Martin Newell - Jacqui...

Since Martin Newell's Golden Afternoon last Sunday, I've been going back and revisiting all his solo records. The beautiful Grenadine And Blue from The Light Programme had passed me by on first listen and I was sure there were other gems I should be more aware of. And sure enough, there are plenty. In particular is Jacqui, also from The Light Programme. This song is simply Gorgeous, the lyrics swelling one's heart with regret.

Martin Newell's Golden Afternoon...

Just got back from Martin Newell's Golden Afternoon which, despite being a day of grey and rain (and the rail line being down meaning 2 trains and a bus each way), was very enjoyable, really great. Ever the entertainer, Martin came out and played some songs, switching between guitar and piano, before bringing on the 2 acts he chose to play, then he came back for some poetry (one poem pointed out that if you were born in '45, when you were 33, it was '78) and an incredibly funny story about a dog, then the bands played again, and he finished off with some more songs, including a new one on the mandolin which shows much promise for the new record (I'm Moving On, which can be heard here after a really good interview with Fixe mag). The show started at 2 PM and the whole thing was over by 5, very civilized. Checking the setlist when it was over, after the 3rd song he seemed to abandon sticking to it and even threw in an amazing cover of Life On Mars? and Matt Monro's Walk Away (which I'd never heard before and is lovely).  Both are now up here under the name Duvet Covers, as well as The World Strikes One and a clip of Stella & Charlie Got Married.


The second song of the set was Speed Of A Train from his Songs From The Station Hotel, which I love. A killer tune, if you like Guided By Voices I highly recommend listening to this, a shame I can't find it anywhere to play on the internet. An excellent song that had passed me by is Grenadine And Blue from The Light Programme and the live version today really sold it to me. The World Strikes One was also excellent this afternoon. Here it is (with Victoria Grey following!) from the first Golden Afternoon in 2003:




I was very excited that he played The Greatest Living Englishman:



The other two acts were Girl Du Bois who were very good, playing 30s French songs and Franglaisized versions of English pop songs such as Road To Nowhere and People Are Strange. They even ended with a Boris Vian cover. Check Boris Vian out, a very clever and entertaining figure (I mean to do a post on his music soon). And The Corner Laughers from California, who play very cute, melodic indiepop.

Pugwash & Neil Hannon featuring Matt Berry - What Becomes Of The Broken Hearted...

My friend Ben just alerted me to this:



Pugwash, Neil Hannon, and Matt Berry covering What Becomes Of The Broken Hearted. Lovely, isn't it? Recorded for The Shortest Night, this year's charity album from Dublin's Sound Training Centre in aid of the Dublin Simon Community. Soundcloud link here in case you can't see the YouTube clip.

Steve Harley also covered it on his 1996 Poetic Justice album.




It's funny, this song always reminds of the "what became of the man that started" section of Iron Maiden's Stranger In A Strange Land. How odd.

Gavin Osborn - Albert Went Out To See Rock Bands...

My review of Gavin Osborn's Come On Folks, Settle Down is up here. If you like indie-pop, you should really know Gavin Osborn. Albert Went Out To See Rock Bands is "a fine example of how well Gavin Osborn can tell a tale. It takes almost a minute and a half to get the 77-year-old hero of the story from his bedroom down the stairs and out the door to the action. This has nothing to do with age but instead the minutely detailed journey captures all the excitement of what the night has to offer, knowing that these particulars are vital components of the adventure and its appreciation. The song, though very amusing, also communicates that brilliant feeling of doing something you love, the unsuspected delights of where music can bring you, and how wonderful it is to be with someone who understands these things (even if you think they don’t even know)." Gavin's songs are wonderfully detailed, perfectly expressing, with humour and feeling, the little bits that life is made of.

Live at Latitude 2010:



There aren't a lot of videos online but two songs that I really love and that keep getting stuck in my head are the beautiful That's How I Know and the funny and touching Charlie's 18th Birthday, from his Meeting Your Heroes album (produced by Darren Hayman) and also on the The Ballad Of Roger & Grace split with Daniel Kitson (highly recommended).

Nino Rota - 8 1/2 Rhumba/What I Played At DEBBIE September 7th, 2012...

I DJ'd the opening slot at DEBBIE last night, Sina's all-female vocal night, now at The White Rabbit in Stoke Newington, a really good venue. Sina likes to open every DEBBIE with a lesser known Debbie Harry number and I was delighted to remember that she covered the rhumba from Fellini's 8 1/2 (one of my favourite films). The Rhumba from the beach scene with Saraghina is such an incredibly awesome piece of music, ecstatically cool, a brilliant composition by Nino Rota, and such a shame it's not on the official soundtrack.



So I was delighted to learn that Debbie Harry did a version of it as a b-side to her 1993 single Strike Me Pink (also on Debravation:Producer's Cut). I can't find this anywhere on the internet to share, and I had to track down the cd single when I first heard that she covered it. Truth be told, it's not as great as the original, but still awesome that it exists. And I was psyched to open my set with it last night.

What I Played At DEBBIE, September 7th, 2012:

Deborah Harry - 8 1/2 Rhumba
Kahimi Karie - Good Morning World
Emmanuelle Seigner - Dingue
Marsha Gee - Peanut Duck
Dracula's Daughter - Candy
Diane Renay - Kiss Me Sailor
Brenda Holloway - Reconsider
The Would-Be-Goods - Velásquez & I
Vanessa Paradis - Be My Baby
Saint Etienne - Kiss And Make Up (London Conversations version)
The B-52's - Debbie
Pris - Blu Tack Baby
Otur - Apart
Paisley & Charlie - Hold Me
Club 8 - The Chance I Deserve
Anthony Adverse - London My Town
Shrag - Rabbit Kids
Lesley Gore - Sometimes
Freezepop - Doppelganger
Shampoo - Delicious
Gina G - Ooh Aah...Just A Little Bit (this seems to have become my signature tune ; )

Shrag - Devastating Bones...

Shrag's new video for Devastating Bones is up today. A good ol' singalong glamrock stomper.



My review of their new album, Canines, here.

Unofficial videos for the lovely Chasing Consummations (featuring footage from Dreams That Money Can Buy that I've mentioned before in connection with The Real Tuesday Weld):



And the absolutely beautiful Jane With Dumbbells. One of the all-time great album closers, transporting you to its own magic-tinged world. "Its enormous yet delicate dreaminess sends one floating through prismatic rainy afternoons, staring out the window at hidden rainbows further obscured by the grey, while some other part of yourself slips off through soothing dreamspaces. Evoking a beauty both born of and counter to 'those toxic mornings, those saccharine days'"

Suede - Shipbuilding...

Suede's Facebook page have reminded us that it was on this day (September 4th) in 1995 that The Help Album was recorded, featuring Suede's excellent cover of Elvis Costello's Shipbuilding. (I hadn't realized Clive Langer of Deaf School and producer fame wrote the music to this!) Suede's version was my introduction to the song and I think I even like it better than the original:



Elvis Costello's original:



And Elvis live on Swedish TV 1983:




I also always liked Terry Hall & Salad's version of Dream A Little Dream from The Help Album:



David Shah & I covered this as well last year for a few Soft Close-Ups gigs. Free download of it here.

Emmanuelle Seigner...

During my French pop binge of recent weeks, I actually followed an iTunes recommendation while I was looking to see if they had any more Isabelle de Funès (sadly, they didn't). But I was led to Emmanuelle Seigner and her Dingue album (Kieron Tyler, who wrote that, gave H Bird a nice review last year in MOJO) as I rather liked the cover. And a lovely pop album it is.

My favourite is Le Jour Parfait, I'm a sucker for 'woo-woo's and such a nice chorus:



Alone À Barcelone sweetly sways about the city:



The title track, Dingue:



Emmanuelle duets with her husband, Roman Polanksi, on Qui Êtes-vous? and with Iggy Pop here on La Dernière Pluie:



She also dueted with Brett Anderson on his Back To You:



Before Dingue, Seigner was in Ultra Orange & Emmanuelle. Don't Kiss Me Goodbye, also featured in The Diving Bell And The Butterfly, is a great slice of Mazzy Star/The Velvet Underground:



Their Sing is also quite a good song.



Seigner also starred in Death In Vegas' racy Hands Around My Throat video.

Stephin Merritt - One April Day...

It's late and I haven't had much of a chance to post here lately as it's been a busy week/weekend (ace new glam/punk club night launch last night for Suffragette City in the basement of Cakey Muto. The ultimate combination really - bar and cake shop upstairs/dancing downstairs. And Cakey's vegan coconut and lime cake is absolutely amazing!)

Anyway, I'm going to bed now but I was just reminded of this wonderfully beautiful song that Stephin Merritt did for the Pieces Of April soundtrack.