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Musings on the byways of popular culture

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ATM: A Girl Called Eddy – New stuff!!!!

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Long term members may recall that A Girl Called Eddy crops up as one of the great lost albums/artists of the last 20 years or so. One stellar album on the early noughties and then….silence.

Well it seems the wait is over. Firstly there’s a collaboration with Mehdi Zannad of FUGU on an album called The Last Detail, to be released in early November on Elefant records.

And, according to both her Instagram feed and a recent Facebook interview on an Eddy fan page, new album “Been Around” will be released soon. Featuring collaborations with Paul Williams, The Watson Twins and featuring Steely Dan’s horn section. She describes the new album as Annie Hall compared to the first one being The Seventh Seal, whatever that means! It is produced by Daniel Tashian of The Silver Seas.

The video link to Fun Fair from the Last Detail features a woman miming to Eddy’s vocals.

https://elefant.com/noticia/1001/

Elvis Costello & The Imposters – Look Now

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What does it sound like?:

This is Costello doing what he does best, creating classic pop music filtered through the sixties with lyrics full of wounded characters, lost souls and unrequited love. At various points this album recalls Brutal Youth, Painted From Memory and Imperial Bedroom, which is no bad thing.

Kicking off with Under Lime, a great pop tune with the Imposters in full flow, Costello is suddenly back, not revisiting old glories but showing that his craft is intact, the gift for melody as sure as ever. Three songs here are collaborations with Burt Bacharach and while not quite up to the standards of Painted From Memory it’s great to hear the two of them together again.

But the real meat of the album is Costello’s own songs. Stripping Paper, Unwanted Number, Suspect My Tears and He’s Given Me things are all superb with Costello in fine voice. In fact, to my ears, there isn’t a duff track here. I’ve played this album more times in the last week than I have his last three in the past five years. It’s that good. The sound is full and rich, the songs as good as anything » Continue Reading.

A New Bob Stanley/Pete Wiggs Compilation

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After their stellar English Weather compilation from last year, the lads have done it again with State Of The Union: The American Dream In Crisis 1967-73.

Having listened to some of the tracks available on Spotify (10 of them aren’t) it’s going on the Christmas list.

https://acerecords.co.uk/bob-stanley-pete-wiggs-present-state-of-the-union-the-end-of-the-american-dream-1967-73

Randomiser….has it shuffled off?

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Seems it’s been an age since the last randomiser. It may be very retro but hey, so am I. So, shuffle away and post the first 5 songs that come up.

Here’s mine: 1. Machine Gun – The Commodores 2. All Right Now – Free 3. Hey Joe – Jimi Hendrix 4. Birds – Neil Young 5. When The Revolution Comes – The Last Poets

Go…..

The Underwater Sunshine Podcast

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It seems Adam Duritz of popular beat combo The Counting Crows has been collaborating with a journalist, James Campion, for the last year or so on a book. Their long conversations gave them the idea to do a podcast. It’s like a radio show with two fanboys, who play loads of great music. One episode was dedicated to the music of Robyn Hitchcock, the latest focuses on women.

It’s all very good and well worth a listen.

http://countingcrows.com/podcast/

Thor: Ragnarok

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Year: 2017 Director: Taika Waititi

Those becoming tired of the MCU might just find themselves a tonic in the shape of the third Thor film, Ragnarok. Directed by Taika Waititi (Hunt for the Wilderpeople, What We Do In The Shadows), this is by far and away the best of the three Thor movies and, in my humble opinion, the best Marvel since the first Guardians of The Galaxy movie. Waititi brings his own brand of Kiwi humour to the franchise, with some laugh out loud interactions between the main protagonists and a scene stealing turn by the director himself, voicing the rock monster gladiator, Korg. The script is full of quotable lines, and Hemsworth and Ruffalo are a great double act as Thor and The Hulk. There’s a great cast here with Jeff Goldblum having fun as the Grand Master, Cate Blanchett vamping it up as Hela, Goddess of Death and a star turn from Tessa Thompson as Valkyrie. For once Marvel has some strong female characters on screen. But such is the pull of Marvel now that you can spot some big names popping up for a two minute cameo (look out for the “play” in Asgard). The look » Continue Reading.

The Next Bowie Box Set….

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With the announcement of Bowie’s “Berlin” box set, A New Career In A New Town, I’m wondering what the next one will be called? Given they are named after songs, i’d hazard a guess at Dancing With The Big Boys? Which would contain:

Let’s Dance Tonight Never Let Me Down Black Tie White Noise Serious Moonlight live Glass Spider live Re:Call 4

Any other suggestions?

Jerusalem

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Author:Alan Moore

What a long, strange trip it’s been.

Jerusalem by Alan Moore is one of the longest novels in the English language. It is also one of the strangest and hardest to describe, so full is it of philosophy, humour, memory, the nature of the universe, even time itself. Indeed, Life, The Universe and Everything. And all this set within the confines of a few square miles of Northampton’s poorest neighbourhood, The Boroughs, where Moore’s family lived and breathed for generations.

So, where to start? The novel is divided into three parts with a prologue and an epilogue, both of which feature the brother and sister Alma and Michael Warren. Alma is clearly a gender swapped rendition of Moore himself, as an artist rather than writer, but still the imposing Gothic figure we know and love. The first part, “The Boroughs”, leaps about all over the place, backwards and forwards in time and it reads more like a series of short stories with, at first, no obvious link. You really have to stick with it before the narrative threads begin to reveal themselves and it becomes apparent that this is not just the history of the Warren family (an » Continue Reading.

Scarred For Life

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Well this looks very interesting. The first of a two volume work on the darker side of pop culture in the 70s and 80s. The author is self publishing through www.lulu.com. The physical copy is black and white but he plans to give away a free, full colour e-book with every physical copy sold.

There’s a review on the blog link.

Now this book looks interesting….

https://ladydontfallbackwards.wordpress.com/2017/03/16/review-scarred-for-life-volume-one-the-1970s-by-stephen-brotherstone-and-dave-lawrence/

Born To Run

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Author:Bruce Springsteen

Bruce Springsteen is an American icon and this book, his own story in his own words, lays bare the man behind the songs. The pages are filled with the kind of imagery that fills his lyrics, but at the service of telling his own truth, not that of one of his characters.

From hard working class beginnings in Jersey, Springsteen reveals a man driven to write, play, sing and perform. A man bitten by the rock ‘n’ roll bug who sought to emulate his heroes: Dylan, Hendrix, The Stones, The Beatles, and in the process created the last great Rock ‘n’ Roll band – The E Street Band. He never did a day’s work in a “proper job”. It was music or nothing. Aware of his own limitations he forged a career through sheer force of will, talent and great songs.

He speaks openly of his emotionally distant father (subject and subtext of many of his songs) and, most surprising and revealing, his own battles with depression and emotional unavailability. This was a side of Springsteen I knew nothing about, but he talks about it with great candour. Therapy and medication, as well as the love of a » Continue Reading.

Ross Noble – Brain Dump

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Venue:

Theatre Severn, Shrewsbury

Date: 12/02/2017

Ross Noble live is a different proposition from his TV appearances. Live his wild, surreal, tangential flights of fancy are given free rein, with absolutely hilarious results. On a stage full of inflatable lightbulbs Ross gives us, amongst other things, the building of a barrel organ for use in “sado-mechanism” (complete with toy monkey banging cymbals); wearing glass trilbys during sex; an Eagles tribute act for pensioners; new catchphrase “strap yourself in bitches, its time for some Swiss fun!”; popular Swiss names; how to cook a weasel; the problem of finding pre-gig food in Shrewsbury and why are sandwiches now served on planks. Belly laughs straight from the off, this was one of the funniest gigs I have seen. I’m not sure how much was “scripted” (I’m sure he has fall-back gags), but it all seemed off-the-cuff and he had the whole place rocking with laughter. A brilliant comedian at the height of his powers.

The audience:

A mixed bag of studenty types and middle class white people. But then it was Shrewsbury.

It made me think..

That laughter is the best medicine. After a shockingly depressing year or so, given the “state » Continue Reading.

Brush up your Shakespeare…

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My question to Da Massive is this: what are the most successful Shakespeare adaptations, be they film or television?

For myself I have a soft spot for Branagh’s Much Ado About Nothing, Welles’s Macbeth and the recent BBC Hollow Crown series (Richard II, Hernry IV & V).

But what about Chimes at Midnight? Olivier’s Henry V or Branagh’s? McKellen’s WW1 version of Richard III?

The BBC…end of the road.

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Those daring young men at the BBC are planning some lovely Poverty Porn for us.

They will find “Britain’s Hardest Grafter” in a Hunger Games style show that pits low paid workers against each other, specifically targeting young graduates who haven’t found a job yet.

On BBC2 no less.

I want my licence fee back. This is not how things should be.

http://t.co/iudFxmk8S9

Mad Max: Fury Road

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Year: 2015 Director: George Miller

The long delayed Fury Road finally hits the UK and so I went to see for myself whether it lives up to the hype. Tom Hardy is suitably taciturn as the titular Max, who we meet chomping on a two-headed lizard, and we are plunged headlong into the action as Max is pursued and captured by the Warboys of the hideously deformed Immortan Jon. Taken back to The Citadel, Max is shorn, tattooed and used as a “Universal Donor”, pumping his blood into Warboys in need of a top up. Things don’t stay still for long as Charlize Theron’s Furiosa decides to kidnap Immortan Jon’s favourite “wives” in a War Rig tanker and head out across the desert for The Green Place, hotly pursued by all manner of crazies, including Max strapped to the front of a car on a pole as a mobile “blood bag”. There ensues one almighty car chase across the post-apocalyptic wastes. The look of the film is gorgeous, all metal and diesel and searing red desert and it obviously harks back to the feel of Mad Max 2. This is a good thing. The action set pieces are astonishing, made » Continue Reading.

Brandon Flowers

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Having seen the erstwhile Killers frontman perform his new single I was struck by its similarity to a classic 80’s single. What do you think? (Give Brandon 40 seconds or so and you’ll see what I mean…)

http://youtu.be/zE59zXvBVuw

Be Afraid

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David Cameron is to address the National Security Council. He will open with this statement:

“For too long, we have been a passively tolerant society, saying to our citizens: as long as you obey the law, we will leave you alone.”

All this under the guise of protecting “British Values”, whatever that means. See the link for more info.

http://www.politics.co.uk/blogs/2015/05/13/theresa-may-s-plans-are-a-threat-to-british-values

Róisín Murphy – Hairless Toys

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What does it sound like?:

It has been eight years since Murphy’s last album, Overpowered, one of the great lost pop albums of the last ten years. Now the ex-Moloko singer returns with an album of dark, pulsating dance tracks. Eight songs, all over 5 minutes long, one stretching out to over 9, this album takes a few listens to get into, but once the songs worm their way into your brain, you’re hooked. The first track, Gone Fishing, perhaps the weakest, meanders a bit too much, but the the album kicks into gear with Evil Eyes and then never lets up. Beautifully sung, Murphy’s voice giving depth to cryptic lyrics while synths pound and the bass pummels you into submission. There is dark disco here, but also touches of jazz. Standouts are Exploitation, Uninvited Guest and House of Glass. A superb return.

What does it all *mean*?

That one of our quirkiest pop stars is back and in fine form. Her previous solo albums, Ruby Blue and Overpowered are well worth listening to. As is the stuff she did with Moloko. Murphy has a voice of great range and emotion and really should be a bigger star than » Continue Reading.

Today I did this

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Since Friday I’ve been fed up, frustrated and angry.

So instead of hand wringing and sulking I’ve decided to do something constructive. I have joined Liberty and Amnesty International. It may not be much, but I’ll add my voice to the growing chorus of discontent at least.

Peace.

Agitpop

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Troubled times. But where’s the anger in popular music? Your favourite examples of protest music past, present or future.

Keep on Keepin On!