Sunday Morning Coming Down

The other day, I made one of my pilgrimages to the office, and found myself (we don’t have our own allocated desk, it’s a first-come-first-served, so, with more staff than desks, you have to get there early to bagsy one, beach-towel on deckchair-style) sitting alongside a chap who, during lockdown, had prepared a pop quiz to include in an online departmental Christmas party.

We got to chatting about this, as I had prepared a pop quiz under similar circumstances for the following year. He recalled that I had performed rather better than he had expected anyone to do without the help of Dr Google (19 out of 20, pop fact fans). He’d mentioned to the chap I work with that he suspected I’d cheated (I hadn’t – but what I had done on hearing there was to be a pop quiz at an online Christmas party had guessed it would be about Christmas #1s (it was), so I swatted up in advance, only tripped up by failing to distinguish one godawful X Factor winner from another), who, to his credit, defended me. “No,” he later told me, “Jez knows a lot about pop music. It’s his ‘thing’.”

“Know your stuff do you?” said, let’s call him Paul (because that’s his name) as we chatted.

“Up to a point,” I said. “Ask me anything about post-2010 and I wouldn’t be confident.”

“Right,” he said, clearly considering this a challenge, and mulling over something that would stump me. And then, a few minutes later: “What record knocked Wet Wet Wet’s Love is All Around off of #1?”

“Saturday Night by Whigfield,” I replied instantly. I knew that watching all those re-runs of TOTP on BBC4 would pay off one day. I saw him wince and curse under his breath.

“The only record that features a duck quacking to reach #1” I added. I did consider adding: “Of course, CW McCall’s Convoy mentions a rubber duck, but that only got to #2,” before remembering that no-one likes a smart-arse, so I reigned it in.

“Saturday Night doesn’t have a duck quacking on it!” said Paul. I reiterated my claim, and watched as he scrambled to put his headphones on and pay a visit to YouTube. Seconds later, he was laughing. “Fair play,” he said, which I took as a compliment.

Our chat continued, about what I can’t recall so it obviously didn’t concern anything as important as pop music, before Paul announced that he had a meeting to go to, and then, as he stood to leave, uttered a sentence which ended with the words “…one day at a time”. He paused and added: “Sweet Jesus”, a look on his face which I interpreted as meaning: Challenge extended.

Challenge accepted. “Lena Martell, #1 in 1979” before completely forgetting to reign it in this time and adding: “Co-written by Kris Kristofferson”.

He was already walking away by now, but stopped in his tracks and turned back. “Ha! No, it’s not, it’s Tammy Wynette!”

“No. It’s Lena Martell, #1 in 1979, co-written by Kris Kristofferson,” I repeated. I was confident about this, partly because I wrote about it in this very series, here (a quick look at said post reminds me that it’s more about tea-time quiz show Pointless than it is about One Day at a Time. Also, the link to the Merle Haggard version which I posted then is dead; let me know if anyone wants me to resuscitate it), mostly because, as I wrote back then, “…my brain is somehow wired to remember that kind of useless crap.”

Paul headed off, shaking his head and muttering “It’s definitely Tammy Wynette…”

“I’m not saying Tammy Wynette hasn’t recorded it,” I called after him, “just that Lena Martell’s version got to #1. In 1979. And it was co-written by Kris Kristofferson.”

An hour or so later, Paul returned. I left it half an hour or so, before innocently venturing: “Have you checked whether I’m right or not yet?”. Lord, forgive me for being so bloody needy.

“Checked what?”

“Whether Tammy Wynette recorded One Day at a Time, or whether it was Lena Martell’s version which got to #1. In 1979. And that it was co-written by Kris Kristofferson…?”

Furious typing ensued, before he slumped back in his chair. “Bloody hell, you’re right.”

“And Tammy Wynette’s version?”

More furious typing followed by more slumping. “No…apparently she’s never recorded it.”

“That’s remarkable. It’s been covered by over 200 different artists, you know”, I said, quoting my own blogpost/Wikipedia, and really rubbing salt into his wounds now.

Paul just shook his head. “I could’ve sworn it was Tammy Wynette.”

Challenge completed.

You’ll have noticed that I mentioned when I last wrote about One Day at a Time, I deliberately didn’t post Lena Martell’s version, and those of you who are familiar with the record will be relieved to know I’m not going to post it now either.

Instead, I thought I’d post somebody else covering a Kristofferson song. But there’s literally thousands of those, so I figured I’d do the old switcheroo, and post Kristofferson covering somebody else: there are far fewer of those to choose from.

In 1995, a compilation of covers by various artists called Come Together: America Salutes The Beatles was released. You may not know this, as it got little to no press coverage, but The Beatles have just released their first new material in yonks, which is remarkable given that 50% of the band is dead.

Anyway, said album contains Kristofferson and full band country-rocking out to this riff-tastic tune, which I offer to you today by way of an mp3, as it seems that none of the streaming services have this album (which probably gives you an indication of the overall quality of it) and, as far as I can establish, Kristofferson has never released it under his own steam:

Kris Kristofferson – Paperback Writer

More soon.

Late Night Stargazing

January 1989: The Sundays release Can’t Be Sure, and thousands of indie fans are instantly utterly enchanted. The song, which only makes #45 on the UK Chart, is voted #1 in John Peel’s Festive Fifty 11 months later.

Fans had to wait until the following January for the release of their debut album Reading, Writing and Arithmetic. Whilst there are some fine songs on it, arguably nothing comes close to the majesty that is Can’t Be Sure.

But that doesn’t mean the rest of the album should be disregarded or skipped through. For example, tonight’s tune is the opening track and rather fine it is too:

The Sundays – Skin & Bones

*sighs* Oh, Harriet….

More soon.

Friday Night Music Club Vol 42

If I was smarter, I’d have gone full blown Hitchhiker’s Guide and made this week’s mix all spacey, and would have at least lobbed in Radiohead’s Paranoid Android (or even Marvin the Paranoid Android’s novelty single) But I’m not, so I didn’t.

So anyway, it’s been a v busy week here at Dubious Towers work-wise, with one of my colleagues off sick for most of it, and my immediate line-manager on annual leave, leaving little old me to hold the fort. Not that I have any room to complain, mind, given the amount of time I’ve had off over the past 12 months or so.

But, you lucky things, despite this I’ve managed to (rather hurriedly, admittedly) write some sleeve notes for you, so let’s crack on, shall we?

Here come 19 songs, 60 minutes and 52 seconds, and 1 mix:

Friday Night Music Club Vol 42

1. Stevie Wonder – Don’t You Worry ‘Bout A Thing

That’s right, we’re starting off on a classy 70s tip. I don’t need to tell you who Stevie Wonder is, I hope. This is from his 1973 classic Innervisions album, back when he was releasing cool records like nobody’s business, rather than dreary top-of-the-charts-bothering songs about calling someone up to tell them he likes them a lot, or whatever else he’s been up to since 1984.

2. KC & The Sunshine Band – Boogie Shoes

This is included on the soundtrack (Part 2) of the blimming marvellous Boogie Nights movie, featuring the late great Burt Reynolds in one of his finest roles, and Mark Wahlberg and his prosthetic ‘thingy’ (which was shaped exactly like ‘a thingy’), which is a good enough reason to include it here.

3. Beyond The Wizard’s Sleeve – Bubble Burst

Putting aside the euphemistic and rude name of the band, this is Erol Alkan and Richard Norris having a fine old time in the studio. It came out on a six-track mini-album in 2007 (although this sounds authentically much older) called George. ASDA should sue.

4. The Chi-Lites – Are You My Woman (Tell Me So)

You’ll recognise the brass section on this, I reckon.

5. Brenda Holloway – Think It Over (Before You Break My Heart)

Another absolutely belting Northern Soul classic. But then, aren’t they all?

6. The Only Ones – Another Girl, Another Planet

A change of tone. This is not just one of the greatest punk/new wave singles, it’s one of the greatest singles ever released. Fact.

7. The Stranglers – Duchess

Some wonky Inspiral-inspiring organ work here. For which we are all entirely grateful, of course. I wonder if the Rodneys are still queuing up?

8. Rick Springfield – Love Is Alright Tonite

I’ve included this for two reasons: firstly, just to break up the run of tracks by bands with ‘The’ at the start of their names, and secondly to show Springfield shouldn’t just be known for Jessie’s Girl. Okay, this isn’t as great as Jessie’s Girl, but it’s not far off it. Ok, it is quite far off it, but it’s not bad as far as early 80s MOR rock goes. I like it anyway, for what it’s worth,

9. The Strokes – The Modern Age

Can you believe that their debut album, Is This It?, was released 23 years ago? Man, I feel old. As it happens, this pretty much was it (seewhatIdidthere?) for The Strokes, although they did release several further albums, none of which came anywhere close to matching the majesty of their first effort.

10. Lemonheads – Confetti

Just great. The album that made me, and many others I would imagine, fall in love with Evan Dando’s goofy charms and Gram Parsons-influenced tunes.

11. The Flatmates – Shimmer

Female fronted British jingly jangly indie bands were ten-a-penny in the late 80s. I loved them all. This is from 1988, was released on The Subway Organisation label (which I loved); I own it on 12″, and it has three other great tracks on it, one of which is a Dylan (Bob, not Thomas) cover on it that I really must dig out and post at some point.

12. The Housemartins – Bow Down

I make no secret about how much I admire Paul Heaton’s lyrics, although every time I feature something by him from his Housemartins or Beautiful South days it’s generally met with stoney silence round these parts. Some folks I know rue The Housemartins splitting up, and Heaton eschewing their trademark jangly guitar sound for a more middle-of-the-road one, but I think he was heading that way when he wrote this scathing attack on the education system in general and public schools in particular. I think it’s rather ace, even if it does feature St Winifred’s School Choir (they of the horrifically saccharine There’s No One Quite Like Grandma fame).

13. Blancmange – Don’t Tell Me

One of the most over-looked and under-rated bands from the 80s in my book. Discuss.

14. Adam & The Ants – Kings Of The Wild Frontier

I’ve been meaning to post something by Marco, Merrick, Terry Lee, Gary Tibbs and his truly for ages now, but I just never got round to it. But at the Billy Bragg gig the other week, my buddy Richie mentioned that this was the first record he ever “chose for himself”, which I thought was an interesting way to avoid saying “I ever bought”. It’s not a criticism, long term readers will recall the first record I ever chose for myself (and the subject of my first ever post here) was The Boy From New York City by Darts, so Richie wins that one on the cool front.

Oh and by the way, Adam: unless I missed a memo we say Native American these days, not ‘redskin’.

15. Kylie Minogue – Shocked

Shut up. It’s great and you know it.

16. Bananarama – I Heard A Rumour

Shut up. It’s great and you know it (slight return).

17. Girls Aloud – On The Metro

Moving swiftly on from the SAW phase of this mix: until a couple of weeks ago, I had no idea this existed. How did I not know that the Girls had released Ten, a second volume of greatest hits in 2012?? I only found out because this clip of them doing it live was posted on Twitter (yup, I still refuse to call it X):

It’s pretty great, no?

But what that clip highlights is the problem when performing ‘in the round’ (that’s with the stage in the middle of the venue, rather than at one end, for the uninitiated). I mean, just imagine you were standing behind the direction in which they’re facing, you’d only be able to see…oh wait, now I see the appeal. Phew-wheee mama!

18. They Might Be Giants – Don’t Let’s Start

The one of theirs that you know (probably) that isn’t Birdhouse in Your Soul.

19. The Smiths – You Just Haven’t Earned It Yet, Baby

Putting aside the singer’s current reputation, this is one of their finest moments. How it remained unreleased until their 1987 compilation The World Won’t Listen is beyond me. Should have been a single, end of.

Speaking of end of, that’s the end. Hope you enjoyed.

‘Til next time (it’s not as good as More soon, that, is it?)

Sunday Morning Coming Down

My apologies that one of these didn’t appear last week; truth be told I’m lacking in inspiration at the moment and simply couldn’t think of anything to write about.

No such problem ths week – well, not for this series anyway – as I spent Thursday night in the company of my old mate Richie, sitting in the audience watching Billy Bragg on his The Roaring Forty tour, celebrating 40 years since the release of his debut record. Not only is Richie one of my longest-standing and most beloved friends, but it was he who first introduced me to the recordings of Bragg, when he played me The Man in the Iron Mask and The Saturday Boy back in 1986, shortly after we first met (which is one of the main reasons he is one of my longest-standing and most beloved friend).

But this wasn’t simply Bragg performing his first album Life’s a Riot with Spy vs Spy in its entirety – although he did do this as an encore, jiggling the running order around so that the night ends with A New England, complete with “one more verse for Kirsty McColl”, as he always does, in memory of the much-missed singer, who covered the song back in 1985, Bragg writing an extra verse for her because she thought his version was too short. I’ve previouly posted Bragg performing the same crowd-pleasing trick at a gig at London’s Union Chapel here.

Thursday night’s gig was every bit as good as we had hoped it to be. It kicks off with a support act which is a forty minute film running through highlights of his career (we’d been asked via email not to record it on our phones, so we can assume it will get a commercial relase at some point) which Bragg later describes as being like watching his life flash before his eyes. When Bragg finally takes the stage, we’re treated to pretty much every song from Bragg’s back catalogue that one could hope for (not every song: The Saturday Boy didn’t get an airing, but unless he contacted me in advance and asked me to pick the setlist, it was inevitable that some of my favourites wouldn’t make the cut). And Bragg is on typicallyn top form betwen songs, providing political rhetoric and amusing anecdotes in equal measure (including a probably fictional telephone conversation with Paul Weller about shirts), and he engages with the audience as only Bragg can. At one point, between songs, a couple of punters call out requests; Bragg’s response: “Look, you can shout out requests out if you like, but you’ve only got to remember the title; I have to remember all the words, the chords, and I’ve got to teach this lot how to play it”, gesturing to his two-man backing musicians (whose names I can’t remember, but who were excellent).

Singing along at Bragg gigs is very much encouraged; there’s no holding-the-microphone-out to invite us in, instead he just stands back to let the audience take over and we needed no second invitation. He momentarily stops proceedings during To Have and To Have Not to tell us all off for getting the words wrong: “I know it’s been a long time since it came out, but what happened to ‘Just because I dress like this doesn’t mean I’m a Communist’?” We give it another go, and he nods and smiles his approval as he plays.

I’m sitting next to a woman who has brought her teenage son along, to “bring the average age of the audience down a bit” she tells me as I retake my seat having had to stand to let them pass. Whilst singing-a-long is the order of the day, something I love to do at gigs and can’t resist at the best of times, I’m often very conscious that my singing doesn’t ruin the night for those around me, so I don’t sing at the top of my voice. Tonight though, it’s impossible to resist, and reassuringly I hear her singing next to me a couple of times. Now I don’t claim to be the finest singer in the world, but she sang like Les Dawson used to play the piano; just well enough that you can recognise the tune, but just off-key enough to make it absolutely hilarious.

My apologies to her if she happens to be reading this, but she should take this as a consolation, for this leads me neatly to this morning’s tune. In 1998, Bragg joined forces with Wilco to put music to some of Woody Guthrie’s words which had until then been bereft of a tune. The result was the quite magnificent Mermaid Avenue album (a second volume followed in 2000), and on Thursday night we were treated to this little beauty, which contains the line “Ain’t nobody that sings like me”:

Billy Bragg & Wilco – Way Over Yonder In The Minor Key

I’ll now never be able to hear this song without thinking of her and Thursday night.

Needless to say, if Billy is playing anywhere near you, not just on this tour but ever, go see.

More soon.

Friday Night Music Club Vol 41

Well, here we are again. It’s Friday and I’m desperately trying to think of something original to write to introduce this week’s mix.

As it happens, it’s made slightly easier by the fact that I owe you guys an apology.

See, one of the underlying premises of doing these, the rules if you like, is that I don’t feature the same song twice (or, for that matter, more than twice) over all of them, and last week I let you down. Not that anyone complained, but I noticed, and so I’m hanging my head in shame.

Last week I featured the Parental Advisory Version of Girls Aloud’s No Good Advice, and, because I’d included the Non-Parental Advisory Version, I didn’t pick up the duplication. Sorry about that.

Still, at least it wasn’t the same Quo record, eh? Not that anyone would have noticed then either, cos they all sound the same, amIright?

So, moving swiftly on, what do we have for you this week? Well, this week’s mix has been knocking around for a while – I even played it to my brother on the driver to visit my Dad in hospital a month or so ago, he’s probably been wondering what’s happened to it.

Truth be told, there’s a song in it which I had grave reservations about keeping in. It sounded, to these ears, perfect for where it sits in the mix, but the tone and lyrical content bothered me. But, in the end I’ve kept it in, with this huge disclaimer and one of these slapped on it:

The tune after it isn’t particularly tasteful either, mind. Do I need to put that image in twice?

Nah, you’ll cope, I think.

Let’s do this, shall we?

Friday Night Music Club Vol 42

And here’s you track-listing and – yes, again – sleeve-notes:

1. T. Rex – 20th Century Boy

I figured I’d start this week with a crunching intro, and there’s none more crunching than this, is there? Not even Placebo’s cover of it. Although maybe the noise Bolan’s car made when it hit that tree comes close.

2. Muse – Supermassive Black Hole

Obviously I wish to avoid libel litigation about copyright, but there’s something about the start of this one which reminds me of the record which precedes it.

Muse will forever in my mind be the band that, when a friend wanted to go see them headline the Pyramid Stage at Glastonbury on the Sunday night back in 2004, caused me to snap, my persona as the mild-mannered janitor father figure of our group (because I was the oldest, and carried a ruck-sack with paracetamol in it, amongst *coughs* other things) briefly exposed, when I told them to “Fuck off and watch Muse then, we’re staying here to watch Orbital” (who were excellent, by the way).

3. Nine Inch Nails – Head Like A Hole

A tune which will forever remind me of Metros, the oft-mentioned indie club in Cardiff that gave out free toast at 3am, because if there was one thing you could guarantee in there (apart from the toast) was that they would drop this at some point.

Also: Nine Inch Nails have only got two decent tunes, haven’t they? This, and Hurt, which most of us only know because of the (far-superior) version by Johnny Cash. (*Sits back and waits for the vitriolic comments telling me Trent Reznor is a genius*)

4. Radiohead – There There. (The Boney King of Nowhere.)

Glastonbury memory time again, and if I recall correctly, they opened their 2003 set with this, and I still get goosebumps whenever I hear it.

5. The Kills – Future Starts Slow

The Kills have more than one one decent tune – who knew? 2-2 with Nine Inch Nails.

6. My Morning Jacket – Holdin’ On to Black Metal

This was out at roughly the same time as The Kills’ tune, and I always thought they’d sound good next to each other, and now I know whether I was right or not (clue: I was).

7. The Soundtrack Of Our Lives – Sister Surround

Speaking of Black Metal, we’re off to Scandinavia, the home of such dark forces, for this one, for one by the vastly underknown and under-rated The Soundtrack Of Our Lives. If you like this, check out the album it’s from, Behind The Music.

8. Broken Social Scene – 7/4 (Shoreline)

A collective from Canada. Canada don’t do ‘bands’, do they? It’s all collectives. Oh, and Bieber, Celine and Bryan, but let’s ignore them.

This is the original source of my oft-used phrase “a great cacophony of glorious noise”, which is still my favourite description of a record ever (by me) (athough, I’d rather substitute ‘great’ for ‘magnificent’, because that’s what this is).

9. The Polyphonic Spree – Lithium

A couple of Nirvana covers for you now. This is just chuffing great. That’s all.

10. Richard Cheese – Rape Me

Ok, so this is the tune I had reservations about including. And here’s why: I think the original is woefully misguided. To be serious for a moment; rape, be it of women or men, is not an easy subject to be addressed in song. Also: you can’t ask to be raped, because that infers complicity, and that’s the polar opposite of what rape is.

That said, I do think Mr Cheese manages to prick the balloon of pomposity here, so it’s in. My apologies to anyone offended.

11. Mojo Nixon & Skip Roper – Debbie Gibson Is Pregnant With My Two Headed Love Child

Speaking of offensive, here’s a side-burned rockabilly type with a long and objectionably titled tune, which I have to admit I have a bit of a soft spot for.

For younger viewers, Debbie Gibson was one of a clutch (along with Tiffany, also name-checked in the song) of teenage pop singers with a schmaltzy, sweeter than sweet, girl next door image. I also thought that, when the pop hits inevitably dried up, she appeared in some porn movies, but this turns out not to be correct, and trust me, I’ve spent many hours searching. Which reminds me, I most clear my browser history.

12. Billy Bragg – A13, Trunk Road To The Sea

I went to see Billy last night, and he was every bit as brilliant, charming, engaging, polemic and funny as he has been every time I’ve seen him. He didn’t play this, which is a bit disappointing, but then he can’t possibly play every song I love by him or we’d still be there now. Fortuitously, I have a lot of his records, so the past 24 hours (when I haven’t been writing this) have been spent mostly with him blaring away in the background

Anyway, this is a riotous romp and a piss-take of Route 66 and it’s bloody grear, but you already knew that, right?

13. Kirsty MacColl – There’s A Guy Works Down The Chip Shop Swears He’s Elvis

Of course, when Billy did A New England last night – final song, as always – we all sang the extra verse he wrote for her version, as a tribute to Kirsty. But that’s already featured in this series before, and I’ve learned my lesson, so this is one which is just as great, has one of the greatest titles in pop history, and which, crucially, she wrote herself.

14. The Beach Boys – Heroes and Villains

I dunno, it just sounded right next to Kirsty. Also: it’s November, we all need a little sun in our lives right now, right?

Also, it gives me the opportunity to post this (again):

I saw Adam live a few years back, preparing and refreshing material he intended to include on his Old Bits DVD; he did this, the clip went on for much longer, and I was laughing so hard I almost slid off my chair.

15. Sugababes – Push The Button

Shut it. I can throw a random 2000s girl group banger in if I like. S’my blog, I’ll do what I like.

16. The Jam – Man In The Corner Shop

Time for a serious, Red Wedgey ending. I first became aware of this record years after it was released, when I saw The Men They Couldn’t Hang do a (rather fine) cover of it live, introduced by the words: “Paul Weller’s asked us to stop doing this one. He’s not here tonight, is he? Good. Let’s do it.”

17. Redskins – Keep On Keepin’ On!

Right-oh, brothers, sisters and siblings, will do!

And that’s it for another week. More soon!

Late Night Stargazing

*Picks chicken and noodles from his ears*

This should have appeared last week, but, because I’m an idiot, I forgot to schedule it to be posted.

So here you go: Cindy Wilson.

You know Cindy. No, you do. She’s the one out of the B-52’s that didn’t keep cropping up on R.E.M. records. Yeh, the one with the beehive hairdo. The blonde one with the beehive hairdo, anyway.

Cindy has recently released her second solo album, Change, and, even though it’s devoid of much of the quirkiness which characterises much of the B-52’s output, it’s still pretty great,

Here’s one of the tracks from it and, if I know you (and I think I do by now), I reckon you’ll like it:

Cindy Wilson – Things I’d Like to Say

Not bad, eh? Told you.

More soon.

How To Do a Cover Version

## WARNING – THIS POST CONTAINS MUSIC BY COLDPLAY – AVOID IF AT ALL POSSIBLE ##

Right, you’ve had fair warning. Nobody can sue me now for what’s about to happen.

Picture the scene: it’s 2010 and I’m at Glastonbury, because I’m super cool and, more pertinently, both middle-class and middle-aged. I’m exactly the type of ticket-buying sap the Eavis’ prey on.

Unlike many Glastonbury’s I’ve been to, the weather has been extraordinarily good. There isn’t even a hint of sludge beneath my feet.

It’s Saturday night, and I’m at a loose end. There’s nobody I especially want to see headlining: on the Pyramid Stage, it’s Muse. On the Avalon Stage, The Lightning Seeds. I have beef with them both. On the John Peel Stage, it’s Jamie T. I know and like precisely one of his records, and that hadn’t even been released at this point.

And then, on The Other Stage, are the Pet Shop Boys. Whilst, at the time, I didn’t dislike them, I’m not keen. Because I remember.

Oh yes, I remember.

I remember how their cover version of Always on My Mind stopped The Pogues (and, lest we forget, Kirsty MacColl) Fairytale of New York from being the Christmas #1 that was rightly theirs.

I remember the NME cover splash, where they announced they were “The Smiths You Can Dance To.”

“Excuse me! You can’t whirl around the dancefloor to the bloody Pet Shop Boys, brandishing an imaginary bunch of gladioli, over-sized shirt open to the naval, whilst pretending to have a hearing aid! That would look ridiculous!”

Hel and Llŷr, my partners in crime for the weekend, persuaded me to stay and watch. And they were right, and I am eternally grateful, For that night, the former Smash Hits journalist and the wordless one put on a show which utterly changed my opinion of them. I’d go as far as to say that they Crowded House-d it that night.

I’ll explain: You remember when Crowded House put out a Greatest Hits album, right? And to generate interest, the advertisement campaign reminded you that ‘You Know More Crowded House Records Than You Think You Do’. Which, if you think you don’t know any, is probably true.

And that’s what the Pet Shop Boys did that night. They put on a show. They gave us every hit they ever had, and more besides. And there was Dusty Springfield, up on the big screen, doing her bits on What Have I Done To Deserve This?, refusing to accept that she’d been dead for 11 years at this point.

Moreover, they made me realise that, actually, I really like the Pet Shop Boys.

And then they did this, segueing from Domino Dancing into, well, you’ll see:

I didn’t recognise it, because I try to ignore Coldplay as much as I can. But I found myself singing along to the “Whoa-a-ohhh-o’s”, which I seemed to know, but didn’t know where from.

Out of the corner of my eye, I spotted Hel and Llŷr sniggering.

“Hurrr, hurrr…You like Coldplay!” giggled Hel, doing her best Butthead impression.

“Oooh, I’m Jez and I love Chris Martin!” said Llŷr/Beavis.

“Is this Coldplay??” I exclaimed.

Yes, Jez. Yes it was.

Here’s the proper Pet Shop Boys version, released as a Christmas single back in 2009:

Pet Shop Boys – Domino Dancing & Viva la Vida

And here, not for the faint hearted, is the original. Do not click on the following link if you are of a nervous disposition.

Coldplay – Viva La Vida

More soon, once I’ve scrubbed myself from head to toe with a pumice stone, doused myself in paraffin and dunked my ears into a mug of warm chicken and noodle broth.

Friday Night Music Club Vol 40

Well, here we are again.

It’s Friday!

It’s Night! (at least it is here in the UK).

It’s time for the Friday Night Music Club!

You’re right. It’s not as catchy as this:

I’ll work on it, I promise.

Anyhoo, this is the 40th edition of the Friday Night Music Club, and I intended to mark it with an absolute banger, but then I figured: 50 is only 10 away, I’ll keep my powder dry for that.

That’s not to say I think that this one isn’t much cop, because it is. Just, there’s more to come.

And a rarity this week: a mix which features neither The Wedding Present or Super Furry Animals. How ever have I coped??

Well, you’ll see. But first, there’s one tune this week which, unless I’ve misheard the lyrics, deserves one of these:

Actually, it seems there are two songs which require this warning, but I’m not so sure. You’ll see what I mean…

So, let’s crack on, shall we?

Friday Night Music Club Vol 40

And here’s your track-listing and, yes, for the second week running, even though I said I wouldn’t be doing them any more, sleeve-notes:

1. The Jesus & Mary Chain – Just Like Honey

This absolute beauty always seems to end up at the end of Indie-mixes, I think probably because of where it sits in Lost of Translation, the wonderful Bill Murray/Scarlett Johansen movie, and where it figures in that (at the end) and the subsequent resurgance of interest in the works of the Reid brothers that aren’t The Proclaimers. But I say “No!” Stick it right at the top where we can all enjoy it’s majesty.

2. The Stone Roses – This Is The One

Speaking of majesty, an often over-looked track from their debut album.

It’s funny how songs can transport you back to a moment, often insignificant, but a memory nonetheless. Back when I was at college – and, before I go any further, I know this is neither an interesting or amusing anecdote – me and a girl I was moderately obsessed with at college (but who I spectacularly failed to get anywhere with, shifted far too quickly in to the Friend Zone for my liking as I was) were going to spend an evening at a mutual friend’s house, which neither of us had visited before. As we walked down the road towards his house, one of us pointed at a house and said “I think this is the one”. It wasn’t. The other said “No, this is the one” and so we went on, pointing at houses and singing this song. See, I told you it wasn’t a great anecdote, but still, whenever I hear this, I’m transported back to that dark November evening. And it pisses me right off.

3. Björk – Army Of Me

Another one of those: yes, it may have cropped up on one of those Top of the Pops reruns on BBC4 the other week, but honestly, this mix was in its first draft then, and this was already on it.

It’s staggering to me that Björk is mostly remembered by the masses for It’s Oh So Quiet rather than this or, let’s be honest, her first album, which is pretty much flawless in my book.

4. The Chemical Brothers (feat. Kele Okereke) – Believe

Nothing to say about this, other than it’s a banger (obvs) and that it sounded right, right here.

5. The Rapture – Whoo! Alright-Yeah… Uh Huh

Proving they weren’t just all about the House of Jealous Lovers, this is the tune which attracts that parental warning for – and I haven’t checked that I’ve not misheard – their use of the C-Bomb in this one. I have no problem with it’s useage per se but I appreciate some do, and you can only use it in certain company. Personally, I wish all the stigma was removed, and it entered into everyday use. I think most would be perfectly happy to see our licence fee spent paying newsreaders to use it sparingly, but where deserved. Imagine the news starting with: “That spineless C* Rishi Sunak still hasn’t sacked that useless, inflamatory C* Suella Braverman.” I mean, it’s not partisan, but it is accurate.

6. Girls Aloud – No Good Advice (Parental Advisory Version)

The first Girls Aloud record I ever bought. I wasn’t fussed on Sound of the Underground at the time, but don’t let yourself think that precludes it from featuring here at some point. Anyway, I cannot spot any difference in the lyrics between this version and the radio-safe single version to warrant the ‘Parental Advisory Version’ tag, but I’m not in marketing, what do I know?

7. The Knack – My Sharona

Because if you’re going to post No Good Advice then you have to post the song it nicked (You can’t say that – Legal Ed.) borrowed (or that – Legal Ed.) seems to have been heavily influenced by (I think that’s ok – Legal Ed.)

8. Lloyd Cole & the Commotions – Rich

Included for the following reasons: 1) having seen Lloyd live a couple of weeks ago, I’m mildly obsessed; 2) this is bloody great, and 3) the drums fit with My Sharona. It’s not exactly rocket science, this, is it?

9. Strawberry Switchblade – Since Yesterday

Staying North of the Border for the time being, I need no reason to include this other than, after all these years (it was released in 1985) it still sounds as ruddy marvellous as it did back then.

10. Belle & Sebastian – Waiting For The Moon To Rise

From their extensive back-catalogue, I’ve lifted this from my favourite album by them (don’t @ me), the superbly titled: Fold Your Hands Child, You Walk Like A Peasant.

11. Acid House Kings – Do What You Wanna Do

Positive message #1 time. Hear what they say, then put it into action, preferably whilst pretending to be Scandinavian and wearing a beige roll-neck sweater.

12. Sweet Sensation – Sad Sweet Dreamer

It’s been a while since I slung in a cheesy 70s tune, so this is me making up for lost time.

13. Madonna – Papa Don’t Preach

Madge, if we are to believe the lyrics, refused to remain a sad sweet dreamer, and instead did what she wanted to do. Her Papa in the video, played by Danny Aiello in the video, dressed in, as I recall, a rather unflattering white vest, didn’t preach, he just rolled his eyes. Sean Penn and Guy Ritchie probably did the same.

14. Smokey Robinson – Shop Around

Madge, if she wasn’t going to listen to Danny, should perhaps have listened to Smokey’s Mama, and then she wouldn’t have been in the fictional mess she found herself in.

15. 10,000 Maniacs – Stockton Gala Days (MTV Unplugged version)

A first for the Friday Night Music Club (I think) – a live performance. I have waxed lyrical about this record on these pages before, and I stand by every word. I adore Natalie Merchant’s vocals generally, and love the original version of this (from their 1992 album Our Time In Eden) but man alive! There’s not a song on their 1993 MTV Unplugged album that I don’t think is better than the original. Invest, it’s worth it, I promise.

16. The Folksmen, Mitch & Mickey, The New Main Street Singers – A Mighty Wind

Positive message #2. And so, for the second week running, I’m ending on a message of peace. Yes, it’s from the team that brought us This is Spinal Tap; yes, the film is a bit of a piss-take of the US folk scene, but yes! This, God-bothering subtext aside, is bloody great. Enjoy.

More soon.

Sunday Morning Coming Down

It’s been a couple of years since I posted anything from the excellent covers compilation Holding Things Together: The Merle Haggard Songbook so it’s about time I redressed that.

Here’s Country Joe McDonald, he of …and The Fish/Feel Like I’m Fixin’ to Die fame with a good old hillbilly stomp through Rainbow Stew:

Country Joe McDonald – Rainbow Stew

More soon.

Friday Night Music Club Vol 39

You. Yes, you.

Well done on succesfully navigating another week! Yay, it’s Friday! And you know what that means, right?

Right!

Another 60 minute (or so) mix of utter tunes, put together for your delectation by Yours Truly.

And this week, since I had a bit of time on my hands (as you may have noticed by the appearance of mid-week posts), I’ve even bothered to do sleeve notes for you. I know, I know, I’m too kind.

Which means I don’t need to waffle on with this introduction any more, let’s get going!

Friday Night Music Club Vol 39

1. The White Stripes – We’re Going to Be Friends

I don’t write about him as much these days, limiting my mentions of him to the anniversary of his passing and of his birthday, not because the memory of him has faded – it hasn’t, I still think of him every day – but on the night that Channel 4 are doing their annual Stand Up To Cancer fundraiser, it seemed appropriate to include a couple of songs which remind me of my dear, departed buddy Llŷr in tonight’s mix.

This song makes me think of when we first met. Introduced by a mutual acquantaince (who then omitted to invite either of us to his wedding, the bastard), I knew instantly we were going to hit it off, although I had no idea that it would be to the extent it turned out.

2. Super Furry Animals – Slow Life

You’ll have noticed that pretty much every mix I do has either something by the Super Furries or The Wedding Present, because I adore them both. But SFA were very much mine and Llŷr’s band; we saw them countless times together. and, when he passed back in 2019, I wrote this about our relationship with this particular tune:

“Never again will we go to a Super Furry Animals gig together, as we did countless times, and laugh with each other as we basked in our self-perceived glory when we air-drummed the fill after the bridge on this tune, which we did every time, without fail, much to the bemusement and confusement of anyone who was with us.”

(Should you wish to, you can read the whole post here)

(But come back when you’ve read it, ok?)

I still do that, by the way. Every time, without fail. Actually, on the rare occasion I miss it, I’ll go back to the start and listen to it again, and make damned sure I remember this time, tipping a wink in Llŷr’s direction (or at least, where I imagine him to be, which needless to say is up rather than down). I got some very strange looks when I listened to it, and performed the air-drum fill and wink on the train on the way to work earlier this week. Miss you, dude.

3. Razorlight – Stumble & Fall

When I lived in Cardiff, some friends (Llŷr, his sister Hel and her flat-mate Jo, the two Matts, probably Dum-Dum too) and I went to see Foo Fighters play. The odd thing was that, although internationally succesful and famous, they were the support act to some band called Oasis, whoever they might be. Also on the bill: Razorlight, and when lead singer Johnny Borell took his shirt off to reveal his pasty. boney torso mid-set, I will forever remember Jo, unironically, shouting “Phwooooooaaaaaaarrrrr!”, to disbelieving looks from all of our group, and quite a few people we didn’t know in our vicinity.

Anyway, I appreciate they blotted their indie-credentials with the utterly turgid America, but I do still rather like their debut album, Up All Night (the rebels! I’m reminded of The Young Ones and Cliff Richard’s Comic Relief single Livin’ Doll, where Rik says: “”Hey kids, stop snogging and pay attention to me. ‘Cause if you’re a wild-eyed loner standing at the gates of Oblivion, hitch a ride with us. ‘Cause we’re on the last freedom moped out of Nowhere City, and we haven’t even told our parents what time we’ll be back!”) from which this is lifted.

Oh go on then, here you go:

4. Duran Duran – Notorious

I wasn’t particularly fond of this when it came out. I mean, it’s no Planet Earth, Girls on Film or Hungry Like the Wolf, is it? But it popped up on shuffle the other day, and I’ve re-evaluated it. It’s not that bad, is it? Sure, it’s from when their popularity was perhaps on the wane a little, but at least it’s not one of those bloody awful cover versions they released a whole album of.

5. The Power Station – Some Like It Hot

Or double Duran, Duran Duran Duran Duran if you prefer. For whilst Duran took a hiatus in the mid-80s, and Simon le Bon and Nick Rhodes went off to release some not very memorable stuff under the name Arcadia,  John Taylor and Andy Taylor went off and formed a supergroup with singer Robert Palmer and former Chic drummer Tony Thompson. And this was the result, and rather good it is too in my opinion.

Dedicated to Llŷr’s older sister and my former flat-mate and bezzy mate (who I’m appalled to realise I’ve not seen for a year, mostly due to my heath issues preventing me from getting out and about), and whose birthday it was a couple of weeks ago. She used to refer to herself as “The Future Mrs John Taylor”; I’m not sure how her current husband feels about that. Unthreatened, I’d imagine.

6. Franz Ferdinand – This Fire

Don’t worry, I’m not about to go off on a “things that are hot” theme.

7. The Rakes – 22 Grand Job

See? Nothing to do with hot things, fire, or burning, unless you happen to be one of The KLF, which you’re probably not.

8. Let’s Wrestle – We Are the Men You’ll Grow To Love Soon

This has featured on these pages before, but it’s worth a revist, because it’s truly great. How can you not love a song which contains the line: “We are the most reliable guys in the world/But we’ve got enough money to buy some G&T’s for the girls”? You can’t can you, go on admit it.

9. Supergrass – Moving

Many years ago, back in Cardiff, one night after clubbing and seeking…er…’refuge’ in The Flat of Filty, Dum-Dum asked me, apropos of nothing it seemed, who sang this. It was an unusual question, as indie pop wasn’t really his bag, but it transpired that he was doing a DJ/mixing course, and he wanted to do a dance mix of this. I furnished him with the necessary information, can’t remember if I lent or even offered to lend him my copy or not (probably not) and have no idea if he ever did the mix or what it sounded like. Dum-Dum, if you’re reading this, let me know? I’m intrigued.

10. E-Zee Posse Feat MC Kinky – Everything Starts With An ‘E’

Well, yes it does, doesn’t it? Some people would have it that this song is about drugs. Nonsense. They’ll be saying Ebeneezer Goode is about drugs next too, rather than being a perfectly innocent song about a Victorian gentleman cursed with looking like Jerry Sadowitz, as we all know it to be.

11. Basement Jaxx – Red Alert

This song will forever be etched in my brain when it made an appearance at a friend’s wedding many years ago. For entertainment, they had booked a karaoke, and I remember Hel and our friend Vicky bouncing about the tiny stage performing this.

Actually, thinking about it, maybe it was Rendez-vous. I don’t know, my memory….It’s almost like I’d had a few drinks that night (not enough to get up and sing, mind).

The wedded couple divorced a rather short time later. Nothing to do with Hel and Vicky’s performance, I’m (fairly) sure.

12. Timo Maas (featuring MC Chickaboo) – Shifter

The one that isn’t Get Down, or that jaw-dropping Muse remix he did once (I’ll dig it out sometime). Still ruddy brilliant though.

13. Billie Ray Martin – Your Loving Arms

Not to be confused with old line-dancing mullet chops Billy Ray Cyrus. This, from the former Electribe 101 frontwoman, is pure class.

14. Moby – We Are All Made Of Stars (DJ Tiesto’s Full Vocal Remix)

I’ve never been a massive fan of Moby – sure, I own a copy of Play, but it was practically against the law not to back in the late 1990s/early 2000s, when Moby and The Lightning Seeds battled it out to see who’s music could feature in the most adverts for the latest model of the Renault Espace. And perhaps he should be cancelled because of his “very disturbing” account of his relationship with Natalie Portman a few years ago (he claimed in his memoir that the two had dated, she described as being “… a much older man being creepy with me“).. But I bloody love this utterly trance-trousers banger. It contains a breakdown that is sooooooo trance, and so wonderful, it should rightly feature in my series about exactly that sort of thing, a series the total number of posts currrently stands at *checks notes* one. Ahh.

15. Faithless – We Come 1

Let’s be honest, the world seems an utterly nasty place right now. And whilst I don’t wish to get into commenting on the whole situation (C’mon Keir. How hard can it be to say you want a ceasefire?), I’ll leave it to the much missed pacifist Faithless frontman Maxi Jazz to comment from beyond the grave thus: “Would it not be madness to fight?”

More soon.