antirock

ANTIROCK IS DEAD. VIVA LA VARIETÉ!

2009-11-14T00:51:00.000-08:00

http://lavariete.tumblr.com/

Bernadette Castro y las recopilaciones "The Girl Group Sound"

2009-09-10T09:01:00.000-07:00

Estaba leyendo a Sheila B en su Cha Cha Charming (http://www.chachacharming.com/article.php?id=2&pg=8) cuando me topé con esto:

"Another Bernadette worth mentioning is Bernadette Castro, the artist responsible for my all-time favorite girl group record, "A Girl In Love Forgives." This is one of the few obscure girl group records that can compete with the Shangri Las' and Ronettes' unparalleled track records. Just how this song never charted is forever a mystery. Bernadette is the daughter of the original Castro convertible bed maker, a company still in business today. She released an additional single on Colpix called "Sports Car Sally," popular among many girl group collectors for its hot-rod theme."

Al margen de la curiosa historia de Bernadette (ver http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bernadette_Castro - impagable lo de ser hija de "El rey del sofá convertible" y sus pintas actuales, dedicada a la política neoyorkina y con cargos importantes), lo divertido es que me he puesto a buscar la canción de marras y me he encontrado con unos recopilatorios llamados "The Girl Group Sound" (5 volumenes, ni más ni menos). El blog Take The Pills colgó alguno de ellos, pero los he conseguido todos a 320.

Aquí hay una reseña sobre ellos: http://www.gullbuy.com/buy/2006/9_19/girlgroupsound.cfm

The Clientele - "Bonfires on the heath"

2009-09-10T07:46:00.000-07:00

Nuevo lp que se publica en Octubre en USA y en Noviembre en UK.

He encontrado una web donde se puede descargar a 320.

http://metienestucontento.blogspot.com/2009/09/clientele-bonfires-on-heath.html

Broadcast regresan

2009-09-10T06:13:00.000-07:00

Broadcast & The Focus Group Investigate (fecha de salida 13/10/2009 en Warp)

Son portada de The Wire donde dicen:

Broadcast: Collaborating with hauntologists The Focus Group, Warp's defining post-rock duo summon an occult pop laden with psychedelia

Somos centenarios ( Y SALILLAS no se olvida de nosotros)

2009-09-09T09:13:00.000-07:00

Felicidades! Somos centenarios
00:00h - 9 septiembre, 2009

¡Felicidades! Cuando transcurren en el reloj los primeros segundos del 9 de septiembre de 2009, todos y cada uno de los que formamos parte de la familia levantinista estamos de enhorabuena y nos tenemos que sentir orgullosos porque soplamos en nuestra tarta particular las velas del Centenario.

Un aniversario que muy pocos hasta el momento han tenido la oportunidad de celebrar. En esta nueva etapa que se presenta ante nosotros debemos mirar hacia el futuro con ilusión; una ilusión que nos tiene que acompañar en esta andadura que pasará a ocupar páginas destacadas de la historia, no sólo de Valencia, sino también del fútbol nacional.

Desde el Levante UD se invita a todos los aficionados a que cuelguen en sus balcones la bandera y la bufanda del Centenario, a que luzcan orgullosos los colores azulgranas y a que impregnen a la capital del Túria y a sus poblaciones de esa alegría que siempre comporta una celebración.

El 9 de septiembre de 1909, el Levante Club de Fútbol fue registrado en la sede de la Federación Valenciana de Fútbol. Un siglo después, y tras la fusión con el Real Gimnástico Club de Fútbol en 1939, el club acaba de superar una de las peores crisis de su historia y sigue muy vivo, con un proyecto deportivo serio y muy esperanzador. Son 100 años de vida, de los que cinco han sido en Primera, y que dejan a la Copa de la República de 1937 como gran título en las vitrinas de la entidad, a pesar de que la RFEF no reconozca el galardón.

Salillas no se olvida del Centenario del Levante
· El ariete asegura que su mujer aún le canta lo de "Paco Salillas mete un gol"

http://www.marca.com/2009/09/09/futbol/equipos/levante/1252488931.html

Las composiciones de Ashford & Simpson

2009-09-09T08:46:00.000-07:00

Uno de los momentos 10 de este verano fue escuchar este especial de Flor de Pasión dedicado a estos increíbles compositores (también artistas): http://flordepasion.radiotres.org/archives/005446.html

Y ahora me encuentro con que Kent/Ace Records les dedica una bonita retrospectiva: http://www.acerecords.co.uk/content.php?page_id=59&release=7949

John Carney también le dedicó un bonito artículo a Valerie Simpson: http://www.tangents.co.uk/tangents/main/2006/november/reason48.html

La pareja compuso canciones para MARVIN GAYE & TAMMI TERRELL ("Ain´t no mountain high"/"Your Precious Love"), DIANA ROSS ("Reach Out...", "You´re All I Need to get by"), CANDY AND THE KISSES/THE CRYSTALS ("Are You Trying To Get Rid of My Baby") THE KITTENS/CANDY & THE KISSES ("Looky, Looky"), MARLENA SHAW/5th DIMENSION ("California Soul"), THE CHIFFONS ("The Real Thing") o la impagable "Silly Wasn´t I" interpretada por la propia Valerie Simpson en su segundo lp del año 72, todas ellas dignas de aparecer en un top 100 de mejores canciones de la historia.

Dana Gillespie - "You Just Gotta Know My Mind"

2009-06-10T02:36:00.000-07:00

Trallazo mod-pop. Es una versión de Donovan que nunca grabó. La descubrí leyendo el 50.000 reasons de John Carney dedicado a Fay Hallam. Rev-Ola reeditó el disco hace poco

Dana Gillespie was a music lover from an early age: "I discovered the blues when I went to the American Folk Blues Festival in 1962 and also to see the Yardbirds at the Marquee Club. I was in my early teens and hadn't heard anything like it before."
In 1964 she recorded her first single for Pye, with Donovan on guitar and became a regular on the folk circuit along with friends Donovan and David Bowie. She recalls: "I was doing folk because I couldn't afford a band and I hadn't found my musical niche". In those early years Dana got to know many of the top bands and people in the music business, appearing on Ready Steady Go and other cool TV shows of the era along with the legends of the British pop explosion.

In 1967, she made this album, Foolish Seasons, a Psychpop/Swinging London/Folkrock masterpiece. Featuring the rare Donovan song, "You Just Gotta Know My Mind," which should have been a smash mod hit, (and also includes the guitar of JIMMY PAGE!!!), and two fantastic Billy Nicholls covers from his much celebrated and legendary Psych/Softpop gem, 'Would You Believe.' Arranged by the great Mike Vickers and produced by Wayne Bickerton (World of Oz, Jackie Lomax, Pete Best Four, The Rubettes), this is one of THE great missing links of 1960s pop....Dana was to make one more album for Decca, morphing seamlessly into a more blues based style, before becoming a star of London's West End theatre: the first run of Jesus Christ Superstar (playing Mary Magdalene), The Who's "Tommy" (playing the Acid Queen) and the rock Othello, "Catch My Soul". She also appeared with Peter Cook, Dudley Moore and Kenneth Willams in the film "The Hound Of The Baskervilles" and starred in Ken Russell's "Mahler". A number of roles in latter-day Hammer films and more experimental arthouse movies are also fondly remembered. As a singer she moved to RCA Records and made ‘Weren’t Born A Man’ and ‘Ain’t Gonna Play No Second Fiddle’, under the aegis of David Bowie, whose management, Mainman, also took care of her career. A period in the US was spectacularly ended when Bob Dylan invited her to appear on his 1997 UK tour.

Dana continues recording recording successfully today, specialising in her first love, emotionally expressive blues music. This sumptious reissue of her classic first album is LONG overdue!!

el Tributo de Morr Music al pop de Nueva Zelanda

2009-06-09T02:17:00.000-07:00

DISC 1:

1. Lali Puna - I Like Rain (Jean Paul Sartre Experience)
2. People Press Play - Kaleidoscope World (The Chills)
3. Tarwater - Death And The Maiden (Verlains)
4. It's A Musical - All My Hollowness To You (Tall Dwarfs)
5. B. Fleischmann - Not Given Lightly (Chris Knox)
6. The Go Find - Pink Frost (The Chills)
7. Guther - Glide (Chris Knox)
8. The Wooden Birds - Afternoon In Bed (The Bats)
9. Butcher The Bar - Bee To Honey (Tall Dwarfs)
10. Sin Fang Bous - I Think I'd Thought I'd Nothing Else To Think About (The Chills)
11. Borko - Up In The Sky (Jean Paul Sartre Experience)
12. Masha Qrella - Pink Frost (The Chills)
13. Saroos - Prisoner Of A Single Passion (Graeme Jefferies)
14. American Analog Set - Anything Could Happen (The Clean)
15. Bobby & Blumm - On An Unknown Beach (Peter Jefferies)
16. Contriva - Light (Chris Knox)
17. ISAN - Harmonic Deluxe (Robert Scott)
18. Electric President - You Forget (David Kilgour)

DISC 2:

1. Benni Hemm Hemm - Stoffeise
2. Radical Face - Wandering
3. Guther - New Science
4. Sin Fang Bous - Nothings
5. Seabear - Singing Arc
6. Butcher The Bar - Snakes
7. Surf City - Kudos
8. Electric President - White Noise
9. It's A Musical - In Case Of Harmony
10. Seavault - Cornfields
11. Populous - Zodiac
12. Saroos - Dubstar
13. Tarwater - Captain
14. ISAN - Happy Chord Whore
15. Bobby & Blumm - Take A Sip
16. B. Fleischmann - Aldebaran Waltz

Not Given Lightly - A Tribute To the Giant Golden Book Of New Zealand`s Alternative Music Scene

Are sounds sent on a journey they come back in echoes. This compilation is widely traveled - around half of the world and to another time. To the 1980ies when just in New Zealand the archetype of what was called Indie Pop later on was pressed on vinyl and soon defined a new way of how Indie pop has seen itself, concerning sound as well as attitude. "Flying Nun", "Xpressway", "IMD" or "Corpus Hermeticum" were the names of the labels, The Clean, The Chills or Tall Dwarfs the names of the bands. Pop songs or rather hits were born in garages and pressed on screen printed seven inches. A relevant music culture beyond a big and global music industry was thought and lived. Maybe just because it has not reached New Zealand before.
There was a promise in songs like "Not given lightly" by Chris Knox or "Pink Frost" by The Chills. And this promise was heard. In the US Pavement, Yo La Tengo and Sonic Youth referred to New Zealand's Alternative music scene directly. In Germany artists as well as label runners adapted this DIY-idea. Markus Acher, who is part of this compilation with "Lali Puna", played together with Graeme Jefferies. Suddenly, LoFi was present everywhere. And last but not least Morr Music would not have been thinkable without this DIY-idea. Even if the musical means and forms differed in the meantime New Zealand was carried in the heart. "Since a few years", says Thomas Morr, "I have begun to play Flying-Nun-records more often. The songs are simply too great, it would be a pity to leave them to a specialist's knowledge only." Now the Morr Music family has made them to their own in a fantastic way.
Morr Music has recorded its own being and becoming in conceptual compilations twice before. In 2000 "Putting the Morr back into Morrissey" defined the way of how Morr Music sees itself. Besides, it defined the aesthetics of a genre that was called Indietronic once. "Blue Skied An' Clear" - a homage to the British band Slowdive - set to music the status of individual as well as collective sound biographies within the Morr universe.
Now there is "A Tribute to the Giant Golden Book of New Zealand's Alternative Music". It is here partly because the world goes in circles, because this timeless music fits perfectly in a time in which the production conditions of pop music are radically restricted last but not least because of economic conditions. But there is no reason to complain about - this can be learned from the records of that time, too. Particularly because the laptop is heir to the four-track recorder today and at least the sounds have all the freedom possible. "Not Given Lightly" is the archaeology of an atmosphere of breaking up. The latter - consciously or unconsciously - resonates too within most of Morr Music releases. "Not Given Lightly" is an affair of the heart, not only for Thomas Morr. Almost inevitable that with Surf City a young band from New Zealand has meanwhile put its name down on the Morr Music map.

Interesantes entradas en el blog de Chickfactor

2009-06-08T02:13:00.000-07:00

Una exposición del indispensable fotográfo Richard Avedon; un documental sobre Vasthi Bunyan; el dibujante Chris Ware (su "Catalogo de Novedades Acme" -Mondadori- es el comic del mes en el Rockdelujo) en el New Yorker; el estreno de su página en flicrk http://www.flickr.com/photos/gailochickfactor/ y muchas más cosas son algunas de las entradas recientes en el blog de Gail Chickfactor. Indispensable

Oído el de God Help The Girl

2009-06-06T01:57:00.000-07:00

El lp no me ha dicho mucho, salvo ""I´ll have to dance with Cassie" y el single:

Ama: gratis su nuevo lp

2009-06-05T23:30:00.000-07:00

El grupo de Javier Sánchez (la Buena Vida) vuelve ya fuera de Jabalina (ahora en los enanos gigantes, donde graba Fernando Alfaro). El disco lo podéis COMPRAR AQUÍ o si preferís, descargarlo aquí gratis, aunque si te gusta y lo deseas, puedes hacer un donativo vía Paypal

Más info: http://amamusica.info/

MOMUSeando

2009-06-03T03:31:00.000-07:00

En el último RockdeLujo hay una entrevista a Ibón Le Mans en la que se confiesa adicto al blog de Momus (ya somos 2) ("suelo mirar su blog, donde habla de todo, desde arquitectura a cultura japonesa, pasando por un post sobre los aspectos positivos de la crisis económica").

En sus últimos post habla sobre su miedo a volar, e incluye anécdota española. El pobre viajó en ¡Spantax!, una ya extinta compañía mallorquina que no tenía muy buena fama precisamente ( http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spantax)

(" I'm pretty sure I took no flights at all between 1975 (when my family flew back to Scotland from Montreal via Air Canada) and 1988, when I flew with Alan McGee and his band Biff Bang Pow to Spain on a dodgy charter flight operated by a company called Spantax. At 15, on the Air Canada flight, I wasn't nervous at all. But 28 year-old me flying to Spain was terrified. For the return flight, I wandered off alone in Madrid airport (flying always makes me broody and solitary), bought wax ear-plugs, and sat watching the planes taking off and landing, amazed that each of them succeeded. On the flight I had ear plugs stuffed into my ears and tissue filling my concave sunglasses. It was the next best thing to general anaesthetic. I vaguely heard McGee tell someone: "It's no great loss; he's not a big talker anyway." At one point I peeped out of the window and got an incredibly beautiful view of provincial France. Not a cloud was in the sky, and the plane was perfectly smooth.)"

También me ha hecho gracia que ha descubierto por internet un dibujo sobre él que no le gusta nada porque dice que ¡se parece a Tintín! (ver foto). A mi en cambio me gusta y mucho.

Finalmente anuncia que Cherry Red TV le ha entrevistado y que en pocos días colgarán la entrevista en la web y que hay una sátira sobre su blog en twitter (para partirse) de un personaje que firma como Twit_Opera (en vez del click opera de su blog) con foto incluida parodiándolo con parche pirata en el ojo. Momus naturalmente disfruta con ello...

En fin, que este Momus me divierte y entretiene un montón

"The Melody Haunts my Reverie" y Pacific Street

2009-06-03T02:55:00.000-07:00

No me había fijado pero los de Pacific Street tiene en su myspace esta frase del famoso ¿cuadro? ¿ilustración? pop de Roy Lichtenstein como lema

Lee Hazlewood "Cake or Death" (2006)

2009-06-03T02:01:00.000-07:00

En el blog de Everett True (The Legend!) hay un post en el que recupera un antiguo artículo que escribió para Plan B Magazine (RIP) en el que reinvidicaba el último lp que grabó Lee Hazlewood. Acabo de esuchar el disco y es sorprendentemente bueno e incluye colaboraciones (duetos) con sus, ejem, nietos. Esto es lo que dice Mr.True de él: http://everetttrue.wordpress.com/2009/05/26/plan-b-the-archives-4-lee-hazelwoods-final-album/

La foto, también sacada de dicho blog, es impagable

Trashcan Sinatras - "In the music"

2009-06-02T23:25:00.001-07:00

Nuevo lp.

Aquí lo han colgado gratis: http://donteatheyellowsnow.blogspot.com/2009/06/trash-can-sinatras-in-music.html

Este fue el single de adelanto

Tracey Thorn & Jens Lekman "Yeah! Oh yeah!" / Laura Cantrell "Cowboy on the Moon"

2009-06-01T11:18:00.000-07:00

Merge Records cumple 20 años y para celebrarlo publica "Score! 20 Years Of Merge Records: The Covers!". En ella, una veintena de grupos que no son de Merge versionan otros tantos artistas de la historia del sello. La mayoría son grupos indies-alternativos de USA versioneando a grupos indies alternativos de USA (y un par de Nueva Zelanda), como era de esperar. Pero hay dos canciones que se apartan del tópico inherente a Merge: Por un lado, Laura Cantrell hace una versión muy bonita de Lambchop (me gusta más que la original) y Tracey Thorn nos cuenta desde su blog en myspace su contribución:

"Here is some new music at last - it's the cover of Yeah! Oh Yeah! by The Magnetic Fields, which I recorded last summer with Jens Lekman for the 20th anniversary compilation put out by Merge Records. Over the last 20 years Merge (based in North Carolina) have put out records by some of our favourite indie artists, from Arcade Fire, through M Ward and the Magnetic Fields, to East River Pipe and American Music Club. I was flattered to be asked to take part and, as you know, I need little persuasion to raid the Stephen Merritt songbook. Though I was very tempted to cover East River Pipe's gorgeous song Druglife, which opens with the memorable line, "Hey! Where's my pills? They were sittin' on the windowsill".
Anyway, I haven't heard the whole Merge compilation yet (there is one on its way to me apparently..) but I nevertheless recommend you to check it out.
And as for my album, yep, the recording is finished, and the mixing about to begin, so with any luck I will soon be able to put some of that new stuff up here too.
More soon, xx

Saint Etienne - Bloomsbury Ballroom 16/05/09

2009-06-01T03:10:00.000-07:00

El concierto está al completo en youtube

Extraído del foro de Felt

2009-06-01T02:58:00.000-07:00

http://pub27.bravenet.com/forum/static/show.php?usernum=2284341502&frmid=34&msgid=907126&cmd=show

Lawrence conversation post Go Kart Mozart Glasgow May 13th show at the ABC

Intro: So I left after the second Saint Etienne song and ran into Terry Miles and the drummer (Gary?) in the lobby. I told them that I had traveled from California for this show so they were kind enough to take me backstage to meet Lawrence. We spoke a little bit and I was invited to meet them back at their hotel after the show.
------------------------------------------
Highlights of my conversation with Lawrence at the Malmaison Hotel after the Glasgow May 13th show at the ABC (in no particular order).

-Lawrence lived in a homeless shelter for two years after losing his flat in London. He lived a few months with Peter Astor of the Weather Prophets

-We spoke about the Luke Haines book “Bad Vibes” which Lawrence is reading. He feels that he got off easy by what Luke wrote about him. He and Luke have never met to date.

-The film “Lawrence of Belgravia” will not be finished till about October 2009 or so. There are over 40 hours of footage (I believe) and there are plans to film the May 2009 Go Kart Mozart London show. The showing in London a few months ago was only the partially completed film.

-The guitarist on this tour (name escapes me) is the bass player for the Buzzcocks and The Sex Pistol’s roadie/personal assistant. Funny enough he is really a guitar player more than a bass player.

-The up coming Go Kart Mozart album will contain the recorded but never officially released songs “Robot Voice” and “Men Look at Women”

-Lawrence has lost contact with Maurice Deebank but has heard that he works in a factory and has been recently involved in an accident (possibly lost limbs but none of this is confirmed). Lawrence is trying to get his contact information to get in touch with him.

-Terry Miles and Martin Duffy are cousins. He also told me the story of “Summer Smash”. He gave Lawrence the music and sang do-doots where he felt the vocals should be Leaving Lawrence to write the lyrics. When it came time to record the song Lawrence left the do-doots on the chorus which were really meant to be a placeholder of sorts.

-The drummer tonight was a session drummer that was brought on at the last moment. Lawrence had originally had a 21 year old girl which when it came time to tour she couldn’t.

-Lawrence doesn’t think much of the Felt tribute album that came out a few years back.

-Lawrence was not happy with the Denim Jools Holland show in the early 90’s. The producers wanted him to shorten the songs. The girl on the show and who appears in the Denim “Middle of the road” video is a friend’s girlfriend. She was wearing his clear raincoat with the silver stripes on the Jools Holland show.

-Lawrence doesn’t see too much cinema but he gave reviews to the films “Thirteen” and the Maggie Gylenhaal film “Sherry Baby”

-Lawrence spoke about the Cherry Music receiving award ceremony for the Pillows and Prayers” compilation.

Por cierto, en el mismo foro se da cuenta de que Manic Street Preachers han editado en la versión japonesa de su nuevo lp, una versión de "Primitive Painters" de Felt (que no me gusta nada...) y la han colgado aquí: http://rapidshare.com/files/237602790/Primitive_Painters.mp3

FOTO: watoowatoo.net/mk

The Bootiques y el nuevo single de The Lodger para Elefant

2009-05-28T00:19:00.000-07:00

Ayer estuve oyendo Flor de Pasión y me gustaron mucho estas dos canciones.
THE BOOTIQUES son un grupo femenino entre cuyos componentes está Christine Costello (hija de Abbott y Costello) y está canción "Did Your Get Your Fun" fue producida ni más ni menos que por Curt Boettcher, que además intento grabar más cosas con ellas que al final quedaron inéditas (November 10, 1967—Sessions with The Bootiques: Stephen J. McParland’s wonderful series of Gary Usher biographies (titled The California Sound: An Insider’s Story) contains many nuggets of info. One such is the AFM union sheet for this recording session for The Bootiques. Boettcher already produced their single “Did You Get Your Fun / Mr. Man of the World” (Date 1513) in 1966, so these must’ve been for follow-up singles).

La canción se puede encontrar en el volumen 5 de "Where The Girls Are", los famosos recopilatorios de Ace Records sobre Girl Groups.

También estrenó el nuevo single de The Lodger para el club del single de Elefant:
"I think I need you” será el quinto 7” de su carrera: “Nos dimos cuenta de que nunca habíamos editado un single “lento” antes, así que decidimos que era el momento de rectificarlo” y ahí llega en forma de rectificación ese precioso medio tiempo que es “I think I need you” y sus fantásticos y cristalinos arreglos de guitarra. Y para los que disfrutan de los LODGER mas forofos de THE SMITHS, “I can’t stop” es una de esas canciones que pedirías de rodillas al DJ para que te alegrara una noche de sábado. “This is good fortune” tiene uno de esos estribillos que necesitas rememorar cada mañana, antes de subirte al autobús que te lleva a la monotonía diaria, para tener un poco de sol cada día, mientras que “That guy” es, como ellos mismos reconocen, la canción más corta que han escrito en toda su carrera, un crescendo explosivo que apenas requiere de poco más de un minuto para explotar.

En la web de Elefant se puede incluso ver el vídeo clip (poco glamouroso, por cierto)

La canción favorita de Renée (de Liechtenstein)

2009-05-26T12:57:00.000-07:00

Hay que reconocer que buen gusto si tienen

Is there a specific song by another artist you wish you had written?

Renée: I’m very fascinated by the song White Mice by The Mo-Dettes - to me it is the perfect song, there isn't one thing I would change about it. Perfect to sing along to as well!

(de http://allthatevermattered.blogspot.com/2008/09/interview-liechtenstein.html)

Article 58

2009-05-25T02:51:00.000-07:00

Este single lo produjo Alan Horne junto a Malcom Ross y lo editó el sello Rational. Leo en You Heart Out 7 que Douglas MacIntyre (ahora en Creeping Bent) escribió de ellos en el libreto de la recopilación "Endless Soul" de Josef K (Marina Records) y los calificó como "Post-punk existencial teenage angst pop group", ni más ni menos. La canción la tengo en el recopilatorio "Ave Marina"

The Durutti Column - "Tomorrow" (1985)

2009-05-24T05:23:00.000-07:00

Ayer estuve en Soriano y aproveché para ojear revistas. Me llamó la atención que un miembro de The Doves en Q Magazine enseñaba sus discos favoritos y uno de ellos era este single que publicó Factory Benelux. La canción se puede encontrar también en el lp "Circuses and Bread" y es una bonita oda a un amor imposible.

All I wanted was your time / All you ever gave me was tomorrow /All I wanted was your time /All you ever gave me was tomorrow / [chorus]And tomorrow never comesTomorrow never comesTomorrow never comesTomorrow never comesTomorrow never comes

Novedades indies: Liechtenstein y The Legends

2009-05-24T01:59:00.000-07:00

LIECHTENSTEIN

atención al tema que lo abre: "All at Once"

The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart? Northern Portrait? Yes, I'm excited about those debut albums this year. But nothing beats my excitement for this: Liechtenstein's Survival strategies in a modern world. The CD will be out at Fraction Discs at the end of this month. To make things even better, the album will also be released as a 10", together with Slumberland Records. All 9 songs are brand new and previously unreleased. You can download Roses in the park below, but don't forget to listen to All at once, the album's opener, on the band's myspace.New to Liechtenstein? Read my interview with the band here.Liechtenstein website Liechtenstein myspace Fraction Discs Slumberland Records

(from All that ever mattered blog)

THE LEGENDS

OVER AND OVERCD-LAB118

The single "Seconds away" was described as 'The noisiest pop single to ever come out of Sweden' when it was released this winter and created a huge buzz worldwide - staying at no.1 at Elbo.ws for nearly three weeks! "Over and over" is a brilliantly modern mix of white noise, 60’s girls pop, indie, ambient and krautrock.The album includes contribution from Club 8's Karolina Komstedt, The Mary Onettes' Philip Ekström, Tralala's Liane Moccia and more

Lo que veo por la tele

2009-05-22T03:16:00.000-07:00

Ultimamente me estoy aficionando a ver otro tipo de TV en la franja horaria de 22 horas a 23,30 con los informativos nocturnos (la noche en 24 horas), el debate/la entrevista en cnn + o en un informativo cultural de canal 33 llamado Anima (http://blogs.ccrtvi.com/anima.php). Lo presenta la chica del ya extinto Silenci y un compañero y en los últimos días he visto a Jorge Herralde (Anagrama), un interesante reportaje sobre Tintín o a un grupo indie catalán llamado Sedaios . Siempre me he preguntado porque nadie hacía un informativo cultural y veo que por fin alguien lo hace... Así entre estos programas, voy haciendo zapping y se me pasa la hora y media bastante rápida.

Pd: el grupo del que hablo -sedaios- regala aquí su lp de debut en mp3: http://gandulagandula.blogspot.com/2009/04/descarrega-sedaios-resolen-problemes.html
la versión de pago es un lp en vinilo (no hay cd)

Revista de Prensa (Bueno, más bien revista de blogs)

2009-05-22T02:27:00.000-07:00

1) Jeff Barrett (el capo de Heavenly Records) escribe sobre Rob Gretton, el que fuera manager de New Order y cuenta como llegó a ser publicista de éstos. Impagable su presentación ante Rob Gretton: "I had long hair. Shoulder length, curly, red hair (in my mind Tim Buckley, in reality Robert Plant) Worn with red selvedge Levi’s, ‘engineer’ boots and vintage American check shirts. (My point here being that it was a look. Maybe a crap one but it was deliberate).
I walked up to the door, maybe a little nervous by now, and rang the bell. The door opened and it was Rob. He looked at me – stared at me in fact – pushed his glasses up and declared “Fuckin’ ‘ell they’ve sent me a hippy”." )

de http://caughtbytheriver.net/2009/05/remembering-rob-gretton/

2) Alan McGee escribe de forma entusiasta sobre Dan Tracey de Tv Personalities (http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/musicblog/2009/may/05/dan-treacy-creation-records)

3) Gail Chickfactor escribe de forma NADA entusiasta sobre Dan Tracey de Tv Personalities (http://www.chickfactor.com/2009/05/creationism.html)

4) Jon Savage comenta un reciente libro sobre la música disco (http://caughtbytheriver.net/2009/05/vince-aletti-the-disco-files/)

5) Unpopular habla sobre la reedición de The Vaselines (http://unpopular.typepad.com/unpopular/2009/05/the-day-he-was-a-horse.html) y sobre la extraña obsesión del grupo por los equinos

How come your songs had so many equine motifs?
E: I was a horse for one day after a day trip to the Isle of Millport. It’s all in the song, ‘The Day I Was a Horse’.
F: Eugene liked to shag horses.

y 6) jumped pantry boy habla sobre Biff Bang Pow!, The Claim y sobre su antiguo zine (1987)Pont Plant Pantry

(http://pantry.wordpress.com/)

Astrud Gilberto - "Now" 1972

2009-05-20T03:56:00.000-07:00

Gracias a la recopilación de Your Heart Out de la que hablaba ayer he descubierto este lp de Astrud que no conocía. (me quedé en la la etapa Verve). Bonita versión de Jorge Ben y si, ella también sabe "sambear"

Killer work by Astrud Gilberto -- very different than her Verve sides of the 60s! The album was produced by Astrud, arranged by Deodato -- and has that wonderful warm full jazz feel of her classic album on CTI, but also a bit more like some of the funky work of Jorge Ben at the time -- choppy at the bottom, with a sound that's a bit samba, and a bit funky at times. Mike Longo and Deodato play keyboards on the session, giving it an electric groove that works perfectly with Astrud's soaring vocals -- and the whole album really holds together wonderfully! There's a nice bit of funk on the cut "Take it Easy My Brother Charlie" -- and other tracks include "Zigy Zigy Za", "Baiao", "Gingele", "Bridges", and "Where Have You Been?".
(DUSTY GROOVE)

Two years after her underrated album on CTI Records, Astrud Gilberto's follow-up is her first attempt to be taken seriously, not as a singer — she had that covered — but as a songwriter, at a time when simply singing standards was seen as lacking. Her four songs on this ten-song album show she has a way with a melody, though obviously influenced by countrymen Milton Nascimento and Jorge Ben, and her producer Eumir Deodato. "Gingele" and "Zigy Zigy Za" are exactly the kind of riff-based tropicalismo that Ben and company were making popular around this time. "Take It Easy My Brother Charlie" is probably her best song here (covered over 20 years later by Kahimi Karie), though it is Ben who often gets the writing credit (here it's listed as Gilberto and associate producer David Jordan). Very few concessions are made to America; only "Daybreak (Walking Out of Yesterday)" comes from the pop world, with instrumentation and sound coming from south of the equator.
(TED MILLS EN ALLMUSIC)

Your Heart Out 7 y recopilación para el verano

2009-05-19T03:26:00.000-07:00

http://yrheartout.blogspot.com/

The brand new (7th) edition of Your Heart Out is now available to be downloaded for free in our library.

Entitled The Archaeology of an Abandoned Soul Single it's a wonderful romp that takes as a starting point a discarded 7" by Joe Curtis. The trails from this single take us via (Back To Zero's) Brian Kotz and his recollections of the start of the 6Ts Rhythm & Soul Society, then there are exclusive interviews with The Visitors and The Users, a look at Munich disco, Laurel Aitken's protest plus a great piece by our comrade PC on The Aller Vaerste! Then thanks to the Motown tapes captured on the cover we take a diversion that takes in the magnificent return of the Wild Swans and Nightingales.

Over the next few weeks we'll be posting a series of entries here which will give an extra dimension to the articles, with hopefully some exclusives as well.

THE SPIRIT OF THE SUMMER

It would be bad form to bid adieu to The Enormity of Small Things, the sixth issue of Your Heart Out, before paying homage to the genius of Deodato. And seeing as the weather is a bit on the grim side today, one needs little excuse to post a short mix of Deodato related sounds, and hey presto! The sun, it shines here! Trust me, this is a glorious selection of tracks, highlighting the wonderful arrangements Deodato was responsible for in the '60s into the '70s. So, here's The Spirit of Summer for you to download and dance to.
And if the mix shows a strong bias towards Astrud Gilberto, then I will not be apologising for that little indulgence!

http://www.box.net/shared/0mh5t3tpvm

Waylon Jennings "Country-folk" o un album de ¡Soft-country!

2009-05-19T02:14:00.000-07:00

A Waylon Jennings lo conocí gracias a Paul Quinn, de cuyo primer lp en solitario mi canción favorita era "Hangin On" y más tarde me enteré de que era una versión de este hombre.
Ahora vuelve a ser actualidad gracias a que un nuevo subsello de Cherry Red llamado Righteous ha reeditado un lp bastante raro -no suele figuar en sus discografías oficiales- llamado "Country-folk" que grabó con un grupo vocal llamado The Kimberleys en 1969. El resultado es algo así como Country-soft... Hay canciones bajo la firma de Jimmy Webb o Jackie Deshannon. Creo que a un fan de Lee Hazlewood este album le gustará

"Country-Folk es un álbum del cantante Waylon Jennings junto al grupo The Kimberlys en el coro, lanzado en 1969 bajo el sello disquero RCA Victor.
El grupo The Kimberlys consiste en un cuarteto de 2 hermanos provenientes de Oklahoma y sus respectivas esposas, quienes también son hermanas.
La letra de las canciones eran conocidas por otros musicos del area del estado de Las Vegas. Jennings intento ganar mas audiencia con este álbum. 3 de las canciones fueron escritas o co-escritas por un integrante del grupo The Kimberlys llamado Harold Gay."

Más info: http://www.waylon.com/DWTFiles/Discography/12-CountryFolk/0-AlbumHome.html

Ana Yturralde

2009-05-19T00:31:00.000-07:00

Ayer estuvo en la sala de exposiciones del Metro de la Calle Colón y vi la muestra de la fotógrafa Ana Yturralde. Me gustaron sus fotos pero sobre todo me impactó esta, que al parecer ha sido seleccionada por The Emerging Photographers Fund de la prestigiosa agencia Magnum Photos. Curiosidad: coincidí con ella en el colegio y en la Universidad y es hija del pintor Yturralde.

http://www.anayturralde.com/

Jackei Lee "The Town I Live"/"You Too (Can Have Heartache)"

2009-05-15T01:36:00.000-07:00

Precioso single que he conocido gracias a "Dream Babes" VOL 1 y "Dream Babes" VOL 2

JACKIE LEE The town I live in / You too (can have heartaches) Columbia DB8052, November 1966. Bit of a classic. From the opening notes, you know this is going to be a corker, and it is. One of Jackie's best known non-hits. 'Cos the town I live in has 27 churches, la la la la la la la, and avenues lined with silver birches, la la la la la la la'. Other side is a gem too.

(texto de http://www.jackielee.freeserve.co.uk/ )

Jarvis

2009-05-14T02:36:00.000-07:00

Gracias a Dusty Sevens me entero de esto:

Pero ¡No se vayan! ¡aun hay mas! AQUI: http://www.youtube.com/user/rockingparis

Por cierto de su nuevo lp esto dice amazon uk: The pairing of Jarvis Cocker and Steve Albini--the producer of this second Cocker solo outing--is an interesting one. Though known more for his hard rock sound (Nirvana, The Pixies and The Auteurs), Albini has also helmed LPs by the likes of Low and the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion. On Further Complications he helps Cocker achieve a neat balance of tough-edged Brit-rock, electro pop and searing soul. Opening with the rattling title track, Cocker swaggers through the buzzing "Angela", the loping, krautrocky instrumental "Pilchard", the energetic, sax-led "Homewrecker!" and the punky "Caucasian Blues". These impressive upbeat missives are offset by wry ballads like "Leftovers" ('I met her in the Museum of Paleontology / and I make no bones about it') and "I Never Said I Was Deep". Mundane tracks like "Fuckingsong" let the album down, but they’re few and far between and in any case redeemed by the wonderful finale "You’re in My Eyes,", a tune that returns us to Pulp’s disco/funk obsessions. --Danny McNamara

After the marvellous, though melancholy 'Jarvis'which considered weighty topics such as fatherhood and globalisation, 'Further Complications' sees Mr Cocker back on familiar lyrical ground (sex,frustration, romanticism and poetic flights of fancy).
However, sonically it is quite a different affair- with the guitars turned up to '11' and some of the rawest, howling vocals Jarvis has done since 'This Is Hardcore'.

The important thing is that Jarvis Cocker is still working - and not being rubbish at it. Whereas many contemporaries have drifted into lazy parody, Cocker is out there. Unlike Pulp, where the infusion of old-skool synths gave the music an instantly dated summer-of-1974 feel, here on the second record - "Further Complications" - Cocker goes for a different type of dating ; a throwback to an angry glam rock, built on Cro-Magnon guitar riffs and fuzzy, filthy bass.

Dusty fotografiada por Val Wilmer

2009-05-13T02:03:00.000-07:00

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Val_Wilmer

http://www.tangents.co.uk/tangents/main/2006/january/reason2.html

Paul Mauriat

2009-05-12T03:06:00.000-07:00

De Lunes a Jueves suelo escuchar una canción de este hombre. El truco es que la sintonía de inicio de Flor de Pasión es el tema de Serge Gainsbourg en la versión orquestal de Paul Mauriat, Attends ou va-ten. Hoy también he estado escuchando su interpretación de "Love is Blue", genial también

Esto es lo que dice wikipedia de él:

Paul Mauriat (Marsella, 4 de marzo de 1925 - Perpiñán, 3 de noviembre de 2006), fue un director de orquesta francés, que se especializó en música ligera. Se dio a conocer con el éxito logrado por la grabación de "El amor es azul" (L'Amour est bleu) del compositor francés André Popp, y que fue la # 1 durante 5 semanas en 1968 en las carteleras de Estados Unidos.

Mauriat creció en Marsella y comenzó con su propia banda durante la Segunda Guerra Mundial. En la década de 1950 se convirtió en director musical de por lo menos dos conocidos cantantes franceses, Charles Aznavour y Maurice Chevalier, a quienes acompañó en diversas giras.

En 1958 grabó su primer EP, previo a en 1959 firmar contrato con la compañía Bel-Air. En 1965 inició una relación comercial con el sello Philips, donde realizó la mayor parte de sus grabaciones y estuvo vinculado a ella hasta 1993.

En 1998 realizó su última actuación al frente de su orquesta, la cual siguió actuando.

Para los aficionados a la radio, merece la pena mencionar que la sintonía de inicio del veterano programa de Radio 3 Flor de Pasión es un hermoso tema de Serge Gainsbourg grabado por Paul Mariat, Attends ou va-ten.

Saint Etienne se apuntan a las deluxe edition

2009-05-11T02:05:00.000-07:00

Y lo hacen con ediciones limitadas llenas de cosas y sorpresas varias. Gracias a Carlos me entero de ello. El propio Bob Stanley lo cuenta en The Guardian.

Primero pego el texto del club de fans y luego el de The Guardian:

TEXTO CLUB DE FANS

We've been holding back on this news for a while until we had all the info, but finally we can reveal the first bunch of Saint Etienne Deluxe editions:
FOXBASE ALPHA and, for the first time outside Japan, CONTINENTAL. They will be in the shops on May 18th, but we're hoping to have copies to sell at the Foxbase shows the previous week. They are 2cd sets, in shiny plastic wallets, with plenty of unseen photos and memorabilia from the period. As well as the relevant b-sides, and various alternate takes, each will include a clutch of unreleased songs.

On FOXBASE ALPHA we have SALLY SPACE (pretty good, but oddly entirely forgotten by all three of us), CHASE HQ (as premiered on Resonance FM a couple of weeks back), and THE RECKONING (full spy mode instrumental);

Continental premieres WHERE DID OUR LOVE GO (lost somewhere in the middle of the Atlantic according to this high-powered melancholic dancer), WE COULD HAVE IT ALL (celebrating the magic of teamwork) and the jagged electro love song UNDER HER SPELL.

FOXBASE ALPHA is also coming out in a gorgeous limited edition of 1,000 set - as seen in the Guardian! Thanks to the international piracy problem (we're not kidding) it will ship in July, but can be pre-ordered during May. We'll offer a link via the official Saint Etienne site first, and it will be available to international buyers. So what do you get? * a 6"tall model of a Subbuteo player in the classic green and white Saint Etienne strip * a reprint of the original album poster * 4 unique Foxbase badges (or pins) * a cd of the remastered double disc album. It all comes in a beautifully designed, vintage Etienne-green presentation box. It's truly lovely - we've seen one! Something for your children, and your children's children, to go gooey-eyed over, before they tear the box to bits and pull the player's head off.

Beyond FOXBASE ALPHA and CONTINENTAL are similarly through reissues of SO TOUGH and SOUND OF WATER.

More details as and when, but we've been rather shocked and surprised by how many forgotten relics are lurking in various cupboards and cellars.

And before all that, of course, is the FOXBASE ALPHA tour, with support from Lawrence (Felt/Denim) and his dynamite GO KART MOZART band. There are no tickets left for London, but still a few for the Glasgow and Sheffield shows. We
hoped to get Bizarre Inc out of retirement, but instead the London DJs are RICHARD X and AIR FRANCE: the Bloomsbury Ballroom will stay open until 1am, so bring pills and dancing wear. Maybe leotards.
DJs for Sheffield and Glasgow to be confirmed very soon.
It should be mindblowing. Rehearsals are looking and sounding great.
We are most excited. See you there.

Bob Pete and Sarah xxx

THE GUARDIAN

Gatefolds and grand pianos

Deluxe record editions
Bob Stanley
The Guardian, Friday 24 April 2009

One way for fans to get closer to the bands they love has always been to own the rarest, most collectible pieces of product. Early pressings, limited editions - these are central to record-collecting lore. Frequently, this unquenchable need for product defies logic: at a Beatles auction in the early 90s, an early "gold label" pressing of Please Please Me sold for more than the jacket worn by John Lennon on the cover of Rubber Soul.

Record companies have exploited this got/need mentality since the picture-disc boom in the late 70s, but recently pop stars have taken to creating super-deluxe editions of their latest albums, items which sit in the collector's psyche somewhere between a fresh-out-of-the studio acetate and the "handcrafted in meticulous detail" figurines advertised in the Mail on Sunday. A Tori Amos box set called A Piano falls into the latter category. The 12in box contains five CDs of songs which touch on self, religion, femininity, pain and love (with a searching spirit), and is topped with a frighteningly realistic, miniature grand piano. Of course it doesn't play because, lest we forget, it's a collectible and not a toy.

As a way to reactivate back catalogue, it's become almost a necessity to dress the CD properly. The humble jewel case - around since the early 1980s, so easily scratched and cracked - now looks as hip and desirable as a used videotape. Add a card slipcase, a booklet, maybe even a hardback book, and it starts to look more like an art object.

The best super-deluxers tend to come from artists most associated with collecting, or with their own strong aesthetic. DJ Shadow is the patron saint of crate-diggers; his Diminishing Returns Party Pak included some of his most desirable mix tapes (plus T-shirts), and was limited to 1,000 copies. Once it sold out, the mix tapes were immediately bootlegged, which only made the original more desirable. The Pet Shop Boys' catalogue has been a little variable in recent years, but their packaging only gets better. In their heyday, the Behaviour album came in a white fur box with a bonus 3in CD, which was fancy enough; the recent Yes album came as 11 separate 12-inch singles with a sturdy book and retailed at a staggering £300 - and there were 300 PSB diehards to guarantee it sold out to keep Neil Tennant in snuff for some time to come.

In times gone by, feeding the keenest fans was the domain of the bootlegger, who had an understanding of what they wanted that seemed beyond the ken of a marketing man. Last year, Nine Inch Nails' Ghosts I-IV was released in five different formats, ranging from free download to a $75 job with a Blu-ray disc and accompanying slideshow, to a vinyl/CD combo in a huge black box signed by Trent Reznor.

In a case of super-deluxe oneupmanship, NIN's drummer Josh Freese has now put out his Since 1972 album on 11 formats. $7 gets you a digital download; $50 and you'll receive a "Thank you" phone call from Josh for buying Since 1972. And, for the fan who has everything, including limitless funds, there's a $75,000 limited edition of one, for which Josh will write, record and release a five-song EP about you and your life story, and take a flying trapeze lesson with you, after which you get to "go back to Robin from NIN's place and his wife will make you raw lasagne". To prove that even the wealthiest fans can't get everything they want, there is a "no spooning" clause.

For the artist, these editions are a chance to escape years of titchy CD sleeve design, a return to the era of lavish gatefolds with lyric sheets and rice-paper inserts. Saint Etienne's Foxbase Alpha is being reissued next month, along with untold delights on a bonus disc. The brave new world of super-deluxe has afforded us the extra pleasure of attaching a giant Subbuteo player decked out in the 1970s Saint Etienne kit, packed in a vintage green box. The trick of designing these collectibles is to put yourself inside the mind of the fan, though the fact I'm a Subbuteo junkie may have swayed my judgment

Las fotos de Jose Maria Mellado

2009-05-10T07:26:00.000-07:00

http://www.mellado.info/

http://images.google.es/images?hl=es&q=jose%20maria%20mellado&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&tab=wi

Marion Maerz, la Sandie Shaw alemana

2009-05-10T01:53:00.000-07:00

Texto sacado de este gran blog dedicado a las chicas yeyes alemanas: http://blogs.myspace.com/teutonic_jens

Marion Maerz is arguably the most saluted german doll around. Reportedly even Paul McCartney noticed her talent. She cleverly stayed away from those typical Schlager novelty tunes and delivered honest, slightly melancholy tracks. Her producer Christian Bruhn writes in his book that he had one winning formula for Marion that he exercised to perfection: "Keep it simple, keep sexy, keep it sad".
Her breakthrough hit became the iconic "Er ist wieder da", that was written by Bruhn at the same time as Drafi Deutscher's "Marmor, Stein und Eisen bricht". If you listen closley you will recognize the same patteren of slow and faster parts in both tunes.
Anyway, Marion's german tracks are expertly compiled on her Bear Family CD "Er ist wieder da". However the family made one painful omission: her wonderful english language single "I Go To Sleep", a track written by Ray Davies from The Kinks and previously recorded by Peggy Lee and Cher (and shortly after by brit girl Samantha Jones), but no one can do sexy/sad like Marion and her version towers over all others. She became one of the few german artists to appear on the german Beatclub TV show, see a short clip of performance below. Now get a handkerchief ready and wallow in her delicate pain...

Norma Bengell - Oooooh Norma 1959

2009-05-07T01:43:00.000-07:00

Precioso disco de esta actriz y cantante que fue la sex symbol de los primeros momentos de la Bossanova (con impactante y escandalosa -para la época- portada) . Más que bossanova, yo diría que es un disco plenamente americano muy en la onda de las chicas swing. Incluye una buena versión del "Fever". Sigo avanzando con el libro de Ruy Castro. Voy por "Desafinado" y los constantes cambios de casa de Joao Gilberto; sin duda lo más divertido del libro hasta ahora (¡cómo me río con el hombre éste)

Se puede uno bajar el disco gratis. En Loronix ¡cómo no!. Es increíble lo de este blog. Una joya.

El nuevo rock de lujo

2009-05-04T01:37:00.000-07:00

Como siempre que antecede a un Prinmavera Sound (festival en el que están involucrados), el número se convierte en una especie de programa de mano del festival. Mirad sino parte de los contenidos: Throwing Muses, Neil Young (la portada), Michael Nyman,Kitty Daisy & Lewis, la Bien Querida y The Pains of Being Pure at Heart. Todos ellos participan en el festival.
Aquí cuelgo la entrevista a PBPH, que por cierto es realmente buena (¡ah! y en este número no escribe nada el Kiko)

Haruki Murakami

2009-05-04T01:34:00.000-07:00

En el nuevo Rock de Lujo hay una entrevista a Haruki Murakami. Carlos, ya me pasarás "Tokyo Blues" para que me lo lea este verano

Lo infraordinario de George Perec

2009-04-28T01:53:00.000-07:00

Ayer estuve buscando libros de Perec. Tras leer el comentario de la web de La Buena Vida (el local madrileño donde venden libros y cds) y echar un vistazo por el Google -donde he visto que Perec es motivo de un seguimiento atroz- la curiosidad hizo acto de presencia. Estuve leyendo entero -apenas 100 pgs y con letra muy grande, "Lo infraordinario" (es el único libro de él que tenían). Y lo que puedo decir es que es realmente curioso lo que hace este hombre. En realidad no es una novela, sino una idea. Al contrario que los mass media, reivindica lo cotidiano frente a lo extraordinario:

"Lo que realmente ocurre, lo que vivimos, lo demás, todo lo demás, ¿dónde está? Lo que ocurre cada día y vuelve cada día, lo trivial, lo cotidiano, lo evidente, lo común, lo ordinario, lo infraordinario, el ruido de fondo, lo habitual, ¿cómo dar cuenta de ello, cómo interrogarlo, cómo describirlo?

La respuesta que da Georges Perec a esta cuestión es así de simple: “interrogar a lo habitual”.

Por ello el libro no es sino una sucesión de descripciones de su calle (en el número 17 hay una frutería; en el 20 un kiosco...), de su despacho, de una oficina o de Las ‘Doscientas cuarenta y tres postales de colores auténticos’, poco más que resúmenes telegráficos de vacaciones (algo así como "hola a todos. me lo estoy pasando muy bien. el hotel es muy bonito. ya os contaré". Así hasta 243 veces...)

En definitiva esto no es un libro, es una idea. La idea de lo pequeño, de lo irrelevante, de los detalles, de las pequeñas cosas... Como el último número de You heart Out en el que Pearce cita a Richard Price y "la enormidad de las pequeñas cosas"

De todas maneras George Perec tiene una biografía que se presta a convertirse en un escritor de culto. Quizá eso explique el revuelo. A mi me parece excesivo pero una obrita como ésta tampoco sirve para juzgar, claro.

Ah, por cierto, lo publica la editorial minúscula... Y el diseño y la edición es realmente cuidado. La importancia de las pequeñas cosas...

Tony Hatch

2009-04-27T02:54:00.000-07:00

Este fin de semana he estado escuchando un doble cd titulado "Call Me"(60 temas) de canciones compuestas por Tony Hatch. Impresionante. Buscando cosas he visto que le llaman el Bacharach del Reino Unido y a Petula Clark su Dionne Warwick. Y que decir de su mujer Jackie Trent y del "Joanna" de Scott Walker y del "Sunshine Follows de Rain" de Sweetcorn y de las canciones que le hizo a Mally Page, sus colaboraciones con un primerizo Bowie y de sus canciones para series de TV y...

Single grabando

2009-04-26T01:33:00.000-07:00

En los estudios de la foto, estan grabando su nuevo disco. El single de adelanto se llamara "Seven Eleven"
Los estudios se llaman iz-estudios y parecen un alojamiento rural de esos que tanto me gustan a mi: http://www.iz-estudio.com/

400 golpes, 50 años

2009-04-26T01:18:00.000-07:00

Montt Mardie "Skaizerkite" (nuevo lp)

2009-04-21T01:58:00.000-07:00

Está bastante bien su nuevo disco. Yo detecto a primera escucha dos hits: ¡la última!, titulada "I love you Annie" y "The Stairs of the house that haunted this town (Jenny Jenny Jenny). El single es "Dancing Shoes".

También parece que quiere lanzarse a la conquista de UK y va a lanzar un recopilatorio de sus hits

Darlings!

SKAIZERKITE is here. We’re getting beautiful reviews and radio is playing the new single. Spring is in the air! Life is great! You can listen to 6 out 12 tracks on myspace now: http://www.myspace.com/monttmardie

Buy the album: http://cdon.se/musik/montt_mardie/skaizerkite-4165864

Download the single “Dancing Shoes”: http://www.box.net/shared/ximyrynjfp

Also, soon the UK double A-side “Metropolis/Birthday Boy” will hit the brits! You can listen too both tracks on myspace now!

Later today I’ll translate some review-quotes for you. Untill then, remember, I love you./ Monty

Dominique A "La Musique"

2009-04-18T07:09:00.000-07:00

A primera escucha me ha gustado. Es original con sonidos y bases nuevas pero mantiene su clásico toque meláncolico, aunque ha perdido -como en sus últimos discos- inmediatez

Your Heart Out 6

2009-04-17T01:45:00.000-07:00

Carlos, vete preparando la impresora. Y fíjate quien está en la portada:

The sixth issue of Your Heart Out is a special edition called The Enormity of Small Things ... with The Flirtations on the cover dancing in the ruins of an abbey, while inside taking as a starting point Dexys' Coming To Town shows in 1985, adding a soundtrack of lopsided soul and odd pop, there are lots of thoughts about how things fit together, and the consequences of intuition and influence.

The cover is a screenshot from a wonderful promo posted on YouTube of The Flirtations performing their heartstoppingly wonderful Nothing But A Heartache, a British twist on the soul format, which is a very strong theme in this edition. Talking of themes, there seem to be a number of clips on YouTube of the Flirtations dancing their way round historic buildings. Who said you can't dance to architecture?

Aquí cuelgo los clips a los que hace referencia

La edición de él Records de "Sinfonia Do Rio De Janeiro" de Antonio Carlos Jobim

2009-04-15T00:50:00.000-07:00

Estoy disfrutando enormemente el libro de Ruy Castro sobre la bossa nova (eternamente agadecido, Carlos) y eso que sólo lo estoy empezando. En el periodo pre-bossa se narra con muchos detalles la gestación de esta "Sinfonia Do Rio De Janeiro" y buscando información me doy cuenta de que esto lo reeditó Mr.Mike Alway a través de él Records. Lo mejor es que la reedición lleva también la magnífica "Teresa da Pravia" de Farney/Alves (buenísimo lo de los club de fans que cuenta Castro en el libro). Este Mr. Alway si que sabe:

Sinfonia Do Rio De Janeiro
acmem75cd

Antonio Carlos Jobim was the artchitect of Bossa Nova, the writer of "The Girl from Ipanema" and many of the other Bossa standards. One of the 20th century's most gifted songwriters. A figure as symbolic of Brazil as Gershwin is of America or as Lennon & McCartney are of Britain. Influenced by Chopin and George Gershwin, Jobim brought a refinement to Brazilian music in the first half of the fifties and this compilation showcases his brilliant, early recordings including "Teresa of the Beach" a number one hit for Dick Farney and Lucio Alvesand the long original "Sinfonia Do Rio de Janeiro", a suite of ballads and sambas evoking the sun and sea and describing the beauties of Rio in those times. These historic and valuable recordings have never previously been released outside of Brazil.

Magazine en Top of the Pops con "Shot By Both Sides" 1978

2009-04-14T23:44:00.000-07:00

Este es mi single punk favorito. Es el debut de los Magazine de Howard Devoto y marca la transición de The Buzzcocks a su nueva aventura. Aquí todavía está Pete Shelley componiendo (ese magnífico riff de guitarra es suyo) y parecía -según narra Simon Reynolds en su libro "Rit it Up and Start Again"- que Magazine se lo iban a comer todo ("Devoto-The Man for 78", titulaba en portada el Melody Maker). Sin embargo Devoto lo echó todo a perder con su debut en Top of The Pops. Las presiones le oligaron a actuar en el programa, aunque él no quería por considerar que era todo muy artificial y un programa absurdo. La BBC sólo invitaba a quienes tenían un single de éxito (y ellos lo empezaban a tener) y salir allí te garantizaba que las ventas se disparasen ipso facto todavía más. Así que Devoto finalmente cedió pero decidió que actuaría de un modo pasivo y desganado, justo lo contrario a lo que se esperaba de un grupo punk. El resultado fue que en vez de dispararse las ventas, ocurriese justamente lo contrario. Por primera vez en la historia un grupo salió perjudicado por actuar en TOTP... Fue la primera y última oportunidad comercial de Magazine...

Monochrome Set - "Wallflower (Saloon bar Mix)"

2009-04-07T03:12:00.000-07:00

¿hay algún pedido a la vista a Cherry Red? Aunque amazon lo vende 2 libras más barato...

Released 16th February 2009. The Monochrome Set defined themselves in the late 70s and 80s as England's wittiest troubadours, avoiding the sombre overtones of post-punk by penning songs that had a clean 60s pop sensibility, allied to vocalist and guitarist Bid's sandpaper-dry reflections on life and love.
Re-released for the first time on CD in the UK, this CD documents the band's time at Blanco y Negro Records, the 'mini-major' set up by Mike Alway (Cherry Red) and Geoff Travis (Rough Trade). It was a turbulent period for the band, recounted in full in the accompanying booklet by a reflective Bid. Including the story behind 'Letter From Viola', perhaps the funniest 'Dear John' song ever written (hint; never allow your band-mates to cut your hair while touring Norway and expect romantic favours on your return).

Jacob's Ladder / Sugarplum / Cargo / Take Foz / Letter From Viola / Don't Touch / The Twitch / Wallflower / Starry Nowhere / Boom Boom / Cowboy Country / Bonus Tracks- Andiamo (B Side Of Jacob's Ladder) / Big Ben Bongo (B Side Of Wallflower) / Le Boom Boom (B Side Of Jacob's Ladder 12" Single) / Yo Ho Ho (B Side Of Jacob's Ladder 12" Single) / Wallflower (Saloon Bar Mix)

Grace Maxwell “Falling & Laughing -The Restoration of Edwyn Collins

2009-04-07T02:56:00.000-07:00

Este libro parece que se publicará en Julio. Lo ha escrito su mujer y me imagino que -al igual que hizo Ben Watt en su día- cuenta sus vivencias acerca del proceso de la enfermedad de Edwyn Collins

Pop Surf Culture (Santa Monica Press)

2009-04-06T01:48:00.000-07:00

Brian Chidester and Domenic Priore, co-editors of Dumb Angel magazine have completed a new book titled Pop Surf Culture: Music, Design, Film and Fashion from the Bohemian Surf Boom (Santa Monica Press).

Parece que mucha gente estaba esperando la publicación de este libro y parece que no ha decepcionado.

Este texto está sacado de un blog llamado Instrorama a go go:

Apostamos que sería un gran libro simplemente con un adelanto hace meses, ahora que está en nuestras manos, podemos afirmarlo con criterio. Si en tu colección no faltan los libros de la editorial alemana Taschen: The Book of Tiki, Surfin' Icons, Tiki Modern, Stocked! o el grandioso repaso a la carrera fotográfica de Leroy Grannis. Atesoras los firmados por John Blair sobre surf music, el fílmico Surf Movie Tonite y estás enganchado a la revista Dumb Angel Gazette (4 números en 20 años, eso es hacerse de rogar). Tienes todo eso y más... y aún no estás satisfecho con acumular iconografía californiana de los 60, puede que esta maravilla gráfica sacie tus ansias por un tiempo, si eres tan maníaco obsesivo acumulador como el que esto firma.
La labor recolectora de iconografía vinculada con el movimiento surf que han llevado a cabo sus dos autores: Domenic Priore y Brian Chidester, es impagable y cuando menos digna de sana envidia. Cientos, miles de programas y carteles de conciertos y proyección de documentales, recortes de prensa, revistas de moda, portadas de vinilos, Cds, fotogramas fílmicos, fotos rarísimas...una auténtica gozada visual. Organizado con buen gusto, siguiendo la cronología tópica, pero necesaria para evitar desvaríos, los distintos capítulos son amenos y combinan perfectamente lo comercial, lo más conocido, con lo extraño y las rarezas: los clubs, la escena en Hawaii, el pastiche psicodélico y el efecto surf en los hippys, el arte de Mike Dormer, el surf musical de interior y en la costa este... Para entender el babeo al pasar las hojas, simplemente se para uno en un cartel de la batalla de las bandas en el Deauville Castle Club de Santa Monica y observa que durante 3 días de marzo de 1963, pasaron por escena: The Chantays, Lively Ones, The Sentinals, Original Surfaris, Dave Meyers & Surftones, The Rhythm Kings, The Breakers, The Centurians, Jim Waller & The Deltas y muchos más...el paraíso absoluto para el fan instro surfer.
Sobre el texto, pues depende de gustos, seguro que en alguna opinión les pasa lo que a mí y no coinciden en algo con los autores, pero todo está bien documentado y añade curiosidades de primera mano en declaraciones de sus protagonistas originales. Como dato sorprendente de banda de por aquí, los norteños The Longboards aparecen en el Top-10 de bandas indispensables de la tercera Ola del revival, seleccionada por la Dj Tiki Tena, junto a Lost Acapulco, The Surfites o The Ghastly Ones, entre otros.
Recuerden Pop Surf Culture, edita Santa Monica Press, $39,95.

Astrud Gilberto - "Bim Bom" 1966 (y el actor Jean Pierre Cassel como bailarín) / Françoise Hardy - "Comment te dire adieu" - 1969

2009-04-05T00:57:00.000-07:00

Ella no parece muy suelta; él, demasiado...

Por cierto, atención a este usuario de youtube: goochemesally; ¡MENUDA COLECCIÓN DE POP FRANCÉS! ¿falta alguien? (ver http://www.youtube.com/user/goochemesally )

En el de Francoise Hardy no hace falta darse cuenta de que ella también tiene su lado bueno y su lado malo (no hay más que ver los enfoques de las cámaras...)

En fin, todo un descubrimiento este goochemesally

Novedades de Rev-Ola y él en Abril

2009-04-02T00:00:00.000-07:00

Les Baxter
Space Escapade
acmem171cd

Released 20/04/09. The Founding-Father of Exotica, Les Baxter’s wild inventiveness has made him a hero to modern artists as diverse as Jello Biafra and Beck. Exotica became a hugely popular trend from the early fifties; with the onset of international jet travel, making it possible for middle-class Americans to simulate an authentic travelogue experience in the comfort of their suburban homes, “The Music of Les Baxter is never sad of gloomy – it is full of the adventure of life, the sounds of exotic lands and the free spirit of life close to nature”.
Space Escapade (not re-issued or digitalised in the half century since it’s original release) is the holy grail to Baxterites and students of the Exotica genre; showcasing all of the eclecticism and sensual orchestral effects that are Baxter’s remarkable trademark. The historic restoration of Space Escapade is complimented by an attractive special feature; a programme of extremely rare Les Baxter single A & B sides from the fifties; sweet and subtle gems never before re-issued in any context and digitalised here for the first time.

Space Escapade Shooting Star / Moonscape / Mr. Robot / The City / A Distant Star / The Commuter / Winds Of Sirius / The Other Side Of The Moon / Somewhere In Space (A Look Back At Earth) / Earth Light / The Lady Is Blue / Saturday Night On Saturn/ Rare Les Baxter Single A & B Sides - Cornflakes / Havana / The Trouble With Harry / Sinner Man / The Left Arm Of Buddha / Melodia Loca (The Chilean Crazy Song) / The Clown On The Eiffel Tower / Designing Woman / Venezuela / Ricordate Marcellino / La Panse (The Little Flower) / Love Song From "Houseboat"

Cab Calloway - The Hi-De-Ho Mancrrev164

Released 13/04/09. Cab Calloway: International Jazz Hall Of Famer; Broadway actor; Professor of Jive, whose dictionaries of African-American slang were the official reference works in the New York Library for decades; Bandleader and King Of Hi-De-Ho! Indeed His Hi-De-Highness of Ho-De-Ho, whose immense popularity allowed him to enjoy a six decade recording career, despite the fact that his biggest hits from the 1930s referenced the Harlem drug culture!
His signature song ‘Minnie The Moocher’, first topped the Pop best-seller chart at the height of the jazz age in 1931 and last climbed the R&B chart 47 years later at the height of the disco era, two years before Cab donned his tails to perform the song memorably on screen in “The Blues Brothers”. Revived countless times afterwards in films on both the big screen (“The Mask”) and small (“Jeeves & Wooster”) and ads galore, inspiring Joe Jackson to release a whole LP as a tribute, titled “Jumpin' Jive” after Cab's massive 1939 hit song of the same name.

This compilation, chosen from the best of Cab's 1940s swing era output, includes the powerful 1942 recut of ‘Minnie’ along with his R&B chart hits ‘The Honeydripper’ and ‘The Calloway Boogie’ and also covers of big hits such as ‘Shot Gun Boogie’, ‘The Jungle King’ and ‘One For My Baby’. Also included is an uber-rare soundtrack recording of ‘Geechee Joe’ from the 1943 blockbuster movie “Stormy Weather”.

Minnie The Moocher (1942 version) / Your Voice / The Hi-De-Ho Man / Everybody Eats When They Come To My House / Foo A Little Bally-Ho / Two Blocks Down, Turn To The Left / Boo wah! Boo wah! / One For My Baby / Are You All Reet? / Que Pasa Chica / The Calloway Boogie /Ol' Joe Louis / Frosty Morning / Come On With The "Come On" / The Jungle King / The Honeydripper / Roomin' House Boogie / Hey Now! Hey now! / I Beeped When I Shoulda Bopped / I Want To Rock / Are You Hep To The Jive? / Shot Gun Boogie / A Chicken Ain't Nothin' But A Bird / oh! Gram'pa / San Francisco Fan / Geechie Joe (From "Stormy Weather")

Chad & Jeremy
The Ark
crrev279

Released 27/04/09. After our proud release of Chad & Jeremy's "Of Cabbages And Kings", we now present their followup, "The Ark". Put together by the same Gary Usher-helmed team with the same sumptuous results, this is an amazing album.
Little were Chad and Jeremy to know it would be their swansong as 1960s recording artists...they should have stuck with it!
With songs informed by their own personal Brit oddyssey through 1960s California and their support for RFK's presidential campaign, this is a very fitting addition to the great run of Psychpop we've had lately...and one of the best!

Emancipation Of Mr.X / Sunstroke / Ark / Raven / Imagination / Painted Dayglow Smile / Pipe Dream / Transatlantic Trauma 1966 / Sidewalk Requiem Los Angeles June 5th And 6th / Pantheistic / Study For Guitar And Large Bird / Paxton Quigley's Had The Course / You Need Feet / Song Of The Love Child (Tobey's Song) / Letter To A London Girl / Pipe Dream (Alternate Version)

Tommy James and The Shondells
Crystal Blue Symphonies: The Psychedelic Years
crrev280

Released 27/04/09. Wow, another in our splendid series of overlooked Psychpop...and what a corker it is! In Europe at least, Tommy James is kind of the forgotten man of the 1960s...hit after hit, and what's available in Europe? Nothing much! After a run of megahits that included ‘Mony Mony’ (come on, everyone remembers that!), Tommy was ready to unleash his very own psychpop masterpieces…two fabulous albums released in short order, Crimson and Clover and Cellophane Symphony…veritable orgies of bendy pop, psych extravaganzas, early Moogs, theremins and tremolo!
These are two albums long overdue for the RevOla treatment and here they are both in one handy place!

Crimson & Clover / Kathleen Mcarthur / I Am A Tangerine / Do Something To Me / Crystal Blue Persuasion / Sugar On Sunday - Tommy James / Breakaway / Smokey Roads / I'm Alive / Crimson & / Clover (Reprise) / Cellophane Symphony / Makin' Good Time / Evergreen / Sweet Cherry Wine / Papa Rolled His Own / Changes Loved One / I Know Who I Am / Love Of A Woman / On Behalf Of The Entire Staff & Management

Popcasting 92 y cambio de web

2009-04-01T23:52:00.000-07:00

El nº 92 de Popcasting ya está a vuestra disposición en nuestra web, que después de 3 tormentosos años de relación con Yahoo Pages hemos decidido mover a Wordpress, después de una mañana de desesperada lucha frustrada con nuestra web original. La cual mantendremos (ya que es el repositorio de nuestro archivo), pero ya no actualizaremos. La dirección es la misma, http://www.popcastingpop.com/, pero los que accedías directamente desde www.geocities.com/popcastingpop deberéis acceder desde ahora por la otra vía, o también desde http://popcasting.wordpress.com/ si lo preferís. El formato blog os permitirá dejar comentarios si así lo deseáis (me encantaría recibirlos) y es posible que cuelgue algún material extra como vídeos, imágenes, etc relacionados con los episodios de Popcasting o también independientemente de ellos. Incluso estoy considerando el crear una cuenta de Twitter de Popcasting para insertarla en el blog.
Cualquier sugerencia o contribución será muy apreciada. ¡Muchas gracias por seguir fieles a Popcasting!
Jaime

j.j. cale · city girls :: j.j. cale · drifters wife :: the tornadoes · the ice cream man :: hank williams · my bucket’s got a hole in it :: cliff richard and the shadows · i’m gonna get you :: abc · poison arrow :: gabinete caligari · me tengo que concentrar :: the morning benders · waiting for a war :: cheap trick · the dream police :: larry wallis · police car :: the ronettes · walking in the rain :: snooks eaglin · funky malagueña

Stuart Murdoch & Friends - "God Help The Girl"

2009-04-01T23:36:00.000-07:00

Stuart Murdoch va a editar muy pronto "God Help The Girl", un soundtrack para el que hizo audiciones para encontrar a dos chicas que pudieran interpretar las canciones, escritas por Murdoch. El escocés reveló algunos detalles de la producción a través del Myspace oficial del proyecto, en donde anunció que el disco probablemente estará disponible a finales de la primavera y que estaba considerando al tema “Come Monday Night” como primer sencillo de la producción. Ya se puede escuchar en Myspace. http://www.myspace.com/pleasegodhelpthegirl

Acerca de God Help The Girl
‘God Help The Girl’ is a story set to music, which Stuart Murdoch has been working on intermittently for the last five years, its origin in some songs that were written while Belle and Sebastian were touring ‘Dear Catastrophe Waitress’ in 2004. Stuart explains:

"I was out for a run and I got this tune in my head and it occurred to me that it wasn't a Belle & Sebastian song. I could hear female voices and strings, I could hear the whole thing, but I just couldn’t envisage myself singing it with the group.”

As more songs emerged, a shape and theme began to develop, before the music was actually recorded, or the vocalists found to take on the parts.

“All the time I was touring with Belle and Sebastian, I was putting aside songs for certain characters,” he says, “and at one point I realised, that it would make sense to string them together to form the backbone of a musical narrative.”

The hunt was then on to find some great new voices to put to use during the recordings. A competition where singers could add their vocals to the demo recordings of ‘Funny Little Frog’ and ‘The Psychiatrist Is In’ was posted on the iMeem social networking site and attracted around 400 entries. From these, Brittany Stallings (Olympia, Washington) and Dina Bankole (Jackson, Michigan) came to Glasgow in February 2008 to rehearse and record some parts, Brittany making the lead vocal part on ‘Funny Little Frog’ her own.

Among those who auditioned early in the process was Catherine Ireton, who had moved from Limerick to Glasgow, a friend of a friend, who had previously appeared on the sleeve of Belle and Sebastian’s last single, ‘The White Collar Boy.’ She took on the lead vocals for the majority of the songs on the record.

The recording continued during 2008, with a total of nine different singers (including Neil Hannon from the Divine Comedy and Asya from American teen trio, Smoosh) joining the members of Belle and Sebastian over the course of a few months. During this, Mick Cooke’s orchestral arrangements were recorded in London with the orchestra before the finishing touches were applied in Glasgow.

The result is a breathtaking record from one of pop’s most singular voices, combining the strengths and feel of the early Belle and Sebastian records in a broader musical palette, which draws equally on musicals, sixties’ girl groups, eighties’ indie and, most of all, classic pop records. And, in Catherine, Stuart has found a rare talent - her clear, lilting vocals bringing to life the characters in Stuart’s imagination and making for an ambitious and engrossing musical journey

De luxe edition

2009-04-01T23:30:00.000-07:00

Es increíble lo que está sucediendo con las llamadas deluxe edition. Ahora ¡hasta The Rockingbirds o The Dukes of Stratosphere! son considerados clásicos y les ponen a sus reediciones el apellido "De luxe edition"... Cualquier día de estos tenemos una reedición de luxe de The Fat Tulips (con cd2 con un concierto que dieron en el jardín de su casa) Todo llegará

Truly Smith - "I wanna go back there again" 1967

2009-04-01T03:35:00.000-07:00

Esta interpretación es para mi gusto muchísimo mejor que la de Chris Clark. Está incluida en un recopilatorio recién publicado por Acid Jazz records titulado "Rare Mod". Lo curioso es que no hay nada actualmente en catalogo de ella. Hay una buena biografía de ella en http://www.readysteadygirls.eu/#/trulysmith/4531650067

Las casas de Momus

2009-03-30T10:23:00.000-07:00

Momus descubre el Google Streetview y busca todas las casas donde ha ido viviendo a lo largo de su carrera musical, relacionando las casas con sus amantes y discos.

http://imomus.livejournal.com/444712.html

Pego aquí mi periodo favorito de su carrera

Date range: From 1985 to 1990. Address: 38 Draycott Place, Chelsea, London SW3 (Map)

Albums: The Poison Boyfriend, Tender Pervert, Don't Stop The NightNotes: I took over from my french girlfriend a tiny ground room facing Bray Place, and stayed there for five years. The top end of the King's Road was just a stone's throw away. I was poor, but this part of London was rich. I wasn't very successful, but this is where I'd have been living if I'd hit the bigtime. It was weird. I spent most afternoons up at South Ken pretending to be french

Bob Stanley loco por los singles de vinilo

2009-03-30T10:21:00.000-07:00

Columna de The Guardian (27-03-2009)

You spin me right round

Bob Stanley explains why he would happily spend £100 on a song he hates - just to get it on the most beautful, tactile format: the 45rpm vinyl single

The 45rpm single, the hard, black centrepiece of the teenage revolution, turns 60 next Tuesday. Few would argue that its rise and fall mirrors pop's golden age. Just the look of a 1957 single on the London label, with gold lettering, or the angles and DIY smudges of a 1979 Rough Trade release can raise the pulse, cause feelings of nostalgia, pride, envy. The 45 is easy to love. There are more of them in the shops than there were 10 years ago, yet it's tough to think of the 21st-century 45 as anything beyond a novelty, a sop to indie kid pop one-upmanship that is irrelevant to most music consumers.

Go back five decades and it was, no question, central to the teenage way of life. You would talk about records before school, between classes, during lunch. After school, the only places you could hear rock'n'roll were the coffee bars. The jukebox in the corner would contain the Gene Vincent and Chuck Berry 45s you craved, the records that you weren't allowed to play on your parents' pricy new radiogram - you were left with the wind-up, 78-playing gramophone if you were lucky. Another few years later and you may have owned a Dansette with a spindle for stacking your 45s, the only way to soundtrack your 16th birthday party.

Come the punk era, 45s were broadsides to the next generation from the suburbs, on a back-to-basics, prog-trashing, R'n'R format, and too fierce for airplay. In the 80s there were the Smiths singles, so perfectly packaged, so aesthetically desirable next to the straights' music of choice - Dire Straits' Brothers in Arms on a compact disc. When Culture Beat's Mr Vain did the dirty and got to No 1 without any 7in means of support in 1993, the golden era of the 45 came to an end. The next few years were a transition period in which the downright ugly CD single and "cassingle" bossed before the dawn of a new century and the internet finally consigned the 45 to cute relic status.

In 1949, RCA Victor had no thoughts of feeding vinyl-hungry kids, or of how Mr Vain would eventually spoil the party. All they were thinking was how to counter the Columbia label's new 33rpm vinyl, launched in mid-1948, with a different format and different machinery. RCA's 45-only record players plugged into the back of your radio, cheaply and cheerfully, but you needed a separate machine to play your albums, a state of affairs that lasted a few years before RCA and Columbia decided to share their technologies.

The first single, ever, was a country record by Eddy Arnold called Texarkana Baby. Arnold was managed by Colonel Tom Parker, who saw another of his charges, Elvis Presley, sign to RCA Victor in 1956. Texarkana Baby was pressed on a slightly odd green vinyl; RCA figured that, in the format wars, they needed a novelty, and so they pressed country music on green vinyl, children's music on yellow, classical on red, and "race" music - rhythm and blues - on "cerise", or what looked like orange to the average Joe. Straightahead pop was released on straightahead black.

RCA described the 45 in their press release as "the finest record ever made" and claimed "more than 150 single records or 18 symphonies fit in one foot of bookshelf space", which seems like an outright fib. In Britain, some way behind the US, the single wasn't introduced until November 1952, when EMI launched a bunch of desirable looking classical 45s on a dark red HMV label. The same month, New Musical Express launched the Hit Parade of best selling singles, all of which were on 78. EMI very quickly realised the three- or four-minute playing time was much better suited to pop than classics and in March 1953 HMV, Columbia, Parlophone and MGM issued, respectively, Eddie Fisher's I'm Yours, Ray Martin's Blue Tango, Humphrey Lyttelton's Out of the Gallion, and Judy Garland and Mickey Rooney's A Couple of Swells as their opening shots. By the end of the year, EMI had issued close to 300 titles and the raw materials for a revolution were coming together.

According to their promotional bumph, RCA had discovered "the school set loves 'em" as far back as back as November 1949 - "neat little records they can slip in their pockets, they go for the lowest priced at the new speed, they go for the little disc that fits on the shelf beside their paper-backed novels". The portable 45's disposability was mirrored by the thin paper sleeve and lack of glossy artwork that accompanied the album. The look and feel of the labels therefore became a secret teenage code, and certain labels belonged to certain acts. The Beatles had the black Parlophone label with its pound logo (to signify they were minted?); the Kinks were on the suitably fey pink Pye label; the Rolling Stones were kings of the dark blue Decca label, with its curious giant ear logo, housed in an orange and white candy-striped bag. The red "A" labels on EMI's mid-1960s promotional copies were pieces of true pop art, then and now highly prized by pop snobs.

Led by the rock musician's need to "stretch out", and by the rise of albums-only acts such as Led Zeppelin, the single was rather marginalised in the 70s. Its second coming was inspired by punk, not only because it brought bite-sized music back into fashion and spurned Mellotron-led rock symphonies, but because it revitalised the look of the 45. By 1976 just about everyone in pop had got lazy. Glam was a fading memory, the charts were clogged with novelties (the Wurzels, Demis Roussos) and slick country from the likes of Billie Jo Spears and JJ Barrie. In fact, even record buyers became sloppy - how else to explain a country single by a Dutch band, Pussycat's tedious Mississippi, spending a month at No 1? You could hardly blame record labels for packaging this nonsense with the most basic, ugly, moulded plastic labels and sticking them in plain white bags. Even Anarchy in the UK, issued in December 1976, came in a crappy paper sleeve.

If punk's new independent labels wanted to stand out, then, the solution was simple: Stiff released the Damned's New Rose, New Hormones issued the Buzzcocks' Spiral Scratch EP, and both came in picture sleeves. This was previously unheard of. Soon, Beggars Banquet was issuing the Lurkers' 45s on vinyl the colour of which hadn't been seen since Eddy Arnold's day. Countering the indies late in the day, major label Elektra put out the Cars' My Best Friend's Girl on car-shaped vinyl and earned a No 3 hit. The public went 45 crazy, buying more in 1978 than in any other year; by the year's end, even Boney M's Mary's Boy Child had advance sales of half a million and remains the 10th best-selling UK single ever.

Possibly record buyers were hypnotised by the spinning coloured vinyl singles that were introducing Top of the Pops. These, it recently transpired, were purloined by Swap Shop's Maggie Philbin when the opening credits changed, and have just been sold on eBay. I'd have doubled the price, whatever it was.

That's because for obsessive collectors like me, 45s remain the ultimate pop format and retain their allure in an era when pop formats are done with. Listening to Kid Cudi's Day and Night on Spotify just doesn't give me the thrill of taking the record from the sleeve, placing it on the deck and guiding the arm into what RCA Victor called the "microgroove". Scouring the internet for contemporary pop 45s by, say, Girls Aloud or the Sugababes, is a miserable experience; the fact that Push the Button and The Show were never even issued as 45s I find profoundly sad. I'd dearly love to file Push the Button alongside Sam Cooke's You Send Me, Shanice's I Love Your Smile and the Beach Boys' You're So Good to Me - 45s to suit the first buds of spring. Knowing I can't, and that Push the Button was only ever issued digitally, sets me on the edge of a panic attack.

If I were under 30, attuned to CDs, then Napster, then Spotify, I probably wouldn't give two hoots. And yet, I sit surrounded by Schweppes crates full of redundant 45s that are now just an instant click away. I still hunt down rare pressings of the earliest 45s, which were easily outsold by 78s, and ones from the turn of the 21st century, which were only pressed for aging vinyl jukeboxes. The result of this mania is a 45 wants list that includes Lita Roza's How Much Is That Doggie in the Window (which even the singer hated), for which I would gladly lay down a ton.

I don't think I'm alone in my sickness. Major labels could be missing a trick by not issuing everything that hits the Top 10 on a 45. They could be limited editions, maybe even car-shaped, Rolex-shaped, Pussycat Doll-shaped. Or maybe not. Thomas Edison continued making wax cylinders, for an ever shrinking market, until his death in 1931, because he refused to believe the format would die. So, for sanity's sake, I'll concede that 45s are a product of a bygone era, beautiful and desirable as they are. The heart of a cultural revolution, though, they will survive in the collective memory as more than just the snuff boxes of the mid-20th century

el Kiko dice: HDIF = central del anorak infantil

2009-03-30T09:21:00.000-07:00

Me acabo de comprar el nuevo Rockdelujo y uno de los lps del mes es el de The Pains of Being Pure at Heart, disco que comenta el Kiko. Por si no fuera poca la sorpresa de que sea uno de los lps del mes (luego he descubierto que estarán en el Primavera Sound...) leo la crítica y me encuentro con un si pero no, un no pero si. Y es que parece que al Kiko le molesta sobremanera el aire twee del producto pero al mismo tiempo no deja de disfrutar con el revival (y las canciones). Pone el disco por las nubes pero lanza varias pullas para desmarcarse. Primero se mete con el nombre del grupo y luego se ceba con el pobre Ian Watson (llama a su club How Does it Feel to Feel!!!!! y dice que es "la central del anorak indie"). Es la misma historia desde que aparecieron los caramelos, las pompas de jabón y los vestidos de flores en la escena. Los Twee mataron la actitud del C86...

De la revista hay poco que decir: Portada: ¡la serie "Perdidos"! y en cuanto a contenidos, poco que destacar: Magazine, Arto Lindsay, Darre Hayman, Jane Birkin y en críticas de conciertos, TV Personalities, Jeremy Jay, Cats on Fire y poco más.

Fruitman!!!!!!

2009-03-25T04:16:00.000-07:00

En mi vida había leído una cosa igual...
¡un superhéroe que se convierte en fruta y cuyos poderes son lo ácidos de las mismas!
http://learning2share.blogspot.com/2009/02/first-appearance-of-fruitman-1967.html

Por cierto, el blog es realmente recomendable con sus reliquias de la cultura pop. Me estoy haciendo adicto a él.

El nuevo Ep de Liechtenstein, "Apathy" y "Somewhere in China" de The Shop Assistants

2009-03-24T01:59:00.000-07:00

Acabo de conseguir el nuevo ep de Liechtenstein "Everything´s for Sale" y lo he escuchado y no ha pasado nada. "Apathy" si que me tocó la fibra sensible, aunque quizá más por evocar recuerdos que por otra cosa: después de escucharla siempre he terminado recurriendo a pinchar "Somewhere in China" de The Shop Assistants...

"She Lives Somewhere in China
I Think that I´ll Go out and Find Her
Just To See if There´s a Better World for Me"

Harmony Grass - "I Remember"

2009-03-23T03:19:00.000-07:00

Ayer estuve escuchando el último Popcasting y lo que más me gustó fue esta canción de Harmony Grass. Contaba el amigo de Souvenir que estuvo en la última fiesta de Flor de Pasión y que departió con Charlie Mysterio, que le contó que tiene un nuevo proyecto con el Zurdo y que juntos van a grabar un disco para Siesta en el que va a colaborar Tony Rivers, líder de Harmony Grass... ¿cuántos años debe de tener? Los 65 no se los quita nadie, aunque el Zurdo no debe de andar muy lejos tampoco. Por cierto me acabo de asomar por la web de Siesta y no dice nada. Sólo dan la noticia de que el próximo lanzamiento sera Anne Arbor, que no tengo ni la más remota idea de que/quién es

Ten Classics of soft psych by Bob Stanley

2009-03-22T02:29:00.000-07:00

Se me había pasado, pero en el último Mojo en su extenso reportaje sobre 60s US psych, hay dos top 10 en los que participa Bob Stanley. Uno es meramente curioso pero el de soft psych (mira que le va al Stanley el adjetivo soft; se lo pone a todo) está interesante. Lo mejor del top 10 para mi gusto son los Harpers Bizarre que transforman una canción que es pura energía como es "Knock On Wood" de Eddie Floyd en pura sutileza y elegancia. La verdad es que los Harpers eran unos maestros de la interpretación. Sus versiones eran verdaderamente originales y ¡qué decir de su look! En este clip de "The 59th Bridge Street Song" nos lo muestra en todo su esplendor y atención al peinado del rubio ¡en mi vida he visto una cosa igual!

Rough Trade y la ética indie

2009-03-22T01:27:00.000-07:00

Parece que hace poco la BBC ha emitido un reportaje sobre la historia de Rough Trade. El efecto en algunos blogs que sigo ha sido fulminante: Momus hace una magnífica disección sobre ello http://imomus.livejournal.com/445131.html y la ética indie (con sabrosos comentarios sobre su relación con Rough Trade, Scritti Politti, Mike Alway, el marxismo, el marketing y los monopolios...) "For a brief moment in time," says Rough Trader Steve Montgomery, "we encapsulated everything that was right about the human race".

También A jumped-up pantry boy se hace eco del programa http://pantry.wordpress.com/2009/03/14/wurlitzer-jukebox/, aunque se centra más en el tema musical: we had the pleasure of seeing in action Young Marble Giants, the Raincoats, Delta 5, Weekend, Robert Wyatt, Microdisney – Cathal Coughlan magnificent in ill-fitting trousers and a green jacket borrowed from the US Masters – Violent Femmes, James performing ‘Sit down’ on Wogan, and even Camper Van Beethoven doing – you guessed it – ‘Take the skinheads bowling’. These may be more or less available via YouTube but here it was all nicely packaged into as pleasurable an hour of music television as I ever remember seeing.

Momus nos da pistas sobre donde bajarnos el programa ya desaparecido de la web de la BBC. Por tanto, If you're outside the UK, and lucky, it may still be available here.

¿Nadie vio el guateque en Canal 9?

2009-03-21T04:58:00.000-07:00

La hicieron el día 17 o 18. Tantos años hacía que no la veía...

Hit Fallero: Swing Out Sister "You On My Mind" 1989

2009-03-20T14:35:00.000-07:00

La verdad es que nunca les había prestado atención porque no creía que la mereciesen. Si, "Breakaout" era un hit 80s agradable y que no molestaba cuando sonaba en la radio ni en las noches de verano, pero poco más. Yo los había olvidado hasta que viendo los tracklists de Pacific Street me sorprendió ver este "You On My Mind" y ahora que la he escuchado entiendo el porqué. Es pop bachariano (lástima que sin el toque Hal David; la letra es tópica, tópica) con aromas brasileños y una canción ideal para un inicio de primavera con sol en la playa. El clip también es vistoso: estética sixties con Audrey y pelis de espías. Y ahora me entero que entre sus miembros habían ex de A Certain Ratio y Magazine y que la cantante fue modelo y tenía un flequillo precioso. Sí, recuerdo algún NME incluso con ellos en la portada. Si queremos hay incluso coartada de credibilidad...

¡Your Heart Out 5!

2009-03-20T14:22:00.000-07:00

Carlos, prepara la impresora (y me debes todavía el 4...)

La foto de este post es Jeanne Moreau en "Eva" de Joseph Losey, estrella en la portada del número 5 del zine, aunque es distinta, pero corresponde a la misma película e es igual de femme fatale...

Además hay 2 mix más. Uno sobre música brasileña So here's our Canto Triste mix,(Fantásticas Maysa y "Quando Cherages" y Joyce con "A saudade mata a gente") y otro sobre sonidos uk finales 70/principios 80 your copy of Times Are So Tough here (os gustará The Expressos y su "There she goes" muy Byrds y The Distractions repiten con otro gran tema)

Aquí se puede descargar el zine. Por cierto, todos los artistas empiezan por M. (¿?)

The fifth issue of Your Heart Out is now ready to face the world and show off its latest moves.
So go ahead, download it for free, and find out what happens when you take the Main Ingredient, Motors, Malcolm McLaren and Jeanne Moreau, Milva and Morricone, Marilia Medalha, Letta Mbulu, Mark Murphy, Mixed Nuts, Moonshake, Ella Mae Morse, Marcia Griffiths, plot them on a chart and join the dots. It's a bit of an odyssey, but you'll visit some intriguing places along the way. Just to be perverse we'll describe the cover, well sort of hint at it by saying it features Jeanne Moreau in Joseph Losey's Eva which has Tony Middleton singing the title song. The back page, though, features this Ken Boothe LP sleeve. What more do you need to know?

Comprado por ebay

2009-03-20T14:10:00.000-07:00

Cuando me llegue ya colgaré los artículos sobre Weekend, The Pale Fountains y el especial bossa

Hablando de Foxbase Alpha...

2009-03-13T09:14:00.000-07:00

Saint Etienne retoman ¡En vivo! el Foxbase Alpha al completo y además con Go Kart Mozart de teloneros.

Además Bob & Pete estuvieron en la BBC6 poniendo discos; Lo más curioso es que pincharon a Fitness Forever, el grupo italiano recientemente fichado por Elefant (debe de ser que le han enviado una copia al Stanley ahora que va a pinchar en una fiesta Elefant).
Ladyhawke - Morning Dance
Lykke Li - Dance Dance Dance
Panda Bear - Carrots
OMD - This Is Helena
Cliff Johns - Goofy
Air France - Collapsing At Your Doorstep
The Future - The Last Man On Earth
John Carter - Sponge Pudding
Frida Hyvonen - London
Fleetwood Mac - Love In Store
John Carter - A Cuppa Typhoo
The Embassy - So In Love
West Coast Experimental Pop Band - A Child's Guide To Good And Evil
The Chiffons - Remember Me Baby
Asobi Seksu - Familar Light (Twins Remix)
Fitness Forver - Quando Ho Tempo
Johnny Watson - It's Better To Cry
Gary McFarland -Because

Las dos mejores canciones de la historia para Tracey Thorn 1991

2009-03-13T04:54:00.000-07:00

Ayer me encontré una vieja entrevista (sección Material World-NME) de 1991 en la que a Tracey le preguntaban por sus dos canciones favoritas de siempre. Aqui están las dos interpretadas en directo. (impagables las versiones)

Exposición sobre Benoit Hennebert

2009-03-13T02:29:00.000-07:00

Hoy Momus en su blog habla de una exposición de Benoit Hennebert. De este diseñador muy influenciado por la línea clara y de sus portadas para el sello Les Disques du Crepuscule, ya hablé en antirock cuando se alojaba en blogia (http://antirock.blogia.com/2005/121103-benoit-hennebert.php). Lo mejor del caso es que Momus de manera indirecta cita a Souvenir ezine con un link a la entrevista a Mike Alway (pinchar abajo). La verdad es que nos salió un ezine muy chulo, ¿verdad Carlos?

Hennebert was a huge influence on Mike Alway, and on my own 1982 sleeve for my first album with The Happy Family, which employed Clarendon type and big asterisks and the kind of tweaked 60s retro Hennebert was so good at (and I wasn't).

La mayoría de sus portadas se pueden visionar aquí: http://home.planet.nl/~frankbri/creimage.html

Y sobre su exposición, dejos dos links: http://denniscooper-theweaklings.blogspot.com/2009/03/galerie-dennis-cooper-presents-benoit.html

la foto de este post esta extraída de aquí: http://www.clausrichter.net/index.php/2009/02/15/koln-les-disques-du-crepuscule/

La misteriosa Christine Wanless

2009-03-12T02:43:00.000-07:00

Ahora que estoy con la discografía de Biff Bang Pow! y The Revolving Paint Dream, me llama la atención la desconocida figura de la cantante que aparece en los discos de ambos. Gracias a la web Vivonzeureux! del francés JC Brouchard -ocasional colaborador en Biff Bang Pow! en el single "Someone Stole My Wheels" y al que dedicaron el instrumental surf "The Whole World´s Turning Brochard!"- he conseguido saber que se llama Christine Wanless. En varias web le llaman "la Nico de Creation", una exageración como otra cualquiera, pero es indudable que la chica tiene una voz preciosa y que las canciones con ella a la voz mejoran muchísimo. No hay más que comparar la versión de "The Beat Hotel" incluida en "The Girl Who Runs The Beat Hotel" con la incluida en "The Acid House Album" o la maravillosa interpretación de "Electra´s Crying Loaded in The Basament", mi canción favorita de The Revolving Paint Dream.

Esto es lo que dice wikipedia de The Revolving Paint Dream. La foto del post está sacada de http://vivonzeureux.fr/Pages/pidgsomeonestolemywheels.html

The band was formed in London in 1983 by Andrew Innes, who had previously played guitar for Alan McGee's band The Laughing Apple, and also contributed to McGee's later band, Biff Bang Pow!.[1] The band also featured Innes's girlfriend Christine Wanless on vocals, Ken Popple (also of Biff bang Pow!) on drums, and part-time contributions on guitar from McGee himself.[1][2] The band's debut single, the psychedelic "Flowers are in the Sky"/"In the Afternoon", was released in early 1984, the second single on Creation Records.[3] Three years passed before the band's next release, the mini-LP Off to Heaven, Innes now a member of Primal Scream and Wanless now working as a press officer for Creation.[1] The band returned in 1989 with a new drummer, Luke Hayes, and a first full-length album, the experimental Mother Watch Me Burn.[3] The band's final release, the "Sun, Sea, Sand" single, was issued the same year.

Chris Connor Sings Gentle Bossa Nova - Arranged and conducted by Pat Williams 1965

2009-03-12T02:21:00.000-07:00

Your Heart Out ha colgado en su blogspot un nuevo mix, esta vez dedicado a las chicas swing. Chris Connor es una de ellas y yo recomiendo este album. Esta lleno de standards (desde The Beatles a temas que en su día hicieron famosos Sinatra, Andy Williams etc) pero interpretados con un indudable savoir affaire

Camera Obscura en 4ad

2009-03-11T03:06:00.000-07:00

No me había dado cuenta pero resulta que el nuevo lp de Camera Obscura lo va a editar 4AD; al parecer ya no están ni en Elefant ni en Merge

http://www.4ad.com/cameraobscura/

La noticia:

Three New Signings Announced
04 February 09
This year is shaping up to be another exciting one for 4AD and we're delighted today to be announcing three new signings to the label with The Big Pink, Broken Records and Camera Obscura all joining the roster.

The Clean - "Beatnik"

2009-03-11T02:31:00.000-07:00

Esta canción la conocí gracias a que Comet Gain la versionearon (está incluida en el recopilatorio que editaron en el 2008) y es todo un himno, un hit garajero-indiepop. Originalmente la editaron en su segundo EP, "Sounds Great, Good Sounds Good, So-so Sounds So-so, Bad Sounds Bad, Rotten Sounds Rotten" (se titula así, lo juro). Hoy se puede encontrar en el cd recopilatorio "Anthology".

El vídeo clip original no tiene desperdicio:

Hits de Your Heart Out 4

2009-03-11T01:54:00.000-07:00

Esto es lo que más me ha gustado del número 4 de Your Heart Out:

PIERRE BAROUH " Samba Saravah" (bossa francesa)
SHEILA & THE BLACK DEVOTION "Spacer" (disco)
SAMIA FARAH "Gratuit" (lovers rock cantando en francés)
ANN RICHARDS "Where Did You Go" (SWING)
RAY POLLARD "The Drifter" (Northern Soul)
SHRIEKBACK "Evaporation" (Post Punk)
JORGE BEN "Take it Easy My Brother Charlie" (samba)
BRIGITTE FONTAINE "Devaste Moi" (Chanson)
y FLYING LOTUS (FEAT. DOLLY) "Roberta Flack" y los singles de vinilo del sello ONE HANDED MUSIC (dubstep)

Pero por encima de todo, lo mejor han sido estas dos joyas:

La de Leo Ferré es tremenda. Y es curioso el contraste entre la ferocidad de las partes vocales y las bellas melodías de la instrumentación y los arreglos. Al lado de Leo Ferré, Nick Cave parece un payaso...

Pacific Street: su calendario

2009-03-11T00:11:00.000-07:00

Pacific Street: su calendario

8 may 2009 22:00
Cocoanut Groove + Navy Blue @ La Pequeña Bety

27 may 2009 21:00
The Bats + Motel 3 @ La Pequeña Bety

Darren Hayman - "Pram Town"

2009-03-10T07:38:00.000-07:00

"How Could you live anywhere else" repite en el estribillo de esta estupenda canción que da título a su nuevo lp. ¿la explicación? aquí está:

'Pram Town' era el mote cariñoso que se daba a Harlow, Essex a principios de los años cincuenta. Se acuñó para reflejar la súbita afluencia de jóvenes familias al 'New Town'. Los 'Nuevos Pueblos' se construyeron tras la Segunda Guerra Mundial, y se diseñaron para la vida contemporánea y del futuro como un antídoto contra las ciudades.

Yo no crecí en Harlow. Lo hice cerca, en Brentwood. Vivía en una casa de protección oficial de finales de los sesenta diseñada con la misma estética e ideales de Le Corbusier o Bauhaus. Amo y odio esos lugares. Sobre el papel son el epítome de la visión racionalizada del futuro que se tenía en el pasado. Cuando se construyeron, su simplicidad prístina henchía a sus dueños de orgullo.
Pero los pueblos no se diseñan: evolucionan. Ni el cemento desmoronado ni las grietas en el plástico ni todas las actividades municipales del mundo podrían darle un corazón a Harlow.

Cuando todo el mundo en mi calle puso falsas cubiertas Tudor en las ventanas y dejaron de soñar con la modernidad, yo escapé a Londres.

'Pram Town' es un conjunto de canciones sobre alguien que no escapa. Un gran pez en un pequeño estanque, al que se le echa un cable mientras se escaquea de pagar el billete en el vagón de preferente de un tren. Este es un disco sobre buenas ideas que salen mal. Es sobre cómo el orgullo puede hacerte perder el amor. Es sobre una ambición desmesurada que se queda en nada. Y sobre el vacío en medio.

Darren Hayman

Novedades de Marzo en Rev-Ola y él Records

2009-03-10T06:31:00.000-07:00

BOSSA RIO - "idem"

Released 30/03/09. Bossa Rio were a great group produced by Sergio Mendes for- but without all the ballads and slower stuff. Members of the group include Manfredo Fest and Pery Ribeiro, Brazilian stars in their own right. This first album is very jazzy, with nice versions of Cacao do Sal , Veleiro , Saiupa , and Nana -- plus lots of other nice groovers that have a classic A&M bossa feel to them. Group leader Gracinha Leporace was Mrs. Sergio Mendes, and was to provide vocals for the later Brasil 77 albums... Poptastic and Brasilliant!
Salupa / Do You Know The Way To San Jose / Wave / Day By Day / Today, Tomorrow / Up, Up And Away / Nana / Old Devil Moon / Veleiro / Gentle Rain / Cancao Do Sal

THE YOUNG IDEA

With A Little Help From My Friends
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Released 30/03/09. Every Beatles album release in the 60s was accompanied by a glut of opportunistic cover versions. Most were largely ignored by the record buying public but occasionally one broke through see The Overlanders' 'Michelle', Cliff Bennett & The Rebel Rousers' 'Got To Get You Into My Life' and the subject of this particular release, The Young Idea, who took the happy-go-lucky Sgt Pepper track 'With A Little Help From My Friends' to #10 in the UK in the summer of 1967.

The Young Idea was a vocal duo comprising Tony Cox and Douglas MacRea-Brown. They'd previously toured with The Hollies and Paul Jones, which resulted in Graham Nash giving them the then-unreleased Hollies song 'Peculiar Situation' that became a turntable hit in early 67. The duo released five singles on EMI's Columbia label, which were followed in 1968 by an album named after the hit and released, bizarrely, on EMI's budget imprint Music For Pleasure.
To their credit, the duo signed a deal as songwriters as well as recording artists and managed to record a number of their own songs alongside the usual Tin Pan Alley offerings. Their records were afforded the big band, major label production style of Darkness' (later to lend its name to a volume of the influential Rubble compilations.

With A Little Help From My Friends / The Games Men Play / The World's Been Good To Me Tonight / On The King's Road / Mister Lovin' Luggage Man / Just Look At The Rain / Peculiar Situation / In Bond Street / Just To Love Her / Gotta Get Out The Mess I'm In / Room With A View / Tar And Cement / Bonus Tracks- It Can't Be (45 B-Side) / Saturday Night People (45 Issued As "Scott Henderson") / Colours Of Darkness (45 Bside) / Mister Really Good (Unissued 1968 Session) / The French Horn (Unissued 1968 Session

LES BAXTER

The Fruit Of Dreams

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Released 2nd March 09. The Fruit Of Dreams" is a fantastic combination of Les Baxter's rarest, best and most pure exotica albums "Ports Of Pleasure" and "The Sacred Idol". Both of these records are rightly internationally acclaimed as masterpieces; remarkably this is their first release anywhere on CD.

Les Baxter was the founding father of exotica, a variation of easy listening that documented the sounds and styles of the South seas, India and South America. Exotica became a massively popular trend from the early fifties and with the onset of international jet travel, making it possible for middle-class Americans to simulate an authentic travelogue experience in the comfort of their suburban homes. The music of Les Baxter is never sad or gloomy-it is full of the adventure of life, the sounds of exotic lands and the free spirit of life close to nature. Because of the wild inventiveness of his music Les Baxter is a hero to contemporary independent artists as diverse as Jello Biafra and Beck.

Les Baxter has scored many movies and he also scored music for theme parks and seaworlds. In the nineties Baxter was widely celebrated, alongside Martin Denny (for whom he had written the 1959 top ten hit Quiet Village ) and Arthur Lyman Group, as one of the progenitors of exotica.

Tahiti: A Summer Night At Sea / Shanghai Rickshaw / City Of Veils / Hong Kong Cable Car / Tramp Steamer To Singapore / Monkey Dance Of Bali / The Pearls Of Ceylon / Harem Silks From Bombay / Sidewalk Cafes Of Saigon / The Gates Of Annam / Procession Of The Princes / The Feathered Serpent / Fruit Of Dreams / Pool Of Love / Aquaducts / The Games / Conquistadores / Gardens Of The Moon / Temple Of Gold / Pyramid Of The Sun / The High Priest Of The Aztecs / Acapulco

LAMBERT, HENDRICKS & ROSS

Improvisations For The Human Voice

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Released 16/03/09. Lambert Hendricks & Ross are still regarded as the finest jazz vocal group of all time: Their fame comes from their pioneering of vocalese; wordless vocals imitating instruments and they achieved this in an astonishing style that has never been surpassed.

The EL edition is full of rarities, restored and re-issued on compact disc for the first time including numerous superb pre-LHR recordings involving Dave Lambert Singers and Annie Ross and three LHR live tracks from a 1958 radio broadcast; including a wild, nine minute Popity Pop that encapsulates everything about the group that was so extraordinary. Jazz / light vocal pop crossover potential with significant exports to Japan and America. Very modern and cool; Beach Boys, Four Freshmen, Hi-Los, Free Design, Harpers Bizarre, Association etc.

Dave Lambert & Buddy Stewart & The Gene Krupa Trio - What's This? / Dave Lambert & Buddy Stewart -A Cent And A Half / Perdido / Charge Account / Gussie G / Dave Lambert Choir - Jo Stafford - Jolly Jo / Annie Ross - Twisted / Farmer's Market / Annie's Lament / Dave Lambert Singers- Hawaiian War Chant / Four Brothers / Cloudburst / Standin' On The Corner (Whistlin' At The Pretty Girls) / Lambert Hendricks & Ross -Doodlin' / Spirit-Feel / Two For The Blues / Little Pony / Fiesta In Blue / Down For Double / Lil' Darlin / Rusty Dusty Blues / Popity Pop

SERGE GAINSBOURG

Songs On Page One

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Released 16/03/09. There are many standard-issue personae to which an aspiring rock star might be drawn, but one has always been cooler, darker and sexier than all the rest. It is that of the artist who single-mindedly pursues his creative muse while embracing the full panoply of self-destructive, decadent, badboy behaviour: heavy drinking, frequent drug use, committed womanising, a general fuck-you attitude to both public and media, a casual disregard for society's sacred cows and taboos, and a self-belief bordering on the messianic. For three turbulent decades Serge Gainsbourg heroically exemplified all of the above - and much more.

He wrote and directed four controversial movies, he published a scurrilous novel, his records were often denounced as obscene and he was perpetually embroiled in scandal, whether for turning up drunk on a TV show and offering to f**k fellow guest Whitney Houston, recording a reggae version of Le Marseillaise, burning a 500 franc banknote on prime-time TV, or making a decidedly queasy video with his 13-year-old daughter Charlotte to promote their single, Lemon Incest. Summarising his approach to life and art, he said: "Without controversy it would all be very boring" and "For me, provocation is oxygen."

The EL edition comprises his shockingly brilliant debut album, a live track from the same period transmitted on Radio France and fine versions of songs from this momentous first album recorded with commercial success by Parisian comtemporaries Michèle Arnaud and Jean Claude Pascal Serge Gainsbourg has been one of, if not the, major single international influence on British and American independent pop music; Portishead, Franz Ferdinand, Tricky, Jarvis Cocker, Beck, Arcade Fire, Placebo, PJ Harvey, Brett Anderson, Mick Harvey, Momus and Belle and Sebastian have all claimed him as mentor In France, Gainsbourg is nothing less than an institution. As Jane Birkin put it recently: "Now French culture is talked of as before and after Serge."

Serge Gainsbourg - Le Poinçonneur des Lilas / La Recette de l'amour fou / Douze belles dans la peau / Ce Mortel ennui / Ronsard 58 / La Femme des uns sous le corps des autres / Alcool / Du Jazz dans le ravin / Charleston des déménageurs de piano / Mes petites odalisques (Radio France 5-1-58) Michèle Arnaud- La Recette de l'amour fou / Douze belles dans la peau / Jeunes femmes et vieux messieurs / La Femme des uns sous le corps des autres / Ronsard 58 / Il était une oie / Jean Claude Pascal - Douze belles dans la peau / La Recette de l'amour fou

BANDA SONORA Paper Moon Original Sound Track + Django Reinhardt And The Quintet Of The Hot Club Of France

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Released 16/03/09. First ever re-issue on CD for this much sought-after soundtrack to Peter Bogdanovich's famous depression-era comedy, featuring Ryan O'neal and his ten year old daughter Tatum, who memorably stole the show and walked away with an Oscar
The much heralded score exclusively comprises hits of the period with such numbers as Let's Have Another Cup Of Coffee and Keep Your Sunnyside Up exemplifying the cheery chin-up mood of the period.

As a significant additional feature, to complement Paper Moon our edition comprises beautifully restored thirties recordings of Django Reinhardt and the Quintet of the Hot Club of France, playing the repertoire upon which this fantastic guitarist's reputation was founded. Strong export potential (especially to America)

Paper Moon: Original Film Soundtrack- It's Only A Paper Moon - Paul Whiteman & his Orchestra / About A Quarter To Nine - Ozzie Nelson & his Orchestra / (It Will Have To Do) Until The Real Thing Comes Along – Leo Resiman & his Orchestra (Vocal Larry Stewart) / Flirtation Walk - Dick Powell / Just One More Chance - Bing Crosby / One Hour With You Jimmie Grier & his Orchestra (Vocal Donald Novis) / I Found A Million Dollar Baby - Victor Young & his Orchestra with The Boswell Sisters / The Object Of My Affection - Jimmie Grier & his Orchestra (Vocal Pinky Tomlin) / Georgia On My Mind - Hoagy Carmichael & his Orchestra / A Picture Of Me Without You - Paul Whiteman with Ken Darby and Ramona / On The Banks Of The Ohio - The Blue Sky Boys / My Mary - Jimmy Davis / After You've Gone - Tommy Dorsey & his Orchestra / Let's Have Another Cup Of Coffee - Enric Madgriguera and his Hotel Biltmore Orchestra / Sunnyside Up - Johnny Hamp's Kentucky Serenaders (vocal Frank Luther) / Django Reinhardt and the Quintet of the Hot Club of France - Limehouse Blues / Are You In The Mood? / You're Driving Me Crazy / When Day Is Done / Leieberstraum No. 3 / Mystery Pacific / Improvisation / Minor Swing / Swingin' With Django / Echoes Of Spain / I'll See You In My Dreams

The Modern Folk Quartet - "This Could Be the Night"

2009-03-10T03:49:00.000-07:00

Escuchando hace poco "Back To Mono" recuperé esta canción firmada por Harry Nilsson/Phil Spector (aunque parece que realmente sólo compuesta por Nilsson; dicen que Spector les obligaba a los jóvenes compositores a incluirle en los créditos...). En el libreto se dice que Spector quiso fichar a The Lovin´Spoonful o The Young Rascals, pero como no lo consiguió firmó a MFQ...

La letra recoge la excitación previa a una cita muy deseada y los sueños que preceden a la misma. Llegan a cantar que esta noche "vamos a dar un pequeño paseo por el cielo", ni más ni menos, y que "voy a darle todo mi amor Y MÁS".

Es evidente que esto es una de esas "Teenage Symphonies to God", ya que el propio Brian Wilson la llegó a grabar en 1995 para un tributo a Harry Nilsson

The Low Numbers y el blog de Your Heart Out

2009-03-10T03:32:00.000-07:00

Your Heart Out abandona el myspace y se pasa a blogspot, lo cual es una buena noticia porque promete material alternativo. Así, acaba de colgar the sound of my youth from my archives , un mix con temas de grupos de finales de los 70, principios de los 80 donde se puede escuchar desde post punk (Clock DVA, Urban Shakedown) hasta new wave pop (The Chefs) pasando por power pop (The Distractions ¡powerpop en Factory Records!). La joya de la corona es una canción de un grupo mod/powerpop que no conocía -The Low Numbers- que grabaron un único single para Warner, que está realmente bien. La canción se titula "Keep In Touch" y hoy en día está disponible en cd en el Volumen 8 de la serie "Shake Some Action". El single oroginal se cotiza en ebay en torno a los 30 dólares

Bobby Reed, "Foxbase Alpha" y los primeros Saint Etienne

2009-03-10T02:50:00.000-07:00

Con el transcurso del tiempo he llegado al convencimiento de que "Foxbase Alpha" es mi lp favorito de St Etienne. Eran tiempos en que se podía samplear con impunidad y que las limitaciones musicales acentuaban la imaginación de los no músicos. Se podía grabar un disco a base de trozos de otros y el resultado solía ser realmente sorprendente. Lamentablemente en un par de años aparecieron los abogados y se terminó la fiesta. En el segundo lp de Saint Etienne (y en todos sus discos posteriores) ya no hubo más sampleados de otras canciones y algo se perdió por el camino... Es cierto que a este arte se le puede llamar en principio robo, pero cuando lo que realmente haces es construir canciones con bases de otras, el resultado puede llegar a ser realmente personal, como "Foxbase Alpha".

Estos son algunos de los sampleados (verdadera joyas):

DUSTY SPRINGFIELD/BABY WASHIGHTON: "I Can´t Wait Until I See My Baby´s Face" en "Nothing Can Stop Us"

GLENN BROWN & KING TUBBY "Melodica International" en "Carn´t Sleep"

FOUR TOPS "I´m in a Different World" en "She´s The One"

y por encima de todo, BOBBY REED, "The Time is Right For Love" en "Spring".

Esta última es una rareza soul:

TEXTO EXTRAIDO DE groovecollector.com:

Amazing sweet soul single recorded by bobby reed in 1970.

I don't have much information about B. Reed, but I know that the track "the time is right for love" is in my Soul Top 50. I've tryed to list all his singles but If you know further information about him, please let me know.

Bobby was a popular soul singer out of Washington. In 1966, he worked with the producer "Clay Roberta" for the rare shrine label where he recorded a few Northern Soul tunes such as caldonia brown / baby don't leave me . These songs were unreleased at that time and a few decade later, "Goldmine Soul Supply" (UK) issued a single including the both soul tunes.

As "Bobby Reed "and "Clay Roberta" couldn't issued on "Shrine", "Clay" founded his own label "Clay Town" and recorded a single you are / i'm not coming back.

From 1968, Bobby Reed began to work with the great Washington arranger, producer, singer, ... "Van Mc Coy" on the loma label where they released the single i'll find a way / i wanna love you so bad. Don't miss 'I'll find a way".

2 years later, when "Van Mc Coy" joined the bell label, Bobby recorded this single including "the time is right for love". Unfortunatly, the original copy is very rare but luckily the UK label "Expansion" has had the good idea to re-issued this single in 2003.
Besides, for information, this track has been sampled by "Smif N Wessun" on "Crystal Stair".

In 1972, Van & Bobby released together the Bobby 's last single (I guess ?) on the label abbott : you / home is where the heart is.

Click Opera: el blog de Momus

2009-03-10T02:39:00.000-07:00

Lo confieso: Me he hecho adicto al blog de Momus.

En su último post: Sus colaboraciones con revistas de arte y diseño; pornografía suave japonesa; un documental sobre Kahimi Karie; Alan Mcgee y sus cabreos contra el mundo ("When Alan McGee referred to me on his Twitter feed last week as a "middle-class wanker" I thought I was the sole object of his ire...); Bakiri No Su ("a lovely a capella group from Japan") y un recuerdo a los Talking Heads del 78

The Clientele - "Losing Haringey"

2009-03-08T01:57:00.000-08:00

Esta letra me ha puesto los pelos de punta. La canción pertenece al lp del 2005, "Strange Geometry" (Haringey es un barrio de Londres: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/London_Borough_of_Haringey

In those days, there was a kind of fever that pushed me out of the front door, into the pale, exhaust-fumed park by Broadwater Farm or the grubby road that eventually leads to Enfield: turkish supermarket after chicken restaurant after spare car part shop. Everything in my life felt like it was coming to a mysterious close: I could hardly walk to the end of a street without feeling there was no way to go except back. The dates I’d had that summer had come to nothing, my job was a dead end and the rent cheque was killing me a little more each month. It seemed unlikely that anything could hold much longer. The only question left to ask was what would happen after everything familiar collapsed, but for now the summer stretched between me and that moment.

It was ferociously hot, and the air quality became so bad that by the evening the noise of nearby trains stuttered in in fits and starts, distorted through the shifting air. As I lay in the cool of my room, I could hear my neighbours discussing the world cup and opening beers in their gardens. On the other side, someone was singing an Arabic prayer through the thin wall. I had no money for the pub so I decided to go for a walk.

I found myself wandering aimlessly to the west, past the terrace of chip and kebab shops and laundrettes near the tube station. I crossed the street, and headed into virgin territory – I had never been this way before. Gravel-dashed houses alternated with square 60s offices, and the wide pavements undulated with cracks and litter. I walked and walked, because there was nothing else for me to do, and by degrees the light began to fade.

The mouth of an avenue led me to the verge of a long, greasy A-road that rose up in the far distance, with symmetrical terraces falling steeply down then up again from a distant railway station. There were four benches to my right, interspersed with those strange bushes that grow in the area, whose blossoms are so pale yellow they seem translucent, almost spectral; and suddenly tired, I sat down. I held my head in my hands, feeling like shit, but a sudden breeze escaped from the terraces and for a moment I lost my thoughts in its unexpected coolness. I looked up and I realised I was sitting in a photograph.

I remembered clearly: this photograph was taken by my mother in 1982, outside our front garden in Hampshire. It was slightly underexposed. I was still sitting on the bench, but the colours and the planes of the road and horizon had become the photo. If I looked hard, I could see the lines of the window ledge in the original photograph were now composed by a tree branch and the silhouetted edge of a grass verge. The sheen of the flash on the window was replicated by bonfire smoke drifting infinitesimally slowly from behind a fence. My sister’s face had been dimly visible behind the window, and –yes- there were pale stars far off to the west that traced out the lines of a toddler’s eyes and mouth.

When I look back at this there’s nothing to grasp, no starting point. I was inside an underexposed photo from 1982 but I was also sitting on a bench in Haringey.

Strongest of all was the feeling of 1982-ness: dizzy, illogical, as if none of the intervening disasters and wrong turns had happened yet. I felt guilty, and inconsolably sad. I felt the instinctive tug back - to school, the memory of shopping malls, cooking, driving in my mother’s car. All gone, gone forever.

I just sat there for a while. I was so tired that I didn’t bother trying to work out what was going on. I was happy just to sit in the photo while it lasted, which wasn’t for long anyway: the light faded, the wind caught the smoke, the stars dimmed under the glare of the streetlamps. I got up and walked away from the squat little benches and an oncoming gang of kids.

A bus was rumbling to my rescue down the hill, with a great big “via Alexandra Palace” on its front, and I realised I did want a drink after all."

The Associates - "Breakfast"

2009-03-05T03:46:00.000-08:00

Es curioso como Jarvis Cocker y yo a miles de kms de distancia hemos coincidido en el tiempo en seleccionar esta canción: él en la BBC y yo para YNPM...

El vídeo clip es realmente evocador de los 80s. Empezando por la boina de Billy McKenzie (recuerdo que mi hermana por esa época iba a la facultad con una boina parecida) y siguiendo por la afectación y la supuesta decadencia a la que jugaban los de la llamada cool wave. Pero al margen de modas y de sobreactuaciones vocales del cantante, esta es una gran canción, hermosamente arreglada (esas cuerdas, esa melodía del piano) y con estribillo directo al corazón

Talk to me
I'll stay these vagabond nights
Walk with me
Someone is waiting in light

Jarvis Cocker y Richard Hawley djs en la BBC

2009-03-04T14:38:00.000-08:00

Gracias a Popcasting me entero que estuvieron haciendo el domingo 22 de Febrero el Show de Stephen Merchant en la BBC 6, supliendo a este que no pudo hacer su programa. Esto fue lo que pinchó la pareja:

Adam and the Ants - Dog Eat Dog
Link Wray - Juke Box Mama
Gene Vincent - Rolling Danny
The Fall - A Day in the Life
The Everly Brothers - Gone Gone Gone
Del Shannon – Gemini (Pilooski remix)
Little Joy – How to Hang a Warhol
Magazine - My Tulpa
Associates - Breakfast
T Rex - Telegram Sam
Silver Apples - Ruby
Leonard Cohen – First We Take Manhattan
Pink Floyd - Lucifer Sam
Disco Balls - Money
Little Walter – That’s It
The Cramps - TV Set
Dale Hawkins - Ruby Don't Take Your Love to Town
Bobby Darin – I Can See the Wind
Lee Hazlewood - Pourman
Micachu and the Shapes - Golden Phone
Amral’s Trindad Cavaliers Steel Drum Orchestral - The World is a Ghetto
Sam Cooke – What a Wonderful World

Por si fuera poco, el amigo Popcasting ha tenido el detalle de colgar el program (ya no disponible en la web de la BBC) aquí: http://www.mediafire.com/?zlcnmnghuud

El libro de Paolo Hewitt editado en España y en castellano

2009-03-03T02:53:00.000-08:00

Muy dura la crítica del Kiko en el Rockdelujo, aunque yo me lo compraré porque ni soy mod ni un integrista de nada. Está claro que Hewitt ha pasado de ser un referente entre los mods (cuando escribía en los 80 en el NME y firmaba los textos de los discos de The Style Council como The Cappuccino Kid) a ser un ser muy odiado por los acérrimos de Weller desde que se pelearon. Aquí está la versión de Hewitt sobre el tema: http://www.wellerworld.co.uk/mailsunday2007.htm

Simon Reynolds erre que erre

2009-03-03T02:46:00.000-08:00

Después de "Rit it Up" insiste con más libros sobre el post punk. Esta vez zon "inteviews and overviews"

TOTALLY WIRED: POSTPUNK INTERVIEWS AND OVERVIEWS - CONTENTS PAGE

PART ONE: INTERVIEWS

Ari Up
Jah Wobble
Alan Vega
Gerald Casale
Mark Mothersbaugh
David Thomas
Anthony H. Wilson
Bill Drummond
Mark Stewart
Dennis Bovell
Andy Gill
David Byrne
James Chance
Lydia Lunch
Steve Severin
Nikki Sudden
John Peel
Alison Statton
Green Gartside
Gina Birch
Martin Bramah
Linder Sterling
Steven Morris
Richard H. Kirk
Alan Rankine
Paul Haig
Phil Oakey
Martin Rushent
Edwyn Collins
Steven Daley
Paul Morley
Trevor Horn

PART TWO: OVERVIEWS

John Lydon and Public Image Ltd: Two Biographies

Joy Division: Two Movies

Ono, Eno, Arto: Non-Musicians and the Emergence of 'Concept Rock'

Mutant Disco and Punk Funk: The non-oral history version of Chapter 20

London Glam City: Poseurs, Dreamers, Heroes, and Monsters from the Bromley Contingent and Blitz to the Batcave and Leigh Bowery.

A final interview: Simon Reynolds

Más Motown

2009-03-03T02:37:00.000-08:00

Hace un par de meses era el Mojo que ponía en portada a la Motown; ahora les toca a ellos

Son 6 páginas en total: una historia del sello, un top 20 de canciones Motown y un top 8 de iconos

Se acabó el postmodernismo; comienza el Altermodernismo

2009-03-03T01:24:00.000-08:00

Momus -que se apunta a todas- ha declarado en su blog la semana del Altermodernsimo. Se va a dedicar toda la semana a explicar porque ha muerto el postmodernismo y se ha iniciado el altermodernismo...

Al parecer hay una exposición en la Tate Gallery comisariada por el crítico de arte Nicolas Bourriaud -fundador y director (1999 a 2006) del Paláis de Tokyo de París- que bajo el paraguas de la Trienal que realizan, proclama la muerte del Postmodernismo y la llegada del Altermodernismo.

“Altermoderno sugiere una multitud de posibilidades, de alternativas, indica que el periodo histórico definido como postmodernismo está llegando a su fin”, N. Bourriaud

"It is an attempt at branding art made in today's global context as a reaction against standardisation and commercialism."

En fin...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Altermodern

Por cierto, la foto de Momus no tiene desperdicio. Este es su pie: "Dressed in a golden wig and sailor suit with clogs, holding a homemade cardboard megaphone, I told the audience at Mu on Friday night -- jokingly, seriously -- that a glorious new cultural era had dawned, the era of the Altermodern."

Yo es que me lo paso bomba con Momus

Dos de la mejores canciones de la historia

2009-03-01T01:37:00.000-08:00

Ayer estuve viendo el blogspot de yourheartout (parece que deja el myspace) y ha colgado estos 2 vídeos de youtube. Casi lloro de la emoción...

Curiosamente en los 2 figura el adjetivo "Pale"

Jeremy Jay

2009-03-01T01:31:00.000-08:00

Hay nuevo album de Jeremy Jay (también en K Records) titulado "Slow Dance", aunque mi favorita es "Love Everlasting", que fue single publicado a finales del 2008, pero no está incluido en el lp. La foto es de un artículo que publicó El Mundo la semana pasada con ocasión de su gira española

The Byrds - "Don´t Make Waves"

2009-03-01T01:24:00.000-08:00

Esta joya melódica fue originalmente una cara B de single y eso que apenas dura 1´30", aunque la letra desmerece un poco. Es ingenuismo antimaterialista de la juventud sixties... (http://www.metrolyrics.com/dont-make-waves-lyrics-the-byrds.html)

Tesoro oculto de She & Him

2009-02-27T10:51:00.000-08:00

En la cara B del single "Why Do You Let Me Stay Here?" hay una bonita versión -acústica, cantando los dos a dúo- de "Lotta Love" de Neil Young

Unpopular y Your Heart Out 4

2009-02-26T08:43:00.000-08:00

Unpopular ha iniciado una serie de posts titulados "20 Albums That Changed My Life", centrados en los discos que marcaron su adolescencia/juventud. Curiosamente yo tengo la misma edad que él (teníamos los dos 18 años cuando se editó "Spring Hill Fair" de The Go Betweens) y me llegan, vayan si me llegan, estos posts tan evocadores de tiempos pasados...
También se hace eco de la publicación de un nuevo número de YOUR HEART OUT. Gran noticia: "Your Heart Out is the only ‘music press’ you need to bother with these days. I mean it, man. It’s how it should be. I keep saying it. It doesn’t make it any less true." dice, y yo lo suscribo. Para descargarlo: here

La curiosa historia de la estupenda "Days" de Television

2009-02-26T03:26:00.000-08:00

Ojeando un antiguo (ejem) Ruta 66 me encuentro con una gran entrevista de Gonzalo/Juliá con Tom Verlaine en la que -entre otras muchas cosas- habla sobre "Days", mi canción favorita de Television, que en el disco firman él y Richard LLoyd... ¡Y quien se podía imaginar que la canción no era más que "Mr.Tambourine Man" tocada al revés!

Al Kiko no le van los lps de The Buzzcocks

2009-02-26T03:21:00.000-08:00

pero si los singles. Totalmente de acuerdo con él.

Hablando de él, estuve leyendo hace un poco una entrevista con Jorge Herralde y decía tener una fe ciega en él. Por lo que se ve es una apuesta fuerte de Anagrama

Ahora estoy con...

2009-02-26T03:16:00.000-08:00

Discografías COMPLETAS de Nick Cave, Orange Juice, Pet Shop Boys, The Pet Sounds Sessions Box set, Tom Verlaine/Television y The Style Council

Saint Etienne - new single "Method Of Modern Love"

2009-02-22T00:22:00.000-08:00

There´s no sense of reason why we’re shot
With a bolt of blue...

...No rules for foolish hearts
Never looking too hard
that´s the method of modern love