A Very Festive 50

Friday - last day of term - arrived and with it .....SNOW!! We rarely get much snow here so it was very exciting, and meant the holiday started a day early. The temperature has stayed officially 'bloody freezing' so the snow is still here several days later. This has led to the usual snow related jinks, such as sledging (difficult in the flattest village in England), snowballing and watching Mrs Kev fall over on the way to the shop.

Santa should be loading his sledge by now, and en route he may well be listening to the Festive Fifty from the good people at the Contrast Podcast. So far we have had numbers 50 - 36, but part two should be arriving shortly. I'm worried that Animal Collective may get top spot - still can't see fuss myself - and gutted that my number 1 is unlikely to feature.

So, for the delectation of all, and the derision of a few, here is the 50 I submitted. It has made a great playlist on the ipod. Unlike many bloggers I shall resist the temptation to tease by posting only 10 at a time. Instead, glut and gorge on the full sugary delights in one mighty feast of reading......

1. Music Is A Princess - Prefab Sprout
2. Cutting Ice To Snow - Efterklang & The Danish National Chamber Orchestra
3. Light Of Love - Music Go Music
4. Earth, The Story So Far - Prefab Sprout
5. A Matter Of Time - Leisure Society
6. Let There Be Music - Prefab Sprout
7. Charlie Darwin - The Low Anthem
8. She Came Along - Kid Cudi & Patsy Cline
9. Dominos - The Big Pink
10. Nina and Her Very Long Hair - The Heart Strings
11. Too Blue - 7 Worlds Collide
12. The Last Carnival - Bruce Springsteen
13. Solitaire - Wilco
14. Love Vigilantes - Iron & Wine
15. Sweet Disposition -The Temper Trap
16. The Wanting Comes In Waves/Repaid -The Decemberists
17. This could be the day - James Grant
18. The Liberty Of Norton Folgate -Madness
19. The Darkest Place I Know -Leisure Society
20. Lust For Life - Girls
21. Love etc. - Pet Shop Boys
22. Your Love My Girls (Frankie Knuckles Mashup/Remix) -Animal Collective
23. Hellhole Ratrace -Girls
24. Jetstream -Doves
25. Rabbit Heart (Raise It Up) - Florence & The Machine
26. Wild young Hearts - Noisettes
27. The '59 Sound The Gaslight Anthem
28. Crazy In Love (Beyonce Cover) Antony & The Johnsons
29. Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It) Beyonce
30. Kingdom Of Rust Doves
31. A Day In The Life Easy Star All-Stars
32. The Last Of The Melting Snow Leisure Society
33. Outlaw Pete Bruce Springsteen
34. I Want To Go To Marz (Demo) John Grant (featuring Midlake)
35. Intro The XX
36. Dog Days Are Over Florence & The Machine
37. Jump In The Pool Friendly Fires
38. Shiver Me Timbers Southside Johnny With LaBamba's Big Band
39. 1901 Phoenix
40. Wilco (The Song) Wilco
41. Jose Fernandez The Heart Strings
42. Remedy Little Boots
43. Young Adult Friction The Pains of Being Pure At Heart
44. Symmetry Little Boots & Philip Oakey
45. To Ohio The Low Anthem
46. This Love Is Fucking Right The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart
47. The way it used to be Pet Shop Boys
48. Gangsters (live) The Specials
49. Heart Skipped A Beat The XX
50. The Hazards Of Love The Decemberists

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Something Different

Sunday night....spent all day preparing for work tomorrow so grabbing a few minutes to add a new blog entry. I thought that tonight I would offer the world a couple of slightly different sounding tracks.

First up. You know how most free CDs from magazines are a bit dodgy? Well, Mojo have bucked this trend this month with a re-recording of 'The Wall'. The tracks are covered by a range of acts, most unfamiliar to me and the whole thing is remarkably consistent, both in style and quality. It opens with 'In the Flesh' as covered by (mercury nominees) Sweet Billy Pilgrim. They offer a percussive take on the song, which unfolds nicely and sets the tone for what follows. (They also have a very good picture of a ship on their album cover, as you can see. )Part 2 follows next month - I wonder who will tackle the mighty 'Comfortably Numb'?. Inside the mag itself Roger Waters reveals he is looking into the logistics of an arena tour for 'The Wall' which would be very exciting. Yes, we all know it's overblown and a bit silly, but it's still awesome.

Secondly. Efterklang. Danish I think, and hailed by Mojo. I was intrigued enough to download a sample track,and it has sneaked into my 'Festive 50' in a very high position. I've since bought the album, which comes with a live cd. This features the band joining forces with a danish orchestra to re-produce their album 'Parades'. Somewhere between post-rock and contemporary classical and scandinavian ambience lies this wonderful track which is the climax of the set. The DVD reveals the orchestra and band on a set that features stylised mountain peaks and a maypole, and everyone is dressed in bizarre Scandinavian modernist costumes, with facepaint and cone hats. Weird in a good way. However, the guy who seems to be directing the whole shebang also has a very dodgy thin moustache.

Both of these songs are worth a download and a couple of plays

Efterklang & The Danish National Chamber Orchestra - Cutting Ice To Snow

Sweet Billy Pilgrim - In The Flesh

A Springsteen Quicky

In the world of Bruce there are some things that rarely happen and cancelling shows is one of them. However, Bruce's cousin, a member of his road crew, died suddenly a couple of days ago and the show in Kansas City was pulled. I think the last time a show was pulled was when Danny Federici died last year. Bruce hits the stage again tonight at the Rock N Roll Hall Of Fame show in Madison Square Garden - sure to be a good 'un.

Elsewhere in Bruceland an interesting remix of State Trooper has emerged from Trentmoller. I have a soft spot for Trentmoller's moody electronics so this is well worth a listen.

Bruce Springsteen - State Trooper (Trentmoller remix)

My New Favourite Old Singer

This week's Contrast Podcast features songs about the stomach and guts and at last I have found a way to offer a song by the late and great Jake Thackray. I first heard Jake on Steve Wright's Sunday Love Songs of all places; a god-forsaken audio location filled with repeat plays of 'Move Closer' by Phyllis Nelson, 'True' by Spandau Ballet and 'I Will Always Love You' by Dolly or Whitney (to ensure some variety). However, for some reason Mr Wright played 'La-Di-Dah' by Jake Thackray and my ears tingled (metaphorically of course). I explored further via the interthingy and found that he was a) dead and b) highly regarded, with a dedicated following of er...followers.

Amazon were offering a compilation for £3.99, so I took a gamble and that night listened to this in bed. I should explain that Mrs Kev sleeps easier than I and so I tend to spend a while listening to my ipod in bed each night before I finally drift off. Such are the pleasures of married life after 17 years! Anyway, Jake Thackray's songs are often, as I found that night, hilarious and I began to chuckle during 'On Again On Again' which begins with the wonderful line 'I love a good bum on a woman'. Shortly afterwards came 'Sister Josephine' and I was weeping with laughter. Unfortunately Mrs Kev felt my shudders and grumpily, but not unreasonably, asked what the hell I was up to. Anyway, since that evening I have explored much more of his music and am currently enjoying the 4 disc compilation 'Jake In A Box' available from itunes for the incredible price of £7.99 for 97 tracks!

Now, I have spent all my life as a music fan and thought I'd heard of everyone. So I assumed Jake Thackray was some little known artiste. I began mentioning him to others and my uncle, father-in-law, and mate at work all said -- 'Oh yes, I remember him'. It turns out he was on telly quite a lot in the 70s, on shows like 'That's Life' and from what I can gather was a sort of Northern Richard Stilgoe. But...and here's the important bit...that was all bollocks. Listening now, you can hear that his work has a deep and at times dark, sensuality, a wicked humour and an ability to employ language which is as profound at times as Alan Bennet. In short, he is way more than simply a comic folk singer, and instead deserves to be seen as a man who, like many great artists, viewed the ways of the world with a detachment that allowed him to both mourn and celebrate what it means to be alive in this strange world we have created. Imagine if Bob Dylan wrote lyrics you could understand - that's Jake Thackray. Admired by such people as Morrissey, Alec Turner, Jarvis Cocker and Ian McMillan, it's clear that this is a man who's work needs to be heard by more people.

And so my campaign begins to have Mr T recognised by the movers and shakers of the modern music world i.e bloggers. So download and share, explore further, and revel in the wonder of the sampled songs below.

Or as Dirk would say....Enjoy!

On Again! On Again!
Sister Josephine
The Blacksmith and The Toffee Maker

Sunday Night Blues

I'm one of those saddoes who enjoys checking out unusual reimaginings of great songs (see Hungry Heart cover below). And there are few songs greater than New Order's Love Vigilantes. A recent version appeared by Iron and Wine and it is a stripped down version that flags up the melancholic genius of the original. It is currently popping up on various blog sites and I'm nothing if not a sheep who follows the cool crowd...er, flock. In a recent interview Bernard Sumner gave this version his seal of approval, and if it's good enough for Bernie.......

Also for your delectation a gentle string version that doesn't quite work, but may help soothe restless grandparents. This is the version they will probably be playing when I am finally slumped in a chair in a retirement home, 99 years old, drooling, smelling faintly of wee and wondering when New Order will be touring again.

There is also a nice version by Laura Cantrell on Spotify but I don't have an mp3 of that. I think if I ever get round to forming a band I too will cover Love Vigilantes.

Enjoy

Love Vigilantes - Iron & Wine

Love Vigilantes - The String Quartet

More Jockos!

I'm feeling patriotic tonight so I thought I'd offer up more music from the land of tartan, shortbread and bagpipes. Most of the cool music from Scotland is found under discussion at The Vinyl Villain, but The Proclaimers? At first glance they seem, as they did when they first appeared, geeky and very un rock 'n' roll. However, from day 1 they have always been passionate about what they do and their great gift has been to convey that to more and more people. The Proclaimers now have a huge fan base and whilst I wouldn't claim to be a huge Proclaimers lover, I have always admired them. But Sunshine On Leith I DO love.

When it appeared in 1988 it was reviewed in the NME and I still remember them raving about its heady mix of sex, politics, love, loss, all wrapped up in a musical mix that evoked peak Van Morrison and Prince. It remains one of those few albums that is strong throughout, and even though the style of songs vary, the quality is maintained. Special mention goes to Oh Jean, the literal climax of the album. The tale of back of the bus conjugals with a willing young lady it offers a 'musical orgasm' to match The Beatles' more famous attempt on Sgt Pepper. I'll leave you to seek that on your own.

Instead, two lovely tracks. First a cover of Steve Earl's 'My Old Friend The Blues' which tops the original, and 'Sunshine On Leith' a beautiful song about my home town. Glasgow has the upper hand when it comes to music in Scotland, but this song about Edinburgh tips the scales a little towards the East coast for a change. The music of The Proclaimers has been turned into a stage musical which apparently is excellent, and I hope to see it one day. The Reid brothers tour later this year so maybe I'll pop along.

The Proclaimers - My Old Friend The Blues

The Proclaimers - Sunshine On Leith

Something Different

I Can Hear Your Heart by Aidan John Moffat is a curious beast. It contains a short story which you are invited to read first, then listen to the CD from track 2. (track 1 tells you to go and read the story). The tracks that unfold tell the tale of a fumbling Glaswegian love story, fueled by illicit lust and desire - these are of course the best type of love stories. There is a mix of spoken word, fuzzy orchestral pieces, and insane but hilarious phone calls, short songs, a couple of covers and finally an extended vignette to complete the tale. None of the tracks are particularly great, the short story is ok and the covers are definitely not for the squeamish - as you will hear.

But......as a whole it really works and I keep coming back to it and losing myself in the world it conjures. I like the way the language is both offensive and curiously erotic, and whilst the CD is clearly labelled ADULTS ONLY I suspect this is as much to do with the subject matter as the language. In other words it probably only appeals to those who have experienced the infidelity, misplaced lust and hungover shame that the album evokes. (Obviously I have lived a saintly life so have to call upon my imaginative powers to fully dig it!)

I know that part of my affection for this lies in the dialect. I do enjoy the way the English language is adapted in so many ways and as I am Scottish myself can appreciate (and understand) Moffat's Falkirk brogue. The two tracks below give a flavour of the piece, and even though many will shudder, I always like to hear Springsteen covers.

Enjoy

Aidan John Moffat - Good Morning
Aidan John Moffat - Hungry Heart

The bit at the side says I'll sometimes talk about books, so here is the first one. In the real world I teach young people the joys of English and as such have developed a keen interest in books aimed at teenagers. The curious thing is that we live in a time when some of the best books being published happen to fall into this category and the work of Patrick Ness falls into this category.

The Knife Of Never Letting Go appeared last year and the premise intriqued me. A boy on the cusp of manhood lives in an all male community. Unfortunately everyone can hear everyone else's thoughts all the time, including animals, such as his dog. This is obviously very annoying and so he likes to stroll away from the community, down by the river. One day he encounters something he has never experienced before - a block of silence. He follows this strange silence and finds something else he has never seen before - a girl. This encounter is about to transform everything in his life and the story that then unravels is incredibly powerful, exciting and violent. I reached the final page desperate to know what happens next but have had to wait a whole year for the second book.

The Ask and The Answer appeared this summer and is equally brilliant. It's hard to tell you much about this one unless you have read the first book. Suffice to say terrorism, torture, space ships and radical feminist politics all make an appearance. If you read book 1 you will definitely want to read the sequel. The ideas thrown up by these books are not just for teenagers, so please treat yourself and try them. Unfortunately I now have to wait another year for the concluding book to appear. If anyone knows Mr Ness, tell him to get a move on!

Buy the books here....

The Knife Of Never Letting Go

The Ask and The Answer

My New New Favourite Band - Sort of......

Saturday evening, pre - X-Factor. I thought I would atone for the sin of enjoying such nonsense by posting some new music which may also help save lives - yes really! This clever achievement stems from the work of the rather wonderful Neil Finn and his 7 Worlds Collide project. Titled from one of my fave Crowded House songs, Distant Sun, this is essentially a charity album for Oxfam. However whereas many such releases can be filed as worthy-but not-that-exciting-in-a-musical-sense this album, The Sun Came Out, stands out because a) it features a stellar cast and b) they seem to have pooled some great songs rather than some throwaways. Led by Mr N Finn, Johnny Marr, Jeff Tweedy, Tim Finn, Ed O'Brien, Phil Selway, KT Tunstall and others gathered in New Zealand and spent a few days making tracks in various combinations and it was clearly one of those parties you wish you'd been invited to but lacked the necessary street cred/contacts/footwear/alcohol/drugs. (There are so many reasons not to invite me to a party)

Over the past few weeks songs from the album have popped up on my ipod and every time I've thought 'oh this is good what is it?' and upon checking discover it is another cracking tune from 7 Worlds Collide. I've yet to have lived with it long enough to fully describe all its wonders but two tracks stand out so far. The opening ' Too Blue' is a Johnny Marr/Jeff Tweedy composition and sets the standard for the rest to match. Further into disc 1 (yes - it's a double!) is a weird but lovely song from Lisa Germano, with backing vocals from nearly everyone else involved.

So, highly recommended and your money will go to the good people at Oxfam to spend on those who need it a lot more than anyone who has the technology to read this blog could possibly realise.

And remember....these mp3s are from a charity record...so donate!

7 Worlds Collide - Too Blue
7 Worlds Collide - Reptile

Happy Birthday Bruce!

My love of Bruce Springsteen is the closest thing I have to faith in my life and the great man is 60 today. There will inevitably be further posts here about Bruce and I'm always keen to welcome others onto the path of righteousness. For those who have already heard the good news here is an early version of one of the all time greatest ever singles. Hallelujah!

Happy Birthday Bruce!

Bruce Springsteen - Born To Run (Alternate Version)

Contrast Podcast - Random Week

The inspiration behind this blog comes from the wonderful Contrast Podcast, and all the amazing blogs that the regular contributors offer the world. I adore the CP because it offers some stuff I know and love, stuff that's new and loads of stuff that leads me elsewhere. I shall be recommending Mr CP, Tim Young, for some kind of honour when I next meet Her Majesty. This week was random week and you will be able to hear my offering if you download episode 182. However, I thought I'd post from one of the three CDs that didn't make it. Not 'Dance Craze Fever' or Randy Newman's 'Lonely At the Top', but instead 2 tracks from The Avalanches.

When it first appeared the album Since I Left You was a critics' smasheroonie and it does still sound good today - 8 YEARS LATER!!! Doesn't time fly. We still wait for the follow up, although there have been various releases on the internet, often via their site here. There was a great version of Wham's 'A Ray of Sunshine' a while back that I may post another time. I think the album was made up entirely of samples, and vaguely recall that there exists an original version containing samples they couldn't get clearance for - perhaps another lost/mythical album that will appear one day. I suspect that loads of people have this album but haven't played it for a while. Here's a refresher.......

Since I Left You - The Avalanches

Frontier Psychiatrist - The Avalanches

My New New Favourite Band

Like everyone else in blogland I keep finding new bands I suddenly love (until everyone else loves them and they win a Brit and they are no longer cool) and a few months ago I came across a track that rocked my world. Not enough bands wear their love of ABBA ,(and ELO, Donna Summer and The Glitter Band) on their sleeves, but this lot seem to have it tattooed across their foreheads like a big pop lighthouse (apologies for that - it's Sunday night). It seems that Music Go Music are on the cusp of beoming very familiar so it won't be hard to find out a lot more on other parts of the interweb. The album Expressions is out soon so all the cool people already have their promo copies. I shall be content with saving my pennies until it 'hits the racks'.

Look out for more of my new favourite bands...............For now, here are two lovely tracks to share with you all.

Music Go Music - Light of Love

Music Go Music - Warm In The Shadows

FINALLY FRIDAY

The end of another working week, bottle of red calling, Series 5 of The Wire ready to roll and Derren Brown later tonight. Time to spend a few minutes sharing something with the world. Many moons ago The Boomtown Rats released their great single 'I Don't Like Mondays', Being young I only had enough money that Saturday to buy one single...or to buy a Mother's Day present! I am still ashamed to say that Mum was disappointed the next morning but it was a really good record. Anyway, a few months later I was able to buy my first ever LP and it was the Rats'. Not Tonic For The Troops, but the underrated and often overlooked follow up the fine art of surfacing (note lack of capital letters). Reissued not long ago it still sounds terrific. Yeah, we all know the Rats were never quite convincing as punks, and not quite hip enough to be really cool new-wavers but as a power pop, occasional Springsteen wannabes type band they did ok. And 'I Don't Like Mondays' was their second classic number one single. A few years ago I met a guy who used to drive bands on their tours around Europe. He told me he had travelled with dozens of rock stars but the best bloke he ever took was Bob Geldof who, it transpired, was one of the few who treated the driver with respect and used to come for a chat as they rolled back the miles.

So a couple of tracks for your listening pleasure, the second of which has one of my favourite guitar solos. Have a great weekend everyone!

The Boomtown Rats - Diamond Smiles
The Boomtown Rats - Having My Picture Taken

First mp3 post

As this is my first mp3 post it is still a bit of a test. But what better way to test than with a track the whole world should hear. Taken from the wonderful The Ugly People Vs The Beautiful People, this track has beautiful guitars, layers of harmony and a melody to soothe and entrance.

Proven to work on sleepless children, this is dedicated to new parents everywhere.

The Czars - Lullaby 6000

It took a while but.....

Right.....2 years later and I've finally.....I think....worked it out. maybe this blog might work after all!