Well, it has been ages since I did a mix for the site, but I decided that when the John Peel Archive project at The Space finished their 26 week run of releases, I would try and do something that reflected the music that I had discovered (and in some cases re-discovered) through that. I have been posting regularly about the Archive, and a lot of my posts centre around 90's indie-rock, because that is the major overlap with my collection, so I made an effort to sidestep this with this mix. I'm not sure how it sits together but I enjoyed it, and I approached it with the emphasis on variety; it may be the only mix that combines Millie Jackson with a noise piece by Ganger! Listen below...
Showing posts with label John Peel Archive. Show all posts
Showing posts with label John Peel Archive. Show all posts
Peel Archive X, Y and Z
Whilst Q only boasted 69 records on Peel's shelves, X is even more unpopular, as there are only 38 Xs here.
Of these the most familiar (and probably best) is XTC, though as I've always had goth tendencies I have to mention Xmal Deutschland, a band who will always be associated with the Peel programme. It was the first and last place that I ever heard of them.
Xmal Deutschland 'Incubus Succubus II'
I struggled with the Y selections, there are a lot of bands that you either love or hate (Yello, Yes). I can't really pick out a favourite from the selection, so I'm just going to link to the clip that made me think that Yes may have something going for them after all. It's the part from Vincent Gallo's Buffalo 66 that uses 'Heart of the Sunrise', and I haven't embedded it as it is very NSFW.
Z could only be for ZZ Top in my house, I grew out of Frank Zappa in my late teens though 'Hot Rats', included here, is still worthy of your time. Again, in common with the other American hard rock choices, the ZZ Top albums included here are from the 1970s, before they got huge and MTV-friendly. If I had to pick one tune away from the obvious ones such as 'Just Got Paid', 'Tush' or 'Cheap Sunglasses', I'd pick 'El Diablo' from Tejas.
I have one final post to come to wrap up this series, and it will include a mix of some of the tunes I have discovered during this trawl through the John Peel Archive. Happily, I have only skimmed the surface, and there is a lot more still to explore.
Of these the most familiar (and probably best) is XTC, though as I've always had goth tendencies I have to mention Xmal Deutschland, a band who will always be associated with the Peel programme. It was the first and last place that I ever heard of them.
Xmal Deutschland 'Incubus Succubus II'
I struggled with the Y selections, there are a lot of bands that you either love or hate (Yello, Yes). I can't really pick out a favourite from the selection, so I'm just going to link to the clip that made me think that Yes may have something going for them after all. It's the part from Vincent Gallo's Buffalo 66 that uses 'Heart of the Sunrise', and I haven't embedded it as it is very NSFW.
Z could only be for ZZ Top in my house, I grew out of Frank Zappa in my late teens though 'Hot Rats', included here, is still worthy of your time. Again, in common with the other American hard rock choices, the ZZ Top albums included here are from the 1970s, before they got huge and MTV-friendly. If I had to pick one tune away from the obvious ones such as 'Just Got Paid', 'Tush' or 'Cheap Sunglasses', I'd pick 'El Diablo' from Tejas.
I have one final post to come to wrap up this series, and it will include a mix of some of the tunes I have discovered during this trawl through the John Peel Archive. Happily, I have only skimmed the surface, and there is a lot more still to explore.
Peel Archive V and W (Marcos Valle and the Vaselines)
Another set of records which are largely unknown to me dominate V.
I think the biggest surprise is the inclusion of the first three Van Halen albums. although after the inclusion on other shelves of the early work of other proponents of melodic American hard rock (Sammy Hagar, REO Speedwagon), I guess it isn't that surprising.
The only records I have here are the four Velvet Underground records, which most of us will know inside out, and Van Der Graaf Generator's The Least We Can Do Is Wave to Each Other, which I bought on vinyl in a charity shop and I have never listened to.
Anyway, here are a couple of hugely influential acts from the V selection
Marcos Valle 'Wanda Vital' from The Essential Marcos Valle 2. A tune covered by Madlib that I bet Stereolab are also aware of.
The Vaselines - 'Monsterpussy' from their debut album Dum Dum. Naughty Glaswegians much loved by Kurt Cobain.
W fares even worse in terms of overalapping with my own collection. It is dominated by the work of the Wailers and their various projects (Bob Marley, Bunny Wailer, etc) and there is also a lot of Wah!, Wailing Souls and Loudon Wainwright III. Apart from a couple of the older Marley records (Burnin' and Live! if anyone is interested) I have none of the Ws and don't think there are many I would seek out to be honest, which is why W is merely a footnote on this V/W post.
I think the biggest surprise is the inclusion of the first three Van Halen albums. although after the inclusion on other shelves of the early work of other proponents of melodic American hard rock (Sammy Hagar, REO Speedwagon), I guess it isn't that surprising.
The only records I have here are the four Velvet Underground records, which most of us will know inside out, and Van Der Graaf Generator's The Least We Can Do Is Wave to Each Other, which I bought on vinyl in a charity shop and I have never listened to.
Anyway, here are a couple of hugely influential acts from the V selection
Marcos Valle 'Wanda Vital' from The Essential Marcos Valle 2. A tune covered by Madlib that I bet Stereolab are also aware of.
The Vaselines - 'Monsterpussy' from their debut album Dum Dum. Naughty Glaswegians much loved by Kurt Cobain.
W fares even worse in terms of overalapping with my own collection. It is dominated by the work of the Wailers and their various projects (Bob Marley, Bunny Wailer, etc) and there is also a lot of Wah!, Wailing Souls and Loudon Wainwright III. Apart from a couple of the older Marley records (Burnin' and Live! if anyone is interested) I have none of the Ws and don't think there are many I would seek out to be honest, which is why W is merely a footnote on this V/W post.
Great Lost Bands no.20: Ui (John Peel Archive U)
Amongst a large selection of music in the Peel Archives U selection which I don't recall ever hearing on the Peel show (U2, UB40, UFO) there are a couple of albums from the overlooked post-rock act Ui (call them ooo-eee if you want to stay cool!) I'm led to believe that Ui are still going, as there is gig footage on youtube from 2010, but the two albums here - Sidelong and Lifelike date from the mid to late 1990s.
Unusually, one of Ui is better known for writing about music than playing it, as Sasha Frere-Jones from the band has been the main pop music writer on the New Yorker for the last eight years.
Ui are a two-bass, mostly instrumental band who were linked with the likes of Tortoise when they first emerged, although I reckon they lean more towards experimental funk than that comparison suggests. Sidelong is the only one of their albums I own, and now you can all hear it through good old Spotify. Tracks to check out in particular are 'The Long Egg' and 'The Piano'.
John Peel Archive: T means Tackhead, Tad and Tall Dwarfs
There are a few overlaps in my own collection and the Peel Archive's T shelf, mostly with Talk Talk and Talking Heads.
I've decided to highlight three slightly forgotten acts. First of all Tackhead
or TACK>HEAD, who were an industrial hip-hop act, almost a "supergroup" of that genre given that they comprised of Skip McDonald, Doug Wimbush and Keith LeBlanc (who were pretty much the backing band for the Sugarhill Gang and Grandmaster Flash) with the renowned producer Adrian Sherwood. [Our interview with Mr Sherwood is here]
They only made two albums, both of which are in the Peel collection.
Tad were a Seattle grunge band inspired by the Melvins and Black Sabbath, and their first few releases were heavy and uncommercial. Of the two albums here, I reckon God's Balls is better than 8-Way Santa but I haven't either one in such a long time.
Tall Dwarfs are yet another great band from New Zealand, who in my opinion haven't dated as much as the other two acts on this page. They were formed in 1981 and were one of the pioneers of lo-fi recording techniques and as such were hugely influential on bands that emerged much later - in particular Sebadoh, Guided By Voices, and a lot of the Elephant 6 acts. They were essentially a duo - Chris Knox and Alec Bathgate - and they preferred to release their music as EPs. In fact both albums included on the Peel shelves are EP collections.
I've decided to highlight three slightly forgotten acts. First of all Tackhead
or TACK>HEAD, who were an industrial hip-hop act, almost a "supergroup" of that genre given that they comprised of Skip McDonald, Doug Wimbush and Keith LeBlanc (who were pretty much the backing band for the Sugarhill Gang and Grandmaster Flash) with the renowned producer Adrian Sherwood. [Our interview with Mr Sherwood is here]
They only made two albums, both of which are in the Peel collection.
Tad were a Seattle grunge band inspired by the Melvins and Black Sabbath, and their first few releases were heavy and uncommercial. Of the two albums here, I reckon God's Balls is better than 8-Way Santa but I haven't either one in such a long time.
Tall Dwarfs are yet another great band from New Zealand, who in my opinion haven't dated as much as the other two acts on this page. They were formed in 1981 and were one of the pioneers of lo-fi recording techniques and as such were hugely influential on bands that emerged much later - in particular Sebadoh, Guided By Voices, and a lot of the Elephant 6 acts. They were essentially a duo - Chris Knox and Alec Bathgate - and they preferred to release their music as EPs. In fact both albums included on the Peel shelves are EP collections.
John Peel Archive: three kinds of Saints
"S" is mostly about the Saints, not just the Aussie punk band, but St.Etienne and St. Johnny as well.
The Saints releases on John's shelves are from their 1977-1981 period and feature what is generally regarded as their best material. Two classic singles are embedded below
I'm Stranded
Know Your Product
St Etienne's Foxbase Alpha is very much in the "every home should have one" category. It was their debut album from 1991 and has stood the test of time very well.
Only Love Can Break Your Heart
Nothing Can Stop Us
Finally, into much less familiar territory with St Johnny - another one who fit in with the whole early Mercury Rev/ Flaming Lips vibe of 1994. They got signed to DGC at the recommendation of Sonic Youth and although High as A Kite is the record included in the archive Speed is Dreaming
is the only one of theirs I ever heard, so I'm including a tune from that.
A Car or A Boy
The Saints releases on John's shelves are from their 1977-1981 period and feature what is generally regarded as their best material. Two classic singles are embedded below
I'm Stranded
Know Your Product
St Etienne's Foxbase Alpha is very much in the "every home should have one" category. It was their debut album from 1991 and has stood the test of time very well.
Only Love Can Break Your Heart
Nothing Can Stop Us
Finally, into much less familiar territory with St Johnny - another one who fit in with the whole early Mercury Rev/ Flaming Lips vibe of 1994. They got signed to DGC at the recommendation of Sonic Youth and although High as A Kite is the record included in the archive Speed is Dreaming
is the only one of theirs I ever heard, so I'm including a tune from that.
A Car or A Boy
John Peel Archive: R (Great Lost Bands no.19 Radial Spangle)
The most amazing thing about the "R" section of the John Peel Archive is the presence of no less than ELEVEN R.E.O. Speedwagon albums, a selection which ends abruptly just before they became huge in the early 1980s. Maybe these early albums are different and I should listen? Anyway, it is easily the biggest surprise since Sammy Hagar and Hall and Oates popped up in a major way in H.
A lot of R is given to LPs of radio shows, which would be fascinating to delve into I imagine. Titles such as Bobby & Betty Go To The Moon, The Fat Man and Hear How To Achieve Sexual Harmony In Marriage are intriguing to say the least.
I had subsequently acquired their second album Syrup Macrame as it had been sent to me so that I could review it in my fanzine. However the track that Peel played was great and sent me in search of their first album Ice Cream Headache (the one featured on the Peel shelves). eBay came to the rescue and I acquired it on CD for a very small sum of money.
It's fair to say that Radial Spangle have been overlooked or forgotten, and when I imported the CD into my iTunes I found that Gracenote's info included Dance & House as the genre! They are nothing of the sort, in fact they sound like a very typical US indie-rock band from the early '90s. The band existed between 1991-1996 and were based in Oklahama. It turns out that former Flaming Lips drummer Richard English played on Ice Cream Headache and both albums were produced by Dave Fridmann who was then in Mercury Rev of course. They had a certain edge to them though, and I still have both these albums.
Great Lost Bands no.18 : Quasi (aka John Peel Archive Q)
Due to the lack of bands and artists beginning with Q, I think I'm right in saying that this is the first complete selection of any letter, as opposed to just the first 100. I have four of these records, but none on vinyl.
Three of those are by the often excellent Quickspace, who were featured on this blog a few months ago.
The only other one I have is Featuring "Birds" by Quasi.
A long time in Portland Oregon, Elliott Smith and Sam Coombes were in a band called Heatmiser. Of course, Elliott went on to have a successful solo career whilst in 1993 Sam formed an indie-rock duo called Quasi with his then wife Janet Weiss (then also of Sleater-Kinney).
They actually divorced in 1995, but continued the band. The release included in the Peel collection is their fine 1998 album Featuring "Birds". It is well worth a listen, and is definitely of interest for anyone into the music coming out of Portland back then. Apart from the Sleater-Kinney connection, the album was produced by Elliott Smith and his influence is clear in some of the melody lines in particular. I once saw them open a four band bill in London that was Quasi, Hefner, Elliott Smith, Sebadoh. I know, I'm a lucky bugger.
The Happy Prole
I Never Want to See You Again
It's Hard to Turn Me On
Our Happiness is Guaranteed
John Peel Archive: a brief look at P
As I'm playing catch-up before the series finishes, I've had a very quick browse through the first 100 Ps
, which revealed some gems as usual. Three absolute favourites below...
Palace Music 'New Partner'
Of course, most of you know that Palace Music was the second alias of Mr Will Oldham, after Palace Brothers and before Bonnie 'Prince' Billy, and Peel's shelves have a lot of their releases. This is one of my favourite songs by them
Pale Saints 'the way world is'
I was never a huge fan of Pale Saints, but I enjoyed revisiting this album. As I am very old, I actually saw them supporting the Pixies "back in the day".
Pan Sonic 'hapatus'
These minimal techno protaganists released this debut album as Panasonic, and because I was doing the fanzine back then, I actually have a promo copy of this cd credited to their original name. It was an incredible thing to hear, like nothing that came before it, and of course very influential.
, which revealed some gems as usual. Three absolute favourites below...
Palace Music 'New Partner'
Of course, most of you know that Palace Music was the second alias of Mr Will Oldham, after Palace Brothers and before Bonnie 'Prince' Billy, and Peel's shelves have a lot of their releases. This is one of my favourite songs by them
Pale Saints 'the way world is'
I was never a huge fan of Pale Saints, but I enjoyed revisiting this album. As I am very old, I actually saw them supporting the Pixies "back in the day".
Pan Sonic 'hapatus'
These minimal techno protaganists released this debut album as Panasonic, and because I was doing the fanzine back then, I actually have a promo copy of this cd credited to their original name. It was an incredible thing to hear, like nothing that came before it, and of course very influential.
More John Peel Archive: catching up with O
I don't have many records beginning with O, but there are two selections in the John Peel Archive that I consider absolute classics. Both came out when I was at school, and I still have both of them on vinyl.
The first one is the debut record from Sinéad O'Connor, The Lion and the Cobra.
I think this is still her best record, a fiery yet multi-layered effort, recorded around the time the 20 year old Sinéad was expecting her first child. Cue lots of commentators saying that it sounded wise beyond its years, but that is actually fair I reckon. It manages to survive a glossy 80s production because the songs are so strong, from the moment the dark opener 'Jackie' sets the tone, through to the hit single 'Mandinka', 'Jerusalem' and the epic 'Troy'.
The second is the only full length album ever released by Mary Margaret O'Hara, Miss America.
The story of this album is intriguing. Inital recordings were produced by Joe Boyd, and then by XTC's Andy Partridge, who was allegedly fired for his atheistic leanings (as evidenced on his band's 'Dear God' single). Mary Margaret is unique in that no-one actually sings like her, and her seemingly fragile voice hovers on the edge of ecstasy or even panic. There is much to love here, but I'm highlighting 'Body's in Trouble' because every time I've played this to someone who isn't aware of her, they have been stunned by it.
I think this is still her best record, a fiery yet multi-layered effort, recorded around the time the 20 year old Sinéad was expecting her first child. Cue lots of commentators saying that it sounded wise beyond its years, but that is actually fair I reckon. It manages to survive a glossy 80s production because the songs are so strong, from the moment the dark opener 'Jackie' sets the tone, through to the hit single 'Mandinka', 'Jerusalem' and the epic 'Troy'.
The story of this album is intriguing. Inital recordings were produced by Joe Boyd, and then by XTC's Andy Partridge, who was allegedly fired for his atheistic leanings (as evidenced on his band's 'Dear God' single). Mary Margaret is unique in that no-one actually sings like her, and her seemingly fragile voice hovers on the edge of ecstasy or even panic. There is much to love here, but I'm highlighting 'Body's in Trouble' because every time I've played this to someone who isn't aware of her, they have been stunned by it.
Playing catch-up with the John Peel Archive: N
A quick blast through three of my absolute favourites from the N's. (full list here)
Naked City Torture Garden
I'm linking to the youtube of this because if you have never heard you need to. As you may expect from the title, the images may fall foul of blogger's censors, so that's why it's not embedded.
This is one of those records that changed and shaped my musical horizons when I first heard it on the Peel show. In particular it provided a gateway into both the music of Boredoms, hardcore noise AND jazz, and directly led to me buying a ticket to see Bill Frizell at the Belfast Festival at Queen's where he made a lot of noise in a room I was used to doing exams in!
Nina Nastasia 'The Blackened Air'
This lady was the 'featured artist' when the N's were released a few weeks ago. This is probably my favourite song of hers, which actually was voted no.4 in the festive 50 in 2002.
Need New Body 'Need New Body'
I had never heard of Need New Body before the Slint ATP in 2005, when I ended up in a pretty good party in their chalet. I wasn't aware of them from Peel although they would have fitted perfectly of course. I got into this song around the time of that festival.
Naked City Torture Garden
I'm linking to the youtube of this because if you have never heard you need to. As you may expect from the title, the images may fall foul of blogger's censors, so that's why it's not embedded.
This is one of those records that changed and shaped my musical horizons when I first heard it on the Peel show. In particular it provided a gateway into both the music of Boredoms, hardcore noise AND jazz, and directly led to me buying a ticket to see Bill Frizell at the Belfast Festival at Queen's where he made a lot of noise in a room I was used to doing exams in!
Nina Nastasia 'The Blackened Air'
This lady was the 'featured artist' when the N's were released a few weeks ago. This is probably my favourite song of hers, which actually was voted no.4 in the festive 50 in 2002.
Need New Body 'Need New Body'
I had never heard of Need New Body before the Slint ATP in 2005, when I ended up in a pretty good party in their chalet. I wasn't aware of them from Peel although they would have fitted perfectly of course. I got into this song around the time of that festival.
Playing catch-up with the John Peel Archive: M
I'm sure a lot of you were distracted last week when someone unofficially uploaded 458 John Peel shows to soundcloud, in fact it almost took away from the weekly excitement offered by the excellent official John Peel Archive project.
They have been peeking inside John's record shelves for the last five months and despite a valiant effort, I fell behind after letter L. I'm now playing catch-up but also realising that a quick review of each letter as it is released is merely skimming the surface of the archive. I reckon by the time they reach Z I will have caught up and I'll publish a playlist of some of the things I have found. Meanwhile, these shelves are ripe for returning to...
M
The chosen artist was Mad Professor, rightly so, and here is the (rather lovely) official interview
other choices range from the obvious..
MC5, Kick Out the Jams Spotify
MC5, High Time Spotify
to the unlikely....
MFSB, Philadelphia Freedom spotify
Moms Mabely
(I have no idea what this is but that is the cover on the left!)
and of course there are some real finds...
MX-80 Sound 'Afterbirth/ Aftermath' (from Hard Attack)
Mabrak Drum Talk Spotify
Macalla Mna Na hEireann Spotify
Lonnie Mack The Wham of that Memphis Man Spotify
John Peel Archive: L - from Labradford to La Düsseldorf
The first 100 choices from 'L' in the John Peel Archive feature some great blasts from the past, including some I had forgotten. I will brush past the releases from LL Cool J, Laibach and Lambchop because, although there is a lot to say about them, their music is relatively well known. Instead here are four overlooked gems.
Labradford 'Everlast'
This is a timely inclusion as Labradford were going to be in our Great Lost Bands series, and I will now be bringing them forward in that series. An archive interview will be online in a few days. Pioneers of minimal, ambient noise they are very influential
Land of the Loops 'Growing Concern'
These were a bunch which I had forgotten. Slacker indie with beats, and often a whole lot of fun to listen to.
Laika 'Black Cat Bone'
The band who grew out of London act Moonshake, the inclusion here is arguably their best album.
La Düsseldorf 'Menschen 1'
Krautrock legends, providing the middle ground between synth dominated bands and motorik-style rock, I actually don't know this album very well, so it has been good to investigate it.
Labradford 'Everlast'
This is a timely inclusion as Labradford were going to be in our Great Lost Bands series, and I will now be bringing them forward in that series. An archive interview will be online in a few days. Pioneers of minimal, ambient noise they are very influential
Land of the Loops 'Growing Concern'
These were a bunch which I had forgotten. Slacker indie with beats, and often a whole lot of fun to listen to.
Laika 'Black Cat Bone'
The band who grew out of London act Moonshake, the inclusion here is arguably their best album.
La Düsseldorf 'Menschen 1'
Krautrock legends, providing the middle ground between synth dominated bands and motorik-style rock, I actually don't know this album very well, so it has been good to investigate it.
Great Lost Bands no.16: Jacob's Mouse, with an interview
and also a very quick glance at the John Peel Archive's J and K selections
For various reasons I took a week off the site and, such is the relentless nature of the John Peel Archive, I missed a couple of their posts - specifically the first 100 of J and K.
Hopefully you have all had a look by now, but 'J' features an extraordinary amount of acts by the name Jackson, and the only releases that I actually have are by the site's featured artist, Jacob's Mouse. More of them in a minute.
'K' has a similarly poor overlap with my own collection, as a couple of albums by the KLF are the only common items. I'm pleased to see Kanda Bongo Man as the featured artist, as he was one of the guests at the World Service 80th birthday party which I was lucky enough to attend. I'm pretty sure it was John's World Service programme that broadened their audience.
However, let's go back to Jacob's Mouse for a moment because I have a bit of history there. In 1993, I met and interviewed the band in Belfast for my fanzine, The Weedbus, although as they ended up in an issue that also featured an up and coming band called Radiohead, all copies sold out very quickly. Earlier this year I decided to republish my archives but I hit a snag in that I lost my only copy of that issue, but I have now been able to scan it from the original layout sheet.
The other thing about Jacob's Mouse is that, approximately seven years after I interviewed them in Belfast, a new guy started at my work - at the aforementioned BBC World Service - and after a few weeks he told me he used to be in a band that "I wouldn't have heard of." It was Hugo from Jacob's Mouse, and we were both pretty amazed that we had chatted that night in Belfast, seven years earlier.
The main thing about Jacob's Mouse though, is that they were awesome, and also criminally under-rated and over-looked. They ended up sounding like a great collision between the grunge of the time, and the post-punk which pre-dated them by ten years.
Anyway, I've uploaded the PDFs of the interview at weedbus.posterous.com, and I will transcribe them here soon as well. Enjoy. Have a listen to some Jacob's Mouse below.
For various reasons I took a week off the site and, such is the relentless nature of the John Peel Archive, I missed a couple of their posts - specifically the first 100 of J and K.
Hopefully you have all had a look by now, but 'J' features an extraordinary amount of acts by the name Jackson, and the only releases that I actually have are by the site's featured artist, Jacob's Mouse. More of them in a minute.
'K' has a similarly poor overlap with my own collection, as a couple of albums by the KLF are the only common items. I'm pleased to see Kanda Bongo Man as the featured artist, as he was one of the guests at the World Service 80th birthday party which I was lucky enough to attend. I'm pretty sure it was John's World Service programme that broadened their audience.
However, let's go back to Jacob's Mouse for a moment because I have a bit of history there. In 1993, I met and interviewed the band in Belfast for my fanzine, The Weedbus, although as they ended up in an issue that also featured an up and coming band called Radiohead, all copies sold out very quickly. Earlier this year I decided to republish my archives but I hit a snag in that I lost my only copy of that issue, but I have now been able to scan it from the original layout sheet.
The other thing about Jacob's Mouse is that, approximately seven years after I interviewed them in Belfast, a new guy started at my work - at the aforementioned BBC World Service - and after a few weeks he told me he used to be in a band that "I wouldn't have heard of." It was Hugo from Jacob's Mouse, and we were both pretty amazed that we had chatted that night in Belfast, seven years earlier.
The main thing about Jacob's Mouse though, is that they were awesome, and also criminally under-rated and over-looked. They ended up sounding like a great collision between the grunge of the time, and the post-punk which pre-dated them by ten years.
Anyway, I've uploaded the PDFs of the interview at weedbus.posterous.com, and I will transcribe them here soon as well. Enjoy. Have a listen to some Jacob's Mouse below.
John Peel Archive: I includes In Dust, Incredible String Band and I, Ludicrous
The letter 'I' is never going to make up a large chunk of anyone's alphabetical record collection, and it's no different for the John Peel Archive. I was scratching my head thinking who would be included this week and I guessed a few correctly. I, Ludicrous are probably the first band that spring to mind for fan's of the Peel show, and they are represented here by two albums - It's Like Everything Else and A Warning To The Curious - the first of which I know mainly for 'A Pop Fan's Dream'; a story song about having Sunday lunch at Bob Geldof's house. Worth it for the line "Bob carves marvellously" and the description of his "hedonistic hairstyle."
I guessed that Ice Cube, Ice-T and Icehouse would be in there, and indeed they are, as well as the Icicle Works. There are a great deal of obscure releases here though. I've never heard If, but they have the second largest presence (5 albums) after the old RnB soul group The Impressions (8 albums). The only other guess I got right was the Idle Race, who had also featured in John Peel's Record Box.
The inclusion which I am most pleased about is that of 'Nosebleed' by In Dust, a band who did edgy stuff with industrial music in the early 90s in Northern Ireland to hardly any acclaim other than getting to record a Peel session in 1993. Somewhere between Mute records and the Wax Trax label in terms of sound, they played around Belfast a lot back then. By coincidence it seems that 'Nosebleed' has just been remastered this month, so maybe this will help that get to a wider audience.
Finally, the other obvious 'I' would be the Incredible String Band, although I didn't expect them in this list as I thought they might run out of alphabet by the time it was their turn. The three classic albums are on the shelves - the self titled debut, The 500 Spirits or the Layers of the Onion, and the Hangman's Beautiful Daughter - all landmarks in the evolution of alternative, psychedelic folk. If you have 13 minutes to spare then click play below, it's a classic.
I guessed that Ice Cube, Ice-T and Icehouse would be in there, and indeed they are, as well as the Icicle Works. There are a great deal of obscure releases here though. I've never heard If, but they have the second largest presence (5 albums) after the old RnB soul group The Impressions (8 albums). The only other guess I got right was the Idle Race, who had also featured in John Peel's Record Box.
The inclusion which I am most pleased about is that of 'Nosebleed' by In Dust, a band who did edgy stuff with industrial music in the early 90s in Northern Ireland to hardly any acclaim other than getting to record a Peel session in 1993. Somewhere between Mute records and the Wax Trax label in terms of sound, they played around Belfast a lot back then. By coincidence it seems that 'Nosebleed' has just been remastered this month, so maybe this will help that get to a wider audience.
Finally, the other obvious 'I' would be the Incredible String Band, although I didn't expect them in this list as I thought they might run out of alphabet by the time it was their turn. The three classic albums are on the shelves - the self titled debut, The 500 Spirits or the Layers of the Onion, and the Hangman's Beautiful Daughter - all landmarks in the evolution of alternative, psychedelic folk. If you have 13 minutes to spare then click play below, it's a classic.
Great Lost Bands no.14: Ganger
I haven't really had a chance to get on top of the John Peel Archive 'G' selection this week - the interactive website is here (thespace.org) - I have a good few of his choices though, in particular, Gallon Drunk, Galaxie 500, Peter Gabriel and Ganger.
Although I have an old interview with Gallon Drunk from 1996 which I have yet to add to the archives, I've decided to highlight the lesser known of the acts, which in this case is the Glasgow-based instrumental rock band Ganger.
Ganger ended up on Domino records so their material isn't too hard to find, although they played their final gig in April 2000 at the very first All Tomorrow's Parties festival. Actually, having a look through that line-up there are a few acts that I could mine for some future 'great lost bands' posts.
Amazingly, their website still exists at http://www.ganger.co.uk/, and it will tell you all about them. It looks like a find from a bygone era, complete with frames and a little animated gif for the email icon.
In brief, what you need to know, is that Ganger were essentially a four-piece band from Glasgow who were active in the mid to late '90s and were inspired by bands like Can, Neu! and Tortoise. Naturally they got pigeonholed into the post-rock world pretty quickly, although they had an unconventional line-up - two basses, and often clarinet and sax. I remember a buzz building around them really quickly, to the extent that their early singles sold out and became desirable, in fact the only place I could hear them was on the Peel show.
Hollywood Loaf
The first release on Domino reacted to this demand and compiled most of the singles together for the 'Fore' album, which brought them to a wider audience.
Smorgasbord
Fore was followed by their 'proper' debut album Hammock Style which underlined their Tortoise and Slint influences and brought them further from the early krautrock sound.
Blau
One final album, Canopy came out on Guided Missile in 1999 but I never actually heard that one. Craig B has already left to form Aereogramme by the time it was released and Ganger called it a day the following year. I don't know what became of the other members...
Although I have an old interview with Gallon Drunk from 1996 which I have yet to add to the archives, I've decided to highlight the lesser known of the acts, which in this case is the Glasgow-based instrumental rock band Ganger.
Ganger ended up on Domino records so their material isn't too hard to find, although they played their final gig in April 2000 at the very first All Tomorrow's Parties festival. Actually, having a look through that line-up there are a few acts that I could mine for some future 'great lost bands' posts.
Amazingly, their website still exists at http://www.ganger.co.uk/, and it will tell you all about them. It looks like a find from a bygone era, complete with frames and a little animated gif for the email icon.
In brief, what you need to know, is that Ganger were essentially a four-piece band from Glasgow who were active in the mid to late '90s and were inspired by bands like Can, Neu! and Tortoise. Naturally they got pigeonholed into the post-rock world pretty quickly, although they had an unconventional line-up - two basses, and often clarinet and sax. I remember a buzz building around them really quickly, to the extent that their early singles sold out and became desirable, in fact the only place I could hear them was on the Peel show.
Hollywood Loaf
The first release on Domino reacted to this demand and compiled most of the singles together for the 'Fore' album, which brought them to a wider audience.
Smorgasbord
Fore was followed by their 'proper' debut album Hammock Style which underlined their Tortoise and Slint influences and brought them further from the early krautrock sound.
Blau
One final album, Canopy came out on Guided Missile in 1999 but I never actually heard that one. Craig B has already left to form Aereogramme by the time it was released and Ganger called it a day the following year. I don't know what became of the other members...
Great Lost Bands no. 13; Fabric, with an interview
Carrying on from the F section of the John Peel archive, I'm actually going to upload an interview with a band that are pretty lost to me, to be honest. Fabric were an English experimental hardcore band who released a couple of albums in the mid-90s and then, as far as I know they disappeared. If anyone knows what they do now, or if they made any more music, please comment below.
The album on John's shelves was 'Body of Water' which was their debut full length. I met them when they played Giro's in Belfast in late summer 1994, I think. They were a nice bunch. Here is our chat...
**this was published in Weedbus fanzine, issue 9, spring 1995**
Fabric are a hardcore punk with their fingers in a few pies. They have set up their own label – Whole Car – and persuaded Gary Walker from Wiiija to run it for them; they were the first English band to release anything on the US Dog House label; and they’ve contributed ‘March of the Machines/ Seven’ to the split 7” single series Fierce Panda #4 – ‘Built to Blast’. Their whole attitude is refreshing and un-cynical, certainly not like the cliques in the hardcore scenes of old. And besides, they also agreed to me interviewing them on the pavement outside Giro’s in Donegall lane, Belfast. Punk rock! Their exceptionally talkative drummer Chris (who incidentally has 22 body piercings) began by telling me about the set-up with Whole Car records.
“Basically the band got together a while ago, did a few demo tapes and Gary from Wiiija decided to help us out. We recorded a 7” for another label but they let us down, so we had recording but no-one to release it. We didn’t really fit in with the whole Wiiija records thing so we set up a little offshoot. Whole Car is our label but Wiiija produce and distribute everything. We basically say what goes and if it is economically viable then it happens. Rather than just distribute in America, the Dog House label had heard about us from a mutual friend, and then they started talking about us becoming “a Dog House band”. In hardcore circles that is a good thing because they’re very highly respected over there. So we did a 7” for them (’Saturnalia’/ ‘Without’) – we just gave them the recording as a favour and they decided to put the album out over there. It’s much more accessible to be on Dog House than be on some label that no-one has heard of. They really cool thing is that they never previously put out any records by anyone outside of Ohio, and now they’re got us English geezers.”
Is there much life left in the UK hardcore/ punk scene?
Jamie: We like a lot of bands in general but the hardcore scene is pretty dead. There was a time in the early ‘90s when Napalm Death, Heresy, Extreme Noise Terror could sell out decent sized London venues like ULU. Now there are too many bands who sound like Discharge, very few are doing anything original. We do what we do because we’re involved in a lot of different music scenes, and we take them all on board in what we do. There are bands that we like such as Bob Tilton, Polaris, and Dead Wrong all doing interesting stuff.”
Chris: “We played a show in Leicester the other day and this kid came up to me with a Born Against t-shirt on and he gave me a tape of his band. From the t-shirt I thought it might be interesting but it turned out it was just three-chord punk.”
Tony: “The term hardcore now tends to mean big metal bands, it doesn’t mean what it did in the mid-‘80s. Offspring have sold over a million records and five years ago they were playing small clubs in New York. The whole Nirvana thing opened up music so much – people found loud music accessible again.
I notice a big chance in sound between your first two singles and the ‘Body of Water’ album.
Tony: “Yes, there is a huge difference, mainly because we’ve got another guitarist (Kevin) and from the day he joined, things changed. I’m happy because it has expanded the sound.”
Jamie: “the point is that we didn’t have enough money as a band to get equipment to sound how we wanted. As a four-piece we couldn’t quite pull it off.”
Chris: “I just think that we have become the band we wanted to become, we’re not so defined that people can say we’re a metal band or whatever.”
And you’ve stopped using samples.
Tony: “You’re the second person who has said that in as many days!” We used samples on the second single – some dialogue from Staedler and Waldorf from the Muppet Show – that was our experimental phase – we also used a bong break for some reason!”
Chris: “I think with the album we never really thought about samples and when it came to the final mix down we didn’t have any.”
Tony: “We’ve got an idea for a sample in a new song if it makes anyone happier!” I’d like the next record to be more experimental, loads of different guitar sounds, samples, maybe not so defined – why not do a 20 minute song? ‘Body of Water’ was recorded very quickly, with just six studio sessions over a period of three months.”
Chris: “At one stage we wrote some songs while Andy was away in America and he had one day to come up with lyrics and record them when he returned. He managed it, but I’m not saying what songs they are!”
As if on cue, vocalist and lyricist Andy comes over to join us on the pavement. I mentioned in my album review last time how much I liked this guy’s lyrics. I ask him how he first became acquainted with the poetry of Anne Sexton. (She was most famous for the autobiographical work, ‘To Bedlam and Part Way Back’. She took her own life in 1974).
Andy: “Well I studied American Confessional Poetry at college, and my friend Kate who lives in America, gave me an Anne Sexton book. ‘Hurry up Please It’s Time’/ ‘The Death Song’ just fitted the idea I was after. Obviously she said it much better than I could, so why change it?”
Tony: “So instead of taxing your mind, you said, that’s good enough, I’ll use it!”
Andy: “I think there is something to be said for plagiarism. Why write something in a poor way, when someone has done it really well?”
Tony: “Enough bands plagiarise music, so why not lift lyrics? The title of our song ‘A-Student Baby’ is a direct steal from Sam Cooke.”
Andy: “And ‘Shake it’ ends with a Nietzsche quote – ‘Glowing, I myself consume/ All I seize and touch makes light’”.
That’s a good final word to end on, and anyway we have been sitting on the pavement long enough! I’ll leave you with a list of the music the band were listening to on their respective walkmans, en route to Belfast….
CHRIS – Shudder to Think, Raw Shag, Antioc, Arrow, Heroin.
JAMIE - Miles Davis’s ‘In A Silent Way’, Porno for Pyros, Girls Against Boys
TONY- Danzig, Jeff Buckley, Palace Brothers, Chet Baker.
ANDY- Avail, Life of Agony, an Embrace covers compilation, and more Avail.
KEVIN was too shy to be interviewed.
The album on John's shelves was 'Body of Water' which was their debut full length. I met them when they played Giro's in Belfast in late summer 1994, I think. They were a nice bunch. Here is our chat...
**this was published in Weedbus fanzine, issue 9, spring 1995**
Fabric are a hardcore punk with their fingers in a few pies. They have set up their own label – Whole Car – and persuaded Gary Walker from Wiiija to run it for them; they were the first English band to release anything on the US Dog House label; and they’ve contributed ‘March of the Machines/ Seven’ to the split 7” single series Fierce Panda #4 – ‘Built to Blast’. Their whole attitude is refreshing and un-cynical, certainly not like the cliques in the hardcore scenes of old. And besides, they also agreed to me interviewing them on the pavement outside Giro’s in Donegall lane, Belfast. Punk rock! Their exceptionally talkative drummer Chris (who incidentally has 22 body piercings) began by telling me about the set-up with Whole Car records.
“Basically the band got together a while ago, did a few demo tapes and Gary from Wiiija decided to help us out. We recorded a 7” for another label but they let us down, so we had recording but no-one to release it. We didn’t really fit in with the whole Wiiija records thing so we set up a little offshoot. Whole Car is our label but Wiiija produce and distribute everything. We basically say what goes and if it is economically viable then it happens. Rather than just distribute in America, the Dog House label had heard about us from a mutual friend, and then they started talking about us becoming “a Dog House band”. In hardcore circles that is a good thing because they’re very highly respected over there. So we did a 7” for them (’Saturnalia’/ ‘Without’) – we just gave them the recording as a favour and they decided to put the album out over there. It’s much more accessible to be on Dog House than be on some label that no-one has heard of. They really cool thing is that they never previously put out any records by anyone outside of Ohio, and now they’re got us English geezers.”
Is there much life left in the UK hardcore/ punk scene?
Jamie: We like a lot of bands in general but the hardcore scene is pretty dead. There was a time in the early ‘90s when Napalm Death, Heresy, Extreme Noise Terror could sell out decent sized London venues like ULU. Now there are too many bands who sound like Discharge, very few are doing anything original. We do what we do because we’re involved in a lot of different music scenes, and we take them all on board in what we do. There are bands that we like such as Bob Tilton, Polaris, and Dead Wrong all doing interesting stuff.”
Chris: “We played a show in Leicester the other day and this kid came up to me with a Born Against t-shirt on and he gave me a tape of his band. From the t-shirt I thought it might be interesting but it turned out it was just three-chord punk.”
Tony: “The term hardcore now tends to mean big metal bands, it doesn’t mean what it did in the mid-‘80s. Offspring have sold over a million records and five years ago they were playing small clubs in New York. The whole Nirvana thing opened up music so much – people found loud music accessible again.
I notice a big chance in sound between your first two singles and the ‘Body of Water’ album.
Tony: “Yes, there is a huge difference, mainly because we’ve got another guitarist (Kevin) and from the day he joined, things changed. I’m happy because it has expanded the sound.”
Jamie: “the point is that we didn’t have enough money as a band to get equipment to sound how we wanted. As a four-piece we couldn’t quite pull it off.”
Chris: “I just think that we have become the band we wanted to become, we’re not so defined that people can say we’re a metal band or whatever.”
And you’ve stopped using samples.
Tony: “You’re the second person who has said that in as many days!” We used samples on the second single – some dialogue from Staedler and Waldorf from the Muppet Show – that was our experimental phase – we also used a bong break for some reason!”
Chris: “I think with the album we never really thought about samples and when it came to the final mix down we didn’t have any.”
Tony: “We’ve got an idea for a sample in a new song if it makes anyone happier!” I’d like the next record to be more experimental, loads of different guitar sounds, samples, maybe not so defined – why not do a 20 minute song? ‘Body of Water’ was recorded very quickly, with just six studio sessions over a period of three months.”
Chris: “At one stage we wrote some songs while Andy was away in America and he had one day to come up with lyrics and record them when he returned. He managed it, but I’m not saying what songs they are!”
As if on cue, vocalist and lyricist Andy comes over to join us on the pavement. I mentioned in my album review last time how much I liked this guy’s lyrics. I ask him how he first became acquainted with the poetry of Anne Sexton. (She was most famous for the autobiographical work, ‘To Bedlam and Part Way Back’. She took her own life in 1974).
Andy: “Well I studied American Confessional Poetry at college, and my friend Kate who lives in America, gave me an Anne Sexton book. ‘Hurry up Please It’s Time’/ ‘The Death Song’ just fitted the idea I was after. Obviously she said it much better than I could, so why change it?”
Tony: “So instead of taxing your mind, you said, that’s good enough, I’ll use it!”
Andy: “I think there is something to be said for plagiarism. Why write something in a poor way, when someone has done it really well?”
Tony: “Enough bands plagiarise music, so why not lift lyrics? The title of our song ‘A-Student Baby’ is a direct steal from Sam Cooke.”
Andy: “And ‘Shake it’ ends with a Nietzsche quote – ‘Glowing, I myself consume/ All I seize and touch makes light’”.
That’s a good final word to end on, and anyway we have been sitting on the pavement long enough! I’ll leave you with a list of the music the band were listening to on their respective walkmans, en route to Belfast….
CHRIS – Shudder to Think, Raw Shag, Antioc, Arrow, Heroin.
JAMIE - Miles Davis’s ‘In A Silent Way’, Porno for Pyros, Girls Against Boys
TONY- Danzig, Jeff Buckley, Palace Brothers, Chet Baker.
ANDY- Avail, Life of Agony, an Embrace covers compilation, and more Avail.
KEVIN was too shy to be interviewed.
John Peel Archive: F isn't for the Fall...
Once the John Peel Archive got as far as the first 100 'F's, I reckon most people expected the selection to feature at least some albums by the Fall, but it doesn't quite get that far into the alphabet as nearly half of this lot is dominated by John Fahey (an amazing 25 albums) and Fairport Convention (just one behind with 24 albums). There are six by the Faces and five that feature Jad Fair, so that's 60% of the Fs taken care of.
I'm guessing that a lot of people already know the music of Fahey and Fairport so I will feature a couple of albums that are a bit lesser known and deserving of more attention.
First of all it's Jad Fair and Kramer's Roll Out the Barrel. It is a twisted and rewarding set of left-field pop songs, which does hint at the main bands of both these musicians - Fair's Half Japanese and Kramer's Bongwater - yet there is something very individual about it. It is more of a Kramer record than a Jad Fair one, there are plenty of odd sonic manipulations and not much punk rock. It's also on Kramer's own label Shimmy Disc and features his friend Penn Jillette (of Penn and Teller) on a couple of songs. Roll Out The Barrel became a bit of a lost album after Shimmy Disc was wound-up, but happily it has popped up on Spotify and I've embedded it below.
My second choice had to be one of th' Faith Healers albums included. I chose Lido above Imaginary Friend only because I know it slightly better. This lot were big Peel favourites between 1992-1993 and in fact they released a collection of their Peel sessions a few years ago. Guitarist Tom Cullinan went on to form Quickspace, although th' Faith Healers reassembled in 2009 for some ATP festival action. I caught them at the MBV one and they were just fine. Lido was their debut album and is very much a product of the early '90s Camden scene that also gave us Silverfish, Gallon Drunk, etc. I've embedded it below. Imaginary Friend is also on Peel's shelves and also on Spotify if you fancy some more.
There is one more act I wanted to mention, and that is the mid 90s UK hardcore band Fabric, whose 'Body of Water' album is included this week. Happily, I have found an old interview I did with them, so I will upload that as a separate page tomorrow.
I'm guessing that a lot of people already know the music of Fahey and Fairport so I will feature a couple of albums that are a bit lesser known and deserving of more attention.
First of all it's Jad Fair and Kramer's Roll Out the Barrel. It is a twisted and rewarding set of left-field pop songs, which does hint at the main bands of both these musicians - Fair's Half Japanese and Kramer's Bongwater - yet there is something very individual about it. It is more of a Kramer record than a Jad Fair one, there are plenty of odd sonic manipulations and not much punk rock. It's also on Kramer's own label Shimmy Disc and features his friend Penn Jillette (of Penn and Teller) on a couple of songs. Roll Out The Barrel became a bit of a lost album after Shimmy Disc was wound-up, but happily it has popped up on Spotify and I've embedded it below. 
My second choice had to be one of th' Faith Healers albums included. I chose Lido above Imaginary Friend only because I know it slightly better. This lot were big Peel favourites between 1992-1993 and in fact they released a collection of their Peel sessions a few years ago. Guitarist Tom Cullinan went on to form Quickspace, although th' Faith Healers reassembled in 2009 for some ATP festival action. I caught them at the MBV one and they were just fine. Lido was their debut album and is very much a product of the early '90s Camden scene that also gave us Silverfish, Gallon Drunk, etc. I've embedded it below. Imaginary Friend is also on Peel's shelves and also on Spotify if you fancy some more.There is one more act I wanted to mention, and that is the mid 90s UK hardcore band Fabric, whose 'Body of Water' album is included this week. Happily, I have found an old interview I did with them, so I will upload that as a separate page tomorrow.
John Peel Archive: E at last
I'm late with this I know, but when I knew 100 releases beginning with the letter E were available, I initially struggled to think of what they might be. Thanks to a complete run of Echo and the Bunnymen albums (1980's 'Crocodiles' through to 1987's 'Echo & the Bunnymen') it turns out that E has thrown up the biggest overlap with my own collection yet. That's also despite not owning any records by the Eagles or Earth, Wind and Fire, both of whom are well represented here.
Anyway, all of those three bands mentioned are pretty much household names, so there is not much point writing about them here. Of the others, I have 'Earth 2' which was a very radical exercise in drone/ doom back in the day. I also have EPMD's 'Strictly Business', although only as mp3s as part of my homework for My Bloody Valentine's ATP back in 2009, where they were one of two hip-hop acts on the bill. The other was De La Soul if anyone is keeping score. Although I have some records by ESG and Sonic Boom's E.A.R. I don't have the same ones as this, and I'm sure I had the promo copies of Eat Static and Easy from the mid-90s though I'm unable to locate them at the moment.
However, the inclusion of East River Pipe really delighted me. Essentially a solo project of F.M. Cornog, a New York based singer songwriter who has never really got the acclaim he deserved, but has made some of the finest melancholic pop ever. I interviewed FM Cornog in 1995 for my fanzine Weedbus, you can read it here. I have the short albums found here, 'Goodbye California' and 'Even the Sun was Afraid', which were later reissued as part of the 'Shining Hours in a Can' CD, and 'Poor Fricky' which you can hear below.
The curators have chosen East of Eden as their featured act, which is great as they were unknown to me, and have proven to be well worth a listen. An edgy psych-folk band from the late '60s, a first listen on Spotify suggests they would appeal to fans of current acts like Trembling Bells and their kind.
Anyway, all of those three bands mentioned are pretty much household names, so there is not much point writing about them here. Of the others, I have 'Earth 2' which was a very radical exercise in drone/ doom back in the day. I also have EPMD's 'Strictly Business', although only as mp3s as part of my homework for My Bloody Valentine's ATP back in 2009, where they were one of two hip-hop acts on the bill. The other was De La Soul if anyone is keeping score. Although I have some records by ESG and Sonic Boom's E.A.R. I don't have the same ones as this, and I'm sure I had the promo copies of Eat Static and Easy from the mid-90s though I'm unable to locate them at the moment.
However, the inclusion of East River Pipe really delighted me. Essentially a solo project of F.M. Cornog, a New York based singer songwriter who has never really got the acclaim he deserved, but has made some of the finest melancholic pop ever. I interviewed FM Cornog in 1995 for my fanzine Weedbus, you can read it here. I have the short albums found here, 'Goodbye California' and 'Even the Sun was Afraid', which were later reissued as part of the 'Shining Hours in a Can' CD, and 'Poor Fricky' which you can hear below.
The curators have chosen East of Eden as their featured act, which is great as they were unknown to me, and have proven to be well worth a listen. An edgy psych-folk band from the late '60s, a first listen on Spotify suggests they would appeal to fans of current acts like Trembling Bells and their kind.
John Peel Archive: D (and some old stuff about Dick Dale and the Fall)
THE FALL + DICK DALE
London Royal Festival Hall 22nd September 2000
Part of the Peel Sessions live series, this co-headliner saw two all-time Peel faves coupled together in an unusual setting to say the least.
After a schizophrenic opening set from Terry Edwards (lurching between pub rock and sublime laidback jazz), Dick Dale takes the stage to a glowing endorsement from Mr Peel himself. I had never seen Dick Dale before, but it's clear that he is a born showman keen on playing to the crowd. Although he worringly touches on material that shows his age (rnr standard 'Fever' is played free from irony for instance!) some of his material is stunningly good, the famous heavy gauge strings of the Beast (his nickname for his guitar) rattling and twanging through the likes of 'Take it or Leave it', a fine cover of Hendrix's 'Third Stone From the Sun' and the obligatory 'Miserlou'. Dick's crowdpleasing antics dominate the latter as it lurches into 'Smoke on the Water' (!) and he does a tour of the entire audience still playing his guitar. For this reason he gets a better reception than headliners The Fall who show their customary disregard for us punters.
Of course, Fall fans wouldn't have it any other way, and although a lot of the Dale fans leave, us Fall types are glued to the onstage mutterings of MES and co, especially puzzling tonight as they play loads from the forthcoming album ('The Unutterable'). 'Touch Sensitive' is the first obviously recognisable moment, and give the cue for a lot of people to turn the yawning gap between the front seats and the stage into a makeshift moshpit. 'F-Oldin Money' gets them going, as does a very welcome 'Hey Student'. The only other old songs I can remember are 'The Joke' and 'I'm Going to Spain', though the recentish 'Levitate' and 'Light User Syndrome' albums are touched on too. Not a bad show by recent standards, but still not even close to classic Fall. The encore of 'Dr Buck's Letter' (from the forthcoming album) shows that they can still cut it and stay ahead of younger pretenders. I just wish they could do it more often.
So what are all these Ds I don't have then? Well there are some I once had, but only in the sense that I taped them off friends. First, alphabetically, is dc Basehead 'Play With Toys' (1991). It's not on Spotify and I had a bit of an effort to find a decent track to embed. These guys were a laidback hip-hop band who somehow got connected with a lot of grungier acts like Helmet and Rollins Band. Not sure why
Secondly, and finally, there two albums by the Damned - 'The Black Album' and 'Strawberries' - that I was given as a cassette swap with an older guy at school. I think I was only about 12 and he was 14 or 15, but these albums stick in my memory, as back then it seemed I was listening to 'proper' albums that none of my friends had. I listened to 'the Black Album' this morning on Spotify. I could just about picture that old cassette.
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