charity begins at home

There's an awful lot going down on the auld sod these days. Only a few posts ago I was banging on about the new David Holmes seven inch and since then I've gone and got the album in its entirety. 'The Holy Pictures' bursts into life with the aforementioned 'I heard wonders' tune but from thereon in its a fairly low key affair. There's a rake of sounds across the album that are reminiscent of other bands and there seems to be a lot of shoegazing stuff right the way through. I'm really liking it.

Another album due out very soon is the latest long player from Messiah J & The Expert 'From the Word Go'. It's getting a release on the 17th October and I believe that they're doing an instore in Tower Records that day. You can also catch them at the album launch proper on the 18th in Andrews Lane Theatre.

I managed to catch a tune by Roots Manuva on Later Live the other night. Not that surprising in itself but it was followed by an appearance by Dublin singer Imelda May. Imelda and her band play rockabilly music. Not something I'm all that crazy about but she did put in a fair turn on TV the other night. You should be able to catch her again this weekend on the extended recorded 'Later'.

Talking of Dublin women on the telly. I was sitting in last Friday evening watching Darjeeling Express with my good lady wife. When it ended it switched over to the TV. I can't describe the shock and revulsion at what I saw next. There was bleeding Twink wearing not much more than a smile. Not so much mutton dressed as lamb but more like tripe dressed as offal. Jaysus wept.

Thankfully there's things like the upcoming Deaf Weekender to take my mind off such horrors. There's a few bits and pieces to look forward to during the course of the festival. One event I'll be attending is the Sweet Talk evening in The Sugar Club. These SweetTalk gigs are always great and this one promises much. It features Dublin graff writer Maser, the legendary producer and sampling pioneer Steinski and the design artist John Gilsenan. Another thing I'd like to get to is the M83 gig in Vicar St on the 24th October. Check here for full details on the line-up. There's literally something for everyone.

Finally, I'd like to bring your attention to the three upcoming releases from the Trensmat label. They're a series of Hawkwind covers by the likes of Acid Mothers Temple, Kinski, Bardo Pond, White Hills & Mugstar. All in all it sounds like a great gas. I've been trying to order them from their site but it was down today when I tried.

odds and ends

I was checking out Jools Holland's Later on the tellybox the other night and there was quite an interesting line-up as always. Amongst those artists were Tinariwen, Arctic Monkeys and CSS. There was also a cringeworthy appearance from Bryan Ferry singing two tunes from his ill-conceived Bob Dylan covers album, 'Dylanesque. Check out his website, especially the bit where he denies being an admirer of Fascism and Nazism and apologises for statements he did not make.

CSS, from Brazil, were fairly ramshackle and rocking as is their wont. The lead singer LoveFoxx wrecks my head a bit but I still dig their vibe.

I was really impressed by the Arctic Monkeys. I've largely ignored them since they came on the scene owing to the large amount of press about them. I don't know why as they were in startling form the other night. They played a couple of tunes that I hadn't heard and the lead singer has an amazing voice. I guess I'm finally going to have to buy something by them.

Once again the brilliant Tinariwen blew me away. These guys (and gal) are the absolute business. A blend of African drums, desert blues guitar and some freaky chanting and hollering. It sounds like it could be a potential cacophony but it is in fact a euphonic experience. Apparently they met in a training camp run by Gadaffi in Libya and I'm sure that I've mentioned them in an older post. For those of you that have not yet had the privilege of hearing or seeing them I've posted some footage below.



PERSONAL STATEMENT

I would like to rebut certain accusations made in the media concerning the personal affairs of Matt Vinyl. It is not true that I like shit music. The fact that I buy and play shit music in no way infers that I actually like shit music. I apologise to all the people who have had cause to believe they were listening to me play shit music over the past 20 years.