Carry Yourself With Dignity

Etran De L'Aïr, rescuing my sanity with the video for 2024 single Imouha.

If you live north of the Equator, you may have been disturbed by an alarming noise about 6.00am GMT. That was the sound of me cussing at the computer, the darkness and generally anything around me.

In context, pathetic first world problems that, if I had any dignity, I might have handled a little better than I did. However, a sluggish PC that refused to comply with any of my requests in a timely manner - I mean, hey, I'm just trying to write a blog here - was exacerbated by an ad-hoc power cut, which we experience a lot in this neck of the woods, often with the perfect timing for optimum annoyance.

So, another post, half-written but parked for now as I don't have time to finish it before heading off to work.

Yet, as one opportunity closes, another presents itself...

"Carry yourself with dignity" is a translation of a lyric from Imouha and it may be argued that the director was testing Etran De L'Aïr commitment to this statement in the making of this video. 

The band gamely play on whilst superimposed onto a backdrop of footage, mainly of camels and riders and Land Rovers racing across the desert. To keep it spicy, there are frequent extreme camera angles and zooms in and out of band members. About a minute in, the four are in a line clapping, each one cleverly managing to avoid matching the actual rhythm of the song. Some look more happy to be there than others.

It's wonderful and almost immediately cleared any grumpiness that I was feeling minutes before.

Etran De L’Aïr, which translates as the "Stars Of The Aïr", are the longest running wedding band in Agadez, formerly spelled Agadès, is the fifth largest city in Niger.

Imouha is from their album 100% Sahara Guitar, on the excellent Sahel Sounds label, and is typical in that every single song is wonderful. Like Erkazamane, for example.

On that note, I must run, I'm late for work! 

You Got Me In A Stupor

Spectacular by Graham Coxon was released as a single this week 22 years ago. About 22 hours ago (my time), the video was uploaded to YouTube, the first time I've ever seen it.

Spectacular opens Graham's fifth album, Happiness In Magazines. Coincidentally, JC was revisiting another of the album's singles - the, ahem, spectacular Freakin' Out, just last week over at The Vinyl Villain. 

His comment that "Nobody paid all that much attention" to Graham's previous albums was spot on in my case; Happiness In Magazines was the first that appeared on my radar. It was perhaps of greater interest as being the first album that Graham had made following his depature from Blur in 2002.

Happiness In Magazines proved to be Graham's highest placed albums in the UK charts, reaching #19 on entry in May 2004, a position mirrored by Freakin' Out when it was re-released as a double A-side with All Over Me that October.

Spectacular entered at #32 in the singles chart for the week commencing 1st August. It dropped to #60 the following week, then out of the Top 100 altogether the week after that, before making a third and final appearance at #83 the week of 22nd August.

The video is a lot of fun, though some have been quick to point out the similarities in visual style and tone to 7 Nation Army, a hit for White Stripes the previous year. 22 years later, it's perhaps even less important that it was at the time.

Spectacular is a fun song, sonically and visually, and the lyrical theme - a love song of sorts to someone the narrator "Saw [...] in my computer" - is simple, effective and resonates as much in 2026 as it did in 2004. 

What more do you need from a 169-second pop song?

A Slice Of Creamy Bree

Jonathan Bree to the rescue, as my planned Dubhed selection took a bit of a nosedive due to the usual "technical issues".

What a fallback, though. I'm completely unfamiliar with Jonathan Bree, and happened across the video for Game, trailing his sixth album, Don't Call It Love, out in August.

On the strength of Game, Live to Dance (ft. Princess Chelsea) and Savour My Love (ft. Rachel Clarke), I'm in like Flynn with the pre-order.

I'll be coming back to this one in greater detail in a future post.

 

Madonna, Maradona, Maverick And Movies

"Gangway, Heroes!" Today brings a bespoke collection of covers of songs from 1986. 

Last night I stumbled across Scanner aka Robin Rimbaud's unexpected and delightful cover of Word Up! by Cameo. Originally recorded for WFMU Radio in New Jersey back in February, it was officially released a couple of days ago. If you're more familiar with Scanner’s 1990s music, it's quite the departure.

Similarly inspired, I trawled through my music collection and pulled a shortlist of 1986 songs, reworked and reimagined by other artists. I had over 40 to choose from and settled for a dozen, which meant some tough decisions, but I hope you'll enjoy my selection.

As the post title suggests, there is a Madonna cover - Live To Tell - albeit right at the end, courtesy of Catherine Anne Davies (The Anchoress) and Bernard Butler (Suede and a gazillion other things). Don't tell Ms. Ciccone, but it's better than the original.

1986 was chock full of singles that appeared in movie soundtracks. Live To Tell appeared in At Close Range, starring her then-husband Sean Penn and Christopher Walken. I must have seen it at the time, but I have little recollection of the film now.

But Not Tonight started as a Depeche Mode B-side, but an appearance in the film Modern Girls (starring Daphne Zuniga and Virginia Madsen) prompted their US label Sire to flip the single, relegated Stripped to side 2 and promoting But Not Tonight instead. Nearly two decades later, Jimmy Somerville gave it the high-pitched, Hi-NRG treatment.

And of course there was the memorable soundtrack to Pretty In Pink, not just the The Psychedelic Furs song that inspired the movie, but If You Leave, which proved to be a smash hit for OMD and still features in their live set today. Here, Angel Olsen ups the heartache in her own inimitable style.

The mention of Maverick, Tom Cruise's character in Top Gun, is a red herring and I apologise. Take My Breath Away by Berlin seemed to be #1 in the UK for an eternity (actually, only 4 weeks throughout November 1986). I have a couple of covers of the song, by Sharleen Spiteri and The Flying Pickets, but neither of them made the final cut.

There are a couple of side projects and aliases going on, which I need to shed some light on. The man behind The 6ths is Stephen Merritt, better known to the world as the genius behind The Magnetic Fields. Stephen got his old mucker Lloyd Cole on board to sing for his contribution to a tribute to The Human League. 

The Hot Rats are Gaz and Danny from Supergrass in disguise, whose 2010 covers album Turn Ons featured their takes on artists including Roxy Music, Elvis Costello & The Attractions, Pet Shop Boys, The Cure and my pick today, Beastie Boys. Well worth tracking down.

If you have an urge to scan the track listing before subjecting yourself to my rambling "sleeve notes", you will have spotted the inclusion of First We Take Manhattan, recorded by R.E.M. and credited as a cover of a Jennifer Warnes song. Yes, R.E.M.'s version appeared on I'm Your Fan: The Songs Of Leonard Cohen in 1991, but Laughing Len gifted it to Jennifer first, her recording released in October 1986, Cohen's version following in January 1988. Personally, I think Stipe, Berry, Buck and Mills smash it.

And another red herring (or was it the hand of God?) with the reference to Maradona and, by association, that fateful 1986 World Cup. New Order didn't realise their own World Cup song until 4 years later, but 1986 saw one of their finest singles in Bizarre Love Triangle. Often covered since, I've gone for a relatively obscure version by Charlotte Martin, which I like very much.

As for the rest of this selection, you can enjoy The Smiths as covered by Carter The Unstoppable Sex Machine, sounding as potent in 1992 and it did six years previously. Goodbye Mr. Mackenzie show some solidarity with fellow Scots, with a wonderful cover of Somewhere In China by Shop Assistants. 

Last but certainly not least, one from my hometown heroes, The Blue Aeroplanes covering Paul Simon's Top 30 hit The Boy In The Bubble. Sadly, history didn't repeat in 1991, though it should have done.

1) Word Up! (Cover of Cameo): Scanner (2026)

2) Human (Cover of The Human League): The 6ths ft. Lloyd Cole (2000)

3) But Not Tonight (Cover of Depeche Mode): Jimmy Somerville (2004)

4) Bizarre Love Triangle (Cover of New Order): Charlotte Martin (2007)

5) Panic (Cover of The Smiths): Carter The Unstoppable Sex Machine (1992)

6) Somewhere In China (Cover of Shop Assistants): Goodbye Mr. Mackenzie (1989)

7) The Boy In The Bubble (Cover of Paul Simon): The Blue Aeroplanes (1991)

8) First We Take Manhattan (Cover of Jennifer Warnes): R.E.M. (1991)

9) If You Leave (Cover of O.M.D.): Angel Olsen (2021)

10) Absolute Beginners (Cover of David Bowie): Saint Etienne (1993)

11) (You Gotta) Fight For Your Right (To Party!) (Cover of Beastie Boys): The Hot Rats (2010)

12) Live To Tell (Cover of Madonna): Catherine Anne Davies & Bernard Butler (2020)

1989: Fish Heads And Tails: 6

1991: I'm Your Fan: The Songs Of Leonard Cohen: 8

1991: The Boy In The Bubble EP: 7

1992: The Only Living Boy In New Cross EP: 5

2000: Reproductions: Songs Of The Human League: 2

2004: Home Again: 3

2007: Reproductions: 4

2008: Boxette (#4: Eric Random): 10

2010: Turn Ons: 11

2020: In Memory Of My Feelings: 12

2021: Aisles EP: 9

2026: Word Up! EP: 1

Madonna, Maradona, Maverick And Movies (47:25) (GD) (M)

Three Times In The Night

No, not a reference to the number of nocturnal bathroom visits now that I am of a certain age, but a nod to Beck's new single In The Night.

This is Beck in reflective, heart-aching mood once more, acoustic guitar and emotive strings underpinning his soft yet deep voice. It's a brief song, clocking in at just under three minutes, but enough to get under your skin and seep into your subconsciousness.

Stick with the video, it's forty seconds in before the first musical note strikes, but casting Denis Lavant was a masterstroke, minimalist performance, maximum emotional impact.

There are two other songs in my music collection titled In The Night that I've plucked for posting, the first by Bauhaus, from their 1982 album The Sky's Gone Out and a bit of overlooked gem. 

The song wasn't a single and therefore wasn't furnished with a video back in the day. However, someone has cleverly cut scenes from 1927 Gothic short Prelude to the music, to great effect.

Last but certainly not least, In The Night by Pet Shop Boys, which you'd be forgiven for thinking was a single, but wasn't. In fact, for me and many other teen fashionistas in the late 80s, it was instantly familiar as the theme tune to The Clothes Show on BBC1.

After such a dramatic intro, presenters Jeff Banks and Caryn Franklin couldn't hope to be as cool as Neil and Chris. The Arthur Baker remix appeared in it's entirety on the Pet Shop Boys' first Disco album in 1986.

I had no idea that there was a video for this song!

Is It Truth Or Lies? You Never Know

Detachments were* active from 2008 to 2018, with a evolving, fluid roster, flowing around the core of Bastien Marshal aka Sebastien D.M. O'Malley.

Detachments released one self-titled album in 2010, otherwise communicating via single releases and a remix dispatches. There was a further (final?) remix compilation in 2023, complementing a singles collection in 2014, and that appears to be it.

I stumbled across on online conversation yesterday, triggered by the question of Andrew Weatherall's greatest ever remix. What became quickly apparent was that it's an impossible question to answer.

There were a few game attempts, quickly followed up with post scripted additions, whilst several acknowledged that it would be a struggle to even keep it to 30.

The only Detachments song that I'm really familiar with is 2010 single H.A.L. The single / album version is produced by James Ford, but the first version was made with Andrew Weatherall and originally popped up the previous year as the B-side of their single Circles.

The first version of H.A.L. that I heard though was Andrew Weatherall's Disco Club Mix, available in 2009 as a free download from RCRD LBL, and renamed on subsequent releases as Andrew Weatherall's Disco Dub. 

Although it may not immediately spring to mind as a contender for Lord Sabre's greatest ever remix, I love it, it's one that frequently appears on my shuffle playlist and it's damn near impossible to find fault with it.

See what I mean?

All three versions of H.A.L. are readily available on Detachments' Bandcamp page, along with what appears to be a definitive catalogue of their music, all at a decent price.

Flat Feet

Time for another dip into my Australia tour diary, on this day in 1991...

I was roped into going on a hike and I must admit that I was less than enthusiastic about it at first. It was good of David and Wendy to go to so much trouble to find things to entertain me, but really, a hike seemed too much like hard work. However, the plans had been made and there was no backing out, so off I went.

We journeyed to the John Forrest National Park, about 30 minutes out of Perth by car, and started off on our walk around 10.45am. Granted, the scenery was indeed beautiful: lush green grass; a rushing river; immense boulders; flowers of a dozen colours. However, I was a little apprehensive about the length of our hike and this preoccupied me for some time.

Stopping for lunch by the beautiful Hovea Falls, we watched amusedly as a group of Asian students messed around at the water's edge. They asked me to take some photos and I obliged, whilst Wendy took one of me standing by the falls a short time later. Then, it was time to set off on foot again, even though mine were starting to kill me. *

We eventually completed our round trip around 3.15pm, after a hike of fourteen kilometres (about eight and three quarter miles). No wonder my feet felt flatter than pancakes!! I did enjoy myself, though.

Back at the house, I finished reading Lord Of The Flies. Whew! What a book. I wonder if anyone will ever use the words "beautiful and desperate" to describe one of my pieces of work? [2026 note; after reading this today, possibly yes] 

I was feeling inspired by all this, so I returned once more to my own writing and, you know, I think I can actually see the end in sight... someday.

I seem to be in the throes of an explosion of creativity at the moment. I've rediscovered my ability to draw; I've been able to put pen to paper again; everything I've hoped to achieve so far I've done. Thank you, Australia!

Meanwhile, whilst I was spared the interminable hogging of the UK singles #1 spot by Bryan Adams with (Everything I Do) I Do It For You and a largely depressing Top 20, there were some poptastic glimmers of hope...

1) Pandora's Box: O.M.D. (#7)

2) Move Any Mountain (Progen '91): The Shamen (#9)

3) Chorus: Erasure (#11)

4) Just Another Dream: Cathy Dennis (#13)

5) 7 Ways To Love: Cola Boy (#18)

* [Foot note (sorry!) I wasn't just whinging about walking. Years later, I was found to have hyper mobile feet, which has gifted me with collapsed arches, chronic sprains, plantar fasciitis, and a lifetime of orthotics. None of that excuses my bad dancing, though.]

Sufjan Shuffle

I don't feature Sufjan Stevens here very often, which is borderline criminal. 

Sufjan doesn't release official videos to accompany his music very often, which I can't claim is borderline criminal. 

However, in lieu of a Dubhed selection (which, based on my current turnaround of idea and execution, will arrive sometime mid-2028) I'm posting five songs from the past decade which have been given the video treatment.

Enjoy!

1) Video Game: Sufjan Stevens ft. Jalaiah Harmon (The Ascension) (2020)

2) Will Anybody Ever Love Me? (Javelin) (2023)

3) Reach Out: Sufjan Stevens & Angelo De Augustine (A Beginner's Mind) (2021)

4) The Greatest Gift (The Greatest Gift Mixtape) (2021)

5) Tell Me You Love Me (The Ascension) (2020)

 

 

 

Hold Me Like The Morning Dew

Not For Radio is the project of Puerto Rico-born, Atlanta-raised and New York-based artists María Zardoya, perhaps better known as the front person of The Marías.

The irony of The Marias is that Maria is the only Maria in the band. The irony of Not For Radio is that, based on the Bloom EP at least, it's like Cocteau Twins, Cranes and Bat For Lashes mashed up and made for the airwaves. And that is no bad thing.

The Bloom EP is a proper, old school EP in that it comprises three songs - Kitten, Ache and Living Room - that could all be A-sides. There are videos for the first two, all moody lighting, flowing (or fluffy) clothing, amoke machines and dancing in the woods at night. The video for Kitten does indeed include a kitten, so extra cute points for that one.

I'm not quite sure about some of the lyrics - today's post title lifted from Kitten, for example - but the charm of the songs wins through.

For once, I'm not a decade late in finding Not For Radio, the debut album Melt emerged last October, and I've every intention of checking it out. In the meantime, the Bloom EP is added to my shopping list.

 

2026 Volts Of Holt

John Holt is a legend, pure and simple.

I was introduced to John Holt's music via Blondie's #1 single The Tide Is High, a song he co-wrote in 1967 with Tyrone Evans and Howard Barrett for their group The Paragons.

Going solo shortly afterwards, John expanded from reggae and rocksteady into lovers rock and roots reggae, becoming as popular for his cover versions as his original songs.

Today's selection is half and half self-penned songs and reinterpretations, spanning John's post-Paragons ventures in 1968, his groundbreaking 1973 album 1000 Volts Of Holt through to 1976 and the equally essential 2000 Volts Of Holt.

I've paired 1969 classic Ali Baba with one of the unreleased King Tubby dubs, created in the 1970s but unreleased for two decades. The selection also samples John's productive partnership with Arthur 'Duke' Reid, Bunny 'Striker' Lee and Keith Hudson, to name a few.

I was in a pretty good mood already, about ten times better for listening to this. Thanks, John.

1) The Treasure Of Love (Album Version By Bunny 'Striker' Lee) (1972)

2) Touch Me In The Morning (Album Version By Keith Bonsoir & Tony Ashfield) (Cover of Diana Ross) (1976)

3) Never, Never, Never (Album Version By Tony Ashfield & Trevor Newman) (Cover of 'Grande Grande Grande' by Mina) (1973)

4) I'll Be Lonely (Single Version By Arthur 'Duke' Reid): Jay & Joya (John Holt & Joya Landis) ft. Tommy McCook & The Supersonics (1968)

5) Pledging My Love (Album Version By Bunny 'Striker' Lee) (1972)

6) Ali Baba (Single Version By Arthur 'Duke' Reid) (1969)

7) Borderline Dub (Ali Baba Version By Bunny 'Striker' Lee): King Tubby & John Holt (197x)

8) Share My Rest (Single Version By Keith Hudson) (1970)

9) I Will (Album Version By Keith Bonsoir & Tony Ashfield) (Cover of The Beatles) (1976)

10) Girl From Ipanema (Jamaican Mix By Tony Ashfield & Trevor Newman) (Cover of Os Cariocas) (1973)

11) I've Been Admiring You (Album Version By Bunny 'Striker' Lee & Lord Koos) (1974)

12) I'd Love You To Want Me (Album Version By Tony Ashfield & Trevor Newman) (Cover of Lobo) (1973)

13) Rain From The Skies (Single Version By Prince Buster) (Cover of Adam Wade): John Holt ft. Prince Buster All Stars (1972)

14) Fancy Make Up (Single Version By Bunny 'Striker' Lee): Dennis Brown & John Holt (1971)

15) All The Love I've Got (Single Version By Bunny 'Striker' Lee) (Cover of 'Gonna Give Her All the Love I've Got' by Jimmy Ruffin) (1970)

1968: I'll Be Lonely EP: 4

1969: Ali Baba EP: 6

1970: Change Partners/Give Her All The Love I've Got EP by Peter Austin/John Holt: 15

1970: Share My Rest/Allways EP by John Holt/Al Brown: 8

1971: Fancy Make Up EP: 14

1972: Pledging My Love: 1, 5

1972: Rain From The Skies EP: 13

1973: 1000 Volts Of Holt: 3, 12

1974: Don't Break Your Promise: 11

1976: 2000 Volts Of Holt: 2, 9

1994: Augustus Pablo Presents King Tubby: 20 Unreleased Dubs By The Late Great King Tubby: 7

2009: 1000 Volts Of Holt (Deluxe Edition) (2x CD): 10

2026 Volts Of Holt (44:05) (GD) (M)