Review of 2014 : A-Z of music

To complete the review of 2014 here is a A-Z playlist of bands i liked in 2014, there are a few letters missing but 21 out of 26 isn't bad. That concludes the 2014 review, see you in 2015!

The madness... the Eurovision

Its Eurovision week, this time being held in Copenhagen. I've always been a big fan of the pan-Europe music contest, of course in the UK that seems to signify you are either gay or like cheese (or both). Well neither really but i like to make up my own mind about things and not just rely on tired stereotype criticisms being rolled out for the umpteenth time. I love the nonsense, the irrelevance, the outrageousness of it all. I also like the chance to see some non-Anglosphere pop culture on TV, we don't get much of that though the recent European TV drama wave on BBC has been very refreshing.

Watching Eurovision and following it in the media can be a bit frustrating because of the tired endlessly repeated angles. You know the kind of thing, "its all political", "everyone hates us", "they all vote for their neighbours" et cetera. Now you can easily debunk these but there isn't much point because someone else will just repeat them all again anyway.

Moving on shall we... i've now seen both semi-finals and i'm looking forward to Saturday's final. Much of the attention has been on the bearded lady from Austria though i'm looking forward more to a bit of turbo folk and... well... Italy.

POTD : Cantopop

A Cantopop singer performing in London's Chinatown.

2013 in review : Music

With a lot less money available to buy music i found there was masses of free indie pop out there anyway. As usual for my indie music blog i do an end of year A-Z playlist of some of the bands i liked most in the year, and here it is.

Greta Garbo's record collection?

There are millions of blogs out there and many of them cover rather strange and wonderfully obscure topics (i have a few myself), but one of the strangest recently that i have come across is Greta's Records by Allison Anders. Its a brilliant blog written by someone who bought the record collection of the late screen legend Greta Garbo in auction and now writes about the records they have found in the collection.

At first glance this might seem an odd thing to do, especially as Garbo's last movie was in 1941 so the records covered might seen rather old and obscure, but Garbo lived until 1990 and lived a private life refusing many offers to make a comeback after retiring at the age of 35.

Garbo is therefore a rather interesting character and her record collection is a lot more contemporary then you might think including the likes of the Beatles and The Byrd's Gene Clark as well as world music. The delightful blog discusses the records in the collection and what they might have meant to Garbo as she listened to them.

Rocking in London

Following my Friday trip to Stratford-upon-Avon i went down to London the next day (part of it spent in the other Stratford). I went down mostly to catch some great bands at a gig in East London (you can read the review here on my music blog) but also to check out the hipster area of Brick Lane.

There is some great street art there for sure, my favourite was the statue of a goat. I finished off my Lomo roll of 110 film on my Instamatic camera, it seemed the thing to do.

How do you turn music into money?

How do you turn your music into money? Of course everyone does it for the sake of the music but that doesn't pay the gas bill. This interesting article shows how an independent artist (Zoe Keating a cellist) makes her money. Basically she makes most of it from iTunes with Bandcamp and Amazon also providing the bulk of her revenue. Streaming sites like Spotify only provide a small amount of income though as with anything the exact mix will depend on the artist and their genre.

The message surely has to be though that by cutting out the middle man (i.e. the major record labels) then artists can be best rewarded for their art. Thats what we indie kids have been saying all along...

Musical musings (2) : HMV

The collapse of HMV into administration unfortunately is not unexpected. The music and media retailer has been struggling for some time. The internet (and especially Amazon of course) will be blamed for their demise but i think its a lot more complicated than that. Supermarkets are never mentioned in the High Street's woes but they have expanded away from groceries over the last decade. All big supermarkets now sell CDs and DVDs as well as electrical goods. The Tesco near where i work sells TVs, cameras, Kindles and accessories. Each pound spent in a supermarket on a CD or a camera is a pound not spent in HMV or Jessops.

The internet is a big factor of course but HMV's mismanagement did not help. The stores should have moved away from trying to compete on the mass market years ago. They should have capitalised on the key place a store like HMV has in youth culture : a meeting place. When i was young places like HMV were frequently a place you met your friends outside (and usually went inside). HMV should have improved the in-store experience to make their stores a youth destination.

How about a cafe, sell comics, have some micro-units for funky local fashion designers, accessories? They also should have reduced their stock of chart music and improved their selection of more youth orientated genres like indie and urban. They also should have gone into downloads early. They could have had a key advantage in digital music. Imagine being able to go to a store and listen to a huge library of tracks and then pay and download the ones you liked to your mp3 player in-store?

Well its probably too late now. These things should have been done over 5 years ago. The company has been run down by mismanagement at the top. The previous CEO was at Comet and the current one was at Jessops before now. Makes you think doesn't it?

Musical musings (1) : 6 Music

I should love BBC 6 Music. The station caters to my age group, plays the indie music i listen to (and blog about) so it should be so locked on my radio that the tuning dial has gone stiff through lack of use. But unfortunately i find 6 Music unbearable. I've tried listening to it a number of times but manage at most 10 minutes before i have to turn it over to something like Capitol or Five Live.

This baffles me of course and i really wish it wasn't true but it is. I am wondering if its due to expectations. I expect to like the music on 6 Music whereas if i listen to the likes of Capitol i don't really expect to like the music and i treat it as aural wallpaper. So if i hear a song on 6 Music i don't like then i am disappointed (and to be honest a lot of indie is crap anyway especially the more mainstream stuff). Maybe i am just too weird and/or elitist and shun the company of my peers, yes that's probably it.

Mary Chapin Carpenter & Shawn Colvin live at Birmingham Symphony Hall (Oct 18 2012)

Some may think its a bit of a departure from the electro synth indie noise terror i usually listen to but on Thursday evening i enjoyed ... some folk and country rock in an acoustic setting.

In fact i have been a fan of Mary Chapin Carpenter since i was a teenager and as those years are (ahem) some time ago i thought it was about time i saw her live. Here the two singer-songwriters were without their bands, just them on stage with a bunch of acoustic guitars.

And it was great, despite being in a (nearly full) big hall the feel was intimate. Carpenter mentioned how the two of them often just played songs to each other in their kitchens, this was a bit like that only sans coffee. The banter between the songs was great especially from Colvin, the little stories adding much to the songs that followed. As for the songs, they were a mix of old and new and performed well.

Carpenter plugged her new album quite a lot (which is brilliant by the way) but there was a cheer when the golden oldie "This shirt" was played. That indeed was a song off the first album of hers i bought so many years ago...

I'm early as usual

Blowing my big lottery win

I won big on the lottery at the weekend (well 4 numbers anyway) and have decided to blow it on 70s pop cheese. To be precise a number of Top of the Pops CDs. These were released regularly from the late 60s to the early 80s packed with cover versions of pop hits of the day. These covers are a mixed bag, sometimes they sound just like the original (or close enough), at other times they don't sound anything like them but sometimes the cover can be good, other times it can be a bit drivel.

On occasion though the cover falls into the "so bad its good" category, on one of these albums the cover of The Who's "won't get fooled again" really should be heard to be believed.

Ladyhawke / She's So Rad live!

I don't go to many live gigs actually so why not do a review when i actually do? This is republished from my music blog.

Its been over three years since Ladyhawke first came to people's attention with her debut album and its blend of 80s retro and indie pop. Finally she is following it up, this tour to help herald her return. And that return will be very welcome if the new material presented tonight at the Glee Club in Birmingham is anything to go by.

Maybe looking slightly nervous Ladyhawke came out on stage, her microphone stand bedecked with fairy lights and then ploughed straight into a mix of beloved tracks from her first album and her next.

Highlight of the night was probably the electro-pop attack of "Magic" though the new song "Blue eyes" also scored highly on the awesome-ometer. The night finished with a rousing "My delirium" and that was it, no encore though i think everything was pretty much covered.

There is a pop superstar in this picture but you need to look closely.

Starting off proceedings were She's So Rad, a New Zealand shoegazey indie pop band. I'd not heard of them before a few days ago but i'm a definite fan now. Reverb heavy pop noise = sure win! The vocal mix needed a bit of sorting out but the guitar noise was terrific. I'll have tinnitus for days i'm sure.

TOTP (06/01/1977)

We haven’t had a Top Of The Pops review for some time, so lets jump into 1977 with Kid Jensen. If BBC4 keep showing these shows from 1977 then i think we see some punk before very long but first...

Sheer Elegance - dance the night away 
Well some things haven’t changed yet, men in garish matching outfits and tight trousers gyrate over a decent (but not much more than that) soul number. It has handclaps in the backing which always looks very odd when no one is actually clapping.

10cc - things we do for love 
We go straight to a music video and some big 70s rock pop. We see tambourines and lots of lights. Its alright.

Tina Charles - doctor love 
The blessed Tina is here to groove in an oddly hideous light purple dress. Still she is in her usual form, this song seems oddly un-disco for something described as a disco hit, more a normal pop song with some disco-like instrumentation. Despite that its still great... ish.

Smokie - living next door to Alice 
Just so you know this is Smokie performing there is a huge sign on the wall with their name on. A lovely song of course, enough pop to get over the mountain of sentimentality.

Gladys Knight and the Pips - nobody but you 
A classy song from a classy lady, very fetching in a huge green scarf. A definite gospel vibe to this one, we have handclaps too and this time we actually see people making them.

Jethro Tuul - ring out Solstice bells 
Flute and bell rich hippy nonsense. As it is a seasonal song i feel bad saying its rubbish, but it is.

David Soul’s “don’t give up on us baby” is performed by Legs & Co in matching blue dresses. Only one dances while the others stay lying down, union rules? Oh wait they have all got up now.

The Drifters - you’re more than a number in my little red book 
More matching suits and retro-soul. This is the sort of song my parents used to listen to a lot back then, so its their fault.

Clodagh Rogers - save me
A plunging neckline can hide a multitude of sins, such as a boring song. She kept the attention of the young lads in the audience anyway.

Boney M - daddy cool 
Some German disco action, well you don’t get the chance to say that very often. A very disjointed performance indeed, at times they look like they are trying to knock each other over and the vocalist doesn’t seem to remember the words. Its so bad it could almost be an X-Factor performance. Nice mad dancing though.

Kid Jensen is here with Donna Summer who is here to introduce this week’s number one which is... 

Johnny Mathis - when a child is born 
Christmas is over already.

Bringing in 2012

I bought New Year in (what exactly does that mean exactly? "Bought in"?) in London with my in-laws which was fun and different. I also had the chance to do some book shopping obviously and, for the first time in the capital, some canal walking at Little Venice in Paddington along the Grand Union and Regent's Canals.

Later on while wandering through St. John's Wood i came upon the Abbey Road zebra crossing, thus i was able to cross a road while a crowd of Japanese tourists looked on.

2011 Review : A-Z of 2011 Pop

I put together a playlist on Youtube bringing together an A-Z of bands i liked in 2011. I drew a blank on Q, U and V but the other 23 letters stand for some pretty good bands and songs. Check them out!

TOTP (25/11/1976)

Jimmy Saville (RIP) is here with the hottest pop sounds and lo we have a new number 1 but first...

Kursaal Flyers - little does she know
This song was used later on by a cough mixture brand for its advert. We get a not unpleasant syrupy (ahem) pop song and they have some washing machines on stage, no doubt an inspiration for Vic Reeves many years later. The singer also has a quiff so big it interferes with the studio ceiling lights.

Dr Hook - if not you
Dr Hook wonders who is going to mend his pants, well its not me thats for sure. The director displays a burst of genius when the camera fixes on an electric guitar during the pedal steel guitar solo. Still all the same of course, strings and stuff.

Billy Ocean - stop me
Stop me if you heard it all before, oh please because i have.

Legs & Co (the show where they were officially named has been lost alas) are here to interpret Be Bop Deluxe’s “maid in heaven” through the medium of dance. Keen to win over bitter fans of Ruby Flipper the Legs have gone for the nearly naked look, oh and the usual dodgy dance.

Jimmy has an uncanny knack of collecting sailors when he is on TOTP.

Cliff Richard - hey Mr Dreammaker
Not my favourite Cliff song (not that i have many) but not a bad music video to be honest, for the time anyway, which looks like a bit BBC Sci-fi horror. Only sans cybernauts or daleks.

ABBA - money money money
Another ABBA anthem, we get an intriguing video full of meaningful looks and 70s frocks.

Elton John - sorry seems to be the hardest word
Well its a great song and he wears great specs.

Jimmy is surrounded by ladies, one of whom seems to be being goosed or nearly falling over anyway.

Chicago - if you leave me now
So Pussycat are no more, we got AOR city instead with the same MV used on an earlier show.

TOTP (04/11/1976)

Noel Edmonds is in front of a sack, and he of course makes a hilarious joke about getting the sack. No one could have predicted that of course. Pussycat remain at number 1 but to start off...

Showaddywaddy - under the moon of love
The faux 50s rockers are here, cutely their “live” performance is interspersed with a recording making earlier when they are wearing different coloured suits. Doo wah wah et cetera. Its inoffensive fun.

The Manhattans - hurt
This earnest video again, every single ounce of emotion is drawn out. The sort of song you listen to when you’ve had a break-up, a row, or broken your lava lamp and especially if all three.

Noel has all the entries for the name the dance troupe competition in a sack. He says there have been so many entries they’ve got to delay the naming until next week.

The nameless dancers are here to dance to “All right now”, that is a bit old isn’t it? Oh wait its another song that rips it off rather blatantly, in fact its the Steve Miller Band with Rock and me. The dancing looks like a rip-off too of the kind of formless shuffling Ruby Flipper mastered.

The Who - substitute
My favourite Who song is in the chart at #15 for some reason, not that i am complaining obviously. Here is some live performance from The Who. Oh yeah. I was born with a plastic spoon in my mouth too. This a bit better than Showaddywaddy eh?

Bonnie Tyler - lost in France
Its not bad if your second single makes the top 30 according to Noel, of course in the 1970s it indeed was good going. A jolly tune with a bit of accordion in the background just to hammer home this song is about being lost in France. Next week Bonnie wears a beret and an onion string.

Tavares - don’t stop the music
The Tavares have stolen the world’s entire supply of dry ice. And have dressed as matadors too, they are spoiling us.

The Climax Blues Band - couldn’t get it right
A singing saxophonist! This is cool, especially as singing sax man has an appealingly low voice. As a bit of late 70s boogie woogie rock it can’t be beat.

Noel is on stage with Chicago who he thinks should be at number 1 but they arn’t so ner as its still...

Pussycat - Mississippi
We’re back on the river boat!

TOTP (27/10/1976)

Tony Blackburn is here with the hottest pop sounds...

Alan Price - kissed away the night
We start off with a rather generic piece of mid-1970s pop-rock, it has piano and some sha-la-las and isn't much better than passable.

Tony Blackburn is wearing a t-shirt that states he hates David Hamilton, no doubt there will be a hilarious joke later on.

Chicago - if you leave me now
Tony says its the #3 sound and a lovely sound too. Its a syrupy piece of white pop-soul recorded in a studio somewhere but no doubt thousands of miles from the BBC.

OK here comes the joke, David Hamilton is wearing a t-shirt that says he hates Tony Blackburn. LOLZ

Leo Sayer - you make me feel like dancing
OK this edition of TOTP is turning into my Dad's record collection. Leo does high-pitched disco singing in a hi-tec SFX laden studio set piece with a budget of tens. I grew up on songs like this, but somehow ended up loving pop music.

Joan Armatrading - love and affection
Raising the class a bit Joan with one of her folk-rock hits, but because just seeing someone standing there with a guitar is a bit boring we get some SFX fun too. At one stage we get about 20 Joans on the screen at the same time, which quite frankly is enough for anyone.

The as-yet unnamed new dancers are here to frolic about to Lalo Schifrin's "theme from Jaws", this has to be a new low. It is unimaginably bad but does include wet suits and shark fins but maybe not in a good way. Tony pimps the contest again but don't enter now as the competition to name the dancers is over, no matter how good your entry they arn't going to rename Legs & Co. at this stage in 2011.

Simon May - the Summer of my life
Boring man at the old joanna, got to say this isn't a vintage edition of TOTP.

Wild Cherry - play that funky music
Play that funky music white boy. Is it funky though? Interesting question.

Pussycat - Mississippi
For their third week at number 1 Pussycat are live in the studio, having bored of their floating gambling den.

TOTP (21/10/1976)

Ed Stewart is here to run us through the hottest pop sounds...

Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel - love is a prima donna
Steve is in a rather fetching red suit, the song itself grooves along fairly inoffensively but then moves into a rather higher gear and some lovely guitar work Ed appreciates.

There is a competition tonight, get a pen and paper ready.

Demis Roussos - when forever has gone
The warbling big man is dressed as Moses and still has a fantastic big beard. A song that probably works at the end of a long night in a Mediterranean bar but maybe not so much here...

Ed has a couple of sailor girls with him, daughters of a couple of Beverley Sisters apparently. I’d rather look at them than...

Paul Nicholas - dancing with the captain
Paul has gone for a bowler hat and white jacket look which is not very nautical. It doesn’t change my enjoyment of this song though. SFX alert! Overlay of some water moving about while Paul tries to get people to clap. Ah good its ended.

Rod Stewart - sailing
Rod walks around a boat looking moody. We get to see some film of Britain’s sea power too. Little did people know watching this that the Tories were soon to get back in power and gut the Royal Navy, of course that couldn’t happen these days.

Ed is a thorn along six roses... the new TOTP dancers infact and the audience are invited to give them a name. I suggest... er... Legs & Co. Do i win?

John Miles - remember yesterday
At the old joanna for a rather generic but not unpleasant late 70s pop-rock song.

The as-yet unnamed new dancers are here to dance seductively to the Average White Band’s “queen of my soul”. Well parade around in flowing dresses anyway on a star shaped stage, very age of Aquarius. One of the dancers looks like my art teacher at secondary school (in the 80s), couldn’t have been? Could it? I hope it was.

Climax Blues Band - couldn’t get it right
SFX overload takes us into a mass of flares and long hair. Nice understated cool feel to this.

Whats this, Joe Bugner (no really) is here to introduce the number 1...

Pussycat - Mississippi
Same western themed MV on a boat, great stuff by the way.

Back to vinyl

Years ago (and we are talking mid-90s so literally ice ages ago) i was a vinyl fiend. I bought scores of obscure indie pop 7" singles and a good number of LPs too (though preferred CDs for long play) and all was good. However life changes in the end of the 90s (i.e. getting married) meant i needed space so somethings had to go, in an act of what can only be described as cultural vandalism that included my vinyl collection as i was out of love with indie pop at the time. All my singles and LPs went in the skip, now when i think back at what was lost including much of the Sarah records back discography i regret this so much.

Of course i have continued buying scores of records a year, but now just CDs. However recently there have been a few singles out there released on 7" vinyl only and although its possible to get downloadable versions of these songs i thought it would be nice to actually listen to them properly (and space is no longer a problem these days). So i bought a cheap self-contained record player which arrived yesterday. Two singles i ordered elsewhere also arrived at the same time luckily so i had something to play on it! I'll continue to mainly buy CDs but now i will from time to time enjoy the ultimate pop thrill of seven inches of plastic.