Herbert Jansch was Glaswegian by birth, Edinburgher / Edinbronian* by "origin", according to iffypedia.
(The internet can't agree on the correct term, although I did see “C*nts fae Edinburgh” suggested by one, presumed, Glaswegian contributor.)
"Origin", I'm guessing, means than Bert Jansch was bitten by a radioactive acoustic guitar in the Scottish capital, giving him amazing plucking skills and leading him to be cited as an influence to everyone from Jimmy Page to Mike Oldfield, Paul Simon to Nick Drake, Donovan to Johnny Marr. At times, they called him "a British Bob Dylan", though it was a comparison Jansch didn't really care for himself.
As well as being a leading light in the British folk revival of the 60s, Jansch went on to form "one of the most influential groups of the late 20th century"... No, not Showaddywaddy.
In his later years, Jansch would work with many of the artists he'd inspired in his younger days, including opening for Neil Young on the old grumpy git's 2010 US tour. Young once said, "as much of a great guitar player as Jimi was, Bert Jansch is the same thing for acoustic guitar... and my favourite." And if you can get a kind word from Neil Young, you must be doing something right.
This is Microsoft Teams, the virtual office software many businesses are using to allow their workforce to work from home... and I loathe it.
With Teams, your home is your workplace... but you're always on call. If I'm at work, I have limited communication with my boss and colleagues throughout the day, because I'm often off somewhere else doing something else. Doing the job. And everybody trusts me to get on with that.
Because I'm working from home though, if I don't reply to a message or answer a call as soon as it comes, the inference is that I'm skiving off. Teams makes every one of us into anxiety slaves, feeling guilty about taking a comfort break or spending time with our family instead of answering that ultra urgent question that I might not have answered until the next day if I was at work, but now every response has to be NOW.
I hated this job before the lockdown... I hate it ten times more now.
This track jumped into my head the other day and it's been worming its way between my ears ever since. Do you remember perfect days? A perfect day? If you do, if you had one - or maybe more - I bet they seem a hell of a long time ago right now, don't they?
It just ain't fair I was put in that position Somebody left their keys in the ignition I saw the unlocked door and made my decision I just can't help myself
Regular readers might have exected this to be Number One. So did I. Then I remembered the two songs below. Still, this is bloody marvellous. Question though, Bruce fans... do you prefer the album version above... or the piano-heavy re-interpretation / original from Tracks? I'm torn. I reckon that version actually sounds more like Bruce, whereas the version included on The River is Bruce doing Dylan.
For the second time this week, Jarvis almost makes it to Number One... story of his life, I guess, considering Common People may well be the best Number Two ever. This song is perfection: makes you wonder what could be better, doesn't it?
We can't help it, we're so thick we can't think,
Can't think of anything but shit, sleep and drink.
Oh, and we like women;
"Up the women" we say,
And if we get lucky,
We might even meet some one day.
Mister, we just want your car,
'Cause we're taking a girl to the reservoir.
Oh, all the papers say,
It's a tragedy, but don't you want to come and see?
(Oh, and I'm very sorry, but I just couldn't find room for Roxette's Joyride. I know you were expecting it!)
1. Billy Bragg & Johnny Marr - Greetings To The New Brunette
Shirley stole today's top prize - Billy and Johnny were so good together, it makes you wonder if they'd have lasted longer and been even more cherished than Johnny and that other bloke. If only they'd made more music together...
Many, many years later, my first date sent me a message on facebook.
"Wow", it read, "what a blast from the past. Bet you don't even remember me. Worked at XXXX in 1990." (I don't feel it's too much of a liberty posting this word-for-word as she's since deleted that facebook account so the message only exists in my old message store.)
I sent back a quick reply that I hoped she was doing OK and never heard from her again.
Not that I really wanted to, as by this point I had already met the love of my life and settled down into the blissful harmony we... cough, cough, cough. Well, me and The Other Half had got together, anyway.
The irony of all this - beyond the fact that she (apparently) didn't even remember our brief connection* - is that my first first date had the same first name as my last first date. It seemed I was destined to end up getting together with a Louise... just not that one. In the long run, everything worked out for the best.
There has never been a more appropriate time to play this - the GREATEST "SONG" about getting dumped by your first love EVER WRITTEN.
32. Billy Bragg (with Johnny Marr on guitar) - Walk Away, Renee (Version)
But our love is strange And you have to take the crunchy with the smooth, I suppose She began going out with Mr Potato Head It was when I saw her in the car park With his coat around her shoulders that I realised I went home and thought about the two of them together Until the bath water went cold around me
*Or did she? Was that message the equivalent of a late night drunk dial to an ex at a moment when she was feeling particularly dissatisfied with her current agenda? I'll never know. Not that it matters.
And then one day it happened She cut her hair and I stopped loving her
The newish album by Kurt Vile and Courtney Barnett has been filling my eardrums lately. The first question we must ask is if they only got together because their names were Kurt and Courtney. It wouldn't be the first time that had happened. I mean, we all remember Kort, the collaboration between Kurt Wagner & Courtney Tidwell, don't we? I dunno, maybe there was even another famous Kurt & Courtney prior to this...
Anyway, the union between this latest Kurt & Courtney seems a bit one-sided if you ask me, with the wonderful Ms. Barnett doing all the heavy lifting and Kurt Vile merely turning up to look pretty. A bit like Lee Hazlewood and Nancy Sinatra in reverse, except Nancy had a better singing voice than Mr. Vile.
The songs mostly sound like Courtney Barnett songs though - full of oddball observational details and that guitar...
I'm going to go out on a limb now and say that Courtney Barnett is the best guitarist in contemporary "indie" (if we're still allowed to call it that). I'll go you one further: she is the 21st Century Johnny Marr. Don't believe me? Close your eyes and listen to this and tell me you can't hear Johnny, 30+ years ago...
Don't you just hate those people who introduce you to their record collections saying, "yes, I have a very eclectic taste in music"? Well, I'm gonna do just that this week. Sometimes these top tens come together with such a delightful blend of genres... I feel quietly proud of myself. And you should hear some of the songs I left out! Come on, allow me a little hubris for once... don't walk away just yet.
Special mention to Juliana Hatfield for her instructional album, How To Walk way.
I have a bit of a downer on Cast. Britpop-by-numbers, my abiding memory of the band is seeing them play live at a festival back in their fifteen minutes; the onstage electric went out and John Power piped up, comedy Scouse, "'Ey - 'ave we not paid the 'leccy meter?"
But this is a lovely little song despite my prejudices. And I still prefer them to Oasis.
...is a great kiss off, and there's more to come as Alex Kapranos nicks Morrissey's poison pen...
And as you walk away
My headstone crumbles down
As you walk away
The Hollywood winds will howl
As you walk away
The Kremlin's falling
As you walk away
Radio Four is static
One reason why FF are a fantastic foursome.
(And yeah, I almost went a week without mentioning the M word. Sorry.)
To appreciate this fully, you have to watch the video. Andrew Eldritch: sunglasses, hair, glittery dance... and a voice like Satan serenading sea lions.
I miss The King Blues since they split. I know Johnny Itch is still doing his own thing, but this band burned very brightly while they were around. Like Billy Bragg, they had two sides: the angry young men & women (angrier, at times, than Billy ever got) and the sweet-hearted romantics. This is firmly in the latter camp, a gorgeous little bus stop romance. Goes nicely as an accompaniment to my number #2 song this week.
From the soundtrack to the Sean Penn / Susan Sarandon film Dead Man Walking, it's time for Tom to walk away and start all over again. Nice and jaunty. (There's a word I'm not sure I ever typed before. It looks weird on the screen.)
A version, but not a cover, though Billy does get Johnny Marr to strum the tune from our number one song while narrating a tender, touching and beautifully funny tale of first love left behind. So many great lines, I never tire of listening to this.
But all love is strange
And you have to learn to take the crunchy with the smooth, I suppose
She began going out with Mr. Potato Head It was when I saw her in the car park With his coat around her shoulders that I realised I went home and thought about the two of them together Until the bathwater went cold around me I thought about her eyes and the curve of her breasts And about the point where their bodies met I confronted her about it I said, "I'm the most illegible bachelor in town!" and she said "Yeah that's why I could never understand any of those silly letters you sent me"
And then one day it happened She cut her hair and I stopped loving her.
1. The Four Tops - Walk Away, Renee
The original version of this song, by The Left Banke, is a very fine record indeed. But it doesn't quite stop my heart in the same way Levi Stubbs' vocal does. This is heartbreak at its finest, pure and simple. One of Motown's greatest recordings... which makes it one of the best pop singles ever. No hyperbole.
Before you walk away... leave a comment, won't you?
I've not had a whole lot of time for blogging lately, for small baby-related reasons (I'm not complaining!) However, I couldn't let the year pass without giving mention to the records that kept me sane throughout 2013. Before we get to the Top 20, here are a few interesting runners up...
30. Adam Ant - Adam Ant Is the BlueBlack Hussar Marrying the Gunner's Daughter
The album title alone gets it through the door. It's good to have him back.
There's
no denying Jake Bugg can write both a TUNE and zeitgeisty lyric, and
his debut album did crack me after a good few listens. Whether this will
do the same, I've yet to see, I only got it a couple of weeks back.
However, I did buy another record on the same day that's already made it
into my Top 10. Sometimes though, growers are better than immediate
sparklers. Only time will tell.
A concept album about a world where teenagers are illegal... or something. Hardly Tommy, and nowhere near as mindblastingly wonderful as their last record... but I do hope its lack of success doesn't put them off.
If you want to get picky, this was originally released last year. But it got a big boost this summer by the promotion of its Velvets-meets-Pavement single, Stoned & Starving. If every track on the album had been as strong as that, this might have made my Top 3.
Who knows what goes through Brett & Rennie's minds? On their latest record, each track was named after a woodland critter. The songs were about far more than wildlife though...
Re-listening to this record in preparation for this countdown, I came to the conclusion I haven't given it enough time. So I've taken it to play in the car. In another couple of weeks, it might be Top 10.
Luke Haines's latest concept album insanity was a children's fable about three rock 'n' roll animals (Jimmy Pursey, a fox; Gene Vincent, a cat; and a badger called Nick Lowe) who travel up country to battle the evil Angel of the North. Narrated by Julia Davis, naturally.
Good to hear Johnny finally deliver the solo album we always knew he was capable of. Shame his former partner is too busy penning Penguin Classics to lend him a few spare lyrics. We can but dream...
Alex Turner's Elvis-channeling Glasto performance and the NME's Album of the Year notwithstanding, this was just another year in the life of the Sheffield Monkees. Again, I only picked up their latest album a few weeks back and perhaps with a few more listens it might have crept into my Top 20. But I can tell already it's not up there with their debut or even their last two records. It might be better than Favourite Worst Nightmare... or I might just be being churlish.
I'm jealous of the dangling men
You know you'll never go to bed with
I've felt the fire that fires them
I've known the unrequited love it's fed with
And I don't believe in Platonic love
But I'm still jealous of Plato
What a bore!
A Complete History of Sexual Jealousy Parts 17 to 24
Would have been Number One if it wasn't for a steward's enquiry. Any song that begins thus...
Baby, I'm hot just like an oven I need some lovin'
...deserves your respect and admiration.
Radio stations put the S-word in brackets, in case it upset impressionable listeners. BBC DJs at the time of its release were only allowed to call it 'Healing'.
1. Billy Bragg - Sexuality
It was almost too close to call, but how could I relegate Billy's finest pop moment (with a little help from Johnny Marr, Kirsty MacColl and Phil Jupitus) into second place? So many great lines, it's hard to pick a favourite...
I'm sure that everybody knows how much my body hates me
It lets me down most every time and makes me rash and hasty
I feel a total jerk before your naked body of work
Those were my sexual secrets... but which one gets you in the mood?
It was a toss-up in the obscure b-side stakes between this and Sweet And Tender Hooligan. Yet Jeane has a rawness to it that never grows tired, and it's also the best kitchen-sink lyric Morrissey ever wrote / stole. Better than most of the debut album it was rejected from, criminally unavailable on CD until 2008. And let's not forget Billy's version...
If you're so funny Then why are you on your own tonight? And if you're so clever Then why are you on your own tonight? If you're so very entertaining Then why are you on your own tonight? If you're so very good-looking Why do you sleep alone tonight? I know... 'Cause tonight is just like any other night That's why you're on your own tonight With your triumphs and your charms While they're in each other's arms...
Perhaps a surprise choice, but I love that Johnny stole the riff from '(Marie's The Name) His Latest Flame', one of my favourite Elvis songs. And if the lyric doesn't take you back to the fairgrounds of your youth... you haven't lived.
The guitar still sounds like nothing else ever recorded, a horror film soundtrack to the dark night of the teenage / twenty-something soul.
There's a club if you'd like to go You could meet somebody Who really loves you So you go, and you stand on your own And you leave on your own And you go home, and you cry And you want to die
If you've never been to that club, you probably don't get The Smiths at all.
1. There Is A Light That Never Goes Out
Although this was the hardest Top Ten I've ever compiled, the Number One was never in doubt. Ironically, it was John Peel who changed my opinion of The Smiths from "whinging miserablists" to "best band in the world ever". Sadly, this epiphany occurred a couple of years after the group had split. I could really have used them in my corner when I was 14... but maybe I just hadn't earned them yet, baby.
And if a double-decker bus Crashes into us To die by your side Is such a heavenly way to die
OK, that was my impossible selection. Which of your favourites did I exclude?
