We write about the songs that make the whole world sing, we write about the songs of love and special things, we write about the songs that make the young girls cry, we write about the songs, we write about the songs.
Here's popular beat combo The Scroops with their first interweb appearance, and it's an oldie and a goodie. Some boat people make an impromptu appearance at the end, which is nice.
Remember when the Bluetones were the coolest thing around? Granted this was a very brief period between about October 1994 and November 1994, and yet I still managed to see them five times. If ever there was a sign of their declining cool, it's the fact that this blog has taken nine months to mention them. By the summer of 96, they were so uncool that when they appeared on the same Jules Holland show with ZZ Top, it was the weirdo beardos on the cover of NME the following week.
I've been meaning to post this one for a while, ever since Anna said she'd never heard the song. Or maybe she just didn't recognise it from my ukulele rendition. Said rendition will be my cameo appearance in the film The Songs of Bacharach and David, as a busker gently butchering the mellow sounds of the sixties. However, given that once again I got up at 11am today, I have yet to find the time to take on a further project. I'm waiting for a spurt of creativity, but once it comes, mister, you mark my words...
This video is an excellent experiment in the beauty of minimalism. The light at the start, the appearance of Gene Pitney as he walks to the camera, about to present a hard-hitting current affairs programme. We should make some Scroops videos while you're over, following the same ethos.
I first heard of Gene Pitney when he appeared on Top of the Pops with Marc Almond singing Something's Got a Hold of my Heart. My nanna sat there muttering "poor old Gene Pitney" throughout the performance. I thought it was because he'd died. I think in fact he'd just been outed by the Daily Mail. A former Leeds Polytechnic student, both of Marc Almond's UK number ones were covers, the other being Tainted Love, a 1964 single by Cincinatti's Gloria Jones, penned by Ed Cobb who also wrote Every Little Bit Hurts (recorded by The Small faces and The Clash).
We've all got to be careful reading Bill Drummond. Calling for a new year zero for music is all well and good if you want to make a statement about innovation or shake up some cobwebbed pre-conceptions about what music should be. But if you end up feeling that guitars and drums simply bashing out a good tune is without merit, you're going to miss out on a whole world of enjoyment.
Here is Dodos playing Fools. Another fine song from 2008 featuring guitars and drums and just as valid as Justice or Hercules and Love Affair or, for that matter, the Justified Ancients of MuMu.
Dear James,
That's the thing though, isn't it? If you say that all music is dead and you have to start all over again, you're left with a fairly unlistenable mish-mash of Gregorian chant over a remixed KLF breakbeat. In fact, Drummond gives in at the end of 17 and slips on some Pet Sounds and, oh dear, James Brown as he drives his merry way to Scotch Corner.
I liked this one more than your other song of the year. I like any stuff with funny drums. And bands that are two-pieces. Like the mighty Scroops. Must dash, the milanesas are ready.
Since you posted before The Christmas Of Barbeques, I have been mulling over my songs of the year. And, well, I have a shortlist. But it all exists in my head at the moment and since I've promised to write to you in this way tonight and not delay delay delay I shall have to do something different with the songs of 2008 and spread them out over various messages to you. Everyone's a winner.
Well, it's the new year. I don't usually put much effort into resolutions (neither the construction of nor the subsequent crashing failure to achieve) but this year I've decided to get out to some more gigs. More bands than ever are getting into vans and driving up and down the country (which is one reason we decided not to in 2008) but I've seen fewer than ever before. And so to Of Montreal's Suffer for Fashion which I think may have been one of my tracks of 2008 (time is passing really quickly - it may have been a track of 2007) and which I would very much like to seek out live in 2009.
Something you may not know about me is that I'm a big fan of the Elephant 6 collective. Ever since you left me for a year and I had to set up a radio station to fill my time. That's when I discovered and played the Olivia Tremor Control's Jumping Fences to everyone eating in The Park. Unfortunately for them, I didn't know how to operate the studio desk and was also playing bits of Dog On Wheels by Belle and Sebastian to them as I tried to line that song up, ready to play next. I'm better than that now. Of Montreal have strong links to those 90s psych fellows and it shows.
Dear James,
It's growing on me that one. But reading Bill Drummond has had a similar effect on me as listening to Coldplay for the first time: is this all we can do with guitars and drums? Maybe the rest of The Scroops songs should avoid using all these things, but then we'd be left with a very twee album of ukuleles and melodicas.
Do tell us more about Elephant6. Last year I went to a grand total of one gig (or three if I include friends' bands), so I'm obliged to say that Kaiser Chiefs was the best band I saw live last year. Maybe I should get out more too.
James and Daniel, or Jim and Danny to an unfortunate few, were going to be like the old men who ran 78 Records in Stockport, but writing a blog about the songs and videos they came across seemed a lot less hassle, and saved them having to move to Stockport. And so they created 78x78 Records, so that other people could know what it was like to be their friend, and what they wrote about when they wrote to each other about music. And so they will post videos of songs you might enjoy 78x78 times. And then they will stop. And then they will do something else. That's 6084 posts. They´ll endeavour to get it done quickly. They'd love to hear from you and any videos or songs you'd like them to post. You can do this by commenting in the pertinent area, or by e-mailing them your suggestions at 78discos@gmail.com
