This tickled me, readers - albeit in an admittedly childish kind of way. When I posted today's link to Toatally Fuzzy, this came up as the word verification.
sunday evening updates continued
1 hour ago
Wednesday, 28 January 2009
Hey Leroy!
Convertion - Sweet Thing (M + M Mix) 12" single. 1986 Threeway Records, WAY 101TFor me, the period just leading up to the emergence of a new musical phenomena, genre, style, whatever you want to call it, is the most fascinating. For example, I've spent the week with a rockabilly/hillbilly compilation CD in the car and you get regular little hints of the Rock 'N' Roll Behemoth which would emerge within half a decade to swallow up EVERYTHING.
Similarly, Dr Feelgood, The Stooges, Skyhooks, Bowie, New York Dolls, Kilburn & the High Roads were all unknowingly spreading the virus which would turn into full-blown punk (Apologies for my rather distasteful analogy, there). Fascinating.
This, of course, is all with the benefit of hindsight. Now, if humans had been blessed with hindsight in the early eighties, they would have been standing right behind John Smith MP with a defibrillator (and thereby have thwarted the rise of Tony Bliar)and, perhaps, left a bottle of Jack Daniels on the doorstep of the fucked-up-but-trying-to-recover-enough-to-fuck-up-everyone-else George W Bush. They might also have recognised that the slightly off-centre, just a bit too electronic-sounding and slightly strange vocal arrangements of Leroy Burgess contained the seeds...no not seeds - MAGIC BEANS, which would grow into the gargantuan House Music tree beneath the shadow of which dance music as we knew it then would wither and die.
Check out this tune from 1982 (1982, for fucksake!!!!), although I bought this as a reissue in 1986 and it sounded ahead of its time then, and then put on a hat, if you're not already wearing one in this heat/cold (depending where you are when you read this - I like to be inclusive), and take it off to Leroy Burgess.
Monday, 12 January 2009
Rembrandt? Rothko? Rolf Harris?
Various Artists - Club Africa CD (1999, Strut CD001)
Now, I'll admit it readily - I am a bit of a pedant. It drives me nuts when people say things like, "Three AM in the morning" or - one that I'm trying to nip in my own personal bud, since moving to Adelaide: "I'm good." (As used in the introduction to any exchange, ANY exchange, no matter how serious or trivial, with anyone, no matter how well or not you know them:
"How you doing?"
"I'm good, thanks - and you..." etc.
No,I'm not good. In fact, I've been very, very bad! However, I am well. WELL!
The reason I'm raising my blood pressure with this here issue is this: Isn't it supposed to be Various Artistes? Well? Isn't it?
Anyway, while you ponder this, and whilst I glow in the 41 degree heat, listen to this absolutely brilliant compilation CD of Afro-Beat, Afro-Fusion, Afro-Funk - call it what you will - compiled by Brighton-based DJ Russ Dewbury (Google him if you can be bothered, I can't be arsed to do the link thing today).
Grab it here.
Now, I'll admit it readily - I am a bit of a pedant. It drives me nuts when people say things like, "Three AM in the morning" or - one that I'm trying to nip in my own personal bud, since moving to Adelaide: "I'm good." (As used in the introduction to any exchange, ANY exchange, no matter how serious or trivial, with anyone, no matter how well or not you know them:
"How you doing?"
"I'm good, thanks - and you..." etc.
No,I'm not good. In fact, I've been very, very bad! However, I am well. WELL!
The reason I'm raising my blood pressure with this here issue is this: Isn't it supposed to be Various Artistes? Well? Isn't it?
Anyway, while you ponder this, and whilst I glow in the 41 degree heat, listen to this absolutely brilliant compilation CD of Afro-Beat, Afro-Fusion, Afro-Funk - call it what you will - compiled by Brighton-based DJ Russ Dewbury (Google him if you can be bothered, I can't be arsed to do the link thing today).
Grab it here.
Tuesday, 6 January 2009
Winfield Whirlies
Average White Band - Atlantic Avenue/She's A Dream 7" (1979, RCA XB 1061)
The sad news reached us today that Woolies has closed it's doors for the last time. This wasn't unexpected - we had been aware that it had been circling the drain for some time - but it's still sad to see a shop which played such a huge role in my childhood and teenage years finally disappear. (I should point out at this point that I'm referring to the British general store rather than the Aussie supermarket of the same name (including the missing apostrophe, which - last time I looked, anyway - is still going strong.)
For me, the best thing about Woolworths - the free Pick N Mix smorgasbord notwithstanding - was the record clearance section. In the old days they seemed to have a rather haphazard approach to buying which would leave them with quite a lot of random records in the bargain bin on sale for mere pennies, just waiting for me and my pocket money to come along.
The Average White Band (or AWB as they were also known, an acronym unfortunately shared with the Afrikaner Weerstandsbeweging) were from Scotland. They experienced HUGE success, (including breaking America - and, more importantly - black America) as well as huge excess (numerous high-lethality heroin incidents - you can take the boy out of Scotland...) whilst hawking their jazz-funky wares. By the time of this single though, they were jumping the shark into Muzak-infested waters, but it's a funny old world, and the very thing that made them sound so borderline-unpleasantly-easy-on-the-ears led them to become prime Hip-Hop sample-fodder.
I remember buying this AWB single from Woolies for - and I'm guessing here - no more than 5 or 10p. It's a decent slice of 5/6ths blue-eyed soul. However, it gets bumped up in my estimations more for the sticker on the sleeve apologising for its black vinyl pressing.
My big sister had a friend who got the EMI version of Anarchy in the UK for 10p from the Woolies bargain bin. I bet you're just bursting to tell me about your Woolies bargain. Leave a comment then. And get the tunes here.
The sad news reached us today that Woolies has closed it's doors for the last time. This wasn't unexpected - we had been aware that it had been circling the drain for some time - but it's still sad to see a shop which played such a huge role in my childhood and teenage years finally disappear. (I should point out at this point that I'm referring to the British general store rather than the Aussie supermarket of the same name (including the missing apostrophe, which - last time I looked, anyway - is still going strong.)
For me, the best thing about Woolworths - the free Pick N Mix smorgasbord notwithstanding - was the record clearance section. In the old days they seemed to have a rather haphazard approach to buying which would leave them with quite a lot of random records in the bargain bin on sale for mere pennies, just waiting for me and my pocket money to come along.
The Average White Band (or AWB as they were also known, an acronym unfortunately shared with the Afrikaner Weerstandsbeweging) were from Scotland. They experienced HUGE success, (including breaking America - and, more importantly - black America) as well as huge excess (numerous high-lethality heroin incidents - you can take the boy out of Scotland...) whilst hawking their jazz-funky wares. By the time of this single though, they were jumping the shark into Muzak-infested waters, but it's a funny old world, and the very thing that made them sound so borderline-unpleasantly-easy-on-the-ears led them to become prime Hip-Hop sample-fodder.
I remember buying this AWB single from Woolies for - and I'm guessing here - no more than 5 or 10p. It's a decent slice of 5/6ths blue-eyed soul. However, it gets bumped up in my estimations more for the sticker on the sleeve apologising for its black vinyl pressing.
My big sister had a friend who got the EMI version of Anarchy in the UK for 10p from the Woolies bargain bin. I bet you're just bursting to tell me about your Woolies bargain. Leave a comment then. And get the tunes here.
Monday, 5 January 2009
Tuesday, 30 December 2008
Annus Mirabilis
Andy Stewart - Donald, Where's Your Troosers? 7" 1961, Top Rank International, JAR-427 
Just as my Christmas posting summed up a 1970's Christmas in our house, this posting sums up, for me, a 1970's New Years Eve in front of the telly. Every year, Andy Stewart would shake his Scottish-groove-thang across the black and white screens of Britain. Everyone thought this was shite, as I remember, but we all watched it, 'cos there was nothing else on - a bit like Jools 'I-Know-One-Tune-On-ThePiano-And-I'm-Gonna-Play-It' Holland's Hootananny nowadays.
I picked this up at a boot sale a few months back. It's a rather camp little Scottish reel with a cheeky lyric about old Andy travelling the world wearing a kilt and causing consternation where e'er he goes and includes an Elvis impersonation. And it's really rather good. So go put on a dress, pretend it's menswear and click here.
Anyway, not that you're interested, here's my picks of the year:
BEST ALBUM
Jenny Lewis - Acid Tongue.
(Although Portishead's Third needs to be mentioned in dispatches, if only for having a title totally unsuited to the Irish market).
BEST GIG
Eastfield - The Old Wharf (The Ol' Dwarf), Birmingham.
BEST SINGLE
American Boy - Estelle (C'mon, man, it mentions Ribena, for fucks sake!)
NEW DISCOVERY EVEN THOUGH THEY'VE BEEN ROUND YONKS
Tito's Bojs.
Sonic Boom Six.
REDISCOVERY FROM MY OWN RECORD COLLECTION
Norman Connors Group - You Are My Starship LP.
John McLaughlin - Electric Guitarist LP.
BEST TV SHOW
Summer Heights High.
Gavin and Stacey.
BEST READ
Carrie Fisher - The Best Awful.
Neal Stephenson - Cryptonomicon.
THING TO WATCH FOR 2009
Korean food - Bibimbap and Kimchi. Mmmmmm.
NEW YEAR'S RESOLUTIONS
Eat more Korean food.
See how long I can go without cutting my hair.
Go on the Cooper's Brewery tour.
Don't get eaten by a shark.
And according to my Last.fm stats, my most played band was Eastfield, my most played tune was Lovie Lovie by Chickie King (downloadable from this blog) and my most played album was Goldfrapp's Seventh Tree. Well, there you go.
Happy New Year.
Just as my Christmas posting summed up a 1970's Christmas in our house, this posting sums up, for me, a 1970's New Years Eve in front of the telly. Every year, Andy Stewart would shake his Scottish-groove-thang across the black and white screens of Britain. Everyone thought this was shite, as I remember, but we all watched it, 'cos there was nothing else on - a bit like Jools 'I-Know-One-Tune-On-ThePiano-And-I'm-Gonna-Play-It' Holland's Hootananny nowadays.I picked this up at a boot sale a few months back. It's a rather camp little Scottish reel with a cheeky lyric about old Andy travelling the world wearing a kilt and causing consternation where e'er he goes and includes an Elvis impersonation. And it's really rather good. So go put on a dress, pretend it's menswear and click here.
Anyway, not that you're interested, here's my picks of the year:
BEST ALBUM
Jenny Lewis - Acid Tongue.
(Although Portishead's Third needs to be mentioned in dispatches, if only for having a title totally unsuited to the Irish market).
BEST GIG
Eastfield - The Old Wharf (The Ol' Dwarf), Birmingham.
BEST SINGLE
American Boy - Estelle (C'mon, man, it mentions Ribena, for fucks sake!)
NEW DISCOVERY EVEN THOUGH THEY'VE BEEN ROUND YONKS
Tito's Bojs.
Sonic Boom Six.
REDISCOVERY FROM MY OWN RECORD COLLECTION
Norman Connors Group - You Are My Starship LP.
John McLaughlin - Electric Guitarist LP.
BEST TV SHOW
Summer Heights High.
Gavin and Stacey.
BEST READ
Carrie Fisher - The Best Awful.
Neal Stephenson - Cryptonomicon.
THING TO WATCH FOR 2009
Korean food - Bibimbap and Kimchi. Mmmmmm.
NEW YEAR'S RESOLUTIONS
Eat more Korean food.
See how long I can go without cutting my hair.
Go on the Cooper's Brewery tour.
Don't get eaten by a shark.
And according to my Last.fm stats, my most played band was Eastfield, my most played tune was Lovie Lovie by Chickie King (downloadable from this blog) and my most played album was Goldfrapp's Seventh Tree. Well, there you go.
Happy New Year.
Sunday, 14 December 2008
Well Away On Christmas Day
The Piranhas - I Don't Want My Body/(I'm Gonna Get) Well Away, Sire Records (SIR 4046) 1980
The A1 sideof this 7", I Don't Want My Body, has The Piranhas taking on a touch of Two-Tone - which is no bad thing.
But it is the A2 side which excels. If you want a picture of what Christmas Day was like for me as a kid, then listen to the Brighton odd-balls with one of the finest Christmas-related tunes ever written. (I'm Gonna Get) Well Away evokes the feel of a late 1970's family brilliantly - as good as any Mike Leigh film.
Download it here and play it till people are begging you to stop.
And have a happy Christmas!
It's that time of the year again, albeit with a rather surreal twist for us this year - Christmas in the sun being a rather odd experience. Traditional roast or barbie? Will Santa come down the air con? That sort of thing.
The A1 sideof this 7", I Don't Want My Body, has The Piranhas taking on a touch of Two-Tone - which is no bad thing.
But it is the A2 side which excels. If you want a picture of what Christmas Day was like for me as a kid, then listen to the Brighton odd-balls with one of the finest Christmas-related tunes ever written. (I'm Gonna Get) Well Away evokes the feel of a late 1970's family brilliantly - as good as any Mike Leigh film.
Download it here and play it till people are begging you to stop.
And have a happy Christmas!
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