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Quote: from Prufrock on 12:46 pm on April 4, 2005[br]Are you a fan of Future Bible Heroes (offshoot of Magnetic Fields), jeremy? I have one album by them, which is very good. With the exception of The Montgolfier Brothers, Stereolab must qualify as my most-seen band. There was scarcely a month that went by circa 1992-1996 when I didn’t see them plying their trade at some venue or other.
Most criminally ignored: Divine Comedy and Tindersticks.<br>
<br>FBH are also damned fine, although the preponderance of doodles and 30-second songs makes "Eternal Youth" a lot less satisfying than "Memories of Love". Can’t think of too much Stephin (sic) Merritt has touched which I haven’t enjoyed – have you heard either of his albums as The 6ths, Simon? Essentially Magnetic Fields-type fare but with guest singers on every track.
Glad to see Heart Throbs getting a mention here also – had "I Wonder Why" on the other day as part of an old compilation I’d dug up. Whither Rose Carlotti nowadays?
Jeremy<br>(graysonscolumn)<br>
Jeremy Grayson. Son of immigrant. Adoptive father of two. Metadata librarian. Freelance point-to-point / horse racing writer, analyst and commentator wonk. Loves music, buses, cats, the BBC Micro, ale. Advocate of CBT, PACE and therapeutic parenting. Aspergers.
Best Single: "Of the Perfect Kind", by the Field Mice<br>(except it was never released as a single, so I’d probably have to go for "Sparrows and the Nightingales" by Wolfsheim).
Best Album: "Skywriting" by the Field Mice, or "Sing to God" by Cardiacs
Best Band: Field Mice again, or else Stereolab
Best Solo Performer: Laura Cantrell or Barbara Morgenstern
Best Gig: Magnetic Fields doing the entire "69 Love Songs" over two nights at the Hammersmith Lyric Theatre a few years back
Lifetime Achievement Award: John Peel
Tip For The Top in 2005: The Real Tuesday Weld, KT Tunstall
Most Hated: Oh God, too many to choose, but Dido has to rank highly.
Criminally Ignored: at the moment, that’d have to be Trembling Blue Stars
Jeremy<br>(graysonscolumn)<br>
Jeremy Grayson. Son of immigrant. Adoptive father of two. Metadata librarian. Freelance point-to-point / horse racing writer, analyst and commentator wonk. Loves music, buses, cats, the BBC Micro, ale. Advocate of CBT, PACE and therapeutic parenting. Aspergers.
No view as yet, I just saw the review on the teletext. Record-buying activity temporarily curtailed due to financial constraints, bar the odd essential (the new Trembling Blue Stars single, for one).
Jeremy<br>(graysonscolumn)<br>
Jeremy Grayson. Son of immigrant. Adoptive father of two. Metadata librarian. Freelance point-to-point / horse racing writer, analyst and commentator wonk. Loves music, buses, cats, the BBC Micro, ale. Advocate of CBT, PACE and therapeutic parenting. Aspergers.
Quote: from Prufrock on 3:47 pm on April 1, 2005[br]Somebody gave me a copy of "I Am A Bird Now" by Antony and The Johnsons for my birthday, and I reckon it’s a startlingly good and original album.
Antony, a former drag queen, has a voice like Nina Simone and collaborates with the likes of Boy George and Lou Reed on this. There are also some beautiful string arrangements and other musical touches.
Review in "The Observer":  http://observer.guardian.co.uk/omm/10be … 65,00.html<br>
<br>Aye, Planet Sound (Teletext on 4’s excellent music organ) gave it a good write-up as well, saying the guy sounded like nothing else on this Earth at the moment. A rare bird indeed.
Jeremy<br>(graysonscolumn)<br>
Jeremy Grayson. Son of immigrant. Adoptive father of two. Metadata librarian. Freelance point-to-point / horse racing writer, analyst and commentator wonk. Loves music, buses, cats, the BBC Micro, ale. Advocate of CBT, PACE and therapeutic parenting. Aspergers.
Quote: from Khotso Moabi on 1:29 am on Mar. 30, 2005[br]fantastic seeing so many kenickie fans:cheesy: <br>anyway, after a weeks deliberation ive finally decided which hmhb track makes the cut, believe me it wasnt easy…
7) Half Man Half Biscuit – Running Order Squabblefest<br>
Good call!
"You’re going on after Crispy Ambulance!" etc.
Jeremy<br>(graysonscolumn)<br>
Jeremy Grayson. Son of immigrant. Adoptive father of two. Metadata librarian. Freelance point-to-point / horse racing writer, analyst and commentator wonk. Loves music, buses, cats, the BBC Micro, ale. Advocate of CBT, PACE and therapeutic parenting. Aspergers.
Quote: from Zoz on 10:14 pm on Mar. 28, 2005[br]Oh My Life Story, fantastic. If You Can’t Live Without Me Then Why Aren’t You Dead Yet? is a great song. They were really bloody good. <br>
<br>I liked "Strumpet" and "King of Kissingdom" by them as well. What IS Jake Shillingford up to nowadays? His cannot be a talent to go to waste for evermore.
Now, Whipping Boy – that name rings a bell. Balding, scary Irish bloke, often on stage in stockings, wasn’t it? If that was the band behind "Twinkle", I think it was called ("She is the only one for me, now and always" all the way through the chorus), then yes, a great lost band as also. Shame the likes of this and MLS died on their arse during the Britpop era, whilst other, less worthy acts – oooh, Menswear and Northern Uproar, anybody? – were able to flourish. Hey ho.
Jeremy<br>(graysonscolumn)<br>
Jeremy Grayson. Son of immigrant. Adoptive father of two. Metadata librarian. Freelance point-to-point / horse racing writer, analyst and commentator wonk. Loves music, buses, cats, the BBC Micro, ale. Advocate of CBT, PACE and therapeutic parenting. Aspergers.
Quote: from dave jay on 9:28 pm on Mar. 25, 2005[br]I’ll probably vote Conservative Grays even though they are a load of oily ticks. I live in a marginal seat and would love to see the Labour MP go.<br>
<br>No prospect of a prospective LibDem candidate doing that in your neck of the woods?
I had a fun upbringing in what was then the parliamentary constituency known as Littleborough and Saddleworth, one of the most volatile in the country on account of its genuine prospect of the result going any of three ways every election. Therefore, even without having my predominately German family making sure I did not cultivate the same ambivalence to politics their parents may have had 50+ years previously (with the disastrous consequences about which we all know), the maxim of "every vote counts" has always been one I hold close; although admittedly the introduction of Proportional Representation would make me believe in it yet further.
In the three elections I voted in back home, we got the Conservative Geoffrey Dickens (imagine Mr Baxter Basics from Viz – oleagenous, corrupt, and of yo-yo trousers inclination), LibDem Chris Davies (sweet, good constituency MP, but constantly marginalised by the Old Labour types elsewhere in the vicinity), and Labour’s Phil Woollas (smarmy, take-me-to-your-photo-opportunity serial non-listener).
I can only speak as I find, and I found the second guy the winner of the three.
Shame that, since Davies’ departure, Labour has blessed and indeed overseen the closure of our village library (whilst at the same time the DCMS is trumping up the ailing library service as "street corner universities for all" ), and the revoking of winter salt gritting from all bar the main arterial routes in the district – a real stroke of genius given how a good percentage of the population lives up wee country lanes. The Nasty Party, meanwhile, continues to make my jaws drop on a daily basis for everything from its divided front on just how much spending it is going to withhold from people once in office, right through to – according to the current CAMRA newsletter – at least 16 of its MPs (and NONE from the other two parties) refusing to back beer drinkers’ lobbying to stop unscrupulous bars and pubs selling half-measured pints. Tsk.
Jeremy<br>(graysonscolumn)<br>
(Edited by graysonscolumn at 1:16 pm on Mar. 28, 2005)
Jeremy Grayson. Son of immigrant. Adoptive father of two. Metadata librarian. Freelance point-to-point / horse racing writer, analyst and commentator wonk. Loves music, buses, cats, the BBC Micro, ale. Advocate of CBT, PACE and therapeutic parenting. Aspergers.
Hiya,
This is exactly what I suspect would happen – as other peoples’ lists are put up, I find myself thinking "aaargh, that should’ve gone in my list, too"! Anyone else getting the same? I’d quite happily lift "We Could Send Letters" (possibly the best song ever written by a 16 year-old) and "Messages" (which I only had on the other night) from Tooting’s list, and "Deceptacon" from Zome’s. I’m going to have to submit a box set at this rate!
"Nice Guy Eddie" would be my fave Sleeper track as well, and anything off Kenickie’s "Catsuit City" EP (especially "SK8BDN Song" ) would have found a place in a marginally longer list.
Jeremy<br>(graysonscolumn)<br>
(Edited by graysonscolumn at 12:50 pm on Mar. 28, 2005)
Jeremy Grayson. Son of immigrant. Adoptive father of two. Metadata librarian. Freelance point-to-point / horse racing writer, analyst and commentator wonk. Loves music, buses, cats, the BBC Micro, ale. Advocate of CBT, PACE and therapeutic parenting. Aspergers.
Alas no, Dave – author and title duly noted for further investigation, though.
Ta muchly!
Jeremy<br>(graysonscolumn)<br>
Jeremy Grayson. Son of immigrant. Adoptive father of two. Metadata librarian. Freelance point-to-point / horse racing writer, analyst and commentator wonk. Loves music, buses, cats, the BBC Micro, ale. Advocate of CBT, PACE and therapeutic parenting. Aspergers.
Quote: from cormack15 on 11:54 am on Mar. 25, 2005[br]Good to see the excellent Mayor of Simpleton from teh under-rated XTC getting onto a list! wd Grays!
<br>Ta. I limited myself to one song per act, otherwise "Love at First Sight", "The Loving", "The Meeting Place", "No Thugs in Our House" and "Stupidly Happy" might have found their way on as well. Big XTC fan, I is.
Jeremy<br>(graysonscolumn)<br>
Jeremy Grayson. Son of immigrant. Adoptive father of two. Metadata librarian. Freelance point-to-point / horse racing writer, analyst and commentator wonk. Loves music, buses, cats, the BBC Micro, ale. Advocate of CBT, PACE and therapeutic parenting. Aspergers.
Quote: from Meshaheer on 3:06 pm on Mar. 24, 2005[br]Option D – Vote Conservative :biggrin:
<br>FFS.<br>
Jeremy Grayson. Son of immigrant. Adoptive father of two. Metadata librarian. Freelance point-to-point / horse racing writer, analyst and commentator wonk. Loves music, buses, cats, the BBC Micro, ale. Advocate of CBT, PACE and therapeutic parenting. Aspergers.
Hiya,
Well, this has been fascinating stuff so far. Dave, I very nearly had Rocker’s Revenge’s "Walking on Sunshine" on my list, along with similar period piece "Clear" by Cybotron – both landmark early 80s dance tracks, in my estimation.
Zoz – "No One Knows" was another Nearly for me, too. I also like the cheeky version of it the Divine Comedy did on tour last year…. with a string quartet. Worked very well, even if the idea wasn’t entirely Neil Hannon’s own (a French cello quartet reworked ALL of Metallica’s Black Album in that manner a couple of years earlier).
Having started this thread, I quickly found I’d made a rod for my own back, as my "shortlist" totalled nearly 120 songs! I’ve finally managed to get it down to what should, more of less, be able to fill a double CD, viz;
Brian Eno – No One Receiving
Komeit – End of Camp
Stewart / Blunstone – What Becomes…
XTC – The Mayor of Simpleton
China Crisis – Wishful Thinking
Gangway – My Girl and Me
Gnac – Our Distance
Field Mice – Of the Perfect Kind
Duck Hunt – Vacation
My Bloody Valentine – Soon
Gabrielles Wish- Mary Bobbins
Pop Will Eat Itself – Def Con One
Can – I Want More
Susan Fassbender – Twilight Cafe
St Christopher – Young Nun
Montgolfier Brothers – Between Two Points
Manu Chao – me gustas tu
Johnny Clegg & Savuka – Scatterlings of Africa
Culture – LegalizationMysterious Art – Das Omen (12")
Wolfsheim – The Sparrows and the Nightingales (12")
Boards of Canada – Alpha and Omega
Humanoid – Stakker Humanoid
T99 – Anasthasia
Frederik Schikowski – Amerikatze (unkastriert)
Flowchart – Flutter By Butterfly
Cardiacs – A Horse’s Tail
The Freed Unit – The City
Another Sunny Day – You Should All Be Murdered
Belle and Sebastian – Jonathan David
Tennessee Twin – These Thoughts are Occupied
Laura Cantrell – Queen of the Coast
Stereolab – Avant-garde MOR
Aberdeen – Byron
Brian – Understand
John Cooper Clarke – Beasley StreetJeremy
(graysonscolumn)Jeremy Grayson. Son of immigrant. Adoptive father of two. Metadata librarian. Freelance point-to-point / horse racing writer, analyst and commentator wonk. Loves music, buses, cats, the BBC Micro, ale. Advocate of CBT, PACE and therapeutic parenting. Aspergers.
Can’t argue too much with that precis of Ms James’ earlier incarnation, except (adjusts specs, zips up anorak :biggrin: ), "Tell That Girl to Shut Up" was the first Transvision Vamp single. "I Want Your Love" was the first hit four months later.
Jeremy<br>(graysonscolumn)
<br>
Jeremy Grayson. Son of immigrant. Adoptive father of two. Metadata librarian. Freelance point-to-point / horse racing writer, analyst and commentator wonk. Loves music, buses, cats, the BBC Micro, ale. Advocate of CBT, PACE and therapeutic parenting. Aspergers.
Be at rest, Peter. Your memory won’t be forgotten on these pages.
Heartfelt condolences to all who knew and cared about him.
Jeremy<br>
Jeremy Grayson. Son of immigrant. Adoptive father of two. Metadata librarian. Freelance point-to-point / horse racing writer, analyst and commentator wonk. Loves music, buses, cats, the BBC Micro, ale. Advocate of CBT, PACE and therapeutic parenting. Aspergers.
Dear Zome,
I have a terrible affliction which is getting worse with age and has not been cured by a move out of the Somerset area as I hoped it would be.
I have always thought of myself as a kind, sentient animal lover, yet every time I sit on a horse nowadays, I struggle to fight these unstoppable, all-consuming urges to thrash the life out the poor brute as it stands underneath me. It has almost become a automatic, trip-switch kind of affliction – the moment I sit on his back, the right arm jerks violently into life and begins to rain down blows as if possessed by an axe murderer. It is most disturbing.
I have hitherto been able to keep this condition out of the public eye largely through the company I used to keep, and had presumed that a move to a new location and a fresh start in life would eradicate the problem altogether, but has only served to exacerbate it. It can only be a matter of time before somebody notices it and reports it further, with grave consequences.
I short, I need saving from myself. Can you please help me?
Best wishes,
AP McCoy,<br>Jackdaws Castle,<br>Gloucestershire<br>
(Edited by graysonscolumn at 11:39 pm on Mar. 21, 2005)
Jeremy Grayson. Son of immigrant. Adoptive father of two. Metadata librarian. Freelance point-to-point / horse racing writer, analyst and commentator wonk. Loves music, buses, cats, the BBC Micro, ale. Advocate of CBT, PACE and therapeutic parenting. Aspergers.
Flattered as I am, Zome, won’t Laura mind?
Jeremy<br>(graysonscolumn)
<br>PS What’s yr take on the all-new, reborn-as-one-woman-self-sufficient-electroclash-performer Wendy James? Beats all her previous, slightly cringeworthy output all ends up, I reckon.<br>
Jeremy Grayson. Son of immigrant. Adoptive father of two. Metadata librarian. Freelance point-to-point / horse racing writer, analyst and commentator wonk. Loves music, buses, cats, the BBC Micro, ale. Advocate of CBT, PACE and therapeutic parenting. Aspergers.
Hiya,
Tonight I am mostly listening to albums by Mancunian dream-pop merchants THE MONTGOLFIER BROTHERS, whom myself and Prufrock and some of his mates (hi to all!) saw playing a gig at the Briton’s Protection last night.
Imagine, if you will, the intricate guitar work of composers such as Carulli, the kind of key changes and oscillating chords which characterised Satie’s great series of piano works such as the Gymnopedies, the pastoral indie-pop instrumental workouts of early Durutti Column, and the none more heartfelt lyrics of love and loss – and commensurate vocal delivery – associated with The Field Mice or Trembling Blue Stars. Absolutely lovely.
Jeremy<br>(graysonscolumn)<br>
Jeremy Grayson. Son of immigrant. Adoptive father of two. Metadata librarian. Freelance point-to-point / horse racing writer, analyst and commentator wonk. Loves music, buses, cats, the BBC Micro, ale. Advocate of CBT, PACE and therapeutic parenting. Aspergers.
