tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-118191042024-03-12T23:25:18.618+00:00Domino RallyJohnny Domino is a band from the UK that uses this page to foist their musical tastes on the general populace and to engage in cliquey musical one-upmanship amongst themselves...stevedominohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08598042606017502408noreply@blogger.comBlogger208125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11819104.post-42945990706720428942015-06-05T14:17:00.001+01:002015-06-05T14:21:29.067+01:00spotify playlistHere's a more or less complete playlist of the songs we posted - if
it's not on here, it's hopefully represented by a YouTube clip on the
original post.<br />
<br />
Only the first 200 songs available by this embed but here's the link to <a href="https://open.spotify.com/user/stevedomino/playlist/14Leh2sK4uuv0DhqQtdrIE">337 songs, nearly 22 hours of music. </a><br />
<br />
<iframe allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0" height="380" src="https://embed.spotify.com/?uri=spotify%3Auser%3Astevedomino%3Aplaylist%3A14Leh2sK4uuv0DhqQtdrIE" width="300"></iframe><br />stevedominohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08598042606017502408noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11819104.post-4883167511990209752015-06-04T13:16:00.001+01:002015-06-05T14:17:51.358+01:00domino rally: 402-471Over 10 years after starting this blog...<br />
<br />
Nearly 9 years since <a href="http://johnnydomino.com/"><b>Johnny Domino</b></a> played their final gig...<br />
<br />
6 years after I removed all the posts after receiving a <a href="http://dominorally.blogspot.co.uk/p/blog-page.html">(fake?) Cease & Desist notice</a>...<br />
<br />
And two years after I decided to put everything back online, replacing MP3 files with Spotify embeds (where available) and YouTube clips...<br />
<br />
Here is the list of the final songs that were posted to <b>Domino Rally</b>!<br />
<br />
402) <a href="http://dominorally.blogspot.co.uk/2007/07/a-frog-who-dreamed-of-being-king.html">Killdozer - New Pants and Shirt</a><br />
403) <a href="http://dominorally.blogspot.co.uk/2007/07/a-frog-who-dreamed-of-being-king.html">Killdozer - I Am I Said</a><br />
404) <a href="http://dominorally.blogspot.co.uk/2007/08/cant-go-back-to-savoury.html">John Shuttleworth - I Can't Go Back To Savoury Now</a><br />
405) <a href="http://dominorally.blogspot.co.uk/2007/09/vase-watch-x-ray.html">Violent Femmes - Add It Up</a><br />
406) <a href="http://dominorally.blogspot.co.uk/2007/09/vase-watch-x-ray.html">Velvet Underground - Foggy Notion</a><br />
407) <a href="http://dominorally.blogspot.co.uk/2007/09/vase-watch-x-ray.html">DJ Vadim - Till Suns In Your Eye (feat Motion Man)</a><br />
408) <a href="http://dominorally.blogspot.co.uk/2007/09/vase-watch-x-ray.html">Hank Williams - I Saw The Light</a><br />
409) <a href="http://dominorally.blogspot.co.uk/2007/09/vase-watch-x-ray.html">Hank Williams with "Little" Jimmie Dickens - The Old Country Church</a><br />
410) <a href="http://dominorally.blogspot.co.uk/2007/09/vase-watch-x-ray.html">M. Ward - Vincent O'Brien</a><br />
411) <a href="http://dominorally.blogspot.co.uk/2007/10/pandemonium.html">Def Jef - Droppin' Rhymes on Drums</a><br />
412) <a href="http://dominorally.blogspot.co.uk/2007/10/pandemonium.html">Def Jef - God Made Me Funky</a><br />
413) <a href="http://dominorally.blogspot.co.uk/2007/10/pandemonium.html">The Pharcyde - Pandemonium</a><br />
414) <a href="http://dominorally.blogspot.co.uk/2007/11/got-my-lucky-harpoon.html">Clubhouse - Do It Again / Billie Jean</a><br />
415) <a href="http://dominorally.blogspot.co.uk/2007/11/got-my-lucky-harpoon.html">DJ Shadow - Six Days (Soulwax Mix)</a><br />
416) <a href="http://dominorally.blogspot.co.uk/2007/12/yoyo-zebra.html">Boney M - Heart of Gold</a><br />
417) <a href="http://dominorally.blogspot.co.uk/2007/12/yoyo-zebra.html">John Zorn/Naked City - Hammerhead</a><br />
418) <a href="http://dominorally.blogspot.co.uk/2007/12/yoyo-zebra.html">John Zorn/Naked City - You Will Be Shot</a><br />
419) <a href="http://dominorally.blogspot.co.uk/2007/12/yoyo-zebra.html">John Zorn/Naked City - Punk China Dol</a>l<br />
420) <a href="http://dominorally.blogspot.co.uk/2007/12/yoyo-zebra.html">John Zorn/Naked City - Reanimator</a><br />
421) <a href="http://dominorally.blogspot.co.uk/2007/12/yoyo-zebra.html">John Zorn/Masada - Tzofeh</a><br />
422) <a href="http://dominorally.blogspot.co.uk/2008/01/theres-more-of-us-than-them.html">Goodtimes Goodtimes - Sea Shanty</a><br />
423) <a href="http://dominorally.blogspot.co.uk/2008/01/live-in-trouble.html">The Barron Knights - Live in Trouble Part 1</a><br />
424) <a href="http://dominorally.blogspot.co.uk/2008/01/live-in-trouble.html">The Barron Knights - Live in Trouble Part 2</a><br />
425) <a href="http://dominorally.blogspot.co.uk/2008/02/trouble-man-repost.html">Marvin Gaye - Time To Get It Together</a><br />
426) <a href="http://dominorally.blogspot.co.uk/2008/03/as-far-as-novelty-records-go-acts-like.html">Kenny Everett - Snot Rap</a><br />
427) <a href="http://dominorally.blogspot.co.uk/2008/03/as-far-as-novelty-records-go-acts-like.html">Young Steve and The Afternoon Boys - I'm Alright</a><br />
428) <a href="http://dominorally.blogspot.co.uk/2008/03/as-far-as-novelty-records-go-acts-like.html">Damien and The Social Workers - Damien</a><br />
429) <a href="http://dominorally.blogspot.co.uk/2008/04/old-tige.html">Half Man Half Biscuit - Old Tige</a><br />
430) <a href="http://dominorally.blogspot.co.uk/2008/04/old-tige.html">Jim Reeves - Old Tige</a><br />
431) <a href="http://dominorally.blogspot.co.uk/2008/04/i-feel-sorry-for-elephants.html">Cliff Richard and The Young Ones - Living Doll</a><br />
432) <a href="http://dominorally.blogspot.co.uk/2008/04/i-feel-sorry-for-elephants.html">The Young Ones - (All The Little Flowers Are) Happy</a><br />
433) <a href="http://dominorally.blogspot.co.uk/2008/05/gary-shandling.html">Butthole Surfers - The Colored F.B.I. Guy</a><br />
434) <a href="http://dominorally.blogspot.co.uk/2008/05/gary-shandling.html">Butthole Surfers - Revolution Part 1 / Revolution Part 2</a><br />
435) <a href="http://dominorally.blogspot.co.uk/2008/05/gary-shandling.html">Jimmy Dorito - Reachin' for a Reason</a><br />
436) <a href="http://dominorally.blogspot.co.uk/2008/06/with-apologies-for-extended-period-of.html">Bar-Kays - Knucklehead</a><br />
437) <a href="http://dominorally.blogspot.co.uk/2008/06/yah-dude.html">The Stupids - Virgin Bombshell Fucker / It's Fun To You</a><br />
438) <a href="http://dominorally.blogspot.co.uk/2008/07/drop-me-in-for-badda-das.html">Bad News - Excalibur</a><br />
439) <a href="http://dominorally.blogspot.co.uk/2008/07/drop-me-in-for-badda-das.html">Bad News - Warriors Of Genghis Khan</a><br />
440) <a href="http://dominorally.blogspot.co.uk/2008/07/drop-me-in-for-badda-das.html">Bad News - Hey Mr Bassma</a>n<br />
441) <a href="http://dominorally.blogspot.co.uk/2008/07/illness-as-art.html">Camper Van Beethoven - The Day That Lassie Went To The Moon</a><br />
442) <a href="http://dominorally.blogspot.co.uk/2008/07/illness-as-art.html">Camper Van Beethoven - Opie Rides Again/Club Med Sucks</a><br />
443) <a href="http://dominorally.blogspot.co.uk/2008/07/illness-as-art.html">The Feelies - It's Only Life</a><br />
444) <a href="http://dominorally.blogspot.co.uk/2008/08/lets-go-fishing-for-question.html">Kramer - I'm Your Fan</a><br />
445) <a href="http://dominorally.blogspot.co.uk/2008/08/new-standards.html">The Bad Plus - Live at the Jazz Cafe London, June 2008 (plus interview)</a><br />
446) <a href="http://dominorally.blogspot.co.uk/2008/08/new-standards.html">The Bad Plus - Tom Sawyer </a><br />
447) <a href="http://dominorally.blogspot.co.uk/2008/09/operation-grand-slam.html">Pussy Galore - Dick Johnson</a><br />
448) <a href="http://dominorally.blogspot.co.uk/2008/09/operation-grand-slam.html">Pussy Galore - NYC: 1999</a><br />
449) <a href="http://dominorally.blogspot.co.uk/2008/10/tears-of-clown.html">The Divine Comedy - Love What You Do</a><br />
450) <a href="http://dominorally.blogspot.co.uk/2008/10/tears-of-clown.html">The Divine Comedy - Eye Of The Needle</a><br />
451) <a href="http://dominorally.blogspot.co.uk/2008/10/i-dont-fancy-yours-much.html">The Dead Milkmen - Punk Rock Girl</a><br />
452) <a href="http://dominorally.blogspot.co.uk/2008/10/i-dont-fancy-yours-much.html">The Dead Milkmen - Smokin' Banana Peels</a><br />
453) <a href="http://dominorally.blogspot.co.uk/2008/10/i-dont-fancy-yours-much.html">The Dead Milkmen - The Guitar Song</a><br />
454) <a href="http://dominorally.blogspot.co.uk/2008/10/happiness-is-egg-shaped.html">Eggs - A Pit With Spikes</a><br />
455) <a href="http://dominorally.blogspot.co.uk/2008/10/halloween-spooks.html">Lambert, Hendricks & Ross - Halloween Spooks</a><br />
456) <a href="http://dominorally.blogspot.co.uk/2008/10/halloween-spooks.html">Messer Chups - Fantomasofobia</a><br />
457) <a href="http://dominorally.blogspot.co.uk/2009/01/cream-puffs-and-bourbon.html">Ween - Your Party</a> <br />
458) <a href="http://dominorally.blogspot.co.uk/2009/01/latest-news-from-planet-jazz.html">The Bad Plus with Wendy Lewis - Lithium</a><br />
459) <a href="http://dominorally.blogspot.co.uk/2009/01/latest-news-from-planet-jazz.html">The Bad Plus - Variations d'Apollon</a><br />
460) <a href="http://dominorally.blogspot.co.uk/2009/03/the-spangle-makers.html">Cocteau Twins - Lorelei</a><br />
461) <a href="http://dominorally.blogspot.co.uk/2009/03/the-spangle-makers.html">Cocteau Twins - Orange Appled</a><br />
462) <a href="http://dominorally.blogspot.co.uk/2009/03/the-spangle-makers.html">Cocteau Twins - Cico Buff</a><br />
463) <a href="http://dominorally.blogspot.co.uk/2009/11/the-end-of-era.html">The Free Pop Experimental Concept - Planetary Gospel</a><br />
464) <a href="http://dominorally.blogspot.co.uk/2009/11/the-end-of-era.html">Free Design - Don't Cry Baby</a><br />
465) <a href="http://dominorally.blogspot.co.uk/2009/11/the-end-of-era.html">Free Design - Bubbles</a><br />
466) <a href="http://dominorally.blogspot.co.uk/2009/04/dummies-guide-to-miming.html">Amen Corner - Bend Me, Shape Me</a><br />
467) <a href="http://dominorally.blogspot.co.uk/2009/04/get-your-ya-yas-out.html">Golden Smog - A Long Time Ago</a><br />
468) <a href="http://dominorally.blogspot.co.uk/2009/04/get-your-ya-yas-out.html">Wilco - The High Heat</a> <br />
469) <a href="http://dominorally.blogspot.co.uk/2009/05/bad-boys-of-indie-pop.html">Golden Dawn - George Hamilton's Dead</a><br />
470) <a href="http://dominorally.blogspot.co.uk/2009/05/bad-boys-of-indie-pop.html">Golden Dawn - My Secret World</a><br />
471) <a href="http://dominorally.blogspot.co.uk/2009/07/butt-metal.html">Steel Panther - Death To All But Metal</a>stevedominohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08598042606017502408noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11819104.post-3319625597287713632009-07-26T09:10:00.000+01:002013-10-02T14:07:37.597+01:00shutting up shopThat's yer lot - cheers.stevedominohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08598042606017502408noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11819104.post-40362537645112942772009-07-05T15:38:00.000+01:002015-05-08T14:14:50.035+01:00butt metal<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Fe95dBt8uXA/VUyzgiJqFyI/AAAAAAAAAu0/CERzfQ4UPZs/s1600/steel-panther.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="188" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Fe95dBt8uXA/VUyzgiJqFyI/AAAAAAAAAu0/CERzfQ4UPZs/s320/steel-panther.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
Something a little different here, something which proves that bad language is often at it's funniest when it's bleeped out.<br /><br />The first time I was aware of the comedic possibilities of the radio edit was when Wu Tang Clan's <span id="yui_3_16_0_1_1431088271755_19529" style="font-style: italic;">Gravel Pit</span>
was released as a single - the version that was played on UK radio used
all manner of bizarre sound-effects (horns, fart noises, bells and
various clangs) to cover up the Wu's effing and jeffing. It was
brilliant.<br /><br />I first came across this nutso Heavy Metal parody
whilst flicking through the music channels one morning. It's the sheer
variety of the noises used that makes it for me - backwards masking, car
horns, comedy claxons, inappropriate squeals of guitar and lyrics,
panthers growling, to name but a few.<br /><br />And it gets worse as it
goes on, becoming more or less incomprehensible by the time of the third
verse. I recorded this off the TV - I didn't know you could buy it, but
it's on the <a href="http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewAlbum?id=319536638&s=143444" id="yui_3_16_0_1_1431088271755_19544" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">iTunes</a> version of the EP, along with *ahem* <span style="font-style: italic;">I Want Your Tits</span>.<br /><br /><b>Steel Panther - Death to All but Metal (clean video version)</b><br />
<br />
<iframe allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0" height="380" src="https://embed.spotify.com/?uri=<strong>spotify:track:505CMYmosk6KxFQLofwOz4</strong>" width="300"></iframe><br /><br />When
you eventually hear the uncensored version, it's pretty disappointing
to find that what's being covered up is lots of lame talk about balls
and the sucking thereof. Ho hum.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.steelpantherrocks.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Visit</a> - Steel Panther<br /><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steel_Panther" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Visit</a> - Steel Panther (wiki)<br /><a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Feel-Steel-Panther/dp/B0029F1R2E/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1246803808&sr=8-1" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Buy</a> - Feel the Steel
stevedominohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08598042606017502408noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11819104.post-7218231069099818232009-05-07T17:36:00.000+01:002015-05-08T14:08:51.705+01:00bad boys of indie-pop<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-R_mNV3cR9CE/VUy0kt6GOlI/AAAAAAAAAvI/jDVJgPcYtM8/s1600/golden-dawn.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="160" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-R_mNV3cR9CE/VUy0kt6GOlI/AAAAAAAAAvI/jDVJgPcYtM8/s320/golden-dawn.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
How odd - I've just realised that Domino Rally is, with this post, 201 posts old - not too shabby, I reckon.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.emusic.com/" id="yui_3_16_0_1_1431088271755_5475" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">eMusic</a>
keeps on sending me offers and I keep signing up for another month. And
then I download really odd things that I thought I'd never hear again.
Case in point:<br /><br /><b>Golden Dawn - George Hamilton's Dead</b><br />
<br />
<iframe allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0" height="380" src="https://embed.spotify.com/?uri=spotify:track:34Nq6h5Zaoii0s7aD223FP" width="300"></iframe><br /><br />Yet
another track from a tape by the Archdeacon of Pop. Archie was WELL
into his Sarah records stuff when we were playing together in a noisy
proto-grunge outfit. We used to rehearse at full volume in his bedroom
(while his folks watched the telly across the hall). When we had a
break, Arch would break out the biscuits and orange squash (phew! rock
'n' roll, eh?) and play us selections from his massive record
collection.<br /><br />I would sometime come out in a twee-allergic rash but I've always remembered this odd little band and their (and I quote), "<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Golden_Dawn_%28Scottish_band%29" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">awesomely ragged, feedback-riddled singles</a>".<br /><br />I
like the fact that they got dropped when Sarah didn't like the tracks
they put forward for their third single - too noisy? too sloppy and
unprofessional?<br /><br />The real pain is that eMusic didn't have the
other side of this single which was a cracker; if memory serves it was
called something like <span style="font-style: italic;">Honey, Let's Build a Dysonsphere</span>. They did have their first single, however.<br /><br /><b>Golden Dawn - My Secret World</b><br />
<br />
<iframe allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0" height="380" src="https://embed.spotify.com/?uri=<strong>spotify:track:3ck4WvGeSmnA2QhJ7Y8DSU</strong>" width="300"></iframe><br /><br /><a href="http://www.myspace.com/thespirophonegoldendawn" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Visit</a> - Golden Dawn MySpace (*no music*)<br /><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Golden_Dawn_%28Scottish_band%29" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Visit</a> - Golden Dawn wiki<br /><a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Air-Balloon-Road/dp/B001KQXBA4/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=dmusic&qid=1241713588&sr=8-2" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Buy</a> - Sarah Records <span style="font-style: italic;">Air Balloon Road</span> compilation (CD)<br /><a href="http://www.emusic.com/album/Golden-Dawn-Air-Balloon-Road-MP3-Download/11320979.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Buy</a> - Sarah Records <span style="font-style: italic;">Air Balloon Road</span> compilation (download)
<br />
<br />stevedominohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08598042606017502408noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11819104.post-51371879824938145912009-04-28T08:20:00.000+01:002015-05-08T14:04:41.117+01:00get your ya-ya's out<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WQPiT7Bnxds/VUyzg0BEebI/AAAAAAAAAu4/Lbf2-VPj4SA/s1600/jeff-tweedy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="160" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WQPiT7Bnxds/VUyzg0BEebI/AAAAAAAAAu4/Lbf2-VPj4SA/s320/jeff-tweedy.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
Watching the brief section of the <span class="yiv0028276434blsp-spelling-error" id="yiv0028276434SPELLING_ERROR_0" style="font-weight: bold;">Wilco</span> tour film <span style="font-style: italic;">Ashes of American Flags</span> shown on UK TV the other night raised some interesting questions.<br />
<ol id="yui_3_16_0_1_1431088271755_5329">
<li>How drunk do you have to get in order to throw your <span class="yiv0028276434blsp-spelling-corrected" id="yiv0028276434SPELLING_ERROR_1">underwear</span>
at Jeff Tweedy? Don't get me wrong, Mr Tweedy has written and
co-written many of my favourite songs of the last almost two decades and
he has a beautiful cracked voice. But <span style="font-style: italic;">seriously</span>.</li>
<li id="yui_3_16_0_1_1431088271755_5331">Why can't all gigs be by <span class="yiv0028276434blsp-spelling-error" id="yiv0028276434SPELLING_ERROR_2">Wilco</span>?</li>
</ol>
They're
a fantastic live band, one of of only a handful that I've seen more
then once and what I saw of this film showed how amazingly tight they
still are. Is it a sign of age when you're impressed by the solid <span style="font-style: italic;">chops </span>a band displays rather than their unpredictable "anything-can-happen" <span class="yiv0028276434blsp-spelling-error" id="yiv0028276434SPELLING_ERROR_3">schtick</span>?<br /><br />Whatever, their albums are all great, 2007s <span style="font-style: italic;">Sky Blue Sky</span>
being my favourite. This album got quite a bit of stick at the time for
'playing safe' with its more traditional song structures and less outré
sonic experiments.<br />
<br />
But I know which of their recent releases I've
enjoyed and listened to the most. And considering the talent in the
current (and longest-serving) line-up of the band, I can't wait to hear
what they do next.<br /><br /><b>Golden Smog - A Long Time Ago</b><br />
<br />
<iframe allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0" height="380" src="https://embed.spotify.com/?uri=<strong>spotify:track:75kzl2h0kizgWt6i8iQs5Z</strong>" width="300"></iframe><br /><br />I did a big post about <span style="font-weight: bold;">Golden Smog</span> way back in the early days of Domino Rally - follow <a href="http://dominorally.blogspot.com/2005/07/altcountry-supergroup-anybody.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">this</a> link to read it.<br /><br />For the uninitiated, Golden Smog are an studio alt.country <span class="yiv0028276434blsp-spelling-corrected" id="yiv0028276434SPELLING_ERROR_5">super-group</span> that Tweedy used to be part of. This track is from the last album he was involved with, 2006s <span style="font-style: italic;">Another Fine Day</span>,
and is a really beautiful little song about the birth of a younger
sibling and the ties of family. When we were listening to this the other
Mrs Domino was quite overcome with thoughts about the birth of her
younger sister many years ago, so this is for the wife and her lovely
sis.<br /><br />Maybe I am getting emotional in my old age, but I love anything like this; <span class="yiv0028276434blsp-spelling-corrected" id="yiv0028276434SPELLING_ERROR_6">similarly</span>, any songs about "Home" can set me off easily (I think I see a themed post coming up soon).<br /><br /><b><span class="yiv0028276434blsp-spelling-error" id="yiv0028276434SPELLING_ERROR_7">Wilco</span> - The High Heat (<span id="yui_3_16_0_1_1431088271755_5337" style="font-style: italic;">A Ghost is Born </span>outtake)</b><br /><br />This is from the outrageously pretentious <span id="yui_3_16_0_1_1431088271755_5340" style="font-style: italic;"><span class="yiv0028276434blsp-spelling-error" id="yiv0028276434SPELLING_ERROR_8">Wilco</span> Book</span><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-style: italic;"> </span></span>which came out just after <span style="font-style: italic;">A Ghost is Born</span> and features essays about the <span class="yiv0028276434blsp-spelling-corrected" id="yiv0028276434SPELLING_ERROR_9">philosophy</span> of sound recording amongst other esoteric delights. Nice pictures tho', and this is a cool outtake from the <span style="font-style: italic;">AGIB</span> sessions.<br /><br />The
new Wilco album is slated to appear June 30th. They'll hopefully be
touring soon after so I'll be keeping my very best pants nice and clean
in anticipation!<br /><br /><a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/wilco/s/qid=1240743689/ref=sr_nr_i_0?ie=UTF8&rs=&keywords=wilco&rh=i%3Aaps%2Ck%3Awilco%2Ci%3Apopular" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Buy</a> - Wilco music and DVDs<br /><a href="http://wilcoworld.net/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Visit</a> - <span class="yiv0028276434blsp-spelling-error" id="yiv0028276434SPELLING_ERROR_10">Wilco</span><br /><a href="http://ashesofamericanmovie.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Visit</a> - Ashes of American Flags<span style="font-style: italic;"></span>
stevedominohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08598042606017502408noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11819104.post-11649758664432815272009-04-09T21:53:00.000+01:002015-05-08T13:56:06.876+01:00dummies guide to miming<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="300" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/kM-y1a1oeCo?rel=0" width="400"></iframe><br />
<br />
<span id="yui_3_16_0_1_1431088271755_4375" style="font-weight: bold;">Amen Corner - Bend Me, Shape Me - Top Of The Pops (1968)</span><br /><br />Riddle me this, pop pickers - how is that voice coming from that man?<br /><br />I
mean, aside from the frankly abysmal miming? Did he realise that this
was being recorded for television? Why was he dancing like a
Thunderbirds puppet?<br /><br />Great song anyway, with a cool bit of TOTP craziness at the end of the clip.<br /><br />Normal service will resume shortly.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Paradise-was-Half-Nice-Immediate/dp/B00004Z1E8/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1239310144&sr=8-1" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Buy</a> - If Paradise was Half As Nice: The Immediate Anthology<br /><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amen_Corner_%28band%29" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Visit</a> - Amen Corner (wiki)
stevedominohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08598042606017502408noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11819104.post-72696286483917572832009-03-27T22:16:00.000+00:002015-05-08T13:52:34.917+01:00the end of an era<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-lEUtjWSOfXo/VUywmAfQg9I/AAAAAAAAAuo/4tuatjboESw/s1600/selectadisc.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="160" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-lEUtjWSOfXo/VUywmAfQg9I/AAAAAAAAAuo/4tuatjboESw/s320/selectadisc.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
This month, Nottingham's <span style="font-weight: bold;">Selectadisc</span>
closes its doors after 43 years in the city. I've been going there off
and on for the best part of 23 of those years, from my late school days,
through college and into my University life - there were perfectly good
shops in Sheffield but I frequently got the train back, walked across
town and bought something before heading home for the weekend.<br />
<br />
I can't pretend that I've frequented it all that often over the last couple of years but when I heard about its closure (from <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2009/mar/13/selectadisc-nottingham-record-shop" id="yui_3_16_0_1_1431088271755_4201" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">The Guardian</a>, of all places), I couldn't resist one last rifle through its racks.<br />
<br />
It
was as saddening as a visit to any closing business can be, but the
shutting of Selectadisc struck me as the end of an era. I'll never again
be able to go into a shop and flick through the stock, read the
descriptions and recommendations, maybe hear something playing over the
speakers, and come out with a big bag of things I'd never heard of
before. I know there are online stores but you need to know what you're
looking for - the joy of a shop like Selectadisc was that you'd stumble
on things completely by chance.<br />
<br />
I decided that my last purchases would be strictly vinyl and preferably something I'd never heard of before.<br />
<br />
<b>The Free Pop Experimental Concept - Planetary Gospel</b><br />
<br />
Turns
out the "concept" is funky soul-jazz with wacky way-out space effects -
fantastic! This is from 1969, a Portuguese duo (Jess & James)
teaming up with American jazzer Scott Bradford and a Belgian mad
scientist called Arsene Souffriau. Buying music really doesn't get much
better than this.<br />
<br />
<b>Free Design - Don't Cry Baby</b><br />
<br />
<iframe allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0" height="380" src="https://embed.spotify.com/?uri=<strong>spotify:track:0xq6fbzuTYTVZl27aQmCvs</strong>" width="300"></iframe><br />
<br />
This is from <span id="yui_3_16_0_1_1431088271755_4174" style="font-style: italic;">Free Design Sing For Very Important People</span>,
which was sold to me on the slightly disturbing cover artwork and the
fact that Free Design, the renowned soft-psych vocal group, had done a
kids album - I always found their stuff pretty twisted and this album
really doesn't disappoint. Plus it includes a couple of their signature
songs (this track taken from CD for faster posting).<br />
<br />
<b>Free Design - Bubbles</b><br />
<br />
<iframe allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0" height="380" src="https://embed.spotify.com/?uri=spotify:track:4UG0HKTDGMkBXl8LmFl9yy" width="300"></iframe><br />
<br />
Yes, the staff could be a little grumpy and sneery. But it was better than nothing, which is what we've got now.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Best-Free-Design/dp/B00005N52H/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1238191479&sr=1-1" id="yui_3_16_0_1_1431088271755_4208" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Buy</a> - The Best of Free Design<br />
<a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Sing-Very-Important-Free-Design/dp/B00000J9UB/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1238191447&sr=1-5" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Buy</a> - Free Design... Sing For Very Important People (import CD)<br />
<a href="http://www.systemrecords.co.uk/thefreepopexperimentalconceptanewexcitingexperiencelp-p-954113.html?currency=USD" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Buy</a> - The Free Pop Experimental Concept from SystemRecords<br />
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Free_Design" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Visit</a> - Free Design (wiki)
<br />
<br />stevedominohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08598042606017502408noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11819104.post-21233782004934762622009-03-04T20:42:00.000+00:002015-05-08T13:45:43.694+01:00the spangle makers<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-vVXI_8URJOI/VUyujDdVRNI/AAAAAAAAAuc/dHRAssfUEV4/s1600/spangle-makers.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="155" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-vVXI_8URJOI/VUyujDdVRNI/AAAAAAAAAuc/dHRAssfUEV4/s320/spangle-makers.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
Sigur Ros? Pah! THIS is how you make the unintelligable strike a real emotional chord, my friends.<br /><br />As has been mentioned before in these pages, as a teenager I had a major Jones for most things 4AD. <span style="font-weight: bold;">Cocteau Twins</span> have been in my head for a while now - here are some of my favourite tracks by them.<br /><br /><b>Cocteau Twins - Lorelei</b> <span style="font-style: italic;">(from Treasure)</span><br />
<br />
<iframe allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0" height="380" src="https://embed.spotify.com/?uri=<strong>spotify:track:7h1LeRG4gbMaQk2emgob46</strong>" width="300"></iframe><br /><br />Yes,
the drum machine places this track firmly in the Gothic 80s, but I'd
totally forgotten how agressive and LOUD Robin Guthrie's guitar is on
this. Check the ferocious scrabbling from 2.54 to the end. Whoosh!
Shouldn't be that surprising as he always did look a bit <span style="font-style: italic;">"handy"</span> (see above).<br /><br /><b>Cocteau Twins - Orange Appled</b> <span id="yui_3_16_0_1_1431088271755_4091" style="font-style: italic;">(from Love's Easy Tears)</span><br />
<br />
<iframe allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0" height="380" src="https://embed.spotify.com/?uri=<strong>spotify:track:4FJim2MO0WSp3rK00pFaxC</strong>" width="300"></iframe><br /><br />At
their very best, CT dealt with beautiful sounds and heady, rush-filled
classic pop structures. And that's even before we get to the
gob-smacking vocals.<br /><br /><b>Cocteau Twins - Cico Buff</b> <span style="font-style: italic;">(from Blue Bell Knoll)</span><br />
<span style="font-style: italic;"></span><br />
<br /> <iframe allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0" height="380" src="https://embed.spotify.com/?uri=<strong>spotify:track:1sScdnpYKPYiCJyjF1Abps</strong>" width="300"></iframe><br />
<br />
Hard
to write about them without falling into the traps of over-the-top
music journalism ("sonic cathedrals" and all that). Sometimes you just
need to shut your gob, listen, and say, "that's f**king brilliant".<br /><br /><a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/cocteau-twins/s/qid=1236198403/ref=sr_nr_i_0?ie=UTF8&rs=&keywords=cocteau%20twins&rh=i%3Aaps%2Ck%3Acocteau%20twins%2Ci%3Apopular" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Buy</a> - Cocteau Twins CDs (Amazon)<br /><a href="http://www.4ad.com/cocteautwins/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Buy</a> - Cocteau Twins music (4AD)<br /><a href="http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=cocteau+twins&search=Search" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Watch</a> - Cocteau Twins (YouTube)<br /><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cocteau_Twins" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Visit</a> - Cocteau Twins (wiki)<br /><a href="http://www.cocteautwins.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Visit</a> - Cocteau Twins (site)
<br />
<br />stevedominohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08598042606017502408noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11819104.post-27796945015655263292009-01-15T15:57:00.000+00:002015-05-08T13:38:20.208+01:00latest news from planet jazz<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-JmZZ0ZNLYgA/VUysghNHdTI/AAAAAAAAAuQ/KcA-faWeY4s/s1600/for-all-i-care.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="160" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-JmZZ0ZNLYgA/VUysghNHdTI/AAAAAAAAAuQ/KcA-faWeY4s/s320/for-all-i-care.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
When I learnt that the new album by our favourite (and oft-mentioned) jazz trio <span style="font-weight: bold;">The Bad Plus</span>
would feature a vocalist, there was much head-scratching 'round Domino
towers. Having followed them for a while and having seen the perilous
liberties they take in performance, my initial worries were that the
presence of a vocalist would tie them too closely to any song
structure. Plus, I feared for the sanity and health of the vocalist
involved.<br /><br />Also, The Bad Plus have been in constant danger of
painting themselves into a corner as "that jazz band that does 'wacky'
interpretations of 'popular' songs" ever since they first appeared -
something that's not helped by the inclusion of tracks originally
performed by Pink Floyd, Flaming Lips and Wilco.<br /><br />But as they
rightly pointed out in a recent Radio 3 feature, hasn't taking liberties
with popular song been part of jazz since the very start? And there are
only so many interpretations of 'Stella By Starlight' that anyone
needs.<br /><br />Anyhoo, it turns out that <span style="font-style: italic;">For All I Care</span> is the most completely satisfying set from the band since <span style="font-style: italic;">Give</span> in 2004 (so much so, that it's really tricky pulling off a couple of tracks for this post).<br /><br />Surprisingly,
hearing the band with a vocalist really works. Wendy Lewis' vocals are
warm and throaty and she never tries to compete with the band's
pyrotechnics by indulging in skwee-bo scat-singing - rather, she is the
calm centre that's sometimes missing from their more out-there
improvisational workouts, holding it down and underlining the original
material, allowing the band to go their own merry way.<br /><br />Which is just what they do here - watch out for those tricky shifts into 6/8!<br /><br /><b>The Bad Plus with Wendy Lewis - Lithium (Nirvana)</b><br />
<br />
<iframe allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0" height="380" src="https://embed.spotify.com/?uri=<strong>spotify:track:4SuFNQUWTVldULeoeekn7a</strong>" width="300"></iframe><br /><br />Particularly love the way they swagger through the shouty chorus and the pregnant pauses at around the 2.40 mark.<br /><br />It's not all <span style="font-style: italic;">Now That's What I Call a Wacky Jazz Cover</span>,
however - half of the set is taken up with some great interpretations
of 20th Century Classical pieces. Their versions come out sounding not
unlike The Bad Plus at their prettiest ("Flim" from <span style="font-style: italic;">These Are The Vistas</span>, "Giant" from<span style="font-style: italic;"> Prog</span>) - excellent stuff.<br /><br /><b>The Bad Plus - Variations d'Apollon (Stravinsky)</b><br />
<br />
<iframe allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0" height="380" src="https://embed.spotify.com/?uri=<strong></strong>spotify:track:7xfirUVtWnX4xkFiTlSUbP<strong></strong>" width="300"></iframe><br /><br />I guess their point is that music is music - don't box me in, friend.stevedominohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08598042606017502408noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11819104.post-16392783000172351382009-01-11T15:51:00.000+00:002015-05-05T13:52:22.024+01:00cream puffs and bourbon<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-m5lGrM_74wU/VUi8qPZnz0I/AAAAAAAAAt8/y7MsLqvMoxs/s1600/your-party.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-m5lGrM_74wU/VUi8qPZnz0I/AAAAAAAAAt8/y7MsLqvMoxs/s1600/your-party.jpg" height="160" width="320" /></a></div>
Not a track from a compilation tape this time, but a recent CD from my
dear brother Ox. The perfect audio thank-you for any particularly
outstanding party hosts from the recent festive season.<br /><br /><b>Ween - Your Party</b> <br />
<br />
<iframe allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0" height="380" src="https://embed.spotify.com/?uri=spotify:track:7CrDXvTsCLqxCdeEpRbzo9" width="300"></iframe><br />
<br />
The
thing I love about this track is how pitch-perfect everything about it
is. The language is spot-on throughout - "beverages", "candy", "spices",
"platters" and of course "the wife", all delivered in a consciously
refined accent. But to really nail the sweet party atmosphere, the track
features guest Sax by archetypal radio-friendly smooth jazzer, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Sanborn" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">David Sanborn</a>. Love it.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Cucaracha-Ween/dp/B000VDGA46/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1231687884&sr=1-3" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Buy</a> - La Cucaracha by Ween<br /><a href="http://www.ween.com/chocodog/ween/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Visit</a> - Ween
<br />
<br />stevedominohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08598042606017502408noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11819104.post-10087465047903280162008-10-25T10:50:00.000+01:002015-05-05T13:47:20.869+01:00halloween spooks<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-y5N8jvd7zg0/VUi7RHS9eXI/AAAAAAAAAtw/FJQYhu4X24k/s1600/haloween-spooks.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-y5N8jvd7zg0/VUi7RHS9eXI/AAAAAAAAAtw/FJQYhu4X24k/s1600/haloween-spooks.jpg" height="160" width="320" /></a></div>
Going away for a few days so just wanted to squeeze in a quick Halloween post.<br /><br />Firstly if you haven't played <a href="http://www.survivetheoutbreak.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Survive The Outbreak</a> yet, go and do it <span style="font-weight: bold;">now</span>. A choose-you-own-adventure-style, interactive zombie film, this is the future of film-making.<br /><br /><b>Lambert, Hendricks & Ross - Halloween Spooks</b><br />
<br />
<iframe allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0" height="380" src="https://embed.spotify.com/?uri=spotify:track:4sSCgKn26agf35GR2QBYWD" width="300"></iframe><br /><br />Picked
this up from New York earlier this year (a beautiful original 1961
pressing of their "High Flying with..." album). An expensive and
cumbersome piece of hand luggage. Especially when I realised that all of
the tracks are apparently included on another CD. Whatever - I do loves
my vinyl.<br /><br /><b>Messer Chups - Fantomasofobia</b><br />
<br />
<iframe allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0" height="380" src="https://embed.spotify.com/?uri=spotify:track:0QxxALxVylDaMFCAX0bgui" width="300"></iframe><br /><br />I
was introduced to this odd Russian band on the way down to a wedding
earlier this year. They struck me as being a direct cross between The
Cramps and "previously featured on Domino Rally" Coconut Monkeyrocket.
So - wild 50s style b-movie soundtracks, twangerrific guitars, surf
drums and crazy vocal samples. Will definitely put the swing into your
Halloween festivities.<br /><br />And they're Russian and the album I have is called "Crazy Price" - hours of fun saying that in a stern Eastern Bloc accent!<br /><br /><a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Hottest-New-Group-Jazz/dp/B000002ADR/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1224926015&sr=8-2" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Buy</a> - Lambert Hendricks & Ross, <span style="font-style: italic;">The Hottest New Group In Jazz</span><br /><a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Crazy-Price-Messer-Chups/dp/B000AP2ZCQ/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1224926071&sr=1-2" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Buy</a> - Messer Chups, <span id="yui_3_16_0_1_1430828262186_4294" style="font-style: italic;">Crazy Price</span> (import CD)<br /><a href="http://www.emusic.com/artist/Messer-Chups-MP3-Download/11611911.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Buy</a> - Messer Chups mp3s from eMusic<br /><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lambert,_Hendricks_%26_Ross" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Visit</a> - Lambert, Hendricks & Ross (wiki)<br /><a href="http://www.messerchups.ru/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Visit</a> - Messer Chups (site)<br /><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Messer_Chups" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Visit</a> - Messer chups (wiki)
stevedominohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08598042606017502408noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11819104.post-79993068568901135822008-10-17T10:51:00.000+01:002015-05-05T13:42:58.977+01:00happiness is egg shaped<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="300" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/NM-3s6YtsNQ?rel=0" width="400"></iframe><br />
<br />
The great <span style="font-weight: bold;">Tony Hancock</span> in <a href="http://www.gotoworkonanegg.co.uk/watch_the_egg_adverts.html" target="_blank">a series of adverts made for the Egg Marketing Board</a> in 1965.<br /><br /><b>Eggs - A Pit With Spikes</b><br />
<br />
<iframe allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0" height="380" src="https://embed.spotify.com/?uri=spotify:track:1s3XS6JqYyTqbbZB5BjAYf" width="300"></iframe><br /><br />Another song rescued from <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compact_Cassette" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Ferric Oxide</a> oblivion by the marvel that is <a href="http://www.emusic.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">eMusic</a>. This was given to me by the oft-referenced (on these pages, anyway)<b> Archdeacon of Pop</b>, top drummer and indie obscurist.<br /><br />We
exchanged a lot of tapes over the years but this track wasn't on one he
did for me - rather, this was a tape for brother Ox. If I remember
rightly, this compilation consisted of the weirdest stuff in his
collection - lots of <a href="http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:09fpxqe5ldae%7ET1" id="yui_3_16_0_1_1430828262186_3859" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Tinklers</a> amongst other cranks and, as always with the Arch, a little bit too much Jad Fair.<br /><br />Nonetheless, Archie's tapes always threw up the odd belter and I remember him going on about this track and the <span id="yui_3_16_0_1_1430828262186_3855" style="font-weight: bold;">Eggs</span> for quite a while. I know absolutely nothing about this band other than what I've just read about them on <a href="http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:fpfixqt5ldke" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">AllMusic</a>, so to pretend otherwise would be daft.<br /><br />I'm
not even sure if I got what this song WAS (never mind what it was
about) at the time - I thought maybe it smacked of the indie-kids fear
of funk. Now I think it's just a band in the studio going, "you know
what would sound really stoopid here...??!"<br /><br />And thus is most great Art made...<br /><br /><a href="http://www.emusic.com/album/Eggs-Teenbeat-96-Exploder-Eggs-Teenbeat-96-Exploder-MP3-Download/11211425.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Buy</a> - Eggs Teenbeat 96 Exploder from eMusic<br />or pay over the odds for a <a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Teenbeat-96-Exploder-Eggs/dp/B0000020XZ/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1224236350&sr=1-4" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">proper CD</a><br /><br /><span id="yui_3_16_0_1_1430828262186_3866" style="font-style: italic;">BTW, thanks for all the comments after the recent post where I was thinking about pulling the plug on the blog</span>.<span style="font-style: italic;"> This week I've found myself with a lot of spare-time, hence the blogging explosion. Let's just see how it goes!</span>stevedominohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08598042606017502408noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11819104.post-65911611448621332812008-10-14T12:21:00.000+01:002015-05-05T13:35:17.534+01:00i don't fancy yours much...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-nqrlC4H6Em8/VUi3ZLhodHI/AAAAAAAAAtk/33Ic0lBbP5M/s1600/dead-milkmen.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-nqrlC4H6Em8/VUi3ZLhodHI/AAAAAAAAAtk/33Ic0lBbP5M/s1600/dead-milkmen.jpg" height="250" width="320" /></a></div>
<span id="yui_3_16_0_1_1430828262186_3720" style="font-weight: bold;">The Dead Milkmen</span>'s 1988 album <span style="font-style: italic;">Beelzebubba</span>
was an album that a friend lent me when I was at college. I think it's
fair to say that Bod, for that was his nickname, saved me from a
lifetime of listening to very dour and serious post-hardcore art-rock.
And he did this solely by introducing me to something called COLLEGE
ROCK.<br /><br /><b>The Dead Milkmen - Punk Rock Girl</b><br />
<br />
<b><iframe allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0" height="380" src="https://embed.spotify.com/?uri=spotify:track:1l04CzFskMiq7c30lZvr7i" width="300"></iframe> </b><br />
<br />
I
mentioned <b>Camper Van Beethoven</b> in a <a href="http://dominorally.blogspot.co.uk/2008/07/illness-as-art.html">recent post</a> and I didn't know if
there was a link between the two bands - aside from the snotty vocals
and irreverent humour. Having just looked at the DM site, there is a
link (of sorts): "We returned from a tour once to find them [CVB] camped
out in our house".<br /><br /><b>The Dead Milkmen - Smokin' Banana Peels</b><br />
<br />
<iframe allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0" height="380" src="https://embed.spotify.com/?uri=spotify:track:1sTxZOgbwFW8DmYLlc4BcN" width="300"></iframe><br /><br />I
remember my brother and I finding this song, and the "mellow... it's so
mellow" bits, hilariously funny at the time - now it sounds like a
weird post-<span style="font-style: italic;">Up-On-The-Sun</span> <span style="font-weight: bold;">Meat Puppets</span> track. This is no bad thing, obviously.<br /><br /><b>The Dead Milkmen - The Guitar Song</b><br />
<br />
<iframe allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0" height="380" src="https://embed.spotify.com/?uri=spotify:track:3BKeRVvPXPIVjXO0RnuGUg" width="300"></iframe><br /><br />This
was always my favourite track, due mostly to the weirdly moving
impassioned delivery. I don't know which Milkman sings it but I first
heard it at the same time that <span style="font-style: italic;">Whose Line is it Anyway?</span> was gently tickling the ribs of the UK. As such, in my mind, I see <a href="http://www.gregproops.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Greg Proops</a>.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.deadmilkmen.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Visit</a> - The Dead Milkmen<br /><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dead_Milkmen" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Visit</a> - The Dead Milkmen (wiki)<br /><a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Beelzebubba-Dead-Milkmen/dp/B000003BHO/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1223761294&sr=8-1" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Buy</a> - Beelzebubba...<br />... although <a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Death-Rides-Pale-Cow-Collection/dp/B000003BLE/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1223761330&sr=1-5" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><span style="font-style: italic;">Death Rides a Pale Cow: The Ultimate Collection</span></a> looks pretty good!
stevedominohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08598042606017502408noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11819104.post-12947876977366462142008-10-11T21:52:00.000+01:002015-05-05T13:25:08.993+01:00tears of a clown<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-f4iELeeeNCw/VUi1kL1PabI/AAAAAAAAAtY/-AlKYh6zD_k/s1600/divine-comedy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-f4iELeeeNCw/VUi1kL1PabI/AAAAAAAAAtY/-AlKYh6zD_k/s1600/divine-comedy.jpg" /></a></div>
As Domino Rally winds it's way to it's inevitable demise (the seemingly
endless gaps between posts are never a good sign, are they?), take heart
from the fact that I'm going to get through the list of songs that I
intend to share with you before I pull the plug. Yes, despite
appearances to the contrary, there is an element of planning in what I
do here!<br /><br />I recently delved into the the world of the comedy song,
looking at the work of DJs, actors and the like, as well as yer
dedicated comedy songwriters.<br />
<br />
But what happens if you're one of these
last but you wake up one day and think, "actually, I have deep thoughts
that matter" and remove your clown shoes?<br /><br />One such band was <span id="yui_3_16_0_1_1430828262186_3093" style="font-weight: bold;">The Divine Comedy</span>,
who peddled a very British strain of kitchen-sink banter since forming
in 1989. They were never strictly a comedy band but achieved success
when Neil Hannon adopted the pose of a rakish dandy for <span style="font-style: italic;">Something for the Weekend</span> in 1996 and released a series of quirkily comedic songs like <span style="font-style: italic;">Generation Sex</span> and <span id="yui_3_16_0_1_1430828262186_3095" style="font-style: italic;">National Express</span>. And, of course, Hannon wrote the theme tune and the genius <a href="http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=8linZiGYSeE" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><span style="font-style: italic;">My Lovely Horse</span></a> for <span style="font-style: italic;">Father Ted</span>.<br /><br />However, in 2001 they released <span id="yui_3_16_0_1_1430828262186_3082" style="font-style: italic;">Regeneration</span>,
a definite move away from what had become their signature sound. Neil
took his suit off, put on some baggy combats and stood in the street
with his bandmates. Like a <span style="font-style: italic;">proper</span> band.<br /><br /><b>The Divine Comedy - Love What You Do</b><br />
<br />
<iframe allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0" height="380" src="https://embed.spotify.com/?uri=spotify:track:39JYZ6jI2yzsX55JPPPwAW" width="300"></iframe><br /><br />They recorded <span style="font-style: italic;">Regeneration</span> with Nigel Godrich, who since then has become a by-word for <span style="font-weight: bold;">"Danger! Thom Yorke crossing!"</span> Back then I knew him as the bloke who did the last Pavement album and my favourite Beck album, <span style="font-style: italic;">Mutations</span>.
He really does have a knack for recording synths and a way of setting
the tone with a few well-placed textures, as evidenced on this track.
Listen for the great wobbly sound that kicks in at 1.34.<br /><br /><b>The Divine Comedy - Eye Of The Needle</b><br />
<br />
<iframe allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0" height="380" src="https://embed.spotify.com/?uri=spotify:track:1tvnAulsPQnohLbRdxqHT7" width="300"></iframe><br /><br />Blimey, has it got cold in here? It's not exactly "it's hard to get by when your arse is the size of a small country", is it?<br /><br /><a href="http://www.thedivinecomedy.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Visit</a> - The Divine Comedy<br /><a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Regeneration-Divine-Comedy/dp/B000059N0N/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1223757135&sr=1-4" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Buy</a> - Regeneration
stevedominohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08598042606017502408noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11819104.post-57574519683021014712008-09-02T15:44:00.000+01:002015-04-27T13:42:53.230+01:00operation grand slam<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-AmkDkHMSeck/VT4ttQ6-lAI/AAAAAAAAAsg/Uq1Vl1kdsSQ/s1600/pussy-galore.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-AmkDkHMSeck/VT4ttQ6-lAI/AAAAAAAAAsg/Uq1Vl1kdsSQ/s1600/pussy-galore.jpg" height="160" width="320" /></a></div>
Again you find me sitting at home suffering from some dreaded lurgy or
other. Ah well, at least I have another round of free downloads from <span style="font-weight: bold;">eMusic</span> with which to entertain myself.<br /><br /><b>Pussy Galore - Dick Johnson</b><br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="300" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/xRX8mQ8w9Qw" width="400"></iframe><br /><br />
<b>Pussy Galore - NYC:1999</b><br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="300" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/eT5quEDt2GE" width="400"></iframe><br /><br />These
tracks are really making me feel quite a bit better today! Rancorous,
scuzzy, skronk-rock from back in the day when 'Alternative Music'
actually seemed to mean something. No way would these guys end up on an
advert for a mobile-phone or some lifestyle-enhancing people-carrier -
complete with a special holster for yr iPod.<br /><br />The only things PG
could promote would be food stamps or methadone. Or they could present a
TV show about ways to scavenge for food in the inner city, like a
gritty, drug-soaked urban-netherworld <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ray_Mears_%28author%29" id="yui_3_16_0_1_1430138227169_3501" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Ray Mears</a>.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Dick Johnson</span> comes from an album that was originally slated to be called <i>Make Them All Eat Sh*t Slowly</i>. Thankfully the record label intervened and the title was changed to the much more Woolworth's-friendly <span id="yui_3_16_0_1_1430138227169_3503" style="font-style: italic;">Dial M for Motherf**ker</span>.<br /><br /><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pussy_Galore_%28band%29" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Visit</a> - Pussy Galore (wiki)<br /><a href="http://www.emusic.com/artist/Pussy-Galore-MP3-Download/10555495.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Buy</a> - Pussy Galore from eMusic<br /><a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Music/s/qid=1220365503/ref=sr_nr_p_n_binding_browse-b_0?ie=UTF8&rs=229816&bbn=229816&rnid=382527011&rh=n%3A229816%2Cp_32%3APussy%20Galore%2Cp_n_binding_browse-bin%3A382528011" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Buy</a> - Pussy Galore CDs from Amazon
<br />
<br />stevedominohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08598042606017502408noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11819104.post-15369339568818539872008-08-18T20:59:00.000+01:002015-04-22T14:41:15.695+01:00new standards<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-B0mXYmPOhTY/VTekTzYZjpI/AAAAAAAAAsM/tn2cR61fk1k/s1600/bad-plus.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-B0mXYmPOhTY/VTekTzYZjpI/AAAAAAAAAsM/tn2cR61fk1k/s1600/bad-plus.jpg" height="160" width="320" /></a></div>
Being in Italy last month meant that I missed the broadcast on Radio 3 of a recent live set and interview from <span style="font-weight: bold;">The Bad Plus</span> on BBC Radio 3. I have spoken of my love for TBP on <a href="http://dominorally.blogspot.com/2005/04/they-are-champions.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">more</a> than <a href="http://dominorally.blogspot.com/2005/11/when-maths-met-jazz.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">one</a>
occasion so I was really chuffed when a friend managed to record the
broadcast and burn me a copy, which I now share with you. I've decided
not to pick and choose individual tracks as the broadcast seems to build
up its own head of steam. The running order is as follows:<br /><br /><b>The Bad Plus - Live at the Jazz Cafe London, June 2008 (plus interview)</b><br />(1hr, 54 MB)<br /><br />[1] Dirty Blonde (Reid Anderson)<br />[2] Giant (Reid Anderson)<br />[3] Metal (Gyorgy Ligeti)<br />[4] And Here We Test Our Powers Of Observation (Reid Anderson)<br />[5] Flim (Richard D James)<br />[6] Have You Met Miss Jones (Rogers & Hart)<br />[7] Physical Cities (Reid Anderson)<br />plus interview<br /><br />Earlier
this year me and Mrs Domino finally made it over to New York - totally
by chance our visit coincided with The Bad Plus' weeklong residency at
the Blue Note, which is where I took the above image. It was great to go
into that legendary club (smaller than you'd think) and see what is
still one of my absolute favourite bands.<br /><br />Even better was being
in Greenwich Village the day before our visit to the Blue Note, queueing
outside the Magnolia Bakery, when who should join the queue directly
behind us but the mighty Dave King, mental drumming powerhouse of TBP.
I'm rubbish at talking to people who I really admire but I couldn't let
this past - I like to think I didn't embarrass Dave in front of his
kids!<br /><br />Here's a track from last year's <span style="font-style: italic;">Prog</span> album, an interpretation of "Tom Sawyer" by Rush. Read Dave King's comments about Neil Peart <a href="http://thebadplus.typepad.com/dothemath/2007/02/massey_hallclas_1.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">here</a>.<br /><br /><b>The Bad Plus - Tom Sawyer<span style="font-style: italic;"> (Rush)</span></b><br />
<br />
<b><span style="font-style: italic;"><iframe allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0" height="380" src="https://embed.spotify.com/?uri=spotify:track:5BVhRTsp357QQ62qjog1nw" width="300"></iframe> </span></b><br />
<br />
I don't have the original (whither Marc-o?) but I did find <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U7DFsBcVMDA" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">this great video</a>. See also, <a href="http://ccinsider.comedycentral.com/cc_insider/2008/07/rush-plays-rock.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Rush playing <span style="font-style: italic;">Tom Sawyer</span> on 'Rock Band'</a>.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.thebadplus.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Visit</a> - The Bad Plus<br /><a href="http://thebadplus.typepad.com/dothemath/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Visit</a> - Do The Math (TBP blog)<br /><a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Prog-Bad-Plus/dp/B000PC1NVI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1219088310&sr=8-1" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Buy</a> - Prog
<br />
<br />stevedominohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08598042606017502408noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11819104.post-67075598894448964192008-08-12T20:20:00.000+01:002015-04-22T14:35:41.993+01:00let's go fishing for the question<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-KysSbOoIhZ4/VTejJHdovII/AAAAAAAAAsA/bku-uFT0kd0/s1600/kramer.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-KysSbOoIhZ4/VTejJHdovII/AAAAAAAAAsA/bku-uFT0kd0/s1600/kramer.jpg" height="160" width="320" /></a></div>
The tape this track came from is lost to the winds of time (or to my
lovely brother). Whatever, this track's for Oxbow, 'cos if he hasn't got
it he will <span style="font-style: italic;">love</span> it.<br /><br />This tape was made for me by Darius, ex-guitar-mangler and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cable_%28British_band%29" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">chief-Oasis-botherer</a> with Derby music legends <a href="http://www.sublingual.co.uk/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Cable</a>
- we went through a phase of going 'round each other's houses for tea
and rifling through our respective record collections. Not very rock 'n'
roll, I know, but some good tapes were made - well, I did OK out of the
deal anyway.<br /><br />As I say, this tape has long since left my
possession but this track has stayed in my head for about 10 years,
frequently popping up on my internal shuffle.<br /><br /><b>Kramer - I'm Your Fan</b><br />
<br />
<iframe allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0" height="380" src="https://embed.spotify.com/?uri=spotify:track:3aqP4soMuUz6rXQqKU1M14" width="300"></iframe><br /><br />I've
always thought this was a fantastic track and age has not withered it -
f*cked-up chipmunk vocals, lazy strumming, tappy-tappy percussion,
paint-the-sky solo and all.<br /><br />Darius had the triple-LP box set of Kramer's <span style="font-style: italic;">The Guilt Trip</span>
- I can't remember if he had the album before Cable recorded their
second album with Kramer in New York, or if it was a gift from the man
himself.<br /><br />Looking at his <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Kramer" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">wiki</a> page, I'm very interested to hear the results of Kramer's "Brill Building" project on John Zorn's Tzadik label.<br /><br />All my mates work with Kramer, btw - not just Cable but Manchester's fabulous <a href="http://www.thenightjars.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Night Jars</a>, too. When do I get a go? Harumph.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.kramershimmy.com/buycds.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Buy</a> - The Guilt Trip and other CDs direct from Kramer<br /><a href="http://www.kramershimmy.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Visit</a> - Kramer
stevedominohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08598042606017502408noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11819104.post-46730189723459208462008-07-29T11:54:00.000+01:002015-04-22T14:31:10.976+01:00illness as art<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-JEsZHWk7tqU/VTehJ_u9P4I/AAAAAAAAAr0/qXdwsLUmVEA/s1600/cvb.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-JEsZHWk7tqU/VTehJ_u9P4I/AAAAAAAAAr0/qXdwsLUmVEA/s1600/cvb.jpg" height="160" width="320" /></a></div>
The tracks in this post came from a tape called 'Illness as Art',
done for me in September 1989 by a friend of mine called Nicola. I can't
remember how I first got talking to her but she'd recently spent a
couple of years at school in America so she seemed terribly exotic to
the 16 year old me.<br /><br />Her tape introduced me to lots of interesting stuff including the Dandelion Adventure, whose <span id="yui_3_16_0_1_1429708301723_4006" style="font-style: italic;">Puppy Shrine</span>
album I bought soon after getting the tape. However, the tracks that
really stayed with me betrayed her time at school in the US, consisting
of what used to be called 'College Rock'.<br /><br /><b>Camper Van Beethoven - The Day That Lassie Went To The Moon</b><br />
<br />
<iframe allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0" height="380" src="https://embed.spotify.com/?uri=spotify:track:6URjQLlUvsbTSKa7TSxtd9" width="300"></iframe><br /><b><br />Camper Van Beethoven - Opie Rides Again/Club Med Sucks*</b><br />* if i was being true to Nicola's compilation I'd have removed 'Opie Rides Again' as this was edited off my tape.<br />
<br />
<iframe allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0" height="380" src="https://embed.spotify.com/?uri=spotify:track:7u4VMVimJpfzQmGyMV5yiU" width="300"></iframe><br /><br />CVB
were one of those touchstones of US alternative music in the late 80s,
like Violent Femmes - for example, I'd heard of 'Take The Skinheads
Bowling' long before I ever heard it.<br /><br /><b>The Feelies - It's Only Life</b><br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="300" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/923s4kyxQ8U" width="400"></iframe><br />
<br />This was the other stand-out track from this tape (via <a href="http://shallyboy.blogspot.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Shallyboy's music</a>,
not available on eMusic). That's a heck of a Lou Reed affectation on
the vocal - the influence further underlined on the rollicking cover of
"What Goes On" later on in the album. On the whole they're like a US
Echo & The Bunnymen - Marc-o, if you're out there, is this the
Paisley Underground?<br /><br /><a href="http://www.campervanbeethoven.com/" id="yui_3_16_0_1_1429708301723_4028" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Visit</a> - Camper Van Beethoven<br /><a href="http://www.myspace.com/thefeelies" id="yui_3_16_0_1_1429708301723_4026" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Visit</a> - The Feelies<br /><a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Popular-Songs-Enduring-Strength-Beauty/dp/B001807NY2/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1216985681&sr=8-1" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Buy</a> - Popular Songs Of Great Enduring Strength And Beauty by CVB<br /><a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Only-Life-Feelies/dp/B0017UOU9E/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1216985746&sr=1-1" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Buy</a> - Only Life by The Feelies (pricey import)<br /><br />Image from <a href="http://www.sdsc.edu/%7Edhart/writing/fish-guts.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">here</a>
stevedominohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08598042606017502408noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11819104.post-90590062767136463112008-07-25T11:36:00.000+01:002015-02-25T13:06:34.824+00:00drop me in for the badda-das<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-dQXUuWmYcZg/VO3H8pGj41I/AAAAAAAAAok/HDHClto6pSw/s1600/bad-news.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-dQXUuWmYcZg/VO3H8pGj41I/AAAAAAAAAok/HDHClto6pSw/s1600/bad-news.jpg" height="160" width="320" /></a></div>
<b>Bad News</b> was the spoof New Wave of British Heavy Metal band featured in the first series of <span style="font-style: italic;">The Comic Strip Presents...</span> This metal spoof was in production at the same time as <span id="yui_3_16_0_1_1424869010025_3233" style="font-style: italic;">This Is Spinal Tap</span>.<br /><br />Obviously
Tap has had more long-term success but Bad News put a quintessentially
English-toilet-circuit spin onto the pretensions of musicians, heavy
metal or otherwise. Sometimes they overdid the 'we can't play our
instruments' jokes but anyone who has ever been in a band (especially
one that has been in a recording studio) will wince in recognition at
some of the studio dialogue here.<br /><br />The lines 'drop me in for the
badda-das' and 'I've never had to move my arm up and down so many times
in my life' definitely passed into <span id="yui_3_16_0_1_1424869010025_3253" style="font-style: italic;">Johnny Domino</span> lexicon.<br /><br /><b>Bad News - Excalibur</b><br />
<br />
<iframe allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0" height="380" src="https://embed.spotify.com/?uri=spotify:track:0iAgTrKwgtAxiYhZfT4snQ" width="300"></iframe><br />
<br /><b>Bad News - Warriors Of Genghis Khan</b><br />
<br />
<iframe allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0" height="380" src="https://embed.spotify.com/?uri=spotify:track:68abNNGLH1XcITNzzpnaCG" width="300"></iframe><b> </b><br />
<br /><b>Bad News - Hey Mr Bassman</b><br />
<br />
<iframe allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0" height="380" src="https://embed.spotify.com/?uri=spotify:track:5OyATlEZJYrFuHLJI0CFOS" width="300"></iframe><br /><br />The characters were in the main extensions of the <span style="font-style: italic;">Young Ones</span>
archetypes - Ade Edmondson's Vim Fuego had the same barely-controlled
rage as Vyv (just slightly more coherent), Rik Mayall's Colin Grigson
was self-important, effete and pretentious in the same way as Rick, and
Nigel Planer is just as dopey being Den Dennis as he was as Neil.<br /><br />It's pretty clear that the Bad News boys had been listening to the infamous, hilarious <a href="http://mp34u.muzic.com/posting/1508" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Trogg Tapes</a>. For more band-based shenanigans see also Father Ted's <a href="http://youtube.com/watch?v=rsISf1HW_nU" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><span style="font-style: italic;">A Song for Europe</span></a> - "play the f**king note!"<br /><br /><a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Bad-News/dp/B0002EGA8U/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1216980839&sr=8-1" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Buy</a> - Bad News<br /><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bad_News" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Visit</a> - Bad News
<br />
<br />
<br />stevedominohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08598042606017502408noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11819104.post-81428597367549496162008-06-27T09:24:00.000+01:002015-02-25T13:00:22.714+00:00yah dude!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-BTtMebA8JEo/VO3G3dpR49I/AAAAAAAAAoY/ImUL4sNSyRg/s1600/stupids.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-BTtMebA8JEo/VO3G3dpR49I/AAAAAAAAAoY/ImUL4sNSyRg/s1600/stupids.jpg" height="160" width="320" /></a></div>
The world is funny old place and as A Tribe Called Quest said, "things go in cycles".<br />
<br />
I have been on at dear brother Ox for absolutely AGES to do a post about <span style="font-weight: bold;">The Stupids</span>
- or lend me his vinyl of "Peruvian Vacation" so I could do one. I've
finally got round to doing it. And what do I see in today's <a href="http://music.guardian.co.uk/pop/reviews/story/0,,2287589,00.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Guardian</a>? A review of the same album's swanky new deluxe edition CD...<br />
<br />
I have to say, I'm really chuffed that a band like Les Stupides is
getting the reissue treatment. As the review says they were a strange
band - perrenial Peel-faves who often popped up on the pages of Smash
Hits.<br />
<br />
And, as the kids would say, they certainly did <span style="font-style: italic;">shred</span>... make no mistake.<br />
<br /><b>
The Stupids - Virgin Bombshell Fucker / It's Fun To You</b><br />
<br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="300" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/RJIiv1pbiG4?rel=0" width="400"></iframe><br />
<br />
This is the opening one-two punch that opens <span style="font-style: italic;">Peruvian Vacation</span> and for me it will always be the sound of hay fever.<br />
<br />
To explain: there is a really cold room in our parents' house where me
and Ox would go to get some respite from streaming noses and sneezing
during the summer holidays. Days were spent playing records and eating
ice lollies, and <span style="font-style: italic;">Peruvian Vacation</span>
was one of our favourite albums to play, representing a level of energy
and enthusiasm that we could never hope to acheive post-sneezing fit.
Good times.<br />
<br />
It also makes me think of my old skateboarding school friends, Batesy and Fletch - do people still wear Vision Streetwear?<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.bosstuneage.com/#/btrcrs032/4528728391" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Buy</a> - <span style="font-style: italic;">Peruvian Vacation</span><br />
<a href="http://www.myspace.com/thestupidsuk" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Visit</a> - The Stupids (myspace)<br />
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Stupids_%28band%29" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Visit</a> - The Stupids (wiki)
stevedominohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08598042606017502408noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11819104.post-74803307210440053622008-06-22T12:57:00.000+01:002015-02-19T14:03:55.477+00:00knucklehead<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ZM7U8Zh8qwo/VOXiwoHQRGI/AAAAAAAAAnI/n9IoKs3Axes/s1600/bar-kays.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ZM7U8Zh8qwo/VOXiwoHQRGI/AAAAAAAAAnI/n9IoKs3Axes/s1600/bar-kays.jpg" height="160" width="320" /></a></div>
With apologies for the extended period of radio silence - I hope this
will make up for it. Just right for the second day of British summer
time - looking out my window at some increasingly mouldy garden
furniture.<br />
<br />
But who needs to feel down when there are footstomping party-bangers like this?<br />
<br />
<b>Bar-Kays - Knucklehead</b><br />
<br />
<iframe allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0" height="380" src="https://embed.spotify.com/?uri=spotify:track:5P7kIwhHOB2yrhUeG8uM4H" width="300"></iframe><br />
<br />
Taken
from "Soul Finger" which my dear brother Ox gave me for my recent
birthday. Vinyl is always appreciated, and this track fair took my face
when I first played it.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Soul-Finger-Bar-Kays/dp/B0000032E7/ref=sr_1_9?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1214135765&sr=8-9" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Buy</a> - Soul Finger<br />
<a href="http://www.mcgillismusic.com/The%20BarKays.htm" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Visit</a> - Bar-Kays (home page)<br />
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bar_Kays" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Visit</a> - Bar-Kays (wiki)
<br />
<br />stevedominohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08598042606017502408noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11819104.post-33062401116189384172008-05-18T17:51:00.000+01:002015-02-19T13:58:57.218+00:00gary shandling<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-4laqEOoIyiY/VOXixX-Y_mI/AAAAAAAAAoA/kVPiRKe2iPc/s1600/gibby.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-4laqEOoIyiY/VOXixX-Y_mI/AAAAAAAAAoA/kVPiRKe2iPc/s1600/gibby.jpg" height="160" width="320" /></a></div>
I've been thinking about posting some <span id="yui_3_16_0_1_1424349894986_9645" style="font-weight: bold;">Butthole Surfers </span>stuff for a while but <a href="http://www.buttholesurfers.com/tourdates.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">the announcement</a> that the (kind-of *) classic line-up is reforming for some US and European dates seems like the perfect opportunity.<br /><span id="yiv3920833737formatbar_Buttons" style="display: block;"><span class="yiv3920833737on yiv3920833737down" id="yiv3920833737formatbar_CreateLink" style="display: block;" title="Link"></span></span><br /><span id="yui_3_16_0_1_1424349894986_9648" style="font-style: italic;">(*
By the way, the "kind-of" is because Paul Leary's involvement seems
pretty much minimal. Wonder if Ta-Da the Shit Lady will be coming along
for the ride...)</span><br />
<br />
Anyhoo, the Buttholes album I've listened to the most is <span style="font-weight: bold;">piouhgd</span>. Not<span style="font-weight: bold;"> </span>-
admittedly - the coolest choice but for a long time this was the only
album of theirs that we actually owned (who else misses tapes?).<br /><br />I recently got hold of the Latino Buggerveil reissue which also includes the <span style="font-style: italic;">Widowermaker</span> <span style="font-style: italic;">EP</span>. We had this track on tape off an old Peel show for years and it was great to hear it again.<br /><br /><b>Butthole Surfers - The Colored F.B.I. Guy</b><br />
<br />
<iframe allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0" height="380" src="https://embed.spotify.com/?uri=spotify:track:1XoDkP4DTzZS0xbxrBeTe2" width="300"></iframe><br /><br />Funnily
enough, I was convinced it had a somewhat less contentious song title
back then (a series of numbers, something like "1408" - any ideas?).
Whatever, it just goes to show that maybe Gibby really did want to be in
<a href="http://www.latinobuggerveil.com/DoubleLive1-r/ButtholeSurfers-OneILove.mp3" id="yui_3_16_0_1_1424349894986_9656" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">REM</a> after all (from <a href="http://www.buttholesurfers.com/DoubleLiveMP3.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Double Live</a>).<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">piouhgd</span>
has apparently been disowned by Gibby and Leary but one of the reasons I
really like it is the weird way in which it has been recorded. All of
the drums sound exactly like the default settings on an <a href="http://www.vintagesynth.com/misc/hr16.shtml" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Alesis HR-16</a>
drum machine - and I do mean EXACTLY, even down to the stereo
positioning and the fact that, unless you change the levels, the hi-hats
and cymbals are way too loud.<br /><br />Did they have a complicated
technological set-up that enabled King Coffey to play the sounds live?
or most likely, did they programme the whole album onto a drum machine
in this configuration? Whatever, it's quite odd for a band who had
previously had two drummers to drop live drum sounds.<br /><br />Similarly, it's an odd decision for a band so closely aligned to the 1988 Melody Maker <span style="font-style: italic;">Arsequake</span>
scene that it sounds clearly like the guitars weren't recorded going
into amplifiers but were stuck directly into the mixing console - that's
why the distortion is so very fuzzy and hissy. The whole album is
pretty tinny sounding - whatever, a band called the Butthole Surfers
were never going to be Steely Dan, were they?<br /><br />Yes, there are some crappy stoner humour tracks (and possibly a few too many versions of <span style="font-style: italic;">Lonesome Bulldog</span>)
but the opening double whammy of both "Revolution"'s is still one of my
favourite Buttholes moments. I've stuck both the tracks together for
your improved listening pleasure. Enjoy!<br /><br /><b>Butthole Surfers - Revolution Part 1 / Revolution Part 2</b><br />
<br />
<iframe allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0" height="380" src="https://embed.spotify.com/?uri=spotify:track:3ajoDsMMeoHHe8i9bKaX0Q" width="300"></iframe><br />
<br />
<iframe allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0" height="380" src="https://embed.spotify.com/?uri=spotify:track:7IB6GBmAq11xer5XvLDKpU" width="300"></iframe> <br />
<br />
<br />If you're wondering, Gary Shandling is "just one of those people who haunt me", according to Gibby.<br /><br />By way of aural demonstration of the recording style, there's an old <span style="font-weight: bold;">Johnny Domino</span> song that we recorded with the exact same sounds. It's part of <span style="font-style: italic;">The Best of the Shithouse Masters</span> download available <a href="http://johnnydomino.com/album/the-best-of-the-shithouse-masters" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">here</a>.
Lead guitar and distorted bass straight into the 4-track and
more-or-less default settings on the HR-16 that we used on all of our
"proper" recordings. It's the Scorpions/Euro-rock pastiche called <i>Reachin' For a Reason</i> (and that's still the most righteous guitar bit I ever played, even if it was a joke).<br />
<br />
<iframe seamless="" src="http://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/album=414912212/size=large/bgcol=ffffff/linkcol=0687f5/tracklist=false/artwork=small/track=248488618/transparent=true/" style="border: 0; height: 120px; width: 100%;"><a href="http://johnnydomino.com/album/the-best-of-the-shithouse-masters">The Best Of The Shithouse Masters by Jimmy Dorito</a></iframe><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">piouhgd</span> was released in 1991<span style="font-weight: bold;"> </span>and - along with albums by <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Jackofficers" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">The Jackofficers</a> and Leary's <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_History_of_Dogs" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">History of Dogs</a> - was one of the reasons that Rough Trade filed for bankruptcy in the same year. Quite the legacy!<br /><br /><a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Pioughd-Widowermaker-Butthole-Surfers/dp/B000VT2NP0/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1211125749&sr=8-3" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Buy</a> - pioughd/Widowermaker<br /><a href="http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewAlbum?id=279453040&s=143444" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Download</a> - pioughd/Widowermaker from iTunes<br /><a href="http://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&ct=res&cd=1&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.buttholesurfers.com%2F&ei=yk8wSJ21GY_o0ASutOTPAQ&usg=AFQjCNHIH1Wv7pJkhlGjnxxmragC7XeoDg&sig2=BaxCzrDc7uykXfEoM5dhYg" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Visit</a> - Butthole Surfers<br /><a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Our-Band-Could-Your-Life/dp/0316787531/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1211125888&sr=8-1" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Buy</a> - Michael Azerrad's <span style="font-style: italic;">Our Band Could Be Your Life - </span>the chapter about the Buttholes is worth the price alone
stevedominohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08598042606017502408noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11819104.post-30404677166014396912008-04-30T17:11:00.000+01:002015-02-19T13:51:08.962+00:00i feel sorry for the elephants<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-t83gX0947CI/VOXiztbh9rI/AAAAAAAAAn4/ORqpW_Slf5M/s1600/young-ones.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-t83gX0947CI/VOXiztbh9rI/AAAAAAAAAn4/ORqpW_Slf5M/s1600/young-ones.jpg" height="160" width="320" /></a></div>
Being 10 years old at the time, <span style="font-weight: bold;">The Young Ones</span>
TV show came about at completely the right time for me and my mates at
school. So when they rose from the dead to record the first <a href="http://www.comicrelief.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Comic Relief</a> charity single, I couldn't have been happier.<br /><br />Little did we know that this would eventually lead to <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BVIoCahD7yw" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">The Stonk by Hale & Pace</a>.<br /><br />As Vyv says, "Completely ready when you are, Shaky!"<br /><br /><b>Cliff Richard and The Young Ones - Living Doll</b><br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="300" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/gGOU0o9K89g" width="400"></iframe><br /><br /><b>The Young Ones - (All The Little Flowers Are) Happy</b><br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="300" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/pC17LNSf4KQ?rel=0" width="400"></iframe><br /><br />This
is the B-side to the single, the kind of fly-on-the-wall-in-the-studio
scrapping that Messrs Mayall, Planer and Edmondson would perfect with <span style="font-weight: bold;">Bad News</span>. But that, my friends will have to wait until a later time...<br /><br /><a href="http://www.comicrelief.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Visit</a> - Comic Relief<br /><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Young_Ones_%28TV_series%29" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Visit</a> - The Young Ones<br /><a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/comedy/theyoungones/index.shtml" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Visit</a> - The Young Ones at the BBC<br /><a href="http://www.cliffrichard.org/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Visit</a> - Cliff Richard
stevedominohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08598042606017502408noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11819104.post-76963860552415086972008-04-27T16:10:00.000+01:002015-02-20T13:48:12.717+00:00memory lane<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-YVUZL4mQD98/VOXiyOA_7zI/AAAAAAAAAnc/sYMzlaSCf34/s1600/memory-lane.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-YVUZL4mQD98/VOXiyOA_7zI/AAAAAAAAAnc/sYMzlaSCf34/s1600/memory-lane.jpg" height="160" width="320" /></a></div>
A quickie featuring some recently requested re-posts. If there's owt you
want to hear again, drop us a line and we'll try to oblige. Thanks to
Bokura no Poppopo~!, Katman and our old friend Anonymous for stopping
by!<br />
<br />
<b>The Muppets - Halfway Down The Stairs</b><br />
read the <a href="http://dominorally.blogspot.com/2006/08/jerkish-turkish-beat.html" id="yui_3_16_0_1_1424349894986_9338" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Original Post</a><br />
<br />
<b>Van Dyke Parks - The Eagle And Me</b><br />
read the <a href="http://dominorally.blogspot.com/2006/10/spooky-tooth.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Original Post</a><br />
<b><br />The Ink Spots - I Don't Want To Set The World On Fire</b><br />
read the <a href="http://dominorally.blogspot.com/2007/03/grapes-house-ink.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Original Post</a><br />
<b><br />Rabbinical School Dropouts - Cosmic Tree</b><br />
read the <a href="http://dominorally.blogspot.com/2005/11/into-mystic-and-back-again.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Original Post</a><br />
<br />
On a similar tip, I've put together a quick <a href="http://muxtape.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">MuxTape</a> of some of my favourite DominoRally moments - <a href="http://stevedomino.muxtape.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">have a listen</a>!
stevedominohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08598042606017502408noreply@blogger.com0