Let Everything Flow

Just let it all wash over you, with this 50-minute mix of mellow sounds.

Pye Corner Audio get things flowing with the opening and title track of Lake Deep Memory, an album inspired by Martin Jenkins' trip to Lake Atitlan in Guatemala in 2024. Ostensibly there to play a festival, it clearly left a lasting impression, as evidenced in this immersive piece of music..

Still Water 2 was released in July 2025, the seventh in Richard Norris' Music For Healing: Oceans series, which he accurately describes as "a balm for the soul". The slow, gentle piano plinks are gorgeous.

If you think you know The Woodentops, think again. Rolo McGinty can pretty much turn his hand to anything, musically speaking, including this tribute to the river Thames, released last month. The full-length version clocks in at nearly 16 minutes; I've included just over half here, to encourage you to get yourself over to Bandcamp and buy it.

Zi Lan Liao is married to Jah Wobble and when her harp met his bass, magic happened. I discovered an extract of 34-minute suite The River from 1998 on the superlative Jah Wobble compilation I Could Have Been A Contender in 2004. Even in truncated form, the epic scale of the music is not diminished.

Who else to follow this than Kate Bush? Lake Tahoe is from her (to date) last album of original material, and one of her longest songs, nudging over the 11-minute mark. Piano, an angelic duet and a lead voice steeped in a lifetime of stories, both lived and discovered, all in perfect harmony as Kate recounts the tale of a Victorian woman who fell into Lake Tahoe, only to rise as a spirit.

Have a beautiful Sunday.

1) Lake Deep Memory: Pye Corner Audio (2025)

2) Still Water 2: Richard Norris (2025)

3) T H A M E S: The Woodentops (2026)

4) The River: Jah Wobble presents Zi Lan Liao (1998)

5) Lake Tahoe: Kate Bush ft. Stefan Roberts & Michael Wood (2011)

2004: I Could Have Been A Contender: Anthology: 4

2011: 50 Words For Snow: 5

2025: Lake Deep Memory: 1

2025: Music For Healing: Oceans 7: 2

2026: T H A M E S EP: 3

Let Everything Flow (50:49) (GD) (M)

"I Used To Listen To This During Thunderstorms A Lot"

Another entertaining and enlightening episode of What's In My Bag? arrived on Monday, thsi time featuring Peaches aka Merrill Nisker.

I have relatively little music by Peaches and the majority of that is her remixes of other artists, but I'm always interested in what she's up to and this 12-minute dip into her shopping bag is no exception.

This one's quite heavy on music-related books and films, so I've added videos for four of her her picks, plus the title track of her seventh album, which arrived last month. All great choices, but I especially enjoyed Eartha Kitt's performance.

1) Sat In Your Lap: Kate Bush (1981)

2) See That My Grave Is Kept Clean: Diamanda Galás (1992)

3) I Want To Be Evil: Eartha Kitt (1962)

4) The Real Me: The Who (1979)

5) No Lube So Rude: Peaches (2026)

 

 

 

 

A Bob Hoskins Inspired Compilation Of Crime Fuelled Carnage

I rarely do requests but in an effort to assuage George's disappointment following Friday's post, here's a Bob Hoskins inspired compilation of crime fuelled carnage.

A 13-song, 46-minute trawl through Bob's formidable film and television CV, with namesake songs from some heavyweight artists. 

A few notable omissions, however. I was unable to find any songs named after Who Framed Roger Rabbit? or Super Mario Brothers. 

I also left off A Prayer For The Dying for three reasons:

1) I only had one song in my collection and that was by Seal;

2) The lead actor, Mickey Rourke, has been getting more screen time in the past week than he deserves;

3) The film is utter shite.

Whilst at least one of Bob's films name checked here is a classic crime drama, at least one is arguably a crime that it was ever committed to celluloid. I'll leave you to decide which is which. 

1) Mona Lisa: Grant Lee Phillips (2004)

2) Brazil: Lloyd Cole (2003)

3) Play For Today (Black Sand Extension): The Cure (2010)

4) Kate (Cover of 'You Put Me Here (Sure as Your Name’s Kate)' by Rex Allen): Johnny Cash (1972)

5) Performance: Japan (1978)

6) Hook (4-Track Demo): PJ Harvey (1992)

7) Shoulder To Shoulder: Pete Wylie (1987)

8) Outlaw: Alan Vega (1981)

9) Thick As Thieves: The Jam (1979)

10) Last Orders (Live @ Electric Circus, Manchester): The Fall (1977) 

11) Full House: Kate Bush (1978)

12) Inner Circle: The Frowning Clouds (2014)

13) Mermaids: Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds (2013)

1972: A Thing Called Love: 4

1978: Adolescent Sex: 5

1978: Lionheart: 11

1978: Short Circuit: Live At The Electric Circus: 10

1979: Setting Sons: 9

1981: Collision Drive: 8

1987: Sinful: 7

1993: 4-Track Demos: 6

2003: Music In A Foreign Language: 2

2004: Virginia Creeper: 1

2010: Extensions Volume 1: A Collection Of New Wave Remixes By Black Sand (bootleg MP3): 3

2013: Push The Sky Away: 13

2014: Legalize Everything: 12

A Bob Hoskins Inspired Compilation Of Crime Fuelled Carnage (46:20) (KF) (Mega)

Decade V: 1989

Side 2 (or Side 10, if you will) of the Decade mixtape series, compiled 8th April 1990.

 

As David Byrne asked waaay back in 1980 on the opening side of this epic venture, "Well, how did I get here?"

I don't know about you, but the last five weeks have flown by for me. Yet, 10 sides, 120 songs, 7 hours, 40 minutes and 28 seconds later and that's it for my look back at the 1980s. 

 

If you've followed some or all of my selections over the past five weekends, I hope there's been something that's resonated with or reminded you. That, or you've been introduced to some of the more obscure chart misses that you weren't aware of or were too young to experience first time around.

Before I delve into 1989 itself, a few Decade facts for those of you that like that kind of thing. Across the 120 songs, most artist appearances were one-offs, but 16 managed 2 appearances, some perhaps surprisingly so.

Bronze medals therefore go to Julian Cope, Echo & The Bunnymen, Frankie Goes To Hollywood, Heaven 17, The Human League, The Jesus & Mary Chain, Killing Joke, O.M.D., Pete Wylie & Wah!, Pixies, R.E.M., Scritti Politti, Siouxsie & The Banshees, The Cult, Visage and - who would have thought? - Wall Of Voodoo.

Just 4 artists managed a total of 3 appearances. Silver medals to Talking Heads, Talk Talk, The Smiths and U2. No band managed to feature on both the first and the last selection, but Talking Heads and U2 achieved the greatest span, both with first and last appearances in 1980 and 1988. 

 

A special mention for Siouxise Sioux, whose two appearances with The Banshees (in 1980 and 1983) and The Creatures (1989) gets her an honorary Silver medal and also the 'greatest span' achievement award as an individual artist. Seems fitting, as Ms. Sioux was never one to be bound by conventional rules.

Only 1 band achieved 4 appearances and, especially given that I compiled the series in 1990, it's no surprise that the Gold medal goes to Depeche Mode. Sharing the 'greatest span' record with the above, the Basildon boys first featured in 1981 with New Life, returned in 1983 with Everything Counts, came back in 1986 with Stripped and make their final appearance in 1989 with Personal Jesus.

But enough preamble, what about 1989? It was a year of historic events, too many to go into here though I will just acknowledge that it marked Margaret Thatcher's tenth year as Prime Minister, the first to do so in the 20th century. Little wonder then that I was formulating plans to leave the country and go travelling for a year, something that I managed to do in 1990. 

I was working full-time and any money left over from 'housekeeping' (aka rent to my parents, but considering cheaper than a city centre bedsit), running the car, record buying and nights out was being put aside for my planned escape. 

Gigs in 1989 therefore were few and far between, but varied. I didn't keep a record so I've long forgotten the local/unsigned bands and the growing number of club nights and DJ sets that I saw. However, the few tickets that I've managed not to lose since tell me that I variously enjoyed the live experiences of The Monkees (sadly minus Mike Nesmith), The Jesus & Mary Chain, Inspiral Carpets and Pixies (again), this time supported by The Wolfgang Press. 

Once again, plans for a companion series Decadance means that today's 1989 selection is light on dance music, though one pioneering electronic act makes the cut and a couple of indie/dance crossovers barge their way in.

Surprisingly making their first appearance in the series, right at the end, are The B-52's. Channel Z was a precusor to 5th album Cosmic Thing, released in June 1989. I bought the 12" single which did little to help, as it failed to chart. Likewise, the album managed one week at #75 before disappearing... until March 1990 that is, when second single Love Shack got to #2 and boosted Cosmic Thing into a Top 10 album with a six-month run in the charts.  

 

Channel Z got a second go in August 1990 and still only managed a peak of #61, which is a shame. Maybe it was just too political and angry (well, as angry as The B-52's could possibly get) for the UK's fragile minds.

After years of pioneering and cutting edge sounds, Cabaret Voltaire signed to EMI and released Groovy, Laidback & Nasty, their most commercial and conventional album to date (and of all, as it transpired). Stephen Mallinder and Richard H. Kirk seemed to cop a lot of flak for 'selling out' and mimicking the prevailing music fashions rather than influencing then, which I think was unfair.

It had mixed results: the album failed to chart and although the three singles managed #66, #55 and #61 respectively, they remain Cabaret Voltaire's highest charting singles. I think - as I did back then - that Hypnotised is a great single. Remixed by Fon Force, Mute label boss Daniel Miller and A Guy Called Gerald, with backing vocals from Ten City, it was an interesting diversion even if it proved to be short-lived.

I first heard Pop Will Eat Itself on a couple of compilations and fell for their Grebo sound, even more so as they started to play around with samples and beats. Wise Up! Sucker is perhaps less familiar than Can U Dig It? though there's surprisingly little between then in terms of chart placing. PWEI seriously troubled the UK Top 40 in the 1990s, but Wise Up! Sucker remains one of my favourite songs that they ever did.

Also making a comeback of sorts was Depeche Mode with Personal Jesus. This heralded a new direction, lots more twangy guitar than you might expect and a catchy yet off-kilter chorus. I bought the singles on 12" (there were usually at least 2) on release, but never 7" hence the inclusion of one of the (three) remixes by François Kevorkian. 

 

According to my handmade cassette inlay, I originally faded out the song around at 4:13. On recreating the tape for this post, I found that this selection was running considerably short, so I've included the full length Holier Than Thou Approach here. 

I'd heard very little by The Stone Roses at this point. My friend Stuart had their album, which I'd heard a couple of times but wasn't blown away by. Their standalone double A-side single in November 1989 was another matter entirely, though. What The World Is Waiting For was good, though not a million miles away from the album that preceded it. Fools Gold was another matter entirely and got my attention from the start. Despite my preference for the 12" format generally, and the fact that Fools Gold was stretched out to nearly ten minutes, at the time I plumped for the 2-track 7" single. I retrospectively came to love those earlier songs, but Fools Gold is the one that really switched me onto The Stone Roses.

Making an unexpected reappearance were The Creatures aka Siouxsie Sioux and Budgie, then-partners in The Banshees and in life. I really liked The Creatures' music, which followed a more disciplined, minimalist structure, playing to the strengths of Siouxsie's distinctive vocal styling and Budgie's phenomenal percussion skills. Standing There was remixed by Mike Hedges and I bought the 12" and 10" singles. 

 

The latter, titled the La Frontera Mix, was under 4 minutes and featured on the cassette. I haven't been able to rip my vinyl for this recreation and, as far as I can tell, it's essentially an edit of the 10-minute Andalucian Mix on the 12". So, I've edited the latter to provide a clean ending at approx. the same point as the La Frontera Mix to maintain the original sequencing.

Mekons had been around for over a decade by the time I bought a record by them. But what a record. I think I'd heard and quite liked Ghosts Of American Astronauts, didn't really know anything else that they'd done and bought The Dream And Lie Of... EP on 10" without hearing a single song, purely down to a rave review that I'd read in NME, Melody Maker or Sounds. I wasn't disappointed.

Three of the four songs appeared on the subsequent album The Mekons Rock 'n' Roll and Club Mekon is the penultimate song on the EP. The flurry of country punk, Sally Timmins' vocals and the opening verse of

 

When I was just seventeen, sex no longer held a mystery

I saw it as a commodity to be bought and sold, like rock and roll

had me hooked and even now, Club Mekon puts a shiver down my spine and a smile on my face when I hear it. Superb.

Pixies could do no wrong and Monkey Gone To Heaven was no exception. I saw Pixies perform this song live at the Studio in Bristol, two months after the single release and a few weeks after the album Doolittle had blown my teenage mind. Hearing Black Francis scream, And God is seven! And God is seven! And God is seven!, to an audience that were screaming right back at him, was incredible.

Next is the one true WTF? moment, with the inclusion of Destroyed by Scottish metal band The Almighty. I'm struggling to explain this one, or remember why I even had anything by them. I'm supposing that it was either the recommendation/influence of my brother, or that I was trying to impress a girl in the hope of asking her out at some point. 

Delving into my gig ticket tin, I find that I saw The Almighty at the Bierkeller in Bristol on 26th February 1990. No memory of that one at all. The fact that I recorded the Decade V cassette six weeks after the gig perhaps explains its inclusion and the brevity of my interest in the band. I remember buying the Blood, Fire & Love album from which this song is taken though I suspect that it was culled from my collection not long after. 

 

Listening to it now? I'm finding it hard to tell the difference between The Almighty and Def Leppard, to be honest, and that's not intended as a compliment. It must surely have sounded outdated even in 1989! For a second or two, I considered swapping out The Almighty for something less anachronistic but whatever the reason, I considered it 'good' enough for inclusion so it has to stay. Don't do drugs, kids!

 

The The restore the intellectual equilibrium with The Beat(en) Generation, their first new single in a couple of years and the first to more explicitly pitch The The as a band rather than a solo venture for Matt Johnson. Well, if your band included Johnny Marr, you would shout about it, wouldn't you? 

I love The Beat(en) Generation, even though I'll admit that I still find Matt's pronunciation of 'reared' in the chorus a bit jarring (!). Diction notwithstanding, the general public evidently agreed as The Beat(en) Generation became The The's first ever UK Top 20 hit, reaching #18 in April. There were two additional remixes on the 12" and I picked the stripped back Campfire Mix for this selection.

Another surprise - nay, shock - late entry to this series is The Cure. In April 1990, I still didn't own any of their albums though I had a few of their 12" singles, so I'm as surprised as you that it's taken until 1989 for them to debut. That said, as the original tapes covering 1982 to 1985 have been lost forever and were recreated from scratch, it's possible that Let's Go To Bed, The Lovecats or Close To Me previously featured but I'll never know for sure.

Lullaby is an astonishing single with yet another memorable video directed by Tim Pope, so it's not really a surprise that I bought it. Again, it was the 7" not 12", so I most likely got it from the bargain bin at Woolworths. Still, it's #5 peak was another reason why Top Of The Pops and the Radio 1 chart rundown weren't a complete waste of time in the late 80s.

So, the selection and the series comes to a close with another first-time appearance here, Kate Bush and the title track of her album The Sensual World. The single entered the chart at #12 on 24th September 1989 and began a slow slide back out in the following four weeks. In my opinion, it's one of the finest songs she's ever recorded. From the opening church bell peals, to the Irish music flavours and Kate's sweetly restrained vocals, it's a magical journey from start to finish and a perfect way to end this voyage into the past.

I thought when I started this, that it would be a fun run though for a few weeks, with some top tunes and a few attempts at wit thrown in. It's been a lot more than that: I've revisited artists - and subsequently albums - that I haven't heard in a long while; I've also dredged up memories and snapshots of my callow youth.

Thanks so much for coming along with me, and your words of encouragement on the way. I am gradually getting back to responding to your many and lovely comments. And yes Ernie, I will answer your burning question about my first proper girlfriend ;-)

That's it for now. I never got around to the more dance-themed 80s collection or repeated this endeavour for the 1990s when I reached the new millennium. It was fun while it lasted.

Normal service resumes next weekend. By that, I mean the return of winging it and off the cuff musings...!

1) Channel Z (Remix/Edit): The B-52's

2) Hypnotised (The Fon Force Edit): Cabaret Voltaire ft. Ten City

3) Wise Up! Sucker (7" Version): Pop Will Eat Itself

4) Personal Jesus (Holier Than Thou Approach): Depeche Mode

5) Fools Gold 4.15 (7" Version): The Stone Roses

6) Standing There (Andalucian Mix) (Edit By Khayem): The Creatures

7) Club Mekon (Album Version): Mekons

8) Monkey Gone To Heaven (Album Version): Pixies

9) Destroyed (Album Version): The Almighty

10) The Beat(en) Generation (Campfire Mix): The The

11) Lullaby (Remix): The Cure

12) The Sensual World (Album Version): Kate Bush

26th March 1989: Doolittle (#60): 8

2rd April 1989: Mind Bomb (#18): 10

23rd April 1989: This Is The Day...This Is The Hour...This Is This! (#41): 3

23rd April 1989: Disintegration (#5): 11

19th August 1989: Cosmic Thing (#61): 1

10th September 1989: Violator (#13): 4

17th September 1989: The Mekons Rock 'n' Roll (# n/a): 7

24th September 1989: The Sensual World (#12): 12

15th October 1989: Boomerang (#53): 6

29th October 1989: Groovy, Laidback And Nasty (#66): 2

29th October 1989: Blood, Fire & Love (# n/a): 9

26th November 1989: Fools Gold / What The World Is Waiting For EP (#8): 5

Side Two (46:08) (GD) (M)

If you missed any of the previous posts, you can jump straight to them here.

1980   1981   1982   1983   1984   1985   1986   1987   1988

Out Of The Page

A very, very happy birthday to the wonderful, magical Kate Bush, born 30th July 1958.

I fell in love with Kate at age 7, watching her mesmerising performance of Wuthering Heights on TV. Since then, she has produced an incredible body of work which demonstrates the breadth and persistence of her vision, not just the music, but the videos, the concert performances and the rare but fascinating interviews.

I've attempted a career-spanning, 66(ish) minute selection of songs to celebrate this woman's work (see what I did there?) It was impossible to avoid some of the big hits - there are so many - but I've also chosen some deeper cuts and alternative versions, including one of Kate's earliest demos from 1974, age 16. 

 

David Gilmour heard Kate's music and helped produce a demo tape, which led to a signing with EMI that continued for over a quarter of a century. Since 2011, Kate's releases have been on her own label, Fish People. Director's Cut revisited and reworked songs from The Sensual World and The Red Shoes. 50 Words For Snow, an album of all-new songs, followed the same year. 2016 saw Before The Dawn, a live document of her spectacular return to live performance in 2014. 

The first Kate Bush album I owned was Lionheart, a birthday gift from my brother's then-girlfriend in the 1980s. As such, this will always be my favourite, the songs deeply ingrained in my consciousness.

 

It speaks of Kate's mass appeal that it was one of the relatively few artists that my parents didn't complain about my playing loud at home. My brother, my friends, my girlfriends, pretty much everyone I knew owned at least one Kate Bush record.

 

When I lived for a brief time in Derby, the guy in the flat next door used to constantly play hair metal at high volume, with one exception. I knew that he either had a lady visiting or was trying to create his own luck for a night out whenever he played Kate Bush's greatest hits compilation, The Whole Story. We didn't have much in common, but we at least agreed on Kate.

Kate found a whole new generation switched on to her music when Running Up That Hill was used in the Netflix series Stranger Things. I've never seen it, but it must be alright if it means that Kate's music is appreciated all over again. 

 

Stick to the end of this selection and you'll hear a snippet from an unexpected phone interview by Emma Barton for BBC Radio 4's Woman's Hour on 22nd June 2022. Even her speaking voice is a joy to listen to.

Have a day filled with love and hugs, Kate, and thank you for the gifts you have given, which continue to surprise, delight and enrich us.

 

1) Never Be Mine ('Director's Cut' Version) (2011) 

2) Hounds Of Love (Album Version) (1985)

3) How To Be Invisible (Album Version) (2005)

4) Night Of The Swallow (Album Version) (1982)

5) Delius (Song Of Summer) (Album Version) (1980)

6) Big Stripey Lie (Album Version) (1993)

7) Army Dreamers (Single Remix) (1980)

8) Symphony In Blue (Album Version) (1978)

9) Among Angels (Album Version) (2011)

10) The Sensual World (Album Version) (1989)

11) Kite (Album Version) (1978)

12) Don't Put Your Foot On The Heartbrake (BBC TV Performance) (1979) 

13) In My Garden (aka Garden By The Willow aka Something Like A Song) (Home Demo) (1974)

14) Wuthering Heights (New Vocal) (1986)

15) Shoedance (The Red Shoes Dance Mix) (1993)

16) ...Kate speaks... (2022)

 

1978: The Kick Inside: 11

1978: Lionheart: 8

1980: Army Dreamers EP: 7

1980: Never For Ever: 5

1982: The Dreaming: 4

1985: Hounds Of Love: 2

1986: Experiment IV EP: 14

1989: The Sensual World: 10

1993: The Red Shoes: 6 

1993: The Red Shoes EP: 15

2005: Aerial: 3

2011: Director's Cut: 1 

2011: 50 Words For Snow: 9

2014: The Season Of The Witch: Cathy's Home Demos (bootleg): 13

2014: 1979 Television Special: 12

Out Of The Page (1:05:38) (KF) (Mega)

Wow

Kate Bush performing at the Hammersmith Apollo in London on 13th May 1979. 

 

These dozen songs were released on VHS in 1981, culled from a mammoth 21-song set, with additional dance interludes, Kate's brother John Carder Bush reading poetry and more costume changes than your brain can process.

All of this took place a couple of months shy of Kate's 21st birthday. 

 

Wow doesn't even begin to describe how amazing this woman is.

 

00:00 [restoration notes]

00:18 Moving

03:50 Them Heavy People

07:53 Violin

11:25 Strange Phenomena

14:50 Hammer Horror

19:15 Don't Put Your Foot On The Heartbrake

23:08 Wow

27:14 Feel It

30:11 Kite

36:41 James And The Cold Gun

45:25 Oh England My Lionheart

48:45 Wuthering Heights

#Colours Top 20 (Second Shade)

The second half of the (E)x-Twitter 'countdown' that I've participated in for the past 20 days, featuring songs, artists or lyrics featuring a colour.

As with the first ten, I've stuck with just song titles throughout, with my second round up coming in at one second under 40 minutes.

 

I also continued with my 'method' (I use the term loosely) of trying to make sure that the subsequent colour complemented the one that had preceded it. This limiting my choice of songs each time but hopefully provided for some interesting segues from, say, Cathal Coughlan to Peaches. 

 

I only did one swap throughout the entire run. My original pick for #17 was Coral Moon by John Cale from his 1973 album, Helen Of Troy. Realising that the pick would coincide with International Women's Day, I replaced it with A Coral Room by Kate Bush, which on reflection I think was a better choice and made for a good segue from Echo & The Bunnymen.

 

This late change also meant that I was able to find another (complementary) John Cale song and tweet it on the following day, which also happened to be his 82nd birthday. Win win, I'd say.

 

The final song of the 20 wouldn't have appeared at all had it not been for Ernie Goggins' end of year round up over at 27 Leggies back in December 2022, a reminder of how much music I discover thanks to you lovely people out there in the blogosphere. And in my opinion, it's a great way to wrap up what has been a fun series to participate in.

 

11) Into The White (Single Version): Pixies (1989)

12) Lime Tree Arbour (Album Version): Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds (1997)

13) Tangerine: Cathal Coughlan (2022)

14) I Feel Cream (Album Version): Peaches (2009)

15) Silverblade (Single Version): The Jesus & Mary Chain (1990)

16) Turquoise Days: Echo & The Bunnymen (1981)

17) A Coral Room: Kate Bush (2005)

18) Bamboo Floor ("Slow Dazzle" Session Outtake): John Cale (1975)

19) Olive Avenue: Port Sulphur ft. Jay Stansfield (2018)

20) Golden Spoon Maroon: Yasus Afari (2021) 

 

1981: Heaven Up Here: 6

1989: Here Comes Your Man EP: 1 

1990: Rollercoaster EP: 5 

1996: The Island Years: 8

1997: The Boatman's Call: 2

2005: Aerial: 7

2009: I Feel Cream: 4 

2018: Paranoic Critical: 9

2022: E.P. Of Co-Aklan EP: 3

2022: Golden Spoon Maroon: 10

 

Second Shade (39:59) (KF) (Mega)

If Kate Bush Was Drum & Bass...

If I'm going to be late to the party, I might as well do it once, twice, thrice...! On 30th July, Kate Bush celebrated her 65th birthday; last July, DJ Rap released a drum & bass remix of Kate's 1985 single Running Up That Hill, which was enjoying an overwhelming surge of interest following it's inclusion in the Netflix series Stranger Things. 

 

I completely missed all three. I'm making up for the first two now, but I haven't subscribed to Netflix apart from a brief 30-day trial thingy in 2022 pretty much for the sole purpose of watching Squid Game, so it may be a while before I belatedly discover what all the fuss was about Stranger Things.

 

I won't pretend that I've kept pace with DJ Rap aka Charissa Saverio since hearing - and enjoying - her work in the late 1990s to early 2000s but she's clearly been very busy in the past couple of decades, including Open The Daw, an interesting and insightful YouTube series on what it takes to be a DJ/producer. She's also kept the d+b flame burning, with her current single Higher, dropping a couple of weeks ago in all the usual places.

 

A radio edit/at-the-controls video of DJ Rap's remix is available on YouTube, with a link to a free WAV/MP3 download of the full length version. Personally, I love it. A propa eargasm, as DJ Rap is wont to say.

Peeping Through The Hole In My Soul

Spotted outside Gloucester Cathedral yesterday. The first two kind of have a logical connection, but the third? I mean, I can understand the conspiracy theories about the moon landings, but faking the whole of space? Was someone so incensed that poor Edwin Hubble has been consigned to the dusty basement of history now that there is a brand shiny new space telescope named after NASA Johnny-Come-Lately James Webb? These important questions and answers of the day should at least demand page 7 in the Gloucestershire Echo, surely?

 

On a completely unrelated note, today's selection is inspired by artists, tracks and themes featured in Dubhed's current Top 10 most popular posts. Where else would you find The Sisters Of Mercy and New Order shacking up with One Dove, David McAlmont and Little Simz?

 

1) Deadline For My Memories (Album Version): Electribe 101 (1992)

2) Long Train (12" Version): The Sisters Of Mercy (1984)

3) Paris (Cover of Friendly Fires): The Anchoress (2012)

4) Woman (Live @ Later... With Jools Holland): Little Simz (2021)

5) Paradise (Remix By Robert Racic & Nick Mainsbridge): New Order (1987)

6) Breakdown (Secret Knowledge Light Mix By Kris Needs): One Dove (1993)

7) Blind Vision (Album Version By John Luongo): Blancmange (1983)

8) Parade (Cover of Magazine): Dave Formula ft. David McAlmont (2010)

9) Half A World Away (Nicky Campbell Session): R.E.M. (1991)

10) This Woman's Work (Album Version): Kate Bush (1989)

1983: Mange Tout: 7

1984: Walk Away EP: 2

1987: True Faith EP (Australian 12" single): 5

1989: The Sensual World: 10

1993: Breakdown EP: 6 

2010: Satellite Sweetheart: 8

2012: Reprise: The Covers Collection: 3

2018: Best Of At The BBC: 9

2021: Woman EP: 4

2022: Electribal Soul (previously unreleased 1992 album): 1

 

Peeping Through The Hole In My Soul (52:45)

Oh Gosh, Oh Gosh, I'm Juliette Binoche!

Another in my occasional series of song selections named after an actor's films, Juliette Binoche follows in the footsteps of Faye Dunaway and Elizabeth Taylor.

At first, a tougher call than you might think. I mean, who on Earth would record songs called The English Patient, The Unbearable Lightness Of Being or Three Colors: Blue (or Red or White, for that matter)?

Thankfully, there were plenty of other selections to encompass her debut, 1983's Liberty Belle right up to this year's Fire, the latest film by Claire Denis and one that is unlikely to be screening at my nearest cinemas which are currently dominated by Tom effing Cruise.

Perfect timing, with Kate Bush securing her first UK #1 in ages with Running Up That Hill, that her debut single gets a look in here, still as stunning now as when I heard it as a 7 year old. This is followed by Vanessa Contenay-Quiñones, better known in the 1990s as Espiritu, with the only French language song in this selection. A bit of cheat here as Juliette Binoche starred in 2005's singular Caché, but I'm pretending that it was so good that I watched it twice...

 

Juliette is mentioned in the Earthling song 1st Transmission, which also provides today's post title. In a nice touch, the album version and remixes by Plunderphonics and Portishead name check a different location, taking in Ilford, Bombay, Stokes Croft in Bristol and, in the version featured here, stopping off at Woodstock.

 

Diamond Hoo Ha Men and The Magnetic North are both aliases/side projects for other artists. The former are better known as two thirds of Supergrass and this grungier version popped up on the Bad Blood single in 2008. The Magnetic North are a trio comprising Erland Cooper, Hannah Peel and Simon Tong, remixed here to atmospheric effect by White Label, another trio including Steve Aungle, who worked with the late Billy MacKenzie and has done much to keep his musical legacy alive.

 

Quite an eclectic selection again, which includes arguably Binoche's career nadir Damage - the Yo La Tengo song is much better - and several songs that I could easily imagine being used in a film soundtrack, assuming they haven't already. This one's a keeper.

1) Chocolat: Cornershop (1997)

2) Liberty Belle (Remix By Mario Caldato Jr): Super Furry Animals (2004)

3) Wuthering Heights (Album Version): Kate Bush (1978)

4) Cache Cache: Vanessa Contenay-Quiñones (2020)

5) 1st Transmission (Acoustlick) (Remix By Plunderphonics): Earthling (1994)

6) Bad Blood (DHHM Version): Diamond Hoo Ha Men (2008)

7) Let The Sunshine In (Recorded Live @ Maida Vale Studios For Lamacq Live On Radio 1, 4th October 2002) (Cover of The 5th Dimension): Badly Drawn Boy (2002)

8) High Life (White Label Remix By Steve Aungle, Anth Brown & Tom Doyle): The Magnetic North (2017)

9) Rendez-Vu (Album Version): Basement Jaxx (1999)

10) Fire: Black Pumas (2018)

11) Damage: Yo La Tengo (1997)

12) Paris: The Anchoress (2021)

1978: The Kick Inside: 3 

1994: 1st Transmission EP: 5

1997: I Can Hear The Heart Beating As One: 11

1997: When I Was Born For The 7th Time: 1

1999: Remedy: 9

2002: All Possibilities EP: 7

2004: Phantom Phorce: 2

2008: Bad Blood EP (by Supergrass): 6 

2017: Borrowed Voices (by White Label): 8

2018: Black Pumas: 10

2020: Voodoo Girl: 4

2021: The Art Of Losing: 12

Oh Gosh, Oh Gosh, I'm Juliette Binoche! (43:27)