Monthly Archives: June 2008

The two most unlikely songs on the Festive Fifty ever?

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My attempts to complete all the Festive Fifties continue apace.

Should I sneer at this song? Probably. But I’d rather this than ‘Money For Nothing’ any day.

Dire Straits -‘Sultans Of Swing.’ mp3

Meanwhile, Brooce has been criticised for his bombast, but I can’t help wondering if he’s been slagged unfairly for daring to be successful. Maybe one day he’ll re-record Born In the USA -the whole album as opposed to just the title track, in the style of Nebraska.

Bruce Springsteen -‘Born To Run.’ mp3

Meanwhile, can anyone help with Public Enemy’s ‘You’re Gonna Get Yours (Terminator X Dub Getaway mix)’ to help me complete 1987, The Fall’s Lucifer Over Lancashire (Theology mix) and Mighty Mighty’s Is There Anyone Out There to complete 1986?

STOP PRESS: Now have these. relax etc..

Hope you’re all well…

Edx

Presenting…Voxpop

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To be horror, I haven’t featured any new bands here in over two weeks, despite the fact I have certainly been sent them to write about and review.

Anyway, the above band are Voxpop. Hailing from London and featuring Alex who used to be in the Upper Room (who had an album out a while back, and two top forty hitsand were seen by this writer (!) as a support act long before they had their first top forty hit *get me!*), they deliver on the great indie pop front in great style.

Alexander, Rosalind,Beau and John are working with Paul Epworth who has worked with Bloc Party, the Futureheads, Kate Nash and Maximo Park and it sounds to these ears like it’s paying off.

They are currently unsigned (does that mean much in this day and age of internet saturation?) but Alex himself sent these five tracks to 17 Seconds Towers and I felt I had to share these with you:

This has got single written all over it:

Voxpop -‘The Boomerang Generation.’ mp3

This song is reportedly about the Motel where Sam Cooke was killed (didn’t Elvis Costello write Motel Matches about the same thing?)

Voxpop -‘Hacienda Motel.’ mp3

…and I think this is another potential single…

Voxpop -‘Bad News.’ mp3

and these two tracks are pretty great too:

Voxpop – ‘All the Time.’ mp3

Voxpop -‘In Love With The Modern World.’ mp3

Make friends with them at their MySpace here

Much-sought after Peel and other stuff…

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This post is dedicated to all the 17 Seconds readers who have helped me track down hard to come-by tracks that made the John Peel Festive Fifty. Thank you all muchly…

Antihero -‘Rolling Stones T-shirt.’ mp3 (2002 Festive fifty no.5)

Antihero – ‘Who’s looking out For Number 1?’ mp3 (2001 Festive Fifty no.38)

Antihero -‘You Got Nothing (session).’ mp3 (2002 Festive Fifty no.37)

Primal Scream -‘It Happens.’ mp3
(1985 Festive Fifty no.44, b-side of All Fall Down, whihc was not in itself a Festive Fifty entry)

Buba and the Shop assistants -‘Dreaming Backwards.’ mp3 (b-side of ‘Something to do’ 7″ -not a festive fifty entry)

Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy -‘Little Boy Blue.’ mp3 (2000 Festive Fifty no.46)

Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy -‘Little Boy Blue ii.’ mp3

There will be more requests no doubt, but for now, either Steve at Teenage Kicks or I would welcome Burning Love Jumpsuit ‘Cheerleader’ if anyone can let us have it (the full version, not the two minute bit that got played on the radio!)

STOP PRESS: now in possession of the full track. Many thanks to everyone who sent it in. You rule!

Peel Session: Belle and Sebastian part 2

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This session was recorded in 2001. Many thanks to the kind readers who sent this in.

As far as I can tell, these tracks are unavailable elsewhere -they are certainly not listed at iTunes (yes, alright, clever clogs, I know that’s not the final word but it’s pretty comprehensive, in the UK, generally speaking).

Belle and Sebastian -‘Shoot The Sexual Athlete (Peel Session).’ mp3

Belle and Sebastian -‘The Magic Of A Kind Word (Peel Session).’ mp3

Belle and Sebastian -‘Nothing In The Silence (Peel session).’ mp3

Belle and Sebastian -‘(My Girl’s Got) Miraculous Technique (Peel Session).’ mp3

Belle and Sebastian official sites (sic!)/Belle and Sebastian mySpace

Thanks to everyone who has sent me stuff over the last few days much appreciated. Bear with me as I try to put it into coherent(ish!) posts…

Shop Assistants

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Back in February, I wrote that I was planning to do a new series on 17 Seconds where I would post stuff that was hard to get hold of. Well, it may not have been an organised (ha!) series, but as one of my readers has provided me with a lot of hard to find stuff that made the Peel Festive Fifties, I said I would post some of the non-Chrysalis Shop Assistants stuff. So here are eleven tracks.

First up, their very first single. Can someone PLEASE send the b-side if they have it and I promise to share it. STOP PRESS: see above!

Bubba and the Shop Assistants -‘Something To Do.’ mp3

From 1985, the Shopping Parade EP

Shop Assistants -‘All That Ever Mattered.’ mp3

Shop Assistants -‘Switzerland.’ mp3

Shop Assistants -‘All Day Long.’ mp3

Shop Assistants -‘It’s Up To You.’ mp3

This was a later cover of a very well-known Jesus and Mary Chain song, from when the band reformed:

Shop Assistants -‘You Trip Me Up.’ mp3

This was the seminal C86 cassette version of the track ‘It’s Up To You.’

Shop Assistants -‘It’s Up To You.’ mp3

And some other stuff that I have picked up from around the net:

I found this track on a compilation called Good Feeling, which I have never seen elsewhere. It lists David, Sarah and Laura, Alex presumably having gone off to do Motorcycle Boy

Shop Assistants -‘Tried To Tell You.’ mp3

The Peel session version of All That Ever Mattered:

Shop Assistants -‘All That Ever Mattered.’ mp3

The demo version of ‘Safety Net’:

Shop Assistants -‘Safety Net.’ mp3

And this is a recording from a gig at what I think is now Moray House College of education in Edinburgh of ‘Safety Net’ and ‘All That Ever Mattered.’

Shop Assistants -Safety Net (link now fixed)

There is a great Shop Assistants fan page here.

Oh, and according to the one-time Jesse Garon and the Desperadoes frontman, there WILL be a compilaton of non-Chrysalis stuff later this year. It presumably will include the final two 12″ singles of ‘Here It Comes’ and ‘Big E Power.’ I will post these soon, but hope you enjoy these for now.

Some Low for Saturday

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Call it slowcore, sadcore…or one of the most famous Mormon acts (well, alongside The Osmond family and uh, Wayne Hussey from the Mission, who was raised a Mormon), Low are something else. Supported heavily by Peel, I remember being utterly blown away by their 2001 album Things We Lost In The Fire, and when John Peel played ‘Sunflower’ I was genuinely moved. Though the first thing I ever bought was the Christmas LP and and the Dinosaur Act 7″. From Rough Trade in London, natch.

THese three tracks all made the 2002 Festive Fifty, and I think listening to these, it’s more than possible, given just how much I love the aforementioned Things… and 2005’s The Great Destroyer that I have forgotten how good this album is too.

Low -‘In The Drugs.’ mp3 (2002 Festive Fifty no.16)

Low -‘Canada.’ mp3 (2002 Festive Fifty no.18)

Low -‘(That’s How You Sing) Amazing Grace.’ mp3 (2002 Festive Fifty no.36)

Low’s official website

Do buy as much Low stuff as you can, if you like what you hear here.

New Primal Scream track

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This appears on the Primal Scream official website

PRIMAL SCREAM ARE BACK WITH THEIR 9TH STUDIO ALBUM – THEIR FIRST FOR B-UNIQUE RECORDS. THE RECORD, TITLED ’BEAUTIFUL FUTURE’, IS OUT JULY 21ST, AND FEATURES TRACKS PRODUCED BY, AMONGST OTHERS, BJORN YTTLING (PETER, BJORN AND JOHN] AND PAUL EPWORTH [BLOC PARTY].
THE ALBUM INCLUDES THE STORMING NEW SINGLE ‘CAN’T GO BACK’ – OUT JULY 14TH.

FEATURING GUEST COLLABORATIONS FROM LOVEFOXX OF CSS, JOSH HOMME OF QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE AND FOLK LEGEND LINDA THOMPSON, THE ALBUM IS AS DIVERSE AND BRILLIANT AS WE HAVE COME TO EXPECT FROM AN LP FROM THE LEGENDARY GROUP.

Despite those annoying capital letters, I’m excited about the collaborations (especially Linda Thompson) and this free track they have made available to download.

To these ears, their ‘Street Fighting Man’. And they may even have reached a compromise between their dance and rock influences. Just, maybe…

Primal Scream -‘Urban Guerilla.’ mp3

And please leave feedback!

Peel Session: Belle and Sebastian

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For once, this was a session I did tape, but don’t have the technology to edit from cassette to mp3 yet. But thanks to everyone who sent this in, especially David and Ray.

You Don’t Send Me (2002 Festive Fifty no.20)

Roy Walker

Love On The March

Asleep On A Sunbeam

Desperation Made A Fool Of Me

For more about this session, check here.

There is much more to come, including their session from 2001. Watch this space…

Oh, can anyone help with the Anti-Hero tracks ‘Rolling Stones t-shirt’ and ‘You Got Nothing’ If so, please get in touch.

Belle and Sebastian’s official website

Not all about Manchest-uh!

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It’s odd, the Fall are often seen as being quite Caustic-sounding (well, I suppose they are, at times) and always associated with Manchester.

But Mark E. Smith called Edinburgh his home for a time, around the time of Extricate, for reasons that even the re-issue notes don’t seem to explain.

It did produce what is arguably the most summery-sounding hymn to my adopted home city, though, and the no.4 entry in 1991’s Festive Fifty (or Phantom Fifty, if you prefer).

The Fall -‘Edinburgh Man.’ mp3

Still reckon you don’t like the Fall?

Peel Session: Wire

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This Wire session was the fifth and final one that they recorded for John Peel’s show, in 2002. You can read more details about it here

Spent

I Don’t Understand

1st Fast

99.9 (2002 Festive Fifty no.34)

Wire’s official website is here.

You should get yourself some Wire stuff, starting with the first three seminal albums Pink Flag, Chairs Missing and 154.

Thanks to David for sending me these tracks, I will be having a Belle and Sebastian fest very, very soon. Watch this space…