I wasn't sure I was going to bother with resolutions this year. My track record has been pretty poor to be frank but I thought I should at least update you on my successes & failures of last year and if I'm doing that I might as well set myself some new ones. Though I'm aiming a little lower this time round.
First the failure report; I did post less top fives but probably ended up blogging more due to my gig reports blog. I did OK with the exercise but struggled to keep things going during the summer holidays. My knowledge of flags, country capitals & the periodic table hasn't improved a great deal, so that appearance on Pointless is still on hold. I cooked a little more often but didn't really expand my recipe collection and I bought two hats, though not sure either could be considered cool.
1. Dryathalon - Exercise and diet will continue to be a top priority and to get 2014 off to a good start I've signed up to take part in Cancer Research UK's Dryathlon. No alcohol from the 1st to the 31st January, it really shouldn't be that hard and I might help raise a bit of money along the way. If you feel like sponsoring me, even the smallest amount can make a difference.
2. Go to less gigs - I love gigs and I find it really hard to resist the lure of an exciting new band but really need to cut back for financial and home improvement reasons. Last year I managed 26, which is the most since my early 20s, and that's a little high when I'm also going to Football. I've already got 5 booked in for 2014, so things don't bode well, but I am going to try and focus on the must see shows.
3. Watch more films - I love films too but with music and football and gigs all taking up time I don't get to watch very many. My TiVo is currently bulging at the seams so I'm determined to make this the year I clear the backlog and fill in a few gaps in my film experience. I might even blog about it, though that might conflict with resolution 4.
4. Blog less - I'm going to try and fell less dictated to by the once a week schedule I've tended to follow. If I blog about gigs (or movies) I'll let them take the slot of a top five. If I write a top five I'm going to try for quality over quantity.
5. Work on the cool hat thing - Of the two hats I got this year I don't feel I really nailed the cool thing. I love the flat cap but haven't quite come to terms with the trilby. I'm not sure I've quite found the occasion to wear it, and if I did I'm not convinced I wouldn't just look like a goon. Might have to find something more suiting to my 45 years, or give up on ever being as cool as Cary Grant.
Anyway, a very Happy New Year to you all. Hope 2014 is a good year for everyone.
Breaking with my tradition I thought I'd get this in before the end of the year. Seems I'm still almost a month behind most of the music press but it'll be one less 2013 post for me to bore you with in January.
1. Low "The Invisible Way" - This album came out in January, I think, which might explain why it's not featured that high on many of the media lists. I've loved it all year and that's not been diminished by the passage of time. I missed their London gig in April so had to travel to Cambridge in November to finally catch them live. They were stunning that night and made every minute of the three hours it took me to get there worthwhile. I think 2014 will see me try to fill in the gaps in my Low collection.
2. Eleanor Friedberger "Personal Record" - I've known a lot of these songs from early in the year thanks to frequent plays by Marc Riley. She followed this with a fantastic session in August and that was the final push I needed to get the album. Despite the name the album was co-written with alt-folk singer/novelist John Wesley Harding. It's full of catchy songs with intriguing lyrics. I regret not getting to the show she played at Bush Hall but with a UK based band put together by David Brewis of Field Music I hope she'll be back over soon.
3. Bill Callahan "Dream River" - A late purchase but one that zoomed to the top of my favourites. I thought his 2009 album, Sometimes I Wish We Were an Eagle, was as good as he could get but Dream River runs that very close indeed.
4. Euros Childs "Situation Comedy" - I've picked up a few Euros Childs' albums over the last year or two but this is the best thing I've heard by him yet. Again Marc Riley played a big part in this thanks to frequent plays. Laura J Martin also features on several tracks on flute. The album is packed with perfect pop tunes that have genuinely funny, and at times quite poignant, lyrics. I saw him play the Boston music room in October and don't think I've ever laughed so much at a music gig.
5. Ezra Furman "Day Of The Dog" - The first time I heard the track Tell 'Em All To Go To Hell I assumed it was by some 70s Glam band I'd not heard before. Then My Zero came along and took the sound in a more Indie direction. The rest of the album flits from genre to genre whilst retaining a consistent sound thanks to Ezra's voice and the copious amounts of saxophone (unusually this is a good thing).
Following on from last week's Superhero Top 5 these are my favourite Super Teams.
1. The X-Men (created by Stan Lee & Jack Kirby) - The X-Men weren't the first super hero team I discovered but they were the catalyst for my obsession with comics. When I was much younger my mum would sometimes buy me a comic when I was poorly. One of the last times she did this I got a copy of a British X-Men magazine that reprinted X-Men 133. this was one of the later parts of the Hellfire Club story and I was instantly hooked. The X-Men had been created by Kirby & Lee as a team of completely original characters (rather than combining existing solo heroes) but really came into it's own when Chris Claremont took control of the title in the late 70s.
2. The Avengers (created by Stan Lee & Jack Kirby) - One of my very first US edition comics was an Avengers story, bought from Tilly's in Thames Ditton, that explained the origins of Quicksilver and the Scarlet Witch. Traditionally the team formed around a core of Captain America, Iron Man & Thor though often it was the peripheral characters that drew me in. Wasp & Ant Man/Giant Man were favourites from the early issues but one of my favourite Avengers remains the impractically purple costumed archer Hawkeye.
3. The Fantastic Four (created by Stan Lee & Jack Kirby) - I suspect I picked up my fist copy of The Fantastic Four in the same visit to Tilly's I mentioned above. The FF were a little different from any other team as they were linked by blood and marriage. Johnny Storm was Sue Storm's brother. Sue eventually married Reed Richards and Ben Grimm was their long standing friend. Unlike other series membership of the FF never changed. In a universe where teams and characters are rebooted and redefined more and more frequently the FF remain a happy constant.
4. The Justice League of America (created by Gardner Fox) - DC's shining beacon of super teams combining all the very best DC characters in one magazine. I mean, holy crap, any group that includes; Batman, Superman, Green Lantern, Wonder Woman, Flash & Aqua Man is a force to be reckoned with. As an occasional DC reader the JLA gave me a hit of their best characters for the price of one comic.
5. The Defenders (created by Roy Thomas & Ross Andru) - I struggled to decide on my fifth pick. I quite liked DC's Legion of Super Heroes, a space based team, led at times by Superboy, made up of alien heroes from a future world who didn't appear in any other titles. I considered The Watchmen, from Alan Moore's excellent graphic novel, but they were never really a genuine ongoing team (in my eyes at least). But at heart I'm a Marvel kid so I plumped for Marvel's secondary super team The Defenders. The early issues saw a pretty cool core team of Doctor Strange, Hulk & Namor the Sub-Mariner and soon added the Silver Surfer and Valkyrie.
Some Twitter pals got me thinking about my favourite b-list Superheroes the other day and inevitably that also got me thinking about my a-list too. I spent a lot of time reading comics as a kid, probably too much if I'm honest, but I still have a lot of love for them.
1. Spider-man(created by Stan Lee & Steve Ditko) - Spidey was always number one for me. The late sixties cartoon series (with it's character defining theme tune) was probably where I first discovered him, either that or the late seventies live-action TV show starring Nicholas Hammond. Watch either now and you'll probably struggle to see much to admire but back then you took your thrills where you could and seeing some bloke climbing skyscrapers in an ill-fitting costume was way more exciting than anything else at the time. I got into comics entirely thanks to Spider-man. Initially the UK produced black & white reprints but soon after the full colour US originals. Spider-Man was a hero it was easy to identify with, funny and sharp witted yet a bit awkward in normal life.
2. Batman(created by Bob Kane & Bill Finger) - Again it was the kitsch TV series that first got me interested in Batman. I was a confirmed Marvel Comics fan though and didn't have a lot of time for DC comics but the Batman series is one of the best superhero tales ever written. I would buy DC titles occasionally (usually if the latest Marvel title wasn't in and I didn't want to go home empty handed) and the various Batman comics were always good value. Frank Miller's Dark Knight era got me reading more regularly and for a long time the films were the only really successful superhero franchise on the big screen.
3. Wolverine(created by Len Wein & John Romita Sr) - The Chris Claremont era of X-Men titles was what tipped me over the edge. Previously an occasional comic book buyer, discovering The Uncanny X-Men led me into slight obsession with collecting comics. Claremont redefined the X-Men with a new set of characters and costumes. There was a slightly grittier reality. Wolverine was core to this and not your typical all-American hero. He was Canadian for a start, had a dark sense of humour and could be disruptive to the team dynamics. His background story hinted at a troubled past which eventually opened the door to his own series of comics.
4. Iron Man(created by Stan Lee & Jack Kirby) - One of the big five Marvel characters (I think, there's a possibility I'm making that up) who was also a founding member of The Avengers. I read that Stan Lee created billionaire industrialist Tony Stark as the sort of character that Marvel readers would hate. The archetypal capitalist business man that went against the grain of the 60s counter-culture. I'm pretty sure Iron Man wouldn't have featured quite so high in the list without the recent trilogy of films but it was a title I bought & enjoyed for many years.
5. Hulk(created by Stan Lee & Jack Kirby) - Hulk! Smash! Who couldn't love the big green bundle of anger? Another character I first discovered through the TV. The Bill Bixby/Lou Ferringo series was a big part of my Saturday night entertainment growing up and the Hulk comics were great fun too.
I think this will be the final set of songs for the year. The plan was that this would make my top five songs of the year easier but I'm not entirely convinced it has. Anyway, another set of corking tunes to end the year on a high.
1. Mogwai "Remurdered" - Mogwai are going from strength to strength right now. Hardcore Will Never Die, But You Will was comfortably my favourite album of 2011, their soundtrack to French zombie thriller Les Revenants was sublime and this majestic tune seems to blend the best of both releases. I cannot wait for the new album to arrive early next year.
2. Ezra Furman "Tell 'Em All To Go To Hell"/"My Zero" - When I first heard Tell 'Em All To Go To Hell, on the Marc Riley show, I assumed it was some 70s glam classic that I'd never heard before. I still know very little about Ezra Furman but I've since got the album from whence this is from and it is glorious eclectic fun from start to finish. My Zero is the single and far too good to leave unmentioned, so I'm breaking my own rules and including that too.
3. Euros Childs "Tête à Tête" - I've been slowly discovering the joys of Euros Childs over the last couple of years but his new album is a real corker and this is probably my favourite track off it.
4. Sebadoh "Once" - I wasn't a huge fan of Sebadoh but this thumping instrumental might well lead me to investigate further. It's a joyous cacophony that I can't stop playing.
5. Future Of The Left "Johnny Borrell Afterlife" - A little gutted that I didn't arrive at the Les Savy Fav gig in 2008 a little earlier. I missed FOTL supporting them that evening and have only just discovered how fantastic they are. This is the catchiest song from their recent LP and manages a brilliant Bobby Zamora name check which makes me smile.
My CD rack has 11 rows of occupied shelves and approximately 68 slots from left to right. If you pick a letter (from A at the top to K at the bottom) and a number between 1 and 68, I play that CD and blog (or tweet) about it. What could be simpler? #chopscdroulette
A very quick top five this week after being inspired by @lazerguidedblog's request for Twitter's Favourite album title.
Meanwhile, this week LGM is looking for Twitter's Favourite album title. Message me with yr top 4 (in order); results on Sunday. — lazerguidedmelody (@lazerguidedblog) November 7, 2013
That had me squinting at my CD spines to come up with a list, one I slightly amended after @Sipperana reminded me of the genius of Budgie album titles. Budgie could deserve a top five all of their own but I'll save that for another day. Also, I do know Superfuzz Bigmuff is an EP but it makes me smile so it's staying (and they did release an album called Superfuzz Bigmuff & Early Singles so ner ner na ner ner).
Following from last week's Eponymous Top 5 I'm taking it one step further this week with my favourite eponymous albums that also feature an eponymous song. I'll be honest I'm not entirely sure if I've ordered this by my love of the song or the album but either way I think it works. Hat tip to @Sipperana who found this list online and got me started. It's a bit Metal heavy perhaps, and I couldn't find room for Bo Diddley, but I think these are 5 fine albums/songs.
1. Iron Maiden on "Iron Maiden" by Iron Maiden
2. Black Sabbath on "Black Sabbath" by Black Sabbath
A little late as work and home duties have got the better of me but a few weeks back the @LPGrp topic was eponymous albums. That gave us quite a broad spectrum of choice and the eventual winner was "The Band" by, err, The Band. I'd had that album in my collection for some time but had never really got to grips with it. Turned out, after some extensive pre-LPGrp listening, I really liked it. It still doesn't quite make my top five though which are as follows.
1. "Ramones" Ramones (1976) - This is one of my all-time favourite albums and comes pretty close to being perfect as far as I'm concerned. Fourteen tracks of blistering punk rock in a little under half an hour and the template for the band's career. Gutted I never saw them live.
2. "The Undertones" The Undertones (1979) - Bringing a bit more pop to the punk equation, I still don't entirely know what genre to put The Undertones in. This is packed full of tunes that either were or could have been singles. The album was re-released in October of '79 to included the first two singles, Teenage Kicks and Get Over You, so I guess that's the version I'd pick but even the original is a corker.
3. "The Specials" The Specials (1979) - Watching Top Of The Pops in the seventies Madness & The Specials were two of the few bands that grabbed my attention. This was almost my very first album purchase. I was excited to find a copy at my best pal's Blue Peter Bring & Buy Sale but my pocket money wasn't quite enough to stretch to the £3.00 price tag. Someone else got it before I could negotiate a reduced price and I didn't actually own a copy until several years later.
4. "Peter Gabriel" Peter Gabriel (1977) - Peter Gabriel released four eponymous albums before finally making an effort and giving one a proper name. I love all four but the first two are the best and the debut remains my favourite. It's one of my favourite album covers too featuring Storm Thorgerson's Lancia Flavia.
5. "The Stooges" The Stooges (1969) - Edges out The Clash's debut LP my a gnats chuff. I'm a fairly recent convert to The Stooges. I saw them live during the 2005 reunion tour and have loved their first two albums ever since.
I've said before that the guest top fives are better than the ones I write myself and this just proves the point beyond doubt. Joel plays guitar and sings in the band Giant Burger who are so far the only band I have discovered entirely through Twitter. I went to see them at the Sebright Arms last week and they were ace.
Joel agreed to do this a while back and has put together something unique. I intend to follow Rosie & Nick by listening to the sounds and recording my reactions in the comments section. Assuming I've successfully worked out the html to embed mp3s in the blog, it would be cool if everyone had a go.
You should also go & see Giant Burger play live (check the video out at the bottom of the blog). Over to Joel.
BEYOND JAMES LAST: FIVE OF THE WORST THINGS IN MY RECORD COLLECTION.
There are the horrors that come suddenly, and there is the horror of endlessness. Music has both of these aplenty, and I try to find it. I collect terrible music and sounds, not exclusively, but actively. I do this to fight a narrowing mind. It is by confronting ugliness that we come closer to knowing and noticing beauty. Also, if you only listen to the voices you agree with, how do you know what you believe?
It is also important to share the horror you find. I find it amusing to expose my friends to bad music and sounds, I always have. For this Top Five, I chose some fairly terrible stuff to play to two people, Rosie and Nick, who both have a good idea about what they like and don’t like when it comes to music. I asked them some questions about how they felt about these pieces.
Here are the selections, either ripped onto mp3 (badly), or with a link. My apologies in advance for the mp3 quality, these are very obscure (or unique) sounds, and I have limited technology.
5. The Black Box Revelation "Love, Love Is On My Mind" (T for Tunes, 2011)
I got this when I ordered a really tasteful techno record, tucked into the package. I have absolutely no idea why the person I bought a Monoceros album off sent me this single. Maybe they had it sent to them. Maybe it was a joke. It’s fucking terrible. The name of the record label makes it even funnier.
ME – What does this make you feel?
NICK – Irritation and boredom, and almost sad at the waste of the time and the energy and the illusion and the delusion of the people making it. Music of that ilk, that they’re shooting for, the excitement isn’t there. It’s totally following the rules.
ROSIE - Embarrassment is the major emotion. I guess to me they sound about my age, and really British, and I just feel embarrassed that people would pick up their instruments and think that it’s okay to do that. It’s so Camden barfly.
NICK – Exactly.
ME – You both knew that band had a ‘The’ in the title.
4. Marvin Bernstein – "Burning the Candle" from Lebenszyklus (Life Cycle) (Music Deluxe, year unknown)
This is a peppy little number from a tip-to-tail exuberant CD of instrumental MIDI masterpieces. I also own a companion album called Schrecksekunden (Creepy Moments), whose tone is more Halloweeny. I bought them both from separate people selling junk on illegal pitches at Brick Lane Market. 20p each!
ROSIE – Has it been two minutes yet?
ME – We’re listening to the whole track.
ROSIE – Oh.
NICK – Gee, I just don’t know where it’s going, next.
ME – What is, in your opinion, the purpose of this recording, and is it fulfilling that purpose?
NICK – It sounds like a soundtrack for a series of uplifting moments of a forgettable, fairly shit TV movie.
ROSIE – I think the purpose is for a guy, cause it’s probably a guy, to explore the different options of his digital music producing equipment.
ME – Would you listen to it willingly?
ROSIE – No, I would have to be subjected to it.
NICK – Me, too.
3. Lalo Schifrin – "AD Main Theme" (BBC Cassettes, 1985)
For when Vivaldi is too hard hitting, this music was soundtrack material for a TV series about Late Antiquity. I’m not sure how Schifrin made what was an absolutely fascinating period of history sound so waxy, dead and boring, but he did, and well done to him for it! If the television series is anything like its music, it would fit well into a series of MST3K parodies. One track is called Gladiator School, though. Bought under a bridge in Oslo off a junk seller, if memory serves.
NICK – It’s like John Williams, without the imagination.
ROSIE – It’s like a Mills and Boone novel.
ME – What does it make you feel?
NICK – It fails to make me feel anything, it’s so contrived. Is that the best you can do to try to make me feel that?
ROSIE – I actually felt like I was on a cruise, it felt quite nice.
ME – Would you listen to it willingly?
NICK – No.
ROSIE – I actually wouldn’t mind. I like stuff that is just there, sometimes. That music is completely unobtrusive.
2. John Savage "The Art of the Drummer" (John Savage, 1977)
John is a fantastic drummer. This tape, no doubt, was made to accompany a tutorial book for people wanting to learn drums. To make this tape would have been a Herculean task, and John’s musicianship and precision I envy. However, when listened to as just a tape, a similarly superhuman level of stamina is required to get past two minutes. Perfect for unsettling house guests. I believe this is from a St. Leonard’s charity shop.
ME – What does this make you feel?
NICK – Kind of interest at first, and then annoyance. I kind of liked listening to it at the beginning, and at the end I just wanted it to stop.
ME – Would you listen to it willingly?
ROSIE – No, no, no, no.
NICK – No. Unless the bingo caller was sick, then I’d put that on.
1. Keith "Kent Stories Read By Keith" (Home taped, year unknown)
Keith, here, is reading from what I can only assume is a very saucy book about Kent, and its goings on. Especially present are the sexual predilections of queens and kings, or their frigidity. I don’t know who Keith is reading this for, but they are also getting a peek into his mind. It’s not safe to stay long with Keith, especially not when you’re alone in the house. Sorry, Keith, but it’s true. I think this is from a charity shop in Hastings.
ROSIE – Oh, he’s creepy. He sounds like he’s reading the Shipping Forecast.
ME – What is, in your opinion, the purpose of this recording, and is it performing it?
ROSIE – I think it really fails, because you don’t want to listen to that guy. All you can think is about that looking at a page, and blabbing off some words.
NICK – It think it’s to convey Keith’s passion for history, and it fails! It Fails! I think it was created by Keith for friends or family, for a car journey.
ME – What does it make you feel?
ROSIE – Boredom is the overarching feeling, but it also makes me want to get away, and it also makes me feel sad that a tremendous tale, and history itself can be reduced to just some words, and artless drone.
NICK – Mostly frustration, because I wanted to hear the story told well. I listen to it and I think ‘How hard is it? I could do better than that.
ROSIE – He says his sentences that same way every time.
NICK – There’s no modifying the tone at all, no abstract shit like that.
Thanks for listening, folks.
GIANT BURGER play "Big Meat" Live at The George Tavern
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