Paris, Fucking Paris!

The chance of my getting to see Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds live in concert sits somewhere between winning the Lotto and scoring a UK #1 with a reggae cover version of the Splodgenessabounds classic Two Pints Of Lager And A Packet Of Crisps Please!

 

Thank goodness for ARTE Concert, who have just posted a full show from The Wild God tour, performed at the Accor Arena in Paris on Sunday 17th November 2024.

Wow. Just wow.

1) Frogs 00:35 2) Wild God 05:21 3) Song Of The Lake 11:33 4) O Children 17:05 5) Jubilee Street 24:11 6) From Her To Eternity 32:43 7) Long Dark Night 41:55 8) Cinnamon Horses 47:50

9) Tupelo 54:40 10) Conversion 1:04:35 11) Bright Horses 1:12:38 12) Joy 1:18:41 13) I Need You 1:25:57 14) Carnage (Cover of Nick Cave & Warren Ellis) 1:30:44

15) Final Rescue Attempt 1:36:17 16) Red Right Hand 1:41:36 17) The Mercy Seat 1:50:07 18) White Elephant (Cover of Nick Cave & Warren Ellis) 1:56:27

[Encore]

19) O Wow O Wow (How Wonderful She Is) 2:06:34 20) Papa Wont Leave You, Henry 2:11:19 21) The Weeping Song 2:18:15 22) Into My Arms 2:25:31

1984: From Her To Eternity: 6

1985: The Firstborn Is Dead: 9

1988: Tender Prey: 17

1990: The Good Son: 21

1992: Henry's Dream: 20

1994: Let Love In: 16

1997: The Boatman's Call: 22

2004: Abattoir Blues / The Lyre Of Orpheus: 4

2013: Push The Sky Away: 5

2016: Skeleton Tree: 13

2019: Ghosteen: 11

2021: Carnage: 14, 18

2024: Wild God: 1, 2, 3, 7, 8, 10, 12, 15, 19

How To Fall From Grace And Slide With Elegance From A Pedestal

Celebrating Marianne Faithfull, 29th December 1946 to 30th January 2025.

I was talking to Mrs. K, when Marianne's passing was announced on BBC News, so I was admittedly only half-listening as the prepared obituary was delivered, but the snippets I caught made me increasingly upset.

I know obituaries by their very nature frequently celebrate and devalue a life in a few paragraphs or minutes. Even so, the fragments that penetrated my consciousness seemed to focus on Marianne's achievements in the 1960s, living in the shadow of men (including several Rolling Stones) and the drugs. Of course, the drugs.

What I wasn't picking up was Marianne's incredible achievements beyond the 1970s and 1980s and well into the 21st Century, in the face of prejudice, preconception, misogyny, debilitating and near-fatal health challenges (not least COVID) and inevitably the ravages of time from life lived increasingly on her own terms.

I don't have a huge amount of Marianne's music in my collection, but it charts an incredible journey and a fearless confrontation and defiance of convention. Not just as a singer, but a songwriter (for Grace Jones), a collaborator (Bowie, Sly & Robbie, Patrick Wolf) and an interpreter of other's songs (everyone from Sonny & Cher to The Decemberists). 

Marianne released a single written by Serge Gainsbourg in 1967; forty years later, she revisited another of his songs to celebrate his life. Both are very special interpretations by a unique artist.

I've included a version of As Tears Go By, transmitted as part of a David Bowie special on US TV in 1973. The Rolling Stones regretted passing on the song when Marianne had a hit and belatedly recorded their own version. It's good, but not as good.

I've omitted Sister Morphine, the song Marianne subsequently co-wrote with and for the Stones. Likewise, I've not included the original version of Broken English, the title track of Marianne's 1979 album, opting instead for a remix and a cover version, both from the 2000s.

I bought a secondhand CD of Patrick Wolf's 2007 album The Magic Position (which is brilliant, by the way) and discovered halfway through the song Magpie, featuring a surprising and delightful appearance from Marianne. It's a highlight among highlights and just one example of her continuing relevance and inspiration to future generations of musicians.

Sliding Through Life On Charm, written with Jarvis Cocker, Mark Webber, Steve Mackey and Nick Banks from Pulp, is a semi-autobiographical rollercoaster and provides the title of today's post and tribute selection. To quote the full verse,

I wonder why the schools don't teach anything useful nowadays 

Like how to fall from grace 

and slide with elegance from a pedestal 

I never asked to be on in the first place

You can read much about Marianne, including much in her own words, but we'll never know the whole story, really know Marianne. But what a legacy she leaves.

Rest in power, Marianne.

1) Broken English (Baron Von Luxxury Light Touch Remix By Blake Robin) (Downtempo): Marianne Faithfull (2008)

2) I Got You Babe (Live @ The Marquee, London) (Cover of Sonny & Cher): David Bowie ft. Marianne Faithfull (1973)

3) I've Done It Again (Album Version): Grace Jones (1981)

4) The Crane Wife 3 (Cover of The Decemberists): Marianne Faithfull ft. Nick Cave (2008)

5) Guilt (Album Version): Marianne Faithfull (1979)

6) As Tears Go By (Live @ The Marquee, London): Marianne Faithfull (1973)

7) Hier Ou Demain: Marianne Faithfull (1967)

8) Lola R. For Ever (Lola Rastaquouère) (Cover of Serge Gainsbourg): Marianne Faithfull & Sly And Robbie (2006)

9) If I Never Get To Love You (Cover of Lou Johnson): Marianne Faithfull (1965)

10) Broken English (Cover of Marianne Faithfull): Claudia Brücken & Andrew Poppy (2004)

11) Magpie: Patrick Wolf ft. Marianne Faithfull (2007)

12) Sliding Through Life On Charm (Album Version): Marianne Faithfull (2002)

1965: Marianne Faithfull: 9

1979: Broken English: 5

1981: Nightclubbing: 3

2002: Kissin Time: 12

2004: Another Language: 10

2006: Monsieur Gainsbourg Revisited: 8

2007: The Magic Position: 11

2008: Easy Come Easy Go: 4

2016: Love Hit Me! Decca Beat Girls 1962-1970: 7

2017: The 1980 Floorshow: 2, 6

2021: Luxxury Edits Vol. 3: 1

How To Fall From Grace And Slide With Elegance From A Pedestal (46:05) (KF) (Mega)

Jesus Wept

I even surprised myself with this one.

 

A loose JC theme for today's selection, whether in the title, lyrics...or artist's initials. A forty-five minute variety show featuring some (ir)reverential tunes by several Dubhed favourites and a few first-timers.

No Christmas Day selection would be complete without Andrew Weatherall and Julian Cope. 

 

Andrew teams up with Keith Tenniswood as Two Lone Swordsmen for a brilliantly titled track from their 1999 album A Virus With Shoes. To celebrate its 25th anniversary, I've...well, basically, I've just played it in reverse. If you're a lover or hater, it'll be proof that Weatherall's music either sounds fantastic or shit, whichever direction it's played. Naturally, I'm in the former camp.

Julian gets as close as he ever will to a Christmas song with a B-side from 1988's Charlotte Anne EP and typically one of the best things he's ever written and recorded. But then, I would say that, wouldn't I?

Forget About Jesus by Swell blew me away when I first heard it on the John Peel show in 1994. For it's 30th anniversary, I've spliced together sections from the two versions that featured on the CD single back in the day to create a six-and-a-half minute extended version. Dean Kirkpatrick is co-founder Sean's dad and provides the opening and closing spoken word sections.

Add to the above, liberal helpings of The Jesus & Mary Chain, Ash, The Birthday Party and The The amongst others, and you have a treat that you can enjoy between meals without spoiling your appetite.

 

Have a great day everyone, whether you're celebrating, commiserating, isolating or entertaining. With especially big love for all those working today and tomorrow, putting others before themselves.

Thanks for dropping by, be sure to drop by tomorrow for a Boxing Day special.

 

1) Jesus Says (Album Version): Ash (1998)

2) Jesus H Christ On A Surfboard: Gary Cassin (2024)

3) Christ On A Stick: Creamboy (2020)

4) Cloned Christ On A Hover Donkey (Be Thankful) (Khayem's Crunching The Reverse Gear): Two Lone Swordsmen (2024)

5) Reverence (Album Version): The Jesus & Mary Chain (1992)

6) Forget About Jesus (Khayem's Reinterred Vocal Re-Edit): Swell ft. Dean Kirkpatrick (2024)

7) Christ Alive: The Sea Nymphs (1995)

8) The Cult Of Lord Jesus H. Christ: Alex G (2015)

9) Jesus Built My Hotrod (Short, Pusillanimous, So-They-Can-Fit-More-Commercials-On-The-Radio Edit): Ministry (1991)

10) Christ On A Bike: Thingdom (2024)

11) Big Jesus Trash Can: The Birthday Party (1982)

12) Angels Of Deception (Album Version): The The (1986)

13) Christmas Mourning (Single Version): Julian Cope (1988)

Jesus Wept (45:45) (KF) (Mega)

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)

 

A Lovely Bit Of Squirrel

Friday Night Dinner: 10 Years And A Lovely Bit Of Squirrel aired on Channel 4 last night. Intended as a celebration of the hugely popular sitcom's anniversary, it sadly also became a tribute to actor Paul Ritter, who died on 5th April. Friday Night Dinner ran for six series and 36 episodes plus 1 special, a brilliantly observed comedy with lots of puerile pranks, bizarre behaviour, catchphrases galore (including the inspiration for today's title), laugh out loud moments balanced with moments of pathos and poignancy.

 

It was an emotional 90 minutes, with some classic clips and outtakes, and insights from Robert Popper, who created the show and wrote every single episode, and the cast. Paul Ritter was clearly very ill at this point the interviews were filmed, and it was heartbreaking to see him so unwell but his love and passion for the show shone through. What an incredible and selfless man. The final episode aired in the UK on 1st May 2020, in the early weeks of the first national lockdown and was a welcome salve. The series' availability on streaming services will hopefully ensure that it's popularity and Paul Ritter's comedic brilliance will endure.

Inspired by last night's show, here's a 90 minute sequence of animal related songs, kicking off with the Friday Night Dinner theme and over 21 songs taking you through various musical genres and eventually full circle with a dub-flavoured re-rub of the opening song. As Paul Ritter's character Martin Goodman would frequently exclaim, "Shit on it!"

 

1) Animal (Punks Jump Up Remix): Miike Snow (2009)

2) Animal Magic (Dance Vocal) (Remix By Justin Strauss & Murray Elias): Belouis Some (1987)

3) New Town Animal In A Furnished Cage: XTC (1978)

4) Animals: Talking Heads (1979)

5) How Animals Move: John Parish (2002)

6) We Love Animals (The Love Supreme Remix): Crookers ft. Soulwax & Mixhell (2010)

7) Like An Animal (Album Version): The Glove (1983)

8) March Of The Balloon Animals: Dengue Fever (2009)

9) Animal (New Mix): R.E.M. (2004)

10) Animal Magic (Album Version): The Blow Monkeys (1986)

11) Strangle Your Animal: Goodbye Mr. Mackenzie (1988)

12) Animal Nitrate: Suede (1993)

13) Animals & Men (Album Version): Adam & The Ants (1979)

14) Animal Static (Remix): Grinderman (2007)

15) Party Animal: Luke Vibert & B.J. Cole (2000)

16) Crazy Farm Animal (Single Version): Julian Cope (1989)

17) Do Animals Believe In God?: Pink Military (1980)

18) Strange Animal: Sparks (2008)

19) Animal In The Mirror: Luxuria (1988)

20) Animal Magic: Adrian Sherwood ft. Lee 'Scratch' Perry (2006)

21) Animal (Mark Ronson Extended Dub Remix): Miike Snow (2009)

Animals (1:30:45)

 

I Long To Leave My Body And Stalk Your Dreams

Goodbye, Anita Lane, 18th March 1960 to 28th April 2021.

 

The Next Man That I See: Anita Lane (2001)