Manhattan Project

I'm off to sell more snake oil in New York City tomorrow dear hearts. It'll be a whistle stop visit - in and work the schtick and out again - no opps for late night gigs or partays. I might get to wander about town for an hour or so tomorrow p.m, all dazed and out of time. And the views are quite nice and the Brooklyn Brewery's range is growing on me.

Back Friday morning via the red-eye. Bleary and teary.

Will Tweet!

Hey. Whaddyagonnado.

Simon & Garfunkel - 'The Only Living Boy In New York' (1970)

Now

18th April 2013 To Dexys at the Duke Of York's Theatre in London's glittering West End...

Pre-show pints with @so_mark off of that Twitter and his lovely wife, then...

Act I - One Day I'm Going To Soar: The Complete Work: with passion, bite, tightness, swooning, crooning and several costume changes (Kev). Our 'hero' (?) dreams of, meets, wins, kisses and is inca- inca- incapable of loving The Woman - but it's OK John Joe, he's Free.

Ovation.

Act II (no-one now is sitting down) - 'some old favourites' extend our tale: 'Don't stand me down, for I'll never stop saying your name' and 'You were standing next to me in 82 and 83' and 'Academic inspiration? To be honest Geno you gave me fuck all' and the confession of a crime ('I was burning, burning burning') that took place 'From 1966 to 1993', Until I Believe In My Soul, Tell Me When My Light Turns Green because This Is What She's Like (mammoth mix) - by now your blogger is out of Stall N9 and down front Stage Right testifying - or was that Kevin, or was that us all?

Ovation, ovation, ovation.

And me wanting to write something now about the Redemptive Power of Art (sorry).

The Italians have a word for it. A thunderbolt or something. I don't speak Italian myself you understand. But I knew a man who did.

Dexys Midnight Runners - 'Listen To This' (1985)

Yeah Baby

Gil Scott-Heron - 'Inner City Blues (Make Me Wanna Holler)' (1981)

Soul Saturday

Drew sent me off on a search for more Gloria (Ann) Taylor when he posted 'Love Is A Hurting Thing', a brilliant, brilliant tune from an EP I learn is infamously rare and hugely desired by the hipsters.

I found this, which could almost be a Martha & Vandellas single (it's good enough) were it not for a quality in the production (that psych guitar!) that sends it ever so slightly off-kilter in the best of all possible ways.

Gloria Taylor - 'Total Disaster' (1971)

A vinyl rip! (though sadly not mine).

Brother To Brother

Graham and me (and my toy cat), 1965

It has been a week off but cold and made colder by the passing of a brother, my brother, on Monday. I didn't think I would write about it here but it feels dishonest not to. We were not 'close'; he was seventeen when I was born, until then the youngest of three and he always said the smell of nappies made him leave home and follow our eldest brother into the Navy. I think he was only half-joking; replaced as the 'baby' by a real one, me. He was kind and funny and life-loving but the life-loving took its toll and now they are telling us too he had motor neurone disease - in hospital for months and in the last few weeks unable to eat, drink, swallow. There is no cure, so I suppose it is a fact that his death was a 'release'.

We were not close, he was seventeen when I was born; we didn't grow up together.

But he was funny and kind and life-loving and he was my big baby brother.

Sleep tight Gray x

The Searchers - 'Needles & Pins' (1964)

Thursday: The New Friday

Right, that's it - I'm wrapped for at least a week and it's chocolate and telly and cosy toasts to the goddess Ēostre all the way.

Been listening to a lot of jazzy hip-hop of late.

I'm old skool, I'm dope. 

Cheers.

Eric B. & Rakim - 'Don't Sweat The Technique' (1992)

Give Me Your Tired, Your Poor

I went to the George Bellows exhibition at the Royal Academy this morning - big, tough paintings of a big, tough city at the start of a big, tough century; a teeming New York, still being built.

Made me think forward eighty years, to this...

Manhattan's sinking like a rock
Into the filthy Hudson what a shock
They wrote a book about it
They said it was like ancient Rome

Lou Reed - 'Romeo Had Juliette' (1989)

Course, that was before Starbucks came to Times Square.

Delta Blues

I took a Greyhound bus down by the Mississippi Delta twenty six years ago this Spring.

It was pretty wet there, I recall. 

I kept a journal... 

Sunday 22nd Feb

Managed to sleep pretty well on the bus and woke to grey deluge – in Bay St Louis, running parallel to the Mississippi River through torrential rain and along a road itself flooded several inches deep, spray flung up the sides of the coach, palm trees in murk and monsoon. 


...made New Orleans in time for Mardi Gras.

-----

Dreamt of all this last night, in drizzly London.

Had been listening to Dr. John.

Dr. John And The Lower 911 - 'Wade: Hurricane Suite - Calm In The Storm' (2006) 

(Ellingtonian, this)

Friday Reggae # 38

This was a fave of many delights on those Joe shows for me and is, as the man himself says, Ms White singing over the riddim from (producer) Rupie Edwards' 'Irie Feelings (Skanga)'.

Her vocal take seques into the dub 'version' with the vocal dropped right back after three and a half mins, as is traditional.

Strickly roots - and sadly no, I don't own this on vinyl : (

Joy White - 'Feeling Time + Version (Irie Feelings)' (1974)

This Is Radio (Culture) Clash

Those Joe Strummer World Service programmes ally mentioned in comments last fortnight make great listening, and you might have seen me tweet a link to the original versions a few days back (the ones you can get on iTunes are later 'podcasts' with waffly reminiscences added).

I found this 2007 Don Letts fifth-anniversary-of-Joe's-death tribute show along with them, and packed as it is with classic roots reggae (as well as Strummer and Clash originals, covers and musical homages), I thought it'd make a top post here for tonight, our last Friday Reggae slot having been a while back. 

It's an hour long show - 48MB of file - so I've uploaded it to Mediafire to save my box.net bandwidth for other stuff.

Grab it! You'll love it! (tracklisting in comments).

Don Letts - 'Culture Clash Radio Show (broadcast 22.12.07)'

Thanks to the original taper/uploader.

[btw if you're interested in the whole How Don Letts Met Punk Rockers Uptown thing, I can heartily recommend his book]

The Smiling Hour (Baby Elephant Patter)

Fats Waller & His Rhythm - 'Your Feet's Too Big' (1939)

A davyh gin-joint vinyl rip, for sure.

The Smiling Hour (Doo Wop That Thing)

Can you wear a hat? I can't wear a hat. Hence it was ear-hurtingly cold Westlondoning with the girlies today, stall holders boxing up early, all that. Faint flurries and a leaden sky - one cherry tree in bloom.

This is great - as heard by me this week as played by Lou Reed on WPIX-FM New York in late January 1979: well worth your take-away attentions (he takes listener calls! he asks a guy not to swear! his friend John (Cale) drops by!).

I could develop a 'thing' for music like this.

The Robins - 'Smokey Joe's Cafe' (1955)

The Smiling Hour

Love needs a transfusion, let's shoot it full of wine
Fishing for a good time starts with throwing in your line

That's poetry that is, Glo.

Tom Waits - 'New Coat Of Paint' (1974)

Es Ist Freitag - Lasst Uns Tanzen!

No tickets for Kraftwerk at the Tate then? Me neither. But since I've been digging about in Deutsche Elektronische Musik all week, when not struck down by a work-cancelling (money losing!) man flu, maybe I can offer some solace with this excellent slab of early 80s German synth music: bouncy - definitely something you could do your Joanne and Susan to. Or pop in the car cassette after your Düsseldorf boys as you drive moodily West.

E.M.A.K is Elektronische Musik Aus Köln. Natürlich!

E.M.A.K - 'Filmmusik' (1982)

(I've a guvnors meeting at the school tonight till 6pm. It's a bloody outrage. Start without me).

Reg Presley (Ball) (12th June 1941 - 4th February 2013)

Sad news tonight from Haight Ashbury, Andover, Hants.

The Troggs - 'Night Of The Long Grass' (1967)

They Said He Had Too Much To Drink

Why on earth this should have popped into my head the other day, I do not know; I am old and the 'C' drive of my brain needs a defrag, probably. Maybe this Guinness will help.

Television Personalities - 'Where's Bill Grundy Now?' (1978) 

'Dream Sequence' - Pauline Murray (Peel Session 31.03.80)

And entirely by accident we've wound up with a trilogy of Peel-connected posts from the 80-83 era.

This shuffled at me minutes ago as I trolled back from the shops, Robert Blamire's big post-punk bass just the ticket for a cold meh squally day.

I prefer this stripped-down version to the one on the album.

Pauline Murray - 'Dream Sequence (Peel session)' (1980)

For Lee.

Poetry Corner

Happy Burns Night.

Ivor Cutler - 'Life In A Scotch Sitting Room, Volume 2 (Episode 15)' (1983)

Young Marble Giants - Peel Session (26.08.80)

Pleased to have uncovered this, taped from the broadcast itself, with snippets of Peel back-announcing some of the songs.

The version of 'Posed By Models' is especially fine.

Thanks to @keepingitpeel for Tweeting a link to the upload on YouTube and bringing it all back in the first place.

Young Marble Giants - 'Searching For Mr. Right' (Peel session) (1980)
Young Marble Giants - 'Posed By Models' (Peel session) (1980)
Young Marble Giants - 'Brand New Life' (Peel session) (1980)
Young Marble Giants - 'Final Day' (Peel session) (1980)
Young Marble Giants - 'N.I.T.A' (Peel session) (1980)

The Smiling Hour

Marvellous jumpin' jive from an old NME tape I jammily picked up in LP form. 

Are you hip to where the cats cut after the show?

The Three Barons - 'Milkshake Stand' (1944)

How Are Things In Glocca Morra?

I have long loved the wistful melodic line of this but could never get behind it entirely, thanks-but-no-thanks to the cornball lyrics and cod Oirish accent it's usually sung in, which out of the context in Finian's Rainbow can grate, big time.

How terrific then to hear Sonny's take.

Stellar line-up too [Rollins (ts) Donald Byrd (t) Wynton Kelly (p) Gene Ramey (b) Max Roach (d)]

Sublime.

Sonny Rollins - 'How Are Things In Glocca Morra?' (1956)

Friday Reggae # 37

Crikey, I don't think that first Guinness even touched the sides.

If you want me, I'll be in the dub.

Culture - 'Not Ashamed Dub' (1977)

Patti Page (November 8, 1927 - January 1, 2013)

Loveliness itself.

RIP.

The Best Song Wasn't The Single

This was my (new) Track Of The Year, in case anyone wondered. Terrific album, Channel Orange.

I also very much liked the lilting loveliness of the Lightships record, which sadly seems to have gone unheralded in all of those trendy end of year lists.




The Gregory Porter album had some absolutely beautiful things on it, like this...



...though I'm not sure that on the whole I liked it better than Water.

We loved Damon's Dr Dee at ENO, and it was splendid to meet yer man at the stage door after: there are two or three songs on the record I think are amongst the best stuff he's ever done. In the year of  'Under The Westway' and, oh yes, 'Poison' that was quite a thing.


 
I hope to see Bear's Den again in 2013 - as I felt the strange urge to scribble on Last FM,  I am in general too old and jaded to be easily impressed by acoustic guitar/ banjo-wielding beardy twentysomethings from the Home Counties, but these lads have talent and I think I *heart* them.

Their potato-printed EP had at least two of my favourite songs of the year on it ('Pompeii' and 'Stubborn Beast').

I liked the Chromatics cover of 'Ceremony' so much (thanks chocolategirl64) I'm going to investigate their album. And the Donald Fagen single swung, sorry Dan haterz.

As ever though, so much more of the music that was new to me in 2012 was, actually, old.

Thank you ally and Rob '99p Soul' Ryan, Darcy and Drew in particular for keeping my soul fires burning this year; Swiss Adam for, amongst much else, the heads-up on Michael Rother's 'Flammende Herzen' (wow - and I've still got to get some La Dusseldorf!); and all of you for your quips, tips and bloggy lurve.

Happy New Year x

The Chill

No, I really don't want anything more to eat or drink alright maybe just a crusty roll and, oh gone on then, that Guinness in the fridge isn't going to quaff itself.

Dot Allison - 'I Wanna Feel The Chill' (1999)

The (Seasonal) Smiling Hour

It'll be my famous fish pie tonight. And Carols From King's.

And, well yes, a nice cold Guinness I should think, plus a few Vina Sols.

Thank you for your company this year, you lovely people.

And have yourselves a Merry Little Christmas, do x

Tony Bennett - 'I'll Be Home For Christmas (live on the Jon Stewart Show)' (1994)

John Peel's Other Christmas Records

Have I been a tad parsimonious with me Christmas records this year?

Oh well, you know, what with one thing and another. Plus, I've posted most of my favourites before.

Can I more than make it up to you with this Box.net bandwidth-busting so grab-it-while-you-can complete upload, in two parts, of Peel's Christmas Eve show from 1992?

With his typically eclectic selection of doowop, blues, soul, punk, country, ragga, reggae and avant Christmas choons ?

'Guaranteed Greg Lake free' ?

Well, can I?

John Peel - 'John Peel's Other Christmas Records - Part One' (1992)
John Peel - 'John Peel's Other Christmas Records - Part Two' (1992)

Cheers!

[Tracklistings in Comments - and visible in the Lyrics tab if uploaded to iTunes].

Winterlude

I'm off to Devon for a couple of days, taking the girls to see their grandma, who will turn 90 on Christmas Eve, and hopefully their grandad, who's just been transferred to a care home, in a not entirely trauma-free fashion. It won't be easy - it even looks like we'll be driving into filthy weather.

Should be back Friday, though probably a little late for all the usual mallarkey here x

Saint Etienne - 'Driving Home For Christmas' (1995)

Yeah Baby

Once upon a time here....our occasional series of extended disco classics built into a magnificent library your whole family would enjoy.

Do you know, I miss those times.

So on probably the peak night for Christmas office parties nationwide (oh how glad I am to be free of all that) I'm posting this.

It's a davyh vinyl rip, as you can tell from the crackles.

They are crackles of love.

Pint of Pride please Glo.

Freeez - 'Southern Freeez (LP version)' (1981)

Sparkle

I mentioned on that Twitter recently that Ian McCulloch's 'Candleland' is one of those 'kind of sparkly-seasonal without being too Christmassy, too early' records, and so is this (not just because of the title).

Both tracks of course feature former Cocteaus (Liz Fraser with Mac) - well, you could always expect some, er, spangle-making from them.

I shall be off out for sort of a 'works' do tonight - deep breath.

Robin Guthrie - 'Sparkle' (2009)