris Funk (dobro), Nate Query (bass) and Jenny Conlee (accordion). SXSW opens in 2 weeks and has become the musical event of the year (sorry Glastonbury), with hundreds of emerging musical acts from around the globe showcased on over 80 stages in downtown Austin, Texas.

- Tin

Veda Hille - Lucky lucky

Veda Hille, catchy name but someone that it took me a while to catch up with, despite hearing good things from disparate but trusted sources over a number of years. This is the opening track on 'This Riot Life' from a couple of years back. It's a confection of insistent hooks, cascades and crescendos, so packed with ideas and lyrical snippets that its 3 minutes 50 seconds could have been a four song EP.

- Tatanka Yotanka

Angelique Kidjo- Voodoo Chile

This one has recurred over the last decade, and is guaranteed to kick out any unwanted or invasive earworms. I love the way she verbalises one of the most famous guitar intros of all time, then takes the tune and runs with it. In the past, critics said that Jimi wasn't a great songwriter because his songs couldn't be covered. History has proved them very wrong.

- webcore

I'm large as a hippopotamus

2010-03-02T02:21:00.002Z

This was sort of a strange synchronicity, (how the heck do you spell that?). I was just enjoying this new-to-me blackalicious EP, a few weeks back, when along comes young Ejay and shares an amazing Nina album. Not sure anything compares to NIna, but this track does sample her voice, so I admire them for admiring her...

Ultimate Climax

2010-03-01T09:48:00.003Z

In the good old days (about 2 years ago) when musicians made albums to be listened to from start to finish I always used to (and still do of course) look forward to seeing what they were going to do with the final track.

Would it be a full-on wig-out like "Cop Shoot Cop" from Spiritualized's "Ladies and Gentlemen..." to send the album off with a bang or a downbeat and beautiful elegy like "Something In The Way" from Nirvana's Nevermind to wind the album down?

My personal favourites are the above mentioned tracks, "Mogwai Fear Satan" at the end of Mogwai's "Young Team" and the one on the Youtube clip which is the final track on Flipper's 1982 classic LP "Generic". After an album of absolutely awesome but pretty straight ahead early-80's sludgy US punk they suddenly unleash the chaotic free-jazzin' of "Sex Bomb" to finish off the album in style.

Of course my knowledge and tastes are extremely limited, so if you want to nominate some better ones, let's have 'em!

Pale Rider

2010-02-28T20:02:00.003Z

My name is truth and I'm about to sell you this playlist- featuring unique bands - never before heard on a sane compilation:
Why Tell The Truth (When It's Easier To Lie)
Sixteen
No cigarettes

Fraud In The 80s
Frenchy, I'm Faking
The Truth Hurts So This Should Be Painless

He Lied About Death
False Advertising
Man Named Truth

It's A Pose

Sunday evening - what's happening?

2010-02-28T20:01:00.001Z

Personally I'm happy that ex-Moldy Peach Adam Green has decided to channel prime period Lou Reed for his new LP.

But what do you think?

Pale Rider deceit

2010-02-28T19:31:00.007Z

I was enjoying it over on RR .. but now I can't get in again so here's a tenuous selection more likely to appeal to the nilpferd side than the DsD side of the 'spill spectrum!

Who's The Realest?
Check Fraud
Smoke & Mirrors

Tell The Police The Truth

Deceptacon
The Magician
Good Lies

The Girl With The Pre-Fabricated Heart

Truth, Deception & Lies

2010-02-28T17:59:00.002Z

The song's not as good as I remembered, but I love that beat

Rock Island Line - Lonnie Donegan
Truth, Deception, & Lies (Aloe Blacc Remix)
Don't Play That Song (You Lied) - Ben E. King
Foolin'
Don't Play That Song - Aretha Franklin
I Got A Story To Tell
Rock Island Line - Leadbelly
Java Des Bombes Atomiques (Instrumental)

Thanks to the elves for putting this version of Leadbelly's Rock Island Line, I had a different one, but I love the acapella (here's another one that's impossible to spell correctly) stuff.

NINA SIMONE

2010-02-28T16:27:00.003Z

NINA SIMONE, DIVA OUT OF CAROLINA

By ROBIN D. G. KELLEY
Published: February 25, 2010

Regular readers might remember a couple of pieces I posted here re. Nina last year, here's another, it's a review of a biography just published which echos some of the comments from last year's pieces. Our UK Spillers might have missed it since it's from the NY Times. The author is Robin Kelley, a good friend of my wife who's recent book on Monk has received rave reviews.

PRINCESS NOIRE
The Tumultuous Reign of Nina Simone
By Nadine Cohodas
Illustrated. 449 pp. Pantheon Books. $30

Related
Excerpt: ‘Princess Noire’ (February 19, 2010)

Dwight Garner’s Review of ‘Princess Noire’ (February 19, 2010)

If you want to read the exerpt and Dwight Garner's review go to:
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/28/books/review/Kelley-t.html?ref=books&pagewanted=all

“I will never be your clown,” Nina Simone shouted at a restless nightclub audience in Cannes in 1977. The mostly French-speaking crowd was either unable or unwilling to join her in a singalong, and she took it as a personal affront. “God gave me this gift — and I am a genius. I worked at my craft for six to 14 hours a day, I studied and learned through practice. I am not here just to entertain you. But how can I be alive when you are so dead?” Her speech only prompted more requests for her to “SING!” She managed to get through some songs before delivering her parting words. “You owe me,” she railed. “I don’t wear a painted smile on my face, like Louis Armstrong.

Scenes like this were all too common, especially during the latter half of Simone’s career. Her reputation as mercurial, moody and combative was well established, and she did little to dispel this image in her memoir, “I Put a Spell on You.” She was nothing if not paradoxical. She promoted black militancy and spoke of her love for “my people,” but often treated black audiences with contempt and condescension. She beat up white audiences, too, sometimes declaring her disdain for white people, and yet sustained a substantial crossover following with covers of songs associated with their youth culture. She might show up an hour or two late, ramble incoherently onstage and suddenly give a performance that could bring a weary crowd to tears.

But when she called herself a genius — a term usually reserved for male artists — it was not mere hyperbole. Indeed, Nadine Cohodas’s disturbing portrait in “Princess Noire” sets out to confirm Simone’s genius. The author lingers on her stage performances, her musical decisions, her sartorial choices — the alchemy she created in sound and fury. Cohodas, who has written books about Dinah Washington and Chess Records, devotes more space to Simone’s music than any biography to date. But as hard as the author tries, she can’t avoid the fact that Si mone’s fame has more to do with her tempestuous behavior, both on- and offstage.

Before Nina Simone arrived, there was Eunice Waymon, born in Tryon, N.C., in 1933, the sixth of eight children. Her father, J. D. Waymon, was a jack-of-all-trades entrepreneur, and her mother, Kate, was a domestic worker whose primary vocation was preaching the Gospel. Eunice was just a small child when she started playing piano in church. Cohodas paints a complex picture of Tryon and its environs, a community ruled by Jim Crow but with a color line porous enough for the Waymons to live fairly comfortably and for young Eunice to take piano lessons from Muriel Mazzanovich, known affectionately as Miss Mazzy.

Eunice depended on a white patron to pay for her lessons, and she remained fairly sequestered in the quiet, cloistered world of Miss Mazzy’s home, studying Bach and dreaming of a different path. But the walls between Tryon’s polite society and the realities of racial subjugation were thin and vulnerable, occasionally tumbling down — as on the night her parents were asked to move out of the front row during one of her public recitals. Eleven-year-old Eunice threatened to refuse to play if her parents could not remain in their seats. Even then, she under stood her power as an artist.

Eunice continued her music studies at the Allen School, a private high school for black girls in Asheville, probably with the support of white benefactors. Upon graduation, she took classes at Juilliard and worked long hours to prepare for her audition to the prestigious Curtis Institute in Philadelphia. She was rejected, her dream of becoming a concert pianist crushed. In Simone’s eyes, the school’s rebuff was a racial slight. While Cohodas quotes a Curtis faculty member, Vladimir Sokoloff, who suggests Simone simply wasn’t up to the task, she is unwilling to admit that Si mone’s piano skills were less than brilliant. She may have been the greatest prodigy to come out of Tryon’s black community, but in New York City pianists of her caliber were plentiful.

Simone’s genius lay elsewhere, and it seems she discovered it quite by accident when she accepted a solo piano gig at an Atlantic City nightclub for the summer of 1954 and began singing when pressed by her boss. Adopting the name Nina Si mone, she used her deep, husky voice, wide-ranging knowledge of musical genres and eclectic tastes to push her performances to the foreground in clubs where cocktail piano was meant for atmosphere. And as Cohodas observes, Simone replaced the sexuality of a torch singer with the elegance of a concert pianist, evoking respectability and “race pride” along the way. After reaching the pop charts with her 1959 cover of George Gershwin’s “I Loves You, Porgy,” she quickly became an international star. She gave audiences more than a concert; she presented an overall cultural experience, different from pop and jazz, so original that she belongs in a category unto herself.

Music made Simone a star; politics made her a force. She joined a small circle of New York-based intellectuals in support of the civil rights movement, speaking out against racism and injustice from her own platform, performing protest songs and writing a few of her own. Her “Mississippi Goddam,” written in the wake of Medgar Evers’s assassination and the murder of four black girls in a church bombing, became a veritable anthem. Although Si mone believed that her politics cost her jobs, by the late ’60s she had embraced her role as songstress of black militancy, composing “To Be Young, Gifted and Black,” a powerful tribute to the memory of Lorraine Hansberry. Surprisingly, Cohodas devotes little space to understanding the source of Simone’s political views and her engagement with the likes of Hansberry, James Baldwin and Stokely Carmichael, or how the larger context of African liberation shaped her own vision.

After establishing Simone’s musical gen ius, international success and political prominence, Cohodas details her long downward spiral. To the author’s credit, she tries valiantly to keep our attention on the stage and Simone’s music, even when it is subpar, and even when Simone’s life becomes a litany of self-destructive acts and bitter disappointments. Yet while Coho das provides vivid descriptions of Simone’s behavior, she offers very little by way of explanation. How shy Eunice Waymon became a demanding diva almost overnight remains a mystery. Not until the last 50 pages do we learn that Simone probably suffered from schizophrenia. But was her anger a manifestation of an undiagnosed chemical imbalance, or did it reflect a life of failed marriages, failed affairs, failed motherhood, dislocations, financial woes, and a history of racial and sexual discrimination? Apparently, Simone also survived domestic violence and rape. (Her bisexuality, as well as the manner in which marriage suppressed it, deserves more than the few sentences it receives.)

During her final two decades (she died in 2003), as her illness progressed, financial considerations compelled Simone to work. She had to make money — for herself and her handlers, whose livelihoods depended on her — and her shows became exhibitions of her deteriorating life and mental health. Cohodas captures a piteous moment when, after a gig at Swing Plaza in New York in 1983, federal agents turned up to confiscate her earnings. But they didn’t touch the cash left out front in a bucket labeled “the Society for the Preser vation of Nina Simone.”

By the end of her “tumultuous reign,” Simone was a shadow of her former self, a woman practically broken by an unscrupulous industry, exploitative men and her own demons. Like her performances, the book’s final chapters are hard to experience but impossible to ignore. And like so many of us who saw Simone onstage when she should have been convalescing or simply enjoying life, readers may feel an urgent need to listen to her old recordings to remind themselves of what they loved about her in the first place.

Robin D. G. Kelley’s most recent book is “Thelonious Monk: The Life and Times of an American Original.”

Deception

2010-02-27T15:09:00.004Z

Bib Mama Thornton - Hound Dog
Jean Redpath - Riddles Wisely Expounded
Heptones - Hypocrite
Errol DUnkley - Please Stop Your Lying, Girl
The Inspirations - Take Back Your Duck
Yo La TEngo - The Lie and How We Told It
Billy Bragg - The Man in the Iron Mask
Odetta - Masters of War
The ROots - Masters of War
ATCQ - Butter
The Coup - Nowalaters
Dead Prez - Propaganda
Immortal Technique - Bin Laden (Tell the Truth)
Common - Testify
Pete Rock - Truth Is
Pete Rock and CL Smooth - Can't Front On Me
KRS One - Stop Frontin
Gang Starr - Execution of a Chump

Butter

Akihabara Majokko Princess

2010-02-27T13:49:00.003Z

The Tate Modern's highly enjoyable Pop Life exhibition last year brought together the work of some of the world's most highly-acclaimed contemporary artists / most over-hyped chancers (delete according to preference) for a celebration of the fusing of 'high' and 'low' culture. Along with Warhol, Hirst, Koons, and musician-affiliated visual artists like Keith Haring, Pruitt Early and Christine Newby, was Japan's Takashi Murakami - named by Time Magazine in 2008 as one of the most influential people in the world. Murakami is famed for his work's immersion in otaku / geek culture - the gaudy, controversial, super-cute and occasionally troubling world Japan's young people are increasingly sharing with the rest of us through fashion, manga, anime and, especially, computer games. His specially-commissioned piece saw Kirsten Dunst taking on a cosplay role in a fantasy remake of The Vapours' Turning Japanese. It's good fun, particularly for those of us who have been harbouring a crush on Dunst since Bring It On.

Big fib from Gremlinfc

2010-02-26T18:59:00.005Z

Times were hard, money was in short supply , hey what's a Potatohead to do? The offer seemed good and me and me mate Coxy Pippin got the offer to record some quality choons which were guaranteed to top the charts. We were naive and got carried away by the hair extensions and shiny clothes but that's showbizness for you...would you have done any different?
It's not quite on the level of "Noone has the intention of building a wall"(in Berlin), but there was a porky involved...
1. Who are we?
2. Who produced / moulded us?
3. Sept 1989 saw our biggest hit - remember?
4. What was the big fib?
5. Choose an adjective to describe the fraudsters!
PS- Why can't you download Youtube clips anymore?

Cheaters

2010-02-26T04:27:00.007Z

Charlotte Anne
Wrong 'Em Boyo
Cheated Hearts
The Trick
Masters Of Deception
Don't Betray Me

Cupid's Trick
Sweet Deception
Liar's Ink
Trick Pony
Liar
Thief & The Liar
Lies, Lies & Government

No Deception Intended !!

2010-02-26T01:10:00.009Z

SatanKidneyPie, a labelled disc of RRtunes, DarceysDad

For steenbeck, a picture of the mini-social. For tincanman, pictorial proof that we fulfilled his requirements to be allowed to call it a "mini-social". For SKP, my thanks for a very pleasant evening, and an advance apology for the gratuitous, erroneous, and probably libellous innuendo that follows -

So let's see, the RR topic this week is 'Deception', and DsD posts a thread featuring a picture of some footballers and a lawyer! Hmmmmm ...

I'm off to bed now, but as I have posted, and haven't done a 'Spill Playlist for a while, I will return to this thread later to add some deceptively good tunes, IMNSHO!

Just these for now ...

500 Miles To Memphis - Don't Mislead
The Zutons - Put A Little Aside
WGC - The Great Deceiver
2 Tribes - What Do They Want From Us?
.

...................recovery position

2010-02-25T23:30:00.004Z

I'm conditioned to take anything like this with a large dose of black humor..
I hope Quique has a speedy recovery.. enjoy the tunes:
I Don't Want To Die (In A Hospital)
Hospital
The Bed

I Went To The Hospital
We Are Free
In The Hospital

Monster Hospital
Poem To The Hospital
Get-Well-Cards

Music to Convalesce to...

2010-02-25T21:32:00.025Z

My good mate - and proxy (via my posts) RR contributor - Quique has just come out of hospital after a hernia operation. He'll be stuck at home in bed unable to move for the next 10 days or so. I normally get to see him in his restaurant at the weekends and give him the RR topic for the week. We also exchange tips about music we've come across (old and new) and a lot of what you guys have introduced me to has made it onto the Noveccento Pizzeria playlist. The latest addition being Tindersticks (thanks to Tin and Barbryn).

I have an idea. I would like us to put together a get well soon playlist for him. It would thrill him no end! I'm kicking off with something that ain't quite his cup of tea but he'll forgive me for. If anyone would like to join in they can send contributions to makinavajarr - at - gmail.com and I'll add them as they arrive. Quique reads (or rather listens to) the 'Spill despite not understanding a word of English and is impressed by a lot of what is posted here.

Thanks everyone.

From Maki
From debbym
From Ali Munday
From DsD
From Shoey
From Japanther
From CaroleBristol
From ToffeeBoy
From goneforeign 1
From goneforeign 2
From gremlinfc 1
From gremlinfc 2
From steenbeck
From Chris 7572
From TatankaYotanka
From bishbosh
From Mnemonic

UPDATE - Sunday afternoon

I have just received a lengthy email from Quique in which he expresses his heartfelt thanks for your virtual TLC with a very special mention for Shane and his play-list (see above). He has suggested that he would like to repay this kindness with his own play-list for all you wonderful 'Spillers. He would like you to get to know him a little better and feels there is no better way to do this than to share some music he loves with you! I will use a translation of part of his e-mail as the text for the post.

This list is still open, btw.

Thanks everyone.

Maki

Nostalgia

2010-02-25T14:15:00.003Z

Following on from Sourpus's post about - err -posters, I dug out some old ticket stubs and flyers which might amuse some of you. Sorry the picture quality isn't very good, they're stuck in a scrapbook and I can't get the light right. Anyway, it made for interesting reading (for me) - there's all sorts of cr*p in the s(crap)book, including a temporary membership for the Dounreay Social Club and a return ticket from Bristol Temple Meads to London Paddington for £2.37!

It's my birthday today and my brother gave me a Bellowhead CD, from which I was going to upload something, but I'm not sure if I like it very much so here is some nice soothing John Renbourn instead (Sidi Brahim) to get you in a nostalgic mood. If that doesn't work, a large whiskey usually does the trick.

Happy Birthday to young Tessimmel too.

Come on, just one more story Ole Uncle Tinnie

2010-02-25T08:13:00.007Z

Kick yer boots off and set a spell on ole Uncle Tinnie's porch. Drinks'll be along in time, but we got nothing pressing so I'll not be known for my promptness. If yer the sort needs to keep busy, next porch up's got salsa dancing lessons at 6.

For some reason Your Sister Cried has a long silence followed by a bonus track, so some might prefer Mary Gauthier's rather nice cover.

Hit Me With Your EOTWQs! HIT ME!

2010-02-24T23:45:00.003Z

1. Ever had one of them "Eureka" moments, no matter how big or small?

2. Which word do you always misspell? Suprise me!

3. I ate calves liver at the restaurant this evening, solely in an attempt to rehabilitate my childhood (there was loadsa good stuff on the menu too...), anyone attempted similar with food (or other things)?

4. I also saw the Ian Dury biopic - who do you think deserves the bio-pic treatment who hasn't already had it, and who would play them?

5. True or false - Tom Waits?

ShoePop or Shane's Dare or 'Spillers Post Music That You Wouldn't Really Expect From Them, Knowing Their Musical Tastes A Bit As You Do

2010-02-24T06:52:00.005Z

Intro
Cast Your Fate To The Wind

The Boys
Today
Wonderful Life
Rhythm Divine
God's Own Girl
Something About You
Absolute
Wake Up Soon
Umbrella Beach

The Girls
Torn
Toxic
Rockferry
I Know Ur Girlfriend Hates Me
Umbrella

Plastiscines

2010-02-23T18:26:00.002Z

I heard this and I liked it.

I don't really know anything about the band, except what I found on Wikipedia.

Plastiscines are Katty Besnard (singer/guitar), Marine Neuilly (guitar), Louise Basilien (bass), Anoushka Vandevyvere(also know as Anais) (drums) and former drummers Caroline and Zazie Tavitian.

They formed in 2004 after Besnard, Neuilly, and Tavitian, all of whom were at school together in Saint-Cyr-l'École, met Basilien, originally a harpist, at a concert by the English band, the Libertines. Their talent was recognised early on by Maxime Schmitt, producer of the German band Kraftwerk, and they were signed by EMI for the Virgin France label in October 2006. In addition to the Libertines, the band's influences include the White Stripes, the Strokes and, from an earlier generation, the Kinks and Blondie. Their name derives from the phrase, "plasticine porters with looking glass ties" in the Beatles' song, "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds", on the 1967 album Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.

Plastiscines have been critical of French retailing of rock music. Louise Basilien has remarked that she learnt about rock 'n' roll through her parents, the Internet, and by reading books: "the generation before us could not learn about rock 'n' roll because the stores here were rubbish". As a consequence, the French rock scene in 2006–07 was seen by many as fresh and exciting, even though the requirement that forty per cent of songs broadcast on radio in France should be in French continued to militate against bands who wished to perform in English (which, because of its American origins and British dominance in the 1960s, has always been the prime language of rock 'n' roll).

Plastiscines were featured on the Gossip Girl episode, "They Shoot Humphreys, Don't They?" at the Cotillion ball. Their single, "Barcelona" was also iTunes single of the week during the first week of January 2010. Their song "Bitch" was also featured on the same episode, and here it is;

So, what do people think?

Earworms of the Week (Feb 23)

2010-02-23T13:49:00.003Z

Amazing Rhythm Aces - The Ella 'B'

I nominated this for the river topic & it's snuck it's way back into my craving list. When the Aces get churning you can almost feel the paddlewheel slappin' the water.

- fintan

Ismael Lo - Tadieu Bone

I've played this for years but never really known it by name. Then I watched Pedro Almodóvar's film All About My Mother. again and suddenly there was this familiar piece of music. Lovely gentle guitar intro and then the bluesy harmonica followed by Ismael's nostalgic vocal.

(Tadieu Bone is a Musilim holiday celebrated in Senegal with a feast, during which the children go from house to house entertaining the adults with singing and dancing and are rewarded with money or snacks. The Wolof lyrics are roughly translated as:

Tadieu Bone

We’re going to Tadieu Bone

The angel Abdou Jabar is coming from the skies to your soul

He will ask you “Did you pray?”

He will ask you “Did you fast?”

He is coming to your soul

- goneforeign

Pablo - Madeleina

Recently played this for the first time in about 20 years; it's a very joyful noise. Island released this as a 12" 45rpm in the early 80s - it may even have been the first African pop record released by a Western label in the post-rock era, predating King Sunny Ade? If so, the whole world music boom started here... Pablo Lubadika Porthos was/is a Zairean soukous guitarist; I've only ever found one other snigle and one album by him, but would love to hear more...

- Shiv

Frank Sinatra - I get a kick out of you

My 23 year old daughter mercilessly took the piss out of me for playing this when she came to tea last week and tried to take it literally but her old man's too quick for her...it's a brilliant choon which i love to sing along to - byegone age ...

- gremlin

Taj Mahal & James Cotton - Honky Tonk Woman

This song is a constant earworm for me, but this particular version is a favourite of someone I used to know when I was at school, who got in touch a couple of years ago through Friends Reunited. Lately we've been having musical conversations ("what do you mean, blues?", "what do you mean,folk?") and we've found we have an amazing amount of music in common, including this.

- treefrogdemon

Bim - I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry

Since we've been talking about Hank Williams over on RR, here's a beaut of a cover. I sent it to Brian Ibbott at Coverville a few years back and he called it the best version of this song he had ever heard by a long shot. And after 600+ shows, he's heard a few covers. Bim (Roy Forbes) was 17 when he did this! Amazing. (I'll just sneak in Wedding Bells by Lissie too.)

- tincanman

We have enough world/foreign music for next week, so first-come first-served with other genres. By Tues please.

Meltdown director announced

2010-02-23T11:06:00.004Z

http://meltdown.southbankcentre.co.uk/about/

TFD, will this tempt you to London?

Japanese Groupsounds

2010-02-23T07:06:00.004Z

I nominated a Spiders song for RR a couple of weeks ago and that (along with Fintan's "WTF" post recently) prompted me that I had never followed up on my long-ago promised expose of Japanese 1960's Groupsounds music. The main reason I didn't is because it seems to me that without understanding Japanese, the tunes are possibly a little hard to like! The Japanese voice doesn't have the allure of French or the lilt of the Latin languages and to be honest it's not a particularly pleasant sound when viewed as another instrument.

But it holds a lot of appeal for me, so i've put together a few of my favourite songs from the era for your delectation.

Here's the brief history:
As Beatlemania swept the world in the mid-60's, Japan was not immune to the charms of the mop-topped ones and the hip young things of Tokyo started growing their hair and attempting to shake off the conservatism of post-war Japan and forge their own future. Music-wise, the result of this was a movement called Groupsounds (GS) that was a mixture of raw 60's garage sounds and manufactured saccharine sixties pop. You have to dig deep to pick out the diamonds from the fluff but it's rewarding when you do find a gem.

The Spiders - KoKeKokko
First up are the kings of GS and the closest Japan had to the Beatles (in terms of popularity that is, i'm not suggesting that these chancers had an ounce of the vision and talent of Lennon & McCartney). The Spiders were pure manufactured mid-60's pop, but under the leadership of singer Masaaki Sakai (later to become a hero to a whole generation of British schoolkids as Monkey), they had a certain charm. This is the tune I nominated for RR and the lyrics seem to be an argument about what came first, the chicken or the egg?!

The Carnabeats - Sukisa Sukisa Sukisa
Sticking with the lighter side of GS, I just LOVE this tune by The Carnabeats (that's them in the photo above). Not sure why, but the story of unrequited love that unfolds and the impassioned cry of "O mae no subete" ("you are everything") strikes the underdog chord.

The Golden Cups - Hi Wa Mata Noboru
If The Spiders were the Beatles, The Golden Cups were The Rolling Stones (but not quite so famous!). Tall and rakishly handsome bassist Louis Louis Kabe had a don't-give-a-fuck attitude reflected in the more reckless and raw sound, making them one of the best GS bands. The title can be translated as "The Sun Will Rise Again" and is a B-side.

The Mops - Hayaku
The Mops are another favourite of mine, I was going to post their self-referential classic "I'm A Mops" (sic), but ruled it out because it's all sung in English (well, one form of English at least!), and chose this one instead. I'm not sure of the exact title, the version i've got is from a compilation LP made for a western audience that lists the song title as "Haiku", but it's definitely not called that, because he's singing "hayaku" ("hurry!") not "haiku", so i'll call it my version of "Hayaku"!

The Tigers - C-C-C
The Tigers were second only to the mighty Spiders in terms of popularity. They put out a huge number of singles and albums, splitting up once in 1971 and re-uniting again at the start of the 1980's. This tune is a bit cheesy, but the handclaps alone make it irresistible to these ears.

The Mops - Omae No Subete
Just as an extra, I can't resist posting this deranged nugget by The Mops (again!). This tune popped into my head a couple of days after the deadline for "desperation" songs had ended, it would have been a surefire A-list i'm sure!

Loft Classics #6: "She Cries Your Name"

2010-02-22T21:42:00.002Z

This was bedding a tv show just now, I can't seem to find my cd, thus making this a LOFT CLASSIC!

This is probs Beth's most recognisable song, first released in 1996, and other than the accompanying "Trailer Park" lp and guest spots with the Chemical Brothers - she's pretty much fallen off my radar these days.

BMW POSTERS

2010-02-22T19:04:00.015Z

Ejay's Miles poster prompts me to go to my BMW file, I've been collecting Bob memorabilia since the 70's, these are just a few of them. I've photographed Bob images on walls in JA, US, UK and in Africa plus I'm always on the lookout for books and DVD's. Some of these I know the origins of, others were collected along the way, the first one I don't recall where I got it from but #2&3 were posters done by friends, I've had them both framed and on the wall, the two color images, the first is an oil painting and the second a print and the unframed canvas oil painting is about 4ft square and is over my bed, it was painted by a friend and he designed the next one also, it's a poster for one of my photo exhibitions, the panel down the center is the same as the message on the oil painting, the statement by Sellassie which Bob used for 'War'. The next is an official proclamation honoring Bob for his music by the city of LA and the stamps were a set issued in Jamaica whilst I was there in '81, I mailed several sets to myself and also bought a sheet of each value.
The last one is from another collection but I like it well enough to include it here, it's from a collection of African political posters and was issued whilst we were in Zambia to honor the ANC.
The images are large enough that if you click on them they should expand enough to read the text.
I've got many more images of reggae related posters and so perhaps I'll post them to my Picasa site, there's lots of friends in LA who would enjoy seeing them since many relate to events there.

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