Sunday Morning Coming Down

Sometimes, writing this is easy.

Because sometimes, whoever I decide to post needs no introduction.

Here’s Bob Dylan:

Bob Dylan – One More Night

More soon.

It’s Over (Almost)

Well, I certainly wasn’t expecting that to happen next.

So, since I don’t have a record entitled “Don’t Let the Door Hit You in the Arse on Your Way Out”, this will have to do:

Lonnie Donegan – The Party’s Over

..which is perhaps a little too mournful than anyone other than ‘Mad’ Nad Dorries should be feeling today.

Allow me to try again:

Bob Dylan – It’s All Over Now, Baby Blue

No, that’s not quite right either.

How about this:

Field Music – The Noisy Days Are Over

Better, but it still doesn’t quite capture the mood.

Wait. I have it. The perfect record for the demise of the self-proclaimed Big Dog:

Florence + The Machine – Dog Days Are Over

Except it’s not actually over yet. Anyone watching his resignation speech today can’t help but have noted that there was not one note of contrition in his voice, no acknowledgement that this was all of his own doing. The only thing he said he was sorry about was that he was having to resign, giving up “the best job in the world” (something which, after the tawdry revelations last week, the current Mrs Johnson may be a little affronted to hear). The over all feeling I got watching him was that he still doesn’t think that he’s done anything wrong.

(I say “current Mrs Johnson” as I do wonder how long she will remain, shall we say, ‘in position’. For without power, what does he have that she finds so attractive? Besides which, it’s only a matter of time before he gets caught dipping his chip in someone else’s sauce bottle.)

Shortly after his speech, I found myself in the unique, unsual and uncomfortable position of actually agreeing with something that Tory MP and cheer-leader for economic suicide Andrew Bridgen said in an interview: “He didn’t say the words ‘I resign’,” he noted, before adding what is tantamount to his catch-phrase: “Leave means Leave”, that smug look on his face that nobody would ever get tired of punching.

So perhaps this is a much more relevant tune:

Lenny Kravitz – It Ain’t Over ‘Til It’s Over

Now it pains me to have to admit that Bridgen could ever be right (as in correct) about anything, and it’s certainly not a circumstance I hope or anticipate ever being in again, but he has a point.

For Johnson may have resigned, but he will remain in place until his successor is chosen, a process which is likely to take some time. We’ve been here before on several occasions recently, but to refresh your memory: Conservative MPs who wish to be considered put themselves forward as candidates and form campaign teams to seek the backing of parliamentary colleagues. If there are multiple candidates, the field is then whittled down in a series of ballots until only two remain, at which point their names are sent to grassroots Tory members across the country for a vote on the final choice.

That process is unlikely to complete until September, so we’re stuck with him until then. And so he has just over a month to continue lining the pockets of his oligarch buddies, whilst also wreaking as much havoc on the economy and our pockets as possible.

As the candidates make themselves know – and it seems there will be many – I’ll try to return to assess (read: slag off) each of them. But until then, one name has already emerged as a favourite, a name I did not recognise which, given that he is apparently the Defence Secretary, and given, to use Tory vernacular, “we’re at war with Russia” (Spoiler: we’re not, Ukraine is), it goes to show what a fine job he’s been doing.

I speak of Ben Wallace, and since I first heard his name earlier today, I’ve had this in my brain, which I shall leave you with for today:

swedemason – Masterchef Synesthesia

More soon.

Friday Night Music Club

It’s Friday yet again (crowd: Hooray!), which means it’s time for your weekly hastily tossed together carefully constructed playlist once again (crowd: shrugs of indifference), and this week we’re back to me splitting down a previous multi-hour playlist into several, easier to digest, hour-long composite parts.

Those of you who rejoiced when it became clear that Vol 2 would only be two playlists long, and those who danced with far more joy than when I post any playlist at the news that I wasn’t going to bother with Vol 3 because I hated it so much, prepared under the extremes of a lockdown Christmas as it was, will be disappointed to learn that this week we start on Vol 4, and this was 4h 41m long when it first saw light of day back in April 2021.

Here’s what I wrote about the full mix last time out:

“…pretty much all life is here, from indie rock to 60s California hippy-shtick, some Old Skool dance classics, some hip-hop and some soul classics via some Northern Soul belters via some TV show theme tunes (sort of); there’s some hoary old rock and some psychobilly, and a couple of tracks which should have featured in a New post by now, but the bands in question played the 6Music festival last weekend so you’ll probably know them intimately by now. And, of course, there’s The Fall.

Easy on the cheese this time, there’s even some poetry so we can all pretend we’re intellectual. You’ll have chance to dance, sit and recover for a few moments, before getting back on it again.”

NB: not all of these selling points feature in this week’s mix.

But fear not the two of you who listened to the full mix last time out: I’ve tinkered with the running order a little, and ditched a song or two which didn’t seem to fit, so it should be sufficiently different should you decided to give it another whirl.

Not before the usual disclaimer: any skips or jumps are down to the mixing software (touch wood, I didn’t notice any when I listened back to it); any mis-timed mixes are down to me (there’s not much actual ‘mixing’ to be done here, but even then I’m not 100% happy with one that I did), all record selections are, of course, mine. Who else do you think would do this and admit it?

Oh, and unlike the first time around, there’s an actual track-listing for you:

Friday Night Music Club Vol 4.1

1. BMX Bandits – Serious Drugs
2. The Kills – The Good Ones
3. Queens of the Stone Age – Feel Good Hit of the Summer
4. Super Furry Animals – Something For The Weekend
5. Primal Scream – Rocks
6. The Cramps – Bop Pills
7. The Fall – White Lightning
8. Bob Dylan – Subterranean Homesick Blues
9. The Mamas & The Papas – Creeque Alley
10. Marlena Shaw – California Soul
11. Shirley Ellis – Soul Time
12. The Go! Team – Bottle Rocket
13. The Phenomenal Handclap Band – 15 to 20 [Den Hann Remix]
14. Justice – D.A.N.C.E.
15. The Shamen – Move Any Mountain (Beat Edit)
16. iio – Rapture [John Creamer & Stephane K Remix]
17. Kosheen – Hide U [John Creamer & Stephane K Remix]

Enjoy!

More soon.

Good Friday Night Music Club

By which I mean, a Friday Night Music Club mix for Good Friday, as opposed to “At last! A good Friday Night Music Club!”

I’ve “ummed & ahhed” about posting this one to be honest; whilst I am not in the least bit religious – I’m firmly in the “religion is the opium of the people” camp – I do think it’s important to respect those who do have faith, no matter in which God, and I didn’t want this to come across as me taking the mick.

Besides, if I’m going to happily accept some extra days off work at Christmas and Easter, it would be rude to bite The Hand that feeds me.

That said, when you’re trying to find pop songs which in some way relate to the biggest Christian festival of the year, of which there are few, and whilst also trying to stay away from obviously religious songs, of which there are many, one does worry that what I’ve prepared may see disrespectful. Genuinely, it’s not meant to be, and I hope it isn’t.

See, I think I’ve dodged that particular pitfall by trying to make this mix so that it roughly follows the events of Easter weekend (as far as I can remember from junior school), starting a little earlier with Judas’s betrayal of Jesus, through Peter’s repeated denials, the crucifixion and resurrection, with some stuff about chocolate and bunnies thrown in to cover the Saturday, when nothing much happened. Apologies if I have misremembered the ‘true’ sequence. If only someone had written it down in some kind of, I dunno, good book that I could have referred to…

I also wanted to avoid including anything from obvious film or theatre portrayals, so there’s nothing from Andrew Lloyd-Webber and Tim Rice’s Jesus Christ Superstar or from Monty Python’s Life of Brian. Oh ok, there is a teensy bit of Life of Brian in there, but don’t fret, it’s not Always Look on the Bright Side of Life.

For those of you pondering Dylan’s inclusion, he’s in there for two reasons: firstly, the song title seemed pretty apt, and secondly, because of the infamous moment when someone shouted “Judas” at him at a gig after he dared to start playing an electric guitar. This of course only makes him the third worst Judas that I’m aware of: there’s the obvious Iscariot chap at #1, and of course Sol Campbell at #2, for leaving Tottenham on a free transfer to go to play for Arsenal. (See, if I was religious, I’d have forgiven him by now.)

Anyway, as I say, I’m honestly not trying to offend with this mix (so there’s no need for an ‘effing and jeffing’ warning this week), rather the idea is to offer up a way that non-Christians can enjoy the weekend’s activities from a musical perspective, and who knows, perhaps even engage in a way they haven’t done for a long time.

Here we go then:

Good Friday Night Music Club

Here’s your track-listing:

• !!! – Even Judas Gave Jesus A Kiss
• Cowboy Junkies – Good Friday
• Bob Dylan – Knocking on Heaven’s Door
• Prince – The Cross
• The Beatles – Carry That Weight
• That Petrol Emotion – Creeping to the Cross
• Monty Python – Not So Bad Once You’re Up
• Army Of Lovers – Crucified
• Shanks & Bigfoot – Sweet Like Chocolate
• Kylie Minogue – Chocolate
• Ash – Return Of White Rabbit
• The Undertones – More Songs About Chocolate and Girls
• The White Stripes – The Denial Twist
• Mott the Hoople – Roll Away the Stone
• Status Quo – Resurrection
• Gabrielle – Rise
• The Cardigans – Rise And Shine

Here comes the disclaimer: any skips or jumps are down to the mixing software; any mis-timed mixes are down to me; all record selections are mine.

Oh, and for those of you rolling your eyes at the inclusion of yet another Quo tune, you’d best avoid BBC4 tonight, for it’s Quo night, making today not just a Good Friday but a great one!

More soon.

Christmas Eve Music Club

A couple of weeks ago, I had the dubious distinction of co-hosting this year’s Christmas Party at work.

This involved me and three others planning and then hosting the event, which got moved to an online virtual party a little more than a week before it was scheduled for, due to the latest Covid strain and the advice to avoid face-to-face meetings unless they were absolutely necessary. This meant a lot of frantic rewriting, but it all went well in the end, with remarkably few technical issues. I’ll maybe write some more about this later.

You won’t be surprised to learn that my main contribution with regards to content was a pop quiz, in the form of a Spot the Intro round. The organisers last year had done one about Christmas Number Ones, so I had planned to do one about Christmas Number Twos, mostly so that I could make a particularly lavatorial joke.

However, you’d be surprised how many records which were #2 in the UK charts on Christmas Day are not particularly Christmassy at all, so it got changed to The Not The Christmas Number One Quiz, which isn’t a particularly snappy title, I must confess.

I prepared 20 intros of Christmas records and invited the attendees to name the song, the artist, the year it was originally a hit, and what was actually #1 that Christmas.

This allowed we to slip in a few gags when delivering the answers: “That was Coldplay with Christmas Lights, setting the template for the soundtrack to every M&S advert since” and, my favourite, “From 2008, that’s It’s Christmas Time by Status Quo, which was kept off the #1 slot by Alexandra Burke’s Hallelujah. That, and 38 other records.”

Anyway, that put me in the mood for doing a Christmas mix, remembering that this time last year Christmas was cancelled and I posted a very long and defiantly un-Christmassy mix.

My brother is picking me up to go to be with our parents later today, so this mix is intended to be played on the journey over there (you’ve been warned, bruv!), and then when we arrive too. As such it’s geared towards Christmas Eve, travelling home, Santa visiting (and what the randy old dog gets up to when he does) and the hope that this Christmas is better than last year. It’s full of slightly obscure tunes and the occasional cover of a Christmas favourite. And you’ll be relieved to hear that, unlike most of my mixes, it’s only about an hour and a quarter long. There’s only so many jingling bells one can take.

The length doesn’t seem to have effected the occasional skip or jump (my usual disclaimer) but having listened to it through that shouldn’t spoil your enjoyment too much.

And yes, of course The Wedding Present and Status Quo (R.I.P. Rick) make appearances.

I’m having fun guessing at which song my father will try to work out how to turn the volume down a little, and when exactly my mother will ask just what on earth we’re listening to. I reckon if it’s not when Helen Love is covering Merry Christmas (I Don’t Wanna Fight) then it will certainly be when Mr. Hankey the Christmas Poo makes his annual appearance. And so we’re back to Christmas #2s.

Here you go:

Xmas Eve Music Club

And here’s the tracklisting:

1. Saint Etienne – Driving Home For Christmas
2. Summer Camp – Christmas Wrapping
3. Low – Just Like Christmas
4. Cuckooland – Silver Bells
5. Charley Pride – Christmas In My Home Town
6. Bruce Springsteen – Santa Claus Is Coming To Town
7. George Jones – My Mom And Santa Claus
8. John Prine – I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus
9. Bob Dylan – Must Be Santa
10. Girls Aloud – Not Tonight Santa
11. Eels – Everything’s Gonna Be Cool This Christmas
12. The Ronettes – Sleigh Ride
13. Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings – White Christmas
14. Joey Ramone – Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)
15. Helen Love – Merry Christmas (I Don’t Wanna Fight)
16. The Housemartins – Caravan of Love
17. Cocteau Twins – Frosty The Snowman
18. South Park – Mr. Hankey the Christmas Poo
19. The Wedding Present – Step into Christmas
20. Fountains Of Wayne – I Want An Alien For Christmas
21. Shonen Knife – Space Christmas
22. Ash – I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday
23. Julian Casablancas – I Wish It Was Christmas Today
24. Status Quo – It’s Christmas Time
25. Darlene Love – Marshmallow World
26. Weezer – We Wish You A Merry Christmas

I haven’t had time to prepare anything else to post over the Christmas weekend, but I’ll probably be back before the New Year, so for now I’ll just wish you all a very Merry Christmas.

More soon.

Friday Night Music Club

I was beginning to think this mix was jinxed.

I’ll explain, with some back story.

Firstly, I wanted to do a mix unlike the Not Christmas one, which I thought strayed a bit too far into the territories of cheese or chart music. Whilst it served a purpose, it wasn’t really indicative of the sort of tunes which usually feature here.

This one, though is a corker, even if I do say so myself.

Regular readers may recall that way back in the late 1980s, I started DJ’ing at college because I was fed up with being able to guess what song the indie DJs would play next. So imagine my annoyance when my own brother told me that on a previous mix he’d been able to predict my next choice a couple of times. Grrr.

But this mix has proved to be such a pain to complete; when I came to do it today, it tells me that some of the tunes have been played 22 times, which gives you an idea of how many times I’ve tried to get this one right. Pretty much once a week, since Christmas.

What’s gone wrong all those times? Well, on more than one occasion professional pride kicked in: I’ve messed up a mix between tunes, so have elected to start again.

On more than one occasion, preoccupied with playing Solitaire or Candy Crush just to have something to do whilst recording the mix, there’s a sudden, irretrievable silence where the next record should be. Oops!

Once I forgot to stop recording until an hour later, and, triumphant at how the mixes had worked out, I couldn’t understand why the mix lasted over 5 hours, until I listened to it.

The other problem is booze. More than once, I’ve taken drink to such an extent that I’ve forgotten I was doing a mix until the silence after one record has finished hits home and startled me awake.

Last weekend, I got to the third record from the end, and suddenly woke up to silence and realised I’d messed up again. That’s not an indictment of the standard of the mix, by the way, more an example of how drunk I’d gotten.

Even last night, when I finally nailed it, it was my second attempt of the night, having got through most of the mix when I had a drink-spillage event, which I thought I’d sorted, until, four records from the end, suddenly the sound cut out whilst the tunes kept playing and I had no idea if it was still recording the sound or the sound of silence.

Anyway, we’ve got here, and this has been a real pain, so if you could take a listen, that would be great.

I will confess that I have broken the golden rule of not featuring the same act more than once in this mix; this wasn’t intentional, but as the various run-throughs progressed, I simply forgot said acts already appeared as “featuring” acts. One is deliberate. Sue me (Please don’t).

Time for the usual disclaimer: any glitches, skips or jumps are down to the software or the uploading/downloading process, and nothing to do with my limited mixing skills.

Oh, and the usual “effing and jeffing” warning applies; it seems I’m incapable of doing a mix which doesn’t include more than the occasional swear.

I’m not posting a link to download here, other than the one to Soundcloud, where you can either download or stream it.

I couldn’t be bothered with the last ones, but I’ve done it this time: you’ll see a list of all the acts featured in this mix at the bottom of the page, so you can check whether this one’s likely to be your cup of tea before going to the hassle of actually listening to it. If you’re particularly short of things to do, you can try to guess which song I’ve picked by which artist. There’s fun.

But by way of a description: pretty much all life is here, from indie rock to 60s California hippy-shtick, some Old Skool dance classics, some hip-hop and some soul classics via some Northern Soul belters via some TV show theme tunes (sort of); there’s some hoary old rock and some psychobilly, and a couple of tracks which should have featured in a New post by now, but the bands in question played the 6Music festival last weekend so you’ll probably know them intimately by now. And, of course, there’s The Fall.

Easy on the cheese this time, there’s even some poetry so we can all pretend we’re intellectual. You’ll have chance to dance, sit and recover for a few moments, before getting back on it again.

Available for a limited time (i.e. until I do the next one), you can download or stream this on Soundcloud here:

Friday Night Music Club (Volume 4)

I hope you have as much fun listening to this as much as I had putting it together. And I found it utterly frustrating, so you’d better.

Oh, and it ain’t over ’til the fat bloke sings.

More soon.

Sunday Morning Coming Down

On February 17th, 1969, Johnny Cash and Bob Dylan booked themselves into the CBS Studios in Nashville, Tennessee and recorded a session which didn’t see the light of day until many years later.

Referred to as The Nashville Sessions, the duo recorded versions of each others songs, along with a few country standards, and the occasional cover version, none of which, as far as I can ascertain, have ever got an official release.

Here’s the two of them covering some cheeky young upstart called Elvis Presley’s debut single, itself a cover version but let’s not get into that just now:

Johnny Cash & Bob Dylan – That’s Alright, Mama

And I’m posting this today because today is my Mum’s birthday.

Happy Birthday Mum: love you loads, even if it does seem like I’m still in this mode sometimes (and I definitely got caught out like this at least once back in my *ahem* wild teenage years):

And no, me writing this is not her birthday present.

More soon.

Say What?

The other thing about baffling lyrics, is that sometimes you’re just astounded by the sheer audacity of the songwriter who has

a) having written them

b) tried them out and

c) then thought: “Yeh, that’s totally appropriate” and left them in.

Today’s song is one which I’ve had thrust into my virtual world ever since the fire at the Notre Dame Cathedral the other week.

In that context, it’s probably fine – a Gallic “we didn’t do it” shrug.

But buried amongst the “wants to be Subterranean Homesick Blues or at the very least It’s The End of the World as We Know It (And I Feel Fine)” lyrics of this song there lies an absolute gem of a “Sorry, what did he just say?” moment.

Look, there’s the sleeve, all “I am front page news and I have a message”, all self-important pomposity.

Which would be fine, in a 20th century history lesson kind of way, which the song essentially is.

But then, come the words which make Bono’s “Well tonight thank God it’s them instead of you” on Do They Know It’s Christmas? seem positively humanitarian.

I should give some background for my mentioning it: this is a song and a lyric which Hel and I always thought to be hilariously inappropriate, to the extent that whenever one of us hears it and the other isn’t there to bask in it’s iffy-glory, the one feels compelled to let the other one know a moment is happening.

Hence one night last week I got a series of texts from Hel, telling me that the DJ in wherever she was had just played this, and that nobody else enjoyed her singing along with mucho gusto to the line in question.

My take home message: everyone misses living with me at some point.

Alogether now:

“CHILDREN OF THALIDOMIDE!!”

Billy Joel – We Didn’t Start The Fire

Ouch.

More soon.

 

Late Night Stargazing

I’ve had this tune in my head for a while now.

Any song by Dylan reminds me of one particular friend who is a massive Dylan fan. He and his family are going through an unbearably tough time at the moment, and I’m not sure why this particular song has stuck – some of the lyrics seem to fit the current situation, some definitely don’t – but stuck with me it most definitely has.

Bob Dylan – Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right

More soon.

Nobel Prize Winning Drinking Game

You know that drinking game, where you have to remember all of the items previous players have named that they bought from a shop, correctly, in the same order, before adding your own item, for the next person to remember, until someone messes up and has to drink?

Well, this is the Christmas Song equivalent.

Bob Dylan – Must Be Santa

Bugger. *Drinks*

More soon.

*Hic*