Truth In The Palm Of Her Hands

Side 1 of a mixtape, compiled 13th April 1998, pairing Lionrock (Side 1) and The Grid (Side 2),

 

Justin Robertson has been a long-time favourite of mine, but very poorly served by this blog. Time to redress this unacceptable situation with a selection of Lionrock "singles".

One of my first discoveries in my forays into t'internet in the early 2000s was The Lionrock Den, latterly the Den of Lions and Thieves, a repository of discography info and links relating to Justin Robertson that predated but was ultimately made redundant by the gargantuan Discogs project. I was the happy competition winner of a Gentleman Thief CD single back in the day.

Ironically, I recorded this mixtape a month before what would prove to be the final Lionrock single, Scatter & Swing, released in May 1998. The selection also skips the previous single, Rude Boy Rock, an unexpected UK Top 20 hit in March 1998.

A core member of the 1992-98 Lionrock line up was MC Buzz B aka Sean Braithwaite, who had previously appeared solo on Channel 4's The Word with the Bruce Hornsby-sampling Never Change in 1991. I loved what he brought to the Lionrock sound and it seemed little short of criminal that none of the singles that he featured on got any further in the UK than the lower Top 30.

Lionrock released two excellent albums; only the first, An Instinct For Detection, (just) made the UK Top 30. 

 

However, Justin Robertson's reputation as an exceptional DJ & remixer has quite rightly grown over the decades, via a variety of aliases - Gentleman Thief, Revtone, Deadstock 33s - as well as solo material, all of which could justify a selection in their own right. Watch this space.

1) Tripwire (Radio Mix By Justin Robertson & Mark Stagg) (1994)

2) She's On The Train (Edit By Justin Robertson & Roger Lyons) (ft. MC Buzz B) (1997)

3) The Guide (Full Length Version By Justin Robertson & Mark Stagg) (ft. MC Buzz B) (1993)

4) Morning Will Come When I'm Not Ready (1996)

5) Call A Cab (ft. MC Buzz B) (1996)

6) Lionrock (Most Excellent Mix By Justin Robertson & Mark Stagg) (Edit) (1992)

7) Straight At Yer Head (Remix By Justin Robertson & Roger Lyons) (Edit) (1996)

8) Fire Up The Shoesaw (Vocal Mix By Justin Robertson & Roger Lyons) (ft. MC Buzz B) (1996)

9) Carnival (Are You Ready To Testify?) (Remix By Justin Robertson & Mark Stagg) (Edit) (1993)

10) Packet Of Peace (7" Edit By Justin Robertson & Mark Stagg) (ft. MC Buzz B) (1993)

11) Wet Roads Glisten (Single Version By Justin Robertson & Roger Lyons) (ft. MC Buzz B) (1997)

 

1993: Carnival EP: 3, 9

1993: Packet Of Peace EP: 10

1994: Tripwire EP: 1

1996: Fire Up The Shoesaw EP: 8

1996: Morning Will Come When I'm Not Ready (Jockey Slut promo 7") / An Instinct For Detection: 4

1996: [Progressive House Classics]: 6

1996: Project Now EP: 5 

1996: Straight At Yer Head EP: 7

1997: She's On The Train EP: 2 

1997: Wet Roads Glisten EP: 11

 

Lionrock 92-97 (46:16) (KF) (Mega)

Karaoke Kings

Side 2 of a mixtape, which I think was compiled around late 1996, possibly early 1997.

 

Time to usher the weekend with a few bottles of cheap Becks, salt & vinegar crisps, ripped seats, sticky carpets and the landlord's obsessive collection of novelty bottle openers glued to the upper skirt of the bar. Yes, it's Friday and it's karaoke time at your local spit 'n' sawdust bar.

1) Downtown (Album Version): The Justified Ancients Of Mu Mu vs. Petula Clark (1988)

2) You Keep Me Hanging On (12" Version): Colourbox vs. The Supremes (1985)

3) She (Disco Mix): Vegas vs. Charles Aznavour (1992)

4) Brass In Pocket: Suede vs. The Pretenders (1992)

5) Lost In Music (Single Version): The Fall vs. Sister Sledge (1993)

6) The Slider: Gavin Friday vs. T. Rex (1995)

7) That's The Way (I Like It) (Extended Version By Zeus B. Held): Dead Or Alive vs. KC & The Sunshine Band (1984)

8) Black Betty: Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds vs. Leadbelly (1986)

9) Zoom: The Boo Radleys vs. Fat Larry's Band (1994)

10) Emma: The Sisters Of Mercy vs. Hot Chocolate (1988)

11) California Dreamin': American Music Club vs. The Mamas & The Papas (1994)

 

1984: That's The Way (I Like It) EP: 7

1985: The Moon Is Blue EP: 2 

1986: The Singer EP: 8

1988: Dominion EP: 10

1988: Shag Times: 1 

1992: Ruby Trax: The NME's Roaring Forty: 4

1992: She EP: 3

1993: Why Are People Grudgeful? EP: 5

1994: Barney (...And Me) EP: 9 

1994: Can You Help Me EP: 11

1995: Shag Tobacco: 6

Side Two (46:01) (Box) (Mega)

Nothing More, Nothing Less, Love Is The Best

Today is a special day for a very special person. We've been to relatively few gigs together over the years, but they've always been special occasions.

 

Sometimes she didn't like the act (PJ Harvey), sometimes I haven't (Meat Loaf), sometimes the band have been damned awful on stage (Simple Minds), sometimes it's been possibly an emotional and brilliant experience (McAlmont & Butler, Green Gartside).

 

Regardless, it's always been all the better for the person at my side. 

This one's for you, Mrs. K.

 

1) At The River: Groove Armada (1999)

2) We Belong In This World Together: Stereo MC's (2001)
3) Bring It Back: McAlmont & Butler (2002)

4) Everybody Knows: The Free Association (2002) 

5) New Religion: Duran Duran (1982)

6) Black Cherry: Goldfrapp (2003)

6) Teardrop: Massive Attack (1998)

7) This Is Love: PJ Harvey (2000)

8) Spacehopper: Julian Cope (1987) 

9) New Gold Dream (81-82-83-84): Simple Minds (1982)

10) The Boom Boom Bap: Scritti Politti (2006)

11) Paradise By The Dashboard Light: Meat Loaf (1977) 

12) Suspicious Minds (Cover of Elvis Presley): Jools Holland & His Rhythm & Blues Orchestra ft. Roland Gift (2013)

13) It Must Be Love (Cover of Labi Siffre): Madness (1981)

Footnote: Today’s selection is made up of songs we heard at gigs between 2001 up to & including Madness, postponed from 2020 but hopefully going ahead in June. 

With the latter exception, all of the songs featured in the set lists and are presented here in the order that we (first) saw them live. Julian Cope’s the only act we’ve seen together multiple times. 

Stereo MC’s & Simple Minds were both unlikely headliners at the Bristol Community Festival aka Ashton Court Festival. The latter really were appallingly bad.

Roland Gift was the guest vocalist when we saw Jools Holland’s band at Westonbirt Arboretum in Gloucestershire. And bloody good he was too. 

Goldfrapp supported Duran Duran at the NEC in Birmingham for their first (only) reunion tour with the original line up including Andy Taylor. 

The World Keeps Spinning And Spinning

Side 2 of a mixtape, originally compiled 10th August 1994 and featuring remixes of Orbital, Saint Etienne, Lemon Interupt and Stereo MC's.

 

My previous post for Side 1 in October 2021 was a nod to my brief time living and working in Derby, as all of the featured 12" singles had been bought there. In August 1994, I had recently moved back into the centre of Bristol. I was still living in a crappy bedsit, but I was earning considerably better money, working more sociable hours and continuing to feed my hunger for clubbing and buying music.

Of today's selection, I think Like A Motorway was the only record I bought in Derby, this time on CD single. I'd also bought the Radiccio EP on CD but it didn't feature this remix of The Naked And The Dead. By the recording of this mixtape, I’d subsequently managed to pick up a second hand copy of the Japan CD single. The latter import contained all of the tracks from both Radiccio UK 12" singles, as well as a radio edit of Halcyon and the 12" edit of Deeper from 1990's Chime single. The Naked And The Dub is almost twice the length of the Scott Walker-sampling original and almost twice as good.

 

Like A Motorway came with four remixes on the CD single - all excellent - by Underworld's Rick Smith, Ed Simons and Tom Rowlands (back when they were still trading as The Dust Brothers) and Autechre. The remix by David Holmes included here can only be described as a relentless monster of a track, with no discernible trace of Saint Etienne but a compelling, urgent groove that builds and climaxes to great effect.

 

Underworld are more than up to the task of following up on this, with a track released under their alias, Lemon Interupt (as intentionally misspelt on the original 12" singles). Dirty is such a brilliant song that, when Rick Smith, Karl Hyde and Darren Emerson decided to stick with the Underworld name, it inevitably made the transition - with vocals and renamed Dirty Epic - to 1994's defining statement, dubnobasswithmyheadman. I didn't have the original Lemon Interupt 12", but the version featured on this mixtape was the sole electronica/dance contribution to Gimme 5, a freebie cassette given away with Melody Maker in March 1994. This just about nudges it as my favourite version.

Both sides close out with Andrew Weatherall - who else? - along with Jagz Kooner and Gary Burns, this time with an aptly named 'Everything Grooves' remix of Stereo MC's. And groove it most certainly does for over 10 minutes. This is the best of the two-part mixes, and was available on the CD format of the Ground Level single, their third (a fourth to follow) UK Top 20 hit in February 1993.

1) The Naked And The Dub (Full Length Version): Orbital (1992)

2) Like A Motorway (The David Holmes Mix): Saint Etienne (1994)

3) Dirty (12" Version By Underworld): Lemon Interupt (1992)

4) Everything (Everything Grooves Part 2) (Sabres Of Paradise Mix By Andrew Weatherall, Jagz Kooner & Gary Burns): Stereo MC's (1993)

Side Two (46:30)

Side One available here

Inheritance

Side 1 of a mixtape compiled for my friend Stuart in 1998, featuring Talk Talk and .O.Rang.

 

I've mixed feelings about posting a Talk Talk selection; I have this, plus another C90 collating songs from 1981 to 1988, and I've never been entirely happy with either. Little wonder, given the painstaking and shattering effect recording and honing the two albums in question - 1988's Spirit Of Eden and 1991's Laughing Stock - had on the band and the musicians involved.

 

The title is a song from the Spirit Of Eden album, which didn't actually make it onto this selection's final running order. Contrary? Moi?

By necessity of space and song balance, I went for the single edits of I Believe In You and Eden and included only one older song, the incredible remix of Happiness Is Easy from 1986, as a nod to the original C90 B-side, Paul Webb and Lee Harris' subsequent .O.Rang project.

An imperfect selection, to say the least, but the songs themselves more than make up for it.

1) The Rainbow (1988)

2) Myrrhman (1991)

3) I Believe In You (Single Version By Tim Friese-Greene) (1988)

4) Ascension Day (1991)

5) Happiness Is Easy (12" Mix By Paul Webb & Lee Harris) (1986)

6) Desire (1988)

7) Eden (Edit By Tim Friese-Greene) (1988)

8) John Cope (1988)

1986: I Don't Believe In You EP: 5 

1988: I Believe In You EP: 3, 7, 8

1988: Spirit Of Eden: 1, 6

1991: Laughing Stock: 2, 4

Inheritance (46:21) (Box) (Mega)

More Copeulation

Side 2 of a Julian Cope mixtape, assembled during the summer of 1990.

Depending on your opinion of Cope, having two consecutive selections is either a treat or a torment. Following swiftly on from yesterday's post - and the first of what would become many Julian Cope mixtapes - today's selection is the flipside of the Copeulation collection. 

Again, this favours the Skellington and Droolian albums, with a few select B-sides and a tribute to a Hollywood icon that's become one of Cope's best-loved songs.

Things kick off in raucous fashion with the limited edition 12" remix of Trampolene, housed in a unique sleeve that paid homage to John Cale's 1972 album, The Academy In Peril. In a commercially unwise move, both the regular 7" & 12" contained the same four songs but, as these examples demonstrate, they were pretty damn good.

Disaster had been around since 1984, when Julian included it in his session for Janice Long on Radio 1. Likewise, the origins of Droolian began in 1988 with the recording of Church Of England 1991...

 

Robert Mitchum is a wonderful, wonderful song, lifted even more by Cope's half-arsed attempts at French. Less of a tribute but equally brilliant, Bill Drummond Said is classic Cope and inspired the subject to pen his own 'response', Julian Cope Is Dead. 

 

My Nation Underground is served by one more song, the brilliant should-have-been-bigger single Charlotte Anne. I've also realised that by swapping the album version of Eve's Volcano on yesterday's selection and using only 12" mixes, I'm left with nothing from the Saint Julian album. For the record, I think it's a better album than My Nation Underground.

Don't Crash Here holds a special, relatively more recent meaning for me. I used to sing it to my daughter when she was a baby, as it was guaranteed to make her laugh, especially my attempts to replicate Cope's chest beating percussion. Come to think of it, she laughed at of my attempts to sing full stop, so maybe it wasn't the song after all...

1) Trampolene Warne Out! (Long Version By Warne Livesey) (1987)

2) Bill Drummond Said (Album Version) (1984)

3) Disaster (Single Version) (1987)

4) S.P.Q.R. (1988)

5) The Bloody Assizes (1984)

6) Church Of England 1991... (1988)

7) Robert Mitchum (Album Version) (1989)

8) An Elegant Chaos (Album Version) (1984)

9) Sqwubbsy (1990)

10) Charlotte Anne (1988)

11) Don't Crash Here (1989)

12) Mock Turtle (1987)

13) Kelly... (1990)

14) Everything Playing At Once (Album Version) (1989)

 

1984: World Shut Your Mouth: 8

1984: Fried: 2, 5

1987: Trampolene EP: 1, 3, 12

1988: 5 o'Clock World EP: 4

1988: My Nation Underground: 10

1989: Skellington: 7, 11, 14

1990: Droolian: 6, 9, 13

Side Two (45:45)

Copeulation

Side 1 of a Julian Cope mixtape, cobbled together in the summer of 1990.

 

It feels like an age since there's been a Julian Cope selection (I've just checked, it's been a couple of months), so I can't think of a better way to usher in this Sunday than with the Arch Drude in his imperial pop/rock phase, or at least as close as he ever came to it.

After the slightly disappointing My Nation Underground album, which did have some good songs but suffered from the ubiquitous 1980s (over) production, Julian Cope released a brace of lo-fi but seminal albums in April and May 1990, Skellington and Droolian respectively. Cope's record label Island wasn't keen to release either album, so they came out on the independent(s) Zippo Records and CopeCo. The latter was Julian Cope's first foray into a mail order-only label (which initially released Skellington in November 1989) and paved the way for his future approach to releasing albums, which continues to this day with Head Heritage.

This selection draws quite heavily on these albums, as well as various EPs and the first three albums; Fried gets a slightly better deal on Side 2; My Nation Underground only gets one song on each side, and you'll probably be able to guess what the other one is.

 

The title was inspired/directly lifted from a VHS compilation released in 1989, compiling the videos of Julian Cope and The Teardrop Explodes. That's pretty much where the similarity ends as very few of the featured songs were represented on my mixtape.

 

I've made one slight change to the Side 1 tracklist. The original cassette ran well short, at a touch over 44 minutes. This became really annoying when I was backpacking around Australia and constantly having to manually spool the tape to the end, to conserve battery life for my Walkman. For this recreation, I've swapped out the album version of Eve's Volcano for the limited edition 12" remix. It's by Tom Lord-Alge, so the drums are typically HUGE, but overall I quite like it and I don't think it ruins the flow of the selection overall. It does stretch Side 1 to a tape-straining 47 minutes, but what the hell, you're worth it.

1) Sunshine Playroom (Album Version) (1984)

2) Quizmaster (Album Version) (1984)

3) Umpteenth Unnatural Blues (1986) 

4) Non-Alignment Pact (Cover of Pere Ubu) (1986)

5) I'm Not Losing Sleep (1988)

6) When Will I Get To Hold You (1990)

7) Eve's Volcano 'Covered In Sin' / !Vulcano Lungo! (Extended Remix By Tom Lord-Alge) (1987)

8) Sunspots (Album Version) (1984)

9) Commin' Soon (1989)

10) Commin' Down... (1990)

11) Crazy Farm Animal (Single Version) (1989)

12) Jellypop Perky Jean (Album Version) (1990)

13) Kolly Kibber's Birthday (Album Version) (1984)

1984: World Shut Your Mouth: 1, 2, 13

1984: Fried: 8

1986: World Shut Your Mouth EP: 3, 4

1987: Eve's Volcano 'Covered In Sin' EP: 7

1988: My Nation Underground: 5

1989: China Doll EP: 11 

1989: Skellington: 9

1990: Droolian: 6, 10, 12

Side One (47:03)

Is There Room In Your Life For One More Trip To The Moon?

In case you were disappointed by Friday's lack of beat-laden bangers, here's a suitably slipshod mix to see in Saturday. 

As usual, it's an eclectic mix spanning 1993 to 2022. It may not keep you moving, as k.d. lang implores, but you will hopefully get an involuntary twitch or jerk here and there. I would like to apologise for the cack-handed segueways and fade ins but if I did, I'd have to do so for each and every track. Hopefully, the quality of the tunes will encourage you to overlook my enthusiastic but amateurish approach...!

A couple of current loves in here, including one of many excellent remixes of the current David Holmes single and the latest in a consistent series of great one-off tracks by Pye Corner Audio aka Martin Jenkins. There are some reworkings of musical legends Gong, Kraftwerk and The Cure and - I couldn't resist - two helpings of Andrew Weatherall, back-to-back. 

The opening twofer by Baron Von Luxxury aka Blake Robin and k.d. lang remixed by Tony Garcia may be a bit of red herring regarding the subsequent direction of the mix, but I think it just about works. 

I've also dropped in a bit of uptempo Four Tet, from Kieran Hebden's excellent 2020 album Parallels, as well as Confidence Man. The latter track might be from 2017, but their current album Tilt is on constant rotation at Casa Khayem.

 

To close, another Dubhed favourite, Dan Wainwright. Dan and his partner Elle Redding have just released a new album, Mother Oak, which I received this week, so expect to a further appearance here in the not too distant future.

1) I'm Not Bad, I'm Just Drawn That Way (Instrumental): Baron Von Luxxury (2013)

2) Just Keep Me Moving (Wild Planet Mix By Tony Garcia): k.d. lang (1993)

3) It's Over, If We Run Out Of Love (Working Mens Club Remix): David Holmes ft. Raven Violet (2022)

4) A Sprinkling Of Clouds (Belly Dance Mix By System 7): Gong (1999)

5) Evidence The Enemy: Andrew Weatherall (2017)

6) Bubblegum (Andrew Weatherall Remix): Confidence Man (2017)

7) Aerodynamik (Intelligent Design Mix By Alexis Taylor & Joe Goddard): Kraftwerk (2007)

8) Wrong Number (Crossed Line Mix By Omid Nourizadeh): The Cure (1997)

9) Parallel 8: Four Tet (2020)

10) Dirty Window Of Opportunity: Pye Corner Audio (2022)

11) Nothing Ever Stays The Same: Dan Wainwright (2021)

Is There Room In Your Life For One More Trip To The Moon? (47:45)

The Song Yearned To Be Sung

Continuing the loose theme of selections from music magazine freebies, today's spotlight is Nick Cave and friends, mostly the Bad Seeds. Spanning four decades, one third cover versions, two thirds original compositions, the strength of the songs belie the random selection process. 

The Ballad Of Robert Moore And Betty Coltrane was an immediate pick for opening song, one of my favourite Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds songs, yet a mere B-side of Where The Wild Roses Grow, when originally released in 1995.

 

The earliest recording here, following The Birthday Party's split, is a cover of I Put A Spell On You, originally by Screamin' Jay Hawkins. Credited to Nick Cave & The Cavemen, the latter comprising Mick Harvey, Blixa Bargeld, Hugo Race and Barry Adamson. The song appeared on Department Of Enjoyment, a cover-mounted cassette with New Musical Express, released in May 1984, by which time the band had been renamed Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds.

 

I must have bought the Best of 2019 issues of both Mojo and Uncut that year, which explains the inclusion of two tracks from Ghosteen; I considered only including one of them, but I couldn't choose between Leviathan and Spinning Song, so they both made the final tracklist. I also had two versions of Jubilee Street to choose from, and opted for the live in concert over the original studio recording. 

 

Peaky Blinders theme Red Right Hand unsurprisingly popped up on two magazine promo CDs (and I'm sure many, many more over the years). Ubiquitous though it may be, I never tire of hearing the song. 

 

There are a couple of rarities: One Autumn is Cave reading an extract from his novel And The Ass Saw The Angel; this version is from Gigantic!, a cassette giveaway with Melody Maker, but also featured on a 4-track bonus 12" with limited quantities of the Tender Prey album. Likewise, Needle Boy featured on various limited edition formats of 2013 album Push The Sky Away, although my copy comes from The Mojo Anthology, a 15-track CD to celebrate Mojo's 300th issue in 2018.

 

Nick Cave's collaborations with Warren Ellis outside of The Bad Seeds get a couple of look ins. One highlights their growing body of soundtrack work, in this case from 2006 film The Proposition, for which Cave also wrote the screenplay. The second and most recent song is from their 2021 album Carnage, which I confess I've not yet heard. What can I say? There was a hell of a lot of good albums last year which swallowed up my music buying budget...!

As with the choice of opener, the closing song was also inevitable: what else but The Mercy Seat? Here it's the Seven Inch Version aka Video Version and was handpicked by Idles for their Acts Of Resistance compilation for Mojo magazine last year. In a nod to the couple of Johnny Cash cover versions included here, the Man In Black repaid the tribute with an equally stirring version of The Mercy Seat in 2000, which turned out to be one of the finest moments in his career. 

Having sequenced this selection from a loose theme/connection, what immediately struck me was how well Cave's decades-spanning body of work hangs together. It prompts the question: is it possible to collate a duff Nick Cave compilation? I'm not sure it is.

This one's for Stuart.

 

1) The Ballad Of Robert Moore And Betty Coltrane: Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds (1995)

2) The Singer (Cover of 'The Folk Singer' by Johnny Cash): Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds (1986)

3) Avalanche (Cover of Leonard Cohen): Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds (1984) 

4) Clean Hands, Dirty Hands (Cover of traditional song): Nick Cave & Warren Ellis (2006)

5) One Autumn: Nick Cave (1988)

6) Needle Boy: Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds (2013)

7) The Ship Song (Live @ The Royal Albert Hall, London): Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds (1997)

8) Galleon Ship (Live @ Alexandra Palace, London): Nick Cave (2020) 

9) I Put A Spell On You (Cover of Screamin' Jay Hawkins): Nick Cave & The Cavemen (1984) 

10) Wanted Man (Cover of Johnny Cash): Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds (1985) 

11) Rye Whiskey (Cover of traditional song): Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds 

12) Leviathan: Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds (2019) 

13) White Elephant: Nick Cave & Warren Ellis (2021) 

14) Spinning Song: Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds (2019)

15) Red Right Hand (Single Version): Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds (1994) 

16) Jubilee Street (Live @ Royal Arena, Copenhagen): Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds (2017) 

17) The Mercy Seat (Seven Inch Version): Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds (1988)

1984: Department Of Enjoyment: 9

1984: From Her To Eternity: 3 

1985: The Firstborn Is Dead: 10

1986: Kicking Against The Pricks: 2

1988: The Mercy Seat EP: 17

1988: Tender Prey / And The Ass Saw The Angel EP (ltd LP & 12"): 5

1989: Rye Whiskey (promo flexi 7"): 11

1994: Red Right Hand EP: 15

1995: Where The Wild Roses Grow EP: 1

1998: The Best Of Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds/Live At The Royal Albert Hall (ltd 2x CD): 7

2006: The Proposition OST: 4 

2013: Push The Sky Away (Super Deluxe Box Set): 6

2018: Distant Sky: Live In Copenhagen EP: 16

2019: Ghosteen: 12, 14

2020: Idiot Prayer: Nick Cave Alone At Alexandra Palace: 8

2021: Carnage: 13

Melody Maker: 5

Mojo: 2, 3, 6, 8, 10, 12, 13, 16, 17

NME: 9, 15

Reflex (USA): 11

Select: 7

Uncut: 4, 14

Vox: 1, 15

The Song Yearned To Be Sung (1:15:52)

 

You're Filling The Holes And Ruining Your Clothes

Back to work today after a week off and boy, am I feeling it this morning...

 

Can't Get Out Of Bed: The Charlatans (1994)

 

Eclectic Guitar

Side 2 of a mixtape, recorded 3rd October 1999. As the name suggests, an eclectic mix with lots of guitar and a slight pun on a song title by Talking Heads, who close proceedings with their debut single. 

This may be the only place (today, at least) where you'll find INXS sandwiched by His Name Is Alive and the Fatima Mansions and Beck followed by The Pastels, with some wry slice of life observations from Jarvis Cocker and Ed Ball, alongside stone cold Seventies classics by Wire, Sparks, Blondie and the aforementioned Talking Heads. 

1) 59 Lyndhurst Grove (Inside Susan: "A Story In Three Songs...", Part 3) (Single Version): Pulp (1993)

2) Wish I Had A Wishing Ring (Album Version): His Name Is Alive (1998)

3) Heaven Sent (Album Version): INXS (1992) 

4) Something Bad: The Fatima Mansions (1992)

5) Hasta Mañana, Monsieur: Sparks (1974)

6) Primrose 0882: The Times (1993)

7) Outdoor Miner (Long Version): Wire (1978)

8) One Way Or Another (Album Version): Blondie (1978)

9) Deadweight (Edit): Beck (1997)

10) Love, It's Getting Better (Cover of The Groove): The Pastels (1995)

11) Chemicrazy (Revitalized): That Petrol Emotion (1990)

12) Love → Building On Fire: Talking Heads (1977)

 

1974: Kimono My House: 5 

1977: Love → Building On Fire EP: 12

1978: Parallel Lines: 8

1989: On Returning (1977-1979): 7

1990: Sensitize EP: 11

1992: Valhalla Avenue: 4

1992: Welcome To Wherever You Are: 3 

1993: Baby Girl EP: 6

1993: Razzmatazz EP: 1 

1995: Worlds Of Possibility EP: 10

1997: Deadweight EP: 9

1998: Ft. Lake: 2

Side Two (46:08) (KF) (Mega)

What Can Cool A Heart That Burns

Saharan desert blues today from the pioneers of the genre, Tuareg musical collective Tinariwen. Following yesterday's theme, this selection comprises all of the Tinariwen songs that I have, mostly from music magazine cover mounted CDs, plus an orphan remix from Pocketknife and a complete session for legendary US broadcaster KEXP.

Despite the constraints of compiling a 10 song selection when I literally only have 10 songs to begin with, I think each side flows pretty well. That's more of a comment on Tinariwen's music than my sequencing skills, I suspect.

Wartilla (Side 2, Track 2) is taken from The Mojo Festival 2020 and is the only track not have any concert/performance information available. I can tell you that the original version appears on 2019 album Amadjar and features Warren Ellis & Stephen O'Malley, but I've no idea if either/both guest on this live version.

 

Side One

1) Oualahila Ar Tesninam (Live @ Glastonbury Festival, 27th June 2004) 

2) Tenhert (The Doe) (2009)

3) Chaghaybou (Live @ KEXP, Seattle, 14 April 2014)

4) Ikyadarh Dim (Pocketknife Mix) (2010)

5) Amalouna (ft. Noura Mint Seymali & Stephen O'Malley) (2019)

Side Two

1) Timadrit In Sahara (Live @ KEXP, Seattle, 14 April 2014)

2) Wartilla (Live, 2019)

3) Cler Achel (Live @ KEXP, Seattle, 14 April 2014)

4) Assouf (Album Version By Justin Adams) (2006)

5) Tahalamot (Live @ KEXP, Seattle, 14 April 2014)

Side One (20:01)

Side Two (20:04)

Who Fans The Flames?

Some Underworld, to help clear the Easter (egg) excess. I've been sorting out my CD collection, with a view to selling and/or donating a sizeable chunk. I've amassed quite a number of music magazine freebie and promo CDs over the years and, by default, a fair few artists are significantly represented across the various compilations.Without being a series as such, this has provided for the springboard for several upcoming selections including this one.

No surprise really to find that Underworld has frequently cropped up on music magazine promos, often end of year 'best of' collections, whether Jockey Slut, Mojo, Muzik or Select. Collecting all of the ones I had (7), I dropped a similar number of randomly picked Underworld songs into a "long list" and then compiled a (nearly) hour long selection. 

 

In the end, only 3 magazine promo tracks made the final 8-song track list. Mo Move and Luetin are the opening and closing tracks from A Hundred Days Off, an album I don't have and am otherwise largely ignorant of. Likewise, 2019's Schiphol Test, which formed part of Underworld's ambitious Drift project, begun in 2018 and hailed both as a huge success and a stunning return to form for Karl Hyde and Rick Smith. I like the track very much but to my shame, still haven't investigated further. The full CD+Blu Ray box set is available on Discogs and will currently set you back around £100, including shipping.

The remaining songs include the only version I own of Diamond Jigsaw, which I got as a free download from the RCRD LBL website. It's an instrumental remix of the track by The Invisible aka Dave Okumu, Tom Herbert & Leo Taylor and apparently one of nine versions, including the original, featured on the album Barking, another one that I don't own.

 

In fact, the only Underworld album I do have is Dubnobasswithmyheadman, which was their first as a trio with Darren Emerson and a hell of a statement of intent. I've featured the downtempo Tongue here and whilst the album edit of Cowgirl was the one that featured on Muzik magazine's Best Of Dance compilation back in 1997, I went for the Irish Pub In Kyoto Mix instead, as I prefer it. Likewise, I think Darren Price's remix of Push Upstairs is superior to the Beaucoup Fish album version.

 

Last but not least, and second track in the selection, is Underworld's contribution to the soundtrack of 2000 film The Beach, directed by Danny Boyle and based on the novel by Alex Garland. I haven't seen the film for a long time but there's no denying that the album is a great selection of songs and artists. The Underworld track 8 Ball does not disappoint.

1) Diamond Jigsaw (The Invisible Instrumental) (2011)

2) 8 Ball (2000)

3) Tongue (1994)

4) Cowgirl (Irish Pub In Kyoto Mix) (1994)

5) Mo Move (2002)

6) Push Upstairs (Darren Price Remix) (1999)

7) Schiphol Test (2019)

8) Luetin (2002)

1994: Cowgirl EP: 4

1994: Dubnobasswithmyheadman: 3 

1999: Push Upstairs EP: 6

2000: The Beach OST: 2 

2002: A Hundred Days Off: 5, 8

2011: Diamond Jigsaw EP: 1

2019: Drift Series 1: Sampler Edition: 7

 

Who Fans The Flames? (58:58)