Someone who knows better will probably correct me, but I think this was just about the first song he recorded as David Bowie (rather than as Jones or under any other name), in 1966. The version featured here, however, was recorded and broadcast on this exact day in 1999, on the Mark Radcliffe show on Radio 1. And it's ace.
This is Plainclothes Man from Heatmiser's final album, 1996's Mic City Sons. If you think the singer looks and sounds like the patron saint of this series, Elliott Smith, well done you, for it was he.
So said BBC TV weatherman Michael Fish 37 years ago today, in response to a caller to the station who'd enquired about French weather warnings that a hurricane was on its way.
Of course it was on its way and if, like me, you lived in East Kent you were in for a hell of a night. I woke at around 2am - the power was already off, and the noise! The continuous booming roar of the wind was beyond my sleep-addled, teenage comprehension, to the extent that my first thought was that a nuclear bomb had been dropped close by and this was the shockwave. I know, I know, but I couldn't understand what else would have the power to shake the house like that, and Glasnost was still a couple of years away, after all.
The next morning I discovered a hole in the outside of my bedroom wall, where a roof tile from next door had blown across two driveways and embedded itself in our pebbledash. I also spent some time gathering the remains of our greenhouse, which was in bits all over the garden, before exploring the neighbouring hospital, the hill-top wooded grounds of which were decimated. A particularly massive beech tree had gone over on the print shop, completely destroying it, as I recall. My dad worked at the hospital and had walked to work in pitch darkness at 5am, clambering over fallen trees to get there. He also tells the tale of dodging empty milk bottles as the wind picked them up and blew them horizontally across a yard, like little glass missiles.
I'm not going to embed the Michael Fish clip - we've all seen it before, and it seems very harsh on him. But here he (sort of) is a year later, immortalised in song with a clutch of his meteorological mates. With bonus Wogan content!
By the way, A Tribe of Toffs didn't get the Christmas Number One, in the end, despite the appearance on primetime Wogan - this peaked at 21.
The Internet (never wrong, right?) tells me that this is the earliest professionally shot gig footage of Athens' finest, REM. Recorded on the 10th of October 1982 at the Pier Club in the Cameron Village Underground, Raleigh, by cable channel WYFF-TV of Greenville, South Carolina ("your friend"), this is less than two months after the band's debut EP Chronic Town was released.
The audio has been EQ'ed to within an inch of its life, in a manner that may or may not be to your taste. What's undeniable, though, is the brilliance of both the setlist and the general time-capsulism of this absolute gem of a find. Completists should also note the moment the band's early producer Mitch Easter joins them on second guitar for 1,000,000.
I saw REM live twice, in the blistering heat of the Milton Keynes Bowl in 1995, and in a football stadium (of sorts) in 2005. But oh, to have seen them like this...
I'll be honest, I struggled a bit with Electronic at the time. I didn't really want Johnny Marr songs to sound like New Order, and I definitely didn't want them to sound like The Pet Shop Boys. I was then, as now, more than a little parochial in my tastes, and, if truth be told, was probably not handling the end of The Smiths very well. I tried though, helped by seeing Getting Away With It on 7" for 49p in the Woolworths' bargain bin. I still have that, of course. The vinyl is in great nick, because I didn't play it very often, though the sleeve suffered at Woolies before I got my hands on it, sadly. And it was a great, striking sleeve.
Looking back, I can view Electronic in a kinder light. Certainly kind enough to have invested in their retrospective best of, Get The Message. You could do a lot worse, you really could.
Johnny is barely in this video, a fact I might have appreciated at the time. He does contribute a lovely solo in the middle though. Plus the chorus to this has that killer "clear to see" couplet. All together now...
As you can tell from the thumbnail, this little REM curio is from the Out Of Time era. Specifically, it got released as a CD-single filler track for Shiny Happy People. And despite the title, it's about 80 seconds long. Maybe they ran through it twice?
What do Ray Charles, Bruce Springsteen and Ani DiFranco all have in common? They were all born on 23rd September... so happy birthday. I guess. Others will no doubt write about Brother Ray and The Boss, so I'll go with Ani.
32 Flavors is from Ani's 1995 album Not A Pretty Girl, and takes a pretty direct aim at society's evaluations and expectations of women.
Ani's Wikipedia page is also quite informative - she has been, as Billy Bragg would say, active with the activists. More power to her.
It's getting on for thirty years (okay, it's 29) since I first played Wipeout with my excellent friend Tim. The basic premise was ... well, you raced anti-gravity ships around tracks, picking up weapons and other enhancements as you went, and tried very hard to be faster than the computer-driven opponents. The graphics and speed of play were literal game changers back in 1995. As was the soundtrack, which included a selection of high-octance dance tracks. We almost always raced to Chemical Beats by The Chemical Brothers, over and over again, for hours at a time, into the small of the night.
There's a moment from about 2:10 in this where Ed and Tom introduce a sort of protracted phasing of the top-line melody, producing something akin to a Doppler shift. On our favourite race track, this would usually line up with an echoey section of tunnel, in a way that just seemed so very ... right.
Two years later, the sequel came out (Wipeout 2097) and from then we raced almost exclusively to an instrumental mix of Firestarter by The Prodigy. A better track, in most objective terms, but not quite as good for anti-gravity racing (although the intro was great on the starting grid). This little clip gives you a sense of late 90s gameplay, although I can't help but point out the player here, whoever they are, misses the turbo start off the line. Rookie error.
I've been blogging for nineteen and a half years and yet somehow this is the first time I've managed to feature this track on the 9th of September. Honestly. Someone should have a word with my line-manager.
All the way from 1983, this is 9-9 by REM. To my ears it still sounds fresh, different and just plain unusual now, more than 40 years later. Imagine how it must have sounded at the time...
Remember when broadsheet newspapers used to give CDs away at weekends? Those were good times, weren't they? So often the source of new music or, as is the case for this post, rare tracks or curios from established acts.
All of which pre-amble leads us to a cardboard slipcased CD entitled The Big Noise, given away by The Guardian exactly 21 years ago today. It was produced in collaboration with Oxfam, to highlight the latter’s “Make Trade Fair” campaign. Amongst other things, the CD included tracks from Coldplay, Lemon Jelly, The Chemical Brothers, Mali Music (featuring Damon Albarn and Afel Bocoum), The Sakala Brothers and Ladysmith Black Mambazo (featuring, somewhat incredibly, Archbishop Desmond Tutu). That's quite the line-up. However, it was the other two tracks I was interested in. First up, a rare-ish demo version of Where I End And You Begin by Radiohead.
And as if that wasn't enough, there was also a rare-ish live recording of The Lifting from REM. Originally the opening track on the album Reveal, this version was recorded live by Pat McCarthy at the Museum of Television and Radio, New York City, on May 18th, 2001 (four days after Reveal was released).
There, that was good, wasn't it? Which did you prefer? I miss free CDs... I miss broadsheet freebies in general... but then, what don't I miss? Sigh.
Lana Del Rey's voice belongs to another time. We're lucky to have her now.
...in which I continue my quest to bring Glenn Donaldson (for he is The Reds, Pinks and Purples) to a wider audience.
I haven't listened to this for an absolute age but by Christ it's a beautiful, sad thing.
And because I spoil you, and you can't have too much Housemartins in your life, here's a bonus live version from the best part of 37 years ago, highlighting young Paul's excellent vocals.
Whilst browsing through the sad-looking racks of CDs in a charity shop recently, I happened upon a compilation album of various artists covering Abba. Somewhat unimaginatively, it was called Abbamania. It dated from 1999, a fact very much reflected in its roster of artistes: Steps, Westlife, S Club 7, B*Witched, Stephen Gateley, Martin McCutcheon, Denise Van Outen... Heaven help us, right?
Except there at track one, and completely at odds with all the bands and singers I've just mentioned, were Madness. Not peak Madness from the early 80s, not national treasure Madness from the 21st Century, but inbetween Madness. Indeed, some more cynical than I might suggest that their involvement could have been something to do with the need to promote Wonderful, their first new album in fourteen years, but I'm sure that wasn't the case, and that the Nutty Boys had all been devoted fans of Sweden's greatest export since 1974.
Either way, it transpires that the whole project, and all the covers on the CD, were recorded for an ITV special of the same name. Unsurprisingly, this completely passed me by at the time. But I have always liked Madness, and so felt duty bound to find their cover on YouTube ... and it's alright. Not spectacular, not terrible, just a bit predictable, I guess. Anyway, since it might have passed you by in 1999 too, here it is. Enjoy, maybe.
Yes, more Gene, following on from last week's post. No apologies from me, I loved them then and love them still.
Right, disclaimer done. So, would you believe it, today is International Left-Handers Day. No, me neither, but apparently it was started by American Dean R. Campbell in 1976. More interestingly, and beating Campbell by some eight years, Anything Left-Handed is one of the oldest left-handed stores in the world, founded in London in 1968. They have even run a Left-Handers Club since 1990, which may be of interest to the southpaws among you.
"It's hard to be left-handed," sang Gene in the mid-90s. They clearly hadn't joined the club ... or perhaps it was just a metaphor, eh? Regardless, I need no excuse to post this excellent live performance from them on Mark Radcliffe's much-missed show The White Room. Guitarist Steve Mason in particular gives it the beans here. For all the disproportionately high number of lefties in my life...
What a band.
Three and a half wonderful minutes from Gene that will perhaps be new to the casual fan. This is the b-side of the band's penultimate single, Is It Over?
Time was nearly up for Gene, we just didn't know it at the time. Still missed, by me and TMOC at least.
I don't think this quite qualifies as timeless but it does feel a little like it could be from any year between 1966 and now. In fact, it is from 2012, and is Shelter Song by Temples, Kettering's finest sons. They're still plying their trade, by all accounts, but I doubt they've topped this, still. Is it homage or pastiche? You decide.
Don't worry, people. I put that in quotes so you know's it's not me with a serrated edge beneath the mattress. This is Checking Out by Divorce, and it's terrific. I don't know how to pigeonhole describe Divorce - alt-country? Indie-rock? Post-modern ... something? It doesn't matter, I guess. You might find more clues over at their Bandcamp page. What I can tell you is that they are a four-piece from Nottingham, not Nashville as parts of this song might suggest. Checking Out comes from their debut EP, last year's Get Mean, and tells a brilliant, if dark, short story of spousal abuse and a blood-soaked solution.
So, a great video too. Anyway, here's the short story. Sorry, the lyrics.
Bobby works on weekends And he's got a good hand But he never keeps his promises And I'm getting pretty tired of staying up In the middle of the night I smell the guilt on him as he Smothers me with buffers and his Winter coat that he just won't take off "Bobby where are you going? I've got work first thing in the morning" But he didn't bother answering Just turned and headed for the door Under my bed I keep a steak knife These kids broke in six months ago I guess it made me feel a little bold Your leaving Made me so uneasy That I should learn to love myself without a reason or a doubt And he's always coming in as I'm checking out I didn't do it gently Lord knows the man is heavy But I think I hit an artery So he never came to get me Watching him slip Got pretty tiresome So I sat down and watched TV As he finished ruining my mother's carpet "Bobby look!" (Bobby look!, Bobby look!) Its the show we liked When you stopped coming home on weekdays And I sat alone here every night Oh baby I see pretty clearly That I should learn to love myself without a reason or a doubt And he's always coming in as I'm checking out Oh I should learn to love myself without a reason or a doubt And he's always coming in as I'm checking out And he's always coming in as I'm checking out And he's always coming in as I'm checking out There's nothing but the rain To wash the blood away And all those old mistakes Baby they burn with you today There's nothing like the rain To wash the blood away And all those old mistakes Baby they burn with you today There's nothing like the rain To wash the blood away And all those old mistakes Baby they burn with you today There's nothing like the rain To wash the blood away
Having just written about school days, it seems appropriate to remind myself that every day's a school day, still.
I had a bloke in my team at work once who loved Electric Six. He wasn't there for long, just maternity leave cover for one of my regular staff, but to help find some common ground and establish a talking point I thought I'd put the effort in, have a listen and see why he liked them so. Prior to that the only Electric Six tracks I really knew were Danger! High Voltage, which I liked well enough, and Gay Bar, which I thought was okay.
After the requisite amount of YouTubing, I gave up on my conversation-starter project, because I decided I didn't have much time for Electric Six. Also, I couldn't believe how unrepresentative of their wider sound Danger! High Voltage was. And that may be partly because I was completely, dumbly unaware, until a DJ on 6 Music mentioned it today, that additional vocals on that track were provided by none other than Jack White. I know, I know, I have clearly been living under a rock...
Anyway, regardless of such waffly nonsense, this is a terrific video. Frontman Dick Valentine appears to be a bit of a loon, which is possibly why my former mat-leave temp contract guy was so in thrall of him.
Today is the last day of the school year for Amusements Minor. Which means it's close enough for government work, as the saying goes, for me to mark the anniversary of when I left school. Okay, I would have to dig out my old diaries (shudder) to be sure of the exact date, but it's pretty much 35 years to the day since I finished the sixth form and got the school bus home for the last time. A lot of water has flowed under the bridge since then but I can honestly say I have only happy memories of school days, and only good things to say about my alma mater and its staff. I sometimes feel sorry for people who had a different experience of secondary education, and I accept I was fortunate enough to go to a brilliant school, with a unique spirit, at a special time. Not fortunate to gain a place there, because I earnt that, but fortunate that the place was there to be earnt, I suppose. And of course I met and befriended The Man Of Cheese there and the rest of that, as they say, is history.
There was no end-of-school prom for us, like there seems to be at the drop of a hat for schools these days. No. Instead TMOC, Roachford, a third boy (whose nicknames would no longer be considered appropriate) and I went into the city in Roachford's Allegro, for a spot of lunch; on the way, we popped into the hospital to see another boy - let's call him Horse - who was in for a hernia op, if memory serves, and so was missing the last day. After a fry-up lunch in Sarnies we went back up to school, via a quick pub stop for a pint, for an afternoon of "mingling" on the school field with the rest of the upper sixth and a few staff. I wandered around with a point-and-push Halina camera, taking a few pics of those that had hung around for the end though, truth be told, not everyone had. It was all decidedly low-key by today's standards.
I'm glad there was no prom for us though. I was terribly shy and so almost certainly would not have enjoyed myself. That said, I love this little clip from Spiderman: Homecoming in which Peter gets nervously excited for his prom (and date), perfectly soundtracked by Save It For Later by The Beat.
As I may have mentioned before, I also love the reinvention of the Tom Holland Spiderman era that allows me to fancy Aunt May...
...but enough about Marisa Tomei. When I arrived home from school that last time, Mum met me at the gate and took a picture of me with that same point-and-push. In it, I am trying to smile but look sad. I think I felt life was, if not over, certainly up in the air. I didn't know it for sure at the time but university was waiting, and a whole other adventure that is also full of almost exclusively good memories. But at that precise moment, as I came through the old front gate with my hands in pockets, trying and failing to look cool, I looked like a boy who'd not only had the rug pulled out from under him but had then been forced to watch whilst the rug was trampled on, shredded and finally set alight. That's how much I loved my school days.
Anyway, it's not from 1989, the year we are commemorating here, but it is from the 80s and it is good, so let's hear that Beat track in full:
More to follow, no doubt, when I have another "getting old" anniversary to ruefully acknowledge...
This Lakota mix is a longer version of Begging You, for me the highlight of The Stone Roses' much-maligned second album. The Lakota was released on the CD single but not, for some reason, the 12" vinyl. But whatever the format this sounds huge, and I recommend a proper pair of headphones to fully appreciate the pulsating rhythm section magnificence of Mani and Reni. Plus there's far less Ian Brown "singing" on this version ...
Yes, yes, sabbatical-schmabbatical. But I can't regularly and overly praise my love of The Shining without commenting on the passing of Shelley Duvall, can I?
For sure she had her problems in later life - her mental health struggle was publicly over-documented, I would say. And she had a full and varied acting career beyond Kubrick's 1980 masterwork. But if she had only ever brought Wendy Torrance to life, that would still be something, wouldn't it? He she is, firstly getting some feedback from Kubrick, and then talking to the inestimable Barry Norman about the film.
RIP Shelley, with an emphasis on the "P".
Fallen For You by Sheila Nicholls is just one of many songs that I was introduced to by the High Fidelity soundtrack ... which, in case you were wondering, is outstanding. Go and buy it.
As an aside, can anyone think of a better use of "periphery" in song lyrics?
Another sabbatical-busting post, to mark the monumental election result from last night. There's only one thing to do at a moment like this...
Of course we should be under no illusion about the size of the task facing Starmer et al. Sure, a colossal majority will help them get their agenda through untrammelled, but they are inheriting a country not just in decline but in a state of collapse. And a country with very little cash to splash on solutions. How long, I wonder, before those that have been clamouring for change turn on those they have chosen to make it happen?
And for all the joyous Portillo moments (goodbye Rees-Mogg, so long Truss, farewell Mordaunt, adios Keegan, sayonara Shapps), plenty of others survived (Sunak, Hunt, Cleverly, Dowden, Badenoch and, worst of all, Braverman). Not only that but the country has had a mirror held up to it, and the reflection shows a massive level of support, in vote-share terms if not elected MPs, for Reform. The batrochoidal pub-bore took his dog-whistle to Clacton and won. Other coastal towns on the east followed suit, with Skegness and Yarmouth letting themselves down. It should be a source of national shame that Reform has four MPs now ... although I take comfort in the fact that is significantly less than the thirteen initially predicted by the exit poll.
On the other hand, we should take pride, and maybe a little hope, in the fact that the Green Party also now have four MPs, with a record share of the vote too. It's tempting to say the electorate are waking up, but of course they're not, just old voters are dying off and new ones are coming of age.
I'm also pleased to see the resurrection of the Liberal Democrats. Whatever you think of them, and their leader, three-party politics is better (and more interesting) than two.
Whatever, On another day, and in a colder light, people will point to how Labour's vote share showed only a very modest increase and that, in reality, the cause of the monumental swing is primarily blue defection to Reform and LibDem. But it seems churlish to point that out, right now. Because right now is a time for celebration. Farewell Tories, you total feckless shower, you heartless, inept, morality-vacuum, you corrupt puddle of cronyism, sleeze and entitlement ... farewell. Don't rush back.
And remember, kids - things can change...
Ye gods.
I'm breaking my own sabbatical for this, for whilst I anticipated an election in 2024 I didn't think it would be this early. Anyway, here's a graph that speaks for itself:
That should be enough on its own to sway any undecided voters. However, at the last election more people chose not to vote at all than supported any single party, so I guess this is a timely reminder from Norman Cook at Glastonbury - if you want to change to happen, you have to vote for it...
But look, I know that no political party is perfect. No single manifesto aligns perfectly with my views (nor yours, I suspect). And all the leaders are flawed, and prone to saying whatever they think it takes to win you over, safe in the knowledge that pledges made during election campaigns are not legally binding. Keir might not be your cup of tea, nor Ed, nor Carla/Adrian. But at least they are palatable cups of tea, unlike another dose of Rishi. And whatever you do, don't be tempted by any dog-whistling Trump-lite with a pale blue rosette and a promise to "save Britain". No, no, no. If you are unsure where to place your X, may I refer you to this handy tactical voting guide by constituency, which makes no bones about its sole intent: to prevent a Conservative win.
Most of all, though, do the right thing, right? After all, you know who Johnny will be voting for, don't you? Be more like Johnny.
If I've got my dates right, Wimbledon starts today. A fortnight of sporting excellence and perhaps the best event of its type in the world. I'm crossing my fingers that Katie, Emma and Andy all make it into the second week, but that seems slightly optimistic written, as this is, in the middle of December. Anyway, it seems like a good time to share a video that might have passed you by if Wimbledon is the only tennis you watch all year. Lots of detail in this to enjoy.
And so, with a tenuous tennis link, this is La Electricidad by Spanish band McEnroe. After spending much time pasting text into Google Translate, I can tell you that McEnroe are from Getxo, a little town just north of Bilbao, and have been recording off and on since 2004 (although currently they seem to be on hiatus). Main man Ricardo Lezón seems to have a competing solo career, from what I can make out, and publishes poetry too. Anyway, La Electricidad opens side two of McEnroe's 2015 album Rugen Las Flores (The Flowers Roar) and sounds like this:
Here are the original lyrics, and a rough translation, with all apologies to Spanish speakers everywhere:
| La Electricidad | Electricity |
|---|---|
| Acuérda te de mi, cuando pises algún charco Cuando escuches algún pája ro cantar Acuérda te de mi, cuando veas algún rayo Agrietando todo el cielo como un cristal No dejes de buscar, incluso en la hora más oscura Puede apa recer de pronto la electricidad Yo estaré por aquÃ, escondido en algún recuerdo O en el leve movimiento de sentir Y cabe la po si bi lidad De que te vuelva a encontrar, en algún incendio Y cabe la po si bi lidad De que te vuelva a encontrar, en algún incendio Me acordaré de ti, parado en algún semáforo O afinando justo antes de salir Estás por aquÃ, escondida en alguna frase O en el leve movimiento de vivir Y cabe la po si bi lidad De que te pueda olvidar, en algún momento Y cabe la po si bi lidad De que te pueda olvidar, en este momento |
Remember me, when you step in some puddle When you hear some bird sing Remember me, when you see some lightning Cracking the whole sky like glass Don't stop looking, even in the darkest hour Electricity can suddenly appear I'll be here, hidden in some memory Or in the slight movement of feeling And there's a chance That I may find you again, in some fire And there is the possibility That I'll find you again, in some fire I will remember you, stopped at some traffic light Or tuning up just before I go out You're around here somewhere, hidden in some sentence Or in the slight movement of living And there's a chance That I can forget you, at some point And there is the possibility That I can forget you, at this moment |
So there's a first for New Amusements, a Spanish language track. Bastante buena, en mi opinión. ¿Qué te parece?
No, not Bachman Turner Overdrive. Johnnie Walker has a feature on his 6 Music radio show called BTO - Better Than Original. Listeners write in to propose cover versions that are, as the feature suggests, better than the original.
So without further ado, from 1980 here's the original Getting Nowhere Fast by Girls At Our Best! (their exclamation, not mine).
Good though that is, I think the 1987 cover by The Wedding Present is better:
Which do you prefer?
I've had these three videos languishing in my YouTube Watch Later list for a few years now, so it's time I stopped prevaricating ("the enemy of achievement," after all) and did something with them. And what better day than Paul McCartney's birthday to highlight three markedly different versions of the same Beatles song.
First up, the original studio version of I'm Down, written by Sir Thumbs-aloft and released in July 1965 as the B-side to Help. It's a straight up-and-down rocker that really showcases Macca's vocal range and ability to wail. Amazing to think, if YouTube comments are to be believed, that the next song to be recorded after this was the couldn't-be-more-different Yesterday. Anyway, here's I'm Down after being given a sympathetic remaster in 2009.
Even without the remastering, this feels tight and orderly. Four lads that shook the world they may have been, but they knew how to behave in the studio too.
Compare this to a loose and limber live rendition as part of the Blackpool Night Out, filmed for TV on the 1st August 1965. The second track in a six song set, this is a little rawer, for sure, but still accomplished and utterly confident live, as only bands that have ground it out on stage together for years, and in all circumstances, can be. John's keyboard solo is a joy.
Next up, another live performance, this time at the Circus-Krone-Bau in Munich and recorded exactly 58 years ago on 24th June, 1966. Nearly a year has passed since Blackpool, and lots has changed. First, there's Paul's intro in German - clearly those years in Hamburg had a lasting effect. Then there's the start of the song - Paul cannot remember the lyrics, and gets them nearly all wrong or in the wrong order, despite John's attempts to remind him. Note Ringo's reaction about 59 seconds in as Paul fluffs another line. Then comes the guitar solo, for which John puts his hands behind his back so as not to crash George's moment. The band look visibly less ordered than in Blackpool, and you wonder whether they might have had a drink, or a smoke, before going on. They certainly look more "relaxed" and you couldn't blame them for this, surely, nor for forgetting the words - they were living in a whirlwind, the likes of which we cannot imagine. And yet, despite the "loosening" of the band, and the song, the performance still sounds great.
The Beatles tended to close their set with either this or Long Tall Sally for every live performance they gave from here on, continuing through Germany, Japan, the Philipines and the USA, right through to their last ever stadium gig at Candlestick Park on the 29th August that year (a Sally night, since you ask). I wonder if they got any better at remembering how to play it by the end of the tour? And has Paul solo ever played it live? Any Beatles obessives out there know?
Another sabbatical break for another RIP post. Donald Sutherland has died, aged 88.
Most obits will rightly wax lyrical about his role in the excellent Don't Look Now, or about his fantastic turn more recently as tyrannical President Snow in the Hunger Games trilogy. But of all the films he made or was involved in, the 1978 remake of Invasion of the Body Snatchers will always be my favourite. This first clip features a cameo from Kevin McCarthy, who starred in the 50s original.
And of course there's the famous ending:
Such a good film. Avoid all subsequent remakes, you can't top this.
As for Donald, RIP. I think his son Kiefer summed it up perfectly; a life well lived indeed.
With a heavy heart, I tell you that my father, Donald Sutherland, has passed away. I personally think one of the most important actors in the history of film. Never daunted by a role, good, bad or ugly. He loved what he did and did what he loved, and one can never ask for more… pic.twitter.com/3EdJB03KKT
— Kiefer Sutherland (@RealKiefer) June 20, 2024
I don't understand how this is already seven years ago, this very day. Where does the time go?
When they first returned to the fray, original lead guitarist Ed Bazalgette was involved, as you can see, and I liked that. Nothing against Dave's son Dan, who has slotted into place nicely in subsequent years, but when it comes to reforming, three quarters of the original line-up will always be better than half. Anyway, seven years ago today... enjoy!
This is What Happens Next, track eight on Danish band Northern Portrait's frankly brilliant 2014 album, Criminal Art Lovers.
Remind you of anyone? Here's track nine, the splendidly titled That's When My Headaches Begin.
And these aren't even the most Smithsonian tracks on an album that I bloody love. Best Discogs purchase ever.
This is the fourth time so far that I've broken my year long sabbatical, and the third time that the reason has been the inevitable: the death of someone I admired. Or, in this case, deaths.
First up, Françoise Hardy, whose death was announced yesterday. Her recorded works provide quite the YouTube rabbit hole, but I am going to stick to type and feature her collaboration with Blur on To The End. Not the album version though, but the alternate take (La Comedie) in which they ramp up the Gallic 60s vibe: Françoise takes lead vocals, Damon takes backup, the accordion gets even more time and the video, of course, is in black and white. You can almost taste the Gauloises smoke. Hard to believe this is 30 years ago ... time, etc.
Secondly, I've just read at Dubhed of the death of Arthur "Gaps" Hendrickson, of The Selecter. I saw them live in 2013, in Whitstable of all places, and was very chuffed to get his and Pauline Black's autographs after the show, Sharpied across the cover of a CD. Pauline has always got more attention, but Gaps was an essential part of the Selecter sound. Here they are, adding their 2-Tone credentials to a live rendition of Train to Skaville for Jools Holland's Hootenanny shindig in 2015. Yes, only nine years ago, but pre-Brexit and pre-Covid ... time, etc.
RIP.
The signs were there, right from the start, when they were called Seymour, although their sound would change a lot before they finally became the Britpop behemoth we know today. Early song Sing finally emerged on their 1991 debut album, Leisure, by which time they were called Blur. Graham's droning guitar still sounds brilliant, especially through good headphones.
For combing through a box of old cables, adapters and other tech ephemera, I stumbled upon my first MP3 player, the rather splendid Sony NW-E005 (left). Basically a glorified USB stick with a headphone socket and a dot-matrix display. I fired it up to see what was on it and was unsurprised to find all the usual suspects. It's nearly 20 years old but, of course, my tastes haven't really changed, so there weren't too many surprises.
However, I did find three slightly rare Gene radio session tracks. As far as I'm aware, none of these ever had any kind of official release, and were previously only available on the bootleg Lost in the Fog, curated and made available as a digital download by Gene super-fan Lewis Slade. But sadly even Lewis's website is gone now, so I guess if you don't have the bootleg already, finding a copy is going to be hard. I know I downloaded it, so it's probably on an old laptop somewhere. But back then, these are the three tracks I recognised for their quality and rarity, enough to be the only three I put on my MP3 player. Which means that now, I can put them up on YouTube for everyone to enjoy (and I didn't want to wait another seven months for my sabbatical to end before I could broadcast that fact).
First up, well, I don't think there have been too many Take That songs on this blog over the years. But here's Gene covering Back For Good for Steve Lamacq back in January 2000, and having a good laugh doing so, by the sound of it.
And then there are two tracks recorded for Gideon Coe's 6 Music show in November 2004, just a few short weeks before the band's last ever gigs. It's not the whole band - Martin and Steve run through a beautiful acoustic Long Sleeves for the Summer ("one from the mid-Sixties"), and then Martin is accompanied by someone called Howard on piano for the sadly prophetic Let Me Move On. Enjoy.
And what do all the serious YouTubers say? "Don't forget to like, comment and subscribe!" Or do forget, you know. I'm even less prolific on YouTube than I am here.
Apparently, today is National Cheese Day. I know, me neither. I imagine it was dreamed up by whatever the cheese equivalent of the old Milk Marketing Board is. Whatever, here are some cheese "facts" I have shamelessly cribbed, almost verbatim, from another website:
So there's only one song to feature today, isn't there? Besides, the blog could use some Tim Minchin...
And all I can say to The Man Of Cheese is, it's probably a good thing this song didn't exist when we were at school, because it's all you would have heard from some quarters...
There's nothing new here, musically, with the conventional four-chord jangle. Doesn't matter though. I really rather like this, from The Lathums. Okay, so you might have a wry smile at someone so youthful singing about when he was young, but the lyrics set the tone, right from the off:
I sometimes think to when I was young
To happier times but now they have gone
I’ll try to remember the things that made me smile
I don't want to blaspheme or anything but I do slightly think that if Morrissey and Marr were born post-Millennium, this is a bit like how they'd sound now.
In honour of the future wife's birthday, I present this little nugget from 27 years ago. Time flies, eh? I doubt Men Behaving Badly would get made these days.
Kids today, eh? They don't like bands, or albums, they just like tracks. Example: Amusements Minor loves No Sleep 'Til Brooklyn but, despite my best efforts, steadfastly refuses to entertain anything else by The Beastie Boys. Anything! I blame Spotify. Or maybe I'm to blame, perhaps I haven't enthused enough (or too much). But I like this song... and love the video, which feels like all the best and worst aspects of every late 70s American cop show combined in three nostalgia-soaked minutes. Keep 'em peeled for a fleeting glimpse of Starsky knitwear even!
So, bottom line - I'm not picking a specific moment in this video because the whole thing is excellent. "Starring Nathan Wind as Cochese" indeed... Enjoy.
This is yet another video that has been languishing in my YouTube Watch Later list, waiting for the right time to post it here. Well, there's never going to be a right time, is there, but since it's been waiting for nearly seven years it's time I pulled my finger out.
The official description on Marr's YouTube channel told us this, back in 2017:
Johnny Marr has teamed up with the award-winning actor Maxine Peake to create a new project which sets Peake’s spoken word performances to Marr’s instrumental soundscapes. "The Priest" is based upon the characters that Joe Gallagher met on the streets in the first few days after becoming homeless in Edinburgh. Gallagher wrote a diary of his experiences for the Big Issue under the pseudonym James Campbell when he first became homeless in May 2015 and continued until he found a new home in March 2016.
The protagonist in the film, giving a face to Maxine's vocal performance, is played by Molly Windsor. And the whole thing is equal parts harrowing and essential, I think.
Way back in 2013, when I was clearly short of things to blog about, I wrote twice (here and here) about Alex Quick's book 102 Free Things To Do - inspiring ideas for a better life and how I intended to try the suggestions therein to see if life did indeed get better. At the last update, in December 2017, I identified 43 that I had done (green), three that I would never do (red)...and the other 56 were up for grabs. Anyway, here's an update, as at December 2023 - newly done are bold (with explanatory notes in italics):
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So, now 51 done, halfway there... but also back up to four nevers. So am I happier?
No, of course not. I'm still the same cantankerous, miserable old sod I've always been. Important to remember, though, that not being happier isn't the same as being sadder, or even sad. Though of course I am that too, at times. Who knows, by the time this post goes live in May, perhaps I'll have ticked off a few more on the list and reached nirvana ... but don't hold your breath.
Meanwhile ... are you happy? What makes that so? Maybe I'll build your answers into my own, real-world "how to be happier" list some time. Until then, here's the obvious brilliant song from the much-missed Mark Hollis and Talk Talk:
I know very little about Phoebe Bridgers, because I am an out-of-touch old man, but by Christ, this is something.
It's thirty years to the day since Kurt Cobain took his own life. So yes, more time has passed since his death than he was alive for. A terrible shame, and a terrible waste, like any suicide.
I sometimes have a little inward smile when I see kids, tweens or younger, wearing their Nirvana t-shirts. This would have been like pre-teen me wearing a Perry Como t-shirt - not impossible, but not likely either. Still, times change, I suppose, and a crossed-eye smiley face is a logo, and logos are cool, right? They really say something about that kid who's never heard a Nirvana song, except maybe that contagious one, right? Right?
God, I sound like a right curmudgeonly old sod. (What do you mean, 'sound like'? - Ed.)
Anyway, here's a favourite Nirvana song of mine, from the fabled MTV Unplugged session. Maybe I like this because I too have very bad posture, who knows? Note how impossibly young, fresh-faced and clean-shaven Dave Grohl looks in this clip.
As an aside, help is out there for anyone who gets to feeling like Kurt did in the end, not least from Samaritans.
