The List #5: Fake Tans & Styrofoam

More random stuff that I've been listening to and feel I ought to write about...

Bilk are from Chelmsford. The lead singer's nasal Essex accent remind me of Jonny Itch from The King Blues, if you remember them. They have a similarly in-your-face 21st century punk style, but they're not as political. They mostly just sing about girls, having fights, and taking the wrong drugs. Oh, and a little bit of social commentary...

I spend too much time, getting too deep
I'm laying in this single bed, but I can't sleep
There must be more to life than tinder swipes
And posting shit on Instagram for meaningless likes
Where I'm from there's teen mum's sipping booze
Whilst the babies takes twos from her B&H Blues
The boys are in gangs
The girls push prams
To spend all their money on some shitty fake tans

Since he produced the soundtrack to O Brother, Where Art Thou? in the year 2000, T-Bone Burnett has become a legend of the Americana scene. He also put Robert Plant together with Alyson Krauss, and going further back in time was a huge factor in the success of Counting Crows, Los Lobos and Gillian Welch. 

Before all that though, he played played drums on this...

The Legendary Stardust Cowboy - Paralysed

...don't ask...

...and he played guitar on Bob Dylan's Rolling Thunder Revue. After that, in 1976, he joined with two other stragglers from that tour to form The Alpha Band. They released three albums which iffypedia tells me were "particularly notable for their intelligent cultural critique". Which might be why I've getting into their songs, although I've no idea what this one is about...

I'm not sure whether they still publish the Encyclopaedia Britannica, or whether it's just been replaced by the aforementioned iffy website, but if they do, and you manage to snag yourself a copy, I imagine you'll find a picture of New Yorker Joanna Sternberg under the entry for either "lo-fi" or "bedroom recording studio"... 

The Tyla Gang were on Stiff Records in the 1970s, which is how I came across them on a Stiff compilation I've been working my way through. Lead singer & songwriter Sean Tyla was also the driving force behind Ducks Deluxe. Here's their song about Styrofoam, which I wasn't surprised to discover was the only song about Styrofoam in my collection, although I do have an album by these guys...

The Styrofoam Winos - Stuck In A Museum

I don't know why, but I was compelled to investigate if anybody else had ever written a song about this particular brand of closed-cell extruded polystyrene foam, and I was rather horrified to discover this...

Daniel Powter - Styrofoam

...at which point I went back to the Tyla Gang for succour.

Finally for today, Richard Hawley has a new record out. He's one of those artists whose work I'll buy without having to listen to it first, because he's never let me down. Nothing's changed there...

The List #4: How Many Times?

How many times do you have to listen to a song before you decide if you like it or not?

The answer to that, of course, depends on the song. Take this, which I heard for the first time a couple of weeks back...

Now there's nothing particularly original about it. In fact, it reminds me of a hundred other things, including this...

Blur - Song 2

While the drum intro sounds very much like this...

Katrina & The Waves - Walking On Sunshine

And the spiky attitude is particularly reminiscent of this...

Liam Lynch - United States Of Whatever

...which in turn reminds me of this...

Eddie Cochran - Something Else

But familiarity is good. It's reassuring. As long as there's a new spin, and nobody gets sued, I don't mind songs that rip off other songs. Let's face it, rock n roll has been devouring its own tail since day one. 

Bad Mary are from New York, but that goes without saying. One listen and you can immediately hear Blondie, the Ramones... all those CBGB bands. (By the way, I just discovered that CBGB stands for Country, Bluegrass, Blues, none of which immediately spring to mind when you think of that particular establishment. Who knew?)

The live version of Forget About It is also worth 90 seconds of your time...

Bad Mary - Forget About It (Live)

And here's a clear winner in any Title Fight I could ever enter it for...

Bad Mary - I Just Called To Say Fuck You

Anyway, I ended up adding Forget About It to a couple of playlists and mixtapes and it may be starting to wear out its welcome now. That's the problem with songs that are instant earworms... sometimes they burn out on you.

On the other hand, a song that takes a few listens to really grab your attention, a song that steals slyly into your subconscious, that can often be even more satisfying...

Amy Rigby - Slow Burner

Exactly what I'm talking about, Amy. 

I figured I'd close today with a couple of less immediate tunes. Real slow-burners. Like this lovely little number from Gruff Rhys, which has crept up on me and is now threatening to become one of my songs of the year. I'd like to think 6Music will have been all over this, but as I can't listen to 6Music any more, I have no idea...

And then there's this, from an artist I stumbled across due to the algorithms. Our AI overlords presumably spotted my fondness for John Prine and recommended Texan Americana fella Sam Baker, who iffypedia tells me has quite a fascinating back story. In 1986, he was on a train to Machu Picchu when a terrorist bomb exploded in the luggage rack above his head. Seven of his fellow passengers were killed - Sam escaped with brain damage (he now struggles to remember names), permanent tinnitus and a gnarled guitar hand. But he didn't let that stop him writing beautiful songs like this... an inspiration for us all.

The List #3: Records I Can't Buy

A few more songs from the never-ending list of tunes I'm trying to keep up with... and this time, it's all tunes I can't buy on CD.

Often, I find myself listening to an album on the interweb or via some other magical means, and I like it so much that I want a copy on the shelf. Lately however, I've come across a number of records that are just not available on CD. In some cases, it's a vinyl (or cassette!?) only release... in other cases, the record is only available digitally, like this one from Howell Dawdy...

I've featured tracks from Howell's 2021 album Smells Like Love here before. It's only 8 songs long, but every one's a winner and I'd gladly shell out some coppers for a physical copy. Sadly, Howell appears to be an internet-only guy...

Howell Dawdy - Men In Love Don't Judge

In a similar vein, we find Norwegian Americana star Harald Thune, whose 2020 album The Backbounceability of Humans was a particular favourite during Lockdown. 

Harald's website is a little sparse, with spaces for biog and tour details, but not even a tab for shopping, and his music appears only to be available via streaming. Which is a shame, because there's a Harald-shaped hole on my CD shelf...

Harald Thune - Early Morning Rain

Kevin Morby is considerably more well known than either Harald or Howell, yet his last record was only released on vinyl. 

This is a tragedy as it's a companion piece to his previous album, 2020's This Is A Photograph, a CD that has pride of place in my collection. I'd love to own a piece of plastic and paper containing the follow-up, but it looks unlikely to happen...

Kevin Morby - Triumph

Finally today, it's these guys again.

So desperate am I to own a CD copy of the debut album by Wolves of Glendale that I went on their website (where it's vinyl only, I'm afraid) and emailed them through the "Contact Us" link asking if a CD was forthcoming. No reply. 

Maybe CDs really are a dead format.

Oh well, here's a cautionary tale about the hidden dangers of gym membership...

The List #2: Good (Friday) Tunes

Generation X - Listen

I'm currently enthralled by the book Listen, by Michel Faber, one of my favourite fiction writers who's now branched out into non-fiction with a fascinsating analysis of how and why we listen to music, and all the benefits we gain from doing so. Faber describes Listen as the book he's wanted to write his whole life... and guess what? It's also the book I've been wanting to read for a similar length of time. 

Lambchop - Listen

Even though Michel and I don't exactly share the same taste in music (he was brought up on pop, but more recently his tastes tend towards the avant garde), we share the same passion for music as a form, and so much of what he has to say resonates with me.

Wondermints - Listen

This is especially so when Michel touches on one of this blog's favourite subjects - "tribalism". 

Holly Golightly - Listen

"Music is a battleground of identity and allegiance," the writer tells us (far more eruditely than I've ever managed to express the same notion), quoting Peter Gabriel who once said that, music is "part of the artillery with which you announce yourself to the world". "Liking the right music," Faber adds, "wins you recognition and approval from your peer group... liking the wrong music provokes alienation and exclusion".

Al Green - Listen

Here is another selection from The List, that neverending pressure cooker of tunes constantly on simmer in my mind. How much of it will win me recognition and approval... and how much will have you throwing cabbages?

Let's start with some Hirth Martinez, a singer-songwriter from the 70s whose debut album was produced by Robbie Robertson (on Bob Dylan's recommendation). I particularly like the track Altogether Alone, which reminds me of Gilbert O'Sullivan and Dean Friedman (put those cabbages DOWN), so Hirth has gone on the list to investigate further...

I've become obsessed with the Kate Bush song Army Dreamers lately. It was the third single from Kate's third album, Never For Ever, in 1980... though it was rather overshadowed by its predecessor, Babooshka. Now I loved Babooshka, and not just for the video... which is the maddest thing Kate ever did... but I never paid much attention to anything else from that album. 

I'm not sure why I started listening to Army Dreamers after all this time, but this simple tale of a young soldier coming home in a box has really struck a chord in recent weeks, especially the call & response chorus. Now I think I might even like it more than Babooshka. (Shh. Don't tell anyone.)

(What could he do? Should have been a rock star)
But he didn't have the money for a guitar
(What could he do? Should have been a politician)
But he never had a proper education
(What could he do? Should have been a father)
But he never even made it to his twenties
What a waste, army dreamers
Oh, what a waste of army dreamers

Also, the video. Sigh.

Last week's Snapshots featured Swedish Brit Pop band Grass-Show. (How can you be a Swedish Brit Pop band? Ask the 90s.) I was very fond of their 1997 album Something Smells Good In Stinkville back in the day, and I've been listening to it again recently. I'd completely forgotten their rocky cover of this fiendishly catchy 1993 Number One from their countrymen, Ace of Bass. I always hated this song. Until...

Finally today, here's a new tune from a Cinicinatti indie band called HARBOUR. They insist on the capitals. (Don't start me.) This is from their album To Chase My Dreams, Or To Just Lie Down? Extra marks. It's the sort of song I'd love to put on one of Sam's in-car mix CDs, except for the fact they frequently sing "Just fucking run me over", which I'm not sure he's ready for yet. Still: I am. Must check out the album...

The List #1

In 1992, INXS released their best album, Welcome To Wherever You Are. It contains the somewhat prescient song, Not Enough Time. When I hear this song in my head, it goes "Not enough time for all that I want to do" (although the actual lyrics are slightly different). Those lyrics pop into my head more and more frequently as the clock ticks ever onward... in a similar fashion to the way the lyrics to We Have All The Time In The World fill my mind whenever I'm in a rush to get somewhere and I find myself stuck behind a Louis. 

I sometimes wonder if I like too much music. If I'd be better off if my tastes were more niche and not so varied. Because there really is NOT ENOUGH TIME to listen to everything I want to listen to. Every time I visit the tube of you, a new band pops up demanding my attention. On first listen, a lot of them sound intriguing... like this lot, who may well be of some interest to Martin...

Brigitte Calls Me Baby appear to be the latest in a long, long, long line of bands who want to sound like The Smiths. But how many of those ever made it big? Suede? Gene? (Not really.) The Killers? (As soon as they did, they stopped trying to sound like The Smiths.) 

Lead singer Wes Leavins (with his enormous Morrissey quiff) claims to be more influenced by Sinatra, Orbison and Presley... ✔, ✔, ✔... but it's The Smiths I hear (and see) in the videos above and below... and that's why they're on the list.

Brigitte Calls Me Baby - Impressively Average

"The List." 

Often, when I hear a song I like on another blog, I'll leave a comment saying "That's going on the list." Similarly, when I hear something interesting on the radio. Like this little beauty from Irish singer-songwriter Ultan Conlon...

I like the folky atmosphere on that, and the idea that if we don't keep the old songs alive (whether they be Raglan Road or Girls Just Wanna Have Fun), they'll fade from our collective consciousness. I used to enjoy listening to the late Desmond Carrington on Radio 2. He'd play a really diverse mix of music, some of it old and forgotten from the 30s, 40s or 50s, alongside more recent or well known choices. I heard things on his show I'd never heard before on the radio, and probably never will again. 

As Ultan puts it...

Who's gonna play the old songs when all the old-timers are gone?

Here's an old song I've been playing a lot lately...

See? It's all too much, isn't it? Imagine if I just liked indie music, or rock, or old soul, or country and Americana... if I specialised in power pop or new wave or gentle, acoustic singer-songwritery stuff. Then I'd be able to focus. I'd be able to concentrate on one thing and enjoy it for what it is and not always be worrying about finding the next new thing... or the next old thing... in the hope it might hit me like a chaise longue or gradually unveil its beauty over a half dozen listens like the best of Jason Isbell.

Jason Isbell - Cast Iron Skillet

But I don't just like one thing. I like all kinds of different things, and being able to switch genres and keep it fresh is essential in my listening. But then I also like digging back into the archives too. Except when do I have the time? I mentioned at the top of the page that Welcome To Wherever You Are is the best album INXS ever made. And yet I'm making that assessment safe in the knowledge that I haven't listened to it all the way through in 30 years. But The List keeps growing, and it's growing from all sides. New things, old things that are new to me, old things that I know but I haven't listened to in ages... and on and on and on...

Take that lot, for instance. Life are from Hull. Let's not hold that against them, because on the evidence of the track above... they're excellent. Bear in mind that they released that two years ago and this is the first time I've come across them, but they already appear to have released three albums. What if they're all as good as that song? I ought to drop everything else this instance and devote the next three weeks to familiarising myself with their back catalogue... but I haven't got the time because I also have to check out these guys...

L.A. Edwards come from... erm, Los Angeles... although the LA doesn't stand for what you think - it's lead singer Luke Andrew's initials. They supported Lucinda Williams last weekend and as soon as I heard them, I knew I wanted to hear more. So they've gone on The List.

L.A. Edwards - Good Luck

There's so much music out there waiting to be discovered, it's a truly daunting prospect. Because what if I never hear that one song that changes my life forever? It's out there somewhere, I know it is. That's why I have The List...

L7 - Shitlist

Double Vision - List 99

The Go-Gos - Girl Of 100 Lists

Toby Keith - My List

Los Campesinos! - My Year In Lists

The Boxmasters - Shit List