Groovie Ghoulies

"It's in the trees, it's coming..."

Castle FiL, 30 Oct 2006

Ah, it's the night before Halloween, and round Castle FiL we are all set for tomorrows tricks and treats. The front garden and walkway has been festooned with webs, the bushes are a-crawling with arachnids, a disembodied wraith head leers from a skeletal tree, and what the children affectionately call the "devil zombie" is leaning over the garden wall in anticipation of snaring a juicy Hansel or Gretel in search of candy. And inside the castle, Family FiL are sharpening their cutlasses and polishing their jackboots as they prepare to mercilessly roam the neighbourhood en masse in search of plunder and a head or two to hang from the mizzenmast...

On top of all this macabre merriment, Dearest Tim has decided to release this week's Contrast Podcast a day early! Hooray! The theme for the thirty-first episode is "Music To Watch Ghouls By," suggested by myself to mark the season. But what has me all in a tizz is that through the magic of modern technology, Tim & I actually did the intro together! And if you listen very carefully, Dear Friends, you will hear my Dearest, Darling Wife provide a cameo appearance. It was fortunate that she is suffering from a cold - it added much to the performance.

The 'cast itself is a true grimoire of ghastly tunes, so do huddle behind the safety of your sofa and prepare to listen all a-tremble. You can download the podcast through this direct link to Hell or subscribe to this atrocity and future podcasts using this RSS feed:
http://feeds.feedburner.com/ContrastPodcast.

Be afraid, be very afraid...

(00:00) The Crewnecks - Rockin’ Zombie
FiL from Pogoagogo

(04:22) The Pogues - Worms
Lyle from Mentok the Mindtaker

(05:20) Frank Black - Theme from One Step Beyond
Brian from The Rant

(08:15) The Misfits - Last caress
Simon from You can call me Betty

(10:47) The Coral - Skeleton Key
Jim from Sessions of Breakfast

(14:07) Klaxons - Atlantis to Interzone
Kip from Hip to be square

(19:08) Moimir Papalescu & the Nihilists - 5 long knives
ZB from So the wind won’t blow it all away

(23:05) Death in Vegas - Aisha
Tim from FunFunFun

(29:59) Voltaire - Brains!
Bethanne from CTASLS

(35:52) The Ramones - Pet Cemetary
Alex (who doesn’t have a website!)

(40:03) Guillemots - She’s evil
Marcy from Lost in your inbox

(43:55) Tenhi - Salain
Marcos from Mindboosternoori

(49:01) Hole - Berry (Live)
Fraser from BKLYN Song of the Day

(52:18) Bert Convy - The monster’s hop
Ross from Just Gimme Indie Rock

(55:00) The Movielife - Scary
Andy from Circles of Concrete

(58:32) The Gorgonites - Holloween
Spoodles from Robot hand is the future

This week I had great difficulty in selecting a tune, as I have many fiendish tracks in my crypt. Truth be told, I was surprised not to see more (any?) gothic offerings amongst the contributions. Perhaps it was too obvious a (flat) field to plow? Ah, might as well throw a couple into the also-ran list...

Ministry - Every Day Is Halloween (buy here)
Siouxsie & The Banshees - Peek-a-Boo (buy here)
Mortiis - Parasite God (buy here)
Alien Sex Fiend - Now I'm Feeling Zombiefied (buy here)
Bauhaus - In the Flat Field (buy here or e-here)
Christian Death - Spiritual Cramp (buy here)
Cradle of Filth - From the Cradle to Enslave (buy here or e-here)
The Mummies - You Must Fight to Live on the Planet of the Apes(buy here)
Jack & Jim - The Midnight Monster's Hop (buy here )
The Cramps - Goo Goo Muck (buy here)

For next week's theme, Tim has gone all contemplatve and set the themes as "When?" So dig around for song titles with that interrogative in the title or artist name, and follow these easy directions to participate.

And so, Dear Friends, I hope this marks the start of my clawback towards a semblance of regular posting. After, of course, we raid the neighbourhood. Avast, me hearties! Arrrrr!!!

Please Stand By

Oh me, oh my, we are experiencing technical difficulties. Well, truth be told, it's EZarchive's fault. Completely and entirely. They are upgrading to a new system and have changed the way files are handled and presented, and have been somewhat opaque in communicating the shift. You know the old axiom "If you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all?" Well, I can't and therefore I won't.

Please bear with me - I'll be sorting out the most recent links as soon as possible. In the meantime...

Video: Spandau Ballet - Communication

In Memoriam

Dearest Mother-In-Law & Dearest Wife

Dear Friends, apologies for the hiatus - there has been so much going on. You see, yesterday we held a memorial service for my Dearest Mother-In-Law, Veronica. Truth be told, I had not intended to post about it, as I had already shared with you her passing and her burial. But in the end I could not let it go unmarked.

Veronica was a wonderful woman, as you may have probably already deduced from my previous posts. But I am not alone in thinking so; some 150 people came along to Saturday's service to remember and share how she touched those she knew and who knew her. The words of the ten or so who eulogized her spun some common skeins:

Her dedication to ensuring that children with special learning needs got the help and support they needed, whatever the prevailing political winds.

Her uncanny ability to make everyone with whom she came into contact feel like they were her best friend.

Her hospitality and nurturing, as symbolized by her incessant pie and breadmaking.

Her beautiful way of offering advice and counsel bereft of judgement.

Her wickedly earthy streak.

And finally, how missed she is, even though her presence is still felt.

I still miss her terribly.

Archie Fisher - Ettrick (buy here)

Nice Song, Shame About The Band

The world's first music video??

Hooray! It's Tuesday! Contrast Podcast day! This week's theme (suggested synchronously by Amy from Shake Your Fist and Matt from Earfarm) was a bit of a tricky one: "A Song I Like By A Band I Don't." And so, Dear Friends, we've got ourselves a whole mess of love and hate as contributors try to sort out their feelings...

As usual, the podcast can be downloaded via this link, or else you can get your computer to do the dirty each week and automatically download the latest episode using the following RSS code: http://feeds.feedburner.com/ContrastPodcast .

Let us plunge into a morass of conflicted likes & dislikes...

(00:00) Paul McCartney - Momma Miss America
Tim from The Face of Today

(04:50) The Smashing Pumpkins - Cherub Rock
Matt from Earfarm

(10:23) The Decemberists - O’Valencia!
Natalie from Mini-Obs

(14:48) Larrikin Love - Downing Street Kindling
Ross from Just Gimme Indie Rock

(17:27) Panic! At The Disco - I write sins, not tragedies
Bethanne from CTASLS

(21:06) Bob Dylan - Subterranean homesick blues
FiL from Pogoagogo

(24:16) Unknown Artist - Audio Track 01
Fraser from BKLYN Song of the Day

(31:58) Sum 41 - We’re all to blame
Rachel from Untitled

(35:43) Creed - Roadhouse Blues
Andy from Circles of Concrete

(41:15) Deep Blue Something - Breakfast at Tiffany’s
Tom from Other People’s Toys

(46:05) Chumbawamba - Tubthumping
Lyle from Mentok the Mindtaker

(50:23) The Smithereens - She’s got a way
Jim from Quick Before it Melts

(54:33) Simple Minds - Destiny
ZB from So the wind won’t blow it all away

(58:42) Jenny Lewis - Born secular
Marcy from Lost in your inbox

Bob Dylan was my hands-down choice this week - the man really gets on my nerves, apart from that one song which sets me bouncing every time. I once had an hour to kill at Frankfurt airport and did so at an ersatz American diner with a jukebox on which I discovered said tune. So I pumped the machine full of my remaining marks and got five or six plays of the tune, much to the dismay of my travelling companions who cared not a whit that Johnny was in the basement, mixing up the medecine.

However, a few other tunes were briefly considered. Indeed, it was a useful exercise; when they popped up from my subconscious I really had to ask myself: "And how on earth, Dear FiL, can you say that you actually like this abomination??" So here are the three tunes that also vied for the title:

Journey - Don't Stop Believing (buy here if you must)
Yes, Journey stand for just about everything I can't stomach about MOR arena rawk: mullets, twiddly guitars, lowest-common-denominator subject matter, power ballad histrionics. But something about this tune makes me hold my lighter aloft with conviction. I must admit it's partly mockery (especially when it comes to that widdly guitar!), but a tiny bit of me appreciates both how the song chugs along and the fact that I can just about squeal the line "A smell of wine and cheap perfume" in tune with Steve Perry.

Barry Manilow - Copacabana (If you're desperate, buy here)
Oh God, I find Manilow unspeakable. Whenever I hear his oeuvre I feel awash in a sea of schmaltz and mawk - how horrid! But if LaRonda Beautay, my drag queen alter ego, ever makes the transition from the stage in my imagination to one in gorgeous reality, this is the song she'll sing.

Idlewild - American English (buy here)
Y'know, I tried several times to like Idlewild. Really, I did. But I just could never get excited by them. Even seeing them live (opening for The Hives, wouldja believe??) didn't do it for me; it all just seemed so boring and nicey-nice. But "American English" does manage to tug on my soulstrings enough to create that achy, yearning feeling. And that's a good thing.

In keeping with the season, next week's theme is all Halloweeny: "Music To Watch Ghouls By." So dust off your 50s horror beach party surf tunes and your grimly gothic dirges, Dearest Fiends, and hasten over here to find out how you can participate.

Caught By The Fuzz

Dear Friends, what shame has befallen our family! We are now outlaws, doomed to live the rest of our days with the Mark of Cain upon our foreheads...

Let me explain. The other day Dearest Father-In-Law set off in his motorcar. He turned right out of his street onto a divided highway (that's a dual carriageway for those of you in the UK and Ireland), proceeded west to the next intersection, then did a u-turn to head east on the other side of the median strip.

Alas, this was an illegal maneuver, and there happened to be a mountie, clad in a red serge tunic and stetson, sitting ramrod straight on his steed at the side of the road. After a brief galloping pursuit, during which Dearest Father-In-Law threw handfuls of oats and carrots out the window in an attempt to distract the horse, the mountie overtook the motorcar and forced it to stop. He then towed it to the nearest frontier post, where Dearest Father-In-Law is currently languishing in gaol.

And that's exactly how it happened.*

*Well, almost. Apart from the fact that the mountie was really dressed in a thorougly modern duty uniform and drove a patrol car. And that there was no pursuit; Dearest Father-In-Law pulled over in an orderly fashion. And he's not in prison, but his wallet is somewhat lighter due to the hefty fine. Otherwise, it was just like I said it was...

Judas Priest - Breaking The Law (buy here)
The Clash - Police On My Back (buy here)
Junior Murvin - Police and Thieves (buy here)
Supergrass - Caught By The Fuzz (buy here)
Johnny Cash - Folsom Prison Blues (live at San Quentin) (buy here)

Forests & Trees

A walk in Pacific Spirit Park, 1 Oct 2006

Oh dear, oh my. I had hoped things were going to downshift this week, but we still seem to be speeeeding along in top gear. Out the windows I can see blurs of foliage and streaks of sun whipping by, but we're moving way to fast to sort out this trees and forest malarkey. And at the moment, the brakes don't seem to be working too well...

Hasil Adkins - Things Are Movin' Way Too Fast (buy here or e-here)

Don't get me wrong, I am largely enjoying the trip. It's just that I'd like to pull off to the side, get out into the woodlands, breathe it all in, and mindfully reflect. But probably that won't happen for another fortnight or so. I'm just hoping we don't run out of petrol en route.

Q-Tip - Breathe and Stop (buy here)

Dearest Friends, I do want to share a serendipitous Myspace music find with you. Indeed, methinks this'll find its way onto the Pigmobile stere-ere-ereo as we roar along for the next couple of weeks. I quite literally tripped over Jimi Hunt's page, and the sole track that belted out just about carjacked me. It's a fuzzy, robodrum-backed, Francophone stormer entitled "Sois Belle Mais Ne Chante Pas" (roughly translated: "Be Gorgeous But Don't Sing"). There seems to precious little information around about Jimi, but I gather he's a one-man noisenik based in Montreal (man, there seems to be a lot of righteous sound coming out of there). Further information would be most appreciated...

Jimi Hunt - Sois Belle Mais Ne Chante Pas (no idea what or where you can buy!!)

I do promise to tell you all about My Big Fat Greek Wedding, hopefully on the weekend. Please be patient with me...

2006 Third Quarter Report

Oh goody, it's Tuesday! And that means another edition of Contrast Podcast. This week's episode is an update of those tracks contributors feel represent the best of 2006 so far. As ever, the offerings are eclectic and excellent. So tune in, and perhaps you'll learn a thing or three...

As usual, you can either download your weekly dose of heaven via the direct link or you can get your computer to do the dirty work itself by subscribing to this and future podcasts using this RSS feed: http://feeds.feedburner.com/ContrastPodcast.

So this is what's setting bums on fire in Contrast Podcastland:

(00:27) The Motorettes - We are solution
FiL from Pogoagogo

(04:23) Teddybears Stockholm - Hey Boy
Short Attention Span Radio

(08:39) The Majestic Twelve - Condoleezza, Check my Posse
Chris from Culture Bully

(12:54) Alif Tree - Belle
Rachel from Untitled

(16:53) Archie Bronson Outfit - Dart for my sweetheart
Bob from Gimme Tinnitus

(21:56) Sondre Lerche - (I wanna) call it love
Andy from Circles of Concrete

(25:42) Brazilian Girls - All about us
Marcy from Lost in your inbox

(30:12) Annuals - Bleary Eyed
Matt from Still Kisses With Saliva

(33:19) Jonathan Coulton - Not about you
Tom from Other People’s Toys

(36:03) Grace Potter & The Nocturnals - Toothbrush & my table
Natalie from Mini-Obs

(40:58) The Damnwells - Shiny bruise
Chip from Donewaiting.com

(46:36) The Young Knives - Mystic energy
Ross from Just Gimme Indie Rock

(49:54) Husky Rescue - Diamonds in the sky
Fraser from BKLYN Song of the Day

(54:28) Gil Mantera’s Party Dream - Elmo’s wish
Bethanne from CTASLS

(58:44) M Ward - To go home
Simon from You Can Call Me Betty

(01:03:26) The Society Islands - The mill
Jim from Quick Before it Melts

(01:08:48) Other Desert Cities - On time
ZB from So the wind won’t blow it all away

I actually find it incredibly hard to pick a "best of" list of any sort, but musical ones I find particularly tough. Maybe it's because I feel guilty about making any tracks I omit feel bad. Sigh, too sensitive by far am I... Anyway, The Motorettes tune I submitted has had me bopping gleefully for some time, so I thought it worthiest of inclusion.

As for the other ones born in 2006 that nearly made the grade, gosh, I don't know, so many. Camera Obscura was way up there, but I thought a) they've already received plenty of attention, thank you very much, and b) I couldn't in good conscience post any more of the latest album's tracks than I already have. Oh, but you are expecting me to post at least a couple of the also-rans, aren't you? Sigh, the weight of public opinion. Anyway, here goes:

The Rapture - Whoo! Alright, Yeah ... Uh Huh (buy here)
They are fantastic live - honest! "Dreaming of fat, happy babies kicking ladies in the metro..."

Harvee - Magical Mind (buy here)
Yes, these Montreallers have really grown on me. Like a very nice mushroom.

Pony Up - Possible Harm (buy here)
More Canadiana-U-Like. "This is me without charm..."

Sex Pistols - Lots Of Fun (aka Pretty Vacant) (buy here)
Yes, the legendary "Spunk" bootleg was finally released this year, much to my pogoing delight.

Next week's theme is a poser: "a song I like by a band I don't." Hmm, this could be embarrassing, but I'm sure you're all up to it. How to participate? The amazing Tim Young spells it all out for you right here.

The Majesty Songbird Sings Out West

Sufjan Stevens, 14 October 2006

St Andrew's Wesley Church, Vancouver

Photo by Carlos Hernandez

Dearest Friends, you'll recall that my Greek commitment (about which more another day) forced me to give up my tickets to see Sufjan perform in Vancouver. Well, I'm very pleased to say that Dear Heidi, to whom the tickets went, was kind enough to provide a lovely write-up of the show. And so, without any further ado, let me turn the proceedings over to her, with my thanks:

*********************************************************************************

FiL, I am sorry you had to miss this show so I could enjoy it, but thank you very much for the tickets. It was a wonderful break on a rainy night.

I deliberately avoided reading anything about the show so I could be completely surprised. In addition, neither I nor my friend had attended a show at the St. Andrews-Wesley Church before, so we were excited to take in the acoustics and the overall aesthetics of the space. Really, the only low point was waiting in line until just past 8 p.m. for the doors to open (tickets said 7 p.m.) but open pews were available upstairs and once settled, I looked out over both the large crowd and the converted stage filled with music stands and My Brightest Diamond in the midst of their set. As the start was missed due to the line, the highlights are limited but I particularly enjoyed an intense performance of “Workhorse” and fantastic covers of Nina Simone’s “Feelin’ Good” (featuring a lovely trombone) and—for Sufjan—“Dido’s Lament” (Purcell.) I’ve only ever heard one other cover of this aria, and I was blown away by Shara’s vocal control—wow!

Once Sufjan hit the stage, I noted that that the band for both MBD and Sufjan were essentially identical—around 2 hours + of music between the two acts. We counted 15 people onstage, and the instrumentation consisted of three brass, a cello, violins/viola(?), harmonium(?) and percussion, piano, guitars, bass and banjo. The band was very tight and . . . . “wall of sound” is the only phrase I can think of to describe the effect. Neither of us had any particular setlist expectations aside from the wish for some back catalogue numbers; we both came away very happy. I think I heard a saw during the intro (The Vivian Girls Are Visited In the Night . . .), and that put a big grin on my face for the duration of the performance. I didn’t bother taking notes on the entire set, I was too caught up in watching the “bird and butterflies” interactions and enjoying the music; but, if I had to pick some highlights:

• Both of Sufjan’s stories, but particularly using National Geographic images in home decorating
• “All the Trees of the Field Will Clap Their Hands,” “He Woke Me Up Again”—the orchestration on these two songs was just fantastic; I’m still savoring “All the Trees of the Field . . . .” in my head a day later.
• “The Predatory Wasp Of The Palisades Is Out To Get Us!” (with story)
• “Jacksonville”
• A new song “Majesty, Snowbird”—“extraordinary song for ordinary bird”
• “That Was the Worst Christmas Ever!” (to get us in the holiday mood)
• Encore of “That Dress Looks good on You”

Again, thank you FiL; thanks to Hilary for joining me and of course thank you to the "Majesty Songbird," the "Magical Butterfly Brigade" & My Brightest Diamond for a night of beautiful music.

Sufjan Stevens - The Predatory Wasp Of The Palisades Is Out To Get Us!

(buy here or e-here)

Hang The DJ

Picture at The Illustrated Smiths

You know, things have been rather fast and frantic down at FiL Acres of late. I shan't bore you with the minutiae, but suffice to say I'm still chewing vigorously all of the work and family delicacies I've bitten off.

Looming largest on the horizon is this Big Fat Greek Wedding we're going to on Saturday. You see, I agreed to DJ the thing and while I am looking forward to it, I'm also rather petrified. First, the guests range from aged Hellenic widows to young(ish) hipsters, and the musical menu is accordingly wide. I've ben asked to provide everything from cheezee cocktail muzak to indie cred with ballroom standards, crooning crooners, hip-hop, mullet rawk, and 80s classix inbetween. So I'm madly preparing setlists - five hours worth. Gulp...

Second, I'm DJing off my laptop, which is untried technology for me; I cut my teeth some 20 years ago (zounds!) on wheels of steel plus slabs of vinyl, and only actually used CDs once during my last gig at Darling Daughter's nursery's summer pool party back in 2004. So I'm praying to the technology gods.

Third, I'm convinced that if it all goes wrong I'll be on the receiving end of a Greek community vendetta. So I'm having visions of being pelted with kalamata olives and threatened by little old ladies in black dresses wielding legs of lamb...

With all that's going on, I am going to be rather scarce in blogland until next week, when hopefully things will loosen up and I'll be able to get back to some much missed ruminating and reflecting. In the meantime, here are a few tracks from Saturday's playlist:

Nana Mouskouri - Never On A Sunday(buy here )
Dean Martin - Volare (buy here )
Modern English - I Melt With You (buy here)
Cansei de Ser Sexy - Let's Make Love And Listen To Death From Above (buy here )

Come On, Get Happy!!

O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay! This week's Contrast Podcast is out today and the fact that a miserable server conspired to delay its arrival by one day is far, FAR outweighed by the fact that the theme for this episode is "Happy, Happy, Joy, Joy!!" So get your earholes, your heart, and your soul ready for the musical equivalent of sunshine, chocolate, and frolicking puppies.

EDIT: In my rush to post, I neglected to mention that a large chunk of my happiness was generated by the fact that our very own Dearest Friends Mentok and mjrc contributed to the podcast for the very first time! Yaaaaaay!!

You have three options for getting in on the joy: you can listen to the podcast stream by clicking the relevant link on the CP website. you can download the podcast using this direct link or you can subscribe to to this and podcasts to come using this handy-dandy RSS feed:
http://feeds.feedburner.com/ContrastPodcast.

Come on, get happy:

(00:00) Screamin’ Lederhosen - Dog pound hop
Tim from The Face of Today

(02:23) Ivor Cutler - I’m happy
Ross from Just Gimme Indie Rock

(03:08) They Might Be Giants - New York City
Matt from Earfarm

(06:42) Bo Diddley - We’re gonna get married
Michael from The Yank Sizzler Podcast

(09:31) Raymond Scott - The toy trumpet
Victor Scott

(12:50) Thee Headcoatees - Shadow
Bob from Gimme Tinnitus

(16:00) Mohobub - Bileche
ZB from So the wind won’t blow it all away

(19:45) The Magnetic Fields - The luckiest guy on the lower east side
FiL from Pogoagogo

(24:12) The Pipettes - Your kisses are wasted on me
Natalie from Mini-Obs

(26:44) The Eurythmics - Right by your side
Lyle from Mentok the Mind-Taker

(31:36) The Dandy Warhols - Bohemian like you
Marcy from Lost in your inbox

(35:15) Dexy’s Midnight Runners - Come on Eileen
Taylor from Music for kids who can’t read good

(40:08) Grandmaster Flash - White Lines
Simon from You Can Call Me Betty

(48:08) Race for titles - The distance session
Bethanne from CTASLS

(52:00) Hampster Dance - Even hamsters fall in love
Cindy from Adzuki Bean Stash

(56:26) Björk - Cvalda
Tom from Other People’s Toys

(01:01:25) Bettye Lavette - Joy
Charlie from Nerdlitter

(01:05:26) Ben Folds Five - Raindrops keep falling on my head
Andy from Circles of Concrete

It's all good stuff, and I'm already smiling at the thought of listening to it. For my submission I chose to go with a fairly low-key song that gradually pumps your heart full of joy, rather than with a track that smacks you square in the face with the Halibut of Happiness. But there were a fair few other tracks I considered before settling on the marvellous Magnetic Fields. And so, in the name of Happy, I present to you a clutch of songs that get my body and spirit as bouncy and joyful as a bucketful of the aforementioned frolicking puppies:

Rosemary Clooney - Get Happy (buy here or e-here)
Buzzcocks - Everybody's Happy Nowadays (buy here)
Asobi Seksu - I'm Happy But You Don't Like Me (buy here or e-here)
Pixies - Debaser (buy here)
Polyphonic Spree - Light & Day/Follow The Sun (buy here)

A Quiet Night In

Our Gina, 6/10/06

Goodness, is it Friday already? The time, where has it all gone?? Answers, I want answers!!

Dearest Friends, it has been something of a hectic, fluxy week. Deadlines at work, commitments outside of work, busy busy busy weekend ahead, trying to chew all that we have bitten off.

On balance, the week, it went well. A few wobbly bits, but only minor tremors. At least methinks they're minor. We'll keep the seismograph on, just in case.

Anyway, upon returning home from work this afternoon, I espied our Dearest Gina the Dawg, lying most comfortably and serenely on the sofa, head on paws.

And I decided to have a quiet night in. With others around, but by myself. Perhaps selfish, but if Gina can do it...

The Stooges - I Wanna Be Your Dog (buy here )

Calexico - Alone Again Or (buy here or e-here)

Drugstore - Solitary Party Groover (buy here )

If you check out only one song, make it the Drugstore track. It's lovely and low-key and all awash in fuzzy guitar.

Mixing Pop and Politics

Billy Bragg, Tell Us The Truth Tour, 2003

www.billybragg.co.uk

How does the old saying go? "One should never discuss sex, religion, or politics in polite company." Well, either Tim was being very brave, or the folks who contributes to this week's Contrast Podcast do not constitute polite company. You see, Dear Friends, this time round the theme is politics (yes, I know, you were all hoping it was sex and feared it was religion). And what a faaabulous mix it is! I confess I've yet to listen to it (a treat that awaits me after work), but I'm looking forward to a lively debate of music and viewpoints.

As always, you can either download the podcast using this direct link or subscribe to it and future episodes via this RSS feed: http://feeds.feedburner.com/ContrastPodcast.

And so here is this week's manifesto:

(00:00) Ian Dury - Spasticus Autisticus
Deek Deekster from Pod of Funk

(05:44) Chris T-T - The Huntsman Came a Marchin’
Ross from Just Gimme Indie Rock

(09:21) The Fun Boy Three - The Lunatics (have taken over the asylum)
ZB from So the wind won’t blow it all away

(12:43) Against Me! - Baby I’m an Anarchist
Bethanne from CTASLS

(15:48) Tricky - Black Steel
Simon from You Can Call Me Betty

(21:55) Old Crow Medicine Show - Big Time in the Jungle
Murf from False45th

(25:28) Atari Teenage Riot - Deutschland Must Die
Cindy from Adzuki Bean Stash

(28:47) Billy Bragg - Waiting for the Great Leap Forwards
FiL from Pogoagogo

(34:10) Company Flow - Patriotism
Charlie from Nerdlitter

(40:04) Phil Ochs - Love Me I’m a Liberal
Charles from Heartache with Hard Work

(44:55) VIM - Maggie’s Last Party
SAS Radio

(50:33) Bonnie Raitt - The World is Not Your Toy
Dan from Burning Down the House

(54:33) Bruce Cockburn - If I had a rocket launcher
Natalie from Mini-Obs

(01:00:09) Fugazi - Reclamation
Justin from Aquarium Drunkard

(01:03:44) Ted Leo & The Pharmacists - Suspect Device
Bob from Gimme Tinnitus

(01:06:52) The Jam - Going Underground (Live)
Chad from Everybody Cares, Everybody Understands

(01:10:44) Dan Beahm & the Invisible Three - Kandahar
Dan of Dan Beahm & the Invisible Three (myspace)

In an attempt to compensate for all this heavyosity, next week's theme is "Happy Happy Joy Joy." So all you shiny, happy people out there rummage around in your glad bags for smiley tunes to submit (along with your peppy intros) to tim.young@rhul.ac.uk.

As I mention in the intro to my selection, Billy Bragg was really my one and only choice for this podcast. Dearest Friends, it may well surprise the vast majority of you, but when I first became politically aware circa 1980 I was something of a rightist. Indeed, I was a member of the Reaganyouth.

There, I said it, I've confessed.

Looking back over twenty-five years later, I believe many of my early views were formed by environmental factors. I grew up in a very conservative household and I pretty much lapped it up. As I ventured into my teens, I started to feel that my political coat didn't fit quite right. When I first heard the twang of Billy's guitar and his impassioned lyrics, it electrified me into realizing I had to change my wardrobe. By the time I was old enough to vote, I was clad in liberal garments, much to the vehement dismay of my parents and largely thanks to Comrade Bragg. Moreover, his folorn songs of unrequited love, new love, lost love, and betrayed love struck a chord within my own young heart.

These days, though I still have a pronounced lean to the left, I find myself focusing less on ideology and more on respect and compassion. And Billy? Well, though still a confirmed leftie, he has shed much of his constricting Marxist garb. "I don't really care about where you're from or what your background is," he recently said, "I care about how my kid is going to get along with your kid." What hasn't changed is his passion, which still invigorates me to this day.

So, herewith are some of the also-ran political tracks, along with a couple of his songs 'o the heart.

Billy Bragg - Love Gets Dangerous (buy here or e-here)
Billy Bragg - Days Like These (buy here or e-here)
Billy Bragg - Help Save The Youth Of America (buy here or e-here)

Billy Bragg - Valentine's Day Is Over (buy here or e-here)
Billy Bragg & The Red Stars - Accident Waiting To Happen (buy here or e-here)

Billy Bragg - Bush War Blues (free dowload from here)

And as an extra special treat, here's a track from his first band, the raw & raggedy Riff Raff. "Romford Girls" is most definitely neither political, nor politically correct. But it does have stonking punk/pub rock riffs, crackling energy, and those distinctive Braggian vocals. Enjoy!

Riff Raff - Romford Girls (buy exclusively here)

New Life

Baby Tom

I'm a big softie, really. Yes, despite my prediliction for rammy music (many thanks to Dearest mjrc for adding that word to my lexicon), I'm a sentimental fool. I cry during movies - I'm talking brimming eyes, mind you, not big, bawly sobs. But still, most unmanly behaviour. What turns on my tap? John Merrick lying down to sleep in The Elephant Man; Rutger Hauer's dying speech in Blade Runner; the love story between Ralph/Bernadette and Bob the mechanic in Priscilla, Queen of the Desert; the final exchange between Joel and Clementine in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind; Dumbo's separation from his mother in, well, Dumbo. You see, I'm a big girl's blouse.

I'm particularly sentimental when it comes to newborns. It probably has a tremendous amount to do with the memories and emotional afterimages of the unbounded, exhilarating joy that coursed through me at the precise moments my own two children were born. To me there is nothing as wondrous and deserving of celebration than a new life. So you can imagine how thrilled and misty-eyed I was at the news that Dearest S, one of our closest friends from England, gave birth just about a week ago to wee Baby Tom. Apparently the birth went smoothly and was about as au naturel as one could expect. And I'm happy to deploy the cliche that mother and baby are doing just fine.

Baby Tom has landed himself in a most wonderful, loving family that includes Daddy A, Big Brother F, Older Sisters E & S, a vivacious Maternal Gramdmother, and a Maternal Grandfather who is both the very model of a modern Major General (Ret.) and a keen Rolling Stones fan. Tom arrived at his family down a long, convoluted, and at times bumpy road of the heart. But arrive he did, and we are all so happy that he has.

Baby Tom's birthdate bodes well for his future musical taste, as he shares it with the incomparable Leonard Cohen, Oasis bad boy Liam Gallagher, and Motörhead drummer Phil "Philthy Animal" Taylor. Oh, yeah! And so to get him started with a suitable soundtrack:

Motörhead - Ace of Spades (buy here)
Oasis - Supersonic (buy here)
Leonard Cohen - First We Take Manhattan (buy here)

And for Maternal Grandfather:

Rolling Stones - Get Off Of My Cloud (buy here)

Just The Ticket(s)!

Photo courtesy of Treemeat

Dear Friends, for the price of admission today you get a whole funfair full of wonderful music. So roll up, and prepare yourself for a post full of exhilarating and cheap thrills!

First up, congratulations are due to Heidi, who, thanks to the random finger of fate and a strategically scheduled Greek wedding, is the winner of the "Buy My Sufjan Tix At Cost" contest. She also came up with a rather nifty song title that made me giggle: "Come On! In the Year of the Dog, Let's All Boogey to Workhorses Sufjan and Shara (The Pick-Up line)." If ever Mr Stevens's titular well should run dry, I'm certain Heidi would come running to the rescue with full pails. Heidi, I hope you'll enjoy boogieing to the workhorses. To everyone else who participated, a big thank you (and my commiserations).

I had been feeling somewhat bereft, since putting the Sufjan tickets up for grabs had left me with no upcoming gigs to which I could look forward. Yes, my concertscape was arid and barren. But today I got myself down to Zulu Records and sorted that all out by getting tickets to see The Detroit Cobras on 16 October. Oh yeah, I'm looking forward to a night of dirty garage blues. To be honest, it's lo-fi, hi-octane opening band The King Khan & BBQ Show that I'm really keen to see; I missed their last Vancouver shows, which by all accounts were outta control scorchers, and I'm therefore hoping to make full-on amends.

BBQ - Justify (buy here or e-here)
One half of the KK&BBQ Show, BBQ is the current nom de rawk of Mark Sultan, a fine purveyor of rough-n-ready, gritty, rockapunkabilly R&B.

The Detroit Cobras - Shout Bama Lama (buy here or e-here)
They've been called "just a cover band" by certain uncharitables, but the stuff they cover (The Oblivians?!?!!) is, as the kids would say, da shizz, and they do it with garagey aplomb!


Moving along, it's Tuesday and therefore you would be safe in presuming that it's Contrast Podcast day. This week Dearest Tim has given us all a lovely present to celebrate Contrast's six-month birthday: a podcast consisting entirely of musicians introducing their own creations. How wonderful! Much more delish than jelly, ice cream, and cake, and waay more fun than pin-the-tail or pass-the-parcel. This is definitely a fantastic carnival of sound that you must must must visit! Do so by downloading the podcast using this direct link or subscribe using the RSS feed: http://feeds.feedburner.com/ContrastPodcast.

Oh heck, let me unwrap this gift for you - here's the playlist

(00:50) Mancino - Hetchie Hutchie Foochie
Mancino on myspace

(04:44) Earwig - Used Kids
Earwig on myspace

(08:59) Hong Kong Cinema - Good Thing
Hong Kong Cinema on myspace

(12:34) Das Mobius - Ligeia (CP Edit)
Das Mobius website

(17:00) Marianne Dissard - L’Embellie
Marianne Dissard on myspace

(20:39) The Harvey Girls - Screech Beatle
The Harvey Girls on myspace

(25:17) Gabriela Kulka - An Orange
Gabriela Kulka on myspace

(28:24) Country Cliff - Chimbley Wind
Country Cliff on myspace

(34:50) Gypsophile - Marthe
Gypsophile on myspace

(38:42) Desert Waltz - You My Sister
Desert Waltz website

(43:19) Goes Cube - Goes Cube Song 34
Goes Cube on myspace

(48:36) Saturna - Pop Rocks
Saturna on myspace

(53:20) Naïm Amor - Son Grand Sourire
Naïm Amor on myspace

(58:07) Victor Scott - Mareel (exclusive recording)
Victor Scott on myspace

Next week's theme is songs with a political bent, so exercise yer democratic rights and submit an appropriate song with spoken intro to tim.young@rhul.ac.uk.

And both finally and gratuitously, for some reason my empeethree player seems to be full of eighties synthpop at the moment. Don't diss it, Dearest Friends - at it's best it's powerfully evocative, emotive stuff! Here, have a listen:

Depeche Mode - Dreaming of Me (buy here)
Siouxie & the Banshees - Dazzle (buy here)
Berlin - The Metro (buy here)

P.S. The lovely Natsthename also had an 80s moment a few days back right over here - and she podcasted it as well!! Hurrah!

So there you have it, Dearest Friends, a day at the funfair. I hope you feel you got your money's worth.

Godzilla vs Chilliwack vs The Squealing Pigmobile

Well, Dear Friends, my presentation was duly delivered on Thursday and I live to tell the tale. I was rather petrified to start with - I always am, even though I've had a fair amount of experience doing these sort of things. However, I neither crashed, nor burned, nor was forced to resort to the Parrot Sketch (though I did stick a Dr Evil picture up on one PowerPoint slide). The audience seemed to appreciate my talk, though I always find it hard to judge these matters. As far as I can tell, no-one nodded off, and a few came up afterwards to complement me. Best of all, I was the first speaker, so after my ordeal I was at liberty to enjoy the rest of the conference, free of fret.

I say "enjoy," but truth be told the subject matter didn't lend itself much to that. The two days were replete with words and phrases like "stochastic," "transfer pricing," "yield curve," "hard landing," and "risk-adjusted return on economic capital." Dry stuff indeed. What I did enjoy, however, was the schmoozing. I always enjoy the opportunity at these things to meet new folks, and most of the attendees were rather friendly. Indeed, they had converged on Vancouver from all over the province of British Columbia, and some I found hard to believe were in the banking business. At dinner on Thursday I sat next to one chap who looked and sounded like he should be out sawing logs rather than sorting out finances. In fact, I couldn't help but wonder whether, clad in jeans and a plaid shirt, he was an ex-member of BC's premier soft power rock gods, Chilliwack (Watch the video! Gasp in awe!! Admire the mullets!!!). Actually, everyone I met was refreshingly down-to-earth and I learned scads about my adopted province. Did you know the downtown of Smithers in Bulkley Valley is done up in an alpine theme to honour the Swiss immigrants who settled in this mountainous region during the early 1900s? Neither did I.

The conference was held at a downtown Vancouver business hotel, identical to the many others of its ilk I stayed in around he world when I worked in London (a lifetime ago in my mind, a mere eighteen months ago in real time). Same floorplan, same bed, same TV, same everything. Comfortable, well appointed, homogenized. Whenever I stayed in one I would always open the curtains and press myself against the glass, scanning the cityscape to remind myself where I was. Sometimes, even when faced with the Eiffel Tower or the Acropolis, I would need to remind myself it was real, and not something projected onto a huge screen.

This time, however, I didn't need to look out the window. I was rushing to unpack in time to make an evening reception and opened a drawer to put away my clothes. There, nestled next to the ubiquitous Gideon's Bible, was an orange-jacketed book entitled "The Teachings of Buddha," placed there courtesy of the Society for the Promotion of Buddhism. Only in Vancouver, I thought to myself.

The Pogues - If I Should Fall From Grace With God (buy here)
Shane's last real coherent outing with the group. Dedicated here to Mentok on the occasion of the nifty relaunch of his multifaceted blog.

While making my way back to my room after Thursday's session, I saw several score Asian men wearing military uniforms. I couldn't readily discern their provenance, though the fact that some had patches relating to American aircraft meant that they were unlikely to be Chinese. I got into the lift and was joined by about a dozen of them. After listening to their banter, I still could not determine their nationality, but my curiosity had been piqued. So after sprucing myself up I went back down to the lobby to sort out a logistical matter with the concierge. I asked him if he knew who all the soldiers were, and he told me that they were Japanese Self Defence Force troops enjoying a bit of rest & relaxation after a training exercise across the border in Yakima, Washington. I fear childhood memories of Saturday afternoons watching old Toho Studios monster movies came flooding back, and I had visions of the soldiers sweeping across the training fields of Fort Lewis towards a roaring, rubbery Godzilla...



Mikabomb - Contact Tokyo (buy here)
"Better change your underpants / 'cause you might need an ambulance." Howzat for an opening line from this London-based, trashy glam buzzsaw garage band fronted by the lovely Mika Handa.?? They suffered a bit of a setback lost year when drummer Ergi lost his legs due to complications from septicaemia, but Mikabomb are on the way back - promise!!

Finally tonight, an update on my skid in the Squealing Pigmobile. You may recall from previous posts that this vehicle is actually my Dearest Father-In-Law's second car, which he graciously allows me to use when Dearest Wife has dibs on our own car (which is most of the time). Anyway, I got a call from him at work on Wednesday afternoon after Dearest Wife had relayed to him my little adventure. "I should have told you," he said, "it does that." Apparently Pigmobile is rear-wheel drive and front-heavy, which makes it prone to swishing its tail in the wet, especially when pushed. Of course this made me real confident about driving the brute later on that evening in torrential rain to the hotel downtown. But as you can see, I made it there and back, though I did drive like a petrified granny. Since then Dearest Pa-In-Law has fitted the Pigmobile with four spiffy, hi-tech, Finnish tyres that should, no matter what the conditions, glue it to the tarmac and keep its arse on the straight & narrow. Still, I'm taking my skid's lessons to heart and will henceforth continue to drive more like a granny.

Catatonia - Road Rage (buy here)
Ah, Cerys Matthews, how your voice moves me. I'm glad to see you seem to be doing much better these days. I hope the solo tour goes well.

Of Clapping and Crashing

My Hovercraft Is Full Of Eels

Right, this week I think I have it sorted: Contrast Podcast 25 came out today, and here it is, fresh and ripe for your delectation. The theme is "Handclapping" and Tim has assembled a grand podcast comprised of the happy clappy songs submitted by this week's contributors.

The 'cast can be downloaded from this link or you can subscribe using tye handy-dandy RSS feed: http://feeds.feedburner.com/ContrastPodcast. Be sure to check out next week's offering - it's CP's six-month birthday, and Tim has a surprise for us all...

And without further ado, this episode's playlist [APPLAUSE]:

(00:00) The Ventures - Let’s Go
Tim from the face of today

(02:55) They Might Be Giants - Clap your hands
Clea and Tuesday from (sm)all ages

(04:35) Imperial Teen - Baby
Matt from Earfarm

(08:15) The Residents - Smack your lips (clap your teeth)
ZB from So the wind won’t blow it all away

(12:33) The Meters - The handclapping song
Andy from Circles of Concrete

(15:48) Super XX Man - Coulee city
Murf from False45th

(20:45) Tilly and the Wall - Fell down the stairs
SAS Radio

(23:34) Mary Timony - I fire myself
Victoria from Muruch

(26:45) The Afghan Whigs - Debonair
Bethanne from CTASLS

(31:28) Hood - The negatives
Chip from Donewaiting.com

(35:20) The Replacements - Alex Chilton
Natalie from Mini-Obs

(38:54) OK Go - You’re so damn hot
Heather from I am fuel, you are friends

(42:03) The Auteurs - Bailed Out
Jamie from The Run Out Groove

(46:20) Eskiimo - Patience
Jamie from Squirrelfood.net

(50:20) Boat - Holding all the globes
Rachel from Untitled

(52:17) Ndidi Onukwulu - May be the last time, I don’t know
FiL from Pogoagogo

Before I give you my also-rans (come now, I know you expect them and would be put out were I to omit them), allow me to plug my choice of artist once again in print. When I pootled along to the Vanvcouver Folk Music Festival earlier this year, you may recall that top of my "Must See" list were Feist, the smartass agit-folk of Hammell on Trial and Dan Bern, and dub-punk priestess Ari Up (who sadly was a no-show). But it was the slender, elegant frame of Ndidi channeling elemental blues from somewhere deep within who was to prove my epiphany. Backed by the gitarr-pickin' Madagascar Slim (isn't that the greatest blues name ever??), she is truly magnificent. Keep an eye (and ear) on her. And here's another track that'll knock yer socks off:

Ndidi Onukwulu - Water (buy her album here or e-here)

Alright, alright, keep your shirt on (but the socks can stay off), I'm coming to the runners-up. Though Ndidi was the obvious choice, a few other songs with the clap got a look-in, viz:

Sham 69 - If The Kids Are United (buy here)
Ah, spare a thought for this working-class hero of a ditty, co-opted by Tony Blair as the entrance song for the 2005 Labour Party Conference. Does that mean Tony, Gordon, John et al think they're in with da kidz?!?? Ye gods...

The Cure - Close To Me (buy here)
I'm thinking of dressing up as Robert Smith for Halloween. That should send the neighbourhood kiddies scuttling away in fear...

Le Tigre - Deceptacon (buy here)
I actually prefer the DFA remix, but regardless, this song has some killer lyrics: "I'm a gasoline girl with a vaseline mind," "Your lyrics are dumb like a linoleum floor"

From clapping to crashing. Well, near-crashing, to be precise. You see, Dear Friends, I had a bit of a scare this morning. I had just saddled up the Squealing Pigmobile for the drive to work and was waiting to make a left turn onto a main road. I started my turn, but my underpowered porker of a steed was proving sluggish, so I squeezed down on the accelerator. However, I neglected to remark that the previous night's rain was sitting on top of tarmac polished slick by three months of summer. And so the tyres planed, the Pigmobile skidded, and everything went slo-mo.

The car's snout aimed for a line of traffic, but with a calmness I'm yet to understand I steered into the skid and avoided a collision. But in so doing I overcompensated and began to fishtail, now heading towards the sidewalk. Again I steered surprisingly cooly, the tyres gripped, and the Pigmobile resumed its intended, straight course. I then turned into a sidestreet, pulled over, and tried to reflect objectively on what went wrong as a delayed shot of adrenaline coursed through me.

Ohmigaaaahddd...!! That, Dearest Friends, was a close one. I'm glad to be here still...

The Primitives - Crash (buy here)

On crashing of another kind, day after tomorrow I'm speaking at a conference put on by my employer. While I know the material sufficiently and the audience somewhat, my dread is mounting; I have visions of getting up at the podium and going "Good Morning, my name is FiL and I'll be speaking with you about... er... um... agblapthtapt... I mean... croak... heh heh... mlxphutpthirple... koff koff... er, you folks want to see me do the Dead Parrot sketch instead??" Oh well, it'll only be 45 minutes of dog-and-pony showing. But you can bet that at 8:30 AM Pacific Time I will be sweating profusely and panicking quietly...

The Smiths - Panic (buy here)

And so, Friends, Dear Friends, and Dearest Friends, to bed. You'll probably not see much of me now before this week-end due to the conference and its associated evening social activities (don't get too excited, I doubt they will be exhilarating). Keep well, I shall miss you all.

Look What I Found While Cleaning Up!

For some time now I have been receiving a steady stream of e-mails from labels, promoters, bands, and artistes, each one extolling the myriad virtues of their latest oeuvres. However, I have been terribly remiss in going through them all - this bothersome thing called "offline life" keeps intruding. But this weekend I actually sifted through some of the backlog and listened to a whole slew of rather nifty, new music. Well, I found most of it rather nifty. To be totally honest, some of it struck me as rather pedestrian, and a clutch of it I thought was downright cringeworthy. But dwelleth we not on the pedestrian and cringeworthy - life is far too short. Instead, let me focus on a few tracks that, I'm pleased to say, stood proud from the crowd.

Despite their Quebecois roots, the francophone members of Harvee sing largely in English. Criff de tabarnouche mautadine! However, to date most of their publicity has been in French. Truth be told, methinks they deserve to be praised in each and every language spawned since that darn Tower of Babel came crashing down. Harvee spin wonderfully evocative, urgent pop perfection that soars and swoops from your speakers. As it flies around, you hear much that is familiar - angular-jangular Futureheadsian or Wedding Presentish guitar licks, some Go! Team shoutiness, a reedy 198os Casiotone synth line, harmonies worthy of The Beach Boys, and are those really the bells from The Waitresses' "Christmas Wrapping??" But put it all together and it sounds so upliftingly gorgeous and fresh that it'll make you fit to burst with joy.

Harvee - Father Was A Gambler
(EDIT: Now dedicated to Colleen cuz she's feeling glum. Cheer up, m'dear!!)

Harvee - Hiding Julia

(Buy their album, "Sink or Swim," directly from the band here)

Snowden grabbed my ears with their epic, reverby, guitar-driven sound. The funny feeling I get in my chest listening to "Anti-Anti" is akin to the ache that seizes my heart each time I hear Killing Joke's "Love Like Blood" or "Ceremony" by New Order. And the relentlessly compelling cadence evokes Gang of Four. Their lyrics leak beautiful anomie and disillusionment: "We are anti-movements, we are anti-anti / One time we believed but now we don't even try / And I can't cut a rug, without my fashion drugs / Inebriation leads revelation." Oh, this is so coldly glorious!

Snowden - Anti-Anti (Buy from the label here or virtually here)

And herewith some of those reference points I mentioned. Just so you can see whence I am coming.

Wedding Present - California (buy here)
OK, last Weddoes track for some time. Promise. I hear the Armadillos in Cali are lovely ;)
Beach Boys - Help Me Rhonda (buy here)
Killing Joke - Love Like Blood (buy here)
Gang of Four - Damaged Goods (buy here)

Oh You Hellenes, Your Scheduling Leaves Much To Be Desired!!

Dear Friends, I'm starting the week with a juicy offer. Indeed, it's a veritable blue light special...

You see, I must part with my pair of tickets to the sold-out Sufjan Stevens / My Brightest Diamond show on Saturday, 14 October at St Andrews Wesley Church in Vancouver. I'm not at all thrilled to be giving these up, but subsequent to purchasing them Dearest Wife and I were invited to a close friend's Big Fat Greek Wedding on that same night. In fact, it looks like I will be DJing the event. So the Hellenes win out over poor Sufjan - endaxi!

Now I realise I could eBay these tix, but my conscience is still guilty from the time I made an unexpected and exorbitant profit via that route from a pair Tom Waits tickets that I had to offload both at short notice and with a heavy heart. I'm therefore prepared to part with the Sufjan tickets at cost, i.e. $54 for the pair, plus the $5 processing fee I paid, plus (if necessary) postage. Those are little Canadian dollars, by the way.

If you are interested in buying the tickets, please send me an e-mail at lefilATpoboxDOTcom entitled "Sufjan Tix" and including a Sufjan-esque song title of your own making (e.g. "Hark, Vancouverites! FiL's Loss Is Your Gain!") that describes why you want them. I will pick a lucky punter at random from all valid entries, and together we will sort out payment and delivery methods. Deadline for all mails is Monday, 25 September, and please don't try to buy them off me at a higher price. I've got all that Tom Waits bad karma to try and erase!

Hurry up folks, get them while they're still going...

Sufjan Stevens - Lakes of Canada
(Live @ Judson College, IL, 19/11/03)

My Brightest Diamond - When Doves Cry (Live @ Joes Pub, 14/7/06)

Gorge yourself on Sufjan here and dine on My Brightest Diamond here

Contrast Goes To The Movies

Oh dear, I'm a bit late this week, I fear. This week's Contrast Podcast came out as usual on Tuesday, but here I am drawing your attention to it on Friday...

This week's theme was Entrance Music for a Film, where contributors proposed mood-setting pieces for films that currently play only in the cinemas of their minds. It was proposed by Dearest Colin of the recently-defunct blog "Let's Kiss And Make Up." The mix of tracks is wonderfully diverse, but then that should no longer come as a surprise.

You can download the podcast through this direct link or you can subscribe using the requisite RSS feed: http://feeds.feedburner.com/ContrastPodcast.

And here's the souindtrack:

(00:00) Helm un Heik - 20th Century Fox Fanfare

(00:23) The Cocteau Twins - Fifty-fifty clown
Colin from Let’s Kiss and Make Up

(04:24) The High Violets - Cool Green
Nikki from Indie don’t dance

(08:51) +/- - Surprise
Andy from Circles of Concrete

(12:57) Erik Scott Johnston - For Candace
Cindy from Adzuki Bean Stash

(15:32) Hope of the states - The black amnesias
Simon from You can call me Betty

(21:15) 50 Foot Wave - Bug
Bob from Gimme Tinnitus

(25:55) Yoko Kanno - The real folk blues
Tom from Other People’s Toys

(32:27) Chet Baker - Vehicle
Tim from the face of today

(35:30) The National - All the wine
Richard from Invisible Limb

(38:54) Fields of the Nephilim - Intro (harmonica man)
Chip from Donewaiting.com

(41:22) Hawks and Snakes - Her Cooling Jets
Bethanne from CTASLS

(43:40) Dead Can Dance - Frontier
FiL from Pogoagogo

(47:30) John Barry Seven - Hideaway
ZB from So the wind won’t blow it all away

(50:23) Richard Hawley - Coles Corner
Jamie from The Run Out Groove

(55:45) Bedhead - Burned Out
Merz from Mars needs guitars

Next week's theme is "Handclapping" and there's still room left, so go get yourself a song with happy, clappy handclaps in it, record a brief intro, and fire it off to tim.young@rhul.ac.uk.

There was only one other song in contention this week, namely "Fanget i Krystal" by everyone's favourite rubber-nosed Norwegian, Mortiis. The track dates from his dark ambient phase, which fell somewhere between his black metal and darkwave periods. I hear it's eerie pootling as the backing for some sort of black-and-white German expressionist film set in a snowy, spiky-treed forest inhabited by Juddermanesque creatures.

Mortiis - Fanget i Krystal (buy here)


Beware the Judderman, my dear, when the moon is fat...

It Is All Transitory

Loch Fyne, Scotland, Easter 2005

Dear Friends, it has been an odd day. And it all centers around changes. Some made me happy, others saddened me, all reminded me of the transient nature of things. I was going to make a binary list here: good news and bad news. Upon reflection I decided, however, that I really shouldn't be judging them in that way. Things happen, and the trick is to greet them when they do and reflect on what it is one is supposed to learn from them. Even the uncomfortable ones. So I'll work on that, but in the meantime, here you go:

Dearest Colin has brought down the shutters on Let's Kiss And Make Up. He's doing so for the finest of reasons: to focus on family, work, and making the offline world a better place. I understand and respect his decision, but I will miss him, his infectious enthusiasm, his dry wit, his encyclopedic and sublime taste in music, and his wonderful heart. Yes, I'll miss both him and all that something fierce. LKAMU was one of the first blogs I ever frequented, and Colin one of my first cyber-friends. Scratch that, one of the first friends I made through blogging. Because he's real, you know (as are so many of you). So Colin, I do hope to see you around, and I wish you balance and peace. And this one's for you. No tears, no mope, just straight up righteousness.

The Redskins - Keep On Keeping On (buy here)

Uncle D & S flew back to London on Monday. It was lovely jubbly to see them again after over a year, but now they're gone I can hardly believe they were here. I miss them, as do Dearest Wife, Little Man, and Darling Daughter. So, Dearest Uncle D & S, this one's for both of you. Uncle D, this should bring the smell of latex paint to your nostrils...

Supergrass - Pumping On Your Stereo (buy here)

And Dear Coxon rocks!! You see, he's landed himself a spiffy new job and though he seems a bit daunted by the challenge of the new, he also sounds pretty darn excited. However, I do think his new employ might necessitate a spot of musical realignment. So, Coxon, here's a little something to help you on your way.

Pantera - Walk (buy here)

Dearest Ash has been pouring out heart and soul most eloquently here, and you can feel the fervour and emotion burning off the screen. I've pointed y'all there only recently, but I feel obliged to do so again. So, Ash, yes, we are all in this together. And just in case the doubt ever creeps back chez toi:

Hefner - The Sweetness Lies Within (buy here)

As I moved through the day ever so slightly out-of-focus, I frequently found snippets of a particular song playing in my mind. Now let me start by saying I find the most popular outing of this song, i.e. the one mewled by Terry Jacks in 1974, mawkishly atrocious. But the version on rotation in my head today was that performed by Daniel Johnston and his band, Hyperjinx Tricycle, with off-kilter production by Kramer. It is a wonderfully askew and mournful track that taps a well of tears deep within me.

Daniel Johnston & The Hyperjinx Tricycle - Seasons In The Sun (go here and scroll waaay down)

And finally, something for all of us to live by, Dearest Friends:

The Wedding Present - You Should Always Keep In Touch With Your Friends (buy here)

P.S. Last night I poisoned neither Dearest Wife, nor myself. Indeed, the scallops were easy to cook and delish. Melt butter on high heat in a heavy frying pan, then fry for two minutes on each side. Then eat and go into rapture.

Today Is A Birthday

Today is Dearest Wife's actual birthday. So at great risk to us both (though also at her request), I will be cooking dinner tonight. As my culinary skills are quite rudimentary, I'm opting for the tried-and-true approach of good ingredients prepared simply. On the menu: pan-fried scallops with wilted spinach and papaya salsa. Only problem is I've never cooked scallops before. Gosh, I hope I don't f**k it up and poison us both...

On that upbeat note, Happy Birthday, Dearest Wife! I'll try my best...

The Sugarcubes - Birthday (Icelandic version) (buy here)
King Khan & BBQ Show - Fish Fight (buy here)