Black & White

Well, what else could I do...? The logical, some (me included) may say ridiculous conclusion of this week's accidental monochrome theme is of course a 'Black & White' Dubhed excursion.

The selection kicks off with Dollar, a duo who it has to be said I disliked intensely when they had hits in the 1980s and loathed anew when they popped up like a turd you can't flush away in last-chance-saloon reality TV show Reborn In The USA in 2003. In the spirit of Kevin Rowland's recent rework of classic Dexys Midnight Runners' album Too-Rye-Ay, I present Dollar 'as they should have sounded', surprisingly coming across like an Andy Bell outtake from The View From Halfway Down.

Asian Dub Foundation get things back on track, with Jazzanova and David Holmes putting a different spin on Calexico and Doves respectively. Martha & The Muffins appear in their short-lived M+M guise with a song so 1984, it repeatedly mentions the year throughout, instantly freezing the song in time. I love it. 

 

A special mention for David Devant & His Spirit Wife, who I always associate with the late 1990s and was therefore surprised to find have kept going into the 21st Century, releasing their fourth album in 2019. Luckily for them, their song Black And White appears on the only single I own by the band, 1997's Lie Detector EP.

Closing proceedings is a wonderful live take of Black Man In A White World by the astonishingly talented Michael Kiwanuka, stretching out the original album version to nearly twice the length. If you were there, I'd imagine you'd have been quite happy if the song had gone on for 15 to 20 minutes.

 

As a nod to the trio of songs from 1980 by The The, Siouxsie & The Banshees and Elvis Costello & The Attractions, today's cover picture is made up of screen shots from The Blues Brothers, which came out the same year. A superb film with a spectacular scene-stealing turn from the brilliant, beautiful and greatly missed Carrie Fisher.

Happy Friday, everyone!

 

1) Hand Held In Black & White ('As It Should Have Sounded' Version By Khayem): Dollar (1981)

2) Black White (Brendan Lynch Mix): Asian Dub Foundation (1998)

3) Black Heart (Jazzanova's White Soul Dub): Calexico (2004)

4) Black And White: The The (1980)

5) Eve White / Eve Black: Siouxsie & The Banshees (1980)

6) Black And White: David Devant & His Spirit Wife (1997)

7) Black And White Town (David Holmes Remix): Doves (2005)

8) Black & White World: Elvis Costello & The Attractions (1980)

9) Black Stations/White Stations (Extended Dance Mix): M+M (1984)

10) Black Man In A White World (Live @ The Royal Albert Hall, London): Michael Kiwanuka (2017)

Black & White (47:52)