Lockdown Top Fives - Week 0

During the Covid-19 Pandemic I started doing daily top fives on Twitter. Took me a while before I started including them in my weekly journal posts so I thought I’d go back and repost the ones I missed. It also turns out I started doing these daily top fives before we went into lockdown so this first batch are week zero. 

▪️Sunday 15th: Top 5 Flintstones characters 

1. Barney
2. Wilma
3. Fred
4. Dino
5. Arnold

▪️Monday 16th: Top 5 Songs you loved when you were at school

1. Heart of Glass - Blondie
2. Baggy Trousers - Madness
3. Kids in America - Kim Wilde
4. Electric Avenue - Eddy Grant
5. Don’t You Want Me - Human League

▪️Tuesday 17th: Top 5 Film Comedies 

1. The Blues Brothers
2. This Is Spinal Tap 
3. Some Like It Hot
4. Monty Python: Life of Brian
5. Carry On Up The Khyber

▪️Wednesday 18th: Top 5 Biscuits 

1. Fox's Jam Creams
2. Custard Cream
3. Ginger Nut
4. Hob Knob
5. Digestive

▪️Thursday 19th: Top 5 Movie Car Chases

1. The French Connection
2. Death Proof
3. Baby Driver
4. The Blues Brothers
5. Bullitt

▪️Friday 20th: Top 5 Albums of the 90s

1. Repeater - Fugazi
2. Nevermind - Nirvana
3. Out of Time - R.E.M. 
4. Rid of Me  - PJ Harvey
5. When I was Born For The 7th Time - Cornershop 

▪️Saturday 21st: Top 5 Songs about Flags

1. Waving Flags - British Sea Power
2. Dead Flag Blues - Godspeed You Black Emperor! 
3. Red Flag - Laura J. Martin
4. Territories - Rush
5. American Flag - Cat Power

Chop’s Journal - 15 Mar 2020

These are strange times we’re living through. Feels like while the government dithers most people are already starting to avoid unnecessary travel. Despite that, and feeling slightly guilty, I did go and see some football on Saturday. 

New SOTW

“Best and Fairest” Primo!

Music I’m enjoying

I’m really loving the new album by Nadia Reid and thrilled to hear Porridge Radio’s latest album (first as a band I think) is an absolute corker. 

Gigs of the week

No gigs this week, it was always due to be a quiet week and any decision to travel was taken out of my hands when the Sunday night free gig at The Shacklewell Arms featuring The Jeanines, Breakup Haircut & Athabaska got cancelled. 

Other notes

Books: I hadn’t been making much progress with my resolution to read more this year but finally finished my first book of the year this week (disclaimer: I’m crap at reviewing literature). “Circe” by Madeline Miller is a well crafted reworking of Greek Mythology (mainly related to The Odyssey) which took me way too long to finish. That was partly a result of me reading it on train journeys via Kindle on my iPhone where there were often too many distractions. Once I got over the first 1/4 I really got into the story and thought it  worked very well. Circe as a character won me over and by the end I was very much on her side. 

Football: Going to the football on Saturday felt like going to a speakeasy during prohibition. My pal had been planning the trip for a while as a belated birthday celebration so I didn’t want to let him down. Pretty remarkable that we were heading to Maidenhead United to visit the oldest ground in continual use by one team on a day the National League was the only league that hadn’t abandoned all matches. 

Anyway, we went and it felt good to be out. Maidenhead got a crowd of 1662, and put on a decent performance. They took the lead with a great finish after a fairly unlikely looking lobbed past and went in 1 up at halftime. Stockport County equalised while we were still in the bar, and jammy goal that dribbled over the line apparently, and then got the winner with a corker of a strike. 

We made a swift exit to catch trains home and I bumped into skudder, who’d been in with the Stockport fans, on the way out. Guessing that might be my last out of home activity for some time. Fingers crossed we get this thing under control soon and can return to normality. 

Chop’s Journal - 1st & 8th March

A double entry as I failed to get last week’s post out on time most likely because Mrs T5 was away and I was busy keeping the house tidy. 

New SOTW

Song of the Week #SOTW #Chopssotw Ginormous - Grimm Grimm ♫ 

https://open.spotify.com/track/3APe5sRiMElYBNJIoWsro7?si=luN1AHgzTiWtFfIWDNu_WQ

Song of the Week #SOTW #Chopssotw Rise Up Alexa - Ariel Sharratt & Mathias Kom ♫ 

https://open.spotify.com/track/08TW6QGhnDTmaTBqV3pQSf?si=szROOpJjQ-SrkOK9YXBRhg

Music I’m enjoying

I listened to a lot of Sleater-Kinney & Field Music during the week I saw them live. Also been enjoying new albums from Agnes Obel, Nadia Reid & Cornershop. 

I saw @CitizenMeh at Sleater-Kinney & he reminded me about Wolf Parade who he’d mentioned at a previous gig. I’d not really heard of them, and suspect I confused them with another band initially but this time it registered & I decided to investigate. Having delved into their back catalogue I found I absolutely love them & resolved to catch them on their upcoming European tour. I was then gutted to find out they’ve had to cancel the tour due to Covid-19 though it does at least reduce the pressure on fitting gigs into March & means I’m all set for whenever the dates get rearranged. 

Gigs of the week

Sleater-Kinney @ Brixton Academy (26/Feb) - I was so excited when this date was announced last year and rushed to buy a ticket. Then Janet left and I wasn’t sure they’d ever survive. I needn’t have worried, this was a great night and the band sounded just as good as the last time I saw them. The set was heavy on the latest album but I’m always cool with that. No point seeing a band if you don’t like their latest release in my book. Carrie & Corin are forces of nature and it was thrilling to see them having fun. Katie Harkin, ahead of her stint as SK utility player, opened the night with a smashing solo set. The opening numbers got swallowed up a bit by the Academy’s size but settled down around three numbers in. Big Joanie sounded great and continue to get better each time I see them. 

Field Music @ EartH Concert Hall (29/Feb) - I missed FM on their last tour so was looking forward to seeing them again. They were playing their latest release, a concept album about the end of the First World War and the impacts it had on modern life, in full which was quite the undertaking. I’d seen them do this a couple of years back at the Imperial War Museum but tonight was even better. Not sure if that’s because I know the songs now or the band are more comfortable playing them but it was a brilliant show. 

Dry Cleaning @ Village Underground (3/Mar) - I’ve been trying to catch Dry Cleaning for a while now and it seemed each time I missed them they’d announce a new date in a bigger venue. Glad to finally catch them, at a great venue (VU has a really good sound and is fast becoming a bit of a favourite) and with a great bill. They played just about every song I knew (they’ve only had 2 EPs out) and included a couple of new tunes too. 

Support came from Pozi & The Wants, both also bands I’d been trying to see live for some time. I really love Pozi’s debut album & they played most of my favourites from that. They’ve got a great sound with an unusual lineup of bass, drums & violin. 

The Wants were an unexpected but pleasing addition to the lineup, featuring Maddison & Heather from Bodega.

Chop’s Journal - 23 Feb 2020

It’s half term and I managed to have a gig free week, which is good for my family equilibrium but less interesting for this journal entry. 

I have tidied up the blog page and added some new Hot Links to www.Best-CD-Prices.co.uk and a few related price comparison websites, over there if you’re looking at this page on a non-mobile device —-> 

New SOTW

The Painter - Emilie Zoé & Christian Garcia-Gaucher

Music I’m enjoying

Well, I’ve listened to a lot of Magnum & Ramones this week if I’m honest. Magnum were one of the bands I got into in the 80s having discovered Kerrang! and realising there was a world of music outside of Top Of The Pops & the Charts. I’ve enjoyed a trip down memory lane. 

The Ramones feature because a) they are flipping great, and b) I’m reading Everett True’s biography of the band (very slowly) and they make a good soundtrack. 

New music has still featured. I got the new Peggy Sue album, Vices, on pre-order and  that’s a smasher. I’ve also been enjoying the debut album from Mush. 

Other notes

With my youngest now 16, half term activities are less essential. Basically it’s all we can do to get him to put trousers on when he’s off school so suggesting a day out is met with deep scorn. However, with his GCSEs fast approach, we’d been encouraged by his art teacher to take him to a gallery to gather ideas for his final project. 

We went to the Tate Modern. He struggled with a lot of what we saw and got positively apoplectic when he saw a blue monochrome which, if I’m honest was probably fair enough. We had a nice lunch after though.

Chop’s Journal - 16th Feb 2020

A quieter week on the gig front allows me to get this entry posted on schedule. 

New SOTW

“Acid” - Jockstrap

Albums I’m enjoying

Mainly listened to a Lail Arad & JF Robitaille playlist this week as I wait in anticipation of their debut duo album. I’ve also been enjoying Bonny Light Horseman & Clémentine March. 

Oh, and Night Pain who were briefly Magic Mist but previously Giant Burger. They have a 5 song E.P. available on Bandcamp (via link below) for whatever you can afford. 

http://nightpainlondon.bandcamp.com/album/night-pain 

Gigs of the week

Lail Arad & JF Robitaille @ The Coronet Theatre (11/Feb) - Edging ever nearer the release of that debut album as a duo this was a lovely chance to see them live again and visit a venue that was new to me. They played the candlelit bar area which is marvellously quirky and the perfect setting for the style of music, though the slant of the floor was a little challenging to navigate. 

Lail & JF were in great form. They played two 45 minute sets with a few new songs, a couple of mini solo sets and plenty of older favourites. A really special night. 

Other notes

Continuing my efforts to watch more new cinema I finally saw 1917 on Friday. A really incredible film with stunning cinematography and a deeply moving story. 

Dean Charles-Chapman & George MacKay are both excellent in the lead roles and the stream of famous British actors in supporting roles a real joy. 

The one shot approach completely immersed me in the movie. I’m definitely guilty of being easily distracted these days but I was completely locked into the story unfolding. There were also at least two moments when I literally jumped out of my seat.

Chop’s Journal - 9 Feb 2020

Bit late with this partly because three gigs in a row wore me out and meant I did very little over the weekend. I have included a Top 5 though so there’s a treat for those that possibly still follow this blog for that very reason. 

New SOTW

I got a little obsessed with this track after hearing it via a Contraflow playlist. Turns out the album is great too. They’ve been around since 2003 but the latest release is via John Dwyer’s Castle Face label. 

Like a Comet - Eddy Current Suppression Ring 

Albums I’m enjoying

The start of the year has been full of new band discoveries largely from Twitter recommendations which is a refreshing change from my usual obsession with everything Marc Riley plays. 

I’m still very much enjoying the latest albums from Andy Shauf, The Just Joans, En Attendant Ana and Lucy Leaves. 

This week’s listening added the debut self-titled album from Bonny Light Horseman which features Anaïs Mitchell alongside Eric D. Johnson & Josh Kaufman. 

Gigs of the week

Jemma Freeman & The Cosmic Something @ The Old Blue Last (5/Feb) - Another three band freebie gig at the OBL. Openers Dutch Mustard were a bit too straight rock for me, Wahl had some interesting moments but Jemma Freeman blew me away despite only playing for 25 minutes. 

Lisa O’Neill @ Union Chapel (6/Feb) - This felt like a really special evening. Union Chapel is a great venue for the right sort of band and it really suited Lisa’s vocal. I’ve seen her about 4 times in the last year and she played just about every song I’d heard tonight with a couple of new ones too. 

Isobel Campbell @ St. Pancras Old Church (7/Feb) - A tough few years for Isobel with her album stuck in limbo due to record label issues so lovely to finally see her play solo. I went for the early show which had the benefit of giving me an early night but meant I didn’t get a solo support set from Nina Violet. A magical show all the same with a few songs from the Lanegan duo albums included and a Belle & Sebastian tune too. 

Other notes

I rarely get into spats on Twitter but this week I got blocked by, American Jazz crooner, Curtis Stigers. Turns out he doesn’t take kindly to people pointing out he might be bullying other users by encouraging his 22k followers to pile on. 

Top 5

As has become traditional I watch the Super Bowl last week and it was a great game. Got me thinking I ought to do a Top 5 Super Bowls (that I watched live) so, here it is.

NB: As far as I can remember I’ve watched   19 games starting with SB16 (1982) through to SB25 (1992), then SB45 (2011),  then SB47 (2013) through to SB54 (2020). 

1. SB51: LI (2017) Patriots 34-28 Falcons - An incredible game with the Falcons racing into a seemingly unassailable lead by halftime before getting gradually pegged back by the Patriots in the second half and heartbreakingly end up losing in OT. The Falcons were the team of the year for me and had been thrilling in regular season. I was desperate for New England to lose but, boy, you’ve gotta hand it to them (and Belichick in particular). 
2. SB47: XLVII (2013) Ravens 34-31 49ers - I think this SB coincided with the return to UK terrestrial telly and was a great finale to a season that I’d been able to follow properly again. Kaepernick was 49ers QB and was outstanding at this point. As good with his feet as he was passing he was a forerunner of the Mahomes / Lamar era that’s just beginning. He should be still playing in the NFL and I still hope one day he will. 
3. SB52: LII (2018) Eagles 41-33 Patriots - After the shock of the previous SB, I wasn’t counting any chickens. The Eagles surpassed themselves to win this game despite losing starting QB to injury about 75% through the season. Nick Foyles stepped into the breach and was imperious. That trick play to allow Foyles to catch a pass from Trey Burton was sublime. 
4. SB17: XVII (1983) Washington 27-17 Dolphins - My first live SB and first I’d watched after keeping up with the regular season as it happened. The season was shortened by a player strike and Washington seemed like plucky underdogs to me throughout which led to me picking them as my team. I particularly loved QB Joe Theissman & RB John Riggins and it was Riggins who starred claiming more yardage individually than the whole of the Dolphins team. 
5. SB45: XLV (2011) Packers 31-25 Steelers - My memory is a bit patchy of this SB but it was a great game between two of my favourite old school teams. I stopped supporting Washington in 2018 for a number of reasons (but mainly the naming issue) and it’s the Packers I’ve now attached myself to. 

This year’s SB54 is right up there with these and could nick that 5th spot. 

Chop’s Journal - 2nd Feb 2020

Week 4 and I might be getting the hang of this again. Worked out it’s a lot easier if I make notes as I go. 

New SOTW

Never Work - Ariel Sharratt & Mathias Kom 

Albums I’m enjoying

Loads of new albums to catch up with this week. Top of the list is “The Neon Skyline” by Andy Shauf. He is on the bill for EOTR and having previously not heard of him I’m really excited to see him do these tunes live. 

@BrinyHoof  recommended Oxford band Lucy Leave to me and I’m absolutely loving their album “Everyone is Doing so Well”. 

Another Twitter recommendation came from @WillieMcAlpine who chose a En Attendant Ana tune for #SOTW recently. Their debut album, “Juillet”, has been another source of joy this week. 

Earworm / Recommendation of the week

“I Tried and I Tried and I Failed” by Darren Hayman 

Gigs of the week

It was Independent Venue Week this week and it got off to a brilliant start with the news that Business Rates will be cut for small venues. A real boost for the venues that I love the most. I also went to two #IVW20 shows both at The Boileroom in Guildford which has the added benefit of being a 30 minute drive from home & 10:00 midweek curfew meaning I was home around 10:30 both nights. 

BC Camplight @ The Boileroom, Guildford (28/Jan) - I didn’t catch BC on his last tour so the chance to see him play a tiny venue wasn’t an opportunity I was going to pass up. BC and band were on fine form and went down well with a packed venue. BC plays Shepherds Bush Empire in November so get your tickets soon to see him in his biggest show so far. 

Support from Temples of Youth who had a really cool vibe and will definitely be worth keeping an eye on. 

Peaness @ The Boileroom, Guildford (29/Jan) - I first saw Peaness at last year’s Winter Sprinter and have loved them ever since. They released the best song about Brexit last year (Breakfast) and have already released a song of year for 2020 (Kaizen). A smaller crowd because out in the suburbs it seems people take a while to catch on to new bands but still a good turnout and the band totally won over the room. Peaness play my favourite venue, The Lexington, in May. It’s going to be a blast. 

Support tonight was from a really young Blue Jellyfish who had some lovely guitar lines and impressive song writing skills. 

Other notes

Listened to a few more of Loud & Quiet’s Music Made Me Do podcast. It is a fascinating exploration of the workings of the music industry presented by Stuart Stubbs who is a really great interviewer. Barbara Charone spoke about being PR for Madonna & many others. Eg White (formerly of Brother Beyond) was really interesting on his life as a songwriter and also managed some fantastically eloquent swearing. 

I also enjoyed an excellent band practice (sans drummer) in which we worked out two new covers fairly quickly, giving me a huge sense of achievement and making me think I’m almost getting the hang of this bass guitar lark (caveat: both tunes, whilst not particularly well known, were pretty basic but a lot of fun to play). 

Here’s a picture of me with my lovely, and way too good for my skill level, bass guitar. 

Chop’s Journal - 26th January

Third week of these and I’m currently struggling to keep my eyes open after a long day travelling. I made my first trip to Coventry to help @Kedwondo celebrate his 50th and had a smashing time. Travelled back today but got diverted via Reading to pick up my errant eldest son. 

New SOTW

“RIP Coyote Condo #5” Grandaddy 

Albums I’m enjoying

Another week lacking in new releases to get obsessed by. I mainly revisited last year’s excellent Big Joanie album “Sistahs” ahead of their gig on Thursday. 

There were a flurry of new albums out on Friday though so next week should see something new to discuss. I managed a full listen of Ezra Furman’s “Sex Education” soundtrack. Great to have those tunes properly released, a mix of new songs recorded for the show & older tunes. It’s out on vinyl for Record Store Day in April, not sure if there will also be a regular release. 

Earworm / Recommendation of the week

“Checkout Girl” by HANN

I think this came out last year but it feels new to me as I only consciously took note when Marc Riley played it on his show this year. They did a session for Riley last week which was great so another band for my gig watchlist. 

Gigs of the week

Big Joanie @ MOTH Club (23/Jan) - Third time I’ve seen BJ but the first headline gig and it felt a bit special. 

No Home opened the bill, totally solo and armed with just a guitar and her voice. I’m always interested in totally solo performers, there’s nowhere to hide and this was an impressive performance. 

Breakup Haircut were really upbeat, fun punk. Definitely worth seeing again. 

Big Joanie played a cracking hour plus set with all my favourites and maybe 5 new tunes that sounded just as good. A cracking night all round. 

Chop’s Journal - 19 Jan 2020

Second week of whatever this is and I’ve already run out of things to say at the start. Meh. 

New SOTW

“Wreck” by Fortitude Valley

Albums I’m enjoying

Mainly “Bad Wiring” by Jeffrey Lewis & The Voltage, I think it’s probably his best album yet. 

I’ve still been listening to the three new albums that caught my ear last week (The Just Joans, Field Music & Georgia) but nothing else new has popped up so far. I’m trying to be a little more selective this year but I’m still employing the “play it three times before deciding if it’s good or bad” approach (^TM Ruth & Martin’s Album Club). 

Earworm of the week

This is also “Wreck” by Fortitude Valley

Gigs of the week

Jeffrey Lewis @ Rough Trade East (14/Jan) - Having realised last year that cutting back on gigs wasn’t really working I’ve decided this year to try harder to reduce my “gig footprint”. Basically trying to reduce the number of times me being out affects the family. So, double headers are to be grasped whenever I can and this was the first of two on Tuesday. Seen Jeffrey a few times but never without a band so this was a nice change. He also made it more unique by trying to do things he wouldn’t do at a normal gig. The highlight was a 30 minute recreation of an open mic set Jeff saw Mike Rechner perform in New York in 99. 

Hello 2020: Lazarus Kane @ The Old Blue Last (14/Jan) - A short walk down commercial road got us to The Old Blue Last to see a free entry four band bill of new bands as part of the Hello 2020 residency (every Tuesday in January). We were unfortunately too late to see Speedy Wunderground artists PVA but got in to see the excellent Silverbacks. They were new to me but had some decent tunes & a dry sense of humour. Next up were another new to me band, Sleep Eaters. They grew on me as the set progressed so definitely worth keeping an eye on. Headliners were Lazarus Kane, who I’d seen before at the end of a long, boozy, day at Ritual Union. We’d loved them then and I’m pleased to report they were still good fun tonight. 

Other Notes

Listened to a few podcasts again this week. Gareth had another episode of Yesterday’s Jam out which had loads of great tunes, a q&a with Eamonn of The Chats and a little mention for me (referencing Bilge Pump). I’ll try and link to the show but it’s still a bit fiddly doing that via this app so if there’s no link just search the name on Twitter. 

I’ve also been really enjoying the Loud n Quiet series of interviews with music industry insiders about different roles. A real eye opener and one that’s made me regret not choosing a different career path but also realise I probably wouldn’t have survived if I had. 

Chop’s Journal - 12 Jan 2020

Inspired by filling out my @IndieOver40 journal last year I thought I might reinvigorate this blog by continuing with a weekly post on here. I’m trying out a new app so I can do this from my phone so things could be a bit ramshackle but I’ll give it a go and see where it takes me. You never know I might even get a few Top Fives posted again. 

New SOTW

“Kaizen” by Peaness

Albums I’m enjoying

The Just Joans “The Private Memoirs and Confessions of The Just Joans”

Field Music “Making A New World”

Georgia “Seeking Thrills”

Earworm of the week

Marc Riley must have played “Checkout Girl” by HANN a few times last year but it really caught my ear this week and is a really catchy tune I can’t shake. 

Gigs of the week

Winter Sprinter day 2 @ The Lexington (9/Jan) with Mammoth Penguins, Broken Chanter & Adults - First gig of the year and as per tradition it’s a Winter Sprinter show. Three great bands, two new to me & then firm favourites Mammoth Penguins headlining. 

Winter Sprinter day 3 @ The Lexington (10/Jan) with The Just Joans, Seazoo & Fortitude Valley - Another really fun night. Fortitude Valley making their live debut. Seazoo being brilliant fun. The Just Joans absolutely smashing it. 

Other Notes

I enjoyed listening to Yesterday’s Jam “Songs of the Decade” podcast despite having to cope with the, mercifully brief, sound of my own voice. My pick was “Amateur Rappers” by The Burning Hell. I almost chose a Parquet Courts so was amused to see two different PC songs get picked by other people. Courtney Barnett also got two mentions and one of those, Avant Gardener, should have been on my list of candidates. It ended with a very sweary entry chosen by Kedwondo which made me chuckle. 

Saturday night I went to see Knives Out at The Korba Theatre in Shepperton Studios. We’ve lived here for 18 years and I’ve been wanting to see the studios plot ever since so it was nice to finally get the chance. The Korba is a 44 seat cinema which was a cool place to see a film and I really enjoyed the film which is a great mix of humour and whodunnit.