I Got Can For My Birthday, Nietzsche For Christmas

Birthday wishes to Julian Cope, celebrating his 68th year today on this ball of mud, orbiting a mass of incandescent gas.

Typically, ICT issues (or possibly "The Man") have threatened my efforts to create and post today's doff of the cap - or should that be tug of the hood? - to the great man, so I've run out of time to write much.

 

However, I have created a new, 46 minute Dubhed selection, containing Cope compositions that haven't previously featured in one of the many, many compilations that I've posted here. At least, I'm 99.9% sure of it!

 

Here's to you, M'Lud!

 

1) Peggy Suicide Is A Jung'kie (1992)

2) Ain't No Gettin' Round Gettin' Round (1994)

3) The Great White Hoax (1988)

4) I Got With God (2007)

5) Zoroaster (2005)

6) I Want To Talk About Stone Circles (2023)

7) Mik Mak Mok (Single Version) (1984)

8) A Child Is Born In Cerrid-Y-Drudion (2007)

9) Too Freud To Rock 'n' Roll Too Jung To Die (2024)

10) Rachael Built A Steamboat: The Teardrop Explodes (1981)

11) Battle For The Trees (1996)

1981: Tiny Children EP: 10

1984: Sunspots EP: 7

1988: My Nation Underground: 3

1994: Autogeddon: 2

1996: Interpreter: 11 

2005: Dark Orgasm: 5 

2007: You Gotta Problem With Me: 8 

2009: Floored Genius 4: The Best Of Foreign Radio, Rare TV Appearances, Festival Songs & Miscellaneous Lost Classics 1983-2009: 4 

2023: Cope's Notes #5: The Modern Antiquarian: 6 

2024: Cope's Notes #6: Jehovahkill: 1

2024: Friar Tuck: 9 

I Got Can For My Birthday, Nietzsche For Christmas (46:26) (GD) (M)

 

 

I missed Julian's birthday in 2021 (sacrilege!), but here's a link to my previous annual tributes to the Arch Drude. 

 

Upwards @ 65 Degrees (2022) 

21 Revolutions Per Minute (2023) 

Need Some Identification? (2024) 

I'm The Wrong Kind Of Person To Be Really Big And Famous

A day early, but Tuesday (21st) will mark 22 years since we lost Elliott Smith at the age of 34.

I've come across an interview and performance that he did for 2 Meter Sessions in the Netherlands on 29th November 1998. 

I've included links below so that you can skip straight to the songs; the alternative links are for the individual songs, with remastered sound and visuals, uploaded a couple of years ago.

02:03 Waltz #2 (XO) (alt link)

06:56 I Didn't Understand (alt link)

09:21 Miss Misery (alt link)

I'd recommend watching full session with interview though. It's a difficult watch, knowing that Elliott's life ended less than five years later, but his honesty and vulnerability leave a lasting impression.

The post title is a direct quote. Miss Misery was written for the 1997 film Good Will Hunting and was nominated for Best Original Song at the Oscars the following year. 

In February 2021, in what was only my fourteenth post on this blog, I created and uploaded a 10-song Dubhed selection, which I called What I Used To Be Will Pass Away. Again, a line from an Elliott Smith song. 

Whilst that may be true in the distant future, long after you and I are gone, right here and now, Elliott Smith is very close to my heart.

Bobby's At The Gate

On Friday 10th October, I had another milestone music experience, thanks to Robert Forster and his Swedish Band.

Optimistically, I thought it was a sound idea to aim to "leave early" from work in Gloucester, then hop onto the M5, across the Severn Bridge and along to Cardiff. From there, park up, grab  bite to eat, walk to the venue and settle down for a good show. 

Doors opened at 7.00pm, so it should be no sweat, right?

What a prat. At 5.15pm, I found myself running not walking the 10 minutes to where my car was parked, then a kerfuffle to get out of Gloucester centre and onto the motorway, then - and I always forget this - joining the bottlenecked, slow moving traffic on the M4 before routes diverge to Newport and Cardiff. It was already 7.00pm when I finally reached the city centre.

There was no parking at the venue and, ignorant of residents' parking restrictions, I'd asked Parkopedia for help. No problem, it told me, the University has plenty of pay and display parking within 10 minutes' walk of the venue. 

Try telling my satnav that. After being caught in Groundhog Day-style comedy of following a loop around half a dozen times, each time the automated voice assuring me that I was at my destination, all I could see under the orange lights were residential streets with permit parking until 10.00pm. Feck!

I gave up and just followed my nose until I found an NCP car park, deposited my car and then begrudgingly relied on satnav again to navigate my way to the venue. An unfamiliar city, in the dark, no clue where i had parked in relation to where I was going, possibly the worst inbuilt sense of direction known to humankind - what else was I going to do?

Before you go looking for the world's tiniest violin to play, I was not stressed at this point. Admittedly, I'd turned the air blue at several points in the car - thankfully, there were no passengers with me on this trek - but by the time I was hotfooting it across town, I was had leaned into the ridiculousness of the situation and with a zen-like calm, was looking forward to getting to the venue and seeing the gig.

And from there, it was all on the up. Firstly, The Gate Arts Centre in Cardiff is a beautiful venue, outside and in. When I finally arrived at 7.45pm, there was enough time to buy a (soft) drink from the bar, head up the stairs and then descend into the theatre.

Astonishingly, the show wasn't sold out, so I could have picked one of the stall seats, to get really close. However, I chose the bottom row of the balcony benches, ever so slightly elevated above the seats before me and affording a decent view of the stage ahead. 

My concerns about missing the support act were alleviated by the news that there wasn't one. Robert Forster came on stage with his Swedish Band - Peter Morén, Jonas Thorell and Magnus Olsson - around 8.00pm and, for the next 100-odd minutes, the place was theirs.

The band eased into the title track of current album Strawberries, all but two of the songs getting a live airing over the course of the evening. Robert noted that he'd had such a good time recording the album with the band that he was eager to tour with them, and it shows. Both the current songs and the classics sound fantastic, helped in no small part by the wonderfully warm acoustics of the location. 

There are a few surprising omissions: nothing from The Evangelist (2008) or Oceans Apart (2005), but The Go-Betweens and solo catalogue is so full of choice tunes that there were no complaints from me or the audience. Too Much Of One Thing, Draining The Pool For You and of course Spring Rain got a huge response. I was also overjoyed to hear German Farmhouse, Love Is A Sign and Was There Anything I Could Do? - the latter a tribute to the much-missed Grant McLennan - as well as the relatively recent I Love Myself (And I Always Have) and One Bird In The Sky.

The songs on Strawberries are as good as anything that Robert has written and recorded and the live renditions did them all justice. The more introspective Breakfast On The Train and Foolish I Know were particular highlights for me.

After a brief exit, Robert returned to the stage to perform Is This What You Call Change from his debut solo album, Danger In The Past. As the song progressed, Robert was gradually joined by the other members of his Swedish Band, bringing the song to a full-throated conclusion.

From there, we were then treated to Tender Years from 2023's The Candle And The Flame and then a brace of classics to close from The Go-Betweens. People Say, followed by Surfing Magazines, was a tribute to the first and second eras of a band that I came to late, never saw live on stage (and now never will).

And yet, at 68, playing songs that he wrote age 22, 48 and in the last 12 months, Robert demonstrated beyond any shadow of a doubt that the fire of his youth burns just as brightly today.

Robert stepped off the stage to go over to a pair of women who had been dancing at the side, thank and shake their hands, before he and the band departed for the final time. Yet, it the time it took me to go up the stairs and descend into the bar, there he was at the merch stand, signing records and books and making conversation with his fans.

I reluctantly had to keep going - I had a journey home as long as the entirety of Robert Forster and his Swedish Band's entire set, and work the next day - but the memory of that wonderful night still lingers.

And I plan on making a return visit to The Gate one day, only I'll book at least half a day off work before and after the gig next time!

The accompanying Dubhed selection recreates the setlist. Was There Anything I Could Do? was written and perfomed by Grant McLennan and is the only song here not featuring Robert on lead vocals. I considered looking for a subsequent solo live version to include, but it feels right just the way it is.

1) Strawberries (Album Version): Robert Forster ft. Karin Bäumler (2025)

2) I Love Myself (And I Always Have): Robert Forster (2015)

3) Always: Robert Forster (2023)

4) Clouds (Album Version): The Go-Betweens (1988)

5) Breakfast On The Train: Robert Forster (2025)

6) Too Much Of One Thing (Album Version): The Go-Betweens (2003)

7) All Of The Time: Robert Forster (2025)

8) Tell It Back To Me: Robert Forster (2025)

9) Draining The Pool For You (Album Version): The Go-Betweens (1984)

10) German Farmhouse (Album Version): The Go-Betweens (2000)

11) Foolish I Know: Robert Forster (2025)

12) Love Is A Sign (Album Version): The Go-Betweens (1988)

13) Good To Cry: Robert Forster (2025)

14) Was There Anything I Could Do? (Album Version): The Go-Betweens (1988)

15) One Bird In The Sky (Album Version): Robert Forster (2019)

16) Spring Rain (Album Version): The Go-Betweens (1986)

17) Learn To Burn: Robert Forster (2015)

18) Is This What You Call Change: Robert Forster (1990)

19) Tender Years: Robert Forster (2023)

20) People Say (Single Version): The Go-Betweens (1979)

21) Surfing Magazines (Album Version): The Go-Betweens (2000)

1979: People Say EP: 20

1984: Spring Hill Fair: 9

1986: Liberty Belle And The Black Diamond Express: 16

1988: 16 Lovers Lane: 4, 12, 14

1990: Danger In The Past: 18

2000: The Friends Of Rachel Worth: 10, 21

2003: Bright Yellow Bright Orange: 6

2015: Songs To Play: 2, 17

2019: Inferno: 15

2023: The Candle And The Flame: 3, 19

2025: Strawberries: 1, 5, 7, 8, 11, 13

Bobby's At The Gate (1:26:00) (GD) (M)

I've also reactivated the following previous Dubhed selections, to make this a full-on Forster festival. Fill your boots!

Let's Burn This Land: The Go-Betweens (August 1990)

Second Intermission: Robert Forster & Grant McLennan solo (Sep 2021)

Dusty In Here: The Go-Betweens (October 2021)

Sixty Six: Robert Forster (June 2023)

As a closing bit of trivia, and something I was completely oblivious to on the night, only discovering when I was creating this post. Swedish Band member (and album producer) Peter Morén is none other than the lead singer of Peter Bjorn And John, and whose 2006 classic single Young Folks has been on regular rotation at Casa K recently. 

The Greatest Joy Belongs To The Simple Heart

Hot on the heels of Jah Wobble's world tour yesterday, I've created a companion selection of tunes that loosely and lazily attract the World Music label.

Today's expedition starts in Mali with Ali Farka Touré and an on-the-nose title that announces the great man's arrival with style. I was a late comer to Ali's singular sound, via a secondhand copy of his Red and Green albums, sitting unloved and underpriced in a charity shop. I've been a fan ever since.

From there, it's onto Nigeria and the percussive power of Tony Allen, joined here by his pal Omololu Ogunleye. This pick is lifted from a 2006 album released on Damon Albarn's label, Honest Jon's Records, but Tony's jaw-dropping CV is nearly as long as the list of adjectives to describe his talent and impact on music that defied genres and categorisation.

Amadou & Mariam welcome you back to Mali for a brief refuel of the soul. Again, I was rather slow in picking up on the immense talent of this pair and am still catching up with their catalogue. Sadly, Amadou passed in April this year, bringing to a close an incredible musical partnership.

Next stop is Equatorial Guinea, where Apo Piruchi and her niece Paloma Botupá Loribo Apo are patiently waiting to share their music as Las Hijas Del Sol. They wrote and performed songs in the Bubi and Spanish languages, but unfortunately went their separate ways around 2005-2006.

After that short stay, it's off to Belgium by way of Egypt, courtesy of the glorious Natacha Atlas. Natacha's invited a couple of friends over:  Sinéad O'Connor (Eire) and Z* or Z-Star aka Zee Gachette aka Michelle Nichol (England/Trinidad). What an unforgettable party that would be.

No time to hang about though, otherwise you'll miss your flight to Brazil and three-tunes-for-the-price-of-one from Jorge Dubman aka Dr. Drumah. I discovered this music via the excellent Mukambo Presents Global Afrobeat Movement compilation, lifted from Dr. Drumah's 2020 album, The Confinement Vol. 1: Africa.

Right, enough holiday photos, it's back across the water to Kenya and Ndalani 77 Brothers. Like so much music in this genre, I was introduced to this wonderful song by the inimitable Ernie Goggins at the indispensable music blog 27 Leggies.

As was the case with Nana Benz Du Togo from, er, Togo. Suffice to say, Ernie's hit rate for signposting super sounds from around the globe is unmatched. I love this band and this is a particularly uplifting, body-positive tune.

The penultimate leg of the tour is Malawi, home to the exuberant Esau Mwamwaya and his family. When he teamed up with London-based duo Etienne Tron (France) and Johan Karlberg (Sweden) in the late 2000s, they were not joking when they named their collaboration The Very Best. M.I.A. brings an additional Sri Lankan/London spice to the mix.

All good things must come to an end, and this journey's final stop is back where it all started, in Mali and a chilled out choon from Luka Guindo aka Luka Productions.

Not the most obvious round trip it has to be said, zig-zagging from one continent to another and racking up an eye-watering 26,770 air miles (more or less). Thank goodness that you can do it all from the comfort of this playlist in just over three quarters of an hour!

1) Ali's Here: Ali Farka Touré (1999)

2) Moyege: Tony Allen ft. Omololu Ogunleye (2006)

3) La Fête Au Village: Amadou & Mariam (2004)

4) M-30: Las Hijas Del Sol (1999)

5) Simple Heart: Natacha Atlas ft. Sinéad O'Connor & Z* (2003)

6) Shadow Dance / Africanism / Freedom Fighters: Dr. Drumah (2020)

7) Nzaumi: Ndalani 77 Brothers (1977)

8) Tousse: Nana Benz Du Togo (2023)

9) Rain Dance: The Very Best ft. M.I.A. (2009)

10) Christianisme: Luka Productions (2017)

1977: Nzaumi / Nzioka EP: 7

1999: Kchaba: 4

1999: Niafunké: 1

2003: Something Dangerous: 5

2004: Dimanche A Bamako: 3

2006: Lagos No Shaking: 2

2009: Warm Heart Of Africa: 9

2017: Fasokan: 10

2020: Mukambo Presents Global Afrobeat Movement: 6

2023: Ago: 8

The Greatest Joy Belongs To The Simple Heart (46:23) (GD) (M)

Wob Almighty

Any day is a good day to listen to Jah Wobble, so here's a fresh 75-minute Dubhed selection of 12 songs that have been touched by the hand of Wob.

Spanning 1991 to 2002, this is a globe-trotting expedition taking in artists from Australia, Brazil, Jamaica, Japan, Norway, Switzerland, with frequent rest stops in blighted Blighty.

Turn up the bass, dial up the volume and prepare to immerse yourself in an eclectic mix, including a UK #1 single!

As it's Friday, I've reposted more Jah Wobble wonderment, including a previous Wob-heavy Dubhed selection from 2022.

1) Paths (Jah Wobble Remix): Robert Miles ft. Nina Miranda (2001)

2) Chains (Wobble Mix By Jah Wobble): The Wolfgang Press (1994)

3) Familus Horribilus (Mega Wob 2) (Remix By Jah Wobble): Pop Will Eat Itself (1993)

4) Go Into The Light (Celestial Dub Mix By Jah Wobble): Ian McNabb (1993)

5) Kiss Kiss (Jah Wobble Remix) (Single Version): Holly Valance (2002)

6) Night Nurse (Jah Wobble 12" Mix) (Cover of Gregory Isaacs): Sly & Robbie ft. Simply Red (1997)

7) Child (Jah Wobble Mix): Definition Of Sound (1996)

8) So Let Me Go Far (So Let Me Wobble Jah) (Remix By Jah Wobble): Dodgy (1994)

9) Texture (Remixed By Jah Wobble): Soft Ballet (1992)

10) Liquid Cool (Jah Wobble Remix): Apollo 440 (1994)

11) Chinatown New York (Wobble Mix By Jah Wobble): Bebop 90 (1991)

12) Ĉuovgi Liekkas (Jah Wobble Remix II): Mari Boine (2001)

1991: Fuse II: World Dance Music: 11

1992: Alter Ego: 9

1993: Familus Horribilus / RSVP EP: 3

1993: Go Into The Light EP: 4

1994: Going South EP: 2

1994: Liquid Cool EP: 10

1994: So Let Me Go Far EP: 8

1996: Child EP: 7

1997: Night Nurse EP: 6

2001: Paths EP: 1

2001: Remixed / Oðða Hámis: 12

2002: Kiss Kiss EP: 5

Wob Almighty (1:14:49) (GD) (M)

In Wob We Trust (January 2022)

Wob Three Times (August 2023)

Kicking Down The Khazi (December 2023)

It’s Not Too Beautiful

In case you missed it, last week there was an excellent review of The Beta Band's gig at Manchester Apollo courtesy of Swiss Adam at Bagging Area. 

 

I tried to get tickets for their Bristol show on the day of release, but I didn't even get a sniff as they were sold out in record time. A shame, as I didn't get to see them live first time around. Here's hoping the success of the reunion tour, currently working it's way through the USA, Canada and Japan, will inspire a return to the UK for a second go round.

In the meantime, I've unearthed a post from the old blog, posted on 31st October 2005, a review of their posthumous 2CD collection Music: The Best Of The Beta Band / Live At The Shepherds Bush Empire, released earlier that month.

To mark the 20th anniversary of that post (nearly), I'm representing it here, accompanied by some visual selections from the Tube of You. Enjoy!

Discovering The Beta Band early on, through 1998’s EPs The Patty Patty Sound and Los Amigos Del Beta Bandidos, I was immediately drawn to their strange mix of REM-esque obtuse lyrics, latter period Talk Talk atmospherics, and a dislocated dance sensibility. 

The Three EP’s, which collected these plus first release Champion Versions, remains one of my favourite records. For some reason, I never bought the ‘proper’ albums that followed, possibly because the reviews and infrequently heard singles fuelled my suspicion that The Beta Band had set a standard that they could never quite match. 

And so, does this posthumous collection set the record straight, so to speak? 

Well… not really. Compiled chronologically by album, unsurprisingly the four selections from The Three EP’s excite the most. Opener Dry The Rain is a particular standout, exposed to a wider audience through the film High Fidelity and sadly not the massive breakthrough for the band that it should have been. 

1999’s It’s Not Too Beautiful, whilst ambitious, awkwardly shoehorns in admittedly epic-sounding samples from Disney movie The Black Hole. There are momentary flashes of inspiration in 2001’s Squares and Human Being, plus Easy and Troubles from 2004 swansong Heroes To Zeros. However, there’s a sense that The Beta Band were becoming increasingly demotivated by their lack of success, hardly surprising given the consistency of their material. 

That said, the accompanying live CD recorded on their farewell tour portrays an energised band. Again, The Three EP’s is well represented with six songs, including a rousing, uptempo version of Dr Baker and closing with Dog’s Got A Bone and The House Song. 

I’d still recommend The Three EP’s as an ideal primer, but Music is a worthy retrospective, especially if you can get hold of the limited 2CD version.

in 2025, with the benefit of experiencing The Beta Band's 'proper' (sic) albums and what came after (with another nod to Swiss Adam and his recent companion mix, Forty Five Minutes Of Beyond The Beta Band), I'd revise my recommendation slightly. 

If you like the first song that you hear by The Beta Band, then it's worth taking the plunge and getting hold of everything you can. Yes, The Three EP's is superb, but Hot Shots II and Heroes To Zeros would be enviable entries in any band's catalogue.

And the additional live CD with the Music 'best of', recorded at the Shepherds Bush Empire in London on 29th November 2004, a week before The Beta Band's farewell gig in Glasgow, is worth the purchase price alone even you have everything on CD1.

1) Dry The Rain (Live @ the Roundhouse, London, 2nd October 2025)

2) Inner Meet Me (Live @ Glastonbury, 25th June 2000)

3) Smiling (Official Video) (1999)

4) Squares (Official Video) (2002)

5) Broke (Live @ Later...With Jools Holland, 16th November 2001)

6) Assessment (Official Video) (2004)

7) Simple (Official Video) (2004)

 

 

 

 

 

 

As Everything Slows Down Across The World

Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark have released a 40th anniversary deluxe edition of sixth album, Crush.

Crush was the first O.M.D. album that I bought, partly because my brother had the first four albums. Or, to be more precise, C90 cassette rips, courtesy of my uncle, who had borrowed them from Shepherds Bush library and had the hi-fi to become a one man "Home Taping Is Killing Music" industry thanks to his nephews. 

I love the self-titled debut, Organisation, Architecture & Morality and Dazzle Ships. My friend Stuart had fourth album, Junk Culture, which I was less enamoured with, and which marked a definite shift in sound, away from the predominantly electronic sound scapes of its predecessors.

However, I really liked So In Love, released a month ahead of Crush and securing O.M.D. their (if I've counted correctly) 10th UK Top 30 hit, peaking at #27. I helped a little by buying the 12" single at the time, though it was well oout of the charts by the time I tracked down the limited edition (of 50,000!) 7" double pack with an exclusive bonus track.

The 40th anniversary deluxe edition of Crush came out last Friday (10th), available on double vinyl (black or crystal variants) and double CD. I originally bought Crush on cassette and played it to death (literally, it's gone to that great mass of tape spool in the sky), but it's one of the few albums that I didn't subsequently replace on CD.

I'm looking forward to getting my hands on a physical copy again. In addition to the 10-track album, there are a whopping 16 bonus tracks (11 on vinyl), gathering B-sides and 12" mixes, as well as first time appearances for demos and previously unreleased songs. 

Firegun was originally the B-side of third single La Femme Accident...

...whilst Choral remained unused, although the titular sample was used to arguably greater effect on Goddess Of Love on follow-up The Pacific Age.

When Crush was originally released in 1985, the album was accompanied a couple of months later by Crush: The Movie, a companion release on VHS video (or laserdisc 12", if you either happened to be in Japan and/or had the readies and the kit to purchase and play such a thing).

My folks resisted to urge to buy a video player for several years, and I was a 14-year old with a Saturday job, with some disposable income but not that much, so owning Crush: The Movie was never an option.

Bizarrely, the back cover blurb on the VHS cassette box manages to both over- and under-sell the product:

From Japanese adverts to Mexican death festivals, 

from filming in Spain to murders in America, 

this video follows O.M.D. through the recording and making

 of Crush, their sixth album.

Crush - the movie is more 

than just a collection of single promo videos, 

it combines interviews with the band 

and candid footage of them at work and play.

I should point out that whilst there is evidence that O.M.D. were "filming in Spain", there is nothing to suggest that they were connected to any "murders in America".

I've never seen Crush: The Movie but happily, the official O.M.D. site on YouTube has posted it in it's entirety. At the time of posting, I've watched the first 10 minutes and I will be back to watch the whole thing in one go.

The deluxe edition will be going on my birthday/Christmas wish list.

Blimps, Karmann Ghias And Submarines

Happy birthday to Thomas Dolby, born 14th October 1958.

Following last week's dip into Thomas' videography, I realised that apart from another post in 2024 about his song Flying North, I've never done a dedicated Dolby Dubhed selection.

So, to celebrate his 67th year, I've created a 67-minute collection of classics, rarities and remixes spanning 1980 to 1992. 

I'm less familiar with his music in the second half of the 1990s and into the 21st Century and will undoubtedly take a tour at some point, but there's plenty to see here, including the defining hit single featuring the brilliant Dr. Magnus Pike.

The original version of The Devil Is An Englishman featured on the soundtrack album to Ken Russell's 1986 film Gothic. Screamin' Lord Byron is Thomas, plus actor Gabriel Byrne, who played the poet Byron in the film and whose dialogue is featured heavily. Timothy Spall was also in the film (and the song) as Dr. Polidori.

1992 song Eastern Bloc is subtitled The Sequal (sic) as it picks up the story of the characters from Thomas' 1982 single (and personal favoruite) Europa And The Pirate Twins.

Dolby fans will take note that the number of omissions from this selection mean that there is plenty more to revisit in a future selection (or two).

For now, here's to you Thomas, hope you have a good one!

1) Hyperactive! (Heavy Breather Subversion) (Remix By Thomas Dolby) (1984)

2) The Ability To Swing (1988)

3) Europa And The Pirate Twins (Extended Version By Thomas Dolby) (1981)

4) Radio Silence (Album Version By Thomas Dolby) (1982)

5) The Devil Is An Englishman (Extended Version By Martin Rushent): Screamin' Lord Byron ft. Timothy Spall (1987)

6) Airhead (Def Ears Mix By Bassy Bob Brockmann) (1988)

7) Pedestrian Walkway (Demo) (1980)

8) Mulu The Rain Forest (1984)

9) Budapest By Blimp (Edit) (1988)

10) She Blinded Me With Science (Single Version ft. Dr. Magnus Pike) (1982)

11) Dissidents (The Search For Truth Part I) (Remix By François Kevorkian & Dominick Maita) (1984)

12) Eastern Bloc (The Sequal - Edited Version By Thomas Dolby) (1992)

13) I Love You Goodbye (Version By Thomas Dolby) (1992)

14) One Of Our Submarines (Extended Version By Thomas Dolby & Tim Friese-Greene) (1982)

1981: Europa And The Pirate Twins EP: 3

1982: She Blinded Me With Science EP: 10, 14

1982: The Golden Age Of Wireless: 4

1984: Dissidents EP: 11

1984: Hyperactive! EP: 1

1984: The Flat Earth: 8

1987: The Devil Is An Englishman EP: 5

1988: Airhead EP: 9

1988: Airhead's Revenge EP: 6

1988: Aliens Ate My Buick!: 2

1992: I Love You Goodbye EP: 12, 13

2009: The Golden Age Of Wireless (Expanded Edition): 7

Blimps, Karmann Ghias And Submarines (1:06:52) (GD) (M)

Back On The Rack

My surprise that EMF seem to have snuck back in and have been releasing new songs for the past year or so was surpassed by discovering that they've also recorded a version of the Bauhaus classic Bela Lugosi's Dead.

What at first appears to be a fairly faithful rendition does eventually go sonically into more familiar Meff territory, but I guess the question was always going to be when rather than if.

On a couple of listens so far, I quite like it.

 

EMF are not the only ones to try their hands at Bela Lugosi's Dead, of course. Nouvelle Vague covered most of the indie disco bases in the mid-2000s, so it was perhaps inevitable that they'd have a go, slowing things down even further than you'd think possible.

No official video, but here's a version cut to footage of 2014 film A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night.

I was going to say that CHVRCHES delivered their take on the song "more recently" until I realised that it was over ten years ago! Lauren and co. deliver a punchy take, so in keeping with their singular sound that you'd think they had written the song.

Again, a fan-made video using excerpts from - what else? - the 1931 classic film adaptation of Dracula, starring Bela Lugosi himself.

It would be a catastrophic failure on my part not to go back to the source, wouldn't it?

Not quite the original version, I've instead exhumed a 1982 performance by Bauhaus, a mere six minutes to close out music TV show Riverside. Judging by his opening position, Peter Murphy had clearly stocked up on Maxell cassettes by this point.

The first and the best, though respect to all of the above for their sterling efforts.

 

Just Have Fun. Smile. And Keep Putting On Lipstick.

Celebrating Diane Keaton (née Hall), 5th January 1946 to 11th October 2025.

I adored Diane Keaton in spite of, not because of, her association with Woody Allen and was a huge fan of her films throughout the 1970s and 1980s. I started losing track of her appearances in the latter part of the 1990s and into the 21st century, and in some cases Diane was the sole saving grace of some otherwise bland movies. 

I knew that Diane had also stepped behind the camera to direct, but not that this included a season 2 episode of Twin Peaks and several videos for Belinda Carlisle, including arguably her best known song, Heaven Is A Place On Earth.

Throughout her life, Diane always carried a deceptively simple yet striking image, be it a penchant for pants (trousers), wide brimmed hats or gloves. And always that incredible smile.

Diane has occasionally committed her voice to vinyl: I Don't Want To Play In Your Yard featured in the 1981 film Reds, and was released as a single in the USA.

However, for today's selection, I've fallen back on the tried and tested approach of a 12-song, 45-minute compilation of songs that (more or less) match the titles of films from Diane's extensive CV.

There were a few also-rans: if Lloyd Cole had only moved upstairs, he could have been a shoo-in for 5 Flights Up. Similarly, Anne Clark is kicking herself that Woody Allen never got around to making a sequel to his 1973 hit, and calling it Sleeper In Metropolis.

I've also taken a few liberties: Something's Gotta Give is replaced with a more grammatically satisfying B-side by The Comsat Angels. And Akron/Family drop the 'And' for So It Goes, but it's close enough for me.

Kicking off the second half of this mixtape, it was too good an opportunity to pass up a reference to Because I Said So, not least 'cause it's sonic equivalent was recorded by The Godfathers, a wonderfully unsubtle reference to the fact that Diane played Kay Adams in all of Francis Ford Coppola's legendary trilogy.

Aside from all that, I think it's an eclectic but entertaining selection, which is a (very) simple way of summing up Diane's film career. If you're in the mood for a Diane Keaton marathan, then click on any of the titles for more info (courtesy of IMDb) and fill your boots.

I'm going to end with a quote from Diane, which inspired today's title and is something we could all do more of.

Don't give up on yourself. 

So you make a mistake here and there; 

you do too much or you do too little. 

Just have fun. 

Smile. 

And keep putting on lipstick.

Thanks, Diane, you were - and will always be - wonderful.

1) Morning Glory (Edit): Chairmen Of The Board (1974)

2) Northern Lights (The Freelance Hellraiser Mix): Ian Brown (2002)

3) Something's Got To Give: The Comsat Angels (1986)

4) Sleeper: Espiritu (1997)

5) Manhattan: Cinerama (2000)

6) So It Goes: Akron/Family (2011)

7) 'Cause I Said So: The Godfathers (1988)

8) Mama's Boy (Album Version): Ramones (1984)

9) Hampstead (Demo): Adam & The Ants (1977)

10) Interiors (Song For Willem De Kooning) (Album Version): Manic Street Preachers (1996)

11) Love And Death (Re-Recorded Version): Ebo Taylor (2009)

12) Plan B (Single Version): Dexy's Midnight Runners (1981)

1974: Skin I'm In: 1

1981: Plan B EP: 12

1984: Too Tough To Die: 8

1986: The Cutting Edge EP: 3

1988: Birth, School, Work, Death: 7

1996: Everything Must Go: 10

1997: Another Life: 4

2000: Antbox: 9

2000: Manhattan EP: 5

2002: Remixes Of The Spheres: 2

2010: Love And Death: 11

2011: S/T II: The Cosmic Birth And Journey Of Shinju TNT: 6

Just Have Fun. Smile. And Keep Putting On Lipstick. (44:42) (GD) (M)

Double Take

A fresh Wet Leg session for KEXP, recorded last month, has just been posted online and it is rather wonderful.

00:48 catch these fists 

04:04 davina mccall 

07:59 CPR 

11:02 mangetout 

This led me to look up Wet Leg's KEXP debut in August 2022, captured live at the THING Festival at Fort Worden in Port Townsend, Washington. 

00:49 Being In Love

02:59 Wet Dream

05:32 Angelica

10:20 Ur Mom

I was planning to go into a whole spiel about Wet Leg's - and especially Rhian Teasdale's - transformation in a few short years.

And then I remembered that I'd done that exact thing as recently as July, when I compared and contrasted their Tiny Desk Concerts in 2021 and 2025.

Well, it's still remarkable, and so is their second album moisturizer, which tipped me from being interested but not invested, to a fully-fledged fan.

I Really Think That I Am Ready For The Call

I've heard bits and bobs of music by Midlake over the years, but nothing ever quite burrowed itself into my consciousness like Roscoe, Young Bride and subsequently the wole of their second album The Trials Of Van Occupanther.

Nearly twenty years on from that landmark album, Midlake are back with their sixth, with The Calling as their, er, calling card.

And it's pretty darn good three minutes.

I need to do some homework, clearly. Any recommendations for where to start with the post-Tim Smith Midlake catalogue (aka most of it)?