Chop’s Journal - 16 Aug 2020

A change of tack. I’ve finally caught up with posts and I think I’m going to drop some of the sections as they don’t add a huge amount to each week and just contribute to me not posting more regularly. I like the idea of keeping this going but so far it’s not really encouraged me to write. 

If you miss the Song of the Week or Music I’m Enjoying sections you’ll find both on my Twitter at the following hashtags;

• #SOTW every Friday morning
• #chopsfm every Sunday lunch 

That means this week is particularly light on content as I extended Week E of ChopsA2Z and didn’t do a Top 5 topic. Got a few things coming up with my boys that mean things may be quiet for a while too but hopefully I’ll get back in the swing by early September. 

We did make a visit to the local Pick Your Own farm ostensibly to see the sunflowers but after a week of, much needed, rain they weren’t looking so good. Mrs T5 did take this awesome picture of a bee though. 

I also shared a bunch of music I’ve bought over lockdown. The steady stream of new (and old) music & new t-shirts over the last few months have brought a little slice of joy with each arrival. 

Chop’s Journal - 9 Aug 2020

Fulham won the Championship Playoff final though so that was nice. Having lost twice to Brentford in the regular season, and finished one place & one point behind them in the league things were all set for a fairy tale return to top flight football for the Bees that would coincide with the opening of their new stadium. 

In the end Fulham’s manager, Scott Parker, deployed a clever tactical approach that nullified the threat of Brentford and an unlikely double from our left back gave us the win. It’s been a long strange season but that was a pretty spectacularly way to end it. 

New SOTW

Whole New Mess - Angel Olsen

https://open.spotify.com/track/5XRfIAdgYxZ3jLiqxSZnRj?si=7GMI0hWNQdW3TlElzh1QfQ

Music I’m enjoying

Listened to a lot this week. I love the debut Billy Nomates album, I’m still digging Damaged Bug & the latest release from Natalie Duncan was well crafted soothing jazz that helped me get through a mentally tough week. 

Chop’s A2Z - Week 5: E

‪Week 5 of #chopsA2Z requested suggestIons for a favourite album by a band or artist beginning with E and explain why I should listen to it. 

Albums I’d not heard before

1: Brian Eno “Here Comes The Warm Jets” @caroline_binnie - An astonishing album, I’m two listens in & there’s so much inventiveness to take in. One of those classic albums I can’t explain not listening to earlier but it’s a firm favourite now #chopsA2Z

‪2: Eddy Current Suppression Ring “Primary Colours” @WillieMcAlpine @GreeneDermot67 - I’d heard a the latest album by ECSR & loved it but not dipped my toe any further until I played this and boy it’s great. Long too but doesn’t outstay it’s welcome, prime garage punk #chopsA2Z‬

3: Ella Guru “The First Album” @TobiasCotton - Vague memories of this band from 2004 & the internet suggests I might have seen them support someone back then. It’s a lovely blend of Americana & indie pop with well matched male & female vocals & lovely instrumentation #chopsA2Z

4: ‪Elizabeth Cotten “Live!” @behappydadda - An astonishing live document of Elizabeth playing songs from her career at 85. She has some wonderful between song chat too. Definitely going to check out her studio recordings #chopsA2Z ‬

Albums I already own

1. Ezra Furman - Day of the Dog @mjgelder
2. Elastica - Elastica @elhozzo
3. Electric Soft Parade - Holes in the Wall @spooner_daniel
4. Elbow - Asleep in the Back @jnlangton & @soapboxjury

‪The Elastica album took 47% of the vote and still sounds brilliant. It’s one of the few britpop era albums I still listen too which is no doubt partly due to the significant Wire influence. I still think it’s an album that stands on its own merits too. 

‪Of the four albums Ezra Furman’s Day of the Dog is my personal favourite. That album was my entry point for Ezra and is still probably my favourite of his album’s. 

Holes in the Wall is great, though I never clicked with ESP as much as I thought I should. Interestingly I really love their latest album, Stages. 

I’ve not listened to Elbow’s debut for ages and there are some gorgeous tunes on there even if as a whole I’m less keen. 

Perfect Sounds pick:

I might have forgotten to mention my pick from James Acaster’s @perfectsoundpod pick for E week. I went with Esperanza Spalding’s album Emily’s D+Evolution which is a concept album that falls at the R&B end of contemporary Jazz with hints of Prog which I loved.

The full list of nominations:

🔺East India Youth - Culture of Volume @domsg 

▪️E-Z Rollers - Dimensions of Sound @aldousleary

▪️Echobelly - People Are Expensive @sulaviedilejo 

▪️Explosions in the Sky - The Wilderness @nomorefin 

🔺Earl Brutus - Tonight You Are The Special One @sharkastic 

🌀Ezra Furman - Day of the Dog @mjgelder

▪️Efterklang - Parades @darrenmjones

🔺Efterklang - Piramida @vicaviber 

▪️Eleventh Day Dream - Ursa Major @bodlingboy 

🌀Elastica - Elastica @elhozzo

🔺Elastica - The Menace @preservation76 

🔺Everything But The Girl - Eden ‪@ApostateHymnals ‬

▪️Editors - The Back Room @drums_wires 

▪️Electrelane - No Shouts, No Calls @darrell_clem 

🔺Elephant Micah - Where in our Woods @sippyslicker 

▪️Everything Everything - Arc @ambnorwich 

▪️East River Pipe - Goodbye California @realruskus & @slowthrills 

▪️Eighties Matchbox B-Line Disaster - Horse of the Dog @bod_ball 

▪️Eighties Matchbox B-Line Disaster - The Royal Society @pablooplywiss

▪️Carla J Easton - Impossible Stuff @allan_milligan & @alanmuttley1066 

🔺Brian Eno - Here Comes The Warm Jets @carolinebinnie

🔺Electric Prunes - Underground @durutti74 

▪️El Goodo - El Goodo @ineeddirection

🔺The Empty Page - Unfolding @glpne73

▪️Eugenius - Mary Queen of Scots @lokessimon 

▪️Eugenius - Oomalama @eveshambaggy

▪️Easy - Magic Seed @d_grayer 

▪️Anderson East - Encore @thelovelyilgwu 

▪️Erasure - The Innocents @tbragsdale 

▪️Ed Harcourt - Here Be Monsters @tmulraney 

🔺Ella Guru - The First Album @tobiascotton & @grizzlybeard

▪️Everlast - Whitey Ford Sings The Blues @jakepalmer04

▪️Eccentronic Research Council - Eccentronic Research Council @gigticket 

🔺Eddy Current Suppression Ring - Primary Colours @greenedermot67 & @williemcalpine 

▪️Edan - Beauty & the Beat @themightychew 

▪️Elvis Costello & The Attractions - Imperial Bedroom @girlshirl1 

▪️Eg & Alice - 24 Years of Hunger ‪@jjvwaardenberg ‬

🌀Electric Soft Parade - Holes in the Wall @spooner_daniel

▪️Marc Eric - Midsummer’s Day Dream @agarr45 

▪️Eleventh Day Dream - El Moodio @stillhonest 

▪️Eagulls - Eagulls @_sandywishart

▪️ESG - Dance to The Best of ESG @davidkbruce 

🔺Elizabeth Cotten - Live! @behappydadda 

🔺Esben & The Witch - A New Nature @pahudson 

▪️Engineers - Engineers @johnnyshoegaze & @brinyhoof

▪️Errors - Come Down With Me @disco_juan 

▪️Easy Star All-Stars - Dub Side of the Moon @adespink 

▪️Ex Hex - Rips @paul_hilton

🌀Elbow - Asleep in the Back @jnlangton & @soapboxjury

▪️Echo & The Bunnymen - Ocean Rain @catanddrumsc 

🔺Eton Crop - Peel Sessions 83-88 @theedgeofthesea 

▪️The Egg - Travelator @emdehaney 

▪️East Brunswick All Girls Choir - Teddywaddy @waj1 

🔺Easterhouse - Contenders @johnynocash & @ersehole 

▪️Einstürzende Neubauten - Halber Mensch @davidrogmoore 

▪️Einstürzende Neubauten - Haus der Lüge ‪@ronanmaenardo ‬

▪️Elf Power - In A Cave @drfilth

▪️Earthless - Black Heaven @sipperana

▪️Eat Lights Become Lights - Into Forever @thewilsyboy 

🔺Edsel Auctioneer - Simmer @heeleysteve 

🔺Espers - II ‪@simonwstockdale ‬

▪️ El Perro del Mar - Change of Heart @badgyote 

Chop’s Journal - 2 Aug 2020

Despite my best efforts to resist we’ve done some decorating. Mrs T5 & my youngest painted his room and we had enough paint left over (just) to do our bedroom too. So consecutive weekends freshening up the house felt more productive than we have for a while. 

New SOTW

Trouble - Hen Ogledd

https://open.spotify.com/track/2QnzGRI9D2jnKL65BBRz9S?si=wz6aZO_TS-20s3OVZ-YGMg

Music I’m enjoying

The new Shirley Collins album is good, it’s really just lovely to have her making new music, but this week’s favourite was the long awaited Damaged Bug album of Alan Yonkers covers. 

Book Reading 

Book 9: The Pine Islands by Marion Poschmann (translated by Jen Calleja) 

This was an unusual but enjoyable read. I only read it because the translation from German was by Jen Calleja of the band Sauna Youth. Jen recently completed a year as translator in residence at the British Library so I knew she had an intriguing career outside of music. This book was also nominated for the 2019 Man Booker International prize so I figured it was worth a read. 

It’s quite sparse in its mode of story telling and is largely focused on potential suicide but the use of language is eloquent and I enjoyed reading it. I actually found that it was after I finished the book it really sunk home and I gave myself a couple of days to reflect before moving on the read something new. 

Occasional Top Fives

I’ve been running more often during lockdown & when I do I listen to an old iPod nano that I filled up with compilations to make it as varied as possible. In particular there’s a classic collection of American AOR called American Heartbeat that I loved as a teenager. I couldn’t resist making a top 5 in my head as I ran hence this ...

▪️AOR Songs

1. Hold The Line - Toto
2. Heat of the Moment - Asia
3. More Than A Feeling - Boston
4. I Want To Know What Love Is - Foreigner 
5. Can’t Fight This Feeling Anymore - REO Speedwagon 

AOR Playlist:

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1t4yzpdhwvaBWQjtSYKvfd?si=c3tQCHOlS_KVB51Vh7e7Ow