Friday night is upon us again, and that can only mean one thing: a new mix of tip-top tunes from yours truly. (Well, actually, it can mean a lot of things: a Friday night takeaway, a couple of post-work pints, you get the gist. What I’m saying is: there’s room in your hectic playboy/girl lifestyle for this too).
This week’s mix has been picked from the debris of the one I mentioned having jetisoned last time out, but don’t let that put you off. I’ve over-run the usual 60 minutes mark, mostly because I was enjoying this one so much I kept lobbing in extra tracks until I decided to rest back, fully satisfied and fit to burst.
What we have this week, is a load of songs which mostly fall into the following categories: quiet build up; wicked bassline; who are these/I’ve forgotten about these/where are they now?; absolute stone cold classic. I’ll let you decide which falls into which box.
So welcome one and all, to this week’s mix for which I’ve done some sleeve notes, and included links so you can stream the individual song or album it comes from (don’t get used to this level of customer service, by the way), so I won’t waste any more time with my attempts to fashion a new introduction, let’s crack straight on shall we?
Friday Night Music Club Vol 55
- Kevin McDermott Orchestra – Mother Nature’s Kitchen
This is from 1989, but ignore the ever-so-slightly egotostical grandeur of the mention of Orchestra in the title. This is good old fashioned acoustic-driven folk/rock, like Mumford & Sons could have been if they weren’t insistent on being awful.
2. World Party – Ship Of Fools
I was very sad to hear of the passing of World Party main man, and ex-Waterboy, Karl Wallinger recently. I’ve been meaning to write something about how much I love their first album, Private Revolution, from which this is lifted, for a while, as a kind of eulogy, but time pressures blahblahblah. Maybe I’ll do something for SWC’s continually excellent Nearly Perfect Albums series over at No Badger Required. We’ll see.
3. The Charlatans – Forever
If you’ve ever been to see The Charlatans play live – and if you haven’t that’s something you should rectify as soon as possible – you’ll know that often – not always – they kick things off with this. It’s a near-perfect intro tune, the opening track on their 1999 Us and Us Only album, one of their finest in my opinion, and lawd knows they’ve been around for a goodly while, so it’s up against some stiff competition.
4. We Have Band – Hear It In The Cans
This lot should have been huge. I mean, listen to this: bouncy bass, spiky guitars, boy/girl shared vocals – I’m probably doing them a dis-service here, but I can imagine early B-52’s doing this, and I totally mean that as a compliment. This is from their debut album from 2010, WHB, a moniker under which they released further stuff, but, according to their wiki page, nothing since 2014, which is disappointing, because this is, well, just ace.
5. Metronomy – The Bay (Erol Alkan’s Extended Rework)
More boy/girl vocals and harmonies, more bouncing basslines, stretched out by DJ hero of mine, Erol Alkan. The original can be found on their 2011 album The English Riviera.
All these irresistable basslines mean I can’t resist, and nor can Alan…
Smooth.
6. Saint Etienne – Sylvie
Classic kitsch from Sarah, Bob and Pete. You don’t need me to tell you how ace they are/this is. It’s Saint Etienne, therefore….From their 1998 Good Humor album.
7. EMF – I Believe
It always struck me as amusing that their follow-up to the massive was Unbelieveable was a song called I Believe. If only they’d called the next one Now You Mention It, That’s a Thinker. From 1991’s Schubert Dip album.
8. Jesus Jones – Bring It On Down
Look, I know that time and history may not look favourably upon the likes of Jesus Jones. But what I think is often over-looked is how, with their blend of guitars and samples, bands like this very much laid the groundwork for devoted guitar obsessed indie kids, as I was back in 1989 (on their Liquidizer album) to like dance music. This was precursor for what was to follow: baggy, Madchester, indie/dance crossover, Screamadelica. It may have taken hold eventually, but it was because of the stuff that Jones’ and their likes released that blinkered idiots like me we were more receptive.
9. Pop Will Eat Itself – Def Con One
Ditto.
I bought this on 7″ single at college. with the specific intention of dropping it at the Indie Night I was DJ’ing at. Imagine my disappointment, and embarrasment having not listened to it before I played it out, that I’d bought the BBC-friendly version, where the integral “Big Mac” line had been changed to “Milk Shake”. How I ever managed to recover any credibility I’ll never know. You’ll find this of-it’s-time belter on 16 Different Flavours of Hell.
10. The Wonder Stuff – Don’t Let Me Down, Gently
Since we’re in the Black Country, an absolute banger from popular rhyming slang Miles Hunt and the boys, this, the first single from their 1989 second album Hup!, reached #19 in the UK charts, and deserved to have got a lot higher.
11. Crazyhead – What Gives You the Idea That You’re so Amazing Baby?
I’m not going to pretend this is a fine moment, let alone this Leicester band’s finest moment, but it does have one of the greatest titles of a single ever. This lot played the Students Union in my first year, before I was involved in the Ents side of things. I went to see them, liked them, but recall a conversation in the gents afterwards with a random which went pretty much like this:
Random: What did you think of them that, mate?
Me: Thought they were alright. Not sure about some of the song titles, though. I mean “I Don’t Want That Pint of Blood”? C’mon….
The song in question is actually I Don’t Want That Kind of Love and I was an idiot. Listen to their Desert Orchid album and tell me I’m a fool to have misheard.
12. The Jesus & Mary Chain – Taste of Cindy
There are three reasons this is here:
i) it’s ace
ii) it works at this point in the mix
iii) It provides a handy link to the next record, which you won’t know
13. John Moore & The Expressway – Something About You Girl
John Moore was, briefly, in The Jesus & Mary Chain. He took over from Bobby Gillespie on his very taxing drum duties, later moving to guitar, but left the band in 1988. He’s probably better know now for his involvement in Black Box Recorder, but this is what he did in between.
14. Westworld – Sonic Boom Boy
Whenever I hear this record, I immediately think of my old mate Tony, sadly no longer with us. Back in 2016, on what would have been his 50th birthday, I wrote this:
He sidled up to me once in the Sixth Form Common Room; a mixtape I had made was playing, and suddenly I was aware that Tony was standing by my side.
“This should be number one, shouldn’t it, mate?” he whispered to me.
In an ideal world, Tony, yes, it should have been. (It got to Number 11.)
And he was right, it should have been Number One because it’s bloody great, far better than most of the old tosh that was cluttering up the UK Singles Charts at the time. Who cares that they released nothing else of any note? That is a great record. Westworld were The Ting Tings of the 80s, only without the number one hit record.
I stand by that.
On a related note: I’m going to see The Wedding Present play in Cambridge in a couple of weeks (May 3rd). Tony would have loved to have been there, but for fairly obvious reasons, can’t be. As it happens, a mate who was supposed to be joining me and my old mate Richie has dropped out, so if you know anyone in the area who fancies joining us, let them know I have a spare, and to contact me via the Comments or by email.
15. Cliff Bennett & The Rebel Rousers – Got to Get You Into My Life
A Northern Soul-esque version of what is probably one of my favourite Beatles songs.
16. The Webb Brothers – I Can’t Believe You’re Gone
One of the tunes salvaged from the wreckage of that mix I mentioned last week. The Webb Brothers are the sons of Jimmy Webb, and that discarded mix ended with a run of Webb-related songs; this (from 2000’s wonderful Maroon album), the next song in this mix, and, sandwiched in-between, actor Richard Harris’ version of the Jimmy Webb MacArthur Park, which, much as I love it, I decided you probably don’t need to hear.
16. Glenn Campbell – Witchita Lineman
Written by Jimmy Webb, this is just one of the greatest records ever made. Fact.
That’s yer lot. ‘Til next time…
More soon.
A History of Dubious Taste 