Ok, ok, I know, I know.
I know last week I said that this week would see Vol 50 in the Friday Night Music Club series, and that it would be a bit special but...when I wrote that I hadn't realised that St David's Day falls on a Friday this year and, having omitted to post anything Wales related last year (to my eternal shame, as a former resident and valleys-lover), I've had tonight's mix on the back burner ever since.
So, tonight, just over an hour of songs by Welsh acts (or bands with Welsh members).
Oh, and at least one of these tunes deserves one of these (you'll definitely know which ones):
Let's crack on shall we? Or rather, if Google Translate is to be believed: Gadewch i ni grac ymlaen, gawn ni?
Whose Coat's That Jacket?
And here's your track-listing with - yes! - sleeve notes:
- The Alarm - Spirit of '76
Back in the 80s, I used to mock people who, when asked who their favourite bands were, would say: "U2SimpleMindsBigCountryTheAlarm". They were all much-of-a-muchness clenched-fists-in-the-air-stadium rockers to these ears. But I've always had a soft spot for The Alarm, even if they were a four-man threat to the ozone layer what with all the hairspray they must have used to achieve their unique back-combing identity. This is, still, ace, and, thankfully, nowhere as rude as Bryan Adams' similarly titled Summer of 69 is (once you know..)
2. Murry The Hump - Green Green Grass
I was at what was, I think, Murry the Hump's last ever gig, at The Barfly in Cardiff. Better than that, lead singer/songwriter Matthew Evans was a friend of a friend, and pre-gig we played drinking games in The Rummer Tavern (CLANG!), just across the way from the venue. Since 2001. Matthew has continued to release music under the name The Keys (or simply Keys).
Anyway, this amusing weed-based play-on-words of the old Tom Jones is just wonderful. If you don't know it already, then this alone is worth downloading the whole mix for.
3. Gorky's Zygotic Mynci - Diamond Dew
One of the finest album's of the 1990s is Gorkey's 1997 masterpiece Barafundle, from which this is the opening track. Trust me: if you only take one thing away from this post then let it be that if you don't own already, and like psychedlic folk (you'll know if you do once you hear this), then Barafundle is a must-own record.
Lead singer/songwriter Euros Child is now a fully-fledged member of Teenage Fanclub, so bonus points to him.
4. Gwenno - Y Dydd Olaf
That's "The Last Day" to you and me non-Welsh speakers. Gwenno was one third of The Pipettes, but don't fret if you were never enamoured by their 50s-polka-dot-schtick, this is just beautiful, as is the rest of the album (same title).
5. Duffy - Warwick Avenue
Duffy's moment in the spotlight was all to brief, but she wasn't all just about Mercy, cycling through some dodgy Pepsi ads and getting kidnapped (no, really), this is a heartbreakingly beautiful centrepiece of her Rockferry album, which is worth revisiting if you've not done so for a while.
6. Badfinger - Come and Get It
I've got a bad finger. Ever since my rheumatoid arthiritis kicked in, the index finger on my right hand has been locked at approximately 45 degrees difference from the othr fingers. It makes typing quite frustrating, as I keep hitting the wrong keys. Truly, I suffer for my art.
As did Badfinger. Original guitarist Pete Ham committed suicide in 1975; bass player Tom Evans followed suit in 1983 and drummer Mike Gibbins died from a brain aneurysm in 2005. Sometimes I wonder if this is the band that Spinal Tap with their exploding drummers were a pastiche of (This is Spinal Tap came out in 1984, so that seems unlikely now I think about it).
Anyway, this was written and produced by some chap called Paul McCartney, I wonder whatever happened to him?
7. Elastica - Line Up
Lead guitarist Donna Matthews was Welsh, which is good enough for me to include Elastica here.
8. The Automatic - Raoul
The Automatic had one decent tune other than uber-hit Monster, and it's this one. The titular Raoul owned a sandwich shop in Cardiff.
9. Stereophonics - More Life In a Tramp's Vest
It had to happen. And I'm going to say it: although pretty much everything that followed (The Bartender and The Thief being the exception) was dreary gash, their debut album, Word Gets Around, is actually pretty decent. From my perspective it was initially overkill that turned me off them; spend some time in any bar with a jukebox in Cardiff and they would inevitably make a tedious appearance.
When I lived and worked in Cardiff, a friend was very excited about going to see The 'Phonics, who were performing as support to a bunch of American rockers (I can't remember who - Aerosmith? Kiss? Someone like that...who cares?); I emailed him and an essay I wrote explaining why he was wrong to be excited, which basically pointed out that they suffered from Second Album Syndrome: whilst Word Gets Around is packed with songs about local life and had some social relevance and meaning, everything since was trudgingly dull. I don't have a copy of the email, but I stand by that assessment.
Oh, and Kelly: we don't call them 'tramps' anymore.
10. Feeder - Buck Rogers
Disclaimer: I only own this on a freebie-CD given away with some magazine or other (Q, I think) I've always hated them since they released a promo-video which featured fan-provided content: lots of teenagers bopping along and miming to a Feeder record in their bedrooms, but they pixellated out the non-Feeder bands that featured on their fans' t-shirts and posters. Can't have any other band profitting from their fans' loyalty, can they? Twats.
11. Manic Street Preachers - Slash N' Burn
One of many perfect singles released from their debut album Generation Terrorists. Did I ever mention that I met the band early on in their career, and shared a cheese salad with Richie? Ah, yes, so I did.
12. Super Furry Animals - The International Language of Screaming
You didn't really think I'd get through a whole post about Welsh music withiut mentioning this lot did you?
This is from their second album, Radiator, arguably their finest moment, deserving of checking out in the unlikely event that you're not already familiar with it.
13. The Teardrop Explodes - Reward
A recently passed friend of mine, who I wrote about here, who loved Julian Cope, once told me how he went to see him perform live, and when presented with the opportunity (Cope asked: "Does anyone have any questions at this point?") they called out: "Is it true you're from Beddau?" (a former mining village near to Pontypridd in Mid-Glamorgan), to which Cope replied: "Yes, and what of it?". My friend, Maj, called back "Nothing, just asking, like" and that was the end of the anecdote.
The upshot of which is: Julian Cope = Welsh.
14. The Darling Buds - Burst
Had some great singles in a not-quite-as-good-as-The-Primitives kind of way. This was exactly the sort of band we attracted when I was at Uni - on the way up and getting some traction and coverage, or on the way back down again. They played at our place in my first year, before I was in any way involved in the Entertainments scene; here's what I previously wrote about them:
"The Darling Buds played one Friday night; a day or so later I was talking to two blokes who were absolutely astounded that we'd had a band on who they saw on Going Live! (or whatever the Saturday morning live show on the BBC was called at the time) the next day.
They were also the first band I ever met; my mate Keith and I being permitted access to the dressing room after the gig, where the band (and lead chanteuse Andrea in particular) studiously ignored us for about fifteen minutes until we sloped off with our tails between our legs."
15. Charlotte Church - Call My Name
I bloody love Charlotte and everything she does (since she stopped being ''The Voice of an Angel and singing Lloyd-Webber songs for dodgy US Presidents).
16. Goldie Lookin' Chain - Your Mother's Got A Penis
A not-so-gentle reminder from Newport's very own Barron Knights that, erroneous cock or not, next weekend is Mother's Day in the UK. You're welcome.
17. The Pooh Sticks - I Know Someone Who Knows Someone Who Knows Alan McGee Quite Well
Nope. Me neither. By which I mean, I know them but had no idea they were Welsh. From Swansea, to be precise, but let's not hold that against them.
18. Shakin' Stevens - Oh Julie
The first of many musical obsessions of mine when I was a wee nipper. At the risk of repeating myself, I wrote about it way back when, here and here.
19. Tom Jones - Delilah
I can't do a playlist of all things Welsh and miss him out, now can I?
I despise the phrases "woke" and "snowflake", both meant as insults, but to me they're jealous insults. Anyone using those terms in a derogatory manner is actually saying: "I hate that you want to be nice to people, you caring bastard!"
But sometimes the 'woke snowflake' brigade don't do themselves any favours. Delilah is a crowd favourite often sung by the masses at gatherings such as sporting events, and you'll doubtless have read that a while ago there were moves to stop it being sung at such events since it tells the story of a man mudering his female partner in a fit of jealous rage.
I accept its not a pleasant topic, but where does this stop? Should we no longer read Sherlock Holmes or anything by Agatha Christie? Shall I burn my copy of Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds' Murder Ballads?
Of course not. They're just stories.
This should be the last tune in this playlist, but...
20. Catatonia - International Velvet
...this deserves to round things off. No explanation required.
More soon.
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