Vacant places, unfilled spaces

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Sigh. I really need to keep mah peepers a bit more open. Last week, one of my idols - Kristin Hersh - was in town at the bookstore (reading, signing, playing) and I just found out about it today. Did anyone go along? Think I'll go and eat worms (big fat juicy ones). And order the book. Again.
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Throwing Muses - 'Downtown' (live) (3.54)
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But, hang on, didn't she already fuck him last week? Is she that much of a deluded wreck?

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So, week one of semester two has been SURVIVED. It is time is breathe again and listen to the best pop band ever, The Gladeyes. And get on with the marking left over from semester one. WEEP. I may never see the light of day again.
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The Gladeyes - 'What to do' (acoustic on an Auckland rooftop + interview) (6.59)
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Why not pop over and say hello to Gwen and Jade?
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PS. The title of this post was inspired by a... well, an intimate conversation I recently overheard in the queue at Cineworld. Honestly, unplug those headphones. You've no idea what you are missing out on when 'the girls' get together.
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I just gotta be your victim, kitten

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A bit like The Horse Flies album, 'Human Fly' (Rounder Records, 1987), anyone I ever played 'Hubba' (Restless Records, 1987) to just adored it. The Cat Heads, a San Francisco band if ever there was one, were an eclectic mix of musicians from different bands floating around the 'scene' at the time, mainly held together by vocalist/guitarist Mark Zanandrea. When they rocked they fucking rocked, with a great sense of anti-cockrock humour, when they played it slow and country-like, especially with Mel Clarin (Donner Party) on lead vocals, they made your eyes go a bit wet and goosebumps emerge. A bit like The Horse Flies album, it was the cover of 'Hubba' that drew me in. I'd never heard of them so the cover was the cue. And it was just perfect. A cute wee kitten staring at us through railings, beneath the cracked pavement. As for the music, I guess you could file it under 'blues, country, pop, folk, rock' and everything inbetween, a kinda paisley underground 'thing'. It defies genre-picking, really. Much of the sound echoes back to earlier San Francisco times, the1960's and an 'aura' (yes, 'aura') of peace, love and serious, serious drugs. I just can't enough of this album and ever since that fateful day back in 1987 I have often judged an album by its cover, or at least taken a chance on buying an album by an artist I didn't know anything about just because it had a interesting or appealing cover. Sometimes this policy works, other times less so. Anyway, the three tracks below are taken from a reunion live show The Cat Heads played in 2006, at the Rickshaw Stop in their home town. If you know The Cat Heads then you need no introduction to their greatness, all three tracks come from 'Hubba' and are the pick of the pops as I see it. If you are not familiar with the band, please give them a go. I think you'll have room for them in your dark and broken hearts, somewhere along the bicuspid valve. As for the one that might finish you off, that'll be 'Lullaby', this song alone should take that bundle of granite and turn it into fluffy pink marshmallow, I hope.
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The Cat Heads - 'Victim' (live) (3.04)
The Cat Heads - 'Lullaby' (live) (3.27)
The Cat Heads - 'Final letter' (live) (3.37)
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The band are having a wee nap here. If you'd like to hear the studio versions of these tracks then you can download 'Hubba' here. I would urge you to do so, with a fairly clear conscience, as the record has been out of print for years I think. And good music should be heard, you know? 1987. It was a good year, aye.
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How can I even try to go on?

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So I have returned, from being away, and it appears to be the start of a new term and the usual madness abounds. I am short of any kind of mustered energy or divine inspiration. But there is still music to keep us sane, thank goodness. It is time for this monster track to be unlocked from the Peel vaults, I think. Some cover versions can make you cringe a wee bit, you know, like that time back in '84 when you walked in on your little brother 'doing things' in your shared bedroom. Other cover versions can make you smile rather broadly, as if you are auditioning for a Colgate toothpaste commercial where competition for the part is really intense. This one certainly falls into the latter category, mainly due to the sheer noise element. Play loud!
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Th' Faith Healers - 'S.O.S.' (cover) (3.42)
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All about them.
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The signs and signifiers that won't steal your thunder

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Am on a bit of a (work) road-trip down to the other North East for a few days so it'll be quiet around here, even more so than usual. Anyhow, I got the nod on this track from mah eldest the other day and it's pretty fantastic. You know. For that kind of thing. It seems to be all about locating 'space' and minimalist finger-clicks, rather than twee hand-claps, but, hey, I can live with that with a bit more practice and time on my hands. To the sea!
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Peverelist - 'Roll with the punches' (Harmonimix) (3.05)
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Come play. And to buy.
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And I will walk you there

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In those restless, pillow-fighting, 3 a.m. moments, when I am not wondering when/if Tom Vek will release another album, I am usually wondering when Steve Adey (who surely must be Paul Buchanan's wee brother?) will release another album. It's all a matter of biding time, having a little patience, I suppose. Well, meantime, this is a wonderful live recording of 'Find the way', from the 2006 album 'All Things Real', captured at Greenside Parish Church in Edinburgh. Just Steve and a piano and some glorious acoustics.
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Steve Adey - 'Find the way' (live)
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Steve is not really here. So where is he?
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Cup and thistle, to sit in

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Ah went tae thon Tinderbox
Intendin' tae mind agane
Oor times th' gither and dig up
Mah joy, but
Ye jist vanished, eh
From the top of mah
Cracked coffee cup,
As ah wee prickly thistle
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Voice of the Beehive - 'Beat of love' (4.06)
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With sincere apologies to Nizar Qabbani. A heartbreaking story of love, betrayal and inauthentic beehives can be found here. Buy this and enjoy the (genuine) memories.
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Well, you know, you wrote it in a kind of iambic pentameter

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[start] / The deranged man with permanent, inked, tears running down his face and his bulky female companion reeking of patchouli from 20 feet / The older woman in John Lewis telling her friend that Did You Know you can do 'mince' degrees in Elvis at University these days and everything / The two recovering alcoholics in Cineworld meeting up for some mutual self-therapy to declare to each other they actually know the 'real' Jesus / The told off teen in KFC who sat down at the 'wrong kind of table' and was given a verbal battering by her Dad for it / Passing by desired friends on moving escalators and saying the wrong kind of hello in the right kind of way / This is an interesting city we live in but I wonder what the next day might bring and how to take it all in without falling apart / [end]

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King Missile - 'Sensitive artist' (2.16)

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Here is the mystical shit.

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As your heels hit the floor to the blurring Division

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Jeezo. This Stilographic(esque) remix of the stunning Baltic Fleet track 'Black Lounge' is almost as good - almost as good - as that Le Castle Vania remix of 'Black Eyes' by Snowden. This is a total WIN, bro. Play often. Play LOUD. Especially if you can speak Italian and have a fast car. And, pop trivia moment, did you know that Paul Fleming, the man and genius behind Baltic Fleet, played keyboards with Echo and the Bunnymen? Truth. And I totally think Freccia would dig this remix, man.
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Radiofreccia Vs Baltic Fleet - 'Black Lounge' (remix) (4.06)
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Baltic Fleet are here. Playing live - first time in over two years! - on February 4th at the Garage in London, part of the Blow Up night at HMV's 'Next Big Thing' shindig, 2011. Tickets. The gig will feature new material from the forthcoming second album, to be released later this year.
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What does the word 'soon' mean to you, exactly?

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As I have often said, loudly, openly, soberly and without any kind of shame, the absolute very best music comes from Scandanavia these days. Especially Sweden. Bear Pilot, once more, prove the point and then sitback on the ninety three moveable parts Ikea sofa in a non-smug manner and whisper quietly to the adoring crowd, 'See, told you so'. This is simply amazing and well worth a listen when you decide to have a nice cup of tea and a sit down. So go see them without delay! And, a big thank-you to Kristian et al, for the pleasure was all mine in the most wonderful way. Lycka till kamrater!

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Bear Pilot - 'Do you know where your heart is?' (2.40)

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You can visit Bear Pilot here and download some further songs. Bear Pilot's blog is cosy. Also, do watch this video - fairly awesome in a drive-in bingo kind of way! <3

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From a cowardly whisper to a helium-pitched scream

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It can be really strange, those everyday moments of a fairly humdrum life that we just happen upon, and how such incidents can sometimes provoke a startled, misplaced memory. You blink, you witness, you remember - with an audience or not. An example: I was in the local supermarket yesterday with my junior companions in hand and witnessed a woman accidently dropping a jar of 89p pasta sauce and as it hit the polished fawn tiles and exploded upwards in a flurry of, I think, bolognese sauce (with added peppers) and recycled glass, she screamed. I mean, she really fucking screamed. And for that exact moment, as all around hid and cowered, I both saw and, especially, heard Ali Shaw, from Cranes, circa 2001, singing to me from a stage of pretty much my own making. It was that kind of intense, helium-fuelled nasal pitch delivered from down a deep, deep, empty well in a place called Bright Falls. But then again, I suppose, that's Aldi for you.
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Cranes - 'Flute Song' (Live in London) (4.22)
Cranes - 'Inescapable' (2.48)
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All things Starblood. Buy this.
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You fail when you quit, not when you lose

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This is spectacular. There are no other words. It just goes places. The bass especially. Right from the off. A pace is set and followed. And the mid-section (1.59 until 2.52) is fucking simple, brilliant, genius, and all the rest of it, likesay. The 'pause' button is, well, pushed down for a minute - hard - except no one told guitars and keys it was going to happen! Drums then crash and roar to take us to the finish line. Vocals soaring by the sidelines of the ocean, insisting I AM THE MAMMAL YOU ADORE. Seriously, this is one of those records that grabs you in places where you are the very most sensitive and forces you to accept the riff that drives forward into your shallow wee life. It lifts and floats and raises the bourbon-soaked bar, until both hands on the clock hit Twelve and you fall over into the streets declaring love to anyone who will hear you. I don't want to say too much else, that'd only be proper spoiling it, a bit like adding salt to the soup before you first sink the pepper in and stir it around a bit. The ground black pepper is always first, mind. A light flick-of-the-wrists and then really go for it. Just take a listen. Take a trip to Wellington, NZ if you really have to. Just make an effort. This is the sound of the New Year.
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The Phoenix Foundation - 'Buffalo' (4.15)
The Phoenix Foundation - 'Love is the drug' (live cover version) (3.16)
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The Phoenix Foundation are here. Their delightful new album, 'Buffalo' is out on January 24th in the UK. You can pre-order the album, released on the lovely Memphis Industries label, from here. The band visit Glasgow (Oran Mor) on February 3rd, supporting...um... The Go! Team. Tickets here. They then head to Edinburgh, Aberdeen, Newcastle and many, many other places...
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Twenty years too old, or twenty years too young

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Random thoughts on a #66 bus, a ride into town, via the medium of song.
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Gotta spend some time. The potential of you and me. Can you see it? Books to be read. Easily. Go back to Seattle. A mirrored view. It's all about perspective. Four minutes and thirty three seconds is the start. Grow a beard. Do not be afraid to shout her name loudly. Spend some time, love. Possession of a heart is not always a crime. Gotta spend some time. You will find love, in the arms of those around you, those who are at a distance. Wear your glasses, two for the price of one, love. Outside your window, lovers roam. Languages can be learnt. Twenty years is not a lifetime. And Ben is pretty fucking hot these days. Enough. It can never be enough, my love. This rejection. Advances no more. Gotta spend some time... x
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And, yes, the votes are all in and have been counted. The winner of the most played-to-death D. Cab song is written all over the turned-on amps...
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Death Cab For Cutie - 'I will possess your heart' (Live studio version) (8.20)
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Death Cab are here. 'Codes and Keys', the new Cutie album, will be out in the Spring. You can read a lot moar about it over here. Watch this.
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Sitting by and watch you fall away

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Taken from the last show, I think, that they ever played... this live version of 'Melon Yellow' is simply sublime. You can just listen and lose yourself, in wonder and bliss. It is limerence - in shape, texture and form - utterly defined and so clearly expressed. There is nothing like it; so take hold, embrace and revel in it (with little but life itself to cower from and fear).
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Slowdive - 'Melon Yellow' (live, Toronto, 21-05-94)
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Everything Slowdive, more or less. This studio practice version of 'Melon Yellow' is also worth a listen (for Rachel's wee Spinal Tap gag at the start alone, if nothing else).
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The chapter in your life entitled reducing strangers to tears

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The troubled and rather lost-looking man at the train station stopped me and asked me for the time. I'd clocked him on my approach - in an eye-to-eye contact way - and was sure he was going to ask me for some money, I'd already started to fumble in my pockets for loose change. I mean, anyway, train stations are full of clocks, you know. Who asks for the time in a railway station? Just look up, pal. I was slightly annoyed to be stopped as 'Naomi' by The Boo Radleys had just come on my Ipod and it has a really great introduction. Selfish of me, I know. But just shows you though - the time, not any spare change. So I took out my mobile phone from my bag - who actually wears a watch these days? - and it said 10.58am. I told him the news and he sighed a deep sigh. It was one of those sighs you hear at the cinema from older people who are annoyed with the younger people in front of them who like to eat, text, kiss, laugh, play-fight, and, well, be young, whilst pretending to watch some 12A nonsense. I asked him, trying to be polite, if he had missed his train. He looked at me and said 'I've been missing trains all my life, but this one meant something'. He then told me, in an incredibly organised and matter-of-fact way, a very complicated story about his family situation that reminded me of a song by Ithaca band The Horseflies, one that makes even my own reconstructed and multi-dimensional reality look fairly meat and two veg. It became clear, quickly, why missing the train was a disaster. After I thought he had finished (it was just meant to be a pause, with hindsight) I nodded my head and offered some terrible platitude, for fear of saying the wrong thing at a delicate moment, not because I wanted to provoke or upset him. 'Family, eh, if it wasn't for the blood being thicker than the water where would we be?'. At these, I thought, rather harmless (if utterly inane) words, he broke down into tears and apologised - and then scurried away to the exit by the taxi rank. I was left standing there a bit open-gobbed. A few folks standing near me, waiting patiently for platforms to be announced, gave me the kind of look with their narrowed peepers that most people reserve for Nick Cotton, or whoever the latest soap opera baddie might be. I hit the pause button on my Ipod and as Sice began singing in his unearthly manner 'Take me back to the place where you and I were one' I just looked ahead and thought to myself, in a rather self-centred and paranoid way, 'My God, I am now at the stage where I am reducing complete strangers to tears in railway stations with ill-chosen words, not just the people I love and want to hold close'. Fucking hell.
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The Lucksmiths - 'From Macaulay station' (3.35)
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This song is appropriate, given the subject matter. And as you probably know, The Lucksmiths, sigh, said goodbye a wee while ago now but at least there is a new DVD, entitled 'Unfamiliar Stars', on the way soon. So raise a cheery smile, pop-kids! You can check on progress and release dates here.
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A match struck at midnight makes our faces glow

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So, aye, not quite midnight, but the children were insistent on staying up pretty late to watch awful Scottish television (exactly how moar orange can Jackie Bird get?) and also have yet another wee play of the 'Family Guy' edition of Monopoly that seemed to appear here, oddly, the other day. The older one was out at a rave in an abandoned factory in Partick. Sigh. How very 1992. Ah well, goodbye, fuck off, strange and weird year (and decade) that was. And, well, a Happy New Year to what might be, hopefully, an interesting, productive and eventful time of it. To 2011, and all that, like. And now, some DJ Shadow, to make us glad to be alive (we can all agree to that, if little else). Bakhtalo Nevo Bersh! x

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DJ Shadow - 'Midnight in a perfect world' (extended version) (9.53)

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You can find DJ Shadow here. Buy the album.

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