Rockets Burst From The Streetlamps - The Cartographer...

I've been meaning to put this up for a while, finally got to it today.  Have a free download of The Cartographer by Rockets Burst From The Streetlamps, our great lost Pop single.





There's also a less distorted version available on the Know Your Enemy: Friends Of The Archenemy Record Company compilation as we could never agree on a final mix.

December 1996. I run into my friend Erin Carey who takes me to a holiday party at The Umpteens' (featuring Don Lennon) house in Allston, MA.  There I meet Keith Uram who I'm thrilled to discover is as into BritPop as I (a rare thing in Boston back then).  The following summer, Erin takes me to The Model (a beloved Allston bar) on a Monday night, where I meet Craig Uram (Keith's twin brother) and Rick Webb.  The new Spiritualized album (Ladies And Gentlemen We Are Floating In Space) is due to be released the next day but of course we all already had it.  And thus began lifelong friendships.  Later that autumn my sister drops me off at Lupo's in Providence, RI to catch Spiritualized on tour.  I'm on my own but I run into Rick again who invites me to sit with them.  I meet Annie Smidt for the first time.

I'm vaguely aware they have a band.  It had been a while since I'd played in a band.  I was thinking of getting back into it.  Turns out Craig & Keith are living across the street from my sister Jaime and I (Royce Road, Allston) that year, and I'd often see them out walking their dog.  Occasionally I'd ask about their band.  The next summer, after I've graduated from Boston University, I ask again and Craig tells me that they're actually looking for a bass player.  "I can play bass," I tell him.  And soon I'm invited to audition. Only thing is I didn't own a bass when I stated this.  So with some of my graduation money, I headed down to the Guitar Center and bought a beautiful inexpensive Mexican Fender Precision Bass.  A bass I still have and love today.  We rehearsed a few times and then I was off to backpack around Europe for a month and a half (I remember I decided not to take a Walkman with me.  Ever since I could remember, whenever I'd go on vacation, I'd bring a bag stuffed full of tapes.  From the age of 15, I tried to limit it to 40.  But even this was difficult - you never knew what you would want to listen to at any given time.  So I thought of it as an experiment.  What would it be like going without your own personal music for a month and a half?  To be fair, I would be living out of a backpack for all that time so there wasn't much room.  Up until the last minute I toyed with the idea of making just 5 really great mix tapes.  But no, I decided to go without, deluding myself that this would free up my ears to soak up the music of the cities I found myself in.  Needless to say, it was one of THE WORST ideas I've ever had, and the aftereffects lasted months.  I remember going to visit my friend Sia in Paris and when we got to her dorm, being filled with such delight, like a long thirst being quenched, as I sat down at her boombox with her selection of tapes - The Wannadies, The Pixies' Doolittle...)

So yeah, I get back from Europe and we play a gig days later.  Very quickly we started writing songs, coming out of jamming, almost always coming from a bassline I came up with at rehearsal (I'm a guitarist most of all, but I do love playing bass.  Of course a lot of it then ends up sounding like Peter Hook ; )  The first song we wrote together was called Parks & Gardens, which I just listened back to last night and thought it was brilliant.  You can see the Nick Cave influence, who we were all obsessed with at the time, mixed with our love of indierock.  It's available on the Odds & Ends EP which is the bonus disc of our Departed album (if anyone's interested, I'd be happy to send you the mp3s, and I'm sure Rick would send you a cd if there's any left).

Our second song sprang from a bassline I had.  The way I was playing it at the time, it really reminded me of The Sea & Cake.  When I heard what Annie did with it, I was really pleased and surprised.  I had not expected it to turn out so poppy (this happens with almost everything I do ; )  It was a lot different from the rest of the songs and the rest of the stuff we were continuing to write.  In the winter of 1999, when I was becoming a partner in The Archenemy Record Company, we decided to release it, coupled with All The Same (an old song of Rick's, again that didn't quite fit with the others), as a 7".  Sean Drinkwater recorded it at his house, the first time he and I were to work together.  I had a lot of fun making the guitar noises on All The Same.  A video Rick made for it:



It's strange thinking back to the beginning of it all.  It was a really great time (the making of the album, whilst a lot of fun in places, is quite a different story, with us all sneaking into the studio independently to put down things we'd hope the others wouldn't catch.  But a story for another time).  We'd rehearse 3 or 4 times a week, in a loft spaced they rented with a bunch of people.  But a lot of that was sitting around drinking wine and talking about music, film, and literature.  I learned about a lot of cool stuff.  I still feel indebted to Craig for introducing me to The Divine Comedy and Opal's Early Recordings.  

Andrea Davis (Minnie Riperton) - You Gave Me Soul...

Jess from The Hall Of Mirrors mentioned Minnie Riperton in our interview and I'm very thankful that she did!  I'll write more on Minnie later but right now I'm OBSESSED with this early b-side (to the ace Lonely Girl) she did as Andrea Davis.  This song is Amazing - Joyous & Glorious!!!  Just when you think it can't get any better, the next section comes along to do just that, and as they cycle back into each other it's a huge wave of Pure Ecstasy.  "Give it to me, Don't stop!"  Yes YES!

The Hall Of Mirrors - Love Child...

It was seeing an amazing gig with The Hall Of Mirrors that inspired me to finally start this blog in the first place.  And here's an interview I did with them recently.  Love Child is absolutely gorgeous and you can still download it for free here.  If you're in London, come check them out on March 11th!  I'm really looking forward to it.

Favourite Album Of Each Year Since 1970...

‎1970 – Captain Beefheart & The Magic Band – Lick My Decals Off, Baby
1971 – David Bowie – Hunky Dory
1972 – David Bowie – The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders From Mars
1973 – Funkadelic – Cosmic Slop
1974 – Brian Eno – Here Come The Warm Jets
1975 – Parliament – Mothership Connection
1976 – AC/DC – High Voltage
1977 – David Bowie – Low
1978 – Public Image Ltd. – First Issue
1979 – Joy Division – Unknown Pleasures
1980 – The Damned – The Black Album
1981 – Van Halen – Fair Warning
1982 – Duran Duran – Rio
1983 – Van Halen – 1984
1984 – Echo & The Bunnymen – Ocean Rain
1985 – The Jesus & Mary Chain – Psychocandy
1986 – Van Halen – 5150
1987 – The Jesus & Mary Chain – Darklands
1988 – Siouxsie & The Banshees – Peepshow
1989 – The Stone Roses – The Stone Roses
1990 – Depeche Mode – Violator
1991 – Red Hot Chili Peppers – BloodSugarSexMagik
1992 – The Jesus & Mary Chain – Honey’s Dead
1993 – Smashing Pumpkins – Siamese Dream
1994 – Guided By Voices – Bee Thousand
1995 – Pulp – Different Class
1996 – The Afghan Whigs – Black Love
1997 – The Elevator Drops – People Mover
1998 – Saint Etienne – Good Humor
1999 – David Devant & His Spirit Wife – Shiney On The Inside
2000 – Fosca – On Earth To Make The Numbers Up
2001 – Panamaformat – Das Hättest Du Früher Haben Können
2002 – Club 8 – Spring Came, Rain Fell
2003 – The Real Tuesday Weld – I, Lucifer
2004 – The Divine Comedy – Absent Friends
2005 – Saint Etienne – Tales From Turnpike House
2006 – Mr Solo – All Will Be Revealed
2007 – The Real Tuesday Weld – The London Book Of The Dead
2008 – The Indelicates – American Demo
2009 – Mr Solo – Wonders Never Cease
2010 – The Indelicates – Songs For Swinging Lovers
2011 – Jah Wobble & Julie Campbell – Psychic Life


I found this INCREDIBLY DIFFICULT.  In fact, it took me almost 2 weeks to complete, having to search out, aside from the available lists, other albums I'm fond of from each year.  It killed me to have to choose some over others for a definitive "favourite album of the year".  This was apparent even from 1971.  Do I really like Hunky Dory better than Maggot Brain?


I found 1987 particularly hard, having to choose between Mad, Bad & Dangerous To Know, Hysteria, You're Living All Over Me, and Earth Sun Moon.  Then I remembered Darklands!  In 1989 there was Auotomatic, Technique, and The Stone Roses.  3 of my favourite albums!!! 


1991 as well - Green Mind, The Real Ramona, God Fodder, Loveless, Nevermind.  1992's runners-up were Doppelganger, Laser Guided Melodies, Slanted & Enchanted, and Henry's Dream. 1993 had So Tough, Songs of Faith & Devotion, Suede, Modern Life Is Rubbish, Laid, Gentlemen, and Very.


1994 was almost impossible choosing between Bee Thousand and Dog Man Star.  Plus there were Tiger Bay, Promenade, Parklife, Let Love In, and Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain. 


How about you?

David Lee Roth's videos...

I showed these to Soph last night and she commented, "This explains a lot about how you became the way you are".  I love these songs and I love these videos.  They were SO EXCITING when they came out.  And I don't think anyone's ever made videos this great before.  A very bizarre world, that's all David Lee Roth.  I can't think of anything else they have to do with or relate to so it must be all that man's unique vision.

First up, Van Halen's Hot For Teacher.  Which I think is the greatest video ever made.  Such a killer song too.  Eddie once called it "a boogie beyond anything" which pretty much nails it.  The drumming and guitarwork is still incredibly impressive.




Then Dave's first two solo videos, before we knew he'd left VH.  I had that Dave TV shirt when I was 10 : )

California Girls:




Just A Gigolo/I Ain't Got Nobody:




Yankee Rose.  The video that made me want to start playing guitar.  When I saw it in July 1986 I thought Steve Vai making his guitar "talk" was the coolest thing ever.




Going Crazy:

Saint Etienne - Departure Lounge

A great synthpop song from Saint Etienne's Valentine's Day 97 EP.

Panamaformat...

In the autumn of 2003, when I was living in London for the very first time, I went over to Frankfurt to play at an Apricot Records clubnight en route to meeting up with an old friend in Amsterdam.  The Apricot night was fantastic, I really enjoyed myself.  I shared the bill with Holger from Panamaformat.  I was VERY impressed with his songs, it was just him on a nylon string guitar (the album is quite orchestral).  It was great hanging out with him and the Apricot gents as well.  Holger told me that the name Panamaformat came from himself and the other member of the band, Marek, each saying the first word that came into their head and then combining them.  Johannes very kindly gave me the Panamaformat cd (along with some of their other releases, which was ace), Das Hättest Du Früher Haben Können.  I highly recommend you seek it out, a magnificent pop album.  From the bio on the Apricot site:

With each song, they refined: frenchy melodies and playful German lyrics (very Holger), British taste and Italian elegance (very Marek), Preussian pride and Swedish ingenuity (very Jean) ... assembling bits and pieces together in a `song-bricolage´ - until the first album was completed with a pretty nonchalant care that is so typical for each of them.


I remember my friends Liisa and Rick coming to visit me shortly after I got back.  I put it on in the morning and so impressed was Liisa, she bought it later that afternoon at the Rough Trade shop on Talbot Road.  It is a shame I can't find Milchkaffee anywhere on the internet for it is in every respect a perfect pop song, one I really love.  But here are the songs on YouTube.  Incredibly good stuff.

Bourbon Stranger:



Phantasie:




Retrospektiv: