Monthly Archives: June 2010

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So bad, it’s actually genius! – Secret Artist Mini-Quiz

I first came across this little gem over 10 years ago as a B-side to a CD single I picked up in a record fair.

Now, i’m not one for novelty songs or irony in music, but his has got to be Number #1 in my list of songs that are so BAD, they are actually BRILLIANT!
A load of crap? Maybe
Postmodern irony for wacky students? Possibly
The most preposterously ridiculous song ever recorded? Quite probably.
An 80′s-style pop/rock stormer that’ll have you pumping your fist and singing along by the second chorus??Definitely!!

‘Spill points for anyone who can guess the secret artist. Although, if you think about it, there’s only really one human being on the planet with the lack of self awareness and balls to pull off a tune like this!

Other nominations for “so bad it’s good” tunes also welcome…

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Spillstake Update

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/2914197/SpillstakeQF.doc

At last, the relentless pace of the World Cup slackens enough to permit a little quiet reflection.  Especially by Fabio Capello, Carlos Quieroz, Raymond Domenech and Marcello Lippi, but also by Williamsbach, who has been promising a ‘Spillstake update for a couple of weeks now.

 Having tried and tried and failed, despite Tincanman’s best advice, to produce a pretty picture (something to do with jpegs, my laptop and incompetence), I have downloaded a screenshot to a Word document.  There’s a link above; hope it works!

In summary, Garethim (Spain), Daddypig (Uruguay), Mrs Bluepeter (Ghana), Barbryn (Argentina), Gordonimmel (Germany), Toffeeboy (Holland), Cauliflower (Paraguay) and Alimunday (Brazil) are through to the quarter finals.  Everyone else, sadly, is out, including Cameroon who were both the first team knocked out and my pick, not necessarily a coincidence.

I’m still waiting for prize confirmation from DarceysDad, CaroleBristol, Bethnoir (second), Mrs Bluepeter, Toffeeboy and Cauliflower.  Let’s have ‘em soon, people….

Holland v Spain in the final, anyone?

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All this could be yours someday

Menomena are back (yay!) with their slightly scary brand of suspense-rock. “Five Little Rooms” is a slow burner that gets going after a tense first half and has some vaguely disturbing lyrics that I’m too feart to delve into too deeply. The hook melody is a strong one, and whereas the song is not as out and out bonkers as their first record was, I’m gonna be checking out some more.

After the jump is the incredible video for “Evil Bee” – I know I’ve spilled it before – but it really is quite something; watch if you dare!

menomena website

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Hey Tinnie, did ya bring us back anything nice from Canada in that briefcase?

Do the Arctic Monkeys have a summer home in Canada? Here’s two tracks – YVR; Zero Results –  from the Victoria, B.C. band Hot Hot Heat’s fifth album Future Breeds. They’ve struggled to break through so maybe this was a good plan. They don’t quite have Alex Turner’s way with words though.

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Questions of the Week or whatever they are called

Never let it be said that I’m not one to pitch in. When there’s pitching to be done, I’m in. (Except tents. I don’t get tents)

1.What’s the best non-musical festival/showcase you have/would attend?
2. What’s your best tip for keeping cool?
3. Who do you most sound like (normal speaking voice)?
4. Make up a word. Come on, you can do it. Now what does it mean?
5. Are you a high tide or a low tide kind of person? (No point googling, it’s an esoteric thing I made up.)
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‘Spilling ourselves across the world


Blue Peter reports in from South Africa. Having a great time, he says, atmosphere great. Disappointing about England, of course.

”So far have seen Germany v Ghana (above), Argentina v Mexico, and last night Brazil v Chile. All great games in terrific stadiums (stadia?) and with supporters from all over the world just out to have a good time, enjoy themselves and smile and take photos.
”Two more games here and then off to the Kruger Park for 4 days. Will miss one of the semis but back for the final. (Don’t have tickets for that one yet, but the feelers are out).”

He doesn’t say he misses us terribly. Probably just got cut off.

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Earworms (June 29)

Robert Elms always began his BBC Radio London show with an instrumental track (or one with few words ) so he could get in a few words about the upcoming proceedings. He played this when it came out in 2001 and had so many people call in and ask about it that he had to play it in full during his stint – in full and without interruption. Moulin, an accomplished jazz pianist, died of throat cancer in 2008.     – bluepeter

Gene Vincent – Baby Blue
I was playing this to someone I know who thought Gene Vincent was just “Be-Bop-A-Lula” and they were amazed. Then we decided to do it in the band and so I played it for the other guys and now I can’t stop playing it! I’ve always loved it, of course. JUST DON’T CALL IT ROCKABILLY!!!!!     – Mitch

Verve – Lucky Man
Felt bad about the Guardian’s article slagging off of song titles from Richard Ashcroft’s new album.  Remembered how much i love some of their lovely pop tunes, and this one’s been a cheery earworm on deck ever since.    - prunus

Front 242 – Hey Poor, Jesus Is Here
Gotta feel sorry for ‘The Poor’ in England. They woke up this morning to papers rubbing in that a) their footie team sucks and b) their benefits are about to be pinched. And the topless girl on page 3 was nothing special, either. The least the Earworms can do is give The Poor their own song this week. It’s from 80′s electro pioneers from the country soon to be formerly known as Belgium.    -tin

Bill ‘Jazz’ Gillum – Is That A Monkey You Got?
A harmonica classic from 1941 recorded as Bill McKinley. The accompaniment is stellar: Big Bill Broonzy on guitar, Washboard Sam on, er, washboard and unknown stand-up bass player (no-one remembers the bass player, eh Mitch?). The harp, played acoustically, is great, the words are fun and the whole thing bounces along in a pre-skiffle style.  I’ll leave you to puzzle over what the monkey is. (btw Gillum was first to record ‘Key To The Highway’ in the 8-bar format in which it is known today.)    - WilliamsBach

Big Bill Broonzy – In the Evening
I saw him twice in London in the 50′s and was knocked out. He was without doubt the most riveting performer I’d ever seen/heard. I immediately bought several of his Folkways LP’s, which I still have and still enjoy.    - goneforeign

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Say No To Love

The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart are back with a new one, looks like they’re not resting on their laurels after bagging the number 2 slot in my albums of 2009 list and it’s boding well so far.

Warning: if vaguely twee c86 indie guitar pop offends your sensibilities do NOT watch the above video, it’s so damn nice and lovely you may well be sick into your hat.

For comparative purposes I’ve put something similar from the early 90s after the jump

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AOTW: The Trash Can Sinatras – A Happy Pocket

Two confessions:

1: I don’t really do albums. Don’t get me wrong, I have hundreds (thousands?) of ‘em, but I tend to latch onto two or three tracks and play them to death. And the rest of the album slips away unnoticed and unloved…

2: Dunno why really but I love Scottish pop. From Edwyn and Roddy to Belle & Sebastian, Altered Images to Camera Obscura, the Mary Chain to the Delgados, if you’re Scottish you can do (almost) no musical wrong in my book, so I may be biased…

… BUT, those two caveats aside, I have unreservedly adored this album, in its entirety, since its release 14 years ago. “Why?”, I hear you ask. Good question. Thanks. And the answer is, I don’t really know. It’s not the most innovative music ever, or the most well produced, or the most clever. I think it’s because it feels like it’s mine. You know those bands you find for yourself, at an unfortunate age (to quote the band), and clutch fiercely to your heart? The TCSs are that band for me. Come to think of it, you lot are bloody lucky I’m sharing…

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More pictures & music

Yet another segment in my sporadic posts prompted by an intriguing use of music in film. This movie is remarkable – the storytelling, the animation. It combines different types of music, but one repeated motif is the animation of very early jazz (I think?) recordings of one Annette Hanshaw. Don’t know anything about her, but it’s an interesting idea. I think the movie might have offended some people, because it claims to be based on the Ramayana, and perhaps the telling wasn’t entirely faithful. Anyway, fascinating telling of a good story. It seems the whole thing is on youTube.

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Die den Adler tagen Vrs 3 Lions


[Audio http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1075113/germany/03%20i%20don%27t%20want%20to%20play%20football.mp3,http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1075113/germany/06%20Umlaut.mp3,http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1075113/germany/17%20celebrate.mp3,http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1075113/germany/09%20Goosebumps.mp3,http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1075113/germany/20%20Guten%20Tag%20%28Reklamation%29.mp3,http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1075113/germany/18%20Ich%20bin%20kein%20Ignorant.mp3,http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1075113/germany/19%207%20Tage%207%20Naechte.mp3,http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1075113/germany/03%20St%20Pauli.mp3,http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1075113/germany/02%20What%20You%20Deserve%20Is%20What%20You%20Get.mp3,http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1075113/germany/14%20The%20Champ.mp3%5D
1- I don’t want to play football Belle and sebastian
2- Umlaut Alfie
3- celebrate Miles
4- Goosebumps Seeed
5- Guten Tag (Reklamation) Wir sind Helden
6- Ich bin kein Ignorant Superpunk
7- 7 Tage 7 Naechte Sportfreunde Stiller
8- St Pauli Art Brut
9- What You Deserve Is What You Get Seeed
10- The Champ The German Top Five
If you don’t want to listen to the biased reporting before the match today – here is a quick selection of tunes (hopefully) to get you through sanely.
For those that aren’t German or English (or don’t care) – it’s just a football match.
These songs don’t relate.. but are a bit of fun.
As my ‘sister in law’ who is German stayed last night – I tried to come up with some more interesting headlines – than our trash papers or theirs:
Klose but no coconut.
Ozil and out.
This is a Löw..
what’s your headline?
Can’t wait for the match.. think it’ll be 3-1 to German in my head, but hope a bizarrely talented England turn up for a shock to my system.. everybody else is off for a swim in the sea.. because they just don’t give a damn.

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Enormous sigh of relief…

We’ve had a very fraught couple of days, as Jasper the male model cat didn’t come back on Thursday evening; he’s stayed out all night once or twice, but never longer than that. Cue several days of wandering the locality calling, leafleting neighbours, ringing the local vets and imagining ever more ghastly possibilities (stolen? poisoned? eaten by badgers made desperate by recent dry spell?). It all cast a bit of a pall over our first ever festival experience… Was all set to appeal to the collective prayer power of the ‘Spill – well, it worked for Mnemonic – when he turned up in a neighbour’s garage, which had been searched once already but he was too shy to come out…

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Ultimatrix bad guys

Robert Johnson, Woody Guthrie, Nina Simone (X2), Peter Tosh, Ethiopians, Decemberists, Johnny Cash, The Coup (X3), Lupe Fiasco, De La Soul.

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The Climber – AKA, give a man enough rope and he’ll write a Songstory.

All photographs copyright Sean Kelly/Inge Tillere by permission.



Bergen Moi?

Those with long Spill memories may remember a post about a trip to Norway for the world premiere of Judge Smith’s Songstory ‘The Climber’. Well the choir involved were recorded during that trip and and the piece came back to Judge Smith’s studio where fairy dust was added in liberal quantities … leading to a release of the finished article just last month.

Weirdly, friend of a friend, I got the call to fanboy heaven and together with my mate Sean am gearing up to chat to Judge about this and other projects on London’s fabulous Resonance FM this very night. The show is Johny Brown and Inge Tillere’s ‘Mining For Gold’ , between 11.30 and 00.30 BST.

Judge and John Ellis (Vibrators/Gabriel/Hammill/Stranglers) are doing some live numbers and if anyone is interested in hearing me talk nonsense in dulcet tones just follow this link.

I should do a whole post on Resonance FM at some point, I was thinking about it whilst reading the ‘Outsider Music’ discussion this week.  It’s kind of ‘Outsider Radio’, broadcasting in London but available everywhere on the web. In the meantime, bookmark and bung it on in the background, see what you think.

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Villainy

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Blimpy Birthday Joy


Henry Rollins Don’t Dance Allo, Darlin’
Homeland Inwards Karaocake
Hips For Scotland Psychonauts
Joy Withered Hand
Birthday The Accidental
Birthday Junior Boys
Ihop Luna
Bad Ass Micky Finn & Aphrodite
Hot Sticky Nikki Chow Nasty
Birthday The Jesus & Mary Chain
Ed Is Dead Pixies
[Audio http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1075113/blimpy/Allo%2C%20Darlin%27_Henry%20Rollins%20Don%27t%20Dance_01_Henry%20Rollins%20Don%27t%20Dance.mp3,http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1075113/blimpy/Karaocake_Rows%20%26%20Stitches_07_Homeland%20Inwards.mp3,http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1075113/blimpy/01%20Hips%20For%20Scotland.mp3,http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1075113/blimpy/04%20Joy.mp3,http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1075113/blimpy/08%20Birthday.mp3,http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1075113/blimpy/03%20Birthday.mp3,http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1075113/blimpy/1-13%20Ihop.mp3,http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1075113/blimpy/08%20Bad%20Ass.mp3,http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1075113/blimpy/Chow%20Nasty_Super%20%28Electrical%29%20Recordings_08_Hot%20Sticky%20Nikki.mp3,http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1075113/blimpy/02%20Birthday.mp3,http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1075113/blimpy/18%20Ed%20Is%20Dead.mp3%5D
I think this is what went into you playlist mr. Blimpy – don’t think all of the are to your taste – but they get included for anyone who is new to the tunes.

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BBP

But wait, there’s more!!

Shoegazer provides the theme song for this post,

Bishbosh added a song and the greeting…

Best bishbosh birthday wishes, Blimpy! Sending you a bit of Prolapse (mm, nice!) as I thought you might appreciate a Scots bloke yelling about something other than the England team being crap! Have a good one, mate. Bb

And Alimunday wraps it up with a song we know Blimpy likes!

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Latin fusion

Bit late for South America week and maybe not to everyone’s tastes, but I’ve just come across this, have fallen madly in love with both the concept and the music and felt the need to post something about it.

Diego El Cigala is a Spanish Flamenco cantaor with something of a penchant for fusing styles. In 2003 he recorded the wonderful “Lágrimas Negras” with the Cuban pianist Bebo Valdés. The result: a fusion of Spanish Flamenco vocals and Cuban jazz piano with both performing a fair way out of their comfort zone. A truly remarkable collaboration between the younger Spanish artist and the Cuban veteran that worked a treat.

Well, he’s been up to his old tricks again and this time at Andrés Calamaro’s behest recently played in Buenos Aires offering his (very) flamenco readings of a number of tango and milonga classics to the discerning and demanding public of the Teatro Gran Rex. He knew very well the risk he was taking. “If just one of them had booed”, he says, “I wouldn’t have been able to carry on.” Fortunately, no-one did and the result “Cigala & Tango” is a joy to listen to.

Three songs to give an idea of why I like this so much.

Garganta con Arena (tango canción) originally recorded by Cacho Castaña. The title means “Throat with Sand” and it was written as a tribute to the tango singer Roberto Goyaneche upon his death in 1994.

El Día Que Me Quieras (tango canción) A Gardel classic.

Los Hermanos (milonga). Atahualpa Yupanqui`s ode to brotherhood and freedom. Duet with Calamaro.

EDIT – I’ve put a longer playlist on my new blog that you can access here

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England 1 Kirsty MacColl 2


Will a fire be lit under England bottoms or will the pressure cause even tighter sphincters than the last two games? Come on England!!!

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Earworms (June 22)

Misty in Roots – Man Kind
NEW LINK I tend to listen to a lot more reggae when the sun comes out. This year it’s taking its time but this track is already on heavy repeat. I love the spoken introduction and everything that comes after. – Maki

Ella Mae Morse – Forty Cups Of Coffee
As there has just been a report released informing that drinking lots of tea and coffee is good for warding off heart trouble, and, as I drink gallons of coffee (strong, black, no sugar) I thought of this Ella Mae Morse track. Her ticker should be ok.    - Mitch

I’ve been enjoying the Chutes Too Narrow album for a few years now and its always been an Album That I Liked. Two weeks ago I was listening to it while driving around the Cambridgeshire/Norfolk countryside and for reasons unknown it suddenly changed into An Album That I Absolutely Love!      - Toffee

In nearly 200 weeks of RR, I’ve been irritated by a fair few omissions but one rankles above the rest… when RobF comes to the Pearly Gates, St Peter is going to ask him how this song didn’t even make the B-list for Songs About Numbers. Will Sheff is one of the finest lyricists around, and he’s in overdrive in this song. ‘Spill points to anyone who can identify all the songs referenced.      - barbryn

From an early album, Abandoned Luncheonette. It is the catchy chorus that gets me every time, that and the wonderful interplay of the two voices. It is real summer sunshine music and it is one that really gets in the head and sticks around.    - Carole

From the hokum (dirty) side of the blues, Lil recorded in 1929, then 1935-37, then disappeared.  This ‘un’s from ’35, with Black Bob Hudson’s appropriately joyous barrelhouse piano accompaniment.  I love the unsubtle-subtlety of the rhymes, the slightly twisted nature of the arrangement, and the fresh, almost gleeful dirtiness of the whole thing.  I bet songs like this have been sung ever since songs have been sung    - WilliamsBach

Took a bike ride yesterday & this was on the playlist.  Now no matter what else I listen to this song keeps bubbling up in my brain. It’s really a nothing song, shallow lyrics pretty simple & it won’t go away but I don’t seem to mind. Ya know an earworm.   – fintan