My Cultural Life

Prompted by the thought that my fiend Will may read this tonight I thought I should offer an update. Since the last post I have had a thrillingly cultural time. Saw Avatar in mighty 3d vision-o-rama and was both impressed and entertained, saw The Princess & The Frog in vintagely old-fashioned 2D animation stylee and enjoyed the songs immensely, and finally finished series 1 of True-Blood in TV shaped vampire-vision. I've read a couple of books, including The Northern Clemency, a wonderful saga of family life in 70s - 80s Sheffield, The Rapture - apocalyptic page-turning eco-hokum, and Blindness - more dystopian bleakness but in a more worthy and literary manner (except for the gang rape, murder and defecation bits that is).

Music wise I have at last been to a gig this year, taking in Hot Chip at Nottingham's Rock City. My first visit to Rock City was many moons ago, when I was a mere youth, and saw The Smiths on their first tour. The venue hasn't changed much although it probably passes fire safety regulations these days, and for the first time ever I watched a gig from the balcony. I had a good view of support Casio Kids - basic post-rave kiddy music but if I was in a band today I'd love to make that sort of noise. They look like they will fully enjoy the musical ride they are embarking on.

As for Hot Chip? Well, only one of them looks like he should be on a stage, but looks are of course deceptive and the HC noise is solid enough to detract from the limited visuals and lack of stage presence. They have a relatively simple template, but four albums in have enough tuneful bits to allow them to build a crowd-friendly set, and know a few tricks to get the joint jumping. With a decent frontman they could go much further but part of the appeal lies in the fact that they seem pretty ordinary. I suspect they will have a strong festival season, and I certainly had a good night.

And I managed to write a Hot Chip review without using the word 'boffin'!

Hot Chip - One Life Stand (Dusty Flower mix)

New Music Post

1 /24th of the year done and dusted and most of us are back in the same old groove, or rut, depending on your personal circumstances. Having a blog means a nagging guilt that it needs updating so a quicky post to do just that.

Mrs Kev has many lovely qualities, assets, skills and habits, and one such is her ability to take a hint when it comes to Birthday gifts. I can't afford to be too subtle so last year I made my hints quite obvious and as a result I received the gift I wanted, membership of the Rough Trade Album club. Each month sees a new album to download, chosen by the good (and presumably cool) young people at RT HQ. It's a good way to keep abreast of stuff I might not have heard about yet and so far the albums have been mighty fine.

November was Local Natives. Never heard of them but it turned out to be tuneful guitarry stuff, fitting nicely into the current vogueish US blogosphere bands.

December saw the arrival of Blackroc and their garage guitar meets hip-hop stuff, alongside a bonus album of instrumentals in case I want to rap along in the privacy of my own home. Not very festive but a welcome change from sleighbells.

January - These New Puritans and their very serious, important sounding record, Hidden. A black sleeve, orchestral flourishes, important sounding words, no smiling allowed. I always worry when young bands don't seem to be enjoying themselves in their art. If anyone reading this knows any New Puritans please remind them life is short and now that they have made the record, go and have some fun. I should add that after a few plays it does seem to be remarkably good and I think it may appear in a few best of 2010 lists in 50 weeks time. it reminds me of Portishead's last record in that it sounds very 'different' at first but gradually you can't imagine life without it.

So a track from each to celebrate the approach of February 13th when my next download will become available.

Enjoy

BLACKROC - COOCHIE
LOCAL NATIVES - SUN HANDS
THESE NEW PURITANS - WE WANT WAR

Hello 2010

Happy New Year everyone/anyone.

Well 2010 has dawned and resolution 1 - update blog every day, has gone out of the window. resolution 2 - go to one gig a month, is off to a reasonable start as i think i'm off to see midlake in a couple of weeks. resolution 3 - swear less, is holding up ok, but as predicted on this week's Contrast Podcast it is very hard not to swear at the radio/tv/newspaper when politicians appear. My ire is usually reserved for tories, but I always save some bile for the others as well. Labour politicians sucking up to the Queen and spending my tax money on next year's jubilee! I suggest mandelson should watch Battleship Potemkin and look at the events of 1917 for a few tips on how to treat a royal family. Still, she does have a lovely smile - when she can be bothered to do so.



Anyway, enough republican vitriol, time to write about smiley stuff. Santa was very generous this year with lots of new CDs and books, and much of december was spent downloading albums and tracks I'd missed, or purchasing others in the sales. I've also been in the attic so there is a huge pile of music to get through at the moment. thanks to my friend Wayne for the Dirty Projectors album, and to mother for a couple of the Kraftwerk reissues - astonishingly beautiful and strangely moving at times.

Tonight a bit of a revelation - at number 34 in my Festive 50 (see below) was John Grant. Tonight I found out that he is the same John Grant once of The Czars, giving me an excuse to post this song. the album is out on Bella Union later this year and will be in my 'essential purchase' file.

I promise to update more often so please come again!

John Grant (feat Midlake) - I Want To Go To Marz

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