Category Archives: Scritti Politti

It’s not Christmas yet, but…

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tracey-thorn

…it’s getting closer.

And yes, I will do my annual Christmas posts on here.

One of the people who is doing a Christmas album is Rod Stewart, and I’m not really fussed. But another that I am most definitely excited about is Tracey Thorn’s Tinsel and Lights. It’s a mixture of modern and retro classics. If you’re wondering whether it will compare with Low’s Christmas album, well, one of the songs is a cover of Low’s ‘Taking Down The Tree’ which is a duet with none other than Green Gartside of Scritti Politti.

As anything even to do with the cold was eligible, one of the songs is her take on the White Stripes’ ‘In The Cold, Cold Night’ which was originally on their Elephant album, sung by Meg White. She also tackles ‘River’ by Joni Mitchell (which was originally on her album, Blue, and which still provokes debate forty years later about whether or not it is a Christmas song).

Bend your ears this way…

17 Seconds Top re-issues and compilations of the year 2011

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the-raincoats-odyshape

1. Raincoats Odyshape
2. Various Artists Bristol Reggae Explosion Volmes 1 & 2
3. Roy Harper Stormcock
4. Scritti Politti Absolute
5. Throwing Muses Anthology
6. Roy Harper Songs Of Love and Loss
7. Primal Scream Screamadelica
8. Queen A Night At The Opera
9. Paul McCartney McCartney II
10. Manic Street Preachers National Treasures -The Complete Singles

I have a dream that one year I will manage to produce all sorts of Specialist lists on here. This IS the specialist list for this year.

And as they’re pretty damn relevant, read my Roy Harper and Raincoats interviews too!

Find more The Raincoats songs at Myspace Music

Does there have to be a reason?

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totally_wired_cover

Well, in this case, yes.

Have recently been re-reading Rip It Up And Start Again, and for the first time, Totally Wired, which are the interviews that Simon Reynolds conducted to write the former book.

Utterly awesome and both are well worth it if you have any interest in the music that came from Europe and America after punk between 1978-1984. The years where the music was ‘post-punk’ and then evolved into ‘new pop.’ In fact my only gripe would be that the Cure and Kate Bush aren’t considered important in this period by Reynolds. And Gary Numan doesn’t seem to get much of a look in either. Other than that, great stuff, covering an era that shows Reynolds is right in saying that it vies with the sixties for quality and creativity.

So a few songs from the era concerned…

Propaganda -‘Dr. Mabuse.’ mp3 (This band bridge the gap perfectly between post-punk and ‘new pop.’ )

Human League -‘Being Boiled.’ mp3 (both ‘post-punk’ and ‘new pop.’)

Gary Numan -‘Cars.’ mp3

The Cure -‘A Forest.’ mp3

Kate Bush -‘Wuthering Heights.’ mp3

Gang Of Four -‘Damaged Goods.’ mp3

Delta 5 -‘Mind Your Own Business.’ mp3

Depeche Mode -‘Master and Servant.’ mp3 (in which the subversive ideas of wreckers of civilisation like Throbbing Gristle enter the top ten and Top Of the Pops)

Finally, one of the true pioneers, Green Gartside of Scritti Politti, deserves two entries, one for his none more post-punk and DIY and the second for being one of the best songs ever, bridging the gap between post-punk and new pop:

Scritti Politti -‘Skank Bloc Bologna.’ mp3

Scritti Politti -‘The ‘Sweetest Girl’.’mp3

More Peel, anybody?

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Well, it has been a little while, so why not one of my Peel posts?

By the way, before I get stuck into this, can people please go and vote over at Teenage Kicks so Steve can work out everyone’s favourite Peel sessions. My list is likely to include The Cure, Frankie Goes To Hollywood, The Fall, Half Man Half Biscuit and the Breeders. Possibly…

First up, I know very little about this song, but its’ title sums it up quite well, I think:

Robert Lloyd and the New Four Seasons -‘Something Nice.’ mp3 (1988 Festive Fifty no.21)

Madness fell flat on their face trying to cover ‘The ”Sweetest Girl” ‘; they didn’t try this to the best of my knowledge:

Scritti Politti -‘Asylums In Jerusalem.’ mp3 (1982 Festive Fifty no.18)

From the same year, 1982, Aztec Camera’s only other Festive Fifty entry:

Aztec Camera -‘Pillar To Post.’ mp3 ((1982 Festive Fifty no.24)

Peel often felt frustrated that the Festive Fifty didn’t include stuff he’d been championing; I hope this pleased him, a rare Hip-Hop entry:

De La Soul -‘Eye Know.’ mp3 (1989 Festive Fifty no.34)

This was a classic case of a band that Peel had supported some time before finally breaking through, both to the ‘proper’ top 40 and the Festive Fifty:

The Farm -‘Groovy Train.’ mp3 (1990 Festive Fifty no.47)

These four tracks from the Wedding Present’s Watusi album, still unavailable in the UK it appears, all made the Festive Fifty in 1994.

Wedding Present -‘Spangle.’ mp3(1994 Festive Fifty no.39)

Wedding Present -‘So Long, Baby.’ mp3 (1994 Festive Fifty no.37)

Wedding Present -‘Click Click.’ mp3 (1994 Festive Fifty no.30)

Wedding Present -‘Swimming Pools Movie Stars.’ mp3 (1994 Festive Fifty no.15)

Finally, it wouldn’t be the Festive Fifty without an entry from The Fall. I spent ages trying to work out why I couldn’t track this down, then realised that the actual version was in with my LPs and that the CD version seemed to call it Bremen Nacht Alternative. Thank god for the USB turntable.

The Fall -‘Bremen Nacht.’ mp3 (1988 Festive Fifty no.16)

Now…can anyone help me complete the following tracks, please?

From 1982:

Serious Drinking -‘Love On The Terraces.’ (1982 Festive Fifty no.38) [Gratefully received thank you!]

From 1983:

Redskins -‘Lean On Me.’ (1983 Festive Fifty no.30) [Gratefull received, thank you!]
Tools You Can Trust -‘Waking and Shopping.’ (1983 Festive Fifty no.34) [Gratefully received thank you!]
S.P.K. -‘Metal Dance.’ (1983 Festive Fifty no.39) [Gratefully received thank you!]

From 1988:

Overlord X -’14 Days In May.’ (1988 Festive Fifty no.28) [Gratefully received, thank you!]
Loop -‘Collision.’ (1988 Festive Fifty no. 41) [Gratefully received, thank you!]

From 1989:
Inspiral Carpets -‘So This Is How It Feels (Peel session version).’ mp3 (1989 Festive Fifty no.35)
Inspiral Carpets -”She Comes In The Fall (Peel session version).’ mp3 (1989 Festive Fifty no.50)

Thanks if anyone can help!

Edx

Is it really thirty years since these tracks?

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It’s been a wonderful weekend, I’ve had a great time, and feeling quite ‘up’ for a Sunday evening.

Kinda taken aback to suddenly realise that it is now thirty years since these debut tracks were released. My world’s still shaking from the implications of these…

Is there a rule for debut singles? I kinda think they should be like a manifesto. After all, it may be the only shot you ever get, so sing it loud and sing it proud…

The Fall -‘Bingo Master’s Breakout!’ mp3

Steel Pulse -‘Ku Klux Klan.’ mp3

Scritti Politti -‘Skank Bloc Bologna.’ mp3

Gang Of Four -‘Damaged Goods.’ mp3

Adam and the Ants -‘Young Parisians.’ mp3

Magazine -‘Shot By Both Sides.’ mp3

This is a cheat, but it was the b-side and just as good as the a-side…

The Cure -’10:15 Saturday Night.’mp3

I could also have posted Siouxsie and the Banshees, Kate Bush, P.I.L…

the big question is: will we realise who all the good debut singles of 2008 were by at the end of this year, or in thirty years’ time? Answer below please…

Festive Fifty Stuff for a Friday

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John Peel and his wife Sheila, affectionately known as The Pig

I’m glad that quite a few people have been enjoying these Peel posts. I won’t be doing these forever, or I may take a different approach to these, but for the time being, I will do a few more Festive Fifty posts (the only annoying thing about them is just how long they take to do!)

First up, a band who have evolved constantly over the last thirty years, even if they only released five studio albums and one compilation in that time. It’s hard to imagine it not being worth the wait, though. Green Gartside and his merry men:

Scritti Politti -‘Faithless.’ mp3 (1982 Festive Fifty no.13)

One of the most heartbreaking bands ever, with surprisingly their only festive fifty entry:

Trembling Blue Stars -’Abba On the Jukebox.’ mp3 (1996 Festive Fifty no.19)

Morrissey had many entries in the Festive Fifty with the Smiths and for the first few years of his solo career, quite a few too. This was the last of his:

Morrissey -’November Spawned A Monster.’ mp3 (1990 festive Fifty no.16)

Underworld only ever had two entries in the Festive Fifty, no surprise that this epic track was one of them.

Underworld -‘Born Slippy (NUXX).’ mp3 (1996 Festive Fifty no.5)

Another band I remember hearing on Peel and scrawling on my school bag…

Huggy Bear -‘Herjazz.’ mp3 (1993 Festive Fifty no.3)

Over the place of a decade, John Peel gave a lot of coverage to Cornershop. This was their final entry.

Cornershop featuring Bubbley Kaur -‘Topknot.’ mp3 (2004 Festive Fifty no.40)

An aching anthem about being an outsider…and this time, Morrissey wasn’t the singer

Bronski Beat -’Smalltown Boy.’ mp3 (1984 Festive Fifty no.48) (N.B. This is from my vinyl copy of the Age Of Consent and is a bit crackly in places)

As mentioned previously, The Wedding Present were up there with The Smiths and The Fall in terms of entries. This is my favourite song of theirs to make the Festive Fifty

Wedding Present -’My Favourite Dress.’ mp3 (1987 Festive Fifty no.6)

Rather like Blur, Radiohead actually seemed to do better on the Festive fifty further into their career than earlier on:

Radiohead -‘There, There.’ mp3 (20003 Festive Fifty no.37)

And finally, mad, and wonderful -Spizzenergi:

Spizzenergi -’Where’s Captain Kirk?’ mp3 (1980 Festive Fifty no.40)

Have a good Friday!

Edx

1977-1982

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If I had to pick a favourite era for music, it would be 1977-1982.

Of course, I was too young to know what it meant at the time, but it’s the era that I have spent time tracking down the most sounds from.

There was just so much great stuff: The original UK punks finally getting the chance to make records, Roots reggae from Jamaica, the beginning of Hip-Hop, Bowie’s Berlin period, the beginning of indie, Post-punk, New Wave, No Wave, Disco, New Romantics (before it got silly), Marvin Gaye’s ‘Sexual Healing’, Siouxsie, the arrival of Madonna, Michael Jackson’s Off The Walland Thriller.

OK, so i’m sure people could write long lists about all the crap they had to live through musically, socially and personally and they’d be right too.

But -and it’s hard to do it justice -my view of six great tracks from the period.

Human League -‘Being Boiled.’ mp3

Scritti politti -‘Skank Bloc Bologna.’ mp3

James Chance -‘Contort Yourself.’ mp3

The Cramps -‘Human Fly.’ mp3

Wire -‘Three girl Rhumba.’ mp3

The Fall -‘Bingo Master’s Breakout!’ mp3

as always, if you like what you hear, support the artists involved!

A few songs for the soon to be Mrs. 17 Seconds

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Well, in two days time we’ll be getting married. The future in-laws have arrived in Edinburgh, my folks are arriving later and we’re both excited and nervous.

Anyway, this post is dedicated to the soon to be Mrs. 17 Seconds.

Ash-‘Does Your Mother Know?’ mp3

Cooper Temple Clause-‘Let’s Kill Music.’ mp3

Cure-‘Close To me.’ mp3

Low-‘California.’ mp3

Rob Dougan -‘Clubbed To Death.’ mp3

Scritti Politti-‘The ‘Sweetest Girl’.’ mp3

As always, if you liek what you hear, support the artists involved. And a hello to Robin, who I went record shopiing with yesterday and said he was still waiting for a shoutout on this blog!

Underrated albums #2: Scritti Politti " Anomie & Bonhomie"

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What was I listening to in 1999? Umm, it seems so long ago, and somehow I can focus far better on the stuff from the earlier years of the decade. Though ever so occasionally, I give Bellatirix and daawn of the Replicants a spin, and it reminds me of the final undergraduate year, trying to get my own band off the ground and then staying on at uni to do my Masters.

One great album from that time is Scritti Politti’s Anomie and Bonhomie. At the time, this was their first album for eleven years, since Provision. The last time we had seen Green Gartside and co., it had been doing a fairly average (if we’re being honest) cover of the Beatles ‘She’s a Woman’ with Shabba Ranks in tow.

This album, however, combined a lot of what Green had clearly been listening to – Reggae, Nirvana , and lots of Hip Hop, and made an absolute gem of an album. It’s a confident album, without some of the sheen which almost engulfed Provision at times. It featured contributions from Mos Def, as shown on the single, ‘Tinseltown To the Boogiedown.’ Opener ‘Umm’ also managed to start off almost fluffy, before taking in rock -when had we ever heard Scritti rock before -and hip hop, all within the space of four minutes and fourteen seconds. Granted ‘First Goodbye’ shows off Green’s amazing voice but is a bit like Westlife-type ballad (who I wasn’t listening to in 1999, at least not out of choice). The voice is still supreme and you got the feeling that this was a record that he wanted to make.

It was great to see Green put out another labum last year, White Bread Black Beer, back on his original home of Rough Trade, touring for the first time in 26 years, and getting press coverage. Whilst 1982’s debut Songs To Remember has had a lot of publicity again in recent years, as the post-punk revival continues, this is my favourite Scritti album in many ways. Let these three tracks whet your appetite.

Scritti Politti-‘Umm.’ mp3

Scritti Politti-‘Tinseltown to the Boogiedown.’ mp3

Scritti Politti-‘The World You Understand (Is Over and Over and Over).’ mp3

Buy Anomie and Bonhomie here for less than a fiver.

150th post!

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Hi there.

well, it’s continuing to be a journey as I get my head around the technology, but I thought I would give you ten great tracks from five great bands, to celebrate my 150th post here at 17 Seconds.

First of all, what better way to start than the song that gave this blog its title and the first hit for my favourite ever group The Cure

The Cure-‘Seventeen Seconds.’ mp3

The Cure-‘A Forest.’ mp3

Buy Seventeen Seconds here

Next up, rumours have been flying across the blogs that these guys might reform. Having missed them thr first time round, it would be kinda cool… The first track is from their debut ep Ride, and the second is from their debut album Nowhere. The coda on Vapour Trail is just gorgeous.

Ride-‘Drive Blind.’ mp3

Ride-‘Vapour Trail.’ mp3

Buy OX4-the Best Of Ride here

These guys have gone from squat punks to post-punk visionaries to new pop to hip-hop to…still bloody amazing. This is their first single, from 1978 and their excellent 1981 single, which features the keyboards of one Robert Wyatt. bear in mind, if you haven’t heard any Scritti pre-‘Wood Beez’ you may be takken aback.

Scritti Politti -‘Skank Bloc Bologna.’ mp3

Scritti Politti-‘The ‘Sweetest Girl.’.’ mp3

Buy Early by Scritti Politti here

You can never have too much Scottish indie (certainly not as far as this block’s concerned!), so the next brace is the first two Orange Juice singles, released on the seminal Postcard label:

Orange Juice-‘Falling And Laughing.’ mp3

Orange Juice-‘Blue Boy.’ mp3

buy The Glasgow School here

Finally, one recent purchase was the first two, re-issued Ian McCulloch albums, now re-issued on CD with bonus tracks. The first track here is the album Candleland‘s first single, and the second is a re-recording featuring none other than Elizabeth Fraser of the Cocteau Twins. Enjoy!

Ian McCulloch-‘Proud To Fall.’ mp3

Ian McCulloch featuring Elizabeth Fraser -‘Candleland (The Second Coming).’ mp3

Buy Candleland here

As always, support the artists involved. These links will be up for one week only. Cake, anyone?