(April 2009, still stood in Galway City HMV).

2009 was a good year for compilations. “Sci-Fi-Lo-Fi Vol. 3 – Shoegazing 1985-2007″ was another stand-out collection of great tunes. I found having Boards of Canada following Lush a bit odd, and I wasn’t convinced that “shoegazing” was quite the right tag for BoC, but forget the title and you’ve got a really stunning selection. My choice for track of the album….. “When The Sun Hits” Slowdive. (I really do need to write that “Neil Halstead is a Genius” piece).

Elbow “The Seldom Seen Kid Live At Abbey Road” – I’d seen the broadcast, my chance to own it in both formats (audio and visual). The last piece in the HMV shopping basket was “The La’s” The La’s. Groan. “He fell for it”, I hear you scream. Well yes I did. I have several copies (on various formats) of this album, but I felt this re-release/deluxe set was well worth my holiday money. You got the released version remastered, plus the Mike Hedges version, plus more remixes/versions. In my honest opinion this is a far superior album to anything The Stone Roses every managed to deliver! Miss it at your peril. This is timeless.

iLiKETRAiNS “Existence Is Futile”. Still waiting for album number 2. It did seem like 2009 was a shake-up year for ILT. They lost a band member and then left cryptic messages on their website alluding to the fact that they were dropping their historical-post-rock direction in favour of something less themed. I hope “and more mainstream” isn’t the case! Songs about plague and demonic possession, now that’s music to relax to! I’m digressing. This was a download only of some of their earlier stuff. Sad if you missed it.

Wooden Shijps “Dos”. They were low-key in 2009. But the limited singles, 12″ and this mini-album kept me going. Still waiting for them to appear at the Irish Village in Sound City 2010! (HA). Two tracks on this album broke the 10 minute barrier. Great stuff.

I mentioned it earlier – great compilations in 2009. Here’s another “Cathedral Classics Volume One”. Not sure if there’s a Volume 2 planned, but I’ll certainly be buying it if there is. A great lineup on here; The Tamborines, Sarabeth Tucek, Kyte, Dean & Britta, Maps, M83, Japancakes and Daniel Land & The Modern Painters. A great surprise appearance by Mark Gardener. I’d not really followed Mr. Gardener post-Ride but it’s an avenue I should take a peep down I think. And, finally, a couple of tracks from The Early Years. I was starting to think these guys had fallen apart. So, if you like your tunes slow-burning, noisy, drony with low-in-the-mix lyrics, buy this album.

Brakes “Touchdown”. Fast. Furious. Pop at its most ridiculous. Genius.

May 10th must have been some sort of audio overload for me. Super Furry Animals “Dark Days/Light Years”. Top 10. Crowned by their visit to Dubai in November. Not a bad track on this album. Have they ever written a bad track? I can remember weaker tracks, but never a bad one. For a band so prolific there are always detractors and nay-sayers. I measure the success of an album on the number of times I take it off its shelf – this has been on and off continuously. No favourite track, but I do tend to sway like a loon to “Inaugural Trams”.

Then “The Hazards Of Love” The Decemberists. “The Rake’s Song”. What a weird album! Don’t understand it but I keep playing it. It’s supposed to be a story, but I can tell you know this isn’t Jackanory. (Ok, ok, go look it up…… http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jackanory I’m allowed to make reference to my cultural foundations!). The 1960s British Folk influence is really noticeable here. The guest artists stand testament to the depth of this work.

Finally I received my copy of the Leisure Society’s “The Sleeper” and was …. disappointed. Nice. Pretty. No depth. No balls. Sorry. Same happened with “Actor” by St. Vincent. It’s not often that 4AD hype a band and I disagree but in this case I disagreed strongly. One of my colleagues told me that she had done some sessions that were viewable on-line, and that they bore no resemblence to the album. Maybe, just maybe, I may give her a second chance.

Mono “Hymn To The Immortal World”. Nothing to say. Japanese rock. Everyone should experience it. But I have to say something. Their music drifts between heavy rock, psychedelic rock, shoe-gazing, post-rock and classical. It’s all instrumental. It chills me out. In fact, recent visitors from the UK were astounded when their 6 month old baby stopped skriking, stared intently into the middle-distance and quite obviously listened to the louder sections of this release. Within 5 minutes he was asleep. They were not impressed however when I made the comment “Looks like you’ve got a potential stoner on your hands!”.

But, here comes 2009 No.1. Crippled Black Phoenix “200 Tons Of Bad Luck” and “The Resurrectionists/Night Raider”. Their first album (2006) turned my ear considerably. These albums blew me away. CBP are a supergroup of unknowns-ish. The common core is built from Mogwai, Gonga, Electric Wizard and Iron Monkey. I like to call it post-rock. They call their music “endtime ballads”. I’ve seen it referred to as stoner-rock, stoner-prog, doom-rock and even freak-folk (!!!). Bottom line is, this is brilliant. It’s GodspeedYou!BlackEmperor writing songs rather than movements. Mind blowing. GET IT!

And I think we’ll finish on a high. p

John Squire
Marshall’s House
(North Country)
release date: February 9th, 2004

Metascore: 49 out of 100
Metacritic user score: 6.0 out of 10

Representative Critical Commentary: “On the upside, ‘Marshall’s House’ is mercifully only 36 minutes (too) long.” – Chris Nye Browne, Yahoo Music UK

Representative Metacritic User Commentary: “Good enough” – James M

What is it about the comedown from the highs of success that tends to bring out the worst in most British musicians? Is it the pressure placed on them by that country’s fame-hungry press or the legions of fans who expect another The Queen Is Dead or Parklife out of their favorite musicians? Or is it simply a case that they’ve used up all the raw talent and ability they had on those few moments of glory, and now they are gone forever?

I get stuck on this idea every time I run into a solo album or a new band that features a member of once-great Britpop act. An apologist to the end, I give them the benefit of the doubt. Sometimes, as is the case with almost anything Damon Albarn has done post-Blur or Jarvis Cocker’s solo albums, I’m pleasantly and joyously surprised. But, all too often, I’m left wincing and wondering where I left that copy of All Mod Cons.

One of the most glaring examples of this can be found in the post-Stone Roses work by that long lamented Manchester band’s main creative forces: Ian Brown and John Squire. True, all of Brown’s solo efforts have cracked the Top 20 in England, but this is the same country that sent a Crazy Frog song to #1. By and large, they are middling affairs with only small moments of clarity and beauty to make them not total throwaways. Squire, on the other hand, put all his musical cards in the sub par Oasis wannabe outfit The Seahorses, and on a pair of solo albums that sets his prowess as a guitarist aside in place of lumbering ’60s tinted pop tunes.

Marshall’s House was the second of these solo discs, released in 2004 on his own North Country Records. It apparently was inspired by the works of painter Edward Hopper, and in many ways, the music here shares many qualities with the art that fueled its creation. Like Hopper’s paintings, Squire’s songs are technically proficient, but ugly and sometimes sloppy creations that convey deeper meaning in the form of big, bold signifiers.

Although he never comes close to the heights he reached with The Stone Roses, the music is by and large innocuous stuff. Squire and his backing band take on all manner of ’60s pop tropes, from slow soulful waltz (“Yawl Riding A Swell”) to late-Buffalo Springfield sunshine (“People In The Sun”) to an abundance of boogied-up rock. Set in the background at a party, this would make for a pretty decent soundtrack to drinks and conversation.

The trouble begins when Squire opens his mouth. He has very little in the way of a singing voice, and what he does possess is a croaking wreck. And to use it for the service of lyrics that roll around in big, blowsy metaphors (summer as an anthropomorphic female, the title track’s ode to a guitar amplifier) or are just images, words and lousy aphorisms held together with big strings of yarn (check out the stumbling “Lighthouse & Buildings, Portland Head, Cape Elizabeth, Maine”), it is all kinds of embarrassing.

Redeeming qualities: I rather appreciated how Squire was able to move from a chiming bit of driving pop into a swinging bridge on “Tables For Ladies”, and “Cape Cod Morning” has a bit of Primal Scream’s swagger tucked away in its core.

In a nutshell: If a Stone Roses reunion ever does end up happening, you’d better hope they stick to playing the classics live and don’t consider heading to the studio. The results, as this album proves, could be terrifying.

Final score (out of 100): 35

VILLAGE GREEN MACHINE NEWS
- plus OLD MUSIC, CLASSIC COMEDIES AND FILMS

Hi, we have had a few weeks break from real music business activity however are now refreshed and ready to rejoin the foray. A number of new songs have been recorded in recent weeks, without drums, things like ‘Valentine Rd’, acoustic Dylan meets The Monkees and The Lilac Time, in a song about, pertinently topically and poignantly, a soldier away at war writing back to his partner. Does he ever get back? I am leaving that to the listener to decide, in this fab new number.

Yeah I know it sounds proud, but it is a good one. Then there’s, a major new one called Rushall Churchyard which we have spent ages producing and recording. In the background are the influences of early Jefferson Airplane, Peter Green, and possibly the quintessential Englishness of Odessey and Oracle era Zombies. However I think the Zombies parallel is mostly coincidental. After all this is my song about strolling in an English churchyard- with a ***** but lets not go there. I have sung multi tracked harmonies like I did on the first track of the first Jacobites album. You may know I record in a church hall, sometimes I sit in the church. I may have walked around it in the dark. So those are 2 recent projects. VGM is moving into a new phase soon, suffice to say for now we have not stopped recording and producing and, are currently shaping up the second album. I now consider The Zombies Odessey and Oracle to be the finest British album ever recorded.

They say there’s a book in everyone – I think so, if you imagine what a detailed no holds barred account of anyone’s life would read like. It is upon this kitchen sink premise that I intend to write future songs. I would like to write autobiographically, and in a detailed way about things I have experienced. No shortage of songwriting source material there! Isn’t the stuff of life a good source? I have never copied other lyricists, ever. OK maybe a few times early on, but that’s folly. None of that has survived, even in my memory. I think I want to keep writing a personal paragraph in this blog, as well as the reviews and pop history since this is a personal blog, after all.You get someone as neurotically self shielding as Bob Dylan, and wonder at it. Then you get the unwise vulnerability of the later Lennon. But friends of mine read this so its a way of saying hi to them, and of course a blog is something which has mostly parameters set only by its writer- it can go anywhere, or not go anywhere its writer chooses.

And so, right now let me turn to music, which for me started with my father bringing home a pile of throw out demo 45s from the hospital radio where he worked as a presenter and actor. Ludicrously valuable freakbeat 45 I Don’t Want You by The Anteeeks was in that pile of records, which I chose as a favourite 45 for my guest spot on the Mark Lamarr show. It is pure 60s garage, in fact if you look for it on myspace there is a page especially for this great track. Fuzz guitar and Vox organ are part of this driving anthem, a total classic. Another song in this pile of records was The City Never Sleeps At Night, by Nancy Sinatra, another big favourite. There were records by The Stones and Beatles, and Searchers. I remember at school, we had a dance class at which a teacher played a CBS 45 by Paul Revere and The Raiders, maybe ‘Let Me’, which was ridiculously exciting to me as a child. At a school disco there was I Want To Hold Your Hand. I do remember being horrified by the amount of attention I attracted at this disco, as I made these badges which I pinned on my purple flares, with pictures of pop heroes on them. I just went mad when The Beatles came on, I’d never heard them before and I thought they were so great.One time I went to my father’s friend’s house, who was a BBC engineer. He played me Peggy Sue by Buddy Holly on his posh hi-fi, and I was totally ecstatic. I know now it was the sound of the lo-fi degraded drums going through all the valves and reverb, which made it sound so incredible.
Then I discovered T Rex. I was just a little kid. Telegram Sam and Metal Guru blew my brain off into another orbit, and it felt like the end of the world when my 45 of Metal Guru got broken on the stone floor. I loved Little Bit Of Love by Free. Brown Sugar by The Rolling Stones. These records had an incredible groove, which still informs what I do. I adored The Sweet, and other great 45s by the likes of Mud, Suzi Quatro, and Mott The Hoople. Later, I was excited when I heard about The Sex Pistols. Their records delivered, more joy. I bought a lot of punk /new wave 45s by The Ramones, X Ray Spex, Generation X, The Stranglers, Elvis Costello and many more. How well they stand up today. I used to record Jimmy Saville’s radio 1 show, where he played the top 10 of however many years previous, which is maybe where my 60s infatuation began to be reinforced. I spent my Saturdays in record shops, all my pocket money went on 45s, many of Jimmy’s oldies became mine.
Meanwhile I got into disco, courtesy of Radio Luxembourg, a crackly intermittent broadcast which I tuned into to hear the latest disco charts. I still like the best disco records- it is a much maligned genre to this day I am sure, but records like I Feel Love, Young Hearts Run Free, and You Make Me Feel (Might Real) by the great Sylvester, not to mention Chic and many others, still hold up for me today as being great pop. I bought the first rap records released in the UK, namely by Curtis Blow, and Sugarhill Gang. Again, they had a great groove. Growing up in the 80s I remember saying how rap was the most exciting thing around, I think I was right. I loved the grooves, still do and am influenced by the rhythmic side of rap. However I did not like the gangster side of things when that really emerged. It was always underneath I suppose, but a certain rap band changed the face of rap and took it down a road I turned off a very long time ago. I will always dig the beats, though. Around this time the 80s kicked in, quite healthily at first with the genius of Dave Wakeling’s Beat, 2 Tone, and a generally fresh atmosphere after punks explosion opened everything up. I bought various pop 45s, but later could only count the Jesus and Mary Chain and The Smiths as really worth bothering with. By the late 80s I had begun to play music myself, playing with Dave Kusworth’s great Rag Dolls, and then Jacobites. After this, I became infatuated with 50s rock & Roll. I had flat top hair, wore a 50s suit for a while. I saw a great theatre play about Eddie Cochrane’s last tour, which had a live band featuring Joe Brown. I think he played on that last fateful tour, in ‘61. It was a tour with Gene Vincent. The play and especially the 50s music- sounding as it did, replicated brilliantly in an old theatre, was such a thrill. I went back to the cheap seats night after night. I bought a load of 50s compilation albums by all my favourites like Eddie, Gene Vincent, Buddy Holly, The Everly Brothers, and Sun era Elvis. Was influenced by the Elvis ‘68 TV special. I learnt to play all the guitar solos from these primitive sounding early singles, sitting up night after night alone with a couple of cans of Special Brew and 10 B&H, putting the needle back to the start of the solo again and again as I learnt the parts. It was an essential musical grounding. It taught me how to play guitar, and improved my bass playing a lot.

The Small Faces

Back to grunge, I was and am a big fan of Neil Young, grandaddy of grunge with his Live Rust album. I used to play real heavy like Neil back in those days, but the air cleared for me somewhat with Britpop. Oasis were a revelation, I like the best of the rest such as Common People by Pulp, and occasionally a Blur single. There were other good singles around the fringes, and some crap but I think it was overall not a bad time. Oasis were incredible. Listen to Morning Glory, its opening music states unequivocally who the greatest band in the world were at the time, who were the top dogs. Not all easy people, but songs like Sad Song for me confirm George Martin’s claim that Noel Gallagher was the best songwriter of his generation. Sad song and Rock & Roll Star had melodies as good as Joni Mitchell, and they were Noel’s. Suede were a great, earlier band. Supergrass and Dodgy were way above average.
The Stairs made a great retro 60s record called Weed Bus – you should hear it, just fantastic. See Youtube?? Sorry the chronology is a little muddled here. The Stairs and Suede were pre Britpop, I think. After this there seemed to be a void. OK Travis made the odd good single, there were always a very few good records about. But it was only when The Strokes came out that I turned on to modern music again. I’m a fan, and White Stripes are an important band for me. I appreciated Franz Ferdinand up to a point. I liked The Hives. There was a major shift in the pop aesthetic, with bands like Kasabian emerging, and the 80s becoming chic. I like early 80s primitive electro, I am still intrigued by the earlier electronic shenanigans of Kraftwerk. I am fond of The Human League, and even Soft Cell.
But, however fascinating the shifting tapestry of pop may continue to be, nothing has come along which fascinates me as much as the primitive, reverb drenched sounds of 50s and 60s music. POP music. It has been recognised by top record producers that digital sound leaves something lacking to many ears, I was amazed when I heard my stuff firstly purely digitally, then through valves. The difference is enormous. The crips clarity goes, when you record through valves. I don’t like crisp chilly clarity one bit. And so with my vintage reverbs, valves, and ribbon microphones, and natural room ambience, I make my musical statement. Also we are now experimenting with reel to reel tape, and tape overload. Sounds great. I believe in having a great song to start with. You need a good concise structured song. It has to have great melodies and lyrics. Then, good musical hooks, good sounds on all the instruments, and good production. I hope I can deliver always this to you. The second Village Green Machine album is provisionally titled Life With The Lid Off. It is very strong.

The Killing Of Sister George

Sorry I never got to do a comedy review this week, but will hopefully review 70s classic The Rag Trade next week.
A favourite film of mine is The Killing Of Sister George starring the peerless Beryl Reed, and the lovely Susan George, with Coral Brown playing the predatory lesbian role. I watched this on rotation while on holiday in a caravan in Wales recently. Beryl played an incorrigable rough and ready dyke, who in the film starred in a really corny 60s TV soap about country life. Throughout The Killing Of Sister George we are treated to eminently banal snippets of this dreadful afternoon trash, in which Beryl is a country doctor visiting patients on her scooter. The television company want to oust her from the soap, so the plot of the film proper evolves along the lines of Beryl’s removal as a character. She is a drunk, hilariously jumping into a taxi with two beautiful young nuns whom she heartily fancies,

Sister George

This film and Entertaining Mr Sloane also starring Reed are certainly two high points of 60s film for me, unlike The Knack (and how to get it) starring Michael Crawford and Rita Tushingham. It soon curries disfavour as the most notable feature is the systematic, literal demolishing of a very attractive art deco house. To me, it all smacks of 60s avant garde drama, (sixth form drama group vibe) its experimental trickery now light years in the past. However, it does feature some great clothes and cars in black and white, although I doubt it will ever be more than a period oddity to me.

The Church In The Garden is just one of Mark Lemon’s Letter from England blogzines found at the Village Green Machine website.

Today, it’s all the way back to that crazy Christmas of 1991, when between The Return Of The Magic Roundabout and that awful Up Pompeii! revival special, a certain floppy-fringed indie band tried to get a way with a bit of no money for sleighbell-enhanced old rope…

The Stone Roses - The Stone Roses (1989)

One of my all-time favourite records, but I won’t even try to write about the music here. If you do a search for “stone roses” online I bet you can find a hundred thousand blog entries about “a legend” and “heroes” – because that is what a lot of British people think The Stone Roses were. They simply love them, especially in (and around) Manchester, where the band was from.

If you wanna know about the music, check out youtube and the likes, the most popular songs are I Wanna Be Adored, She Bangs The Drums, Waterfall, Sugar Spun Sister, Made of Stone and I Am The Ressurection. For a single record, The Stone Roses has a lot of hits – I heard that all but two of the songs on this record have been released as singles. And the record is still incredibly popular after 20 years.

In 2006, the NME, weekly music magazine infamous for putting gossip over music, had their readers vote for the best album of all times, and, at the same time, the best British album of all times. Oasis‘ Definitely Maybe was voted as the best record ever, but only came third in the best British record poll. The Stone Roses “only” reached number seven in the first poll, but were still voted the best British record of all times. You may think that’s ironic, but apparently, for the Brits it takes something special to become the British number One.

Now, I think Oasis are an extraordinarily British band. Union Jack iconography and Beatles references are only two things they use to show this. But that is something that not only Britain understands – it’s something the whole world is familiar with. The Stone Roses are extraordinarily British, as well, but their Britishness may be more subtle. It could well be that it is not something as tangible as a Union Jack stage display, but rather an attitude that has developed in their fans minds. Live footage of Oasis always shows extreme devotion of the audience, but the fans are just as devoted when they attend an Ian Brown (who was the Stone Roses singer) gig. They are so loyal in their support of the bands that their praise of the records (“legends” and “heroes”) may sometimes seem exxagerated. But Oasis have been a globally succesful band, while The Stone Roses remained national heroes with a strong tie to their local identity. This notion of regionalism is what makes them essentially British, I think.

I bought this record when I was in the city The Stones Roses came from, Manchester. I hate the record. I mean, I love the record itself very much, but I hat the copy I own. It is a cheap yellow vinyl bootleg copy with a bad quality print. There are disctracting noises at the beginning of side A. At first I thought thatis because the record is so bent that the edge of the cartridge scratches on the surface of the record when I play it. But after careful examination I realised it is not bent that badly. Instead, there are probably some heavy scratches on the record, which I just cannot see, because the vinyl is yellow. I had not thought about it before I got the record, but I realised afterwards that it is good to get original editions. or at least black proper ones. I wont buy a coloured vinyl again!

I never listen to this record. One day I’ll take the time to hunt down a first pressing, thought I it is really hard to get one.  Because all the Brits cling to their copies so much.

At 25 years, Ian Brown has been in the music business for as long as I’ve been on the earth, and with his sixth solo album ‘My Way’ recently released to good reviews, shows no sign of bowing out anytime soon. But the swaggering Northerner’s success can not be taken for granted; after all, the smart money was on lead guitarist John Squire to become the big solo sensation when The Stone Roses split, and seemed likely to do so with the successful release of The Seahorses’ ‘Do It Yourself’ in 1997. Yet the band’s sound quickly dated and after The Independent referred to his 2002 solo debut, ‘Time Changes Everything’, as “one of the most pointless releases of the year”, Squire decided to concentrate on his art.

Instead it was front man Brown who emerged the lone star, proving able to stun and satisfy his loyal following nearly 15 years on from the dissolution of Madchester’s biggest baggy band.  Being without a traditionally great voice or any obvious technical command over music, there remains an unwritten rule that the singer must continue to justify his top dog – or should that be monkey – status; and with each new release he rises to the challenge, exceeding expectations by remaining current, changeable and ambitious. Take his former band out of the equation and Brown’s solo work validates him as one of pop’s most innovative musical talents on its own merit.  

Unfinished Monkey Business (1997)

The resounding feel of Brown’s first lone venture was just as it said on the tin – unfinished. Many songs seem based on half ideas, thrown together and hurriedly executed. And while the dirge of single ‘My Star’ earned Brown the joint highest chart position of his solo career (‘Dolphins Were Monkeys’ also charted at #5), this was more likely due to a hangover effect from the heady days of the Roses’ than its own musical merit. However, the album offered up a few hints of the greatest that was to come from Brown. The potent, brooding guitar riff and soulful harmonica solo in ‘Corpses in Their Mouths’ proved hypnotic, while the lyrics, slamming music industry hangers-on, indicated that there was more to Brown than the swagger we knew from the Roses.

Highlights: Corpses in Their Mouths, Nah Nah

Golden Greats (1999)

Partly written while Brown was serving a spell in Strangeways for an alleged air-rage outburst, Golden Greats layers feelings of claustrophobia and frustration over industrial electronic beats and sophisticated psychedelic textures. While marking a departure from the classicalist song structures of the Roses and clearly cutting ties with his former-fellow-songwriter, the album is packed with powerful riffs and hooks and remains Brown’s most vehement work to date.  ‘Golden Greats’ established Brown as a man with great musical ambitions, the capabilities to proficiently execute his ideas and above all, as a force to be reckoned with.

Highlights: Gettin’ High, Free My Way, Set my Baby Free, Golden Gaze

Music of the Spheres (2001)

His most consistent solo album, ‘Music of the Spheres’ saw Brown in pensive mood, teaming spectral vocals with soaring astral arrangements to create an astoundingly rich ride. The sharp word-play, shattering strings, lush acoustic guitars and spacey beats on Brown’s most well-loved hit F.E.A.R. sum-up the album in one perfect four-and-a-half-minute trip; cementing the King Monkey’s lucrative love affair with loaded orchestral arrangements and mechanical beats. It also saw Brown’s sole straight-up ballad, ‘El Mundo Pequeno’ – sung entirely in Spanish -, reveal the growing influence of his Mexican wife.

Highlights: F.E.A.R, The Gravy Train, Northern Lights, Whispers

Solarized (2004)

The two singles from Brown’s fourth solo album, ‘Keep What Ya’ Got’ – featuring Noel Gallagher – and ‘Time is my Everything’, represented a return to more traditional pop structures. However, this being Brown, something new had to be brought to the table – in this case, mariachi trumpets reminiscent of Love’s ‘Alone Again Or’. The album proved accessible and up-beat, with catchy melodies and mystical textures; be it lacking the impressive arrangements of MOTS.  ‘Solarized’ also saw Brown dip his toe in the dubious waters of political comment with ‘Kiss Ya Lips (no I.D.)’, in training to take the plunge on ‘The World is Yours’.

Highlights: Time if my Everything, Solarized, The Sweet Fantastic, Keep What Ya Got

The World is Yours (2007)

Arguably one of his best works, ‘The World is Yours’ hailed the return of MOTS’s rich orchestral arrangements to the point that, stripped back from the lyrics, it could have served as a James Bond sound-track. Full of suspense, conviction and menace, the tapestry woven by soaring strings, triumphant trumpet outbursts and screaming electric guitars rendered Brown’s cliches and laboured assertions of inarguable truths about the state of the world – “Save us from warmongers who’d bring on Armageddon; Save us from all of those whose eyes are closed to the plight of the African child” – forgivable.

Highlights: The World is Yours, Sister Rose, Save Us, Some Folks are Hollow, Eternal Flame

My Way (2009)

While the cliches remain in Brown’s latest offering, hear ‘The Crowning of the Poor’, for example, the dirty dance beats of ‘Marathon Man’ and ‘Own Brain’ – an anagram of Brown’s “own name”, as he helpfully points out – and bouncy keyboard riff of single ‘Stellify’ make it most comparable to the swagger of ‘Golden Greats’.  The album’s hidden gem is arguably the understated ‘For the Glory’, which sees a retrospective Brown deliver a shimmering chorus and glittering middle-eight over ricocheting beats, with the help of prolific hit-writer, and new president of Brown’s Epic label, Amanda Ghost.

Highlights: For the Glory, Marathon Man, Own Brain

John Squire, Brit guitarist with The Stone Roses

Ah, the soul boys of the 80s. Even the NME, in 1985, was ranking What’s Going On as the best album of all time, before they decided old albums didn’t mean shit unless they directly influenced The Stone Roses. This edict has topped the commandments for 20 years and counting. Anyway, the soul boys of the 80s. Hipsway, sporting towering piles of Brylcreem, were formed by ex-Altered Image and future Texan Johnny McElhone but were all about gorgeous, pouting singer Skin. Well, Skin and – on ‘The Honeythief’ – a Chic riff that could carry a song alone. The 12” extended mix which, unusually for an 80s version, doesn’t rely (exclusively) on an elongated drum fill to pad it out, shows the riff in all its clipped glory and can be frugged to below.

Junior liked “the tune and the singing”, which has to be a ringing, riffing endorsement. But it wasn’t all gravy – the word “honeythief” sparked gales of laughter. Not so cool now, Skin.

Sleek, big cat:

Hyvää lauantaipäivää KOTKAFANIT!

Iloisia uutisia: palasin hengissä Tallinnasta ja risteilyltä. Ei niin iloisia uutisia: VIRALLISTA risteilyraporttia joudutte vielä odottamaan. Kuvausteknisistä syistä en ole vielä saanut haltuuni laivalla otettuja valokuvia, eikä risteilyraportti ole risteilyraportti ilman hassunhauskoja kuvia.

Tänään on taas toiminnantäyteinen päivä. Juuri nyt syön JUGURTTIA kotona. Olisin juonut myös teetä, mutta Ikeasta ostetut teepalloni (samanlaiset kuin Espresso Edgessä) olivat homehtuneet, koska en ollut tiskannut niitä viikkoon. EI NÄIN! Nukuin aika pitkään koska väsytti rankan risteilyn jälkeen. Jos jaksan, menen ehkä arkistoon ennen sählyhöntsyjä. Illalla tiedossa on isoa KOTKA MEININKIÄ, kun kansakunnan nuoret toivot liitävät Venäjä-bileisiin. It’s going to be massive!

Tässä kirjotuksessa keskityn top3 ELEFANTTIAIHEISIIN popkappaleisiin. Syitä tähän on monia: tykkään listoista (suosittelen kaikille listafaneille lämpimästi Nick Hornbyn kirjaa High Fidelity, sekä samannimistä elokuvaa. Suomeksi Uskollinen äänentoisto), elefanteista ja popkappaleista. Kaikille elefanttifaneille suosittelen hassunhauskaa piirroselokuvaa Horton (ääninä Jim Carrey ja Steve Carell). Popkappalefaneille suosittelen spotifyn hankkimista mahdollisimman pian.

Elefantti on savanneilla elävä ISO harmaa nisäkäs. Elefantilla on iso kärsä ja isot hampaat.

3. Damien Rice – Elephant (“http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LZ0ASiUuttc)

Damien Rice on irlantilainen laulaja-lauluntekijä, joka on julkaissut kaksi pitkäsoittoa. Elephant on uudemmalta, 9-nimiseltä albumilta (nimi ei ilmeisesti viittaa Ricen varpaiden määrään). Elephant on ihan kiva balladi, mutta ei missään nimessä Ricen parhaita kappaleita. Laulussa Rice laulaa kahdesta MIMMISTÄ, joista toinen osaa maalata elefantin paremmin kuin toinen. Luultavasti elefantin maalaaminen on toissijainen ominaisuus Ricen mimmisuhteissa ja viittaa johonkin ihan muuhun, mutta koska en tunne Ricea, en voi olla varma.

2. The Stone Roses – Elephant Stone (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FfzQLZtCZSY)

The Stone Roses on 1980- ja 1990-luvuilla skulannut rokkibändi Manchesterista. Elephant Stone julkaistiin singlenä ja se löytyy yhtyeen Stone Roses -nimisen debyyttialbumin US-versiolta. Elephant Stone on ehdottoman hauska kipale, jossa on vaikutteita tanssirytmeistä. Erinomainen yhdistelmä rokkia ja kreisibailumeininkiä. COOL! Sanat eivät kerro varsinaisesti elefanteista, vaan (jälleen kerran) MIMMEISTÄ. Laulun päähenkilö on ilmeisesti saanut pakit ja kertoo siitä kappaleessa.

Joskus kun juttelee jollekin mimmille, voi saada pakit. Kuvassa työkalupakki.

1. Beirut – Elephant Gun (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N-mqhkuOF7s)

Beirut on paitsi kaupunki (hyviä rafloja, makee rantabulevardi, singonreikiä talojen seinissä), myös Zach Condonin luotsaama bändi. Beirut tekee just sellaista musaa, josta ei voi olla tykkäämättä. Hauskoja popkappaleita, jossa on HAITAREITA, TRUMPETTEJA ja älyttömiä sanoituksia. Elephant Gun on vuonna 2007 ilmestyneeltä Elephant Gun ep:ltä. Mulla ei ole hajuakaan mistä kappaleen sanoitukset kertoo, mutta koska siinä mainitaan elefantti, se hyväksytään tälle listalle. Kannattaa tsekata myös kreisin värikäs ja hauska musavideo!

Nauttikaa viikonlopusta. Viikonloppu on ehkä kaikkein parasta KOTKA-AIKAA, koska silloin voi sekä sekoilla että lepäillä. BIG UP!

Hannah Claydon is the guest blogger this week and guess what?  She’s Forever Manchester!   

“Manchester changed the world’s politics: from vegetarianism to feminism to trade unionism to communism, every upstart notion that ever got ideas above its station, every snotty street-fighter of a radical philosophy, was fostered brawling in Manchester’s streets, mills, pubs, churches and debating halls.” – Stuart Maconie

So, what made me decide to go to University in Manchester as a Mancunian who could have gone anywhere in the U.K.? Well, that’s easy! Whether it’s having a taster of the V.I.P. treatment at Sankeys, mingling with Liam Fray; frontman of Manchester band The Courteeners in 42nd Street, settling down for an acoustic set at Abode in Chorlton or simply having a long lunch and a gossip over tea and biscuits in Mr. Scruff inspired café ‘Cup’ in the Northern Quarter with the girls, there is no better place for me!

University of Manchester

Not to mention the fact that Karl Marx and Fredreich Engels resided on the spot where Whitworth Park Halls of Residence now stand, or the fact that The University of Manchester is now third place nationally, behind only Cambridge and Oxford. What a proud position to be in as someone who is Mancunian born and bred.

During the past few weeks, I have been to see The Maccabees at the Student Union, a gig which eventually descended into chaos, at which point lead singer Orlando Weeks had to step in during his rendition of my personal favourite ‘Precious Time’ to calm things down. This was followed days later by a trip to the Apollo to see Newcastle band Maximo Park. As always, lead singer Paul Smith got the crowd going with energetic performances of ‘Books from Boxes’, ‘Our Velocity’ and ‘Acrobat’ to name but a few, accompanied by his now infamous high jumps and hip-wiggles.

 Yes, having the beautiful John Rylands Library as a place to study admittedly makes revision and research times more bearable, as does much deserved afternoon trips to vintage stores in the Northern Quarter! Although I have to confess, the removal of the Morrissey montage on the side of Afflecks Palace is a little upsetting.

At the moment, I am studying Victorian Britain and to think that the industrial gem of the North was such a successful town for trade just shows why and how Manchester has reason to celebrate its reputation as a place in which business and creativity can coexist so easily; all these years after Manchester was established as the city which epitomised Victorian values of industry and merchantry.

One of my favourite things about being a student and growing up in Manchester is its diversity; from Oriental cuisine in China Town to authentic curries in Rusholme, Manchester has something for everyone. I have to tell you all that I’ve recently discovered Fruli, a continental beer on offer in many quirkier bars such as Odder and many in the Northern Quarter, as well as Trof in Fallowfield and The Deaf Institute; just off Oxford Road. It’s delicious!

During the summer, as always, I travelled to Leeds Festival. Of course, acts like Kings of Leon, Radiohead, Placebo and The Arctic Monkeys delivered great sets. But, for me, it was Stone Roses frontman and Mancunian legend Ian Brown who delivered the ultimate showstopper. He began his set exclaiming “right, let’s have some fun…Are you all gonna have a bop?” This was followed by his infamous swagger which accompanied classics such as F.E.A.R. and Fools Gold.

 So, I think it’s easy to see why I chose to go to University in Manchester, despite the fact I grew up in this fantastic city. I just love everything it stands for. Essentially, I am Forever Manchester!

Hannah

Blimey Hannah, when do you get chance to study?  Anyway, keep living the dream. 

Hannah has also contributed a poem that you can read on the Forever Manchester website: http://forevermanchester.com/supporters

More ramblings from me to follow soon, in the meantime here is a pearl of wisdom from the bottom of Soap Street near the excellent This & That Cafe (which is also Forever Manchester) in the Northern Quarter.

Chris

For once I’d like to deviate the attention on this blogsite from The Camerawalls by sharing a piece of documented relevance with answers to the question “Who was Ian Sarabia before The Camerawalls?”

Ian is a music enthusiast who calls San Francisco his home during the duration of his stay in the US to study Film & Art, trying to live a life less ordinary. I don’t recall the reason why he went back to the Philippines, all I can remember is that he used to help manage a family owned bar he named Amoeba (after that record bar in Haight & Ashbury streets) situated in the same spot where Club Dredd in Eastwood Citywalk now operates. He grew tired of the place one night and randomly found his way in a Makati watering hole called Gweilos where Orange & Lemons regularly perform. We met and it wasn’t love at first sight… he just loved what he heard and the original music we performed, a breather from his distaste for popular OPM he simply cannot relate with. That was 2004. So from then on he continued to patronize my old band till we became best buddies. He goes by the name Bryan.

Bryan and Clem after an O&L gig at Gweilos Bar (August 18, 2004)

We shared the same level of passion for music particularly with Britpop. We often hang out at his place getting intoxicated with alcohol and Beatles records/videos/documentaries (among others) and endless talks about music, life and love. He introduced me to the music of The Stone Roses, one of his musical icons and to Vodka, his daily nourishment. I was amused with his idealism and free-thinkin’-not-a-care-in-the-world attitude and his love for Madchester.

Bryan appears to be a Pinoy version of Ian Brown especially when he is in the zone while the baggy beats is on air and alcohol is kicking in. We even call him “Monkey Boy” for that near perfect display of ‘Mank Attitude.’ This amusement made me want to form a band for Bryan.

Enthused with the idea we embarked on a search for proper band mates ending up with a who’s who line up of musicians to back him up like Boom Jose of Violent Playground, Dylan Vizcarra (NU 107 DJ/Jack TV Host), Jerome Velasco of The Teeth/Daydream Cycle and KT Dela Cruz. And the following year CONDO GUZ was born with reference to endless nights lazing in his condo unit.  Accordingly, Bryan christened himself with a new name to suit his ultra cool, rock and roll imaging. From then on he was known as SID.

Condo Guz (from L-R: Boom, KT, Dylan, Nick, and Sid)

I have no idea how they pulled it off since things started getting busy and crazy with O&L promoting a new album, Sid and I hardly had time to catch up. And one night our music coincide with both of us playing in the same venue. His band and mine on the 9th of November 2005 performing baggy music no one dares to. And yeah, we were greatly entertained. Watch the video below of Condo Guz performing an excellent cover of a  Stone Roses tune called “She Bangs The Drums.”

Little do we know that the two of us will eventually end up as bandmates after 4 years of friendship bringing everything to another level. However uncertain I am on how Condo Guz came to an end, or how inexperienced Sid is behind the drumkit. I have every reason to follow my instincts of offering him a proper career as a musician. Friendship, passion, strong values and principles  — key ingredients for a lasting relationship as a band.

Many scorned at the idea. Some even called me desperate. I was approached by a number of seasoned musician with tempting offers. I just shrugged it off and patiently went on and christened him with a new name which is a duck soup to pronounce but spells two of the most influential music icons (Joy Division and The Stone Roses)  — IAN.

Now tell me, did I made the right choice? Oh, yes I did… since day one. 

- Clementine

La vida de The Stone Roses va ser tan curta com intensa, tan productiva com destructiva, convertint-los en l’última gran llegenda del pop britànic. En només un any, 88-89, van aconseguir definir el pop dels temps futurs, per després caure en l’autodestrucció per culpa del seu propi ego, el mateix ego que a la cap i a la fi els va fer tan grans.

Elephant Stone (1988), el seu tercer single, els va posar en el punt de mira de la crítica musical britànica, veient en ells els futurs herois d’una nova generació. I no n’havia per menys; els gairebé cinc minuts d’ Elephant Stones eren dels millors que s’havien escoltat en el món de la música en els darrers anys, creant una única personalitat: melodies beatlelianes, la psicodèlia de la Costa Oeste americana, l’actitud irreverent i desafiadora dels Sex Pistols, la contundència de Joy Division i l’eufòria rítmica de l’Acid House; havia nascut el so Manchester. Un any després s’editava The Stone Roses, un disc carregat d’himnes amb vocació de clàssics, amb l’ inici captivador d’ I Wanna be Adored, la frenètica She Bangs the Drums i la colorista Made of Stone, temes que van projectar a la banda més enllà de les Ïlles, convertint-se en el grup més important del moment. El mateix any editarien el single Fools Gold, la prolongació necessària del seu debut. El tema comença allà on acabava I Am the Resurrection, i resumia en 10 minuts tot el que era la banda. Un altre single, One Love (1989), posaria punt i final a la primera i gloriosa etapa de la banda. A partir d’aquí tot va començar anar per uns altres terrenys, entrant en una guerra amb la seva discogràfica, Silvertone, per anul·lar el seu contracte per poder fitxar per Geffen, a més dels problemes en la gravació del segon disc, procés pel que van passar un gran nombre de productors; tampoc van faltar baralles amb la premsa britànica. Finalment, el 1994 aconsegueixen editar The Second Comming, un disc infravalorat, no acaba d’agradar a ningú, la qual cosa porta tensions entre els membres del grup, fet que comporta desercions: primer Reni, el bateria, i posteriorment, John Squire, guitarra. Això fa que al 1996 Ian Brown i Mani, després d’un nefast concert al Festival de Reading, decideixin acabar amb el grup.

Per cel·lebrar el vintè aniversari de la edició de The Stone Roses, la discogràfica Silverstone ha tornat a posar a les estanteries de totes les tendes discs vàries reedicions de l’àlbum. La primera un CD doble on hi trobem el disc i un segon titulat The Lost Demos, on podem comprovar els procés de gestació de l’àlbum. La segona edició, en vinil amb carpeta doble; i la tercera una espectacular box, que inclou: el vinil, 2 cd’s, un dvd en directe, un llibre de fotografies i una llimona-usb, amb tots els seus singles i les seves cares b en versió digital.

Amb el pas del temps, The Stone Roses ha acabat esdevenint tot un clàssic del pop britànic, a l’alçada de qualsevol nom que us passi pel cap; el seu debut és un dels treballs més influents de tots els temps, marcant les pautes de grups com: Primal Scream, The Verve, The Brian Jonestown Massacre, Oasis o els U2 d’Achtung Baby.

I’ve noticed that the weather just keeps on sucking.  Rain, clouds, lame lame lame!

I have a solution!

ArmsUp is playing with The Band Ef TONIGHT at the Roxy on Broadway.  Come drink, be merry and hear music from two of Saskatoon’s great bands.  I actually talked to Ef today in the mall and he was as excited, if not more than I am about the show.

If you work tomorrow there are a few options: 1. Skip your lame job and come out tonight. 2. Join Voyno’s and my push for a 4 day work week. Or 3. Come see us on Saturday at Louis’.  It’s up to thou.

Peace,Love&GoodVibes
SnowDove,ArmsUp

p.s. Be there or be square.  Though Square has lost its cultural potency after many years.

…well it was a very close-run thing, but just edging half a point ahead (and actually due to his specialist subject rather than his expert knowledge of the Large Hadron Particle Collider) is A Ben Baker Of Keighley – congratulations on becoming the Out On Blue Six Telly Addicts Champion Of Champions 2009. And here to present your prize is Annwan Glover, TV ”Slim Charles” (Wire):

‘Normal’ Out On Blue Six will resume shortly…

Yes, it’s the absolute 100% final round of Telly Addicts, by the end of which we will have discovered who is the Out On Blue Six Telly Addicts Champion Of Champions 2009 Xtreem! So, finalists, here are your questions on your chosen specialist subjects…

1. What ‘number’ was Cutthroat Bitch?

2. Which member of the team refused to assist when House was taken hostage?

3. Why was Ridiculously Old Fraud considered unsuitable for House’s team?

4. Which of the following is not a genuine remix of Teardrop by Massive Attack – Scream Team Remix, Mad Professor Mazaruni Mix, Teardrop ‘88 by thewomb Featuring MC It’s Never Lupus?

5. What did House name his pet rat?

6. Which semi-regular character from season five was considered for their own spinoff series?

7. How did Kutner get himself into the Guinness Book Of Records?

8. In 1986, Phil Cool made a guest appearance in House as a ‘rubber-faced’ patient whose face had become locked in position – true or false?

9. Which Hitchcock film does Wilson have framed poster art from on his office wall?

10. How many superconducting magnets – not counting the conducting magnets – are installed in the Large Hadron Particle Collider?

South Park (Garreth):

1. Which Monty Python sketch did Cartman and Kenny re-enact for BBC2’s Python Night?

2. What were Roostallion, Lambtron and Shoe?

3. How, according to the episode Cartoon Wars Part II, is Family Guy written?

4. What was the b-side of Come Sail Away by Styx?

5. What was the name of Randy Marsh’s former boy band?

6. Who introduced the episode Pip as ‘A British Person’?

7. What is the Tynacorp RG-400 Smart Towel better known as?

8. In 1986, over six thousand viewers complained to the BBC over the ‘inappropriate’ scheduling of South Park The Movie: Bigger Longer Uncut on Christmas Eve – true or false?

9. How did Cartman’s Confederate Army plan to blackmail Bill Clinton?

10. What occurs in the Large Hadron Particle Collider at discrete intervals of 25 nanoseconds?

The Tomorrow People (Bob):

1. Where was Spidron’s spacecraft hidden?

2. Which character was supposedly the son of a policeman?

3. What was the official spelling of Elizabeth’s surname?

4. Which band recorded an unused updating of the original theme music intended for the 1992 revival?

5. Which of the following is not the title of one of the tie-in novels – Three In Three, Four Into Three, Three In Four?

6. What was the name of the painting that alerted The Tomorrow People to the alien plot in The Blue And The Green?

7. Under what name did Mike Holoway’s band Flintlock appear in the series?

8. In 1986, the original cast reunited for a ‘Where Are They Now?’ feature on Max Headroom’s Worl-Worl-World Of Tomorrow – true or false?

9. Nicholas Lyndhurst made a guest appearance in which unlikely guise?

10. At what percentage of the speed of light do particles move in the Large Hadron Particle collider after achieving a Lorentz Factor of about 7,500?

So, there are your questions… let’s have your answers!

What a weekend! Friday night was an all English affair in NYC for me. It started off nicely with a win in my Friday night Football (Soccer for our American friends) league and then continued with seeing the almighty Happy Mondays at the Roseland Ballroom. I walked in just as Shaun Ryder started to belt out the first lines to Loose Fit while he stood still under the psychedelic style lighting covering the stage. Happy Mondays are a notorious part of the Manchester music scene. Alongside The Stone Roses in the mid 80’s, the Happy Mondays created a new trend of music using indie pop guitar with a rhythmic style that owed much to house music, funk, and northern soul. With many of their tracks being remixed by popular Dj’s and their 3rd studio album Pills ‘n’ Thrills and Bellyaches produced by Paul Oakenfold in 1990 it emphasized the dance/rave influence within the band.

The Happy Mondays and  Shaun Ryder came to a rocky end when Shaun’s drug addictions to cocaine and heroin got the best of him. There was also a dispute between record labels which prevented the band from recording for more than 6 years.

Shaun, Bez and the rest of the Happy Mondays finally reunited and recorded Uncle Dysfunktional in 2007 and are now zig zagging across the States with tour performances that would make any band proud!

Their story in part is shown in the cult favourite film 24 Hour Party People.

‘You’re twisting my melons man’ – Shaun Ryder, legend!
____________________________________________________________

Yes folks, it’s time for the super-tricky quickfire round, with twenty five questions designed to fox even the addicts-est of Telly Addicts. See how many you can get right, or failing that, see how many you can get wrong…

1. Who or what was Slim John?
2. What was the only record owned by ‘Radio Goodies’?
3. What was unusual about Bell’s house in Nightingales (apart from the fact that he lived in it)?
4. On which two programmes was Roland Rat seen to be hit with a cricket bat?
5. What was the first power, other than Empathic Mimicry, displayed by Peter Petrelli in Heroes?
6. In which magical kingdom would you find Queen Caroline, Pongo The Dragon and Mr Weatherspoon?
7. Name one of the three ‘other’ tenants that made more than one appearance on Rising Damp.
8. When Kenny remarked “e’s dead, chief!” in The Tomorrow People, who was ‘E’?
9. What were A Tune For Lucy and Sara’s Tune?
10. Russell T. Davies’ reinvented Doctor Who was great – True or False?
11. What was the name of the Parishioner who asked Father Unwin to look after the miniaturisation device in The Secret Service?
12. What was the name of the local policeman in Trumpton?
13. Who was the first of The Delegates to be exterminated in Doctor Who And The Dalek Masterplan?
14. By what names are Reginald Cousins, Remy Hadley and Rene Son Of Guilliame better known?
15. “There’s Baron Von Butcher, you’d better beware, he’s ruthless and he’s cunning and he don’t play fair” is a line from the theme song of which series?
16. Who were Benjamin Knox Washington, Jesse Murphy, Flint Gordon Jnr, ‘The German’, Baron Samedi, Eric Doyle and Stephen Canfield?
17. Similarly, who were Big Love, Grumpy, Ridiculously Old Fraud and Cut-Throat Bitch?
18. In which series was ‘Strom’, the invented language from A Bit Of Fry & Laurie, first heard?
19. “Hiding in the bushes was a watchful pair of eyes, and living in the valley were people lost in time” – where?
20. How did Dexter help Camilla Figg to commit assisted suicide?
21. How did Baron Bartram sabotage Mr Benn’s hot air balloon?
22. Which of the following were still alive at the conclusion of The Wire – Namond Brice, ‘Slim Charles’, Nick Sobotka, Spiros Vondas, Commander Stan Valcheck?
23. Which of The Two Ronnies dressed up as Adam Ant for the most baffling musical parody of all time?
24. What did WPC Annie Cartwright study at University?
25. What were the names of the three other children (apart from Florence) in The Magic Roundabout?

…and there you have it! Get your answers to this, and any other round you haven’t entered yet, in by the end of the week, and the three highest scoring contestants will go on to their own chosen specialist subjects in ‘On The Box’…

and a cassette

I’ve never seen The Stone Roses’ first lp outside someone’s collection.  I guess that will change now though, since it was recently reissued.

01/Done Somebody Wrong – The Allman Brothers Band
02/Surf’s Up – The Beach Boys
03/Top Ranking – Blonde Redhead
04/Blue Condition – Cream
05/Blue Blue Ocean – Echo & The Bunnymen
06/Baby Blue – Badfinger
07/Mood Indigo – Frank Sinatra
08/Grey Day – Madness
09/La Pour Ca – Nada Surf
10/Shoot You Down – The Stone Roses

Um, yeah, in case you didn’t get what the theme of the playlist is, look at the titles of tracks 4-6. In anticipation of a brighter week, I’m drowning myself in melancholy all day tomorrow to get it out of my system.

“I’m standing warm against the cold
Now that the flames have taken hold”

Banda amada e odiada por muita gente, eu curto o som e por isso vou disponibilizar alguns b-sides.

Faixas:

Whatever

Carry Us All

D’yer Wanna Be A Spaceman

Eyeball Tickler

(I Got) The Fever

It’s Better People

Just Getting Older

Let’s All Make Believe

One Way Road

Pass Me Down The Wine

Round Are Way

Sitting Here In Silence (On My Own)

Take Me Away

Thank You For The Good Times

The Fame

Up In The Sky (Acoustic)

(You’ve Got) The Heart Of A Star

Alive

Angel Child

(As Long As They’ve Got) Cigarettes In Hell

Cloudburst

Flashbax

Full On

Helter Skelter

Idler’s Dream

I Will Believe (Live)

My Generation

My Sister Lover

Shout It Out Loud

The Quiet Ones

Wont Let You Down

Cum On Feel The Noize

Heroes

Street Fighting Man

LINK – B-Sides

Parece com? The Verve, The Stone Roses.

Vídeo com a música (You’ve Got) The Heart Of A Star.

Enjoy o/

The remastered and re-issued version of their album Legacy received a perfect 10 on Pitchfork. Check out the review here!

This week’s new releases that I am interested in are all… reissues of old records.

In case you live under a rock, this week brings remastered reissues of The Beatles back catalog. It is exciting for me because I only have the old albums on vinyl – I never did the original run of Beatles CDs in the ’80s or the reissues in the ’90s. If you have the big bucks (and can find it in a store) you can get them all together as a box set with a bonus DVD. I am choosing to go with the individual albums – I am a big fan of the later years, so I’m skipping some of the early stuff. From what I’ve managed to hear so far these reissues sound fantastic – crisp and clean and loud. So if you don’t already own ‘em I would recommend picking up a few.

The Stone Roses – Shoot You Down
The Stone Roses’ self titled debut turned 20 years old this year, and this week it gets the deluxe 20th anniversary “legacy edition” treatment. In my musical kingdom it is almost as important as The Beatles records – a classic British rock record. Back in the day it was my fave for a long time. Remastered by original producer John Leckie and singer Ian Brown, it includes the original album with Fools Gold added as a bonus track, and a second CD of “The Lost Demos”. You also get a DVD with a live show recorded in August of 1989 at the Empress Ballroom in Blackpool as well as 6 music videos. It is a glorious reissue of a seminal album. It has been reissued before, but I stuck with my original issue CD. The old CD is a lot quieter than today’s releases so I am pleased with the improved sound quality for sure! Haven’t listened to the demos yet – not usually my thing – but have watched some of the live stuff and videos and it is all good! Shoot You Down is all about the guitar and shuffle-y beats – glorious!

The Feelies – Slipping (Into Something)
A couple of classic reissues from The Feelies hit stores this week too – Crazy Rhythms & The Good Earth. I was short on fundage so I went with The Good Earth from 1986. Produced by REM’s Peter Buck, it is a fantastic set of VU inspired, jangly college rock that sounds just as good today as it did 23 years ago! The only annoyance is that the bonus content is not on the CD – you get a code to download three extra songs. Seems a bit goofy really, but whatever. Slipping (Into Something) is slow burning simmer with sinuous guitar that slowly builds into a storm of feedback and drums. Rock!!