spotify playlist

Here'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.

Only the first 200 songs available by this embed but here's the link to 337 songs, nearly 22 hours of music.

domino rally: 402-471

Over 10 years after starting this blog...

Nearly 9 years since Johnny Domino played their final gig...

6 years after I removed all the posts after receiving a (fake?) Cease & Desist notice...

And two years after I decided to put everything back online, replacing MP3 files with Spotify embeds (where available) and YouTube clips...

Here is the list of the final songs that were posted to Domino Rally!

402) Killdozer - New Pants and Shirt
403) Killdozer - I Am I Said
404) John Shuttleworth - I Can't Go Back To Savoury Now
405) Violent Femmes - Add It Up
406) Velvet Underground - Foggy Notion
407) DJ Vadim - Till Suns In Your Eye (feat Motion Man)
408) Hank Williams - I Saw The Light
409) Hank Williams with "Little" Jimmie Dickens - The Old Country Church
410) M. Ward - Vincent O'Brien
411) Def Jef - Droppin' Rhymes on Drums
412) Def Jef - God Made Me Funky
413) The Pharcyde - Pandemonium
414) Clubhouse - Do It Again / Billie Jean
415) DJ Shadow - Six Days (Soulwax Mix)
416) Boney M - Heart of Gold
417) John Zorn/Naked City - Hammerhead
418) John Zorn/Naked City - You Will Be Shot
419) John Zorn/Naked City - Punk China Doll
420) John Zorn/Naked City - Reanimator
421) John Zorn/Masada - Tzofeh
422) Goodtimes Goodtimes - Sea Shanty
423) The Barron Knights - Live in Trouble Part 1
424) The Barron Knights - Live in Trouble Part 2
425) Marvin Gaye - Time To Get It Together
426) Kenny Everett - Snot Rap
427) Young Steve and The Afternoon Boys - I'm Alright
428) Damien and The Social Workers - Damien
429) Half Man Half Biscuit - Old Tige
430) Jim Reeves - Old Tige
431) Cliff Richard and The Young Ones - Living Doll
432) The Young Ones - (All The Little Flowers Are) Happy
433) Butthole Surfers - The Colored F.B.I. Guy
434) Butthole Surfers - Revolution Part 1 / Revolution Part 2
435) Jimmy Dorito - Reachin' for a Reason
436) Bar-Kays - Knucklehead
437) The Stupids - Virgin Bombshell Fucker / It's Fun To You
438) Bad News - Excalibur
439) Bad News - Warriors Of Genghis Khan
440) Bad News - Hey Mr Bassman
441) Camper Van Beethoven - The Day That Lassie Went To The Moon
442) Camper Van Beethoven - Opie Rides Again/Club Med Sucks
443) The Feelies - It's Only Life
444) Kramer - I'm Your Fan
445) The Bad Plus - Live at the Jazz Cafe London, June 2008 (plus interview)
446) The Bad Plus - Tom Sawyer
447) Pussy Galore - Dick Johnson
448) Pussy Galore - NYC: 1999
449) The Divine Comedy - Love What You Do
450) The Divine Comedy - Eye Of The Needle
451) The Dead Milkmen - Punk Rock Girl
452) The Dead Milkmen - Smokin' Banana Peels
453) The Dead Milkmen - The Guitar Song
454) Eggs - A Pit With Spikes
455) Lambert, Hendricks & Ross - Halloween Spooks
456) Messer Chups - Fantomasofobia
457) Ween - Your Party
458) The Bad Plus with Wendy Lewis - Lithium
459) The Bad Plus - Variations d'Apollon
460) Cocteau Twins - Lorelei
461) Cocteau Twins - Orange Appled
462) Cocteau Twins - Cico Buff
463) The Free Pop Experimental Concept - Planetary Gospel
464) Free Design - Don't Cry Baby
465) Free Design - Bubbles
466) Amen Corner - Bend Me, Shape Me
467) Golden Smog - A Long Time Ago
468) Wilco - The High Heat
469) Golden Dawn - George Hamilton's Dead
470) Golden Dawn - My Secret World
471) Steel Panther - Death To All But Metal

shutting up shop

That's yer lot - cheers.

butt metal

Something a little different here, something which proves that bad language is often at it's funniest when it's bleeped out.

The first time I was aware of the comedic possibilities of the radio edit was when Wu Tang Clan's Gravel Pit 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.

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.

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 iTunes version of the EP, along with *ahem* I Want Your Tits.

Steel Panther - Death to All but Metal (clean video version)

 

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.

Visit - Steel Panther
Visit - Steel Panther (wiki)
Buy - Feel the Steel

bad boys of indie-pop

How odd - I've just realised that Domino Rally is, with this post, 201 posts old - not too shabby, I reckon.

eMusic 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:

Golden Dawn - George Hamilton's Dead



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.

I would sometime come out in a twee-allergic rash but I've always remembered this odd little band and their (and I quote), "awesomely ragged, feedback-riddled singles".

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?

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 Honey, Let's Build a Dysonsphere. They did have their first single, however.

Golden Dawn - My Secret World



Visit - Golden Dawn MySpace (*no music*)
Visit - Golden Dawn wiki
Buy - Sarah Records Air Balloon Road compilation (CD)
Buy - Sarah Records Air Balloon Road compilation (download)

get your ya-ya's out

Watching the brief section of the Wilco tour film Ashes of American Flags shown on UK TV the other night raised some interesting questions.

1. How drunk do you have to get in order to throw your underwear 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 seriously.
2. Why can't all gigs be by Wilco?

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 chops a band displays rather than their unpredictable "anything-can-happen" schtick?

Whatever, their albums are all great, 2007s Sky Blue Sky 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.

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.

Golden Smog - A Long Time Ago

 

I did a big post about Golden Smog way back in the early days of Domino Rally - follow this link to read it.

For the uninitiated, Golden Smog are an studio alt.country super-group that Tweedy used to be part of. This track is from the last album he was involved with, 2006s Another Fine Day, 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.

Maybe I am getting emotional in my old age, but I love anything like this; similarly, any songs about "Home" can set me off easily (I think I see a themed post coming up soon).

Wilco - The High Heat (A Ghost is Born outtake)

This is from the outrageously pretentious Wilco Book which came out just after A Ghost is Born and features essays about the philosophy of sound recording amongst other esoteric delights. Nice pictures tho', and this is a cool outtake from the AGIB sessions.

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!

Buy - Wilco music and DVDs
Visit - Wilco
Visit - Ashes of American Flags

dummies guide to miming

Amen Corner - Bend Me, Shape Me - Top Of The Pops (1968)

Riddle me this, pop pickers - how is that voice coming from that man?

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?

Great song anyway, with a cool bit of TOTP craziness at the end of the clip.

Normal service will resume shortly.

Buy - If Paradise was Half As Nice: The Immediate Anthology
Visit - Amen Corner (wiki)

the end of an era

This month, Nottingham's Selectadisc 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.

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 The Guardian, of all places), I couldn't resist one last rifle through its racks.

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.

I decided that my last purchases would be strictly vinyl and preferably something I'd never heard of before.

The Free Pop Experimental Concept - Planetary Gospel

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.

Free Design - Don't Cry Baby



This is from Free Design Sing For Very Important People, 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).

Free Design - Bubbles



Yes, the staff could be a little grumpy and sneery. But it was better than nothing, which is what we've got now.

Buy - The Best of Free Design
Buy - Free Design... Sing For Very Important People (import CD)
Buy - The Free Pop Experimental Concept from SystemRecords
Visit - Free Design (wiki)

the spangle makers

Sigur Ros? Pah! THIS is how you make the unintelligable strike a real emotional chord, my friends.

As has been mentioned before in these pages, as a teenager I had a major Jones for most things 4AD. Cocteau Twins have been in my head for a while now - here are some of my favourite tracks by them.

Cocteau Twins - Lorelei (from Treasure)

 

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 "handy" (see above).

Cocteau Twins - Orange Appled (from Love's Easy Tears)

 

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.

Cocteau Twins - Cico Buff (from Blue Bell Knoll)


 

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".

Buy - Cocteau Twins CDs (Amazon)
Buy - Cocteau Twins music (4AD)
Watch - Cocteau Twins (YouTube)
Visit - Cocteau Twins (wiki)
Visit - Cocteau Twins (site)

latest news from planet jazz

When I learnt that the new album by our favourite (and oft-mentioned) jazz trio The Bad Plus 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.

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.

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.

Anyhoo, it turns out that For All I Care is the most completely satisfying set from the band since Give in 2004 (so much so, that it's really tricky pulling off a couple of tracks for this post).

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.

Which is just what they do here - watch out for those tricky shifts into 6/8!

The Bad Plus with Wendy Lewis - Lithium (Nirvana)

 

Particularly love the way they swagger through the shouty chorus and the pregnant pauses at around the 2.40 mark.

It's not all Now That's What I Call a Wacky Jazz Cover, 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 These Are The Vistas, "Giant" from Prog) - excellent stuff.

The Bad Plus - Variations d'Apollon (Stravinsky)



I guess their point is that music is music - don't box me in, friend.

cream puffs and bourbon

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.

Ween - Your Party 



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, David Sanborn. Love it.

Buy - La Cucaracha by Ween
Visit - Ween

halloween spooks

Going away for a few days so just wanted to squeeze in a quick Halloween post.

Firstly if you haven't played Survive The Outbreak yet, go and do it now. A choose-you-own-adventure-style, interactive zombie film, this is the future of film-making.

Lambert, Hendricks & Ross - Halloween Spooks



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.

Messer Chups - Fantomasofobia



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.

And they're Russian and the album I have is called "Crazy Price" - hours of fun saying that in a stern Eastern Bloc accent!

Buy - Lambert Hendricks & Ross, The Hottest New Group In Jazz
Buy - Messer Chups, Crazy Price (import CD)
Buy - Messer Chups mp3s from eMusic
Visit - Lambert, Hendricks & Ross (wiki)
Visit - Messer Chups (site)
Visit - Messer chups (wiki)

happiness is egg shaped

The great Tony Hancock in a series of adverts made for the Egg Marketing Board in 1965.

Eggs - A Pit With Spikes



Another song rescued from Ferric Oxide oblivion by the marvel that is eMusic. This was given to me by the oft-referenced (on these pages, anyway) Archdeacon of Pop, top drummer and indie obscurist.

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 Tinklers amongst other cranks and, as always with the Arch, a little bit too much Jad Fair.

Nonetheless, Archie's tapes always threw up the odd belter and I remember him going on about this track and the Eggs for quite a while. I know absolutely nothing about this band other than what I've just read about them on AllMusic, so to pretend otherwise would be daft.

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...??!"

And thus is most great Art made...

Buy - Eggs Teenbeat 96 Exploder from eMusic
or pay over the odds for a proper CD

BTW, thanks for all the comments after the recent post where I was thinking about pulling the plug on the blog. This week I've found myself with a lot of spare-time, hence the blogging explosion. Let's just see how it goes!

i don't fancy yours much...

The Dead Milkmen's 1988 album Beelzebubba 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.

The Dead Milkmen - Punk Rock Girl



I mentioned Camper Van Beethoven in a recent post 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".

The Dead Milkmen - Smokin' Banana Peels



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-Up-On-The-Sun Meat Puppets track. This is no bad thing, obviously.

The Dead Milkmen - The Guitar Song



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 Whose Line is it Anyway? was gently tickling the ribs of the UK. As such, in my mind, I see Greg Proops.

Visit - The Dead Milkmen
Visit - The Dead Milkmen (wiki)
Buy - Beelzebubba...
... although Death Rides a Pale Cow: The Ultimate Collection looks pretty good!

tears of a clown

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!

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.

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?

One such band was The Divine Comedy, 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 Something for the Weekend in 1996 and released a series of quirkily comedic songs like Generation Sex and National Express. And, of course, Hannon wrote the theme tune and the genius My Lovely Horse for Father Ted.

However, in 2001 they released Regeneration, 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 proper band.

The Divine Comedy - Love What You Do



They recorded Regeneration with Nigel Godrich, who since then has become a by-word for "Danger! Thom Yorke crossing!" Back then I knew him as the bloke who did the last Pavement album and my favourite Beck album, Mutations. 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.

The Divine Comedy - Eye Of The Needle



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?

Visit - The Divine Comedy
Buy - Regeneration

operation grand slam

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 eMusic with which to entertain myself.

Pussy Galore - Dick Johnson



Pussy Galore - NYC:1999



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.

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 Ray Mears.

Dick Johnson comes from an album that was originally slated to be called Make Them All Eat Sh*t Slowly. Thankfully the record label intervened and the title was changed to the much more Woolworth's-friendly Dial M for Motherf**ker.

Visit - Pussy Galore (wiki)
Buy - Pussy Galore from eMusic
Buy - Pussy Galore CDs from Amazon

new standards

Being in Italy last month meant that I missed the broadcast on Radio 3 of a recent live set and interview from The Bad Plus on BBC Radio 3. I have spoken of my love for TBP on more than one 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:

The Bad Plus - Live at the Jazz Cafe London, June 2008 (plus interview)
(1hr, 54 MB)

[1] Dirty Blonde (Reid Anderson)
[2] Giant (Reid Anderson)
[3] Metal (Gyorgy Ligeti)
[4] And Here We Test Our Powers Of Observation (Reid Anderson)
[5] Flim (Richard D James)
[6] Have You Met Miss Jones (Rogers & Hart)
[7] Physical Cities (Reid Anderson)
plus interview

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.

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!

Here's a track from last year's Prog album, an interpretation of "Tom Sawyer" by Rush. Read Dave King's comments about Neil Peart here.

The Bad Plus - Tom Sawyer (Rush)



I don't have the original (whither Marc-o?) but I did find this great video. See also, Rush playing Tom Sawyer on 'Rock Band'.

Visit - The Bad Plus
Visit - Do The Math (TBP blog)
Buy - Prog

let's go fishing for the question

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 love it.

This tape was made for me by Darius, ex-guitar-mangler and chief-Oasis-botherer with Derby music legends Cable - 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.

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.

Kramer - I'm Your Fan



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.

Darius had the triple-LP box set of Kramer's The Guilt Trip - 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.

Looking at his wiki page, I'm very interested to hear the results of Kramer's "Brill Building" project on John Zorn's Tzadik label.

All my mates work with Kramer, btw - not just Cable but Manchester's fabulous Night Jars, too. When do I get a go? Harumph.

Buy - The Guilt Trip and other CDs direct from Kramer
Visit - Kramer

illness as art

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.

Her tape introduced me to lots of interesting stuff including the Dandelion Adventure, whose Puppy Shrine 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'.

Camper Van Beethoven - The Day That Lassie Went To The Moon



Camper Van Beethoven - Opie Rides Again/Club Med Sucks*
* if i was being true to Nicola's compilation I'd have removed 'Opie Rides Again' as this was edited off my tape.



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.

The Feelies - It's Only Life


This was the other stand-out track from this tape (via Shallyboy's music, 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?

Visit - Camper Van Beethoven
Visit - The Feelies
Buy - Popular Songs Of Great Enduring Strength And Beauty by CVB
Buy - Only Life by The Feelies (pricey import)

Image from here

drop me in for the badda-das

Bad News was the spoof New Wave of British Heavy Metal band featured in the first series of The Comic Strip Presents... This metal spoof was in production at the same time as This Is Spinal Tap.

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.

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 Johnny Domino lexicon.

Bad News - Excalibur



Bad News - Warriors Of Genghis Khan



Bad News - Hey Mr Bassman



The characters were in the main extensions of the Young Ones 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.

It's pretty clear that the Bad News boys had been listening to the infamous, hilarious Trogg Tapes. For more band-based shenanigans see also Father Ted's A Song for Europe - "play the f**king note!"

Buy - Bad News
Visit - Bad News