This blog resolutely rejects all the tenets of National Socialism, and so, I'm sure, do all the bands below...
THE NEW ORDER #1
All those guys named above were New York's The New Order in 1966. They released a handful of songs and wore some very snazzy shirts...
...and then they were gone.
THE NEW ORDER #2
When the Stooges fell apart in 1974 due to Iggy's generally mental heroin-induced behaviour, guitarist Ron Asheton formed a new band called The New Order. Their first singer was thrown in jail for drink, drugs and refusing to do community service. They produced a bunch of demos which were eventually released on album compilations, but it all fell apart long before the New Order had chance to become the Old Order.
NEW ORDER #3
Out of the ashes of Joy Division (a name which originally referred to women in concentration camps who were forced into prostitution by the Nazis) came another band who stole their name from Hitler and his cronies.
Some time ago, I wrote about why I hated this particular New Order for many, many years... and it had nothing to do with the band themselves, or their music. I'm over that now, so please feel free to vote for them today if they tickle your fancy.
THE NEW ORDER #4
Sadly, I failed to find any audio for the 1981 field recording of Bradford Red Light District released by The New Order, a group who chose the name in protest about New Order #3 "stealing" their name from New Order #2. I did find the cover below though, which makes some erroneous claims about who was involved in the production. Genesis P-Orridge was apparently so mad to have his name included that he went round all the record shops that were stocking the vinyl to destroy the sleeves. One man happy to take responsibility was "noise and industrial musician" William Bennett, who was also in the following "groups"... The 150 Murderous Passions, Or Those Belonging To The Fourth Class, Composing The 28 Days Of February Spent In Hearing The Narrations Of Madame Desgranges, Interspersed Amongst Which Are The Scandalous Doings At The Château During That Month. Actually, that's just one group.
Which New Order would you place today... and which are only following orders?
Nobody ever looks at my CD shelves, except me. We don't get a lot of visitors here at Top Ten Towers, and those we do get are usually Louise's friends or family. The CD shelves are upstairs in the spare room, out of the way, not that the majority of our visitors would be remotely interested in them.
A couple of weeks back, Sam started to show an interest. Initially he was impressed that the albums are alphabetised by artist - this appealed to the part of his brain that likes making lists and putting things in order. (Fortunately, he hasn't yet spotted that not all the discographies are in the correct chronological order... they used to be, but a half-dozen house moves over the past couple of decades has messed that up... it's on my To Do list).
Then... be still, my beating heart... he started to pull individual CDs off the shelf and play his favourite tracks. I'm saving the first of his choices till the end of this post, but over the weekend he found a copy of Queen's Greatest Hits and decided to play that while we were having tea. I don't think I've been as proud since he uttered his first words (which were "Spider-Man", in case you were wondering).
Now those of you who sit firmly in the Queen-are-rubbish camp, just hold your tongues. Sam's choice is significant for a number of reasons. Primarily because it was that same album (a much older copy, on vinyl), that I first pulled out of my sister's record collection when I was about Sam's age, slipping it onto her turntable while she was at work then sitting back to enjoy and explore. There's probably much that can be written about how Queen (like the Beatles, or the Beach Boys, or Motown, or Taylor Swift) are a good gateway drug when it comes to discovering music... I mean, you're not going to start with Bog Shed, are you? But for me, this was an incredibly powerful piece of symmetry. It almost brought me to tears.
Of course, Sam knows most of the tracks on Queen's Greatest Hits (ditto the singles collections of all the artists mentioned above) due to their inclusion on the 150+ in-car CDs I've slowly been indoctrinating him with over the past ten years... but there's a big difference between listening to what your dad puts on and choosing a record for yourself. This is a rite of passage moment.
And if you're not impressed by Sam's Queen selection... well, that's why I saved the best to last. The first song he chose for himself is the one below. Not a big hit, instead one that only reached #53 in 1997, by a band most of the people who wouldn't even take a second glance at my CD shelves only really know for one song... and it's certainly not this one.
Yesterday, we had a picture of Whoopi Goldberg at the top of the post. Today, it's Sean Connery. What do they have in common? Before they were famous, they both worked as bricklayers. Imagine living in a house that Whoopi or Sean built.
In celebration of the humble (but extremely well-paid in a lot of cases) tradespeople, here are ten songs than can build you a house and unblock your drains in one go...
10. Large blob and Scottish monster in abundant supply.
A blob is a Splodge. The monster is from Loch Ness. Abounds means "in abundant supply".
It's been a particularly busy week and I've been worrying about the fact that I didn't have a post ready for today. I know that's ridiculous. It's really not worth worrying about...
As a follow-up to yesterday's post about the power of boredom, here are some song titles in similar vein. As we've got Barbra Streisand socking it to Ryan O'Neal above, in the 1979 movie The Main Event, I thought we'd let Babs kick off proceedings today...
That one was written by the songwriting team of Sammy Cahn and Jimmy Van Heusen who also wrote a bunch of classic Frank Sinatra hits including High Hopes, Come Fly With Me and the majestic All The Way. Nothing boring about those guys.
Still, at least Babs only finds love boring. These guys are bored with pretty much everything...
I always admire a title that spills over onto the next line. The Front Bottoms are from New Jersey. Iffypedia explains their name, in case you can't work it out for yourself. They also quote singer Brian Sella: "This is our name. If you don't like it then you don't like it."
Next we have Jason Lytle, with a song he presumably wrote about The Supreme Leader of North Korea...
Blimey. What a bunch of bores. Still, as the aforementioned Manchester miserablist turned dubiously-opinionated bore once had it...
What really lies Beyond the constraints of my mind? Could it be the sea With fate mooning back at me? No, it's just more lock-jawed pop-stars Thicker than pig-shit Nothing to convey They're so scared to show intelligence It might smear their lovely career
Imagine you’re standing in line in a coffee shop, waiting to
be served. It’s a long line and all the people in front of you are ordering
those silly drinks that involve whipped cream, caramel syrup and heart
attacks. What might you do to entertain yourself?
Now imagine you’re sitting at a bus stop and the bus is
late. These days, lots of city centre bus stops have those little clocks fitted
which tell you how long you have to wait till the next bus arrives. Only
instead of counting down, that number just seems to be stuck… or even getting
bigger. How might you pass the time?
Finally, imagine you’ve arranged to meet friends in the pub,
at the cinema, or somewhere in the centre of town. Only they’re running late
and you’ve got nothing to do but wait. Or… is there something else you could be
doing?
If your answer to any of those questions involves checking
your phone, then you’re suffering one of the major symptoms of the modern
malaise. And hey, maybe you’re not going on Tiktok or Snapchat or the book of
faces… maybe you’re doing some online banking, trying to crack today’s Wordle
or reading a fascinating blog post about how many different bands there are
called The Jerks (quite a few, in case you’re wondering: I’m sure I’ll get to
them in due course). Whatever it is, I can pretty much guarantee you’re not
doing what you would have done in this same situation 30 or 40 years ago.
You’re not allowing yourself to be bored.
And your brain is suffering because of that.
We’ve talked a fair bit about the mental health dangers of
internet and social media addiction during this series.
Part of the problem is ease of access. When the internet arrived on the scene about
30 years ago, you had to sit down at a computer, dial it up (which could take
up to 5 minutes in my house) and then crawl around a clunky, always crashing
cyberspace with limited options and plenty of built-in frustration.
Remember
watching slowly while every image on the page downloaded like one of those
novelty pens you turn upside down to watch the lady slowly lose her clothing?
(I don’t know why that particular simile popped into my mind. It’s not as
though anybody ever used the internet to look at naked pictures.)
That’s all changed. Today, we carry the internet with us
wherever we go, so every possible distraction is available instantly, any time
we want it. Queueing up in a coffee shop, waiting for the bus, killing time in response to ever-delayed friends… we need never be bored again! You see it everywhere you look.
Whenever people are alone with nothing to do, out comes their phone. They don’t
even have to be standing or sitting still. They’re even using it as a
distraction from the interminable emptiness of walking down the street (watch
out for that lamp post!).
“It’s good to be bored sometimes, to have that dead time. That’s when ideas come. If we’re on our phone checking Facebook, we lose some precious time that previously we used for daydreaming: gazing out of the window and having ideas blossom.”
Once you start reading up on this, you'll find hundreds of articles dedicated to the benefits of boredom. Scientists, business leaders and new age hippies all agree - being bored is good for your brain. We all know we get eyestrain if we stare at screens too long. Turns out we also get brain strain.
Scientist Catherine Price, author of How to Break Up With Your Phone runs digital detox sessions for chronic screen addicts to help them repair their brains. Tech writer Kevin Roose of the New York Times consulted her when he became aware of his own addiction...
My symptoms were all the typical ones: I found myself incapable of reading books, watching full-length movies or having long uninterrupted conversations. Social media made me angry and anxious, and even the digital spaces I once found soothing (group texts, podcasts, YouTube rabbit holes) weren’t helping.
In his article, Roose explains how he went about a full digital detox...
If I was going to repair my brain, I needed to practice doing nothing. So during my morning walk to the office, I looked up at the buildings around me, spotting architectural details I’d never noticed before. On the subway, I kept my phone in my pocket and people-watched — noticing the nattily dressed man in the yellow hat, the teens eating hot tacos and laughing, the kid with Velcro shoes. When a friend ran late for our lunch, I sat still and stared out the window instead of checking Twitter.
Since starting my new job, I finally find myself in a privileged position of being able to do nothing at certain times of the day. I mostly teach students 1:1 or in small groups, and in English that will often involve setting a lengthy task (creative writing is best) and then letting students get on with it. In my old job, I would have used that time to circulate the room, answer questions, help people who were stuck... and if time permitted, maybe catch up on a bit of marking or paperwork. In my current job, I get to stare out the window. How wonderful is that? I realise, I'm very fortunate. Most teachers would kill for the same opportunity. I wish I could give them all the gift of boredom... the profession would be in a much healthier state if it was full of bored teachers rather than teachers on the verge of a nervous breakdown.
Although, to be honest, I'm not really sure boredom is what we're talking about here. If you asked me if I was ever bored, my first response would probably be: never. I always have a million and one things I want to do... or think about. The only time I do feel bored is when I'm stuck doing something I don't want to... like a lengthy meeting or an interminable online training session about something I already know. When I talk about giving the gift of boredom, that's not what I want to offer. What I really want is to give you all the chance to get busy... doing nothing.
Allowing our minds to wander can be hugely beneficial to our wellbeing, our imagination and our creativity. Surely this is great news for everyone - doing nothing is good for us!
Some bands connect with their audience in a huge way. They create music which speaks to our hearts, or minds, our dancing feet, our souls. Some bands do all that and more.
And then there are The Others.
One thing I've learnt while doing this feature is that if you pick a band name that starts with The followed by a common noun, and you find one that doesn't immediately spring an obvious chart act to mind... chances are you'll be spoilt for choice when it comes to Namesakes.
Here are a bunch of bands called The Others. Other bands called The Others did exist, but I couldn't find them on the tube of you.
THE OTHERS #1
The year is 1963 when our first group of Others got together, releasing one single the following year (a cover of a Bo Diddley song that would later be recorded by the Shadows of Knight). After that, the young band members came under increased pressure from their parents to quit mucking about with guitars and go back to school to finish their A Levels. Much to the disappointment of one of their schoolmates, one Brian Harold May, who said they were, “very much in the same class as the Yardbirds”.
THE OTHERS #2
Our next Others came from Rhode Island, USA, in 1964 and were heavily influenced by the British Invasion. They hung around for a couple of years then called it a day.
THE OTHERS #3
These Others came from Lancaster in 1966... Lancaster, California, not the one just down from Morecambe.
Pretty standard 60s fare, but I like the guitar sound.
THE OTHERS #4
From the other side of the world, these Aussie Others started out with the single below in 1966... but also appear to have been active in the 80s, 90s, and early 21st Century. That's commitment!
THE OTHERS #5
Meanwhile, in Ulefoss, Norway, 1967 brought us The Others' cover of a song by The Pretty Things. I originally thought this was an instrumental until I listened more closely. They've got the lead singer pretty low in the mix.
THE OTHERS #6
Annoyingly catchy French mod/psych 1968. I'm surprised this wasn't a hit. That's not necessarily a compliment.
THE OTHERS #7
Cheery Irish pop band who came together in the late 60s and managed to stick it out through most of the next decade. The tube of you informs me that this track "is a cover of a 1968 single by a band called Sky which also didn't chart". Sky will no doubt feature on a future edition of Namesakes...
THE OTHERS #8
I'm guessing these guys were British and they definitely released this in 1975. Beyond that, make up your own stories.
THE OTHERS #9
The sound of Hartlepool punks circa 1978... or Birmingham Reggae, if you prefer.
THE OTHERS #10
Washington State rockers with their sole release from 1983.
THE OTHERS #11
Also in 1983... Joel Agnew was a Reverend at The First Church Of Rock And Roll, a legal Universal Life Church in Fremont, California. I guess this is how he greeted his parishioners on a Sunday morning...
THE OTHERS #12
Italy. 1993. Pfff.
THE OTHERS #13
"Italian 60's garage beat psych band from Rome, active in 1989-2002." I take this to mean that they were a 90s band who decided to pretend they were living in the 60s. They did a pretty good job of it, listening to this...
THE OTHERS #14
US Emo types who emerged from their bedrooms in the late 90s and crept back in to put their heads under their pillows once the millennium was out of the way.
THE OTHERS #15
Arriving on the scene in 2002, the heyday of Landfill Indie... were these guys any different to the others filed in that genre? The NME said yes, giving them 8/10. Q said no, calling their debut record, "the worst album of the year".
THE OTHERS #16
Discogs tells me, "22 Pistepirkko is a Finnish popular music band formed in 1980. The name "22 Pistepirkko" means a 22-spot ladybird." In 2006, the band released an album of covers, calling themselves The Others.
I did check, and there were no other bands named after a 22 spot ladybird.
THE OTHERS #17
London Dubstep producer Alex Crawford called himself The Others from 2007 onwards, even though there's only one of him. Discogs informs me he "used to be a duo" though.
THE OTHERS #18
Perth punks, making noise since 2009.
These were The Others from lots of different Mothers. Which (if any) would you wants as Brothers?
I watched the final episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm last week. You may or may not be familiar with the show in which Seinfeld co-creator Larry David plays himself as a miserable old misanthrope constantly butting heads with societal niggles. Like most comedy shows, you’ll either connect with it immediately or wonder what all the fuss is about. Being a miserable old misanthrope myself, I have found Larry a wonderful companion for the show’s duration, and while I don’t always agree with his grievances, I do understand why he gets so worked up about them.
But this isn’t a post about Curb Your Enthusiasm. I wouldn’t argue with anyone who said the show was long past its best and wasn’t as funny or as incisive as it once was. After 12 seasons, Curb had definitely become comfortable, but there’s a lot to be said for comfort TV, and I did so enjoy being invited to share in the ups and downs of Larry’s life… especially when you never knew which celebrity guest star was going to pop up to be offended by him next. Bruce Springsteen appeared three times in the final series… that in itself made my day.
12 series though… I’ve watched this show for quite some time. And I knew that wasn’t a series a year, because Larry took regular breaks, especially during the pandemic. Still, I was shocked when I looked back and discovered the first series ran 24 years ago! Hang on a minute… I’ve been watching this show for 24 years?
And suddenly, I was taken back to the year 2000. Where I was. Who I was. A completely different person. There’s a popular misconception that all the cells in the human body renew themselves every 7 years, and while that’s not 100% true, there is something in it. I was 28 years old when I started watching Curb. I lived in a different house, worked in a different job, had an entirely different social circle. Liked slightly different records, felt different emotions, saw the future… and the past… in an entirely different way. Somewhat ironically, when the show launched in 2000, Larry David was 52. The same age I am now. I’m not sure why I related to him so much as a 28 year old. In the final episode, he proudly announced that he was 76 year olds… and had never learned a lesson in his life. It made me wonder how many I’ve learned… and how 76 year old me will feel in another 24 years. 2000 doesn’t seem that long ago, and time gets faster every year. 2048 is just around the corner…
French actress Catherine Deneuve welcomes you to ten songs with French titles. She will provide the translations, since I gave up French in the Third Year...
It's that time again... time to start Snapshots with another picture of Debbie Harry posing with a camera. Of all the celebs I've found who like to have their picture taken with a picture taker, Deborah must be top of the list. Obviously, the camera loves her.
Who are the ten slightly-less-photogenic-than-Ms.Harry* people below... and what connects their songs?
(*Aren't we all?)
10. Lucky x 4.
9. Puppy Love for Shakespearean wife.
8. Big end.
7. One quarter committed.
6. I'd like a picture of the Empire State Building on my T-shirt, please.
5. Mr. Rigby.
4. Psychics look for the answer within.
3. Gav - accept Elmo, then we can undo this puzzle.
