Everything Is Fine

Celebrating David Lynch, born 20th January 1946, whose death was announced on Thursday, days before what would have been his 79th birthday.

 

This wasn't the Friday post I originally had in mind, and is a hastily cobbled together selection of a dozen of David Lynch songs, remixes (of and by), cover versions and mash-ups. 

 

The collection starts and ends in possibly predictable fashion, Pixies' cover of In Heaven (Lady In The Radiator Song) in 1988 making as much of an impression on my teenage mind as the opening minutes of Lynch's 1987 film Blue Velvet. 

 

And yes, I know it's a cheat including Lana Del Rey's version over Bobby Vinton's cover, which was the inspiration for the film, but the latter makes a cheeky appearance in Voicedude's contribution to the intriguing (and sadly no longer available) 2008 compilation Mashed In Plastic: The David Lynch Mash-Up Album.

I got to see nearly all of David Lynch's films on the big screen, including a re-release of Eraserhead in the early 1990s, and with the exception of Dune (1984) and Inland Empire (2006). And on the small screen, I was left with an agonising wait to complete the Twin Peaks experience, as I headed off to Australia for a year after Season 1's cliffhanger ending on BBC2. 

Edisrehtoehtnoees

 

1) In Heaven (Lady In The Radiator Song): David Lynch & Alan R Splet ft. Peter Ivers (1976)

2) This Is David Lynch: Neiltomo (2008)

3) Pinky's Dream (Trentemøller Remix): David Lynch ft. Karen O (2012)

4) Girl Panic! (Remix By David Lynch & Dean Hurley): Duran Duran (2011)

5) Fuel To Fire (David Lynch Remix): Agnes Obel (2014)

6) I Know (Jon Hopkins Remix): David Lynch (2011)

7) Velvet Dreams: Voicedude (2008)

8) The Big Dream (Moby Reversion): David Lynch ft. Mindy Jones (2014)

9) Rockin' Back Inside My Heart (Tibetan Single Mix By Greg Royal): Julee Cruise (1989)

10) Blue Velvet (Single Version) (Cover of Tony Bennett): Lana Del Rey (2012)

11) Falling (Cover of Julee Cruise): The Wedding Present (1992)

12) In Heaven (Lady In The Radiator Song) (John Peel Session) (Cover of David Lynch & Alan R Splet ft. Peter Ivers): Pixies (1988) 

 

1982: Eraserhead OST: 1

1989: Rockin' Back Inside My Heart EP: 9 

1992: Silver Shorts EP: 11

1998: Pixies At The BBC: 12

2008: Mashed In Plastic: The David Lynch Mashup Album: 2, 7

2011: Girl Panic! EP: 4 

2011: Good Day Today / I Know EP: 6

2012: Pinky's Dream EP: 3 

2012: The Paradise Edition EP: 10

2014: Aventine: 5

2014: The Big Dream Remix EP: 8

Everything Is Fine (46:33) (KF) (Mega)

An Array Of Audio

As a companion piece to yesterday's post, ten more new songs that have piqued my curiosity in the past week. 

And this is still only scratching the surface. I've missed out Rialto's unexpected comeback single, but don't worry, Martin and Rol have got amply it covered at New Amusements and My Top Ten respectively. And Swiss Adam wrote some beautiful words about the opening song last Friday at Bagging Area.

As with yesterday's post, the ten songs are listed alphabetically by artist. With one exception, you can click on the artist's name to buy their music. 

And please do, they're all very good.

1) "i'm in love...": Andy Bell ft. Dot Allison & Michael Rother (Cover of The Passions)
2) CHROMA 008 TANGZ: Bicep ft. Eliza

3) Climbing (Solomun Mix): Caribou

4) Summertime (Joe Morris Dusk On The Playa Mix): Cree

5) Black Sun (Jack Essek Revision): Dead Can Dance

6) A Day To Breathe: Julie Pavon

7) The Place I Call My Home: Mark Rae

8) 8th Deadly Sin: Miki Berenyi Trio

9) Shake Yo Bum Bum: Moony ft. DJ VonDiego

10) Druantia (City Lights Sessions): The WAEVE

I could easily offer up another ten tomorrow, but it's Friday so...

 

  

   

 

 

 

 

 

 

A Smorgasbord Of Songs

These days, my inbox is overwhelmed with notices and heads up regarding new music, so much coming through on a daily basis that I just can't keep up with it, let alone mention it on this blog. 

Which is a shame, because there's a lot of interesting stuff out there, whether it's artists that I'm hearing for the first time, don't know a lot about but am already hooked, or long-time favourites still hitting the mark.

So, I've gathered ten releases in the past week or so and put them in one big smorgasbord of audio and visual tasters. If you like them, click on the artist's name to buy their music.

Oh, and make sure you stop by A History Of Dubious Taste, where Jez wrote a great piece yesterday, enthusing about one of the artists featured below, an early contender for his album of 2025.

Immerse yourself in the music.

1) You Were The Ones I Had To Betray: Dean Wareham
2) Queen Of 14th St: Decius

3) Vacillator: Ethel Cain

4) Switch Over: Horsegirl

5) Orlando in Love: Japanese Breakfast

6) Cuntology 101: Lambrini Girls

7) Fanzine Made Of Flesh: Mogwai

8) Disco Nap: Polo & Pan ft. Metronomy

9) Imagine 100 Dads: SKLOSS

10) Mirror: The Weather Station

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Squashed In The Back Of A Taxi, Wondering Where You Are

Everything Is Recorded have dropped three new songs since November, ahead of their third (or seventh*) album, Temporary, arriving on the last day of February.

Losing You features Sampha, Jah Wobble, Mary In The Junkyard, Yazz Ahmed, TIC and Laura Groves, with an infectious groove, an earworm 80s sample and a video featuring most of the cast squashed in the back of a taxi. 

Sampha leads the way vocally, but there's a lovely left turn halfway through, represented in the video by the group disembarking at a petrol station to buy some sweets and fizzy drinks from the shop. Richard Russell and Clari Freeman-Taylor share earphones whilst Laura Groves sings over the spaced out bridging section. 

It's back in the cab for the final 30 seconds or so, a blink-and-you'll-miss-him shot of Jah Wobble, now in the back seat playing bass, and providing a voice over with Sampha in the closing moments. Well worth three minutes of your time. 

Last Thursday, the third preview single dropped, the appropriately titled Swamp Dream #3. Clari Freeman-Taylor from Mary In The Junkyard trudging through the mud with a small TV set, featuring...Clari Freeman-Taylor singing. 

 

This song is reminiscent of the music Richard Russell (aka Everything Is Recorded and XL label boss) has created with Samantha Morton (who also appears on the new album): queasy, unsettling vocals atop sinister strings.

Lastly, but firstly in terms of release dates, there is Porcupine Tattoo, featuring Noah Cyrus (daughter of Billy Ray and sister of Miley) and Bill Callahan (married to Hanly Banks with two kids), 

None of this is random. In 2010, Russell produced and released Gil Scott-Heron's final studio album, I’m New Here. The album was named after and covered the Bill Callahan song of the same name. 

Russell approached Callahan about a collaboration, asking who he would like to write a song for. “Noah Cyrus” was Callahan’s reply. The end result features a duet of Callahan’s original demo vocal with Cyrus’ deep, warm tones. The minimalist sound palette includes a foot stomping bass and country twangs and it's really quite beautiful.

* Between September 2023 and May 2024, Everything Is Recorded released a series of four albums, each inspired by the annual cycle of solstice and equinox, summer to autumn to winter to spring. Hours of collaborative improvisations were edited and reshaped into 10 songs and roughly 35 minutes for each album. And they're all available as a free download on Bandcamp.

Türkçe'de "Karanlık Dalga" Nasıl Denir?

Or, how do you say "Dark Wave" in Turkish?

Katarsis by She Past Away was Lady K's pick when I asked for suggestions to spend the Bandcamp gift voucher that she bought for my birthday last month. 

According to their bio, "She Past Away is dark-wave with a reworked 80’s sound. Signature guitar sound of the post-punk era, combined with minimalist poetry in Turkish. Often an outburst of sentimental anxiety through the nihilistic mind-frame, it is personal. Yet it is broad, a wondering mind brave enough to question taboo and existence.

She Past Away is driving, it is mesmerizing. It is a haunt."

Lady K's recommended song was 2015 single Katarsis, a confident breeze (or should that be chill wind?) through Goth Pop country, the most obvious influence being Clan Of Xymox, with a suitably retro video with in-built VHS glitches to match. 

She Past Away is Turkish duo Doruk Öztürkcan and Volkan Caner. In 2020, they celebrated the band's tenth birthday with X, a 22-track remix album including a full-throttle rework of Katarsis by Italian Cold Wave trio Ash Code.

(And no, I don't yet know the difference between Dark Wave and Cold Wave)

Given their significant influence on She Past Away, it should be no surprise that Clan Of Xymox were approached to contribute to X. They deliver not one but two remixes: Sanrı comes courtesy of founder/frontperson Ronny Moorings; Hayaller is overhauled by bandmate Mario Usai. 

 

The most recent release from She Past Away was the single İnziva, which again comes with a moody and meaningful video, this time in magnificent monochrome.

Turkish Goth? Whether Cold or Dark Wave, or both, I'm in!

In Amongst The Moshers

January will be a gig-free month for me, so to fill the void I've compiled a imaginary live set featuring some top-notch performances from 1977 to 1979. And imagine the mosh pit!

 

The formidable line-up includes The Fall, Joy Division, Blondie, The Clash, The Specials, Scritti Politti and Magazine with heavyweight appearances from The Police, John Cale and David Bowie.

I even managed to sneak in some John Cooper Clarke.

Enjoy! But no spitting. I don't like spitting.

 

1) Stepping Out (Live @ Electric Circus, Manchester): The Fall (1977) 

2) Detroit 442 (Live @ The Walnut Theatre, Philadelphia): Blondie (1978)

3) Sabotage (Live @ CBGB, New York): John Cale (1979)

4) Armagideon Time (Live @ Hammersmith Odeon, London): The Clash (1979)

5) Guns Of Navarone (Live @ The Lyceum, London): The Specials (1979)

6) Be My Wife (Live @ Earls Court, London): David Bowie (1978)

7) Persecution Complex (Live @ Electric Circus, Manchester): The Drones (1977)

8) Tomorrow (Live @ University Of California, Riverside, California): Wall Of Voodoo (1979)

9) Bronze Adonis (Live @ Rafters, Manchester): John Cooper Clarke (1978)

10) Miracle Man (Live @ The Nashville Room, London): Elvis Costello & The Attractions (1977)

11) She Can Only Say No (Live): The Undertones (1979)

12) Art Forever (Live @ Acklam Hall, London): Scritti Politti (1979)

13) Time's Up (Live @ Electric Circus, Manchester): Buzzcocks (1977)

14) Message In A Bottle (Live @ Park West, Chicago): The Police (1979)

15) At A Later Date (Live @ Electric Circus, Manchester): Joy Division (1977)

16) Definitive Gaze (Live @ Lesser Free Trade Hall, Manchester): Magazine (1978)

In Amongst The Moshers (49:49) (KF) (Mega)

Woke Up This Morning, Feeling Blue

An hour-long Bob Dylan selection? Either a really great idea... or a really bad one. Still, when have I ever let a bad idea hold me back?

I'll be honest: Dylan failed to move me in my teens, my twenties, arguably a chunk of my thirties. He was just "that guy" that everyone held up as one of the greatest songwriters of all time. Oh, and for a brief period, a Travelling Wilbury.

But the slow creep began, way back with a cassette compilation from my friend, featuring Desolation Row in all it's 11-minute glory. I got into The Byrds in the 1990s, which meant absorbing Dylan's music by an osmosis-like process (Bobmosis?) Buying music magazines inevitably meant even more Bobness via countless cover mount CDs and cover versions.

When I finally relented, I think Highway 61 Revisited was the first Bob Dylan album that I acquired. And of course it's brilliant. Over the years, I've sporadically added to the collection, even cheated by getting the 2007 Dylan 3CD anthology for something like eight quid brand new from Fopp in Bristol.

For all that though, I still know next to nothing about Bob Dylan and his music. So, there was a degree of trepidation in approaching a Dylan Dubhed selection, not least because I also had the grand ambition of wanting to include at least one of his songs from the past 7 decades. 

The 1960s and 1970s choices were the hardest, mainly as that's the greatest density of Dylan songs that I own. Into the 21st Century and approaching the present day, it became slightly easier as I usually had either one album or a handful of songs to pick from.

The end result spans 1964 to 2020, taking in singles, outtakes, cover versions, album deep cuts, but mainly ploughing a downtempo, bluesy groove. 

Earlier this week, Swiss Adam wrote a fascinating piece on 1984's Jokerman (which you can find here), with the brilliant line about parent album Infidels, "it's 80s Dylan and must be approached with caution". 

I've heeded that advice, so just a couple of appearances here from the Eighties: Everything Is Broken from Oh Mercy (1989) and Emotionally Yours, which appeared on 1985's Empire Burlesque. The lovely alternate take of the song featured in this selection came from a Mojo magazine freebie last year, entitled 14 Hidden Gems From The Bootleg Series 1963-1997.

The 14-song selection is mostly half-and-half, 8 from the 20th Century, 6 from the 21st. Many of Dylan's greatest albums are criminally missed off, but I like this whirlwind tour of the outskirts. A fool's errand perhaps, but I'm okay with that.

Enjoy!

1) Forever Young ('Slow' Album Version ft. The Band) (1974)

2) Meet Me In The Morning (1975)

3) Positively 4th Street (1965)

4) Long And Wasted Years (2012)

5) All I Really Want To Do (1964)

6) Blood In My Eyes (1993)

7) Crossing The Rubicon (2020)

8) 900 Miles From My Home (Cover of traditional song) (ft. The Band) (1967)

9) Not Dark Yet (1997)

10) Let It Be Me (Cover of Gilbert Bécaud / The Everly Brothers) (1970)

11) Everything Is Broken (1989)

12) When The Deal Goes Down (2006)

13) Emotionally Yours (Alternate Take) (1985)

14) Po' Boy (2001)

1964: Another Side Of Bob Dylan: 5

1965: Positively 4th Street EP: 3

1970: Self Portrait: 10

1974: Planet Waves: 1

1975: Blood On The Tracks: 2

1989: Oh Mercy: 11

1993: World Gone Wrong: 6

1997: Time Out Of Mind: 9

2001: "Love And Theft": 14

2006: Modern Times: 12

2012: Tempest: 4

2014: The Basement Tapes Complete: The Bootleg Series Vol. 11: 8

2020: Rough And Rowdy Ways: 7

2021: Springtime In New York: The Bootleg Series Vol. 16: 1980-1985: 13

Woke Up This Morning, Feeling Blue (59:19) (KF) (Mega)

Tomorrow's Party Will Never End

But why wait until tomorrow when you can have 45 minutes of The Communards today?

It's been just over a month since retired Reverend Richard Coles came third in I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! so what better time to celebrate his former former life as a purveyor of perfect pop with partner Jimmy Somerville?

The Communards' huge success with their cover versions of Don't Leave Me This Way and Never Can Say Goodbye - UK #1 and #4 in 1986 and 1987 respectively - arguably overshadowed their power of their own songs. 

Jimmy had sharpened his songwriting skills with Bronski Beat, perfectly combining personal, political and pop lyrics, and these were honed in The Communards. Combined with Richard's multi-instrumental talents, they were a formidable duo.  You need look no further than Disenchanted, one of the finest songs of the 1980s, full stop.

Just a fistful of twelve inch versions, all but one by the legendary Mike Thorne, the other by ZTT uber producer Stephen Lipson, but every single one is a corker. 
 
1) Don't Leave Me This Way (Son Of Gotham City Mix By Mike Thorne) (Cover of Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes): The Communards ft. Sarah Jane Morris (1986)
2) Tomorrow (Extended Version By Stephen Lipson): The Communards (1987)
3) So Cold The Night (12" Version By Mike Thorne) (1986)
4) Disenchanted (12" Mix By Mike Thorne) (1986)
5) You Are My World (12" Version By Mike Thorne) (1985)

Tomorrow's Party Will Never End (44:51) (KF) (Mega)

Finally, Life As It Should Have Been

Throwing Muses are back! Back!! BACK!!! with Summer Of Love, for those of us at least on t'other side of the Atlantic Ocean, released in the middle of dark, icy winter. But then, hasn't Kristin Hersh always been a contrary soul?

Since 1st January, I've been taking part in a music challenge called #23DaysOf4AD over on Bluesky, the idea being that you post two 4AD artists/songs per day between 1st and 22nd January. 

The 45th and final selection will be on 23rd January, which is apparently 4AD's 45th anniversary.

A little over a third of the way in and Throwing Muses (or Kristin Hersh solo) have yet to appear, but they inevitably will. 

It's been over twenty years since Throwing Muses last, self-titled album for 4AD, and nearly as long since Learn To Sing Like A Star, Kristin's final solo album for the label, and I've admittedly only sporadically dipped into the latter's subsequent releases.

Throwing Muses returned a decade later as a 3-piece of Kristin, Bernard Georges and David Narcizo and upcoming album Moonlight Concessions is their third, following Purgatory / Paradise (2013) and Sun Racket (2020). 

In the meantime, Kristin has also found time to release Black Pearl (2022) as 50 Foot Wave (Kristin, Bernard Georges and Rob Ahlers) and Clear Pond Road (2023), her eleventh solo album. So, the creative juices are still flowing freely.

And what of Summer Of Love? At the forefront is an urgently strummed acoustic guitar, Kristin's voice, with other elements - Bernard's electric guitar, baroque bows, occasional synths - underpinned by David's shuffling, shaking percussion. Drugstore Drastic, the other album preview dropped last November, follows a similar pattern to great effect.

 
Moonlight Concessions is out on 14th March, with a vinyl companion Moonlight Confessions, released separately and exclusively via Rough Trade. 

Moonlight Confessions is described by Hersh as "how the record sounded before we slowed ourselves down and cleaned ourselves up [...] and while both records have teeth, Confessions are probably spit through pointier teeth."

Either (or both) albums are an attractive proposition. And Throwing Muses are touring Europe in May and June, including a stop at The Fleece in Bristol. 

Time to throw myself back in?

Nuns On The Run

Girl Missing by Albertine Sarges was an accidental but fun discovery. 

Released as a single on 7th January, it's a precursor - and title track - to her imminent second album. Girl Missing is out in full on 21st February, but a pre-order on Bandcamp will provide downloads of 5 of the 13 songs.

Albertine is Berlin based and her music has been appearing since 2020 via Moshi Moshi Records, a label which I frequently forget how much I enjoy. So, my loss that I've missed out on Albertine's music so far and I will be diving into the back catalogue pronto.

The video for Girl Missing is a lot of fun. Not, as the post title suggests, a homage to the rather underwhelming 1990 film starring Eric Idle and Robbie Coltrane, yet featuring nuns. On the run. Albertine's notes on the song and video's background makes for an entertaining and insightful read.

As these things do, Girl Missing inevitably got me thinking of A.C. Marias, the duo of artist Angela Conway and Wire guitarist Bruce Gilbert, specifically One Of Our Girls Has Gone Missing, also a single and album title, albeit from 35 years ago.

A quick search unearthed the video from 1989 featuring dancer Julie Hood, a founder member of Michael Clark & Co. The previous year, Julie was a key performer in I Am Curious, Orange, the now infamous collaboration between Michael Clark and Mark E. Smith. 

Everything is connected.