2 Shore To Shore Johnny Flynn & The Sussex Wit
3 Head Rolls Off Frightened Rabbit
4 Ladder Song Bright Eyes
5 Black Jesus 9 Lazy 9
6 Kelly’s Heroes Black Grape
7 Just Like Jesus [Alternate Version] Dakota Suite
2 Going to Marrakesh The Extra Glenns
3 Jesus Is My Girlfriend BabyBird
4 Jesus Stag Night Club Babybird
5 Buckingham Rabbit Silver Jews
6 All Things To All Men Cinematic Orchesta Feat. Roots Manuva
So, what do the two things have in common? The first thing is Mogwai*, my useless former tortie sulker. The second is “I See You Baby (Shakin’ That Ass)” by Groove Armada & Fatboy Slim.
The answer is….nothing! Apart from the fact that the two things are irretrievably, utterly linked in my mind. Mrs McFlah & I used to sing the song towards Mogwai because of the way her furry rump swung when she walked, waaay back when it came out (the song, not the cat’s bum) in ’99. Whenever I hear the song, I can think of nothing else but the feline booty sway.
So then, I would like you please to recommend songs that are solidly bonded by association in your minds – the winner will be the one that has the most convoluted & bizarre or ridiculous & mundane explanation to it!
Cheers!
*yes, named after the band.
Youtube really does unearth some interesting tv clips from the past…
Click on the ‘spill at the top left of your screen
Then click Dashboard on the drop down
click media on the left hand side – Library will appear next to it.
under the “Howdy – you have used up your upload limit” is a set of :
All (6,418) | Images (4,454) | Audio (1,946) | Unattached (556)
click on Audio and you will have 98 pages of mp3s
Never one to do things by halves (nor to ignore an opportunity to paint), I ended up doing three paintings of shoe-like objects for Parkinson’s Awareness Week and the “In My Shoes” theme. They are not, as it happens, all mine (I have Young Onset Parkinson’s, so the theme is apt). The wellies belong to my son, and were both easier to get hold off and muddier than mine, which I only wear if I really have to (not because I have Parkinson’s. I don’t like wellies because I have the wrong shape feet for wellies). Wellies really ought to be muddy. My cheapo lightweight walking boots, or trail boots, are also appropriately muddy.
And they are all on eBay in the hope that someone (hopefully lots of someones, so they bid the price up …) will buy one or more, and Parkinson’s UK will get a modest, painting-sized chunk of money.
And the ‘Spill gets more hits than my solo blogs, so I am shamelessly exploiting it because of the charity angle.
Charity singles are a bit of a hit and miss affair. They may hit the charts, but they frequently miss the spot. I’m having difficulty thinking of a truly great one, although I can’t help but recall that the first record I ever bought was Ferry Aid’s “Let It Be”, an ensemble affair in aid of the Zeebrugge Disaster of 1987.
(I had convinced myself that my first single purchase was the Pet Shop Boys’ “It’s A Sin”, but the dates defy this recollection by a couple of months.)
So we’re back to shoes.
With a suitably Smashie and Nicey sort of DJ intro. Is it time for Bachmann Turner Overdrive yet?
pic via bekman-walker http://bit.ly/YYf0ud
Let’s face it, demurring that work, family and budget demands will keep us from Glastonbury this year is a crock. We would too be allowed to go if we wanted. A weekend ankle-deep in filth ping-ponging between half-crazed, foul-mouthed drunks while our ears are assaulted by distorted echoes of shit we’d never play at home? Heck, that’s the morning commute in the London subway system, ba doom bah.
No, Spillers are too self-assured to sleep in a field for cred. We have our still-a-rebel-at-heart pride, and that step we’ve lost is more than made up for by knowing how to enjoy the finer things in life. Like a roof. And a kettle. And free garlic bread with orders over £12.
And so….Spillt-on-bury, an online, interactive music festival for those of us who have earned the right to tune in and check out stuff from the comfort of our own home. Continue reading
A chance comment the other day and news items about the BBC got me thinking about British comedy. I like a bit of comedy, me , but find much of today’s output ( especially on the BBC) pretty feeble and lacking in laughs.
I began to wonder if this is a symptom of me growing old. Each generation , naturally, has it’s own comedic zeitgeist which , like an old photograph, is bound to fade over time.
I do think, though, that a path can be traced, in Britain, in which , though each generation succeeds the previous it also draws inspiration from it.
“So what, Big Ears ?” I hear you, rather rudely, enquire.
March 13, 2013, 7 p.m. @TescoDirect:
RE: Your email notice that the White Knight/Crosslee tumble dryer I ordered two days ago has been dispatched - for delivery in 10 days.
On calling to ask from where on earth – sorry Earth – it was being dispatched that would take 10 days, I was told the factory doesn’t start building them until the order is received.
Now I will admit to being a sceptical man at times, but I find it hard to believe that a retailer as big as Tesco buys bog-standard, entry level appliances individually. Or that a factory has renounced 100+ years of Henry Fordism and subsequent efficiencies. Unless of course it is a multi-use factory in China that builds tumble dryers on the third Thursday of the month, iPods on the first Friday and cans soup the rest of the month. Continue reading
I don’t know if an online music festival is virtual or not, but #CXCW (a take on SXSW) exists, and it is brilliant. This year looks just as awesome.
WTF IS #CXCW? As explained on the Couch by Couchwest site:
No badges, lanyards, bracelets, parking fees, ticket lines, exclusive parties, VIP tents…just the sweet comfort of your own couch. Here’s how it works, artists and bands from all over the globe record a video performance for us from their living rooms, kitchens, porches, bathrooms, you name it…pretty much anywhere but a stage…and we post them (March 10 – 16, 2013).
NOTE: Submissions accepted until the final day, so psst this to bands you know.
Ah those were the days … when the trains ran on time so you could rob them. RIP Bruce Reynolds
And here’s a wee trains-related playlist I made earlier.
Okay, you asked for it – or at least AIP did: a random literary post. I’m horribly busy at the moment, trying to finish writing a book by the end of March, which explains why I haven’t been around much and won’t have time to post much until that’s out of the way – but today has been reasonably productive (not with the book, but I’ve drafted part of a German job application, and worked through a load of other stuff), and so I can afford half an hour to respond to his plea for more randomness. I very much enjoyed the discussion of his post on fantasy literature, and so thought I’d take a cue from the references there to hard-boiled crime fiction and the like…
Yep, it’s Tom DeLonge…
The off-topic meanderings on ‘Songs About… Works Of Art’ involved Webby telling the story of the rumoured supergroup HELP (the idea being that Jimi Hendrex would join ELP). leaveitallbehind suggested that this should be done as a game on the ‘Spill, so here we go…
No no, not THAT type of jersey!
I’m not after a jumper, I’m after some Spillers’ tips. We don’t have a holiday booked yet during the school summer break. Lifelong Gerald Durrell fan DsMam has always wanted to go back to Jersey with the kids, as the last time we went was before DsSis was born. (Technically, Jess has been there: Julie was six-or-seven months pregnant with her at the time!) The trouble is, an awful lot of things have changed over the last dozen years, and therefore we’re starting our search again from scratch. We don’t know anybody out there; we don’t know anyone who goes there for holidays; and even my wife’s old school friend the travel agent has long-since sold her business. That means we’re randomly throwing ourselves at the mercy of the mainstream tourist-fleecing holiday companies, and so far it’s looking prohibitively expensive. Tentative forays into independent internet searches are producing some very dodgy results …
… so that’s where you lot come in. Does anyone know of any independent / private cottage or caravan rentals on the island which are clean, green (don’t really want to be crammed into the fourth-floor attic of a St.Helier B&B) and not too dear? Discussions of any vaguely relevant experiences in the last five years or so welcome. Tips of any hidden gems-to-seek-out or pitfalls-to-avoid will be gratefully received.
If you don’t want to discuss them openly on this thread, you’ve all got my email and/or telephone details.
My 11 most played albums of ’12 in ’13.
My end of year round up is now turned into the ‘spill game:
you know the score DUMP one (or all of them – see if I care)
It’s pop and it’s fun – don’t take it too seriously.
Remember, they are my most played – I’m not claiming they will change the world – I just liked them.
Band names in BOLD – for those who believe I make stuff up:
1 Stroke My Curls The Dodoz Forever I Can Purr 2012
2 Cuka (feat. Ikonoklasta) Batida Batida (feat. Mck, Circuito Feixado, Ikonoklasta, Beat Laden 2012
3 The Empty Man Whitey Lost Summer 2012
4 Genevieve Stealing Sheep Into The Diamond Sun 2012
5 Horn For The Whole Damn World Lazarus and the Plane Crash Horseplay
6 Passenger Emily Wells Mama 2012
7 Kevlar Sweethearts Diablo Swing Orchestra Pandora’s Pinata 2012
8 Be Strong (Blakkat Remix) The 2 Bears Be Strong (Deluxe Edition) 2012
9 Rat-at-at The Skints Part & Parcel 2012
10 Clap Hooded Fang Tosta Mista 2012
11 Circus Sunday Driver The Mutiny 2012
Many thanks to everyone who sent in nominations for this year’s Spill Awards: you’ll be delighted to hear that we remain as bizarrely eclectic and disparate as ever – over 100 different albums nominated for Album of the Year, for example, so that the shortlist consists, as has become traditional, of all the records that two people (and very occasionally three!) mentioned – and with the usual minimal overlap with end-of-year lists in the mainstream music press. We now come to the next stage, the voting. Full instructions below – but first, an announcement about the award ceremony.
“I’m as mad as hell – and I’m not going to take this any more”
2 Madder Groove Armada
3 Who Needs Actions When You Got Words Plan B
4 We Are Fucking Angry The King Blues
5 So Hungry, So Angry Medium, Medium
6 The Floor Buck 65
.
.
2 Penny For A Thought Saul Williams
3 Alone And Annoyed Eric’s Trip
4 Got This Rage Honkeyfinger
5 Fight Art Brut
6 Bad Luck Hot Chip
7 Open Mind Surgery Culture Shock
Hey ‘Spillers! Here’s a wee photo of the fun I had once I took up the ukelele! Just kidding, that’s obviously Elvis (I’m on the right, in the blue cossie). Some of you may know that I have ditched a lifetime’s worth of pain via guitar for something simpler, more fun, the people’s instrument, if you will. I’ve had my uke for a few weeks now, and it’s so jolly that I don’t get shouted at any more, like I did whenever I picked up my guitar. We’ve even had singalongs in the house to Noah & The Whale and the Adventure Time theme song.
I’ve become kinda fascinated with the youtube clips that folks record in their bedrooms, there’s some remarkable talent out there, not to mention a weird voyeuristic peeks into people’s homes and lives across the world. So, here’s my top 5 favourite youtube uke covers.
1. “The First Of The Gang To Die” – originally by Morrissey, covered by Mandy Nikko. I think a big pop star in Malaysia may have covered this, which then led to other people covering her cover. Regardless, I really like this rendition (the chorus is to die for), it takes it back to days of old a wee bit, and shows up the amazing Moz songwriting really rather well. My children call this “The Hector song”, as this is where the family dog got his name from.
2. “Kids” – orig. MGMT covered by Ooks Of Hazzard. Not a bedroom clip at all, but I just love the way they’re all sat in a row with their ukes, all having a wee shot on the vocals, their version really brings out the pathos & yearning that was kinda hidden in the original.
Three more after the jump….
Why haven’t I been nominated for a Spill Award this year?
Okay, I’m going to interpret two “sorry too busy” and one “it wouldn’t be the same without you” comments as a ringing endorsement of my stewardship of the annual Spill Awards, and put my mind to thinking of a way to top last year’s live blog of the award ceremony. I suppose we could do it on Twitter… If anyone has any thoughts, let me know; meanwhile, it’s time to open nominations. Here’s how it works… Continue reading
Every so often I come across a song that would surely be destined for the A List …if only the appropriate topic hadn’t already been and gone. Here courtesy of Mr Wanky’s youtube channel is one such track, spot on for last year’s Anti Christmas Songs topic. It appears to be by a Japanese band called The Injections…enjoy (warning : contains rude words, and images that may be distressing for young children)
The ‘Spill is full of weird and wonderful things, characters and artists. Let us all gape in awe at the skills of Mr Saneshane aka arteesane whose fabulous and subtle creation is sported by moi in the photo. This, my friends, is the pertest perk of being temporary guru. Now I know that it’s not a great fit, but I’m hoping to grow into it…
llamainatshirt
Dunno if this will link you all directly back to the map, but when AliM said she couldn’t find it, I felt I ought to, as an apology for dissing her “Keep One, Kick One” list.
Cauliflower owns the list, but Tinny is a ‘Collaborator’ with editing privileges, apparently.
The indisputable musical highlight of our recent holiday in Germany and Austria was an unforgettable performance of Lohengrin at Bayreuth – sublime performances, thought-provoking production – but since Wagner is somewhat outside the usual remit of the Spill, I’d like to share with you instead something we discovered on SWR1 radio (good traffic reports, and a reasonable selection of music…). Pop & Poesie is a covers band run by the station, that plays concerts every year; the covers are perfectly competent and entirely forgettable, but what’s brilliant is that each is preceded by a spoken rendition of the lyrics in German. Now, I’m a great lover of the German language and its literature, but there’s no denying that it is very, very funny to play “spot the song” on the basis of what sounds like portentous German poetry. Unfortunately for copyright reasons there are no records, and I can find only two songs on the whole internet, neither of which is nearly as good as their version of Smoke on the Water, but this is the best I can offer…
Hey Sakura !
It’s your birthday ( you probably know this) and some of the guys wanted to give you a little gift to make the day even more special. So here it is, your very own RR playlist !
“On the Slopes Of Ladle Hill”
There have been, on a few occasions, calls for posts-that-aren’t-about-music. This is one such.
Riot Season records has been a favourite label of mine for a few years now, it releases doomy and noise type stuff and is the labour of love of a nice bloke called Andy. Well, he seems like a nice bloke, I don’t know him or anything!
Anyway, he has just started a new venture selling music snob t-shirts that I thought might tickle the fancy of some ‘Spillers. There are only a few designs so far, but I suppose more will be forthcoming.
I fancy the doom or krautrock one myself!
Check his website for what there is so far!
