let the spirits move you

A couple of year ago I decided that I’d not buy as many albums due to an ever increasing collection and only a limited time to listen to them. I had a great idea. I’d just buy seven inches instead. They don’t take up half as much room and they’re much quicker to listen to. What started out as a nice lunchtime shopping distraction has turned into a full-blown addiction. I’m now running out of shelf and box space for the little blighters. All my talk of getting some bespoke shelves made has amounted to nothing. It was all bluff and bluster. I’ve not bothered my arse doing anything about it. It’s now at the point where I’m buying seven inches that I’d forgotten I already owned. What will become of all this?

After lamenting the lack of seven inches out there I decided that maybe I should just try harder to find some. Like a junkie looking for a fix (but slightly better dressed and a little more handsome) I steeled myself late last week to venture forth into the various record stores of Dublin. And as it turns out I had a highly successful trip. I picked up nine little beauties and took them back home to take their place in the vinyl vault. Here they will gather dust until my kids reach their teenage years and thank me for the collection I amassed on their behalf. Or something like that!

The Smiths released ‘Hand in Glove’ as their first single and it failed to chart. Not to be outdone both Morrissey and Johnny Marr entreated the then retired Sandie Shaw to do a cover of it. Hey presto it’s a hit. Next thing you know she’s writhing on the floor during an appearance on Top of the Pops. Behind her are Johnny Marr, Andy Rourke and Mike Joyce, all barefoot, in homage to the great woman herself. I don’t think it’s as good as the original but I’m glad to have a copy of it for posterity.

So too was there gladness when I picked up a copy of Joe Jackson’s ‘Is she really going out with him’. I’ll put it beside my recently acquired copy of ‘Stepping Out’ by the same artist. I don’t really know much of his other stuff and to be honest I’m afraid to listen to it in case I’m disappointed. I like those two tunes so much that I find it hard to believe he could have equalled or bettered them. I remember he appeared on 'Later' a few years back and I think he might have performed this tune. That only leads me to believe that he hasn't done anything better.

I got both of the aforementioned seven inches in Spindizzy Records in the Georges Street Arcade. They’d also got a couple of boxes of second-hand reggaes sevens in so I had to have a look through them too. There was loads of stuff there that I was kind of interested in but as I say, space is at a premium in Chez Vinyl these days. As such I settled for the following three tunes. ‘Fally Ranking’ by Johnny Osborne was released on the Greensleeves label in 1980. This seven-inch of the tune is a repressing from 2001 and delightfully features a b-side by Black Uhuru of a top reggae tune called ‘I love King Selassie’. The next couple of reggae sevens look like they’re represses on the Trojan subsidiary label, Jackpot. The first is the well-known Ken Boothe version of The Abyssinians classic ‘Satta Massa Gana’ and has the accompanying Satta Riddim on the flip side. Likewise with the next tune. It’s another Abyssinians tune ‘Declaration of Rights’, this time by Johnny Clarke and it too has the version on the flip. Animal tune!

A trip down to All City Records was equally, if not more, successful. I bagged the new seven-inch by Mike Slott on the All City label. It’s hard to describe but I’m going to attempt it anyway. I was listening to it over the shop speakers when some teenage kids came in to buy some spray paint. One of them asked if the shop sold dance music and proceeded to treat me to some happy hardcore that he had on his phone. I told him that he was in fact listening to some cutting edge leftfield hip-hop over the shop speakers but he couldn’t reconcile my description with what he was hearing. Therein lies the problem with describing ‘Flunky’ by Mike Slott. It really is going to have limited appeal to most people. Like Guinness you have to acquire a taste for this. I think it’s great.

There were a bunch of other seven inches behind the counter so I picked them up and starting listening to them. I picked out an eighties nu-soul/funk tune by, wait for it, Wynd Chymes. The track is pure cheese. Now don’t jump to conclusions. I’m not talking Galtee Easi Singles here. I’m talking good cheese. A finely aged Stilton. A nice Camembert even. It’s called ‘Baby you’re the one’ and it really is a cracker. All bass and hairspray. The other tune that I picked out was by German dubstepper Phokus and it’s called ‘Police in Helicopter’. The tune is called Inta and the flip side has a remix by Wadadda on it. The pressing is limited to 400 copies and that makes me feel pretty bad. It turns out that Olan had ordered the pile of records I’d picked up for himself. Nevertheless being the consummate professional he still sold me the two tunes I wanted. Now that’s service for you.

Finally I also chanced upon the latest seven inch release from the latest Roots Manuva album Slime and Reason. It’s called ‘Let the Spirit’ and I hadn’t really given it much thought when listening to the album. Then I saw it performed on ‘Later’ and I was hooked. It’s sparse and simple and it’s beautiful. I have the kids singing the chorus all day. I think that they’re hooked too. Here he is on Later.

3 plus 4 equals 7

A quick lap around the record stores today and I had three new sevens to show for it. For any younger readers who've stumbled across this blog for the first time, I'm talking about those pieces of vinyl that your Da might have in his attic. If the record collections that I've seen are anything to go by there should at least be a copy of Dire Straits 'Brothers in Arms' album, a copy of the original 'Do they know it's Christmas' by Band Aid and the commemorative RTE album of Pope John Paul II's visit to Ireland. That aside, when I arrived home from work today a few pieces had arrived from Norman Records in the UK. I opened the package and the four sevens I'd ordered had arrived. It also appears that I'd been sent a small piece of candy for good measure. Nothing special just a little chewy sweet. Still, it's the thought that counts!

The records ordered from Normans were all tunes that I'd missed on 45rpm when they were originally released. First up is a Tunng cover version of Bloc Party's 'The Pioneers' that came on a one-sided seven inch with an etching on the other side. The cover sounds like an electronic skiffle version of the original. Its all acoustic guitar and glitches until the female vocal comes in, then it builds into something resembling Fun Boy Three. Sounds weird. It is. It's still good though. Next up is the 2007 release of 'Province' by current music media favourites TV on the Radio. It features David Bowie guesting on vocals. Now that's all fine if Bowie is guesting on vocals on his own tune somewhere in the Ziggy Stardust era, it is however different when he's being all atmospheric on this tune. The best compliment I can pay him is that he doesn't manage to fuck it up too much. After hearing other stuff by them this wouldn't really rank as good as it in my book. It's all a bit wanky for my tastes. I prefer that 'Golden Age' tune that they did. The third tune from Normans is a 2006 Primal Scream release from their Riot City Blues album called 'Sometimes I feel so Lonely'. It's all a bit dreamy and at times reminds me of that British Airways advertisement from years ago. The b-side is called 'Gamblin' Bar Room Blues' and can best be described as lounge blues. I can just see Jools Holland tinkling the ivories with gusto to this one. The last out of the package was the 2005 release of Lazer Beam by Super Furry Animals. I absolutely love this tune and only bought it in the hope that some day I get to play it out somewhere. Somewhere really loud with laser beams. Maybe somewhere like The Oasis in Carrickmacross or Bozo's in Athlone.

The three new sevens are actually only two new sevens and a seven released earlier this year. The older release is 'I was a man' by Jape. I already have it on album and there were loads of them about town for ages. It was only today that I realised the former abundance was beginning to disappear. It's a great tune but I'm also loving the b-side 'Gimme Some More'. It's all vocoder and farty bass. Or at least that's what it sounds like on the portable turntable I'm playing it on. The first of the newer releases is yet another single from The Ting Tings debut album 'We started nothing'. This one is called 'Be the one' and is probably their most straight down the line, radio friendly, pop tune to date. Shades of Blondie and The Go Go's run through it and to be honest it's pretty good. I only bought it to hear Derry band, Japanese Popstars remix on the b-side but it turns out that that side is a banging techno affair that wouldn't have been out of place in a Francois set at UFO fifteen odd years ago. For any coloured vinyl fans, the release comes on red vinyl. The second of the new tunes is the latest release from a band that seemed to spend more time here last year than most local bands. They are of course CSS and this one is called 'Move'. I bought it for the Cut Copy remix on the flip side. The original tune starts off like its going to be a cover of 'Down Under' by Men at Work or even 'Living on the Ceiling' by Blancmange. It then turns into what might be described as a homage to a filler tune on the first Madonna album. All that said I really like it. It's the best release they've had since 'Off the Hook'. Better still is the funky remix by Cut Copy on the flip side. It's like an old eighties electro remix with lots of original MIDI sounds. Well worth checking out if thats your bag. It'll definitely be going on the next b-side remix podcast, whenever that might be!

I had loads of other things that I was going to write about but then I read lots of other blogs with most of the topics covered. You should check those other blogs out if you get the chance.

long players galore

I came into possession of three albums over the last couple of days. All shiny and new in their sleeves and waiting for a rinse out on the turntable. Two of them came courtesy of the shindig I had in the back garden the other night. In order to guard against the inclement weather, a friend offered a gazebo that was in their house. Rather than it being one of those fold-up crappy jobs it turned out to be a full blown marquee about 10 metres long. It was a bit of a bollix to put up in the rain but the resulting structure was the business. It fully covered the garden shed housing the sounds as played by Galafari, The Mullet and grandpa Naphta. It was a roaring success by my unexacting standards. Anyhow, I was gifted two sweet albums on the night. The first is by Mulatu Astatke and is called Ethio Jazz. Astatke has also featured in the Ethiopiques series of albums released on the Buda Musique label. If you haven't checked out a bit of Ethiopian Jazz from the 1960's and 1970's then you simply haven't lived. These dudes know how to funk it up big styles. I was going to tell you to go and check Ethiopiques out this weekend at the Festival of World Cultures in Dun Laoghaire but the gig is sold out. Ah well!

The other album that I was gifted is by Innocent Youths and is called 'Earth, Roots & Water'. As you might guess by the name of both the album and the band, it's a reggae album. Not just any reggae album though. It was released in 1977 on the Toronto based Summer Records. The original pressing is as rare as hens teeth so luckily they went and repressed it earlier this year. Its available once more, courtesy of the people in Light in the Attic. Its reminiscent of The Lovejoys in parts and is dub-space-tastic in others. Once again its a rare sonic treat.

The last album for today is one that I've been meaning to get for bleedin ages. I picked up the Neon Neon 'I lust you' seven inch ages ago and I meant to go and buy the album, Stainless Style. It was only when I saw that they're playing in Tripod on the 4th of November that I thought I'd better follow up on my earlier plans. It's a nicely packaged piece of vinyl and although I've only listened to it once, it reeks of eighties synthesiser pop. To some people that might be a bad thing but to me that's just great. I'm loving it. I might just have to go and see them play.

Finally, I bumped into Exile Eye yesterday and Sie Milligan today and both told me about a short tour they're embarking on to promote Exile's new Melodica Deathship project. They're playing the Bierhaus in Galway on the 21st August, the Pavillion in Cork the following night, The Trinity Rooms in Limerick the night after and wind their way back to Anseo here in Dublin on the 25th August. And they're doing the whole journey on miniature bicycles. Actually that's a lie.

news from the frontline

All City are back with the third instalment of their 7x7 series. The latest seven inch in the Beatstrumental series sees them take a trip across the water to enlist the services of French beatmaker, Fulgeance. It's a much more low key affair than the previous releases. The a-side Revenge of The Nerds rips a sample from a movie character in American Splendor, a movie about little known comic book writer, Harvey Pekar. The b-side is a very laid back affair and I was sure that I had it on the wrong speed. I had to check on Fulgeances MySpace to make sure that it sounded like it sounded. All City also bids farewell to another bloke who liked to hang around the shop a bit over the last few months. The guy in question was Steve Powers, a graff artist who was over here on a Fulbright scholarship. Rather than go over old ground Cheebah have covered it here.

I finally got my hands on The Notwist album, 'The Devil, You and Me', that I've been reading reviews of for weeks. I'm liking it on first listen but I expect its going to be one of the growers that I'll like even more in a few weeks time. Hailing from Germany, The Notwist released one of the album highlights in 2002, Neon Golden. The band members have been knocking around for years and have turned up in other musical projects such as the brilliant Lali Puna

Whilst on the subject of new music purchases it behoves me to tell you about the album Silent Movie by Quiet Village. Quiet Village happen to be two blokes called Joel Martin and Matt Edwards. Joel is apparently fairly fond of digging in the crates , a bit like myself. Matt is somewhat handy in the studio so the two of them decided to doff their hat to past musical glories and create an album full of new old sounds. They've reworked older stuff by the likes of The Chi-Lites and Alan Parsons and created a new soundscape for it. In truth its not a million miles away from the likes of Air, Lemon Jelly or The Avalanches.

News on the seven inch front includes the new release from Swedish songbird Lykke Li which is called 'I'm Good I'm Gone'. It's got a great piano hook that reminds of some other tune from some time back. It's a pretty upfront pop tune with a nice melodic chorus. It's bloody great. The remix on the b-side is by UK band Metronomy. It's great too.

Another newish release on seven inch on the Kitsuné label comes from German electro popsters Digitalism. It's called Pogo and its more pop. It's a little bit of indie, a little bit of electronica. Just enough to appeal to both audiences. Check out the video here. As if that wasn't pop enough to satisfy the kids they've put a remix by Brazilian band CSS. You can catch Digitalism at the Electric Picnic later this year.

I picked up a couple of other sevens including 'Do you Love Me' by Lee Fields & The Expressions on Truth & Soul Records. It was released in 2004 but its a bit of a timeless classic. The flip side 'Honey Dove' is another slice of soul funk. In keeping with the soul funk theme I also picked up an old seven from 1969 by The Johnny Otis Show called 'Country Girl'. It features a guitar solo by the son of Johnny Otis, Shuggie. Shuggie's dad was a pretty versatile entertainer and is very famous in his own right, and rightly so. This copy of the tune is the original on the Kent Records label but it was reissued on the Modern Oldies label fairly recently. The last seven inch i picked up is another oldie, this time from 1972. It's called Git it All and it's by those funksters Mandrill. It really is funky but the guitar riff also has a touch of the Led Zeppelin about it. It's best described as tough funk. It's the business.

Also picked up on vinyl in Oxfam were the following, but I'm not arsed writing about any of them. Sugar is Sweeter by CJ Bolland, Break from the Old Routine by Oui 3 (check this video of them being interviewed by Dave Dorrell on BPM. Interestingly, Dave Dorrell sold my mate a gold Mercedes.), No Government by Nicolette (which has a great Plaid Remix on it) and the album Please by Pet Shop Boys which includes their really good early stuff like West End Girls.

a head like a sieve

I was listening to a lot of the stuff that I've bought and blogged about in recent days. All sorts, from the Numero compilations to a whole host of new seven inches. And there they were; two other seven inches that I'd completely forgotten about. I bought them last Thursday in Road Records but I stuck them on the shelf when I got home and I forgot to listen to them. The items in question are the new releases from The Death Set and Vampire Weekend.

The first tune is 'Negative Thinking' by The Death Set. It reminds me a little bit of the Irish band The Chalets but with a slighty rawer feel. It's all urgent guitar riffs with a little bit of shouty vocal thrown in for good measure. It's a pop-punk sensation to be honest. It even ends with an obligatory random guitar chord that doffs it's hat to old crappy punk recordings. The b-side is a tune called 'Intermission' and its more of the same with a bit of Gary Numan style keyboard and techno bass thrown in. For some reason I thought of the old Irish rock band called Interference. Intermission, Interference, that's how my mind works. They only released one album and I can't remember too much about it. I did see them play live once and I thought they were deadly. What sticks in my mind is that the guitarist/singer, Fergus O Farrell, was in a wheelchair. I think they reformed a couple of years back but I'm not sure what became of the reunion. Anyway, I don't know anything about The Death Set because I've never seen them or heard of them until now.

The other tune is called Mansard Roof and its by Vampire Weekend. When it starts out it sounds like its going to be some poor Beatlesque quality music but instead it turns into a string laden, ragga beat groovin epic. It's the business. It sounds like they've been hanging around with Baaba Maal. It appears that the 7" was supposed to be released in November 2007 here but I never saw it until Thursday. In the meantime (i.e. since November) they've released an eponymously titled debut album and I reckon it could be worth a punt if you're in an adventurous mood.

dancing at the disco, bumper to bumper!

With all the goings on of the last few days I've reneged somewhat on my blogging. I'll attempt to make up for lost time by going through a few of the latest purchases on the cherished vinyl format.

The latest tune by Nancy Elizabeth on Leaf Records is another gem. 'I Used to Try' is another slice of her alt-folk and its release on seven inch has been timed to coincide with that of her new album Battle & Victory which was due for release in September but I've only seen it in the shops in the last few days. I picked up her last tune and stuck it on a podcast. I think she's great. Sister Nancy she a one in a three million!

After banging on about the releases on Battered Ornaments in this post, I then realised that I hadn't bought the one I actually heard first. As such it was back into the shops to pick up 'Sometimes' by Beneath Fire & Smoke on seven inch. The tune is more akin to a piece from a movie soundtrack rather than a commercial release in its own right. Violin, breathy vocals and sparse keyboards build slowly at first and are joined by some very low-key beats and plinky plonk noises. It's deadly. Apparently they have another release, The Iceberg Waltz, due in early November so look out for that too. You can listen to some of the tunes here.

I picked up 'Destroy Everything' by Scot-Scouse band Ladytron on seven inch. I managed to see them at the Electric Picnic and stayed for a few of their songs. I thought they were pretty good live. This tune however, has a touch of the Paul Oakenfolds about it and is slightly too dancefloor and anthemic for my personal tastes. I'm sure it goes down a treat at their live gigs though. Check it out here.

Any regular readers will be aware of my nostalgic leanings for eighties pop music. When I was presented with the chance to buy 'Mickey' by Toni Basil the other day I seized it immediately. €2 for a pop classic. It was apparently originally recorded in 1979 but only got released in 1981. Toni didn't think it was fit for release but the record company put it out all the same. It mixes wonderfully with two-step drum and bass from the 1997 era. Check out her marionette style dancing in the video here. Toni Basil is actually more famous as a choreographer to bands down the years and used a similar style in the choreography for the video of Once in a Lifetime by Talking Heads.

Last but not least for tonight is a 12 inch I found of The Frank & Walters. My interest in them was reignited when i read an interview with one of them in last Sundays papers. The interview was actually in the property section and featured a former member chatting about his property restoration business. Cork produced a number of bands with a great pop sensibility and the Frank & Walters were one of them. Fashion Crisis hits New York sees them at their best. Here's a short clip of them playing it live. I'm led to believe that they're back touring and will be playing in Whelans here in Dublin on December 8th, the traditional culchie shopping day. Along with the recent release of Microdisneys greatest hits its becoming a regular Cork pop revival. Where's the Sultans of Ping while all this is going on?

london calling

Today we'll have a listen to two up and coming London artist(e)s, Kate Nash and New Young Pony Club. They're coming at music from entirely different angles but both are still attempting to tap into the rich vein of pop music.

I picked up the latest 7" release from a young lady called Kate Nash. I saw her performing on Later with Jools Holland recently and since then she's only gone and reached number 2 in the UK charts. The song is 'Foundations' and you can listen to the first 1 minute 53 seconds of it on her MySpace page. While you're there you could do worse than to also check out Merry Happy which I think was her first single. Apparently it's going to be released again before September which is when her debut album is due out. I'm not sure how I'd describe her sound. It's a pop female version of Billy Bragg mixed with Jarvis Cocker.

I also purchased the latest 7" release by New Young Pony Club,'Ice Cream'. It's a flashy little vinyl picture disc with a sticker on the cover that says the song features on the Intel ad. I'm not really sure what that's about but it features the 'Popular Computer' remix which you can listen to on their MySpace page. The video for the tune is a bit of a trip. It's as if the guy who made the Sledgehammer video went on the piss with the guy who made the videos for Army of Lovers and came up with this.


PS: I couldn't be arsed getting better pictures than the ones posted. Apologies.

black is back

Picked up the latest 7" by Black Francis called 'Threshold Apprehension' today. I can't think of anything to compare it to except for The Pixies when they were in their prime. Think Doolittle. Think Surfer Rosa. You're there. If this is anything to go by then the album should be good too. It's called Bluefinger and it will be available later this year from Cooking Vinyl Records. You can settle for his current release in the interim. It's a Best of compilation of his solo work between 1993 and 2003 with one new track (Threshold Apprehension) for good measure.

I also picked up a copy of 'Office Boy' by Bonde do Rolê. The version I got was the CSS Remix and it's a great tune. It has danceability in good measure. Those Brazilians sure are getting good at the aul pop music. You can check out their wacked out stuff on their MySpace site. They sound like a bunch of mad fuckers on the track 'Marina Gasolina'. They'll be freaking out the kids at the Electric Picnic later this summer.

I'm off to Kilkenny for the next couple of days to watch a bunch of comedians. I'll return to Dublin on Sunday to take a seat in Croke Park and watch the mighty Dublin Senior Football Team kick some Meath arse.